Singletracks Mountain Bike News, Product Reviews, MTB Trails and Community › Protected: Forums › Mountain Bike Forum › First ride….
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January 21, 2009 at 16:20 #76651
So after I went to Dick’s and got my goods (see other thread) I raced home and got changed. Being a newb I put on my bike shorts, some thermal long jon pants and a pair of khaki shorts. Up top I had on the long jon top, a t-shirt, and a fleece. Tobagon and helmet for the old noodle, and I grabbed my MP3 as I headed for the door. Sublime was the music of choice today and I was ready to pedal and rock. I did not take a before pic of my new ride but here is an after pic:
Anyone notice anything wrong?
Well I should preface that we live in neighborhood still under construction. Out the back is a large old pasture and wooded area that runs along a small creek. I thought this would be a great place to learn about my new ride. So off I went pedaling my little heart out. Did I mention that old pasture land is filled with ruts, rocks, mud, dirt, bumps, ditches and all kinds of other goodies? All these things are good and fun. What I don’t like about old pasture land is the craptastic amount of sticks and old dead stalks of junk that apparently takes over. Well anyways I’m pedaling along tackling new obstacles, learning that rear tires in mud slide just like a Jeep tire in mud and all in all having a good time. I rode for about two hours before it started getting dark. Now like any good hunter when it started getting dark I wanted to use up all the last little bit of shooting light before heading home.
So on my way home I found some small hills, others might refer to them as mogouls, but for now they were small hills. And I began riding up and down the small hills. All of a sudden I started hearing a funny noise. So I stopped, hopped off and checked the chain and gears. All were fine. Down the next hill and up and I could hear it again. So I repeated my testing process. Now we all saw the newb part right. Well after stopping a couple more times. I finally looked down without getting off the bike and realized that my rear tire was flat. Flat enough that in the grass when I was off the bike it looked fine, but only with me on it did it look flat
Luckily I was only a few blocks from the house so I hoisted up my new ride and trucked onto the house. I got home and I think I must have pinched the tube as I cannot for the life of me find a hole in the tire. But if I put air in the tire and squeeze in a certain spot the hissing stops. So I am getting ready to look up tire repair 101 and I am enjoying one of these:
after a great first ride. If I can get my tire fixed tonight, tomorrow I will find the trail near me and give it a go. I also mounted the pump to the frame so I have it next time. Ahhh good times.
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January 21, 2009 at 20:14 #76652
If flats are a typical problem in your area, then consider a sealant. You don’t have to go all out tubeless, but you can use Stan’s in your tubes with basically the same affect. It’s a bit tricky but well worth the time up front.
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January 21, 2009 at 20:25 #76653
Well to finish off the tale, I ran out and got a tube and patch kit. I needed the patch kit for the little lever things. I didn’t want to mess stuff up using a screwdriver. Got it all fixed a little while ago and I’m ready to rock tomorrow.
Wish me luck.
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January 22, 2009 at 10:23 #76654
Tires do go flat over time the air can pass through the tube and tire…But hey funny thing you can check out in the blog area a few tips that will help you get ready for the season and your first ride.
Good luck! And have fun!
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January 22, 2009 at 17:17 #76655
Well as you can see from the pics, day two was another adventure. I went to Twin Fork Recreational Center a trail from this site that hadn’t been rated in two years. I now know why. This was not a trail it was a mudbog. Here are the pics.
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January 22, 2009 at 17:32 #76656
Thats uhhh alot of mud….Geesh how were those brakes….
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January 22, 2009 at 17:40 #76657
What brakes? If I stopped pedaling there was enough mud to just slow me down. 😃
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January 22, 2009 at 20:04 #76658
Ha ha – good dirt my man!
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January 22, 2009 at 20:10 #76659
Look on the bright side…..looks like you still had plenty of air left in that rear tire!!
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January 24, 2009 at 06:53 #76660
💡 A little note on biker etiquette: It is frowned on to ride muddy trails. It often puts big ruts in them, not to mention putting a lot of wear-and-tear on the drive-train of your bike. Try to stay off the muddy stuff.
Sounds like you are having fun. Keep it up! (Just stay off muddy trails… 😉 )
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January 24, 2009 at 16:33 #76661"pookie" wrote
What brakes? If I stopped pedaling there was enough mud to just slow me down. 😃
That is funny. After you ride a while you should have a good feel for what trails drain well and which ones don’t and ride accordingly. Glad to see you like the adventure aspect of mountain biking. Thats what got me hooked.
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January 25, 2009 at 06:48 #76662
Thanks for the tip, like I said, I’ll try to avoid the deep mud from now on.
I went on an actual MTB trail yesterday. No horses, just bikes. It was good a short loop of about 3 miles. I’ll have to get the name from my buddy that went with me as I can’t remember. It had a little bit of everything. very little mud and was really cool.
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