Posted not long ago about wife and I purchasing first mountain bikes. I’ve always been a roadie and tri bike guy but stayed away from mountain bikes out of fear that i might really get into it. Well my worst fears have come true - I’m now an addict. Haven’t cycled on the road since I got the mountain bike. What a blast on the forest trails I’m having. Its so nice to not have to worry about cars. I’m absolutely convinced that mountain biking will make you a better cyclist - improves handling skills, develops core strength and just makes your legs stronger. Plus its a hell of a lot more fun than tri-dorking solo on a tri bike.
I’m just sorry that I waited so long to get into this. Better late than never I suppose.
Now you will also have to get a cyclocross bike. A few of us did a coffee run of 37 miles on our cross bikes on the rail trail from Lake Massabesic in NH yesterday. There were a few runners, dog walkers, hunters walking along the corridor, but for the most part total quiet and calm. You can never have too many different types of bicycles.
Night time dirt road/deer trail CX rides are SWEET. Did one last week and had a blast, came back dirtier and more flogged from that ride than the full one mtb ride i did on sat. morning.
It is amazing how 10 miles of gnarly single track can wipe you out as bad as a long ride. Just watch out for those gap jumps, they hurt really bad if you land wrong!
I hear ya, since I got my HT in Oct, I’ve been riding as much as I can. We did a snow ride on Saturday. Wicked stuff. Waaaay harder and waaaay more fun. It was the only real riding I did up to Silverman, and it will be the bulk of my riding leading up to IMNZ in March. I gotta get some better lights and try some night rides!
Posted not long ago about wife and I purchasing first mountain bikes. I’ve always been a roadie and tri bike guy but stayed away from mountain bikes out of fear that i might really get into it. Well my worst fears have come true - I’m now an addict. Haven’t cycled on the road since I got the mountain bike. What a blast on the forest trails I’m having. Its so nice to not have to worry about cars. I’m absolutely convinced that mountain biking will make you a better cyclist - improves handling skills, develops core strength and just makes your legs stronger. Plus its a hell of a lot more fun than tri-dorking solo on a tri bike.
I’m just sorry that I waited so long to get into this. Better late than never I suppose.
Yeah, I’m amazed more roadie/tri people don’t mountain bike. I’m one of the few that I know who dabbles in all three (du’s not tris). I’ve mountain biked for years, but one thing I’ve learned is that you NEED to do a lot of road cycling to be a fast mountain bike racer. In addition to that, you will need to ride the road to reach your potenital for a bike split in a tri. I think mountain bike riding can do lots for your bike fitness, but you do need to get on the road at some point to pull it all together.
That being said, mountain biking is just waaay too much fun to ignore. The majority of age-groupers would likely benefit from mtn bike riding on a regular basis.
I was there with you for awhile (night trail riding in particular is INSANELY fun), but I found as I got older and signed up for a few bigger Tri races I became too much of a puss to risk wrecking myself on the trails and losing out on my race investment. It pretty much required me taking time off from racing to be able to go back and just chill and have fun riding trails again. Before when I still balanced doing both, I found the road fitness really paid off by allowing me to keep relatively fresh on more epic trail rides when my buddies were starting to fade, which tends to snowball into losing your lines and more crashing.
Just try to keep the wheels on the ground. We roadies get a little over excited at the hopping and jumping. 16 yrs ago, I crashed off a jump and after recovering from a broken spine I now live with the reminder EVERY day.
That is how I got started in Tri actually. I couldn’t ride “normally” for long anymore, but the way my back healed - the aero position was really comfortable…OK, nothing about Ironman is comfortable, but it hurts less!
I was there with you for awhile (night trail riding in particular is INSANELY fun), but I found as I got older and signed up for a few bigger Tri races I became too much of a puss to risk wrecking myself on the trails and losing out on my race investment. It pretty much required me taking time off from racing to be able to go back and just chill and have fun riding trails again. Before when I still balanced doing both, I found the road fitness really paid off by allowing me to keep relatively fresh on more epic trail rides when my buddies were starting to fade, which tends to snowball into losing your lines and more crashing.
I think this post is a good example of why triathletes (and road riders to a lesser extent) don’t mountain bike. They don’t want to mess up their training and consequently their racing.
I do understand this point of view, but we’re all just having fun with these fitness endeavors, so we may as well include some fun in there, and maybe a little less serious attitude toward “training”.
Yeah, I’m amazed more roadie/tri people don’t mountain bike. I’m one of the few that I know who dabbles in all three (du’s not tris). I’ve mountain biked for years, but one thing I’ve learned is that you NEED to do a lot of road cycling to be a fast mountain bike racer. In addition to that, you will need to ride the road to reach your potenital for a bike split in a tri.
True on all accounts. I was MTBing for a few years before I got into tris. I got the technical part of it down, and definitely developed endurance, but my MTBing exploded when I started riding the road. I was able to last a lot longer at a lower HR. Technical sections were easier because I wasn’t as baked.
I can’t ride my MTB due to a wrist injury and it kills me. I tried selling it so I wouldn’t have to look at it every time I take my tri bike off the wall. One important lesson- protect your wrists above all else. I didn’t injury myself riding, but it is easy to extend your arms in an effort to catch yourself. Keep those arms in. You don’t want to go through this. Most of all, keep loose and keep having fun.
I tend to ride my bikes in clumps… I’ll be riding the tri bike for a month or two getting ready for a race, and then get on the MTB
and marvel at the comfort, upright position and ability to ride over any obstacle.
A month or two might go by, and I’ll go for a spin on the road or tri bike and think ‘Holy crap - this thing is a rocket ship!’
then the pendulum will swing back, et cetera, et cetera…
First year with a 29er doing technical stuff and racing. I crashed more times than I can count. The final straw was a crash that dislocated two fingers. Haven’t ridden the trails since. I love the scenery and toughness, but could do without the crashes. Don’t know what I will do next summer. I am fearful that the next crash will be really bad. I don’t think fear and mtb go together very well.
Rehabing from shoulder surgery - torn bicep and rotator cuff. Head on with a tree while mountainbiking helped me kick the habit! Perhaps the techinical skills are best acquired when you are younger and a little more durable. Enjoy, the trails are great this time of year.
First year with a 29er doing technical stuff and racing. I crashed more times than I can count. The final straw was a crash that dislocated two fingers. Haven’t ridden the trails since. I love the scenery and toughness, but could do without the crashes. Don’t know what I will do next summer. I am fearful that the next crash will be really bad. I don’t think fear and mtb go together very well.
chris
Same boat here. My brother is into MTBing, so I thought I’d give it a shot and enter a 24 hour race with him. I’ve crashed every time I’ve gone MTBing…at least once. From a total of about 10 rides, I have way more scars and permanent lumps than I ever got tri’ing.
I have been lucky so far, only a minor start at a Shower Curtain on my right shin (that’s where the pedal chews up the shin, deep deep gouges, and if you get the flesh to hang just right, it hangs like a shower curtain). A few guys I work with are hardcore North Shore DHers and their shins are just covered in angry purple scars.
P had a bail during our snow ride, and I know it’s coming. But you know what, after the debacle at Silverman, I am enjoying NOT riding with cars…
