Fun and games

[Irulan]

I have to tell y'all about my Thursday morning group. For ?? years, there is a small group of us that mountain bikes in the morning, mostly spring and fall when it's not so hot. There are two of us that are core, and maybe 6-8 others that show up on occasion.

One of the gals is my main mentor, ( not the one who crashed but another one) who's brought me along from a rank beginner to a good solid rider. We range from pretty good to awesome fro the most part. Lately, some of the gals have been bringing other new riders along and it's been so great to see these news riders get out and give it a go and HAVE FUN. I love seeing the smiles on faces when these gals are out trail riding. It's helps of cousre that these newbies just by chance seem to have a good fitness base and they just transfer it to biking.

We stop at all trail junctions and never ever drop someone. When there's a techincial move coming up, we'll describe it just for awareness. What has really been fun is stopping at the "boulder playground" for a while where we work on technical skills on slick rock. It is so much fun... we spot each other, dissect moves and cheer each other on. I watched two of the gals figure out the move to ride UP this rock - a thrid gal was spotting, basically there to catch the bike if/when you bailed on the move. Next week I have to try it, I've had enough of watching that one on the sidelines.

Here's some pics
One of the gals trying small slickrock for the first time:
http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/images/bike/gabrx.jpg

one of the other gals:
http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/ima...icture-005.jpg

me
http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/ima...icture-003.jpg


Irulan

[MightyMitre]

Nice photo's Irulan, looks like a fun day. It's nice to hear there's new riders coming along as well. Sounds like you've got a good, supportive atmosphere going there for newbies to learn in.

[annie]

Looks like a super ride day, Irulan. I would love to try slickrock someday....... Especially with supportive people to ride with. Learning new techniques and getting over technical stuff for the first time is so awesome.