Cross training - trials-based enduro techniques & training

[betajuice]

Barry, how are you finding the OEM Michelins? I have heard different reports, the front is okay the back is crap.
If the Zombies were on the horizon and someone said you can fit any tyre in the world, it's be Michelin S12's.
I am keen to try Golden tyres though, a chap here in town sells them

they seem fine to me johnno. i've never paid much attention to tires really. about the only time i've really thought a tire stood out was messing around with the goldentyre GT230 and GT216X on the rear, lots of grip with those but fairly expensive here in australia...




i've posted this pic of chris birch on one of our two "impossible" hill climbs... impossible for us! we've all been trying to conquer these steep climbs for ages and barely got halfway at best.

i started experimenting with different body positioning then realized i was getting further if i moved forward on the bike just before it got seriously steep. and suddenly was doing way better!

i took this snapshot of birchy in full flight on the same climb and realized this is the correct position for the steep parts. our new attempts to make it to the top in the vid below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?vOIDGBPDIOy4

.

[Johnno]

I've seen that vid ( seen them all, actually ) and he appears to be doing somewhere north of 50 mph. Must have been something to see when it happened!

[katoom400]

Barry, please stop posting these videos! You are ruining my life!

for years I've been thinking about getting a trials bike and doing the exact same thing you are doing...work less, ride more, worry less.

between the mortage, kids, career, and injuries/old age. I have not had time to pursue above mentioned dream...I've been happy just to be able to ride every Sunday...then along comes betajuice who appears to be living my dream and posting the day by day events as if all he has to worry about is riding...it's just not fair I tells ya!!!!

now just about every morning I arrive at my jail cell (cubicle) only to be greeted by Barry's newest documentary of the life I'm not living!

Well....THINGS ARE GONNA CHANGE!

here's my intended list:

1. purchase trials bike
2. learn how ride said trials bike
3. try and transfer said trials skills to enduro bike
4. sell house
5. purchase tiny house or live in my RV and have no mortgage.
6. fly Barry in to coach me on cross training skills (by the time I get to this stage, he will probably be as good as Jarvis or Birch anyway)
7. work less ride more
8. Document it all and publish a book to inspire the next poor guy in my shoes.


step 1 is almost complete. next week I will be picking up a 2002 Beta Rev 3....let the fun begin!




Thanks for the inspiration Barry!

[GMP]

I think I would have to fit divorce in there somewhere between 3 and 4. Wife is cool but not that cool. Kids high school and college on the horizon is going to kill me.

[katoom400]

I think I would have to fit divorce in there somewhere between 3 and 4. Wife is cool but not that cool. Kids high school and college on the horizon is going to kill me.

Divorce will only make all the above numbers more achievable!
Do what I'm doing and have the kids learn these two simple words....STUDENT.....LOANS...

save yourself man!

[betajuice]

you guys are cracking me up!

but seriously... about 10 years ago i started thinking along the lines of how would i live if i knew i only had say two or three years to live?

so worked my butt off to pay off the mortgage, chose to live very simply and keep the expenses down, settled on an apartment instead of a house, and resolved never to work full time again. i was messing around with other stuff but then focused on the dirt bikes the past five years.

having no kids makes it WAY easier of course. but i still know guys who've resolved to live in smaller houses and cut back on expenses to commit to four day weeks then ride every wednesday for example. we've been known to quote the phrase "how many of us on our death bed will say we should have spent more time in the office?"

of course wives can complicate the issue if they aren't agreeable. the lucky guys i know have partners who feel the same way and aim to work less as well to have a day or two off to spoil themselves while the kids are in school etc.

murder is unethical, as is selling kids off for scientific experiments though. i figure it has to be something that relationships and family dynamics allow to happen?

[GMP]

Around here, in the metro NJ/NYC area, there is no way in hell your going to work part time and play unless you have found money or worked yourself into a position to do so. Its cut throat, if you don't want to work someone else will. Same goes for school, why my kids are in private school, so they have an edge. If your looking to relax in any way, it is much more acheivable to make a few bucks here and move south or west, or even out of country. To be honest I have it pretty good and ride about as much as I want. Like katoom400 I can ride right from my garage so its easier to get out than most people, in fact its 10:30 PM here and if I want to I can put my lights on and hit the trail now. Wife isn't going to break my balls(despite the fact that she is in Paris on business in the middle of the riots, but thats another story!). I've also been racing a full hare scramble series for the last 3 1/2 years. I find I get burnt out sometimes and need a break, all the race prep and service to keep the bike in top shape, plus the gym time, adds up. The other thing is you need guys to ride with to make it more fun, and safer. The trials bike is different though, as it would be super easy to run up a lot of practice hours, and is a change of pace from the race bike.

[Johnno]

I was at work 70- 74 hours a week until recently, now it's about 66, 70 tops. I fit exercise in ( my job is pretty physical at times too ) and ride my push bike ( Australian for bicycle ) after dinner 3 nights a week.

I try to ride at least 2 Sunday's a month, I just had a text about a ride next Sunday. As I eat my dinner and type this. Last year I did a road race series on my Gixxer race bike, only 3 Saturdays I had off after Easter were race meetings. I am somewhat driven. Burnt out was, oh I don't know, 5 years ago?

I am also a sole parent.

I am 52 years old. Helmet on, crossed up on a fire trail I feel 25. Monday mornings at 4am I feel 100.

I might be doing it all wrong, but you can only urinate through the appendage you have, that's what I am doing.

[Balkan boy]

The rule of thumb over here is that you have to ride Enduro at least twice a week (or a full weekend) if you mean to improve your riding. If you skip a week or two from riding, you spend half of next ride trying to relax and find the rhythm on the bike. Two rides a week are hardly enough for fitness and endurance.
That said, I don't know anyone who works and has children that can pull off that sort of engagement.

Divorce will only make all the above numbers more achievable!
Do what I'm doing and have the kids learn these two simple words....STUDENT.....LOANS...

save yourself man!

That's just funny.
Let us know how it goes with the REV. I came close to getting one this past winter, but it wasn't on the cards.

[betajuice]

rod was keen for a last practice ride before heading off to do the romaniacs 4 day extreme enduro over in romania... crazy sod. here's the video:

https://youtu.be/vo2hFeI-rYA

i always like following dirt riders who are also into trials, they are deceptively fast because they aren't aggressive riders e.g. minimal spin and sliding around.

and on the family side of things i saw this the other day...