Stand up, bend your knees and keep your feet level.B次元官网网址�
Mountain bike expert Jordie Lunn balances effortlessly as he demonstrates technique.
As a first-time mountain biker, I listen intently as the course designer for Bear Mountain Resort offers up the basics while I look over my dress pants and dress shoes. I throw a hoody over my dress shirt B次元官网网址� perhaps IB次元官网网址檓 not as prepared as I could have been B次元官网网址� but there is no turning back. I have been looking forward to this for weeks.
Lunn gives my bike a last look, turning a dial on my shocks before we head out.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just an adjustment,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檒l make it a little stiffer for you.B次元官网网址� That may be a polite way of saying my 270 lbs. is a little heavy for the bikeB次元官网网址檚 current shock settings, but I donB次元官网网址檛 say anything as we pedal into Bike Park Avenue for my first taste of the course.
Heading into the first turn, the first thing I notice is the view from the top of the mountain, down the trail and into Bear MountainB次元官网网址檚 Valley course. IB次元官网网址檝e been here before, but seeing the winding paths whisk underneath my wheels, while the mountains and trees edged ever so slowly by us, strikes me as unique.
Despite taking the corners gingerly, IB次元官网网址檓 forced to stop on my way down after taking a turn too straight. Lunn doesnB次元官网网址檛 have that problem, as his bike weaves through the course, his wheels almost glued to the trail even as he navigates almost sideways along the walls of the steeper embankments.
B次元官网网址�(Sharper turns) are a commitment thing B次元官网网址� and trusting your bike,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淵our tires are going to hook up, but that all comes with time and experience right?B次元官网网址�
He points at one of my knees: one is completely rigid, with most of my weight on that side of the bike B次元官网网址� just like he told me not to do. IB次元官网网址檓 also sitting on the seat as we decline, without realizing it. IB次元官网网址檓 zero for three as we cross a golf cart passage and make our way down a grassy hill and underneath a canopy of trees. We are now on the single-track portion of the trail, where even the smell is beautiful.
Here the riding is slightly more challenging, with uphills to accompany the downs and roots and foliage providing natural obstacles. The final incline takes us to a clearing, where the buzz of a generator cuts through the silence and a giant airbag languishes just beyond a 6.5-foot high ramp.
B次元官网网址淲ith the air bag, anybody can hit it, it just takes a bit of guts to hit the first time,B次元官网网址� Lunn says.
Climbing to the top of the hill that declines into the ramp, I accept that this is happening. The 17-year mountain bike professionalB次元官网网址檚 voice is in my ear as I bear down on the handlebars. B次元官网网址淵ou got this,B次元官网网址� he says.
Against my better judgment I line myself up at the top of the embankment as Lunn reminds me not to let go of the bike, and to B次元官网网址減re-load,B次元官网网址� or press down on the handle bars as I glide into the ramp.
Slowly I step off the ground onto the pedals, pushing off into the descent that launches me further from the earth than I have ever been without being on my feet. One second IB次元官网网址檓 on top of the hill, the next IB次元官网网址檓 preloading my bike, a moment later I am airborne. Today IB次元官网网址檓 wondering how to tell me wife I want to buy a mountain bike.
alim@goldstreamgazette.com
