New bike

I recently bought a new bike.
Gary Fisher HiFi Pro 29er.

Picture was taken in Brown County, Indiana

http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/4591/mesk5.jpg

Any other bikers out there?

BTW, at the end of the ride, my entire shirt was covered in sweat.

Also, I got new pedals added, which requires new clipless shoes.

 

Well, me being 6'6" And riding a rather large bike, I'm happy that my helmet helps with the clearing of the evil spider webs.

 

I have a vintage Kona Mt bike I used to ride the heck out of. Need to get it checked out at the shop and get back to riding. For a flat state, we have some killer singletrack in Northeast Louisiana...

Nice looking bike.

E

 

I'll be riding tomorrow with my new clipless shoes. Will find out how many times I'll be wiping out.

On the other hand, the singletracks here are nice.

 

We have excellent trails here, and stuff for all levels. I prefer to keep my wheels mostly on the ground. A guy I ride with jumps and drops off of everything he can find. He likes the clipless. I was out with him for his first clipless ride. He saw a flight of three stairs and tried to ride up them. He didn't make it.....and he forgot he had clipless. I like the regular toeclips.

Here's my bikes.

 

Clipless is the way to go! It does take some getting use to. I still remember my friends first ride with them... We came to a stop sign on the road, he stopped, the just fell over! It was great. And I remember my first ride with mine, busted several times on a group ride down in southern Louisiana.

But dang, I could ride a wheelie pedaling with one foot... Serious power once you learn how to use them right, I don't think you will go back to regular pedals or clips.

E

 

I've been lucky. I've had some good crashes, but rode away from them all. Just the one time I lost skin off my knee and thigh. Not much blood leaked so we continued the ride. I don't ride so hard anymore. I'm not as young as I think I am.

 

Sweet ride. I've always wanted to take my bike out on a dirt trail somewhere, but the closest ones required me to drive a bit and at the time, I didn't have my license. Then when i got my license i realized how fun driving was and forgot all about my poor old bike! I gotta get into shape over the winter and I have to promise myself that I'm hitting the trails come spring.

 

Takes about 45 minutes to drive to the park. I'm sure I'll get some road scars tomorrow.

 

Real bikers don't get scars. They get Road/Trail Tattoos!

E

 

Real Bikers don't stop for winter either. We just put chains on our tires.

 

I plan on riding in the winter. Since the park I go to is open year 'round.

Anyway, the trail I took, was tough (for me). A few scary moments, when a wrong move, could be a rather long tumble down the steep decline (incline?). Anyway, the short 4.2 miles kicked my butt.

 

This coming weekend will be yet another trail. 10 miles round trip. To me, this will be an arduous trip. Looking forward to it.

 

Be carefull and don't try too much at once. Build up over some time. If 4.2 miles was hard, I would do some road riding to get your stamina up some before hitting a 10 mile trail! Keep in mind, the more tired you are, the more likely you will get a trail tattoo...

Dang, I need to get some contact lens and get back on my bike!

E

 

Yeah, I've been doing some normal riding in town, on our "people trail". A portion hits a very easy bike trail. I do this about 3 times a week.

I'm also considering in buying a road bike. Looking at some cannondales right now. May pick it up in a week or 3.

 

This is a popular sport here abouts, particularly on weekends with different trail types for different levels because close to many of our beach areas there are nearby bush areas.

p.s. "decline"

 

any recommendations for winter bikes that I can use in snow? Thanks

 

https://www.ktrakcycle.com/index.html

Tank Bike for the win!!!

 

Burning Monkey,
That's awesome thanks! exactly what I was looking for.

 

Huh, most riders I've seen (in pictures), they still ride in the snow with the normal wheels.

A friend of mine, when he went to school in Montana, had a friend who put chains on his bike tires, then rode in the snow like that.