The moment - revealed.

For me, my bike riding moment is all about THAT experience.

Not the speed, or the calories burned. Not the personal best, the miles covered or the accolades won - though all of these things work together to make riding a bike something I love - and at times any of thses things may come to the fore to motivate me.

No, what I really crave is the moment of control, that moment of being in 'the zone' (as they used to say) of feeling complete and effortless mastery of my bike. The pedal kick which lifts the front wheel in perfect synchrony with a pull on the bars; applying the front break at speed while throwing my weight back to elicit an endo; a bunny-hop of exquisit neatness.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not just like some BMXer who'll spend days working on a trick (it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be an expert some bank advertisement tells me) - life's too short and I have too many interests - but what really makes me want to reach for my glves and lid is the moment where I'm able to ride with smoothness and flare. Not at the mercy of gravity or kinetic energy, not relying on the bike to save me, but instead being the 'pilot' and not the 'passenger' as GB used to say.

And I'm not talking about showing off here, though drops, manuals and endos all look good; just a fusion of moves which make it possible for a bike to get up, along and over any object. Look at Chris Akrigg and his eclectic trials based riding style ... the possibilities of being able to manouver the bike at low speed (as well as high) makes any geological feature possible without the need for a downhill/enduro bike. No need to dab, no need to dismount.

Think about drops. How often have you been caught by a slippery, rutted section and found a drop in front of you too steep to steep and wheel-swallowing to roll down? At high speed, such an obstacle would be easy with a bit of practice and bravado - a lift on the bars and a bit of a bunny-hop if you're able and you're away - but as you roll to a dead stop only a wheelie drop or a front hop ould avert you having to get off and walk.

So get out there and practice. Take every rock, rut and root as an invitation to lift your bars, haul you're back wheel up with the pedals or throw your weight back to manual through.

Go on - join me on my journey...I'm still a beginner but the holy grail of bike control is tantalizingly close for all of us. Practice, ride fluidly and you may become one of those riders who I mst admire - who make it look effortless...