Woohoo! Share Your Achievements.

[Aggie_Ama]

Tonight I finally made it up a feature called "The Wall" at one of our local trails. I have never made it because I always braked on the downhill that runs up to the wall so I didn't have the momentum for the wall. It is basically a very steep dirt hill, one side is a little less steep but there are small roots at the top which always tripped me up. My Fisher is so much more comfortable than my old bike I had previously attempted the wall on, I just find it easier to trust the bike. I don't know if that is it but it was definitely worth of a "WOOHOO!"

Have you had a great moment lately?

[zoom-zoom]

I did my longest ride ever, today...71 miles!

[rocknrollgirl]

Second place cat 2 40+ at my bike bike race Sunday. 19 miles in HOT weather.

I was in first place for about half the race, but was slowed down by the 98 degree heat on the last lap. I was 5 secs behind the leader, who is an outstanding rider and a gracious competitor.

[limewave]

The biggest accomplishment for me was riding over my first narrow bridge. It literally goes up like a triangle. At the peak/intersection, there's a step up and the downside shifts directions. I'm not sure I explained that well, but its very intimidating looking. That was my first big technical hurdle :D

[Veronica]

Second place cat 2 40+ at my bike bike race Sunday. 19 miles in HOT weather.

I was in first place for about half the race, but was slowed down by the 98 degree heat on the last lap. I was 5 secs behind the leader, who is an outstanding rider and a gracious competitor.

Hey, that's excellent! Are you going to tell us more? :D

Veronica

[rocknrollgirl]

Sure....
I race on a team here in NJ. We have a series called H2H that runs through all of the major venues in southern NY and northern NJ. The terrain is technical, rocky, hilly single track, some double track. The past two seasons I have done the entire series, and triathlons. There are 8 races, you must do 6 to score.
This season, I am focusing on Xterra off road tri's and doing fewer pure mt bike races. I raced on Sunday because it is a big one for our team. This is my least favorite venue.

We had a really small field on Sunday. Just 6 on the line. Lots of younger cat 3 and cat 2 girls out, but the "experienced" girls have not been showing up this year. We started last as usual. It was already 90 plus degrees when the gun went off.

I got the hole shot. The first section is a creek crossing and then uphill on a very rooty section, sharp hairpin turn and more roots. A fast, trecherous downhill and across a bridge.

This is where my main competition caught me. She is an excellent climber. The entire first half of the course is climbing, so I settled in, thinking...ok, if we can hang on for two hours we will go 1-2.

When we got to the downhill section of the course, she yelled back that I could pass, that she not very aggressive downhill. I said no, I will hang here.
We came around the end of lap one, I was right on her wheel, my teammates cheering for me.

I settled in again for lap two, but this time after the climbing I said screw it and passed her. I put my big wheel bike in the big chain ring and dropped the hammer. I came around the end of lap two out in front. More cheering!

By lap three, the heat was becoming a major factor. On laps one and two, I tried to climb in my small ring, stay out of the red, save some legs for lap 3.
I was just about delerious....literally talking myself through every turn, over every bridge, just hold on, you will be done soon.

She caught me with about 1/4 of the last lap to go. I got right back on her wheel and flew though the last 2 miles, crossing the line 5 secs behind.

It was pretty cool to pass someone that I respect and admire as a racer.

Better yet, the next person in our group to cross the line, was 13 mins behind!

[MtnBikerChk]

I did NOTHING note worthy this week - but YAY to all of you!!!

[Irulan]

I did my longest ride ever, today...71 miles!

On a mountain bike???!!!!

[MommyBird]

I did my first full century the day before my 50th birthday.
Saturday-Cartersville Century
Sunday-Birthday

[crazycanuck]

We're talking about DIRT time i this area, not roadie stuff..:rolleyes:

I shall tell you what I conquer with my new bike next week. I'm taking it on a day trip to a funky trail a couple hours away. Tis the site of our next shorty enduro(a 4hr) at the end o july & wanna try it out again. We had a race there a few weeks ago but came last last last because i was unable to get there beforehand and helped out the morning of so couldn't get a practice lap in...

My next goal is to make it up "the Elevator"..

[Irulan]

Um, yah. This is the mountain biking forum...

I got to apprentice coach with Cindy Devine for four days up in Canada, that was pretty cool.

[zoom-zoom]

On a mountain bike???!!!!

Oops, no...that's what I get for reading the board via "new posts" and not paying attention to forum category.

Carry on. :p

[tzvia]

Well, I'm in Bend OR on an MTB vacation right now, so I guess taking Kents to Phils up to H, then taking lower Whoops back to Bens and the trailhead is it for me. H was a %%$*& for sure. I did not know when I started the ride that it would climb so much (I guess that's why it is double diamond) but once on it I stuck with it. Had to walk a bit- some of that volcanic rock near the top was almost too slick to walk on! Someone was going down and said 'it's easier my way' as he went by. No kidding.

As for Whoops, I've never ridden on jumps and tabletops before. So I just winged it and tried not to look too lame and not crash. So that's it for me. My first single and double black diamond ride, and my first tabletops and drops. And I did not crash.

[Aggie_Ama]

I am okay with roadies but I am glad to hear some mountain accomplishments. :)

I must have accomplished too much because it has been raining buckets. It is making me a bit cranky since I have no desire to do anything but tear up some singletrack!!!

[indigoiis]

Okay this is not really an accomplishment but I learned something really important: to stay clipped in when you are falling, and keep pedaling even if you feel like you are falling. Last week I was in the woods with DH, we were coming up a steep, technical grade, I chickened out and tried to clip out. As I was clipping out, the bike came down hard on my ankle, breaking it in two places.

So I have a long recovery to look forward to, and my husband is threatening to sell my bike. But I want to get back out there and get over my fears, and learn to do it right!

[Irulan]

Last month, I spent four days in Canada as an apprentice coach with Cindy Devine and her team of pro mountain bike coaches.

[redrhodie]

As I was clipping out, the bike came down hard on my ankle, breaking it in two places.

So I have a long recovery to look forward to, and my husband is threatening to sell my bike. But I want to get back out there and get over my fears, and learn to do it right!

Whaaat! OMG! That really, really sucks.

[indigoiis]

Yeah, it does, but like I said, I did learn something. :)

[tzvia]

Last week I was in the woods with DH, we were coming up a steep, technical grade, I chickened out and tried to clip out. As I was clipping out, the bike came down hard on my ankle, breaking it in two places.

So I have a long recovery to look forward to, and my husband is threatening to sell my bike. But I want to get back out there and get over my fears, and learn to do it right!

Ooh shoot, indigoiis... You must have fallen hard on rocks or something... Either that or you have a very heavy bike. Oh my heal up fast!

And yea, I almost fell over today doing a hard rocky climb; right at the top. I had no guts or momentum at that point but knew that two more revolutions would get me over the top so I stood up, and almost fell over as my wheels slipped a bit on the rocky ground. So I kept peddaling as I felt my self start to lean over and the panic gave me enough legs to get over the last rock instead of stalling. It was then that I noticed that the climb was a wrong turn and I had to go back down and take the other fork in the trail (I am on vacation in another state and I had only been on this ride once before, a year ago.) Oh well...

[Aggie_Ama]

Yeah, it does, but like I said, I did learn something. :)

I think it is great you aren't quitting but using it as a learning experience. Hope you heal up safely and quickly! :)

[indigoiis]

I think it is great you aren't quitting but using it as a learning experience. Hope you heal up safely and quickly! :)

DH keeps threatening to sell my bike! :p
I told him "It was a user error, not a bike error."

[Aggie_Ama]

DH keeps threatening to sell my bike! :p
I told him "It was a user error, not a bike error."

I explained it to my DH and he said "yep, it's almost always better to stay clipped in and take the fall." Then he explained sometimes you end up pedaling through it by staying committed, which was hard for me to believe until I finally had it happen. Get a taser then your DH will stay away from your bike. :p

[katherine]

Get a taser then your DH will stay away from your bike.
That's funny.

I biked the rainbow rim trail at the Grand Canyon (totally worth the trip). Took my 2 boys (ages 2 and 4) camping for the first time, and executed some emergency duct tape repair when a chipmunk ran in front of me causing a fall.
Get better soon indigoiis!

[sundial]

Tonight I finally made it up a feature called "The Wall" at one of our local trails.

Yay Aggie! Woot!

[limewave]

Last night I rode some single track I haven't ridden for a few months. There's a drop between two trees with a hairpin turn onto a bridge. It's always freaked me out. I start experiencing anxiety symptoms about a mile before this section.

I'm out there by myself, riding, riding, riding--trying my hardest to suppress thoughts of this drop. When all of a sudden I realized I just crossed the bridge. That. Was the drop??? No way! I just flew right over it. It didn't intimidate me at all!!!!

Doing the race a few weeks ago with the scary skills section has turned out to be the greatest thing to improve my riding :D

[Aggie_Ama]

Tonight was one of those rides you wish you could bottle the feelings of for a rainy day!

First I decided to stop skipping a drop that lately I have been just passing. Don't know why I just haven't been feeling confident, down I went and that really shook the nerves off.

Then we were riding along and I told DH I was going to attempt a climb I call the "Root Climb". It isn't long but it is S-shaped with a few large roots, somewhat steep and after two years I haven't made it more than halfway. First attempt I make it slightly less than halfway but something felt right. I tried again and I MADE IT!!

Then we ride over to the Waterfall Crossing, it drops in somewhat steep with a berm then a drop into a dry (right now) creek and climb out with roots and rocks. I have rode it for a while but the past couple of time I have been nervous and putting a foot down. I cleaned it. What a relief.

Then I get to this little drop with a root. It isn't any bigger than a curb but I have been walking it for about a year. Today I just rolled up, did what I knew to do and went right over with no issues. It pretty much was exactly the feeling Limewave had with that bridge, what drop, I passed it? What a relief!

The rest of the ride I had confidence to ride a couple more drops I have been skipping. Ones I have done last year but this year just wasn't feeling it. I also made some pretty difficult for my level climbs. Missed a few things I have been able to ride and had a minor crash that left me way more bruised than a crash of that level should but it was still an awesome ride!

[Charlieggo]

My accomplishment this week was buying a mountain bike and taking my first ride. It was awesome and couldn't stop grinning, dirt, rocks, sand - what's not to love?! Wondering why I didn't do this sooner, oh yeah, kids, work... Anyways, loving the forum thanks for posting girls.

[Aggie_Ama]

A wreck free day - woohoo! Seriously I tumble almost every ride and lately I have been on a streak I wanted to STOP!

[ivorygorgon]

DH and I did a ride which starts from our house, then it goes out to an old ranch which is now a park. The ranch is in a canyon. At the end of a canyon is a hill everyone dubs 'heart attack hill'. According to my GPS the grade gets up to about 20% on this climb. DH was ahead of me on the climb, I am a very slow climber, HOWEVER - He stopped to rest. I kept going and cleaned the hill without stopping! Yeah me!!!! A year ago I wouldn't even attempt this hill. Now it is mine!

[Aggie_Ama]

AWESOME IVORY!!!! You must have been on cloud nine.

There is a hill, not as bad as yours but still a little rooty, slightly steep, rocks at our local trail. It was the thorn in my side for a year. Now I ride it every ride (even though it isn't on the main trail) to remind myself how far I have come and how much determination helped that. :)

[loveaz]

Finished my lap at Barn Burner race in Flagstaff, AZ under 3 hours-that was my goal, came in 2:57 - LOL. BUT, I did stop and help another lady mtbr with a flat - turns out she rides 26" and I'm 29", so we just tried to pump it up to no avail. Easy 10 minutes right there, but I'd rather be a good doobee than a fast badbee.:D