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Me and GALAXY didn’t get out much today to ride. He was tired and didn’t eat dinner before we went out. We attempted an urban ride that was mostly bland around the Creekside area of Gainesville today. That said, today was very informative to me; I learned how to drop! I raised my front end at the right time and sailed over a curb for the first time! Boy was that illuminating! I went over the 7 inch curb maybe 10 times to confirm that I could do it. By jove, I think I’ve got it. After raising my front end just before the curb, I felt my rear wheel connect with the pavement at the exact same time as my front wheel came down. What a great feeling. I did it over and over again, even as he had dismounted his bike and was ready to consign the night to the garbage bin. Now I can’t wait to tackle the Rock trail’s 1 foot drop at the backside of the trail to give it a shot and see if I can do it. I’ve been trying to figure out how to drop for a few months now and it feels really empowering now that I’ve figured it out. My problem was that I was always going too slow, and even after I lifted my front wheel, my back wheel wouldn’t pass over the surface fast enough so my front end would come down really hard. Now that I’ve got the sense of speed, I can’t wait to try it out on other things! I don’t think I’ll ever be dropping off 10 foot drops, but at least a few feet might not be so intimidating. 😃
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Hell yeah bro!!!!!! if it wasn’t dark and I wasn’t feeling so shitty I’d have got video.After you got your speed right they were lookin real good.On those smaller curbs like that,landing with both tires at the same time is the easiest way to feel that you’re coming down level to me,making sure you’re staying level in the air.
Now,on a bigger drop to a flat landing,you want your back tire to hit first allowing your rear suspension and your body to absorb that impact and then let the fork do the rest once it comes down.
Stick with the smaller curbs at first man and work on keeping your shoulders square to the landing…if you do something funny in the air with your body,the bike will follow and you’ll have a squirrely landing.
Landing a drop on a sloped transition is a bit odd and I’ve not at all figured out the correct way to do it.People say to land the back tire first but in videos I see them both contact at the same time…and that feels right to me.Two tires on the ground is twice the control right?
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Awesome! Congrats.
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This will be an interesting post. In an interesting development, me and GALAXY went riding at the Rock in Gainesville around midnight tonight. There’s a 1 foot drop near the end of the trail that until today I’ve never attempted. Well, today I got up the balls to try it. I did the drop just fine according to GALAXY, but when I landed for some reason or another my front tire got stopped a half second after I landed and I went over the handlebar. No injury to me personally, I looked back at my bike and realised that I had banana-d my front tire. Here comes the interesting part. In my 31 years on God’s green Earth, I have not once bent a single tire on any bike I’ve ridden. Earlier today I went in to Gator Cycle in Gainesville to have my new wheels built with dual-walled rims. Then today, the very same day I bring my rims and hubs to the store to have new wheels built, I bend my rim for the first time. God certainly has an interesting sense of humour. 😆
I’m going to repost this one in the Walmart blog thread as well as more people seem to read it as well as respond. 😃
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Next week we’ll go hit what I like to call "The Godfather" if all the new parts don’t throw off the feel of your bike and you feel up to it.It is a concrete to asphalt flat drop that starts at about 6" and goes to about 30" very gradually over about 60-70 feet so you can step up to the higher end at whatever rate you feel comfortable with.The only thing odd about it is you have to hit the edge at an angle,not really possible to hit it squarely.
After that,that wooden one with the nice smooth dirt transition at the dirt jumps will be nothing…that one is actually easier than the one at The Rock.
The fun one…
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congrats!
galaxy be ready to take me out there when im all healed up.
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Hey I recognize that too! Fun stuff, HUGE jumps (most which I can’t even imagine hitting)
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There builders there are wild, I got a couple more pics, this was back when even a table scared me white. When my buddy told me about a bunch of dirt jumps tucked away i couldnt believe him till i saw for myself. ultra low key location with insane jumps, and I think some hippies live in the woods just a few feet away.
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Dude! I would not believe that is the same place but that yellow paint on that bridge is a dead giveaway! I wish that drop was still that high,I just found that this summer and it looks well ridden still.I’ve come across some teenagers hangin around a fire out there at night and one other rider during the day but it’s mostly dead everytime I go.I wish someone would be out there building something so I can help,I surely don’t want to move anything and piss anyone off but there is so much potential there.I almost went this afternoon to hit that drop on the new bike.Here is what it looks like from a few months ago…
[url:3sn8puns]http://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/photo-album.php?tag=gainesville+dirt+jumps[/url:3sn8puns]
Chili,I still kick myself for not stopping by there when you guys were here but I really didn’t have any idea it was THAT cool there,haha.What really sucks is I lived about 200 feet from there for 3 years and never knew it…I’d have surely had different goals in mind bike wise if I knew I could go hit that in my back yard.
There is a review of it on another site where a guy said he spent the night in jail for riding there.I’m not saying that didn’t happen but you’d have to be an idiot combined with a severe disrespect for law enforcement to even end up close to that situation.The old trailer park behind Butler Plaza has a 4’X8′ huge NO TRESPASSING sign at the entrance,but that is the trailer park.There is not one No Trespassing sign at the jumps,the fence stops before the jumps and they’ve even paved that dirt road and put entrance ways in on the curb.I don’t see any sign of anyone not wanting people there, and the trail system has to have been there for a long time as big as some of those trees are.
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"sevendaysoff" wrote
congrats!
galaxy be ready to take me out there when im all healed up.
Keep resting that shoulder man and I’ll try to hit those once a week to keep them nice and ready! The small stuff I can actually hit that is,haha.
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im almost there. went out 2 days ago and actually got some bunny hops in, which i havent been able to do the past 4 week. but after about 10 minutes of that my shoulder got really sore and i think i set myself back another couple days. it is a good sign though. i’d say 2 more weeks and i’ll be rock and roll.
Chili i hope you’ve had a nice break not having me tag along with you guys everywhere but get ready for me to be blowing your phone up again soon.
i cant say it enough times how much this injury sucks. we had great waves the past 3 days too and I cant even surf. i’ve gained like 3 lb’s and aside from 1 run and a few urban distance rides i have had no exercise what so ever since getting hurt.
sorry to threadjack and congrats on your drop skills! im going to head over to gville to ride with you guys for sure when im healed up, and ill be @ santos july 10th if anybody wants to meet up!
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"ChiliPepper" wrote
We have missed your comical riding skills…..
comical skills are better than no skills! lol! I aint scared!!! Whether i stick it, or it looks good, may be another story!! hehe
what can i say, <!- NATURAL CHARGER.
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ya that was getting pretty ridiculous for awhile there. i’ve had much better luck with my tubes the past 4 weeks!! lol!!!!
We need to go up and see Galaxy in G-Ville when I’m healed up.
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Yeah you guys do!
…and if you’re up this far,you gotta see Santos if you haven’t.
I should be all used to the new bike by the time you’re healed.
Chili,I forgot your shoulder was botherin you too,you’ll bounce back still,just the bounce is starting to slow down. 😃
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