a few questions from a newbie

punctureboy

new to this (just bought my specialised rockhopper disc 08 last weekend!) read every mag i could find on the shelves in whsmith, now got some questions.
what makes a 'technical' trail technical, and what skills do i need for these?
what are the basic standards required for attempting each class of route?
what is considered a decent long ride pace for a flat gravel/dirt track?
how many miles per week do you lot do?
in my first week i have done 70 miles (sore backside as proof!) i do my long rides at 8-10 mph and my shorter ones at 10-14mph average, although i hit the hills on these. i'm traditionally a runner so i'm reasonably fit. i base my pace on my heartrate, but want to know what is considered a good amateur pace.

delcol

a technical trail is one that contains roots rocks ect..

i cycle 12 miles a day to commute to and from work then try to get out at weekends it depends on how much time i have as to how far i will go. anything from 5 miles to 20 miles..

as for pace i can easily do my 6 mile commute in less than 20 mins on my shhhhhhhhh road bike my best time is 17min 30sec for my 6 mile commute on the way home with an average speed of 20.4 mph max speed 28 mph..
it depends on the terrain and conditions as to what speed i can achieve on my mtb i read some were or was told by someone that 1 mile ridden off road is equal to 3 miles on road dont know how true this is.

as for skills the more you ride the better you become may be consider one of those skills courses. or look at some of the books that are out there..
fundementals is the dvd of choice this will give you all the help you could ever need.

supersonic

To be honest, to quote another magazine (!), just get out and ride! Start off lowly, build up your fitness and skills. Try longer routes, or aking harder lines as you get more confident. Don't worry about pace, just enjoy!

punctureboy

cool. i'm basind my training on my heart rate, which is how i did it as a runner. i did a 25 miler along a canal path. that guaranteed a flat ride so i could concentrate on keeping a steady pace and heartrate at 60% of my working heartrate.
on my other rides i try to get on a variety of terrain, and get my heartrate up to around 80% for most of the ride. i particularly like bombing through tight wooded areas like a loony!
still getting used to hydraulic disc brakes. they are so good, my arms nearly slipped off the handlebars once, and on a steep downhill, my back wheel nearly overtook the rest of the bike and me!

LordBanks

Technical trails are the sort of stuff that means you have to hop about, shift your weight, as some one said, tree roots, rocks etc, you use more muscles through this, upper body, arms and what not. I'm with you on the woodland trails, my favorite thing is to blast a trail i've never ridden before, you don't know whats round the corner, and you have to just go for it, been out all day today, fantastic.

punctureboy

i'm actually enjoying riding so much, i was gutted i had to go to a bbq yesterday so couldn't get out