Yes, we do count you in.... tomorrow you're gonna be here.....
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Hey td_ref, I liked the ride report, some of it looks familiar. I think we should get together and ride some time, I'm sure you know some good places...maybe we can go visit Grandma?
Yes Andrea, you do need to stop polluting your mind with that stuff, didn't you read the part where it said don't try this at home?
Next up, 3 days, 3 bikes, 3 dumb guys do more than 3 stupid things :naughty:
Cheers!
ChinaV
I still need to understand who's the dumbest, me trying to involve you doing these things or you listening to me..... :icon10::icon10::icon10:
Besides, I just got 12 cam buckles, where the F##K is the trailer?!?
:dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike: :dirtbike::dirtbike::dirtbike:
So richardktm, (Rich), andy74rc (Andrea) and ChinaV (shit for brains) decided on a couple weekends of enduro riding. This was fueled by beer, testosterone, and watching stupid moto movies like Red Bull Romaniacs. My dad always said, "don't confuse ability with ambition", should have listened to dad.
First Ride:
Rich rode all the way from Shenzhen to Dongguan on knobby tires, I think that's probably tougher than any enduro ride. The next day we took him through most of our favorite trails with only a couple minor get offs amongst the group.
Little rest at one of the many reservoirs.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/FILE0031.jpg
Andrea leading the way.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/FILE0047.jpg
Rich following along.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/FILE0052.jpg
All went well, so we decided to try again the following weekend.
Second Ride:
We started with our usual loop and then looked for some new trails.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011560.jpg
New trail found, but does it go anywhere?
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011563.jpg
Quite a bit of effort getting one bike up those steps, so we let Rich go first and do a little recon. He said it looked good, so we shlepped the other bikes up. And enjoyed a nice bit of single track.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011568.jpg
Don't make a mistake, it's a long way down on the left.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011569.jpg
Andrea cruising in style.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011572.jpg
Me plodding along.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011575.jpg
We ended up taking a lot of wrong turns looking for new trails, unfortunately we only found one good trail and it was a dead end. It was getting late, so we stopped at "the pit" and monkeyed around for a few more minutes. That's me, catching a whopping half meter of air.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011584002.jpg
Another great day followed by an amazing BBQ put on by my wife. Should of got pics, it was truly a work of art. During dinner we decided next week would be "Romaniacs", the trail that I started this thread with. It kicked our ass once, but we were convinced three guys with enough rope could get it done.
Third Ride:
It was on...I had ordered some rope, Andrea made a cool pulley, and we were headed back to kick the ass of the trail that had beaten us and left us whimpering like little girls. We went straight to the beginning of the trail. Look at how giddy that boy is, meanwhile Rich was taking a piss, must have been nerves.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011595.jpg
Off we go.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011597.jpg
The trail gets steep immediately and you have to walk the bike down. Bike is in gear, rear tire is sliding, and you nurse the front brake hoping you won't slip.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011602.jpg
Then it gets rocky and tight.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011608.jpg
And then it gets really steep.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011615.jpg
I was going to ride it, but I didn't want to damage their fragile egos.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011617.jpg
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011619.jpg
Nerves of steel, Rich rides it down a rock slope.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011633.jpg
And then we reached "the gorge".
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011642.jpg
So out came the rope and pulley and we went to work. Only two more bikes to go eh Rich.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011655.jpg
I'm happy because my bike is already down safe.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011672.jpg
We work pretty well together, and manage to get all the bikes down without incident.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011684.jpg
Now we just need to make it UP the other side.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011688.jpg
More heaving and hoeing.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011713.jpg
Exhaustion.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011716.jpg
After an hour and half, we had managed to make those critical 100 meters. Now all we had to do was wander a bit more singletrack and hopefully reach the end of the trail. A half kilometer more and we finally intersected a road. Hooray, we had conquered.
Off we went to "the pit" for a few laps and a bit more fun.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011720.jpg
Rich making friends with the mountain bikers.
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011722.jpg
What's that Rich, you want to do the trail in reverse next time?
http://www.contactdi.com/Processed/R0011725003.jpg
Cheers!
ChinaV
Fantastic ride report ChinaV ... one comment and one question:
- You guys are friggin insane! Seriously, you're all nuts!
- Why does your bike always look like it just came off the showroom floor? Have you applied some special coating that dirt slides off of?
Whatever ... back to my comment ... you're all seriously crazy. :lol8:
Thanks of the very good report. I wish I could pity my pony a little less and take her to some similar stuff.
This is all completely insane, but looks fun. I think I will trade in my JH600 for 2 of those ponies.
In one of the pictures, three of you are all in the frame. Was there a forth crazy man with you guys, or was that the mountain biker taking the picture?
Great report. Thanks.
Like the mafia, you're IN the JH600 club ... you can't exit!
Seriously, I'm amazed by the skills that are necessary to ride bikes in those conditions. No way I can do that. I wish there was a training program in China, as I'm sure serious off-road riding skills migrate to road riding (99.9999% of my experience and activity). It would be great to know how to ride OVER cars, instead of around them, in Beijing traffic. And also how to pulley my bikes up to my apartment.
These guys are extreme to the max. We take a written exam to get our road license - they write the DSM4! :lol8:
It looks like you guys have an amazing playground.
Love the pics.