This video has been making the rounds lately, suggesting that Spartacus’ recent wins at Flanders and Paris-Roubaix might have more to do with technology than physiology.
Now, I’m no Fabian-fanboi, but to me, he’s been one of the really consistent performers the last few years and I want to believe in his ability. While watching this video, I can’t help but notice the way that it’s been edited. What’s with the cuts between the shots of the shifters and the cranks? Haven’t they heard of the whole ‘no camera tricks’ technique of taking one continuous shot?
In the mean time, I’m not really convinced by this video.
Some rides… just don’t work out the way you planned.
Being a long weekend, a bunch of us decided to hit the You Yangs for a spot of MTBing.
One of my first ever MTB experiences was at the You Yangs and I was absolutely terrified. Steep drop offs, abrasive granite boulders, wooden boardwalks and huge berms. Scary stuff for a newbie and in fact, some bits are still pretty scary. None the less, I was determined this time to ride more stuff and walk less.
You know what? I think it’s working.
I did manage to ride pretty much everything I set out to do on this ride. So much so that for the first time, I actually put my rear derailleur into threat riding through a rock garden. I also managed to ride straight up to a fairly sizable drop off on Cressy’s Climb and commit to it before realising how big it was. I somehow managed to roll off safely, but twinged my left quad in the process.
Of course, it wasn’t all good. To offset my generally good technical riding, I was having an annoying day with all things beginning with C.
First up was my cranks. Can I just say that having a crank fall off while you’re riding is quite scary. Thank goodness for external BB cranks which can be put back on with basic tools.
Then there was my camera – I was having a generally useless day with it. I actually spent the first hour of the ride with the camera taking stills, rather than video. Then, once I’d switched it to video, it was in super macro, so the next 10 mins or so was slightly blurry. Once I’d figured that out, the handlebar mount came loose. Then the tripod bolt started to unscrew. And once ALL of those problems had been sorted out, I ran out of batteries. None the less, I did save some of the footage.
Thankfully, I didn’t get to the third C – crashing. I left that up to my brother, which you can see in the first video.
Despite all this, it was still an enjoyable day in the saddle. I think I’m actually starting to enjoy riding rocks.
What is it with MTB videos that make them look so slow? Even DH videos, when taken from onboard the bike, somehow manage to look kinda slow and tame. Yet, I maintain that it FEELS fast when I’m riding through some twisty bit of singletrack and that I could defnitely pedal harder, but choose not to because of the upcoming corner or log.
Okay, I admit it, I’m very average in the techy stuff.
Time to go for a road ride and get some speed going…
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