The Learning Curve, The Uphill Struggle

The focus of the morning session was to examine handling skills and general riding techniques. The Hua-Hin Black Mountain was designated as our classroom and lesson one was given over to climbing and descending the road leading to the viewpoint on top of the mountain. Somchai led the way, constantly watching the guys and telling them the best ways to distribute body weight to get the most efficient pedaling stroke, at the same time making the correct gear selections. It all sounded pretty obvious, but as Thong intoned his uphill – he realized that there was clearly room for improvement.

At the top a quick U-turn saw Somchai demonstrating controlled descents and braking. He then sent the guys off to do likewise, adding, in the manner of a driving instructor, that when he made the appropriate hand signal they were to stop as fast as possible. A handful of lock-ups, skids and wobbles later, Nun and Thong had it under-control. Now for the steep, wet stuff.

Halve way to the top of the main road is a sort of unpaved forest road, full of slippery, rock-strewn climbs and down-hills. IT looked quite tricky for relative novices, but as Somchai explained how they'd need to stay seated for traction, keep the elbows pulled in for greater stability and an assortment of other tips for maintaining momentum, it started to appear less daunting. Again Somchai led the way, but on his first attempt just failed to reach the top. Anxious glances were exchanged between the paramedic, before Somchai had a second before and reached the top with ease. Wow – sighs of relief all round.

Next up was Michael, an European mountain biker living in the area: his approach looked good, his posture seemed Okay, but a few meter into the climb the temptation became too great and he was standing up on his pedals, leaning right into his bars-ends. End result: leg in the air, butt in the wet mud.

'I couldn't help it' said Michael, 'I always thought it was best to get out of the seat and lean into the slope... it's what I've always done.' Somchai explained the key point again and two attempts later Michael made it up to the level section, grinning like that Somchai. Thong was alternating attempts with his friend and was suffering from slightly different problems – under-gearing. A quiet word in his shell-like and he too was climbing like a demon. “Brilliant” was their joint efforts; it was at this point that they both recognized that they had much more too learn.