Skinny Hero, or Skinny Zero?

For several years, I have been driving past a park that has an abundance of horizontal telephone poles cradled in concrete “saddles” to mark the parking lot boundaries, just screaming at me to be ridden. I kept eyeing this spot, constantly telling myself that one day I needed to ride there. Usually when I’d actually remember that I should there, it would be wet and slippery, so I kept putting it off. Well, I finally did it: the other day, I actually decided to give it a shot.

I’m not sure why, but for some reason in my head I had delusions of grandeur, thinking I’d ride all over these things with ease, wowing all the passersby, who’d be rubber-necking as they drove past, wondering how anyone could ride a bike across these skinny poles. I even brought two bikes to see which would be easier: a hardtail mountain bike, or my Inspired Arcade street trials bike. In my case, it was neither. While I did have a little success, I’m pretty sure I didn’t amaze anybody.

In addition to struggling on these skinnies, it was also nerve-wracking on some of the lines since they were so close to the road, where cars are screaming by at 50 miles per hour (or more). Plus, after quite a bit of struggling on the lines further from the road, I was a bit self-conscious, after being humbled repeatedly. However, despite all the struggles, it was a fun ride and good practice. I’ll definitely need to come back again. I’d also like to try some of these lines on my competition trials bike, to see if I can do any better on that (subsequent to this session, I finally replaced my damaged crank).

There are also some other spots I’d like to try with more poles like this. In particular there are a couple spots nearby that might be suitable for skinny practice, with the added benefit of being set back from the road, so hopefully less distracting. I’ll also need to remember to bring some heavy duty wire snips and pliers as well. Some of these poles have some wicked, sharp metal bits that would love nothing more than to slice me wide open (or at least puncture my tire).