What I Learned Mountain Biking This Season

[lovelylibrarian]

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

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!

[Irulan]

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.

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.

[limewave]

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.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

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!

[Miranda]

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

Not knowing what type of bike I really wanted, I bought my mtb first. Thought I hated it and had made a mistake. Duh... 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.

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

[bounceswoosh]

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.

[tzvia]

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...

[sundial]

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.

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. 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.

[Aggie_Ama]

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.

[Irulan]

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

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

[Becky]

So far this season, I've learned that:

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

[limewave]

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.

[Aggie_Ama]

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

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.

[limewave]

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

[sundial]

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

Did you endo?