First ride on my new build.
Banned!
Posts: 34
Ok, first proper ride out on this bike. I’ve got up early and had a decent breakfast and all, checked everything that should be tight is tight, tyre pressure ok. Right, let’s go!
First a quick blast through Pollok Park. Nope, there are too many runners and dog walkers. Just get through it and out onto the main road into town. A boring train journey and I’m there, my favourite local (ish) trail spot Mugdock Country Park.
Again, there are dog walkers and runners aplenty, but I know the lesser travelled paths so I take the one that goes along the stream, over the little bridge and up to the club house for the golf course. So far, so good. The ground is frozen solid and there and roots, ruts and rocks wherever I point my wheel, but the Bombers eat them up as though they didn’t even exist. I can float over things that, on my old bike, were a hazard and an obstacle. The Fox shock on the back is doing its bit and there is absolutely no feedback at all, the rear wheel sticks to the ground like it was rubber on glue. This is brilliant!
But I can’t have it all my own way. There’s a stiff climb and a bit of a walk to the top of the park. I head up to the stable yard and the café. A can of lucozade and a bottle of water later and I choose my route; the narrow single track down through the uncut wooded area, along the fire-road, down to the Bothy’s then along the WHW route to the road, then back into the park and down the steep rooty chute to the golf course where I came in.
First, down the single track. Again, the ground is solid, but the bike makes short work of it, inspiring me to even tighter and faster lines. Hit a patch of ice, the bike slides out but I manage to throw my weight into it and get out without any drama. This is only a very short ride, maybe 2 minutes but its 2 minutes of sheer bliss. There are hazards all over the place but I don’t even flinch and the bike takes each one head on and beats them every time. After this it’s onto the fire road. Perfect!! There’s a fine covering of snow, only a few mm deep, not enough to hide the road ahead. I pedal as fast as I can for maybe half a mile, passing other riders and ramblers, then the corner looms up, time to scrub a little speed. The back wheel drifts a little as I hit an icy puddle but before I have time to slide I’m off it and shooting down the corridor between the trees. I’m committed to this now, I have to get to the end of this without braking; it’s far too icy to even consider that. I get the brow of a short steep climb and point the wheel at the frozen lake, ½ a mile below, the path is clear, there’s nobody here but me. A few quick pedal strokes and…..
BANG!
With absolutely no style at all, a sharp rock has taken my front tyre out. It’s all over. There are two holes in the tubing that I can fit my finger into, the repair kit is useless. It’s a long walk back to the train station, regretting the fact that I decided to travel light and not take a spare tube. But what a day! Even though I was only riding for maybe half an hour it was possibly the best 30 minutes of my riding life. I will go back on my next day off, no question.
First a quick blast through Pollok Park. Nope, there are too many runners and dog walkers. Just get through it and out onto the main road into town. A boring train journey and I’m there, my favourite local (ish) trail spot Mugdock Country Park.
Again, there are dog walkers and runners aplenty, but I know the lesser travelled paths so I take the one that goes along the stream, over the little bridge and up to the club house for the golf course. So far, so good. The ground is frozen solid and there and roots, ruts and rocks wherever I point my wheel, but the Bombers eat them up as though they didn’t even exist. I can float over things that, on my old bike, were a hazard and an obstacle. The Fox shock on the back is doing its bit and there is absolutely no feedback at all, the rear wheel sticks to the ground like it was rubber on glue. This is brilliant!
But I can’t have it all my own way. There’s a stiff climb and a bit of a walk to the top of the park. I head up to the stable yard and the café. A can of lucozade and a bottle of water later and I choose my route; the narrow single track down through the uncut wooded area, along the fire-road, down to the Bothy’s then along the WHW route to the road, then back into the park and down the steep rooty chute to the golf course where I came in.
First, down the single track. Again, the ground is solid, but the bike makes short work of it, inspiring me to even tighter and faster lines. Hit a patch of ice, the bike slides out but I manage to throw my weight into it and get out without any drama. This is only a very short ride, maybe 2 minutes but its 2 minutes of sheer bliss. There are hazards all over the place but I don’t even flinch and the bike takes each one head on and beats them every time. After this it’s onto the fire road. Perfect!! There’s a fine covering of snow, only a few mm deep, not enough to hide the road ahead. I pedal as fast as I can for maybe half a mile, passing other riders and ramblers, then the corner looms up, time to scrub a little speed. The back wheel drifts a little as I hit an icy puddle but before I have time to slide I’m off it and shooting down the corridor between the trees. I’m committed to this now, I have to get to the end of this without braking; it’s far too icy to even consider that. I get the brow of a short steep climb and point the wheel at the frozen lake, ½ a mile below, the path is clear, there’s nobody here but me. A few quick pedal strokes and…..
BANG!
With absolutely no style at all, a sharp rock has taken my front tyre out. It’s all over. There are two holes in the tubing that I can fit my finger into, the repair kit is useless. It’s a long walk back to the train station, regretting the fact that I decided to travel light and not take a spare tube. But what a day! Even though I was only riding for maybe half an hour it was possibly the best 30 minutes of my riding life. I will go back on my next day off, no question.
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Comments
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sounds annoying.
we were in pollok today. i agree about dogwalkers/runners... what posseses them to walk the wrong way down a bike trail :x0 -
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You paint a very good picture
I am now slapping myself for not going out for a ride now. It's not a ornament, so ride It0 -
oh yeah, thanks to everybody who stopped and offered me help, especially the guy who even offered me his spare tube.
and a big f**k you to the guys in the milngavie and bearsden mtb club who rode past me, every single one of them, without even asking if I was ok.0 -
Jesus_Christ wrote:oh yeah, thanks to everybody who stopped and offered me help, especially the guy who even offered me his spare tube.
and a big f**k you to the guys in the milngavie and bearsden mtb club who rode past me, every single one of them, without even asking if I was ok.[/quote
I wouldn't want to join that club then,if there like that.]0 -
J_C, sounds like a day of mixed fortunes, however you had fun on the new ride and the Carrera's looking good
That is the peril of not carrying a spare tube though, for that reason I never leave home without one as you just never know0 -
Is that the right length rear shock?0
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Anyone know of any pictures of the Banshee from about 2000? It was red, green and black....I still have the frame and forks in my wee out house with the ridiculously heavy wheels in my room. Im pretty sure it came with one disc brake but I got rid for rim brakes.
Some good memories on the old gal.0 -
supersonic wrote:Is that the right length rear shock?
no. the one that came with it was 190mm. the one on it now is 200mm. it doesnt really make much difference, but he rear wheel is a little higher than it ought to be. it actually handles better like this, surprisingly.0 -
Yeah, 10mm not to bad if no clearance issues. Great shocks.
Certainly do Stoo, used to sell them!0
