hmba is going to hold a skills course this weekend, to help people learn how to ride the new section of trail – the chute to “ross river”. i know a few girls have been putting of racing in club events because their confidence on the new trail wasn’t super high, so this is a great way to master some new skills, and tackle a new obstacle.

all the details are below, but i am you can also pop leonard allen an email for more info: trails@hmba.asn.au

the next chick’s ride is only a week away, which is pretty amazing. don’t forget the new time of 7am at glenrock. last ride we split into a couple of different groups, being a more advanced girl’s group, and a group of social riders, for those who just want to do a bit more of a cruise on the bike. we are likely to continue to follow a similar format from now on, because that seemed to work well to cater to different abilities.

just a reminder – when you do come out on the rides, bring some food and drink, just in case your blood sugar drops, and to stop dehydration. we want to make sure everyone is safe and having fun on these rides. anyway, hope to see heaps of you out on the trail soon.

HMBA Skills Course – How to Ride the Chute – Sunday the 7th March, Awaba
A skills course on “how to ride the Chute to Ross River” will be held on the 7th of March at 2pm. The session will cover how to brake properly and how to go down steep slopes with confidence. The training is from our own skills guru B-rad Mertens. Cost will be $5 for members $10 non members, meeting in the car park.
http://hmba.asn.au/?q=node/56

why not make your own exercise bike?!? cute.

the fun really started a week or two back, when i decided to play around with a couple of different seats. the one that came on my bike was desperately uncomfortable causing certain pain and numbing right on the worst possible place (yes, use your imagination), which meant that riding any kind of distance was a pretty horrible idea…

on a whim, i ended up stealing the seat off my mountain bike (a wtb deva seat – see below), and throwing it onto the road bike. and what do you know? my sit bones love it on the roadie just as much as on the mountain bike. and so i have been cycling pain free, and with renewed vigor over the last few weeks.

in addition to the new seat, i am in training for the sparke helmore triathlon (yes, it’s true, i am a cyclist who does indeed dabble in triathlons), and so have been logging a number of hours and kilometres on the roadie (as well as running, and the odd bit of swimming)… with the result that i am feeling the fittest i have ever been in my life right now. it’s a very wonderful and exciting feeling, especially as i have never been someone who is naturally fit. go cycling! it’s great. fitness is so very empowering.

and this very weekend i will get to turn that fitness to great purpose, as we have the next chick’s ride at glenrock. the ride kicks off at 7am on sunday morning, and should be a lovely way to spend a sunday morning. and that also means it’s time for me to face my fears and get back on the mountain bike. truthfully, i am looking forward to it (although hope i can kick back to the rear of the group, and just take things slow).

for me, fear is a really present thing when i ride off road. i think there are lots of women who get an adrenalin rush, but whose actual fear on the bike would barely register a blip on a scare-o-meter. and those women blow my mind, because just being out in the bush on the bike, i often find myself living with very real, if somewhat abstract, fears. fears of coming off. fears of smashing into something and breaking myself badly. and basically, the fear that comes from being out of control.

because i know that even when i hurt myself badly (like a fracture) it doesn’t really hurt too much. and it heals. so my logic brain knows that chances are, things are going to be absolutely ok. it’s just that sometimes i don’t listen to that part of my brain too well.

and i know that it feels amazing to conquer those fears, and take a ride and have everything just work and be amazing. but they never quite go away. always there to whisper to me. so i step off things that i could almost definitely make. and i hold myself back from trying new things. and i try to stay safe (and then take a tumble when i am on the easiest bit of track around). which just goes to show we can not predict the things that will hurt us in life.

anyway, i wonder whether other people have the little voice of fear going through their head all the time too. do you? i would love to hear your stories on this issue too.

came off my bike again today. not sure how it all happened, but i landed with my chest right on the end of my handlebar. that was around 20minutes ago, and i think i have gone up a cup size with the bruising and swelling. mmm. pretty.

this is not a lone incident for me. i have already fractured my sternum whilst mountain biking. smashed my shin. bruised a thousand times in a thousand ways… hell, even as a little kid i put my teeth through my lip when i came off my bike. so why on earth did i think that i would be someone who should be placed onto a moving machine and placed on a hill surrounded by obstacles?!?

argh. but it is fun. and getting the skills and flinging oneself around a singletrack is great. and all the rides without significant smashes are excellent. it’s just a shame i am not very good/skilled at anything except falling off. oh well. that is something i seem to be uniquely good at. ha.

so, with this post, i might start the injury count. it starts at three, with the sternum and smashed shin taking line honours, and then today’s accident following suit. hopefully i won’t add to it too often, but i have always been uncoordinated, so i am a little worried that the numbers will go up quicker than i want them to.

i’m going to spend a bit more time on the roadie over the next few weeks. i have a couple of sprint triathlons coming up in march, before the mont24hour. and while i need to focus on my mtb riding for that, i think i will benefit from a few weeks away from the mountain bike. although, chances are i will still find time to hit the trails every so often.

the ride got cut a little short when i found the unknown rider wandering along the fernleigh on his way back from a glenrock ride with the boys. his rear tubeless tyre (check out his blog on DIY tyre sealant if you are interested) had a massive gash in the side wall, and was out for the count. we slowly made it home from there, part through walking, part through coasting. it was a slightly lower energy way to finish the ride, but really nice.

especially because the unknown rider was detailing his adventures to me (borrowing pumps from various cyclists around the grock) and he mentioned that he ran into a group of riders with a couple of girls in the group. and not only had all of them heard about the chicks’ rides, but one of them was even stopped by someone in the middle of glenrock telling them about it. now, i have been hassling everyone i bump into near the gate about the group, and i have occasionally yelled at strange girls to find us on the internet as they whiz by on the trails, but i don’t think i have stopped anyone mid-ride to promote us. so i guess some of you have been getting the word out too, which is awesome.

that turned out to be this morning, so i got up and changed my tyre in readiness for a ride. but as i was popping my wheel back on the bike, i thought that maybe i should lube my chain. and that if i was lubing it, i might as well clean it first. so my quick tyre change turned into an overall grease and oil change too. i took my trusty toothbrush and cleaned my chain and cogs until they shined. the ghost never looked so pretty.

anyway, the reason i am posting about this is because it’s actually the first time i have ever given my bike a real service. usually the unknown rider does it for me. and given how many women who attended the first ride last week mentioned that they had to pester their husbands and partners to get their bikes in working order before they could come, it’s clear that i am not the only one who hasn’t had the confidence or the knowledge to properly look after my bike.

it’s a pretty empowering feeling, being able to just do even simple bike mechanics. so over the next few weeks i might try to do a couple of little photo blogs on different bits and pieces you can do to look after your bike, so that maybe a few other girls will get out and give it a go too.

right. now out to ride this sparkly clean bike.

How to get your Girl to Ride (Without Her Dumping You)
Rule 1 Start the discussion.
Begin talking about how great it would be if the two of you rode together. Promise it’ll be just the two of you until she’s ready to ride with others. If she has girlfriends who ride, encourage her to ride with them a few times before she ventures out with you. If she doesn’t have any female friends of the dirt variety, find a local group of strictly female mountain bikers and drive her to her first ride. She’s intimidated by your riding ability, the sport, and her own insecurities. Tread carefully.

Rule 2 Do not overinvest.
If she doesn’t have a bike, borrow one or get a used one cheaply. Buy only the essentials: bike shorts, glove, and a helmet. A thousand dollars is a lot of money to spend on what could turn out to be only a one-day outing. You don’t want her to feel guilty about the $600 Trek spending the rest of its years in the garage.

Rule 3 Tell her the basics.
Knowing how to corner is important, but not necessary for the first ride. The most intimidating, confusing, and important things about mountain biking are shifting and braking. Give her a lesson on shifting gears and using the back brake. Tell her about cross-chaining so she doesn’t work against herself. Do this in the parking lot right before the ride so she remembers. Teach her trail etiquette and explain why uphill riders have the right-of-way. Stop there. Answer her questions, of course, but resist the urge to tell her about torque and ratios. Her eyes will glaze over under the haze of too much information.

Rule 4 Start slow.
Maybe your girl is a yoga instructor or world-class skier. Doesn’t matter. Take her on a beginner ride. Remember mountain biking is an inherently dangerous sport. Just because she’s in shape doesn’t mean she’s ready for an intermediate trail. She needs to focus on braking, gearing, and trail etiquette. Throw a rock garden or steep uphill into the mix and the chances for failure increase exponentially.

Rule 5 Be a gentleman.
Give the bike a once-over and fix any mechanicals before the ride. Get her bike off the rack for her. Put the front wheel on. Carry everything except her water. This means all tools, extra tubes, and the windbreaker.

Rule 6 Watch your language.
I’m not talking f-bombs here. I’m talking about how to give her advice while she’s on the trail. Women speak more indirectly than men. Ever notice how, if your girl wants you to take the garbage out she says, “Do you want to take the garbage out?” Of course you don’t want to take the garbage out, but she wants you to, and this is her way of asking you. Replace “You need” with “Why don’t you try” or “It might be easier for you to do x if you do y.” Practice using these phrases before you hit the trail. Remember it’s not what you say but how you say it.
NB: i would add in to this that for lots of girls, it helps to know about any trail features that are coming up. “ok, the next few kms are pretty smooth and there isn’t much that will worry you. after that, there is a little section of climbing, so you will want to get into a low gear.” because we don’t always have the skills to just assess the trail in the moment we see it, warning helps us make the right choices.

Rule 7 Be patient.
There’s a good chance she’s going to get discouraged and angry as she’s fiddling with the gears and trying to stay upright. She might even yell at you—even though you’ve done nothing wrong. Whatever you do, do not yell back. She’s frustrated and wants to impress you. Try not to shake your head when she walks her bike over what looks to you like a couple of pebbles. Do not laugh when she has the fall of the century. Most importantly, stay within her field of vision. There’s nothing scarier than being left to your own devices in unfamiliar territory.

Rule 8 Watch her body language.
Even though you’ve told her “We can stop any time you want to,” she’s not going to be as vocal as she should. She knows you’re hard-core and hardly ever stop; she doesn’t want to ruin your fun. But if she’s huffing and puffing after the first half-mile, take a rest. Don’t ask her “Do you want to stop?” because chances are she’ll probably say no. If she refuses to make eye contact with you, she’s angry. If this happens, get off the bikes, enjoy the scenery, and kiss her sweaty forehead. If she wants to turn back after ten minutes, tell her the first twenty minutes of any ride are the most difficult. Determine her level of frustration/anger and decide if negotiating another ten minutes is going to be worth it.

Rule 9 Lie.
Tell her how great she’s doing even if she’s not. But don’t overdo it because her BS meter will go off. If you can’t think of anything positive to say, tell her “You’re a beautiful rider” or “You look sexy on bike.” Then you won’t have to lie.

Rule 10 Accept that this is not a real ride.
Chances are, you’re not going to get a workout: you’re going to be stopping, starting, encouraging, and explaining. Both of you are paying your dues on this initial ride, but who knows? With a little effort, patience, and tongue-biting, she could turn out to be the best riding partner you’ve ever had.
NB: the unknown rider will attest to the fact that even though riding with me has never been fast or much of a workout, the slow-speed skills he has picked up since riding with this girl in toe have been hugely beneficial to his own riding. so everyone really does win.

there are a couple of other blogs on the same site, that follow up from this article. worth taking a look.

How to Keep Your Girl Riding (and Retain Domestic Bliss)
Girls – Seven Reasons You Should Start Mountain Biking

the club has put forward the idea of having girl’s graded races at awaba, so that although the actual start line and racing will be with/against the boys (with the exception of e-grade, whom i believe might get their own special start line), the points tally will be girls vs girls. which means conceivably that even a non-sporting person like me could compete through out the season and (maybe) win a medal, since i would be competing against other people of (hopefully) similar skill levels. seems like a pretty sweet idea to me. and a great way to encourage ladies to get a bit more competitive in the sport.

there was also some discussion about the possibility of running some girls’ skills clinics through the club, if there would be interest for it. the sheer numbers of girls getting in touch about the girl’s ride group tells me there probably would be, and it could be a great way to continue to build the social aspect of the local ride network. and given that most girls getting into riding haven’t been throwing themselves off gutters and drops since they were four, then teaching people how to do things “smart” rather than just relying on gumption and muscle would be great.

the club is also intending to build a little skills park at awaba too, which should be good fun, and should hopefully help make learning how to cut sick air (ha) even easier.

so lots of good things happening. all very excellent.

meanwhile, at least two of the girls who came to the event on sunday are looking to set a ride up this week. check out the facebook site if you are keen.

Dear John or Jane Letter
Save your marriage while you can! Use This!! Feel free to modify it as is necessary to fit your personal situation.

Dear _________, Fill in name of partner / spouse / significant other

I am writing this to let you know that cycling season is now here and I will be busy every weekend until early December. I will not be able to attend the ______________ *(family reunion, wedding etc.) dated ________________ (date of event you are missing.)

I promise to keep the cell phone on when I’m in the woods in case you need to reach me. I will let you know the approximate area I will be riding / building, and I will call you as soon as I’m done and heading home. If you call and I don’t answer I promise to call you as soon as I have a good signal and / or can find where I put the phone. I may be in the a shed / garage / workshop watching biking videos and / or maintaining my bicycles if the weather is bad or I’m injured.

I will still __________________________ (enter any other chores you may have to do here) and have supper with you as often as possible (BBQ of course!) After supper I will be gone until dark, or until my lights run out of power.

I am doing this for us. I want to be in the best possible health so that I can be around as long as I can. I also realize you need your space and time to spend with _____________ (your sister, mother, brother and or other loved ones) as I have monopolized your time during the last few months. This will only strengthen our relationship.

Spending the summer months with you has been wonderful and I hope to be able to spend some evenings during the week as well as the odd weekend with you during the winter.

Yours Truly,

__________ (sign name)

There may be multiple events you will be missing. Be sure to list all of them or you will have to attend them and miss a cycling event