One-on-One skills session .. a whole day thing.

27 Apr: After all the fun we had over the Easter weekend I was in dire need of more.  No one else seemed to have caught the bug and so on Freedom Day just Grems and I went to the Bike Park.  We got there about 10am and were the last to leave .. as usual.  What a brilliant day.  There were only two goals – I had to be able to ride Ewok before I could leave.  And also Rust Preventer.  Ewok has 3 destinct obstacles that I can’t do. A short bridge (it’s not high up or anything, it’s flat on the ground. It’s just that I’m not so good at riding in a straight line); a root drop off (not greater than an average ruler but also has a sharp left turn as soon as you land on the bottom) and then then another bridge which is completely terrifying – it is in the air a bit, but that’s not the problem. The roll down is. This is the one where the World’s Best Brother narrowly avoided running me over. 

With tons and tons of patience and encouragement Grems helped me to get across all three. There were some hair raising moments as I wobbled across.  Eventually I was able to ride Ewok three times consecutively without stopping (well that rooty drop off with left turn is still problematic – but it’s the sharp left turn not the drop off).  We’d earned a reward – lunch and we headed back to the clubhouse. 

Somewhere along the way Grems took a spin up Space Junk – his first time back since “The Fall”.  We’d been chatting with this youngster Joel someone or other about how his racing was going and he calmly rode up the hill and then whooshed back down. I think it was too much for Grems .. he had to get back out there and promptly disappeared. I sat at the bottom with the blackberry on video and waited.  I didn’t have to wait long at all.  Suddenly whoosh there came Grems. Wow.  It really is cool watching guys who can really ride. It shows you what’s possible.

After lots of chatting we went back out on the trails again and I went through the intermediate section on Green Mile – that was pretty cool – hadn’t known about it so it hadn’t been on the list. But I was very happy.

Now for Rust Preventer. I wasn’t so sure. We’d spent so much time on Ewok I was starting to feel a bit tired. And was worried I didn’t have the concentration necessary.  It was a bit daunting but I made it. First time. Woo hooo.  There was one place where I stopped but wow. I remember that only two months back we’d been there with Lauren, Barry, John, Matt and they could all do it without even thinking – just like breathing. While I just sat at the top and watched.  That day I’d felt like a little kid at nursery school watching the big kids play – I wasn’t happy. And here today I could be classified as one of the big kids.  Oooo happy days. 

Thank you Thank you Thank you to the World’s Best Brother. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Lesson Learned: it’s so much fun riding with groups of friends, but there is a time and a place for just two. Today was about me and improving my skill set and it really made a huge difference. Just having that time and no pressure to just try and try and try again.  And eventually … Success. Happy Dance.