BD Night Ride; or, Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight
So in my never-ending attempt to get my fat-ass into shape, last night I headed out to the group night ride at Beaverdam in hopes of getting in a decent ride and running into a few people.
Running into people: check. When I slid through the gates before six (they lock you in at that time, for what reason I’m not certain), the parking lot at the trailhead was packed, and most vehicles had multiple occupants (hooray for carpoolers!). As I began to suit up I also notice that the lot was littered with full-bounce gearies, each gleefully illuminated by blindingly bright HID lights: at least one, and sometimes two per bike. As I unloaded my measly one-geared hardtail I began to wonder if I was out-geared (punny, I know).
In fact, a full survey indicated that there was one other hardtail, and he was running gears. There was also one other singlespeed, but he had full-suspension. There were no other halogen lights. “Hum,” methinks.
I guess it’s tradition for this ride to go out as a group, so we rolled out of the parking lot in a thirty-something strong peloton. While things did break up quite a bit, and we passed some singletons that had been on the trail before us, for the majority of the ride I was in the middle of a ten- or fifteen-person pack. That alone was odd – something about rolling through the woods in the dark as part of a bike-train – but the equipment discrepancies led to further oddities.
On the downhills I was definitely a bit slower: with my measly 15 watts of halogen light I had to pick my way through downhill obstacles, and with no rear suspension my margin of error was significantly lower than those around me. I’d quickly make up any lost ground on the flats and inclines, but on any significant hills the dualies would gear way down, and I’d be left at a 30 rpm slog. (This is not particularly good for the knees, in case you were wondering.) Further, when people slowed down for obstacles (for instance, the rock garden on the south loop), I was left nearly track-standing as I waited for my turn to roll.
Overall it was a good ride and I was happy to get out and enjoy what was really a beautiful night. I was a little frustrated by the equipment overkill that seemed to be going on, leading me to feel rather inadequate. I don’t want to spend more on bikes and accessories (I think well over $500 on lighting alone – as much as I spent on my bike, btw – is a little hard to justify, not to mention the multiple-thousand dollar bikes with 5+ inches of travel), but I can’t help but feel that the sport seems to be going in that direction. On one hand this is good: innovation is great, and the increased technology allows more people to participate comfortably than certainly could in the days of fully-rigid steel tanks. On the other, though, I’m worried that the buy-in cost of mountain biking is getting too high, making the sport prohibitive to many and potential ruining the beauty of its relative simplicity.
Still, being out on a night ride with lots of people was fun: despite my logistical annoyances, everyone was very friendly and helpful in ways that other disciplines of the sport aren’t always. Sure, there was some obligatory parking lot posturing, but by and large this is a very friendly group: chatting, offering people encouragement, and generally being good folks while enjoying a good night on the trail. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all, my friends.
(Hum, I didn’t realize that this was going to turn into a bike-cheerleading post. Sobeit.)
Running into people: check. When I slid through the gates before six (they lock you in at that time, for what reason I’m not certain), the parking lot at the trailhead was packed, and most vehicles had multiple occupants (hooray for carpoolers!). As I began to suit up I also notice that the lot was littered with full-bounce gearies, each gleefully illuminated by blindingly bright HID lights: at least one, and sometimes two per bike. As I unloaded my measly one-geared hardtail I began to wonder if I was out-geared (punny, I know).
In fact, a full survey indicated that there was one other hardtail, and he was running gears. There was also one other singlespeed, but he had full-suspension. There were no other halogen lights. “Hum,” methinks.
I guess it’s tradition for this ride to go out as a group, so we rolled out of the parking lot in a thirty-something strong peloton. While things did break up quite a bit, and we passed some singletons that had been on the trail before us, for the majority of the ride I was in the middle of a ten- or fifteen-person pack. That alone was odd – something about rolling through the woods in the dark as part of a bike-train – but the equipment discrepancies led to further oddities.
On the downhills I was definitely a bit slower: with my measly 15 watts of halogen light I had to pick my way through downhill obstacles, and with no rear suspension my margin of error was significantly lower than those around me. I’d quickly make up any lost ground on the flats and inclines, but on any significant hills the dualies would gear way down, and I’d be left at a 30 rpm slog. (This is not particularly good for the knees, in case you were wondering.) Further, when people slowed down for obstacles (for instance, the rock garden on the south loop), I was left nearly track-standing as I waited for my turn to roll.
Overall it was a good ride and I was happy to get out and enjoy what was really a beautiful night. I was a little frustrated by the equipment overkill that seemed to be going on, leading me to feel rather inadequate. I don’t want to spend more on bikes and accessories (I think well over $500 on lighting alone – as much as I spent on my bike, btw – is a little hard to justify, not to mention the multiple-thousand dollar bikes with 5+ inches of travel), but I can’t help but feel that the sport seems to be going in that direction. On one hand this is good: innovation is great, and the increased technology allows more people to participate comfortably than certainly could in the days of fully-rigid steel tanks. On the other, though, I’m worried that the buy-in cost of mountain biking is getting too high, making the sport prohibitive to many and potential ruining the beauty of its relative simplicity.
Still, being out on a night ride with lots of people was fun: despite my logistical annoyances, everyone was very friendly and helpful in ways that other disciplines of the sport aren’t always. Sure, there was some obligatory parking lot posturing, but by and large this is a very friendly group: chatting, offering people encouragement, and generally being good folks while enjoying a good night on the trail. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all, my friends.
(Hum, I didn’t realize that this was going to turn into a bike-cheerleading post. Sobeit.)
posted by DukePirate at 9:39 AM
5 Comments:
I figure, the fight is with the trail, not the other riders. I think we can both agree that BD is a knife fight kind of trail, not a gunfight. So YOU brought a knife to a knife fight. They brought howitzers.
One thing that consoles me is that I think MTBing has always been like this. Ever see some of those tricked out early-90s bikes that show up on eBay every now and then? Kooka cranks, purple anno, CNC'd brake doodads, etc. You know those brought the rider some serious praise at the trailhead, but were about as useful as 5" travel at BD and cost just as much too.
The fear that mtbing has become too commercial isn't really about the state of the sport, it's about the state of being of the riders, part of the mentality. We will always be living in the death of mtbing ... kind of like most things good.
Huh, I didn't intend to end like that either ... spooky.
Woulda been 2 of us big-wheeled hard-tailed one-geared goofbalkls had I found the stinking place in time.
New to the zone & saw a ride for that evening, so printed out directions & set out. Well, they put me at some intersection w/no further directions. After a call to a friend w/internet maps on hand, I found the place. Albeit at 7:15.
Next time, I'll be there to back you up.
Beaverdam really is a great trail, but it does beg for a ride or two in the daytime to get used to it. It rewards speed, so you have to be able to think ahead on the trail, something that previous rides make much easier. Drop me an email and I'll let you know the next time we head out that way.
judging from the title, i was guessing you got held up at gunpoint riding the tobacco trail at night and tried to fight your way out with a multi-tool.
the thing about spending $500 on lights so you can ride with perfect vision at night: why not spend $0 and ride during the day? or, enjoy the fun of riding at night, which means not seeing everything on the trail.
the thing about expensive crap: the buy-in cost for mountain biking is still low. you can get a used rockhopper for $150 and hit the trails. sir pirate and senor wavy, don't forget about the ghettobike wars of 2004. fun is fun. and more spending an extra $2000 might make the ride more fun, but probably only like 5% more fun. possibly less fun.
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