Anyone else experience end-of-season depression?

[Quiver Queen]

After the weak snow season we've had, I'm not getting as depressed as I usually do. Thought I was done with the skis but hadn't quite gotten to the point of putting them and my clothes away....good thing, because I'm hearing about 2 feet of new up north and my go skiing tomorrow.

 

[abc]

You mean the one with the smaller cog or whatever? I know that's the one I meant. And it's still hard.

Never mind the bigger or smaller cog (you can't see it while riding anyway). Just shift to the one that's EASIER (and slower).

You'll go slower at first. But it saves your legs from burning out too quickly. Just spin faster to make up some. You'll be surprised when you pass the big guy who's "mashing" the too heavy gear (you can spot it, their legs are harding turning over at the top)

And if the terrain you ride is SO STEEP you're running out of easy gears? Go to the bike shop and ask them you need an easier gear. You can buy bigger cogs (easier gear) than what usually come standard with the bike.

 

[SnowGlider]

Gears

Be aware though that the maximum cog (rear gear) is limited by the length of the derailleur arm. If we're talking mountain bikes here, they already have a long-armed derailleur, but make sure any cog you order is compatibile with your derailleur.

But a road bike can easily be equipped with mountain gears so you can climb trees. That means a very large rear cog (34 or 36 teeth) and tiny front gear (something like 22 or 24 teeth). That's what I have on my road bike for our New Hampshire hills, and I love it.

It's interesting to study gear lengths and ratios and play with the numbers. But you come to realize that if the gear is too low, you will actually topple over because your legs will be spinning like crazy but the bike won't be moving very fast. :D :D

 

[lil mountain girl]

i used to get so sad . . . so very sad.
but as the seasons change and you find alternate and transitional sports, the pain eases and when it's time to let go, you can be done with winter, knowing that there's more to come next season . . . and rocks to climb and bikes to ride now!!! :D

i hear you, altagirl when it comes to the heat though . . . the ONLY thing that makes this lil mtn girl grumpy (and EXTREAMLY IRRITALBE :mad: ) is hot weather.

oh, well!

time to enjoy spring (and fall) and ride when you can!

ps thanks to "granny gear" :p on my bike i LOVE the ups just as much as the downs; i find it helps me warm up my headspace (since i'm new to mtn. biking)

 

[altagirl]

It's funny - I'm going the other way with gearing. I just bought a singlespeed to add to my collection of bikes and it's absolutely a blast! :D

 

[Gloria]

Never mind the bigger or smaller cog (you can't see it while riding anyway). Just shift to the one that's EASIER (and slower).

You'll go slower at first. But it saves your legs from burning out too quickly. Just spin faster to make up some. You'll be surprised when you pass the big guy who's "mashing" the too heavy gear (you can spot it, their legs are harding turning over at the top)

Thanks again, I do know how to ride a bike, I grew up riding with a neighbor whom made the olympic time trials. None the less, biking has been the sport that I am simply not talented in...It has nothing to do with the gears, it is just harder for me than other sports. I think I was saying that this is the same thing other women always say when I admit that it's hard for me.

 

[volklgirl]

Bike climbs....yuck.

Here's the rule I go by (I have no idea who told me this :o ):
If your legs are burning, go to a harder (bigger) gear. if your lungs are burning, go to an easier (smaller) gear.

It actually works. But beware of standing and pushing a big gear if you're going off road - it takes the weight off the rear tire and you'll spin out coming to an immediate stop-n-topple. Even if you don't stand up, the bigger gears can apply too much torque to the rear wheel with the same end result.

 

[altagirl]

Bike climbs....yuck.

Here's the rule I go by (I have no idea who told me this :o ):
If your legs are burning, go to a harder (bigger) gear. if your lungs are burning, go to an easier (smaller) gear.

It actually works. But beware of standing and pushing a big gear if you're going off road - it takes the weight off the rear tire and you'll spin out coming to an immediate stop-n-topple. Even if you don't stand up, the bigger gears can apply too much torque to the rear wheel with the same end result.

It's really a balance. If you spin in too easy a gear, you won't have the momentum to roll over obstacles. The trick is to learn to stand up when necessary, but feel if your rear tire has the traction to lean forward or if you need to hover your butt over your rear tire to keep more traction (but get less power). Or if you really have hardly any traction and need to keep your butt planted.

My biggest problem in mountain biking has been to convince myself to ride in larger gears. I tend to get lazy, and spin easily and I just get slower and slower uphill. I got the SS and what do you know - I do have the leg strengh to stand up and hammer up hills in a big gear. It does take balance too, and feeling the ground under you to pick where you're putting your weight in order to not spin out. But it works!

 

[Gloria]

It's really a balance. If you spin in too easy a gear, you won't have the momentum to roll over obstacles. The trick is to learn to stand up when necessary, but feel if your rear tire has the traction to lean forward or if you need to hover your butt over your rear tire to keep more traction (but get less power). Or if you really have hardly any traction and need to keep your butt planted.

Good point, I find that I don't enjoy spinning too much on really steep hills, because it does slow you down alot and it's almost like there is a chain drag or something. There seems also to be alot of wasted momentum in keeping the bike upright when you are spinning on a steep pitch. I tend to spin most on longer steady inclines than short steep pitches for this reason. I probably do ride one gear up than normal on steeps but I like the more fluid controlled feeling. I will go easier if there is too much resistance and the tire spins out behind me though. I will have to check where I am weighting myself when this happens. It sounds like I may be over the bike in the wrong place as opposed to the wrong gear.

 

[slipnslide]

Ho Hum, yes the blues are setting in. I need to get motivated to jump into a warm weather sport. I haven't ridden my mountain bike in more than five years since my husband never got into it. We always kayaked in the Outer Banks of NC. Now that I have moved to the hills, I pulled the MTN bike out of storage, but it needs updating. I love to backpack and have a least one weekend trip planned for early May, but my job, family, and my 18yo who is about to graduate high school in late May have taken almost every weekend until June. College tuition payment in August will remove all possibility of vacation this summer. Ho hum...wah, wah, wah...

 

[altagirl]

Good point, I find that I don't enjoy spinning too much on really steep hills, because it does slow you down alot and it's almost like there is a chain drag or something. There seems also to be alot of wasted momentum in keeping the bike upright when you are spinning on a steep pitch. I tend to spin most on longer steady inclines than short steep pitches for this reason. I probably do ride one gear up than normal on steeps but I like the more fluid controlled feeling. I will go easier if there is too much resistance and the tire spins out behind me though. I will have to check where I am weighting myself when this happens. It sounds like I may be over the bike in the wrong place as opposed to the wrong gear.

It's definitely worth experimenting with. Also - sometimes it's not only your body position on the bike, but how smoothly you're spinning in circles too - especially if you're in a big gear - if you mash down on the pedals it will spin out where if you are totally smooth you can probably get away with it. But yeah - next time you feel your rear tire start to slip, try that "hover back over the saddle" position and see if it helps.

Don't get me wrong - seated climbing is great too, especially if you're going for an endurance type ride. But there are times where you either have some short but really steep hill, or are sprinting rather than trying to conserve energy, or heck, your butt just needs a break from the saddle - it's great to have all those little techniques available to you to be able to do it whenever you want to.

 

[Gloria]

It'll work!

It just makes sense to me to shift your weight rather than try to shift gears on a short steep ascent. I will definately try it. I was pretty motivated to do it after work today but the pictures of your garage were more motivating. Mine is a wreck and probably the same workout to clean it. OMG I can't wait until we get a shop built out here, what a mess.

 

[Little Lightning]

After skiing in a foot of powder today I was not sensing the season was over until I drove back home to Denver today. Spring is definitely here. The grass is green, the trees are starting to leaf out and the tulips are blooming.

I came back to pick up my cat, she's at the kitty spa while we went on a hut trip over the weekend, and do laundry. I've reached my goal of 60 days but a winter storm watch is in effect tomorrow night for Summit county so I'm going back to the mtns. They're predicting snow for Denver also. It's going to be more fun skiing than sitting in Denver!

2 weeks ago Copper had about a 50" base and spring skiing. Now they have an 80" base, winter weather, awesome skiing and closing day is Sunday! :(

 

[kempokelly]

SnowGlider I sure can relate! When I first moved to Colorado, winter was yucky and inconvenient mostly because it was going to work... then we had a big blizzard...

Well, I've learned to ski since then... and now I get so excited whenever it snows! Somedays I just want to try to ski/jump off my roof. I love the fresh snow and how white it is and looking at the Rockies snow capped.

Yes, I do feel a little sad, when the first signs of Spring shows... I thought I was strange when everyone is saying how glad they were.

I do love spring skiing - there is something about snow and sun you know?

Mud season... dogs and mud don't mix.

 

[Thatsagirl]

Fortunately, I love skiing, in pretty much all conditions and weather. I most definitely love spring skiing, when it's warm and the snow is soft and I can wear the minimum of layers. Up here in northern VT, winter is not over yet, and neither is the ski season. We're getting another snowstorm starting tonight, followed by at least one other on Sunday. It is not unusual to get snow into the end of April here. We'll be skiing this weekend at Jay, and next weekend we're covering the Inferno Pentathlon at Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, NH.

That said, I'm ready for spring. My giant crocuses are in bloom (pretty in the snow ), daffodils have buds and tulips are several inches above the ground. Soon it will be time to do spring cleanup in my garden and get it ready for another summer full of blooms. We're ready to kayak and hike. We also might take out our mountain bikes this summer (hubby's is in need of repair so we haven't biked for quite awhile). We're also looking forward to using our deck and BBQ (we spend most of the summer out on our deck as long as the weather cooperates).

If you can find a way to play in every season, it's not depressing at all.

Thatsagirl

 

[Janetski]

The end of the season is a real downer. If we can't ski, let's get this miserable cold weather over with. The worst is if it snows after all the hills are closed. What a waste! Anyway, I have found a real cure for the blahs. I am getting a new puppy!

 

[kempokelly]

I am getting a new puppy!

OOOH!!! A new puppy?! Now, that is sure to beat the blues. What kind? Can you post a picture? I'm such a dog-lover. We've 2 litter-mates, Liz and Bear, that are 6 years old. They are 1/2 Border Collie and 1/2 German Shephard. They are the best companions.

Congratulations on the new addition.

 

[Janetski]

They are the best companions.

You are so right. We lost our girls last fall. They were mother and daughter (cockapoo mix) at age 16 and 18. We were devasted but it was their time to go. Now that spring is here we are blessed with a new puppy that we will be able to bring home in late May. He is a cockapoo and is ten days old. I will post a photo when he comes home

 

[Kriss240]

I always get end of the season blues! can't help it - as fun as the summer will be i miss skiing. There are always more lines to ski and more tricks to learn. although having to wait until next season makes you appreciate the sport that much more. But there's always snow somewhere - you just have to go a bit further for it.