Quote Originally Posted by Robyn Maislin
Today I went on my mountain bike for the first time since last December. I just started mountain biking in the fall. What looked like a nice flat trail on foot a couple of weeks ago was pretty scary. What's second nature to me on the road takes lots of thinking on the trail. I even had it in the wrong gear for half of the ride and managed to get up the hills, except one. Well, today was a learning experience. I felt like i had ridden 60 miles and it was actually 3 miles in about 50 minutes. Nothing like a bunch of rocks and a stream to make you feel like a idiot!
Well, I don't have any experience with a road bike -- riding next to cars, THAT scares me -- but I have to admit that sometimes I read some of the roadie questions and can't help thinking, "That's easy! You should try learning that on dirt, rock, and roots!"

Anyway, never fear, you *will* get better. The difference in what I can ride now vs. a year ago is staggering. But yes ... there's a reason you don't typically read about 50 or 100 mile mountain bike rides ... even 5 miles can be a real challenge!