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Was biking at one of my local trails here in Florida (one i ride everyday) and it was going great. I took a break at the top of one of the trails to grab some water when two other men passed me. One seemed to be in good shape, the other was id say 60’s and not in shape (not to be mean). I ride this trail a lot, and I think I run through it pretty quick. Anywho I decided to let the group of two go ahead of me since I was stopped after all figuring id just tag behind. Tag behind was an understatement. I got left in the dust, they didnt appear to be moving at a break neck pace, but i could not manage to keep up with them, I was giving my bike hell. I doubt they knew that I was mentally trying to keep pace, but I was…and failing. I was mystified on how easily I was outclassed. I only ever caught up once when they took a break, and then they left me behind again. I watched out of juice trudging up a long climb as they flew up and around the corner.
One hand i was aggrevated that i wasnt as quick (so i then re-ran the course as fast as possible again) and on the other I found it to be very inspiring. I hope one day when im older (40 years from now, im 21) Ill be able to blow kids off the trail just as easily as he did me 😕
In the meantime, Im stepping up training and working twice as hard. I do not want that to happen again. lol
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"ChiliPepper" wrote
:lol::lol::lol:……What trail here in FL? Well, if you do not mind me asking bro. Don’t feel bad, at 42 and getting older, my son (12 y.o.) gets me from time to time, and I say from time to time. The majority of the time I am putting a whooping on him….😆
I know a few older guys, like 50 plus, that would put a whooping on me.
I got a whooping put on me alright lol…I was at Loyce E. Harpe Park (aka Carter Rd) its like 10 miles away and i try to ride it daily.
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I hear ya. I am 53 and I ride @ Carter a couple of times per month. Mostly I get "Smoked" there…. OK so far I have always been "Smoked" there…. but my day will come! Back when I lived in Georgia it was always cool when I passed someone that was 20 or 30 something and beat them back to the trail head by 5 minutes or more. The looks on their faces were priceless!!! It was like "Dude you are old…WTF" !!! 😄
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"Stevie_D" wrote
I hear ya. I am 53 and I ride @ Carter a couple of times per month. Mostly I get "Smoked" there…. OK so far I have always been "Smoked" there…. but my day will come! Back when I lived in Georgia it was always cool when I passed someone that was 20 or 30 something and beat them back to the trail head by 5 minutes or more. The looks on their faces were priceless!!! It was like "Dude you are old…WTF" !!! 😄
Trust me, I def. had the "WTF" face
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Go do a race, then you’re realize just how slow you really are. 😆
I rarely get out ridden on my local trails, but I have to ride hard as possible to get even close to a mid pack finish in a race.
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"dgaddis" wrote
Go do a race, then you’re realize just how slow you really are. 😆
I rarely get out ridden on my local trails, but I have to ride hard as possible to get even close to a mid pack finish in a race.
I was seriously considering doing one soon….However this kinda put a damper on my confidence lol. 😐
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"MERCE006" wrote
[quote="dgaddis":1vtyrix3]Go do a race, then you’re realize just how slow you really are. 😆
I rarely get out ridden on my local trails, but I have to ride hard as possible to get even close to a mid pack finish in a race.
I was seriously considering doing one soon….However this kinda put a damper on my confidence lol. 😐[/quote:1vtyrix3]
Nah man, do it, it’s a lot of fun. Only races I’ve done have been long distance endurance races…one warning – you’ll get hooked!
Just go into it with the right attitude. In the order of importance, your goals should be:
1 – have fun!
2 – test yourself
3 – meet some cool people
4 – learn something
5 – become a better rider
6 – see how well you can do against everyone elseIf you do the same race again you’re basically racing against yourself, to see how much you can improve over last time.
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"dgaddis" wrote
one warning – you’ll get hooked!
I couldn’t agree more. I did 24 Hours of Moab last month and I am totally hooked!
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"dgaddis" wrote
[quote="MERCE006":h36oxt5f][quote="dgaddis":h36oxt5f]Go do a race, then you’re realize just how slow you really are. 😆
I rarely get out ridden on my local trails, but I have to ride hard as possible to get even close to a mid pack finish in a race.
I was seriously considering doing one soon….However this kinda put a damper on my confidence lol. 😐[/quote:h36oxt5f]
Nah man, do it, it’s a lot of fun. Only races I’ve done have been long distance endurance races…one warning – you’ll get hooked!
Just go into it with the right attitude. In the order of importance, your goals should be:
1 – have fun!
2 – test yourself
3 – meet some cool people
4 – learn something
5 – become a better rider
6 – see how well you can do against everyone elseIf you do the same race again you’re basically racing against yourself, to see how much you can improve over last time.[/quote:h36oxt5f]
Yeah thats what I have been planning on doing all along. Ive seen stuff for the FSC races here and there and there is one coming up in a few weeks right near my home town i was debating on entering (Nov. 21). However I thought I was much more prepared for what I was getting into b/c i was just gonna go into the beginner class. I figured riding everyday would give me a slight edge, but now I’m thinking that’s not so. At the same time Im extremely competitive and dont like being last lol. But overall I just like riding.
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"MERCE006" wrote
Yeah thats what I have been planning on doing all along. Ive seen stuff for the FSC races here and there and there is one coming up in a few weeks right near my home town i was debating on entering (Nov. 21). However I thought I was much more prepared for what I was getting into b/c i was just gonna go into the beginner class. I figured riding everyday would give me a slight edge, but now I’m thinking that’s not so. At the same time Im extremely competitive and dont like being last lol. But overall I just like riding.
Give it a go! As long as you’re not too serious you’ll have a good time. I think you’ll find there’s a lot of cool laid back people there, and they’re out for the same reason as you – to push themselves and have a good time.
I’ve never done a cross country race, but I want to try one next year hopefully.
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Long climb…..
in Florida?
Come on man.
Ride with people stronger than you and you will get stronger.
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Does it count as a climb if doesn’t break 10,000 feet elevation? 😼
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"seenvic" wrote
Long climb…..
in Florida?
Come on man.
Ride with people stronger than you and you will get stronger.
Hey, its a long uphill stretch on some soft sand…..but i digress it really doesn’t compare to up north.
My biggest problem is that I have no one to ride with. I ride alone almost every time, my freinds are too lazy (seriously) or think the sport is lame.
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I find it better to ride with people faster than you. I have a couple of buddies, one in his 40’s and one my age (late 20s). They both can smoke me. However I use this as a tool to get better, watch them and follow their lines when I can keep up. Anytime they give me an opportunity to get in front I take it and it usually pushes me to keep them from catching me. But seriously my older friend is fast, if I catch up he rides faster and it kills me. But when I go ride with others I realize the benefits and then I am waiting for people to catch up to me. Find other riders that are faster and it will only push you to excel.
It sure is nice when you are passing other people on the trails!!
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I agree it is better to ride with people who can push you. It is easy to become complacent and not push yourself too hard. I used to ride with a couple of friends in the UK and we were pretty close in ability, but competitive, so would push each other all the time. One of them raced Veteran class in the British Olympic MTB team soon after. Another guy who sometimes joined us out riding was a member of the British National and Olympic cycling team, roadie variety who took up MTBing, and he was great to have out. He could never really blow us out as his skills were not that great, but he could push us a lot of the time. I never got further than National series races in the Sport or expert classes, not Elite, but damn there were some aliens doing that! I was lucky to place mid pack…
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"rockerc" wrote
I was lucky to place mid pack…
Actually let me rephrase that: I would have to almost kill myself to place mid pack…
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"MERCE006" wrote
My biggest problem is that I have no one to ride with. I ride alone almost every time, my freinds are too lazy (seriously) or think the sport is lame.
Sounds like it’s time to trade them in for new friends. I’m lucky because I have a few friends that enjoy riding, so I usually have someone to ride with. I do go solo though. My guess is you could meet some folks through a local bike club or at some local races if you were really looking for riding partners.
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"fleetwood" wrote
[quote="MERCE006":3dficuj7]
My biggest problem is that I have no one to ride with. I ride alone almost every time, my freinds are too lazy (seriously) or think the sport is lame.Sounds like it’s time to trade them in for new friends. I’m lucky because I have a few friends that enjoy riding, so I usually have someone to ride with. I do go solo though. My guess is you could meet some folks through a local bike club or at some local races if you were really looking for riding partners.[/quote:3dficuj7]
Yeah, Ive given up on asking anymore. Id much rather be in the woods on a bike then sitting around watching T.V. and doing nothing. One friend went once and said,"its too hard" and never went again. So other then that one time, every time Ive ever gone MTB’n it has been solo (which I know isn’t the safest) I think I’m gonna join the Ridge Riders here in Lakeland, they do a lot of work on the trail I ride the most and I figure I need to put in my share of work too.
Anyone know of any good bike clubs that are more "Florida-Wide?"
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"tarvisg" wrote
I find it better to ride with people faster than you. I have a couple of buddies, one in his 40’s and one my age (late 20s). They both can smoke me. However I use this as a tool to get better, watch them and follow their lines when I can keep up. Anytime they give me an opportunity to get in front I take it and it usually pushes me to keep them from catching me. But seriously my older friend is fast, if I catch up he rides faster and it kills me. But when I go ride with others I realize the benefits and then I am waiting for people to catch up to me. Find other riders that are faster and it will only push you to excel.
It sure is nice when you are passing other people on the trails!!
My riding buddie is in his 40 ‘s and I am 31. He smokes me everytime! It is quite the motivation. We just hit up Rosaryville today and we were shown up by a trail runner and he was old. He was flying and was not showing any signs of slowing down. It is not often we are shown up by trail runners but he was GOOD.
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Hey Coastie, you’re rolling much faster with that 29er now. New grips and bar ends will only make it better. We’ll put them on tomorrow before we ride. Keep it up and I’m going to break down and spend that 3 grand on the super Stumpjumper 29er! It was a good ride today. Schaffer Farms will be even better tomorrow! Yes, the old runner shamed us. Only because we kept taking breaks so he could catch up to us. Yes, I’m older and fatter than you, but I’ve been riding bikes since 1980, and hitting the trails since 1996. I just have more time on two wheels then you.
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"ChiliPepper" wrote
[quote="seenvic":156h2q3u]Long climb…..
in Florida?
Come on man.
Ride with people stronger than you and you will get stronger.
Granted there are no mountains here in FL, but we do have some long haul riding hills here. Most of the climbs on our trails are short, but can be very steep and a bitch to climb due to its steepness. Nice to have mountains or at least some form of mountains in SC though…. 😉[/quote:156h2q3u]
riding overpasses do not count!
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"brianW" wrote
[quote="ChiliPepper":lvqtcjup][quote="seenvic":lvqtcjup]Long climb…..
in Florida?
Come on man.
Ride with people stronger than you and you will get stronger.
Granted there are no mountains here in FL, but we do have some long haul riding hills here. Most of the climbs on our trails are short, but can be very steep and a bitch to climb due to its steepness. Nice to have mountains or at least some form of mountains in SC though…. 😉[/quote:lvqtcjup]
riding overpasses do not count![/quote:lvqtcjup]
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 -
So…do you climb up to get to sea level?
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"maddslacker" wrote
So…do you climb up to get to sea level?
they use the ski lift for that. don’t want them FL riders to get winded 😆
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"brianW" wrote
[quote="maddslacker":36ao1zw4]So…do you climb up to get to sea level?
they use the ski lift for that. don’t want them FL riders to get winded 😆[/quote:36ao1zw4]
😈
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I always thought I was pretty quick until I started riding trails with one of my friends. He constantly has to stop and wait for me. When I finally sat down to think how the hell does this keep happening? I have come to the conclusion it’s becasue he weighs 30lbs lighter. Since it is the hills that he blows me away on. At least in my head I’ll make that excuse. We both ride similar 29ers, so it’s not the set ups, it has to be my fat ass. (225) 😠
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Have him throw on a 30 lb backpack and see how it goes… 😆
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"maddslacker" wrote
Have him throw on a 30 lb backpack and see how it goes… 😆
I like that!!! What’s going to be my excuse after he puts on the back pack and still smokes me?? 😆 😆
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