2nd Session - It Rained

Ever so slightly bigger crew last weekend: Ciara, Simon and I drove down to Halifax. I hadn't checked the forecast or anything like that, so I was all prepared with a handful of buckets and plenty of cheap washing up liquid...

I didn't need any of it. It rained. And what a difference that makes. I've ridden the snowflex once in the past whilst it was raining, but it was also really windy that day, so this was kind of like a first.

Such a good session. Ciara is starting to get the hang of hitting kickers - albeit the small one - and I was working on some backside 3s and the shifty-shifty. With the slope being wet everything was much smoother; it was easy to get air.

This time around we did take some video. I'm quite happy with the backside 3s I was spinning, the technique is coming together I think; there's a decent one on camera but it wasn't from the proper kicker so it doesn't count. In fact, I didn't get 'round to spinning at all off the big kicker - it was just straight stuff.

I was going fairly big though - bigger than I've been in the past for sure. I was even speed checking 'cos the slope was so fast! Anyhow, the only thing of note trick-wise was a handful of double shifties. It was the first time I'd tried one and to be honest they're not that hard. I'd say they're easier than boning and stalling a regular shifty (depending on the size of the air).

I got an ok shot on film, but it's quite far away. I'm probably going to look for something better before I cross it off the list. They felt good though.

I finished off the session with a pretty big slam: kinda big off the kicker and landed pretty much on my back. Ouch! That's on film too, but again I'm kinda small in the shot so it's a little hard to see what's going on...

I'll collect the video sometime in the future.

As a closing thought: I think I need to invest some time learning to ride on the 'flex. I'm getting caught out when I mess up the weight I'm putting on my edges, and sometimes the mistakes are a little painful :)

1st Session - Hot And Dry

Ciara and I drove down to Halifax last Saturday to shred the 'flex. It was hot, dry, and generally a bit poo.

Being there in the middle of the day when the sun is fully out is simply too much for the aged sprinkler system. They had some wax out, and I had my usual supply of washing up liquid, but neither availed. Dropping in from the ramp was fast enough, but by the time you hit the kicker it's simply too slow. Pretty much unusable.

The best I managed was a sketchy backside 3. No photos, no videos, nothing to cross off the list.

The lift stopped also, which seems to be a common occurrence. It doesn't bother me that much, but Ciara hates using the secondary lift!

So why then, am I looking forwards to going back? When it comes to a good Saturday afternoon session, am I being stupidly optimistic or are there other ways to unlock the potential of the slope?

I was talking to the guy who runs the place (I think); apparently the slope is totally different on evenings after the sun has gone down. I can believe that. The problem is that the opening times make it too costly for me to travel there, only to ride when the sun has gone in.

So I asked him about dousing the kicker with water. Apparently a solution of water and washing up liquid is best, which is what some of the regulars use. So next time I'm there, I'm gonna take a few buckets, plently of washing up liquid, and periodically lube the kicker.

I'm sure many people consider this to be a lot of effort. Especially considering that Cas' is marginally closer and doesn't suffer from a dry-slope... They may well be right - but I just really enjoy riding there. I like the kicker - when it's running smoothe it can be awesome. So for now, I'm placing my faith in the 'fax (and a handful of buckets).