34 X 20 - Much Better and Meme's "Air Time"

I swapped out my 18 tooth cog for a 20 and it made all the difference. This time Kevin, Meme and I, made the trek up MC from Oak Mesa. Lower MC was easy with this gear ratio, but I was cautious and paced myself since last weeks ride didn't go over all that well.

By the time we got to the "Logs" I was feeling really good running 34 X 20. I even headed back down to meet up with Meme and Kevin to ride the "Logs" trail one more time. The Three Witches were a piece of cake and I had some sprinting power in my legs for the last 1/16 of a mile to Yellow Gate!

This was Meme's second time riding MC and I was excited to take him out. He just picked up a GT Aggressor from Craigslist.com so he was eager to see what it could do. The bike performed well and I didn't hear any noticeable shift problems. He even got a little airtime in lower MC.

Meme's "Air Time"

So we're riding lower MC with Kevin in the lead, then Meme and finally me closing in the rear. Kevin points to a BMX jump to his right and without thinking Meme takes the jump. "Without thinking" ... Meme took that jump devoid of any conviction or hesitation. What a Champ! I just remember seeing Kevin point, Meme take the jump and me yelling, "Oh no Meme, what are you doing!"

Meme hit the jump perfectly. It was one of those BMX jumps that have a slight curve that throws you up and forward. He was about 3 to 4 feet in the air and "landed" it about 14 paces past the jump. "Landed" I say because when he came down he was a hair too forward and landed on his front wheel. I thought for sure his front wheel would be taco'd and not to mention the bruises that would result from the crash, but like a true MTB'er he did a ditch the bike slash drop and roll maneuver. It was all very impressive and both Meme and his GT Aggressor walked away with very little damage.

Once the dust cleared and an inventory damage check was performed, we couldn't stop laughing. Well, I guess we could say Meme's a true MTB'er now. The first "Crash and Burn" is like a rite of passage and on Meme's second time out he earned his MTB Stripes.