Hi, new guy here

OwenCB · March 2008

I've recently decided to take up mountain biking as a hobby to enjoy with my girlfriend who's been enjoying the sport for a good few years.
We live a distance apart so on the weekends I don't see her, I'm looking to get out on a few trails with a local club so I can improve my ability for when we get out on the bikes together, but am a bit worried that my fitrness will prevent me from making the most of the days out.

I've picked up a GT Avalanche 1 2008 for what I think is a healthy £425, and have treated myself to some other kit such as a helmet and gloves and some decent waterproofs. So I know I have enough gear and a bike decent enough to cope, thing is I'm worried about me letting the gear down, I'm currently about 17 stone in weight and 6'3" and have been jogging for the last four or five months running a ten k road race in about 45-50 minutes, in your opinion do you think I should hang back from joining in anything too strenuous just yet? Or should I bite the bullet and if I end up pushing I end up pushing?

I live on the outskirts of the Lake District, and though I know the area pretty well I don't know many trails to follow so I do think the club way is the future.

Any thoughts and advice will be greatly recieved.

Owen

KonaMike · March 2008

You've got a good bike and the right gear so just go for it,most clubs are mixed ability and fitness levels anyway so you will be fine ! Just enjoy yourself .

Mike

jmeadows · March 2008

you are prob best building up slowly but if you have been doing 10k in 45-50 mins your fitness sounds ok. get out there and see how it goes, listen to your body though and you will know when to chill out. enjoy

cjw · March 2008

OwenCB wrote:

So I know I have enough gear

Yeah... right.... we've all said that.... then a week later posting something like "should I upgrade my seatpost / saddle / brakes/ helmet / shoes / lights.... "

If you can run like that you'll be fine...

OwenCB · March 2008

Cheers for the support guys, am hoping not to fall flat on my face and hold my own on rides out with the girlfriend, so am sure this will help.
As for upgrading the kit, I think some new pedals might help but only flatties I've tried SPDs before and really couldn't get the hang of it and that was on the road with less chance of falling off so I'd rather be able to dab than spoil my already impaired looks further

RideTheLakes · March 2008

Hi Owen,

Don't let your fitness levels put you off, you might find that you're a bit faster compared to others than you think. Riding with others will get you fitter faster anyway IMO.

We have a forum for rides arounnd the Lake District, see link below. Rides are fairly mixed ability so most would be fine for you but there is the occasioanl all day epic going on so might be better to find out about times and distance if you're not sure you're up to it.

The bog trotters (www.bogtrotters.org) do a lot of beginners rides in the area if you think that would be more suitable. It's not my cup of tea as it's all a bit more formal with board meetings and fee's but seems to be popular anyway.

OwenCB · March 2008

Cheers, I'll join the forum you mentioned and have a look about, to be honest it is the Bogtrotters that I'm considering going out with, as I'm pretty new to all this I thought the organised route would be easier, as my main intention is to spend more time going out on the bikes with my girlfriend it's a good way of improving my ability and fitness so I can keep up with her.
She lives in the north east and tends to ride in Hamsterley or pops up to Glentress so if I can show her a few good routes up here when she calls in then it'll keep us occupied in the days

OwenCB · March 2008

Well am just back from my first proper trip out on my bike, went up Parkamoor on the east side of Coniston, was tough and I pushed a lot of the uphills and ended up with really bad cramp in my thighs towards the end of the ride but I loved every minute of it, spent a lot of time looking at the full suss bikes and contemplating how I can get the money together to get a decent one of those.
Still I got cold, I got wet, I got muddy, but most importantly I got the bug, can't wait for my next trip out.

RideTheLakes · March 2008

Sounds great, some fantastic trails round Grizedale. I've rode in Grizedale Forest nearly every week for the past year and never get bored of it!

I do ride elsewhere at the weekend though so not that boring

dirtbiker100 · March 2008

cjw wrote:

Yeah... right.... we've all said that.... then a week later posting something like "should I upgrade my seatpost / saddle / brakes/ helmet / shoes / lights.... "

OwenCB wrote:

spent a lot of time looking at the full suss bikes and contemplating how I can get the money together to get a decent one of those.

its already started

i know you've already done your first ride but if you can run at that speed then its just acclimatising the muscles needed for mtb. dunno about the cramp though, maybe make a post in the health and fitness section about that one.
with a few regular rides you'll quickly see your most needed muscles getting stronger.
glad you still enjoyed it after getting cold muddy and wet - imagine what it'll be like when the weather is better in the summer and your body's used to riding

OwenCB · March 2008

I do think it is just getting used to working my muscels on the bike as well to be honest, a lot of the times when I was pushing I was running up the hills with my bike so I wasn't holding the group up too much but eventually that got too much.

Not sure about the cramps other than I had plenty to drink but we stopped for something to eat late and I think my tired body was struggling to cope with what I was putting in as fuel, I guess I'll have to play around with my pack up.

I can't afford to upgrade or replace my bike at all anyway but I'm definitely up for improving my fitness and abilities and once I can handle my hardtail well enough I'm going to get something a little more exciting than I have now.

Hi, new guy here

Comments

Categories