Book of Paul H

rocbike said:
How's this coming Sunday (8/9) looking for you? How early in the AM? Thanks.
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Oh man, I am so sorry but I have drinking plans this Saturday and I am not sure I if I can make a ride on Sunday.
I actually can do Tuesday 8/11 and Thursday 8/13 in the AM if that works for you. Say 7AMish?

Blair said:
If anyone's interested I'm gonna give it a go after work 530 Thursday or Friday. never been here but going to follow JimN's garmin map. is there an actual parking lot off of the WP university/college rd? And is that the best place to park?
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Yes, there is a parking lot and it's pretty empty during the weekdays.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/4...951984,-74.200383,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0
 
that would be even better, I can do 5ish but it takes me 15 minutes to get my crap together. THANKS
 
Next week doesn't look good until about Thursday. Also 7 AM is a little early. I was supposed to paddle on Saturday but now it might be switched to Sunday, in which case I'd be able to ride on Saturday. I'll know by Friday. As far as the meetup thing goes, the last time I met up with them they just took off and left me in the dust and didn't really care to show me anything so I dropped out and turned back, so no more meetup group for me.
 
rocbike said:
As far as the meetup thing goes, the last time I met up with them they just took off and left me in the dust and didn't really care to show me anything so I dropped out and turned back, so no more meetup group for me.
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If I was leading the ride then I'm sorry. I don't recall anyone ever getting dropped like that, but anything's possible. I do drink a lot. They just did a no drop beginner ride at High Mountain on Monday I think. I'll try and remember to post a link here if that happens again if you're willing to give it another shot. The Thursday rides are more of an intermediate ride, but they generally aren't that fast, and we sometimes split into two groups if there are some slower folks there.
 
rocbike said:
Next week doesn't look good until about Thursday. Also 7 AM is a little early. I was supposed to paddle on Saturday but now it might be switched to Sunday, in which case I'd be able to ride on Saturday. I'll know by Friday. As far as the meetup thing goes, the last time I met up with them they just took off and left me in the dust and didn't really care to show me anything so I dropped out and turned back, so no more meetup group for me.
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If you can do Saturday... let me know
 
C8N said:
I have been on a exploring mode lately at HM and all the trails are starting to look the same to me lol
Hence, I may fumble here and there but I can show you around HM.
If you are interested, let me know and we can schedule something and just so that you know, I am a noob so it will definitely not be a race pace.

Edit: I will riding tomorrow in the early AM.
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they all look the same to you cause High Mountain is boring and not real singletrack. If its local to you i can see why you ride there but if u are having to drive there then driving 15 minutes further to skyline drive would be a far better option ad never gets old...
 
I kinda feel the same as gingertooth. Coming from Nutley it is much more worth it to drive the 15 more minutes to Mahlon Dickerson. That being said I'm also up for a group ride at a moderate pace someday. Seeing as I have only been here a hand full of times, I may have missed the good stuff. I have always parked by the college and drive through Patterson from rt 19 and that's no picnic either.
 
I think getting a road bike was one of the best decisions I have made.
After about 2 weeks of road riding, did HM this morning and I had more endurance and felt stronger.
I guess these are given if you ride more regardless of the type of bike but one thing I really noticed was that I was heck of lot more comfortable with speed and took some downhills faster. Definitely, this morning was one of the better rides I had at HM.
 
how does HM stack up against CR or LM? I've been looking to ride outside my 30 min bubble and HM may fit the bill
 
qclabrat said:
how does HM stack up against CR or LM? I've been looking to ride outside my 30 min bubble and HM may fit the bill
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More like Chimney Rock, but maybe with longer climbs. Although you could skip riding to the top to cut down on the climbing once you know where you're going. Nothing like Lewis Morris in that there are actually rocks at High Mountain. Definitely worth checking out but you need a Garmin or a tour.
 
What amazing ppl in MTBNJ!
First, @JimN showing me the unmarked trails and then.... @liong71er showing me how things are done.
I can't thank these 2 gentlemen enough.

Rode at HM with @liong71er yesterday. Incredible and a fascinating person. Not only did he took his precious time off to teach me how to ride, but he also looked over my bike and adjusted my loose headset. Oh... I did take off the reflectors off the bar and wheels as instructed! 🙂 And then... he told me to get a new better bike! lol Took up the issue to our household CFO and got the rolling eyes and she walked away. I guess that's a no. lol But more importantly, he help me conquer some of my fears on those steep declines and showed me how to ride the downhill switchbacks. Took a few tumbles and I have the bruises to show for it. It will take some more practice. He allowed me to take as many tries as I needed.

Things I took away from this ride.
1. Body position.... roll the hips! A joke this noob didn't get lol
2. Try to ride in a harder gear to build more strength and just try to ride more.
3. Get a better bike! I am going to need more advice on this from the good ppl of MTBNJ. How do you get the CFO's approval on this considering I just got a road bike only a few weeks ago?
 
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qclabrat said:
how does HM stack up against CR or LM? I've been looking to ride outside my 30 min bubble and HM may fit the bill
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You get a nice view of the city from the top of high mountain, but if you're coming from near
L.M or chimney rock, check out ringwood, it's closer and better. Also, you could hit allamuchy, or split rock or Mahlon Dickerson, they are all closer than high mountain.
 
C8N said:
What amazing ppl in MTBNJ!
First, @JimN showing me the unmarked trails and then.... @liong71er showing me how things are done.
I can't thank these 2 gentlemen enough.

Rode at HM with @liong71er yesterday. Incredible and a fascinating person. Not only did he took his precious time off to teach me how to ride, but he also looked over my bike and adjusted my loose headset. Oh... I did take off the reflectors off the bar and wheels as instructed! 🙂 And then... he told me to get a new better bike! lol Took up the issue to our household CFO and got the rolling eyes and she walked away. I guess that's a no. lol But more importantly, he help me conquer some of my fears on those steep declines and showed me how to ride the downhill switchbacks. Took a few tumbles and I have the bruises to show for it. It will take some more practice. He allowed me to take as many tries as I needed.

Things I took away from this ride.
1. Body position.... roll the hips! A joke this noob didn't get lol
2. Try to ride in a harder gear to build more strength and just try to ride more.
3. Get a better bike! I am going to need more advice on this from the good ppl of MTBNJ. How do you get the CFO's approval on this considering I just got a road bike only a few weeks ago?
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Yep, definitely good folks here
You're kind of screwed with the bike, I'd just ride the crap out of it till next year. Hopefully if she sees it's a real passion and not a fad you'll get exactly what you'd want. In the meantime ride more and demo bikes which match your riding style
 
F'n noob!

Ok... this has nothing to do with HM and its about a road ride I had but didn't think it deserved its own thread. So here it goes...

All started last weekend at a family gathering. I tell my family that I wanted to try biking from my home in Wayne to the city which is about 30 miles to midtown. Then my brother goes hysterical... saying no way I would make it. Insulted... I break out my phone and I show him my strava where I made couple of 30 mile rides. Sure, my butt was sore but wasn't a too hard of a ride. But no.... he is still not a believer. So what do any brothers do in these types of situations? A wager? Of course. Loser pays for dinner for the family. HA! piece of cake and it's a done deal! I can already taste it. Let's see who laughs last.

Today is the day. Wake up 4AM get a cup of coffee and pick up some power bars.
helmet... check
gloves... check
hyd pack... check
bottle of extra water... just in case... check
snack... tomato and a plum... check
power bar... check
phone... check
garmin nuvi... yes an old nuvi just in case my phone battery dies... check

I am ready to go! Agreed time is 5:15AM and the time arrives but no phone ring. So I send him a text, generously giving him an extra 15 minutes to arrive. I didn't think he would show since he lives in Marlboro. But what? I get a txt back instantly. He is outside waiting. So I gather all my stuff and rush out to the garage to grab my bike. Set google maps to 37th and broadway and tell my brother to meet me at Fort Lee by the GWB. Now it starts!

About 3 miles into the ride, I realized that my saddle bag was on the mountain bike. But I am psyched and nothing is going to stop me now. What could possibly happen? There is no traffic and I am flying! Well... in a noob standards. Before the sun comes up I reach Saddle River Park. What irony.... I forget my SADDLE bag and things unfold at SADDLE River Park. I am doing about 15+mph and I reach Otto area and I am thinking sweet victory at this point because I didn't even break a sweat yet. Off day dreaming and distracted and then WTF! WATCH OUT THERE IS A CURB!!! My MTB instincts kick in and I pop up the front and it clears but... oh crap.... can't get the rear up. BOOM! and I see my phone flying off the mount then WHAT??? ANOTHER CURB??? Got my front up but again, couldn't clear the rear. I am braking and all of a sudden the rear slides out and I take a sliding fall into the grass. No one is hurt.... good! I walk back to look for my phone. Damn... screen cracked and basically it's toast. Sucks but ah ha! I brought my old nuvi as back up. I am still good... at least I thought. I walk back to my bike and.... and.... crappers. Flat in the rear. All I am thinking is SADDLE bag... SADDLE River.... WTF!!!

With my tail between my legs, I borrow a phone from a very nice gentleman and txt my brother to come pick me up. I am in the car with my brother and the laughter doesn't stop. Now I am thinking... you f'n noob! What a noob move! Should have went back for the saddle bag. Only a noob!

Price to fix my phone... $110
Price of this bruised ego... priceless.

If my legs had given out then I would be able to swallow this... but wow. I am still p'ed off. I went to walmart to buy another bag and another set of tools as well as a tube for under $50. Just to think... if I had done this prior, it would have saved me a $50 and a bruised ego. I don't know why I need a wrench... but it's in the bag. I don't know why I need zip ties... but its in there. This is not going to happen again! NO MORE NOOB!!!! Please?
 
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