I came....I saw.....I hate gravity!

[snowtulip]

Hi Sundial, your bike looks beautiful! Sorry about your crash, I sprained my knee a few summers ago while mountain biking. I hope you give it another chance, it's so much fun! I've gotten used to crashing and you do get better at crashing with more practice I'm not an expert mountain biker, but would consider myself an expert crasher (I've been complimented). To me, it's worth it to be out on the trail, crashes and all!

Hope you feel better soon!

[DirtDiva]

98% of all my offs occur at very low speeds. I tend to eat more pride than dirt.

[Tri Girl]

Ouch Sundial- sorry to hear about your crash! That was a bad one! I hope you heal up quickly!!!!
On the other end of the spectrum- your bike is GORGEOUS!!!!

For the first month or two of mtn biking each fall I'm such a HUGE weenie on the trail (and that's when I crash the most). I'm timid of descents, roots, rocks... everything. It seems I get my courage back and then I'm flying along, and hardly crashing at all. I can't wait for my courage to return... I've crashed everytime I've ridden lately, but I still go back out or I know I'll be too scared to continue.

Rest up, take care of yourself, and hit the trails when you're healed. We "supposedly" learn from our mistakes, so hopefully you won't crash like you did again (doggone front brakes make me cranky- I've loosened that brake a bit so it doesn't pull as hard as the back- endo'ing sucks).

[sundial]

You gals are so great to have as company. I really do appreciate your words of encouragement as well as your personal testimonies of rides gone bad. Your prayers and thoughts are helping me. I slept much better last night and I am not as sore today as I was yesterday. I'm on the mend!

I was just thinking about adjusting the front brake so that it wouldn't grab as bad. I guess that's a good idea, right?

Snowtulip, I'm curious about your crashes. Do you just relax and go with the flow? I think that's what I did--at least I think I did. I certainly didn't have time to react.

Since I can't be out biking, would you guys do something fun for me? Would you post a picture of your favorite trail? I really like the different terrains you ride. I don't have many pics of the trails I ride, but I have this gorgeous sunset to share.



Cathy

[Tuckervill]

Beautemous!

Here's a pic of the bridge/dam over Lake Leatherwood in Eureka Springs. This was taken sometime in February, I think. It was taken after I fell on the flat rock I told you about earlier.

Karen

[blueskies]

Gorgeous sunset.

I don't have a mountain bike (yet!!!), so I'll post a picture from one of my favorite places to hike, the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park.

[DirtDiva]

Personally, I wouldn't adjust the front brake - there are times when you will need all the braking power you've got. Try instead to keep your weight a little further back when you stop so you are less likely to go over the bars, or just slow down more before you get there!

[snowtulip]

Sundial, I've learned to just naturally duck and roll (it's automatic now), although I attribute it to following dh on his downhill course runs when he used to race. I also think the more you get used to mountain biking, you don't often have that blackout feel (how did this happen?), you seem more aware, at least for me that's how it worked.

This is one of my favorite days of riding, we did a self-supported mountain bike tour of the Colorado trail a few years ago (still have some of the distance to finish). It took some time getting used to having the rear panniers on some of the singletrack, but I loved the meadows becuase there was always plenty of room for my panniers and the wildflowers were amazing. Enjoy!