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
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