November Rides

[north woods gal]

Sorry to hear about the spill, Crankin. That sure sounds like fat bike territory to me. Those big tires do take the sting out of roots. Lots of them in our area.

Interesting to hear about the soreness, Sheila. I was experiencing all manner of soreness earlier in the year when I was still running drop bar bikes along with and my flat bar bikes, mostly because I got out of drop bar bike riding shape. Does take me awhile to get back in shape to handle the drop bar bike position if I lay off too long. In the end, though, figured it wasn't worth the hassle of running two different bike styles, so sold off the drop bar bikes and now run flat bar bikes for all my riding, which is mostly trail riding, anyway. For road work, found that the Jones bars allow a multitude of hand positions, so makes flat bar road riding very doable.

Speaking of the Jones bar, took my Krampus with the Jones bar for my trail work, yesterday. My other 29+ bike, the aluminum Stashe, being a lighter bike with lighter rims and wheels, is a bit faster and more nimble, but it's nowhere near as smooth as the steel Krampus. The Krampus is a limousine on the trails, by comparison. Preaching to the choir with you, of course.

[emily_in_nc]

Ouch Crankin! Hope the pain is brief. Falling is no fun (ask me how I know...oops, you know how I know!)

[Crankin]

Northwoods, I was *hiking*, not mountain biking when I fell. Even at my best, I would not have mountain biked at this location. One of the few people we saw on the hike was mountain biking, or should I say walking. He was walking when we first saw him, he got on his bike, rode over a bridge, and then dismounted to go down a set of steps. I was nervous, as he did not look like an expert and was relieved he got off before the steps.
My legs are fine, no more sore than yesterday. Any pain I felt in my bootcamp class today was not from the fall! I think I will keep to my regular schedule and take a rest day tomorrow. The club ride Wednesday is a nice 29 mile very local ride. But... it goes up a very hard 3 part climb of 2.8 miles in my old town. I have not done the whole thing in that direction in 5-6 years. Was just thinking that DH had me go up this climb on my 3d or 4th ride, all those years ago. Of course, I was on a mountain bike, with very low gears, but it was pretty cruel of him, in retrospect. I did it, though.
It will be fine, the faster guys are going off separately, from a different location, at a faster pace, with more miles. I will be one of the faster people in the group because of this. It gives me a temporary feeling of being tough. Until I look at the competition.

[north woods gal]

Understood on the hiking part, Crankin, not to worry. Some of my worst "spills" have been when walking, too. Icy roads and me walking do not get along, though it's much better now that I wear ice crampons.

Oh, yeah, crazy as I am about my mountain biking, I do know when I'm over my head ... sort of. Always have to try, at least. Have some sections of trails in our area where I still walk the bike. My backyard trails are all doable, though when icy or snowy, only marginally so, even with studded tires.

My skill level is much better, now, than it was just two years, ago. Get a chuckle, now, at the spots that gave me shivers when I first started. The biggest challenge for me switching over to mostly trail riding, though, was developing the leg strength to handle the sudden bursts of speed needed to navigate the really steep stuff, not to mention navigating the twists, turns, rocks and such on the way up. All my road biking did not prepare me for that. The two types of riding are quite different in their physical demands, though no less challenging in their own ways. I still have to work my way up to do long road rides, for instance. No way could I handle a 50 mile ride, right now, without a bit of road time, prior, even though I ride trails, every day.

Okay, I'm rambling, now. Back to our program.

[north woods gal]

Whoa! Took two spills in one day with the fat bikes. That's a first. Both times I got nailed dropping down steep sections and trying to make a turn while doing it. Today's mud condition was the killer. The upper couple of inches of mud has thawed, but it's still frozen, underneath. Even my most aggressive fat tires couldn't hold. Kept trail riding, but stayed off the steep stuff. No problems, after that.

I suppose it was out of frustration or maybe I needed a change of pace, so added some air to the tires on the Krampus to make it more road worthy, then hit the pavement/gravel for a delightful, though short, 15 miles on the road. Wind was pretty gnarly, gusting at 30 mph plus, but it felt so good to be out in the open and out of the woods, taking in the sunshine (yeah, we had sun) and sights, relaxing and allowing my thoughts to wander a bit (big no no on the trails), that I didn't mind at all. Have to say, I do misss that zen like state that I get while riding on the road, just letting those miles roll ob by. Love technical trail work, but it can sometimes be a bit too intense.

Could have easily doubled that distance but the sun was already low in the sky and didn't want to risk being out too late. The Krampus was bought to be my do it all bike and it's delivered for me, big time. Rescued me from an otherwise rough day, today. Okay, it's no speed demon on the road (though it's no dog, either), but it sure is smooth and sweet and it shifts and pedals so easy. Just eats up those miles and laughs at what few hills we have on our roads. Love it.




Combination of road and trail miles made for a 22 plus mile day.

[emily_in_nc]

Good job, NWG! Glad a road ride took your mind off the falls and technical trails for a bit. I totally understand how on trails you have to keep your mind focused on what you are doing at all times. That can be good, as it helps keep your mind off worries and problems, but it can also be very tiring. Road riding, I do some of my best thinking, but sometimes I can get into my head a bit too much (worries), depending on what is going on in my life at the moment.

We rode Sunday/Monday, took yesterday off to do chores and errands, and will hit the road again today. Getting some warmer weather again now, so no layers required as they were a few days ago and last week. Nice to be able to wear shorts and short-sleeves in almost December!

[north woods gal]

Thanks, folks. I'm fine, just bump and bruise sort of falls, nothing serious. Fortunately, both spills took place at the very top of the descents before I had gathered any speed. On a good day, have clocked myself up to 18 mph on both by the time I hit the bottom. With all the trees, brush, rocks and debris along the trails, a crash at that speed could be fatal.

Yeah, I really did enjoy the road work. It included a mile of tricky gravel/sand, but even that wasn't as intense as trail riding, and, of course, the Krampus is completely at home on the gravel. As you say, Sheila, nice to be able to go anywhere you want with such a bike. As a matter of fact, when I got home with the Krampus, just added another mile of trail work to make it a combination pavement, gravel/sand road and trail ride. The only time the Krampus or other plus bikes can't keep up with fat bikes is on the roughest trails or when conditions go really extreme - deep mud, snow, sand or when things get really icy. I dream about a cross continent adventure trip and doubt it'll ever happen for me, now, but if I did attempt such a ride, the Krampus or ECR would be my bike of choice.