Rear wheel dusty spinouts when climbing

[Catrin]

I have no problems taking a weekday off to ride and I'm guessing Catrin doesn't either. Boy, are the trails nice during a weekday. They're typically pretty empty.

For me this would be perfect! Take the Clinic on the weekend - which is quite full of activities, then ride the trails on Monday after everyone else has left and gone back to work? Sweet! Indeed I would probably choose just to stay/camp the entire week for my summer vacation

This thread has really changed since I first started it - but I LIKE the direction it has taken!

[indysteel]

For me this would be perfect! Take the Clinic on the weekend - which is quite full of activities, then ride the trails on Monday after everyone else has left and gone back to work? Sweet! Indeed I would probably choose just to stay/camp the entire week for my summer vacation

This thread has really changed since I first started it - but I LIKE the direction it has taken!

Yeah, talk about thread drift! Given when the clinic registration opens up, I'll put a feeler out in December or so to at least put a bug in people's ear. If the consenus is that people have no desire to combine the two things, then we can talk about doing it a separate weekend.

The main thing I'd want to get my head around if we were to combine the two is how to coordinate camping at the Rally campground. We'd be camping there as part of the clinic for the weekend and then holding over on Sunday night. My hope would be that the park wouldn't make that into a big hassle.

[Catrin]

....
The main thing I'd want to get my head around if we were to combine the two is how to coordinate camping at the Rally campground. We'd be camping there as part of the clinic for the weekend and then holding over on Sunday night. My hope would be that the park wouldn't make that into a big hassle.

Oh I have a potential solution for THAT little problem Since I would probably be there for a full week (from Friday to Friday) I would consider getting my favorite campsite on Taylor Ridge. It is a large site that would accommodate 2 large tents and still have room left over for some free space around the tents. Rally is just a short bike ride away.... Nice way to warm up. Of course it is also nice to be in the middle of the action, both for the Clinic and with other TE members, so I will see how things develop. It is also nice just to be able to fall in one's tent if one has consumed a little too much beer. Not that I ever do that of course... It wouldn't take long for me to move my campsite if needed.

December would be a good time to give everyone a heads up - I am pretty sure she opens registration on Jan 1, and as quickly as it filled up THIS year, it will probably fill up even quicker next year. I really hope that I can do intermediate next year, but we will see!

[indysteel]

Yeah, if I want to do the intermediate, then I need to work on getting my front wheel up and over 12" diameter logs. I have a mental block about even working on that, let alone doing it consistently.

[Catrin]

Yeah, if I want to do the intermediate, then I need to work on getting my front wheel up and over 12" diameter logs. I have a mental block about even working on that, let alone doing it consistently.

I hear you! I can't get my front wheel over anything I can't roll or walk over...and that is ok! As my crash/ride ratio decreases then I will work on that more but NOT until that ratio is down. And I don't think I want to be alone when I start working on hopping my front wheel over small obstacles

This year she had many different groups of both beginners and intermediate - and there were graduations in each group. Outside of the introductory group (which the instructors combined - the same we had in 2010)...the largest group was 6. Instructor + a helper for the instructor. It was great!

[Becky]

I like the sounds of this TE meet-up- keep me posted!

As for clearing obstacles: I got a whole lot better at them after DH suggested "wheelie nights" in the back yard. No pressure to actually clear anything, just lap after lap around the yard, lifting the wheel when I could.

[zoom-zoom]

For me this would be perfect! Take the Clinic on the weekend - which is quite full of activities, then ride the trails on Monday after everyone else has left and gone back to work? Sweet! Indeed I would probably choose just to stay/camp the entire week for my summer vacation

Oh, this is awesome...I am already VERY seriously thinking about doing the clinic. It looks like it would be the weekend immediately following my DS's school getting out, so having a day or two of TE riding following the clinic would be PERFECT! We're already talking about making a long weekend vacation out of it.

[Giulianna23]

I am in for sure...sounds great!

[indysteel]

I like the sounds of this TE meet-up- keep me posted!

As for clearing obstacles: I got a whole lot better at them after DH suggested "wheelie nights" in the back yard. No pressure to actually clear anything, just lap after lap around the yard, lifting the wheel when I could.

Yep. That's what I gotta do. Someone motivate me!!!!

[Catrin]

..... I am thinking the rear tire is spinning in jerking motions, not smoothly as you claw your way up. With a slight lean during such torque-down on the pedal in really loosely packed dust while turning, the rear tire could just kick out.

I've been trying to keep my rear end weighing down the back, while I lower myself from the waist 'tits to the tube' I think is the term. Raising and lowering my torso as needed for the incline is all I do to keep the weight centered between both wheels. Now if only I could muster a nice smooth spin, pulling up and pushing down fluidly instead of looking like a fish on a boat deck...

Hopefully I've the tire problem settled, though I will need to decide what to do with the front tire when the leaves start falling.

I've been thinking about Tzvia's comment here about the torque on my pedals. I do not clip in on the mountain bike, it isn't even an option right now, time will tell if it ever is. I do have great BMX pedals...I wonder if the lack of any attachment is causing me to do this when I start cranking my way up a longer climb.

Limekiln, my usual trail this summer, DOES have hills but they are shorter...basically part of it is a pump track and that is how some treat it - very fast and flowy. Once you get enough momentum going there isn't an problem getting up the inclines on the trail. The hill I was trying to climb when I fell Saturday is longer than what I am accustomed to on the mtb bike, and since I am unattached to the bike I may well have done this. I hadn't thought of that before. It wasn't THAT big of a climb, but longer than what I am accustomed to.

I will start saving for a new pair of shoes, probably Teva or Vans. I've understand the use of grippy shoes with pinned pedals to be an intermediate step between using hiking shoes and clipping in. This should help me make circles when the going gets rough.

"Boobs to the Tube", I will try to remember this This was the mantra we received from our clinic instructor this summer...