Mudu93

I was speaking with a neighbor at our Halloween party on our cul-de-sac about his new 29r and all the fun he has been having out on the trails. He knows I ride road and used to mountainbike back in my college days. We got to talking and I got to thinking about how much fun it used to be. He mentions that he and some friends are meeting at his house at 8:00 am on Sunday to ride. The alcholol I had been consuming said I too would be there.

So on Saturday between the kids soccer games and nursing a large hangover, I get out the old Miyata which has not seen actual off-road riding for probably at least 12 years. Off came the slicks used on the MUPs while pulling my kids and on went the knobbies.

Long story short, I had a blast. I was slow and timid at first but as I settled in, I became slow and aggressive. All the up and down was killing me, but I was grinning the whole time. Shoot once I settled in and got my breathing under control, I found a groove and was almost able to keep up. The guys I was riding with were fun and I actually was not the oldest at 39. I believe I will go out again. All the road miles seemed to help my endurance, and I hope the climbing out in the woods will help me with the hills on the road.

Smallguy

I find riding the road helps my endurance....most of the trials where I live lack long climbs so it doesn't translate to my climbing on the road but riding road has improved my mtb'ing

most of the elite racers in my area ride a lot of road but race mtb

BigUgly

I discovered MTB riding fall of 2007. I got myself a bike and have been having a blast for the past year. I am finding the opposite. The more MTB riding I do, my road endurance seems to get better, especially hill climbing. There are no flat trails here and to get to the good trails you need to climb and it is very rocky.

Mudu93

Back in College, I was an overweight pack and a half day smoker. On a whim, I bought used Giant Mountain bike. I rode it around campus a couple of times and then hung it on my wall for a year. After returning from springbreak, My best friend showed up with a brand new Paramount and proceded to drag my happy ***** out to the trails around Columbia MO. A few others saw how much fun we were having and bought bikes as well. When summer break came around we decided to stay in Columbia and take summer classes. Our daily routine became classes in the morning, work in the afternoon, mountain bike, and drink beer. I started that summer out around 260 and ended it around 180.

Sadly, after college real life interupted and with out my friends to push me, I fell out of regular biking. My weight slowly creeped as did a marriage and 3 wonderful kids. I began thinking that I needed to do something to ensure I would be around along time for them. I then got word that my freind from college was killed by a mountain lion in California while out mountain biking.

When spring came along, I bought a road bike and began training for my first ms-150 and have been riding road ever since. I love being out alone on my road bike, but I never liked mountain biking alone simply as a safety issue. Now that I have some new people to ride with, I can see my mountain bike getting dirty a lot more often. I just hope at 39 my skills return.

Wogster

Just remember one thing when mountain biking:

When your under 25 you bounce
When your between 25 and 40 you bounce ..... back - sometimes it takes a while though.
When your over 40, you don't bounce, you break,

Ask me how I know this .....