Two Wheel Blogs

I went out for a solo ride last night with a few expectations....

I expected to have a lousy ride for one. I have not ridden much lately. I have been busy with other priorities, and my motivation has been slipping lately, so I expected to ride poorly, but hopefully get some of that feeling back.

You know that feeling you get on a bike that makes you want to keep going?

I certainly did get off to a lousy start...I felt like I was pedaling on flat tires. Everything felt like it took 3x the usual effort.

Until I met up with an old group of friends...who had some new blood with them. My mood changed immediately, and I started to get that feeling back.

The group was diverse last night. A nice mixture of veterans, novices, and first timers. I re-lived some of the experiences I have encountered over the years vicariously through this group. One rider took on a tree and the 4 inch diameter tree lost the battle (he is a big boy). Another rider took on a much larger tree and the tree won (his helmet was shattered by the collision, but he will survive with probably some stiff muscles). There was also a nasty high speed wash out on a turn that resulted in a big ring getting reshaped like a taco. I guess a couple of tubes got punctured too. It was a crazy ride for sure.

No one really got hurt...I don't even think anyone bruised their ego. Everyone in this group seemed aligned in their resolve to have a good time and enjoy themselves.

Here is the funny part. I think the ride was better as a result of all the crashes. Crashes make a ride memorable. Do you have any parts in your "junk parts bin" that resulted from a great fast ride where you did not crash? How long do you remember and rehash with others stories of rides where no one crashed?

Several riders last night will probably never forget that ride. Having a shattered helmet hanging on the wall, or a horribly bent chain ring is sort of cool, and a great way to remember how lucky we are to be able to hop on a bike and have fun...and not get hurt too bad.

Crashes make you a better rider too. I can tell you in several paragraphs how to rail a turn, how to enter the apex, proper weighting, use of body english, blah, blah, blah. It is totally worthless. You can not learn to ride a bike from a book or a blog. You have to hop on and get dirty (from crashing once in a while). Sure the fundamentals can be taught, but that reaction your body gives to when your tires start to wash in a high speed turn, must occur without thought...that is called experience, and it is typically earned with crashes and near misses.

I love riding my bike...I got some of that back last night. I had been taking for granted what I have learned, and what remains for me to learn. I need to get out there again soon, and may be have a crash or two.