Who are you?

Victor I

aka Ridgehog
... as a mtb rider in terms of these 3 categories as beginner, intermediate and expert.

I'll start...
Experience: 5yrs
Fitness: beginner
Mtb skills: intermediate but I can't manual or bunny hop so I may need to downgrade to beginner.
Fear factor: beginner

This is sad... considering I've been riding for 5yrs now...
You’re still riding, so what if you don’t do the cabin drop at Creek. Most people here don’t. We all have different abilities and fitness levels.

Experience MTB- started in the 80s then quit in the late 1990s. Started back up about 6 years ago.
Fitness- strong intermediate(sorry about the sub-category).
Skillz- Some things intermediate, some things strong intermediate, some things advanced(I’m not an expert at anything except eating cookies). If someone is an expert at everything, well good for them.
Fear factor- depends on the day I’m having.

I like riding with people that help me improve. Some people are more efficient riders, some have higher fitness levels, some better skills.

My take on it is hoping that people are 1- having fun and 2- reaping the health benefits.
 

GSTim

Formerly M3Tim
Experience: ~12 years

Fitness: None that I know of.

Mtb skills: Below Average

Fear factor: Downhill/high speed: None, doesn't mean I'm fast though.
Rocks/Boulders: med-high
 
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Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
There are some ppl who claim that their fitness is below average or poor. But which standard are you measuring from? Being on mtbnj, I think the standard here is relatively high being that we sometimes ride with guys from team mtbnj and hardcore cyclists who train and race. Tbh... my fitness is far superior when compared to my non cycling friends and peers.

Some here may know I went on a church retreat not too long ago. Had a short distance foot race and I came in 3rd without even trying.
 

Johnny Utah

Well-Known Member
There are some ppl who claim that their fitness is below average or poor. But which standard are you measuring from? Being on mtbnj, I think the standard here is relatively high being that we sometimes ride with guys from team mtbnj and hardcore cyclists who train and race. Tbh... my fitness is far superior when compared to my non cycling friends and peers.

Some here may know I went on a church retreat not too long ago. Had a short distance foot race and I came in 3rd without even trying.
I have ridden with members from Team MTBNJ that had to walk over half of the logs at Allaire. Don’t put the experience on a pedestal, er something like that.
 

Paul H

Fearless OOS Poser
I have ridden with members from Team MTBNJ that had to walk over half of the logs at Allaire. Don’t put the experience on a pedestal, er something like that.
Was he/she who trains and race?
I know that not all members of team mtbnj race.

Edit to add... what does log over have anything to do with fitness?
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I'll play ...

Experience: 20+ years of racing, 25 years of riding
Fitness: Sure, when I need it
Mtb skills: Somewhere along the line, I accidentally stumbled upon the coveted but elusive "infinitely sustainable pace". As a result, I'm never the fastest at any finite distance, but if the race never ends, eventually I'm ahead of everyone.
Fear factor: Literally every single person other than me is right and exclusively riding a single speed is a good way to destroy your body.
 

Johnny Utah

Well-Known Member
Was he/she who trains and race?
I know that not all members of team mtbnj race.

Edit to add... what does log over have anything to do with fitness?
  1. Would rather not go deeper because it doesn’t matter, only responding to a previous comment you made about the team
  2. Never said A log over had anything to do with fitness...
  3. You don’t need to race to be top of the mark in a skill set
 

olegbabich

Well-Known Member
Experience - 32 + yrs

Fitness - I'm slow, but faster than a couch potato

Mtb skills - I know how to crash and stall out on technical climbs.

Fear factor - more after every trip to ER ( 3 trips last 15 years) also getting older really slows you down. Have not been more than 4 feet in the air in a long long time
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
Experience - 25ish consistent years
Fitness - mediocre but can keep a consistent pace and not have to stop much
Skill - I guess advanced but there's still stuff i can't ride
Fear Factor - i really don't want to get hurt, so anything i'm not 100% sure i'll clean or be able to abort safely, i avoid. Advanced skill level brings the relative fear level up a bit though
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
@Paul H and @Victor I, something like the cabin drop is being comfortable riding off it, sure there is some skill to it, but not all that much. A former mtbnj team member can do it and has no jumping skills or style. So doing something like that isn’t everything.
 

ilnadi

Well-Known Member
Experience: 25 years if muddling along
Fitness: potato is a shape, right
Skills: mad (or maddening, always get those two mixed up) getting better trying to coach
Speed: see tagline
Fear factor: used to be decent 2 separated shoulders, 2 cracked ribs and a detached retina ago. Now, survival mode
 

Victor I

aka Ridgehog
@Paul H and @Victor I, something like the cabin drop is being comfortable riding off it, sure there is some skill to it, but not all that much. A former mtbnj team member can do it and has no jumping skills or style. So doing something like that isn’t everything.
Kev,
Did not say it is everything, just giving an example of something extreme. Now I have to ask since you put it out there. Have you ever done the cabin drop ??
 

Xler8

Well-Known Member
Experience: 10+ yrs with breaks
Fitness: Mediocreish
Mtb skills: Ok. Track stands are pretty good. Wheelies are better than manuals. 180 nose endos happen here and there. Would love to do a backflip, however I feel that ship has sailed.
Fear Factor: declining as I age but enough to get the adrenaline pumping.
 

Mitch

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I have ridden with members from Team MTBNJ that had to walk over half of the logs at Allaire. Don’t put the experience on a pedestal, er something like that.
? Name them or move on. Not one person I know on this team has an ego. No one puts themselves on a pedestal that would require this response.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
I’m gonna tally this up. Curious to see the results.

Experience - mtb since early 90s on and off (BMX and road bikes since 80s), solidly riding started in 2000, so 19 years from that.

Fitness/speed - comes and goes. Just coming off an overuse injury that lasted a long time, so I’m building it back. Sometimes life gets in the way and I lose motivation. Sometimes I get hurt. Sometimes I ride my moto too much. Sometimes I work too much. Managed to stay fit enough through whatever to generally hang in on most rides without dying. I can turn on the jets when I feel like it but I don’t like to stress on the bike so much anymore, so that’s pretty rare now.

Skills - I love to work on them but never have enough time to. Been working skinnies and pedal-drops, but would prefer to be able to pedal kick so I didn’t have to rely on timing. Can trackstand like a champ and ride techy stuff slow as snot but stay upright generally. Slow enough to screw up the person behind me.

Fear factor - too high. I find it drops when I have time to practice skills and stay fit. When I regularly ride my skinnies at home, and practice timing drops off low stuff first and get to higher and higher, I get more comfortable out on the trail. I don’t try anything scary when I am winded though, so when fitness is down, fear goes way up. I won’t try any alt line at the Sourlands when I feel like I can’t muscle my way out of a mistake. So if I am huffing and puffing I’ll sit out any roller or jump. Tired arms make for wonky moves.
 
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