Holly’s Blog

Feel free to skim the following… you may find it very useful…

Getting started

So, you’ve decided that Mountain Biking is for you? Allow me to help you rethink your decision. Think back to a time when you broke a bone or ripped a ligament or tendon. I’ll bet it hurt. A lot. Would you repeat that activity knowing that you might very well injure yourself? Now think about hiking, an activity you probably tried prior to coming up with this idea of mountain biking. Did you EVER get partway up a trail and decide, “Eh, I don’t need to get to the top. I think I’ll take a little rest and head back to the SUV.” If you answered ‘no’ to the first question OR ‘yes’ to the second, give up all hopes and dreams of becoming a hardcore mountain biker. The closest you will ever get is riding an old railroad bed that has been covered in nice fine gravel. In fact, you should not bother to buy a bike with a suspension, as you will likely never hit a bump big enough to compress it (well maybe the occasional curb). Don’t take this the wrong way. This doesn’t mean you can’t go out and ride that railroad grade till your heart’s content, it’s just that it is not even close to the same as going up (all the way up) a mountain. There is a reason this is called Mountain Biking and not Gravel Road Biking.

If you are still reading, then you must realize that mountain biking is, “All about Pain.” It’s not my quote, but it is so apt. To clarify, as my good friend “el jéfé” puts it, mountain biking is, “all about searing lungs, sharp pain, and open wounds.” I think he still has trouble remembering his concussion, which has obviously persisted long after the sharp pain and open wounds.

To further clarify, uphill is pain; downhill is the threat of pain. Consider this scenario. You are going riding on a trail that has the option of starting from the top or the bottom. Do you:

a) Start at the bottom and begin your day with pain.

b) Start at the top and end your day with pain.

c) Put one car at the bottom and drive to the top thus avoiding the climb.

If you answered a, you are correct, continue reading. If you answered b, you’re naive, you forgot to consider how much easier it is to go downhill after you break your collarbone. If you answered c, you should have stopped reading two and half paragraphs ago.

Still here? Now it is time to ride. Many people will tell you many things about how to ride in various conditions. It really is quite simple and boils down to a few general concepts:

(see previous post)