Thursday, September 30, 2010

Downhill Differences 2 and 3: The Mental Side and the Mad Skills Factor

I've been writing in the last couple of posts about the differences between downhill mountain biking and cross country riding.  These are two very different sports, and if you're going to transition from cross country to downhill there are some things that you should definitely be aware of.

Difference 2: The Mental Side
While downhilling definitely requires very finely developed skills, I found that the biggest thing standing between me and conquering various jumps and drops wasn't the lack of skills, but rather the lack of balls.

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Difference 1 Between Downhilling and Cross Country: The Physical Side

Lift Ticket
Downhill mountain biking is a sport that is entirely different from that of cross-country mountain biking.  As I mentioned during the first post in this mini series, there are several big differences that separate the two sports. If you are thinking about transition from cross-country riding to downhilling, it would be very helpful to know these before hand. Now, I have officially been there myself, and here is the first huge difference:

The Physical Side

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Photos from the Six Gap Bike Expo, Dahlonega, Georgia

Bike Expo

Both of the major bike races held this year in Dahlonega were plagued by heavy, drenching rain.  The 5 weeks between those two races were almost completely bone-dry. Riders during the Fools Gold 100 got completely soaked, and the photos I have seen from the 104 mile Six Gap road race yesterday all looked miserable as well.  I guess if the farmers ever need a good rain, we'll just plan a bike race! 

Since I'm not a road biker, I actually cared very little about the Six Gap race (except for the fact that one of my friends entered.) But, as a part of the whole race-weekend atmosphere, several bike shops and vendors held an expo downtown on the square, showcasing some pretty sweet looking bikes!  I went down to check it out and yes, there were some mountain bikes among them!

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Friday, September 24, 2010

Downhill Mountain Biking: A Truly Distinctive Sport

Airborne Taka Downhill Bike
As I wrote almost exactly a month ago,
I have wanted to get into downhill mountain biking for a long time.  Gravity-fueled adrenaline-pumping sports are what I'm all about. I come from a background heavy in downhill skiing, so riding a lift and shredding downhill at high speeds come very naturally to me.
After spending a little over a month riding a big 8" travel rig around, I feel like I've had a healthy dose of downhill riding, and am starting to understand what it's all about.  And let me tell you: downhilling is big, it's bad, and it's tons of fun!

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

There's No Fall in Georgia Yet

Dahlonega: High's in the 80's.
I just found out that today is officially the first day of Fall.  You could have fooled me, because it is not fall down here in Georgia!  I have seen so many beautiful fall photographs from Wisconsin, Montana, Colorado, and Utah, and I wish I was there to enjoy it!  Georgia couldn't feel further from any of those places right now.  We are still dealing with highs in the upper 80's, which isn't fall-ish weather by anyone's standards.

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Monday, September 20, 2010

3 Reasons Why Tsali's Left Loop Is the Best in the Trail System

Rocky Lakeside Singletrack
Out of all four trails in the Tsali trail system, this one has to be my favorite!  I personally think that this was the most interesting, picturesque, and downright-fun trail to ride in the area!

Like the rest of the trails in the system, these characteristics are basically true of the trail:
  • smooth, narrow singletrack
  • moderate climbs
  • sweet descents
  • awesome views
So why does this loop, in my opinion, rise above the other Tsali trails? There are 3 main reasons.

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Committing to Consistency to Produce Dependability and Quality

The Homework Never Ends
I am a man who holds certain values in very high esteem.  3 of these values are almost synonymous, yet have subtle differences. In the context of a blog, these differences become apparent and can complement each other well. They are: commitment, consistency, and dependability.

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

A North Carolina Sunrise


For the average Joe, these kinds of sublime moments of beauty in God's creation can be very rare. But for the avid mountain biker, they are around every corner if you take the time to look! 

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Tsali: Right Loop, Bryson City (Almond), North Carolina

The Right Loop was all that I'd come to expect from Tsali!  Many of the classic characteristics of Tsali singletrack hold true for the Right Loop as well:
  • smooth, narrow singletrack
  • moderate climbs
  • sweet descents
  • awesome views

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Monday, September 13, 2010

When It's Time to Modify Your Goals

258 Trails and Counting
At the beginning of the year, I decided to set some very specific mountain biking goals for myself. I wouldn't exactly call them New Year's resolutions, as we all know those are destined for failure! Rather, I just wanted to take my mountain biking to an HNL (whole 'nuther level). To achieve that, I decided to set some very specific goals so I would have something to achieve to, and so I would know when I had accomplished what I'd set out to accomplish.

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Friday, September 10, 2010

Goals and Mountain Biking: A How-To

Riding 50-100 Miles on a Singlespeed
In "Success and the Goal Setter," Bettie B. Youngs tells us, "Goals represent expectations, hopes and dreams, and to the extent our goals are achieved, we are successful."

Setting goals is a great way to push yourself to new and greater heights. This definitely holds true in mountain biking as well as other areas of life.

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Sugar Mountain Resort, Banner Elk, North Carolina

Downhill Mountain Biking at Sugar Mountain
When I left on my journey up to Sugar Mountain, I really had no idea what to expect. I watched a few videos of people riding there from years past, but they still didn't really give a very accurate presentation of what Sugar was really like to ride.

Here's the first thing you need to know: the trail map posted on Sugar Mountain's website is very misleading. In real life, there are only about 1 and 1/2 singletrack trails for downhill riding. The rest of the trails are either entirely overgrown, or they just run down the wide open ski runs.

So what about those "1 1/2" trails? They're freaking gnarly dude!

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Greg Heil is the Editor in Chief for Singletracks.com. He's been writing and publishing online since before blogging existed.

About This Blog

Mountain biking, plain and simple. Trail reviews, ride reports, and philosophical musings induced by delirium from grinding up way too many vertical feet.

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