Before long, I find myself at an observation tower. I've never been
sure if this tower is for forest rangers, fire control, or for
particularly intrepid ornithologists. What I do know is it would be an
admission of maturity not to climb it, so I always do. As usual, there
ain't an awful lot to observe - just spruce trees in uniform rows, and
the odd crow or magpie flying past. Crows really do fly in a straight
line - did you know that?
Back down to Earth, I remount, and take an increasingly vague route
through the forest, alternating wide easy tracks with narrow muddy
twisty bits. I am starting to flag a bit, but the day is too nice to
waste. The vagueness of my route brings me back to a place I
recognise, and I follow a remembered path to yet another area of
mountainbike obstacles. Unfortunately, when I arrive, I am so
exhausted that I need to rest and recover before I can ride any of the
course.
I am still at that stage where I'm not quite sure about the best way to
assault a shortish but steepish hill. Attack it too fast and if I
misread the slope, I end up tripping. Attack it too slowly and I end
up standing on the pedals, struggling and stalling. The 170mm cranks
are optimized for torque rather than speed, and it would be interesting
to have two unicycles with me - one with 170s and one with, say, 125s,
but otherwise totally identical. I think the 125s might help me to
rush some of the obstacles.
However, when I finally do get it right and crest one of the hills at
the limit of my feeble powers, I am confronted by a long steep descent,
and there's no way I'd even try it on anything shorter than 170s! I
ride down it, then up the next hump, then down the next big descent. I
guess that's a total descent of 10 - 15 metres over 40 - 50 metres
horizontal distance. A little bit of me wishes I had an audience,
because this is as good as my riding gets.
From here, I follow the trail back towards where I hope to find the car
- I am so tired, I even think of walking for a bit, but pride wins and
I keep riding. The next section is fairly flat and I take it slowly,
recharging my tired batteries as I go. I come across a bit I've not
visited for a while, and there are some steep bits here. Determined to
have one last hurrah, I approach one of the descents. It has a packed
mud surface, and is about 45 degrees at the steepest part, with a
slight step near the top where a tree root breaks the surface. There
is an easy run out at the bottom, and I decide to go for it.
With my foot badly adjusted on the pedal, I hit the tree root, stand
up, and apply back pressure. I feel a tendon click in my knee and a
slight but sharp pain. I have two choices: ride or bail out. Bailing
out means possibly broken bones or major abrasions; riding may mean
tendon damage as well as the broken bones or abrasions! (How I love
this sport!) I have only a moment to decide, and I ride it, spinning
as fast as I can, and with as little pressure as possible on the
pedals. I make it to the bottom intact, and my knee feels OK.
Presumably something in there had just clicked into or out of its
groove for a moment. A frightening moment, but no harm done.
By now, my legs are er... on their last legs. I decide to go straight
back to the car by the shortest route. As with all such decisions, I
change my mind from time to time as interesting side tracks tempt me,
but the ride is nearing its end. By the time I get back to the car, I
can barely push the pedals.
I switch on the radio as the eighth wicket goes down, and England have
thrown away their advantage in the most abject fashion.
So: what about the UDC gel saddle?
Hmmm. The saddle and its combined bumper/handle is noticeably lighter
than the old Viscount saddle with a metal (Reeder?) handle. The
difference is around 500 grammes - approximately a pound.
I don't notice the seat being any more comfortable than the Viscount,
or than my Miyata on my 700c. In fact, for the last mile or two, I
found myself supporting my weight with my hand on the handle -
something I woudln't normally be doing after two hours or so riding
Muni.
But the handle is good. The metal handle was asymmetric, and designed
for right hand use. The result was that it used to catch my left inner
thigh when riding up hill, and my left ankle when UPDing. The plastic
handle/bumper does neither of these things.
The UDC handle is stronger and gives more leverage than the Miyata
equivalent. It is nicely shaped.
The handle is either ribbed for strength, or grooved for lightness -
two ways of saying the same thing - and as I wear fingerless wrist
protection, I have a slight soreness on my finger tips and can see
where the ridges have made marks in my delicate skin.
It's certainly a better quality, better designed and lighter item than
the Viscount. I am a bit sceptical about the gel thing, though.
--
Mikefule
"No plague has cost the human race as much as anger."
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