Posted by Daniel Tue, 05 Jun 2007 12:38:00 GMT

So I finally managed to get out the woods for a ride. The bike handled well, but it needs some dialing. I managed to get stuck behind a someone totally new to the sport… I tried to help, but there’s nothing but experience that teaches you that controlled speed is your friend, I guess. Going slow causes one to get stuck by rocks that you’d otherwise roll over or around and er, um, fall. (Not that could happen to me, ahem :~)

My knees held up ( though they felt a bit grainy the next day). I’m going to call that a success however. And the “cross-training” nature of mountain biking (compared to road riding it’s far less mechanically repetitive, more upper body, and a more upright position) uses different muscles, so I felt it in my butt climbing, and arms and shoulders descending. I expect that this will all help my reach for fitness now that my knees seem to be finally settling down.