Weekend MTB Rides

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Originally Posted by Artista

Dang, Limewave. Wish I was there. Sounds like fun.

I'm really intrigued by yours and Catrin's stories of camping and mtb'ing. I love the idea of camping but I'm not so sure that I love the actual camping part.

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I seriously that that at my age I would hate it. However, last year I really wanted to attend a couple of events and I couldn't afford a hotel room...but could score free camping. Some good friends loaned me camping equipment so I could try it out, and thankfully the owners of the tent were also camping that weekend so they pitched it and took it down.

I hate sleeping on the ground, but I have a cot which changes the equation, the camping part is nice and relaxing, I am very glad I started doing it!

It's not the sleeping on the ground part that bothers me. It's the peeing in my shoes part, being eaten by a bear in my sleep part, and not having any camping gear part that bothers me.

I assume that most "civilized" camp grounds have outhouses these days so that takes care of the peeing in the shoes thing. We camped a lot when we were kids and never even saw a bear so the risk of being eaten is probably pretty small. I don't know anyone to borrow camping gear from so we'd have to spend a fair amount of money on gear just to take one camping trip to see if we like camping as adults.

Still, it sounds glorious to get up in the morning, cook breakfast on a camp stove, head out to the trail, come back to camp for lunch, ride again, return to camp for dinner, admire the stars, sleep in the pines, and then rinse and repeat. Maybe we'll try it next summer. Then again, we may just spend a few weekends in a hotel in Fruita instead. We're planning a Fruita mtb trip this fall. I'm soooo excited.

Did around 10 miles Saturday with my son. Discovered other interesting routes at the trail. It was Fun!..

I rode 16 miles after work on Friday with my friend K. This is the first time that she and I have been able to ride together, and we had a blast! She's not particularly fast, but man, she has skills! I aim to ride like that someday.

Sunday's ride was a fairly short but intense ride. DH, K, and I went to a Niner Bikes demo. I got to ride a Jet 9 RDO and a RIP 9 on a ~5 mile loop. No computer on my demos, but I'm guessing that I did somewhere around 8 miles. The Jet made me hammer...it wouldn't let me ride slow.

I am now hopelessly in love with the Jet 9 RDO...and desperately wondering how I can come up with that much coin. Even the alloy version would require that I sell body parts. (Anyone want to buy a 4" FS bike with 26" wheels?)

Fantastic weekend :)

Had a great time this weekend! Rode my favorite trails, just focused on having fun and stopping to smell the flowers...metaphorically speaking as there weren't any flowers :) Camping with 100 other mountain bikers is always a great experience - but this time we were sharing the campground with a LOT of boy scouts - neither group were aware the other was coming.

I've decided to just focus on having fun on the trails, and have given myself permission to stop when I want and to go as slow - or as fast - as my body feels like that day. I don't HAVE to continually push myself to increase my technical skills - with my new approach I will certainly improve but it might take a little longer. I am fine with that :)

It is a balance between my tendency to keep pushing myself too hard and the reality of not being able to take another hit to my neck like I took last fall. Doesn't mean I won't ever fall again, of course, and that was a freak fall to begin with. Just trying to balance things out so I can keep having fun on the mountain bike trails. My neck just isn't the same and I need to keep that in my equation.

All of that being said, I was able ride my favorite trail entirely in the middle ring the other day - only the second time I've been able to do that!

We've rediscovered a 2nd favorite place to ride. I used to ride these trails years ago on my hybrid but the horses have caused so much damage that the trails can really only be ridden on a good quality mountain bike now. There's a loop on top of one of the mesas that was closed when we rode that area years ago. It's reopen now and it's a great place to practice skills such as wheel lifts, staying upright in the deep sand, and bike-body separation. The views from the top of the mesa are spectacular!

We were ravenous after our ride so decided to try new-to-us coffee house in a tiny town a few miles up the road from the trail. We perused the menu with mouths watering as we waited to be seated. Come to find out, the coffee house had stopped serving food 10 minutes before we arrived:( They were kind enough to make us a couple of lattes while they closed up shop. We'll definitely try this place again next week.

Catrin...I went to Brown County but got there a bit late we just got to see a few mtb riders approaching the finish line I guess they were the very last ones.
I went with my boys , my nephew and went hiking. We had a very good time. We are definitely going back Sunday...with the bikes :)..

BTW...I saw your Soul and your Jamis.... Pretty bike !! :)

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Originally Posted by Giulianna23

Catrin...I went to Brown County but got there a bit late we just got to see a few mtb riders approaching the finish line I guess they were the very last ones.
I went with my boys , my nephew and went hiking. We had a very good time. We are definitely going back Sunday...with the bikes :)..

BTW...I saw your Soul and your Jamis.... Pretty bike !! :)

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Glad you had a good time! If you just saw a couple at the very end, then you saw the two riders in the new "Klunker" race which was the last one. To qualify as a Klunker the bike must be single speed, and ONLY have coaster brakes (no hand brakes). It helped the two in the Klunker race knows every rock and root in the trail system there - but they made it down the full course in almost the same time as on their regular bike. This was the first year for the Couples, Klunker and Drag races. I've a couple of pictures I will post later.

Drag is just like what it sounds, men must dress as women and vice-versa, and they have a "Le Mons" start. "Le Mans"?? No women entered, and only two men but they were a hoot to watch as they really got into it. I heard a good number of men discussing what they will wear NEXT year! If I had a hope of actually riding most of the course in question without killing myself I would have entered it myself - they had a LOT of fun :) Besides, how seriously can we take ourselves if, at the awards ceremony, there is a very big man with a beard, long blonde wig and a pink dress? :D The other man's ensemble was less memorable, but it was obvious they were both having a lot of fun.

Have fun next Sunday!

I had a great mtb ride this morning with IndySteel and another friend. We rode a trail I've only ridden once before, and portion of another trail that I've not seen before. It was fun!

I've been more than a little frustrated recently with my slow progress on the trails - but the fact of the matter is that I was being too hard on myself - I've not had many chances to ride this summer. For now I am just focusing on having fun, and I succeeded today. I did bite it on the new trail when my rear wheel spun out in dust going uphill around a curve, but I am fine. I do have a lump the size of a large lemon on my hip and a bit of trail rash here and there, but that's all.

I am so glad I went today and am looking forward to returning for more!

Rode in Pittsfield State Forest today with Berkshire NEMBA on a group ride (family/beginner) as part of the NEMBA Mountain bike adventure series and...

I did not screech once! Yay!

I was schedule to go to Brown County State Park today but I woke up with my sinus out of control. Ran to the Pharmacy and didn't feel better until the evening. Still not too good but I promised my son I was going to take him to the trails today so I went for about an hour with him at a slow pace. It was nice and relaxing ...I feel good.

It was my last chance to ride the chairlift up the ski hill and try coming down their mtn bike trails, so I did it! I was pretty nervous starting out. I took a wrong turn right off the bat and began to wonder when I saw the black diamond signs! I went back and found the right trail, which was the big easy one, Elk Trail. I spun out a couple of times on turns where the dust was so thick, but I wouldn't say I fell off--more like I laid over! Acceleration control.

Down near the bottom I took another wrong turn and all of a sudden the bumps were 4' tall! I walked the steepest part, but then rode out into the parking lot and I'm sure everyone thought I had ridden that trail all the way! :D

I'm so glad that we have this thread. It's great to know that so many of us are mtb'ing every weekend!

Hubby and I discovered a way down the mountain on our 2nd favorite ride that has turned it into our top favorite! This ride is "pig-on-a-zip-line" fun! (In reference to the TV commercial with the pig squealing "wheeeee" all the way down a zip-line:))

This new section that we found includes a super steep service road that's deeply and heavily rutted. The sign at the top of the road warns:"Steep and Rough, Enter At Your Own Risk". They're right - it's steep enough to require a dropped saddle, butt hovering over the back wheel position all the way down. The many ruts are simple enough to negotiate if a person picks their lines well. Riding this road reminds me of the first time that I was big enough to ride the "big kid rides" at the amusement park!

After riding this very fun service road, it drops into a few miles of vaguely downhill, flowy, single track, that alternates between open grasslands and forested areas with aspen groves. The single track includes lots of short moguls that my hubby jumps...I just roll over them at up to 17mph. The forested areas are going to be ablaze in color in the next month. I can't wait to go back!

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Originally Posted by Giulianna23

I was schedule to go to Brown County State Park today but I woke up with my sinus out of control. Ran to the Pharmacy and didn't feel better until the evening. Still not too good but I promised my son I was going to take him to the trails today so I went for about an hour with him at a slow pace. It was nice and relaxing ...I feel good.

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Sorry to read that you had to bail on the BCSP ride yesterday, glad you were still able to get out there and ride a bit with your son!

I hope to hit Pine Loop at BCSP at some point next Sunday afternoon or Monday morning to check out my new tire combination - you are welcome to join me. That is assuming life, and rain, doesn't interfere ;)

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Sorry to read that you had to bail on the BCSP ride yesterday, glad you were still able to get out there and ride a bit with your son!

I hope to hit Pine Loop at BCSP at some point next Sunday afternoon or Monday morning to check out my new tire combination - you are welcome to join me. That is assuming life, and rain, doesn't interfere ;)

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Catrin I was just thinking about if any of you were planning on going any day next weekend.... Yes...of course I will join you... just let me know at least by Thursday which day you are going..so I can organize my weekend ahead of time.

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Originally Posted by Giulianna23

Catrin I was just thinking about if any of you were planning on going any day next weekend.... Yes...of course I will join you... just let me know at least by Thursday which day you are going..so I can organize my weekend ahead of time.

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I will try, but I may not know that early. We will see as things develop.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

I will try, but I may not know that early. We will see as things develop.

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OK...I will just leave my Sunday eve and Monday morning open just in case. I really want to go to BCSP and check out them trails.

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Originally Posted by Giulianna23

OK...I will just leave my Sunday eve and Monday morning open just in case. I really want to go to BCSP and check out them trails.

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It looks like the leftovers from the "little" storm in the Gulf will start hitting here early Saturday afternoon - and depending on the amount of rain we get the trails could well be closed due to being too wet or fallen trees. I am just going to head down Friday after work (I get off at 10:30 am on Fridays), and ride then. I will let you know the next time I head south on a weekend. The Hoosier Mountain Bike Association is suggesting folks get their ride in before Saturday, and I am listening ;)

No problem Catrin...

I just got back a couple of hours ago from the Avon trails.
I went with a group from HMBA forum and I had a blast!...I had a heck of a workout...We did around 8 miles on the beginners trail and at some point we hit around 10mph.

They said I was sandbagging them when I told them in the forum that I just started mountain biking a few weeks ago.....not sure exactly what that means though :(

They have this group that get together every tuesday

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Originally Posted by Giulianna23

No problem Catrin...

I just got back a couple of hours ago from the Avon trails.
I went with a group from HMBA forum and I had a blast!...I had a heck of a workout...We did around 8 miles on the beginners trail and at some point we hit around 10mph.

They said I was sandbagging them when I told them in the forum that I just started mountain biking a few weeks ago.....not sure exactly what that means though :(

They have this group that get together every tuesday

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Glad you had a good time! They meant that they didn't believe you are a beginner, it wasn't an insult :)

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Glad you had a good time! They meant that they didn't believe you are a beginner, it wasn't an insult :)

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Yeah I had a great time...... I will meet with them every tuesday if possible. There was another gal in the group and they say they have other females that are not able to make it every Tuesday.

I was the only Newbie yesterday and at the end of the ride they where calling me "Sandbagger Speedy Newbie".. LOL...I was surprised that I was able to keep up with all them big guys. They did ask me if I road bike because they were surprised with my endurance. I did tell them I commute to work every day though.

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Originally Posted by Giulianna23

Yeah I had a great time...... I will meet with them every tuesday if possible. There was another gal in the group and they say they have other females that are not able to make it every Tuesday.

I was the only Newbie yesterday and at the end of the ride they where calling me "Sandbagger Speedy Newbie".. LOL...I was surprised that I was able to keep up with all them big guys. They did ask me if I road bike because they were surprised with my endurance. I did tell them I commute to work every day though.

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That's really great! I'm glad you're having so much fun. How's your bike working out for you?

On a related note, I'm seriously bummed that this weekend might be rained out. After how many weeks of drought, and we get the remnants of a tropical storm over a 3-day holiday weekend? That is just not right.

But I don't want to feel too sorry for myself. I realize this storm is affecting people in much more serious ways. Everybody be safe!

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Originally Posted by indysteel

That's really great! I'm glad you're having so much fun. How's your bike working out for you?

On a related note, I'm seriously bummed that this weekend might be rained out. After how many weeks of drought, and we get the remnants of a tropical storm over a 3-day holiday weekend? That is just not right.

But I don't want to feel too sorry for myself. I realize this storm is affecting people in much more serious ways. Everybody be safe!

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I really like the bike...and I already know she is going to get a heck of a beat up with the way I ride.... lol.... Thanks for asking

And about the weather?... I know what you mean...But I still have hopes its not going to be that bad :)

It's hard to beat Labor Day weekend rides! Skills and strength honed from a summer of riding, beautiful weather, three days away from work - what more could we ask for?!

We rode a section of the Indian Creek trail yesterday. Started at a low point, did some tough climbing to the top of a mountain ridge, then turned around for a fun descent back to the car.

Today we rode Spruce Meadow to Spruce Mountain, up and over the mountain, around the base of the mountain, and back through the meadow to the car. I love seeing where other people ride so I decided to pay back by posting some pics from today's ride.

The 1st pic shows Spruce Mountain, our destination, in the background.

The 2nd pic is me playing around on the mountain top with one of the great views in the background.

The 3rd pic is the entrance to one of our favorite parts of this ride - the service road down the mountain. The sign makes me chuckle every time.

The 4th pic is my best friend, favorite riding buddy, and the greatest hubby a gal could ask for. This was taken at a flat-ish spot, part way down the road. Most of the grades on this road range from about 14% - 20%. There are no safe photo ops where it's really steep:D. The most challenging part of this service road is negotiating all of the deep, criss-crossing, water gulleys in the steepest sections.

The last pic was taken toward the end of the service road, after it smooths and flattens out into a gentle ride.

We rode in Vermont yesterday at the Kingdom Trails, and definitely could NOT have asked for a more beautiful day. One of my customers and her family, Dad with his new Jekyll and two sons, and my new nephews. All of the boys were a bit tired from soccer practice/games over the weekend, but once we hit the trails everyone was ready to go. An INCREDIBLE day!:D

On a spur of the moment I snuck out of the house (hahaha) leaving the kids in DH's care and hit the dirt for a fun, relaxed ride this weekend. I wasn't planning on riding hard as DH and I had actually done a "tempo" ride the day before and my legs were still feeling it.

I rode easy, stopping to take pictures, enjoy the view (I'll post some tonight when I get a chance). I even stopped and walked a steep downhill section that had been badly washed out in a recent storm, a section I always ride. At this point two cyclists past me. I made a comment about the erosion. I get that look from them--'nother girl that can't ride. Seriously, I know that look. I let it slide because its a nice evening, it's my ride.

Shortly after that I caught both riders on a long, gradual climb. The "person" in back heard me coming, informed the rider in front that there's a rider back while this person starts to slow down and move to the right so I can pass. However, "person" in front turns back and sees my two long braids and decides to take off. Really???

Not a problem. I'd been riding easy all night and I had plenty of gas in the engine. lol. I rode on their wheel for about a mile then got bored so I smoked 'em. I've been laid back about my riding this season, but when someone asks for it, well, I don't want to be rude and NOT dish it out.

Other than that incident, it was a beautiful ride. The sky was cloudy and I even got rained on a bit between rays of sunshine. I found an 'abandoned' cabin near the trail that I never knew existed before. It kind of creeped me out. The wind was so strong that it was blowing the door open and closed. It made the hair on my neck stand up.

That's awesome, Limewave! I love that you smoked him!

I haven't been mountain biking for a few weeks, but DH and I did several rides along Acadia's gravel carriage roads on our touring bikes this past week. They were a blast. I especially liked the climbs, most of which were long but not overly difficult. I just wish I had disc brakes on tourer (or at least better brakes). Some of the descents were a little unnerving in that the cantis on my touring bike just aren't to my liking. But otherwise, the rides were fun. Vehicular traffic isn't allowed on the carriage roads, so the biggest concern was the piles of horse poop!

My partner and I went out and did about 13 miles on a beginner trail. I let her lead so she could call out all the upcoming problems :) As it turns out at one point she went flying over a hump and squished a snake. I was going much slower so I had plenty of time to stop. I felt sorry for the poor thing :(

I think spending more time on the easier trails is really helpful for me. Keep doing it enough and it helps build up confidence and my complete lack of skills.

Sounds like fun, Indy and Thekarens! I've not been on the mtb trails for over 3 weeks now, but will do that this Saturday - weather permitting.

theKarens, I hope your partner is all right - did she fall off the bike or did the bike hit the snake after the flying over the hump?

She hit the snake after flying over the hump and continued tearing down the trail. I came to a dead stop. She came back and moved it off the trail. I just knew it would cause someone an accident if it was left there.

Finally, after a month off the mountain bike I finally got in 2 hours on the trails today :) Guilliana23 and I hit the beginner trail at my favorite park so she could check it out for the first time and we had fun! I like the new rear tire, it is quite a lot more aggressive/knobbier than my front tire and I could tell the difference. No crashes, though I did skid on a small mud spot that I was trying to avoid but was able to control what happened next. Guilliana23 did great! We rode Pine Loop a couple of times and also hit part of the NT Connector.

My knee was a little cranky, but I could tell some good improvement, I think the ride was just what it needed. My next ride I will return to the intermediate trail that got me last time and kick it's azz ;) The dust is gone, and I am defiantly getting some traction now so there shouldn't be a repeat - or at least not for the same reason!

The trails had many, many hikers on them, far more than I've seen before. Some didn't seem to be aware they weren't just hiking trails, but they found that out pretty quickly. It will likely be like that for the next month as we reach the peak period for fall color.

Been avoiding the mountain bike for about a month, just too hot for the local trails. Much easier to grab the road bike and head to where there are some ocean breezes.

But this weekend the temps actually dropped down into the 80s for the first time in several months. So I took down the MTB yesterday, replaced the worn rear tire, set it up tubeless and gave the chain a good clean and lube. And today I rode the local mountains (the trailhead is one mile from the house). Lots of hill climbs, with one that's 12% grade (ouch). It got warmer as I climbed, to the upper 90s but not bad. Once I turned south and started heading down, towards the ocean, it got cooler again and felt great. Lots of dust and sand over hardpack, from a long dry summer, it slowed me down on the way back as I climbed back up and into the valley. I could feel the temperature rise until my cycle computer read 100f. Didn't feel that hot...

Aaahhh, Fall. My favorite time of year. I can ride the local mountains again.

Did 20 miles with the neighbors at the local state park, very easy, non technical trails. It proved how out of shape I am. My thighs and knee were pretty miserable by the time we were done.

Bead Lake trail this weekend. It's a quick fix of non-urban. 11 miles up a very mellow logging road grade, then 6 miles of single track. The trail wends through dark cedar groves alternating with lakeside exposure. We got a cold, early start and were done by 2 PM. We were hoping for more fall color; that's next weekend I guess.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N...15907626_o.jpg

Thanks for the pic, Irulan. I love seeing where other people ride.

I'm surprised that you don't have any color yet. Aren't you in the PNW? Our color in the high country is mostly exhausted. It's gotta be the elevation.

It was kind of crazy: we were totally expecting the larch to have been starting to color, but they were still green. It must be micro-climates as it really varies from valley to valley right now. And yes, I'm in the interior PNW. This lake is actually on the WA/ID border about 70 miles south of Canada.

Hi everyone... Im new and wanna start riding with my partner and we are both doing research. As usual he wants something expensive and I just want something that will do the job at an affordable price. I am considering getting the 2011 Polygon Helios 400 bicyclesonline.com.au/road-bikes/ coz they did some price cuts. Would love to get an opinion or two so that I have an idea of what I am getting into. Thanks a lot and hope to hear from anyone soon

How pretty, Irulan! Thanks for sharing the photo!

Beautiful pic Irulan! Makes me wish I had been into cycling when I lived in Idaho.

Here are some more pics from that trail:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W...6/IMG_0444.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N...2/IMG_0446.JPGhttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g...6/IMG_0136.jpg