Pauls first ride....

One of the joys of being into a sport is introducing a good freind to it. With this noble intention in mind I took my non-mountain biking friend Paul out for his first Mountain bike ride the other day.

Now before I go on, I should mention that Paul is a semi professional athlete. His father, was a professional athlete and played for New Zealand. Therefore it is only natural that I would be intimidated by Paul.

Nevertheless, I oiled the chain on my spare bike and prepared myself for an ass kicking as we set out onto the single track trails at the back of my house.

Yes, that sweet trail is on my doorstep

During the ride I discovered that the sport that both Paul and his father excel at is non-other than lawn bowls. So hand eye co-ordination being the defining factor rather than cardiovascular capacity I thought I would introduce Paul to a small technical challenge. Riding over the wooden bridge in the photo above.

The result of which can be seen here…..

All I can say is that lawn bowls is hard mans game. Paul fell 7 foot into a river bed and didn't cry or ask for his mother. In fact he even managed a smile.

I of course was laughing so hard that I fell off my bike as well

Despite this he is eager to come out with me again..but only if I play with his balls (which I found out are called Pils by the way)

I've said yes...as long as he promises not to throw them at me.