Intro to Mountain Biking with REI
Sorry, JJ, for yelling at you that I have no more gas to give as I pedaled my way up an advanced, technical trail that we were not supposed to be on in the first place! I didn’t exactly make it over the rock feature at the top of this climb.
But before some of my mountain bike struggles on Saturday morning, I had to get at least one of my bikes in good, working order. My road bike is still not repaired but I have an upcoming appointment scheduled at one of my local bike shops, Bicycle Roots, for that. My Surly has been giving me some trouble as well - since 3 flats on my last big ride on my road bike was not enough, I discovered a nice, slow leak on the tube in the front tire on my Pack Rat. Repairs were made but some damage was done to both my thumb and the front wheel.
Gravel tires, man.
I think in the process of struggling to reseat my tire, I damaged the spokes and so my front wheel appeared very out of true. I was able to ride it over to Bicycle Habitat, expecting to drop it off for repairs and walk home from there.
The tech was able to take my bike in right away and perform the work while I waited! The wheel turned out to be not terribly out of true - the tech explained that the tire itself is slightly misshapen, adding to the appearance of the wheel seeming wonky. In addition to truing the wheel, my brakes were adjusted, though seemingly in a way I could have done myself.
The tech also took a look at my rack, sharing that whoever installed it, hadn’t done so properly. HMMM, WELL… that was me. He made some adjustments to provide more clearance for my brakes though I couldn’t really tell exactly what adjustments were made. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised by the work, how quickly it was done and even the price tag for it all.
Before taking my bike for some repairs, I was feeling pretty down and in fact, wasn’t even looking forward to the mountain biking class I was taking the next morning. But my short ride to the bike shop really managed to turn my mood around, so much so that I was mad I wouldn’t be riding my bike back to my apartment since the plan was to pick up my brother’s car on the way home (needed a way to get up to Yonkers for the class the next morning). I did manage to stop for a quick to-go pack of beers before loading my bike up in the car for the drive back to my apartment.
The next morning felt like FALL and I was excited. I drove up to Sprain Ridge Park for the Introduction to Mountain Biking class that I had registered for through REI. JJ was the instructor, leading our group of 6, with varying levels of bike experience. The class was really great for providing basic information about bikes, alongside the specific mountain bike skills that we learned.
Most of the day was spent in the parking lot, practicing skills like turning, braking, body positioning, etc. While I would have liked to have spent more time out on the trail, I do understand the importance learning the fundamentals.
We stopped around 12:30 for a short lunch break. After that, JJ reviewed the contents of his pack with us, discussing the items that are important to have on a trail ride, while sharing how he’s used some of them in his various bike trips around the country. A few more minutes spent on some turning skills and we were off!
Um, mountain biking is scary. I tend to err on the side of caution and was riding my brakes for a lot of the downhill work, which I think did not help me since I lost a lot of the momentum that would have made rolling over obstacles easier. I also ate shit when I attempted to jump over a large rock obstacle but timed the lifting of the bike INCREDIBLY wrong. My groupmates who were behind me assured me that I looked badass, despite my failed attempt.
We spent about an hour-and-a-half riding in the woods on various beginner trails. There were sections where we walked our bikes, with JJ assuring us that these sections were actually rideable in both directions. I used to be a fairly avid hiker so it was nice to be back in the woods again and to be doing it on a bicycle for the first time.
As we were nearing the end of the ride, JJ and I hung a left turn but the remainder of the group was farther back and didn’t catch us turning onto a different part of the trail. JJ rode to catch up with them so they could turn around but found that they were already pretty far ahead on a technical section of the trail. He called for me to instead follow them and rode behind me up an advanced section of trail (instead of the beginner section we were intending to take to finish the ride). ADVANCED. This was an INTRODUCTION to mountain biking class! This hill was hard but I was determined to at least give it a go. I heard JJ encouraging me from behind to pedal pedal pedal. “Give it some gas, you need gas to get over the rock obstacle at the top!” “JJ, I HAVE NO MORE GAS LEFT TO GIVE AFTER THIS HILL,” I shouted in a general direction behind me. I really did not. I got to the top and tried to get a few more pedals in but only mustered enough momentum to get my front tire to barely roll over the obstacle. Oh well, I tried!
From there, it was an easier ride back out to the parking lot we started in. Overall, the ride was great. It was challenging but fun to be riding on a trail in the woods versus the streets of New York City. Mountain biking is obviously different from the cycling I normally do but what I noticed most were the extra, often unpredictable, movements of the bike as it navigated the different terrains - a tire slip here, a pedal grazing a rock there. I am not used to those types of movements on my other bikes and I think that is what I’ll need to learn to adapt to if I do some more mountain biking in the future.
We all made it back alive.
