Apr 10
9
Thanks to Hatch who showed me the eroded part on the right side of the track is now rideable. After the ride when he showed us I tried it out during one of the weekday rides Borj and I do.
This section of the Malipay trail network is the part that leads from the main Malipay road which passes by Tita’s Hardin de Malipay. Right after passing Hardin, and right before reaching the community basketball court, you turn right. The terrain slopes down then suddenly climbs up (one of the main characteristics of this trail network) to a T-intersection.
Turning right at the T will lead you to a small church in the middle of the Otso-otso (or Ocho-ocho; otso is the number eight). Turning left at the T will bring you to the first Hagdan (Stairs).
After successfully doing it the first time after Hatch showed us it has been a staple route for me, and I always encourage my friends to also try it out, as opposed to the too easy, too flat section on the left. This left side was established as a bypass to the original right side section, then became the main track after Ondoy (Typhoon Ketsana).
Riding along the regular direction to the Otso-otso I noticed 2 riders heading our way. It was Ian and Dino. 2 of the Backout Boys. Practicing for the 1st MTG Big Daddy’s DH CUP.
They decided to join us. They’ll train while we watch them fly down the DH sections.
Knowing they’ll love the “new” section I told them about it. Going towards Hardin for some refreshments for the beginners Doc Riz was able to convince to ride with us we had the opportunity to ride past this section, and I showed them where to enter.
Ian's wife on the trail in question.
I stopped right before the huge “hole”/drop and pointed at the entry point. Before I can warn them about the other drop midway and tell them to shift back to the left side before the transition I was stopped mid-sentence by a flying biker entering the hole and riding down fast. It was Ian. Oh shit, I thought. But I know he has quick reflexes. He’s an experienced downhiller.
Then I lost sight of him quick. He was going fast, and the section was fairly “deep”, then I heard someone shout in the general direction of where Ian was supposed to be. Not seeing him climb up I knew something was wrong. He must have crashed.
I moved to a better spot to get a look at him, and I see him on the ground getting up. He didn’t shift back to the left side of the track. He went straight to a 4-foot gap on the right side.
When he got the bike up I can’t help but shout, “Oh shit!” I said, for the benefit of Dino, who decided to be cautious and wanted to study the section first before attacking (unlike Ian).
When I saw Ian lift the bike I knew there was something wrong. It looked like his bike shrunk. When I stared at it while walking down towards him I noticed the front wheel was hitting the crank. Another curse, brought about by the situation… then Dino started laughing. An infectious laugh. Crazy!
Like I said in one of my tweets yesterday, “A friend broke something in the trails today…” Photos below:
How’s Ian? Only a small scratch on his knee, nothing a Band-aid can’t fix.
Lessons learned:
- ALWAYS have the GoPro ready to shoot, even if you’re expecting an easy and uneventful ride.
- Listen (fully) to people who have ridden a section you’ll be attacking for the first time.
- Related to #2, let those people finish talking.
- Use the proper bike for the riding you’ll be doing. In a scale of 1-10, Ian was using a bike for level 2 riding but his skills are at level 9-10 — and riding it at level 9!
Hahaha! Good to know Ian and Lei (Ian’s wife, she owns the bike) were still cool about it. At least they can’t put upgrading the frame on hold now 
Check out Ian’s blog: The Philippine Outdoors
Added on April 14, 2010
Doc Riz has finally uploaded the photos he took of the bike. Check them out:
Possibly Related Posts:
- [VIDEOS] Dirt is Good 2011 – Super D track
- Aimless, Part 2
- Aimless
- Bato-bato-pick
- Trail Traps no more
lol @ Lessons learned #3….
wag naman skill level #9-10, 5 lang. hehe… Dahil pag 9-10, di dapat nasira ang bike.
Sus! Humble! Di ko babaguhin yan! Hahaha! Pero naman na-iimagine ko kung pano ka pumasok sa gap na yon, masisira talaga ang bike with the angle and momentum mo. Bilis mo eh.
another simple lesson that should be learned: never get too excited and never underestimate the malipay playground! hehehe
Haha correct!
So what's the verdict regarding the Kinesis KM310 frame (SPF Tubes) ? It really can't take aggressive riding?
If so I'll have to warn my father with his aggressive downslope runs.
KM310? According to Ian it's an XC310.
Anyway, Ian is a downhiller who fairly races regularly. The Kinesis bike was his wife's, a cautious XC rider; not even a regular weekend warrior. The 310 was just perfect for her — for her style of riding.
Then Ian uses it to train for tomorrow's Big Daddy downhill race.
I'll try to take a photo of the gap that killed the bike the next time I ride there. Not sure if we'll be riding Malipay tomorrow
km310, i think is a 2010 model, while xc310 is its earlier equivalent. I think pareho lang sila sigurong manipis and lightweight. Purely for xc application only. It just so happen that it went to the wrong hand.
. I'm just an aggressive rider when it comes to technical section and stubborn on uphill and xc310 wasn't build for that purpose.
xc310 or km310 for 2010 is a good xc bike if you want a frame that is light, a not so expensive frame, and probably good for xc racing.
Walang problema if you use that frame going down a hill( tehnically different from downhill) on a paved road or fire road. Mali lang talaga ginawa ko….
Well, you did have a reason: so the bike will get used, and not just parked. But then it's not a good call to use the XC310 for downhill racing practice hahaha!
Good afternoon
Sir, Im planning to buy Kinesis xc310 but when I read a your comment, nag dalawang isip talaga ako,please advice.
Thanks
Hi Erico,
It depends on your use. Like I said, the rider is a downhiller and he's using that Kinesis while practicing for a downhill race.
If you won't be doing any fast downhill descents and huge jumps I think you will have fun with the Kinesis XC310. Just use it as what it's intended for.
Have fun and God bless! Happy trails!
Use for Cross Country ride lang Mr.Craw.
Cross-country is what the XC310's made for. Enjoy! Let's ride soon