Man some of you are talking about getting in better shape because you took the winter off! I have taken the last 20 years off! I turned 50 last mo. and my health has begun to "show" the decline of the last 20 years! I want to climb back on a bike and get better, So I found this thread section. I will have to referbish my older GT and get spinning! the dr, has me doing low carb low fat min red meat!, you know the drill,

Thanks for having a MTB section!

All the best Bo

Just get back on the bike. I too have had to get back in the saddle after a break. It takes some time but you'll find you'll gain quickly. Just stick with it and go at your own pace. I encourage people to ride with a group. If it is social, people tend to continue riding. Most of us don't care if someone is slower. It helps our own ego and we all remember being the slowest guy. Don't let pride get in the way of getting back in the saddle. Before you know it, you'll be ahead of the pack again.

Where are you located? Maybe someone hear will take you under their wing.

Good luck

Yeah, it's just lie going to the gym the first time. You think everyone is looking and you look stupid on the bike and what not. In truth no one cares, just enjoy.

Oh and wear a helmet. It's like wearing a seatbelt, anymore you get wierd looks if you don't have one on.

If you can afford it, get a decent full suspension bike, and hit the trails. It's so much fun, sometimes I end up riding 25 miles.

If you want to get back in shape I would pick up a hard tail bike instead of a full suspension. You wont be hitting the extreme trails but you can do a lot of the fun "cross country" type trails that wont hurt you if you are new but will let you get some seat time and learn how the bike handles.

Hard tails are also cheaper.

-Alex

depends on what you wanna do I guess. I love bombing gnarly down hills on my fs bike. If you wanna get serious about mountain biking get a full suspension bike. I have about $1200 into my bike. I guess it's a lot, but I like way more than my $4,000 rice rocket, and it helps keep me in shape! What part of the country do you live in?

If you live in the Bay Area there is a group of us that go out a few times a month. Agges range from 35 to 53. No one is in great shape. You can join us if you want to.

get on the saddle its a great sport and one of the best one to burn calories i just got back and in 4 months burned 25 lbs and riding and average of 3 times a week good look to you. get a good bike its very important.