Got a call 8:30am this morning from the guy I bought the trials bike from to see if I wanted to go riding today. Well yeah! (I figured out the clutch problem yesterday wasn’t as bad as it first seemed).

The Carolina Virginia Observed Trials Clubs local stomping ground is a 100+ acre plot near Bunn. One of the members gracefully lets club members ride out there almost every Sunday. The property is pretty nice with a lot of gulleys, and some huge rocks. There are several trials sections already marked and ready for riding.

I enjoyed the heck out of it. But it is difficult. I expected that. But of course, it’s harder than it looks. But then, I can of expected that as well.

It took a while to get a feel for the bike. Getting used to the controls, all of which are pretty sensitive. The bikes can turn incredibly tightly if you know what your doing. I started to get a feel for that, being able to make tight circles, maybe 6 feet in diameter, but thats still a huge sloppy turn for trails riding.

I started off just following the owner of the property through some trails. The owner, Jim, is an older gentlemen (62 I believe). I was quite impressed at the stuff he was doing just showing me the super easy stuff. But that was just a warm up, the guy can ride his buttocks off. Very impressive.

One of the things that took some getting used to was diving between trees that were just barely far enough apart for the handlebars to fit through. I caught a bar end on a tree on many occasions. The other folks riding claim that you eventually start ignoring the trees. By the end of the day, I started to see what they meant as I started to get used to where the bike would fit and where it wouldn’t.

The bikes are designed for low end power and torque, but also for quick throttle response and instant on power for jumping over obstacles. Which means throttle control is pretty critical. For the most part I avoided the classic “pin the throttle and run into a tree”. A mere sampling suffered my lack of control.

I think my favorite riding was either a long uphill gully that one of the sections ran down. Or another section that included a huge rock outcropping that was a lot of fun to climb and descend. The rocks in the area look to be granite and were dry today, so provided a ton of traction. This particular section had about a 20 foot rise in elevation comprised of about 6 large stones each about two foot high and five feet ride. So kind of like riding up and down a giant stone stair case. Pretty darn cool.

Lots of chit chat about riding technique and skills and what not. The folks there were incredibly helpful in showing me the ropes.

Oh, that style of riding definitely exercise muscles I normally don’t. I’m already sore, so tomorrow should be interesting. Also picked up a fair share of bruises. Next time I think I’ll be a bit more prepared gear wise.