Significant Others

[Roughster]

Totally riding (no pun intended) a high right now.  We bought my wife a full suspension bike yesterday and today was our 1st ride on local mtb trails (Pena Adobe).  She did awesome and had a big 'ole grin on her face when we got back to the truck.  I told her "Great Job!" out loud, but in my head I was thinking "FUCK YEAH!" heheh   Of course this is all pretty good timing since she, not me, said she wanted "us" to sign up for the Ocean Blue Adventure Race (sprint) later this month.  This will be our 1st adventure race together.  Its going to be awesome!

Anyways, any other married couples or peeps with significant others out there ripping it up?

[mynameismud]

Yep.

[mudworm]

Yep.

[YETITIME]

Great! Awesome to hear she took to it so well.

I bought my wife a bike, took her out about 3 times, and lets just say the bike has been sitting in the garage pretty much ever since.  My daughter tried it and took to it a few times, then a good crash happned where the front tire washed out on a turn and she we down pretty hard.  Lets say, she no longer rides.

Now I am on to my oldest son.  Just built him a bike up last week and we are headed out for this first ride on his new bike this Sunday.  Hopefully 3rd time is the charm...wait maybe its me....lol

[mudworm]

YETITIME, sorry to hear about the crash that your daughter had. I feel her pain because that's what happened to me. 

See, I started riding and the learning curve was steep in the beginning. So, feeling good, I started to get aggressive -- going faster and faster and adding a hop here and there.  It felt great when I stayed on the bike, but it only took one bad crash for me to realize that I went ahead of myself.  I did not know how to do corrections at speed yet and panic braking was still the second nature. 

I guess what I'm trying to get at is: it's easy for a beginner to get ahead of herself when everything is going smoothly.  So, maybe some crashes at low speed (e.g. trackstand) are a good thing -- it helps you realize that crashes CAN happen.  Oh, that, and a set of protection gear. I got my elbow and knee pads from SportsMart (well after I got my stitches). I like them because they are not very bulky and I can wear them whole day. Plus they inspire confidence.  Hope your son grows to enjoy mountain biking.