Aching back and other spring whoas

Alright, first things first ladies, why, oh why, do they make 18 year olds soooo cute? And soooo adorable in spandex, and soooo willing to sprint down the trail to that sign and see if it's our turn? Ugh, this sucks, I don't wanna be 23 anymore, I wanna date the cute little mountain biker boys. *sigh* They get less cute and more arrogant as they age. :p

Anyway, yes ladies this means that Pony and I are back out exploring together and she still makes me happy as the day is long (take that mister ex boyfriend who said not to buy her). Problem is, she is absolutely killing my back! Not all the time, but after about half an hour my back just aches. Nothing has changed about my set up, just a hard tail mtn bike with a carbon seat post that used to be my favorite endulgence. I don't remember this when I first started riding, so I'm a little concerned. I think that either my awful desk job, or a spill (nice euphemism for bucked clean off) from my horse is to blame. I'm thinking that a longer stem is on order so that I can move my seat up on the rails a bit too, and get some flex out of them.

My other problem is that I just don't trust my bike anymore. I know this will go away, but it's frustrating to feel like all my confidence and skill went away with winter. Any veteran MTB gals have suggestions for getting back to the level I was when I hung it up for the winter? I've been trying to take mellow rides with a fair amount of challenges to boost my confidence, but there are some despairaging gaps in the skill required to ride the easy stuff, and the not stuff. There's very little "not as easy."

Help! My back hurts, I feel like a chicken, and I have the hots for a boy who is way too young for me. Or, maybe he's not.... :D

love and cookies
-smurf

I don't know how much help I can be, as we ride year-round here in Phoenix. However, I can tell you this, the thing that bothers me most after a lay-off is my lower back. Sometimes I think it is the weight of the Camelbak. The main cure for me is riding regularly. When my back acts up, I also get busy on core body strength with the Swiss ball. The exercises feel good on the back while doing them, and tone muscles that help with preventing the back ache. Good luck!

Smurf! You're back! We've been wondering if we needed to send out an APB for you.

Sounds like a hard winter. I've found that yoga has helped rain my mind to stay focused and it is much easier to wrench it away from the negative thoughts. Any mental practice that helps you focus on the good and the "I know I can do this" will help. Periodically, I just tell my brain to shut up and let the body do what it knows how to do.

Ahhh, 18 year old boys in spandex....

MAKE ME THINK OF MY KIDS!!! YUCK!!!!

Yeah, the boys start losing their arrogance once they get into their 30's. Ok, some of them anyways. I think I hit the best and most confident part of my life in my early 30's-now as I'm leaning more towards 40 I can only hope I can build on that. Now if only I could have kept the 25 year old body and still enjoy my 37 year old brain!
There is no such thing as too young once they get over the legal age-unless you want a real relationship with someone who makes sense-few and far between in the young dude group. They sure can be pretty to look at though...

Anyways, I ended up going to a chiropractor. My back is still shaped like a bolt of lightning at the bottom and my neck is still backwards but both have been improved enough that I can hike and bike for more than a mile without pain again. I just rode 52 miles yesterday, no problem.

Core training would also be a help-there's a thread on that.

;) So Jan, can I come live with you? I only have two hairy dogs, two horses, one cat, one goat, and about 10 chickens. :p

I definately think it's a lack of core strength, and I think I'm gonna start sitting on an excercise ball at work, and using it again at the gym. I notice that if I got off to stretch it felt better for a while, poor youngin, I told him he didn't have to wait for me.

I think I'm getting over being spooked, it's just like when I came back to riding horses, I'm surprised I even passed my riding test at the dude string I worked on. I was a mess! And I had done that for about seven years really seriously!!! It's definately weird though, because I remember being able to do all that stuff, but I feel clumsy doing it. Oh well, following an adorable boy made it much easier! Looking at the rocky rooted hill he went down in front of me I just about hopped off. I figured well, if I get hurt, he's fast and full of energy and I'm sure he'll find someone at the ORV camp to help. Here gooooooooooes!!!

Anyway, I'm going out on my first club ride today, wish me luck. I haven't been too involved with this club because they're kind of boring. Won't go out on rides unless it's at least 45 degrees, when I announced I wanted to race I got "You've only been riding one summer, and you want to race?" all snide and snotty and basically they're just a little too into being a "women's riding group" than a "women's riding group." Oh well, here goes nothing.

love and cookies
-smurf

Good to see ya back Smurf - you've been missed hun!

Smurf,
About 20 years ago, my husband and I considered moving to Brookings, Oregon. We subscribed to the local paper and learned two things that kept us here: 1. The town had to vote every six months about whether to keep the schools open or shut them down. (Not appealing to educators!). 2. It rained at least an inch or two every day during the winter-October-April. (NOT appealing to people who love the outdoors!) We sacrificed all the green and cool temperatures for this delightful dry heat. It's in the 90's now, and I'm loving it.
Anyway, you might as well come live here. Everyone else is. (Job security for teachers!)
Jan