THE Gravel advisory for DogT

Wes has way worse conditions to ride than I and has 25 years more of it than I and has more mature riding habits than I, here's his review on what you can expect no matter what... even going so slow you think it Can't Happen... again - ugh.
Be scared, be very scared... I always am.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cmK8dCX5ug[/video]

You don't know what fear is until you reach your late 60's. Then everything scares the snot outta you. Growing old ain't all it's cracked up to be, plus your reflexes are shot. Practice, practice, practice.

Dave
69S

Point of advisory is All Gravel is risky no matter how careful you are being. I used to go as slow as you and still do often enough but if too slow every little pebble seems to have its way with the front. Depending on surface condition there's a speed I call planing speed. A local native explained it as going fast enough so tire skips over most the jostles. I find at some speed threshold the pure ballistics carries you past the jerk jigs automatically that no human can react or even perceive the action that slaps ya down. Wes and I do it routinely but its always pensive work that feels so good once we get off of it and the beating stops.

I got caught out after dark 1/4 way up a river climb out to discover no traffic tracks fresh graded surface a few inches deep up to fist size stones off canter decreasing radius horror of instantly crashing at both ends at once plus sliding into drop off, if I put a foot down it'd just slide off the roller balls and if I stopped bike I'd never get momentum to climb instead of spin off the drop, I got insanely angery at THE Fate Hunter and went breserk as I"d crashed so much prior I just couldn't take it anymore, so this was it and I went BESERK and Shot Out of Hell into a Flying Dream State that killed the old self and released a Demon.

I'll be 60 in Nov and just today was thinking my next decade main hobby focus is travel to track days and pick show downs with the local hot shots on Ms Peel.
I no longer fear old age but reveal in its wisdom's not being wasted on a teenage body. I do know that I'll be duck taping major joints and wearing neck protector to keep the broken mush in one place to gimp around a few weeks then back at it harder from the lessons learned to the very marrow.

When I moved from big city to 50 yrs behind the times I had to pair down practice to cave man simple and cheap. Most of what though to be old age is just wear of bad posture in the neck. That grows back towards normal reserves but stretching it longer and back to recurve it over time. I don't get much but inital lightening pains on joint shattering crashes now so no longer beleave in trauma pain nor even over use muscle soreness. If ya do then you don't know what you are missing out on in real health. The other thing is if ya ain't eatting your bushelbasket of brocolli, brussell sprouts and roots and tubers, plus fish fins and egg shells and knocking open bone to suck out the raw marrow and as many grubs and bugs as ya can catch then your are desolving slowing by not enough multi minerals. Quit sweets, milk and pork then Royal Relative is a close kin.

Consider that normal gut lining is renewed every 4-5 days, blood is 3 sec to 3 months old only then filtered out, skin is only weeks old and major joints renew themselves in 7-9 months if they have good nerve blood nutrients and painless use to keep the stimulus going to renew. Oldest tissue even in 100 yr old people shouldn't be more than mid teens. If it ain't guess where the old age pathology decays most.

To lengthen thy life stretch thy neck.
To toughen thou life eat rocks.
To display superior intelligence over pure animal nature never ride on only 2 tires.

I've felt those pebbles that feel like they are going to throw you down.

Diet is good, very little processed food. String beans out of garden this year are great.
Not enough exercise, but not above my BMI, but am feeling stronger lately, must be the Norton.
I'll try the stretching, the shoulder muscles are always sore from the C6-7 fusion, again the Norton seems to help.
Not worried about the kickstart any more.
Trying to work as many years out of this as I can.
Norton helps the balance and attention span too, all at the same time.

I'm way beyond my father who died of heart attack at 62 (modern drugs are a big help, I've come back from CHF 10 years ago). He would never have considered doing anything like this, even at 50.

I surprised myself last year when I was trying to come up the hill in the grass and the rear wheel spun out, and immediately the correct leg went out and stabilized the bike, instinctual. I didn't know I still had that in me.

Thanks,
Dave
69S

CAUTION! Warning BEWARE. Do Not Stretch Neck or do normal range of motion excise or stretches till I advise you on what's really going on or you may get terrible flair up for weeks w/o knowing why or blame me. Serious as life and death. Your symptoms are not coming form the nerve roots of C5/6/7 but higher up in brain stem level. We will pow wow private to get you going on your own. It is cave man simple though. Diet sure matters but only 1/3 of the old fart hoodlum equation.

I had LH calf sore "*After*" using it alot with weak leaking front brake but knew better than think it was from mangling air plane crash in '83 or about twisted off high siding off it at 120 mph on Ninja in '01 or torn off hanging by skin as was L knee too in '05 deer strike. Nope it was d/t last almost knock out head injury/whiplash that got left neck most, so took few more minerals and laid on neck wedge and next day only felt pumped up with extra spring in my step in worn our moccasins. The good news is age and old injury are not the real factors that you suffer from just how long in-attention to real source of trouble is ignored.

First thing to strike ground on slow Gravel slap downs are the palms so I always wear them even to get to mail box and back and nip them up as had loose gloves jerked right off to grind to bone instead of just leather. After I'd aired tires up proper on way home I got to 80 in opens but hit a 4" stone in middle of lane coming out a sweeper fully upright - thought it a clump of leaves as same color. I might of been able to dodge it but more likely clip it halfway to get tossed down, so just held forks tight hit it dead on and suspension took it in stride > thump/thump. To dice THE Gravel is similar, try to go slow enough you can throttle up some on the rough looser spots then ease off for some reserves to do the next one with slightly aggressive spunk. Low air practice on tarmac is safest way I know to get a feel for THE Gravel 'control'. Plus everyone should know the reversed control sense when tire is flat before you learn it the harder way. IF I had riding school I'd have them ride on on slow leaks on rear till flat then on front till flat then both tires before any other exercises. Likely could win races with just that practice, then I'd teach how not to ever brake while leaned into a turn, always slow while upright to be going slow enough to get on hi power all the way though a turn. THE Gravel requires this type discipline or SPLAT> But shoot with the low tire practice you'd already know it to your very core.

Old people should feel better than young stupid ones and have more endurance and have proven they out lasted most of what gets them youngsters suffering and draggy. Later gator, don't let you meat loaf.

You and my drive are too sharp and narrow to pull off in glee, but the more open wide sweepers I kick up heels now and then, just exactly opposite of flat trackers sliding wide -which would put me in fence or ditch, I power up rear to slide out enough to cause bike to fall down, which flips forks into straight steer, which then trys to hi side bike that compensates for the rear low siding to twist frame up with much greater rear patch hook up allowing acceleration ahead instead of wasting time traction sliding, ugh.
To ride THE Gravel you must give up idea the front steers the bike, it does not, only the rear does, so front is merely a rudder to help aim rear but if rear already leaned and aimed to turn then forks are just to hold front up when not in wheelie state. Keep attention on rear patch and just let the front follow as it will.