With my regular flat white coffee in hand, I realize that I’m 15 minutes early to our meeting spot at the servo at Forest Glen. I’m waiting to meet Nicci Orr and her girls because the last time we rode, we made a pact to return the favour and show them around our trails one day. Well, today is the day and really that is what Go GIRLs is all about, making connections and opening up new ride experiences. Still, I’m a little nervous! Will my helpers turn up? Will anyone turn up? I’ve heard so often “I don’t do Parklands” and “I hate Parklands”. Maybe they’ve seen the You Tube video of the guy who crashes on the double (He was so excited that he got it all on Go Pro) or the recent photo of the girl who went to hospital with a big egg on her head, who was quoted to say “bloody Parklands”.
That reminds me, I’ve packed the first aid kit. I had to put rubber bands around it so it can fit in my backpack! Thanks to Ben and Julie, it has everything I need. Hopefully I won’t have to use it. But best to be prepared!
Reflecting on the day, I had nothing to fear, soon Nicci turned up with 5 bikes in the ute, pre carpark nerves were settled, (I assured them we would stop at anything tricky and talk them through it) and positions for the ride were carefully selected.
I had chosen my favourite challenge course but I was aware of bail out points if needed.
Ten started and finished, a good mix of experienced and fairly new to MTBing; a perfect combination to give lots of support and encouragement. Having local knowledge soon put the ladies at ease. We took our time to look at the more difficult parts, discussing techniques and sharing stories of what not to do; simple things like not looking where you don’t want to go, not staying seated the whole time and not being over the handle bars when descending. I was amazed at Nicci Orr’s girls. They had all committed to riding every Saturday with her and were well underway to transitioning from beginner to early intermediate skill level. We began with Uprooted and the Road Rage Climb which gave us plenty of practice of going over roots and small log rollovers. The girls all safely negotiated the Whoopsie Doos (double) and had fun with the mostly down hill Cancer Tree.
