Evil RTD Bus

There are some days that I really just do not want to ride my bike home from work.  Today was such a day.  I rode my Jamis Supernova into work (and experienced a slew of smells including a dead skunk, burning rubber, cinnamon rolls, a slaughter house, and sweat) and ran a few miles at lunch.  The afternoon consisted largely of a coworker trying to dump his grunt work on me.  When the day finally concluded, I really did not want to ride home so I road my bike over to the RTD bus stop.  And then it happened – I saw that the bus had already passed and was a few minutes down the road.  Now I wanted to blame myself, but both my watch and cell phone confirmed that the bus was two minutes early.  That was all I needed; I said I was going to beat the bus home on my bike while still wearing my dress clothes (though I did have on bike shoes).  I put the hammer down and at the first light I had almost caught the bus – the light was really long and the bus had to make a few stops.  Unfortunately the bus made the light and I did not.  Waiting at the light, the desire to win just grew; there was no way I was going to let that bus defeat me.  I took off the second the light changed and never looked back.  When I turned on to my street, I looked at the coming bus and threw out some obscenities regarding meeting a schedule and how pathetic it was getting beat by my cyclocross bike.  Score another win for Dan.  Now I just need to deal with the pit stains on my undershirt…

Pit Stains After Bike Commute Home

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When I got home and stripped down I was pleased to see that my skin was still in one piece, particularly since I could see the crash marks directly on an old scar (from the first time I use clipless pedals on a mountain bike and subsequently spent three hours getting gravel picked out of my arm at the hospital; you know it happened you too).

Icing My Elbow with Dale's Pale Ale

Anyways, after years of athletic injuries I know the proper recovery method involves putting something very cold on the wound; I improvised with a can of Dale’s Pale Ale.

A Better Use of Dale's Pale Ale

After about 8.7 seconds, I got bored and decided on a better use of my cold object.  Sucks to be my elbow.

The Remnants of My Cooling Device

Now I just need to find someone else to blame for my crash on an empty, icy road while going 25 km/hour; suggestions?

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A) Introduce new people to mountain biking without killing them

B) Recover my confidence on a bike post crash(es)

C) Go fly fishing in a ditch when the water is exceedingly high

———————————

A.

Chris's first mountain biking adventure

I have friends come to town from time to time and want to experience biking in Colorado.  Sometime to see me.  Or in this case one of my friends flew to visit her mother in Denver.  Obviously Katie and I rank far behind her mother, so we settled for an afternoon mountain bike ride and beer.  Now I like Chris.  She is fun, amusing, and only slightly annoying.  However she is not a bicyclist (she showed up wearing sandals, thankfully I had extra shoes) , opening the question where should I take her for the first attempt.  Marshall Mesa is obviously the answer, the trails are relatively flat, have minimal rocks/technical sections, and can be as short or long as you want.  We took Chris on the Marshall Valley, Cowdrey Draw, Community Ditch, and Coal Seam trails; that seams like a lot but in all it is only a few miles with virtually non-existent hills.  Why do I keep mentioning hills?  Well, out of towners generally are not used to the elevation and can really suffer.  Which while occasionally fun to watch, does not lead them to continue biking.  Usually.  My Trek Fuel EX 8 is definite overkill for the trail, alas.  However the Boulder Trek Store has great bikes for rent that are appropriate.

View from Coalton Trail

B.

I have been crashing on my Jamis Supernova cyclocross bike during races.  A lot.  Sometimes I just need a confidence booster.  Katie and I went out a few weeks back on one such ride.  As I mentioned above, Marshall Mesa can be extended to just about any distance you want.  We created a long loop (made longer by the 20 mile per hour in your face winds on the return half), starting on the Greenbelt Plateau, continuing on the Community Ditch and Cowdrey Draw trails.   After running into 66th, we took a right to a short trail before jumping on McCaslin Blvd.  Another right and a hill took us to the Coalton and High Plains trails, thus returning to the start.  Confused?  Check out this map.  The Coalton trail has a decent hill on it and when the wind is coming straight off the mountains, it hurts.  I didn’t fall, so overall it was a success.

Dan's Community Ditch Rainbow

C.

This has nothing to do with mountain bike.  Too bad.  Marshall Lake is private and maintained by a fishing club.  They stock a lot of trout.  And when the water gets high, the rainbows run up the Community Ditch to spawn.  I wrote about fly fishing in a ditch; it is an interesting experience.  Even more interesting when a club member comes and yells at you, even though you are on public property.  Alas, it was not my fault that the water runs high in the spring.

First Ride on Marshall Mesa

Marshall Mesa

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I have been fairly lazy, at least with my lunchtime workouts and bike commuting.  I probably averaged less than one ride to work a week.  I ran at lunch once.  I have been only mildly active on the weekends.  I put on 5 lbs in the month.  Bad news.  Seriously bad news.  I will have to do something to get in shape for speed skating season.

So what all did I do?  I went fly fishing with the snow falling and the wind biting at my face.  It was like steelhead fishing back in Wisconsin and Michigan, except I only caught one 8 inch rainbow instead of a 15 lbs silver bullet steelhead.

I only took my Trek Fuel EX 8 mountain bike out once.  Katie and I went out to Marshall Mesa for an easy ride.  Except we were battling 20 mile winds.  Which was awesome…  I will write more about that tomorrow.

I rode in three cyclocross races.  Technically only one of them was in October, but that is acceptable as I collectively performed miserably at all of them.  The first, at the Louisville Rec center as part of the Boulder Cyclocross series, I was actually doing fairly well (probably somewhere in the top 15-20) before I crashed on the downhill immediately following the sandpit.  I went down hard on the turn and bent my derailleur hanger, of course I didn’t notice until my chain sucked behind my cassette and refused to be freed.  Alas.  The next race was the Valmont Bike Park Fest race where I continued my trend of falling.  Not only did I fall, but I fell three times.  And by falling I do not mean poor mounts, though I had plenty of those as well.  I went down twice in the loose dirt after the run-up and then once again when some guy bumped me into the tape.   I think I somehow managed to be the last person not to be lapped.  Finally I competed in the Boulder Cup.  I did not manage to avoid getting lapped; apparently I have a lot to learn about cyclocross, like that it helps to train…  At least my Jamis Supernova is performing well.

In pre-winter news, we had three different ski houses fall through.  If you know of anyone who needs two more (and a bulldog), let us know!

Oh, and it snowed 23 inches in two days; forty-eight later it was all but melted.  We’ll see what November brings.

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2007 Jamis Supernova Cyclocross Bike

After a few months of annoying Katie with my continuing banter on cyclocross bikes, I pulled the trigger and bought a 52 cm Jamis Supernova.  Interestingly the bike is a “used” 2007 model.

Avid Shorty 4 Brakes

In Boulder there are tons of people connected in the bike industry who get free bikes every year; if the bike does not fit properly it may sit in the garage unused as was the case with this baby.  The woman who owned it had taken it out for two rides and then decided she did not like the bike.  Two years later she wanted a mere $1000 cash and I wanted a bike – excellent deal for both of us.  Katie is now far less annoyed as I no long talk nonstop about buying a CX bike.

The bike itself is pretty sweet; The only thing I had to do was add some pedals and put on some new electrical tape around the bar tape (apparently the previous owner left it in the car on a hot day – bad for adhesives).  On Monday I took the bike out to the Boulder Reservoir with one of my coworkers, John Twa.  John can blow me away on a bike; thankfully he took it easy on me as it was my first real ride witht he Supernova.  We cruised around the gravel trails as I attempted to make friends with my new bike.  I think I did a decent job.

FSA Compact Crankset

The ride is surprisingly supple as the carbon fork and seatstays ate a lot of the vibration.  The kinesium (basically aluminum with a bit of titanium thrown in for kicks) is extremely stiff – you can really feel the bike jump when you punch down with the FSA Gossamer Cross 46/36 compact crank.  The frame does not have any mounts for racks, so if you are looking for a commuter this bike is not for you.  It does have a flat section on the top tube to help with shoulder carries, but the section seems a bit far back.  I have not actually had to run with the bike on my shoulder so perhaps I am wrong.

Components wise the Supernova is loaded with Shimano Ultegra shifters and rear derailleur with a 105 in front.  My Lemond Buenos Aires runs Shimano 105 and I have been extremely happy but the crisp shifting of the Ultegra 10 speed was phenomenal.  Additionally the shifting is much more natural than the SRAM Rival DoubleTap as was on the Trek XO 2, Redline Conquest Pro, and GT GTR Type CX models I previously tried.  The Vittoria Cross XG tires handled well on the dirt (they are not fun to turn at speed with on the road) but I suspect if things get muddy I am going to need new tires.

Saddle

The Ritchey Logic Pro handlebars are significantly narrower than what I am used to riding – I suspect this will not be a problem but if it is then it is an easy fix.  The handling was not quite as fast as the Trek XO 2.  The Selle San Marco Ponza saddle is awfully hard -  I would have no problem with it on my road bike but is not very forgiving with the cyclocross mount.  All together I am extremely pleased with my purchase.

Stats:

Total weight without pedals is a mere 17.7 lbs according to my questioningly reliable cheap digital bathroom scare.  With the Time Atac pedals stolen from my Trek Fuel EX 8, I was just over 18.5 lbs.

Frame: Kinesium triple-butted-aluminum main frame w/carbon seatstays
Fork: Easton EC90X carbon
Hubs/Rims/Wheels:  Easton Vista
Tires: Vittoria Cross XG, 700 x 32c
Crankset: FSA Gossamer Cross Compact Chainwheel 46/36
Front Derailleur: Shimano 105
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra
Rear Cassette: Shimano 105, 10-speed: 12-27
Shifters/Brake Levers: Shimano Ultegra STI
Handlebars: Ritchey Logic Pro Road
Tape/Grips: Jamis Gel
Stem: Ritchey Pro Road
Brakes: Avid Shorty 4, cantilever
Saddle: Selle San Marco Ponza
Seat Post: Ritchey Pro Road

2007 Jamis Supernova Cyclocross Bike

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View at Hosking Farm

It has been almost half a year since Katie and I returned from our New Zealand honeymoon and in remembrance celebration I am posting the last piece of our four part adventure. After the painfully long flight into Auckland we met an old friend for a tour of the city. The next morning, still confounded from the flight over, we headed to Ahipara for a week of surfing.  Returning to Auckland, we took our time to casual tour the city and the harbour. While we certainly enjoyed exploring a new city and learning a new sport, our excitement for the trip was highest heading into Rotorua to try our hand at mountain biking.

Killer Black Swan

Katie had asked if we could stay on a farm while we were in New Zealand; uncertain with the low quality of websites advertising a farmstay I opted for the one with pictures of massive brown trout, the bed and breakfast at Hoskings Farm just outside of Ngongotaha.  I cannot say that all B&B’s near Rotorua are run by one of the uniquely pleasant and heppy ladies I have ever met, have a beautiful house surrounded by meticulously kept gardens, and fields of curious cattle and sheep; the 120 acres at Hoskings Farm certainly did. Oh, and I forgot to mention the really big trout.  Really big.

Our host, Trish Hoskings, was a vibrant lady who dotted over her gardens and her guests.  Always full of suggestions and eager to offer food from her garden, Trish made our stay truly delightful.  Trish introduced us to her massive country garden, and assortment of chickens, lambs, and cattle; her pride in the land was evident.  On our first tour of the grounds we met the amusing young cattle as they would follow us to the gates between fields, hoping to get a free trip to the fresh grasses.  We amassed some impressive views, though the pool of massive trout under the bridge was edged out by the epic sunsets.

Rotorua Mountain Biking

As difficult as it was, we left the farm and ventured into Rotorua to hire (that means rent in “American”) mountain bikes for three days.  At Bike Vegas ran into a shop guy from Eugene, OR and scored a pair of modified Haro Mary XC 29ers; the front derailleur was removed, leaving us with the middle ring.  The shop guy assured us we would not need any more gears for redwood forest where we would be riding; he proved correct.  We loaded the bikes and headed over to the Whakarewarewa Forest trails with a quick visit to the New Zealand of Walmart to buy some cheap shoes. And no, I have no idea how you pronounce Whakarewarewa…

The locals claimed the Whakarewarewa Forest has some of the best riding in New Zealand; having nothing to compare and with our epic experience, I cannot doubt the claim.  The forest contains more than 70 km of trails interconnected by fire roads (that means even more available riding distance beyond the 43.5 miles of trails).  The trails were primarily flowy single track through densely treed woods; better yet they were all one way so you never had to hold back in fear of a crash.   Maps were scattered through the area, the trails were well marked off the fire road, and a smattering of water stations were available.  The was not major amounts of climbing (at least compared to our Colorado trails), but if you wish to get in more riding with less fire road climbing you can take a shuttle.

View from Riding Down Split Enz

While we did ride during the week, we very rarely met into other riders on the trails.  Those we did meet, primarily Australians whom were quite pleased that nothing in the forest was going to kill them, all exposed the same excitement as was on our faces.  The trails were phenomenal and I hope to have a chance to return and properly chronicle all of them; our last ride took us down Split Enz, continuing on the Pondy trails, and finishing on Old Chevy.  The fire road climb was long and we passed a few groups of Australians before finally reaching the trailhead for Split Enz.  The trail is tightly built with fast flowy curves swooping through huge trees.  As difficult as it was to stop, it was well worth it to see the gorgeous views.  Upon being dumped out to the Pondy system we had some slower, gentler grades of curves with moments of downhill speed.  We came out on Old Chevy, an up and down trail with more fast curves.   All combined, these trails were the single favorite ride of my life.

Fly Fishing a Spring Creek Near Rotorua

On a ski trip in the Colorado mountains shortly before we left for New Zealand I fell ill and spent a day perusing the fly shops in Summit county.  At the time, the only travel fly rod I possessed was a Fenwick 5 piece 5-weight that my father had built in the 1970s; I needed a better rod.  I picked up a fast action Sage FLi in an 8’6″ 4 piece 5-weight with a Sage 1850 reel for $200 on clearance.  Like most fast action rods the FLi can really punch out a lot of line, however I was more interested in the backbone to handle large New Zealand browns.

The country is fiercely proud of their fisheries and go to great lengths to protect them by restricting what gear you can bring into the country – I took the rod, reel, hemostats, leaders, and tippet material figuring I could buy everything else in-country.  I picked up about two dozen flies, some floatant, and some split shot before heading into the water. From the top of the steep banks I spied a plethora of browns and rainbows, ranging in sizes from around 12 inches to the largest trout I have ever seen in my life.  Along with the impressive size, I have never encountered such a concentration of large fish – it felt like walking along a fish hatchery. The New Zealand trout however were a lot smarter than their counterparts raised in American hatcheries.  My first challenge was hot to approach the fish; with the high banks I could not easily drop in behind them and spooked quite a few trout in my attempts to do so.  Eventually I made my way in and started working upstream.  Notice I have mentioned nothing about waders; I had none.  The spring creek was cold.  Very.  Cold.  Of course after a few minutes my feet and legs had gone completely numb so it no longer mattered.

The first day I spotted a few feeding fish but was unable to get them to take.  The next day, after a brief consultation with the fly shop, I purchased some 7x tippet and headed back into the water.  With the smaller tippet I was able to coax a mid-sized rainbow into taking a midge on the surface.  Unfortunately I discovered another flaw in my system – I had no net and the steep banks offered nothing to work the fish onto shore.  After a solid fight, the rainbow broke off as I unsuccessfully attempted to land him. I continued the trend with a few other small fish, breaking them all off before I can land them. Then it happened; I hooked a massive brown easily approaching 30 inches. The fish pulled me up and down the stream for well near 10 minutes before beginning to slow. The first time I got her close enough to touch the fish took off for another minute of sheer running; the second time I started to get my hand under her when she sprinted again and broke the line. I will definitely need to return for a rematch.

New Zealand Café

So what about the town and food? On our way into town we stopped for a bite of lunch – we ended up at a quaint, garden covered café.  The food matched the gardens in quality – fantastic!  In Rotorua each day we would eat a late lunch and pick up some bread and brie (with Trish’s garden vegetables) for evening snacking.  Given my love for lamb chops, I was amazed that it was the end of the trip before I finally had a rack of lamb.  With the outdoor activities, food was an afterthought though everyone we spoke to in town raved about the culinary options.  The town itself was very attractive – it was definitely a touristy/outdoorsy town but with the friendly New Zealand atmosphere.  Hot springs were on the edge of town and afforded a pleasantly casual stroll.  The lake bordering Rotorua was gorgeous but apparently the black swans are killers…  We heard that there were tons of outdoorsy activities to do but limited by our time and endurance,  we stuck with mountain biking and fly fishing.

Unfortunately our trip had to end and after two weeks in country we began our journey home.  On our way back to Auckland we stopped in the minuscule town of Tirua; they have the quintessential tourist trap in form of a massive corrugated metal sheep. We initially pulled over for the i-SITE visitors center but wondered into the Big Sheep Wool Gallery. One of my goals for the trip had been to acquire a new fly fishing hat, while I had successfully found a suit and a cycling jersey it appeared no hat was to be had. But then I was saved by the metal sheep! I found a great and airy Selke hat, just what I was looking for; Katie acquired a warm lumberjacks hat.  With our heads covered, we boarded another Air New Zealand flight for home (and failed attempts by three different flight attendants to get my entertainment system to work).

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Masi Speciale CX

As I am still pining for a cyclocross bike I rode to University Bikes after work  and took a Masi Speciale CX out for a test ride.  I had not really considered Masi, or for that matter even heard of them, but the bike caught my eye.  This bike is a beauty – root beer colored frame, cork grips, and a leather saddle.  The sales guy quickly saw a bit of drool starting to form and easily convinced me to take it out for a ride.

I loved the fit – I did not feel too stretched as I had with the GT Type CX during my previous cyclocross adventure.  Unfortunately I did not love the grips; the cork had no padding and was painfully narrow on the bars.  While this is a fairly simple upgrade I am still disappointed that something so obvious and simple to fix was missed.  Another major difference from the previous cross bikes I tested was the TruVativ Touro 2.1 Compact 50/34 crankset.  I greatly preferred the smaller gearing of the SRAM Rival OCT CX 46/38, and subsequently easier shifting between rings, but that is just a personal preference.  Unsurprisingly the Shimano Tiagra shifters were not as smooth as the SRAM Rival but I did not have to deal with the minor mental change to the Doubletap shifting.

Finally, the frame.  I forgot how much I love steel.  My Lemond Buenos Aires road bike has a steel frame and, as evident from my recent rental of an aluminum frame, provides a blissfully compliant ride.  The Speciale CX’s chromoly steel frame was equally awesome, offering me a very smooth and comfortable ride.   The only other frame that came close was the Trek XO 2 and I suspect that was primarily due to the Bontrager Satellite Plus carbon fork.  Unfortunately with steel comes weight and the Masi was no exception weighing in at slightly north of 24 pounds.  Overall I really enjoyed the bike and, if I do not by the Speciale CX itself, will likely be picking up a CX bike with a steel frame.  If only there was a Gary Fisher Presidio within 100 miles I could try…

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Katie on Santa Barbara Beach

This past weekend Katie and I met up with my parents in California for my cousin’s wedding.  I had not seen Ian in over a decade and never met his wife – I had no idea what to expect.  Katie however, long holding a dream of being a California girl, was not concerned; she adores any thought of beaches and oceans.  We rented a moderately sized townhouse four blocks from State Street and approximately a mile from the ocean.  Being two couples, the townhouse was a spectacular deal when compared to renting a pair of hotel rooms.  Further, having a full kitchen and living room is really comfortable as opposed to being cramped in a small room.  The weather forecast had predicted temperatures with highs in the 70s for our entire trip; this grew to be a running joke.

On Friday morning we drove to the wine country with the intention of cycling; unfortunately we arrived in Santa Ynez at 11 am when the temperature had already reached 98 degrees F.  We aborted the cycling plans for the day and enjoyed lunch before venturing out to a lavender farm and the Alma Rosa Winery.  The organic Pinot Noir wines were stellar, though my palette is far from sophisticated.  On our way back to Santa Barbara we stopped at a small roadside stand and purchased the juiciest strawberries ever!  Concluding our overheated day we ate Southwestern for dinner at Left at Albuquergue where we unintentionally ran into the rehearsal dinner for the wedding party.

Dana and Dan in Wine Country

Katie and Dan at Alma Rosa

The next morning we woke early and headed back to Santa Ynez for a second attempt to rent road bikes.  Pulling into Santa Barbara Wine County Cycling Tours at 9 am the temperature was 70 degrees F and we were roaring to go.  My father rented a carbon Specialized Roubaix Compact while Katie and I took aluminum Specialized Allez Sport Triples.  The store had a decent selection of pedals so we were all able to use our regular road biking shoes.  Unfortunately the store did not seem to have a good maintenance program for the bikes.  Both of the rear derailleurs on the Allez bikes were horribly out of alignment; while mine was easily fixed with the barrel adjuster I could not get Katie’s to stop jumping.  After watching her ride I could easily see that a link in the chain was not bending as it went through the derailleur – I can only imagine how miserable the later parts of the ride were for her.  Compared to my steel Lemond bike, the aluminum frames conveyed every little bump in the road.  My other complaint was the route recommendation.  We asked for a 30-35 mile loop suggestion; I turned us around at 20 miles with the turn for the loop obviously still miles off.  We returned to the shop at 11:45 am as the temperatures rapidly approached triple digits.

That afternoon the wedding was held in a beautiful setting at the outdoor atrium of the Fess Parker.  My family learned something important at the wedding when we saw people enjoying the 98 degree F ceremony in shorts – events that you would normally wear formal clothes can be drastically dressed down in California.  The wedding and reception were completely first class and it was wonderful to catch up with family infrequently seen.

Santa Barbara Sea Lions

Katie Kayaking in Santa Barbara

On Sunday morning Katie and I wanted to go surfing; unfortunately my complete inability to read surf forecasts led us to believe the surf would be awful.  How wrong I was.  We rented sit-on-top kayaks from Paddle Sports of Santa Barbara and paddled out of the harbor.  We initially headed out to a buoy that was known to carry a number of lazy sea lions; it did not disappoint.  The sea lions reminded us of Sherbert as they contorted their bodies to rest their heads.    Up the coast we ran into small waves that were ideal for surfers of our caliper.  We returned to port before driving back into the hills to a biker bar for lunch with the extended family.  Continuing the trend of heat, it was 101 degrees F with no air conditioning.  We all went back to the townhouse to crash in the air conditioning before closing out the trip with wonderful seafood at the FisHouse.  The next morning we flew home out of LAX and saw the ever growing fires billowing smoke into the sky.

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Trek XO 2

This afternoon around 2 I set out to purchase a Char-Broil Patio Caddie grill at the Boulder Ace Hardware; I arrived to discover that the hardware store had closed.  Thankfully the Boulder Trek Store was in the same complex so it was obviously had to not go in.  I was really hoping to test a Gary Fisher Presidio but the store did not have one.  They did have a sexy red 2009 Trek XO 2 – I was easily talked into taking the bike out for a test ride.  In fact, the shop guys told me just to bring it back before they closed at 6pm.  Not dressed nor in shape for a four hour I did manage to take the bike for almost an hour.  I cruised around the grassy field on CU‘s campus and then some dirt trails over by US 36.  In the only open field on campus (it is the first weekend – all the students are back and acting frisky  outside in the sun) I tried some accelerations and fast turns – the XO 2 handled great.  The carbon fork and aluminum frame did an excellent job of absorbing the terrain, though I still want to try out Mr. Fisher’s steel frame.  Unfortunately I was spotted by a campus cop and told to slow down before I hit someone.  After looking around and not seeing anyone within 50 yards of me I told the officer I would keep it under control.  I abandoned CU and headed out to some dirt trails by US-36.  I was impressed with the handling in an open area but the tight trails really cemented it for me; I could easily make quick turns without the front end feeling too twitchy.  The bike handled drops off the curb with ease and effortlessly bunny hopped small downed branches.  The braking proved superb when I had a pair of stoned college students step out of the brush in front of me.  I took the bike back to the shop where I was greeted with “Whoa, you got mud on it!”; I can only assume I hit some recently water grass on CU’s campus as it has not rained in Boulder for quite a while.  I appologized profusely and offered to wipe the bike down – the shop guy said it was awesome that I actually took the bike off the pavement and not to worry about it.  And then he told me I had mud on my face.  My only real complaint with the bike was the white bar tape – I obviously wasn’t the first person to test ride the bike as you could already see the tape getting soiled.  Obviously not the biggest complaint in the world.

Redline Conquest Pro

With any memory of the grill now erased from my mind I took off for University Bikes in hopes that they would have the Fisher Presidio; again my hopes were dashed.  And again I was talked into trying another bike, this time a 2009 Redline Conquest Pro.  I  lacked the dirt trails but was able to take the bike on some grass at Eben G Fine park; the bike was smooth and the handling in the drops was great.  Tight turns took a bit more effort than the XO 2, but I did not really get to compare at speed.  I was a huge fan of the handlebars – the shallow drops were extremely comfortable (or comforting seeing as I have never really been in the drops riding off road).  The bike was a bit heavier (according to my highly calibrated arm scale) and the paint job markedly less sexy than the XO 2; unsurprising given the price differential.

GT Type CX

On my way home I stopped at Performance and took a quick spin on a 2009 GT Type CX.  Like the other two, the Type CX sported a SRAM Rival shifters and derailleurs.  The smallest size the store had was a medium – definitely a bit too tall for me.  I don’t know if the stem and handlebars change sizes on the small but the stock gear on the medium were too long and wide respectively, for me at least.  I felt ridiculously stretched out, though I suspect I would have felt rather upright on a small.  I took the bike out for a ride anyways, this time with the Boulder Creek Path as my destination.  The bike was not quite as responsive as either the XO 2 or the Conquest Pro in terms of acceleration or handling.  It did perform well on the dirt trails on the CU side of the creek, even garnering some cheers as I bunny hopped a branch near more student stoners.  The bike was easily the heaviest of the three – whither that is sue solely to frame size I cannot say.  The chrome frame was very pretty thought…

I never did buy the grill or find the Presidio; I went home after picking up some toothpaste for the bulldog.

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Abandonment at Picture Rock Trail (Lyons, CO)

Over the past four weekends Katie and I have been neglecting our mountain bikes; I spent a long weekend fly-fishing, we fled our mold-infested apartment (part of the wall in the bathroom literally fell down), and we have been preparing for Katie’s Alaska backpacking adventure with a backcountry trip in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I cannot remember what happened with the fourth weekend, but it was undoubtedly equally awesome…  We woke up to a brisk morning in the high 50s, which could be considered brisk given the normal summer temperatures in Boulder, and decided it was time to resume mountain biking.  Unfortunately, after such a long break and moving, it took over an hour to find and load my truck with all of our bikes and gear.  Eventually we said bye to our bulldog for the morning and headed north to the Picture Rock trail in Lyons, CO.

The trailhead parking lot was only about half full – rather surprising for a weekend however we suspect a lot of people were either at SPAN the Rockies or the Muddy Buddy.  We unloaded our bikes, my Trek Fuel EX 8 and Katie’s Specialized Epic, and headed up.  The trail was pretty awesome (assuming you are not in need of bombing the downhill and have healthy respect for blind turns), particularly after a break from riding.  The beginning section is flowy, placid singletrack through high mountain prairie grasses.  There are a number of rocky turns mixed in; just enough to keep you from staring off too much at the cliffs and mountains in the background.  After you have ridden a few miles and started wishing you were riding a cyclocross bike, the trail reminds you why suspension and fat tires are quite desirable.  The second part of the ride can be defined by tight turns and lots of rocks.  A few sections are somewhat technical, and require some momentum, but nothing is remotely comparable to the rock garden at Hall Ranch.  Like the lower section there are a number of blind turns that ensure you are paying attention to avoid oncoming riders; thankfully there were very few people who passed us on their way down.  After topping out and feeling nowhere near tired, Katie and I tacked on the Wild Turkey loop.  Quite a bit smoother than the latter section of Picture Rock with a significantly lower grade, we flew through the trees on the trail.  There were a few switchbacks mixed in, but nothing too tight as to lose all your speed.

Katie Mocking Me On Her Descent

After returning to the top of Picture Rock we ran into a guy with a pretty new titanium Moots YBB resting on the trail sign; I am still uncertain if he was just showing it off or actually riding.  The bike had been converted into a single speed rig, though the gentleman had an internal rear hub in at the time.  It looked so smooth, simple, and shiny – I drooled a little.  We chatted briefly; apparently two weeks ago he broke his handlebar and subsequently smashed his crank, frame, and massive amounts of skin.  Without a bike and the SingleSpeed World Championships rapidly approaching, he bought the YBB as an emergency replacement.  Unsurprisingly his wife was incredulous when he told her the price; I am uncertain if that is good or bad.

After leaving the Moots guy, Katie and I headed back down where we quickly learned all of our handling skills had evaporated; it was possibly one of the slowest descents I have ever made.  I would like to blame it on my legs being exhausted from speedskating on Saturday but I suspect that was not the case.  Thankfully everyone who was headed down on our climb appeared to have turned around for another lap, allowing us to pull off frequently; however it gave pause to consider our drastic decrease in skill as the riders passed, again.  Maybe next week’s awesomeness will involve less falling.

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