What I Learned Mountain Biking This Season

Using the all the Rings
This may seem strange . . . But last week I did my first mountain bike ride in the middle ring! After four years of riding strictly in Granny Gear. And I never would have tried riding in a harder gear if I had known, it was a complete accident.

What riding in Granny Gear has done for me:
I can really spin. I have a high cadence of about 100 rpms on the mountain bike. I might not be the fastest up a climb, but I can sure spin up it. This has even translated over onto the road bike.

What riding in Middle Ring has done for me:
POWER! I was flying through the flats. And obstacles that I had struggled with before, I could power through like nobody's business. And as long as I was able to stay on top of my spin, I could do the climbs much faster than I was before.

It was a very empowering experience to discover I could ride in the middle ring.

Learning to go downhill. I had some guys following me at one of the races, they could have easily passed me on the flats, but they were so impressed with my downhill skills that they wanted to follow me (that, or I have a nice rear). I have much faster times just because I have learned to descend and use my brakes minimally--if at all.

Riding through the sandpits
This was one of my biggest obstacles. Sometimes I would come to a complete stop before a sandpit. And there are a ton of sandpits in Michigan. I finally figured out how to ride through them--weight on the rear wheel and power through. I don't even notice them anymore.

I'd love to hear what other people have learned or what goals they achieved this year . . .

I loved your post.
I have only been mountain biking a couple of months, and I am just now learning to use my granny gear. For some reason I thought I should do it all in the middle chainring. Now, as soon as I hit the trail I go down to the small chainring. It means I don't fall over sideways as much on hills.
I'm trying to use my brakes less going downhill; I don't like the feeling of fishtailing.
I haven't mastered sand. For now I just hit it going as fast as I can and try to power through it, but as soon as my rear wheel slides too far sideways my foot goes down.
Big diagonal roots. Once again, if they throw my rear wheel sideways I put my foot down. Big diagonal roots on a steep uphill pretty much insure I'll be walking from that point.
I can actually go up on a curb or over a small log now! Not very gracefully, and not every time, but we bump over it. Nothing even resembling jumping.
vickie

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Originally Posted by fastdogs

I can actually go up on a curb or over a small log now! Not very gracefully, and not every time, but we bump over it. Nothing even resembling jumping.
vickie

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My goal for next season is to learn to jump. I'm really good at pedaling over stuff, but I need to learn to jump. I think that's going to be a hard one.

We thankfully don't have seasons in Texas. We only have about 60 rainy days a year, so cycling and mountain biking are usually in season! I just started so I am still on the very steep learning curve and definitely need to remember to use that granny so I stop falling over going up hill! :rolleyes:

1. Descending is fun and not as scary as it looks! I have even learned to descend slow, I normally just went down all blind luck. This has really boosted my confidence.
2. I bruise easily so jeans are in for me these days! But I did learn you won't break something on you just because you fell and that keeps me going back out to the trail, purple legs and all.
3. I can overcome my lack of depth perception and the tight and twisty is fun if you just follow the bike. Not that I am fast yet and I do still miss the trail some but no panic attacks as of late! It was all about trying and trying slow if you needed. Cross training if you have to and then trying again.
4. You use different muscles on a mountain bike than on a road ride. And you will be sore in different ways. Owwwie. And that is not including the low speed crashes and bruises (two and counting).

I've learned that momentum is my friend.
Falling doesn't hurt--unless it's on asphalt. ;)
My hardtail taught me many skills. I miss it.
A good set of rims is worth it's weight in gold.
Tubeless is the way to go if you ride over small thorns. :cool:
Capris protect my knees.
Riding solo most of the time won't necessarily improve skills and time.
It's all about strength, balance and timing.

Great post. I've been mountain biking for 4 months now and I'm learning that I can do a lot more than I thought. I just try my best and when I can't make it up long hills, I walk. I'm improving my cardio and my skills on the bike.

As for going downhill, how do you get over the fear? That's my biggest issue. I'm going to get some protection for my legs and arms to help my confidence but I get so frightened on steep downhills instead of just letting go and letting my bike do the work. How do you do it?

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Originally Posted by limewave

Learning to go downhill. I had some guys following me at one of the races, they could have easily passed me on the flats, but they were so impressed with my downhill skills that they wanted to follow me (that, or I have a nice rear). I have much faster times just because I have learned to descend and use my brakes minimally--if at all.

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Originally Posted by lovelylibrarian

As for going downhill, how do you get over the fear? That's my biggest issue. I'm going to get some protection for my legs and arms to help my confidence but I get so frightened on steep downhills instead of just letting go and letting my bike do the work. How do you do it?

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I went down one by accident, kind of a blind turn and didn't realize it was there. It was one labeled as a "most difficult" feature and I survived. Probably not the safest way to learn but I am much more confident. Butt back, level pedals, don't over think it. And I am not one to be giving advice seeing as how I am mainly a weenie but I am relatively confident on the beginner to intermediate descents.

I have heard from many shin and elbow guards really help their confidence.

down hill tips.

First learn to trust your brakes.
-one or two fingers only
-front brake is most powerful.

Try this. Find a steep, straight section of trail. Go down it using only your rear brake. Then, just your front. Then, both.
What you will find it that you can't descend with only your rear brake: it grabs and skids and pull you sideways. You will find that you CAN descend using just your front if you modulate: use gentle pressure. Using both brakes your goal is to go as slow as possible without skidding. The microsecond you start to feel your (rear) wheel lock up, just let off the brake a bit.

Now that you have more faith in your brakes, don't use them so much. Remember to look where you want to go, your body position, and that momentum is your friend. Also, if your butt is too far back you lose control of the front of the bike.

If you have the opportunity to do lift served biking DO IT. It's not just for downhillers. It's a great way to get comfortable with speed on easy trails.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

If you have the opportunity to do lift served biking DO IT. It's not just for downhillers. It's a great way to get comfortable with speed on easy trails.

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Great tips! Is the lift served biking not super dangerous? What type of lifts are you talking about? My husband and I shied away from taking our bikes up the lift in Red River because we thought it would be too dangerous for a novice like myself. I am wondering if we should have and definitely should for next time we go? There was some really steep parts we hiked down on the "easiest way down" trail.

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Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama

Great tips! Is the lift served biking not super dangerous? What type of lifts are you talking about? My husband and I shied away from taking our bikes up the lift in Red River because we thought it would be too dangerous for a novice like myself. I am wondering if we should have and definitely should for next time we go? There was some really steep parts we hiked down on the "easiest way down" trail.

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weelllll...

Sure, blasting down a mountain on a bike at highs speed can be dangerous!!! Why do you think those guys wear body armor?

I am talking lift served: taking the lift up at a ski area in the summer, and then going down.

It really depends on where you go. Some places have a really great selections of trails, with lots of green circle trails for regular folks. This is what I am thinking of, not NORBA race courses.:D

For example, Brundage Mt in McCall Idaho has a really neato trail called the Elk Trail. It's practically buff, and just winds its way back and forth down the mountain, 7 miles to be exact. People take thier kids on trail a bikes on it. You can bomb it too ( boy is that fun) but really its a great trail to just ride, get the flow, get comfortable, and just keep doing it over and over, maybe getting a little faster each time as you get comfortable with it.

But we have another area nearby, that all their greens are service roads and not singletrack, they are the absolute pits to ride.

Lift serve riding for all kinds of riders, not just downhillers is becoming big business in the summer time. I think it's fun, a great way to develop skills.

I will have to keep that in mind for the next trip up to Red River, NM. You could go with your bike and there was some doubletrack on the top of the mountain, it was pretty flat area for teaching the kiddos to ski. It was the coming down that looked hairy but it wasn't a straight shot, just the normal beginner ski trail. The "easier" ski trail is really wide, like a jeep trail. By next trip (in a few years) I won't be a total beginner anyway but I kind of wish I had tried it out in July. Too bad we have no mountains in central Texas. :p

great thread. i've been having a-ha! moments about cornering this season.

1. its easier to just blast through twisty turns than slow down for them
2. leaning really helps! both the body and the bike
3. just like driving a stick shift, pedal out of the turns
4. riding a bike that actually fits me is really fun!

now i'm hoping to get more confident descending rocky scary steep stuff before the snow starts flying.

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Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama

I will have to keep that in mind for the next trip up to Red River, NM. You could go with your bike and there was some doubletrack on the top of the mountain, it was pretty flat area for teaching the kiddos to ski. It was the coming down that looked hairy but it wasn't a straight shot, just the normal beginner ski trail. The "easier" ski trail is really wide, like a jeep trail. By next trip (in a few years) I won't be a total beginner anyway but I kind of wish I had tried it out in July. Too bad we have no mountains in central Texas. :p

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do you homework, a lot of those jeep roads and service roads are not fun to ride. They tend to be filled with broken rock, which is tough for newbies, tough for anyone. Find out if they have any green SINGLETRACK.

Irulan- As always great advice. Maybe we should have a "Ask Irulan" thread in mountain biking. lol.

It will be a while before I am back in Red River, might have to try the cross country ski area, it is a mountain bike spot in the summer. They call it the Enchanted Forest, that sounds interesting enough to want to look into it. Of course it is right up the hill from where I saw the bear road riding, so maybe not.

The mountain trail from the ski lift in Red River was how you described the one to avoid. My husband thinks Angel Fire has some lift supported trails, definitely need to do homework before our next trip to the area.

Limewave, how long are you going to keep mountain biking? I saw your post down in the WL Challenge. ;)

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Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama

Irulan- As always great advice. Maybe we should have a "Ask Irulan" thread in mountain biking. lol.
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I totally agree!

I did go to Mammoth Lakes Ski area a few months ago mountain biking and it was fun. Some of the trails were too much for me and my hardtail but I did learn quite a bit.

I think the protection would help me a lot. I've also learned about the back brake skidding thing. I've decided that I should take more time to go out on the trails and just practice. Usually I'm set on getting to one place and back. If I took the time to play around and see what my bike does in differente circumstances, it would really help me.

Thanks again!

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Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama

Irulan- As always great advice. Maybe we should have a "Ask Irulan" thread in mountain biking. lol.

It will be a while before I am back in Red River, might have to try the cross country ski area, it is a mountain bike spot in the summer. They call it the Enchanted Forest, that sounds interesting enough to want to look into it. Of course it is right up the hill from where I saw the bear road riding, so maybe not.

The mountain trail from the ski lift in Red River was how you described the one to avoid. My husband thinks Angel Fire has some lift supported trails, definitely need to do homework before our next trip to the area.

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no no, there's lot of good advice given out here and not by me. All it means is that I am probably online doing this stuff more than I should be.:D

Don't be modest. I second the Irulan thread. :)

I learned to downhill out of necessity. I was in a couple of mountain bike races and wanted to do well. I'm a bigger girl and I am not a climber, but I knew I had gravity on my side for the downhills. So I went for it! And I'm really glad I did.

Pregnancy
Well, I'm mountain biking next week wednesday. And I have an adventure race in December that has a mountain biking section . . . . We'll just have to see how it goes. I'll stay in close communication with my doctor and really listen to my body. If I have to walk my bike at the AR, I will.

The only thing I learned this year is that you cannot dump weight training and expect your are getting strength training from riding alone. No matter how much you ride.

As far as going downhill and sand for that matter, speed can be your friend on both. I know that trying to go too slow on some downhill (I'm talking those panicy "I wanna stop" moments) is more dangerous than just modulating your brake and letting the bike do it's job. As far as the front brake, everyone is different on that. I have friends that don't touch their front brake, or they do but on certain terrain. For me, I brake first with the back and then apply the front and only if it's a short descent. If it's longer, I modulate between the front and the back so that I don't wind up boiling the hydraulic brake fluid. I think it just takes time to find out what you like. My old bike I could just grab both brakes and be fine, my new bike, well it's a little more complex.

In Tahoe we have a couple of places where your downhill part is in sand, and I can say, I'm good at sand now. Speed is your friend. Power through it, it's just like driving in snow....

I have done several lift assisted rides, and read up on where you are going. Use the mtbr boards and they should give you some good ideas- Most of them have rides where there are the 'crazy downhill' sections and then an alternate route for people that are looking for a more mellow ride. Northstar at Tahoe was like this, as was Kirkwood. I heard there is Mt Diablo in NJ that is like this as well but the fireroads are alot more fun but you can gain alot of momentum on them and go way too fast...I agree they can give you a leg up on riding because you can enjoy the downhill without powering up to get there!

I learned I loved my little mtb:), and considering selling it would have been a mistake:o.

Not knowing what type of bike I really wanted, I bought my mtb first. Thought I hated it and had made a mistake. Duh:rolleyes:... I was trying to ride it on pavement like a road bike. Then I bought my road bike. The mtb sat collecting dust.

Then the saddle fit issues with my road bike drove me back to my mtb. Not knowing how to do anything on it, I thought I still hated it. But, it was learn to ride it, or keep bleeding on the road... or not ride at all:eek:.

So, by default of turning a negative into a positive, I'm so glad I didn't sell my mud girl:cool:.

I (re)learned that riding with other people is fun! I'd fallen into the habit of riding by myself, because I didn't have to coordinate with anyone. But this year I rode with some old friends, and met a new riding buddy. It's just plain different. I'd forgotten how fun and satisfying it is to ride with other people and to be able to share the ride. I also rode some trails I'd never ridden before, and some that I hadn't ridden in a long time. And while we haven't managed it every week, having a weekly ride day ensured that I rode a lot more the second half of the summer than I normally would.

Riding behind someone is a mixed bag -- if the person ahead of you gets stuck, you may be more likely to get stuck, either because they're in your line or because you get psyched out. On the other hand, if they clear something you might have been iffy about, you're more likely to try it. And seeing the way other people ride can definitely give you some new tricks to try. Okay, I should say "I", not "you" -- it's definitely true for me.

I guess I learned that it's still ok to play in the dirt when you are pushing 50. I had stopped after a bad car accident (truck vs suv vs light pole vs bus bench vs fire hydrant vs building) and used all that pain as an excuse, then heaped the 'I'm too old anyway' on top. I had my first mtb ride in over 6 years last month. I hadn't realized it had been so long till I stopped to think about it. Well, some things hurt and that's never going to change; I know that now. But I am not going to make any more excuses. I'm gonna ride! I started back on a new road bike several months ago and now on my new Giant MTB. I've dropped two pant sizes and am on my way to three down! I got a Wii Fit and exercise 5 days a week on that too.

One thing I would like to learn, is how to get rid of the smell of the horses (you know what I mean if you ride on multi use trails) that emanates from the bike, as it is stored in the house. I wash it and clean the chain and wipe it all down, but it makes no difference. The shoes too...

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Originally Posted by tzvia

I had stopped after a bad car accident (truck vs suv vs light pole vs bus bench vs fire hydrant vs building) and used all that pain as an excuse, then heaped the 'I'm too old anyway' on top.

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You are never too old to enjoy fresh air, sunshine, and a limitless trail.

One of the top female mtb'ers in our region is 51 years young. She can clean just about anyone's clock, lol. :cool: Good for you for getting back into the game and enjoying those long leisurely rides.

As for the smell, do you rinse your bike right after your ride? Before you get home? if you are still having horsey odors after a suds bath, try using Nature's Miracle and spritz it on your bike tires and shoes. This product is available at pet supply stores.

Second the never to old sentiment. I went on a Women's group ride last week, one of the leaders of the fast ride is in her 60's. I have seen her out on the trails before, she is fast. Completely kicks my 27 year old butt on the dirt. She probably could put my husband in his place if she wanted to. :)

This weekend I learned even more by riding a rocky trail- owie. There were some loose rocky descents, yesterday I said no way to them because one turned at the bottom which really bugs me. But today I was mentally ready to try and did. As stupid as it sounds by just relaxing and trusting my little bike I made it. Definitely was not pretty or how you should descend but it worked and I made it. Shaking but in one piece. I made the mistake of being too far forward on the seat and using the brakes too much. Now I know how to make it a better descent when we go back out to this trail. The trail is 68 miles away but just down the road from my in-laws. I am eager to visit it again. I love tiny victories on the trail, I have more there than I ever do on the road. :cool:

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As stupid as it sounds by just relaxing and trusting my little bike I made it.

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that is what you are supposed to do!!!! Glad you had a good one.

So far this season, I've learned that:

1. I do not MTB often enough.
2. MTBing is hard work! :D
3. I need to learn to trust my bike, especially on downhills. I balk at short steep downhills way too often.

I love reading and seeing women that are 50+ out riding kicking the young kids butts. My mom is 60 and has been very sedentary most of her life. She's had so many problems. I often wonder and hope that when I get to be her age that I will be as active as I am now. Then I realize that many of my friends are my mom's age and are just as active, if not more so. All of you "seasoned" athletes out there are truly an inspiration to me.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

that is what you are supposed to do!!!! Glad you had a good one.

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I know! The funny thing is everytime someone has told me that I looked at them like they were crazy. But now I know they were right and I have a little more confidence to boot. :)

I forgot to mention that I learned to:

Ride the flats
Until I started riding with some other women, I didn't realize that I was only riding the hills and mostly coasting through the flats. I saved all of my effort for the climbs. I was so impressed with the women I met this summer because they flew through the flat sections. Once I got used to riding hard in the flats, I had more momentum and became a better climber and a much faster mountain biker :)

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Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama

I made the mistake of being too far forward on the seat and using the brakes too much.

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Did you endo? ;)

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Originally Posted by sundial

Did you endo? ;)

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No thankfully! Just made for a willy-nilly ride to the bottom.

For some reason though endo-ing my biggest fear. It looks so freaky!!

It's really not so bad as long as you hit dirt. :D

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Originally Posted by sundial

It's really not so bad as long as you hit dirt. :D

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So cacti and rocks that are frequently on our trails, no good? :p

Umm, maybe you should look into body armour. :D

To take the death grip off the bars! A bit looser hold reminds me to feather the brakes and helps me float over tricky technical sections. It lets the bike do its job and feels more intuitive. Helps arm fatigue, too.