rickr

Well, it turns out that there must be more of us TFGIS riders than originally thought, because Ryan Young is sold out of XXL, XXXL and XXXXL pants and jerseys. He expects more in February when the new styles come out. Still, I'd love to at least find a Sherco jersey, but I can't find any place other than Ryan's store to order one. If the trials pants are that thin, I'll stick with my Thor MX pants. Comfortable, breathes well and padded. I need to find boots. I wear a 12EEE with a corresponding calf size. I can just barely close a set of MX boots. Any suggestions? I'll order from any shop in USA, UK or Europe as long as the shipping isn't as much as the price of the boots. Helmets seem to only run up to XXL and I use an XXXL to XXXXL (7 5/8) helmet. Do they run small too? I read a post here about heavier wight riders possibly having a "gravity" advantage. If that's the case, I should be world champion within a few weeks.

At 58 years old and having my share of neck and back issues, I found the best way to get aerobic, low impact exercise is on my road bicycle. Gets the heart and lungs working hard, lots of leg and core exercise when riding and it's fun. Of course, at 5'8" and 260 pounds, when i get my wheels blown off by some 80 year old out on a leisurely ride, it can be a bit demoralizing......

Thanks for the info, folks. I burst out laughing when I saw that the pants were Spandex. I'm 5'8" 260 pounds with tree stumps for legs. I already ordered the pants, but if they are anything at all like the horrifically embarrassing road bicycle outfit I bought and wore w/o looking at a mirror, well, it may not be for me. Let's just say that for guys built like me, loose is a better fit. My plan is to ride every weekend with the experienced riders and soak in as much as I can. I will say that after 47 years on motorcycles, this is the most challenging and fun time I think I have ever had. Cheers and thanks again!

Yesterday, I took my first ever ride on a trials bike. I had known that there was a substantial amount of skill required to do this correctly, but boy, was I ever unprepared for what trials was all about. I had watched the Ryan Young and other Trials related how to videos on line. I knew that trying to climb a six foot sheer rock face was lunacy for a guy my age, but the examples of correct riding positions and techniques were pretty much counter intuitive to what I knew from riding a dirt bike. Luckily for me, no sooner than having pulled up to my parking area, a guy on a trials bike rode by. I flagged him down and explained my rather clueless situation with trials riding and he said "Well, lucky for you, me mates and I are meeting right over the hill. Come on over". (Got to love the Britt accent). First hundred feet or so, I was still trying to figure out where to position myself. Following my new found friend through really deep sand, I was amazed at how on my Sherco, it was a non-issue, where on my dirt bike, it was a hassle. After meeting the group of another four riders, I explained my "newbie" status. Three of the guys jumped on my bike to offer opinions on set up, etc. One of the guys was advanced skilled and right off, he said "Your bike is set up for an expert level rider. Who did you get this from?" He knew the guy right off and said that the guy who owned my bike before me was able to do things that most would not even dream of. He tried to show me some very basic maneuvers such as a figure eight around a couple of small trees, with mild off camber decreasing radius turns. I couldn't do it. Than I realized, I was out of breath and being eighty two degrees (F) and humid, I was sweating like I was in a sauna. He was patient and demonstrated quite a bit of basic techniques. I spent most of the time watching and being somewhat awe struck. I found it interesting that most of the guys were from mid fifties to late sixties in age. As such, not one of them was out to show off, just an overwhelming desire to help out. A short time later, we joined up with another six trials riders with varying skill levels from semi-pro to beginner. We rode over so many great trails that when it seemed too dangerous for me, they would point over to another path that would enable me to finish the day without a ride in an ambulance. I was able to get the hang of it just before I was too mentally and physically exhausted to continue. After getting back home and cleaning the bike, I went right back to watching the training videos. Next Sunday, I'll bring along my Go Pro so I can film myself doing things wrong and compare the techniques to the instructional videos and go from there. I also found out that there is a ton of really cool gear that I just had to have. It certainly wont help my skill level, but I'll look good standing still. So, what suggestions do you all have for practicing skills for new trials riders? What are the "must have" tools and riding gear to take along? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Rick Florida, USA

Just picked up my first ever trials bike yesterday. A 2012 Sherco ST from a fellow trials rider. Been riding since 1968, but never tried trials. At 58 years old, I figure it shouldn't hurt too bad if (when) I fall. Looking forward to hearing about the exploits of other trials riders around the world.