Mountain Biking - Tales From The Saddle!
Published: Thursday 3rd June 2010
Hairy Bikers!
An evening endured..
Looking to learn new skill and impress our friends we ventured out on Mountain Bikes up Rivington, Bolton.
With instruction from the Air Training Corps qualified mountain biking instructors we thought we were probably better behaved than the younger kids but that's where it stopped!
Having been introduced to the instructors, both called Mark we had a brief safety talk and a description of our challenge ahead. Nothing too strenuos. We were just to learn a few new bike skills to impress our friends, and perhaps get more enjoyment safely from our rides!
The two Marks tried not to make this course too demanding but off-road riding is by its very nature more demanding than other forms of cycling so we stopped often as course sections were instructed and techniques demonstrated and explained. We then had a few attempts before peddaling onward and upward!
We practised stopping skills without skidding and slow races without pedalling amongst other excercises before being let loose on the descent! Now we won't name names but some of us evetually made up for a wobbly stance on the technical sections proving that they could leave their brain at the top and still avoid the number of runners who were their competing against clubs. Others remained proud for the rest of the evening having completely squashed the very cones we meant to navigate...
Thankfully the evening ended without injury though I suspect some of us may have suffered from a lack of rear suspension!
The biking experience was topped with a good hearty meal and much needed refreshments at the The Bay Horse Inn, Babylon Lane, Heath Charnock, Adlington, nr Chorley.
