MtB Skills Clinic - 2008-11-15

I organized a Mountain Bike Skills Clinic for 15/November through the Southern California Mountain Biker Boys and GayOutdoors.Com. So many people said that they were interested, but when the shit hit the fan, only five of us showed up. It was still a great event, and in actuality, the number of students was just right. It appeared to me that everyone who attended got something out of it to make the modest cost and time committment worth while.

I arrived a bit early at the appointed spot and waited for everyone to arrive. Jake pulled in soon after I did followed by our instructor, Julius Syvanen, then Bill S and Jim H. We waited around for the one remaining person, Peter D. It turns out Peter had been there for about 10 minutes before he started asking around for us. Since there were other people using the spot as a starting point for their rides, I just assumed he was waiting for someone else to meet him. But as soon as he asked some other guys if they were there for the skills clinic, I approached him.

 

Bill and I have both been riding for 15-20 years. I'd put Jake in the "Intermediate" range, Jim in the "Advanced Beginner" to "Intermediate" skill level, and Peter, has been in the saddle for only a month.

From there, we moved to the actual starting point of the ride, got our bikes set up and Julius started his lecture on center-point balance on the bike and using weighting to turn the bike rather than turning the handlebar. We all practiced on the dead-end street for about 15 minutes before heading off to the trail.

The trail started off with a downhill, which I blasted down, enjoying the opportunity to catch some air on several small jumps. We continued down a trail I used to know as "Cobble 2" until we got to the duck pond near "Shits". It was decided that we would do some technical uphill sessioning while we were all still fresh and the weather wasn't too hot.

We practiced going up a sandy, rutted, steep incline with an obstacle in the middle. Bill climbed it without any problems. It took me several attempts, but I finally made it past the obstacle and some distance further up the hill. Everyone else gave valiant efforts with varying degrees of success. It certainly wasn't an easy climb. The wheels would slide in the loose sand or lose traction, or the gearing we'd set up would be wrong. Regardless, everyone learned some important skills at that early stage of the clinic's ride.

  

  

  

After the climb sessions, we headed down to the canyon's main road and then up Powerline. Once we climbed to the top of Powerline, we headed to Tunnels. After a brief introduction to some additional skills, and pointers on our riding techniques, we started descending into Tunnel #3. This was the first time for everyone except for myself (and Julius), and the common refrain was "I'll be riding here more often". 

We rode down Tunnel #3 (also known as "Rocking Horse" for the old wooden rocking horse hanging from a tree at the top of the trail.) and then emerged in Deer Canyon. After more pointers and tips, and discussion as to whether we were tired or wanted to keep going, we opted for the longer long loop back to the cars. The loop took us on some nice singletrack through Deer Canyon and then back into Tunnels, which we climbed back to the mesa top. 

We rode some fairly technical trails, and I was pleasantly surprised by Peter's dedication, willingness to push his limits and the ultimately, by his strong abilities on the bike. It definitely wasn't an easy ride--there were significant challenges in terms of technical features (sand, loose rocks, narrow steep trails, etc.)

After the clinic, Jake, Julius and I went out to lunch (of course, everyone was invited, but other obligations called the others) where the conversation frequenly veered into the realm of socio-political analysis (Julius is currently a student of Political Science/International Relations at UCSD, and I have an MA in Political Science from UC Irvine and did my undergraduate degree at UCSD.) Jake seemed a bit bored by our rantings, but the food was good no one seemed anxious to leave.

  

  

 

10-Aug-08 Sycamore Canyon Ride

I couldn't believe it! I was not only on time to the ride, but I was actually early! I attribute it to one thing: I made a list of all the things I needed to do to get ready for the ride. Then I went about checking them off. Shoes, clothes, clothes for after the ride (since I wasn't going home), gym clothes because I missed a workout during the week, GPS, video, etc. (it was a long list). I hit the road and headed south. I was meeting Bill R and Claus. I had wanted to do a bit of exploration, looking for a way to avoid riding on the road from where we park to the trailhead. GoogleEarth images show it's possible, but unfortunately, Claus was given strict time limits on the ride, and exploration wouldn't fit within his confines.

I got to the parking lot and set my bike up, oiled the chain and waited for Bill and Claus. Bill showed up first. We had a good conversation while waiting, including the discovery that Bill had forgotten both his Camelbak and his socks. Fortunately, I had both water and spare socks, so he was in luck.

When Claus arrived, we got our selves moving pretty quickly. I admire people who can just put on their shoes, throw on their hydration pack and ride. It's not something I'll ever be able to do, but I do admire it.

We hit the road, and the singletrack. Claus, as usual was in the lead. For some reason, Bill was slower than normal, asking me to go first. When we started up the "new hill," Claus was in the listening to music and missed the single track, and couldn't hear us shouting to him. So, he headed up the steep jeep road while Bill and I did the sweet single track. We met up at the top. From there we rode along the fire road until we got to the trail that would take us down. At the intersection we encountered three guys, one of whom looked like either he had crashed or was simply exhausted. Regardless, he was just sitting on the ground. His buddies answered for him when asked if he was OK. It turned out it was the guy's first ride, on his CostCo "Mountain Bike" and was certain to be one of those bad first experiences where experienced riders take a newby out and expect the newby to be able to do everything they've been doing for years. While the uphill part might have been easy, the downhill that they were headed for is steep with rutted switchbacks. Oh well, so much for friends!

We zipped down and into the canyon and Bill must have been really hurting because he was so far behind. At one point Claus missed the trail again and I passed them. I went a short distance and waited to make sure they were following. Claus passed me, but Bill never did. I went back to the turn, but Bill wasn't there. I assumed he took the "easy" way, and so I jetted ahead. I met up with them both at the gated entry to Goodan Ranch.

We continued on, until we got to the fire road where Bill said he was going to turn around and head back. I felt bad that he wasn't going to finish the ride with us. I had wanted to hang out with him after the ride, perhaps going for tea and a chat.

Claus and I continued up the fire road, doing the big climb. I was feeling very slow at this point, and was unable to keep up with Claus. He raced ahead while I rested several times on the climb. I guess the extra weight in my pack and the elbow & knee/shin guards probably slow me down quite a bit on the climbs. Once on the top, I was a bit more able to keep up with him as we headed north along the ridge to the road that would bring us down to Martha's Grove.

I ran off the road on the descent towards Martha's Grove, and was glad I was wearing those guards as my forearm banged into the hillside as I came to a stop. The gouges on the elbow guard look like there would have been a significant amount of blood had I not been wearing them. Those guards are ultimately a pain and expense reducing health insurance policy.

Martha's Grove was loads of fun. This time I just zipped over the ugly section like I had no fear. I was hot on Claus' back wheel all the way down which isn't usually the case, so I was feeling very good about my abilities.

The rest of the way back was fairly uneventful. The climb back up the hill wasn't as difficult as before, but I still had to walk a few sections.

Julius Syvanen Mountain Bike Skills Clinics Experience

On Sunday morning I attended Julius Syvanen's Mountain Bike Skills Clinic. In comparison to the BikeSills.Com clinic with Joe Lawwill, Julius' clinic was much more personal but also much more unstructured. Also, the class only had 2 students as compared to the 7 in Joe's clinic which could have been a benefit in a more structured environment.

The unstructured nature of the class made it more a ride with a professional racer along to provide tips and answer questions as opposed to the BikeSills clinic which seemed more like a class. Also, because of the format, Julius provide more specific tips on how to perform certain skills. For example, as I was riding, Julius pointed out what I was doing during cornering that could result in me skidding out. In fact, just the day before I had skidded out on a corner. Once he pointed out my flawed (and long term) execution, and instructed me how to perform it correctly, I immediately improved. It was like night and day for me.

The unfortunate thing was that the other student was in many respects at a different physical and skills level, and so the least common denominator was usually the case. He simply got tired long before I was ready to quit. That's where I started asking questions and trying to improve on the skills I learned from Julius and from the BikeSkills class. Julius never acted like he had a chip on his shoulders. Instead, he answered each of my questions, provided demonstrations and pointed out what I was doing and how to improve, all with the air of a friend who wants to impart his knowledge.

The cost for the clinic was a reasonable $55, although it would have been a greater value had the skill level between myself and the other student been more equal.

I will certainly go back to take another ride with Julius to get more pointers on my riding.