[Domin8stang]

Hey everyone, im Nate. I am a recently rediscovered rider. I used to ride bmx back when i was younger, and now that im 19 i figured i needed to pick up a hobby. went out and financed my bike, and started riding with a buddy. We've recently gotten pretty into it, and started pursuing offroad more and more. Now that we've become hooked, i want to know what some basic do's and don'ts are to riding. So far my longest ride has been like a 15.5 mi. ride and i was dead tired. We started riding to get back in shape and save on gas, and its become a passion that we cant stop talking about at work, school, everywhere.

Im riding a 19" 2006 Ironhorse Maverick Pro. Here are some pics of my buddy and I's first long ride through the hills in San Diego. We rode the Sycamore trail from Santee to Poway if anyone knows the area. I hope to gain alot of knowledge. Anyway, onto the pics, im in the red shorts FYI.

ummm yeah

Ranger Station that burned down in the fires last year

We made it!

i love this pic, you can sense exhaustion, after just the ride there...

 

[mr2monster]

Haha... looks like you got a little Captain in ya...

 

[mr2monster]

Hehehe...

 

[Saranac]

How do you like your Iron Horse???

 

[chono12]

Hehehe...

lol. looks like it. hmmmm, camelppack.

 

[splat]

Nice Write up! You should post it in the ride reports section. Looks like fun!

 

[Domin8stang]

yeah i like my ironhorse. Its one of the lower end of thee full suspensions but for a leisurely beginner it suits me just fine. its not super light, but im 6'3 so i dont want something with no weight to it. I thought about posting it in the ride section, but i think im giong to wait a bit and get more familiar with the site. I had been searching for a good mountain bike/ bike forum and i think i found the right place.

 

[mr2monster]

I like this place a lot. I also frequent the mtbr.com forums you might want to check there too...

 

[Dirtjumper999]

Cool, well welcome back to the two wheels. The basic do's are to have fun and try not to get hurt, the don't's i think are really never do anything that you don't think you can do yet, i.e. don't do any 40 footer's tomorrow. I think the rest is better learned from experience. cheers! nice pics by the way.

 

[Domin8stang]

thanks guys. Is hostility a common thing among trail riders. On the way out there i came across some really nice riders who let us tag along , but on the way back at one of the rest stop areas this older group of guys were saying comments like "whoa lets let the pros go by" and stuff like that. it was somewhat discouraging but hey im out there having fun, but is it common to come across that?

 

[chono12]

well there are always cocky ppl out there. like golf, let them play through, they may not be anybetter just cuz they got $5000 bikes. anyone can buy a kickass bike. im a newbie at mtn biking, but when i play golf, snowboard, skate surf i have low end stuff. no need to buy if i dont play ALL the time. well i take that back, my sb stuff rocks. but if they are good, let there ride thru, maybe u might see some crazy stuff they gonna do. i let these kids go ahead of me on the slopes and they go and do a 540 tail grab on me,.... NICE cuz im too damn old to do that crap nowadays. but anyways, remember to ENJOY THE RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[slow_v6_stang]

thanks guys. Is hostility a common thing among trail riders. On the way out there i came across some really nice riders who let us tag along , but on the way back at one of the rest stop areas this older group of guys were saying comments like "whoa lets let the pros go by" and stuff like that. it was somewhat discouraging but hey im out there having fun, but is it common to come across that?

you will soon learn that 99.9% of cyclists are very nice people. dont let the jackasses discourage you. most people would let you ride with them even if it means them slowing down a bit.

 

[JRB]

I approve of this thread.

 

[Domin8stang]

loco whats that mean?

 

[Saranac]

I'm just back into it as well, that is why I asked about your Iron Horse. I bought one, but have heard no reviews, pro or con on the bike. I really like it, so at this point do not really care what other people think anymore. I have been having a lot of fun on aerobic xc trails as well as some technical trails with dropoff's and jumps. The bike has performed flawlessly on both. Here is mine, an Iron Horse Warrior Elite.

 

[Skookum]

but on the way back at one of the rest stop areas this older group of guys were saying comments like "whoa lets let the pros go by" and stuff like that.

Sounds like he could have just asked to pass... There is actually pro riders out there, but if it's not a race then they have to deal with trail traffic like everyone else, and if they're not polite well then screw em.

The correct trail ettiquette is for bikers on the downhill to yield to the climber. However if you have a pair of riders that are pretty stable you can pass and stay on the bike rather easily in many situations. If you're just starting out it might be better to go by the rules until you get stable on the bike. Using common sense and putting yourself in another persons shoes goes along ways to avoiding conflict. But there's always going to be situations here or there that might make you mad or you might make a mistake and make someone else mad, so you just do what you can to try to minimize the negative vibe.

At any rate, great ride report, nice bike. Looks like your dialed in to having some fun and great rides ahead of ya. Welcome to the monkey.

 

[Domin8stang]

Sounds like he could have just asked to pass... There is actually pro riders out there, but if it's not a race then they have to deal with trail traffic like everyone else, and if they're not polite well then screw em.

i may have stated it wrong but they were all standing around at this gate, and my buddy and i were riding by, and they said sarcastically to each other "lets let the pros go by" meaning my buddy and i. Then they all laughed and i was just like :redhot:

 

[sanjuro]

thanks guys. Is hostility a common thing among trail riders. On the way out there i came across some really nice riders who let us tag along , but on the way back at one of the rest stop areas this older group of guys were saying comments like "whoa lets let the pros go by" and stuff like that. it was somewhat discouraging but hey im out there having fun, but is it common to come across that?

That's asinine. I went down Resolution trail at Skeggs, one of the harder downhills, and I came up on someone on this:

Now he was just getting up from a crash, so this wasn't exactly the best vehicle for mtn biking, but I told him I admire people who ride what they got.

 

[sneakysnake]

loco whats that mean?

it means crazy in spanish

 

[Domin8stang]

i was referring to his comment lol

 

[SuperKat]

That looks like a great place to ride. Too bad you had to deal with some stupid comments but it sounds like a good day riding anyway.

 

[Domin8stang]

yeah it was awesome, im supposed to go back out there in about an hour but my buddy isnt answering his phone (prolly still sleeping) so im going to give him 15 mins before i drive over there and wake him up!