First Trip to Glentress

So I got to properly christen my new bike today down at Glentress, in the delightful company of Alex, Hannah & Jo. There was banter, falling (only me though), fun, a snapped chain, a puncture and some mud.

I suspect my falling off (slowly and at corners) is to do with nerves and dodgy technique - I think I was putting my weight too far back on the bike & just not committing to it. Once I took my first wee tumble, I was far to aware of the edges that would've taken me downhill so tensed up a bit more. The next two tumbles came shortly after and I walked a big wide uphill road just to give myself time for my nerves to settle back down. There were a lot of downhill corners that I would take my left foot out & slow down for on the next section and I really struggled to get comfortable & feel safe. In that respect, the downhill corners reminded me a little of the ski run down to Vallorcine, from the Domaine de Balme. Did a similar thing, though the really wide piste let me get my confidence back quicker!

Maybe I should've gone with flat pedals rather than in the cleats, so I could've gotten a foot off much quicker & started back up faster (I'm still chronic at finding the cleat quickly) but I felt I should push myself out of my comfort zone quickly. That and it made going up most hills a lot easier - I was finding that I was selecting the correct gear quicker than I would on a road bike, hitting a reasonable cadence and using much more of the full rotation on the pedal and a lot more naturally than I have been on the road bike. Still not all the way there, but it gives me hope!

And on the downhills towards the end, when I got myself clipped in & forgot to be bricking it, I had a lot of fun (felt like I came close to majorly stacking it a couple of times mind, but those tyres are so grippy I pulled it back).

The important points for me was that I have an awfy lot to learn when it comes to mountain biking, but its fun & worth learning, and having friends there makes it easier to get back on the bike & keep going. I should be a fun addition to my winter training & will make me up my general bike handling skills & general co-ordination on a bike!

Today's blog, in honour of the spooky wood, is brought to you by the quite frankly hilarious Call of the Wintermoon by Immortal. Most of you will want to watch it muted, however.