I’m so tired, and I ache…
EVERYWHERE
Things that ache:
My arm
My butt
My left leg
My right leg
My tits
My back
My knees
Its not just because… ok I technically crashed on the last route of the day… But it wasn’t my fault! I’m perfectly happy to crash if I mess up a corner, or plough into a tree, or over-cook a jump. But when I’m just pedalling up a rock and the chain jumps off the crank, I lose my sense of humour.
I was coming down a rocky track into a turn and totally nailed it like a pro. Then they was an uphill section of rocks before carrying on down the mountain. Well, as I put down some power and gave a good push with my legs, the chain jumped off which unbalanced me, pitching me forwards. Before I could correct, I was bellybutton surfing the handlebars directly into a ditch. Slow crash, no damage but I looked like a prise idiot.
That’s it, I’m getting rid of this ridiculous oval chain ring and getting a circular one that I can fit with a chain guard retention anti-jump off thingy wotsit. <- its totally a thing
Up till that point we had had a great day, fully maintaining sense of humour throughout. Because this is a mountain bike centre and each centre grades its route differently, we started low and worked up. The main pedal up was a “Blue” that lead directly into a few downhills of the same grade. These were fast and flowing and well packed with barely a rock in the surface to offer any challenge. A good warm up, but too easy.
The next time we pedalled up, we went right to the top (of the pedally bit) and tackled a “Red” route called World Champs. It had an interesting “Black” addition to the top. This was definately more interesting and a lot longer decent. We linked it up with another route that took us all the way back to the van.
Kayto spent the day sitting on the front seat guarding the van. We forced him to go for a walk after lunch (I’ve never met a dog, so disinterested in walks!) This was partially for his benefit and also for mine. Whereas Aimi had had a sensible soup of the day with crusty bread, I’d gone all out on a sausage roll, chips and beans. It was lovely and hit the spot, but way over filled me for an afternoon of mountain biking. The walk helped, but not that much.
Finishing the day with only one crash was the sensible thing to do, so I spent 16 mins and 12 seconds putting the bikes on the back of the van (I timed it) It’s not the quickest way to transport bikes but it works and I made it myself – ENGINEER!
We now headed towards Oban and a proper bed and shower, in miniature. A lovely, if small for me, static caravan was to be our home for the next 4 nights. We had steak and salad for dinner. Hopefully replenish some of that muscle I burnt today!
