Handling skills

A video featuring Danny MacAskill.

Anyone can ride

Apropos of a conversation with another cyclist last night:




REMAP offers a taste of freedom

REMAP is a registered charity that has provided one-off technical aids that help disabled people of all ages to enjoy a better lifestyle for more than 30 years. Sometimes the smallest gadget or the simplest modification to a piece of existing equipment can make an enormous difference to somebody's life.

Case study:

A client with thalidomide, who was born without any arms, contacted REMAP as he had children and wanted to cycle with them, as well as get more exercise.

Engineers from REMAP used a recumbent tricycle to design and build a bicycle which gives the client full control in a safe manner. Wherever possible proprietary parts were used or modified, but the frame and many other parts had to be made from scratch. The tricycle is steered by rotating the shoulders, the brakes are foot operated — it has a hydraulic disc brake at the rear and conventional caliper brake at the front — and the eight gears are operated by the inside of the knees. It has battery-powered turn indicators.

The client can now accompany his children on cycle rides and get good cardiovascular exercise.

(agenda: News and events from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers  3. 7 (2004): 5.)

Mary on fire

Mary McConneloug, racing for Kenda / Seven, is crowned Queen of Cross Country (again) at the 2007 US National Mountain Bike Championships.

Mary McConneloug is my alumna from Santa Clara University :-D



Go Broncos!

After earning a degree in music, specializing in vocal performance (and earning her keep by waiting tables in-between singing in choirs), she took up mountain biking and went from Sport to Pro in one year:

My first year, I did two races as a Sport class rider then moved up to Expert. I decided to upgrade to pro because one day I beat the pro rider and got a tee shirt instead of the money.

      (An interview with Mary McConneloug, Nov 20, 2004)


Later, she competed in Olympic mountain biking in Athens, and finished 9th in the Olympic finals.





fi’zi:k fans rejoice: Mary was using a fi’zi:k saddle when she bagged the 2007 US National XC Championships.





Mike giving Mary's bike some TLC.

Some of her cycling honors:

       * 2003 US National XC Champion
       * 2003 NORBA National XC Champion
       * 2004 US Olympian
       * 2004 Afxentia Stage Race Overall Champion
       * 2005 US National XC Champion
       * 6 UCI World Cup podium finishes
       * 2007 US National XC Champion





Follow Mary's adventures here.

Bacon Attacks

Ling's recent Pengareng ride turned out to be a boar  :-D





So much so that you can say two riders were literally bowled over.





A wonderful specimen of free-range, organic bak kua boared right into two mountain bikers (and a sharp, revolving disc rotor). Reports indicate that the injured hog is currently hunting for legal representation to sue the disc brake manufacturer.





No, this is not a real YouTube player, but clicking on it will bring you to the real video. The soundtrack is a hoot!

Next time, every rider should have a hard disk video camera with a lipstick cam attachment to record every frame of the action close up!  :-P

Why MTB babes rock

I like the way the photographer captured her moment of realization that she's in for a rough landing.





Did I mention rough landing? Damn! It even left a mark on the ground!





Up for more even though the impact left her unable to raise her left arm over her head. Atta girl!

(Photo credits: Wherewolf)

Dogging — and chugging — it

While visiting 30 pubs in 6 days across Ireland, Hans Rey and Steve Peat managed to do some biking — including riding on the very edge of the Mines of Moria Cliffs of Moher.










'Glad it didn't result in this :-P

Hans' take:
      

In the late afternoon we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, which were for me the main reason why I wanted to come to Ireland. The 600 feet tall cliffs are entirely vertical and the edge is very abrupt. My dream was to ride along the small narrow ledge that was between 6 feet to 6 inches wide and looked like a long curvy balcony without a handrail.

                                        [ . . . ]

       Locals warned us of the upward drafts, that blow people off the cliffs - and sure enough the wind was picking up over night. We got an early start, and even the extra strong italian coffee I brewed couldn't clear our heads. Even though the conditions and weather were less than good, this was our one and only chance to ride the cliffs, so we did. It was a rad feeling to ride along the exposed edges and jump over some of the gaps. As time went on we started to feel more and more comfortable and daring. Shortly after we got done it started pouring rain, nonetheless we continued the trail on top of the cliffs, which was one of the more spectacular trails I have ridden. We followed it all the way to Hag's Head.

Steve's take:
      

The trail eventually brought us to the cliffs of Mohar, I know Hans was excited about these as he has been looking at a picture from them for years now. We did a quick reccy of the cliffs that evening but couldn't ride them as the security guy and all the tourists in the way put a stop on us. We decided an early morning poach was best so we slid off and stumbled upon the most fun night of the trip.

                                         [ . . . ]

       Well our poach of the cliffs started with a hangover and an early rise to beat the mad rushes, the wind was definitely blowing the rain sideways at us so we just had to knuckle down and ride the 6-inch wide edge of the cliff, I don't know about Hans but I was pretty nervous at the start but soon found my wheels and got a little more confident, maybe it was the 200meter drop to the ocean below that was unnerving me a little. We found a little sheltered spot from the wind and got some amazing riding shots. After the cliff edge we moved onto a fun single track trail that followed the cliffs around to Hags head.

The next 2 pictures really remind me of my rides in the Marin Headlands, North California:






Replying to those who judged Hans and Steve suicidal, lelebebbel wrote:


Ever ridden on a bike path next to trucks going 50 mph (80 km/h)? If you fell into traffic you'd be just as dead as these guys if they had fallen off that cliff. It just wouldn't be as spectacular.


As these gory pictures — Warning: graphic images. NOT child-safe. NOT work-safe. (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) — clearly attest, being run over by a truck is just as fatal — and messy — as falling off a 702-feet cliff.


It's the up-drafts that get you: wind hitting the cliffs from the seaside and then being forced up the face, when they pass as they go up they create a suction of sorts and actually "suck" you off the cliff.


That sounds similar to the effect when a big truck or bus at high speed goes past a cyclist, if the cyclist is unstable or doesn't brace, he or she may topple towards the large vehicle, and risk being run over by other traffic.



The Cliffs of Moher at sunset.


Trail to Hag's Head at twilight.

I don't own a GT or a Santa Cruz bike, but hey, Hans Rey and Steve Peat rock!

Sweet singletrack video

This is a great video of a singletrack on top of a ridge by scottay.
He spliced in scenes from the rear-facing cam after showing the forward view.

Click on picture to download the video (36 MB QuickTime):




Check out how steeply the ground drops off the trail on either side. In some sections, there isn't space to "dab" (i.e. put one's foot down) at all.