Dangerous Dave Returns!

Since the crash that killed the Gemini frame, I’ve suffered from a severe lack of confidence in anything that involves getting my wheels off the ground. Sure I’ll pop a little hop or jump over a root or log jump on an XC loop but as soon as the full face goes on, my entire mindset changes and I spend my entire time thinking “what if?” even before hitting things I’ve mastered previously.

A lot of this was down to me and my Judge being utterly incompatible, no matter how hard I tried it just felt wrong… however, I now have a new DH frame (blog to follow in due course when it’s finished!) which has put the fun back into riding and in addition increased my confidence…

To help with this I’ve been paying some visits to Chicksands on a Sunday morning with some mates. This Sunday was my second visit so far, and I am happy to report that the Dangerous Dave of old is resurfacing! Racing down the dual I found myself enjoying the air time and pushing harder and harder to clear jumps or go higher rather than shying away and s****ing myself. There’s still a good way to go and I hope I can get there before I head out to France this year but I’m starting to remember I can jump and drop off things without concussing myself and as a result I’m starting to enjoy riding again rather than kicking myself for being such a wus!
This Sunday I was also lucky enough to get a good shot of me “styling” it up over one of the jumps on the dual!

Conditions were good with some slush on parts from the recent rain fall but overall, both the dual and 4x track were running nice and fast.

It’s also been the first time I’ve ridden the Meta since the last time it came out on a Knobblies ride, it had been decommissioned to bring the Chameleon back from retirement for Afan. Eagle eyed viewers will note the absence of the Pikes; those that were with me at Afan will remember me spending the entire time cursing them and on returning home I looked into converting them to coil and getting the PUSH rebound damper fitted. Given the cost involved and that the coil kit is incompatible with the UTURN Air chassis, I binned this idea, deciding not to polish a turd and plumped for some Marz 55 customised with RC3 and air cartridges. I must say it was a good decision, although the weight is up the performance gains are massive and that big 35mm stanchion chassis makes light work of badly landed jumps and rock sections.