Excited & Nervous

This is a small milestone for me, or will be by the end of tomorrow afternoon :) It has been 4 weeks since the women's clinic, and I finally get to hit a trail tomorrow! It is considered the easiest trail in the park, and I did ride it during the clinic. I've been able to do parking lot drills a few times in the past week, but really, I think that actually being on the trail will help me far more than riding on pavement. I have spent some time riding on the grass, basically just riding to build strength with the added resistance from grass.

I know where I want to ride and where I want to go. I think I've better control of my brakes this time, and I've promised myself that this is not a time trial. If I need to go slower than I would like then I will, and there is no shame to walking bits that make me nervous. I am really looking forward to the middle part of the trail where I had no problems the last time :D

At this point I will ride solo, but if I come across someone who is amenable to the idea, I will ask someone to ride with me at least once down the trail. Depending on how I feel/do, once I've done one loop I will repeat it until I get tired. I intend on taking a victory photo of my bike when I get to the top of the trail the first time :D

My co-workers obviously think I am nuts, but that is ok. They thought that anyway :cool:

Good luck and have fun! I'm already given you my suggestions in an email, so I'll leave it at that. I'm glad that they didn't much rain there overnight. I thought of you as I drove to work in some light rain.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Good luck and have fun! I'm already given you my suggestions in an email, so I'll leave it at that. I'm glad that they didn't much rain there overnight. I thought of you as I drove to work in some light rain.

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Yes, and thanks for the suggestions. A couple of mountain bike friends aren't comfortable with the idea of my going solo, but I HAVE to get off of pavement sometime :cool: They want to ride with me but our schedules are just too different. I will let you know how it goes.

Yeah; it's probably not ideal, but just use your best judgment. I've ridden the trail a few times by myself while Brian was off doing something else, but there are usually people in the area. On a Saturday morning, you likely won't be alone, so that's good.

You might post something to HMBA's forum that say "Hey, I'm a new rider and will be out there by myself tomorrow out of necessity. Is there anybody out there who might be willing to make a lap of Pine Loop with me?"

Have a great time! I was nervous riding solo too, but once I got out there, realized I liked it better than riding in a group--no pressure! Have fun and be safe.

I had fun :) It is obvious I need a lot of work, but that is only to be expected. Since I rode solo I chose to walk two sections of Pine Loop that has a steep drop-off. I did ride them during the Clinic, but I fell on those sections a lot and was nervous. I will try those sections again when I am not alone.

For those familiar with Brown County State Park, I rode Pine up from the parking lot, up the North Tower Connector until the section that gets steep and has big roots, turned around & went back to pick up the downhill shortcut back to the parking lot. Then I did it again :)

I actually had very few real falls, much better than last time. I did stop a lot, and just took my time. It was hot and sweat was just pouring off me. The second time through I tried to ride a little more of the two scary sections before I walked, made much better time the second time through.

I found out what happens when you get fatigued. I didn't actually NOTICE that I was tired, but noticed the second time down the down-hill shortcut that it felt like I had much less control of the bike and was having to stop much more frequently. I did walk a portion of that trail, and it is quite easy - I was just overly fatigued & I think that was the safest way to deal with that. I didn't want crash from being so tired that it affected my reaction time.

I had fun, learned a lot, and am looking forward to the next time! I also have a better idea just what I need to practice...

Glad you had a good ride and continue to learn... Gooooooooo you!!!!

Good job, Catrin. I'm glad you got out there and that you had fun!

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Good job, Catrin. I'm glad you got out there and that you had fun!

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I am glad that I got out there, and even glad it was solo. Less self-induced pressure that way. I did have a problem picking a line on the trail and sticking with it, part of that is experience, but I also wonder if being in a too easy gear makes that more likely. I just stayed in the granny gear, but I've 10 gears to choose from in the back....practice and experience will settle this question. I did shift the rear, quite a bit, but likely stayed in too narrow a range.

It could be a function of your speed. Momentum can make it easier to remain balanced and steady. That said, it's important to be able to balance at low speeds, so that's a skill worth drilling. I also think it takes some practice to look far enough ahead on the trail. The more I look directly in front of my wheel, the worse I ride. Did you get out of the saddle much?

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Originally Posted by indysteel

It could be a function of your speed. Momentum can make it easier to remain balanced and steady. That said, it's important to be able to balance at low speeds, so that's a skill worth drilling. I also think it takes some practice to look far enough ahead on the trail. The more I look directly in front of my wheel, the worse I ride. Did you get out of the saddle much?

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I didn't feel like I was going too slow, and I've been practicing low speed turns. I agree it takes practice to look far enough ahead, especially when there are twisty turns around tree trunks right in front of you - there was one that I kept wanting to crash into :o At least the second time I was able to just keep going though it was a close call.

The only place I can think of where I was going too slow was the bridge on Pine Loop where there is a hair-pin to get onto the bridge, and one to get off the bridge. The first time through I just walked it. The second time I made it around the curve to get onto the bridge but my speed was so low at that point that halfway across the bridge I just stopped and walked it. Still better than the first time through :)

The grade of Pine Loop + my full suspension makes it very comfortable to stay seated... there were a few places where I went into the neutral position to go over a root, but in most places I just forgot :o I had given myself permission to do that my first time through, will do more work on this next time.

People tell me that Limekiln doesn't have the steep drop-off that Pine has. I remember seeing something like that from when I walked it however, though it might be more gentle. I want to get more comfy on Pine before hitting Limekiln...

I hope to go next weekend, but it was almost half a gas-tank round trip :(

Limekiln has steep drop offs, a lot more rocks and big clusters of rocks, some short climbs and some fast, flowy stuff where you need to keep your speed in check (until you get more proficient). As for standing up, I understand staying seated for now, but the reason I keep harping on it is that it actually makes riding easier, not harder. When I finally started doing it, it was if a light bulb went off. But all in good time. :)

Brian and I just finished up. I basically did what I did last week: two loops of PL and an out and back on Limekiln. I did PL by myself while Brian did the North Tower Loop. We had the place almost to ourselves. I'm going to head out to Limekiln first on my next time out so that I have some energy to session some of the rocky parts. I have no trouble with them from one direction, but coming back (when they're on slight decline) they freak me out a bit.

I'm pooped though. The heat just adds another element to the rides.