Great ride at Fountainhead.

Drew and I headed to Fountainhead for a lap today. I've been sick lately, so I haven't been really riding hard. One lap on a very hot day was a good chance to get out and work my legs a bit.

It was a hot day today... 96 and humid. We'd had rain yesterday morning, so the trails were still wet. I was hoping for tacky, but the roots and rocks were more along the lines of "slimey". The roots and rocks were the problem. When they're wet, it is really easy to get knocked off-line by hitting a wet root or rock. That makes some of the gnarly downhill sections a bit more adventurous.

There were a few things that were cool about this ride:

1. The bike handled really well. Riding the rough sections was awesome. It let me pick any line I wanted through the rocks and roots. Only the slippery nature of the trail moved me to somewhere that I didn't want to be. There were some steep sections where I really had to do some slow cranking to get up... the bike tracked so well that I had no trouble tracking straight and true. I was impressed.
2. My gearing is a hair tall for FH. There are a few climbs that I never make. I didn't clean them today. Some that I usually make were a lot more work today. I made it up, but it wasn't pretty. I'll get used to that.
3. The pedals are great. I really liked the look pedals. I had a few problems clicking in late in the ride, but that was more a factor of me being tired and not feeling great.

Drew and I really had fun. I haven't ridden with him much lately and this was a great chance to go.

Later!

Pete

Mamasita

Bob asked about my new mountain bike. It is pretty simple. I moved most of the components from my SIR9 over to the new frame. The build is something like this:

• 2008 Salsa Mamasita (Scandium frame with carbon seat stays)


• White Bros Rigid carbon fork


• King headset


• Thomson X4 stem


• Jones H-bars


• Avid Juicy 7s


• King sS hubs laced to Salsa Delgado Disc rims


• Thomson laidback post


• Phil Bottom bracket


• Kooka forged cranks


• Sugino chainring


• Surly cog


• WTB Nanoraptor tires


• Specialized Prodigy sadle.


• Connex Whitestar SS chain.
• Look Quartz pedals

The gearing is a magic gear for the Mamasita. I'm running 34x19 for the 29er. It is roughly the same as a 2:1 on a 26er. The gear is good for most of the riding I'm doing now. If I go hammer the shed or something, I might want a little bigger cog.

My guess is that this bike will evolve into a 1x5 or 1x6 so that I can take it out west and start on the Colorado Trail next spring. That's a whole other story.

All in all the build is pretty boring. Nothing blingy or fancy in comparison to most of the rides that others are tossing out on the trails these days. It is relatively light, has a great feel to it and handles all 212 pounds of me.

That last phrase is an important one. Last winter I topped out at 237 pounds. This morning I tipped the scales at 212. Once I get down in the 200lb range I'll start thinking about building a blingle speed.

Ultimately I need a bike that I can take to France with me. There's too much good riding there to ignore it. I love the roadie stuff, but spending many weeks there per year will just beg for something to ride. I need something with S&S couplers. Looking at Tony's black sheep is freaking inspirational. Maybe next year. Gotta lose a little more ponchetta first.

You know you're old when....

I just read that the band Foreigner (not a fave of mine... but one that was popular when I was in high school) is going on tour this year. The tour is being sponsored by AARP. Hahahahahahaha

"Maybe its just the woman in you,
That brings out the man in me."

Hahahaha

Pete

Back on the mountain bike again.

Greetings human type people.

I've been off the mountain bike since last year. I got back on a little bit a few weeks ago and it felt goooood. I built a new single speed and am pretty happy with how it is working.

I have really missed getting sweaty and dirty at the same time.

Catch up with you soon.

Pete