Ever have a day when it feels like you’ve forgotten how to ride?

Years ago I showed some friends - one of them was definitely @samuri who'll no doubt confirm this story - around some of the cheeky trails in the Goyt Valley.

I'd ridden them a bit during quiet times, they were very much not trails to do in the wet or when it was busy. Everyone else was new to most of the trails.

And when it came to it, I was riding like an absolute bag of spanners. Fell off on the most unassuming of roots and techy bits. Walked all the more difficult parts as everyone else casually breezed over it like it wasn't there. 

Yeah, I'll guide you round these trails, just wait for me as I walk down this bit... 😳 

Yeah. Every September the TT bike goes away with a strong resolution to put it on the trainer for the winter to keep or improve my position and comfort. And every  season start I get back on it a few hours before the first TT which is in 2 hours time. hell, thats wobbly!

Never a bad day on a bike, well mostly. A bad day on the bike is better than a good day in "the office", most of the time.

Ruptured my ACL last October biking in Snowdonia after a really innocuous fall. Off the bike for 3 months. Now looking at some descents, even single steps, with a lot of trepidation, its a mental thing which I hope I will get over eventually, but at the moment all I can think about is how much that fall hurt and how much it affected me during the recovery which is still ongoing.  

Every ride for me this year...fitness isn't improving and I'm sure I'm overthinking everything...

On days like that I like to warm up with something easier.

With the stiff climb up to the top at the Golfie that's harder

Yep sometimes just ride like a bag of shit. Last one happened in September last year. Crashed twice on an unassuming piece of trail that I ride regularly.

Sometimes you just have an off day.

Oh, yes. I remember the first time I ever rode at the Hermitage, Dunkeld. Couldn't have set it up any worse: was riding solo, hadn't slept well and conditions were cold and slick. And the Hermitage has some pretty singular terrain - it really is unlike anywhere else I can think of, including the other hills around Dunkeld. It requires full commitment and, out of the gate, I was struggling to commit, resulting in some really hairy "half-measure" attempts at some of the features. Finally, my luck ran out and I literally spiked myself on top of my head. Wasn't badly hurt, but it was one of those crashes that scares you shitless with the knowledge of how much worse it could have been. Sacked it there and then.

Posted by: DickBarton

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Every ride for me this year...fitness isn't improving and I'm sure I'm overthinking everything...

^^
Same here. 

I’ve really dialed the basics. Setting off and getting both feet on the pedals, leaning to go round corners and gentle braking. The fitness is slowly going up again. But beyond that it’s as much of a mystery to me as it was in the 80s. Weirdly i use to be ok at rock climbing. But i think the main qualification was being thin

Yup, usually results in a crash and often a long enforced time off the bike.  The only solution is to accept it and ride something easier / ride everything at a lower rate of effort. 

I've even had it on the road this winter.  Just couldn't relax into night riding during the week, but in previous years it was something I really enjoyed. 

Occasionally, but it's usually because something is up with the bike and I've not realised (e.g. shock is not working right).

the first time I ever rode at the Hermitage, Dunkeld. Couldn't have set it up any worse: was riding solo, hadn't slept well and conditions were cold and slick.

Definitely had a few days like this as well though - over-estimating my own competence on unfamiliar trails.

Pretty much every ride 😃! Time constraints mean I’m on the road bike most of the time these days, so when I do get on the mtb I’m pretty much hopeless.

For me it’ll be a moment, a loss of confidence, I get further back on the bike as a result, cornering suffers, confidence gets worse, riding gets worse and so on.

Yeah, every once in a while things can seem a bit uncoordinated. Imagine you demo’d a bike on one of those days, you’d just think said bike was a pile of crap.

Not riding (mainly because I've always been mediocre) but running...

I was an avid cross country runner, at school, and ran a marathon in 1982.

Fast forward 40-something years and having the need to run for a bus, I just couldn't seem to coordinate my limbs in a way that made it comfortable to run - not a fitness thing, but just couldn't get the technique right.

(Luckily, it wasn't too far, and the bus waited)

Every second ride haha. Last ride I did was a natural route where I felt absolutely amazing, bike felt like riding a cloud, had seemingly endless power uphill, brakes barely got a workout at all.

Time before that - Was at the Golfie riding the new Big Baw, and despite how cool that trail is and within my ability, everything felt terrible and terrifying. Foot bounced off a pedal at one point which has never really happened before and it set me all wrong for the rest of the day. Could barely even ride the switchbacks on Flat White later on. 

I'd say most rides I feel like I can't ride. My first experience of Golfie actually, I was almost going to sell up afterwards. Granted, it was wet and one of the first runs was 'No Social'. Spent most of it on my arse.

I have more fear and less confidence as I get older. And I find if I have too much of a gap between rides I lose more. And depends who you ride with.

Posted by: crazy-legs

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Yeah, I'll guide you round these trails, just wait for me as I walk down this bit... 😳 

Luckily the 2 mates I invited along were both working, so no one had to watch 🤣 

Posted by: Gary Biles

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Ruptured my ACL last October biking in Snowdonia after a really innocuous fall. Off the bike for 3 months. Now looking at some descents, even single steps, with a lot of trepidation, its a mental thing which I hope I will get over eventually, but at the moment all I can think about is how much that fall hurt and how much it affected me during the recovery which is still ongoing.  

I've luckily not been in this situation but stick with it and hopefully it'll come back. My wife knocked herself out last year and was very tentative on the bike for a while afterwards but she's mostly back up to speed now. Good luck 🙂

Posted by: tall_martin

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On days like that I like to warm up with something easier.

With the stiff climb up to the top at the Golfie that's harder

I'm not the best Golfie rider out there but I've done NY NY enough times that I thought I'd get the climb out of the way early doors and it would be OK as a warm up. As it was it set the tone for the day!

Posted by: chakaping

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Occasionally, but it's usually because something is up with the bike and I've not realised (e.g. shock is not working right).

I tried to blame the tyres, yeah they were a bit hard, but letting them down didn't magically fix anything 🤣 

Posted by: st colin

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I have more fear and less confidence as I get older. And I find if I have too much of a gap between rides I lose more. And depends who you ride with.

I think not being on the bike for ages and being on my own were problematic!

The last couple of years we had a decent group but due to kids (not mine!) and other life things that's tailed off a bit and I'm not getting out as much as I'd like. I probably need to find some more people to ride with (which is a whole other thread).

Sometimes I forget how to ride but more often I forget how to believe I can ride! It’s v annoying when I won’t ride stuff I know I can, but better safe than sorry…

There's a difference between how well you can consistently ride and the less frequently occurring times you've riden at your very best. Less likely to get frustrated if you use the former as the bar, and more likely to feel positive when you better it. If you're not riding consistently then you need to reassess your ability to see how your skills are in the present moment rather than how skilled you've been in the past.

Posted by: sirromj

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There's a difference between how well you can consistently ride and the less frequently occurring times you've riden at your very best. Less likely to get frustrated if you use the former as the bar, and more likely to feel positive when you better it. If you're not riding consistently then you need to reassess your ability to see how your skills are in the present moment rather than how skilled you've been in the past.

This. I think it is a good way to look at this riding thing that we do for fun 🙂

I had my best year on a bike at 50 but a couple of falls and injuries at 51, have meant that I have yet to hit those heights again. That year, I could just see clearly how to do something and then nail it.

At 54 I am still enjoying my riding but now have to cycle past features that I have previously done with ease.

I think almost all of us have those days when we are too tense to ride, for me it tends to be those greasy days when every root and rock wants to skittle you into the undergrowth... 

I haven't given up on regaining that confidence. Dusty trails and a the purchase of an ebike has meant I am sessioning steeper trails in a way that I can't be arsed on my Airdrop, this is really helping with the corners. I need to get back to the jumps and drops next!