Happy New Year! 2017 had its ups and downs, but we've got a blank slate ahead of us. Besides messing up writing the date for the next few weeks, what do you have planned for the year?
An epic adventure? Learning flip double whips? Riding once a week? Smashing some KOMs? A stage race? Saving for a new ride? Getting your partner into mountain biking? Eating more Haribo than is recommended by the FDA?
@Triber66: Start building up those callouses on your fingertips now. And quit your job. And break up with your girlfriend. I'm sure I'm leaving something out but clear your calendar because you're going to need all the time you can get.
Gain 10 lbs, do less trail maintenance, stop recycling, implode 20 minutes into more rides, remember to forget to bring tubes, and stay on the flow trails.
@RedBurn: I totally agree with you! My KTM 300-XCW is sooo much fun! Brrrraaaapppp! Who could bitch about motorcycles?!?!!!!! They're super FUN!!! Don't let the haters get you down.
Lift weights in off-season to put some mass back onto my cycling bod. Ride more than I did last year. Enjoy as many post-ride beers with my best friends as I can. Go on trips. Get the wheels off the ground whenever possible. Build new trail. Try not to spend all my money on bikes.
@dro-cfr: I'm building a pump track in the garden in the hope that my youngest will want to copy dad. My eldest doesn't like bikes much now, I think I was a bit full on
A tip for that, find a small grass hill and have him keep riding down, don't worry about peddling just Ballance and finding the pedals. Sooner than later he will start working the cranks and be off. I have successfully taught several kids to ride this way. Some pick it up really fast. My oldest was riding in like 30 min using this method.
Congrats and enjoy watching him learn.
@Longtravel: I feel like I'm some kinda industry-newbike-kidboost-salesman right now... My 18 mo. old loved his stryder on perfectly smooth stuff, but as soon as a bump hit he'd completely get tossed. I bought a used Kokua Jumper for $100, and he LOVES it. At 2 years and 4 months, he rode a 5 mile XC loop. He just turned 3, and I built him a sick teeter-todder for the garage today.
I just got our son pedaling on his own within the last month and it had to be the most gratifying thing I've done with bikes. Adventure races and double centuries and all that crap don't hold up next to seeing your kid get himself started and pedal on his own, and say "Biking is his favorite thing". Watching him pedal away I thought "This is the view for the rest of my life now."
Like so many, I had a F*KNG HORRIBLE 2017. Good riddance. So my goal is to get back to work, make it stable, build myself back up, pay off debt, replace the bike that I didn't want to have to sell, but sold due to unemployment and being financially vulnerable - and bring mountain biking back into my life! Lot's of other goals but this one most PB appropriate.
Glad to see the back of it! Trapped nerve,tendonitis and a broken collar bone made it a shit year! Starting 2018 with a positive attitude and a plan,already started doing some yoga! I’ll be 54 this year but this is only a number,get’s harder though,but the fun keeps on coming!
Man, Godspeed to you! I hope your upswing is steep and swift. My wife and I had a big downfall several years back. We sold everything we could. I sold my mountain bike and my road bike.
After recently buying a new mountain bike and realizing how effing bad I missed riding, I told my wife that if anything happens again, I will sell my car before my bike goes.
Amen, Brother. Look up Levator Ani Spasms. After you get done snickering, imagine it for 11 years. Still riding though. I just ride slower with more pushing on hills and in the fog of prescriptions. I also spend more time back in the bushes fertilizing the country side.
Could be worse. A friend of mine just had heart surgery.
I know, I still crush my 1993 trail bike. Who needs threadless steerer tubes disc brakes, thru axles, better geometry? My V-brakes, threaded Fork, 25.4 bars, and Q/R skewers are just fine.
@literally: Agree. Geo is not a standard nor should it be a sales pitch. Geo is custom tailoring for bikes. Everyone is a different height with different reaches and different riding styles. A head tube may feel steeper to some than others. A low bb may feel good on a race course but maybe not to the average rider on a local trail wanting more ground clearance on slow technical parts. I've pulled the bike industry's marketing out of my butt and learned to ride what you got and enjoy it.
@literally: Geometry can be viewed as a 'standard' just as tire size, BB and hub dimensions. I hate press fit bb's as well. However, bike companies test things out, some work out, some don't. Also, 148 thru is a better hub 'standard' than 135 Q/R. Yes, they should have skipped 142, but they didn't. That said, no one is forcing anything on anyone. Not many industries have interchangeable parts infinitely. In the end the better 'standard' will win (usually). The industry in a time of change just like they were in the early 90's with suspension 'standards', brakes, etc. People need to stop bitching and enjoy the bad ass bikes we have now.
@partymob: I broke a front one in the middle of a Slalom race in 97 -98ish. Somehow my wheel sort of stayed on till the finish. Although is was very squirrelly. Ha!
@literally: fair enough that geo can progress in some ways without new standards, like growing reach. But, geo CAN be tied to standards as well. To make geometry changes you sometimes need changes in other components: new fork offset options for HTA and reach, available crank lengths for BB-drop, boost for CSL and bigger wheels (yes wheels are geometry), etc.
1. Back to riding 3 x per week, starting in March.
2. Conquer 3 local jump lines.
3. Trips to Whistler, Sun Peaks, Squamish, Maple Ridge, North Vancouver and Kelowna.
4. Learn to manual.
5. Be an encouragement or inspiration to other riders.
To get in pre season shape, take a skills clinic and to enter my very first race. Im thinking the final round of the Big Mountain Enduro. Its scary because i live in omaha nebraska, absolutely nothing like what im use to riding and frankly i don't know if i have the skills to actually do course. But we'll see how it pans out
Crash less. Went otb 7 times last year resulting in a mild concussion, torn shoulder, and last but not least, a broken finger that now has 3 pins in it. I understand I am getting older, but shit, this is rediculous.
Roger that! Your season sounded like mine. So much recovery time needed now that I'm closer to 50 than 25 lol! Time to start actual cross-training I guess...
Ride more, ride more with my kids, ride more with my wife and somehow fit in training for a 900KM race in South Africa 2019 (which will be my first homecoming since leaving as a child).
Improve my legs and cardio, ride more, work on my tech skills and really, I mean really, start to hit those jumps with conviction. Also, start to ride abroad more and push myself. It'd be nice to find some old, local farts to join who won't shit kick me on the mountain.
Wheelie,Manual, and bunny hop.. in that order. I have spent the last year learning some hard earned Trials skills. i am ready for the Bike Park to open here in town. looking to hone my skills on the pump track..
Clean the local gnarly rock garden. Do more jump lines. Faster downhill. Not so much worried about climbing times, that takes care of itself. Focus on cheap small changes (stem, seat, suspension settings) rather than expensive big changes (new bikes).
To actually enjoy riding again. I haven't been out cycling in the best part of around 2 months. I'm going to try and find the passion to start riding again. Not sure how, but it needs to be done.
Sometimes a break is all you need so don't kick yourself! I used to ride Cannock all the time. Only Cannock, all the time... It ended up becoming monotonous. I took a break, and when I came back I went exploring and found loads of off piste stuff and can now mix stuff up as much as I like. Go find new places if you're stuck in a rut...
My new year resolution is to promote my local trails instead of comparing to other regions of North America. I’m in south Ontario and they are much different than western Canada but they are not less then Whistler but different so my trails are just as good
More riding. Potentially a job working for myself and maybe involved in the industry. Need to be doing something I love, not killing myself spending 60hrs a week building expensive, useless things for 80 year olds who don't want to pay for your work.
To ride more persistently, to push through the pain and to keep up the momentum no matter what. Not to buy a 29er or any new bikes for that matter. To ride a back tire until it is worn slick. To never toke and ride, only to ride and toke.
No racing, more weekend daytrips exploring nearby trails (Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Revy, Kelowna, Summerland, Penticton), and a Rossland long weekend without a race. And no racing!
Ride more, get better at riding and also get fit to ride better, at last buy and get new frame and some parts so I could learn some new stuff on my bike aaaaaaaaand watch pinkbike as I used to like 6 or 7 times in a day so I wouldn't miss anything. Happy new year!
One of my goals is not spend all my riding time on going out for a short blast. Instead dedicate more time to dedicated skills practice (which implies spending more time on level ground, even car park or grassy areas) and work on my strength and flexibility (through yoga, pilates, James Wilson etc.). It is so tempting to spend all the riding time to just have a blast but I need to invest. It is easier to do now in winter but I know during spring and summer it is hard to hold back. Especially after a day at work. But these are my resolutions. I know my riding will benefit from the rewards.
Soft goals, after 105 and 87 rides in the past two seasons, I'm gunning for 150 in the next one with 150k vertical meters of climbing. And a 25k climbing month, maybe even a 30k if all goes well. And maybe get a new ride in the summer.
But in general, ride more.
To decide between the last coal or clay, numbers are paper are nearly identical, weights marginal (100g) and everything is close. 140mm Vs 160mm, but why give up the extra 20mm unless there's a tweak in the kinematics to make the 140mm rig more responsive. It'll be in the build kit battle too.
2017 was kind of a “meh” year for my riding. Not that it was bad—in fact I had some good races by comparison—but I just didn’t do enough of it to really improve and progress. Going to quit making excuses not to ride and really focus on the engine.
Race more for fun and less for results (they were lousy anyway). Build better physique to limit exhaustion during racing and generally to be able to enjoy it more.
Place non-life threatening obstacles in the driveway or on the trail and hit it. My first real bunny hop was over a curb at high speed on a bmx bike. It was either make it and keep up with my friends or get trashed. The physical obstacle to clear will get you going higher sooner than just hopping on flat ground.
Start racing BMX again on a 20. Maybe hit the dual slalom series over in NC. Buy a downhill bike or (maybe) enduro bike. Ride every chance I get and help put more people on bikes.
Not brake any bones, avoid crashes, get some air time, ride more, go to a park for vacations, buy a new dh and motorcycle, and have fun riding and spending time with my friends!!
Build my media outlet, @mountainbikenewmexico and continue to promote trail access and advocacy, build a community of riders in my state, and spread the love of Southwest USA desert riding to the world!
3,000km and 125,000 Meters or more of mountain biking. Top 50 @ BCBR. Be able to keep up with Ricky Federau going race pace for more than 1 minute uphill.
Using my trail ike for exercise on road and dusty trails 2 days a week. Trail riding and some DH once a week mostly on mondays. Approx 25 miles a week or less.
@curranmtb: Cause we should all be H-core and ride indoor wooden BMX parks on our DH bikes! Also, I'm getting a road bike for Chair Lift access bike parks because I'm gangster like Yoann Barelli
Buy an E-bike, ride More, have fun and royally piss off everyone on pinkbike. Actually forget riding and fun, I just love the fact that so many fools get so angry about Ebikes.
Dude, I think us Americans have some legitimate reasons to be PO'ed about e-bikes. So back off. If your country doesn't have trail access issues, then by all means, ride your moped as much as you want. But it is a moped.
Nice!
N+1WA
Trapped nerve,tendonitis and a broken collar bone made it a shit year!
Starting 2018 with a positive attitude and a plan,already started doing some yoga!
I’ll be 54 this year but this is only a number,get’s harder though,but the fun keeps on coming!
2. Keep riding the scary tech stuff I've always loved best
3. Not skip on the post ride beer
....despite chronic illness.
(so basically continue to do what I've been doing all 2017).
Chronic illness sucks, but you can work with it/around it... a lot of it is just stubbornness plus a little bit of masochism.
Amen, Brother. Look up Levator Ani Spasms. After you get done snickering, imagine it for 11 years. Still riding though. I just ride slower with more pushing on hills and in the fog of prescriptions. I also spend more time back in the bushes fertilizing the country side.
Could be worse. A friend of mine just had heart surgery.
{kidding - in real like I always stop. I'm only an ass on the interwebz}
- more build days
- more park days
- more trips
- less work
Excellent goal. Kudos to you sir.
Explain to the wife that I need a full suspension trail bike too...
And ride the bearings off my new Process 165 when it arrives (come on Kona, why you no arrive yet?!)
Oh, i forget that enduro guys are too busy riding DH tracks built by DH crews to pick a shovel and do good things for the bike community.
But hey! DH is dead because no DH spots around. Maybe it's time to buy a enduro 29er and just ride. Dig and build it's for loosers.
Learning a on-hander, bar spin, and hitting a gap >40 ft are all bonuses.
youtu.be/JtHsdKmPS3Y
and then we´ll see from there
Haribo rules...
Be stoked with the bikes I have!
(insert bike pic here)