Oooh, would you check out those learning curves

[Dr. Guitar]

I was at work today and had an idea for a thread here that may help everyone. Maybey this may spread some insight for those that make the trails out there too.

The idea of this thread is to state how you started biking, how you have come along, and where you want to go. All the "What makes a good biker" stuff got me wondering about what everyone else has gone through to get to their level of skill.

[Dr. Guitar]

For me, my addiction started after I burrowed a friend's Bianchi for an afternoon of mud bogging behind my school just before graduation. I just had to get my own bike then. I am not a big guy, 5'8" 135, so I am somewhat naturaly suited for endurance sports. I started on a Ralegh M50. All ridgid. The first summer on a mtnbike was spent doing what few local trails there were. Mostly out at a place that motocross and atv's ran, so the trail was mostly super steep, and muddy.

My second year of riding brought me my second bike (the one I still ride). My friends and I would spend as many as 6 hours tooling around town. I would ride at a real trail at least once a week. Nothing too technical, but I could go a long ways. 20 miles was never too daunting. After about 2 years of that, I moved to the cities, and biking took a back burner in my life, untill last april.

The only original parts on my bike are the frame, and aheadset. (And all the parts are worn out again!)

I have allways liked being able to go for long rides. Twisting through the trees is more fun for me than speed. On the other hand I like varriety. I want to be a complete mountain biker. Bring on the log piles of LH, and the speed of Murphy. Before, I was all about going the distance. I am not an agressive rider, but I could climb the longest hills, as long as they didn't get too technical. I held out on getting V brakes forever. The only reason I have them now is because my fork I put on a year ago, was not canti compatable.

When I got back into riding a year ago, I had all sorts of problems with my back stiffening up. Good news, I am in shape enough now that I have done 2 20+ mile rides in the past week.

What gets me through my work days are my day dreams of riding, and the new bike that is posibly in my future. There is such great varriety in the metro, and I am allways analysing what I need to do to become better. One finger braking, carry more speed, limit my shifting, day off workouts, etc. I slow myself down more than anything else.

[zerpy]

Ohh sure, I'll bite - the stories can only go up from here:)

I started biking this spring (not counting the biking I did 12 years ago as a teenager without a car). I've been interested in it for a long time, but until about a year or so ago weighed almost 400 lbs. I have since lost about a hundred pounds (my doc put me on the atkins diet - low carbing rocks except for bonking in the mtb trails) and got started this spring.

When I rode as a kid I had no idea of off road trails, used biking as transportation. I was talking to guys at work that are into biking a couple of years ago and really got interested in mountain biking. Sounded like fun. So while I was losing weight I started learning a bit about it and saving some bucks. This feb during the bike sales I picked up my first bike and have been riding it ever since. A guy at work showed me some web sites to look up trail info. Eventually I followed a link to morc here that had great trail info and I learned about the local trails like lebanon that I only live a few miles away from. And I've been stumbling, or more like endo-ing, through the trails ever since.

I'm pretty awful. I rode leb again today, still just the intermediate loop, don't dare do the X or XX yet. Maybe they're not too bad, but I'm just not confident in myself yet. Sometime if I have time so that if I have to do a lot of walking my bike I'll give it a shot:) I only fell once today, which is really good for me. The "big" log crossing in the intermediate loop still got me as my chainring dug in today, but I did keep rolling sort of. I think it is my first time over it and remaining vertical, usually I end up a human pretzel wrapped around my bike still trying desperately to get unclipped:) I'm getting pretty frusterated at my progress though, would like it to be faster. I get so damn tired riding the trail I don't have the energy to handle some of the technical stuff. I have found road biking to be really helping, especially on my climbing and my endurance.

Where do I want to go? Don't know, definately better. I think that no matter how good I get I will find another challenge to work toward. If not I'll probably get bored. I think my biggest fear is being an obstacle on the trail for other more competent riders and that keeps me from trying more of the advanced stuff. But I still have a lot of work to go at the current trails to ride. Trying a race might be fun in the future, at least just to experience it.

I think my biggest motivator isn't a level of expertese, but it is fitness. I have a long ways to go and I want to get into better shape.

Sorry this was so long, hope it's what you are looking for.

[manitouman84]

Jason, keep riding on riding on ma man, youll get there. One of my riding buddies from work is a pretty large guy, probably 250+, but man can he rip up the trails, its awesome. Youll get there, More power to ya.

My riding goes back as far as I can remember. Back to the days of my first bike without training wheels, I was hooked. I went through like 2 or 3 bikes back in the day. A target bike, and a diamond back. In 8th grade I got my first mountain bike, the schwinn mesa. I rode that thing everywhere. I would bike from edina to uptown all the time and just tool around with my friends in the streets. Picked up my first trail experience at the river bottoms, sometime in 9th grade, and started working at Penn Cycle. I bought a schwinn homegrown frame from an employee and started building my bike through pro deals at penn. Before I could finish it though, short on cash and now with a license and a girlfriend, biking was curbed. Just this summer however, my first year back from college, I took the ol schwinn mesa back to the bottoms. I was instantly hooked again, now with funds, and car to get to all the trails aorund the city, I finished my homegrown. Ive been biking to work almost everyday since, and I hit the trails atleast twice a week. If it werent for MORC i probably wouldnt have gotten back into the scene. So I guess thanks to the guys who run this thing! :banana: As for skill, I think that just came naturally with all the years of riding. Although there is still lots of room for improvement. I endo way too much for my own good, and I tacoed my first wheel at the farm a few weeks ago, it was a pretty wicked crash, did a complete flip before impact. But you know what they say, if your not falling, your not riding hard enough.

Theres my story, im sure you all cared though

[Maverick]

Not counting the biking I did as pre-license years, I didn't get started again until this spring. I was getting the urge to bike again (I remember how fun it was as a kid) but I didn't know if I'd get serious about it so I bought myself a Trek 4300 in early spring. I soon realized that moutain biking was becoming my new hobby, and I needed a bike that could withstand the abuse of the off roading. So I bought another bike in early July. A Marin Rocky Ridge (I love this thing). Right now I just look forward to my days off so I can go riding on my bike.

As far as the future is concerned, right now it is just getting past all those rock gardens at Lebanon. After that it'll be all fun until John makes some new gardens. I'm out there for more of the fun of it so I doubt I'll get into racing.

By the way, I have yet to do an endo. I fall over all the time since I am the worst at unclipping but no endos, maybe I'm not riding right...

[socrates]

Originally posted by zerpy
Ohh sure, I'll bite - the stories can only go up from here:)

IEventually I followed a link to morc here that had great trail info and I learned about the local trails like lebanon that I only live a few miles away from. And I've been stumbling, or more like endo-ing, through the trails ever since.

I'm pretty awful. I rode leb again today, still just the intermediate loop, don't dare do the X or XX yet. Maybe they're not too bad, but I'm just not confident in myself yet. Sometime if I have time so that if I have to do a lot of walking my bike I'll give it a shot:) I only fell once today, which is really good for me. The "big" log crossing in the intermediate loop still got me as my chainring dug in today, but I did keep rolling sort of. I think it is my first time over it and remaining vertical, usually I end up a human pretzel wrapped around my bike still trying desperately to get unclipped:) I'm getting pretty frusterated at my progress though, would like it to be faster. I get so damn tired riding the trail I don't have the energy to handle some of the technical stuff. I have found road biking to be really helping, especially on my climbing and my endurance.

Where do I want to go? Don't know, definately better. I think that no matter how good I get I will find another challenge to work toward. If not I'll probably get bored. I think my biggest fear is being an obstacle on the trail for other more competent riders and that keeps me from trying more of the advanced stuff. But I still have a lot of work to go at the current trails to ride. Trying a race might be fun in the future, at least just to experience it.

I think my biggest motivator isn't a level of expertese, but it is fitness. I have a long ways to go and I want to get into better shape.

Sorry this was so long, hope it's what you are looking for.

Jason...join us next Tuesday at 6pm in the parking lot.....Tuesday's in August are group ride night and we'll be there every week....you'll learn alot of different techs from the different guys

[manual63]

I started riding BMX in 1980. That is where my skill came from. I raced BMX until 1998 and I still ride freestyle street and at the parks sometimes. In 1987 I got a Cannondale mountain bike and used it to go to school downtown. I also treated it like my BMX bikes and it broke all the time. I kinda gave up on it until 1994 when I got a Kona and started racing MTB at Buck Hill. I later did some NORBA races up until about 1998 and I just got burnt out on racing. TCBMX went out of business and I had to get my computer programming career going. Now that I am settled in with a career, going back to do more school too, and a wife, I decided to take MTBing more serious again. I did the Maah Daah Hey last spring and have riden Leb a lot this summer. I also try to help MORC when I can. Once my wife gets done with law school and I finish school, I will get a lot more involved in the MTB scene. I enjoy riding and age does not limit me. At 36, I still like to ride street on my freestyle bike, I just learned how to ride ramp on a skateboard last year, and the XX Loop is my good friend. No one ever said you had to stop being crazy as you get older......to me, it's a myth people have in their heads.

[EmL34]

Well put, Shad. Maybe you're not so bad. I'll be 31 on Sunday and ride 10 times harder and frequently now as I did at 21.

To everyone who worrys that MTB might be an addiction: You're the normal ones.

[nicnac]

I too just got back into biking this summer. There have been a lot of factors that routed me back to bikes I think. Fitness and overall health has really been the biggest. I've always considered myself to be an active person. And for a majority of my life that has been the case...I just conveniently overlooked how lazy I had become the last few years though. heh
A while ago a good friend of mine dove head first into the mtb and racing scene. That sparked my interest again until I found out how out of shape I was. (I think it was more embarrassing than anything! haha)
Well, this year I decided to quit my 12 year cigarette habit! I knew that I HAD to have my lungs back if I wanted to take riding seriously.
Anyway, it's been great. I bought my friends old GT this June and did some road riding with my girlfriend. While I was looking for some good trail info I ran across MORC's site and was pretty impressed. I figured that feeling like I could be a part of the trails would be my best way to stay motivated. I've helped on trail night once at Leb and it's true...I did feel kind of a bond with the trail when I rode it next that I never felt before.
I've been trying to check out all the nearby trails and I think I actually like Terrace Oaks the best right now. Mainly because it's less populated and shorter. It's been a great and challenging trail for me. I've noticed that my confidence on my bike has improved a ton in a short time. I still get wore out a lot sooner than I would like, and wind up walking up some inclines or running into those corner trees but I know I'm kicking a$$ all over what I could have done last year!
I don't know if it could happen next year but I think it would be way fun to actually try a race. Although racing will be a possible goal, I do know that riding through the shrouded mystery and mystic of The Farm is something I can't wait to do. Someday....
Right now it would only amount to a walking tour I'm afraid. haha

[manual63]

Originally posted by EmL34
Well put, Shad. Maybe you're not so bad.

I think a lot people get the wrong impression about me here sometimes. I like to stir up controversy sometimes and I admit to being a bit opinionated, but I like just about everyone and get along with everyone.

[Brick]

This last couple of years, I have come to the reaization that some of the stuff I did as a kid are even better when done as an adult. It seems that I have "re-discovered" the outdoors. I'll leave skiing out of this since the discussion is about biking;)

I had no intention of "getting into biking" this last year, it just kind of happened. My daughter has been flirting with biking for several years, and it wasn't untill this last spring that the light went on that this was a really fun thing to do. I was in trouble, I didn't have a roadworthy bike, and I had the feeling that I would be doing rides w. the kiddo A LOT (which has proven to be true). I started looking at bikes and ultimately decided to go with what I knew (I grew up on a schwinn). I figured I would be doing mostly paved trails, but I wanted the ability to do some off-road as well, so I settled on a rigid bike (2 arms-2 legs, that's all the suspension I need).:crazy:

Dunno--call it a compromise bike, but it's great on the road, and it handles well on singletrack as well, but I realized after my first ride w. the kid, how much I missed being on a bike. Growing up I rode constantly--some of my friends had "dirt bikes" (BMX) and some of us had 10-speeds--we rode together, both raod and trail, it didn't matter. I figured it might be nice to actually have a bike that was designed to take some punishment. Did some road riding (liked it) , and then I went down to Battle Creek--loved it--
:crazy2: thought it would be cool to be able to bike the same trails that I ski on in the winter, and I got hooked--bad.

My current goal is to improve on my bike handling skills (anone want to put on a skills clinic??), and just ride........and now that I have a bike I like, I feel compelled to "improve" it (kinda like my car).

Right now I'm stuck out in Vermont, in the Green Mountains with no bike........:mad: although I think I'd be more frusterated if I had my bike out here as it's been raining every evening since I arrived.

[zerpy]

Originally posted by socrates
Jason...join us next Tuesday at 6pm in the parking lot.....Tuesday's in August are group ride night and we'll be there every week....you'll learn alot of different techs from the different guys

I'd love to, but tuesday evenings I have a Tang Soo Do class. There's always something....:crazy:

[martini]

This might be long...so get settled!

I've been riding mtb's since I was 13 or 14(I'm 30 now). It started when my black Huffy with the cool heavy aluminum Mags was stolen off the front porch of my house after I left it out one night. That sucked so hard. At the time I wanted to get another BMX so I could maybe race it or something like that. My dad, though wouldn't have that. See, I was already 6'3". He said I looked stupid on BMX bikes. Which is true. I just don't fit them. A cruiser maybe, but we didn't have them in town then. So thankfully, he DID buy me a new bike, but it was a mountain bike, and I was absolutely devistated. It was literally the first one on the block, and got ribbed endlessly for having this goofy looking bike with gears and big knobby tires.

I still rode it though, and took it every where. In town, in the country, then I started finging 3wheeler trails in the woods! My whole attitude at that point changed 180°! I found that it was cool to ride this bike, cause I could go anywhere on it and do nearly anything with it. The trails I found wound around gravel pits, over rocky shelves and up and down steep hills. They were short, but to my mind, they were awesome. That bike (a Schwinn Mesa Runner) lasted me two years till I broke it from all the rough trails I'd been riding. I got it replaced, only to break the replacement with in four months or so. So I got another one. It didn't last long either.

At this point my dad was kinda pissed. but we still went out and got anouther bike though. This time we went to a real bike shop. I got my first really nice bike that day. A Bauer Chequamegon. 4130 butted steel frame. Shimano Deore components. Araya RM-20 rims(they're still kickin' too!) and Tioga Farmer John tires. That bike was the shiznit! I rode it through the rest of highschool and into college. It went through many races, and 1000's of miles. It finally bent on campus as I was showing off, jumping off a 2' ledge. :embarass: It was a sad day. Since then I moved on through Cannondales(all broken), Bontragers, Gunnars, Konas, WTB, and now my Hunter.

By that point, my riding skills had certainly improved. I started all trepidacious and ginger back in the day on that Schwinn, not sure of how I was to do any of this. I was the only guy I knew that was doing this though, so I just made it all up. Growing up and learning on a rigid has really made me know how to ride smooth, wasting as little effort as possible. I crashed ALOT though, and have the scars to prove it. Road rash on the calves. Barbed wire, and thorns on my arms. Stitches in my head. Meat missing form my shins(bear trap pedals and no shin guards in the day). And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Jason, it sounds like you're well on your way to a successful MTB career. Just keep pluggin' away. It's cool to see the new enthusiasm bubbling through your post. At times, I feel like I can be a bit jaded. I guess that happens after you've been doing this for a while. It's good to see the passion burst through!

[Dr. Guitar]

Keep at it Jason. Leb is definately the most popular trail. I don't know if you ride anywhere else, but maybey try the River Bottoms. If you take the trails to the west, you can get a real good work out. It's level, with lots of spinning the peddals to build up your endurance, and a few log piles you can practice on for your next time back at Leb.