Weekend MTB Rides

Hi, Artistta,
This is the house of a friend of mine in a village near my home town. They offer wine tasting and also people can rent the whole house or sleep overnight as in a hotel. The wine is specific for the region because it contains many herbs but the most important is the wormwood. In fact, the wine is called wormwood (pelin in Bulgarian). The steep stairs lead to a rock monastery and the discussion was that there used to be old wooden stairs before they constructed the metal ones. I said that the wooden was in deed more romantic but it rotted and it became dangerous for the visitors of the rock phenomenom so the new metal stairs are safer.

Thanks for the pics, Anelia!

I'm eager to get out for an MTB ride, but between some scheduling conflicts (we had an out of town wedding this past weekend) adn the weather, we haven't gotten out. Plus, we have a "big" vacation coming up (9 nights on the Big Island) and I'm afraid of jinxing myself. While I've never crashed on my MTB (knock on wood), I'd sure hate for my first one to be in advance of the trip. So, it looks like I won't hit the trails until sometime in May.

Great experience. Best mountain bike weekend Ever!!.... Had a Blast!...so much fun!...learned a lot and made new friends !..what else could I asked for?.


My Coach and the group I was placed in, were Awesome!!...can't wait for 2014 clinic.

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It IS a great clinic, isn't it? I had heard your group was headed to ride a portion of Hesitation Point :) It was good to see you and being around all of those mountain bikes and women having fun on them made me REALLY want to get out there :) I had a good time volunteering and just hanging out. I should have taken my Gunnar to get in some road riding in the park - there are miles of roads with some he**acious hills but as I left home at 4:45 in the morning that was just too much stuff to grab. I had some nice hikes instead.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

It IS a great clinic, isn't it? I had heard your group was headed to ride a portion of Hesitation Point :) It was good to see you and being around all of those mountain bikes and women having fun on them made me REALLY want to get out there :) I had a good time volunteering and just hanging out. I should have taken my Gunnar to get in some road riding in the park - there are miles of roads with some he**acious hills but as I left home at 4:45 in the morning that was just too much stuff to grab. I had some nice hikes instead.

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Yeah...those pics are at Hesitation Point. That trail has a lot rock gardens and roots and technical stuff. I didn't realize until I got home that it has a 1.65 mile CAT5 elevation climb :eek: and we did that!...Wow...no wonder why I had to stop a couple of times to rest my legs for a minute. I really enjoyed it to the fullest though!...My mapmyride app named me QOM ...too darn funny!...lol.

I am definitely going back next year and will be camping for sure. It was nice seeing you as well. I was kind of nervous at first because it was my first time ever in this type of events and knowing that I knew at least one person that knew everything about the clinic made me feel better. Thanks for volunteering. Maybe next year, take your Gunnar and I will also take my road bike and we can hit the paved roads...those hills look very tempting and atractive to me.:)

I was told your group was going to the rock garden and back, not the entire trail. They may have changed their mind :) Aynes Loop has the steepest climb in the park, currently. My heart rate broke 150 WALKING that portion of Aynes - and I wasn't even pushing a bike!

This weekend I would have avoided the two hills from the north gate - I've not ridden enough this year to tackle larger and smaller witch hills (they have other names). There IS a good amount of road to ride between the campground and west entrance - that is likely what I would have done. That steeper/longer one coming from the North Gate my last CAR didn't like to climb :eek:

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Originally Posted by Catrin

I was told your group was going to the rock garden and back, not the entire trail. They may have changed their mind :) Aynes Loop has the steepest climb in the park, currently. My heart rate broke 150 WALKING that portion of Aynes - and I wasn't even pushing a bike!

This weekend I would have avoided the two hills from the north gate - I've not ridden enough this year to tackle larger and smaller witch hills (they have other names). There IS a good amount of road to ride between the campground and west entrance - that is likely what I would have done. That steeper/longer one coming from the North Gate my last CAR didn't like to climb :eek:

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We didn't do the whole trail but we did go farther than the rock gardens on the pictures above. We went down to a small brick building where it was a flat terrain..it looked like a check point or a place to rest or something. Then we turned back from that point and started our way back up . Suzanne , our coach thought that if we continue we werent goig to be back on time for lunch. But everyone wanted to keep going.

Yeah ..I wouldn't make you do those hills with me :) I dont even think I am able to do em. lol but they are beautiful.

Did any of you have Natasha Lockey for your coach? She's one of my pals.

We did a little backcountry ride this weekend. A friend of mine is the local anonymous trail gnome for some forest service trails and does a lot of the clearing and maintenance for them as a volunteer. He took DH and I on a tour that was the backside of where most people ususally ride. He had just cleared it last weekend. We started from the saddle where we parked the car, and then did a very long descent on singletrack through cedar forest. We climbed out on an old logging road. When Al said there was a fire road climb out I initially cringed, but this was an amazing fireroad.... it hadn't been driven on in year as it's blocked to any sort of traffic, it's a railroad grade of 2-3%, and it was all grassy! So it was a super easy spin out to the top. I saw a little bear, and DH saw two newborn fawns. DH also had numerous mechanical but nothing so major as to totally ruin the ride. He did crack his middle chain ring so he could only use his small ring.
Our friend took his rig down to the bottom where we'd left our rig, and we rode another singletrack descent from the saddle down the front side, what fun.

MOuntain biked in Texas past weekend with my Son whle visiting family members. Really loved the trail we rode but had a bunch of flats and a dangerous encounter. :(

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that DH and I went on our first MTB ride of the season yesterday. Between a wet spring and summer, some schedule conflicts, and some anticipatory anxiety on my part, we hadn't found a chance to hit the trails since last fall. Shameful, although we have been road riding. The ride went about as well as could be expected given that the trails have taken a beating this year from all the rain and humidity, after a brutally hot and dry summer last year. And by well, I mean I didn't fall or crash. We'd gotten a fair amount of rain on Saturday, so we headed out mid-afternoon. I don't know when I'm going to learn that that's not a great idea. It was hot, and I don't do well in the heat.

The good news is that I still love to MTB. The intense focus and hard effort it takes is always a pleasant experience for me. Road biking is fun and easy, but there's plenty of room for thinking. MTBing, in contrast, takes total focus. I like that. It gives me a break from my otherwise cluttered head. It's the same reason I like hot, vinyasa yoga. I rarely have time to think about anything but the current pose and wiping my sweaty face.

So, we'll hit the trails again soon I hope!

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Originally Posted by indysteel

The intense focus and hard effort it takes is always a pleasant experience for me. Road biking is fun and easy, but there's plenty of room for thinking. MTBing, in contrast, takes total focus. I like that. It gives me a break from my otherwise cluttered head. It's the same reason I like hot, vinyasa yoga. I rarely have time to think about anything but the current pose and wiping my sweaty face.

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I like this sentiment. I've often thought that mountain biking is like playing video games: I have to fully concentrate on the task at hand and react to a myriad of situations in order to stay upright. No room for dwelling... (Even moreso in night MTBing!)

This is exactly why I loved it so much! I really like that focus...which is also why I like my GT training group. It requires the sam basic focus.

I totally agree with the total focus on mtb'ing not leaving room for dwelling on anything else. That's also why I don't road bike much anymore - too much time to think about stuff that I need a break from. I think of mtb'ing as a reset button for my brain.

DH, some friends and I rode about 17 miles today at Versailles State Park in southeastern Indiana. I love riding there. For one, it doesn't get crowded. For another, I can ride all of it, which is nice. It's technical in a lot of spots, but it's not super hilly. Plus, there are some super twisty parts that are a blast. I really want to camp out there next time so that we can get a bit more familiar with the trails. I managed to ride nearly all of a trail that has freaked me out in the past. It's called Cliffside if that tells you anything. I handled the exposure pretty well. No major anxiety attack! The park also has a trail called Creakside that I really live. It's nothing but rocks for about a half mile with some elevation changes. My husband hates it, but I think it's fun!

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Originally Posted by Artista

I totally agree with the total focus on mtb'ing not leaving room for dwelling on anything else. That's also why I don't road bike much anymore - too much time to think about stuff that I need a break from. I think of mtb'ing as a reset button for my brain.

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10x on that sentiment! Bring on the rocks and roots! Plus, it is something CONTROLLABLE! If I wreck, my bad, if I clean the skinny- yay...kept my focus...... very rejuvenating (; Though there are times that a mind drifting 50 mile road ride is just what the doc ordered...