Beyond a joke...

spingle

Hello all,

Been out on my lovely new bike again and come to the conclusion that I am worst mountain biker ever. I am so scratched and brusied it is silly and I seem to be getting worse not better. I fell off on a boardwalk on Saturday and my bike ended up completely upside down and with me bleeding from about six different places.

Is it normal to look like you have actually hurled yourself down a mountain rather than been on a bike?

RockyHopperShow

"Is it normal to look like you have actually hurled yourself down a mountain rather than been on a bike? "
Think of the kudos, folk seeing you riding toward them must think you are really hardcore Seriously though, you are almost certainly not the worst mountain biker ever - nowhere near - and you will find that you are improving all the time. Just take it easy and learn different skills gradually.

XxxBFGxxX

yer totaly agree with the above.

When i am ut riding i have blood normaly all over my legs from bushes ect... just adds to the fun. Even better when i am bleeding and covered in mug. AWSOME.

Ditch Witch

Covered in mug?



Just the fact that you RODE a boardwalk is awesome!

Remember: you steer with your eyes. Your bike will go where you're looking, so if you were looking at the edges of the boardwalk, that's probably why you fell off




And dude's dig scars as much as chicks do!

SpinningJenny

Great advice from the DW, there! I can vouch for that big time - I spent so long steering with my eyes on Sunday that I thought they were out on stalks by the end of it all!

miss notax

Agree with all of the above

And don't forget that riding boardwalk isn't easy!! I have only just mastered the one at the end of Whites Level (in fact, if anyone saw a small blonde whooping like a nutter there last Thursday it was me :oops: :shock: ).

You will be getting better MUCH quicker than you think - I promise you that.

Thewaylander

And i agree.. us blokes do dig scars... least i do

Mrs Toast

Falling off is probably a good thing. I rarely fall off, but that's because I'm very cautious, and often just walk over stuff I'm a bit iffy with - as I result, my skills improve veeeeeeeeeery slowly, especially compared to some of t'hubby's mates who started biking after me, but will throw themselves at anything!

The Northern Monkey

Ditch Witch wrote:

Covered in mug?



Just the fact that you RODE a boardwalk is awesome!

Remember: you steer with your eyes. Your bike will go where you're looking, so if you were looking at the edges of the boardwalk, that's probably why you fell off




And dude's dig scars as much as chicks do!

If only that had been true on Saturday for me

I always get mashed up... wether it be from my pedals, catching a few rocks, sticks or nettles and obviously falling off

Nothing to worry about, I like the idea that i've got something to show for all my effort

andituk

I'm with DW, the fact you even attempted a boardwalk makes you much better than most people!

spingle

Thank you guys! :P
It maybe cool on the trails but in normal everyday life and you tell people you fell of your bike they do seem to look at you and think you are weird. Maybe I will write on the plasters what I have done so people don't ask. :?

I think people are right about the looking where I am going, same can be said about my attempts to learn to drive, and I think I over think things and go down drops and on boards thinking 'I can't do this!' so suprise, suprise I can't. (Oh felt a bit like Cilla then!)

Will just have to hope for the best this weekend! Back up to Whinlatter hopefully.

Ditch Witch

Hell, if you don't come off, you weren't trying hard enough

elPedro666

If I might be so presumptious...
It sounds like you're trying way too hard - just chill out and enjoy the ride for a bit, at least until it starts coming back together again! Don't think too hard about what you're doing, just concentrate on where you want (your wheels) to be and you'll get there.

Nothing wrong with rolling into things gently (you'll probably come out the other side going faster anyway). Or getting off to take a look (hugely underrated), so you can get it in your head where you want to be rather than bouncing in randomly!

Sounds like you're at the boundary of a big jump in your skills, with things about to drop into place, so relax and let it happen!

[/made-up pop-psych lecture]

Bet you're posting on Sunday about what a great ride you had!

Major Dan

Thewaylander wrote:

And i agree.. us blokes do dig scars... least i do

I concur! 8)

Thewaylander

its right isn't it major,

Woman who is actually active and out there is awsome, and some scars show she is willing to get stuck. So keep on pushing and occasionally crashing lass!

SpinningJenny

Nice to know the gents admire a bit of scarrage on the ladies

We should compare and contrast when we meet up in August!

I have some cracking bruises on my left knee and shin from Sunday - they be big, purple and green and a bit lumpy

Major Dan

SpinningJenny wrote:

Nice to know the gents admire a bit of scarrage on the ladies

We should compare and contrast when we meet up in August!

I have some cracking bruises on my left knee and shin from Sunday - they be big, purple and green and a bit lumpy

SpinningJenny

Yay!

rhyko7

im assuming you are crashing the downhill sections rather than uphill ;-)
some simple tips to keep you upright:

body position-if your bike is too big or you have a long stem this will throw your weight over the front and take away a lot of your ballance, its better to ride a bike thats slightly small rather than big, thats what adjustable seat posts are for. so perhaps use a shorter stem too if you feel a little stretched out

before you go down a steep descent lower your seat down so you can lean over the back of the bike and you have more space to move around for corners

on rough terrain bend your elbows, and bend your knees down so your lower on the bike, this will not only absorb more bumps but give you a lower centre of gravity.

dont be afraid to take one foot off around corners (inside foot) to ballance yourself, if you slide out you will normally land on your foot that way

good luck

Joycie

I fell off going uphill :oops: ended up in "Minor Injuries", covered in bruises and getting butterfly stitches... the amount fo damage generated to my body whilst travelling at 1mph was very impressive...[/img]

Mrs Toast

Well, I decided to be a bit more gutsy whilst on holiday in Scotland. I fell off four times on Glentress red, and am now sporting a rather fetching set of matching bruises on both shins, from two separate days.

YAY! \o/

On the plus side, I do feel like a better rider now. Admittedly I was a whimpering mess after trying a bit of Innerleithen red, but the next day I was riding stuff on Dalbeattie I wouldn't have attempted a week earlier.

thighsofsteel

miss notax wrote:

Agree with all of the above

And don't forget that riding boardwalk isn't easy!! I have only just mastered the one at the end of Whites Level (in fact, if anyone saw a small blonde whooping like a nutter there last Thursday it was me :oops: :shock: ).

I was at Whites on Friday and finally did that boardwalk justice after a few previous attempts - but note to self, must stop looking at the edges!

Fell off on the rocky downhill bit at the end though - trying to go too fast to keep up with the boys, misjudged a double rocky drop bit and collided with a big sharp rock.... ouch, my 1st proper fall but i was grinning like an idiot 2 minutes later and now have a cracking scrape that looks life a knife wound all across my left elbow which is scabbing up a treat and make me look 'ard as nails!!

miss notax

I came off there too and ended up in a heap down the slope to the right :shock:

Oddly enough I didn't get any scrapes though, I just landed with a *thump* on a rock which led to some rather fetching bruises!!

Thewaylander

YeY more scared women! blokes dig scars the truth

thighsofsteel

I think I'd have been happier if I'd fallen off to the right, but instead i clung left and hit a big sharp rock - ouch! I'd just done 'Energy' at quite high speed (for me!) and was on an adrenaline high, which then made me feel invincible and i just took that last winding section far too fast, hit the 1st rock drop-off and ended up too far forward on the bike to get the 2nd one right, slammed on the brakes and...... bang..... oh well, i got major brownie points for not being a girl about it and just carrying on

Have done W2 before which is awesome, and going back in August to maybe do Skyline for a change of scenery....

Thewaylander

Tidy,

Skyline is long have a crack at the July trail if you can't be bothered with 46k hehe it just pick s up all the really fun bits!.

For a no brainer ride i love Pehidd its the least challenging of the tails there but its just got some fantastic classic single track (i personally love sindwinder soooo much) with easy fire road climbs.

Nice to hear about people coming to visit our sunny Wlesh climbs though

miss notax

thighsofsteel wrote:

I think I'd have been happier if I'd fallen off to the right, but instead i clung left and hit a big sharp rock - ouch! I'd just done 'Energy' at quite high speed (for me!) and was on an adrenaline high, which then made me feel invincible and i just took that last winding section far too fast, hit the 1st rock drop-off and ended up too far forward on the bike to get the 2nd one right, slammed on the brakes and...... bang..... oh well, i got major brownie points for not being a girl about it and just carrying on

Have done W2 before which is awesome, and going back in August to maybe do Skyline for a change of scenery....

Cool 8)

Where are you based? Are you close to Afan?

thighsofsteel

I'm in Reading so mostly go to Bracknell Forest, but my boyfriend's mum lives about 20-30mins from Afan which is just heavenly We're house/dog-sitting there for a week in August so we'll be at Afan every other day I reckon!! Woohoo!

What about you?

miss notax

New Forest. We go to Wales a few times a month though.

Very jealous of your week in Wales - i'm guessing you are very willing house-sitters!!!

Thewaylander

maybe see you on my local trails

thighsofsteel

I always jump at the chance to house-sit cos it's so close to Afan, plus a bl**dy pay cut means it's a credit-crunch-friendly holiday!

Yes, maybe see you out on the trails - i have a white Orange G3 and bright orange Camelbak.... keep your eyes peeled!