by Jože
A wise man once said: “Knowledge is of no value, if you do not put it into practice” (Anton Chekhov). In light of this statement our guides/teachers/gurus decided to share some knowledge and put us to the test. And they both did a good job. The whole “practice makes perfect” was part of our regular SmallFriday ride. They said that we were test subjects, kinda like guinea pigs or lab rats. Hm, why does that not sound appealing? Anyway. We gathered on our regular meeting spot and started our ride. About 15 minutes before we reached our destination, we reached a junction and the MTB workshop took place there. Gaber had some small cones with him and the course was set. Instructions for us were to simply go round the cones in a slalom or maybe giant-slalom way. Gaber and Gašper were observing us, giving pointers, creating some clips for analysis. Then the lecture came. Simply said, we all got our minds blown by the fact how much we need to change when we ride our bikes. I always thought that my position while riding was quite OK if not darn good. Bummer. How simple can it be to improve your riding skills? Easier than making an apple pie some would say. And they’d be telling the truth. Some minor adjustments of one’s riding position, straighten your back, elbows out, eyes forward, weight on the pedals and some other details about hip and knee positions. Yes, cornering around cones just got much easier, more effective and way more poppy 😀 Just the way I like it 🙂
I know, I know, we all know that practice makes perfect. So now, on my rides, I prepare myself before the descent. In my mind I repeat what needs to be done to have the right position on my bike, so I can be as effective as I can be. I hope you get to have a similar chance to improve your riding position. Maybe we’ll organise a riding workshop…Time will tell.
Until then – go out and ride 😀
SmallFriday 