Riding With The Mayor | Part 2

Because just one episode is clearly not enough. #followcamfriday picking up where we left off last week on LPS. Prepare to be amazed as the Mayor has his way with the rock!

I touched on this last week but I basically need to reiterate that riding Moab with Kyle is a completely different experience. Never have I witnessed so much delicate chaos unfolding before my very eyes. I have ridden a ton with Kyle, and there is honestly nothing like it. 

Here are the rules of engagement, pay close attention.

​Rule number one. Everything is a jump. Everything. Truth be told, this trail is so rough that touching it as little as possible is actually faster. And smother... You can't get hurt in the air, right?! When in doubt, pull up and reach for the next rock to backside. Now do it 700 times over the course of a couple of hours. Maybe start in the gym. 

Rule number two. Give no fucks about your bike. Not a single one. If you even think for a second about taking it easy on your bike, you will be going backwards in no time. This trail destroys everything and you just need to come to terms with that. Having this much fun has it's consequences. 

And this brings me to rule number three. Speed is your friend. It may sound counterintuitive, but the faster you go, the smoother it gets. It's the middle ground that feels so terribly bad. Full gas, all the way. This means, stand up and sprint into the rockiest parts. Full commitment. Trust me, this feels better. Just ignore the sounds of agony coming from your wheels, they are built for this sort of thing. 

So what have we learned? Go as fast as possible, smash into shit, and always, always spend as much time in the air as possible. Get any of that wrong, and you're gonna have a bad day. Or, a long one... Any day on the bike is a good day. If you figure all of that out, you still won't be able to ride like Kyle because the Mayor is a ninja and only a ninja can kill another ninja. That is rule four. But I digress. 

So yeah, I just rode my 100mm bike down the roughest hour and a half, maybe known to man, behind Kyle on his "big" bike. And what did I think? While my 55 clearly offers a more plush trail experience on this one. But, that said, I was reasonably amazed at the new breed of "XC" bikes. People are throwing around labels like "down country" to describe this thing. I try not to put labels on things really, but I guess you could build one of these up for just about anything. Uphill, downhill, whatever. I like to call it "mountain biking". The bike is solid, that I have proved. It took an absolute beating. Could it be faster on this trail? Hard to say. If you are strong enough to hang onto this thing in this type of terrain, it's an absolute rocket ship. That much I know. 

As I type these words, #followcamfriday is currently in Santa Fe, poaching Starbucks WiFi. This shit ain't gonna upload itself.  I am racing the BME at Glorieta on Saturday. Wish me luck, I am gonna need it. Keep it locked right here to see where the party will occur next week!