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Trail 1 - Me 0 First ride in over 25 years!!!

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Trail 1 - Me 0 First ride in over 25 years!!!

Old 09-03-19, 04:11 PM
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jrhoneOC
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Trail 1 - Me 0 First ride in over 25 years!!!

I am 50, maybe 40 pounds overweight (for now) and was looking for a way to motivated to exercise. Convinced the wife that Mountain Biking would be a good motivator as I have lost the weight before but got burned out running 5 miles a day or doing over an hour in the gym a day...so I started looking and landed on a 2020 Rockhopper Comp 1x. LOVE the bike. Its got a 1x9 and I was wondering that that's enough gear. Also how would it be after not riding for so long, Well today was the first ride, and it went...GREAT. Although it REALLY shows how out of shape I am. The trail definitely won today! It was about 5 miles of paved and trail. Not too much elevation change. No HUGE hills but some climbing. At the end I was WIPED but a great first ride! I'm now excited to build my cardio and leg strength so I can really get into some harder trails. The benchmark has been set!!
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Old 09-03-19, 04:15 PM
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CliffordK
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Originally Posted by jrhoneOC
Its got a 1x9 and I was wondering that that's enough gear.
It really depends on what the actual sprockets are. For flatish riding, it may well be sufficient. What gears were you naturally selecting as you were riding?
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Old 09-03-19, 04:25 PM
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Originally Posted by CliffordK
It really depends on what the actual sprockets are. For flatish riding, it may well be sufficient. What gears were you naturally selecting as you were riding?
Being my first ride and its a Microshift system so there is no indicator on the bars for what hear I am in...I was just getting into the gear that felt "right". The sprockets on the bike are 30T up front and 11-42 in the rear. I was on the lowest (42) gear a lot on the 2nd half of the ride, in the beginning I wasn't at all...on some downhill sections got into the high gear a few times just to see if I was topped out and I wasn't. So gear range seems pretty good and it being a 9 speed I was wondering if I was going to miss any gears or if the spread was too far. I think its a tad far now because I'm not in good shape...after a month on the bike I'm sure it'll be great. I REALLY like the smooth and positive shifts.
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Old 09-03-19, 04:33 PM
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If you're doing paved trails and railroad conversions, 30 x (11/42) should be quite adequate.

You will have some gaps.

Sometimes I'll find myself thinking, if only I had one more in between gear, but usually I find my body pretty forgiving to different gearing selections.

If you keep at it, you will likely experience a rapid improvement curve. So, the first day you're limping home in the 30x42, and in a couple of weeks, you'll be buzzing along with half that.
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Old 09-03-19, 04:40 PM
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That's the plan! I chose that ride because I thought it would be pretty easy...haha...I have a number of buddies that are into it pretty seriously...I will give it a little time before I hit some trails with them. Demoralizing always being the guy in last that everyone else has to wait for.
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Old 09-03-19, 05:51 PM
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By the thread title, I thought I was going to read about the OP falling off his bike.

I may have a bit of experience with that.
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Old 09-03-19, 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Wileyrat
By the thread title, I thought I was going to read about the OP falling off his bike.

I may have a bit of experience with that.
True...My legs FELT like they took a beating.
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Old 09-03-19, 07:27 PM
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I started back riding less than a year ago after about 30 years off. My first outings were on a mountain bike--on a rail trail. I was not in terrible shape and not over weight but in need of improvement and maybe 10 pounds to lose.

At first I would do maybe 5-8 miles in a medium gear. After a few months I was riding about 16 miles but still using the same medium gears. Then I went out for a spin with a friend, older than me (I'm 61) who basically proceeded to blow my doors off. The 30 year time not riding seemed to be lost in my mind as I'm semi-competitive individual.

Anyway, I decided that the next time I ride with this individual things would be different. Somewhere around the end of last year I got the great idea to ride a 65 mile charity ride so I got out my old mid 80s steel road bike and did a few upgrades. I also joined a local team that rides recreational. First time out with them I used my mountain bike rode 20 miles of rail trail and the others used road bikes. It wasn't pretty. That was maybe 10 weeks before the 65 mile ride.

Slowly I got myself ready for the 65 miler and finished that with a few minor issues but finished ok. Since that time I have been working on all around bike fitness. While not scientific, I'm doing hills on my road bike 2 days a week and cardio longer distance rides on the rail trails 2 days a week. I still work full time so if I can get out 4 days a week that is doing well.

I can say that in the last 3 months I have made significant progress. I try to set goals so I want to take at least an hour off my 65 mile time next year and I'm thinking about riding a century ride also. To do this I will have to do some cross training and use my indoor exercise bike over the winter.

So set goals and work diligently towards achieving your goals and before long you will have 5 bikes in your garage and putting 100s of miles per month in the saddle.
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Old 09-03-19, 09:03 PM
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Just don't overdo it.

Your body is now 50... you can still get stronger, but perhaps not as quick as when you were 20.

Some stress is good.... but not to the breaking point.
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Old 09-04-19, 04:41 PM
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I'm pleased to say I finally got my 29er in the dirt 2 weeks ago...

I've been riding a lot more all summer, so my first dirt ride wasn't painful. I was just scouting the trail honestly.

I sure hope you ride more and get your legs under you! Took me all summer, but you can see my quads showing again!
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Old 09-04-19, 05:10 PM
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Great!!! Yes I went out again today...GREAT ride...I did the same trail and I knew what to expect...This time I was cruising along and my pace was better, stamina better and I doubled the length of the ride. Went from 5 miles to over 10 miles in 75 minutes. I am on vacation this week so I am getting this in now...when I go back to work this will be more like a twice a week thing. But..I LOVE it! Hooked!!
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