As some here may recall. I just got into cycling a few weeks ago and picked up a left over 06 c-dale synapse. I have been having a great time pushing myself to go further and at greater speeds while exploring the surrounding areas. And shedding a little weight in the process.
But my wife wanted nothing to do with a road bike. So I picked up a giant cypress for her. When we would ride together it was actually quite difficult to go at her pace on the roadie. You almost can't pedal. It did not feel like I was getting any exercise yet she would be tired pretty quickly. So I figured what a great excuse to pick up another bike to use when we ride together.
I looked at some hybrids similar to the cypress but maybe a little more aggressive. Trek fx, jamis coda etc... But it was killing me knowing the bike would have no purpose for me except for the "sunday ride" so I started looking at mtb bikes. Figured a hybrid is a cross between a roadie and a mtb and already having the roadie why not get the real deal and go for a mtb.
So I did. Picked up an 07 giant yukon today. It is great for "dumming down" the ride on family ride day, as I discovered today when we hit the paths for an after dinner ride. Plus I am now discovering all the great off road trails in the area around here. And there are quite a few.
Well tomorrow the wife has to work and now I can't decide, do I want to go do my typical 1-2 hour road ride or take the mtb out to the trails?
Life is just filled with these tough decisions ;)
Either way I will be out pedaling and burning more fat. Lord knows I can use it! :lol:
Anyone else balance their rides between off road and road? Or are most committed to one type of riding?
hr2510
07-28-07, 11:24 PM
Anyone else balance their rides between off road and road? Or are most committed to one type of riding? I ride my MTB(with "Hybrid" tires & riser handlebar) on gravel through the week then on the weekends I load it up and ride through the neighborhood in a near by small town. I live in the country and that is my only options other than riding on the small curvy hiways with no shoulder and that is something I'm NOT going to do.:eek:
rideorglide
07-29-07, 08:44 AM
Absolutely -- and am interested in how folk balance these things.
For me it's a case of balancing out road/mtb/surfing/windsurfing/family and family riding/ riding or surfing with friends/and sometimes even golf -- with an often 60+hr work week. These days I try NOT to stress too much over the decision, whatever it is.
Partly subconsciously I let the prevailing conditions for each sport/mood/time of day/serviceability of various body parts / home repair/ work, help me make decisions -- kind of going with the flow...
There are definitely trade-offs:
On the plus+++ side, when I bought my wife an MTB (Jamis Dakar), she loved it and got into MTBing, and she loves that.
Our kids who are between 10-12 come with us, even on technical trails, and that's priceless, even if it's a battle to separate them from Warcraft III. Generally they have a good time, with what is a challenging, sometimes frustrating sport.
For example, I know they will never get out and ride before 11 am, so if it's going to be too hot, I will ride road in the early a.m., or maybe surf, and be done with it. Sometimes an early am surf (2 hr round trip can be fitted in before taking the kids MTBing). Or there are times when they/we have ridden MTB several weekends in a row and need a mental break from things becoming too routine.
Sometimes various bikes -- road or mtb -- or the surfboards collect dust. Right now, it's the windsurfing equipment, since it's the most time-consuming, difficult to load, logistically difficult, window-of-opportunity sensitive sport to fit in. I got 15 years under my belt, and have learned not to get crazy every time the trees start to bend a bit. For my low-impact sport, The road bike is the most logistically easy sport, since I can ride from outside my door.
The biggest downside is having less time to do other sports with friends, and eroding skillsets and performance benchmarks. I definitely am motivated to improve performance, but it's not always possible if the body won't allow, so I try to keep my primary focus on doing outdoors things with the wife and kids, and having fun.
Anyone else balance their rides between off road and road? Or are most committed to one type of riding?
Tom Stormcrowe
07-29-07, 09:03 AM
I ride what I feel like riding......
Now, admittedly, I have a strong bias toward road riding, partially because there's only one trail for offroad around here and it's short and nontechnical other than some stump hopping and tight technical turns.
East Hill
07-29-07, 10:03 AM
I have far more road bikes than I have MTBs (11 to one), but I take the MTB out at least once a week onto the trails around here. It's a rather tame doubletrack (essentially a gravel road around a reservoir), but it does have a lot of hills, and as it's nine some miles around, it can be ridden clockwise, then counterclockwise, then clockwise...depending on my mood and endurance. Also comes with deer supplied, and rumour has it that there is a bear as well. Mr. East Hill can generally be coaxed to join me if I bring up the possibility of deer and bear spotting.
East Hill
Tom Stormcrowe
07-29-07, 10:06 AM
I have far more road bikes than I have MTBs (11 to one), but I take the MTB out at least once a week onto the trails around here. It's a rather tame doubletrack (essentially a gravel road around a reservoir), but it does have a lot of hills, and as it's nine some miles around, it can be ridden clockwise, then counterclockwise, then clockwise...depending on my mood and endurance. Also comes with deer supplied, and rumour has it that there is a bear as well. Mr. East Hill can generally be coaxed to join me if I bring up the possibility of deer and bear spotting.
East Hill
That would lure me as well, East:D
Especially if it was in season! Deer......mmmmmmmmmmm(Drool).http://www.allfreeclipart.com/cartoons/cartoon57.gif
East Hill
07-29-07, 10:15 AM
That would lure me as well, East:D
Especially if it was in season! Deer......mmmmmmmmmmm(Drool).http://www.allfreeclipart.com/cartoons/cartoon57.gif
Bear is pretty good too, if it's cooked properly.
We have seen some big bucks at the reservoir. Not legal to hunt, of course, but always fun to see because there are some four pointers there. That's really big around here, most of the ones we get are only forked horns.