I Rode My Bike Today...

SnakeCharmer said:
Here's a few videos from the NYD ride.
Click to expand...
Kind of a hard no on the last switchback in the last video. Looks like you all handled the trails well. Loose, steep, rutted and exposed. Something in common with your front range San Gabes riding. Thanks for posting the short videos so I can participate from the safety of my kitchen counter!
 
Last edited:
Playtime in the rocks this morning. Just a quickie 7 mile loop on Long May You Run/East Boundary/Bad Manor/Good Manor/Luge/Haggis/Scout.
IMG_8606.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGTHATWAASFUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! (Tom will elaborate!)

Thank you guys for coming and riding… I had such a blast meeting you all, discussing many interesting topics, and riding some incredible trails together! May many more of these events be in our near future!
 
buggravy said:
I rode my bike yesterday. Palm Canyon Epic! First time for me in this truly special place that lives up to its name. A couple months back I mentioned that New Years Day, with the lack of work commitments and school shuttle, would be a good day for me to bite off a bigger chunk of a ride. PCE was mentioned, and within 24 hours a small but mighty crew had been assembled, and a plan hatched. The route that we settled on was the official entrance to PCE (which I understand isn't actually the most common starting point) to and through the wash. From there it was off to Hahn, and then a finish/exit on Cathedral.

Play by play from my perspective: The first section trends down, but with some punchy climbs that really spike the heart rate. The theme of this section was fast and flowy, but loose and exposed. This is not the terrain I thrive on, and I fell off the back, but not to the point of really slowing the pace. Someone else donated some blood towards the end of this section after a tire slipped out on one of the punchy climbs.

The two chunky sections before the Portrero followed, and were the highlight of the ride for me. I think they are called Meteor Shower and Asteroids on Strava, but for this ride they were dubbed The Sh!t, and The Sh!t part 2. High speed, and quite chunky, but other than carrying speed this section was low consequence, with decent margin for error. Just a let 'er rip kind of riding. @redwoods pulled a way a bit up front (a theme for the day), and the rest of of stayed right together for the duration of these sections. In all seriousness this part was some of the most fun I've ever had on a bike. Just straight up, unadulterated, kid-like fun is the best way to describe what this part was like for me. At the very end of this section is where one member of the group experienced a flat. A stubborn pinch flat that ultimately had to be tubed, and required some minor attention for the rest of the ride.

From there did the slog up The Sand Wash. Light suck factor here. After all I'd heard/read about what a buzzkill and energy suck this part is, I was pleasantly surprised that it went by relatively quickly and painlessly. I mean, it sucked, but not nearly as badly as I was expecting it to suck.

After a break at The Oasis we made our way over to Hahn. I know this was the highlight for some. For me it was just aight. Great trail, but like the first section, the technicality comes more from maintaining a line on tight, loose, exposed terrain. Only light chunk in a couple of sections. Fun, but not what I'd call my jam, and also like the first section this is where I fell off the back of the pack.

Finally, a finish on Cathedral. Cathedral is badda$$. Super chunky, steep, pretty loose and exposed, but with a well defined groove that just keeps you where you're supposed to be. The choice just becomes do I ride this feature or walk it. Confidence was high by the end of this ride, and from memory I rode everything other than 2 really gnarly switchbacks, and kept good pace with the group. It was over more quickly than I expected, and was a killer exclamation point on a killer day.

There was a lot of chatter leading up to this ride, and I was told in the beginning that, much more so than many places, the group really makes or breaks a ride out there. I can definitely see how being on the same page, in a multitude of ways, is even more important than usual, and how the fact that the place can be hard on both bikes and riders necessitates keeping the group on the small side of things to minimize the chances of ride derailments. Overall this experience was at or near the very top of my list of good days on the bike, and I can't wait to go back and do more. As mentioned in a different thread, it was super dry. Not a single water crossing or even sign of water to be had. We also had the place more or less to ourselves. We only. encountered one other group of 4 riders, and one group of 2 hikers. Not many pics taken today. Stats were 24.6/2048, that felt like much more.View attachment 95990View attachment 95991
Click to expand...
As a fellow transition owner… I love that sentinel!
 
Did a easy trip around the hood to do some final adjustments on my new Koda saddle. I set it up with the same location dimensionally as the original saddle, yes the 12 year old one. It didn't feel good. Moved the saddle back about 1/2", reduced the front tilt from the 16 mark to the 8 mark, and raised it up about 3/4". The adjustment was done about 1 mile into the ride. I have no idea what the marks represent on the seat post....
I like the way it feels and am very happy with it. No wrist issues, no sore butt, no sore lower back, and no shoulder issues at the end of the 8.3 miles.
Next ride will be longer than 10 miles. That's when the issues start.
I will be getting another one for my SS.

No making fun of my stem or I will hunt you down. . . . .

8.3/980
1000009030.jpg
 
Y-not said:
Did a easy trip around the hood to do some final adjustments on my new Koda saddle. I set it up with the same location dimensionally as the original saddle, yes the 12 year old one. It didn't feel good. Moved the saddle back about 1/2", reduced the front tilt from the 16 mark to the 8 mark, and raised it up about 3/4". The adjustment was done about 1 mile into the ride. I have no idea what the marks represent on the seat post....
I like the way it feels and am very happy with it. No wrist issues, no sore butt, no sore lower back, and no shoulder issues at the end of the 8.3 miles.
Next ride will be longer than 10 miles. That's when the issues start.
I will be getting another one for my SS.

No making fun of my stem or I will hunt you down. . . . .

8.3/980
View attachment 96026
Click to expand...
I used to run a 150mm stem until I got wise to the advantages of a shorter stem. I went down to 135mm! :thumbsup:

Luckily, frames have gotten longer, so I think I'm running 40mm on both bikes. Muuuuuuuche better than being way over the front wheel!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top