Rocky Roads?

[Michelle]

I was thinking about things (corners, mainly) and thought, hmm, we haven't seen Kathy for a little while.
So, Kathy, any more tales to tell us?
The reason corners came to mind, was the other week, we had an event & us girls went to ride the trail beforehand. I looked at this soft, sandy, downhill corner & thought, I'm going to fall off, so of course I did. I think my friend felt better after that, because she didn't fall off hehehe (then again, where she fell off, I had no problems lol).

I kept thinking, I should go back up the hill & do it again, but I honestly couldn't be bothered. I know what I did wrong (everything) - too much front brake, too slow & psychologically I'd already fallen off - oh, & I was staring at the point I knew I was going to fall, instead of looking around the corner or at least straight ahead (I don't think I could see around it at that point).

We're quiet at work again, so I've got too much time to sit & think - one of these days I'm going to end up wheeling my chair around the office going brooom, broooom, crash. Then again, I've been wished to crash into a tree on Sunday, so I'll have to piss the boss off & not do that (he's got a sore back from sitting on a train for 12 hours each way to see the "stars" walking the red carpet & going to the Lord of the Rings premiere - whoopeeeeeeee - total sarcasm).
Michelle
(sorry that post was meant to be a quick where's Kathy)

 

[RockyRoads]

Hey, Michelle! Thanks for thinking of me!

I’ve been trying to ride about once a week, doing that evil up-hill left-hander every ride—I am embarrassed to admit that I still haven’t worked up the nerve to downshift before going into the corner (it was a false neutral upon downshifting that caused my crash), so I have been climbing the hill in second gear instead of third so that I can go around the corner in second gear without downshifting. I’m working on it. The block is all in my head, of course. But I’ve been having a lot of fun with other areas. I went out riding last week with my husband, and we had an absolute blast going up and down this fairly steep hill with lots and lots of whoops. My technique needs MUCH improvement, but just doing the hill and getting to the top was so exhilarating each time--I was laughing and laughing. Later that day he took me on a trail that I had never ridden before—tight downhill switchbacks with gravel in the corners—and I felt like I didn’t even know how to ride a bike, inching my way painfully around the corners, and my rhythm was just way off. I got a bit discouraged, but then I tried to focus on the improvements that I’ve made in other areas (like being able to do the whoop-y hill).

Sometimes I feel like my learning curve is straight up. I try to pick up pointers by reading a lot of the postings at DRN (the latest tidbit is feathering the clutch to get traction going uphill—the idea never would have occurred to me on my own, and I haven’t yet tried it, but I’ve tucked the thought away and might try that technique out the next time it’s needed).

I didn’t get a chance to ride this week (work was too intense for me to get away for a few hours), and I really miss being on my bike. I was feeling a bit down today (probably due to lack of sleep—my one-year-old was up six times last night, and my four-year old was up twice), so it was really great to see your message to me—perked me right up!

Oh, and about corners (especially downhill sandy ones) . . . I’m still trying to figure them out. And I’m sure I’ll be saying the same thing a couple of years from now. :)

 

[Michelle]

Don't get discouraged. I'm glad you're focussing on what you've improved on - heck, that one took me years to work out ;) It's oh so much easier to get down about what you can't do, than what you can do & what you've done.

One of my riding buddies is so different from me - I remember the stuff I've had trouble with or hated, she remembers what she enjoyed & forgets about the crap I'd put her through ;) We'd go along & she'd comment afterward (or during) - oh, I'd forgotten about that bit - all the time I'd been thinking, I wonder if she'll talk to me after this ride hehehe

A couple of years from now, if you're talking about corners, they'll be way different from the ones you're having hassles with now - they'll be more challenging. You won't even remember the ones you're having problems with now, or if you do, you'll laugh each time you go around them, feet up, full noise, or something similar.

As for feathering the clutch, another friend of mine is learning about that at the moment, which makes me laugh, as it's her husband that taught me that about 4-5 years ago - I'd read about it but didn't really understand what it meant. Heck, I can even picture where he told me about it - if Henk'd mentioned it, I'd probably have hit him hehehe.

So what's the matter with the little ones? Teething? (sorry, being a non-mom type, I'm not up with what happens with the little ones at what ages but now I remember one of the reasons I've never wanted to have them). Glad you've perked up & hopefully you can go for a ride again soon :)
Michelle

 

[bbbom]

Hey non-mom, the little ones don't need a reason to wake up in the middle of the night!!! Luckily the usually outgrow that but it seems like it takes FOREVER!

Mine outgrew it except they both still talk in their sleep (which can really be entertaining) and one started sleepwalking. Really spooky to wake out of a dead sleep to an 8 year old standing by your bed staring at you but still asleep. I always check for a knife in her hand, then walk her back to bed. I think she's outgrown that too - hopefully!!

RR - Michelle's right about how things change as you keep riding. Some of the areas that were really intimidating for me when I first started out are just plain easy now. Of course that means that we find more challenging sections, or at least Karl finds them for me.

I remember my very first ride on the Batey Bould trail system. My bro took me for a short loop after he & his buddies came back from a real ride. I was miffed that I didn't get to go on the real ride until he took me on the mini-loop. I hated to admit it but the trail was TOUGH and I was very glad I hadn't gone on the real ride. I was glad I'd survived the mini-loop. That was 4 years ago and now Karl & I have a great time riding those trails. Even my kids ride them with us.

What seemed so difficult before is a cakewalk now. Hopefully, the sections that still intimidate me will go the same way - so far most have seemed to.

 

[RockyRoads]

Michelle and bbbom--thank for the encouraging words! My work schedule is so insane right now that I didn't get a chance to go riding last week--and it looks like this week will be the same. So I'm feeling really disconnected to my bike. And the Reno ride in February seems so far away. On a more positive note, my husband and I just booked a ride for five days in Baja at the end of April, so I've got some things to look foward to! And I think that I'll be able to take Monday through Wednesday off next week to ride each day. The trails should be very different, now that it has been raining so hard for a few weeks.

Oh, reasons why my one year old cries at night: teething, ear ache, congestion, he can't find his "kitty" in the dark (his comfort toy), he's thirsty, he's awake and wants to see if someone will come and pick him up. Reasons why my four year old gets out of bed at night: she had a "bad dream" and wants me to shoo all the bad dreams away, she can't get comfortable, her covers got messed up, she fell out of bed, she has a tummy ache, she's lonely, she's thirsty, she forgot to tell me something, she's afraid of the dark, and "just because". But with all the loss of sleep here and there, I must say that nothing has brought me more pleasure and joy than my kids; while giving my daughter a bath the other night, she started singing her own made-up song called "I love my mommy so much!"--big sigh--every missed bit of sleep is worth it.

I'll let you know if anything interesting happens next week when I'm out (finally) riding!

 

[bbbom]

Originally posted by RockyRoads
every missed bit of sleep is worth it.

Yep, one word of advice - take tons of pictures of them. I was cleaning out a box the other day and found photos of mine from 5 -6 years ago - amazing how time flies and how fast they grow!