Ten years in the MTB saddle!

Ten years ago, I was complaining to a neighbor about how I couldn't run as much anymore because my knees were hurting after a recent half marathon. He suggested I go mountain biking with him. The rest is history.

I had grown up with bikes... back when "bikes" meant pavement and Schwinn 10-speeds. Mountain biking is sooooo much cooler. And having grown up in the MidWest, there really wasn't a mountain biking option, regardless.

Rock on my friends... and remind yourself how lucky you are to live where you can bike every day all winter long and mountains are within sight of your house

 

Congrats - and agreed!

 

Very cool sentiment, BN.

Has biking fulfilled its promise of staving off the carnage? The inline wheelchair has saved me incalculable misery in the last decade. Bikes R more than fun!

 

True that! Just realized recently had my twelve year anniversary, so to speak. I started riding because running was causing forefoot pain. I regularly did middle/long distance running from 1988 until 2004, pain started and so i started riding.
Recently started running again, if i keep it under a certain mileage/frequency (and zero-drop shoes) no foot pain! Fortunately my knees are trouble free, except for occasional patellar tendonitis which isnt a huge concern.

 

Quote of the year

 

10 years ago I asked Santa for a bike ... and that's how it happened.

And yes BN, we are very fortunate to have such a selection of trails to play on.

 

The tire I ordered myself for the holidays is supposed to be here today. So that is my big biking thrill for the day. I love being a 3 mile ride from a big bunch of hills.

 

I have to stay motivated and keep cranking out the miles. The one thing I liked about running is that I could get changed and be out the door in about 5 minutes - and home and showering in about an hour. Mtn Biking requires a little more time and preparation, so it is not as easy to do a "quick" workout. However the BIG workouts on the bike can't be beat. Four hours on the bike is a completely different experience than four hours of running Four hours of biking and I can still go for a walk with my wife later in the day. Four hours of running and I am lucky if I can walk - at all - later in the day

 

10-4 on the handy, out-the-door workout. Pounding pavement for that long, yikes. I think a marathon is actually easier at a faster pace. Hiking/trail running, it's easier to put in the hours. Alas, I'm avoiding taxing my injuries and deteriorating self any more with those activities. The bicycle is an amazing machine that has so many fun applications, it's not difficult to forget about hammering feet on the trail, etc. Eventually I may add a wheel. Then another.