♪ [music] ♪
- [Neil] Oh, man. Got a flat tire. Punctures can and eventually will happen,
even if you run tubeless tires. So always make sure you have a tube and a pump,
especially if you're getting into the wild a little bit.
Also, you don't want to be that guy in a group ride who has to rely on others.
- [Mark] You got a flat.
- You got a pump or a tube?
- No.
- You got a flat tire as well.
- Oh, you're joking.
- Don't worry, it's only flat at the bottom. Bonking is the term we tend to
use. It is that horrible feeling of you completely running out of gas.
If you have never done it before, it can feel like you have just worn yourself
completely out on the ride. But it is just down to not fueling for the ride
sufficiently. It feels like you could literally eat the entire house bare of
food. Yes, unexpected mechanicals do happen. They can just be a bit of bad
luck. But if it happened because you haven't checked your bike over from the
last ride, then that is very frustrating. You got any brake pads,
Mark? Try and get into a good routine of giving your bike a clean if it needs it
after the ride, but at the very least, a quick check over so you're not left
disappointed out on the trail on the next ride.
Have you got a good signal?
- No, I just really enjoy being out in the woods. I mean, it's a really nice trail
then, it's really sweepy berms, you've got high slide a bit, nice jumps,
it's just a really nice mellow trail down here. I really enjoy it.
What are you doing?
- Spend the whole time chasing strava koms. Strava can be a lot of fun.
I use it occasionally to really push myself for training and also for
challenging myself on the downhill trails, but don't let it become the obsession that
has to rule every ride.
- Oh, yeah. Such flow, that trail. So much fun.
- I'm doing it again.
- All right. See you later. Nice riding.
♪ [music] ♪
- Crashing happens to all of us, but the best way to avoid it happening all the
time is learning some skills. Why not watch our videos and work at which areas
you need to improve on? Also, if you're pushing yourself or riding gnarly terrain,
seriously consider wearing some pads. I cringe when I watch people flying down
rocky terrain with no knee pads.
Group rides are a lot of fun,
but they can also be intimidating, especially to the slower riders.
When we get to this fence, we'll have a nice rest, I promise you.
This is the last brow, the last bit of work you have to do, come on now.
- You told me it was downhill half a mile ago.
- If you are one of the quicker ones, take it on yourself to make sure everyone is
part of the ride. Don't charge off on the climbs and wait for slower riders in the
group to catch up.
- Just past this brow, I promise.
- Oh, God. It's just not very steep and it's all loose.
- Moaning. We all ride mountain bikes for fun, well most of us, anyway.
Yes, it might be cold, wet, boggy, but a bad ride could still be a lot of fun.
Positive mental attitude will get you a long way.
- Oh, Neil. Not this one is too steep!
- I think the fuse is 1x12, but I don't want to upgrade now. It's just...
- Okay, I'll admit it. I'm as bad as everybody else. Us mountain bikers always
seem obsessed with the latest, greatest tech. Tires, wheels, sizes,
suspension. You name it, we can talk about the finer details for hours and debate
why something is good or not before have even tried it.
- This bar, they feel like 777 to me. But 778 is what I really like but
they're nice grips.
- I always carry my phone during the ride for emergencies and to take the occasional
photo, but leave the Instagram, phone calls and checking Strava after the ride.
- Hi, mate, how's it going? Yeah, I'm just on a ride with Mark, yeah.
Oh, no, there's no one else who wanted to come riding.
- Who answers the phone when they're bloody riding?
- It's all right. I'm on hands free, don't worry about it.
Yes, great, yes, a bit dry, but...
♪ [music] ♪
- Nobody likes a show off. Well, actually, they do like it when they fail like that,
but make sure that that's not you.
- If you want to see more videos from GMBN, you can click up here
for our top 10 excuses.
- And you can click down here, here for how to do rolling endos, Neil.
- I'm better click down there, I reckon.
- And obviously click on me and Neil to subscribe to GMBN.