I wrote this crazy lesson a few years back for another site. Of course, its fiction, it does not work. Trying this is a bad idea.

However, anyone looking to break the traction beerier on his or her mountain bike should give the idea some consideration. Sliding through the dirt requires all of the same principles and the result will make you a faster rider.

So without further adieu the thing that you should not do,

I’ll break it down for you because drifting or sliding any car is easier than you think. The idea behind doing this requires the driver to understand that maintaining the cars balance is the most important thing to do. As you turn into the corner, slowly turn in before the corner; this will compress the springs on the outside of the car. Pull down on the steering wheel to make the turn. While turning make all of your movements slower than normal, keep the springs on the outside of the car compressed and don’t upset the cars trajectory by shifting the weight of the car. Add gas until you reach the end of the tires static friction. This is where you will notice the car begin to move outward. In a nice big corner, this will happen around 60 mph. Holding the steering wheel in place you will be able to add gas and move away from the curb or let off and move in toward the curb. It’s simple.
To use the same corner as an example accelerating to 65-70 will put the car into a full drift. The car will start to rock nose/tail, in/out in a pendulum swing as you balance the throttle and wheel position.

• First, find a nice 270-degree highway on-ramp that you feel comfortable with.
• Enter at a good clip
• Load the springs (stock, race, $$$, doesn’t matter)
• Add gas

I know my audience. Don’t over prepare for this, it’s not that big of a deal. Don’t get caught up in exacting your tire pressure, buying all the right parts, or getting special tires. However, having a stiff rear sway bar will help keep the front end of the car from pushing through the corner.
Remember to put your seat up nice and straight so that you can reach everything and increase your speed incrementally.

I am going to take my car to the stealership to have it repaired. It has had problems idling at a reasonable level and random misses on all cylinders. The throttle rises and drops on its own when the car is out of gear. Adding to this, sometimes the fuel will cut off early causing a misfire. I have tried many things to fix the problem but none has had an effect on the core problem. The scrolling tachometer has gotten the best of me. I give up.

They are going to rake me over the coals at the stealership. I am sure that they are not going to like my car. It will face the prejudice of some mechanic who will blame all of its problems on some added bit rather than look for the real cause. I will be looking through the window when he opens the hood just to see his lips form the words “not stock”. This type of attitude plagues everything that people do. In every aspect of life someone will say, “The guy that was in here last did everything wrong”. It is a cancer in the workplace. Blaming the poor quality of the finished work on work previously done is a way to distance oneself from taking true ownership in the finished product.

As bleak as the evil empire stealership is, an honest ray of hope still exists in the car repair business. Roldan’s car service in Fairview is charging me $10 to mount and balance two tires, and $19 to do an alignment, less if I help. Moreover, that goes for anyone, his garage is a self-service garage. I have been there before and until now never paid out more than $11 to do anything. Consider this place if you have any repairs to do, you will be pleasantly surprised.

The fastest handling ride you will never get to try, this is the Bone Head Horse.

Designed to be an east coast cruise missile, the Horse defined thinking outside the box. Goal 1 was to build a fast handling cross-country frame that could be guided by the rider leaning his head from side to side. Two, design the frame to dampen vibration through flexible sections in the rear triangle.  Three, Allow the frame to flex along the seat post axis for two wheel steering characteristics. Four, Make this all happen without pivots and entirely out of aluminum.

Riding the Bone Head Horse is invigorating. When viewed on level ground the bottom bracket is on an equal plain with the rear dropout. This aspect gives the rider the ability to change directions by using minimal body input. Its short chain stays and tall bottom bracket give the rider a feeling of being above the bike rather than being a part of it. It is a little unnerving to ride on the bike path. In fact, it is hard to keep the bike in one lane. The true character does not become clear until you hit the trail.

Off road, the quickness of the ride takes some getting used to. Everything about the bike is aggressive. The cockpit is long and low which is excellent for climbing. The long stem puts the rider’s weight well in front of the rear axle, which makes climbing out of the saddle easy. Still, it allows the rider to take the most ridiculous lines imaginable through rock gardens. When traveling slowly through difficult terrain the steep head tube angle permits the rider to react to any opportunity. The Bone Head is so willing to carve it frees the rider up to look further down the trail.

Accessing the hidden benefits of the frames reactive rear wheel steering takes daring. It requires a skilled rider to push the bike hard enough to gain benefits from the flexible rear triangle. A one-inch square section of tube connects the upper and lower stays to the front triangle. The small contact patch allows the frame to flex laterally on the two square tubes. The theory works, but the paint and aluminum crack around the areas. On later frames, titanium is used instead of aluminum as a frame material.

The aluminum frame has a limited lifespan of about three months. The cracks come so quickly and in such numbers that as a rider you become numb to them. Upon noticing the first cracks, you would order a new frame. By the time it would arrive, the bike could have tens of cracks. Some would connect to other cracks. Strings of little hairline dash marks would ring the welds around the bottom bracket and dropouts. Others would form on or near the head tube junctions. Nonetheless the bike held together and instilled confidence that it would be capable of another ride.

So, why is this relevant? The ideas that make this bike an amazingly fast east coast ride were not exclusive to Bone Head. Gary Fisher has been developing the Genesis geometry platform for nearly ten years. Genesis geometry shares some of the same basic ideas like a longer top tube and shorter stays. The latest generation G2 genesis geometry increases the head tube angle for better low speed handling and adds a custom fork to maintain wheelbase. Gary Fisher has taken the best parts of what the Bone Head had to offer and added safety, predictability, and consistency.

Bone Head Bicycles Inc.

Built in Fredonia Pennsylvania from 1996 - 1999

I have uploaded a bunch of classic racing photos.If you have been racing for a number of years you may be in the slide show.

A 'heads up' for you guys who, like me, may be regular Lowe's or Home Depot customers. During the last month or so I became a victim of a clever scam while out shopping. Simply going out to get supplies has turned out to be quite traumatic. Don't be naive enough to think it couldn't happen to you or your friends.

Here's how the scam works:

Two awesomely good-looking 20-25 year-old girls come over to your vehicle as you are packing your stuff in. While one helps load your stuff, the other starts wiping your windshield with a rag and Windex, and their breasts are almost falling out of their skimpy tee-shirts. It is impossible not to look.

When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say no thanks and instead ask you for a ride to another Home Depot or Lowe's. You agree and they get in the back seat. On the way, they start undressing. Then one of them climbs over into the front and starts crawling all over you, while the other one steals your wallet.

I had my wallet stolen October 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, & 24th. Also November 1st, 4th, twice on the 10th, three times just yesterday, and very likely again this upcoming weekend.