"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
09/07/2019 at 22:15 • Filed to: None
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"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
09/07/2019 at 22:15 • Filed to: None | 1
| 11 |
I took my kids to the climbing club again today, but I decided to get in on the action myself. Today I learned that my old climbing harness doesn’t fit me, but fits my son perfectly - a stark reminder of how skinny I used to be. I was also reminded that climbing shoes are really hard on your toes and that my feet are suffering from the same mid-life spread as my belly.
Don’t panic because you can’t see a rope. That’s an auto-belay that I’m reaching for. It’s a bit terrifying to fall back and trust that it will catch you, but if you do, it will provide a nice steady descent from the top of the wall.
The day was lots of fun, but I can guarantee I’m going to be feeling tomorrow.
Just Jeepin'
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/07/2019 at 22:25 |
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I tried it for the first time several years ago and discovered I have no grip strength, at all. That wasn’t exactly a surprise, but finding out just how weak I am wasn’t pleasant.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Just Jeepin'
09/07/2019 at 22:30 |
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I hear you! I was feeling bad about how I was stuck on the lowest-rated climbs, especially while I was watching the college guys. My wife reminded me that I’m old enough to be their dad, weigh almost twice as much, and the other folks with grey hair were just sitting on the couches, watching their kids. She always knows how to make me feel better about myself. Gotta love my wife!
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Just Jeepin'
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/07/2019 at 22:33 |
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Heh, I don’t think I was even able to get off the ground. Maybe the very first step up. Maybe.
Alfalfa
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/07/2019 at 22:39 |
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Using an auto belay for the first time is terrifying. You give it a little tug to reassure yourself, but that doesn't help since it adjusts the resistance to the amount of tension on it. So that just further convinces you that it will do next to nothing.
AestheticsInMotion
> Just Jeepin'
09/07/2019 at 22:44 |
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It’s hard stuff. Not too much transfers over to rock climbing, so you’ll see plenty of guys who are great athletes still s truggle on the easiest level climbs. Which... Makes it a pretty level playing field if you think about it! Just takes persistence to get good
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Alfalfa
09/07/2019 at 22:48 |
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You’re exactly right. I didn’t trust it on my first climb. I climbed halfway down before I gave it a try.
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Alfalfa
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/07/2019 at 23:08 |
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I tried to climb down, but I was up one of the more difficult walls that had a reverse incline. My wife had egged me on to do one of the hard ones first.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Alfalfa
09/07/2019 at 23:21 |
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I learned today that the hard climbs are flanked to either side by easy climbs so you can climb down using easier holds. This gym mixes hard and easy climbs. Of course, I was going up on the easy holds. Those black holds were significantly harder. Look to my left and imagine trying to go up the black holds over there! I don’t think a single hold is big enough for more than three fingers.
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/08/2019 at 01:42 |
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New shed is tall enough for a climbing wall....but an auto belay is $1200!!!
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
09/08/2019 at 07:26 |
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We added climbing holds to the kids’ fort when we built it. Most of them are only 6 feet, but there are a few that let the kids get up and into the fort on the high side which is about 8 feet. We only had one accident. A visiting kid fell from the deck onto the grass during a Cub Scout meeting. We’ll never know if it was an accident, a bad idea (jump, Bobby!) or if he was pushed.
functionoverfashion
> TheRealBicycleBuck
09/16/2019 at 09:13 |
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Looks a lot like my Saturday!
The auto-belay is weird, but a great idea. I’d never seen one before! I just uhh went for it off the top and trusted it haha.
This wall was easier to the right, harder to the left. I went up the middle because that’s where the line was. I definitely could have done the next one over, but if I slipped off, I would have swung over to where those kids were climbing... yeah.
I was also climbing in socks.