I'm a rock weenie!

[sundial]

I rode on the trail yesterday in tons of leaves but when I came to flat rock, I gingerly rode through some of it and finally got off and walked. It was a hilly, wet, rocky area and I just lost my nerve. All I could think of was,"Dang, this is gonna hurt." http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sick/sick0010.gif (http://www.boredblogs.net)

[Zen]

I doesn't hurt that much.
look at what you said- you THOUGHT it was gonna hurt.

You gotta exorcise that demon right OUT!

[sundial]

I dunno. I just don't want to knock my knee cap on the rocks. Ack! I am too old to heal fast, LOL!

[Zen]

What if it were dry?
What if it were more visible (without the leaves)?

Would that make any difference?

[DirtDiva]

Momentum is your friend. :)

[SAMbike]

Wet, rocky, hills are extremely challenging - for anyone! I actually ride with elbow pads and knee pads. I bought shin guards at our local atv shop so they weren't expensive at all - kinda like these: http://www.compacc.com/prod.cfm/cid/1007007/pid/18055
They are oh so good to have on just in case you do slip.
Keep at it and you'll get it. Don't be too hard on yourself. :)

[snowtulip]

Sundial, as Sam mentioned, knee pads might be for you! I used knee pads when I was learning technical riding and knew that I was being held back, the pads gave me some confidence. I don't use them much anymore unless we are doing primarily downhilling. Also, I don't clip in on sections that I'm tentative about, it makes me feel like I'll have a quicker reaction time to catch myself if I fall.

Don't be afraid to wear pads, at first I didn't think I was "allowed" to wear them since I wasn't bad ***. But I got over that quickly after seeing how much they helped me.

I think it's great you're still getting out there after your crash, baby steps.

And yes, momentum is your friend!!!!! Three most important lessons I learned; keep your butt back, keep your eyes ahead of you (not in front of you), and momentum is your friend!:p

[RoadRaven]

Momentum is your friend. :)

The eternal optimist!
You dare-devil you...

Although I know it shouldn't - :eek: too much momentum on uneven ground scares me.

Now... momentum down a tar-sealed hill? Yes, I like that momentum ... speed is gooood... :p

[Zen]

Wet, rocky, hills are extremely challenging - for anyone! I actually ride with elbow pads and knee pads. I bought shin guards at our local atv shop so they weren't expensive at all

The padding crossed my mind but the only image I could conjure was either a suit of armor or one of those big mattress suits that they use to train attack dogs :p

[DirtDiva]

The "momentum is your friend" thing is a lot easier to manage on the downhills - if you're scared you can can be hanging onto the brakes like nobody's business all the way down and just let go briefly for each of the bits you need to roll over smoothly. The technical climbing is the hardest (I reckon) because you have to convince yourself to pedalpedalPEDAL to get over things, and sometimes your foot just unclips reflexively and you curse yourself because here you are stopped on an obstacle you can now see you could totally have gotten over if you'd only just kept pedalling. :mad: (Err, not that I have issues with this or anything... :p)

[sundial]

The padding crossed my mind but the only image I could conjure was either a suit of armor or one of those big mattress suits that they use to train attack dogs :p

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/2dogcrew/RADsuit.jpg

OK, I have a confession to make. I've gone back to a platform pedal instead of the Frogs. :o I found that for now platforms are the way to go (I will bum a pair of BMX platforms off the LBS). I want to jump off quicker than being clipped in, and also because I take my big gsds around the block for exercise on my mtb.

I think I remember riding over the rocky downhill terrain when there were dry leaves on it and I fell. Ack! Mountain biking seems to be more mental than physical and I try to rehearse in my mind that I'm gonna make it downhill without problems. But then sometimes I second guess myself and well.......:rolleyes:

So if I fly downhill over the rocks I should be fine? I thought momentum is useful for catapulting one even further over the rocks. :eek:

[Zen]

So if I fly downhill over the rocks I should be fine? I thought momentum is useful for catapulting one even further over the rocks. :eek:

Tuck and roll ;)

[sundial]

Large boobs act as great airbags. :D

[sshep4pr]

I am having the same rock issue. I will hit logs etc. dead on but the rocks freak me out. I think it is the scraping on the peddles and the hard impact.

My boyfriend says that I need to keep my weight off the handlebars a little bit more.

I think once my tech turning is a little bit better that will help. I see the rocks and cant figure out how to maneuver between them then freak and stop.

[bluebug32]

I'm the worst what-iffer and I tend to think about the worst thing that can happen, which finds me walking the bike at times. I certainly feel that the reason I'm gaining confidence is because I originally learned how to fall and how to bail with a good set of knee/shin pads. Last season I slowly weaned myself off of them (except for riding the rockiest places).

Also, as was mentioned, it's all about momentum. Often going too slowly will get you in trouble more often than going fast. The best thing that my boyfriend/mechanic told me was that "you've got 26" wheels and a fork and a frame that were designed specifically to hit all of this gnarly stuff. Take advantage of it and trust your bike to pull through when you need it to." And it usually does!

[sundial]

I'm bad about getting off the bike and lifting it over the fallen trees. I have taken your all's advice and psyched myself into the "momentum is my friend" mantra.

Are there any DVD's about mtbing that are helpful?

[Alex]

SD,

I don't know about DVDs, but the book, Mastering Mountain Biking Skills, received very favorable reviews on Amazon.

http://urlite.com/4827/ (This is not an Amazon link, though.)

I recently ordered it because I thought it would be helpful for figuring out what to do with dual suspension. Seems it's a whole different world from my 12-year-old hardtail with an elastomer fork with a wee bit of travel. :p I'd be happy to post a quick review after it arrives.

Of course, you could always go to camp! www.dirtseries.com There are some pics on the DirtSeries site of women biking down stairs, going over seesaws, etc. :eek:

Alex

[sundial]

Wow, that looks like FUN! I'll check and see if there's a camp like dirt series nearby. :)

[sarahkonamojo]

Don't worry about it so much. Just ride. If you want to walk a section, walk it. The more you ride, the better and more confident you will become. You should be riding trails because you are having fun.

sarah

[sundial]

I was wondering about something. How do I get over a log--like one that is 12" in diameter or so? All I can think about is bending my chainwheel if I try to hop it, roll over it, or the like. I so need to go to mtb boot camp.