That awkward moment when...

You realise that your world may have passed you by..

So, I used to ride a mountain bikes a lot, back in the '90s. I was right on time for the second wave, the suspension revolution.

I had my double butted chromoly hardtail with Marzocchi forks, Scott handlebars and SPD pedals. Anodized anything was awesome.

I got out of school, got a car, chased girls and bikes went away for a while.

When I decided to get back into it, things had changed. Goofy huge travel bikes, guy jumping off buildings, etc. I had some fun, bought a big bike and rode some crazy E36 M3. Did that for a few years and calmed down again. Life got busy and I put the bike away again.

Last year I decided I needed to start riding again. I was overweight, out of shape and pretty sure that a massive jammer was right around the corner.

Got the bike out of the garage, cleaned it up, lightened it up, fixed some E36 M3 and found a riding partner. We've been out a couple days a week for the last year. He's older than me and new to mountain biking so I've taken it really easy on him and me. Mostly easy singletrack in the forest, anything that requires skill also has a ride-around.

He's away this weekend so I went for a ride on my own, to place I used to ride a lot that is a bit more technical and was always busy.

I was the only guy there...

The trails are overgrown, the woodwork is being reclaimed by nature, I was out for three hours and saw nobody else.

Then it occurred to me, all the time I've been riding with my friend, we've hardly seen anyone else on a mountain bike. Maybe ten people in the last year.

We're hardly doing anything crazy, I'm riding what would have been considered an "all mountain" bike ten years ago.

Are all the kids riding at bike parks and ski hills now? Is nobody riding trails anymore?

Have I become "That old guy who still thinks he's awesome"?

You'll pry my bar ends from my cold, dead hands.

In reply to Trans_Maro:

Outside? Like outside!? There's no A/C outside! There is bugs and stuff too! Plus, there if no way mommy will let me out of her site for more than ten minutes outside. Good luck old man, watch out for scary clowns.

In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/05/clown-carrying-black-balloons-gives-wisconsin-city-creeps.html

XC riding is still big here in SE Michigan

Completely depends on where the trails are located and whether they can or have been adopted by a local trail advocacy and maintenance group. I know I've personally lived places where trails were pretty much all unsanctioned and/or illegal, but tons of people rode them. Unfortunately, if a trail or trail system fell out of favor, it went into disrepair and nobody knew that you could even ride there. Likewise, when a new spot got picked up, it got a lot of terribly built but new and exciting trails.

It's possible you're old stomping ground just isn't as popular anymore, or its on private property and only you know those trails exist.

If you're still in Langley, it looks like there are quite a few popular spots listed on Trailforks.

Lots of trails in the town forests here in Vermont. Lots of riding being done. Just not by me and my bad shoulder.

Everyone got a hoverboard and burnt to the ground.

I'm still rocking a UniVega hardtail from the 90's. When I'm out riding I see some people on fat tire bikes plodding along on the single track trying to pretend like they didn't waste $3k when the old fart on the antique yells "ON THE LEFT" :) Seriously, those things look like they might be cool in snow or on sand but WTF? In the woods?

The hardcore guys don't ride where I go though... there aren't any 5000' crevasses to plunge into or trick board jumps - just grinding climbs, twisty downhill "rewards" for the climbs and some rocky water crossings. Fine for me - I'm just looking to break the monotony of running and road biking by getting dirty once in a while. I was never that guy doing 360s off a berm anyway.

I tried trail riding for a few years, but it ended up causing some problems in my calves(compartmental syndrome), so I eased up on my riding...then eventually quit almost completely. Now that I'm somewhere with better weather, I've been getting out & riding almost daily - but no trails. The reality is I'm way more of a "punk-on-a-bike" vs. "cyclist", and I just enjoy urban terrain much better than trails.

When I rode MTB about 5 years back in Michigan, You were never alone on a trail. Pretty sure that's still the case.

I gave up the mountain bike to go back to a 20 inch because i couldnt find anyone else willing to go ride in the dirt. We dont really have hills so its all just light trails.

Some fun jumps though.

I'll echo that Michigan seemed full of trail riders back in the early 2000s when I was there. I won;'t be riding that stuff again very often, at least until the kids can handle it. For now we do neighborhood riding and paved trail stuff occasionally.

I think it is still popular but probably varies from section to section of the country. Where I live in PA, you probably have to drive a little bit to get to some trails. Even though I ride a cx bike, I enjoy going out in the woods on not too technical single track trails for a change of pace. I'm more road riding and rail trail stuff more than anything these days.

Things change. I was very seriously into road biking 10-12 years ago, got back into it last year. Now everyone is using Strava, wearing Rapha, going on fondo's and talking about their disc-brake "gravel grinders."

But in the greater Seattle area mountain biking seems to still be a thing, you certainly see a lot of them hanging off bike racks on people's cars driving around.

If it makes you feel less redundant, I dusted off my rollerblades a few months back. Noooobody is blading, but berkeley them, I've missed my aggressive inlines. Slowly trying to get my Ballance and coordination back so I can hit the occasional Park and mess with peoples brains.

Mtb is still pretty popular, just depends on the area. But just like bmx, what was edgy and cool 10+ years ago is now standard fodder for twelvies.. kids lack fear and seem to keep pushing the envelope.

There is a pretty active crowd that is local to me. There are two trails they frequent and at least once a month they do a 20-40 mile "Gravel Grind" in the national forest.

Unfortunately, I'm too slow, too lazy, and too fat to keep up with them.

They're all looking down at their phones chasing Pokémon, or some E36 M3.

Still huge in the Central Texas area. I go out twice a week on the trails and twice a week on the roads. It's really a regional thing. I don't see anyone riding back in Nebraska any more when I go home to see family.

I want to head back out to Truckee and ride some more. It's been years since I've hit the trails out there. I use to go out a lot when I lived in Nevada.

I've taken the last 6 months off due to neck and back pain, but my neighborhood is always full of riders. Year round SoCal weather and canyons everywhere make San Diego a MTB hot spot.

Maybe there are some new hot spots around you? That trail is officially closed?

It's huge around here, but the Greenway system has converted a few people to road bikes. Check bike shops and maybe forums to see what's popular around you these days?