Mountainbikers

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  • May 16, 2012 at 5:27 pm #911356
    jabberwocky
    Participant

    Just curious how many MTBers we have here. I know this forum has more of a roadie/commuter vibe, but I also know there are a few of us here who hit the dirt when we aren’t riding to work. :)

    I actually got into cycling by making the jump from skateboarding straight to mountainbiking. I rode off road exclusively from 2002 until late 2005 when I bought my townhouse in Reston, and got curious about trying to commute by bike to my job in Tysons. I put slicks on my MTB and rode for a week before buying a cyclocross bike. Forum crazy man Dirt talked me into some actual road rides maybe a year later and now I spend more time on my carbon road bike than I do on my MTB (though I still love riding the MTB).

    May 16, 2012 at 5:57 pm #940689
    eminva
    Participant

    I am also curious about the answer to this — my husband rides some MTB (and is a lurker here sometimes), but that is a sore topic as he is injured now.

    I am what you would consider a very neophyte mountain bike rider. If I had more time (and a bike that fit better), I would pursue it. None of those crazy rock formations out west, mind you. Well, maybe I could work up to that. Any suggestions for how to go about that are welcome.

    Liz

    May 16, 2012 at 6:08 pm #940692
    jabberwocky
    Participant

    @eminva 19747 wrote:

    If I had more time (and a bike that fit better), I would pursue it. None of those crazy rock formations out west, mind you. Well, maybe I could work up to that. Any suggestions for how to go about that are welcome.

    Best way is to hit up some of the easier trails in the area (Wakefield, Laurel Hill, Lake Fairfax, Schaeffer Farms, Rosaryville). Once you feel comfortable there, move to the more difficult ones (Fountainhead, Patapsco) and then onto the seriously difficult ones (Elizabeth Furnace, Gambrill, the Frederick Watershed). It takes a while though.

    The regional club is MORE (http://www.more-mtb.org/). They used to have a bit more active ride scene, but its fallen off somewhat in recent years (especially beginner friendly rides). I do lead casual rides for them occasionally though.

    May 16, 2012 at 6:26 pm #940695
    GuyContinental
    Participant

    Jabberwocky- I assume that you are the same frumious one that posts under that name on MORE?

    I’d call myself a formerly pretty dedicated mountain biker with low-level racing out in AZ all the way back to 1995. When I moved to DC I became a crazed whitewater kayak guy; when I got tired of driving to WV I came back to MTB (it doesn’t eat a whole day to go for a FH ride…). Now that I have kids 90% of my riding is on road and 90% of THAT is commuting. When I have a “day pass” I refuse to touch a road bike. Did Snotcycle this year and hope to make it out for the WoW series…

    I love the endorphins that come from riding of any sort but the adrenaline/endorphin mix of solid, fast single track or the feeling of triumph from busting op some “unclimbable” on a SS just can’t be beat. Road keeps me in shape for the SS MTB (kind of- I’m losing interval strength).

    I’ve been trying to get more MTB miles, even went as far as to join the MeetUp that rides out in Reston after work but to date I haven’t made a single appearance- always have either ridden to work or have family commitments in the evening. My wife is super cool about the riding (I’m a nicer human when I get rides in) but Kids. Are. Tough.

    I have some hope- my oldest just picked up a Skuut and started charging on it:
    http://youtu.be/BwGmVOCAsTQ

    I’m hoping that my wife and I can start taking him out to the creek section of WF and then taking turns doing laps- that changes “daddy vanished and went biking” into “family biking adventure (during which daddy vanishes to a place called Accotink)”

    I’d love to find a group of similarly burdened moms/dads that does weekend morning MTB rides on a predictable basis… anyone up for a ride?

    May 16, 2012 at 6:32 pm #940696
    GuyContinental
    Participant

    @jabberwocky 19750 wrote:

    Best way is to hit up some of the easier trails in the area (Wakefield, Laurel Hill, Lake Fairfax, Schaeffer Farms, Rosaryville). Once you feel comfortable there, move to the more difficult ones (Fountainhead, Patapsco) and then onto the seriously difficult ones (Elizabeth Furnace, Gambrill, the Frederick Watershed). It takes a while though.

    The regional club is MORE (http://www.more-mtb.org/). They used to have a bit more active ride scene, but its fallen off somewhat in recent years (especially beginner friendly rides). I do lead casual rides for them occasionally though.

    I’ll second MORE- they do a ton of good trail work as well. Also, some of the night rides are pretty dang cool- I used to do the Rosaryville one pretty frequently until I was attached by a possum (OK, actually I moved out of SE DC and couldn’t justify the drive)

    Wakefield (W Braddock & 495) is probably the most beginner accessible in NoVa but isn’t terribly attractive- still, it’s a good place to learn skills and never be too far from the car. Check out the trail descriptions on MORE.

    May 16, 2012 at 9:08 pm #940713
    vvill
    Participant

    I’d be happy to do some mountain biking but due to time constraints, commuting is my easiest way to get miles/cycling in. And since it’s generally similar surfaces/speeds to road cycling (although you can commute on a MTB obviously) adding the odd weekend road ride is really easy. And local rides are easy to ride to as well!

    I don’t have the technical handling skills needed for anything beyond beginner MTBing so it would take me a while to get up to speed. Oh, and I have pretty bad wrists too. I remember them killing me after doing a trail ride, although that’s probably bad technique.

    My first proper bike was a 90s steel black Diamondback Outlook (no suspension at all) – I loved that thing and rode everywhere on it. It was stolen eventually and I replaced it with a fairly nice (at the time) hardtail which I might retrieve from my parents’ place one day. The funny thing is my friends and I used these sort of bikes for commuting/road riding 95% of the time and never changed the stock knobbies. I would often ride on unpaved surfaces too but I only rarely did true trails. I finally got a real “road” bike (hybrid) in 2005 and my first drop bar road bike last year.

    @GuyContinental 19753 wrote:

    My wife is super cool about the riding (I’m a nicer human when I get rides in) but Kids. Are. Tough.

    Same. Same.

    May 16, 2012 at 9:48 pm #940717
    Lt. Dan
    Participant

    I mainly mountain bike, with a recent transition of road biking to get to/from work…

    May 17, 2012 at 1:09 am #940720
    SpokeGrenadeSR
    Participant

    love mountain biking, but i’ve been neglecting it in favor of training for the tour. i used to downhill but my shoulders decided to start dislocating and i figured hitting trees would not be conducive to their continual operation.. so now i ride SS rigid 29er when i can. i love it. i bought new pink wheels for it this spring :)

    May 17, 2012 at 12:47 pm #940737
    paulg
    Participant

    I’m a big mountain biker. A couple of little kids tends to make it harder to ride MTB though with the time commitment so commuting has been my riding of choice for the last couple of years.

    If I race it tends to be MTB, such as Wilderness 101 and Cranky Monkey 12 hours.

    If i have the chance of a longer ride at a weekend it’s going to be MTB as well.

    I’ll add an endorsement for MORE and the work they do with the local trails.

    May 17, 2012 at 1:06 pm #940743
    txgoonie
    Participant

    jabber knows quite well my MTB credentials – i.e. I stink, or, to put it more optimistically, I’m learning. But he’s helping me :-)

    May 17, 2012 at 2:26 pm #940761
    jabberwocky
    Participant

    @GuyContinental 19753 wrote:

    Jabberwocky- I assume that you are the same frumious one that posts under that name on MORE?

    Thats me! I go by jabberwocky on several cycling-related boards. :)

    @txgoonie 19810 wrote:

    jabber knows quite well my MTB credentials – i.e. I stink, or, to put it more optimistically, I’m learning. But he’s helping me :-)

    PSHAW! ;) You’re way ahead of the curve.

    May 17, 2012 at 2:43 pm #940762
    Dirt
    Participant

    I heard that people ride bicycles with fat tires on dirt. I thought they only did that in France though. ;)

    Love,

    Pete

    PS: At some point I need to unpack my mountain bike. It has been boxed up in my living room since returning from the Colorado trip 6 weeks ago.

    7037657373_bacf67fa77_b.jpg

    May 17, 2012 at 4:06 pm #940780
    DaveK
    Participant

    I’m trail riding on my cross bike now but really jonesing to get back into MTB.

    If anyone has a hardtail 29er with a medium frame they’re looking to sell…. yo.

    May 18, 2012 at 3:05 pm #940895
    eminva
    Participant

    @GuyContinental 19753 wrote:

    Kids. Are. Tough.

    @vvill 19773 wrote:

    I’d be happy to do some mountain biking but due to time constraints, commuting is my easiest way to get miles/cycling in.

    So, basically, some of us are former recreational cyclists or would be recreational cyclists, but because of parental and other duties, have resorted to bike commuting to keep from turning into middle aged couch potatoes. :rolleyes:

    May 18, 2012 at 4:05 pm #940902
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    I’m a fake mountain biker, meaning that I ride my MTB a lot but almost always on roads and paved trails. I won the bike a few years ago, so I wasn’t intending to go out and buy a MTB. Actually, I won a gift certificate to a bike store, which I used to get the MTB. (I had to pay the $99 that the certificate didn’t cover. Plus extra for the pedals.) In hindsight, I should have gotten a cyclocross bike or even a hybrid, since I never ride off-road. But I still like the bike.

    Now that I learned that I need new tires (my current ones have dry rot), I might go with lighter, cyclocross-type tires. I wouldn’t really trust my bike on a hardcore off-road trail anyway.

    Maybe someday I’ll get a heavy-duty MTB and ride on off-road trails. But I’ve learned that I’m not really a fan of mud.

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