Now that I’m living in bike-obsessed Austin, I’ve taken up mountain biking to further acculturate myself in this town.  There are 42 bike stores here, I suppose many more per capita than other cities, and there is enough demand to keep them all busy.  Lance Armstrong’s presence probably has a lot to do with this.

As a former road rider accustomed to thousands of annual miles in Atlanta and occasional cross-state trips, I’ve found mountain biking to be a very different sport.   I never once actually used my helmet on the road bike, but it serves its purpose often in minor crashes on the trails.  On the other hand, I have yet to see a carpooler driving a Suburban in the wild while texting, so my overall safety odds seem to be better.

While riding in the normal 100+ degree weather, I came up with this list of analogies between mountain biking and the startup process.  I’m working with several startups that are setting forth on the “trail” in the latter half of this year, and I believe these thoughts are relevant.

The photo see at the top is a trail map in the Steiner Ranch development where I live.  It looks like a handy guide as to where to ride, but the picture below shows this sign in context (look closely at base of tower):

Basically, if you’ve found this sign in the middle of nowhere, you probably already know what’s on it.  Point 1:  Don’t expect any clear roadmap as you head down the path of developing your product, getting it funded, and landing those first customers.  There are multiple ways to get from point A to point B and one may be as good as another.

Sometimes you make seek direction and get no useful information.  Here’s another Steiner sign at a trail head but well below grade, not really visible from the road, and now even taped off by construction.  Unless you ride with binoculars, you won’t get much information there.  Point 2:  You may have some guide you’d like to follow, but be prepared to be still pretty much on your own.

There’s a nice park in North Austin called Walnut Creek with many miles of MTB trails.  There’s a map in the parking area, but the trails are a spaghetti-like maze and have no markings.  You can ride for days and never get back to the starting point.  Here’s an aerial view from Austinbike.com:

Another rider gave me the secret to Walnut Creek. It is bounded on one side by Lamar, which for you Atlantans is similar to Roswell Road, and the traffic noise is very evident.  If you get lost, keep riding in a direction where the noise gets louder, and you’ll eventually find your way out.  Point 3:  Use all your senses to help you choose the right path.  Pay attention to customer feedback in particular, and absorb and react to all that you hear.

Enough pictures for now.  I’ll insert at the end a YouTube video of a rider at Steiner Ranch on the trail I normally follow.  What you saw in the picture above was not indicative of the many ledges, rocky ascents and descents, and very slippery narrow trails; this sport is not for cruisers.  The video, for those of you interested, gives a better perspective.

Point 4:  Neither mountain biking nor the start-up is for the timid.   You have less control of your bike when you go too slowly; dragging the brakes takes away your traction; and you lose the gyroscopic stabilizing factor of those rotating 29” wheels.  Sure sometimes you have to pick your way carefully through rocky outcroppings, but generally keeping up your pace keeps you in control, even though it seems a heckuva lot more frightening.  Similarly, there’s no time to dally with your startup.  You have to boldly move forward every day.

Don’t watch your front wheel. Point 5:  You have to look down the trail and prepare.  Your balance will be better, and you’ll be ready for a gear change or a set-up maneuver if you see that ascent coming.  If you’re focus is on that front wheel, or only on some immediate business issue, you’re headed for a crash.

Point 6:  You have to be agile and creative, and yes, willing to make guesses from time to time.  Many times the trails unexpectedly diverge or cross fire roads, and with no markers you are given no clue as to which way to go.  You just have to guess, and hope you make the right guess.  Often times the trails come back together anyway, but it does no good to stop and ponder, just keep riding ahead.

Starting a business and mountain biking both require energy.  You may not be outside in the heat, but you’re in the pressure cooker of limited time and resources.   Point 5:  Simply this, you have to have an abundance of stamina to make it all the way down the trail.

There will be mishaps along the way.  You’ll get flat tires in the boonies, and you’ll give a little blood when you scrape the rocks and trees, but you can’t let those bother you.  Point 6:  Adversity and pain are part of the process, but they won’t stop you.

If you’re doing a startup or working with others who are, I hope you found a bit of inspiration in this.  You don’t need your own bicycle; you can probably draw similar analogies from whatever sport you engage in.

Now for the gratuitous MTB video at Steiner Ranch.  This young man rides much faster than I do and jumps ledges that I find myself walking.  I have to attribute that to the fact that he has much better gear – front and rear shocks among other things – not to mention much better skill.