Erin Alberty: Mountain biking makes no sense, but I tried it and here's my verdict

I had misgivings about mountain biking.

The whole sport has never made much sense to me. I flip through outdoors magazines and read adventure articles online, and I’ll see an ad featuring some cyclist teetering on top of a towering boulder or vaulting over slickrock. It looks like the dumbest thing to me. Why ride your bike there?

But I have health insurance and an open mind, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

My verdict: It is less scary, less thrilling and more thoughtful an exercise than I thought it would be.

I was apprehensive as I pointed down the gravel switchbacks north of Little Dell Reservoir in East Canyon near the trailhead of the Mormon Pioneer Historic Trail. My co-worker Rudy Mesicek has recommended this for my first ride, saying it’s not too technical — and some elementary-school kids I met on the trail confirmed this.

They were right; nothing about the ride uphill scared me except the occasional encounter with downhill-bound cyclists. Initially the incline is gradual, and I can see why people like covering so much trail so quickly. I had a chance to take in the autumn leaves, and 2 miles went by in a flash.

But then, around Affleck Park, it gets steep. Really steep.

Riding a bike up a steep hill is not pleasant.

I kind of already knew that. But on a narrow trail, with loose gravel and no room to wobble and recover balance, it becomes futile. I felt like I was sprinting but going nowhere. Every time I hopped off the bike to push it up, it seemed like the intelligent choice.

Going downhill was … hmm. I know it’s supposed to be the big reward for all the gasping and pumping and sore hands. At times, where the trail was packed dirt, I let myself go fast and started to feel the thrill of riding a roller coaster.

But then I considered how far ahead of me I could see.

Not very.

Every time I went fast enough to feel a rush, I asked myself, “If someone is right around that corner, will I be able to stop in time?”

My answer was always no.

It seems like the kind of judgment you probably get used to running continuously in the back of your mind if you go mountain biking regularly. Failing to do that seems like the biggest hazard for a novice.

It’s funny, because I thought the rocks would be my No. 1 problem. When hiking, I most notice mountain bikers as they inch over rocky sections.

But it turns out a lot of mountain biking isn’t on slickrock or cliff edges. It’s just dirt. It looks safe. It looks easy. It looks like a good place to cut loose.

The fact that it isn’t felt immediately disappointing. But it also made mountain biking seem more like a set of mental skills to develop: problem solving, course reading, decisionmaking. Not just a rush of speed or a feat of stamina. I think if I go again, I’ll give the trail itself even more thought and attention than I do when I hike.

It’s a different way of seeing the ground and getting to know the mountains.

Just don’t get to know the wrong side of a cliff.