a REAL mountain biker...well sort of...
Yesterday, i went out with my friends and did some of what i thought was real mountain biking. I've been out biking before, but nothing like this. Usually im just on the sidewalk, paved trails, or some smooth paths. ok..so here's my account of what happened. It's proabably nothing new to any experienced moutnain biker, but i thought i'd share because i had a hell of a time...its REALLY LONG....
Ok, so the day started out kind of late. By the time we decided to go biking it was alread 3:30pm and we got there at 4. None of us really had any idea where we were going to go, but it didn't really matter. We wandered past a "no trespassing" sign onto this dirt hiking trail inside a really dense forest. After onle a few minutes on the trail, there was this sick downhill that continued on for about 80 meters. Aside from being insanely steep, there were huge tree roots and rocks scattered everywhere. Because the forest was so dense, there was very little light and i could barely make out any obstacles. I was a little shaken, but i made it down safely. By this time, adrenaline was running through me and i kept pedalling like a madman. A little further down the trail there was another downhill that was similar, but shorter. About 10 min later, the trail just ended at a road, so we turned back. It was hell getting back up those hills with all the tree roots and rocks everywhere. When we got out to the clearing, we went on a single track with a amazing view over the valley. We continued on and ended back at the parking lot.
From the parking lot, we could see this giant hill (actually, i was informed that it was an old mound of garbage that was covered in dirt) and we decided to go there. At the bottom of the hill, i was getting kind of discouraged because the only was to get up was this thin dirt track that went staight up the side. It was about 100 metres up and at some areas, it was at about a 35-40 degree angle. Then suddenly, this guy on a fitness bike races past us and starts pedalling like crazy up the hill. I get an adrenaline rish again and i go up. Only a few seconds after i started climbing, my chain fell off and i lost my momentum. After starting to pedal again, i began to lose traction in my real wheel because of the slope and i stopped moving again. This time, i decide to walk up. Just before we reached the top, the slope was so damn steep, i could barely keep traction with my feet!. When we reached the top, we went on a path that just circled around (it smelled like **** up there) . Then we raced back down the trail. I was only going a but over 30km/h, but with all the bumps in the trail i thought i would endo and break my back in half.
After that, we decided to cool down and follow a smooth path along a railrod track, which abruptly ended after about 2 km. We headed back and called it a day.
So there was my very first experience at mountain biking and about the closest i've ever been to death (almost)...
Things i need to remember next time:
-bring a camera!!
-bring sunscreen
-bring map
Yesterday, i went out with my friends and did some of what i thought was real mountain biking. I've been out biking before, but nothing like this. Usually im just on the sidewalk, paved trails, or some smooth paths. ok..so here's my account of what happened. It's proabably nothing new to any experienced moutnain biker, but i thought i'd share because i had a hell of a time...its REALLY LONG....
Ok, so the day started out kind of late. By the time we decided to go biking it was alread 3:30pm and we got there at 4. None of us really had any idea where we were going to go, but it didn't really matter. We wandered past a "no trespassing" sign onto this dirt hiking trail inside a really dense forest. After onle a few minutes on the trail, there was this sick downhill that continued on for about 80 meters. Aside from being insanely steep, there were huge tree roots and rocks scattered everywhere. Because the forest was so dense, there was very little light and i could barely make out any obstacles. I was a little shaken, but i made it down safely. By this time, adrenaline was running through me and i kept pedalling like a madman. A little further down the trail there was another downhill that was similar, but shorter. About 10 min later, the trail just ended at a road, so we turned back. It was hell getting back up those hills with all the tree roots and rocks everywhere. When we got out to the clearing, we went on a single track with a amazing view over the valley. We continued on and ended back at the parking lot.
From the parking lot, we could see this giant hill (actually, i was informed that it was an old mound of garbage that was covered in dirt) and we decided to go there. At the bottom of the hill, i was getting kind of discouraged because the only was to get up was this thin dirt track that went staight up the side. It was about 100 metres up and at some areas, it was at about a 35-40 degree angle. Then suddenly, this guy on a fitness bike races past us and starts pedalling like crazy up the hill. I get an adrenaline rish again and i go up. Only a few seconds after i started climbing, my chain fell off and i lost my momentum. After starting to pedal again, i began to lose traction in my real wheel because of the slope and i stopped moving again. This time, i decide to walk up. Just before we reached the top, the slope was so damn steep, i could barely keep traction with my feet!. When we reached the top, we went on a path that just circled around (it smelled like **** up there) . Then we raced back down the trail. I was only going a but over 30km/h, but with all the bumps in the trail i thought i would endo and break my back in half.
After that, we decided to cool down and follow a smooth path along a railrod track, which abruptly ended after about 2 km. We headed back and called it a day.
So there was my very first experience at mountain biking and about the closest i've ever been to death (almost)...
Things i need to remember next time:
-bring a camera!!
-bring sunscreen
-bring map
As night was falling we popped out in the middle of a new residential development that just seemed to appear. It was a maze of cul-de-sacs and it took us a good 20 mins to find our way out to a major road. We had no idea where we were and resorted to looking at bus stops and real estate signs to work out what suburb we were in. Finally we stopped at a chemist and discovered from their street directory that we were 2 suburbs away from the car. It ended up being a 60km ride ending with a torturous climb back up to the carpark, but it makes for a great drinking story about our directional incompetence.
