{"id":2855,"date":"2021-07-30T18:11:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T18:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diomederacing.com\/blog\/?p=2855"},"modified":"2022-02-25T00:35:52","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T00:35:52","slug":"july-nmta-trials-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diomederacing.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/30\/july-nmta-trials-event\/","title":{"rendered":"July NMTA (Trials Event)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July Trials Event<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This one was in Lake Fork Canyon, near Fenton Lake in the Jemez.  The NMTA holds at least a couple of event there each year.  The first Trials event I ever attended was at this location.   The stars at night are just STUNNING up there, since there is very little light pollution.   The more I\u2019m at trials events, the more I really love the people.  I still can\u2019t believe that you can have one of the more experienced riders, go with to every section, walk it with you, have them explain the best ways to approach each of the elements, what to focus on with your techniques, and explain the nuances of the more difficult elements and if they know you well enough, tell you where you need to be more careful.  It\u2019s just so awesome to have that kind of help.  I went up early Friday so I could get some riding in I had a ball just riding around on some single track in the area. Later in the afternoon, I went out with a few others, we practiced going over logs and other obstacles. Had a blast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had three different riders help me as my minder.  All of them have been incredibility helpful and supportive, most of the riders with the club are that way.  Even more so than when I started road racing with Chris and Stuart helping out so much.   Matt and Jessica have been so generous, helping me at events, with a minder, with helping me find a bike, and the time spent working with me.  I\u2019ve been to their place to ride, gotten some coaching, and have had Matt offer to help with any bike issues.  It still surprises me that they are so open to people they don\u2019t know well. Instantly makes you feel welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a two-day event instead of just on Sunday.  I would like to say I\u2019m getting better, but my performance on Saturday proves that\u2019s really not the case. LOL.  Sigh.  Before this, I had never worked so hard to get 3s and 5s on all the sections.  I really should have quite while I was ahead, but I\u2019m just too stubborn for that.  I thought they were really hard, but then again, I can\u2019t turn.  Even though I\u2019ve been working on it. Not that anyone could tell from how I was riding.  I ended up with the highest score of the day\u2026 for the record that isn\u2019t a good thing\u2026 but.  It did get me a free tire, so maybe it was worth the embarrassment? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday morning held such promise, but I had a new lesson to learn.\u00a0 Don\u2019t adjust your front brake and clutch before you are going to compete, unless you no choice in doing so.\u00a0 The Beta has such bad clutch drag when it\u2019s cold that it\u2019s really hard to tell if the changes are good or bad.\u00a0 The changes that we made didn\u2019t really work out so well for me.\u00a0 Of course, I didn\u2019t know it until I had to ride down a ledge, and the clutch didn\u2019t disengage when I pulled in the lever.\u00a0 I ended up launching off the ledge instead of just rolling down it like I wanted.\u00a0 If I had been trail riding it wouldn\u2019t have been an issue, but since this was a trials event, it put me where I didn\u2019t want to be and I fell over trying to get the bike turned to avoid a gate.\u00a0 Par for the course, that was my first section of the morning.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019d really like to say the next section was better, but remember I made two changes.\u00a0 This is when the second one bite me, I was used to a certain brake feel and I was coming down a short steep, loose section, and I over did the brake pressure, so the front wheel tucked.\u00a0 Two 5 for the first two sections of the day\u2026 Yippeee.\u00a0 It did get much better after that.\u00a0 I really have to break my habit of putting a foot down just because, I might need it, but when you ride a really tall bike, you get into the habit of doing that so you don\u2019t fall over.\u00a0 It\u2019s not really problem I have the Beta, but I still do it without really thinking about it. \u00a0There\u2019s just something that short-circuits my brain when it comes to ribbon and the gates.\u00a0 I know I can ride better than I do at these events!\u00a0 I really just need more time on the bike, unfortunately, I\u2019ve over committed myself for too many things this summer.\u00a0 I\u2019m lucky if I can get out on it 2x a month.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been riding in my driveway more; I will continue to do so over the next few months so I can get better with my turns. After I got those great sections out of the way things got much better for me. I only had onw section that caused me issue all three times. Of course, I didn’t have my aha moment about why until after I had ridden it for the third time. Figures. LOL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both days I worked scoring for the upper sections. I really enjoy it, but finding the sections had been just horrific every time. The directions I was given were all wrong and I got lost… Thankfully, each time, someone came along to show me were I should be. I don’t usually get to take many pictures, but these from my secion on Sunday almost show you how steep it was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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