Racing pushes mountain bike manufacturers to bring out better and better material that smooths out rough trails and takes us even further up where no cable cars ride. Great! But good material tempts us to ride faster without having a mature riding technique - oh shit!!! And I've already missed the two hairpin bends in close succession and cut short without further ado. Fortunately, the bike allows me to do this without causing any damage. That shouldn't happen on hiking trails. Although I can say that I have very good control of my bike - it has happened to me too.

In recent years, however, I have noticed an increasing number of shortcuts - and in places where they cannot be "excused" for riding too fast. People are simply taking radical shortcuts because the following hairpin bend or passage is a bit narrow, too bumpy and therefore not so easy to master. In other places, the natural route is generously shortened. Of course, this saves time and who needs bends? To be honest, I wonder what exactly is going on here. Better and better bikes that promise more grip in combination with better and better tires, and we take shortcuts? Can't you ride more corners? Or are you chasing a best time on Strava? I remember an advertising slogan from a car tire manufacturer: "Fun is not a straight line", and it's the same with mountain biking - turns are the essence that makes trail riding exciting and brings flow - regardless of whether the turns are wide or tight!

There's another reason why I and many of my biking colleagues find taking shortcuts hard to understand: it causes considerable damage to the terrain. Damage that not only looks ugly, but is also a steep pass for advocates of bike bans, which fortunately is hardly accepted in this country. You don't even have to be a nature lover to realize that the so-called "cut lines" don't look very good. If we continue to blithely cut corners or otherwise ride off the trail for reasons of comfort, we are not only destroying the landscape, we are also destroying the singletrack biker's "habitat".

The recipe for avoiding shortcuts is simple: switch off Strava on trails, slow down a little and rediscover cornering and circling. If you master it, you'll experience plenty of flow even in difficult terrain, and all without taking shortcuts. What's more, the more controlled the riding style, the safer the hikers feel, who even applaud - no joke, I've experienced this several times. So, don't be tempted to take shortcuts. If you ride the bends, you'll get more out of the descent anyway.