Morzine 2012

Thursday 5^th July, I went up to my parents to look after my horse for the last time that week, arriving in the van which was loaded with our equipment for a week long French adventure.

Everything went to plan, getting to the Euro Tunnel early, getting to our viewing point of the Tour De France well in time for a very much deserved break.  

Showing our support to Wiggins and Co

The stage leaders just outside Reims

How many bikes can you get on a roof rack?

We camped overnight somewhere in France and Saturday morning work up early to do the final leg to the Alps, reaching our Chalet at 3pm in the afternoon after a relaxed drive. Jill was there to greet us and we even had the same room as last year.  If felt so nice to be there, a bit like a home from home.

This year was a lot nicer, I was mentally and physically better prepared for the riding, and on Sunday we headed over to Chatel to watch the Slope Style (which we didn’t know was cancelled).  It was nice riding familiar trails on the Yeti knowing I got down them on the Trance and was now on a much more capable bike.  As the comp wasn’t on we had a relaxed lunch and rode the Green trail a few times to get my confidence up, before heading back to Morzine and Mutzig. 

Mutzig, makes you forget everything

The next day we headed over to Les Gets, yet again to ride familiar trails and keep everything relaxed, I wanted to get down the trail I fell off on last year which was blue graded.  So after a couple confidence building runs on the green  we tackled one of the blue runs we hadn’t tried the year before, It was wet and slippy and a few times my heart leaped into my mouth, but I made it down and ended up praising the Yeti like it was a horse.  We stopped for lunch and that was when the plan when tits up, a Power cut stopped the lifts running, if we took a DH trail into Les Gets we’d have to ride back uphill to get to Morzine or ride the road back.  So with disappointment we headed back on the trails to Morzine, meet up with the nutters from Surrey (boy can those guys drink) for a couple of rounds of Mutzig before heading to the chalet for tea.

Tuesday morning I was keen, not having fallen off or had the fear that haunted me all of last year’s trip I was going to tackle my demon trail and after talking to the guys from Surrey if I got down the Blue Ok I was going to try the red route under the Chavennes lift.

So after a warm up lap down the green turning off to get to the lift to take us to the top of the blue I was there, on my now very much trusted Yeti about to face the trail that had so scared me last year.  Darrel again promised not to shoot off and stayed with me.  I remembered the first half, a nice simple run under the lift, crossing the fire road and heading into the woods, this was the bit that got me last year.  As the track dropped steeply off I was feeling apprehensive, the berms started and I found myself remembering to look round the corner, stay off the brakes on the bend and at all times keep my heels down.. The berms disappeared behind me and before I knew it I was out in the open.  I’d cleared my demon.. that was it, straight back to the lift I wanted to try the red before my nerve ran out. 

On the way up to ride the Red

I can’t really say much about the Red I was too scared to remember much detail, the top was great not steep and fast with a couple of massive but ride able jumps and the mandatory killer braking bumps.  But like the other tracks the nature changed when it went into the trees, the track was steep berms dropping down that once on the only way to stop would be to fall off... and with last night’s rain they were slippy.  By my little bike gripped and got me down. And by the time we got to the top of the old 4x track I was relaxed and had enjoyed it. 

I had met my week’s goal on day 3 though!  I was happy to relax for the rest of the day so went for a bimble down the green track again leaving Darrel to play on the harder tracks without having to worry about me. 

Back at the chalet Darrel and I watched the footage from my camera back, laughing at me talking my way round the berms on the blue and being too scared to breathe on parts of the red.  Watching it back is great, firstly the tracks don’t look as steep and I can remind myself that I did get down.

Having had such a great day on the Yeti Darrel convinced me that night to give the Super 8 a try, after all we’d brought it all this way and he was a DH bike.

Wednesday morning, after swapping pedals I took the old boy out.  Now taking a retro DH bike out is much like taking a classic car out.   Firstly I never expected people to react to the bike like they did, in the que for the Pleney lift people stared, some even stepping out of line to have a look.   On the ride into Les Get I really noticed the difference, the brakes weren’t as good as the Yeti and the bike felt sluggish and more like a bulldozer to ride.  I was feeling so relaxed, happy and unsusally confident that I suggested riding the Red route which I'd enjoyed the day before.  Now this was an experience, if the Yeti had felt good on the trail I can’t describe how the super 8 felt, the start ramp of the red on the yeti had felt like dropping off the world, on the 8 it felt like going down a gentle slope.  The whole track felt different and easier, I found the world whizzing past, even the steep berms felt less steep and more grippy.  At the bottom of the red I even took the 4x track to the lift station, not having risked it yesterday on the Yeti.  After these runs it was off to meet up with the other members of Pink Bike for a late lunch.  Parking the Super 8 up at the bar, and people would walk passed double taking at the old fella. After a lunch of listening to tales of shredding the blacks as if they were on a family trail, I almost felt able to join in.  So the suggestion of some riding in Les Get, something that would have filled me with terror was not as scary.  I was possessed, we went down the red again, and the demon blue, taking the red option to the lift instead of the blue.  I was relaxed enough to enjoy it, but still swearing on the scary bits, much to the amusement of the lift guys who laughed at me as I turned up for another attempt.  Wednesday 11^th July was my best day ever on a bike, I felt courageous, and found myself shooting down trailed with reckless abandon.  

Evolution, the Super 8 meets carbon V10

Returning to the Chalet that night I was exhausted, and even Darrel braved the hot tub to try and ease the sore muscles.  I went to bed that night still buzzing and looking forward to tomorrow. 

Thursday we had decided to head to Chatel and try the new trails, the great guys we’d met from South Wales had given me a breakdown of the trails and with new found confidence I was keen.  On the ride out to Chatel the saddle clamp on my bike loosened off and we didn't have the right sized allen key.  This was when we realised the other comparisons between a  classic car and a Retro Bike, you need to take a full tool kit out with you.  Big up to the Morzine Mobile Mechanics (MMM) in Lindrette, not only did they recognise my bike from Pinkbike, and fix my saddle but they also recommended a great place for lunch.  After one of the best Burgers in the Passporte region, with a schnapps chaser (apparently to give me courage) we headed on our way to Chatel to try the Serpentine and People.  With a planned quick rundown Panoramic, it started well, on the DH bike I was able to keep with Darrel much to my surprise, and as I came to the last jump in the top run I applied a bit of rear brake.  I remember at this point in time the brake didn’t feel right, but it wasn’t until 10m’s later and a sharp right hand bend that I really noticed a problem, I had no rear brake it just made a clunking noise as my bike dived down a shoot building up more speed. My rear calliper bolts has vibrated undone, and the calliper was hanging away from the rotor, by the bottom bolt that although undone hadn't come off.  Once Darrel got back to me we tried to work out what to do, either carry on down the track or push up.  We opted for the push up whilst looking to see if the bolt was anywhere in sight.  I remembered the odd feeling from earlier and at the jump after some scouting we found the offending item and the washers.  A quick repair and we were off, but my confidence in the bike was a little rocky and I didn't let the bike build up speed like before.  The rest of the day went without incident but I noticed I didn’t feel quite right and my throat was sore.  That evening I felt worse and even Jills excellent cooking didn’t improve things, it was obvious I’d got a blooming cold... The next day I was worse, but it was our last day and there was no way I was going to not ride.  Riding the Panoramic to Chatel was fun despite everything and I’d pretty much forgiven and forgotten yesterdays near miss.  So we continued down the Serpentine, me trying to keep with Darrel and taking the berms correctly.  I did wonder at one point why I was able to keep with Darrel and then Darrel stopped, his brakes had failed.  Another track repair revealed that Darrel had eaten through a pair of 2 day old brake pads... we swapped the pads round to give Darrel some brakes and headed more carefully down the track (well for Darrel more carefully but for more like at my speed).  After 2 lift rides and a slow ride to Linderettes we again were helped out by the MMM with a new pair of pads and another excellent burger.  Back again to Chatel, with the intention of riding people, only to find the track closed L and after all the days riding by the time it opened my cold and a week’s worth of biking had caught up with me.  

All got things come to an end 

 

 

 

 

Motivation

This weeks not been a good one for me, it started well.

But like the weather my motivation to exercise has plumetted.  I'm sat looking out my living room window at the pouring rain.  Now instead of writing my blog I should really be doing either house work or I could do 30 mins on the Rowing Machine I brought before my wedding which has sat in the spare room not used since.  But I'm not I'm sat here typing about something I'm calling lack of motivation but really I'm being lazy.

Firstly, I'm not a top level rider so why do I need to excersise:

A) I'm overweight, I've not got the self control to stop eating the food I love so  I need to burn off the calories or get fatter.

B) I want to get better and having strength is a critical part of improving.

C) It's good for me and I do love the feeling of achievement after I've done something.

So how am I going to motivate myself

Writing this blog is part of it, not just this post but the whole blog.  If I write a blog that the whole web can read saying I'm going to do something then really I've got to do it or suffer WWW humiliation.

I also find I need a challenge to keep me focused, so entering races is a good way to put the pressure on me. 

These all work in the bigger pictures but at this point in time I'm still typing and not doing anything.   So I'm off to the bedroom to drag the rowing machine into the living room and while Neighbours is on I'm going to have a go at multi tasking.

Not forgetting the Super 8

I better mention the Super 8 that had been built up for the Morzine trip.

This bike is a brute, 1999 Santa Cruz Super 8, from the era when DH bikes where built heavy and bomb proof.  Darrel had built him up using spare parts from where he’d upgraded in the past, and second hand parts from good old e-bay.

The Super 8, recovered from my parents barn

Even with the Yeti’s arrival we had decided that I should take the Super 8 to Morzine, as he really was the bike for job there.  Now I’m not one of those people that can just jump on a bike and ride it, I need time to get used to the handling.  But I was having too much fun on the Yeti, so after my DH success with only 4 weeks remaining till our trip I started riding the Super 8 to my parents farm in the evening.  The route is uphill all the way there and downhill all the way back with part of it on a cycle track, and the rest on the road. Not really a ride to push the limits of the bike, but it did push my limits trying to climb on an 8” travel bike...  but I felt happy and confident on him and after all I had my Yeti so he was in essence my ‘Spare bike’.  And time was running out, it was the 1^st of July our wedding anniversary and 4 days until we started the long drive to the Alps. 

All built up and ready to role

All the gear, just needed to get to the mountain 

What a Difference a new bike makes!

To be honest I didn’t think a new bike would make a difference to my riding, in my mind I was just buying something with longer travel to help take the sting out of the rougher trails I was starting to ride.

How wrong could I be, our first outing on my new bike was back to Cwmcarn the Sunday after we picked her up, and I felt like I was flying?  At the top jump section I was pretty much able to keep Darrel in sight (normally he disappears in a flash).  And the final decent into the car park was so much fun.

Morzine 2012 was now booked and I had 3 months to get used to my new baby and get fit, weekends blurred into a haze of biking bliss I was purposely suggesting trails that I didn’t like or found to scary to test the new bike, a trip to Coed Y Brenin (a place where I normally fall off) resulted in me riding  with minimum swearing.  A lap of the Raven at Brechfa a trail I’d only ridden once and hated turned into a great ride, other than one habit I discovered the Yeti has, this bike wants to jump!

On my Trance I could hit jumps pretty fast and not take off (jumping is scary when you don’t know how to land) but the Yeti, even moving my weight to inhibit take off didn’t work and a couple of times I heard the lack of noise as the bike lifted her wheels and took to flight.  Maybe it was because I was riding noticeably faster, but I’d like to blame the bike. 

One target I’d set myself to complete before Morzine was to get down a UK DH course.  I really wanted to make the most of this year’s trip and to ride more trails so felt that by pushing my limits in the UK would better prepare myself.  So in May 2012 I and the little Yeti headed back  to Cwmcarn with the mindset of going down the DH trail there.   The weather had been good for a few days and the tracks were pretty dry, the centre seemed comfortably quite, everything felt right.

The ride to the top of the DH track is pretty simple, my mind however was somersaulting.  As we arrived at the top the uplift vehicle arrived full of DH bikes and padded up riders, and I felt that feeling of not belonging that I’d had the first day in Morzine last year.  We stood at the top and watched the bikers shoot off waiting until they had all gone.  Darrel had promised to sick with me, with a concerned ‘you ready’ and me switching on my camera we started, now the first part of the trail is really nice, it traverses across the hill with some rock steps that I know would have scared me last year, but the little Yeti popped down them with ease.  After one wrong turn and a quick jump off to push down a large drop (we mistakenly followed the black line not the red) I was back on the bike and I hate to admit it, I was having fun.  I swore a lot (verbal encouragement) especially on the track heading into the tunnel, which was steep and slippery with a 90degree turn at the bottom.  Darrel apologised for my language to the 2 guys waiting there, explaining that it was my first go on a DH trail. The surface was looser and rougher, but was not as steep as I expected.  I can remember my surprise as I came over a jump and realised I’d made it to the forestry road that separated the track in to 2 parts.  I have watched riders down the final section of DH, it’s really pretty simple wide open track with large jumps that are really easy to ride.  So no problems.

I was elated, euphoric and buzzing (oh and shaking from nerves).... I’d made it down my first ever UK DH course.  Darrel was chuffed, as we packed the bikes into my car it was excited talk of Morzine.... I know I would of struggled down there on my Trance, but the Yeti just seems to encourage me, her nimbleness meant I could manoeuvre her easily if I found myself on the wrong line, and the slacker angles made the steep less steep. 

What a difference a bike makes!

A few videos to laugh at

Cwmcarn May 2012

 

Llandegla B-line - June 2012  

 

The hunt for a new bike

Having suffered on my bike during our 2011 Alps trip, I agreed to go back the following year on 1 condition, I had more travel.

I’m 5’1” tall, and a short 5’1” at that, so finding a bike to fit me has never been easy and now I know how great a proper fitting frame feels I knew finding a replacement for my Trance was going to be hard.  Darrel trolled the internet looking at frame dimensions; the search seemed to be taking me away from the mainstream makers who seem to have forgotten about us short people.   Orange 5’s sat at the top of my list for most of the remainder of 2011 until I fell in love.

Yeti bikes had always been priced out of my reach, but as this new bike was to be my midlife crisis bike I felt I could justify splashing out.  Darrel found it, the Yeti ASR5 it came in extra small, and was the same stand over height as the Trance but with the much needed extra travel.  And a local bike shop had one in XS, black with the pink hope brakes I’d also drooled over (hoping the seemingly bomb proof Haynes on the Trance would die so I could justify the new brakes) as a demo bike. So a cold February weekend we braved the snow to have a look.   My heart flipped as we walked into Plush Hill Cycles store to see the beauty on the bike stand in all its purposeful glory.  I sat astride her and it felt like a perfect fit, unfortunately I was unable to ride it as the snow was settling outside and we needed to get home, but I left her in the shop with the promise to return.

Darrel, showing a sensibility that he never has for himself, insisted that I didn’t get fixated on the Yeti and suggested that I went to a Demo Day at Llandegla  as Orange and Ghost (the 2 other bikes on my list) where there as well as Yeti.  Unfortunately Yeti didn’t have the XS, only a small but I was going for the ride not sizing, I knew the XS fitted perfectly, so off I went.  I couldn’t stop smiling on the Yeti, it was responsive and boy did it climb and I found myself hitting the 2 small berms on the way back faster than I’ve ever done but the bike was simply too big.  Keeping my word to Darrel I took the Orange 5 out, in 14” frame it fitted a treat and I did love it, but it wasn’t the Yeti.  My comparison is a horse riding one.  The Yeti was an Arab, flighty, nimble a little unpredictable in a nice way.  The Orange was a Cob, dependable and bomb proof I felt safe on it.  My love was confirmed... The Yeti was the bike for me.

Now, Plush Hill Cycles in Church Stretton are the best, I had a lovely afternoon demo’ing their Yeti and I was totally love, smitten and smiling.  As the bike was over my price range, Darrel had started to build up an old Santa Cruz Super 8 for me as we knew I’d not be able to afford a Yeti until after Morzine, but fate is a funny thing and this was when everything fitted together, perfectly.

It started with me returning the bike to Plush Hill and them commenting that they do sell off the demo bikes so at some point the Yeti would be for sale... it was build exactly how I’d build it, black with a hint of pink to let people know I’m a girl.  So you can imagine how excited I was, like a little kid, but it got better, as I was a ‘bird in the hand’ they were willing to sell it to me now.  So here was my dream bike discounted and within budget.  You can guess it, next week we were collecting her. 

Basques and Body Armour

A brief interlude from my boring story of failing on a bike.

Today was grey and cold and wet, I've turned my horse away for the winter to give her a break, and I really didn't fancy going for a ride on the bike so decided to take some pictures for my website and also to show that I do occasionally have a feminine side.

I though the butch-ness of the Santa Cruz Super 8 was a nice contrast to the girly pink underwear, and is also nice and chunky to hide behind. 

I also wanted the bike to be dirty, to show it is used and yes this is my DH bike.

Will do a shoot the next time I'm bored with the Yeti.

 

Clothing - 661 Body Armour, Ann Summers Basque, Loeka DH Shorts.

Bike - 1999 Santa Cruz Super 8

 

Massive thank you to Darrel (long suffering husband) who helped me out when I discovered my camera remote was lost.  

The After Alps Effect

Still 2011 and now back in the UK

We returned to the UK, me 2KG lighter and with arm pump that prevented me holding onto anything tightly for a week.  Work Colleagues looked oddly at me as I described my holiday adventures and walked away tutting about ‘you call that fun’.  We had a couple of weeks off the bikes to recover then went back to Cwmcarn for a ride, the XC route is graded red, starts with a long uphill, a bit of  jump run in the middle and a great descent at the end.  I love the route here, it has nothing scary for me, but I do normally ride the brakes on the final decent (just cos fast = scary) this time however, I was shocked as I recognised the little bike grid that shows the start of the final descent it felt flat, no steep downhill corners that I remembered being there, and even found myself braking out of habit not need.  The Alps had changed me....

As well as the weight loss, I came back from the Alps wanting more, it was a pretty set fact that we would be going back to Morzine next year and as much as I loved the little Trance 100mm travel was not up to Alp standards and neither was my riding.