Poster: A snowHead
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This is not about skiing. But it is about capturing the same feeling.
It's the time of year when I have to make the transition from planks to wheels. All winter I have been building bikes, when not on the hill on skis or in b2 boots. I do it every year. There are bikes to service, bikes to repair, bikes to build. Alex's new downhill rig for season 2018. My new Cannondale XC bike, built from the frame up from an F6 neglected by its owner. Hope, Hope, Shimano, Hope. Get the headset press out. An Orange P7 to build for Alex for the school run. My partner's Orange O2 to turn into something which isn't a rust-heap. Skis are now in the garage in CH, storage wax on. Ski rack is off, and cleaned, and propped in the corner. End of season blues...twelve bar melancholy.
Easter has turned into May, and my head is still in skiing. But today I've finally thrown the Cannondale in the back of the Skoda, along with a new tiny P7 for Alex. We smile as the South Downs simmer blue in the distance as we top the hill at the end of the M23. Thirty minutes later and we're turning though the 'hole in the wall' and into Stanmer Park - single track beckoning. I am anxious about the Cannondale in single track. This is an upright, short top-tube bike - long front suspension, 40mil stem and wide, wide bars. Light as a duck's feather - it came out at 9kgs without even trying. The frame was 2kg on the scales and for such a big structure seemed to float in my hand. Tubes the thickness of Coke cans. Forget the gear...we're here to ride...Alex has no hesitation. He flings his bike forward and hurtles into the wood, diving left as soon as possible off the firetrack and into the single track. He's gone. Off. Launched. Vavoom....left and right through the trees, no hesitation....all reflex and balance. Well, here goes - steep....narrow...rooty....trees a blur on either side; a moment ill-judged or a root ignored and I will be in the trees and hurting. Within seconds I am sorted..the new geometry of the bike is an asset, not a pain, so I can push and push and forget where I am, just focus on the buzz and control....
Alex has pulled up and is laughing. And I know why. It's the feeling. The same as pulling turns in a metre of fresh, or carving tight turns on boiler plate. The sense of falling but flying, of just doing, not thinking. Maybe Summer is not so bad after all....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Summer is never bad.
I ski when I can’t bike.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I'm off for a bit of VVT in a couple of weeks. I'll be skiing too.
Should I know who Alex is?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@bar shaker, What is VVT ?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Nicely written.
Wouldn't it be better posted to the MTB thread in apres though
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@rjs, VTT maybe? Velo Tout Terrain
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@rjs, VTT maybe? Velo Tout Terrain
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@bar shaker, ...he’s 12, about 1000per cent better on skis than me and getting ahead on his bike now ... grrrrrrr
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@adithorp, you’re right....I just tend to post to the piste through utter laziness....need to break the habit...
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