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October 01, 2005
Biking around Barraux
A couple of mountain bikers in town have organized fortnightly rides to teach the local children a bit about all-terrain riding. The first ride this fall was from 2-4 this afternoon. Tim wanted me to come along, so I did. There were groups according to the kids' experience, so Tim and I went with the beginner group, led by a guy named Pierre. Pierre later told me he'd worked as a mountain guide. He's a few years older than I am, but thinner and probably about as fit.
We started out by riding around cones, first relatively quickly, then as slowly as possible. After that we worked on standing up on the pedals, sitting down again, etc. Then we rode down some short hills. I asked Pierre how to ride back up those little hills. He showed me you need to stand up just a bit, keeping your butt on the point of the seat. That worked for me, but I'm still not smooth enough to do that on a long hill.
You cannot see the dirt on our bikes at this resolution, so you'll have to take my word for it.
It rained from about 3-3:15 pm, when we were at the foot of the hill around Fort Barraux. Nobody seemed to mind much. The kids were a little scared of going straight down the hill on their bicycles, however. Tim fell over once and decided to walk his down. After that we rode up the hill behind La Cuiller. Tim was getting hungry. In the end, he had a great time. When we came back home, he ate 4 big cookies and drank a large bowl of milk with protein powder that I keep for days when I run long. According to Tim, his muscles'll be ready for the Tour de France soon.
One clothing-related note: Don't wear tights with a long crotch. It'll get stuck in your seat at inconvenient times.
Posted by Mark at October 1, 2005 04:53 PM
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