Stinking at singletrack...will it get better?
Sheesh, I just don't think I'm improving at all. I've been riding single track trails for a couple of months now (started mountain biking this summer), and I don't think I'm a bit better at it now than when I started. The trails I ride are rooty and have switchbacks. Downhill switchbacks are the worst! I can sometimes make the uphill ones even with the roots and sharp turns, but the downhill ones terrify me. I nearly always end up putting a foot down. And the steep, curvy descents....I get too scared and end up walking. I'm fine even with big roots when the trail is relatively level or lightly rolling, but when it gets steeper and the turns are sharp, I really struggle.
I ride behind my friend who has been at this for a few months longer than me, and she makes it look effortless. She doesn't do anything the mountain bike books say to do (she's never read one) re. weight shifting, inside knee up on inside of turns, leaning the bike into the turn and your body weight to the outside, or getting off the back of the saddle on descents. I'm doing all that and yet she puts me to shame as she just easily does the turns and descents I can't get. Her back wheel seems so stable, where I feel mine skittering and jumping around everywhere behind me.
A couple of differences that may or may not play into it. I ride a Titus Racer X (new to me but used - 2000 model). She rides a heavier, older Mongoose, that is a full-suspension, but has a coil spring rear shock that I am sure is not moving hardly at all since she only weighs 120, it's a men's bike, and it's not adjusted to the plushest setting, so I think her bike ends up being almost a hardtail. I never see her saddle move at all, where mine definitely does (air shock). Also, I suspect the geometry of her bike is different. She's tall so rides a larger frame, and hers is not a racing bike. I ride an XS frame size and the Titus is a racing bike, so I am sure my seat tube angle is steeper, thus the feeling that I am going to endo every time I decend. I do stick my butt way off the back of the saddle but still feel that way.
I fell again tonight. I was riding across a wood bridge near the end of our ride, it was getting quite dark, and the bridge was damp and covered with damp leaves from a heavy rain two days ago (trails just re-opened today at noon). My rear tire skidded, and I went down on the bridge. A fast guy was coming up behind me - so embarrassing! I'm not seriously hurt, just a few abrasions on my leg and elbow, but I just hated to fall there when I'd managed to nearly finish the trails without a fall!
How do I know when my rear tire needs replacing? The bike is used, so I have no idea how old the tires are. It still seems plenty knobby (it's an IRC Mythos XC 2.1"). One wonder I have is if it is still giving me plenty of traction, since I feel like I lose traction often, even when I follow the same lines my friend takes, and the bridge fall tonight did nothing to improve my confidence.
I know I've asked these kinds of questions here before after my first couple of single track rides (and a more painful fall a couple of months ago), but now that I've ridden the trails more, I guess I expected I'd see some improvement. Or are some people just not built for mountain biking? I'm almost thinking I should just go back to the road and leave the trails for people who can handle them. I'm not sure how much banging up this 45-year old body can take. :(
Thanks...
Emily
Lot of good comments and don't lose faith!
I rode mountain bikes for a long time and never thought I would get better. I was a real dweeb when I started and this lasted for a long time! On the other hand, some people take to it likes ducks to water! I think it has to do with your risk taking levels, your prior athletic endeavors and guts!
Some of us have em and some of us don't - I'm still not a great technical rider, but I'm competent now and have much more confidence. For some of us, it takes building that confidence and it may take a year or so. Once you learn you can do it, then you can! So, be patient. It will come to you. Over my mountain biking career, I have had what I call ah ha moments. What I mean by that is all of the sudden I ride something and go oh, that's what I need to do and then it is easy after that!
So, don't worry, keep working on it and try to relax! The bike handling will come, the ah ha moments will come and you WILL GET BETTER!