I have this addiction,
I will not stop,
EVER !

To the New riders I see every day out on the trails struggling hard trying to get Into shape or working hard to fill your skills bag.

I say this :

It's suppose to hurt,
When you can't ride any more, when you absolutely must stop and rest don't...
Drop a few gears down, pedal a faster cadence, slow up and rest ON the bike.
Do Combat breathing, Breathe In deep and hold for a full second, breathe ALL the way out and HOLD for a full second. This will slow your heart rate and calm you so you can Get back In the Hurt Locker where you need to be.
Learn to drink ON the bike, get a Hydration pack,
Remember to eat something during the ride....

It never gets easier,
You Only go Faster,
And this makes It Harder.

You gotta learn to love to suffer

Ok I'm done

HOOAH!

Keith

Ehhhhhh --------- good enough to just be out there doing something IMO. Rides don't have to be further, harder, faster to be fulfilling

Gotta love making the legs burn...I think 2 or 3 tough rides a week is good...fill the other days with rest or a calm relaxing 130-140 bpm bike ride.

I'm in my mid-50's, my body takes days to recover if I push it to far.

I would also argue that on technical trails if you push your ability to the point where your coordination is suffering it is not a good idea to keep pushing it since a minor wobble on some trails can mean a very bad outcome. When a failure means bodily injuring, take your time to do it safely and being over exerted is not safe.

I take a day off for recovery after a workout ride,,,I'm 57
The thing I do is ride at 70-80% max power on day 1,
Then the next day pour on the coals big time...

The thing I learned about technical trails Is relax and go easy unless there ares big drops and climbs...

If I have big downs and ups I simply stay off the brakes...

Confucius says:

Pedal down hill and coast up the next one,
Coast down a hill and you will need to pedal up hill very hard,
Use your brakes going down a hill (Or In the G-out) and you will find It extremely hard to walk the bike up the next hill

Zah ! Hai

Well if you are new to mountain biking some trails are technical and fast enough that going full bore down would be a very bad idea.

Absolutely !

I tell new people to, stop and LOOK before they leap,,
Never ride a trail you cannot see down, never top a rise with the intent to roll out unless you know whats on the other side.


I went out yesterday,, had a hard time with the heat and humidity,, dialed it down to 70% and just took fun Intermediate trails.

I am having a hard time picturing climbing in Florida. Little hills here and there, but not climbing. That doesn't mean I am questioning the ability to get a good workout. I am just thinking that your kind of riding/trails is a lot different than ours.

Little bit more vert in the north west

Yeah It's shorter climbs, we measure in feet not miles, so we do several per mile, dozens even.
We have a levee that's next to an Interstate, the sides are murder when you go up and down for Intervals lasting
a half hour or so, a real puker.
Most of our single track drops and climbs are under two stories so its the fact that a mile may have several punchy climbs.
We have old phosphate mines that existed before land reclamation was introduced, After the mines moved on from these area's they turned the mined acreage back into original Florida landscapes.
But lucky for us some of this land was left, so our hills are holes.. what goes down must come up

I have no doubt I'd probably struggle on climbs in the Smokey Mountains...

Alafia Is known even In Europe so I feel fortunate to live In this area..

Thanks for the info, now I have a much better picture.

As for your OP, I did a lot of this a couple of years ago to get back into shape, it sucked. But, it was needed. Now, I am happy with my conditioning. I could be in better shape, of course, but as you probably know, there are few people in the 50+ range that are actually in good shape (considering all people over fifty, not only cyclists). And, now, it is about staying in good shape without created unnecessary injuries.

I ride mostly intermediates in our area but love riding them as fast as I can. These are fairly hilly single tracks. At the trail head I overheard a female talking to her male partner after their ride. She mentioned the term "comfort" way too many times. I asked them which trail led to the intermediate loop and she says "the left one but lookout there are trees down". Sheesh. I told her that's ok, I dont mind them.