Chippenham Beginner rides problems... is it just me?

joec1

Im new to the whole MTB thing.. having returned to riding after a 10-15 year gap (during which i attended 6th form and tried to stay awake. then progressed to uni and drank etc etc... the usual scenario)

anyway. i have recently started riding after i got enveous of the fun a few of the my friends have while out.

I started with absolutely no intensions of being great... or being able to keep up with their pace. and am a little stunned by their attitudes to me trying my best.

I bought a Tyax Super and have been spending weekends (about 200 miles so far) getting used to it and trying to improve my fitness so i dont hold them up etc. have bought myself a set of spd's which are working wonders (and also hurting hwen i fall off occasionally lol) haha.

its got the point now though, where im begining to feel a bit of an outsider. im really trying my best and am avoiding some of the longer rides they can do (so i dont ruin it for them)

Grr some people are so not "Beginner" friendly...

Has anyone else experienced similar problems? and how did you get around it?

Ps... if anyone in a similar situ lives in or near Chippenham and or Bath please get in touch as some beginner company would be most welcome on rides.

llamafarmer

It's a shame your mates aren't a bit more patient, if they helped you along you'd probably be riding at somewhere near their level pretty quickly.

I'm from Bath, but I do all my 'local' riding in Bristol, which is a fair old trek for you.

joec1

yes its a bit further away lol... where abouts is there in brizol? ive done a nice ride through ally in the woods (of course... no where near a footpath )

Daz555

Your friends need a slap. Unless one of you is a world class xc-racer and downhiller and the other is a asthmatic 80yr old, there is no reason you can't ride together and enjoy the trails.

Your mates just need to show a little maturity and remember what it was like for them when they were learning. All it takes is for them to stop occasionally, wait for you to catch up, offer some helpful advice etc.

weeksy59

i wouldn't ride with them mate.

My mates struggle at times with me as i've been training longer than them and more frequently but riding is about banter, friendship, laughs and sharing.

If your mates are that serious they don't see this then i wouldn't bother going out with them.

dave_hill

joec1 wrote:

How did you get around it?

Easy. Ride on your own.

You can go at your own pace, stop when you want to, fall off at random best of all - you don't have to listen everybody elses whinging.

toontra

dave_hill wrote:

joec1 wrote:

How did you get around it?

Easy. Ride on your own.

You can go at your own pace, stop when you want to, fall off at random best of all - you don't have to listen everybody elses whinging.

That's right. I went out on my own for months before joining groups. It doesn't feel good for anyone concerned if the group is having to stop every five minutes to wait for stragglers.

You have to ask yourself how motivated you are. If you want to improve you can do that on your own to begin with. Riding in a group won't improve your ability any quicker, in fact the reverse is true.

So either get fitter first, or find a slower group.

SwanseaDan

If your mates are being d1cks don't bother with them, they sound like the type that would leave you if you got a puncture or came off. However, ask yourself are you just imagining that they are annoyed at you?

I ride in a few groups of all abilities, sometimes I'm at the front, sometimes I'm blowing out of my @ss trying to keep up. Not once has anyone got annoyed with me or have I got annoyed waiting, if anything it's a welcome rest!

Riding in groups is the best way to get fit, riding on your own doesn't give you that extra bit of motivation gained from a little bit of competition. Plus, riding on your own whilst a n00b isn't that safe, I've been riding for years and still come off a cropper, when I first hit the trails I spent more time bouncing on my face than I did in the saddle, good times

Just enjoy yourself no matter what level of fitness, cycling is meant to be fun, some people lose track of that, mainly around the time they start cutting fingernails short to save the extra 0.002g of weight

joec1

SwanseaDan wrote:

Riding in groups is the best way to get fit, riding on your own doesn't give you that extra bit of motivation gained from a little bit of competition. Plus, riding on your own whilst a n00b isn't that safe,

exactly my thoughts.

i lack the motivation when im left for dust. and find it best when im riding with people at a speed i feel comfortable (i can deal with slower people than me becasue i know how it feels)

I think i need ot find a group of people that are more my level, technically and physically. i dont wanna hold them up. and at the same time dont wanna risk a serious injury only to find they dont even bother coming back to find me (should the worst happen)

its good to hear that other people can see my concern and its not just me.

thanks guys.

Wacky Racer

You can get some kicks riding on your own, you just need to provide your own motivation. I ride alone during the weekday evenings for fitness and started by doing a 12 mile trip and timing myself. My motivation each day was to beat my PB, which was pretty much every day for the first few weeks, but soon became more difficult, hence the sense of achievement was greater as time went by. I was not in the best shape when I started, and I have achieved my goal of improving my fitness by a thousand fold.

This put me in a position where I felt confident enough to ride with a group at the weekend. I was always at the back for the first four trips, my lungs felt like they were on fire and legs felt like jelly, so much so that I struggled to get off my bike a few times, but each trip after I aimed to move one place up the pack, eventually getting myself into the middle of the bunch, which is pretty much where I stayed.

I now have my own group, it started with me and a mate, and has since grown to seven of us, all different levels and a range of bikes from XC lightweights to some shockers which we all take the proverbial out of (in a lighthearted way). We have a great time and always wait for the last man, or girl. Camaraderie is what it is all about, and if you don't have that you can't enjoy the riding.

ads4

My fitness/skills situation is very similar to yours, however I ride with a very good friend who constantly gives me encouragement. I doubt I will ever catch him up on the trails, he has been riding bikes all his life and rides semi-pro. I, on the other hand, have had my bike for 5 months now after having a 20year gap since last riding! I am now 38 and since taking up riding again have lost 2stone, given up smoking and taken my bike's weight to 25lbs.....unfortunately that leaves me now as the weakest link

The guy I ride with sees our rides more as a 'stretch his legs' than anything more than that. It is difficult to judge whether I am getting quicker as he still dissappears with ease, however on a couple of rides lately where I've been on my own I now realise that I am a lot quicker than before, I just know that there will always be a difference in skill/fitness/strength between us. What I do get though is encpouragement and a lot of shouting that gets me out of the sddle and pumping as hard as I can when I feel like pulling over and puking We went to Afan the other week and I probably wouldn't have climbed Whites in less than double the time we did it in without his encouragement!

A decent riding partner will do all the above for you IMO, wait for you before technical sections to give advice on what's conming up etc. Get some new mates and keep getting fitter and quicker

tricky_dicky

i joined Bigfoot MBC in the summer - they do rides specifically for beginners and have been a great help (im a fatty who ends up at the back!). They are based in Gloucestershire which i know is a bit of a trek but i cant recommend them highly enough!

Adam Thompson

stop holding your mates up you inconsiderate person :evil:

its annoting to have to stop every 5mins to wait for someone

llamafarmer

joec1 wrote:

yes its a bit further away lol... where abouts is there in brizol? ive done a nice ride through ally in the woods (of course... no where near a footpath )

There's loads in Ashton Court and the surrounding areas - miles and miles of good singletrack. I ride with a local club, so if you can't find a club more locally it could be something that's worth you making the trip for every other Sunday or something like that. When I started I was at the back (albeit with a fair bit of childhood MTBing experience to call upon) but I've now done a couple of races and consider myself a pretty quick rider. It's a great way to learn from more experienced riders.

colintrav

joec1 wrote:

Im new to the whole MTB thing.. having returned to riding after a 10-15 year gap (during which i attended 6th form and tried to stay awake. then progressed to uni and drank etc etc... the usual scenario)

anyway. i have recently started riding after i got enveous of the fun a few of the my friends have while out.

I started with absolutely no intensions of being great... or being able to keep up with their pace. and am a little stunned by their attitudes to me trying my best.

I bought a Tyax Super and have been spending weekends (about 200 miles so far) getting used to it and trying to improve my fitness so i dont hold them up etc. have bought myself a set of spd's which are working wonders (and also hurting hwen i fall off occasionally lol) haha.

its got the point now though, where im begining to feel a bit of an outsider. im really trying my best and am avoiding some of the longer rides they can do (so i dont ruin it for them)

Grr some people are so not "Beginner" friendly...

Has anyone else experienced similar problems? and how did you get around it?

Ps... if anyone in a similar situ lives in or near Chippenham and or Bath please get in touch as some beginner company would be most welcome on rides.

The Cliquey crew ,,,

A select group of knob jockey's that hang around with each other yet each one more 2 faced than the other .
And they would be the first run in any situation than rather stand they're ground !!

IMO your best bet is to sling em a dingy ,, and do your own thing .

joec1

lol yea, have found a few people with the same problem in my area so started a small group (see signature below)

thankfully we are all able ot plod along and understand each others needs. so get along great.

Im also riding alone a bit more which is really helping too.

ColinTrav - yea its amazing how that can be read and matched to my situation.... haha....

oh well...

getting along well and feeling a lot better about my riding.

thanks for all the positive (and few negative) comments guys and girls...

daniellesheridan

Looks like your sorted now.

However, my advice would be to get yourself some fundamentals MTB coaching. Just a session or two will make all the difference.

Search for CTC, SMBLA or MIAS qualified coaches in your area and they're sure to be able to iron out your weaknesses. Then you be able to go back to your old group and show THEM a thing or two.

If you fancy a road trip you can always come and get trained with my company; nearest locations to you are The Brecon Beacons or The Surrey Hills. Web address below.

Have fun!

krazykayaker

If your ever up in the Midlands, give us a shout, might be able to meet up for a quick trip round Cannock or something

boxermatt

Adam Thompson wrote:

stop holding your mates up you inconsiderate person :evil:

its annoting to have to stop every 5mins to wait for someone

Haha muppet its annoting when people cant spell annoying properly.............
Go out by ya self mate just to get a bit more skilled and quicker then start to go every now n then with your mayes and im sure soon enough you will be keeping up with them

retrobike007

I have just joined your forum

I live in 'nam and i am looking for easy rides :roll:

and a bit of cycling

joec1

lol were off to the Spirthill in Calne this weekend then Cwmcarn the following

not necessarily easy... but sensibly paced.... which is fine as long as we dont hold up faster people on the trail too much

Welcome along buddy

tom_k

I just want to say that everyone has been quick to judge your mates without hearing the full story. Are they actually leaving you or just hammering the climbs a bit quicker and then waiting for you to catch up. While it's demoralising to have either of these happen, the latter is only ever going to be damaging to your ego and you really can't expect your mates to forgo challenging themselves on the hills just because you can't keep the pace.

There's a great difference between being left for the duration of a climb (and the group will generally split on any ride) and being left for good. I reckon that if you're only worried about slowing them up then maybe the best thing to do is to chat to them and see how they feel. I often push myself extra hard when I'm not at the back of the pack as I know that I'll have a bit of a breather while the others catch up, I expect that the people who are quicker than me do the same.

Alternatively, if they are actual knobjockeys then there are loads of clubs around that will have a place for you and riding alone is always an option (and sometimes more fun).

joec1

generally was left for good. to the extent i had to call for directions a few times... or just go home having given up trying to work out where i was going lol.

good point well raised though