The Downhill Thread

[Capricorn]

now can they please please NOT take up both lines on the jeep, nor go frozen as i approach, cos they always freeze at the apex of the turns, or crossing lanes....

[loveme.DH/FR]

NIce! Looks like i need to go explore that area! would be sweet if i had one of those compact folding spades! I could stuff it in my back pack and ride around all day and use it when i wanted...

[Capricorn]

the ground is actually pretty hard to work without some sort of pickaxe. i have this tool that acts as both a hammer and a pick axe and crowbar. Much bigger than a normal hammer, but too small in comparison to a proper pickaxe, but it does the job in a pinch. I normally just lug along tons of water, snacks, trust spade, that tool, and a saw.

[DownhillingKing]

How many jumps have you built so far? Do you use the course used for the urban assault as well? 

[your_name_here]

Sweet. perfect for shuttle runs.

[Capricorn]

i use bits and pieces of the urban assault course from last year, and previous years. The whole idea as I alluded to earlier was to stay off the jeep track. I'm going to rue the day I hit someone. You can pick up some pretty damn good speed down certain sections. UA 2k9 had the top speed as 64kph. Imagine clipping someone or something at that speed.

 

anyways, i've only put together that one jump, but have mostly spent time marking out new lines, identifying natural features that can be enhanced for DH. Wish I had a weedwacker, as I spend a crap load of time bent over double using the spade to clear the grass.

[your_name_here]

Minions are great for removing grass. High Rollers are pretty good too. 

[Capricorn]

hahah. funnay! i bet gonna recommend pedals for cutting down the trees? Dont worry, i know stems dont work after Donovan's attempt at disposing of a tree at that big berm at the top of DH1.

 

Duane: are they building Sunday morning?

[loveme.DH/FR]

Hell YeaH!!! Just got a full face MX helmet for R169!!!!!!! BRAND NEW!!!! Its Not bad and a sweet deal for the price! Not too heavy either! 1290g Also got some full finger mx gloves for super cheap

So much stuff for MX is soooo much cheaper than DH... F*** me. Cant wait to bomb some hills! Crash into some trees! And do some road gaps too!! hehe

[Capricorn]

you ride them lines on SH yet loveme??

 

Congrats on getting some dcent protective gear for awesome prices! I hope you coming to race at Jonkershoek next weekend. You dont have to worry about being a noob. I'll be there in all my noobiness Just have fun and do what you luv doing. Make those purchases count! but more importantly, come support the DH series. Every rider counts.

[loveme.DH/FR]

Id love too, Unfortunately Im not prepared for a full on DH event... yet! Still along way to go before im ready AND more importantly i can trust my bike 100%... shes a bit of a clunker!

 

Im going to take a ride to Signals tomorrow morning. Have a few hits and push-ups. Then might go into town to see if i can get my brakes bled... Any reconmendations for cheap/good/while you wait brake bleeding? I find most of the shops arent too friendly...

[Capricorn]

Action Cycling. They are my goto guys. Might be a bit more expensive than some of the other LBS', but they get sh*t done. Proper like.

 

Dude: u wont know where u are on your learning curve, and what you need to do to improve if you dont participate in some race or other. I swear, no one will laugh at you. Everyone started somewhere, and no one was born race ready. No one. As Pottie likes to say : "it's never luck someone gets sponsored, it's because he worked his ass off"

Point is: whether you aiming to be a WC rider, or the best you can be, you have got to work at it, and racing, even against yourself in an event, is the best way to benchmark your development.

The track is in no way as rough as signal hill or tokai. It's nice soft loamy soil. Chicken runs around almost all the jumps and step downs. Those that dont have chicken runs, can be rolled. If u dont want to roll it, get off and walk it. No shame dude. Just come, meet up with everyone, get stoked by the vibe, and have some fun You wont regret it.

[your_name_here]

.your_name_here2010-05-24 07:39:06

[your_name_here]

Hey Loveme. And anyone who reads this.

 

Yesterday Cap and myself helped finish off he track at Jonkers. While we were building several XC folk came down the track without any problems. A girl with a hard tail rode past me while i was building a jump. There is nothing on the track that can't be ridden around or rolled over.

 

Dude in all seriousness. Come do the race. Pottie is gonna win so don't worry about that and come out and have a bit of fun. There are no judgements or egos at these races. In fact their is a sense of togetherness and

camaraderie that you probably won't experience at any other sporting event. Everyone is just having a good time and at the end of the weekend you ride down the hill twice while you get timed. If you are competitive set yourself a goal like finishing 30 seconds down on yor mates or something. I am in no way a good rider and i do the races. For me it's a shuttle day. You will not get an oportunity to get shuttled to the top of Jonkers again this year. So take advantage of it.

 

Mongoose is sponsoring the series so we need loads of people to come out and race and support so the sponsorship becomes an on going thing. So you are as important to the event as Pottie and any of the fast guys.

 

Also, these races drive the trail building and expansion process so by showing up and having 2 days of riding fun you actually contribute to trail maintenance.

 

So. Come to the races. Make new friends. Learn from the fast guys. Get shuttled to the top of the trail as many imes as you want. Have fun. You will love it.

 

[/quote']

[your_name_here]

Oh God.

 

Writing in code again. sorry folks. I'll try sort it out just now.

 

Congrats to Andrew Neethling who won the Pro GRT event in the states Yesterday. Pro GRT is the replacement to the old NORBA series.

[RiderIsSlow]

This from Stefan...

 

ANOTHER SHUTTLE DAY AT PAARL

DATE: SUNDAY 6 JUNE 2010

TIME: TIME 10AM- 4PM

PRICE: R80 PER PERSON

PLACE: TAAL MONUMENT, PAARL, WESTERN CAPE

INFO: STEFAN: 0829451883

PLEASE RSVP ASAP THANKYOU

 

PS: THE PROVINCIAL TO BE HELD AT PAARL WILL PROBABLY BE ON THE

LATE HARVEST( OFF CAMBER ) TRACK, THATS WHY WE HAVE MADE A FEW NICE

CHANGES AND PUT IN SOME GOOD JUMPS!