First let me say welcome to what I hope will be a fairly regular (read: when the mood strikes) blog on my experiences with mountain biking.

First off - why call this "Training for the Recreational Mountain Biker"? Well, that's my place in the world of biking right now. I have biked all my life, but never had to work at it for any reason - biked around town as a kid, did a few fun road bike trips as an adult, commuted for a while when I was a grad student. But now - mountain biking - I am feeling it. The climbs, the tough technical patches, the sweat, the bruises. Not to mention, I need something fun (recreational!) to get me into and keep me in better shape - could stand to get a bit lighter and faster and stronger, now especially as I have two youngsters that are going to be able to ride out of my sight too soon. So as much as I ride my bike for fun, I am trying to use the biking as a skills and fitness tool.

I've played with mt biking for a while. Bought a used mountain bike for $15 when living in CO that I would ride downhill near where I lived, but as one might imagine, the bike wasn't any great shakes. But more recently, maybe 2 years ago, I bought an "entry level" mountain bike that I have found to be a great joy to play on. And for the last year or more, a trail system has sprung up behind my house. This was meant to be.

Gradually, the obsession crept in, buying mountain biking books, reading them like good novels cover to cover, going out biking, and reading them again. And again. And each time something new would pop out to try or something would suddenly make sense. My sense of trail seemed to get worse sometimes as I intellectualized and analyzed. But then I'd reverse, start again, and perhaps get that "aha!" moment when something clicked. I have made some progress!

So eventually I decided to get a little bit more serious - and use the biking for a fun fitness tool. I bought a book on training for mountain bikers, and then re-read the chapter in each of my other books on training for a race. It was all about racing and each book expressed that riding at least one race as a mountain biker would be a "fun and educational experience". And perhaps I will ride a race one day. I like fun and educationl experiences as well as the next person!. But I wanted to "train" to become fitter and more skilled as well as just to be able to enjoy the trails more. And in general, to meet my personal goals in mountain biking - as soon as I can figure out just what those goals are!

That's it! I hope to write about my experiences and growth, and ways I incorporate mountain biking into my life, my family, my recreation, and what the heck - my training.

Feel free to comment away!