My first ride in ~10 years

marcski · May 8, 2008

Greg said:
Indeed. I would actually love to find something that I could just get to directly from my house on the bike though. That would get me out a lot more often, I'm sure.

I love being able to ride directly from my house. I have about a 1/2 mile uphill (a nice steep hill too) to a great local trail network. And then I'm 10 minutes to 2 other great county parks that allow riding and about 25 to another. Although, it takes me a while to get to any good skiing....I live in a great area for biking!

Greg · May 8, 2008

Greg said:
Indeed. I would actually love to find something that I could just get to directly from my house on the bike though. That would get me out a lot more often, I'm sure.

I think I might have found something. There is a small state park which is little more than woods, within 2 miles from my house. I didn't walk too far since I had the kids with me but there are some very lightly used trails leading into the woods. It's a small area. Maybe 0.5 mile x 1 mile, but perhaps it's good enough to set up a small trail system. Anyone wanna help?

I'll have to check it out a bit more.

MR. evil · May 8, 2008

Greg said:
but perhaps it's good enough to set up a small trail system. Anyone wanna help? I'll have to check it out a bit more.

I am not sure if your joking, so I will assume you are serious about setting up a trail system at this park.

Please don't!....Atleast not without the permission from the park land manager. Even with the best of intentions, people that go out and make there own trails (aka poaching) on public or private land ruins it for the rest of us. If you do get permission I would seek the help of your local Mountain biking club and or trail advocate. They can show how to build trails that will last. It is not as easy as you may think.

Greg · May 9, 2008

MR. evil said:
I am not sure if your joking, so I will assume you are serious about setting up a trail system at this park.

Please don't!....Atleast not without the permission from the park land manager. Even with the best of intentions, people that go out and make there own trails (aka poaching) on public or private land ruins it for the rest of us. If you do get permission I would seek the help of your local Mountain biking club and or trail advocate. They can show how to build trails that will last. It is not as easy as you may think.

I wasn't really serious. You're the one that must be joking if you actually think I have that amount of free time!

What I meant was, the trails that I saw were not at all heavily traveled, certainly not by mountain bikers. I wouldn't think of doing any cutting or making "new" trails in any way, but rather just ride on what's there, clearing downed trees that are in the way (again, just by pushing them off to the side, not cutting), etc.

JD · May 14, 2008

a good raking never hurt either.

Trekchick · May 15, 2008

Greg, good for you!!!
Nothing takes the place of skiing for me, but Mt biking is what I do to pass the time until I can go skiing again.

My first Mt bike is/was the trek 4900, with disc brakes and rapid fire shifters.
Last year I kicked my riding up a notch and invested in a Trek Liquid 25.
Now, where can I buy skill?

Seriously, I got into a group that rides every Wed night at 6:30. We always know someone is going to show up to ride so we always have a partner.
Logs are getting a lot easier for me, but I freak out on skinny's. Just can't wrap my mind around them.

Up hill logs are my nemesis!!!:-?

What I noticed with mt biking is this:
It has helped my mogul skiing, because, .........I was not looking far enough ahead. When I got into mt biking, I learned that you look past the trees you're going between, DON'T look AT the trees.
Learning to look ahead in the trees helped me to learn to look ahead in the moguls.

JD · May 15, 2008

Greg. Enjoy being a novice. Every time you go you will notice improvement, and if that doesn't make you wanna get back out again and again I don't know what will. Love the progression.

Greg · May 15, 2008

JD said:
Greg. Enjoy being a novice. Every time you go you will notice improvement, and if that doesn't make you wanna get back out again and again I don't know what will. Love the progression.

Been struggling to find the time to get back out lately. Can't wait to though. Back in the day, I think I was an okay rider so I think I'll progress quickly which might make me get hooked even more. I really need something to keep the off-ski-season blues at bay.

from_the_NEK · May 22, 2008

Greg said:
Been struggling to find the time to get back out lately. Can't wait to though. Back in the day, I think I was an okay rider so I think I'll progress quickly which might make me get hooked even more. I really need something to keep the off-ski-season blues at bay.

Greg, since you never seem to be able to get to Burke during the winter to ski, you should a least set aside a weekend this summer and make a trip to the Kingdom Trails in Burke. There is a tremendous amount of perfectly groomed single track riding that doesn't require you to be an expert by any means. Some of the flowing downhill single track gives me the same feeling as skiing a good bump run :lol:

ckofer · May 29, 2008

cbcbd said:
That's awesome Greg. I think MTB brings out similar thrills as skiing and you can definitively get very technical with it and engage your left brain artistic perfectionist... or whatever that was

The only bummer is... biking muscles aren't skiing muscles. But hey, its good exercise and a lot of fun.

I'm trying to get myself back into it. Busted 5 ribs last summer (mild lung puncture) on a slow ride. Being a wuss.

As far as biking muscles go, I agree somewhat w ski muscles being different. On the other hand, it keeps you in great shape for snowboarding.

The social aspect to riding is a lot like group skiing-for better or worse.

Greg · Jun 6, 2008

A little damp, but I think I'm gonna hit the mad steezy trails of White Memorial again tonight.... :lol:

Greg · Jun 6, 2008

Greg said:
A little damp, but I think I'm gonna hit the mad steezy trails of White Memorial again tonight.... :lol:

Nice little doubletrack cruise again tonight. I rode much more smoothly and added more mileage than I did in the same amount of time (only an hour) during last outing. The clipless pedals make a huge difference in not wasting energy. I like being "locked in" and I only fell over once and that was at the end of the ride while looking at the map at the trail head.

Still, I think I'm ready to start getting back into some mellow singletrack.

bvibert · Jun 9, 2008

Greg said:
Nice little doubletrack cruise again tonight. I rode much more smoothly and added more mileage than I did in the same amount of time (only an hour) during last outing. The clipless pedals make a huge difference in not wasting energy. I like being "locked in" and I only fell over once and that was at the end of the ride while looking at the map at the trail head. Still, I think I'm ready to start getting back into some mellow singletrack.

We definitely have to get together for an after work ride up there sometime. There's nothing too exciting there, but it's a nice way to unwind after work.

Greg · Jun 9, 2008

bvibert said:
We definitely have to get together for an after work ride up there sometime. There's nothing too exciting there, but it's a nice way to unwind after work.

Let me know when...

powbmps · Jun 9, 2008

I'm scared to go into the woods solo. Too many bears around here.

Skier75 · Jun 9, 2008

Yep, finially got a ride in last night and again tonight, first time this season. Only got to ride once last year, hubby's first time last night in two years. Hoping to do more this year. We only went to the end of our road and back which equates to about 2.6 miles round trip. Quite a bit of up and down for a short ride, but gotta get the wind back, not too bad for the legs, just winded getting up the steeps.

Good thing hubby only went for a short ride last night, gotta work those kinks outta the bike, since it's been sitting for a while. It's a start.

Greg · Jun 9, 2008

I'm looking at my 4th ride tomorrow and my 5th on Sunday. I'm so happy I rediscovered MTB. It'll keep me going until November, plus I'll keep in shape as a bonus. I'm at the point where I am looking forward to the next ride just like I do the next ski trip. Riding this past weekend with a few AZers sealed it for me - definitely something I want to keep up with.

deadheadskier · Jun 9, 2008

What flipped the switch to get you back into it?

I was pretty into it in High School, but lost interest once I went to college. Now the beach/swimming is my summer hobby, though I have yet to take a dip yet....still a tad cold. Someday I think kite surfing will be my summer passion. Unfortunately the entry costs to it are higher than skiing.

Greg · Jun 9, 2008

deadheadskier said:
What flipped the switch to get you back into it?

Not really sure. I think I just wanted to get back into something during what I would consider the off-season (non-skiing). We bought our second house in 2005 (the same year my wife bought me the bike) and I've spent the last two summers doing some rather large scale projects. Free time was pretty limited. I went into this summer determined to not have a long-term project looming over my head. I also really enjoy yard work/landscaping, but I'm just getting into maintenance mode with that so it doesn't really take up much time. The kids are also older now (not infants anyway) so it's easier to break away for a few hours to take a ride. It was either riding or getting back into hiking/backpacking and riding is actually easier since you only need to commit a few hours vs. almost a full day for a decent day hike (about an hour away) or longer for backpacking trip. With MTB, there are a lot of parallels to skiing too. Plus, once you have the gear, it's free.

MR. evil · Jun 14, 2008

Greg said:
Plus, once you have the gear, it's free.

HA HA HA .......Hmmm right.......free......:roll:

My first ride in ~10 years

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