Here are a handful of videos from our local crew to start off the new year, including group rides and some fails compilations. I’ve created some other videos as well of some solo riding and more, but I’ll post separately about that stuff.
First Group Ride of the Year
I have not been able to ride my bike anywhere near as much as I’d like so far this year. At this point it’s mid February and I’ve only been to two group rides, missing 2-3 others due to work, a home renovation project, and probably some other chaos. I can’t even blame the weather since we didn’t really get any significant snow… until today’s snowstorm, anyway.
Our first group ride of the year was over at Glacial Park on January 4th. It was just three of us: Jim, Scott, and me, though Justin showed up to say hello (new local trials rider!). We decided to head all the way back into the woods since we usually start close and never make it out there, or once we get out there we’re already tired. It was nice to ride that area since we don’t get there very often.
By brakes were slipping (need a rim grind), so my confidence was pretty low. That and I haven’t been riding much lately, so I’m a bit rusty. So my riding was not nearly as good as it could have been. I still managed to get in a couple decent lines, but struggled with some others that I thought would have been much easier.
Jim and Scott seemed to have a pretty decent day, but doing some pretty cool lines including a big, sketchy rock rollover and a big line up over some rocks and a fallen tree. That last one was pretty wild – I’m pretty sure it’s out of my reach at the moment. It was interesting to note the two approaches between Jim and Scott: Jim took the slow static hop approach, whereas Scott just rolled right up somehow. I always enjoy seeing how different people attack the same line.
Sketchy Lines and a Finicky GoPro
We did manage to get a little snow in January, but it was only a couple inches and didn’t stick around too long (thankfully). Due to the snow, we decided to do some basic skills riding at Tony’s place of business, where we could ride on sketchy pallets and scrap wood in the parking lot. This time it was also just three of us, but Tony replaced Scott for this trio.
I’m really bummed that my GoPro died from the cold just moments into this group ride, because we had such a fun time! With the sketchy materials and random patches of ice, it was challenging, fun, and comical. Fortunately I was able to get just one useful clip – one of Tony successfully completing one of the first lines we set up.
After trying a number of different lines with various pallet combinations, we ended the ride doing some skinnies on the sketchiest scrap lumber ever. We used a pair of 2x4s (each probably about 8 feet long) from super-sized pallet. Tony apparently cut up the pallet with a saw, so the ends of the pallet boards were still sticking out a couple inches from the 2x4s. I wish I had a photo of these… Anyway, we laid the 2x4s on the pavement end-to-end with the pallet board tips sticking up, making a 3.5 inch wide skinny in a channel that you could not just roll out of. That and the boards had no stabilizers, so they like to roll over if you got close to the edge. It took us a bunch of tries, but I think all three of us actually were able to clean that skinny line. So sketchy, so ridiculous, so much fun!
There is definitely something to be said for rides like this. The obstacles are small, simple, and low consequence. But the sketch factor, the goofy lines, and the great company make it amazing.
Best of 2023: Crashes, Fails, and Bails
In addition to my crazy work schedule, we’re also having some renovations done in our house, so I haven’t had much time to ride, hang with the local crew, or do much editing. Since I knew this was coming, I scheduled a series of fails compilations from 2023 so there would be a good continuity of weekly video content. While the clips of great moves and lines, personal accomplishments, etc., are great, it’s also fun to see the best fails, particularly when you have a comedic group that makes some of the fails even funnier. Enjoy!
){kind=link}
0 Comments