A Decision Has Been Made

Well, I've made a decision to give up dirt biking.  I won't say forever, but definitely for now.  As my main intent was for it to be a shared activity with someone special, and situations have changed, I've decided to focus instead on some of my other hobbies and activities that I've been neglecting - like street riding (which I love), making jewelry and other crafty and creative things, and spending time outdoors in other ways (like going to the beach and nature parks).

I've been hesitant to make any decisions about selling my bike (I mean, after all, it has a name - it worked it's little way into my heart pretty quickly).  I keep thinking about what if there is an off chance that I get an invite to go with some people, at least I'll have it.  And then I realize that between now and that off chance that may or may never exist, I'll still need to maintain the bike.  And I know that will not happen.  So, Kit Katt will be going to a new home sometime soon I hope; and I may take that and invest in a different street bike - we'll see (and that's a whole different story, maybe for a whole new blog lol).

I think I will keep the gear though.  If anything, at least if there is an off chance that I'm invited to go ride because someone has an extra bike, or I can borrow one...at least I'll have my own gear.  (Plus I love that Troy Lee helmet!)

Thanks for sharing my (albeit brief) journey into dirt biking.  At least I can say it didn't kill me, and in some ways it did indeed make me stronger by getting me off my ass and into a gym (which I'm proud to say I've been going to 4-5x/week since mid December).  And who knows, I might find myself in a position again to resurrect this blog - I certainly won't rule it out.

Stay Dirty My Friends (for my dirt biking friends)

and 

Keep the Rubber Side Down (for my street and track riding friends)

and 

Ciao! (for everyone else)

Confession

I have a confession to make.  It's not an easy one; but then again, no confessions are easy.

I'm not sure if I like this.

Yup.  I said it (in big bold italic red font even).  I'm not sure if I like what I've gotten myself into with dirt biking and am not sure I'm going to stick with it.  Don't get me wrong, it's gotten a bit easier since the first time I tried it, especially with the last time I went (which I never did write about) and found the sand pit to play in (hard to hit any trees when there aren't any to hit; only have to worry about pinning yourself with your own bike - which I did).  But here are some of the things I'm finding difficult about sticking with this:

• This was originally supposed to be (for me) an activity I could do with my ex.  We split before I got started with it, but I stubbornly stuck with it.  We are still friends and he's been helping me learn to ride and take care of my bike, but it seems a little awkward for me.  I know I would not have chosen this activity completely on my own to do by myself, but it did sound like something that would be fun to do with a S.O.  (It does still sound like something that would be fun to do with a S.O.)  
• I have to rely on other people right now to get my bike around.  That means working around other people's schedules.  It's starting to feel like a chore to get everything arranged and fit peoples schedules.  
• I'm not a morning person, and it takes me hours to really get moving.  This is proving to be not conducive to riding with others.
• I really just want to be able to tootle* around and have fun.  I don't want to be relatively hauling ass through the woods and slam headfirst or any body part first into a tree at 15-30 mph.
• It's not what I anticipated. I think I was anticipating something more like just the dirt pit, or even the woods bit.  I wasn't expecting the whooped out sandy trails.
• I'm already neglecting other activities that I've enjoyed, and enjoy more, like street riding, making jewelry, going to the beach.  So it is really worth my time to work on dirt riding?

I did expect it to take time and practice.  I did expect it to be hard.  And it's proven to be all 3 of those things.  I also expected it to be fun and a shared activity; those are the areas where things are falling short.   It's fun here and there but not as much as I was hoping.  It's a shared activity but not in the way I was hoping.

At this juncture, I'm honestly not sure what I'm going to do.  I own the bike outright; I own all my gear.  I'm not in a situation where I would need to sell any of it because of financial considerations.  So do I keep what I have in the event that I occasionally get a wild hair up my ass and want to go out and get dirty?  Or do I make a decision after a while that it's just not for me and get rid of everything knowing that it's just going to sit around and someone else could either be making better use of it or letting it take up space in their garage?

I think it's a nice thought that I would keep everything and just go occasionally; but I'm not sure if it's realistic.

If you've been following along, I appreciate it and I've enjoyed sharing my story.  I can't say this is where the story ends.   It's definitely a cliff-hanger though, that may have a second season or may be one or those cliff-hangers that never resolves.  Time and plenty of thought will tell.  Until the next venture....whatever that may be, here or elsewhere.....

Stay tuned....?
(and, no, this post isn't an April Fool's joke/prank)

*Dave, I'm not sure what you're seeing in my use of the word "tootle"....but it does seem to cause comment and amusement.  Might have to explain it to me sometime :)

Catching Up

So after even more slacking, two long weekend trips to sunny locales, and very little riding (street only; no dirt) I'm ready to catch up again - here and riding!  I'll admit that having a couple people comment* that they've read some of this blog is having a positive effect on my motivation to write - and planning to ride this weekend is also motivating.  In order to keep this somewhat up to date, I thought I'd do a little catching up today so that I can add a more timely report after riding this weekend.

Last time I rode was Sunday 13 January.  This was a much better riding experience than the first time I went, and have updates on gear, riding, and maintenance.

Gear Update
I had better fitting armor this trip; I did end up exchanging the medium Alpinestars Stella Bionic 2 for a size large.  The stretchy mesh of the large still fits snugly, but the armor is now in the correct places on my body - the kidney belt is actually around my kidney area, and the shoulder and elbow armor is positioned more accurately also.  The better fitting gear definitely made a difference in how comfortable I felt and how well I could breathe!

I'm a little unsure, still, about my goggles.  I specifically got sand goggles since Croom is super sandy and I would be wearing contacts (and as some of you may know, contacts + sand = major suck).  The problem I'm finding, though, is that they fog up super quick, especially when I'm stopped and breathing heavy catching my breath.   Any experienced riders have suggestions on how to combat this?

Riding
We headed out on a different trail than the first time and quickly started heading off-track into the woods.  The thought behind this was that the ground is flatter (fewer whoops) and less sandy.  Except there are now TREES, both standing and not (yikes!).  So that was a little scary at first, going around and over trees and ducking under low branches and viney stuff.  But I took my time, stopped when I needed to; plus we still continued on some trails then back off then back on.  Although I had to stop a few times to catch my breath and let my heart rate come down a little, I was able to keep going for a much longer time at one shot and overall.  I think we were out riding on and off the trails for about a half hour or so before heading back to the truck for a good rest and re-hydration   And this is when "disaster" struck.  The parking lot was in sight when we hit a bunch of largish (well, at least *I* thought they were largish) whoops and I went a little out of control and wiped out.  Broke my clutch lever clean off.  So that was the end of riding that day.  

Don't think it's supposed to look like that...

I have to say, I was pretty bummed that I only wiped out once but it was enough to kill my riding for the rest of the day.  At least it was due to a broken bike part and not a broken me part (although so far the wipe outs have been pretty light and haven't hurt)!    So, the lessons and achievements I got out of riding that day were:

• I need to stand up more (although this might require risers to help make this easier)
• I need to practice more (both around the yard and out on the trails)
• I need to convince myself that in some cases faster really IS easier
• I'm pretty darn excited that working out seems to be paying off and my endurance is better than the first time I went.

Fixed (and by yours truly)!

Maintenance

Although my day of riding was over fairly quickly, we were able to stop at a shop on the way home and pick up a new clutch lever so it would be ready to go the next time.  Rather than having it done for me, I asked for an explanation on how to fix it while I actually did the work.  It was a really simple fix and I might even be able to do it again by myself if I had to, lol!

So that pretty much brings me up to the present.  In the meantime, though, I did lend my bike out last weekend to a friend so she could try it out.  I think she's probably ridden it more hours now, in one day, than I have total, lol!  But I'm hoping to make that up this weekend - fingers crossed for a good, safe, day of riding.  My friend sent me a bit of video of her riding around the bowl at Croom; it looked like a pretty good place to practice without a lot of obstacles.  I think I might try that out myself this weekend; it will also let my friend ride the crap out of his bike for a while rather than putting around with me :)  Look for a report after this weekend (and I'm also going to try to start finally working on Part 5 of the story so I can post that sometime in the next month)!

*Thank you JC and Deanna!

Slacker

Seems like I'm kind of slacking lately...OK, yes, I've been slacking lately.   In lots of areas.  Work.  This blog.  One of my other hobbies (making jewelry).  Riding my street bike.

On the other hand, I've also been setting up "dinner out" nights for my friends.   Planning a mini-vacation (OK, long weekend).  Um, that's about it.  So, yeah, slacking.

With that in mind, thought I'd stop in for a quick note just to say that I'm still here and I do have stuff to still talk about.  I did end up going riding the other Sunday, so I have a report from that as well as putting together Part 5 - What Doesn't Kill Me....  I'm hoping I'll have some down time this weekend, maybe sitting by a pool in Miami, to work on some of this.  

Stay tuned!

"Bad" Weather and Gear/Bike Updates

"Bad" Weather
Grrrr.....!  For days, everything and everyone was predicting 60-70% chance of rain all day last Sunday throughout the entire greater Tampa Bay area.  As a result, my friend and I decided to make other, indoor plans rather than go dirt biking like initially planned (OK, plus we both ended up sleeping in rather late on Sunday - like 10:30 am late).  Wouldn't you know it - beautiful temps and sunny - all day. Because of our late start and other plans, we didn't go out on the bikes Sunday.  Which means I couldn't try out....

My "New" Gear
As you may recall from Part 1 - The Gear, I would have further updates on my gear.  This is the first of those updates.  While out on my first day riding last month, the kidney belt of the medium Alpinestars Bionic 2 armor ended up working more like a bustier on me (yeah, I know guys, and the problem with that is.....?!  Trust me - I got that comment when I reordered, lol!) rather than protecting my kidneys while I was riding.  It also felt constricted in the shoulders while riding, so I decided to exchange the medium for a large.  I haven't tried the large out riding yet, but just trying it on I feel like it may function more like it's supposed to because it is a little broader in the shoulders, the back protector is longer, and the entire item is longer and as a result seems to fit my entire torso better.  I was pleased that even though it's wider and longer, the mesh doesn't seem to fit much different than the medium, which was my greatest worry.  Of course, the real test will be riding - so we'll see what the weather holds for this upcoming Sunday.....!

Bike Updates
No riding also means I didn't have a chance to try out my updated handle bars, clutch, or brush guards.  The brush guards I decided to add as an optional accessory for when we start getting off the trails or ride trails that have a bit more branchy stuff in the way. I bought the Trackside brush guards from Cycle Gear; they weren't terribly expensive and seem basic but I feel that is just fine for me being the noob I am.  We also replaced my handle bars; they weren't in terrible condition when I bought the bike, but the bars were bent a little and new ones were, again, a relatively inexpensive fix.  Clutch was a bit wonky and had issues with finding neutral; that is now fixed.  Still waiting, though, for the back-ordered left peg to come in.    Also need a heat shield so I can avoid burning a hole in my pants again (luckily I have a GR patch to cover that up!)  And, of course, *need moar stickers*!

Happy New Year!

This first week is already shaping up to be a busy one (beware - shameless, but fun, plugs ahead):

• bike night on Wednesday (Tampa area - come on out and meet fellow riders - it's not a club - it's just an informal regularly scheduled place and time, set up by a local forum Tampasportbikes.com, to meet up with other guys and gals that like to ride - sportbikes, dirtbikes, a few standards.  You don't even need to have a bike, plenty of people cage* it due to work schedule or they only have an off-road (track or dirt) bike or weather or because they're currently bikeless for whatever reason.  Here is the link for more information: Meet n Eat - O'Tooles - Brandon)
• dinner plans on Thursday
• dragstrip* on Friday
• Girl Riders ride on Saturday (check it out - it is a street ride open to all ladies, all bike types, and all skill levels:  Girls Ride Tampa)
• and (finally!) most likely some dirt biking on Sunday!  

Needless to say, I'm going to enjoy the quiet of today.   

I'm also going to try to work on the next installment (Part 5: What Doesn't Kill Me.....) this week and post it up before Sunday so I can try to get myself back on track here.  So, really, this is just a quick note to wish you all a Happy New Year, encourage some of my Tampa area readers to attend some local events, and let you know more posts and riding will be coming soon!  

Happy New Year - Get Dirty!

*See Side Notes - Happy New Year

Part 4 - Now That THAT's Out of the Way

So I made my first attempt at riding in Real Dirt (OK, sand), didn't fail miserably, found out my limitations, and actually had a bit of fun.  Unfortunately, since it wiped me out so quickly, I made the decision to wrap up early and head home.  Fortunately, the lengthy ride home gave me time to reflect and recoup. 

Of course, getting home means cleaning up, putting stuff away, etc.  Which means - since I'm responsible for maintaining my own bike - I get to clean my own bike.  When I first brought the bike home and my friend and I went through checking it out, giving it an initial bath, etc., he also used some spray wax (super easy spray-on-wipe-off sort of stuff) on the plastic to help make it easier to clean.  Since I didn't ride much or hard all it took was a quick rinse off with the hose.  There will be more about maintenance later; but for this initial ride, all the bike needed was a quick hosing.

Of course, we were talking while putting gear away and cleaning up and it was suggested I might want to ride around in the yard a bit if I was feeling up to it.  Well, that sure sounded like a challenge to me.....so, put my pants, boots, gloves, and helmet back on and rode around the front and back yard to get a better feel for the bike.  Nothing crazy, especially since I wasn't wearing my armor and had only a tank top on, just riding around in slow ovals and Ls pretty much....until the pit bike came out.  I have a Kawasaki KLX 110 that gets used as a pit bike, and now as a demonstration/practice bike in the yard.  My friend grabbed the pit bike out of the back garage and started running around the yard on it; first just for kicks and grins and then started having me follow him in a big L-shaped loop in the backyard and imitate what he was doing. 

The main thing we practiced was sticking my foot out to corner and powering through the corner.  We ended up going clockwise, which turned out to be the side I need to work on the most.  When we were still at Croom, we rode the little practice oval counter-clockwise and sticking my left foot out in the corners was absolutely natural - I didn't think about it the first time or any time I did it.  Just threw it out there; don't get me wrong, I was surprised when I did it and even more surprised when I had a positive outcome by doing so, but it didn't require any thought.  For some reason, though, my right foot just doesn't want to leave the peg and when it does leave the peg, doesn't want to quite touch the ground or ends up getting dragged rather than what it's supposed to.  Hmm....question for the future - what IS my foot supposed to be doing?  Pushing?  Being a pivot point?

He spent a little time following me to see what I was doing correctly and not correctly.  He also had me hop on the pit bike with him so we could go around the yard together and he could show me where/when I needed to put my foot out, how it needed to be touching the ground, where the front wheel needed to be pointing, and when to start powering through the corner with the throttle.  (I soooo wish I had a picture of that!  Imagine a 6'4" beanpole squid* (my friend) with a 5'8" half-geared up newb (me) in front of him on a KLX 110 riding around the backyard!  I'm sure we made quite a sight, lol!)  So I kept practicing on the pit bike while he then hopped on my bike and followed me around until I got tired and started getting worse rather than better.

This is me on the KLX 110 and my friend on his track bike.
Now imagine BOTH of us on the KLX!

I'm glad I hopped back on the same day and did some practicing; it made me feel a little more confident.  I'm just as glad I quit each time when I did so that I didn't get so frustrated that I wouldn't want to do anymore - I'm pretty good about knowing my limits and when not to push them.  I'm still not planning on going back out, though, until January - I feel I need to get some physical conditioning started before I attempt another run in the dirt.  I've been told by many, and I certainly believe it, that more riding will lead to better cardio and physical conditioning, but I feel that I need a much more solid baseline than I currently have!   Can't wait to get back out there, but until then....

Next step - get fit! 

* See Side Notes - Part 4

Part 3 - My First Time

Yikes!  So, here it is, time to talk about My First Time!  Well, I'm ashamed to say - I didn't last very long, lol!  Now, I knew going in that it was going to be hard and that I was going to need to get into better shape.  I didn't know I was going to half have a heart attack after 10 minutes!  Here's how my day went:

My friend and I drove up to Croom Motorcycle Area at Withlacoochee State Park in Brooksville, FL on a Sunday morning after it had rained Saturday evening - so the sandy trails would be a little firmer.  We ended up getting a bit of a later start than expected, but still got out there before lunch time.  The day was beautiful - warm but not too hot - a bit overcast/foggy. 

Once we got geared up and bikes started up we headed out on a trail my friend remembered as being slightly less sandy, slightly firmer than other trails.  The first part of the trail went up; nothing too bad but seeing as I was new to this whole dirt slippy slidey stuff I sort of wiped out into an embankment.  Nothing too bad (wasn't going fast enough to do any damage to anything) and I didn't even notice really that I had fallen over other than the fact that I was no longer moving forward and was sort of at an angle in the sand, lol.  This is where I made my first mistake - I tried pulling the bike toward me off the embankment - and exerted too much energy.  Once it was pointed out that I needed to get on the embankment and push the bike - it stood up a lot easier.

So we kept going down into a little bowl and back out (no problems there - just watched what my friend did and did the same thing myself) onto the trail.  This is when we started hitting the "whoops" - little hills and dips in the trail.  I did OK on these but started getting tired quickly and ended up wiping out again (and this is where I burnt the hole in my pants - oops).  This time, though, once I got my bike upright again my heart was racing, I was breathing really hard, and felt like I was going to vomit - between wiping out twice and picking my bike up and probably no more than 10 minutes of riding I couldn't go any farther.  I seriously had to sit on a log for 30 minutes (and have my friend get me some water) before I was no longer light headed (and no longer felt like vomiting) and could ride back to the truck. 

Wow - talk about embarrassed!  I mean, I knew it would be hard - but I didn't realize that it would be THAT intense (and that I was THAT out of shape from sitting behind a desk for the past 4-5 years with little working out).  So, wanting to understand where I went wrong, my friend and I discussed what I did and didn't do. 

The first thing is that I exerted myself way too much trying to pick up my bike the first time, which led to getting tired a little quicker than I otherwise would have (not much, but a little).  So that's one thing to work on - picking my bike up more efficiently. 

While I was recouping before heading back to the truck, my friend asked if I was remembering to breathe, as that would have an effect on how quickly I tired - so I paid attention on the ride back and discovered that, sure enough, I was forgetting to breathe.  I don't have this problem on the street so I'm not quite sure why I'm not breathing normally while on the dirt bike.  So that's a big thing for me to work on.

Taking things in stages for now, I think, is going to be key.  After I spent more time recouping at the truck we spent a few minutes riding around in a circle in the parking lot just so I could get more comfortable on the bike, putting my foot down in corners (which is oddly instinctual for me - but more on that later), and throttling to make the corner.  So, after wiping out once I had been around several times, and not having the energy and strength to pick my bike back up again, I decided to call it a day.   I think for the time being I foresee a day trip being 10-15 minutes of riding followed by 30-60 minutes of rest and then another 10-15 riding, followed by rest, etc. 

Despite being super embarrassed about not being able to ride more than 10 or so minutes without feeling like I was going to die, I thought the day was a success.  The three times I wiped out I hardly even noticed; which, surprised me, honestly.  I figured it would be pretty noticeable and I would hurt right when I wiped out.  Instead, my soreness came later in the day, but it was a good kind of overall sore - like when you have a good workout, rather than like when you bark your shin on the edge of a coffee table or something. 

There's more to the day, but I'll save that for Part 4 - Now That THAT's Out of the Way.

Part 2 - The Bike

Finding the right bike at the right price wasn't too difficult of a process.  As I already have street bike experience, it was suggested to me that I would be fine getting something like a 250 4-stroke, which would be enough power to allow me to keep up with the guys but not so powerful that I couldn't handle it.  It was described to me as starting out on something like my street bike, which is a Kawasaki ZZR 600.  I was also steered away from anything like a 100 cc or 150 cc bike as it would likely be too short to be comfortable for me (I'm ~5'8" with a 33" inseam, so, longer legs than most guys my height).  I was also steered towards Honda, and was leaning that way anyway, as I've heard so many people talk about the reliability of Honda as a brand.  I'm sure other brands like Kawasaki and Suzuki would have been fine too, but I kept hearing Honda from other people over those two brands, so that is what I looked for.

So I hit Craigslist (see Side Notes - Part 2) and bookmarked like crazy; I was primarily looking for a used Honda CRF 250f.  However, a friend that is in a similar situation mentioned that she was possibly looking at Honda 230 trail bikes as they are a little more forgiving and also have an electric start, as opposed to the kick-start the 250f has.  She pointed out that it would be more difficult to kick start the bike as I would ride throughout the day from becoming more and more fatigued.  That was an extremely good point that I had not considered, so I added the Honda 230 to my Craigslist search.

I was noticing that most of the used bikes I was looking at were ranging from $1200 - $3500 with most of them hovering around $2000 - $2200; I was expecting to pay up to $2000-$2200 but hoped (of course) I could find a better deal than that.  My friend that is helping me through this process ended up calling about a 2005 Honda 230 we saw online that was still pretty much stock and hadn't been ridden much; a couple had bought it for their son who rode it a little bit and then lost interest and it ended up sitting in their garage (which seemed to be the story for quite a number of bikes on craigslist).  My friend went and looked at it, called me and said he thought it looked like a good deal, so that evening we went and bought it for $1400 and brought it home.  It happened to be Black Friday that day (and I don't "do" Black Friday) so I felt like I got my own version of a good Black Friday deal, lol.

So here it is - my new (to me) 2005 Honda 230 - bone stock and in pretty good condition.  It could use a new left rearset, left clutch, and the handlebars could stand to be a little straighter (I'm guessing someone took a pretty nasty spill or hit a tree on the left side), and parts are on order, but what is there now works just fine.  We also had to give the chain a serious cleaning and lubing, and the bike a bath.  I have also been told by my friend - in no uncertain terms - that I am responsible for the care and maintenance of this bike. I'll get more into my own personal Zen and the Art of Dirt Bike Maintenance in a later section. So far I'm just in learning mode - I watched the chain getting cleaned and lubed, watched the oil filter get cleaned and re-oiled, and watched how to clean the bike. 

The other two things my bike got in short order were a name, Kit Katt, and a Girl Riders sticker.  I'm actually surprised this bike got a name so quickly - I've never named any of my cars, my first street bike never had a name, it took 2 or so years before a name popped into my head for my current street bike (although, again, I wasn't planning on naming it).  Again, I wasn't planning on naming this bike - but there it was in my head that weekend, so Kit Katt it is.  Oh, and the GR sticker is just the first of what I expect to be many - I can't wait to sticker this thing up (I'm gonna have so much added hp  with all those stickers, lol!)  (see Side Notes - Part 2)

Next step - go for a ride!  

Part 1 - The Gear

This was the fun part - there seem to be so many more options and styles for dirt than there are for street!  I probably, OK - I did, go a little overboard with the gear.  I could have spent quite a bit less than I did, but I ended up buying the items I wanted and liked - and none of it was cost conscious I'll admit. 

I did a bit of online shopping and asking around first to see what brands were out there and which ones were "better" than others.  O'Neil, Fox, Alpinestars seem to be the prevalent and decent/better brands; although I'm sure there are others.  I then went to Cycle Gear to start trying on items for sizing and was planning on ordering what I wanted either from CG or online based on that.   I ended up being able to order everything from Cycle Gear and was able to get pretty much the same or better pricing than I would have on any of the items from online sources.

Here is what I ended up getting and what my thoughts are so far on them:

Alpinestars Tech 3 boots - A* makes great boots, the fit is true to size.  They do not have flexibility like street or track boots, so they're taking some getting used to.  Price was higher than brands like O'Neill.

Alpinestars Stella Bionic 2 jacket/armor - I could have gotten chest and other armor protection in separate pieces, but I've always liked the look of this and have been told that it's a little simpler and nicer to have armor held together by mesh like this.  I couldn't find this in any stores to try on, so I had to guess on size.  I ordered a medium and had a couple of the guys that ride dirt at the CG store take a look at the fit (on me) when it came in.  Their judgment was that it fit fine; however I wasn't entirely convinced.  After having ridden once now with it on, I'm still not convinced and plan on ordering one size up.  I think that it's riding too high overall and that even though it just fits around my arms and chest, because of my height I might need one size larger and then use the straps to cinch it in where needed.  So the jury is still out on this one.  I didn't price out separate armor but I"m going to guess since this is A* it's higher priced than other brands.

Troy Lee Designs pants and jersey - As soon as I saw the Voodoo design in purple and orange, I knew I had to have it!  The pants run true to size; I tried on O'Neil 9/10 pants and the TLD 9/10 pants fit just the same.  I like that the waist has velcro straps to cinch it in.  I had to get a size XL jersey (the largest size they had for women) in order to fit over the armor.  I'm a little disappointed that they don't design the jerseys to fit over armor so that you can order your regular shirt/jacket size.  I normally wear a size medium top and usually a size large street jacket (so the sleeves fit - I have long arms); so I'm wondering if women any larger than I am need to wear men's jerseys for the fit.  The cost of the jersey was comparable, maybe slightly higher, to other brands such as O'Neill and Fox.  The pants were quite a bit more.

Troy Lee Designs gloves - Voodoo to match the pants and jersey :)  Tried on some O'Neill and Fox gloves in the store and found size 10 O'Neill fit perfectly.  The TLD 10 is a slight bit smaller but still wearable.  I did end up getting the O'Neill ones too though (just in case).  It's still a little weird to me that there isn't any real protection to the gloves; guess they're just to protect your hands from scratches and maybe to help soak up sweat?

Troy Lee Designs helmet - I sooo wanted the purple and orange PistonBone design - it was fabulously obnoxious (sparkly purple and bright orange!) but it was last year's model and no one had my size anymore.  So I went with this year's PistonBone in sparkly black/charcoal and bright orange - it's fabulous!  Small seems to be my size in any helmet, so I was pretty confident ordering a small - and it fits (and looks) great!  The helmet was honestly more than I wanted to pay for a dirt bike helmet - but since I could afford it, and it's just so fabulously obnoxious, I couldn't pass it up!

Oakley goggles - I decided to go with sand goggles since the trails at Croom are mostly sugar sand and I'll be wearing contacts when I ride.  They came with clear and smoke lenses along with some tear offs.  The one thing I've noticed so far is that they fogged up when I was stopped for a few minutes breathing hard.  Not sure if any goggles would have done that or if it's because they're sand goggles.

Other Thoughts - So the funniest part about most of my gear is the color - mostly white.  I find it quite funny that I hardly ever wear white on a general basis, but yet I buy white boots and outwear to specifically play in the dirt, lol! 

Something I think I'll have to report on later is the durability of the gear I got.  After one wear I already have a hole in my pants - but then again, if I hadn't pressed my knee up against the exhaust while picking my bike up after wiping out I probably wouldn't have burnt a hole in the pants (ooops!)  So, next thing I need to do is order one size larger A* armor and see how that goes!

The History and Why I'm Writing This

Adventures in Dirt Biking

(or, The 40 Year Old Dirt Bike Virgin)

Yes, I am 40; and, yes, I am a dirt bike "virgin."  This is an ongoing chronicle of my adventures in dirt biking as I am anticipating that this new pursuit will do one of two things:  kill me, or make me stronger.  I'm hoping for the latter!

The History and Why I'm Writing This:  I've been riding street for about 5 years now; started out completely from scratch - I didn't even have previous manual transmission car experience let alone two-wheel experience.  A few years in I tried the track and had a great experience until I made a stupid mistake and grabbed a handful of front brake in the grass (I should have known even as a street rider that this wasn't good to do, but I do feel I might not have done it if I had prior off-road experience).  I had heard a number of friends and acquaintances mention that they had started on dirt bikes before moving to street bikes and have felt more comfortable as a result.  Plus, being outdoors and being active appeals to me.  With all of these considerations in mind, I decided I'd like to try dirt biking, specifically trail riding.  Skip forward a couple years to now and I'm finally putting this into action!

I'm at a point in my life that if I don't do it now, I might not do it.  Plus I have the time to do this and the funds to make it happen.  The one thing I'm concerned about is the physical toll.  I've never been one to work-out or go to a gym; I've always relied on natural movements and activities to keep me active.  It's amazing how many of those disappear once you start working from home; so over the past few years I've lost a significant amount of energy and stamina.  So, as with many others that post on facebook or write a blog to keep them on track with diet or exercise efforts, I've decided to take a similar tack to keep me on track when I'm feeling frustrated.

So that, in a nutshell, is how this thread has come to be.  I hope you'll enjoy reading about my start, my frustrations, my victories, and my adventures.  Feel free to ask questions, add comments, advice, and stories of your own.  This is an ongoing story and I hope it will be an ongoing dialogue with you too!