Mislaid my skills and Lost my bottle, where did I put them???

[pw_pw_la]

I've had a couple of scrapes and spills since I got back into regular riding, and I suspect I'm a bit younger than a lot of those commentating in here at thirty-nine.

One thing that really surprised me was how much confidence I maintained after over 20 years of not riding mountain bikes.

And I would argue that this confidence is probably not the greatest asset, considering I'm pushing myself and my old bikes probably a little farther than I should be!

I'm not hitting jumps or crazy downhills, or anything. But I find I'm riding cross country, single track and whatever else I can find, as rapidly as I ever did. Which, admittedly, isn't particularly rapid!

Maybe it's all in my head? But it still feels good, and like it did. I still feel comfortable with what I'm riding and where I ride.

Hopefully I never have to see myself actually engaged in the act to shatter this illusion, as I very much doubt I look as good as I sometimes feel!

 

[legrandefromage]

No idea what you are all talking about

 

[hookooekoo]

No idea what you are all talking about

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Ouch! I hope you heal up quickly and fully.

 

[grey-beard]

No idea what you are all talking about

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Bloody Nora, that looks painful. Perfecting the stoppy were we?

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

No idea what you are all talking about

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Is that actually you? If so I hope you feel better soon. That looks f**king painful

 

[legrandefromage]

It is the main reason I no longer wear certain 'safety' equipment when pootling

I did have to realign my nose myself

Eerily a week later:

 

[Betsy]

Wow! get well soon!.. i was involved in a hit and run with a taxi at 6am who turned left into me.. not having SAS training i put my hands out to save my face and sprained both my wrists, that was nearly 3 weeks ago and i'm still feeling it, my left wrist still needs a support.

@velomaniac ...around here there is also an element of trails becoming ever more aggresive to keep up with the progression of more forgiving mtb's.. Greno woods for example, there are massive gaps being cleared by average riders, back in the day pro riders would have relished such challenges but your average dude would have steered well clear.. i suppose it's the same for BMX, you see tricks nowadays which were never attempted in the past because riders are caning them over and over into foam until perfected rather than breaking your neck on every attempt.

 

[Dr Dremel]

It is the main reason I no longer wear certain 'safety' equipment when pootling

I did have to realign my nose myself

Eerily a week later:

Urgh, hope you´re getting better (not at the nose aligning). What´s the safety equipment you mean? Disc brakes?

 

[Yetichaser]

That was brave of you - did the bike survive??

Regarding the SPD comment, use of SPDs was probably 50:50 ish in the mid 90's, largely due to the fact that the 'downhills' often featured a stretch of flat if not uphill , so the ability to pull up as well as push down was a useful way to improve times. I personally always used SPDs for downhill racing, with the exception of slalom events or extreme muddy conditions where the likelihood of needing to be unclipped to balance yourself was high.

Bike is fine. My ribs still hurt…as does my pride
Glad I did it. Iconic place and got some great memories including talking to and having photos of my children taken with Dave Hemmings, Hans Rey and Bob Haro

 

[widowmaker]

Never had any skills to start with, so can't miss what I never had

What's important to me if how cycling makes me feel, I feel I'm good even though I'm clearly not.

If I ride a certain bike I own, I'm just glad to get home alive