2015 Cycle Stoke Thread

[surfsnowgirl]

We survived today. OMG it was fun. I was excited and terrified at the same time. Working with riding with each foot forward so each is comfortable. Still more comfortable with my right foot forward. By the second run I was riding standing up much of the time. Decent beginner trail. A couple scary parts (for me) but I did it. This was the most fun I have had outside of being on skis. I think I have found a new summer hobby. DH had a blast too. We had a great instructor Allan who was so patient, nice and encouraging. Plus every time we pulled over to rest people that passed up were so encouraging.

My bum (sit bone) is sore and OMG was I tired. Just woke up from a nap.

This thread has been so inspiring.

I can't wait to do this again. I Love skiing but now have something to look forward to come June.

 

[contesstant]

Your mental approach to it is not YET great.

/ducks and runs for cover

Story of my life...FWIW same thing happens riding horses. My own worst critic! At least I still have fun doing all of it :D

 

[contesstant]

We survived today. OMG it was fun. I was excited and terrified at the same time. Working with riding with each foot forward so each is comfortable. Still more comfortable with my right foot forward. By the second run I was riding standing up much of the time. Decent beginner trail. A couple scary parts (for me) but I did it. This was the most fun I have had outside of being on skis. I think I have found a new summer hobby. DH had a blast too. We had a great instructor Allan who was so patient, nice and encouraging. Plus every time we pulled over to rest people that passed up were so encouraging.

My bum (sit bone) is sore and OMG was I tired. Just woke up from a nap.

This thread has been so inspiring.

I can't wait to do this again. I Love skiing but now have something to look forward to come June.

Yes, it is such a blast! So glad you had fun! So many parallels to skiing, really. Challenging both mentally and physically, and gives you things to work toward!

 

[Ringrat]

I'm going to break into the mountain biking chat to say "woo! I managed a big ride!"

My previous longest ride was 74 km with @geargrrl a few years ago, so this was a big jump in distance. I've also had a mystery foot injury for 5 months, so I haven't been active at all this summer and some days I was more than done on the bike by 20 km from pain.

I was pretty stoked to complete the distance and feel ok at the end (just really tired!), but way more excited that my foot hadn't really bothered me the whole time. Breaking into three-digit distances makes some other rides seem way more possible!

 

[contesstant]

That's really awesome! And I can totally relate to "X" not hurting during or after a big ride! Makes it that much more exciting for sure :D

 

[bounceswoosh]

@Ringrat - has your foot generally been better lately? Was it just a time thing, or have you been working on it?

 

[geargrrl]

I had a beautiful fire road climb yesterday, 11 miles. It had just finished raining. The light was very golden and filtered. The dirt was giving off mist and there were banks of mist rolling along the tops of the cedars. The guys were in front of me and it was incredible beautiful.

 

[contesstant]

Sounds mystical and wonderful. I love fall riding in general! Heading up to 8500 feet and the Brim trail here shortly. Will take pics!

 

[geargrrl]

I had a beautiful fire road climb yesterday, 11 miles. It had just finished raining. The light was very golden and filtered. The dirt was giving off mist and there were banks of mist rolling along the tops of the cedars. The guys were in front of me and it was incredible beautiful.

This was only 9 miles, the last part of a 20 mile ride that was all singletrack with that culminated in a 5 miles descent... hence the forest road climb back out to the rig. We had rain, hail, wind, sun, rainbow, partial meltdown by yours truly, slippery trails....everything but the usual bear sighting that we usually have in this area.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I am so jealous of you guys and all the fall ride photos I see in my facebook feed! I'm not allowed to ride anything that only has two wheels - no mountain bike, no road bike, not even my motorcycle. ARRRGHH. And I don't think bursitis is something that can be rushed. I can do PT, but it's more palliative than anything.

Anyway, enjoy!

 

[contesstant]

I know, Bounce, I've been thinking about you. I'm sorry :( And I know how it feels, too. Sucks!

 

[Ringrat]

@Ringrat - has your foot generally been better lately? Was it just a time thing, or have you been working on it?

No, not much improvement. Some days are better than others, but the past week and a half or so have been worse. No diagnosis, CT scan was normal. Appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on Wed, still waiting for MRI. The physio's been working on some things, but no smoking gun, just theories. And working on them doesn't seem to help, at least not in the 4-5 months we've been working on them. I'm in denial and scared to try ski boots. Skates go on in a couple weeks, that'll be an experiment. Thanks for asking, though! *hugs* back to you too!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I know, Bounce, I've been thinking about you. I'm sorry :( And I know how it feels, too. Sucks!

Ah, well. It's "good" timing - with the new job, I can just immerse myself in that and then laze about and decompress over the weekend. I just gotta be good for ski season! I hope this won't have unforeseen consequences in terms of skiing dynamics.

No, not much improvement. Some days are better than others, but the past week and a half or so have been worse. No diagnosis, CT scan was normal. Appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on Wed, still waiting for MRI. The physio's been working on some things, but no smoking gun, just theories. And working on them doesn't seem to help, at least not in the 4-5 months we've been working on them. I'm in denial and scared to try ski boots. Skates go on in a couple weeks, that'll be an experiment. Thanks for asking, though! *hugs* back to you too!

I'm sorry to hear (read) that. Fingers crossed that the MRI gives you some answers.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Hope you are back in the saddle again soon enough Bounceswoosh. Glad you have your job to keep you busy.

I want to downhill mountain bike a few more times before I get my own stuff due to the expense involved. The guys at the bike shop suggested a website called Pink Bike.com. They said its a buy/sell/trade site just for bikes. Is anyone familiar with this? Might at least pick up knee/elbow pads.

 

[altagirl]

Hope you are back in the saddle again soon enough Bounceswoosh. Glad you have your job to keep you busy.

I want to downhill mountain bike a few more times before I get my own stuff due to the expense involved. The guys at the bike shop suggested a website called Pink Bike.com. They said its a buy/sell/trade site just for bikes. Is anyone familiar with this? Might at least pick up knee/elbow pads.

I'm familiar with Pinkbike, but haven't really bought/sold anything on there. I always feel like the majority of the ads are from Canada and shipping wouldn't make any sense.

What size do you need for armor? I may have some extra stuff lying around.

 

[bounceswoosh]

What size do you need for armor? I may have some extra stuff lying around.

I've not bought anything off of pinkbike.com , but I also have extra armor I don't use.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I am embarrassed to admit I don't know what size armor I had. I do remember I had a Large helmet (I have a big head) but not sure about the knee or elbow pads?

 

[altagirl]

I am embarrassed to admit I don't know what size armor I had. I do remember I had a Large helmet (I have a big head) but not sure about the knee or elbow pads?

Most companies have decent size charts so you can measure biceps/thighs/etc. and figure out what fits. It does vary brand to brand, especially if they have women's specific gear. I can't even fit in Large Womens Race Face arms - they're too small for my arms. Which I guess is good that they make small sizes, because I can just wear unisex arm guards and women with very thin arms actually have something available that doesn't fall right off....

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Ok, thanks. My elbows and forearms are small but my legs are bigger so I guess I'll need to try some on. I'll be back up at Mount Snow in 2 weeks for my boot fitting so I think I'll go into the bike shop and find out what sizes they had on me last weekend. That'll be good place to start I think. I do want to invest in a decent pair of bike shorts so I have a little cush for my tush