Mountain Biking - Here's why roadies should stay out of the woods

So we go for a more extended MTB ride today, to the top of Goosepond Mtn, a 1200' ridge here in Chester, NY. It gets technical climbing and descending, etc., lovely views, the works. You know, way over my pathetic roadie head, and my pal (one of my employees) is consistently waiting for me (he's been a hard core MTBer for 15+ years, I'm a roadie who rides an MTB occasionally). I'm standing off the bike as we take a break on the rather technical and dicey single track descent. I'm on relatively flat ground, and lose my footing, keel over and NAIL my right thigh on a root or rock (still don't know which).

Now I have a friggin massive contusion in my quad. I don't know if I can ride my friggin road bike it's so sore. We'll see.

This MTB **** is dangerous. More like I'm a menace to myself and all around me when I step within 3 feet of my MTB. Fortunately nobody was hurt by me. Tonight I needed a hit off an MTB Doobie, but we didn't have any. Oh well. I'm tripping on Advil and chocolate tonight.

So we go for a more extended MTB ride today, to the top of Goosepond Mtn, a 1200' ridge here in Chester, NY. It gets technical climbing and descending, etc., lovely views, the works. You know, way over my pathetic roadie head, and my pal (one of my employees) is consistently waiting for me (he's been a hard core MTBer for 15+ years, I'm a roadie who rides an MTB occasionally). I'm standing off the bike as we take a break on the rather technical and dicey single track descent. I'm on relatively flat ground, and lose my footing, keel over and NAIL my right thigh on a root or rock (still don't know which).

Now I have a friggin massive contusion in my quad. I don't know if I can ride my friggin road bike it's so sore. We'll see.

This MTB **** is dangerous. More like I'm a menace to myself and all around me when I step within 3 feet of my MTB. Fortunately nobody was hurt by me. Tonight I needed a hit off an MTB Doobie, but we didn't have any. Oh well. I'm tripping on Advil and chocolate tonight.


I'm loving this story.:lol:

Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck, it always sux to be off the bike, sorry dude.

santiago welcomes the addition of pcad to the mountain biking forum as he finds pcad to be very entertaining.

santiago welcomes the addition of pcad to the mountain biking forum as he finds pcad to be very entertaining.

"Jimmy can dunk. Jimmy's new in town. Jimmy we'll see you later."

:injured::roflmao2:

Pcad, welcome to the club.

Just ride your bike you focking wuss.

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w69/mtnbiker66/sigs/bullitpics005.jpg
That's a big, pretty spring. $$$$$$$

Just ride your bike you focking wuss.

I'll let you know if I can. Now I may have a big con-tuuuuu-sion in the wrong place.

I'll let you know if I can. Now I may have a big con-tuuuuu-sion in the wrong place.

Where would you say the right place for a contusion is? Just in case I ever have to get one real quick like.

Where would you say the right place for a contusion is? Just in case I ever have to get one real quick like.

I got one on my right hip two years ago. The size of a softball after a winter black ice road crash. That was the right place. It sloshed a round a bit, but never stopped me from walking or riding. I couldn't lie on my right side for a couple of months however.

So we go for a more extended MTB ride today, to the top of Goosepond Mtn, a 1200' ridge here in Chester, NY. It gets technical climbing and descending, etc., lovely views, the works. You know, way over my pathetic roadie head, and my pal (one of my employees) is consistently waiting for me (he's been a hard core MTBer for 15+ years, I'm a roadie who rides an MTB occasionally). I'm standing off the bike as we take a break on the rather technical and dicey single track descent. I'm on relatively flat ground, and lose my footing, keel over and NAIL my right thigh on a root or rock (still don't know which).

Now I have a friggin massive contusion in my quad. I don't know if I can ride my friggin road bike it's so sore. We'll see.

This MTB **** is dangerous. More like I'm a menace to myself and all around me when I step within 3 feet of my MTB. Fortunately nobody was hurt by me. Tonight I needed a hit off an MTB Doobie, but we didn't have any. Oh well. I'm tripping on Advil and chocolate tonight.

I like riding fast everywhere, (I dont think i am capable of pacing myself) but im young and recover quickly after a climb and like to get speed on uphills, unfortunately none of the other riders share my riding style and while on a singletrack uphill, i ground my tire with my buddies and sent him sprawling off the trail. I felt sooooo bad. I had just recovered after spinning over some roots while pedaling uphill which is mainly why i wasnt able to stop b4 bumping tires :(

I like riding fast everywhere, (I dont think i am capable of pacing myself) but im young and recover quickly after a climb and like to get speed on uphills, unfortunately none of the other riders share my riding style and while on a singletrack uphill, i ground my tire with my buddies and sent him sprawling off the trail. I felt sooooo bad. I had just recovered after spinning over some roots while pedaling uphill which is mainly why i wasnt able to stop b4 bumping tires :(

You'd be fun in a paceline ;) .

You'd be fun in a paceline ;) .

Over 200 road races in my career, including 9 mass start races this year. Zero point zero crashes. But I don't need other riders to crash on my MTB. I don't even have to be riding my bike, just standing with it.

You'd be fun in a paceline ;) .

Oh, trust me i have considered that, that scares the heck outa me.

Descending a hill in the rain in a RR @ 40 mph with a pack of 60+ guys is 1/100th as scary as the steep technical single track descent we were coming down today. Trust me.

Descending a hill in the rain in a RR @ 40 mph with a pack of 60+ guys is 1/100th as scary as the steep technical single track descent we were coming down today. Trust me.

Funny, I feel the opposite. When I'm riding a MTB, then it's a question of whether I'm going to make a mistake or not. Mentally, I'm OK if I can I "I F'd up and now I'm banged up." In a roadie pack, it's whether one of _them_ will make a mistake.

I've made 8 starts this year, riding Cat5. I've been down once when one of my teammates had a stupid attack in front of me on the final sprint, but didn't get hurt. I've had all sorts of stupid stuff happen that I could avoid or was off to one side or the other. I seems like there's _way_ more squid behavior on road bikes.

Now I don't do big crazy stuff on MTB bikes like you find in the Pacific NW, but SoCal has pretty reasonable trails and I've been on a lot of them at one time or the other. Some stuff is just beyond me and I find a different way down, but that's not common. Generally speaking, MTB riding is as crazy as you want to make it, which at least gives you some sort of choice.

It's all what you're used to. I race with the Master's 35+ fields, very safe, very smooth 99% of the time. **** happens in bike racing of course, but when two guys bump elbows in my race they apologize to each other, nobody over-reacts and their generally is no crash. In a 4/5 field their is often yelling, sudden panic moves and disaster. So the Vets are much safer.

I'm sure if I rode in the woods a few times a week for 3 months I'd have a different outlook.

Now I have a friggin massive contusion in my quad. I don't know if I can ride my friggin road bike it's so sore. We'll see.

Pix of guad?

... Brad

Pix of guad?

... Brad

No picture. Black and blue, not to bad, still hurts to walk, didn't hinder my riding, 32 miles this AM with a few hills.

It's all what you're used to. I race with the Master's 35+ fields, very safe, very smooth 99% of the time. **** happens in bike racing of course, but when two guys bump elbows in my race they apologize to each other, nobody over-reacts and their generally is no crash. In a 4/5 field their is often yelling, sudden panic moves and disaster. So the Vets are much safer.

I'm sure if I rode in the woods a few times a week for 3 months I'd have a different outlook.

You got that right about cat4/5. Those guys are freaking dangerous.

I ride in the woods and I do 'cross and some MTB races. That elbow to elbow thing on pavement can go on without me. Despite P-Cad finding something to hurt himself on, off-road riding is completely nonthreatening to me. Trees are a lot softer than cars, rocks are smaller and less likely to be hit than pavement. Road racing, everything around you is either a sharp edged rock or made of steel. Not so fun an environment.

Rattlesnakes and armadillos are more predictable than pedestrians.

I'd say I crash in some fashion probably 1 in 5 times I go out for a mountain bike ride. No injuries (save a little bit of rash) as I keep my crashes small. But I've never even come close to a road bike crash. I think falling off is just part of mountain biking.

And yes, I've done something similar to pcad's little spill: standing over the bike, lose balance, fall.

But mostly all of this is just because I'm incompetent.

Keep jammin...it's just a bruise, it could be a scar situation. Plus, it's something to remember your first real mtb ride!

So we go for a more extended MTB ride today, to the top of Goosepond Mtn, a 1200' ridge here in Chester, NY. It gets technical climbing and descending, etc., lovely views, the works. You know, way over my pathetic roadie head, and my pal (one of my employees) is consistently waiting for me (he's been a hard core MTBer for 15+ years, I'm a roadie who rides an MTB occasionally). I'm standing off the bike as we take a break on the rather technical and dicey single track descent. I'm on relatively flat ground, and lose my footing, keel over and NAIL my right thigh on a root or rock (still don't know which).

Now I have a friggin massive contusion in my quad. I don't know if I can ride my friggin road bike it's so sore. We'll see.

This MTB **** is dangerous. More like I'm a menace to myself and all around me when I step within 3 feet of my MTB. Fortunately nobody was hurt by me. Tonight I needed a hit off an MTB Doobie, but we didn't have any. Oh well. I'm tripping on Advil and chocolate tonight.


It sounds like you are fine on the MTB you just need to work on standing.

I suggest knees slightly bent, weight on the balls of your feet, straight at the waist, chin up. Make sure and try not to look down, as your body tends to want to go where you look.

once you get the basics down, you can start trying one foot standing and standing on stairs.

Between sticks, falls, and pedals, I usually come home 50% of the time leaking some blood but its never too big unless I do something idiotic, which is 5-10% of the time, usually when Spring first comes, on a Friday. But then again, I have a reputation for falling the most among everyone I ride with. My motto is if you're not falling enough you're not trying hard enough. You can always push it more and more. ;). I could just be clumsy, but I just tell myself I'm extreme. ;)

Pcad, have you endo'ed yet?

Pcad, have you endo'ed yet?


he's in for a treat if he hasn't. The best one I did was going 20+ and hit a hidden stump. 20+ was fun. Zero instantly wasn't. Younger days and I did get back up.

My favorite wreck has always been the one when I was descending on a local trail, there is a double jump at the bottom and I missed the landing, stayed upright but got close to a tree, got thrown off the bike while the bike spun around the tree several times.

Stories like this will do nothing to help us roadies want to MTB more. :)

help us roadies want to MTB more.

why would we want to do that?

lol

You're not having fun unless you are bleeding!!!

Same boat here. I just bought my first MTB, and discovered that using clipless pedals on trails are a whole other animal than road riding. I'm not so sure about using those things offroad.

Same boat here. I just bought my first MTB, and discovered that using clipless pedals on trails are a whole other animal than road riding. I'm not so sure about using those things offroad.

I started to consider non clipless as you are . . . but have already given up on that idea. I am just too used to clipless and I think the benefits outweigh the downsides. Now, I am crashing at times that I would have no issue with with regular pedals . . . but I figure I am climbing better, am more connected, and am better able to unweight the rear end due to clipless. I will either get better at getting out quick and at unexpected times or I will get bruised up. I just felt like giving up on clipless was the easy way out and I would come back at some point and have to go through all of this now.

I did scrap free float pedals (bebops) and went with non float eggbeaters to be able to get our much faster.

I endo'ed near the end of my first mountain bike ride. Paniced and grabbed the front brake while descending. Just glad I got that out of the way early. It's been nothing but fun since. Still learning though. I still ride the mountain bike like the roadie that's out of his element like I am. I bleed on every ride and I've never been happier.

he's in for a treat if he hasn't. The best one I did was going 20+ and hit a hidden stump. 20+ was fun. Zero instantly wasn't.

Had a Cat. 4/5 knucklehead miss a brake tower transition and land on my rear wheel at 26-28 mph dead center in a 60-80 person pack. Glad I'm a mountain biker used to "Oh ****" moments as that had me out of my clips as fast as a scalded housecat. Pulled a neat little superman move and almost managed to roll out of it uninjured. Ended up beneath a half dozen riders with my bike about 20 feet away underneath another half dozen riders. It had a tacoed Ksyrium Front, broken Time Impact pedal, cracked Felt carbon fork, sliced Conti Attack front tire, stripped FSA crank bolt, shredded Deda bar tape, and my Giro Eclipse helmet was cracked in eight places among other things.

At no point has something like this ever happened to me on the trail, not even on the Class 5 obstacles in the mountain biking mecca of Moab.

Trees and rocks tend to roll along much slower than the average Buick or the average roadie for that matter.

ENDOING IS FUN!!!!!!
umm..
errr..
just... when you do so, try to make sure that as you get back up your bike doesnt land on top of you and throw you back down.
Happend to me... my only REAL crash this year so far.

You havn't rode unless you've endoed lol

stripped FSA crank bolt

:notamused:

. . . broken Time Impact pedal, . . . .This has irony written all over it.

Same boat here. I just bought my first MTB, and discovered that using clipless pedals on trails are a whole other animal than road riding. I'm not so sure about using those things offroad.

I used to ride old school buckets and they were a pain, and I don't know how many pedal hits I took to the shins. Having my feet clipped in has really saved my shin skin and probably allowed me to climb things I otherwise wouldn't have.

An old road racing pal of mine endo'd on his MTB. Into a tree. He suffered what his physicians termed 'the hangman's break'... of his neck. That's where the rope snaps your neck when they hang you. C-4-5, or something horrific, so close to your brain they'd never F with it surgically. He no longer rides, drinks a lot of beer, and has been on narcotic pain meds for a decade. So it's really funny right up until that happens. Do you deal with chronic pain of that type? I have. I do. You don't want to know. Trust me.

I take it easy in the woods.

I was flying down a long hill at about 20-25mph and thought i cleared a little oak tree off to my left but it completely grabbed my pedal, and sent me and my bike slingshotting around the tree and tumbling down the hill about thirty feet... a couple minutes later i looked down and realized i had tread marks from my front tire running all the way accross my chest :) (my tread patterns are different on front and back tires)

C'mon Pcad, this is only maybe about a half hour from you...

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f12/scrublover/May%2008/IMG_5404.jpg

Roadie types can make decent offroadie types too!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f12/scrublover/May%2008/IMG_5368.jpg

From this afternoon.

I used to ride old school buckets and they were a pain, and I don't know how many pedal hits I took to the shins. Having my feet clipped in has really saved my shin skin and probably allowed me to climb things I otherwise wouldn't have.

Yeah, I keep going back and forth. For now, to solve the "death by tip-over" I just backed waaaay off on the tension screw, so I can bail out of the things quick. I think I'm fighting some bad habits I developed riding some fairly rough trails on a road bike with platforms, like sticking a foot out for traction or in preparation for bailing. For now, I feel more secure on rough downhills if I have a foot ready, I think like a security blanket.

Oddly enough, I don't have the shin bang problem anymore, though my shins used to be black and blue all the time. Having clipless on my road bike made me more of a spinner, so when my feet fly off even when riding platforms they slip forward with no damage done (I can get them out of the way before the pedal smacks the calf on the follow through).

I'm also having problems with restart on hills with the clipless - I can't get enough momentum with one leg and clipped in with the second in time to get the second pedal stroke. I can manage it with a platform. So for now, having the clipless is actually hurting me on hill climbs.

Any advice to a MTB n00b, folks? I want to give the clipless a chance (especially since I use the things on-road anyway), but I seem to have a bit of a learning curve with the things off-road.

I made the mistake of trying mtn clipless for the first time in a race, in the rain. Not good.

As far as hill starts, if I'm having trouble getting clipped in I'll just do a couple of rotations with my foot on the pedal but not clipped in. The clipped-in leg works harder for about 3 seconds, but that's typically all I need.

The best advice I have for getting used to clipless is: pedal through. When I come to something that looks like I might not be able to ride it [i.e. some sort of weird log pile or whatnot], I just go for it anyway. Same thing with really steep climbs - you just grunt it out, don't stop until you reach a tree to lean on or something. If you get bucked off, well, it happens.

If your not doing "north shore"type riding, keep riding with the clipless. There's a bit of a learning curve using them offroad. I think they are well worth it for general singletrac use. If you like the wooden stunts and jumps they most likely would be less helpful than some flats. I fell a lot at first. I almost went back to the flats but within a few rides I noticed an improvement. Now I don't really even notice they are there. Like Pinkbike said, just keep pedaling, don't break your stride and change your balance by prepping a leg to dab on a section you think is sketchy.

C'mon Pcad, this is only maybe about a half hour from you...

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f12/scrublover/May%2008/IMG_5404.jpg

Roadie types can make decent offroadie types too!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f12/scrublover/May%2008/IMG_5368.jpg

From this afternoon.

I'll bite. Where is this exactly?

I'll bite. Where is this exactly?

Blue Mtn. In Peekskill.

I had my doubts about clipless too, but now I can out-climb almost all my buddies I started riding with on technical stuff. They force you to stay 'committed', which can be scary, but MTB is all about psyche. If your courage wavers, you fail. If you look where you don't want to go, you fail. Being clipped in gives you more control of the bike, and if you have the 'nads, you'll be a better rider for it.

Hey PCad! I went from

Road Weenie Convert
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh267/CXRCross/CIMG0486.jpg


to manly hairy legged mountain biker!
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh267/CXRCross/CIMG0718.jpg




Instructional booklet is $10.

Hey PCad! I went from

Road Weenie Convert
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh267/CXRCross/CIMG0486.jpg


to manly hairy legged mountain biker!
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh267/CXRCross/CIMG0718.jpg




Instructional booklet is $10.

The Fredliness of your appearance in these photos cannot be overstated.