Refresher Course

With yesterday's rain comes the traditional "first ride" of my mountain bike season. In some colder places people may feel their mountain bike season starts after snow melt in the spring, but for me it's when the first rain falls.

I celebrated by putting a new tire on the back of the Timberjack. The old one was pretty torn up.

I rolled out of the house and on the very first climb I encountered a small stream of water the whole way up. It rained pretty hard yesterday.

For the most part that was the only wet area. I rode up to Granite Bay and explored the trails to the north. I don't know these well yet. It's a maze of trails with no real route anyone seems to follow, so every time I wander around, get lost, and eventually pop out somewhere I recognize. You can see I hit a few dead ends:

It's hard to see them all because of the trees, but the satellite view shows the spider web of trails:

The normal route I have been doing for years is pretty fast with just a few technical features. This northern area is the opposite with lots of turns, punchy climbs, steep downhills and granite boulders and slabs. Fun stuff.

After exploring for a while, I finished the ride on the trails I am familiar with. They were damp, grippy and fast.

I ended up with 26 miles and 2500 feet of climbing on the day, a great way to start the fall.

Later.

Sunrise and Evolution

If I have learned anything over the past few months, it's that even after riding bikes my whole life there is always more to learn.

The human body can be both highly specialized and yet hugely adaptable if given a little time. I am a relatively fit cyclist, and I can hold my own against most people my age or even younger. Pit me against runners at a similar fitness level, and I would fail miserably. I simply don't use the same muscle groups or have the built up capillary infrastructure to deliver energy and oxygen to those running muscles.

When I first started riding the Jones, the position changed enough to where I struggled. I felt slow, and my first rides left my muscles feeling sore for about a week. New muscles were being utilized, and my body was trying to adapt. When it did adapt, I felt as fast and sometimes faster on the Jones.

As mountain bikers our genesis and evolution is a complex one. While the origin is often traced back to guys riding old clunkers, the guys who started making the first purpose-built frames had road racing backgrounds. So it's no mystery that the early mountain bikes looked a lot like road bikes. Compare my 1987 Fisher to my LeMond below it:

Short, horizontal top tubes, short head tubes and similar angles. We were forced to use ridiculously long stems to compensate, which made early mountain bikes endo machines. We endured these horrible bikes for quite some time because we didn't know any better.

Eventually someone broke the mold and sloped a top tube. Head tubes lengthened. Top tubes lengthened. Stems shortened. Head tube angles relaxed. The world rejoiced.

Which brings me to my recent experiments, which are all being performed in an effort to relieve some stress on my bad wrist and neck. I never intended for the Surly Sunrise bars to go on a conventional mountain bike. They simply looked cool and I thought they might be fun on my 26-inch travel bike. They sat unused for years.

Pain has a funny way of motivating you, though, especially when you are experiencing that discomfort doing something you love. The success of the Jones has opened my eyes to the "might as well try it" school of thought. I eyed the bars collecting dust in the corner of my office and thought, why not? Even if they are wider, taller and have more sweep than any riser bar I have ever used, why not?

On the first couple test rides around my home, they felt strange but not bad. The cockpit was shorter and much taller, and that alone may have been a deal breaker had the Jones not already prepared me for it. The 15 degree bend was a noticeable improvement, enough to relieve some pressure on my wrist but still feel like a riser bar. They were uncomfortably wide, though.

I used them for a real mountain bike ride today for the first time—23 miles on rolling terrain, mostly singletrack. When I rolled away from the car I actually didn't notice the bars at all. I adapted.



On the trail they were great. The entire ride was so much fun. I was really hauling ass down some descents, probably getting in over my head a couple times. But those big bars just made me feel invincible.

Climbing is certainly more upright, but not altogether horrible. On the few occasions when I felt like going fast I simply bent my elbows a bit and attained a more familiar climbing position. But you can also sit up and take a look around if you want, an option you don't have with a low-rise bar.

In the end my takeaway is this: There are a lot of ways to skin that cat. Striving to be more comfortable doesn't necessarily mean giving up speed and handling. In this case, handling and downhill speed actually improved.

So experiment, try different things, keep an open mind (which hasn't always been the case for me) and have fun.

Later.

The Sun Also Rises

I rode the Salsa with the newly installed Surly Sunrise bars today and it was fantastic. I haven't had so much fun riding in a while.

The bars felt too wide (820mm) and way too tall (83mm), but somehow they just worked.

There are a couple rocky downhills on my local ride and I hit them hard. I really felt like I was flying.

The downside there is climbing feels a bit odd being up so high, but after a while I didn't care anymore. Going fast downhill sometimes outweighs going slow uphill.

Ultimately what I was testing was the 15-degree bend, and that was a success. It wouldn't seem like an extra five degrees would make much difference, but it did. My wrist was pretty happy and I didn't feel like handling was affected at all.

Ultimately something similar but not as wide or tall will probably be my landing spot.

Later.

Bar None

I rode my Salsa Timberjack this evening for the first time since building the Jones almost four months ago. The main reason for this was because I stole the rear wheel for the Jones build. I finally got around to building a new wheel for the Jones, so the Timberjack was once again intact and ready to ride.

When I hopped on the bike it felt awful. After using the Jones bars with a 45 degree bend, a normal riser bar feels terrible. I immediately felt some tension on the outside of my left (bad) wrist. The bike also felt very long and stretched out.

Up until recently my favorite bar was the Deity CZ38. It's 760mm wide with a 38mm rise and a fairly generous 9.5 degree bend for a riser bar. As I rolled down the driveway, the sensation was that the bars were on backwards. It literally felt like my hands were pointing forward. This never totally went away for the entire ride.

The discomfort from the bars aside, I had a good time. There is no doubt that bashing down a descent with 120mm of travel is a nice change from the rigid Jones. I just need to make some cockpit adjustments so the transition from bike to bike isn't so severe. I don't want Jones bars on my hardtail, but perhaps something with a bend in the high teens will offer the performance and comfort I need.

Later.

Spacing Out

The purchase of the Jones created a situation where there was one more bike in the garage than hooks to hang them on. A huge problem, I know. I sold the Casseroll and the world is back in sync again.

I had actually been trying to sell the Salsa since last August, long before purchasing the Jones even entered my mind.

I bought the Casseroll new in 2009 as a single speed on clearance for $735. I unloaded some of the parts on eBay for about $250 and felt pretty good about it.

The only original parts left when I sold the bike were the frame, fork and brakes. It was built with mostly Dura Ace 9-speed parts originating in the last century. I sold it for $550. It was a good bike, but I saw an opportunity to unload a very old parts set and clear some needed space. The current gravel bike also made it redundant.

Later.

Another One Gone

The Fargo is gone.

It was a really cool bike, but I have a number of bikes that serve a similar purpose. In the end this bike just didn't offer anything a regular 29er doesn't—it wasn't any faster, it wasn't any more comfortable, and the drops could be a handful in rough terrain. I'm not going to tour the world anytime soon, so out it went.

I sold all the dropbar-specific components along with it. The funds went towards a new set of wheels for the latest project.

Later.

Pistol Grip Pump

Today is the first day of my longest vacation (three weeks!) since 2002 when I went to Europe. I started my time off right with a nice ride through the hills.

The weather was cool and clear. A little smog hung over the valley, which is the downside of the high pressure system sitting over us.

Don't you hate it when birds crap on your car? I saw this guy on Deer Valley Road. Peafowl are common around here.

Towards the end of my ride I found this Crosman 760 Pumpmaster in the road. It must have fallen off of someone's vehicle. I picked it up, pumped it a few times, chambered a BB, and it fired just fine. I stuck what was left of the stock in my jersey pocket and ran the barrel up through the neck of my vest for the ride home.

I bought a new stock on eBay for $12 shipped, so it was a nice find for me. I have been wanting a cheap airgun for periodic critter problems.

I ended up with 32 miles and over 3,000 feet of climbing. It was a nice start to what I hope will be a long and relaxing vacation.

Later.

Fargo Upgrades

For the last few years I have had saddle-related issues after long rides. Specifically, the issue is chafing. This was never an issue when I was younger. I could spend 10 hours in the saddle no problem. Now . . . it's a problem. Aging is so awesome.

I have tried different saddles, shorts and creams, all with varying levels of success. Still, I have fallen short of perfection.

Right around Christmas I saw this ad from Selle Anatomica. I have heard guys rave about these saddles for years, but at $189 retail, I never had much interest. But for under a hundred bucks I was willing to listen.

I went to the web site and read what they had to say. The most intriguing claim was this:

"The two sides of your body move independently. There's no reason your saddle shouldn't move with them. The patented slot is the most important part of the suspended leather design. It supports your weight and moves with you. Leather is the only material that can provide ergonomic surface support and anatomic relief."

Seemed pretty logical. I mean, my ass is split right down the middle, right? I thought I would give this weird looking saddle a try.

Although a brown or black one may have matched the bike better, I went ahead with the red because it looked really cool in the ad. There is a bit of red in the Fargo decals, so it isn't too much of a stretch. I added a new Salsa seat clamp and a Thomson post just for grins.

I went for an hour-long ride today, and initially the saddle didn't feel great. I was sliding around and uncomfortable. I was questioning my purchase.

Towards the end of the ride the leather began to stretch, and it became more comfortable. You can see in the picture above that the saddle now has a dip in the middle, which is good. I wasn't sliding around as much as the saddle conformed to my body.

Supposedly it takes some miles to break these saddles in, so hopefully it will continue to become more comfortable as time goes on.

Later.

Back to School

When I woke up yesterday I had every intention of doing a single speed ride after dropping the boy off at school. Unfortunately, the motivation tapered off quickly. Getting all the gear together to mountain bike is a hassle. Instead I dropped the boy off at school and went right back home. After quickly getting dressed and filling up some water bottles, I hopped on the Fargo and took off.

My goal was to get about 40 miles, so I mapped out a ride in my head that I thought would fit the bill. Rather than describe the route, you can check it out here.

The morning was cool, which was nice. I have had my fill of summer. I have also had my fill of turkeys. The damn things are everywhere.

Lately I have been enamored with the water. I don't care if it's a river, lake or the ocean. I want to live by a body of water. I would even settle for this, especially since there is a trail between this house and the water.

Even though it wasn't the original plan, I enjoyed my first Wednesday ride of the school year. Hopefully I am better prepared on my next day off in two weeks so I can break out the single speed.

Later.

Roll of the Dice

Even though the forecast called for rain well into the late afternoon, I decided to take my Salsa Fargo to work and ride home yesterday. When it came time to leave work, the rain had ceased in Sacramento. Texts from home reported rain up in the hills, though, some 39 miles away by bike.

Angry gusts blew hard from the south-east, hitting me with nasty crosswinds for the first half of my ride. The empty bike trail made me wonder if everyone else knew something I didn't. Periods of warm sun interrupted by dark, cold clouds made it difficult to stay comfortable. I finally opted for a jacket; I prefer heat over cold any day.

While riding over the levee the wind seemed to strengthen, bullying me from my right, and I rode at an exaggerated angle to the ground as I leaned into the heavy air.

Once I entered the singletrack, the forest protected me from the wind. The rain left the trails in perfect condition—damp but not muddy.

Leaving Brown's Ravine, my route turned south-east. The real climbing began just as I turned into the wind. Almost every tough climb seemed to conspire with the wind all the way home, doubling the difficulty while halving my speed.

Rain cells blew across the sky, low and mean. At the summits it seemed like I could reach up and touch the clouds.

After 3.5 hours in the saddle, I rolled down the driveway a little after 7 p.m. A lengthy bike commute makes for a long day, but a good one.

Later.

Best Laid Plans

I had every intention of doing 60 or 70 miles today since I am way, way behind on my May mileage. As I was preparing to leave my son said, "I want to go." He hasn't wanted to ride with me since last summer, so I couldn't turn him down.

Well, there was no way he could handle being in the saddle for the four hours I had planned to ride. Also, there was no way I could pull an extra 80 pounds around for that long either. I switched out the road bike for the Fargo and off we went.

We started in Folsom and rode across the new bike trail by the dam. A couple weeks ago there were three gates open, so obviously the runoff has slowed a bit.

Still, the lake is high. I like all the cool little inlets created by the high water. I saw lots of fishermen exploring the shoreline.

The Fargo is a big bike even when I'm standing next to it.

Spencer enjoyed himself despite slamming a pedal into his shin earlier in the ride. I know how much that hurts, so I was impressed with his toughness.

We rode bike trail, dirt roads and singletrack.

We turned around out by Beeks Bight, which was at about the 10-mile mark. We ended up with 20 miles for the trip—far short of my goal, but we enjoyed ourselves. My legs are completely blown, much more so than they would have been after a long road ride.

Later.

Thanksgiving Day

I made it out for a ride today in an effort to offset the food I would later eat, but in hindsight I don't think I rode far enough. I am currently uncomfortably full, and I'm pretty sure I still ended up with a caloric surplus for the day.

It was clear and sunny but barely 40 degrees when I left. It was my first real foray into cold weather riding this year, and I certainly didn't enjoy it. Summer is how far off?  Even with thick wool socks my feet quickly became cold and remained that way for the entire ride.

The trails were in good shape since it hasn't rained in a couple days. The north wind also did its part to dry things out.

After a few hills like this one I am about to descend, there's no getting warm again. I hit 40 miles per hour just coasting.

This is just a shortcut behind some houses. Nothing exciting, but anytime I can put tire to dirt it's a great thing. Whatever it takes to get away from the cars.

This is a trail I rarely ride on, but only because it leads to a tough climb that I usually avoid.

It was kind of miserable while I was out there, but I'm glad I got out. Hopefully tomorrow it will be a bit warmer.

Later.

Decisions

It was a bit cool when I left for my ride yesterday morning. I'm just not ready for winter to be here.

Yesterday was my regular day off. There were four things I wanted to do, but I could not do them all: a long bike ride, watch game one of the World Series, watch the opening game of the Kings season, and race opening night of the local cyclocross series.

In the end, the choice was pretty easy. As much as I wanted to race, it would preclude me from enjoying the other three things on my list. When I was much younger, my friend and I would sometimes do a mountain bike ride in the morning and a road race at night. These days, that would be a little rough on the old legs.

With the Giants and Kings games both starting at 5 p.m. and racing starting at six, it would be tough to watch much of either game. Also, the likelihood of hearing the World Series score at the races made recording for later viewing less desirable. If I am going to watch a game, I don't want to know the outcome.

I skipped the race, which allowed me to go on a nice ride on the Fargo. Although it was cold, the sun was shining and I eventually warmed up by the end. I put in a little over 40 miles, my longest ride in a while.

In the evening I was able to relax with a beer while watching the World Series, my legs burning a bit from the day's effort. After that great win, I watched the Kings on the DVR, who also won. Brilliant. My day off couldn't have been much better.

Later.

Hangtown Tour

Wednesday I made it out for a ride in the hills. The goatheads are so bad around my house right now that I can rarely get through a ride without a flat. The only option is to drive somewhere.

I started at the parking lot on Missouri Flat and took the trail east towards Placerville. This is the same ride I have done a couple times towing my son, but I would be alone this time—not towing an extra 75 pounds. The plan was to take the El Dorado Trail all the way to the end in Camino.

The morning was cool and clear. For the first time in months I was a bit cold as I rolled away from the truck.

Fall always arrives with mixed emotions. It is my favorite time of year to ride, without question. However, the onset of fall means winter is on the way, and that is my least favorite season.

I did the ride up to where we turned around last time but continued up the dirt trail, climbing gradually up the old railroad grade.  Although you aren't far from Highway 50, you wouldn't know it by the scenery.

Nope, no civilization out there:

After a couple miles, the trail stopped at this fence:

I backtracked to a spur trail and ended up in a neighborhood. I headed north until I popped out on Highway 50. I crossed the highway and took Carson Road east for a while until I noticed the road was completely lined with the very goat heads I was trying to avoid. That was my cue telling me it was time to head back.

I rolled back down the hill for what seemed like forever. As I have mentioned before, it's quite a treat to have a ride end with a downhill once in a while.

After about 25 miles I needed a coffee break:



Old Placerville can be irritating to drive through, but on a bike the slow pace and narrow roads are quaint.

This is the old bell tower.  After much of the business district was leveled by three fires in 1856, the need for an alarm system was finally remedied in 1865 with the bell tower.  Tucked up under the hood is what looks like an air raid siren.

It was a nice ride.  I'm going to get on Google Earth and see what I can do next time to extend the ride farther to the east, preferable on dirt or quiet roads.

Later.

Big Adventure with the Little Guy

Yesterday the boy and I decided to go riding. He wanted to do the usual route around Lake Natoma, but I thought we would try something new.

I had never ridden on the old bike trail above Placerville because it wasn't long enough for a decent ride. With the recent additions of two new sections, and adding a little dirt in-between, I thought I could piece together something worthwhile.

We started in the town of El Dorado near Poor Red's. According to Google Earth, we were right at 1600 feet of elevation. After riding a bit through town and taking a gravel road to the trail head, we were on our way.

The first section of trail was "unimproved" according to the crude map I found online. What this means, I learned, is you should really bring a machete, chainsaw and rope. There were downed trees to navigate and overgrown berry bushes to scratch us up. A couple times the trail was impassable, and we had to push the bikes up the steep rail embankment to get around. It was rocky at times, with the occasional steep hill. Nothing too difficult for a solo rider, but kind of tough towing the boy.

The first two miles were hot and slow, but it wasn't all bad. There were a few sections, like this one, that were smooth and fun. The railroad tracks are above the trail to the right:

The second section of trail starts right across the street from where the first one ends. This is the newest piece of the El Dorado Trail to be built, and it's nice. The highlight is the beautiful bridge crossing Weber Creek:

After the bridge the trail starts climbing. Since the trail is built on the old railroad grade, it never gets too steep. Still, towing 75 pounds of kid and trail-a-bike was tough. Here my copilot sleeps while I grind up:

The trail spit us out on Forni road. After a bit of searching, we found the unmarked trail head on Ray Lawyer where our third section would begin. A smooth gravel road, it ran slightly downhill toward Placerville. There's something about gravel roads and the Fargo—the bike seems to come alive and go faster than it does on asphalt.

The trail dumped us out on Main Street in Placerville. We had to ride a little through downtown to pick up the next section on Clay Street.

This part of the trail was nice. There was plenty of shade and few trail users.

Spencer liked it:

After climbing and climbing for miles, the trail turns to dirt. It's easy to envision where the train tracks were:

It was pretty weird to find a magnolia tree in the middle of nowhere:

We turned around in Camino Heights at 2900 feet. For over seven miles we coasted downhill at 20 to 22 miles per hour, rarely turning a pedal. For someone who lives at the top of a hill, and finishes almost every ride with a tough climb, it was great to coast home.

The only difficult part was the last section before the car, but I remembered where most of the downed trees were and avoided them.

We made it back to the truck with 28.5 miles on the computer and almost four hours on the bike. We had a good time, and I think next time I will go solo and see if I can make it up that far starting from the house.

Later.