Today's Ride

Today's ride may have changed my life as a cyclist. I went to the Specialized demo at Buckwallow, sponsored by our LBS, and rode a couple of very high-end bikes. First time on a modern full-suspension, second time on a 29er. First time on a bike that is worth more than many people's automobiles.

The lycra crowd boggles my mind:


Knowing that I was going to this event, I did a little research on the Specialized MTB lineup. Despite the incredible sexiness of the Enduro, or the history of the Stumpjumper, I could tell that the Camber was the (theoretical) bike for me. Trail oriented, efficient, versatile, this ride is the 100ish-waisted ski of the bike world. So, conveniently, the top-of-the-line Camber FSR Pro Carbon 29 was there for the riding. After the rep set the suspension to my weight, I was off for an amazing bike ride. The bike felt instantly comfortable. I found myself riding faster than usual, with little effort and lots of control. For a few blissful moments, I felt like the bike wasn't really there at all and I was simply zooming through the forest like an Ewok on a speeder. I really did not want to give this bike back. Upon returning it, I learned that this carbon marvel has a MSRP of $8500. Well, you get what you pay for.

The Camber at rest.


Next up was the classic Stumpjumper. Of course, this was a modern version, the Expert Carbon 29. After riding the Camber, I found the Stumpy to be a little "meh." Nice bike, smooth ride, perhaps a little more maneuverable in the technical stretches. But it just did not turn my crank like the Camber did. And of course, it is only a $5500 bike, so what was I thinking?

The Stumpy that just didn't do it for me:


Funnily enough, the last and least expensive bike I rode was my second favorite. Since my current bike is a 26 hardtail, I thought it would be a good idea to see what a 29er hardtail was like. The Carve Expert 29 was a really nice ride, and is a bike most MTB mortals could afford: $1800. It was light, quick, though without the plush ride of the FS, it made me slow down and pay attention. If you are bike shopping on a budget, hardtails offer great value and the 29 inch ride does smooth things out a lot.

While this bike has the paint job of the lesser Comp model, it had the Reba fork of the Expert:


So if you are thinking of getting a new bike, support your local bike shop and go to a demo day. If you are riding a 20-year bike and steadfastly refuse to believe that you need a new bike, get out and ride something different. Are you still skiing on straight skis?

Straight wood   rat trap    leather……… Just kidding
Nice Bikes!!!

For today's ride I returned to Buckwallow with my own bike, much more fun to ride after getting the wheels trued at the LBS. The back wheel was way out of whack and it turned out I had not seated my new tires correctly. Now I know. I was hoping to meet Donnie, our local bike tech and die-hard fatbiker, but instead ended up riding with Trevor, one the Tuesday Night regulars, and his dog Paco. Paco is originally from Mexico, but was adopted by Trevor's neighbors, brought back to the Hinterlands, given to Trevor and seems to be enjoying life in the north.

It is hard to take pictures while riding at Buckwallow, as the trails demand some attention. I only took a few out-of-focus shots on the double-track section, so since you can't make an image in-focus, you can at least mess with it and make it fun:



Trevor was having some wheel issues of his own. Turns out his new custom tubeless rims needed some tweaking and a lot of his rear spokes were loose. At $15 a spoke (!!!!!!!!!!), he did not want to break anything, so we paused for a little spoke-tightening session. This allowed me to catch my breath, so I was happy to oblige. He called it a day at lunch time and went off in search of a wheel-truer.

It was a busy day at Buckwallow but the trail network seems to absorb riders well. It was very cool to see lots of parents and kids out riding. Junior-level MTB racing is really growing in our area and these kids really like to ride. I even chatted with some first-timers, a guy of my vintage and his teenage daughter, out to see "What it was like." Good for them and I hope they get the bike bug. I encountered them a few times later on, and they did seem to have smiles on their faces. What a great sport!

Did the second annual Fathers' Day ride a day early... don't get me started.  I could go on about Schooley's Mountain, but what really got me was seeing a guy with Hell's Angels colors in Mendham NJ.  Who woulda thought.

Finally been getting back on the bike over the last week or so.  The new puppy has Weimeraner in her, so she loves being out on the trails chasing us around.

Hit Hardy Rd Trails in Wilmington on Saturday and we were able to check out the Bike Fest.  Met some great folks, checked put the BETA booth and picked up some nice die-cut stickers.  They're expected to launch their new website in the next couple of months.

Trails rode great up there, felt SO good to be back.

Monday we climbed Shelving Rock Mtn on Lake George, great quick climb- up and down in less than an hour.  Rode down to the lake for a swim while watching the sun set behind the mtns.

Took an extended lunch yesterday and his SMBA.  Some wet spots, but the trails are in great shape.

Also want to throw a shout out in here to Grey Ghost Bicycles in Glens Falls.  They helped me get on the trails on Sat with a quick fix on my bike.  Great guys in there, they earned my business.  They're located right next to the Bull Pen (now burnt down), in Glens Falls.

 

Not only has this month been a bit wet, for us seasonal allergy-sufferers it has one of the worst pollen seasons ever. So I haven't been riding so much. Despite the gray skies and off-and-on rain, I just had to get out this afternoon. With an easy pace, I headed to my "go-to" ride on Snomo Trail 82. The sandy parts were firm after this morning's rain and the wet parts were really wet. The beavers have been working on the dam and one stretch of water ALMOST turned me around:

The water hazard. Last time I was here, you could at least stand on the now-submerged culvert, now just visble under water. At the deepest point, this pond be would over your knees. Not worth trying to ride through but worth trying to bushwhack around. I took a route to looker's right:


Mid-swamp, I am walking along the mud berm formed by the beavers, releasing water here and there. Gotta give the little fellas something to do later:


Self-portrait for posterity. Yes, I was here, standing on a stick:


Proof that I made it to the other side. The rest of the ride went well. I am really liking my new spiky flat pedals:


The post-ride reward, which really belongs in the Craft Beer Thread. First time I have seen an India Pale Lager. Very yummy.

junior and i did a paddle n pedal morning on mauch chunk lake / switchback trail yesterday

It is still a little wet out there. This morning I took advantage of the more bearable temps in the wake of the "cold front" that produced some devastating storms in the Hinterlands yesterday. Some folks still without power. The local ride was nice but a bit soft and damp. I learned that deer flies do not bite when trapped inside your helmet. They just freak out and buzz incessantly. Dealing with it requires a definite Zen mindset.

The perils of having a white bike. Mud and sand at the halfway point.


Safely at home, the tan/dirt line is revealed.

Despite my earlier unbridled enthusiasm for the riding at Moreau Lake State Park (aka Spier Falls), I was beginning to think that Matt might have been right about the place being cursed.  On my last ride there, I busted my rear derailleur and had a pretty long walk / glide out.  The time before that we got thunder-boomed and rained off the mountain (although we were rewarded with a pretty cool double rainbow back at the trailhead).  Both of those rides were uncomfortably humid, buggy, and ended with steep, semi-harrowing descents in the scramble to get out as quickly as possible.

But all that was a month ago.  For a variety of reasons (crappy weather, family scheduling conflicts, a week in Yosemite) I hadn’t been back to Spier Falls since late June.  If this week’s ride went the way of the last two, I might have ended up in the “never again” camp.  Instead, everything went right, starting with stellar weather.  The climb up was still hard, the riding on top was still super technical and challenging and I had to walk my bike plenty, but nobody suffered any mechanicals or lost any blood.  The highlight might have been the super steep but uncharacteristically smooth descent for hundreds of vertical feet on the “Esker” trail – a segment I hadn’t ridden before.  Sorry, but no pics from that – it was the end of our ride and nearly dark.

Quick break at one of the lookouts:


Stellar weather conditions, views as nice as any in the Adirondacks:


How could a place this beautiful be cursed?:

I relocated to central MA just over a month ago.  The trail riding has been quite a bit different out here, compared to what I was used to in central NY.  Much rockier and way more technical!  I feel like I'm a n00b all over again.  Yesterday I went back to one of the less technical spots in Northbridge, called Plummer's Landing.  They divide it up into 3 different sections called Ribbon Candy, which is comprised of a lot of tight switchbacky trails that wind through the trees, Goat Hill, which didn't seem all that bad until I started descending, and then The Badlands, which is an open, sandy area.  I got a bit lost yesterday and managed to get a good taste of each section.

Ribbon Candy section:



To get to Goat Hill, you cross the Goat Hill Lock, which is part of the defunct Blackstone Valley Canal:



Right before a thunderstorm erupted overhead and the bottom fell out of the skies, I learned why it's called "Goat Hill:"

Looking down:


Looking back up:

There is a county park about a mile from my house. I am always the only one on the trails. It was nice in the shade and there was even a breeze in the woods. It is pretty wide open and fast.

I've been riding but not reporting. Ooops. Last week's ride at Buckwallow with my nephew Pudd (and his brand-spanking new bike, bought that day) was highlighted by silly crashes and resultant scrapes and bruises. Thought I'd spare you the gory details.

Today I went out early and did my "local" ride, which I hadn't done for a while. The trail was reasonably dry, faster and the beaver dam sufficiently developed to allow for an easy crossing. A great start to the day:

Some fall colours are starting to show:


Close up of the tracks to the right of my bike. I'm thinking wolf. Could be a big dog but the signs indicate Canis Lupus.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Some fall colours are starting to show:

You guys and your colours always showin off, showin up our colors.

Nice.

Harvey44 wrote

You guys and your colours always showin off, showin up our colors.

Nice.

Thanks. The additional "u" makes all the difference. Still experimenting/learning with the new camera. The bike image was in manual mode, fiddling with exposure setting. Not exactly sure what I did but it seemed to work out. The "enhance" feature in iPhoto helped pop the foreground.

U do. U do.

See, we learnt something. The Brits and their Canadian cousins must have a large volume of vowels and go about using them all willy nilly, very superfluously with no fear of exhausting the supply or causing a row.

They probably have a boot full. Check their auto.

Needed some serious stress relief after a crappy day at work so it hit the trails in the Acres where I live.  I'm really getting back into mt biking.  These are some really nice trails and I can ride right from my house and be on trail in under 5 mins.

Got an unexpected view of the Jay range along the way

Rode Spier Falls on Weds.  Trails are finally dry and in the nicest shape I’ve seen them since May.  No bugs too, well except for some wasps that nailed K-Man in the ankle.  Rode for nearly 3 hours, had to break out the headlamps for the first time this summer for the final 30 minutes or so.  Was kind of beat all day yesterday, so I guess it was a good ride.

The pic below is from one of the smoother sections of trail, when you finally get to the top of the ridge after a 700+ foot climb and the trail rolls along through open woods for a rolling “miracle mile” that alternates between dirt and smooth bedrock.  The other guys were too far ahead to be in the pic.


This pic is from one of the overlooks, view of the southern Adirondack foothills.  We rode for probably another 20-30 minutes before the headlamps came out, got back to the cars a little before 8:30.

Yeah, tBatt and I had to take out the lights at SMBA on Wednesday night. It was a good night for riding, though.

Prelude to today's ride.  20 years of great writing stoking the fire!


The pics are ok too.  

TD

Telemark Dave wrote

Prelude to today's ride.  20 years of great writing stoking the fire!

TD

Ha, read the same mag before my ride this morning. Though I don't have the original. We should talk more!

Not aware that TD was taking a day off SUPing to go for a bike ride, I went for a long tour in the forest.



While portaging around the beaver pond, I spotted this television in the woods. What do beavers watch anyways? Junior Forest Rangers?


When I got home, I started working in earnest on getting the next lot of bikes ready to go to Cuba. Got four boxed up by the end of the day. Dealing with second-hand bikes is not simple. But I am becoming an awesome low-tech bike tech. Since I don't have a repair stand, I rigged up the hanging device out of 1" webbing. Works well, and you can adjust it fore and aft. The other thing hanging from the rafters is a scale. A bike box weighs over six pounds and most of the bikes we get are cheap steel models weighing in at 35 pounds or so. The airline limits you to 44 pounds in a bike box.


Some bikes deserve a little extra attention, like this classic Rockhopper, which, incidentally, weighed in at a svelte 26.5 pounds.