A note: I have had revision/exams at college these past couple of months and now they are finished plan to update my blog more regularly. I am heading to Megavalanche in 2 weeks so I will post a full blog post about that soon after the event!
When I first took mountain bikes off road it was a good friend who convinced me into it. We went down to the local hill and rode down it as fast as possible, pedalling like mad men before coming to a halt at the bottom. It was amazing. Nowadays there seems to be so many different disciplines; downhill, four cross, all mountain, cross country, trail, enduro, freeride and dirt jump. Each rider is pigeonholed into a certain category, each ride a certain type. Recently this has begun to grind my gears as we see trail riders calling cross country lads the lycra brigade and freeriders berating enduro riders for enjoying climbing! This kind of an attitude is why I've started just riding in the woods. I'll pull on my knee pads, stick an open face helmet and a pair of gloves on, then pull my 150mm travel full sus out the garage and go for a hoon. I don't need to ride a certain set of trails on this ride. After a steady climb to the top of the hill I crank hard and begin to plough my way down Almost Cut My Hair, a flat-out, rooty set of steep(ish) chutes, grinning like someone from the funny farm! I'll then steadily climb back up before picking up the pace down Rad Lane, a long trail full of smooth corners, smaller roots and a few small jumps to keep things interesting! After that I'll feel like something with a really natural feel - a more worn out trail - so I'll ride Evian! After I can climb over to Fly Tipper and Northern Monkey, one a jump fest with the other steep corners into a flat out berm-filled wonder land! As you may have gathered on these rides I ride everything from trails firmly parked in the cross country category, all the way up to proper freeride style trail with 10ft gaps and serious potential for carnage!
But hold on a minute. Did I just ride all of that with the same bike and kit?! Many mountain bike magazines would argue that you couldn't possibly ride all those trails on one bike, surely you would need a whole garage worth of steeds?! The point of this post is essentially to try and blow away the myth that you need a different bike for each type of ride! Sure it's nice, but for the most part, completely unnecessary! To summarize I basically hope for mountain biking to go back to its roots, where one bike did it all and people just having fun on bikes!
Showing posts with label downhill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label downhill. Show all posts
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Friday, 12 April 2013
Perspective
Over the last few weeks I've been taking a long look at mountain biking. I've evaluated what I wish to gain or get out of the sport, and what I am currently getting. Sadly, at the moment these are two different things. I currently ride mostly downhill and all mountain, good for technique but poor with regard to fitness and stamina. I have spent the majority of weekends over the last couple of years racing downhill also, going and practicing one line for a day, before 2 or 3 race runs, resulting in less than half an hours actual riding for the whole day. For me, those races were a laugh, the riding was top quality however there just wasn't enough of it!
As a direct result of this, I plan to still race downhill but to focus on enduro, as this is a way to encompass the competitive element into my riding, whilst still getting an entire day on the trail. For those less au fait with enduro racing, it essentially comprises of multiple (usually five) timed stages on flat or downhill trails roughly 5 minutes long. Much like a rally these stages are linked by longer, climbing stages which although not timed, do have a time limit. This means that you get multiple hours on the bike, rather than short minute long bursts! Compounding this is you can ride accompanied by other riders, giving a social element that just isn't present in downhill.
As you may have read (or seen on my Twitter feed) I have signed up to compete in the Megavalanche this year, in Alp d'Huez, which is one of the widest-recognised enduro races. It differs in format slightly to the UK enduros comprising of one long stage roughly an hour to an hour and a half and 30km in distance. This event is predominantly downhill however is interspersed with climbs to prevent it being one long downhill race. I am incredibly excited about this as the event gives a chance to ride incredible terrain, whilst rubbing shoulders with seasoned professionals such as Jerome Clementz and Dan Atherton. I expect this to be somewhat of a baptism of fire however ultimately rewarding (assuming I exit the race unscathed).
So, is downhill dead? Enduro the phoenix rising from the ashes? By no means, the UK downhill scene is flourishing more than ever with the recent crop of enduro events just adding to the vista of competitive mountain biking available in the country. Will I stop racing downhill in lieu of enduro? No, however I will be racing less of the former and just getting out and riding, to paraphrase a well known mountain biking publication.
As a direct result of this, I plan to still race downhill but to focus on enduro, as this is a way to encompass the competitive element into my riding, whilst still getting an entire day on the trail. For those less au fait with enduro racing, it essentially comprises of multiple (usually five) timed stages on flat or downhill trails roughly 5 minutes long. Much like a rally these stages are linked by longer, climbing stages which although not timed, do have a time limit. This means that you get multiple hours on the bike, rather than short minute long bursts! Compounding this is you can ride accompanied by other riders, giving a social element that just isn't present in downhill.
As you may have read (or seen on my Twitter feed) I have signed up to compete in the Megavalanche this year, in Alp d'Huez, which is one of the widest-recognised enduro races. It differs in format slightly to the UK enduros comprising of one long stage roughly an hour to an hour and a half and 30km in distance. This event is predominantly downhill however is interspersed with climbs to prevent it being one long downhill race. I am incredibly excited about this as the event gives a chance to ride incredible terrain, whilst rubbing shoulders with seasoned professionals such as Jerome Clementz and Dan Atherton. I expect this to be somewhat of a baptism of fire however ultimately rewarding (assuming I exit the race unscathed).
So, is downhill dead? Enduro the phoenix rising from the ashes? By no means, the UK downhill scene is flourishing more than ever with the recent crop of enduro events just adding to the vista of competitive mountain biking available in the country. Will I stop racing downhill in lieu of enduro? No, however I will be racing less of the former and just getting out and riding, to paraphrase a well known mountain biking publication.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Motivation
Motivation is something that we all want, yet for the most part (for me at least) is something I find fairly hard to obtain. Certainly in the depths of winter, with pouring rain clattering against the window, the urge to get my bike out from the garage and go for a ride is almost non-existent! Even if the ride itself is enjoyable, the hideous routine of cleaning my bike back to mint condition, only for it to get coated the next weekend is something I battle with on a regular basis. Cleaning my bike is a joy and I love being able to spend a couple of hours making sure every little nook and cranny is mud free and sparkling, yet it is massively demoralizing that within 100m of trail the bike will look exactly as it did before with perhaps slightly more mud.
Perhaps then, it's the current state of the trail network that's putting me off riding. With the torrential rain that's fallen over the recent days and weeks, each slither of dirt winding it's way through the forest has degraded to little more than one big puddle. During summer I live on the trails, drifting turns, boosting jumps and having a blast, but in the winter the speed drops so dramatically that the sections which were once flat out and insanely fun to ride have become slow and uninspiring. So have I stopped riding? Short answer no. Although I spend less time out on the trails over winter on my mountain bike, I still put the miles in, and spend more time on my road bike. This coupled with regular gym sessions to boost cardio and strength mean that once the good weather does eventually turn up I'll be fighting fit to enjoy it!
Overall I think that leaving the bike to a degree over winter is a good thing. It allows me to relax and turn my attention to something else instead of just doing something again and again for the sake of doing it. In my mind, it's better to ride less often, but when you do ride have an absolutely incredible time, than to ride on a regular basis and not particularly enjoy it!
Perhaps then, it's the current state of the trail network that's putting me off riding. With the torrential rain that's fallen over the recent days and weeks, each slither of dirt winding it's way through the forest has degraded to little more than one big puddle. During summer I live on the trails, drifting turns, boosting jumps and having a blast, but in the winter the speed drops so dramatically that the sections which were once flat out and insanely fun to ride have become slow and uninspiring. So have I stopped riding? Short answer no. Although I spend less time out on the trails over winter on my mountain bike, I still put the miles in, and spend more time on my road bike. This coupled with regular gym sessions to boost cardio and strength mean that once the good weather does eventually turn up I'll be fighting fit to enjoy it!
Overall I think that leaving the bike to a degree over winter is a good thing. It allows me to relax and turn my attention to something else instead of just doing something again and again for the sake of doing it. In my mind, it's better to ride less often, but when you do ride have an absolutely incredible time, than to ride on a regular basis and not particularly enjoy it!
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Training
As some of the readers may know I've recently got tickets to ride the 2013 Megavalanche in Alp d'Huez, 30km of insanely difficult downhill trails interspersed with some short but steep climbs in case we find it too easy - fat chance!
As a result I've decided some serious training is in order to make sure I can enjoy the race and with that in mind I signed up to a gym yesterday and completed my first spin session there. A class basically consists of a group of sweating people hunched over exercise bikes whilst a piece of lycra carrying a woman screams abuse (read words of encouragement) loudly at you. The clear upside of this is that little of her words make it through to you over the overwhelming pounding of the music that although designed to motivate us to push harder, only succeeded in deafening all those involved.
Having said all this and shown an apparent dislike to the event my experience was in fact the polar opposite. I found the instructions of the leader to be handy, and more effective than just plodding along in the same gear, whilst the music did seem to help phase out the screams of agony from my legs! All in all I found I pushed far harder than I would have on a normal bike ride, sweating multiple gallons and was eager to do it again.
So what's next? Well I plan to spin twice a week and go to the gym at least once, maybe more dependent on cost/free time etc and hopefully will find my local Sunday rides to get easier, more fun and faster; ready for the Megavalanche in July - bring it on!
As a result I've decided some serious training is in order to make sure I can enjoy the race and with that in mind I signed up to a gym yesterday and completed my first spin session there. A class basically consists of a group of sweating people hunched over exercise bikes whilst a piece of lycra carrying a woman screams abuse (read words of encouragement) loudly at you. The clear upside of this is that little of her words make it through to you over the overwhelming pounding of the music that although designed to motivate us to push harder, only succeeded in deafening all those involved.
Having said all this and shown an apparent dislike to the event my experience was in fact the polar opposite. I found the instructions of the leader to be handy, and more effective than just plodding along in the same gear, whilst the music did seem to help phase out the screams of agony from my legs! All in all I found I pushed far harder than I would have on a normal bike ride, sweating multiple gallons and was eager to do it again.
So what's next? Well I plan to spin twice a week and go to the gym at least once, maybe more dependent on cost/free time etc and hopefully will find my local Sunday rides to get easier, more fun and faster; ready for the Megavalanche in July - bring it on!
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
One of those days...
Occasionally every cyclist will have "one of those days" where you should have left the bike in the shed and just watched a bit of telly with a nice warm drink. Sunday's ride was one of those days. The ride had serious potential to go wrong from the moment I opened the front door with pouring rain and an evil wind greeting me in conditions of 2 degree above 0.
Half an hours drive later we parked close to the trails and got the bikes out, gearing up ready to go. As we began to climb towards the trails the ominous sight of a river running through the uplift path should have been a large warning sign! Regardless we pushed on and soon arrived at the trailhead after eyeing up some rather large (read 20ft+) drops and deciding to "hit them next time". We began to pedal down the trail which although chalky and wet was running surprisingly well however we soon had to stop to remove our goggles that had become overwhelmed in the appalling conditions rather quickly! The rest of the trail passed without incident and we got to the bottom coated in mud and feeling like Danny Hart after his race run at Champery (google it!) having ridden at a fair pace over wet and new terrain.
Soon after things began going downhill quickly as we got soaked to the skin and began to cool down. Despite out best efforts our temperatures continued to plummet and after a couple more runs we called it a day. The final descent was by far the best as we plastered down the footpath we had climbed earlier that now resembled a river, grinning from ear to ear and smashing it flat out! We reached the bottom to find out the road we'd ridden was also rather lake-like and so we plastered down that doing our best to soak each other in the process!
We grabbed lunch from Truffles in Steyning (who deserve a big thanks for not minding 2 muddy mtb'ers coating their shop in gunk) which was completely delicious and much needed but we were still freezing and not really enjoying ourselves. At this point we called it a day as a legendary, memorable ride but one that would have got dangerous had we continued it!
Overall, Steyning downhill was great fun to ride and I can't wait to go again once the weather improves: there are some big jumps there I want to perfect but in the freezing rain it's less than fun!
Half an hours drive later we parked close to the trails and got the bikes out, gearing up ready to go. As we began to climb towards the trails the ominous sight of a river running through the uplift path should have been a large warning sign! Regardless we pushed on and soon arrived at the trailhead after eyeing up some rather large (read 20ft+) drops and deciding to "hit them next time". We began to pedal down the trail which although chalky and wet was running surprisingly well however we soon had to stop to remove our goggles that had become overwhelmed in the appalling conditions rather quickly! The rest of the trail passed without incident and we got to the bottom coated in mud and feeling like Danny Hart after his race run at Champery (google it!) having ridden at a fair pace over wet and new terrain.
Soon after things began going downhill quickly as we got soaked to the skin and began to cool down. Despite out best efforts our temperatures continued to plummet and after a couple more runs we called it a day. The final descent was by far the best as we plastered down the footpath we had climbed earlier that now resembled a river, grinning from ear to ear and smashing it flat out! We reached the bottom to find out the road we'd ridden was also rather lake-like and so we plastered down that doing our best to soak each other in the process!
We grabbed lunch from Truffles in Steyning (who deserve a big thanks for not minding 2 muddy mtb'ers coating their shop in gunk) which was completely delicious and much needed but we were still freezing and not really enjoying ourselves. At this point we called it a day as a legendary, memorable ride but one that would have got dangerous had we continued it!
Overall, Steyning downhill was great fun to ride and I can't wait to go again once the weather improves: there are some big jumps there I want to perfect but in the freezing rain it's less than fun!
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