Beginners group ride

qclabrat

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Good ride today, sorry we or you got ditched @Xler8. Also had a guest sweeper for a short part. Hit a bit of all 5 trails and The Rock ate @C8N's rear side walls on orange.
IMG_20171104_093746_1.jpg
 
GreenMachine

GreenMachine

Well-Known Member
Great ride today - really got to see everything thanx to GC - good meeting everyone as well.
The extra run on Blue was well worth it .
Feeling redeemed after my first outing here.
It’s a challenge for sure ..
 
Paul H

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
GreenMachine said:
Feeling redeemed after my first outing here.
It’s a challenge for sure ..
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Thats a good feeling for sure.
One thing that helped me progress was to ride with others just to physically see, first hand, whats possible and how it is done. Then go out and try it at my own pace. I haven't done enough of this myself but like they say.... do as I say... not as I do. I am slowly trying to overcome the fear of bridges myself. But the most important thing, as you already know, is have fun, try not to get hurt and enjoy the ride!
 
GreenMachine

GreenMachine

Well-Known Member
C8N said:
Thats a good feeling for sure.
One thing that helped me progress was to ride with others just to physically see, first hand, whats possible and how it is done. Then go out and try it at my own pace. I haven't done enough of this myself but like they say.... do as I say... not as I do. I am slowly trying to overcome the fear of bridges myself. But the most important thing, as you already know, is have fun, try not to get hurt and enjoy the ride!
Click to expand...

Good advice

Fear of bike park bridges or bridges in general? It’s actually a common “ phobia “ for many people.

My fear is straight downhill - Otb - I was talking to few experienced riders yesterday - they thought my front bar - stem is too low below my seat - trek deliberately built it this way and can only be adjusted with a new fork of riser bar. I ordered a bar for $80 bucks , I’ll test it out.
 
Paul H

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
GreenMachine said:
Good advice

Fear of bike park bridges or bridges in general? It’s actually a common “ phobia “ for many people.

My fear is straight downhill - Otb - I was talking to few experienced riders yesterday - they thought my front bar - stem is too low below my seat - trek deliberately built it this way and can only be adjusted with a new fork of riser bar. I ordered a bar for $80 bucks , I’ll test it out.
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Bike park bridges and I think it stems from fear of heights and also a bit of a confidence thing.

I dont remember how your bike was set up but kinda sound like your bike has a XC set up. Take a look at how trail bikes and DH bikes are set up and see what works for you. When you have too much weight going towards the front of the bike, it can get bit scary doing down hill. Like John said, try getting off the saddle and let the bike move around underneath you while shifting your weight to compensate. The key is to relax and not to stiff up. It's easier said than done but again, this is more of a confidence thing and it will develop as you ride more. I tend to stiffen up on the down hill switchbacks and end up going straight instead of turning. Usually, I know what I am doing wrong but for whatever reason, I can't seem to correct it.
 
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Xler8

Xler8

Well-Known Member
My bad fellas. I zig'd when I should of zag'd. By the time I heard wrong waaayyy.... I was committed to my line. I waited in the parking lot for a bit and then did red twice in both directions in the hopes of meeting up but no luck. It was great meeting everyone! Hopefully we can do it again one day.
 
qclabrat

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
C8N said:
Bike park bridges and I think it stems from fear of heights and also a bit of a confidence thing.

I dont remember how your bike was set up but kinda sound like your bike has a XC set up. Take a look at how trail bikes and DH bikes are set up and see what works for you. When you have too much weight going towards the front of the bike, it can get bit scary doing down hill. Like John said, try getting off the saddle and let the bike move around underneath you while shifting your weight to compensate. The key is to relax and not to stiff up. It's easier said than done but again, this is more of a confidence thing and it will develop as you ride more. I tend to stiffen up on the down hill switchbacks and end up going straight instead of turning. Usually, I know what I am doing wrong but for whatever reason, I can't seem to correct it.
Click to expand...

Also play around with your tire and fork pressures. Take some notes on a pad till you have it dialed in. But get that cockpit sorted out first.

Fear of broken pieces more so than the height. I need to fix those skinnies I had set up on my personal short track a few years back
 
qclabrat

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Xler8 said:
My bad fellas. I zig'd when I should of zag'd. By the time I heard wrong waaayyy.... I was committed to my line. I waited in the parking lot for a bit and then did red twice in both directions in the hopes of meeting up but no luck. It was great meeting everyone! Hopefully we can do it again one day.
Click to expand...
haha, you missed the other half of white
next time
 
qclabrat

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Since there is a Wildcat ride this Sunday with the MTBNJ team, I'm going to juggle some dates from the original list (join the Sunday ride if your schedule permits)
Also dropped out a few of the more intermediate parks (i.e., Sourlands) as I'd rather not lead others to a lion's den for trails I'm not familiar with
I've been riding 4 weekends in a roll and have everyone who has joined to thank, easy to get lazy when it's just yourself
Disclaimer: There's an outside chance I might go away this weekend for college visits.

Nov 11- Lewis Morris
Nov 18- Six Mile
Nov 25- Mahlon Dickerson or High Mountain
Dec 2- Nassau
Dec 9- Stephens
Dec 16- Round Valley
Dec 23- Allaire
Dec 30- Ringwood (if we can find a patient guide)
 
JuniorT58

JuniorT58

New Member
Great to ride with you guys, I liked Chimney Rock even though it’s super bumpy it got some interesting areas that you can seriously have some fun. Great uphills and downhills that could be a little technical. Anyways, hoping to see you guys next ride :) thanks for the advices ! They’re definitely helping me a lot.
 
Paul H

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
qclabrat said:
Since there is a Wildcat ride this Sunday with the MTBNJ team, I'm going to juggle some dates from the original list (join the Sunday ride if your schedule permits)
Also dropped out a few of the more intermediate parks (i.e., Sourlands) as I'd rather not lead others to a lion's den for trails I'm not familiar with
I've been riding 4 weekends in a roll and have everyone who has joined to thank, easy to get lazy when it's just yourself
Disclaimer: There's an outside chance I might go away this weekend for college visits.

Nov 11- Lewis Morris
Nov 18- Six Mile
Nov 25- Mahlon Dickerson or High Mountain
Dec 2- Nassau
Dec 9- Stephens
Dec 16- Round Valley
Dec 23- Allaire
Dec 30- Ringwood (if we can find a patient guide)
Click to expand...
Ooooh.... I see HM could be a possibility!
Who will be our guide this time? Because our last HM guide sucked! Too out of shape and too slow.
 
Paul H

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
JuniorT58 said:
Great to ride with you guys, I liked Chimney Rock even though it’s super bumpy it got some interesting areas that you can seriously have some fun. Great uphills and downhills that could be a little technical. Anyways, hoping to see you guys next ride :) thanks for the advices ! They’re definitely helping me a lot.
Click to expand...
Wooo... I think I see a rock addict in the making.... scary!

Nevermind me... I still haven't had my morning cup of coffee.
 
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