Mtb skills clinic
Today, I attended a mountain biking skills session presented by my cycling club. It was really cool and I learned quite a bit. The majority has to do with your balance and positioning on the bike. Choosing the right line into corners is also vital.
I nailed most of the techniques, but I’m struggling to get around sharp corners. I run wide every time. I get manage to get my weight over and my legs in the correct positions, but I just can’t get the bike to stick.
I also wiped-out when I tried to jumped over a ditch. It was a tricky one, because the ditch was just after a rocky crossing over a stream. You only need enough momentum to get the front wheel over the furthest edge. Of course I didn’t have enough momentum and landed the front wheel right in the ditch. I jumped/fell off the bike and knocked my knee against the bike’s crossbar… quite hard too. I’m really hurting at the moment. I hope it wont affect my training this week. I am proud that I committed to the jump though. I’ll nail it next time.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 03/24/2008
- Time: 12:00:00
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
- Calories: 375
- Distance: 6.16 km
- Average Speed: 6.16 kmph
- Max Speed: 30.1 kmph
- Ascent: 127 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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Cycle - 1.9 hours - 03/22/2008
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 03/22/2008
- Time: 16:20:00
- Total Time: 1:54:40.00
- Calories: 1463
- Distance: 41.14 km
- Average Speed: 21.53 kmph
- Max Speed: 52.3 kmph
- Ascent: 492 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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Cycle - 1.5 hours - 03/20/2008
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 03/20/2008
- Time: 17:15:00
- Total Time: 1:27:54.00
- Calories: 1155
- Distance: 32.05 km
- Average Speed: 21.88 kmph
- Max Speed: 47.4 kmph
- Ascent: 329 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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Playing in the mud. Grown-ups only!
Man what a weekend!! Whoooha!! I did an adventure race in the Freestate (South Africa) this weekend and had the time of my life!!!
The event started at 9am. It was overcast and the weather was mild. Absolutely perfect conditions for racing. The first section was a short 1.5km trail run next to Vaal river embankment. We returned to the starting position and jumped on our bikes. We cycled into a nature reserve and had the most awesome single tracks that featured a good combination of hill climbs and downhills.
Halfway through the cycling leg, two black wildebeest came thundering over the trail at full speed. They passed right behind us and disappeared into the growth. Unfortunately I didn’t see them, but apparently it was quite a close call.
Right after this we went down a very steep and rocky slope. I took a bad line and ended up in a very rocky technical section. I went flying of my bike and basically jumped right over my handlebars. My bike popped up behind me and ended up upside down. Luckily I managed to stay on my feet. Falling there would’ve hurt like crazy.
Jacques (one of my team mates) got a snakebite (mtb lingo for a puncture on a rocky section) on the downhill and we struggled a bit with dodgy spare tubes and pumps. After a second tube, we set off again and the heavens opened up. It was poring down on us for another 3-4km. It was a pretty flat section so we gunned it all the way! We had mud up to our ears. You struggle to see with all the dirt and rain in your eyes, but I didn’t care. I tore up those tracks!
We reached another trail running section where we ran/hiked up a hill with an ascent of around 100m. From the top, we had a spectacular view of the entire nature reserve. Unfortunately one can’t really stop too long to appreciate the view. This trail running section was quite tricky since it was went and there was a lot of rocks and loose mud around. The downhill section was a much easier run and we averaged around 13-14km/h. Great fun! The total distance was roughly 3km.
When we got back to our bikes it turned out that Jacques had another puncture. His tire went completely flat during our run. We borrowed some patches from another team, patched the tube and was on our way again. The last 5km mtb section was very flat and again we burned through the mud. Man I love that!! It looked like I had a mud bath!
We got back into our running gear and ran up the embankment again. The last leg was a water surprise, and it turned out to be ride down the river on a tube. We jumped into the Vaal and drifted down the river. We went over a few rocks and some of my friends went home with a few cuts and bruises. After 300m or so, we got out and ran a half km through slippery mud up to the finish.
What a race! The atmosphere was great and not serious at all. Everyone was just out there having fun. You would hear someone screaming and shouting for joy every now and again. Quite weird to see grown-ups turn into kids again.
Our time was 2:29, but we must have lost at least 25-30mins on the punctures. The winning team did the course in 1:30, so I’m quite pleased with our time. Time aside, I can’t remember having this much fun since being a kid. It appears that adults can still have fun playing the mud after all!
A shot of our team after the race. Wet, dirty, happy.
From left to right: Me, my friend Jacques and my AR buddy Cobus.
Some random people at the tubing section. Smiles all round.
A view of the river we tubed down.
My bike!
Workout:
- Type: Other
- Date: 03/15/2008
- Time: 09:00:00
- Total Time: 2:29:10.00
- Calories: 1700
Filed under: Adventure Racing, Cycle, Mountain Biking, Race Report, Run, Trail Running
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Cycle - 0.3 hours - 03/08/2008
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 03/08/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 00:15:00.00
- Calories: 164
- Distance: 4.29 km
- Average Speed: 17.16 kmph
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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Cycle - 1.5 hours - 03/05/2008
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 03/05/2008
- Time: 16:45:00
- Total Time: 1:27:42.00
- Calories: 1133
- Distance: 32.35 km
- Average Speed: 22.13 kmph
- Max Speed: 48.9 kmph
- Ascent: 350 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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Cycle - 1.4 hours - 02/18/2008
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 02/18/2008
- Time: 05:30:00
- Total Time: 1:26:50.00
- Average Heart rate: 153
- Max Heart rate: 178
- Calories: 1095
- Distance: 31.72 km
- Average Speed: 21.92 kmph
- Max Speed: 55.3 kmph
- Ascent: 336 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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Dark & Dirty night rides
I’ve heard a lot about a bunch of guys that meet every Thursday evening and go out for night rides. They call these rides Dark & Dirty, which it is. I wanted to start going to these rides since November last year, but never got around to it until last night. Man, have I been missing out!! These rides are awesome!
It is really hard to describe the entire sensation. The entire ride consisted of single or jeep track. Some of the highlights were a twisty single track through the tall grass with the wind blowing them from side to side. It felt like a scene out of the movie the Gladiator. Indescribable how cool that was. At times you can’t see the track at all and your bike just manage to find the smooth path through the grass.
Another highlight was around half-way through the ride where we came across a huge heap of dirt (size of a small house). It looked like it should have been used for construction, but has been laying in the field for ages. One cycles around the back of this gigantic heap, over the top, and finally down a drop of 2-3 meters. I’m not used to this sort of (almost) stunt riding, but it was actually so easy and it came so naturally. No one fell on that part of the course, even though it looks like the place were you should get a few broken bones. I went down the drop a couple of times and got too cocky towards the end. I went down with a bit of speed and landed on my front wheel… bad idea. I didn’t fall, but I was lucky.
I did manage to wipe-out along another route, where I cut a corner through the grass and through a dip. Unfortunately there was a hidden ditch there and I ended up flying over the handlebars and into the tall grass. Luckily the grass broke my fall and it hardly hurt.
My Edge 305 fell off during the fall, but luckily I noticed it 20m down the trail. I ran back and found it lying between the thick grass. Pheeew… it would’ve sucked if I had lost it. I think my Garmin is worth more than my bike at this stage. The old Schwinn has a couple of km on it and would need replacing this year… or maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to get a new horse.
Well enough of that. I just wish everyone could experience a ride like this. It’s so much fun!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 02/07/2008
- Time: 19:00:00
- Total Time: 1:52:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 134
- Max Heart rate: 171
- Calories: 737
- Distance: 22.6 km
- Average Speed: 12.11 kmph
- Max Speed: 41.5 kmph
- Ascent: 239 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking, Night Ride
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Cycle - 1.6 hours - 01/28/2008
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 01/28/2008
- Time: 17:00:00
- Total Time: 1:33:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 152
- Max Heart rate: 180
- Calories: 1170
- Distance: 33.24 km
- Average Speed: 21.45 kmph
- Max Speed: 53.9 kmph
- Ascent: 386 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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Cycle - 0.9 hours - 01/25/2008
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 01/25/2008
- Time: 18:00:00
- Total Time: 00:54:14.00
- Average Heart rate: 154
- Max Heart rate: 173
- Calories: 744
- Distance: 20.3 km
- Average Speed: 22.46 kmph
- Max Speed: 39.4 kmph
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking
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