Since today was the last day of the long weekend, I thought I'd make good use of it. I golfed 18 holes at Elbow Springs starting at 7:45 this morning with a couple of work buddies, Nick and Hugh... one guy couldn't make the foursome. Nick tried to talk Tori into joining us... but she wasn't exactly dressed for golf as she'd just joined me for a ride down to the course to kick off her Millarville road ride early.
I (we) had a great time, I shot 102, only lost a couple of balls, and am generally upbeat on the sport. I'm going to see if I can get down to a 90 type score next year, after which I'll declare myself a "non-embarrasing corporate golfer", meaning I should be able to participate in client days without causing myself too much regret (I'm not particularly good at ongoing participation in activities I'm cruddy at - learn quick or find something else).
I actually was the first one to make it over to Devin's for lunch, I thought I might be cutting it a bit tight, but fortunately had coached everyone to show up a little later. Had a golf course sandwhich which was made palatable with a local dijon mustard Shannon had found somewhere, plus a slice of apple cobbler... can't say no to that!
Played with the whole family and pets for a half an hour till the gang arrived, then loaded up for Station Flats again. Shawn, Alan, Jon, Craig, Devin and myself were the riders today, naturally I was up for getting my ass handed to me again with that group.
We rode up Tom Snow, where I was suffering off the back with the fast start. We started climbing the Moosepackers swtichbacks when I "expertly" used my Shimano derailleur to shift from my granny into my rear spokes. And by expertly I mean I did a really good job of jamming it into the spokes, a novice job would have been easy to rectify in under 10 seconds. I got the chain out, adjusted the low gear derailleur stop, and started going again... but yes, it happened again. Plucked it out, adjusted the stop, and started going... till it happened again. Jon and Shawn eventually came down to see me, and I pedalled along fine for a while, until it happened again. We repeated the procedure, at which point I gave the stop a healthy couple of screws to make sure this wasn't going to happen... and it seemed to hold for the rest of the day.
Climbed up Moosepackers, then the loose gravel trail. Actually felt good on the loose trail, bike was riding smooth and traction was good. I think everyone managed to ride without dabbing. Once up a the parking lot, Jon steered us over to drop into The Whore.
Jon led, followed by Craig, Alan and Shawn. I was 5th, and Devin was right behind me. The first 20m felt like total crap descending, I was worried that after a cruddy climb with the chain bouncing around that a cruddy descent was up next... until I realized I still had the Bomber locked down in it's climbing position, so I asked Devin to slow up behind me a few seconds so I could get my hand down to change the setting.
Some time during the next 20 minutes, I was reborn into the sport of mountain biking. The mojo came back... or maybe it was always there, but the Turner was just keeping it in the garage for me out of spite. Once the shock was doing it's job, I caught up to Shawn, but wasn't quite sure what was happening, so I didn't ask to pass yet at our next stop. We hung it out behind the saddle on the steeps, and just entering the tight canyon part I ended up riding in front of Shawn and Alan. The rocks in the gulley didn't seem to phase me, it was the first time this season where I was riding lines again rather than dodging obstacles to avoid getting kicked off my bike. Next thing I know, Iggy Pop is yelling in my ear, reminding me that I've got a lust for life. Nikki Sixx had kick started my heart. Babyshambles was asking me what's the difference between death and glory. It's always good when the rock 'n roll starts, in fact I think I may have grown an insti-mullet under my helmet for the remainder of the trail.
Jon had stopped, and we fully regrouped. I decided that I wanted to ride second wheel to Mr. Downhill himself, just to see how it felt. And instead of Mr. Downhill creating an insurmountable gap in the first 10 seconds as usual, I could hold the 4m behind him for quite a while. Teeter totters, 2 foot ramps, rock gardens and roots were a blur beneath my wheels, and I didn't feel like the bike was going to buck me off at any second. I could losen my grip, relax my shoulders, and just knew it'd be fine floating over everything. The bike went from smoothly eating everything in its path to full on earthquake beneath me, but either way it felt stable.
I tried the 30 foot skinny, but only made it the first 10 feet. Craig blew by, and I instantly knew I had a new measuring stick... could I close the gap? I was nearing, then saw the bridge with the 2x4 teeter totter, and knew I had to slow down a bit to hit that... then it was chase time again. No longer was I fighting my bike and my mind for speed, it was back to the classic, proven methodology. Less brakes. Less steering. Less worry. Just let it roll, and let it roll fast. Bike does the work, just sit back and relax. Once we exited the trail, I could hardly think. I wanted to ride my dirt bike at redline. I wanted to drive the baja buggies at 90mph. I wanted to ride The Whore three more times, and Ace of Spades, and Volcan Irazu with only the slightest of brakes. And afterwards I wanted to shotgun a beer and crush the can on my forehead just for good measure.
So I haven't lost riding downhill all together. Is it just the bike? I don't know. I did try fatter tires on the S-Works (the same as are on the Turner) to see if that helped at all. Mckee can downhill the S-Works faster than me, so in theory I'm a crappy pilot and can't coax much out of the bike. But I do think that a bike and rider have to be on the same wavelength. You don't ride the supermodel if she ain't your type, you go for the fun ride. I think the S-Works is superior as a smooth(ish) track racer, a TransRockies racer. But the Turner is a bike that just rides, and rides great. No speed limits. It's fast, it climbs better than the S-Works on loose rubble and technical stuff, and it's more confidence inspiring for me.
We made our way back at breakneck speed along riverside, maiming a chipmunk on the way. I don't have time to feel bad though, the bike euphoria is too good today.
I don't think the collection is going to lose the Turner...
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