Do you ever have a ride where everything just seems to gel? Tonight was one of those nights. It didn't start off that way, in fact I thought the ride was going to be more of a struggle. As we started the ride Steve and Kerry took the lead with Gary and me following. My legs were feeling peatered. And all I could think was wow we just started climbing and this is nothing. I was not entirely sure I would make the hill. You know what I am talking about, the hill the one that is on every trail. The one deemed as Puke Hill!
We got to Puke Hill where Kerry and Steve were waiting at the bottom. This hill is also a mental hill if I stop it stops my momentum and what mental power I have to say I can clear this hill. Instead of stopping I let Kerry and Steve know I was going and would see them at the top. However when I got to the top I decided not to stop. I had this great idea I would continue on to the next intersection, maybe stop there and hurry and take a picture of everyone else riding. Silly me I should know better. Steve is an awesome rider and was on my tail not far from the top of the hill. When we reached the intersection Kerry and Gary were not far behind. So much for the picture taking while riding idea.
At this point we continued climbing and I stayed in the lead up to the point where you go downhill for a small bit. When we get to the downhill I let everyone go by and I followed. This turned out to be a very good thing for me. I followed Kerry down and we came to this turn that I always have to brake hard on and end up going fairly slow around the turn. As Kerry was riding I watched how he took the turn and followed doing the same thing. This is when things started to gel. I saw the lines Kerry was taking and how he took the turns and somewhere upstairs a light bulb went on and I started to get it. I was able to go down the hill smoother and with less brake. I actually felt the flow of the trail. From this point on all of the down hill went better than any ride I have done in the past. I could feel it on every downhill and saw lines I had never seen before. I was less afraid of the turns and I did not need to use my brakes as much as I usually do. By the end of the ride I was elated. This is a ride for the books.
Although this is about me geling on the down hill tonight. I do have to note something. On the Summit we hooked up with some other riders Fernando and Jeff, and had fun riding back with them. But we also ran in to 3 guys doing a shuttle down to Pine Hollow. They were ready to go downhill and have some fun. What I don't get is why they needed their seats so low on the uphill climb. I understand why they want them low on the downhill, but at the Summit there is a climb almost immediately. After the climb it goes down (for the most part), I would think it would be less painful to raise the seat for a small climb and then drop the seat before the great downhill. I could be wrong, but climbing with your knees hitting your chest does not seem like the most ideal circumstances.
Gary, Kerry & Steve at four cornrs.
We got to Puke Hill where Kerry and Steve were waiting at the bottom. This hill is also a mental hill if I stop it stops my momentum and what mental power I have to say I can clear this hill. Instead of stopping I let Kerry and Steve know I was going and would see them at the top. However when I got to the top I decided not to stop. I had this great idea I would continue on to the next intersection, maybe stop there and hurry and take a picture of everyone else riding. Silly me I should know better. Steve is an awesome rider and was on my tail not far from the top of the hill. When we reached the intersection Kerry and Gary were not far behind. So much for the picture taking while riding idea.
At this point we continued climbing and I stayed in the lead up to the point where you go downhill for a small bit. When we get to the downhill I let everyone go by and I followed. This turned out to be a very good thing for me. I followed Kerry down and we came to this turn that I always have to brake hard on and end up going fairly slow around the turn. As Kerry was riding I watched how he took the turn and followed doing the same thing. This is when things started to gel. I saw the lines Kerry was taking and how he took the turns and somewhere upstairs a light bulb went on and I started to get it. I was able to go down the hill smoother and with less brake. I actually felt the flow of the trail. From this point on all of the down hill went better than any ride I have done in the past. I could feel it on every downhill and saw lines I had never seen before. I was less afraid of the turns and I did not need to use my brakes as much as I usually do. By the end of the ride I was elated. This is a ride for the books.
Although this is about me geling on the down hill tonight. I do have to note something. On the Summit we hooked up with some other riders Fernando and Jeff, and had fun riding back with them. But we also ran in to 3 guys doing a shuttle down to Pine Hollow. They were ready to go downhill and have some fun. What I don't get is why they needed their seats so low on the uphill climb. I understand why they want them low on the downhill, but at the Summit there is a climb almost immediately. After the climb it goes down (for the most part), I would think it would be less painful to raise the seat for a small climb and then drop the seat before the great downhill. I could be wrong, but climbing with your knees hitting your chest does not seem like the most ideal circumstances.
Gary, Kerry & Steve at four cornrs.
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