Highway to the Downhill Zone

I couldn't have guessed. There's no way that I, or my riding buddies could have foreseen it. We'd only ever dreamed, but not once had we assumed it would become reality...

Things started slowly. An enduro race here, a trip down a "one spot DH track" there. Then we started pushing up hills, chatting about the runs we'd just done, favouring that over the slog of the uphill struggle.

Last summer, we booked the first of what has and will always be our annual Wales Pilgrimage, including Bike Park Wales on the opening weekend. Another day was spent at Antur Stiniog and the trip represented our first true uplift days. After the first run at Antur, we gathered at the bottom of the run, wide eyed and nursing a combination of emotions, ranging from fear to elation. We often talk about the effect when your speed reaches the point where your vision narrows to a single spot 30m down the trail. In reality, I've only ever experienced it in one location; Antur.

We were hooked on DH and once home, we started to build our experience at our local DH venue, Descend Hamsterley. I'd be lying if I said it had been smooth sailing. Some of the guys have suffered more than others, but we've been tackling the same features at roughly the same time, goaded on by the progression of our peers. At the time of writing, there are two features left for me to complete - horrible drops that I can't quite see myself landing - but I will, and I'll survive them. Fear is not something I've felt on the mountain bike for a while, but with DH, it's always there. The fear of hurting myself and the fear of being left behind.

Still, the fact that I'm on DH trails shows a huge boost in confidence and I attribute so much of that confidence to the Nomad. The Nomad, and my understanding of how to change suspension settings for different tracks / conditions.

So what happens now? Invest in a DH rig? Sell the Nomad?

I won't be getting rid of the Nomad in a hurry. I have a kind of loyalty to the bike that brought on my riding so much and it seems counter productive to get rid of it just because I'm starting a new discipline. After all, there will always be trail centres, and time trail / enduro races and kids rides. It's still such a capable bike, that for anything other than Redbull Rampage, it's going to cope...but still...still the security of being on a full DH rig must be the same in confidence again, right? I say "must" because I've not ridden one in anger, and that ladies and gentlemen, is the problem.

I want a DH bike. A good one. 27.5" carbon goodness with BOS forks maybe? It must look amazing too. Maybe I should just get a cheap one whilst I'm learning the turns? Nah, I always get the best I can manage. You see, I believe a bike should never be the excuse for a crap performance - only the rider. Anyone who really knows me, knows I'm obsessive by nature and this new discipline will consume my every thought and spare moment, until the next thing comes along. I will get a new bike within the next year or so, I'm convinced it will progress my DH riding further and I will approach this new chapter of mountain biking with the same emotions as Antur; fear and elation.

Happy riding!