FEAR November 18th, 2009
I was at Dalbeattie a few weeks ago, before the weather turned nasty, attempting to ride the highly rated red-route.
If only I could have done that. Pic by Benji Haworth.
When I say attempting – I mean trying to flow through the rocky trails and breeze through the drop-offs and technical sections – but failing miserably to do so. Tortoise would have been the perfect name for me that day, as I tentatively approached every upcoming obstacle and spent more time carrying my bike that I did on it.
My inability to ride certain features doesn’t really bother me – I know my limits and my boundaries and I’m happy sticking within them – but every now and again I think I should be testing myself.
Anyone who’s ever been to Dalbeattie, even some of you who haven’t, will know ‘The SLAB’ – the famous 15 meter long weather grooved granite obstacle – which looked 100 feet high to my tentative eyes. Some riders will have gone down it in a blur of colour, others with a finger constantly on the brake and some, like me, will have looked at it and thought “If I try that I’m going to die!”
But I’ve been thinking about the Slab recently.
Had I tried it, I might have made it down without injury – hundreds of people have done. If I had mastered the rock, then I believe my riding would have received a huge confidence boost and the small, rocky obstacles which cause me difficulty would now be viewed as mild deterrents that I would be able to overcome with ease.
Even if I failed, maybe it is better to have tried and fallen than never to have tried at all. My confidence would not have suffered as a result of a fall and any injury sustained would have been for a worthy reason.
I haven’t taken a big risk in a while and I’m beginning to see that I’m not improving as a rider in the same way that perhaps I should be. The sections of trail that I struggled with when I first started, still prove awkward and bothersome now. A good, progressive rider would not have that same difficulty.
So I’m going to go back to Dalbeattie shortly. I’m going to get some body armour as a precaution, but I’ll be there until I get the better of that Slab – or until it gets the better of me..
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“Conquer it, Nathan, conquer it for all of us!”
Even if I hadn’t fallen off on the little rocky bit just before the Slab (and bent me brake lever…) I still would’ve bottled it: it does indeed look about a mile long and the run-out is sketchy.
That said, I too want to conquer it! And I too need to push it a litle bit to improve. Let us know how you get on, and good luck
I have enough trouble going down 15ft descents.. I’d cack myself if I attempted that!! This is something I need to fix in the new year
Agreed. Steeps and steps are my bete noir and I have to get to grips with them as they’ve been a sticking point for all my riding life.
picture it in your head and imagine the slow controlled descent.play this over and over in your head. try to watch yourself from a third persons perspective too .
“a third persons perspective”
Like an out of body experience in intensive care?
yeah. try to watch yourself
Jedi mind tricks, surely?
“This is not the mountain biker you are looking for”….says Obi one!
The danger, the risk is out there all the time! I had a silly little dismount in Feb, never even fell over. Just twisted my left foot around, resulting is radial fractures of the Tib and Fib just below the knee. Just about to have some corrective surgery. The 7 months i was off gave me plenty of time to think about how come i ended up with such a huge injury from such a silly little off. Luck chance and all that.
So every time you dismounted to walk around something you exposed youself to the same risk! So why not have a go.
my tibial plateau break was a result of walking around a stunt
had shin splints bad so didnt want to pedal up anything so i walked my bike along a tree whilst i walked beside .it slipped off and the pedal smashed into my tibia
I used to be a real nervous/worrier type as a kid, a bit risk averse.
Give me any time to think about a situation and I’d find 100 reasons why I’d fail.
Mountain biking has been great at forcing me to commit and stay loose. I really think it’s helped me in other parts of my life.
I am currently sat here in plaster reading this thread & it fills me with fear….8 weeks ago I had an ‘off’ and as slow & stupid the ‘off’ looked – it completely smashed my foot to pieces, now I still face another 6 weeks in plaster after visiting the hospital this week – the question is “Would it stop trying something new again?”…..NO….booked flights today for a road trip around California to try out some of the worlds best Single Track, maybe, just maybe, this will cure the fear I have now……
its dead easy
If you can get down “The Qualifier” you can get down the slab, I thin the former is harder than the latter.
The Evil twins or whatever it’s called is my nemesis, saw a friend snap his frame on in last time.
Jedi’s suggestion works. Some people like to psyche themselves up with aggression others like to calm down and visualise.
Oh, you’ll never conquer it permanently, it’ll be there long after you’ve gone and scare you everytime you go back.
I reckon the slab has got slippier with time. The trees around it have grown, and as a consequence of less light on the rock, the algae has got worse. IIRC it was cleaned when the trail was built. Perhaps it is getting harder. I think so.
Follow someone down it, preferably a friend or someone you can trust, stay close to them, and follow their line.
If your mate can do it, so can you.
works for me
I agree with jonb, “The Qualifier” is way harder. Once your over the top the slab is okay (honest), I favour the feathering of the brakes as the last few feet are the worst.
The twins, now your talking. I got down, just. But unlike the slab there was no way I was go back for another go………..
sleazier naked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp8nWiilY_o
I find I clean a lot of stuff night riding that gives me trouble during the day. Basically, at night, you don’t have time to think about it, you just react. Thinking on the bike can be bad. Same for using too much brake.
hardest part of the slab was getting onto the thing. I found the easy line down was over the worst entry on the far left, looking at that pick above.
Anyway, MTFU and get it done !
Try shutting your eyes!! It’s so much easier…
The muddy slope down the left side of the Slab is even harder than the slab itself. Technical and slippy, lots of fun.
As a local I would recomed a day riding the black at Kirroughtree followed by Dalbeattie the next as you will find that your are starting to get used to riding rocks and drop offs the slab will seem less severe
stop relax, have a look pick your entry spot, a trick I learned was to place a small pebble on the place I wanted to enter the slab at concentrate on hitting it then you are in the right place, don’t let the speed get away from you but dont go massive on the brakes relax and smile
I agree with lampwick. try to not over-analyse it, it looks a lot scarier after looking at it for ages. most of my major injuries have actually been as a result of being too careful! The first time I did the Slab, I told myself that I would never ride it again. Went back with a friend later that month, and loved it. Suntingwang also has a point, it makes sense to ride it with a mate. Good luck!
Having just bought a bike, I tried on my first go offroad since I was a kid. Came off, got scraped up. Maybe you were right to skip it. I thought the qualifier before it looked worse though.
I’ll have another go next time I’m there. Get the weight back and it’ll be fine, I reckon. :O)