Sunday, May 01, 2005

Gambrill ride w/ a newbie

So, this blog is turning into more of a Larry blog than an Oliver blog, and since I haven't actually put this blog out to anyone's attention yet, I guess I'm writing all this junk for my eyes only. Is it still a blog if no one reads it???

My neighbor Dave took up triathlons last summer as a hobby in his spare time away from his job and 2 kids. He's mainly done road riding (W&OD and some flat road tri's) and has signed up for the OAR off-road triathlon at Sherando Rec Area in mid-May. Since Sherando is a notoriously brutal mountain bike venue, and since his only previous mountain bike experience was a couple rides at Conway Robinson, I figured I could help him out by getting him on some rocks before he encounters them for the first time during the race.

We spent a couple hours riding the Yellow Trail at Gambrill, and he did fine, actually he did great, especially after a mid-ride saddle adjustment. His saddle was so far back, that he did something I've never seen anyone do on a trail. He lifted up the front wheel to clear a log with a pedal stroke, and pulled the bike right over onto his back, still clipped in with the wheels spinning in the air. After the fix, and a few clipless tip-overs, he began to smooth out, rolling silently along the last few miles, chanting his new mantra, "ride lightly, ride lightly...". He was hooked.

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