Tuesday, April 22, 2008

pedalling by numbers

i am unable to do fractions, long division, percentages, convert to (or from) metric, look at a person/living space/piece of land and estimate the respective height/weight/square footage/distance. i cannot remember how much i pay per month in car insurance, or how much is currently in my savings account. i am not a bad grown up, i am just really crap with numbers.

today i rode the trails with a professional trucker, although i think "mountain bike yoda" may be more apropo. he asked about my "set up" (?) relating to shocks, travel, pressure, and do i ride 80 or 100 (tyre pressure or the fork?). knobs and dials were twisted and turned, and the fork was pumped and pressed until the determination, that while my tyres "probably" had the correct amount of squish for my body weight (i have no idea how much air i put in, i "goldilocks" it, until it's just right), the front and rear shocks were "too rigid" and did not have enough "travel".

i was then formally introduced (after 7 years) to the various moveable parts on my bike (and i did use lube). practical instruction immediately followed, on; "applied log jumping: the basics", "the laws of a bunny hop: a study on ground clearance", "essential and efficient shifting techniques (up and down hill)", "negotiating switchbacks (intermediate level)", and "myths and misnomers, or how it is virtually impossible to fall off the back of your bike".

to borrow that god awful "life is good" lexicon, i really do; "ride like a girl".

(shit).

3 comments:

mansuetude said...

really, love love the phrase "goldilocks it"

is this a popular expression? i have never heard it before! you have added to my collection, now. I will use it this week, a hundred times.

Disa said...

i'd never heard it before until i was pressing my thumb into my tyre :)

Anonymous said...

I am not sure we ride like girls....so much as we have just always had someone around who was capable. It is all about the learning curve.