December stepped in with its winter chills and dry trails. Looking back at 2011 and the good times it laced along, my buddies and I peddled out a few XC single-tracks and DH descents in the twelfth month of twenty eleven. Our gangs been busy lately with work and daily chores, finally twelveleven got us all synced back to the hills.
Part I: The clan joining me for some XC churning included Sahil Jagtap, Kaustubh Gujare along with downhill punk Gautam Taode on a street commuting rig. Packing our two wheeled toys in 800cc fueled boxes with wheels; we set off for some quick single-track roost. One of the oldest walking trails we’ve been riding always throws in a spectacular view with random spotted deer sightings and regurgitating cattle. With exposed lines and rock surprises the long ride through trees gave our granny gears some needed work. After a few missed turns and streaming off the trail a few times we wrapped up the hub heating XC ride.
Part II: A Canuck buddy of mine came visiting India and landed in Pune. After some scooter cruising through the city and sorting out bikes for the weekend, Alex Salikan (skinny Canuck kid), Hrishi Mandke (streetbike freestyle guru), Prawnz and the rest of us dispersed on the weekend shred eve. Sunday called in for some XC rip on downhill bikes. Some barbed wire fence hopping and tons of downward gradient rolling! After a bit of mucking around we stumbled upon a decent 15-20ft cliff drop. Though the run out wasn’t all prepped up, scattered with wolf sized rocks, I decided to give it a launch. Three, two, one and droppin… Run 1, clean but no style. So Hrishi called out for another run. I had to! It was OCD at play now. Run 2, three, two, one… Boom, I tried hipping the drop and overshot the landing patch. Ran out into the wolves and destroyed my front hoop. Well, you gotta huck what you gotta huck! With a quick Indian lunch, a tacoed wheel ride through traffic and some street foolery we wrapped up the dirt day, only to start the next morning. Some more downhill blasts and random descents down ridges and it was time for our white buddy to pack up and fly back home to the mecca of mountain biking. With a quick bike store visit and more desi delicacies, its time to disperse again.
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