Speed; it’s something we all seek when we’re on our bike. We train our muscles to push faster on the flats, stronger up hills and to take the ‘hover’ position for miles while we cruise downhill.
Another part of being speedy is NOT falling.
I’m pretty good at all the other stuff – but falling is my pitfall. Let’s put it this way, if I’m out with my regular riding guys and I fall, no one comes to help me up. They’re all so used to it. (But they wait patiently for me to dust myself off.)
Recently, I’ve been mountain biking in my comfort-zone… not really challenging my skills. Well, that kind of backfired when I meet up with some new friends to ride new trails. It’s not that it was super technical, it’s just that my skills game was NOT on (and hasn’t been for some time).
As with anything in life, it’s important to know when to call in the professionals. It’s past time to get that one-on-one session scheduled with my skills coach.
Rocky switchbacks… I’ll master you soon enough!
The Rambling Biker 
Aww ouch…but kinda funny that your usual riding friends know you so well that they don’t freak out when you fall >.<
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Right?!
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Chicks (and dudes) dig scars. 😉
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That what my husband says!! Thank goodness!!
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Yikes! You don’t wear armor (shin guards and knee/elbow pads)? If you are going to ride rocks, you need it.
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Yeah… had no idea we were riding rocks that day. Usually I do!
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I don’t have the cuts and bruises that you have, but I have spent weeks wondering if I have fractured a shin or two, after riding rocks! Oh, and I ride in the Chicago area. There are actually rocky trails here!
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Ouch! Always remember, speed is your friend!
I know how hard it is to embrace this concept, but it’s physics. And the law. Scientifically speaking.
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I try to remember that every time I corner fast and am afraid to wipe out!
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[…] friends – I had only ridden with these people once before and it ended in disaster only 3 miles in (and I don’t know them outside of riding […]
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[…] training again. Started riding with some new friends that were found on the trail and then promptly crashed in front of my new […]
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I’ve been pretty lucky, knocks wood. I’ve had a few bad ones though I have a huge scar on my shoulder blade from going over the handle bars once and a couple of trophy helmets. Two summers ago I was going down a sharp hill which seemed steeper and looser on the way down than the slow assent. I remembered the shape my back brakes were in and ditched in some soft looking bushes. Anyway everything was fine until I stood up and put a deep long gash in my shin against a pointy rock. Since then I laughingly tell people I got knifed by a pirate, he had me by the leg and I barely got away. And then fess up. Perhaps you could come up with some more heroic stories to match your scars too!
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Nice! Yes! I should get better at coming up with better stories than “I was on my bike… I feel…” I might have to steal your pirate story!
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do it!
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