Fun newbie ride! Spills, thrills, adventure for all!

[Catrin]

Welcome home, Catrin! I'm really proud of you. Hitting the trails and camping by yourself is pretty courageous IMO. It sounds like you accomplished a lot!! We've come a long way in a couple of months I'd say!

It was all awesome, and friends made certain I had enough camping gear Today I rode Pine Loop with a friend and her child, she also rode with me at Versailles a little over 2 weeks ago and she said there was a very marked improvement in just that short of a period.

Yes, we have both come a long ways. It was fun watching that 5 year old today, he did better than I, and indeed he was giving me advice on my shin guards (the advice was to get better ones, but he was able to articulate WHY, impressive 5 year old!)

For the record, I am still unsure how I got in, or out, of that "stuck" position on the trail yesterday - just thankful nobody was there to take a blackmail photo

[indysteel]

I'm glad you got to ride with them today. It's amazing how quickly kids pick up on stuff. Oh, to be young again!

Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty thrilled with my own progress. My last time out, I did part of Green Valley. Frankly, getting to the trail was the hardest part. Part of the NT Connector is really rooty...and uphill. I still get pretty worn out when there's a lot of climbing, so we only did about a mile of GV before turning back. I was afraid to ride those roots coming downhill (this is where I turned back at the clinic). But I did it and at a pretty good clip! As for more climbing, I tend to think my set up on my Specialized needs to be tweaked. I'm going to raise my saddle and move it back a bit. I don't feel like I'm otherwise getting enough power out of my legs.

Plus, the bike is relatively heavy...but I have a pretty cool fix for that in the works!!! More on that later!

[Catrin]

I'm glad you got to ride with them today. It's amazing how quickly kids pick up on stuff. Oh, to be young again!

Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty thrilled with my own progress. My last time out, I did part of Green Valley. Frankly, getting to the trail was the hardest part. Part of the NT Connector is really rooty...and uphill. I still get pretty worn out when there's a lot of climbing, so we only did about a mile of GV before turning back. I was afraid to ride those roots coming downhill (this is where I turned back at the clinic). But I did it and at a pretty good clip! As for more climbing, I tend to think my set up on my Specialized needs to be tweaked. I'm going to raise my saddle and move it back a bit. I don't feel like I'm otherwise getting enough power out of my legs.

Plus, the bike is relatively heavy...but I have a pretty cool fix for that in the works!!! More on that later!

oooooooooooooooohhhhhhh, new bike sign, looking forward to hearing about it!

I am impressed you are riding the NT Connector - right now all I will consider doing is to HIKE it, between the slate and the big rooty sections I would be walking so much of it that it would waste my time. I DO ride a portion of it though - only up to where it almost meets the road - I turn around there. Congratulations on being able to ride it! It helps that you are closer than I and have your husband to go with you. I shouldn't have taken so long to get out there, but I am out there now

I can't remember if GV is a loop or an out-and-back. Can you start at the other end - assuming there is one? I need to check out the map...

[indysteel]

GV is sort of neither. It's in the middle of several other trails, so no matter what, you have to do the Connector and part of the North Tower Loop to get there and/or back. From one end of GV, you also have to do part of Aynes.
Here's a map.
Honestly, I didn't think the section of GV that I did was technically difficult, but it required a lot more climbing. I really wanted to continue on the trail, but my legs just weren't cooperating. It's tough work, especially after busting my butt on the Connector to get there.

Yes; having Brian has helped immensely, although in some ways I ride better when he's not in sight. Being a big closer (45 minutes) to BCSP is also a blessing. I've been licking my wounds for over a year for being away from my road cycling haunts. This helps me feel a bit better about that, especially since I'm having more fun on the trails than I've had on the road in a long while.

I've balked at a few sections here and there over the past couple of months. I've encouraged that when I try to make a second pass at them, I almost always succeed It's not always pretty, but given how absolutely terrified I was of MTBing, I'm proud of overcoming my fears more than anything. In that sense, it's way more gratifying that road riding.

[Catrin]

... In that sense, it's way more gratifying that road riding.

Yep

I am finding that riding my country roads isn't near as much fun as they once were...but I can't ride to a mountain bike trail so I have to ride somewhere