Downhill mountain biking
Recently I discovered a new and easy way to experience certain joys that should probably not be sought out by those without good health care plans.
A friend and I took our mountain bikes to Northstar at Tahoe and rode the ski lifts up to the ridge before biking down some of the roughest trails I've ever been on. I was amazed to see most of the other riders bedecked in quasi-body-armor of the fullest variety. I mean, these guys had everything from full motorbiking helmets to chest protectors, knee and shin guards, elbow and shoulder guards, full pants and shirts, and probably a few items of protection that were non-visible to external viewers.
On our one (and only) daring run down a double black diamond trail, I began to see some of the logic behind dressing like a twelfth century dude. The trails were comprised of primarily vertically situated sand, which left braking rather impotent, and there were, at semi-regular intervals, large drops with tight banking turns at the bottom. Rather than risking my life (since I still don't have health insurance), I chose to walk around some of these drops. (My prize for exercising such wisdom is that I still have a full set of teeth.) At the bottom of on of these jumps, I looked up and saw a real biker flying down fully garbed. As he was flying full speed through the air, he managed to perform a perfect bank, land, and headed off in the other direction. Impressive. And I was just trying to make it down alive.
All in all, it was a great trip, and despite spending most of our time on the single black diamond runs, we made it out alive with nothing more to show for our efforts than a few scrapes and bruises and one busted chain.
A couple of days later, we took the bikes out again to a nearer location where we rode for a few hours on some much tamer trails (despite some of them being only a couple feet wide and on the edge of a very steep cliff). This ride was also a lot of fun and a lot less nerve-wracking and body-rattling than the downhill-only jazz. And the cold mountain lake located around the halfway point made for an incredibly refreshing swim on the way back!
Life on the edge. It's more fun than any other place I've been.
A friend and I took our mountain bikes to Northstar at Tahoe and rode the ski lifts up to the ridge before biking down some of the roughest trails I've ever been on. I was amazed to see most of the other riders bedecked in quasi-body-armor of the fullest variety. I mean, these guys had everything from full motorbiking helmets to chest protectors, knee and shin guards, elbow and shoulder guards, full pants and shirts, and probably a few items of protection that were non-visible to external viewers.
On our one (and only) daring run down a double black diamond trail, I began to see some of the logic behind dressing like a twelfth century dude. The trails were comprised of primarily vertically situated sand, which left braking rather impotent, and there were, at semi-regular intervals, large drops with tight banking turns at the bottom. Rather than risking my life (since I still don't have health insurance), I chose to walk around some of these drops. (My prize for exercising such wisdom is that I still have a full set of teeth.) At the bottom of on of these jumps, I looked up and saw a real biker flying down fully garbed. As he was flying full speed through the air, he managed to perform a perfect bank, land, and headed off in the other direction. Impressive. And I was just trying to make it down alive.
All in all, it was a great trip, and despite spending most of our time on the single black diamond runs, we made it out alive with nothing more to show for our efforts than a few scrapes and bruises and one busted chain.
A couple of days later, we took the bikes out again to a nearer location where we rode for a few hours on some much tamer trails (despite some of them being only a couple feet wide and on the edge of a very steep cliff). This ride was also a lot of fun and a lot less nerve-wracking and body-rattling than the downhill-only jazz. And the cold mountain lake located around the halfway point made for an incredibly refreshing swim on the way back!
Life on the edge. It's more fun than any other place I've been.
posted by jph | 9:45 AM
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