trystanb
Pack Dog
That was the first daft thought that entered my head prior to leaving for my baptism into enduro riding. Followed closely by; my mates can't be that much fitter than me, considering they are a tad overweight and dop more than the legal limit most nights of the week.
Seven kilometers into the ride, having fallen three times whilst climbing the second or third MOUNTAIN in succession I was absolutely buggered. Scrumming the bike onto a level contour, kicking the thing into life and trying to deal with the thing cutting out at low revs didn't help matters either! Bastard mates didn't tell me that there was an easier route around the side of the hill. Anyway, lesson learnt- once fallen, return to the bottom, have a drink of water and gulp of air, and start again.
Thankfully we had a bit of a breather which allowed me to catch my breath and presented an opportunity to swap bikes. My mate let me ride his 06 WR 250 while he tried to tame the 98 KX 250 beast which underwent iddle, clutch and brake adjustments.
10 minutes later i bore testimony to the build quality of the Yammie as i washed the back wheel out from under me whilst boxing myself into a tight bend on dodgy gravel. In my defense, the back brakes were extremely sharp- similar actions on my 800 would have scrubbed off speed without locking up the back wheel- Lesson two- get a feel for the brakes before screaming off into the unknown (simple concept as an afterthought!). Thankfully my protective gear worked like a charm and helped me execute a perfect superman down the track, albeit flat on my stomach as opposed to in the air. Lesson three- wear all the gear all the time, knee guards, ballistic vest, boots and gloves all took a pounding. Helmet was unscathed due in principal to the fact that i had adopted proper form in the execution of the superman as mentioned earlier- chin up, arms and legs outstretched, back slightly arched.
The next few km's involved hectic decents, which i thoght was actually worse than going up-hill, then the ascent- which in practice proved a tad more menacing, stream crossings, railway crossings, pine forests, and head-on collisions with rocks or vicious depressions. Lesson four- wear a ball box !! Enduro riders should include them as standard in their safety gear.
The area we rode in is situated in Hilton just outside PMB and is apparently considered one of the best riding areas in the country. I can see why- it was really a wicked days riding. The route included a bit of gravel road here and there, which accounted for a good combination of technical and speed sections. As the day progressed i slowly but surely improved and as the initial exhaustion from the first few km's subsided i managed to start enjoying the surrounding countrside and the bike's refinement.
This sense of enjoyment lasted for all of five minutes, only to be surpassed by feelings of 'are we there yet?', and 'why go up and over a hill with no hint of a track when we're currently on a perfectly good gravel road?'. Coupled to this i started to get sense of houmour failure in my arms, neck, and backside. Towards the end of the ride i didn't know what to do with myself- arms were like spaghetti which made standing a hazard (bike definatley needs tripple clamps to raise the bars), and my backside felt like it was being eaten by the seat... literally.
Lesson five- 2ltrs of water in a 3ltr hydration pack will be plenty enough- NOT! By this stage i had fallen off in most ways possible, at least 10 times in total, possibly more. To my credit my mates were impressed with sections that i had traversed unscathed and where in some instances one or more of them had come off. On one particular hill i toppled over and did i slow heals- over head backward roll down the hill, after having insured the bike had been put down gently. Yip - that's how i roll... everybody laughed.
Lesson six- GAS GAS bikes make good water features! One of the guys dropped his bike in a river crossing to the extent that the exhaust pipe was submerged.... twice. Anyway, the 45 minutes it took to get the bike started again allowed me enough time to recuperate for the last haul back to club.
Getting back to the off-road club at last we treated ourselves to cold cokes and a cheesy hotdog. Damn they were good. Lesson seven- come for a quick 4 hour ride= come be our entertainment on an 8 hour life or death mission. Anyway, am definately planning on going again in the hopes of spending more time standing than in the saddle or rolling down hills and bouncing off rocks.
As i slipped into coma that evening on the couch i had a video of grass with lurking rocks taxing my thoughts... Three days later the bruises aren't so angry and the search for a plstic bike and space in the gararge can begin.
Seven kilometers into the ride, having fallen three times whilst climbing the second or third MOUNTAIN in succession I was absolutely buggered. Scrumming the bike onto a level contour, kicking the thing into life and trying to deal with the thing cutting out at low revs didn't help matters either! Bastard mates didn't tell me that there was an easier route around the side of the hill. Anyway, lesson learnt- once fallen, return to the bottom, have a drink of water and gulp of air, and start again.
Thankfully we had a bit of a breather which allowed me to catch my breath and presented an opportunity to swap bikes. My mate let me ride his 06 WR 250 while he tried to tame the 98 KX 250 beast which underwent iddle, clutch and brake adjustments.
10 minutes later i bore testimony to the build quality of the Yammie as i washed the back wheel out from under me whilst boxing myself into a tight bend on dodgy gravel. In my defense, the back brakes were extremely sharp- similar actions on my 800 would have scrubbed off speed without locking up the back wheel- Lesson two- get a feel for the brakes before screaming off into the unknown (simple concept as an afterthought!). Thankfully my protective gear worked like a charm and helped me execute a perfect superman down the track, albeit flat on my stomach as opposed to in the air. Lesson three- wear all the gear all the time, knee guards, ballistic vest, boots and gloves all took a pounding. Helmet was unscathed due in principal to the fact that i had adopted proper form in the execution of the superman as mentioned earlier- chin up, arms and legs outstretched, back slightly arched.
The next few km's involved hectic decents, which i thoght was actually worse than going up-hill, then the ascent- which in practice proved a tad more menacing, stream crossings, railway crossings, pine forests, and head-on collisions with rocks or vicious depressions. Lesson four- wear a ball box !! Enduro riders should include them as standard in their safety gear.
The area we rode in is situated in Hilton just outside PMB and is apparently considered one of the best riding areas in the country. I can see why- it was really a wicked days riding. The route included a bit of gravel road here and there, which accounted for a good combination of technical and speed sections. As the day progressed i slowly but surely improved and as the initial exhaustion from the first few km's subsided i managed to start enjoying the surrounding countrside and the bike's refinement.
This sense of enjoyment lasted for all of five minutes, only to be surpassed by feelings of 'are we there yet?', and 'why go up and over a hill with no hint of a track when we're currently on a perfectly good gravel road?'. Coupled to this i started to get sense of houmour failure in my arms, neck, and backside. Towards the end of the ride i didn't know what to do with myself- arms were like spaghetti which made standing a hazard (bike definatley needs tripple clamps to raise the bars), and my backside felt like it was being eaten by the seat... literally.
Lesson five- 2ltrs of water in a 3ltr hydration pack will be plenty enough- NOT! By this stage i had fallen off in most ways possible, at least 10 times in total, possibly more. To my credit my mates were impressed with sections that i had traversed unscathed and where in some instances one or more of them had come off. On one particular hill i toppled over and did i slow heals- over head backward roll down the hill, after having insured the bike had been put down gently. Yip - that's how i roll... everybody laughed.
Lesson six- GAS GAS bikes make good water features! One of the guys dropped his bike in a river crossing to the extent that the exhaust pipe was submerged.... twice. Anyway, the 45 minutes it took to get the bike started again allowed me enough time to recuperate for the last haul back to club.
Getting back to the off-road club at last we treated ourselves to cold cokes and a cheesy hotdog. Damn they were good. Lesson seven- come for a quick 4 hour ride= come be our entertainment on an 8 hour life or death mission. Anyway, am definately planning on going again in the hopes of spending more time standing than in the saddle or rolling down hills and bouncing off rocks.
As i slipped into coma that evening on the couch i had a video of grass with lurking rocks taxing my thoughts... Three days later the bruises aren't so angry and the search for a plstic bike and space in the gararge can begin.
