I will NOT hate hills!

[Shiraz]

Dogmama you crack me up


Kano,
Thanks for the riding tips. What organized rides do you participate in? I would love to find some rides in Boise.

[Kano]

Kano,
Thanks for the riding tips. What organized rides do you participate in? I would love to find some rides in Boise.

Shiraz -- we're not too organized, just get on our bikes and go, but there is a NEAT group in the area -- http://www.spinidaho.org -- will take you there. No fees, join in when you're in town, that sort of thing. I've been on one ride with them, was out of town for the next, and now they're doing this hilly one next weekend that I'm not sure I'm ready for. Told DH we should drive the route and see just how evil it is. Hmm, maybe I can talk him into it tonight, with the thought that we could practice on it tomorrow?

We're also thinking about the "Blue Cruise" in August. Again, http://www.bcidahofoundation.org/Eve...bluecruise.asp will take you there!

Still pretty new to riding, but, you know, these event things, they make good motivators!

Karen in Boise

[yellow]

Hey you Whydaho Girls, don't forget about Tater! She knows about all the rides thereabouts. She was the only Whydahoan for a while. Glad to see she has company.

Re the hills, YOU ARE THE MASTER! YOU ARE IN CONTROL! As the friend that got me into riding used to say "Attack, attack, attack!". It'll get easier. So much of it is a mental game. And yes, I think often that the hills that look like hills ARE easier, because our brains have registered that fact. The hills aren't going away, so we might as well wrest control.

Today on my ride I chose to focus about 3' ahead of my wheel while climbing, rather than look at the looooong stretch of hill up ahead. Mostly because I was doing some big mileage and wanted to focus on that, not the hills and mountains. And sometimes I try to trick my brain into thinking that the uphill is really downhill. Doesn't usually work,though!

Nothin' wrong with granny gear. That's why it's there!

[Kano]

Re the hills, YOU ARE THE MASTER! YOU ARE IN CONTROL! As the friend that got me into riding used to say "Attack, attack, attack!". It'll get easier. So much of it is a mental game. And yes, I think often that the hills that look like hills ARE easier, because our brains have registered that fact. The hills aren't going away, so we might as well wrest control.

Today on my ride I chose to focus about 3' ahead of my wheel while climbing, rather than look at the looooong stretch of hill up ahead. Mostly because I was doing some big mileage and wanted to focus on that, not the hills and mountains. And sometimes I try to trick my brain into thinking that the uphill is really downhill. Doesn't usually work,though!

Nothin' wrong with granny gear. That's why it's there!

It's not that I've got anything against granny gear, Yellow, I just want to be on a HILL when I'm using it, not one of those invisible hills! THOSE are the ones I need to master!


(and then there was DH, making brilliant remarks....)

Karen in Boise

[Shiraz]

Thanks for the websites Kano. I added them to my favorites. We want to help our daughter get a bike and get hooked up with other riders for support. I'll keep a watch out for rides here and close by for you also. A group of noncompetitive riders are forming organized rides out of Pocatello several days a week. I have joined up with them several times and it really is fun. My husband has joined us once and am hoping to again. Same idea "no one gets left behind". Very supportive.

I promise even the "invisible hills" will get better. I have pledged to get serious about weight lifting this winter. One of my girlfriends who storms up the hills has told me that the weight lifting makes all the difference.

I will have to send a note to Tater! How fun!

[Kano]

WHen we got up this morning, and discussed a ride, DH asked where we should ride. I said I wanted to try yesterday's again. I suggested taking the long way to the main road instead of going right into the wee hills, and that made a huge difference. When we got to yesterday's turn around, we went on, UP instead of coming back, with a couple of stops for air in our lungs, (in case anyone's wondering about the exercise asthma -- no, I recover pretty quickly when I quit abusing myself!). DH said, at the second rest stop that we should go to where the dirt road comes onto this one, at the top and rest, but amazingly, as soon as I got to the top, I was like TOTALLY fresh and ready to keep going! Cheering for myself as I rounded the curve where that stop should have been, and cruising on down the road, I was amazed at how good I felt! The hill put us in position to continue on a GREAT loop that combined yesterday's ride and one we did a couple of weeks ago (about 27 miles all together!) Some GREAT downhill runs, but DH said I wasn't to go over 20mph on them (the meanie!). The first one, we had another up at the bottom, and yes, I cheated -- got up to 24.5 before we started back up and I went back down to about five... The second one, we had to turn off onto another road partway down, so indeed I kept the speed in check. I whined profusely about keeping my speed down, because HE gets to go fast, and he said "it would be worse if you fell and got hurt..."

So, yeah, I decided not to scare him too badly after all!

At the top of one hill, we saw a sign: Wild Horse Corrals ->

Thought about following the arrow, to see if we could see any wild horses stuck inside the fences, but there was another sign on the road too, that gave us pause....

Hills were ALL much better today -- thanks for everyone's advice!

And, oh, yeah, I visited with my neighbor about her new bike this afternoon -- she's so excited! Says it made a HUGE difference changing over from the hybrid she'd been riding! Came back inside, DH said I must quit chatting with Nadine about the bikes! (his mantra: you WILL learn to like mountain biking....)

Karen in Boise, who doesn't much like shifty sand and ruts and holes in her road!

[Shiraz]

Glad to hear you had a great ride!!