For those looking to forge a career in a highly competitive job market, thinking about what you want to do with your life may lead to some particularly boring choices to play it safe – but what if we told you your job doesn’t have to bore the socks off you?
If you’re a keen mountain biker it’s possible to make a career out of it. It’s not an easy life, by any means, but if you’re willing to put the work in and you love a bit of adventure on your plate then this is the career path for you. Here are some of our ideas for how you could throw yourself into the professional world of cycling.
Professional Rider
This is probably the dream job for any aspiring mountain bikes rider, and is obviously the most difficult profession to find yourself in. First and foremost, you’ll have to have talent (and lots of it) then you’ll have to be thoroughly dedicated to honing your skills in the small leagues before you eventually make it big. It’s a risky move if you decide to go down this career path and you’ll have to be 100% sure of your decision but you can at least be satisfied in that fact that you’re following the dream… maybe keep your day job, though, just in case.
Tour Guides
If you have your heart set on travelling, then you could earn a few pennies leading people on biking trails. There’s a huge interest in biking tours these days (everyone must have gotten sick of walking tours) and if you know what you’re talking about, or can make it seem like you do, then you’re good as gold! The downside here is you’ll be constantly working to afford a living and you’ll be responsible for a group of strangers.
Instructor
Are you an expert biker and want to share your gift with the world? Great – just make sure you charge them for lessons! There are plenty of mountain biking accreditations that you can get yourself certified with. Teaching both children and the more mature, many mountain biking instructors go on to lead sessions for prestigious awards like the Duke of Edinburgh award. Experience the great outdoors whilst getting paid – hardly sounds like work at all!
Bike Merchant
You spend so much time in bike shops that you may as well work at one, right? Whether you work in someone else’s shop or have enough money to start your own small business you probably won’t get as much time on your bike as you’d like – but at least it’s steady work! Selling mountain bike finance might not be how you seen your life turning out, but at least you’re making people happy in your own way!
Cycle Blogger
If you’ve got flair when it comes to your writing as well as your biking, then you could make something of yourself as a cycling blogger/writer. Whether you start your own blog or you freelance around cycling publications, you can probably grab yourself a few free bikes in the process – after all, you can’t be expected to pay to write a review can you!
Love traveling.
