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Breakthroughs and milestones

4K views 50 replies 18 participants last post by  sgtrobo 
#1 ·
Hey you newer riders, what kind of experiences are you having that are taking your riding and fun to the next level?

Yesterday was a great day for me on my bike, I achieved two of my summer goals in one ride. I made it up to the very top of our local trail network with no breaks and no dabs. Usually I stop two or more times on the way up that trail, but it has been a few weeks since I have done it and apparently i'm gaining in fitness and stamina. Learning about cadence and muscle groups has been very helpful. I even made it through half of the technical section at the top before I had to stop. That was huge! Then I took the steepest descent down, which is the only trail I haven't ridden down yet, and only had to put a foot down one time during a fairly ridiculous segment. The trail was in bad shape with a two to four inch rut in almost all of the steep sections, but I made it in one piece and improved my skills. I have a couple more major goals before the snow and ice sets in, and i'm determined to see them through.

How about y'all?
 
#2 ·
Hmm, noone else? I thought i'd just let this post die, but i'll give it one more shot. I probably wouldn't even post stuff like this here except everyone in my immediate life doesn't want to hear me talk about mountain biking and I know i'm not alone in my excitement.

I didn't get to ride all week due to work and bad weather. Yesterday, however, I tackled a lot of new challenging terrain up in Grand Junction and it was another breakthrough day. The endless rock obstacles up there used to really kick my but, but i'm gaining all kinds of new technique and strength and conquering new stuff every time I ride. I still have some major limitations, I try not to risk serious injury with my growth, but sometimes i'll push my boundaries a bit. Rocks on all sides are intimidating and i'm still not doing much in the way of drops in that kind of setting. If there was a clearer landing i'd be more apt to try, but dropping a rock ledge onto more jumbled rocks freaks me out a bit. But i'm climbing new stuff all the time and descending some tricky passages too: things that only a month or two ago I could not pull off. If only there were more time to play....
 
#4 ·
i understand what your saying. ive been biking for a few years now but a busy scheduled made me miss pretty much all of 2013. this year i got a new bike and made time to ride. as the 2014 season went on i found myself riding faster, nailing features, making that big climb, getting the nerve to do the drop off. its a great feeling when you can see yourself progress to the next level. people on this form tend to hang in cliques, dont get put off that no one responded. keep riding and having fun
 
#6 ·
obs08 - Don't worry, I won't get put off. I don't even know anyone here in person (I don't think), and who knows if I will. Still, I have learned so much here, and really appreciate all the different approaches/perspectives to riding, especially the experienced views of those who have been through it all. I'll be a reader here for a long time even if i'm not an active poster.

I suppose there is a small frustration in my biking world that due to scheduling i'm almost always riding alone. I do have some friends who enjoy biking, some quite seriously, and I hope to connect with a larger group in town one of these days. However, with a one year old and a busy life I end up squeezing in whatever hours I can get. Tomorrow there is a community ride I hope to participate in, but again due to other priorities that might not happen. Even still i'm making the time to keep riding, and it is very fulfilling, as well as just plain fun.

Also, like I mentioned my last post, it is nice to talk about my borderline obsession with riding. My girlfriend is seriously tired of listening to me rattle on about it all! =)
 
#7 ·
im in the same boat as you. im a single father and have a 4yo girl. i manage to get out and ride two or three times a week and to hit the gym 2 times a week. its tough but i squeeze it in. having breakthroughs in biking like hitting jump or making a climb etc. .is really more than just biking. its a personal accomplishment. something that at some point you thought youd never be able to do but you did it. it really helps with other things and gives you confidence for life in general
 
#9 ·
having breakthroughs in biking like hitting jump or making a climb etc. .is really more than just biking. its a personal accomplishment. something that at some point you thought youd never be able to do but you did it. it really helps with other things and gives you confidence for life in general
This is exactly what i'm getting at... really it's not biking specific, but about accomplishing new things, even things you did not think you would. I'm still fairly new to trail riding, but i've spent a lot of time on bicycles, and I am riding trails all the time now that in the past I would have hiked thinking 'who would ever bike on this?'

For me mtn biking has filled in a puzzle piece in my life i've been looking for for years now: something I enjoy doing that is a quality cardio workout. Something about the synthesis of being outdoors, a great variety of terrain and the specifics of riding equal a great match for me. I have never been as comfortable biking around cars or in the city.

I've never really thought about having specific goals but it is nice to see a bit of progression. For example I'm a bit more comfortable in the air than I was at the beginning of the summer. Before then I tried to avoid leaving the ground wherever possible. Don't get me wrong, I'm still rubbish at it, but I'm learning to relax and go with the flow a bit more so I don't hit the ground with a thump!
I try not to be too goal oriented, but some kind of intention helps keep me going. The things that happened to start this thread were more like things I thought would be cool to do this year, and I was surprised they came as soon as they did. Since I have a limited time to ride I think i'll be able to keep fairly regular growth going for a long time. Eventually it will even out, or t maybe at some point i'll be able to ride more frequently. For now a few times a week and i'm still learning new stuff all the time.

The other things i'd like to do this year are: complete the 19 mile technical trail not to far from me and get down to Phil's World for a bikecation. Hopefully i'll pull them off!
 
#8 ·
I've never really thought about having specific goals but it is nice to see a bit of progression. For example I'm a bit more comfortable in the air than I was at the beginning of the summer. Before then I tried to avoid leaving the ground wherever possible. Don't get me wrong, I'm still rubbish at it, but I'm learning to relax and go with the flow a bit more so I don't hit the ground with a thump!
 
#10 ·
Had my first bone breakage via bike crash last month. I don't think I hit any rocks so I'm not sure it counts as a milestone, but the damage to the bone was definitely a breakthrough.
 
#12 ·
I've biking for about 7 years and just started riding off-road last September. Since then I've gotten a lot better at climbing and have learned to bunny hop over things. I've learned about bike handing and learned how to crash pretty hard without getting hurt. I'm having so much fun, far more fun than on the road, which has turned into more of a necessity since I commute by bike a few days a week now.
 
#14 ·
The thing I like about this sport and my winter sport of skiing, is it is a personal goal orientated sport. I try to make myself better, stop less on the trail, or carve on my weak side better. It is not me against another, it is me against my old me... who will win. Unfortunately, just as I was really improving and adapting to my new bike my season ended abruptly. I am doing snow dances in the back yard (my wife has disavowed knowledge of my "dance" and I am pretty sure the neighbors are uploading "weird neighbor dancing in backyard" videos to Youtube) as my injury wont prvent me from skiing.

Sure you can choose to race and another might set a faster time, in the end your still racing yourself, your personal best, your old self.
 
#15 ·
I agree entirely, Phinias. I've never been much of a competitive person, I can't say entirely why, but it did keep me from going very far with sports as a kid. Solo endeavours are much more suited to my personality, so biking has always been something I love.

There are times when i'm riding, however, and I will have thoughts like "I wonder if i'm faster than so-and-so" or feelings of accomplishment keeping up with way more experienced riders. Sometimes I even fancy it would be really cool to be in a race even though I can't really see myself doing that. There is an interesting line between ego and competitiveness that i've never fully been at ease with. As I get more into this sport i'm interested to see how it will play out with those mostly dormant areas of my personality.

Mostly, though, it will be me out there on the trail doing my own thing, and working at improving my skills, strength and stamina. That's why i'm out there, personally.
 
#18 ·
all of my goals revolve around going as far/high as i can without stopping. climbing is, by far, my biggest challenge. i'm 6'7 and 235 lbs, and despite being an athlete my entire life, have always had poor endurance. i've never seen someone struggle on the climbs as much as myself. i go to the point of throwing up and light headed on every ride but at least notice improvement each week (not each ride).

last week i made it to the top of one of my regular trails for the first time without stopping.. best ride of my life. two days later on a different trail i bonked at 2 miles (climbing) and almost passed out.

very frustrating, but the good rides make it worth it. i want to get to the point where i can tolerate climbs and not let it ruin the rest of my ride.
 
#19 ·
I get that, HalfPast-- last week was my breakthrough climb, yesterday I decided to try going up a primarily downhill run and it killed me! I got to that dizzy place myself, and the first part of my ride was really rough, especially having to push up the steep sections. Later in the ride I made a climb that i've never accomplished, however, and tied my downhill speed record on my favorite descent, so it ended up being a good ride after all. There was a moment where I considered not doing the back section though...

Phineas-- Yeah, I watched the Ridge, and the other video he made in the abandoned city. I first ran across his stuff this summer and was an instant fan. I did some bmx as a kid and never excelled at any kind of trick riding, but it is something i've always appreciated. I really want to be able to do a little of that hopping around action, and might be able to pull it off, though for now my bunny hop is at about 6" =)
 
#20 ·
I am still very new, with this year being my first year of actually following through with a real effort to ride more than a few times. Because of my family and work schedule, I am lucky to make it out once a week. Milestones for me are just being able to get out on my bike and hopefully see some improvement. But I do try to hit the gym late at night 3 days a week and am trying to improve my cardio by doing a hard hour session on the stationary bike/elliptical followed by 45-60 minutes of weights so when I do hit the trail I am not too pathetic.

Strava has been helpful in charting my improvements. I have seen several segment times for me drop every time I head out. Last weekend I saw a break through in my ability to handle downhill hairpin flat corners which helped knock 15 seconds off my previous best segment time because I was able to carry more speed. A couple weeks before that I spent a fair bit of time at the skill building section of Duthie working on confidence on the tallest practice drop, pump track and hopping features at speed. I am still very much a novice, but every time I go out I feel more accomplished and push a little more on my boundaries and endurance, which is about all I can ask of myself.
 
#21 ·
I used to run, back and knee problems have rendered that impossible. So I got my first mountain bike in March of this year. I rode around my hometown a little to try to get a little ready for the trails. This was the first time I had ridden a bike on a regular basis since I was 15 years old, I am now 39. In April I went to our local trail system for the first time. My first trip to the trail was on Easter Sunday. There was someone else in the parking lot at the trailhead when I got there. Having never been on a bike trail before, I asked the other gentlemen if there was anything I needed to know. He said I should probably just go with him. I did. We rode what I know now is our "race lap" It was about 9.5 miles. I originally intended to go out for 20 or 30 minutes, just to see what it was like. Needless to say, I was out much longer. I had more fun and was more exhausted than I can ever remember. I had SO MUCH FUN. I have tried to get out to the trail 3 times a week or so since. weather permitting.

I joined our local club, worked a few trail work days. A month or so later, I decided I wanted to race in our clubs yearly race even if I finished last. I decided that I wanted to climb a certain long steep climb before the race (my first real goal). Two weeks before the race, I climbed that hill. I raced in September and finished forth from last, 13th. I am in better shape than I have been in at any time in my life. I am not sure addicted is strong enough to describe how much I like this sport. I wish I had started years ago instead of running. Reaching goals is an awesome feeling, climbing that hill before I thought I would be able to was so awesome! There is another that is much steeper, it is now my nemesis and my goal is to climb it before May 2015. Winter may shut us down for a few months
 
#22 ·
I'm glad I kept this thread alive. It is great to hear we're all doing our best to get out there and evolve our abilities and health.

jhatfie- You might not have as much time to ride as you would like, but you're doing a better job filling in than I am. Going to yoga is my only other regular physical practice, it is a great balance to biking, but I really want to do some strength training and during the winter will need to establish some other gym routine or something to keep my fitness up. I'm not sure how that will go yet...

cwakefid- Your story is inspiring! It seems your background as a runner has served you well in your training and it's great you have found a new practice that is so much fun. I am 38, so in a similar boat, and look to get my health to that pinnacle place as well. I need to fill in a few pieces, but i'm well on my way.

That is great you stepped it up and joined the race. I'm sure it really upped your training focus! We had a local singletrack society for a few years, but the bike store and focalizers moved away, so there isn't a real club here. Our trail network would be great for some races, though. Otherwise it's about 60 miles to any real active biking groups, but next year i'm going to join them too and get out to help with some trail building.

Good luck with that new hill! I am headed out shortly and may just try to ride up that which kicked my butt two days ago. The grades are possible, but it will probably be awhile till' I can do it.
 
#23 ·
I had one of these experiences recently. I have struggled with my weight and maintaining my fitness for about 18yrs now (that sounds scary to say). I had a kid for the first time near the end of last year, then had a health scare. Felt dizzy / weird. The ER didn't find anything but ended up really freaking out over my horribly high blood pressure.

I decided that being an older dad I need to get and stay fit. I don't want to be one of those dads always telling my son that I am too tired to play or running out of breath from chasing a frisbee. Well I still sweat a lot but I can maintain physical activity for a sustained period of time.

I always had a goal of "lose N pounds" in the past to motivate going to the gym. That never worked. I got the bright idea to change my goal to "go to the gym 3 times a week, do at least 40 minutes." That finally clicked and I have been maintaining that since late last year. One of the things I did knowing I wanted to get in shape to bike was the stationary (spin) bike. At my gym they have the keiser model (which is great btw) I had been doing a routine I came up with. I ride at setting 17 for 5 minutes then set it for 23 and do that for one minute. I keep doing that until 40 minutes is up. It was super difficult at first but over time became reasonably easy. I still sweat like a pig, but that is how I know it's working haha.

I have always loved biking since I was a kid and I always loved mountain biking but never got good at tackling big hills. I have a couple of local rides that were goals in the back of my head for maybe 5 years or so. About a month ago I finally went on a ride by myself and met the goal of "ride the whole park loop at any speed without needing to stop" I did that and it was amazing. I told a bunch of people I reached that goal and they just sort of looked at me and said things like "good for you" or "awesome." Really as some polite acknowledgement of the event, but it was something way more than that for me. It was somewhat profound because I had for so long wanted to reach that ability level when I did I was just smiling on the trail as sweat poured down my face.

I also just recently was able to climb one of the meanest climbs (to me) that I always hoped I could do. The confidence I gained at the other park allowed me to attempt that climb.

I'm starting to get pretty stoked on the mtb, to go revisit some other parks that used to kick my butt. It's really cool how the momentum just builds up mentally and you want to go all the time. I am there now. It's cool to finally achieve a fitness goal. I always thought it would never happen.

Anyway I wanted to share since it seems you all have had similar experiences. Thanks for reading and keep up the good work!
 
#25 ·
I had one of these experiences recently. ......

..... It's cool to finally achieve a fitness goal. I always thought it would never happen.

Anyway I wanted to share since it seems you all have had similar experiences. Thanks for reading and keep up the good work!
Man, that is what i'm talking about! Great story. Heck, it's a testimonial.

It's funny how others will politely say "nice work", or "great job", which as you mentioned are great affirmations but fall short of understanding the level of excitement we are getting from our growth. Even still it is good to share, you never know when you will run into a kindred biker who will fully understand.

I acheived a good portion of a major goal yesterday, tackling fifteen miles of technical terrain, preparing to do the whole of a local trail. I would have done it yesterday but was riding alone and didn't want to ask anyone to help me shuttle my car and all that. Even still it was longest advanced level trail i've ever ridden. By the last five miles I was pretty beat, but I did it all fairly quickly having some time constraints, and if I had been more relaxed I could have ridden significantly farther. It worked out perfectly, though, I am sore today but will be hitting the trails tomorrow. And I hope to do this full trail sometime in the next week or so while the weather is nice, and it will force me to find a riding partner, something which is rare for me.

Anyhow, back to your story, I truly get how cool it is to make progres, on multiple levels. And by the sounds of it you are far from done gaining in health and skills!
 
#26 ·
I've been trying to meet 3 goals before the first snowfall.

1) Complete a lap at my local trail (~4.5 miles) with out having to stop once at an obstacle. (There are 3 obstacles at my local trail that really give me a hard time)
2) Set a sub 30 minute lap time
3) Beat my friends best lap time (~29:40)

This morning I beat all of them in my first lap, along with setting PR's for each Strava section on the trail! It's an amazing feeling meeting/exceeding the goals you set for yourself.


Also, I completely understand what it's like to tell someone about your personal achievements and have them just say something like "Oh, that's nice". It can be pretty disheartening.
 
#27 ·
I've been trying to meet 3 goals before the first snowfall.

1) Complete a lap at my local trail (~4.5 miles) with out having to stop once at an obstacle. (There are 3 obstacles at my local trail that really give me a hard time)
2) Set a sub 30 minute lap time
3) Beat my friends best lap time (~29:40)

This morning I beat all of them in my first lap, along with setting PR's for each Strava section on the trail! It's an amazing feeling meeting/exceeding the goals you set for yourself.
3 in one day, awesome! The question is; now what? =)
 
#30 ·
I built my Surly Pugsley back in Feb, and started riding the beach and local lowland trails until "the wettest March on record" in my area had me hunkered down indoors until April. Then my riding got interrupted by a "mild" (didn't kill me) heart attack in May, and I wasn't riding again until Sept. I had a nice ride on some twisty single track in the local pine scrub yesterday, after riding the trail and clearing the windfall debris first. I may be only an old (64) geezer on a fatbike, but I have been working on my trail riding skills and enjoying every moment of it.
 
#31 ·
Nice man! Crazy about the heart attack. Didn't know they could be "mild" stay safe and keep up the exercise. I worry about my dad he is about the same age and eats nothing but trash for food. He rides too so hopefully that is enough to keep him out of the heart attack zone.
 
#32 ·
I had a definite breakthrough today with my fitness level.

I rode hard trails on Monday, did just under 18 road miles on Tuesday, did over 30 road miles on Wednesday, took Thursday off, and then I rode to work this morning and set a personal record (Fastest time to get to work), despite riding in a torrential downpour.

what's funny is that when I was done, instead of being exhausted, or even tired, I was energized.

:D
 
#33 ·
For me progression has been a combination of gaining skills, and endurance both physically & mentally. My very first ride was 2 miles on the street & I almost threw up. I stayed with it, got to 7-8 miles on the street. Hit some routes with some climbs and knew that was just training. After a month I finally hit a trail. 5.6 miles 235 feet of gained elevation. Thought I was going to die but I didnt throw up. Today when I trail ride if I don't ride at least ten.miles I feel I didn't ride enough. I make it up 85% of the climbs, my times are getting better and I feel great. Three pounds average of making my weight loss goals. At 52 I weigh now what I did when I was 25.
I still haven't thrown up yet nor had a cigarette in three months.
 
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