I feel like a rock star!

[bounceswoosh]

So, after all the agonizing about shifting in the front ring, I managed to sneak out of work early to ride. There's a cold front moving in; today the high according to my car was above 80; tomorrow it's supposed to be 40 and snowing. I wasn't the only person hustling to get some tracks in before the weather turned.

I went to a familiar trail (Heil) and ....

Well. I don't know if it's the indoor soccer all winter (but just once a week), the rock climbing, or eliminating gluten from my diet -- but -- wow. Uphill for me is usually a baby-granny struggle, complete with sandpaper throat from the rasping breathing. Half my biffs are usually because I'm so tired that I just kind of ... stop pedaling for an obstacle, and then I take advantage of the biff to take a break and breathe.

Today, though, today -- wow. Sure, I was working, but I wasn't dying. I wasn't in my baby granny the whole time, and when I was, it actually felt easier. I did an extended uphill stretch with lots of loose rock in my middle ring. Sure, I biffed a few obstacles, but very often I just upped the pedaling, changed my body position, and kept on going. (Yay full suspension.)

Not only do I love my Ellsworth again -- I love mountain biking in a whole new way! Climbing doesn't have to be torture -- film at 11!

[rocknrollgirl]

It is the best feeling !!!! I love when all of the juju is working and you are having biking bliss.

Glad you had a good ride.

[sundial]

Don't you just love when it all comes together? :D

[atombessy]

bounces, what kind of rock climbing do you do? I just started climbing indoors this winter, and after about 6 months of that I actually felt a pretty big difference on my mountain bike. I think the extra upper body strength is helping my control over technical stuff a LOT. I don't know if I'll ever get into outdoor rock climbing (because if it's nice out my bike's out!) but I've really enjoyed it as an indoor sport!

[bounceswoosh]

Atombessy --

I'm just doing indoor. There's a pretty big climbing community in Boulder, and a lot my co-workers climb, so it's pretty common for us to go to the climbing gym over lunch.

It's been a struggle -- I've had an issue with my right wrist for years. I finally thought it was healed last year, started climbing, and it flared up bad again. I found a great hand therapist; she made me stop doing *anything* active with my wrist. So all last summer, I couldn't ride bikes or my motorcycle, let alone climb. On the plus side, that's when I got back into soccer.

Right now I'm doing the hardest stuff I've ever done, up to some gym 5.10s. I'm definitely better at "technical" climbing where footwork really matters than at overhangs or other stuff where you really have to do some dyno moves. I like to take my time and really think about each move. But 5.10s are still really hard; some 5.9s are! The rating is just the beginning ...

The good news is that now, rock climbing is considered physical therapy for me. It allows me to build strength in a neutral wrist position. If I don't climb for more than a week, my wrist starts tweaking.

You may be right -- the upper body strength may be giving me better control. Do you do things like lifting your front wheel or bunny hops? That's not something I've ever done on a trail, and given my wrist's history I have a feeling I need to stick to technical stuff I can manage with body english only. Also, my new mountain bike is actually *five pounds* lighter than my old one, which makes it way easier (sometimes too easy!) to manhandle. That's a combo of higher-end parts and frame, and the fact that it's an XS instead of a M.

There was one point when I approached the lip of a bridge, something I could easily ride over, and decided to pull up the handle bars. Being used to the heavier bike, I fully expected nothing to happen, maybe just a slight unweighting. I actually yanked this bike up hard enough that the front wheel twisted a bit, eep! That's probably a combo of the rock climbing strength and the lighter bike / shorter wheelbase.

[MALcontent]

Glad to hear you had such a fabulous ride! I hope you don't mind if I glom onto your thread, but I had a great experience today when I made it up a hill I've never made it up before. Weight loss and my new bike seem to have done the trick!

[bounceswoosh]

Glad to hear you had such a fabulous ride! I hope you don't mind if I glom onto your thread, but I had a great experience today when I made it up a hill I've never made it up before. Weight loss and my new bike seem to have done the trick!

I don't mind at all! Congrats!

[bluebug32]

Awesome! I love when everything comes together and you have one of those great rides where you feel like you can conquer anything. I started seriously lifting over the winter on a schedule and pushing more and more weight, and it's definitely translated on the trail. I feel like I can climb without my front wheel weaving around and can jump stuff so much easier.

[atombessy]

I have not mastered the bunny hop or getting my front wheel off the ground yet, but it's been on my list of things to learn, maybe I'll finally get it this summer! I actually ride with sneaks and flat pedals, the ratio of efficient riding to hurting myself when i ride clipped in hasn't been worth it for me (yet). You're climbing crazy hard stuff! I'm getting 5.7s on a good day...glad it's helping with your wrist, hope it continues to improve!

[bounceswoosh]

Technically you can do a bunny hop without being clipped in -- I've been told, and I've seen it. But it sure doesn't hurt to be able to pull up with your pedals!

I've done bunny hops before, but never over anything, so I guess that doesn't count =P And it's been a couple of years.

I don't know how climbing gyms compare; my 5.10 may be your 5.7. I'm just psyched to be climbing. There was a time when I thought I'd never be able to.

I started with clipless because of ego. I switched to flats for a while when I realized I was agonizing about them to the point where I rarely cleared obstacles (indecision about whether to be in or out would lead to me bumping up an obstacle without enough momentum to clear). Eventually I missed the ability to pedal both sides of the stroke, so I switched back to clipless, but a style that I thought would allow me to use them as flats when necessary. As it turns out, I slide in and out of them so easily that I never, ever clip out before an obstacle; if something happens and I'm falling, it's smooth as silk to get out, and I've never felt trapped.

They're the Shimano (SPD) PD-M647

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/pedals/mountain/product.-code-PD-M647.-type-pd_mountain.html

Not for weight weenies or people with tight budgets ... but I love them so much I've kept them (the same pair) across three bikes.

[yellow]

wow, I need a day like that. That sounds AWESOME!

I had a couple of bad-ish (not horrible...just bad) crashes year before last and my brain has not recovered. I rode some last year, but find that I am mostly terrified now when I am on anything remotely technical. There are a couple of the Dirt Series clinics here this year but I'm afraid it's not in the budget. I find every excuse in the book to not go out, but I know that I really just need to ride. The trails are starting to dry up enough to ride now, so really, my only obstacle is my stubborn and dramatic brain.

But I get trial by fire next weekend...we're off to Fruita. Either I ride or I sit around and drink gin & tonics. :eek:

[bounceswoosh]

wow, I need a day like that. That sounds AWESOME!

I had a couple of bad-ish (not horrible...just bad) crashes year before last and my brain has not recovered. I rode some last year, but find that I am mostly terrified now when I am on anything remotely technical. There are a couple of the Dirt Series clinics here this year but I'm afraid it's not in the budget. I find every excuse in the book to not go out, but I know that I really just need to ride. The trails are starting to dry up enough to ride now, so really, my only obstacle is my stubborn and dramatic brain.

But I get trial by fire next weekend...we're off to Fruita. Either I ride or I sit around and drink gin & tonics. :eek:

It *was* awesome!

I know what you mean about getting psyched out. A few years ago I took a digger at Kenosha and sprained my wrist badly, as well as banging up the bike. I definitely found myself making a lot of excuses. Then last year, I wasn't able to ride due to issues with my other wrist. I got my dream bike built up, and then while it was being put together, I totaled my car in a nasty accident. I was so determined to get out there on my bike that I did it even though I was really not emotionally ready. I didn't harm myself seriously, but I looked even more beat up from the bike than from the accident, and it did not leave me in a good state.

Just more reason to be happy I had such a great ride last week =)

Enjoy Fruita! Just do what feels right. You'll know what you should and shouldn't do. Just listen to your inner voice.

[atombessy]

Hmm...I might check out those pedals....gotta run them by the husband, he's more of the gear expert than I am :)

I'm sorry for all the injuries everyone has had recently! Don't think about the rocks and logs, just find an awesome sunny day and a pretty trail, and screw it if you chicken out of stuff, just get out to enjoy the woods and see where it goes from there! good luck....keep us updated yellow! (although save a day for gin&tonics too...)