Before the wet weekend weather arrived, I was able to get out on the trail. As fickle as mother nature can be in the spring, if you catch it just right, you can score hero dirt in between the wet, cold days and the dry, windy days.
I’ve been tweaking things a little bit and trying new things. One of the things I’ve done is swap the position of my brake and shifter on my handlebar. Previously I had the brake on the outside and the shifter on the inside. The reason was so that I could reach the lever without having to turn in my hands. The trade-off is that shifting requires moving your hand in to shift. I also am a two-fingered braker. Even with the best of brakes – Magura Marta SL that can stop on a dime, I like to have two hands on the lever just in case. What if my hand slips? What if I need to stop a fraction of a second faster? I decided to try something new and swapped it in reverse – shifter on the outside, brake lever on the inside which means that two fingered braking is really difficult because I can’t reach two fingers over. The shifting is a little more comfortable because it’s right there. I gave it a shot at Heil Ranch/Picture Rock. It was the weirdest feeling – kind of like when you interlace your hands with the opposite thumb on top from which you are accustomed. I felt uncomfortable and nervous, but I stuck with it. I think I’m going to go back to the brake lever on the outside, but I think it’s important to change things every once in awhile and try something new. I like the assurance of 2 fingers on the brakes!
Another nuance I like to play with on occasion? Descending. Think about it – which foot do you put in front? It never even occurred to me that there was a different way to stand on the bike until maybe in the last 2 years. I am extremely right side dominant, so I try to do things opposite sometimes. Have you ever tried brushing your teeth left-handed, or maybe using the mouse at your computer left-handed? It’s amusing and frustrating. Back to descending – I 100% of the time descend with my right foot forward, or “up”.
I took note of that and when the terrain isn’t very aggressive, I will try and put my left foot forward. It feels really strange and it actually puts me off balance. For that reason, I go outside my comfort zone and try to go downhill with the opposite foot forward. Seem like mindless babble? Try it, and you’ll see what I mean.
Spring is associated with growth, change, life. So why not change something up that you do on auto-pilot every day?
