Cypher
Likes Dirt
This is my last post in this series (awwww). As the weather gets hotter it is time to hang up the armour and stop pushing that darned heavy bike up a hill. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll get the squishy bike out now and then, but the downhill season has pretty much ended for me.
A big thanks to all the people who read and enjoyed my little adventures. Is this the end? No. I’ll be writing up other adventures as they come along. And there is always next year’s season…
Hopefully you’ll have your own adventures as well…Tell you what – I’d love to hear about them
Yours in riding,
Cypher…
The Three Nemeses of Cypher
Some people have goals: in riding I have nemeses.
Not in the divine retribution and vengeance sense but in the sense that there are things that, if you stay still, will overtake you; they lurk and weigh profoundly on your mind. And in riding it is true: if you stay still, you are left a long way behind, eating the dust of your own personal nemesis.
I initially started downhilling to improve my cross country/trail riding skills, which is ironic as many people do the opposite for the opposite reason. My biggest weakness is my head; I won’t try tricky or risky things on a bike unless I am assured of success. This makes for slow skills progress.
Nemesis One:
At my local trails (Lucas Heights) there are some reasonably big elevated wood drops that I have always wanted to ride. Well constructed and with smooth(ish) landings I would sigh with envy with the ease that I saw some of the guys ride of them. I would see these drops every time I rode there; every time I rode by I would chant my mantra “I will ride you…one day. But not today.”
This was the major motivation for going downhilling – to get the skill and confidence to ride off these drops. And it worked. I became proficient at doing straight forward jumps and drops; ok I am still working on jumping in corners and those with rough launches and landings (oh and really big jumps), but hey it has only been a couple of months!
Then one day the day came; I was initially unaware of it. My partner and I had gone out to Lucas Heights to muck around. I was on my squishy. The stars had aligned and I thought, now or never.
I don’t know if it is the same for you as it is for me when you do a big trick on the bike. As you ride past the point of no return (when you have to commit else suffer a big stack) reality becomes quite surreal and all I am thinking is “Oh my god I am really doing this”. So I am riding at these drops, with my “Oh my god” chant on repeat, then suddenly I am in the air. For that breathless moment I am flying…and the ground is coming closer…
And then I land and I have a massive surge of elation and joy. My chant has now turned to “Oh my god I REALLY DID THAT!”. I gave a muffled whoop (I wear a full face helmet) and turn around and do it again – just in case it was a fluke.
So every time I look at those drops now I think, quite satisfactorily: “I can ride you”
Nemesis Two:
We all have one. If you don’t you really need to get one. This is the friend who is of similar riding ability, but excels where you are weak. Wazza is such a mate.
I am fitter and generally better technically skilled at riding, but Wazza is bolder than I, so he can generally ride more things than I can – just because he gives it a go. And it sends me insane! (well, not quite, but hyperbole is great).
He is also one of the funniest people I have met.
Wazza and I have this great (read: fun) rivalry. He is someone that makes me want to try harder just so I can hear his outrageous comments. And so I can rub it into his face.
Sadly it is hard to get him out for a ride, so it is a pleasure that is not often had If you read this Waz: thanks!
Nemesis Three:
I have “won” many downhilling rounds; but invariably come last if any other girl turns up. Yeah, I know…winning isn’t everything, but it would be cool if just once I could legitimately be quicker than someone.
For instance, the only times I have “won” a game of pool was when my opponent sunk the black ball before they should have. Sigh.
My first round of a club race was Kowen. My best time then was 2:04 (and some micro seconds). After several months of downhilling practice I was feeling primed and ready to rip the next Kowen round to see how far I had improved.
Pride before the fall.
Kowen DH is a difficult track. Every jump precedes a corner or is just plain rough, corners are difficult and this time it was raining and somewhat slick. Oh and there was a bog at the bottom that you had to ride through.
Last time I couldn’t do any of the jumps (and I was on my Cypher). This time I could do the jumps, but not comfortably (but I was on my squishy). I felt better and more in control, but I didn’t feel like I was “ripping”.
And to add to my wretchedness (hyperbole again! Love it), two other girls turned up at the race. Sigh: bottom of the ladder again.
In fact I had a great day – the other girls were lovely and encouraging. One of the girls was really good; she had recently had a big lay off due to injury at Awaba DH and was back getting into the swing of things. She was European; in that blunt (for Australians) way she coolly assessed my DH ability and announced “I will go first so we don’t get in each other’s way”. I laughed. It was true; I would have held her up.
I only did one race run. Pushing the bike up the hill got too much for me. In my race run I could only do one of the three main jumps – I rolled the others. The bog at the bottom got me (mud slows you right down), but I continued with my pedalling strategy (never coast). On the last straight stretch to the finish line my head was down and I was pumping those legs. Did I see that right? Out of the corner of my eye the time board said 1:59! (and some micro seconds). Whoo hoo! I cracked the 2 minute mark.
Later the next week I looked up the race results. Would you believe it? I came second and not third. I really was faster than someone!
A big thanks to all the people who read and enjoyed my little adventures. Is this the end? No. I’ll be writing up other adventures as they come along. And there is always next year’s season…
Hopefully you’ll have your own adventures as well…Tell you what – I’d love to hear about them
Yours in riding,
Cypher…
The Three Nemeses of Cypher
Some people have goals: in riding I have nemeses.
Not in the divine retribution and vengeance sense but in the sense that there are things that, if you stay still, will overtake you; they lurk and weigh profoundly on your mind. And in riding it is true: if you stay still, you are left a long way behind, eating the dust of your own personal nemesis.
I initially started downhilling to improve my cross country/trail riding skills, which is ironic as many people do the opposite for the opposite reason. My biggest weakness is my head; I won’t try tricky or risky things on a bike unless I am assured of success. This makes for slow skills progress.
Nemesis One:
At my local trails (Lucas Heights) there are some reasonably big elevated wood drops that I have always wanted to ride. Well constructed and with smooth(ish) landings I would sigh with envy with the ease that I saw some of the guys ride of them. I would see these drops every time I rode there; every time I rode by I would chant my mantra “I will ride you…one day. But not today.”
This was the major motivation for going downhilling – to get the skill and confidence to ride off these drops. And it worked. I became proficient at doing straight forward jumps and drops; ok I am still working on jumping in corners and those with rough launches and landings (oh and really big jumps), but hey it has only been a couple of months!
Then one day the day came; I was initially unaware of it. My partner and I had gone out to Lucas Heights to muck around. I was on my squishy. The stars had aligned and I thought, now or never.
I don’t know if it is the same for you as it is for me when you do a big trick on the bike. As you ride past the point of no return (when you have to commit else suffer a big stack) reality becomes quite surreal and all I am thinking is “Oh my god I am really doing this”. So I am riding at these drops, with my “Oh my god” chant on repeat, then suddenly I am in the air. For that breathless moment I am flying…and the ground is coming closer…
And then I land and I have a massive surge of elation and joy. My chant has now turned to “Oh my god I REALLY DID THAT!”. I gave a muffled whoop (I wear a full face helmet) and turn around and do it again – just in case it was a fluke.
So every time I look at those drops now I think, quite satisfactorily: “I can ride you”
Nemesis Two:
We all have one. If you don’t you really need to get one. This is the friend who is of similar riding ability, but excels where you are weak. Wazza is such a mate.
I am fitter and generally better technically skilled at riding, but Wazza is bolder than I, so he can generally ride more things than I can – just because he gives it a go. And it sends me insane! (well, not quite, but hyperbole is great).
He is also one of the funniest people I have met.
Wazza and I have this great (read: fun) rivalry. He is someone that makes me want to try harder just so I can hear his outrageous comments. And so I can rub it into his face.
Sadly it is hard to get him out for a ride, so it is a pleasure that is not often had
If you read this Waz: thanks!Nemesis Three:
I have “won” many downhilling rounds; but invariably come last if any other girl turns up. Yeah, I know…winning isn’t everything, but it would be cool if just once I could legitimately be quicker than someone.
For instance, the only times I have “won” a game of pool was when my opponent sunk the black ball before they should have. Sigh.
My first round of a club race was Kowen. My best time then was 2:04 (and some micro seconds). After several months of downhilling practice I was feeling primed and ready to rip the next Kowen round to see how far I had improved.
Pride before the fall.
Kowen DH is a difficult track. Every jump precedes a corner or is just plain rough, corners are difficult and this time it was raining and somewhat slick. Oh and there was a bog at the bottom that you had to ride through.
Last time I couldn’t do any of the jumps (and I was on my Cypher). This time I could do the jumps, but not comfortably (but I was on my squishy). I felt better and more in control, but I didn’t feel like I was “ripping”.
And to add to my wretchedness (hyperbole again! Love it), two other girls turned up at the race. Sigh: bottom of the ladder again.
In fact I had a great day – the other girls were lovely and encouraging. One of the girls was really good; she had recently had a big lay off due to injury at Awaba DH and was back getting into the swing of things. She was European; in that blunt (for Australians) way she coolly assessed my DH ability and announced “I will go first so we don’t get in each other’s way”. I laughed. It was true; I would have held her up.
I only did one race run. Pushing the bike up the hill got too much for me. In my race run I could only do one of the three main jumps – I rolled the others. The bog at the bottom got me (mud slows you right down), but I continued with my pedalling strategy (never coast). On the last straight stretch to the finish line my head was down and I was pumping those legs. Did I see that right? Out of the corner of my eye the time board said 1:59! (and some micro seconds). Whoo hoo! I cracked the 2 minute mark.
Later the next week I looked up the race results. Would you believe it? I came second and not third. I really was faster than someone!
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