Learn to Ride Faster and Safer With Bike Handling Drills

In my experience most cyclists take handling skills and their bicycles’ in general for granted. Most mechanical break downs can be prevented by properly adjusting, maintaining, and inspecting your bicycle. And a lot of crashes can be avoided by being aware of your surroundings and having skills necessary to react instinctively to emergency situations.

By practicing these skills in a controlled environment you will become a faster and safer cyclist. The first thing you need to do is find an open area where there is no traffic such as a parking lot. You will need some orange cones (water bottles can be substituted), and a partner.

•Braking: Begin circling your course. Have your partner randomly call out “stop.” You should immediately bring you bike to a quick, safe controlled stop. Have your partner stop quickly as well and look at distance between your bicycles. If you have good reflexes and reaction time distance between your bicycles will be close. Practice braking in a variety of situations such as cornering and braking with your partner in front of you (be careful). If you are a beginner cyclist apply both brakes with even pressure. As you get more experienced apply slightly more pressure to your front brake. •Cornering: Choose your line through each corner. If you corner correctly you should clip apex of turn. Make sure your inside crank arm is in vertical position so that your pedal does not touch ground. Practice cornering inside and outside in both directions and try to pick up your speed each time. Start to sprint out of corners. Set up a slalom course and also practice 180 degree turns.

Spring Black Bear Hunt

I just got back from my first black bear hunt in Canada. It was a hunting trip that will stay with me for rest for my life. This trip was the most intense, and unnerving experiences I have ever had. I arrived at camp in Brunswick Canada on a Sunday night and was in tree stand early the next morning. My open tree stand was only 7 feet off ground, and bears bait can only 14 yards away. This is what we call "nerve hunting" up close and personal! I saw no bears on first and second day of hunting this zone. I was completely alone about 10 miles from camp in deep woods. But my wait was worth it. On 3rd day, in early evening at about 4:30 PM, a black bear came out of no were silently from my right hand side. The bear started to eat some of bait for what seemed like 5 minuets. I thought bear looked a little small and wanted to bag a bigger one so I decided to let it go. After about 10 minuets of watching bear eat, it stopped, got up on its hinder legs and started