Mountain bike riders?

[tabbibus]

Moby deck, I like it. Come spring time, Jarrod's Place will be opening. Will be a shuttle assisted DH park. it will change the world of DH riding here in the southeast. Come visit it. You can search Jarrod's Place on instagram to see his progress.

 

[2kwik4u]

Moby deck, I like it. Come spring time, Jarrod's Place will be opening. Will be a shuttle assisted DH park. it will change the world of DH riding here in the southeast. Come visit it. You can search Jarrod's Place on instagram to see his progress.

Just checked out his instagram......looks like a cool place.

This is more of what I've been riding. Very "technical" stuff with lots of rocks and roots and things to climb over. Trail is pretty narrow overall, and often require going both up and over something, as well as dodging a small tree, as well as going uphill.



I'm not sure I would have the nerve to do some of these high speed banked turns they are making. Those more "flowy" sections always give me goosebumps and make me nervous. Spent too much time with skinny tires on pavement to trust any level of traction on loose surfaces with knobby tires. Just doesn't feel right to lean a dirt machine over like that.

 

[tabbibus]

Oh that looks like a fun trail. Yeah that particular trail at Jarrod's is very bermy and flowy but he supposedly will have lots of different options in terms of terrain. I do love me some tech and also some flow. I just hate climbing lol.

 

[I_squared_r]

Just checked out his instagram......looks like a cool place.

This is more of what I've been riding. Very "technical" stuff with lots of rocks and roots and things to climb over. Trail is pretty narrow overall, and often require going both up and over something, as well as dodging a small tree, as well as going uphill.

View attachment 167698

I'm not sure I would have the nerve to do some of these high speed banked turns they are making. Those more "flowy" sections always give me goosebumps and make me nervous. Spent too much time with skinny tires on pavement to trust any level of traction on loose surfaces with knobby tires. Just doesn't feel right to lean a dirt machine over like that.

View attachment 167699

The tires have tons of traction especially pushing the bike into the berm and pumping the bike to come out. I think the best way is to session a flowy section and see how the bike reacts to different inputs.

 

[I_squared_r]

Moby deck, I like it. Come spring time, Jarrod's Place will be opening. Will be a shuttle assisted DH park. it will change the world of DH riding here in the southeast. Come visit it. You can search Jarrod's Place on instagram to see his progress.

Moby deck was awesome. There's a big drop with a gap that leads up to moby deck and the speed is easy to find. I followed a local rider and I did it a few times to commit it to memory. I've always had fear of anything with gaps, but i'm starting to feel more confident.

 

[2kwik4u]

Oh that looks like a fun trail. Yeah that particular trail at Jarrod's is very bermy and flowy but he supposedly will have lots of different options in terms of terrain. I do love me some tech and also some flow. I just hate climbing lol.

Dude, climbing is awesome. Maybe I'm a wierdo, but I LOVE a good climb. At least on the Road (err death) machine, it's always such a rewarding challenge. Get to stand up and get out of the saddle for a bit, really crank out some power. Then once at the top you get that rest where your hear tis pounding so hard you can feel it in your ears, and you can barely breathe. That sense of accomplishment makes ordinary shit during the week just fade away. Things like "I really don't want to send this email" seem like such inconsequential speedbumps after you've made a categorized climb the ride before.

I had one instance like that on Sunday. There is a TOUGH set of switchbacks that are both steep, and tight, and VERY technical. You have to climb over roots/rocks while turning AND going uphill. I made it and only walked about 50ft of it, but once I was too the top my legs were burning and my heart felt it was going to come out of my chest, and I couldn't breath. Had to sit down on the side of the trail and rest for a few minutes before I could carry on. It was amazing!

 

[tabbibus]

Biking in general has that effect. I love it. Clears my mind from that other shit in my life right now, starts with a C ends with a D, lol.

Climbing for some, descending for others, just being out there man. FYI, a good long descent will also have your heart pounding, your legs yelling, and your back feeling Hulky.

 

[2kwik4u]

Well......Ever feel like you're just living life as an example of what NOT to do?

Had plans to ride yesterday afternoon. Unseasonably warm here in Louisville, and I cleared the time from 3-5pm on my schedule just to go ride. Figure that wouldn't mess with the family time, I can get away from work, it'll be great. Talking with my boss around 10am, he says he's thinking about taking a 1/2 day. He just bought a nice Santa Cruz full suspension bike, so I ask if he's going riding. He is, we proceed to make the decision to ride at 1 at Cherokee. SWEET. Finally have someone to ride with.

We show up, gear up, and take off. Things are going well for the first 3mi or so. Do the really technical parts he hasn't seen before. He's a BMX guy, so he's just getting used to riding off road (not that I'm any level of expert here). In general my years of death machine riding are hiding my lack of physical prowess, where he's in exceptionally good shape, but making lots of mistakes and slowing himself down. It's honestly a pretty good match. Ride is going swell.

Then I lose my mind. I'm not sure what the hell I was doing, or thinking, or otherwise paying attention to, but it wasn't the trail. Nope, I slip the front wheel off the edge of the trail, it hits a large root and STOPS. I manage to NOT go over the bars, but end up falling over to the left. Usually not a big deal except, well, there is no left on this section of trail. I fell a good 6-7ft down. Landed next to a rock. Which I then slid over on my left side, and fell into the creek. Water was ~3ft deep, and cold. VERY cold. Bike, of course, was still attached to my feet (score one for you platform pedal guys). So now, I'm upside down, in the water, with my bike still attached to my feet. I'm somewhat shocked, and have to NOT breathe while I figure out how to get my feet off of my now labeled stupid effing bike. Luckily muscle memory helps me unclip one side, and I can kid of kick off the bike a little, unclip the bottom/trapped side, and right myself in the water. This all happens in like 10 seconds or less I'm guessing. By the time boss rolls up, I'm standing in the water looking up like a 1/2 drowned rat with my bike upside down in the creek beside me. His response "Well, you can't bitch about being hot anymore". Made sure to check I was OK first, then laughed at the whole spectacle of it.

Good news here is that the bike is fine. My Pixel 5 phone that was in my jersey pocket got fully submerged, and is fine. My legs torn up a good bit and my shoulder and arm are scraped and bruised pretty good. I'm pretty sore in general, but I think that's the nature of physical activity at 41 not so much the crash. Worst part for me from all this really......Is the crashing on what is literally an obstacle that all you have to do is ride around it. Like "don't go there and you'll make it". What the dang heck was I thinking? What a stupid place to crash. I'll stop and take a picture the next time I'm out there. It's a really absurd place for an unplanned bike evacuation.

 

[tabbibus]

Holey guacamole batman. Glad bike is ok. Oh also glad you're ok. Damn dude. Maybe it's time to join us in the flat pedal master race? You're already smart enough to own a pixel!

 

[I_squared_r]

Sounds like a good memory that your boss will never let go! What cleats do you have? I only run the multi-directional cleats. Shimano part number SH-SM56. I've managed to unclip in all sorts of weird situations like going over the bars. I'm a big fan of clips.

 

[2kwik4u]

Sounds like a good memory that your boss will never let go! What cleats do you have? I only run the multi-directional cleats. Shimano part number SH-SM56. I've managed to unclip in all sorts of weird situations like going over the bars. I'm a big fan of clips.

I'm a big fan of clipless as well. This is the first time I've not just "come out" of them. Been riding clipless for decades on the road. Used to have the old "look" style pedals that had a ton of float, but required significant turn of the foot to come out of. I've "stepped off" the mountain bike a few times on various obstacles already since I've had that bike (I think this is my 5th outing with it). I'm not 100% certain why my brain shut off and didn't twist me out of them this time.

I have SPD cleats on a set of Bontrager shoes. The Pedals are platforms on one side and clips on the other. Shimano EH500 are the current version. I've had these for awhile, so they aren't exactly the same.

 

[AZMark]

Well......Ever feel like you're just living life as an example of what NOT to do?

Had plans to ride yesterday afternoon. Unseasonably warm here in Louisville, and I cleared the time from 3-5pm on my schedule just to go ride. Figure that wouldn't mess with the family time, I can get away from work, it'll be great. Talking with my boss around 10am, he says he's thinking about taking a 1/2 day. He just bought a nice Santa Cruz full suspension bike, so I ask if he's going riding. He is, we proceed to make the decision to ride at 1 at Cherokee. SWEET. Finally have someone to ride with.

We show up, gear up, and take off. Things are going well for the first 3mi or so. Do the really technical parts he hasn't seen before. He's a BMX guy, so he's just getting used to riding off road (not that I'm any level of expert here). In general my years of death machine riding are hiding my lack of physical prowess, where he's in exceptionally good shape, but making lots of mistakes and slowing himself down. It's honestly a pretty good match. Ride is going swell.

Then I lose my mind. I'm not sure what the hell I was doing, or thinking, or otherwise paying attention to, but it wasn't the trail. Nope, I slip the front wheel off the edge of the trail, it hits a large root and STOPS. I manage to NOT go over the bars, but end up falling over to the left. Usually not a big deal except, well, there is no left on this section of trail. I fell a good 6-7ft down. Landed next to a rock. Which I then slid over on my left side, and fell into the creek. Water was ~3ft deep, and cold. VERY cold. Bike, of course, was still attached to my feet (score one for you platform pedal guys). So now, I'm upside down, in the water, with my bike still attached to my feet. I'm somewhat shocked, and have to NOT breathe while I figure out how to get my feet off of my now labeled stupid effing bike. Luckily muscle memory helps me unclip one side, and I can kid of kick off the bike a little, unclip the bottom/trapped side, and right myself in the water. This all happens in like 10 seconds or less I'm guessing. By the time boss rolls up, I'm standing in the water looking up like a 1/2 drowned rat with my bike upside down in the creek beside me. His response "Well, you can't bitch about being hot anymore". Made sure to check I was OK first, then laughed at the whole spectacle of it.

Good news here is that the bike is fine. My Pixel 5 phone that was in my jersey pocket got fully submerged, and is fine. My legs torn up a good bit and my shoulder and arm are scraped and bruised pretty good. I'm pretty sore in general, but I think that's the nature of physical activity at 41 not so much the crash. Worst part for me from all this really......Is the crashing on what is literally an obstacle that all you have to do is ride around it. Like "don't go there and you'll make it". What the dang heck was I thinking? What a stupid place to crash. I'll stop and take a picture the next time I'm out there. It's a really absurd place for an unplanned bike evacuation.

Sounds like most crashes aside from the spectacular aftermath.
Seems like it’s usually dumb little things like not paying attention for half a second or target fixation that get you.
I’ve only had one bad crash on something big/technical. I could classify most as “Then I lose my mind. I'm not sure what the hell I was doing, or thinking…”

 

[tkeru408]

Crazy story! Glad you're ok. I had a kinda-similar crash this spring. Dumb little thing where I hit a rock I shouldn't, which pushed me left where I caught a handlebar, hit another rock and then went OTB and rolled down the creek bank (about 5 feet). Bike came to rest on the creek bank and I landed ass-side down sitting in about six inches of water...fortunately the creek was low that day!

 

[tabbibus]

speaking of crashes, I bought a raceface t shirt with shoulder and back D3O protection. Loved it. Barely knew it was there.

Here's a clip of my shenanigans with my buddy yesterday.

New video by Eduardo Egea

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[I_squared_r]

Sounds like most crashes aside from the spectacular aftermath.
Seems like it’s usually dumb little things like not paying attention for half a second or target fixation that get you.
I’ve only had one bad crash on something big/technical. I could classify most as “Then I lose my mind. I'm not sure what the hell I was doing, or thinking…”

I had the dumbest crash. At a local dirt jump park: I usually hit 2 jumps and then take the chicken line on the 3rd jump. Turn right and roll down a 5ft hill then pedal back up. I took off for about a month and then returned to this park. Jump 1 + 2 are fine and I go to roll down the hill except now someone took the dirt for another jump. I went over the bars, fell about 5ft, and I put my hands out to stop the fall. I immediately felt something wrong. Grade 3 AC joint separation. Super long recovery time!

 

[2kwik4u]

Google is watching my post history here. This came across my feed just now.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

@2kwik4u few things.
Glad you are ok. It's mtb'ing you are going to wreck. If you are wrecking every outing you are doing something wrong, once or twice a year at most for me. Most are minor, but it's going to happen. At least you got a witness to your funny shenanigans.
Unlike road biking there's no daydreaming. Have to stay 100% focused all the time or else.
Those pedals are adjustable with that little screw with the + <- - -> -. I assume you know that, but adjust just one (L or R) all the way in, see how it feels compared to the non-adjusted. Then adjust all the way out, test again in driveway to see how it feels, then find that happy medium. I like mine pretty tight (about 3/4 tight) and when I do wreck I find myself "turtled" and hard to unclip on the ground. But for me that's better than bouncing out of them on knarly descents....which just leads to more high speed wrecks.

Also quit looking at your front tire (not saying you are doing this but being new you likely are). By looking at your front tire it's already too late to adjust your line. Look WAY ahead at where you want to go. Front tire is going to hit rocks/roots all sorts of stuff. Let it. Along with this, relax your arms and upper body. Seems counter intuitive but you don't want to fight the front tire. It's going to bounce all around. Let it. Having your upper body relaxed will act like an extra shock absorber and will allow you to smoothly adjust to the flow of the bike and the trail. Next time you ride focus on looking 10-15 yards down trail and keeping super relaxed. You will ride smoother and faster.

Once you get that down then focus on ever so lightly lifting the front tire as you are hitting rocks/roots. I'm not talking about popping wheelies, just a very light, well timed, smooth lift to take the jolt off the impact. This will also soften things up and make you faster. Again not staring at front tire but working on your timing of things you see approaching 10-15 yards away.

If you want a good trainer for those skills you can ride my rigid singlespeed. You either learn quick or get the snot beat out of you. It's a fun bike.

 

[2kwik4u]

@mrmeaniemeateaterman

Those are some great tips. Thanks for sharing. I've spent years riding motorcycles, and am well aware of my target fixation issue. I work hard to mediate it, but sometimes it gets the better of me.

I went out again this afternoon. Was supposed to rain all day, but somehow that got pushed off until the evening, and it was a nice and around 60deg or so. Same route around Cherokee that I've been working on for awhile. No falls or crashes this time, and on top of that I finished in just under 45min, which is one of my better times. I can tell my lungs are starting to improve a bit or I've slowed down a little and am learning to go at a more consistent pace. Either way it was a much better ride this time than last.

I worked on looking ahead this time, and was thinking about these tips the entire time. It occurred to me it's a lot like flying a plane. Say I have 3-4 obstacles coming up. Each one is taking a little attention away and my vision strays closer and closer to the front tire. I need to put some effort into managing that workload, and not keeping my attention down trail.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the progression, and I feel like I'm ready to find some new trails, or start riding more laps of this one. I probably had to time to ride another lap this time, but decided to head home instead.

Oh yea......All the rack parts are in except the fit kit to attach the towers to the car. Hopefully those show up this week and I can stop doing the "back seat fold and slide dance" to go ride. I'm also ready to stop putting dirty/muddy tires in the back of the car, and to stop taking the front wheel off every time I go somewhere. Fingers crossed I'm not annoyed by the noise the roof rack makes.

 

[2kwik4u]

Aight folks......How cold will you ride down to?

I used to ride the death machine well into the low 30's. I have to think the Mt Bike isn't going to be as cold since the speeds are lower in general. Opportunity to get wet is greater (as I've since proven), but otherwise are there any downsides to biking down around freezing?

I have all the cold weather gear already. SOcks, Toe Covers, Leg Warmers, Insulated Shorts, Thermal shirts, windproof jacket, full finger gloves and windproof/lined Balaclava to go under the helmet.........I'm not missing something with MtBiking am I?

 

[tkeru408]

No, I don't think you're missing anything except perhaps that your suspension may not ride as smoothly/comfortably in cold weather as it does in warm weather. I routinely ride down to around/just below freezing.