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AT Cycling Log - 100,000 miles done! Next stop ???

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Got a new mountain bike Saturday, a hardtail XC 29"er. My previous mountain bike was a 1987 Rockhopper that I got new back in high school. I beat the heck out of it riding all over central Pennsylvania back in the day. It sat unused and unloved for years until my wife donated it to Goodwill several years back before I got fit again. Total night and day between the old rigid and the new ride with the Rockshox Reba forks. Took it for a shakedown ride yesterday. The first 8 miles were on a crazy technical trail full of rocks, roots, drops and jumps. The 18 year-old in me was having a blast, but the 42 year-old sensible self finally came through and stopped the madness. I finished the ride on a 10 mile course of fire roads and fast singletracks. I think I will stick to the latter 'cause I got wife and kids to worry about.

Total: 40,494
 
drteming said:
Got a new mountain bike Saturday, a hardtail XC 29"er. My previous mountain bike was a 1987 Rockhopper that I got new back in high school. I beat the heck out of it riding all over central Pennsylvania back in the day. It sat unused and unloved for years until my wife donated it to Goodwill several years back before I got fit again. Total night and day between the old rigid and the new ride with the Rockshox Reba forks. Took it for a shakedown ride yesterday. The first 8 miles were on a crazy technical trail full of rocks, roots, drops and jumps. The 18 year-old in me was having a blast, but the 42 year-old sensible self finally came through and stopped the madness. I finished the ride on a 10 mile course of fire roads and fast singletracks. I think I will stick to the latter 'cause I got wife and kids to worry about.

Total: 40,494
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I've been rocking a Cannondale 26" hard tail on some mountain biking trails around here. I've heard the 29" wheels make getting over mild to moderate obstacles significantly easier. Have been toying with the idea of getting an XC bike with front and rear shocks and was trying to determine what wheel size I'd go with.

Today, I did a quick 7mi with my dad and some friends. Practicing the more technical stuff and descents has made this ride way easier and pretty fast.

Total: 40,501
 
Compared to my old Rockhopper, the 29'er with the front suspension is absolutely amazing. With the old rigid rig, I had to be careful and pick my way around the trail. The new Airborne Goblin just blasts through everything. Some people say that the 29" wheels are harder to accelerate, but I can't tell the difference. Then again though, I have no experience with modern 26" or the 27.5" wheels.
 
drteming said:
Compared to my old Rockhopper, the 29'er with the front suspension is absolutely amazing. With the old rigid rig, I had to be careful and pick my way around the trail. The new Airborne Goblin just blasts through everything. Some people say that the 29" wheels are harder to accelerate, but I can't tell the difference. Then again though, I have no experience with modern 26" or the 27.5" wheels.
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Hm, that's interesting. I do have some difficulty with climbing already, as I'm not a great endurance athlete, so that was a concern I had with the 29'er. I've been toying with the idea of running the middle ground and maybe going with the 650b (27.5") when I get a new bike. I think that plus having a rear suspension and disc breaks would make me a lot more confident on the rougher areas.

The great thing about riding a rigid bike or hardtail is that you HAVE to pick your lines well. I think it's a good catalyst to making smart choices on the trail that you can apply later on even when you've got a full suspension bike. I appreciate the info - I'll have to test ride the 650bs and 29'er soon to make up my mind.
 
15mi

Total 40,902

redid the 8min fitness test today:
>10% increase in functional threshold power
>10% decrease in weight
======
25.3% better power-to-weight ratio in the last 5 months 🙂
 
SociallyChallenged said:
The great thing about riding a rigid bike or hardtail is that you HAVE to pick your lines well. I think it's a good catalyst to making smart choices on the trail that you can apply later on even when you've got a full suspension bike..
Click to expand...
I must be a GOD as my off road bike is a cyclocross bike... 😛
 
Going to Toulouse for the weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to do a proper long run or two there, and explore the local hills some.
Considering my current shape, it will probably be hell - but you haven't been somewhere if you haven't suffered there -right?
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
http://www.paluxypedal.com/
I'm doing the 65 mile route. Lots of hills supposedly.
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Make sure to ease up between the hills, as 19% on that one climb (depending on how long it is) are brutal on a normal compact 34-28 or similar setup.

Not getting off the bike / falling over because you can't get uncleated at the right time is going to get you into the finish with an advantage 😉

The steepst part is best powered through at a high and very intense cadence, trying to maintain that momentum, so you don't overtorque your legs, or lift the front wheel and lose control, or lean over too much to the front and lose grip at the rear.

I'd definitely recommend studying the profile, so you know where to push and where to ease off and recover a bit.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll keep a high cadence going up if possible. I'm definitely not going to go crazy on any part of the course for at least the first 50 miles. After 50 if I still have some gas in the tank I would like to pick up the pace.
It should be a challenge and that's why I do it and what makes it fun. I've already informed my wife I'm either going to finish the 65 miles or die trying.
 
Supposed to do a metric century today, but we took a wrong turn so ended up with 58 miles and change.

Total: 41,033
 
Finished the ride yesterday. Took a wrong turn ended up with 68 miles instead of 65. The hills were monsters. I'd go so far as to call them mini mountains. Didn't help I had a 25 mile stretch against a 25-30mph north wind. That was far worse than any hills I ran across.
And the high cadence really helped keep my legs from being too gassed. Although at a certain point it was just survival mode.
Total:41101
 
I totaled 125 (55 on Monday, 70 yesterday) over the last few days.
First ride was with my sister and super chill (total of 6 hours out there) second ride was more serious and I really was out of steam for the final climb. Rolling hills and wind made the return leg quite punishing.

41258
 
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