Training Ride 101 – Don’t bring a Knife to a Gun Fight Version 2.0

Some people never learn…

That would be me.  I had my arse kicked a couple a weeks ago at version 1 of the “don’t bring a knife to a gun fight”, and thought, I probably won’t be doing that again.

November 5, 2014 and 6pm rolls around.  I had to pay a visit to the ATM machine, and figured, I’ll do a nice stooge ride on the CX bike through Gainesville and make an errand out of it.

Half way to said ATM machine, I thought, “hey, those blokes at the bike shop on NW 6th Street are having a ride tonight… maybe I should swing by and be sociable for a bit”.  Brilliant.

A Nice Welcome

All of the boys and girls at the ride gave me a lovely welcome; I even ran into an old friend / former Gainesvilleite, now living in Washington, D.C.

Conversation was flowing among everyone before ride start, when it was suggested I tag along.  Mind you, this is an MTB ride.

I won’t go blowing the party here, but there is a very comprehensive network of trails within the city limits of Gainesville, FL.  Some of them are pretty bloody sweet.  They’re best ridden on a MTB.

I’m aboard my CX bike.  With no helmet light, and bugger all skills.  But, I’ve ridden a few of these trails on the CX bike before, and the bloke who owns the shop the ride meets at, Paul, regularly rides his CX bike.

Tally Ho!

So we all pedal off, and everyone’s having a marvelous time.  Most of the trails on tonight’s menu are relatively easy, and thankfully for me, they’re  not too difficult on a CX bike.  There is a major rooty section near the 8th Avenue area of Gainesville, along with some bridges over creeks and such, which will cause displeasure for someone aboard a CX bike with 34mm wide tyres.  Nothing lots of dismounts and hoofin’ it can’t fix.

Prior to this aforementioned trail, everything was going beautifully.  But, tribal knowledge of these trails, particularly at nighttime, is extremely handy.

I entered a new section of trail, following the five or so riders ahead of me, when my bike dipped into a nasty hole of some kind, and promptly threw yours truly over the bars, somersault style, into the woods.  According to Ernie who was riding behind me, it was a most graceful sight.  I aim to please.

Thankfully, all I have from that crash is a bit of rib bruising or something like that on the left side of my back, and nothing else.  Nothing a few days of taking ibuprofen and not riding wooded trails on a CX bike will fix.

On the positive, it was an awesome ride, and hopefully, I learned a few new skills.  Still have plenty of learning ahead, like how to successfully get over decent sized logs, etc… on a CX bike, preferably.

I reckon I’ll be back for another visit.