Give Blood - Ride Single Track

[Charlie Schuessler]

I went for a ride with Skibum last night and was out of my single-track league. He makes it look so graceful and easy.

Normally I ride on snowmobile trails for 80-90% of a ride with the remaining portion being single-track stuff...not last night. All tight single-track with plenty of rocks, ruts, fallen trees, tree trunks & ragged stumps, bridges and other menacing hazards. After at least six body thumping falls and numerous off-the-pedals bailouts before crashing, suffering bruises, giving blood and tearing shorts the torture came to a peaceful end. I'm looking forward to the next ride!

 

[bvibert]

Sounds like fun, where did you go?

 

[skibum1321]

We went to Yudicky Park in Nashua. I had a couple of good falls myself - you know it's officially mountain bike season when it hurts when the shower water hits your shins.

Next time we'll go for a road ride where Charlie will kick my butt right back to the singletrack.

 

[Marc]

It's a great feeling isn't it?


A couple of years at our annual Killington mtbing weekend, I've nearly passed out in the shower washing gravel and rocks from out of cuts and from underneath skin flaps and chunks etc.

Sure does let you know you're alive and ... maybe not well, but at least alive.

 

[ckofer]

A few years ago when I started the season (just get on the bike-don't lube anything!), I went powerline riding. I found a cool piece of singletrack through some brush. It was little steep so I was climbing slowly in granny gear. Of course I got a good case of chain suck.
If you have a little speed, you can unwind this problem. Not me. I tipped slowly into the brush.

What grows really well under powerlines? Thorny freakin black raspberry plants. The helpless feeling of falling into them as dozens of pointy thorns pierced my arms, torso and legs was priceless. I musta left a good trail of blood all the way home.

ck

 

[Marc]

A few years ago when I started the season (just get on the bike-don't lube anything!), I went powerline riding. I found a cool piece of singletrack through some brush. It was little steep so I was climbing slowly in granny gear. Of course I got a good case of chain suck.
If you have a little speed, you can unwind this problem. Not me. I tipped slowly into the brush.

What grows really well under powerlines? Thorny freakin black raspberry plants. The helpless feeling of falling into them as dozens of pointy thorns pierced my arms, torso and legs was priceless. I musta left a good trail of blood all the way home.

ck

Wierd, something very similar happened to me, although not under powerlines. And I didn't get chainsuck, my chain jumped off my chainrings while shifting down into my small chainring.

And I fell into a mulitfloural rose bush. That really sucked...