Mountain Monkeys

Bontrager FR-3 29er Tires

2009-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

Bontrager FR-3 29er Tires

22 Apr 2009 – Eugene

Yesterday, some awesome looking new 29er tires arrived from Bontrager. They are prototypes of the “FR-3”, and are large at 2.35 or 60/58 as they state. I am as excited as can be for these. I was loving the 29-3 protos I’ve been running for a while, at 2.25, and those are actually a very good size for me. But, I always like the biggest tires I can run (within reason/shy of DH tires), and so these larger ones have me all tingly.

Today I got a chance to mount them up, tubeless with a bit of Stans on my C29ssmax wheels. I was able to use a floor pump to get them inflated, with no problems (just make sure to soap & water the bead/rim for lube). They don’t quite measure out to the 60/58 for me, but I’ve found tires seem to expand a bit after inflated, so I’ll re-measure them tomorrow after I ride them tonight. But, as you’ll see from the pictures, they certainly seem as wide as WTB WeirWolf 2.55 LT’s, at least in the tread blocks. The casing is pretty close between the two, my WeirWolfs, which are used, measure out to about a 56 outer casing measurement at 30psi, and the FR-3’s came in at 55 outer casing. Again, need to let them sit a bit, as I know the Conti Mountain Kings grew a fair bit after being inflated a while.

The tread is really intriguing. It reminds me some of the old Specialized Team Control (excepting the center tread). It is certainly aggressive in terms of side knobs and knobs in general, and makes the WeirWolf look like a semi-slick (which some might argue it is).

Another interesting bit is that these are potentially directional. The sidewall shows that you should mount the front and rear in opposite directions. In talking to Bontrager’s main tire guy about it, he said I can try it both ways. Mounted in the front direction it’ll roll faster, but may lack some climbing traction. I decided to go this route to start, as there’s not a lot of real intense climbing around here, and I’ll take the speed and maybe better braking.

My Niner MCR9 with the Bontrager FR-3 tires

Clearance on these bad boys is going to be iffy in some framesets, just like with the WeirWolfs. They are also a bit taller as you can probably see in the photos due to the larger tread (and maybe casing). These photos are of my Niner MCR9, and Niner does a great job with tire clearance on their frames (and fork). Below is a series of photos comparing the Bontrager 29-3’s, WTB WeirWolf 2.55 LT’s, and these Bontrager FR-3’s in terms of clearance:

Bontrager 29-3’s

WTB WeirWolf 2.55 LT’s

Bontrager FR-3’s

I’m riding these tonight for the Disciples of Dirt’s weekly Wednesday night hammer, can’t wait! I’ll report more after I’ve ridden them.

Fourth Straight Day of Road Riding

2009-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

Fourth Straight Day of Road Riding

21 Apr 2009 – Eugene

Did my fourth road ride in a row, and pretty stoked. It’s a rarity that I’m riding that much, although somehow over the last couple weeks that’s getting more consistent! Awesome.

Intended to go out for a fairly mellow paced ride, since I’d had 3 hard days, and knew Wednesday night’s mtb night ride is usually pretty solid (last few have been 3 hours at a hard pace). Did a solid pace, not full hammer, but solid. 1.5 Hours, 24 miles, 2300’ of climbing, in pretty warm conditions (80+F). Enjoyable ride for sure.

Also, upon arriving home, UPS was delivering a box from Trek. I thought it was the new 29-3 rear tire from Bontrager, but to my absolutely delight, I found new 29er FR-3 tires (camera phone pic above), which are even bigger, at 29×2.35 (60/58), with aggressive tread and definitely some nice volume. Stoked! I’ll be taking some real pics, comparing them to the 29-3’s and also to the WeirWolf 2.55 LT’s (should compare size wise), etc. Watch for my next post on that.

Three Rides in Three Days

2009-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Three Rides in Three Days

20 Apr 2009 – Eugene

In a rare opportunity for me, I rode (road bike) 3 days in a row: Sat, Sun, and Mon. Awesome. Even better was that they were all hammerfests, particularly Saturday. None of the rides were more than two hours long, but really solid pace, and I’m very very happy with how my fitness seems to now be ramping up.

Saturday I rode Blanton, McBeth, Fox Hollow, up the “back” of Briggs Hill, and back home, for 2800’ of climbing, in 1 hour 57 minutes, and 32 miles. Briggs was tough, as my right leg and knee were hurting pretty good, a nagging problem I’m having it seems. Most of the way along Lorane/Territorial between Fox Hollow and through Briggs, I was trying to catch a guy I’d seen out in the distance. I was pushing pretty hard, and it seemed like I was getting closer and closer to him, but I think I’d hammered hard enough to close in, that once I hit Briggs I was pretty much toast, and had to take it down a notch or three. Argh. I still pushed through all the way home, and it was good to know that I could still seem to hammer, even with the leg pain.

Upon arriving home, I downed some Hammer Recoverite, showered, and slathered my leg with Biofreeze, which is some new stuff my chiropractor turned me on to, for muscle pain and so on. Its name is accurate and it’s pretty strong stuff that works quite well. Between it and the Recoverite, I was doing great within an hour or two! Recoverite is new for me, and I’ve had really great results with it so far. I think it has finally displaced the long running champ Shaklee Physique.

Sunday’s ride was a bit shorter at 28 miles, and just shy of 2000’ of climbing. Did Blanton, then Lorane/Spencer out to Briggs, to Doane, and back. 1 hour 45 mins. This time I was stoked because I had almost zero knee/leg pain! Fired up some more Recoverite at home, but skipped the Biofreeze. Lazed at the park with the family the rest of the day, nice.

Monday’s ride was a quicky “after work” ride. Did the now usual Blanton over to McBeth, up that and back. 1 hour 5.5 minutes., 17 miles, 2040’ of climbing. The climbing seems a bit high to me, but clearly McBeth packs it in in a relatively short distance. I’ve also started to keep track of the split times as this is sort of a time trial now. So, it was 21 minutes out to McBeth, then 38 mins at the top of McBeth (so 17 mins for McBeth climb). I had a solid pace all day, and the only bummer on the ride was that the heat (78+ degrees) made me wish I went with two small water bottles instead of the single large. It worked out, but I’d have drank more water if I had it. Physique (gotta finish up what I have) half serving when I got home. I had also done week 5 day 1 of 100 push ups earlier this day (total of 177 push ups), and had a half serving of Recoverite after that one too.

It’s now Tuesday morning as I write this, and feeling good. Looking forward to Wednesday’s night ride, and thinking I may sneak out today for a couple more hours of road, but maybe just flattish riding today. Yea for the absolutely great weather we’ve been having, and hoping it holds out through Wed night.

Wildlife by Water - Kayaking Tomales Bay & Drake's Estero

2009-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Wildlife by Water – Kayaking Tomales Bay & Drake’s Estero

August 2007

This entry was written by my good friend Keith. I had read this story and asked to post it as I thought it was great, and fit right in for Mountain Monkeys. Enjoy. -crb

Tomales Bay

My wife Kristi and I had been paddling the alpine lakes of California’s gold country and Tahoe Sierra regularly with our good friends Rich & Nancy for a couple of months. By early August, Rich & Nancy had acquired some great sea kayaks in a killer deal, and it was time to introduce them and their new boats to salt water. With a late morning departure, we left the Sierra foothills on Friday and headed for the coast. Our destination was Point Reyes National Seashore, just a short drive north of San Francisco but a couple of hours for us. Specifically, we planned to do a short paddle on Tomales Bay on Friday afternoon, spend all day Saturday paddling and wildlife viewing in Drakes Estero, and then paddle another section of Tomales Bay on Sunday. Kristi and I had paddled these spots before and knew that Rich & Nancy were in for a real treat. Little did we know that even our own expectations would be exceeded.

After checking into the The Golden Hinde Inn (named after Sir Francis Drake’s ship) in Inverness, we launched right from their private beach and started our casual paddle north along the western shore of Tomales Bay. The shining sun and outgoing tide made for an easy paddle. We kept close to the shore to look at the passing flora. When paddling around the swimming enclosure for one of the beaches, we came upon an enormous school of Moon Jellyfish. Without exaggeration, there must have been thousands of them. The school was so dense that we sometimes had to stop paddling for fear of hurting them. Even with us paddling when we could, the outgoing tide kept us and the jellyfish drifting together for what seemed like half an hour. It was an amazing way to begin our three days of coastal paddling. Kristi and I had been talking up the weekend’s wildlife viewing opportunities and we were starting to get concerned that our talk combined with the incredible school of jellyfish might have raised expectations for Drakes Estero a little too high.

After an evening of socializing, Saturday morning came too early but only because we wanted to launch into Drakes Estero before the outgoing tide left us with a long muddy walk to the water. We arrived at the put-in (at Johnson’s Oyster Farm) at 7 am, about halfway between high and low tide, and were pleased to find that the water was still very close to parking area and no mud-slog would be necessary. Equally pleasing, and surprising, was the fact that we were at a popular paddling spot, close to a major metropolitan area, on a weekend, and we were the only ones there! All the better to enjoy the serene setting as we quietly drifted into the mist that was still shrouding the surrounding hills. Even when other kayakers are present, no motorboats are allowed in Drakes Estero except those of the oyster farm.

Oyster Racks in the Fog

We drifted casually over sets of oyster racks and along the eastern edge of the estero, still shrouded in the morning fog. After a very short time Rich spotted some splashing among a kelp bed and was excited to discover that it was a bat ray breaking the surface of the water with the tips of its wings. It would be the first of dozens spotted by our group throughout the day, with wingspans ranging from probably not much than a foot up to 30 inches or so. Some would pass right under our boats giving us unsurpassed views over the sandy bottom, while others would only afford us a fleeting glimpse.

As we approached the mouth of the estero, we crossed over to the western side to avoid grounding in the ebb tide’s rapidly expanding shallows and to stretch our legs with a stroll on Drakes beach. Before setting our feet on land we were greeted by several dozen harbor seals resting on a sandy spit 100 yards or so before our takeout. We intentionally gave them a wide berth so as not to startle them and most seemed untroubled as we kept a respectful distance.

Drakes Landing Spot

After a long stroll and a very early lunch, we returned to our kayaks near the post marking Sir Frances Drake’s landing spot during his circumnavigation of the world in 1579. We then set out for Estero de Limantour, the thumb to the four fingers of Drakes Estero, passing by the narrow mouth of the estero and its strong current. Numerous curious harbor seals followed us, mostly keeping a distance of fifty feet or more from our brightly colored craft. Even though the tide had turned and the incoming tide helped carry into Estero de Limantour, the water was still extremely shallow. We spotted what we though were several bat rays, with their wingtips breaking the surface. However, as they drew nearer we were delighted to discover that the commotion was being made by numerous leopard sharks hunting in less than a foot of water. As they turned their bodies in tight circles their tails and dorsal fins would briefly be side by side, like the wingtips of a bat ray. Each of us was lucky enough to have at least one leopard shark come close enough for us to clearly see its spots. This was a first for all of us, and the highlight of the trip for me. Absolutely stunning.

When it came to leave Estero de Limantour, leaving wasn’t so easy. It wasn’t that prying ourselves away from the leopard sharks was difficult (I’m sure they were pleased to see us go) but we were now paddling against the incoming tide and a pretty good headwind to boot. We knew that this would only last until we passed the mouth again and were back in the body of Drakes Estero, where we would once again be going with the tide, so we buckled down and paddled hard for 45 minutes or so, taking only short breaks to avoid backward progress. Though the sky was overcast, the fog had long since lifted and, once past the mouth and paddling with the tide at our backs, we could enjoy the scenery of the surrounding hills and the abundant birds that the morning fog had kept hidden earlier in the day.

Deserted Island

The paddle back toward the oyster farm was very relaxing, with only an occasional wind. Myriad species of sea birds squawked and squabbled above as we passed silently beneath. As we approached the oyster farm, perhaps 2/3 of the way from the mouth, we came upon a flock of brown pelicans diving for dinner. As we continued we found ourselves completely surrounded by the diving and feeding pelicans, who didn’t seem to let our presence distract them from their mission. It’s always a pleasure to watch these amazingly graceful large birds seemingly stop in midair and then drop like rocks, beak first into the water. Seeing this happen all around us in such large numbers was truly unforgettable. I recall Rich telling me that the pelicans were the highlight of the day for him, as they were such an unexpected pleasure.

A short bucolic paddle brought us back to the end of our day’s journey, where we discovered that just one other kayaker had come to enjoy Drakes Estero on that amazing day.

Twilight Celebration

After seeing so many jellyfish, bat rays, harbor seals, leopard sharks, pelicans and too many types of other birds to name, we decided that we just couldn’t top that and instead of paddling Sunday we opted for a casual day of beachcombing on McClure’s Beach. A perfect weekend.

New 29er Tires from Bontrager

2009-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

New 29er Tires from Bontrager

15 Apr 2009

It appears the cat is out of the bag… I saw just now that The Cyclist has a post, Sea Otter 2009: Bontrager 29″er Tires- Sneak Peek. These, or specifically the “29-3 2.25” tires are the ones I’ve been testing for about a month. They rock.

Earlier tonight I saw a posting about WTB WeirWolf 2.55 LT’s on MTBR, and put some thoughts, but said to watch out for the Bontys, and then bam moments later I see The Cyclist put this info out. So, I’ll just copy my comments here…

Since this is now “public”… I can say that the “29-3” as it appears they’re called, in the 2.25 size are pretty darn nice! I’ve been riding these for about a month now in a myriad of conditions: mud, sand, hardpack, mild roots and rocks, and generally tacky soil. I happen to be running the 2.25 front and rear.

Also, I can vouch for how well they work tubeless. I’m running them on C29ssmax wheels, and they mounted up with ease – I was able to get them to mount using my floor pump and some Stans (the Stans probably wasn’t even necessary, but I always use it). They are mounted on my full rigid Niner MCR9 and I’m running about 20psi in front, and 25psi in back. The front I’m still futzing with pressure wise, might be able to go lower, but the rear I found I liked at about 25, much lower and it just got too squishy for my 180lb carcass (yes, I’m down from that 190-195 I was last summer as mentioned in my prior post).

I should be trying out the rear/2.0 pretty soon, but generally I don’t touch tires of that size. However, with that said, the “2.25” is pretty large. It’s not quite as big as the WW 2.55 LT’s, but it’s close enough, with way more grip/traction, that I believe these will be my tire of choice for the summer (will likely still run Mountain Kings for winter). They actually were friggin outstanding on wet rocks in the winter, when weighted, but if it was pretty muddy then the 2.25 as a rear tire just didn’t work for me (which really, if you look at the tread, makes complete sense). I am hoping we’ll see them do some even bigger tires, but really, given how well these mount and work tubeless (a big win in my book), the volume being large enough, and the better traction/tread, they’ll beat out the WW’s for me this year.

I really do dig these tires. Even with the sometimes problematic performance in mud, I’ve kept them on my bike, because the mud is almost gone, and I’ve just loved them for everything else. It will be quite interesting to test the 2.0 as a rear tire, but for the conditions I’m typically riding, I just don’t see needing anything more than the 2.25 gives me, and wanting to give up any volume. But, the “2.25” changed my mind on needing the utmost volume. I’d still like something bigger, but I feel this tire easily competes with the WW in that it’s more burly so while it’s volume is a bit less, it makes up for that in being able to be run pretty low pressure, kick a trail’s ass, and give me the ride I’m after.

Look Quartz Pedals - the Experiment is Over

2009-04-13T00:00:00+00:00

Look Quartz Pedals – the Experiment is Over

13 Apr 2009 – Eugene

For the last few months, I’ve been riding Look’s Quartz Pedals on my Niner. This past week I removed them and put my Crank Bros Mallet’s back on. So what’s the story?

First off, the Quartz pedals are really quite a beautiful design, are extremely light, and shed mud amazingly well. The feel clicking in and out of them is nice. But you are wondering, if that’s all good, why swap them out? The simple reality is, I was inadvertently releasing from them too often.

Basically, what I found to happen with these, often enough to make me switch back, was that I’d be in a dicey situation, or some real hard cornering state, and apparently have enough force sideways on my pedal that my foot would release – in fact, it’d pretty much come flying out! This was not even close to acceptable. Twice it nearly caused me to crash. I’ve been riding clipless pedals (SPD, Time, Look, Crank Bros, etc.) since SPD’s first came out, and this behavior is a first. It’s simply not acceptable. Maybe for XC racing this type of situation simply wouldn’t come up, or come up enough, to have this be an issue, but for trail riding, this was a deal killer.

The other thing, and this is just my own issue really, is that I couldn’t get clipped into them quite as fast as with my Mallets. I believe this to be 100% due to the Mallet’s having the big platform that you can slam you foot into and have your shoe pretty much instantly in the right place and click right in. With the Quartz, or probably regular Crank Bros Eggbeaters, you need to be more precise, and a bit slower I think. I had in part tried these pedals to shed some weight (these are nearly half the weight of my Mallets (250g vs. 490g), shedding half a pound), and to work a bit better in mud.

Overall, I tried to make the Quartz work, but after enough unexpected releases, that finally killed it. So for now I’m back on my trusty Mallets. If I feel the need to spend some money on another pair of pedals, I will likely go for the Crank Bros Acid’s – that should give me a platform to smack into for fast entry, but drop a bit less than 1/4 pound. The weight isn’t really that big a deal, not something I tend to dwell on, but hey, if I can get essentially the same features I need, and drop 100g, great.

I should note, I ride Look Keo pedals on my road bike and wouldn’t trade them for anything, they rock.

Hammer Night Ride, and Recent Trail Runs

2009-04-10T00:00:00+00:00

Hammer Night Ride, and Recent Trail Runs

10 Apr 2009 – Eugene

I am so stoked, because I’ve just kept up riding and running nearly every day for a week. Did the “Barbie Camp”: stuff last weekend, then Monday was a simple spin down to Skinner Butte for lunch with my family in some stunningly sunny weather. Tuesday I set a new record time for myself while trail running Blanton (32 mins flat). That was also a nice day because my wife joined me out there, although she did her own interval workout mixing running and some other exercises.

Wednesday I did the DoD’s regular night ride again. This time it was a real hammerfest. Roland and I carpooled out again for the early start time, meeting up with “Bad Chris”, Zach, and Arthur. Chris proceeded to push a hectic pace for the hour leading up to the usual start time (7pm-ish). Dude was flying. I really wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to hang with that pace, but figured that when we hooked up with the rest of the crowd at 7 it’d chill a bit. Davey Sprocket and 4 others joined us at 7, for a nice group of 10. The pace settled down a little, but really not that much. We rode for nearly three hours, in great conditions – basically dry. It was really an outstanding ride. I kept thinking my legs were going to give out, but even at the end when Zach wanted to do Redline, he, Roland and I hit it while the others took the road bike. Wussies! Redline was great. Brutal, but short-ish climb at the end, but glad I did it. I was really stoked on that ride at the end of the night, felt great. I’m bummed I’ll miss next Wednesday’s, but I’ll hit the one after that, and am set now to do three out of four each month (wife has a standing event the other Wednesday). The other thing that’s great about these is if we can keep up this pace. I wouldn’t be doing that pace riding by myself, so it’s very good.

I also ate a lot better I think. I had a protein heavy bar before the ride, and then during the ride had a few gels througout and a Cliff Mojo bar at the 7pm meetup. I drank probably 90oz, or real close (Camelbak was essentially empty). So while my legs were borderline by the end, it was better overall. Had some funny chatter after the ride, and uh, the, as yet to be registered, publicleakage.com came up (I somehow coined this term in regard to the, shall we say, free flowing hair on some swim instructors at pools in Eugene – that’s Eugene for you!).

Thursday wound up being a rest day, and today, Friday, I hit Blanton again. Not quite as successful a run, as I think I went a bit too soon after lunch. Bit of a stomach discomfort, etc., but worked ok, and time wasn’t really that much off. Weather was nice, was really hot in the sun in the parking lot, thought I was going to roast. But, getting into the trees, it was just right in knickers and Icebreaker 180. When I got home I did week 3.5, day 3 of 100 Push Ups. Was tough (since I’d missed day 2 altogether), but essentially completed it (showered between set 4 and 5).

Tomorrow a few of us will speed-hike Spencer Butte. I’ll be curious to see how my knees feel. I am extremely happy at this moment, because after today’s run, I have basically zero knee pain, which is a first in forever. We’ll see if the steeps of Spencer mess that up tomorrow. But, I’m wondering if just the continued fitness and strength increase is really all that I’ve needed. I hope so. Crowd tomorrow won’t be running Spencer, so should work out fine. Now I just need to keep up this frequency and pace!

My Camp Setup for Barbie Camp Spring 2009

2009-04-05T00:00:00+00:00

My Camp Setup for Barbie Camp Spring 2009

05 Apr 2009, Sisters, OR

This blog entry documents my camp setup at Barbie Camp so I can refer to it in the future…

Tent/Sleeping Setup

For the Barbie Camp event I just attended, it was more challenging weather than I’d had camping before. What this really comes down to, is that it was very cold at night – 15 degrees on Friday night. I’m glad that’s really all it was, as it could have been a lot more challenging if it was snowing or raining. I hadn’t camped in conditions quite this cold before (28 is the coldest I recall, and that was back in high school!). I had a successful time, and am recording some notes on my setup for my own reference…

We had a big bonfire to stay warm near, and really, my 700 fill down jacket, combined with two layers of wool tops underneath, wool hat, wool socks, and some Mountain Khaki pants plus long underwear, covered keeping me warm during the hours I was awake.

But for sleeping/tent setup, and for the middle of the night when it’d get down to 15, I am thankful to Roland who had been camping in Utah the week before and said he was really cold, and suggested I bring a big blanket as an extra thing to have under/around my sleeping bag. Given I’d just gotten an REI Halo 25+ down sleeping bag (rated to be “comfortable for a man” down to 23 degrees), and the fact that I seem to get cold easily these days, I knew that Roland’s suggestion was a good idea. So, I took along two extra blankets.

First, was the awesome Pendelton wool and fleece/pile blanket we have. This thing is thick and damn warm on its own, love it. The second was a simple one that is essentially waterproof on one side, and sort of felt on the other. It’s a great picnic blanket, and I used this as a carpet for the floor of my tent (it fit the tent footprint almost exactly). I did have the tent on a big tarp that was folded up to have probably 4 layers, but figured this blanket would be a good insulation layer.

So, for my final sleep setup, I had the tarp, then my Vau De 3 season tent, then the waterproof picnic blanket, then my Thermarest closed cell full length pad, then the big wool blanket, and finally sleeping bag. I tried to wrap the wool blanket up around and on top of my sleeping bag, but that didn’t last long (and I was initially pretty hot). Lastly though, I draped my down jacket over the foot portion of my sleeping bag. And, I wore my expedition weight wool socks, heavy long underwear, Icebreaker 260 top, and wool hat to bed. Zipped up the sleeping bag all the way, but didn’t cinch the head hole any tighter than it is by default. I estimate cinching up the head hole might have added a few more degrees of warmth, but I didn’t quite need it (by morning, I may have liked it, but not certain).

I slept through the night, and awoke fairly comfortable – not hot by any means, but I believe “comfortable”, leaning slightly towards cool. Ultimately, it was all good, fine, no complaints whatsoever. I do think that if the temps had been below 10 it might have been a cold night, but in that case I also might have made a strong effort to have the wool blanket wrapped around. I’d just need to have some clips or such to keep it folded over (those sleeping bags are mighty slippery).

The outside of the tent was covered in a very fine, almost snowflake like pattern of ice in the morning, but just barely. Inside tent walls were vaguely moist.

The other thing that was great about this experience as a learning bit is that regardless of temperature, I’d now take that waterproof picnic blanket as a tent floor for all future use. It was a much nicer thing to sit on and have as a tent floor.

Cooking Setup

I didn’t need much here as I went real simple. Took my Gaz stove, and moka pot, and one pot, knife, fork, and spoon, and kitchen towel. The stove worked like a champ. There was no wind luckily. It brewed the 6 cup moka pot in about 5-7 minutes. I also made hot water for oatmeal, and then heated up the milk and granola I had on the second day some, which was quite nice. I hadn’t known/remembered how well the stove worked (been a long time since I’ve used it), so I hadn’t taken lots of food to cook. I will know for next time that I can cook well with this thing, and that having the warm breakfasts in such cold weather was great.

For solo stuff like this, or maybe simple multiple people, but minimal cooking this would be fine. I’d have liked to have a small camp table, but we really didn’t have room for it in the car anyway, and wound up using a nice tree stump that was right in our camp spot.

Gear List

Below is the list of gear I took, and following that is what changes I’d make…

Clothes:

Mountain Khaki pants
belt
Icebreaker 260 zip top
Smartwool Adrenaline socks
Smartwool expedition weight socks
Icebreaker boxers – 2 pair
Saloman XT Wings shoes
Keen hiking boots
Patagonia wool hoody
Arc’teryx Covert zip up sweater
wool hat
down jacket & hood
TNF hydroseal gloves
dop kit (toothbrush & paste, deod, Advil, etc.)
Suunto watch
rain jacket
rain pants
long underwear
Burton light gloves

Cycling Gear:

1 pair bib shorts
Amfib tights
De Marchi tights
Icebreaker GT 220 top
Icebreaker GT 180 top
Smartwool socks – 2 pair
Camelbak Transalp & 100oz bladder
camera pouch
map
both Campy winter gloves
Pearl Amfib gloves
Castelli gloves
winter cycling shoes/boots
Endura overshorts
Patagonia wool layer/jersey thing
Showers Pass jacket
helmet
Oakleys
cycling cap
LG fleece cap
water bottle
GPS
Spot
cell phone case
chamois cream
basic tools (including Leatherman in Camelbak)
bike

Camp stuff:

sleeping bag
stuff sack pillow
camp stove & fuel cannister
matches
tarp
tent
waterproof picnic blanket
Pendelton wool blanket
Thermarest
headlamp & extra batteries
lantern
cooking pot & lid
kitchen towel
moka pot – 6 cup
travel mug
duct tape (I put this around my seat post, but taking a roll would probably be good)
chair
square ground pad
toilet paper
trash bags (both for trash, and for dirty/muddy clothes)

Other:

kleenex
wet wipes
towel
Canon G9 camera
iPhone
iPhone Mophie Juice Pack (battery charger/extender)
chemical hand/foot warmer packets

Food:

small cooler with cold foods (milk, cheese, deli meats)
Camelbak drink tablets
lots of powerbars and gels
ground espresso
bread
Peanut butter
jelly
silverware
wine
whiskey in flask
7 gallon jug of water
bananas
granola
instant oatmeal packets
baggies for sandwiches
jerkey
sugar (for coffee)
dark chocolate bar
almonds

What I’d Add

I didn’t miss anything badly, but for the future, a few simple additions:

camp table
dish/general soap
strike anywhere matches (I had simple wooden matches, which was fine, but a big box of these would be better if using the stove a lot, or it was real windy, etc.)
clothesline (didn’t need this, but if camping longer, would be good)
I threw the t-shirt in at the last minute, and boy am I glad I did! I should simply always have this, even if I think the temps will never drop below a point where I’d wear the Icebreaker long-sleeve top.
I probably would rather have slept in my Icebreaker wool hat – it’s softer and full covers ears, so I think might have been a good choice, and it’d have been nice to have two hats.
I forgot a “real” knife for kitchen/cooking/eating use. Wasn’t a problem, but should have this.
if appropriate I’d take a bike lock (I carry one in my car always, and Roland had one in his car – we didn’t lock up at camp as it wasn’t warranted)

What I’d Remove

I took my hiking boots, but never wore them. If the weather was different I’d have wanted them, but even in the cold, trail running shoes worked out fine.
If space was a real issue, I didn’t need the Arc’teryx sweater. I did wear it once, but primarily used it as the stuffing for my pillow, as I wore the Patagonia wool hoody when I needed that layer. So, just one or the other was fine. I thought I’d need both, but my down jacket was sufficient. Maybe if we didn’t have the campfire, I would have wanted both?
rain pants – could have gotten rid of these of course, but who can ever trust the weather man?
I had way overkill on gloves. If it had rained, having the TNF hydroseal gloves would be good, but didn’t need those, didn’t need the Pearl Amfib gloves, and didn’t even wear either of my Campy cycling gloves! I’d always want two pair of cycling gloves, and again, who can trust the weatherman, but probably could have skipped some.

That’s all ;-)

Barbie Camp Spring 2009

2009-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

Barbie Camp Spring 2009

April 3-5, Sisters, Oregon (near Bend)

I spent Friday evening through Sunday near Sisters, Oregon, for the Disciples of Dirt’s Spring “Barbie Camp” event. The DoD have been doing this every year for 15 years, and this was my first one. We camped in the Peterson Ridge area at a great campsite, where about 30+ of us congretated for a weekend of mountain biking, camping, and partying. Roland and I drove up in his Subaru, which luckily had snow tires on it, as we encountered snow and some ice going over Santiam Pass on Friday evening.

Friday night, they had the bonfire going, which was great, as it got down to 15 degrees! I had a brand new REI Halo 25+ down sleeping bag, and was glad I was in a tent and brought an extra couple insulation layers for under my bag and such, as 15 was pretty chilly for camping (coldest I’ve ever camped in). We awoke Saturday morning to clear skies and temps in the 20’s. After making a 6 cup moka pot and some oatmeal and bacon, it was time to ride!

A group of 28 riders convened and we headed out to ride the recently expanded Peterson Ridge area. The local COTA group has done a killer job expanding these trails and there was just a great maze of trails covering everything from hardpack almost desert like conditions to lava-rocky somewhat technical terrain. This was mixed in with some amazing views of the local mountains (the three Sisters, Three Finger Jack, Hood, Broken Top, etc.). The above photo is where we made one of our stops, and had some great views. From atop the rocks we also were able to look down and happen to see a group of deer running around.

I was there to ride, so I maximized the day, and Arthur and I were out riding the longest, covering about 25 miles by the end (and only taking one wrong turn, er, I mean, doing one extra lap of a small segment). The trails were a lot of fun, with pretty good flow, and easily managed on my rigid 1×9 29er. There was one pretty sweet descent that had a bunch of rollers in it, and one guy managed a pretty solid jump over the roller, only to land on his front wheel and appear to be riding it out, but instead rode it into a rock and cartwheeled. We all went back up and watched the others come down, hoping for a repeat, I mean, hoping to see some good jumps.

Photo of me in a lava rock section by Brandon

We covered a bunch more ground as people began peeling off and heading back to camp. Arthur and I wanted to get some more trails in so we kept ripping through the buff singletrack, then finally heading back. Arriving in camp, I got cleaned up (even if your kids are out of diapers, baby wipes are still damn useful!), and chugged some chocolate milk (poor-man’s recovery drink), made a sandwich, and then headed to the bonfire. Roland, who became the resident fire tender, was on it, and already had the fire going off to a good start.

Saturday night is the big pot-luck feast, “raffle”, and party. Roland had brought a keg of Ninkasi beer (nice guy eh?), and people cooked up some absolutely stellar food. Charlie went all out and used a BBQ (grilling the peppers first) to cook up a huge fresh batch of paiea, fresh seafood, there was risotto, some great chili, an awesome kale salad, super tasty brownies, pie, and lots more. We feasted ourselves into a coma, but then the entertainment arrived!

Not that kind of entertainment(!), but damn if Coleen and ?, didn’t make a kick ass Barbie cake (using Guiness in it), and have some great outfits to go along with it. The adult themed Barbie cake looked great, and tasted great. That brought on the “raffle”.

A Barbie bottle opener and a DoD shirt were given away (no purchase necessary). Then the real price – the Barbie bike. The Barbie bike is pretty old, and at this point is a hot pink, single speed with EBB, matching pink rims, Mary bar, and adorned with various scantily clad Barbies. Emily won the bike and took it for a spin…

This led us to the kiddie bike races. The ladies started things off, definitely showing us how it’s done (if you’ve never, as an adult, ridden a 8/10/12" or even 16" wheeled bike, it’s pretty darn hard!). They rocked it.

The guys then made their attempt, including Brandon doing a few laps on the mutant bike:

We then settled into our various drinks, some cast-iron dutch oven bonfire popcorn, and enjoyed the rest of the night. Still a fairly cold night, but not as chilly as Friday. It was off to the tents to rest up for Sunday.

Bend locals, Chris and Katie, took a bunch of us to ride Mastin. This was a nearly all flat, ripping singletrack ride on a mix of sandy, hardpack, and rocky terrain that was way more fun than a few described it! One thing that made it great was that you could really fly, and just keep a solid pace the whole time. We did 20 miles in 2 hours, and many of the 26" wheeled folks were rockin’ their big ring all day. Chris was riding a rigid 29er singlespeed with a 34×16. Roland was pretty much on fire, blowing us out on one section he led, with Chris trying to hang on to his wheel, and me trying to chase Chris down. It was a lot of fun, and just amazing weather. I think it hit well into the 70’s this day, and I wound up converting the older tights I was wearing into knickers (and was still hot). After the ride, Paul, Ian, Roland, and I headed to the Mexican place in Tumalo for some chow. Then it was off to Sisters Coffee Company to fuel up before the drive home.

Roland and I talked about lots of past bike trips, places we want to ride, and so on on the way home. Both of us are psyched for summer and to start putting in a lot more miles. We also want to plan some summer mtb trips. This patch of beautiful weather has me wanting summer to be here now! What a great weekend.

You can see all the pictures, and the videos of the kiddie bike races in my Barbie Camp Flickr set. Also, there’s a ton of photos on the MTBR photo thread.

From Glum to Plum

2009-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

From Glum to Plum

30 Mar 2009 – Ridgeline @ Blanton, Eugene

I spent the first part of today gathering data for taxes, and so I suspect that’s what led to my rather glum mood by the afternoon. I don’t expect taxes to be too bad this year, but it is always just a pain to gather up all the data and so on, and I hate spending my time doing that. So, once I was done, and ready to FedEx the non-digital docs to my CPA, I threw on my running gear and headed out. First to send the tax docs, then to run Blanton.

Today is a really gorgeous day – sunny, decent temp at 52F, no wind. I started out the run, and as seems to be a trend these days, felt pretty slow and slothy. But, by a bit before the halfway mark, I was warm and feeling fairly good. Hit the turnaround point on track for a decent time, which surprised me, as I thought I was a couple minutes slow, but I guess that last stretch from the sort of lookout area to the turnaround on Willamette goes quicker than I thought. Stopped to tighten up my shoes, and then headed back.

The first half of the trail back is the toughest part of the run, it has all the steepest sections, and is the longest sustained ascending. On the last two times, I’ve been walking the steepest chunks of it, and I think that has been a really good idea. Interestingly enough, it hasn’t seemed to slow me down, in fact, today was my fastest time ever at Blanton, and last week’s was my second fastest. Maybe the walking is significantly less hard on me and allows me to then go faster on the other sections.

By the end of the run, probably also helped out by my fastest time at 32.5 minutes, I was on a high. The great weather, and all the endorphins and natural high that I always get from a good workout contributed to a massively improved mood! I love being outside around lots of trees, a nice day, having done a workout, etc. I’ve said it over and over to myself (and others), that exercise is so critical for me (really it should be for everyone) – it’s not just about staying fit and healthy physically, but it is probably one of the biggest mental health things for me as well. Feeling good!

Return to Blanton

2009-03-25T00:00:00+00:00

Return to Blanton

25 Mar 2009 – Ridgeline trail @Blanton; Eugene

Had a really stellar run today on Blanton. It is the first time I’ve been back running there in a while, as I had suspected it’s steep ups and downs were much more stressful on my knee. It’s been raining a lot, and it is probably the trail that fares the best in the Ridgeline system – least mud. So, with that, I just told myself to walk the really steep sections, and I was off.

I’m still kind of amazed, but I set the fastest time I’ve recorded there! And that was with walking some parts. Time was only about 20 seconds faster, but again, with some walking, and so on, I’m quite surprised. I took no pee break, so that helps a bit, and didn’t spend much time at the turn around point. I did stop to mess with both shoes. I felt slow on some sections, but I felt like I was flying on one of the last sections towards the end.

This section of speed was I fully believe made possible by the song playing on my iPhone Just Say It by Sleepthief with Kyoko Baertsoen. It starts off pretty mellow, but about 1/3rd of the way in it’s reached this state where it sounds like it’s constantly on the verge of climax, and gives you the feeling you are just about at the finish line. It was pretty wild I have to say. Really cool, and I was bummed when the song ended and I wasn’t done!

It was about 50 degrees today, cloudy, couple rain drops here and there. I wound up wearing Nike DryFit tights, Icebreaker GT 180 zip top, and even my gloves. Gloves were probably overkill (and they were pretty soggy at the end), but my hands get cold easily. All that was ideal as it turned out.

All in all, very very happy to have had such a good run here, as this really is my favorite trail in Ridgeline. I will have to see how my knee feels tomorrow, but so far, pretty much nothing – just some mild muscle ache in both legs, and just feels like regular soreness from harder effort. Nice.

Brice Creek with Snow

2009-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

Brice Creek with Snow

24 Mar 2009 – Brice Creek Trail, outisde Cottage Grove, OR

Shot down to Brice Creek again today, to get a ride in “before work” (which is code for: I’ll start working after lunch and work all night, or something like that). Conditions were similar to Saturday’s ride, although I initially thought it was colder…

The thermometer said it was a bit colder, at about 39 degrees when I started out. I had had problems with my hands getting cold (not uncommon for me) the previous rides, so today I had a slightly heavier Icebreaker GT 220 top on, and then my mega warm Pearli gloves. These gloves are basically ski gloves, or could be. Also slightly warmer head sock (instead of cycling cap), plus all the usual tights, jacket, etc. About 20-30 mins into the ride I’d had enough, and was roasting. Stopped and shed the gloves, head sock, and jacket, and put on some lighter gloves (I always carry at least one extra set of gloves on wet cold rides), and threw on another looser wool top (over the Icebreaker one). This worked out perfectly, and the only change I made the rest of the ride was to put the head sock back on for the descent and ride back.

I was definitely feeling the last couple days of riding, and the climb up to the falls was pretty tough. But, once I made it past the falls and started descending, it was pure joy. Put the gas pedal on the floor and flew back to the car as fast as I could, as at this point, I was a bit behind schedule (not thanks to my snooze button this morning either). Back at the car I changed, and headed into town, dreaming of Burrito Girl…

Arriving back in Eugene, I beelined for Burrito Girl, who just moved to Chambers & 7th, which is great, even closer for me. Ordered up a burrito and a “pupusa”, which is this awesome hand made corn tortilla with meat and cheese – she grabs a handfull of dough right there and mixes it up, then grills it all. I took them home, and was pretty much shaking with hunger by the time I got home, and quickly inhaled my food, yum. Shower, espresso, done.

Photos here on Flickr

Fall Creek Ride

2009-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

Fall Creek Ride

22 Mar 2009 – Fall Creek, OR

This afternoon I got to ride a new trail, which I always like. Fall Creek is a cool river trail that I wound up unfortunately only doing half of! Luckily this first half (3.5 miles) is pretty technical (quite technical for Oregon actually), with lots of rocks and tree roots, some rock and wood stair sections, and tons of bridges. Pretty darn cool actually.

On the Disciples of Dirt mailing list, a few of us had been talking about riding it tomorrow, but then it became a night ride. I had evening plans, so couldn’t do it as a night ride, and decided to just go solo today and try it out. I actually really like riding solo since riding is sort of my meditation, time to think, time to just zen out if I can. I like social rides too, but I find I tend to ride solo far more often. I do tend to use my SPOT tracking device to help with the solo/danger/emergency issues.

The trail, at least the first half from Dolly Varden campground out to the road, has a slew of rocky sections. No bike eating or crazy stuff, but in the rain and such, they were often tricky, and always fun! Also, this trail is exposed most of the way, and if you slip off to the river side, well, you’re probably going in the drink. At one point on the way back, I had a pretty close call…

I was rolling along relatively slowly, as the particular section was off-camber and fairly narrow. I managed to ride my front wheel up on a wet, smooth log, that was angled forward and down towards the river. Sure enough, wheel goes sliding, like it’s at a water park, loving it. It slid right off the end, off the trail, and thankfully into some scrub, which pretty much stopped it. If it hadn’t stopped here, I would have been in the river for sure as the river was quite close at this point. There were some hikers maybe 50 feet in front of me, they’d have gotten a nice laugh. Quite glad I didn’t go in the river. It was in the 30’s, and getting all wet would not have made a fun rest of the ride back at all.

I spent a good part of the ride out stopping to clear downed trees. I didn’t have a saw with me, so couldn’t do the bigger ones, but still wound up clearing eight areas. I was very appreciative of my own work on the ride back! I would estimate that I still had to hop/climb over a good 10-12 bigger trees though, as well as this one monster that completely blocked the trail. This one required hiking way up the hill and around, with a pretty slippery re-entry back onto the trail.

I finally popped out into more clear areas, and then hit the road. At this point I wasn’t really sure what to do. It seemed the trail continued on the far side of the road a little ways down, but there really wasn’t a well defined trail, and there were so darn many trees down that after riding down it a while I said forget it. I will say though, that the light here was amazing, and looking down the road in the distance was a snow-topped peak. The picture from my iPhone is weak, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I had seen a sign for Johnny Creek trail back at the junction and knew from MTBR that that was rideable too, so figured I’d try it… The sign said it was 1/8th of a mile up. I rode a good half mile up and never found it. Only later on the DoD mailing list was I told that I didn’t miss anything that that trail is basically almost paved and so not worth it. On the ride up though, it was really kind of beautiful (even if I was on a road). But, the temperature dropped about 6+ degrees in 10 minutes, and it started hailing! The picture of my bike lying there, you can sort of see some of the snow behind it. It was 36 degrees at this point, and I decided this was my indicator to head back. I was actually prepared for temps down to about 30, but still. I donned my warm hat and zipped up the jacket full, for the fast road descent back down to the Fall Creek Trail.

As I mentioned, the ride back was more rideable due to my clearing, and just seemed to go faster in general. It was cold at the beginning, as it continued to hail a bit. But then a little ways in, bam, hail gone, sun came out! Love it! So typical for Oregon, and no complaints here. I passed a couple groups of hikers, and had my slide as mentioned above. Arrived back at the car, changed, pounded some chocolate milk, and headed home. This was a very cool trail and I can’t wait to ride it again, as well as ride it in the summer. All in all, another great day of riding.

Full set of photos from today’s Fall Creek ride are here

Brice Creek in the Rain

2009-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

Brice Creek in the Rain

21 Mar 2009 – Brice Creek trail, outside Cottage Grove

The wife and kids are away, and it’s time to play. It’s been a while since I’ve been on my mountain bike, and it’s been raining a lot lately. So, I headed to Brice Creek, as I know it handles the rain probably better than any other local trail. There’s a lot of rock in the soil, and it drains well, so there is rarely any mud.

Today was also my first day on some new prototype tires. I can’t say more than that until after Sea Otter, but so far so good. As part of that, I took a bunch of pictures to show the tire folks what kind of terrain I was on today. I also took a few scenic shots. Unfortunately no action shots as I was riding solo.

Conditions were decent. When I first started out it was raining solidly and I think was about 46 degrees. It rained off and on the whole day, but there’s a lot of thick tree cover on this ride, so the rain really isn’t that noticeable. Warmed up a couple degrees by the end of the ride (to 48 according to my computer).

The ride was quite nice, and strangely enough, I set a new record time for myself, at 1 hour 34 minutes. Previously the fastest I’d done it (that I can recall) was 1 hour 40 minutes. I haven’t ridden this trail in some time, and I suspect I’m probably about 15 pounds lighter than the last time I rode it. Either that, or it was the tires, or both, or? I did not feel like I was riding that fast today, so I was a bit surprised. However, it could also simply be an error with my computer as I noticed it came up a smidge short on the mileage, so it’s possible the transmitter’s battery is getting low, like it did on my road bike.

For all the pictures, check out the set on Flickr

Road Ride - A Bit Rusty!

2009-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

Road Ride – A Bit Rusty!

12 Mar 2009 – Eugene

Did a short road ride today (1 hr 20 mins), up Blanton and then up McBeth (or McDeath as I recently heard someone call it – not warranted though, decent hill, but certainly no death, McLean, Chambers, and certainly Blanton the hard way, and others put it to shame). I felt pretty rusty, ouch! Ride was quite nice though, amazing weather today! Gorgeous sunny conditions, and cool at about 48-50 degrees (got away with knickers, long sleeves (Icebreaker GT 180 + thin Pearli long sleeve), and a vest).

Overall rode pretty well, but again, a bit rusty feeling. Also felt a bit of tightness in my calves and some of that same strain/weakness in my right quad. Doesn’t bode well for doing an epic ride on Saturday. But, I may just wind up doing Brice Creek, as somewhat itching to ride the mtb again. Hey, maybe the secret new prototype types will arrive tomorrow so I can ride them Saturday, that’d be cool!

5k run at Fox Hollow

2009-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

5k run at Fox Hollow

11 Mar 2009 – Eugene, Ridgeline Trails at Fox Hollow

Quite a good run for me today at Fox Hollow. Another “longest” since starting to run again. Not by much, but completed two loops (one in each direction) of Fox Hollow today, for what should be about 5k (it’s 3.2 miles (1.6 miles per lap) according to their map). It was pretty darn muddy and squishy, temp was about 45 degrees. I covered that start to finish, including warm up walk, pee stop :), and short break halfway in 30 minutes, and some seconds. Legs feel pretty good, some slight maybe soreness or strain around right knee, and very mild sensation in my right quad like a cramp could be coming.

Today was also my first run in tights. Some simple Nike Dry-Fit ones. They worked fine, and were pretty nice. I do wish they had the sort of support liner thing in them like the Pearl knickers though. Usual other stuff, Icebreaker GT 220 top, gloves, wool socks, etc. Also, used my iPhone and RunKeeper. RunKeeper did a pretty good job today, no errant data points, and pretty close on the mileage (you’ll see one small gap, but pretty close otherwise). I continue to really dig running to DJ Brad Miller’s Push the Night podcast/tracks, great for running.

Rexius Run, Pushups, and cramps

2009-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

Rexius Run, Pushups, and cramps

04 Mar 2009 – Eugene, Rexius Trail

On Wednesday I did a nice run in the rain at Rexius. I had felt a bit of pain in my knee from Monday’s run, so decided to go back to something flat and “safe”. I knew two laps was a bit too short, so I did 3 laps, but the first two laps used the earlier circle, which I believe probably cuts out about 1/4 mile, so my guess is it was about 2.5 miles. Took 19 minutes I think. Felt pretty good, and was actually feeling a bit tired towards the end, but also it seemed like I was getting into that zone, and had good focus, so was a bit sad to stop. I felt this was the right thing to do though.

I came home, lingered a bit, and then tried to do week 5 day 1 of Hundred Pushups. FAIL. Big time fail. Strangely, I was cramping in my quads, I guess from the run. This is odd, as I haven’t had this happen, and, well, just seemed strange. This didn’t really contribute to failing at the pushups, but it definitely didn’t help. I was only about to do 3 sets of the 5, and failed on the third.

I’ve been a bit under the weather, and also just feeling kind of weak, so this didn’t surprise me. I almost didn’t even try, but am glad I at least made an attempt. I had debated whether to do a week “4.5” instead, but I think what I’ll do is just keep trying week 5 day 1 until I can do that well. If I can do that either Friday, or Monday, that’ll work out well. If I can’t do it by Monday, then I’m going to be behind and in a bit of trouble/danger for ability to succeed, so hopefully it works.

Another clothing report, which worked perfectly in today’s conditions. As said, it was raining, pretty solidly much of the time, and temps were around 46 degrees:

Icebreaker GT 220 top
Pearli running knickers
Smartwool heavier wool socks
my usual Brooks Cascadia shoes
Pearli running gloves

This was darn near ideal. If I’d gotten into running too much longer, the top might have gotten warm, but then again I had it zipped up the entire time, so probably could have simply unzipped and handled 20 minutes more. The gloves were key and I’m glad I had them. My hands get cold easily, and these were quite welcome. Knickers were good. I recently picked up some tights, but I’m starting to wonder if I’ll really ever wear them. I’d meant to get another pair of knickers, but they didn’t have them, and I haven’t gotten around to ordering them online, figured the tights would work. However, even on the coldest of days (like the 27 degree day at Spencer Butte a month ago), I haven’t really felt like tights would be any more advantage, but we’ll see.

Longer Run - Good Results

2009-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

Longer Run – Good Results

06 Mar 2009 – Eugene, Fox Hollow trail in Ridgeline

Just before lunch today I ran Fox Hollow. It is a gorgeous day visually, but still actually fairly cool at 43 degrees. I felt fairly decent today and was pretty excited to go run. Did a longer time today too, longest since starting back up at about 29 minutes. Roughly 3 miles. RunKeeper was way off, so I don’t really know.

This run felt quite good, similar to Wed in that I was getting tired at the end, but felt like I could have kept going for a while. Now that I’m home, have stretched and showered, I have a bit of strain in the outside-right tendon behind my knee, where it meets the fibula, which is what my chiropractor started addressing yesterday. This is the same spot as got really bad before I think, so hopefully I can keep the running in check and he can do some magic on that area.

I will say that today, it is less of a “pain” than a “strain”. By that I mean it’s more like I did a hard workout, and less like it’s hurt. I sure hope that’s the case anyway, and I’m hopeful.

Attire wise, same thing as Wed, Pearl Izumi knickers, Icebreaker GT 220 top, gloves, etc. Last night Icebreaker sent an email promo for their new stuff, and low and behold, they now have [running] knickers! I ordered the Strider this morning:

Can’t wait to try these out. I’ve really been liking the Pearli ones, and of course having the Icebreaker fetish I do, glad I found these before I ordered another pair of Pearls.

Fox Hollow Run on Feb 28

2009-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Fox Hollow Run on Feb 28

28 Feb 2009 – Eugene, Ridgeline Trails

I ran Fox Hollow again today (also did it on Wednesday). Wednesday’s run was great, no issues. Today’s felt good too, and I believe I did a pace that was a fair bit faster. On Wed, one loop took 17 mins I think, and today it was 14. I did feel like I was running faster today. On Wed I went down the descent of the trail to the north of the parking lot for a bit and back up to do an even 20 mins or so. Today I ran back on the main trail toward Dillard for a few minutes and then back for about 21 or so mins total. On the trail my legs felt just a hair stressed, but barely (and that’s me paying very close attention due to the (past) injuries).

Upon arriving home and showering, I started to notice a bit of strain in my right leg. Not a welcome thing. However, I’m hoping it’s just a bit of strain after returning to running. The location of the pain is similar to where it was in my right leg/knee area before, but not the same. Higher (in relation), closer in to the knee, and a bit of the tendon. Did my stretches after the shower and hopefully that helps. Will have to monitor things. Again, I don’t know if this was due to the faster pace, or just the third day of running after not having run for a month. Will also say what the docs say this week.

Week 4 Day 3 of 100 Push Ups

2009-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Week 4 Day 3 of 100 Push Ups

27 Feb 2009 – Eugene

I was fairly worried about pulling off today’s 100 Push-ups program (week 4 day 3). It’s been pretty hard. Anyway, I made it through the first 3 sets ok, fourth set was tough. Then came the max/fifth set, where you’re supposed to do 40 or more.

I had to pause at 20. Then continued, and could only make it to 36, whereupon I pretty much fell on the floor. So, I sat at my computer, and 2 minutes later the cooldown/completion beeper on my iPhone 100 Push Ups app went off. I said, ok, I’ve got to do 5 more just to sort of pretend I finished…

Well, through some freak of nature, that 5 turned into 40! I can’t even explain it. I don’t even get it. Somehow I just kept going, and before I knew it I was to 40. I didn’t even collapse after. May or may not have been able to do any more, but woah! That puts the total for the day at 196, and I finished the week relatively happy about it.

I think my form is a bit weak right now though, as I probably ought to be going a bit further down on each push-up, but somehow this is where my rhythm is, so I’ve stuck with it. My thinking however is that I will ensure I get a bit further down this weekend when I do the “test” set (one set of as many as you can do), to see where things go from here. I know the high range is anything over 40, so I suspect I’d be in that given today’s results, but I’ll ensure I use truly good form and see. I still plan to do a week 4.5 though, but we’ll see, maybe I’ll orient the numbers closer to a “4.75” :)

Was also supposed to run today, but work was crazy busy, and then I went to the Eugene “Beer & Blog” meetup that happens every Friday evening. Only the second one I’ve been to, and they’re decent. I’m trying to meet more tech folks in town, but the numbers are limited. Will run or ride this weekend.

Return to Running

2009-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

Return to Running

23 Feb 2009 – Eugene

Today was the first time I’ve run in almost 4 weeks, since my knee troubles flared up to enough that I sought help. Today was a bit lighter re-introduction to running, with 2 laps of Rexius (2 miles). I specifically wanted something flat, as I think the ascents, and particularly descents, are what exacerbate the knee issues. Plus, I wanted to ease back in, as my chiropractor said to start at about 20 minutes. Today was 17 minutes including 2 minute warm up.

Things worked out really well. I felt a bit sluggish/heavy running, as I really don’t have running muscles/reserves built up like I do for cycling (where riding just comes naturally regardless of fitness level). But, that said, things went well, and there was absolutely zero knee pain, not even an inkling or a notion that it could be there! Very happy about that, very happy. And, at 8 minute miles (factoring in the warmup aspect), I figure that’s actually not really that much slower than I was going before. All-in-all, a good return to running. Oh, the one other total bonus – I nailed the weather window – totally sunny when I ran, yet it had been raining buckets earlier in the day.

Today was also the first day of week 4 of Hundred Pushups. Ouch. This wasn’t even as many as I did in my “week 3.5” that I did last week (since I wasn’t happy with my week 3, I did a week that is halfway (in number of pushups each set) between week 3 and 4 as a segue way). The max/last set was basically not do-able with satisfaction. Argh. Likely this just means I’ll do a week 4.5, and I’ve pretty much been of the mind set that I’d be doing that the rest of the time anyway, which is fine by me. I’ve already noticed various improvements, so that’s success and I want to keep it up.

Road Ride 21 Feb 2009

2009-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

Road Ride 21 Feb 2009

21 Feb 2009 – Eugene

Got a nice road ride in today. First one in the two hour range I’ve actually done in a while. While that’s really not long at all, I just haven’t had time to get in rides over about 20 miles for the last few weeks. Yesterday was great, but the last 30 mins I kinda just ran out of steam. Not a real bonk, just no punch, no power. I have been quite low on sleep (staying up until 3am doesn’t help things), and had a minor cold, so I’ll just blame it on that :)

Aside from that, nearly perfect weather – started at about 55 degrees, was 51 by the time I got home. Was able to just wear knee warmers, Icebreaker GT 220 base and a fairly thin Pearli long sleeve jersey, Castelli gloves. Perfect. The weather was threatening rain later on, so conditions were questionable, but again, all worked out great.

I wound up going out Lorane, to Territorial, back up over Briggs Hill, Spencer Creek, Lorane, and back home. I think about 28 miles. My computer has been acting up, and I think I’ve finally determined that the cordless wheel sensor/receiver has a low battery. I stopped on a descent, as once I hit speeds over about 25, it just stopped detecting anything. I stopped, pushed the sensor that much closer to the wheel magnet and then it worked again, but it’s uber-close, no room for flex. I used RunKeeper on my iPhone as well, but the GPS on that has been pretty spotty. Looking at the results, you see good accuracy for about half the ride, then just a bunch of straight lines where there are clearly no roads, etc. So, I figure it missed at least 2 miles, if not more (based on average speed of 15+, and a 2 hour time, I’d suspect maybe even the ride was 30 miles.)

I’m a bit bummed that the iPhone/RunKeeper isn’t working better. I really dig RunKeeper, but the GPS of the phone or something, is just not very good in my experience so far.

Rick Trujillo - Running with Elk

2009-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Rick Trujillo – Running with Elk

28 Jan 2009

To further the mythic status of Rick Trujillo, and the story that he runs with Elk, check out the story from Runner’s World about him. The guy is one of the originators of mountain running, and is quite a character. He won the Hardrock 100 in Silverton (a friggin incredibly difficult race) eating Oreos and Mountain Dew, has broken his back, and has run over incredibly high peaks. There are other great mountain runners, and I’m certainly only learning about these guys, but Mr. Trujillo is pretty impressive.

Push Ups and Road Ride

2009-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

Push Ups and Road Ride

28 Jan 2009 – Eugene

Today had a few things going on. First I restarted 100 Push Ups week 2. I wasn’t happy with my week 2 last week. I barely was making each day, so I’m redoing it. So far so good, did a few more than the required max at the end.

Next up was visit number 2 to the chiropractor. My right leg was a bit shorter again, but only by about 1/4 inch, instead of a full inch, and I no longer failed the strength tests, so that was awesome. He’s having me do some daily balance exercises as well. He’d like to see my leg length situation stabilize before I start running again. So…

I headed out for a road ride this afternoon. Was an absolutely gorgeous day. 50-54 degrees during the ride, and I actually wore shorts (with knee warmers :) and loved it. Did my short loop up McBeth plus a little further. While stopped up at the top eating, a guy came by on a classic old bike, also wearing the clothes to match, but no helmet. Idiot. Idiot. I wound up catching him on the mini-climb on Chambers on the way home, and had been planning to dis him for not wearing a helmet, but wound up just riding past him with a quick hi, and continuing on leaving him in the dust. Good enough I guess.

Knee Problems and Running

2009-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

Knee Problems and Running

28 Jan 2009 – Eugene

I’ve had problems with pain on the lower outside part of my right knee since starting running again. I had this happen last spring in my left knee, stopped running, and it went away. But now I don’t want to stop running. Yesterday I went to the physical therapist and he thinks nothing is damaged, and started me on Bowen technique, as well as recommended I see the chiropractor to the running stars here in Eugene (he’s apparently the head chiropractor from the Olympic Trials this past summer, and seen nearly every top runner, one of the best in the country, etc.). I’ve never been to a chiropractor, so it’ll be interesting. I’m not opposed to it (if I were I wouldn’t go). Finally, the PT said I can continue to exercise (run, bike, etc.)…

So, later in the day, I went for a run. Well, more of a walk. I did Blanton, one of my favorites. I wound up walking a good half of it, probably more actually. I could feel the knee pain. It wasn’t bad, but it was back, and I just didn’t want to stress it out. At this point, I’m just really bummed it’s happening. My left leg is rock solid, no probs, and I feel like I could run forever on it. It’s just really frustrating.

Matt Skis Las Leñas (video)

2009-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

Matt Skis Las Leñas (video)

27 Jan 2009

My good friend Matt did some amazing skiing in Las Leñas (Argentina) this past summer. He’s a great backcountry skier, based in Silverton and skis as much as he can all year. This video shows him loving life (aka skiing the goods) in Las Leñas.

All Comer's Meat V

2009-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

All Comer’s Meat V

24 Jan 2009 – Eugene

Very delayed post. Went to the Disciples of Dirt’s “All Comers Meat V” event. It’s at our semi-secret stash of trails, and the weather was outstanding for the day. We did about 18 miles, and had a lot of fun. It was really cold, but we got warmed up halfway with the beer and food tent that Erik, Brock, and others set up, so cool.

On the second half of the ride, we came across a guy who’d crashed, and sheered off the end of his front quick release skewer and nut. So, inspecting it, and seeing he had one of those presta-to-schrader converters on his valve, I got an idea. As they said, I MacGyvered it up and we got the guy back to the cars safely. Here’s the pic…

More pics from the event are in that same MTBR thread, follow the link for them, etc.

Blog Redo

2009-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

Blog Redo

23 Jan 2009 – Eugene

This blog, for the zero people that read it, has been moved to a new blogging system. Same URL, but likely most of the old post URL’s no longer work. I’ve switched to a more simple and better system for me (used to use Movable Type, now it’s done with Jekyll). I need to get most of the styling brought back over, but given that this is really just my personal journal of cycling, running, skiing, hiking, climbing, and other such adventures, it won’t be made real fancy.

100 Push Ups

2009-01-22T00:00:00+00:00

100 Push Ups

22 Jan 2009 – Eugene

I’ve started on the 100 Push Ups program, along with my wife, brother-in-law, and a few friends. I hate gyms and weights and all that, and really prefer being outside and doing “real” exercise and so on. But, I figured this was a quick, easy thing to do, at home, and I’ll improve upper body strength, which is not high on the list of the things I tend to do (cycling, running, hiking, skiing, etc.).

Today was day two of the first week. I started off with an initial test result of a mere 20 “good form” push ups. Day 1 I did 48 as per their program, and today was 52. I was still a bit sore from the first day, so it added difficulty to today. Friday will likely be tough, but man, looking ahead to week 3, that’s when things are going to get brutal. I’m extremely curious to see whether I can pull it off. Let’s hope theirs good proven basis for their plan!

And yes, I’m using the iPhone app.

Big Step Up With Today's Trail Run

2009-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Big Step Up With Today’s Trail Run

18 Jan 2009 – Eugene

Today I doubled my usual mileage for a trail run, and did a 7 mile loop. Started at Spencer’s Butte this morning where it was 27 degrees! Parts of the trail were actually frozen, and crunched under my feet as I ran in my new Brooks Cascadia shoes (these are the newest ones that they made even uglier with the near neon yellow and black – hideous, but oh well). I got analyzed at Eugene Running Company the other day, and luckily am “neutral”, but picked up some new shoes that I’m hoping are slightly better fit. They seem a little bit, but not sure how much so far. The tread is better though, more grippy.

I also ran in some new Pearl Izumi Photon Splice Knickers. I actually really liked these! They kept my knees and legs warmer and are really nice to run in.

In this cold I was wearing an Icebreaker GT 220 top, plus a fairly hefty Pearl Izumi vest (fleece inside, sort of a windstopper-ish outside), some new Pearl Izumi Shine Wind Mitt gloves, Smartwool hat and socks. These gloves at first, man I thought I would have frostbite, but then I finally pulled out the wind cover mitt part and bam, damn near instantly my hands felt warm and great! I kept those on until about 1 mile to go today. It was still 27 when I got back to the car, so cold indeed.

All in all, I’m just incredibly stoked on my run and doing this distance. The last two miles were tough, nearly all uphill. And, the last half mile was actually very painful as my knee had flared up big time, really really bad today. This was a big bummer, but I just had to grin and bear it and get done. The thing I’m so happy with is that the distance in general didn’t seem to phase me much. Yes, I got tired on those hills in the last 2 miles, but they were steep, and really didn’t seem any harder than if I’d done them in the first mile.

I won’t be running for the next few days as my parents are in town visiting and we have a lot of activities, etc. Probably a good rest for my knee. I see the doc next week so will ask if he has recommendations, etc. Hopefully it was just the larger mileage and the steep climbs, but I really want to work through this and get it so I don’t have pain at all (and also make sure I’m not actually damaging/injuring it).

Cold (35) but Great Run Today

2009-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

Cold (35) but Great Run Today

16 Jan 2009 – Ridgeline trails, Eugene

I did Blanton, yes, again. Sort of becoming a ritual, or uh, maybe a fetish, uh, no, let’s not go there. I was bummed as I had some problem with the headphones on my iPhone and in fixing playing music, I somehow didn’t restart RunKeeper like I thought I had, so have no time. All I know is it was under 40 minutes, but that’s no surprise. I doubt it was a best time though, twas a bit sluggish on the way out, and some of the return trip. However, by the end I was feeling quite good!

Reaching the last switch-backed descent, I was starting to think I should just turn around and do it again! At this point, I’m actually kicking myself for not doing that, I really should have. Over the last couple runs I’ve noticed that by about 20-25 minutes in, I’m feeling pretty good, less tired, less difficulty, etc. I’m hoping this means that it’s sort of my normal case of it taking me a while to warm up (often in cycling it can take me 45 minutes of riding until I’m really riding well). Of course, at 25 minutes in, I’m pretty much doing all flat to downhill portions of the trail, so that may be a slightly biased input.

But, I think at this point, I’m going to start thinking about increasing the length. Blanton is 3.6 miles round trip according to the map. So, my thought is that doubling the distance is probably a bit unrealistic, but that I would turn around at the top of the final descending switchbacks, and go out until maybe the top of the ascent, then turn around and come back. That probably adds a mile overall. If I was feeling fine at the top of the ascent, I’d keep going, since I know what the run back is like and can gauge that.

It was pretty cold today too, at 35 degrees and foggy. I was nervous I wasn’t dressed warm enough, but it worked out just about right. I chose to do a bit of embrocation on my legs, which was a good call. I’ve been experimenting with this for my knees given the knee pain, but with the cold today, and not wanting to wear pants (I don’t have running tights), I figured I’d just do a light embrocation on my legs in general; worked great. Clothes:

Icebreaker GT 220 top. These continue to rule. The GT line is just so superb for sports. The “heavier” 220 (as opposed to the 180 I have) was great for today. I had almost worn a 260 (non-GT), and driving out was worried as the thermometer dropped from what I’d seen, that I should have. But no, was fine, probably aided by other gear. However, I’d say that probably below 35 I’d want to move to the 260…
Smartwool hat. Worn all day, as seen in the pic above.
Craft gloves. These are a bit heavier glove, and I was happy to have them today.
Smartwool socks
Saloman XT Wings shoes. I can really tell now that these have just become too big. My feet slide/move around a bit too much. I have some Pearl Izumi WRX’s on the way, and based on a pair of cycling shoes of theirs I have, I expect them to be a lot more snug. I’ll just have to see whether they’re comfortable, as I tend to have a tricky foot to fit.

Blanton PR and Great Weather

2009-01-13T00:00:00+00:00

Blanton PR and Great Weather

13 Jan 2009 – Ridgeline Trails, Blanton Trailhead

Today was a gorgeously sunny day in Eugene. Had to make sure I got out and got some of it, but things got late quick, so went for a run, again on Blanton. Set a new PR today, probably only because I didn’t have to relieve myself on the run, yea!

It wasn’t quite as warm as I expected, and right as I entered the forested part, I thought, dang, it’s cold! Clearly the trees block out a bunch of the sun, but the temp was dropping at this point too (about 3:45pm). Not bad though, probably still just a bit over 50 degrees, and of course I warmed up no problem.

Today’s run was interesting, because I felt pretty slow and slothy, but I kept the concentration, and probably actually ran a little bit slower, but ran the whole way, and didn’t pause at the half way point for more than a second or two. Happy that I pushed through it.

And now, I’m starting to think about making it longer. Of course at the same time, my knee was hurting again today. I’m visiting the doc to review some lipids blood tests (nothing major, just seeing where things stand these days), so I’ll ask him about it at that time.

Clothing, all the usual, with just the Icebreaker GT 180 top. Absolutely perfect setup today.

Two laps of Fox Hollow, Sloppy Run (51 degrees)

2009-01-07T00:00:00+00:00

Two laps of Fox Hollow, Sloppy Run (51 degrees)

7 Jan 2009 – Ridgeline Trails, Fox Hollow Trailhead, Eugene

Yesterday I ran the Fox Hollow loop of Ridgeline. I’d originally intended to do only a single loop, as a real quick run, to take it easy on my knee/leg, etc. But, I wound up doing two, which I was happy about. Had a couple moments of pain that were pretty harsh, but worked through it. Ran nearly all of it, but conditions were pretty sloppy, so I was definitely going slower and having to pick my way through some spots, as I didn’t want to wreck in the slippery mud.

I’ve continued to work with the author of the iPhone app RunKeeper on the GPS issues. Back to using the GPS filtering now, on Medium, after discussing that it should throw out really wayward points. It appears to have helped. It missed some points on one half of the route (looks like the 2nd/upper half of the loop, which at times seems odd as it seems like that’s higher and more open tree wise, but who knows).

Anyway, so the mileage came up a bit short (probably more like about 3 miles, not the 2.5 it catalogged). Happy enough with my time though, as my 2nd lap was just as fast as my first, potentially even faster (hard to say given that on first lap I walked to warm up for the first two minutes, but on second lap I stopped to pee :)

Some new gear this time around, and shock and awe, didn’t wear any Icebreaker today! Gear was perfect for the day/temps.

Kuhl 1/4 Zip shirt/base layer. This is normally just a piece I wear around as regular clothing, but I knew it was a “technical” base layer type, and decided to give it a shot. Worked great. Perfect temperatures, and this was all I wore on top. It’s a polyester based fabric, and very soft and comfy. I still like the Icebreaker stuff best, but this worked just fine.
Some Sirius glove liners. Real simple, thin ones. These were perfect for today’s temps (which probably didn’t really require gloves, but my hands get cold easily). Even better, I could actually use my iPhone with these gloves one! They must be thin enough and what not to make the contact work, amazing ;-)
Normal socks, shoes (see above), shorts, no hat.

Ridgeline@Blanton: My Best Run Yet! (46 deg)

2009-01-06T00:00:00+00:00

Ridgeline@Blanton: My Best Run Yet! (46 deg)

6 Jan 2009 – Ridgeline Trails @ Blanton, Eugene

Yesterday I ran the Blanton chunk of Ridgeline again. My wife and I have decided to target the Ridgeline Ramble event in May this year. I’m psyching myself up to try to do the 20k version, even though I’ve never even run a 10k :) Gotta have goals. I know I can do the distance, the real question is how much of that I can run (vs. speed hike). Anyway hit Blanton yesterday (which is the starting point for the 20k), in a super light mist as I arrived, and 46 degree temps.

I am extremely happy with this run, as it’s my best effort yet! I ran nearly the entire 3.8 miles. The only thing I didn’t run was the very first open segment (about 2 minutes, and the part I consider my warm up anyway), and then the steepest pitch on the way back. I also did not stop at the turnaround point, although did stop to pee a little while later, something I seem to have to do on runs, and is a bit annoying.

My knee/leg was hurting a bit, but I just tried to run through it. It’s not too sore this morning, so I’m thinking I need to keep up the running and simply get that conditioned. It’s in my right leg this time, whereas earlier last year I had the same thing in my left leg, so I know it’s just a conditioning issue.

Temp was on the warmer side, and I still dressed too warm, but this is one reason I’m tracking all this, to see what works in what temps, etc…

Icebreaker Altitude Zip (Bodyfit 260): this was all I really needed on top today, but…
simple fleece vest – this wound up being overkill, although I had it on and zipped up nearly all the way for about the first half of the run. I’m still learning how warm I get running. It’s not like cycling where you have a wind effect.
shorts, again just fine in these temps.
Smartwool hat, took this off at maybe 60% through the run, probably should have skipped it altogether.
Burton gloves/liners (these are a heavy/warm liner). Took these off at probably 3/4 of the way through. If I had worn a thin liner glove, those probably would have been ideal and kept on the whole time.
Usual socks and shoes.

Saw another guy running while I was out. From what I can tell, he parked at the Willamette trailhead and was doing the same, but opposite loop. He was faster (no surprise there). However, given how much of the loop I ran, it was also my best time yet, 36 minutes.

Spencer Butte Guys Quick Hike

2009-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

Spencer Butte Guys Quick Hike

5 Jan 2009 – Spencer Butte, Eugene

To celebrate the new year, the guys at our New Year’s Eve party decided to do a quick hike up Spencer Butte the next day (i.e. Jan 1). We carpooled, arriving in the parking lot probably about 10am. Temps were nice at about 46 degrees, but a little windy and some light rain/mist at times (very light though, mostly wouldn’t notice if it weren’t for the wind).

We did a fast hike/walk pace, arriving at the summit in 20 minutes, lingered for a bit, taking a few pics…

Gear for today was good, but I’d swap the jacket…

REI Winter Momentum pants have become a real favorite. As mentioned in my other post, they’re not waterproof, but that isn’t needed most of the time anyway. They work across a good range of temperatures, are not tights, but are more close fitting than normal pants, have some stretchiness to them, breath well, etc. It’s starting to become an issue that I only have a single pair.
Icebreaker Altitude Zip (Bodyfit 260): another piece that’s becomming a real favorite. It’s Jan 5 now, and I’ve worn this at least 3 days of 2009, maybe 4 :) This one has the high neck/collar/mock turtleneck and is excellent on colder days. I also just like wearing it around any old time.
Patagonia wool-mix top as a bit of extra warmth/2nd layer.
REI rain jacket. This was the mistake. This jacket doesn’t breath all that well. It was a great wind and rain barrier, but I wished I’d taken my simple soft-shell instead (see forthcoming post, as that was indeed a better choice).
the usual Smartwool hat, socks, and Saloman XT Wings shoes.
Craft gloves. These are working well for this stuff so far.

Overall, if I’d had the other jacket, this would have been a completely ideal setup for the day. Jacket notwithstanding, it was still good.

Ridgeline@Fox Hollow run

2009-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

Ridgeline@Fox Hollow run

4 Jan 2009 – Ridgeline Trails, Fox Hollow Trailhead

I was a bit sore after my Blanton run, so followed it up with a quick loop of Fox Hollow. This was indeed quick, only took about 15 minutes. Temps were a bit cooler, at 41 degrees.

Clothing, similar, better gloves this time:

Icebreaker Mondo Zip top
Patagonia Wool mix 2nd layer
Craft heavy winter cycling gloves – much warmer and nice, without being too bulky.
The usual Smartwool socks and XT Wings shoes

Ridgeline@Blanton run

2009-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

Ridgeline@Blanton run

4 Jan 2009 – Ridgeline Trails, Blanton Trailhead

Continuing to re-pursue trail running. Did one of my Ridgeline trails favorites: Blanton-Willamette-Blanton. I’m also wanting to continue cataloging what clothes/gear works. Also, I’ve been trying out RunKeeper, a slick iPhone app for tracking runs/rides/hikes, etc. It has some issues (as do all iPhone GPS apps) with the significant tree cover on the trails I’m doing, but when it works, it’s nice. It seems to be pretty close o this one I think:

It was 45 degrees out, no rain. I was particularly happy with my run, as once I got to the top of the initial switchback bit, I ran from there to Willamette, continuously. Wasn’t able to run quite as much back, but still a good run overall. A bit of knee pain on final descent. Gear:

shorts – seemed fine even at this temp
Smartwool cycling/running socks – perfect
Saloman XT Wings shoes as usual
Icebreaker GT 180 Chase Crewe top as base layer, AWESOME!
REI light fleecy top for a bit more warmth, and handy arm pocket for iPhone :) Combo of these two tops was perfect.
Mazawhatever glove liners for gloves. Stupid, enough of these, should just throw them out, as they suck.

Running Skinner Butte with Snow

2008-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

Eugene has gotten it’s first snow this year. And, as I look outside it’s actually dumping big flakes. The day after the first snow, my wife and I hiked up Skinner Butte in the late afternoon, and were rewarded with a pretty beautiful view from the summit…

That’s me, with a Camelbak on my back, taking the following pic with my iPhone:

It was about 30 degrees I believe at the time, and just a really nice hike.

But, I was also eager for a bit higher effort activity, and thus the day after, instead of going for a bike ride as originally planned, I “ran” Skinner Butte instead. I say “ran” because I ran about the first 1/3rd of the way up, and then couldn’t do much more than a fast walk/hike from there to the top. Coming down, the top third of the route was way too sketchy/slippery to run (and isn’t really that runnable anyway due to the rocky terrain), but ran the last two thirds non-stop, which I was pretty happy with. It’s not a long ways, but I’m new to running.

I really enjoyed this, but over the last few days, have definitely felt my legs big time! I was also happy about my clothing choice. For the run, it was 33 degrees at the car, probably not much colder at the top. I’m starting to keep track of the clothing I’m wearing in winter conditions to see what is working best and what I like best (which aren’t always exactly the same).

For the run I wore:

REI Winter Momentum pants on, which were really perfect. These are on sale at 53% off right now, and at $34 are a good deal I think. They're not waterproof, but they were perfect for high intensity like running.
Smartwool 3/4 height cycling socks, which were ideal.
Salomon XT Wings trail running shoes
Icebreaker Mondo Zip top as my base layer. I am a HUGE Icebreaker fan, I am wearing one of their tops more days than not. Feel is great, and I'm finding this is becomming my favorite base layer for winter cycling, running, and other things. They don't wick quite as well as some synthetics, but I also don't feel wet in it, and I have found that the fit and feel of this are my favorite, and it stays pretty darn warm if needed (and regulates quite well when I need to cool down too).
Some REI top that has a lightly fleecy inside, and sort of a waffle outside, just added that perfect amount of extra warmth. This is a nice next-to-skin layer as well, and I use it a lot in the fall for runs or other things where I need a bit of warmth, but am just wearing that one layer - it is loose fitting as compared to the Icebreaker one above which is form fitting for me.
Glove liners that sucked - need to wear something better next time. They wound up working out ok, but they could have been slightly warmer, and dunno, just weren't right.
Smartwool hat (which I took off about halfway up, but put back on at the summit).
Camelbak Blowfish with probably about 20oz of water, which was way too much of course, but I had wanted to see what it was like to run with the Camelbak and a decent amount of water. I also had a vest stashed in there, etc. Worked pretty well. This one is designed more for cycling, so it bounced up and down a bit more than I liked, but with the waist belt pretty well cinched down, it actually worked fairly well. My take-away is that for running, I'd want something that was secured really well at the waist, so a better waist belt than this.

As just mentioned, the Camelbak was the other thing I was testing out. I have not yet wanted to do runs over about 40 minutes without water. I need very little water for say a run up to an hour, but I do like to have some. On the bike, I drink a lot of water, and I just can’t switch to no water unless the run is quite short. This run was short enough (27 mins of run time, 15 up, 12 down) that I could have gotten away without it, but I was sure glad to have it at the summit (didn’t drink much on the trail, maybe only sipped twice on the way up). So, something that held maybe 8oz of water, and that didn’t require me holding a water bottle would be ideal. I may check out those waist belt systems for trail runners. What works for you?

Update: what I wore on the hike the day before:

REI Taku pants: these are waterproof, breathable, etc. For the pace of the hike, I'd probably have thrown on some thin long underwear under these just to add a bit of warmth comfort, but these worked really well too. I like these quite a bit as a light weight, waterproof pant. I expect to use these for snowshoeing and other such things as well.
The same Icebreaker Mondo top as above as base layer.
A great Icebreaker sweater, something I find I just want to wear almost everyday, the Sport 320 Original Zip. This thing is both luxurious, and a hard worker. As they say, it's super incredibly versatile - I lounge around in it, but also use it for hiking or other. It now competes heavily with my Arc'Teryx sweaters like the Covert and Delta AR Zip.
Keen hiking boots.

I’ve found some really great clothes/gear lately, but will say, I am smitten with Icebreaker, Arc’Teryx, Smartwool (I basically wear their socks for everything from sport to business), Patagonia (they have some nice wool pieces too, their wool hoodie sweatshirt rocks), and so on. Clearly I’m a wool freak these days as well, but damn if the stuff isn’t awesome now.

Epic Bend 44 Miler and Rigid

2008-07-22T00:00:00+00:00

Today I did an epic ride in Bend, OR: 44 miles of nearly all singletrack, and some stellar trails. I rode my full rigid Niner for it. I’d gotten the low-down from Ryan at Pine Mountain Sports (thanks Ryan!), as we mapped it out, plus I had the new edition of the Kising the Trail book (bought at the shop - looks great so far). I knew this would be a pretty big ride for me, it’s been a while since I’ve done an MTB ride in the 40 mile range, plus it was in the upper 80’s and low 90’s temperature wise for the ride.

I got on the bike around 10:30am, parking sort of halfway between Phil’s trailhead and where the Shevlin park trail ends (some random set of stores and offices). I quickly got lost finding my way to Phil’s, maybe going a mile or two out of my way, then getting back on course. I took Ben’s trail in the Phil’s network, which was a mild ride, and fun. This is a fairly long segment, and took me out to the start of Skyliner’s Trail, which was superb.

Skyliner’s has various stunts and log rides, etc. on it, and was just a really twisty fun ride. I didn’t do the long log ride, telling myself I shouldn’t do that while I’m riding solo, but I’ve got to get back and do that. Skyliner’s also looks like it’d be fun the opposite direction.

Next up was the Tumalo Creek trail, which is where things went a bit wrong for me. It started off innocently enough, and fun, but I’d read that I was supposed to “drop” to the right and cross a creek. Well, uh, I picked the wrong one. It was a drop, and there was a cool bridge there, and a black diamond sign that said “Most Difficult”, but I thought I was on trail, as I knew if I went left I’d head off to Sweed Ridge where I didn’t want to go. I got to find out that the reason this is a black diamond, is that you are bushwacking through seriously thick manzanita for a mile until you hit a dirt road, and then, uh, realize you’ve gone the wrong way. Bushwack back, fall over into manzanita once, argh. But, it was actually still nice, and I took the opportunity to refill a bit on water, dipping into the fast rushing water.

Back on Tumalo Creek trail, I found the correct junction, which then was half a mile to Tumalo Falls. The Falls are gorgeous. They seemed far taller to me than the 131 feet that the reference page I found said, but that was probably the mileage starting to set in (was at about 22 miles at this point). After inhaling a banana, Mojo bar and gel, it was off to climb Farewell - after some hiker’s warned me it was steep.

And here I am at the falls with the sweet headband ring on my forehead :)

Ok, so, yes, it is steep - about 1000’ of climbing in 2 miles, then the last mile of it is a mild rise. I was pretty stoked though, as I rode nearly all of it - couldn’t make 3 switchbacks at the bottom, and 3 sections of steep in the first half or so (I’m riding 1x9, and a granny would’ve helped, but it was minor). Couple of cool little rock slab and hop ups on this climb, and a nice view coming around the corner maybe half way up.

After that, it t-bones into Mrazek. Mrazek is just a kick ass 12 mile descent. There are bermed sections, lots of mini-jumps, a log ride or two, and perma-grin sets in for sure! This is one of those trails, where you could really really fly, and it’s darn good that the trees are quite tight in spots (watch those handlebars!), as you could probably get yourself in trouble in a big ring. This is a truly well done trail, just so damn much fun. There are a couple tiny rocky bits as you come into Shevlin park, I wish there was more of that, but still great. It made me think of sort of a combo of Fruita’s 18-Road and Tahoe’s Rim Trail.

Down in Shevlin Park, I refilled in the river, as I was out of water, and then it was basically a few miles back to the car. I took a little bridge across to some switchbacks to avoid the road on the way back, and had my one true crash. I don’t even know what happened, but somehow on one of the switchbacks, I just fell over and scraped the crap out of my arm and leg. One of those tired-at-the-end-of-the-ride crashes I guess. There were even a few raindrops falling as I pedaled the last few miles to the car.

All in all, a really superb ride, and I was stoked to get in such mileage and fun. Came home and gorged myself, feeling pretty nice now.

Cycling Bib Shorts and Chamois Cream Shootout

2008-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

I’ve been riding in De Marchi Contour Plus bib shorts for a few years, but my current set is getting worn out, so was time to get some new ones. I started out by just ordering one new pair of De Marchi’s super high end ”Contour EVO” shorts. But, they were too tight on my jewels (they were the same size as prior pairs I had, and I’ve lost 20 lbs, so this is odd), so I checked with friends and some said try Hincapie’s. Got some Hincapie HC-12’s. Better, but a bit tight too. Next was a pair of Specialized BG Pro SL's, and we had a winner! More specific notes…

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<li>The De Marchis definitely have the best chamois, but these shorts were really tight on my jewels - too tight for me to wear them comfortably. Maybe I need the XXL? That seems a bit crazy given that I wear size 34 pants/shorts these days, and if I recall correctly, the XL's (which is what I have) are 35-37. Leg grippers on these rock, best of any shorts I've ever used - minimal, but effective. Bascially, if these shorts didn't bind my nuts, they'd win.</li>
<li>Hincapies: good, and I'll be able to wear these, but they're a bit tight too, wearable, but probably won't be the first I reach for. Chamois is also elastic like the De Marchi's, but I don't think as good (shape didn't feel as nice, etc.).</li>
<li>Specializeds: fit is outstanding. Chamois isn't "elastic", but seems pretty nice. These are SUPER light! The material seems thinner and lighter, they breath really well, and the bib part is not at all tight, which is really nice. My only gripe so far, is that the front part of the bib portion comes up a bit high, and you feel it/notice it when riding. Hopefully I'll just get used to that, but so far I love these shorts.</li>

None of these are cheap. The Hincapie's and Specializeds were the same price, with the De Marchi's being about $35 more. Anyone want a pair of De Marchi's for a nice price?

Also I recently tried out DZ Nuts chamois cream (see prior <a href="http://mountain-monkeys.com/2008/06/dznuts-as-in-dave-zabriskies-n.html">coverage</a>). That'd be no. Ok, maybe it's good in the winter, but basically, it made my rear end warmer, not cooler! Assos on the other hand does a nice job of keeping things cool, and maybe I'm just used to it, but I like it a lot. DZ you feel less, but it feels hot. Also, the stuff is more expensive and actually seems like you have to use a lot more to cover the same area. DZ Nuts: $23/4oz, Assos: $20/4.7oz (and I'd guess you'd need at least 6oz of DZ to cover the same, if not even more).

Camelbak's "Podium" Water Bottles

2008-07-11T00:00:00+00:00

I was really excited when I saw Camelbak was coming out with cycling water bottles - a new bottle called the ”Podium”. As soon as I found them at my local shop, I snatched up two of them, and started using them on road bike rides. And that’s when the disappointment set in.

I am a HUGE Camelbak fan, I think their bladders, bite valves, and packs are head and shoulders above the rest, and I’ve tried a fair number of others. I also love their ”Better Bottle” which I use pretty much every day, plus these rock for traveling.

But, the Podium has been nothing but a disappointment. The flow on them is terrible. The bottles themselves are pretty stiff/hard, so they are much harder to squeeze and make your drink come out quickly, as compared to regular cycling water bottles (or specifically as compared to Specializeds current bottles). Also, the bite valve thing is different than the usual Camelbak, and for me just doesn’t work as well. The simple fact is you just can’t get water out of these as fast and effectively as a regular cycling water bottle, and well, that makes it inferior. I’ve tried the bottles several times, thinking I had something wrong, or maybe it would break in with use or what not, but no. So, they’ve been sidelined.

The one good thing I have to say is that the locking mechanism is great, and truly keeps fluid from leaking out, unliked regular bottles that, even with the spout closed still seem to be able to leak a bit.

Maybe I will try Camelbak’s ”Performance Bottle”, which looks sort of like a combo between the Podium and Better bottles - having the regular Camelbak bit valve, but in what looks like it might be a compatible shape for a water bottle cage.

If You Feel Bad, You're Going Fast!

2008-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Friday and Saturday I did two road rides. On Saturday as I went out I felt a bit heavy and sluggish. It was also during that 3pm hour, which is my sleepiest time and never seems good. But, apparently I friggin hammered! I did 30 miles in 1:44, with over 2000’ of climbing (not huge, but decent, and within that usual 1000’/hour). This was on a loop I do fairly often, and I don’t recall ever having done this in under 2 hours! Sweet. I did eat along the way, which I know gave me a little boost too (1 Gu and 1 Clif Mojo bar (yum!)).

I do think I’ve been hammering a bit harder in general lately though. And getting in rides like this, especially when I head out and am thinking I’m feeling tired or slow or what not, and then laying down a good pace, is a really nice feeling. After getting home, having a recovery drink, and showering, I was feeling pretty darn sleepy though, just wanted to lay on the couch and chill. Alas, when you have two kids, and mom needs to go pick up a friend at the airport, there is no such luck.

One other thing, on Lorane on the way back, literally 10 seconds after I unzipped my jersey just a little bit, a bee flew in and managed to attempt to sting me 8 times! I have a trail of red bumps down my right side - the trail the bee left as it stung me along its path. Apparently it was a rookie bee, and he wasn’t able to get his stinger in and have it stay (or it didn’t have a barb?). But with all these stingings, I had to pull over and get him outta there as I was not having luck smacking my side to smash him while riding.

On Saturday, had a smaller window for a ride, and headed out again at that 3pm hour. Was definitely feeling tired, so went for a loop that didn’t have as steep or long climbs in it. Good recovery. Turned out to be a very nice little loop. Only an hour and 20 minutes ride time, but did my beloved Blanton road section (mini climb and ripper descent), then out the Lorane Highway and eventually did a little dead end offshoot called Summerville, that ended with a short 12% grade leading up to this:

Turned around, and headed home. Pushed the pace relatively well, especially the final climb up McLean. Arrived home, and much like the day before, showered, and wanted to chill. But my wife was heading out to dinner with her out-of-town friend, so there chillin’ was not to be. Luckily, I made an espresso and mostly chilled while hanging out in the backyard with my kids. And then of course I made a great meal: a really good steak, grilled, and then a tasty salad made with all local organic ingredients from our CSA, with exception for the avocado :) Later on I had some snacks too, and yet woke up this morning to weigh the least I have in 10 years (I’ve been losing weight since moving to Oregon and riding more of course).

This feeling of slowness, or tiredness or what not, yet riding quite solid, has been happening more often than not lately. Kinda strange, but nice to know how it works. I think my attitude remains the same in general though, to just listen to my body and go the pace I can. Push it when I can, and do tempo when needed.

dznuts (as in Dave Zabriskie's nuts) Chamois Cream

2008-06-19T00:00:00+00:00

Maybe you are like me, and use Assos ass lather, er, I mean chamois cream. Ya, many of us do. But, ever the character, Dave Zabriskie went and made his own, “dznuts” or “DZ Nuts”. No joke. Well, lots of jokes in this video about it, which is a must watch. I bet you didn’t know it was a dip too? Competitive Cyclist has it, along with some good commentary of their own. Check it out, you know I will.

Trail Run #7 - I'm Back; and Sharing the Trail with "Ritz"

2008-06-18T00:00:00+00:00

My back is back! The last time I ran, I twanged my back, and pretty much couldn’t exercise for about 5 days. Yesterday I ran for the first time since then, and my back was good. Pretty big relief. The run felt pretty good too.

My wife and I ran the Adidas loop near Amazon park. Just three loops today, so only three miles, but that was probably perfect for the day. Di was really tired, and I knew I should probably not do too much on the first time back since my back trouble.

There were a couple fast guys out there today. One in particular, I am pretty certain is Dathan Ritzenhein, aka “Ritz”. I am new to running, so didn’t of him, but the Olympic Rings tattoo on his left calf seemed pretty unusual and like it probably meant something, so I looked up who might have this on the web and found Ritz. Since he lives in Eugene, I’m pretty sure that was him out there running. The guy was smokin’ fast. When he lapped me (a couple times), his feet were literally leaving dirt flying behind him. The guy was tearing it up.

Anyway, happy to be running again. My knees are in pain after yesterday again, but hopefully that’s just the usual, and now if I run some more, and ride of course, I can work that out.

Rum - made in Silverton, CO!

2008-06-18T00:00:00+00:00

I don’t consider drinking a sport, although some certainly do. And, you shouldn’t sport-drink high end rum, but, there’s a new rum distillary on the horizon, and of all places, it’s in Silverton, Colorado! Check out Montanya Rum.

Skiing in the Middle of June

2008-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

Yes, we’re having a late summer/long spring this year, both here in Oregon, and in Colorado, amongst other places. Evidence: Matt went skiing today, June 12th, 2008. Check out the picture. Ya, it’s not big pow or anything, but hey, how often have you skied in June?

Original picture is here (you can comment, etc.).

Trail Run #6 - sort of

2008-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

On Tuesday, my wife and I went out to run the Rexius loop here in Eugene. We’d never run this trail and I was looking for something flatter again, as I still had some knee pain.

We headed out on what is a really nicely done trail. It’s essentially flat and the shredded wood surface is the softest I’ve run on to date, and was just awesome, and my knees were feeling great. However, at almost exactly one mile in, my lower back twanged, and bam, I was done.

I’ve had issues with the lower left side of my back, off and on, for a long time. It’s residual from a severe cycling accident I had many years ago. I have essentially no feeling in an approximately 6”x6” area of my left low back/butt cheek/hip area, but internally it seems I can pinch a nerve or some such there on occasion. It can be bad enough sometimes that I can barely walk or move much. Sometimes it takes physical therapy and special drugs, other times just a little “Vitamin I” (aka Advil). Anyway, we walked back to the car, which sucked, as this looked like a great run for the day, and I was even on a pretty solid pace. Argh.

I’ve been doing the 3x/day ibuprofen treatment since then, and finally it’s a lot better. Yesterday was really bad, as it seemed to cause some serious tightening and pain in my right knee (I believe that’s a side effect of what I suspect to be a pinched nerve, as this kind of thing has happened before and that was the supposed diagnosis if I remember correctly). But today I’m feeling much better (plus I feel like all the knee pain is gone too), and expect to head out on my road bike on Friday, and maybe also Saturday. Sunday I’m planning to ride Brice Creek (mtb), then chill for the rest of Father’s Day.

Trail Run #5: Pre's (Prefontaine) Trail

2008-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

Today I did my fifth “trail” run. I don’t consider these quite as “trail” as what we’ve been doing to date, but it was a good one for today to be a bit easier on my knees. I ran the full Pre's Trail over at Alton Baker park. This is a set of trails that in total cover 4 miles of almost completely flat bark covered trails. Perfect for today.

Drove over to Alton Baker with my wife and kids, and they went for a walk and checked out the ducks, etc. while I did the run. It went pretty well, and I did my longest sustained chunk of running to date at about 11 minutes. Total run was 40 or 41 minutes. Total time was 45 minutes, but with about half a mile to go, I stopped running right near Autzen Stadium and some folks asked if I was done running. I said no, but that I was taking a break (I could tell they wanted a picture). So, I said yes to taking their picture (with a “Pre’s Trail” sign in it of course). Turns out they were from Ohio and were visiting. I’m not as in awe of the whole Prefontaine thing as folks who are in the running community, so seeing all this is somewhat amusing to me (had already seen it once with some others at the beginning of my run).

I spoke to them for a while, as they asked about Eugene and so on. We got to talking about how I’d moved from California, and they inquired about whether I missed the sun and beaches, etc. I said I missed surfing (true!), but didn’t miss the heat, the people in general (people in Oregon are far friendly in general), love the environmental feel of Eugene, etc. The mom (I presume) said she wanted to move to Eugene, but didn’t sound like they could or something (I was getting itchy to finish up my run, so I was trying to bring the conversation to a close politely at this point).

Anyway, finished talking to them and then finished up the run. Found my wife and kids, and walked a bit more, then headed home. Overall, happy with my run, especially my longer stint, and clearly I can run faster when it’s all flat. But, this was a much less interesting run for me, I really do prefer the singletrack trails of Ridgeline so far. It’s a good option to have though. I also want to check out the Rexius loop as another flat option for when it’s needed/desired.

Eugene Trail Running

2008-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

This page is a collection of trail running info for Eugene, OR. �As I get into trail running, I will catalog trails and info here.

The Eugene Running Store has a page listing most of the trails in Eugene, with brief descriptions.

Ridgeline Trails

General Ridgeline info and links to all the maps, etc. are here.
Blanton Rd to Willamette: one of my favorites so far. �1.8 miles each way (out and back). �Some steeps, but overall undulating, great scenery. �Map and some info.
52nd & Willamette trailhead to Fox Hollow: this is a bit much for me right now. �It's not long, at 1.3 miles (one direction), but it's got a bunch of steeps, and is very undulating. �It also has a lot of low overhanging branches that I had to duck under quite a bit. �Very scenic though and a cool trail, good for a hike for now. �Map and info.
Fox Hollow towards Dillard and back, which is a loop (different trails out and back), and where I sometimes mountain bike. �Appears to be about 1.6-1.7 miles total. �I haven't run here since finding the Blanton trail, but this is a good route as well. �Map and info.

Rexius Trail

3.5 mile loop on each side of Amazon Parkway. �Flat.
Description of trail, and where to start, mileage, etc.
Map of the run on MapMyRun.com.

Buford Park and Mt. Pisgah

Main web site and Trail map

Trail Run #4

2008-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

Update: correction, as it turns out, this trail is just over 2 miles long each way! On the map, I saw the 1.3 miles, but it's 1.3 to a junction, and then another .7 to Fox Hollow road. I have amended the entry below accordingly.

Yesterday I did another trail run, on a new trail (to me) in the Ridgeline system. It started at

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<a href="http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_267686_0_0_18/FoxHollow-web.pdf">52nd & Willamette, and did some serious undulating for 2.1 miles over to Fox Hollow</a>

. So 4.2 miles total, which took me a painful 50 minutes on the dot. As a comparison, the trail we’ve been using the most so far, is 3.6 miles and we do that in the same 50 minutes, although I am running probably closer to 4 miles, as I double back at points to re-connect with my wife (which I suspect is not going to happen much longer, as she’s improving fast).

After my last run, some spots below my knee had been hurting as I mentioned in my last post. I figured they’d be ok by now, but after walking for the first 5 minutes to warm up, upon starting to run, it was a rude awakening to that pain still being there, and in force! Ouch. At first I worried about it, thinking, should I not be running right now, will this do more harm than good? I decided to just go easy a bit and see.

This trail turned out to be a bad choice. It’s constantly up and down, and has a bunch of steep spots. It’s also extra narrow in places, with a lot of low overhanging branches and such. For an experienced trail runner, it’d be fine I’m sure, but it’s just not for me yet. Regardless, I kept going. Things seemed to loosen up a bit and I felt I was working through it.

I made it to the end of the trail (in one direction) in 27 minutes. Yikes - not that I’m a speedy runner yet, but this shows how much walking I was doing during this “run”. The trip back was better though, and I ran more, and the pain wasn’t bad. The return trip was 23 minutes. Overall a really cool trail scenery wise, and would be fun for hiking.

Today I’m feeling ok actually, and thinking I’ll run this afternoon (on something a bit more mild :). But, I think the pain is actually reduced, so I’m hoping that I just need to run more and condition my knees/joints to those stresses. Hell, my arms and shoulders might be more sore from playing a bunch of Wii boxing last night! (I’m not even kidding!) So, now I’m scouting out trails for this afternoon’s run…

Scouting for snow in the San Juans

2008-06-03T00:00:00+00:00

The title of the post is a bit misleading… �kinda sounds like I actually had to go looking for it… �but fortunately for those of us that are still skiing here in southwestern Colorado, there’s no shortage of skiable snow.

I rolled out on my dirt bike yesterday in search of smooth, clean snow, as well as to determine which mountain passes had been plowed, and where the best access is. �I was able to cover 55 miles in two hours, which would have taken all day in a 4x4. �Note the 30'+ tall walls of snow at the top of Cinnamon Pass...

Even after all of my scouting yesterday, we ended up heading right back to where we skied last weekend, near the top of Cinnamon Pass, with an elevation (of the run we skied) of 13,400 down to 11,800. �It's not a huge pitch, but it's a quick enough bootpack up, and a nice, smooth ski down. �See the image below for the run we skied...

View image

The other snow that looked good is over on Brown Mountain, near Hurricane Pass, which is past Silverton Mountain on CR110. �Unfortunately, however, that road is not plowed, and it's at least a mile back into the basin (before you even begin to climb up to skiable snow). �So we are sticking with the lazy-man's option of skiing from/to the truck for this week.

Trail Run #3

2008-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Trail run #3 happened a few days ago (Tuesday), but then I went off to a conference, and am just getting to this. I had actually hoped to go for a run during the conference. I brought my shoes and so on, but never made it, more on that in a bit…

My wife and I ran the same trail as on Trail Run #2, but we in the same amount of time we ran more (covered more distance, and higher percentage of time was spent running). Very cool. She felt better on this run, and I was doing good as well, but this was probably the first one where during part of the run I was having to rest a bit more (in particular a bit after half way there was a steep hill that got me a bit). Still pretty psyched, and found that we might be able to make this trail a loop, need to research a bit.

So then I spent the rest of the week, through Sunday at a conference in Portland. I know that Portland has the great Forest Park, and was hoping to get over there and do a run (and see the park). But, unfortunately that never happened. The conference was crazy busy (8:30am to sometimes 10pm each night, with nary a break). I had thought I’d run one or two of the mornings during some keynotes I didn’t care about. Timing would have wound up being tight, but honestly, the truth was I was simply too tired each day, and also found the area just below my knees to be hurting quite a bit.

I should get out on the bike today for a quick spin, see if I can work the leg/knee pain out, so that when my wife and I run again tomorrow things will be good. Hope that works.

Trail Run #2

2008-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

On Thursday, my wife joined me for my second trail run, and her first. We did a different set of trails in Eugene’s Ridgeline system (the entrance off Blanton). I really liked this one. It’s all singletrack, has a couple steep spots, but is just a really nice environment. We saw a few other folks out running as well. This run went much better for me. Less pain on my knees on the descents, and just overall was easier for me. I think I knew more about what to expect.

I’m finding that I’ll have to work on/figure out water. I took a handheld bottle again, but barely drank anything. We ran (and walked) for about 50 minutes, and the weather was much cooler this time (in the 50’s). I suspect that if I do runs that are under an hour, I may be able to get away with not taking water. But, I fight this at a core level, after so many years of riding, and having experiences running out of water, and knowing how important fluids are, etc. What I probably want is a mini water bottle, maybe 10 ounces. I’ve seen that I think Nathan Sports or Ultimate Direction makes that size bottle, but haven’t seen a handheld holder (so far I’m not interested in a waist belt/pack or backpack).

On the flip side, I realize that as I get better, and can actually run for 45 minutes, an hour, or more, I will probably want/need to consume more water.

Wipe Fest Ride

2008-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

Saturday I spent at the “Wipe Fest” ride here in Eugene. The “Coasties” (a group of mtb riders from Florence and nearby areas on the coast) wanted to come over and ride Why Pass with the Disciples of Dirt. The request was to ride every trail in Why Pass, and we did just that!

Everyone arrived around 9am, and the weather was looking great, even though the forecast was for thundershowers. It was about 50 degrees when the relatively large group of 28 of us started out. By the end of the day it had warmed up to a lovely 66 degrees. I actually wound up wearing knee warmers, a thin wool long sleeve base layer and thin long sleeve jersey on top of that most of the day, and was perfect. The trails were mostly dry and tacky, and conditions overall were stellar.

With the large group we stopped to regroup a fair bit, but the nice thing was there wasn’t a huge disparity in skills, so the wait was primarily due to the effect of nearly 30 people in a group. As we saw on short sections, like “Green Velvet Elvis”, as the front end of the group was finishing the loop, you could still see the tail end of the group.

On one trail, we stopped to have a couple guys do this pretty sweet drop. It wasn’t too big (3’ at the drop itself, although Isaac and Erik were probably dropping a good 6’ by the time they landed below. Isaac was on his dirt jumper and really flyin it, crossing it up, almost went for a bar spin and the whole deal. The crazy part is that shortly after these guys were landing it, they had to slalom through two big trees, and then another one right after. There were some VERY close calls! Bob gets some big cheers too, as he pulled this thing off on his full rigid fixie! Yes, fixie! Nice.

We finished off with one of the best descents in the place, and Bob and I rode the final log ride, or specifically, he rode the first part, not sure about the second, and I rode the second part. Super fun. I need to work on that first part, but it’s a bit sketch to me so far. At the end of the day, we’d ridden 20.5 miles of singletrack, with almost 3 hours of ride time, and having been out on trails for 4.5 hours with a great group of people. Awesome day.

Update: picture thread has started on MTBR.

2008 Pink Bike Raffle

2008-05-22T00:00:00+00:00

Speedgoat just released their 2008 Pink Bike charity raffle. Tickets are $10 and benefit breast cancer. You have a chance to win the kick ass, all pink (well, just about), Niner Jet 9 they put together.

48 Mile Road Ride

2008-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

Yesterday yielded an excellent, fairly large (for me) road ride. I had to be out of the house for the morning while the pest service was convening war on the carpenter ants that have come around. Initially I thought the guy only needed us out for 2 hours, but then he said 3. So, I grabbed an extra bar, and set out on the road.

At first I thought I’d dressed too warm. It was supposed to be a rainy day, and my various thermometers said 56 degrees, so I had tights on, thin wool base layer and a thin long sleeve jersey, jacket in back pocket. Right as I set out, it was totally sunny and my cyclometer thermometer read 70 degrees! Eeek. Weather held, but the temp on the cyclometer did drop, and things were fine.

I rode out and did my first climb up McBeth, weather was ideal. About 10 seconds after reaching the summit it started to rain lightly. I proceeded down Fox Hollow which is a fairly long and fast descent. Within a minute, it was raining hard, and the temp had dropped a bunch (down into upper 50’s). At this point I pulled over and donned my jacket. I was glad I did, as the rain just got harder and colder, and it was stinging my face, etc. Quite the turn of weather.

Of course, by the bottom of the climb, the rain had calmed down, and it was real light. I kept cranking and knew that to be out 3+ hours I’d need to refill water, so headed towards the “town” of Crow. Crow amounts to a few houses, a gas/convenience store, and a combination middle school/high school. But hey, the gas station always has gatorade or something.

By the time I got to Crow, I realized I was into it pretty good, at 32 miles and just shy of 2 hours. I for some reason thought I was only half way, so figured I was in for a pretty big ride, which was cool. I hadn’t done 60+ miles in a long time. I nabbed a 32oz Gatorade, and a 12oz V8, and some of those junky peanut butter-cheese cracker things. It was noon, and I was hungry, even though I’d had a bar and a gel (but a light breakfast). Refilled bottles, drank the V8, ate the crackers, and carried on.

Turns out I was actually exactly 2/3rds of the way through the ride. The roads back went fast, and the total mileage turned out at only 48 miles. I was glad to be back earlier as I needed to get back to work, but was bummed it didn’t turn out to be 60+ miles and 4 hours. Still, a great ride, and I had good weather for most of it, mostly just that one descent that took the bulk of the rain, which was fine. Recovered very well, and don’t feel the ride this morning, nice!

My First Trail Run

2008-05-20T00:00:00+00:00

Somehow I got the crazy idea that I should start trail running. I don’t really know what sparked it, possibly Andrew Skurka’s feats, or having moved to Eugene which is running crazy of course. I do think after my wife and I hiked Spencer Butte a week ago, that maybe she’d like to do some trail running and such as well. So, I propsed the idea to her, and she was game. This led to a quick bit of shopping to pick up some shoes and shorts, etc. I had done a bit of research, but we’ll see how it all works out.

Today I got out for my first run, although unfortunately my wife couldn’t join me. We’ll go together on Thursday. I headed over to Ridgeline park, at the Fox Hollow trailhead, where I ride my bike sometimes. I know the trails there, and figured the upper loop might be a good starting point - not too long (I hoped), and reasonable ups and downs. I figured I’d do a loop and that’d probably destroy me, and I’d come home…

I started out by walking for about 8 minutes to get warmed up, see how my shoes felt, etc. Then I ran. Or, um, I call it running - my form leaves a lot to be desired I can assure you. I found I could run for several minutes, then needed to walk, run again, walk, repeat. I did the top loop in 22 minutes. I don’t know how many miles it is, maybe 1.5? When I was done, I felt pretty decent actually, and decided to do another.

My legs, just above the knees were hurting a bit from the descents, so I on this lap I tried to run as much of the flats and hills as I could, and walked most of the descents. I cut 5 minutes off my first lap time on the second lap, and decided that was it for the first time out. Didn’t want to overdo it, and knew the spots above my knees would probably be hurtin’ a bit.

A few key learnings:

I didn't hate it! I feared this, as I have NOT liked running in the past. I was a really great sprinter growing up actually, but never liked distance stuff. So, this is a promising start.
The descents are what hurt the most for me. I'll have to watch this, and I may not try to do too heavy of climbing/vertical until I'm more conditioned to it.
I do need one of those water bottle hand wrap/holder thingies. I just held a plain cycling water bottle, which was ok, but it gets kinda slippery with the sweat.
I feel my stride is terrible, and that I run rather flat-footed (or at least the foot "landings" feel that way). I suspect I need to lengthen my stride a bit (on trail that seemed to help), generally improve of course, and also, maybe work my arms more. Need to learn more here! Recommendations/advice much appreciated!
My shoes worked well (Salomon XT Wings), and the shorts were quite nice (some Adidas ones). So, other than the water bottle, I think I'm good on gear.
I'm ready to do it again. As I sit here this evening, my legs are a bit sore, but I plan to go out on the road bike tomorrow and ride that out; will be interested to see how that works out.

I think it’s good I’ll have a couple days off (of running) before running again on Thursday, but look forward to that, and look forward to seeing how my wife likes it. Until then…

Over the Andes Bike "Ride"

2008-05-16T00:00:00+00:00

Yesterday evening I went to a presentation at my local REI here in Eugene, OR, by a woman named Jude, who along with two friends rode for 3 months in Patagonia, essentially from Buenas Aires to Tierra del Fuego. She talked and told some stories, and showed a slide show. She also has a blog that she wrote during the trip:

http://overtheandes.blogspot.com/

I haven’t had a chance to read all of the blog, but see that it has some of the same pictures, and many more stories and so on. It’s a really amazing trip. They did it totally seat of the pants, or as she called it a “SOPA” (Seat Of Pants Adventure). What that boiled down to was the fact that they didn’t plan squat. They basically packed up their bikes, some clothes and gear, and flew down there, unpacked their bikes, bought a map, and just started riding. No set plans of any kind, no routes known ahead of time, bought and carried food along the way, etc.

They have some great pictures, and some of the scenery is amazing. Also, some insane conditions at times, like this:

http://bp3.blogger.com/heWRvjK67EM/SAFZfQOHnjI/AAAAAAAAAQk/8-pVXDViwA/s1600-h/P1080855.JPG

They do have some riding experience (varying), and Jude is/was a bike mechanic (her last day was yesterday) as well as she’s a cycle touring guide. The youngest woman was 20, and Jude is 25 I think.

Pretty cool.

p.s. one funny thing that sticks out to me was how Jude said she never eats mayonnaise, but on the trip, to get calories, and in part as its what they could get at times, they were wolfing down mayo - including putting it on cookies!

Pearl Izumi Amfib Tights

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Pearl Izumi makes a pair of winter cycling tights with their Amfib fabric. I’ve had a pair of the bib tights for a couple years now, and they are finally showing some wear/damage. I plan to buy another pair, as the short story on these is that they are simply the best winter bib (they make a non-bib version as well) tights I’ve come across.

In terms of warmth, they can be quite warm, as they have a Thermafleece lining to them. I use them if the temps are in the 50’s or lower on the road bike, and on the mountain bike, it needs to be a bit lower, maybe low-50’s and below, otherwise they may be too warm. When the temps really drop, say into the lower 40’s or lower, I tend to also use embrocation in conjunction, but again, I’ve yet to feel cold in these in any conditions I’ve ridden in.

Fit wise, they are excellent for me. Comfortable, perfect fit, with no excess material or bunching anywhere. Plus, the front portion (and the back) of the bib/torso area have much more coverage/come up higher than your typical pair of bib shorts/tights. I’ve found this to be a very welcome edition when the conditions are crappy. They also have ankle zips for easy on/off.

As compared to other tights, these are my goto tights anytime the conditions are wet, or particularly cold. In warmer, and dry conditions, I may just wear a standard pair of De Marchi bib tights, or wool tights, etc. but nothing beats the Pearli’s in foul conditions. Furthermore, this has been backed up by several riding friends who also have the Amfib tights. Everyone has agreed, hands down, and explicitly raved about them. Usually nobody really says much unprompted, but I’ve had 3 people tell me how great the Amfib tights are.

Outside Blog: Archives

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Check out this video of Glacier Surfing. These guys went to a spot where the glacier calves constantly, and then they get towed in and surf it. The article in Outside mag said they sometimes had 40 foot faces.

tagsurfing, glacier, Alaska/tag

New Road Compact Cranks and Wheelset

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

HTML parse error: 
<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1403538925/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1162/1403538925_6693edcd60_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1403538925/">My Calfee Road Bike for Sept 2007, alt view</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>My road bike has gotten some changes recently.  The primary change was to put compact cranks on, and in doing so, finally rid myself of the Dura Ace cranks, and get some carbons/Campys.  Dura Ace cranks are some of the finest on the planet, but on an all Campy bike, and a dark colored bike, etc. etc., I wanted them off.I also am currently riding a new set of Campagnolo Eurus clincher wheels.  This is mildly embarrassing, but I bought these as my "winter wheels" :)  I decided I wanted a set of non-carbon wheels for "harsher" winters here in Eugene.  I rode my carbon wheels in the winter in Rocklin, in plenty of rain, so I doubt it was necessary, but from what I hear here, there is obviously much more rain/wet, and then also a fair bit of road grit and gunk, and occasional snow and ice (definitely will be ice on the hills around my house).  Also, I just sent one of my Reynold's clinchers in to be rebuilt, and I'm in the middle of removing the glue on one of my tubulars, so couldn't ride a complete wheelset (a pathetic reason to buy new wheels, but, hey, any reason will do!)  Whatever.So I now have two rides on the new setup.  More importantly, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/sets/72157602063878496">pictures are posted</a>.  As for the result...First, the cranks are phenomenal, I wish I'd gone compact sooner.  I push the pace on the steeper hills now, and I can sit in the big ring more of the time.  A great setup.  The Campy compact cranks use a 34/50 chainring setup (as opposed to some who use 36/50).  I'm using an 11-25 cogset with that, so I have a real nice range (and greater range on both ends as compared to my previous setup of 39/53 + 12-25).  Along with this came a new Record compact front deraileur, chain, and cogset (as said).One thing I'll note, Campy chain setup is nice.  They include this special little pin that goes in before the regular link pin.  It does a few things: holds the chain together while you're working on it, gets things aligned properly, and then it has a pin that sticks out the back that you put the real link pin onto ensuring that that real pin goes in a certain way (as it can only go in one direction).  Was the easiest chain install I've done in a while (in this new world of wacky chain link pins).The wheels.  Well, they're stiff, and they look cool, and they sure as hell seem to roll fast, but wow, they certainly reinforce my feeling that carbon wheels are the shit.  The Eurus are a lot rougher riding - they just can't absorb like the carbon Reynolds.  I also need to swap out my special carbon pads (I thought they'd said they worked on alu too, but they don't seem to work that well).  These will be my "winter wheels", which I know, is kind of embarassing (to have such a nice "winter" wheelset), but hey, what can I say.  I don't feel they are any stiffer than my Reynolds deep sections, hell, I don't even know if they're as stiff (the rims almost for sure are not, but the spokes in the Eurus are significantly beefier than the Sapim CXRay's in the Reynolds).  I thought they weighed more than my Stratus DV's, and they sure feel like it, but according to printed weights, they're only a few grams heavier (both are 1500-1550, or so depending on where you read the weight :)  In reality, the wheels are pretty great as far as I can tell, but I do love my carbons, and will be glad when my Reynolds wheel comes back (sent it in for a rebuild), or when I ride my tubies instead.

Crawfish Ride

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I rode Crawfish yesterday, which you can do starting at the same place asBrice Creek. Here's the map. Many say Crawfish is better. I’d seen these pictures of Brice Creek and was eager to ride it. The DoD guys had just ridden it last weekend, but Brock suggested Crawfish, possibly hitting Brice at the end. We wound up not doing Brice, but that was no problem.We did Crawfish as a full loop, but many shuttle to the top, because theinitial climb is 6 miles up gravel road, and took our group 2.25 hours(and I was the first to the top, so you get an idea of the group’sclimbing speed :) Four of us were riding: Brock, Steve, Sarah, and myself.But then the descent just rocks! Best ride I’ve done so far here.All singletrack, all the time. And, there were rocks! The descenthad full on rock gardens, including a couple uphill sections, and thenjust tons of twisty, sometimes rooted, singletrack that went on for2.5 hours. Superb.Brock and I loved it. Sarah and Steve were not as enthused, asthey thought it was a bit too technical. Sarah commented at one point that we were riding down a river bed, not a trail. Heehee, that was one of my favorite sections! I do love the rocks. We were going to tie in Brice Creek at the end, but everyone needed to get back, and/or was wasted.Total ride was over 5 hours, with 5000’ of climbing, 16.7 miles, two broken spokes (Brock), and this was the first mtb ride here where I didn’t run out of water!

Two Great Rides This Weekend

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Matt was visiting for a few days, and we rode on Friday and Saturday. Friday we did Brice Creek, and Saturday Larison Rock. Both were good rides, even if I screwed up and had us do the Falls loop portion of Brice backwards (we probably had to hike 3/4 of the climb).Matt did a good job with the photos and blogging of them, so check these out:Brice Creek Larison RockMake sure to check out the photos page - you’ll see we rode under the waterfall, and so on.Also, as Matt said, we know now that we’ll almost for sure want to try to get in the Larison Rock shuttle while at Mt. Bike Oregon. I was absolutely hating life on the climb, but the descent was superb, and will be a great shuttle. It’s not real long (3.5 miles), so we will be able to tack that on to whatever else we do say on Saturday. Probably a good Saturday will be to shuttle Alpine and shuttle Larison Rock. We may be knackered after Friday’s epic, so a couple great shuttle runs will be sweet (Alpine has a few climbs during the descent, but it’s probably 17 miles of descent and 1 mile of climbing :)It was harsh having been off the bike for a couple weeks, and just getting back from traveling, but what a great couple days we had. Matt had also scoped out this great hidden hot springs (we soaked in water up to 108 - or Matt tried the 108 pool, the 106 was plenty for me, and the rather chilly river was fun too).I also found that that Sport Legs stuff is quite effective (thanks Matt). And, that damn if the lemon-lime Sport Beans aren’t awesome tasting (and I think working) when you are seriously bonked out.I rode my Niner at Brice, and the Reign at Larison. Have the Lyric fork dialed in fairly well now, liking that. Wished I had the Niner on the climb up Larison, but was glad to rip the descent on the Reign. I’ve upgraded to 8” front, 7” rear rotors on my Reign now (and may goto 7/7” on the Niner as well), for the long descents here. Makes a really nice difference, as I was getting some fade and such out of the dual 6” I was running before (especially somewhere like Alpine or Crawfish where you’re into 5+ miles of continuous descent).

First Real Ride On 29er

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Today I did what I’ll call my first “real” ride on my new 29er. By that I simply mean it was of decent length, and involved trails (even if it was a small chunk of the ride). There are two very short trails within town, so decided to see what it was like to ride over to one of them from my house, ride it and come back. The quick of it:Distance: 13.7 milesTime: approx 1 hour 45 mins (of which about 20 mins was on dirt :(Ascent: 2300’The trail, Ridgeline, was quite buff - with scenery/surroundings that made me think a lot of Skeggs/El Corte de Madera in the Bay area: shady with tons and tons of trees, lush, buff trail with a few small rooted sections. It was actually the perfect intro to a dirt ride on the rigid 29er. It is going to take some getting used to to be fully effective on a rigid bike! The thing rolls really well, and it climbs quite well. But, I did a small little drop off, and wham, uh, ya, there’d be no give at all in the rear end :) Interestingly enough, it’s really the rear suspension that I miss/notice the most. I think the front is more obvious, and I’m lifting the front wheel as needed more. I will most definitely be getting some fatter tires for mtb riding (and I already received the Schwalbe Big Apple 2.35 mostly-slicks for town riding). The bike definitely rails the buff singletrack, very direct-drive. Any way you slice it though, it’s a fun ride, just have to re-train my brain a bit. One note… I haven’t played with tire pressure much on this bike yet I was running the tires pretty hard, mainly cuz I’ve been riding on pavement a lot. For real dirt riding, I could go lower pressure, plus, as said, I’d use something bigger (I’m riding the WTB Nanoraptor 2.1’s, will likely go with some Panaracer Rampage 2.35’s).The ride overall was nice, mainly because I got out for a couple hours on my bike in beautiful weather, and got to be on some dirt (even if it was weak). About 30 mins in I was pretty hurtin’ and just bummin’ over my fitness. But, by the end, cranking up some seriously steep hills, I was enjoying it a lot, and much more positive. Hopefully this ride, and some others will become a multi-day per week event going forward. Working at home again I’m feeling I’ll be able to do that.

Hard Ride That Shouldn't Have Been

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I sit here thrashed. Blown. Recovering. This, from a just shy of 2 hour road ride, 30 miles, 2000’ of climbing. A route I’ve done many times.

It was chilly, but I was dressed ok for it. Weather otherwise good. Bike in good order. Roads basically dry. Hadn’t ridden for four days. Stomach/food situation, not so good I think.

I hadn’t realized that I left quite so “late” (11am). I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, which was almost nil on protein to boot (which usually means it doesn’t last me very well). I sucked a Clif Mojo bar down about 45 minutes in, and that helped. But, I probably should’ve had more in me I think.

Kept a solid pace throughout the ride, especially after I realized how late I left and that I wasn’t going to be even close to being home around noon-ish to have lunch with my wife and son.

Regardless, it was a good ride, just feeling way more knackered than I would have expected. Of course, I tend to revel in that as well, so other than feeling a bit lazy at the moment, all in all, things are good.

Ordered: RockShox Lyrik 2-Step Air Fork

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I bit the bullet tonight, and ordered up a new fork for my Giant Reign. My Nixon has failed too many times, and is being sent back again. They hopefully will send me a brand new fork, that I can then just sell and be done with.So, ordered a RockShox Lyrik 2-Step Air Fork. These things are grossly expensive, but, uh, well, uh, ok, I have no way to rationalize it. Why did I choose this fork, especially given that I’ve stayed away from RockShox for soooo long now? Basically, it had the right mix of things for me: 20mm Maxle (didn’t have to be Maxle, but 20mm axle is the only way to go for me), adjustable travel, and adjustable under 160 where the fork performance is not diminished/altered, ok weight, not a Manitou, etc. Fox 32’s don’t have 20mm, and I didn’t want to go with a Fox 36. Marzocchi doesn’t have a 20mmm axled for that fits the bill either. Maverick could have been interesting, but I guess I didn’t trust them in terms of how it’ll hold up.This weekend, since my Reign has no working fork, I’ll be riding the Niner at Oakridge. This is my first time to Oakridge now that I’ve moved to Eugene, and I’m quite excited to get out there and see what all the hubbub is about! We’ll see how badly I want my Reign back (or not!?) after riding the fully rigid Niner.

29er Tubeless Wheels

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I’ve been starting to look into a tubeless wheelset for my Niner, since I swear by tubeless on my Reign and DHi. I’d also like to have two wheelsets so that I can keep one with my town nearly-slicks, and one with my trail tires. I am fairly adamant about UST as the tubeless system. I’ve used Stan’s rim strips before and think they suck. Bontrager might be ok, but why did they not do UST and create yet another mechanism - I don’t like that kind of thing. I heard Mavic will have 29er UST wheels/rims soon. I checked in with Speedgoat on things, and here’s what they had to say.

No, the Stan's rims are not UST-compatible. Neither are Bontragers. There are currently no UST-specific 29er rims, and, given your weight, you'll potentially experience bad times trying to run a converted regular-tire/sealed up rim setup on a 29er (hope you don't ride on rocks). Mavic will be releasing a 29er wheels fairly soon, and it does look pretty damn nice. We may well start seeing 29er UST tires, too, though they'll be from the like of Hutchinson and Michelin only, and will probably weigh over 1,000g each.Best to wait on the Mavic then, or go with an Industry 9 Stan's Flow wheelset. The I9 stuff is amazing, but we've never had a single order for their hubs alone. Everyone wants the wheelsets, and with good reason. They're just plain excellent, but again, they're not UST.

So yes, I’ll be waiting for Mavic. Normally I also only run true UST tires, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes out there. I’ve run a lot of converted tires, but they don’t work as well usually, so I’ve gone with only UST. In 26” wheel land, there are plenty of UST choices in the 2.3-2.5 (and upwards) range these days, so it’s no longer a problem. But in 29er land, it may be a challenge for a while.

Yesterday’s Road Ride

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I went out on the road yesterday. As I was getting ready, it was pouring, no dumping, no, I started looking for scuba gear! I almost bagged it, but then the rain let up a bit, and I was really eager to ride. I had the waterproof tights on, booties, jacket, rain gloves, hat, etc. I also had a new set of Specialized All Conditions Armadillo Elite tires (my review here).I rolled out in the rain, and plunged down the descent from my house to the first climb. Up and over that (it’s steep, but short), and out into the Lorane valley. The first 20 minutes or so are on Lorane Hwy with heavy trees, almost tree-tunnel type setup. It was wet. But upon popping out of the tree tunnel area, and passing the Grange… what was this? It was dry, and partly cloudy! I hammered on.About 15 minutes later, it’d gotten darn near hot (at least when you’re wearing all the rain gear), and I stopped by the side of the road to shed. Off came the booties and jacket, stuffed into my rear jersey pockets. Onward, but then was really getting warm (well, relatively, was probably in the low 60’s). Stopped again and shed the rain gloves. Riding at this point felt like I had a big messenger bag on - my jersey pockets were totally stuffed with rain gear (plus the food, pump, etc. I had in there already). Now for the series of climbs.The climbs are quite nice back in this area. There are wineries, and just the most beautiful trees at this time of year. Red, orange, yellow leaved maples line the road, making for a beautiful ride. I continued through the countryside, and wound my way back home. As I got back to the tree tunnel area, it was a little wetter, but fine.Now then, up the steep climb to my house, where obviously it started to rain again :) The rain was light though, and I didn’t need to put any gear back on. This was a great ride. Oh, and the tires worked really well, amazingly well in fact - killer in the corners, and I’ve never seen a road tire spray up so little water in the rain, a definite bonus!

Mountain Bike Oregon

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Just signed up for the August date of Mountain Bike Oregon, an awesome 3 day riding fest. I’ve started to ride some of the trails in Oakridge, now that I live an hour away, and it’s very good stuff. In fact, my first ride there was on the Middle Fork (not quite all of it, as there was still snow at the top), which is a featured shuttle ride for MBO. Anyway, check it out. Matt, John, and Shannon will be joining me so far.

Specialized All Conditions Armadillo Elite road tires

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

The rainy season appears to have begun here in Eugene, OR. My road bike is now setup for it, with the final change being to mount up some Specialized All Conditions Armadillo Elite 700x23 tires. Last year I ran Conti GP 4 Seasons, and prior to that nothing special in terms of a winter tires.Right off the bat, you can tell these things are grippy, but still seem to roll pretty well. Not as fast as my regular Vredesteins, but good (and I think better than the Contis). Today’s ride started out in some pretty heavy rain, and of course with the usual fast long descent from my house down to the first climb. The tires worked great on the descent, and I was immediately noticing how little water they threw off, or rather, threw off at me. Very nice!Next up, the rest of the ride… What was particularly nice about today’s ride was the complete spectrum of weather (absent snow, I guess if you want to be a stickler). I rode for a ways in the rain and then about 30 minutes in, the sun was shining and the roads were totally dry! This gave me a chance to try these tires out under “normal” conditions. Worked well - same as mentioned, slower than the Vreds, but faster tha the Contis, and good all around.Not much later, I was stripping off my booties, jacket, and gloves, it was getting warm! I also got a chance to do some more significant cornering on descents, and these tires caught my attention - they railed!Finally, on the final about 20 mins home, it was raining again. Good little descent, and again, great in the corners. Then the burly climb. All in all, very happy wit the new setup.

Hans and Peaty’s Pub Crawl

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Here’s a great story and pictrues from Hans Rey and Steve Peat who did a “pub crawl” in Ireland, and threw in a bit of incredible riding. Check it out. The riding looks absolutely amazing (at least for those of us who love technical, rocky stuff - although the cliff stuff was pretty sketch). I’d love to do this trip.

Loving the Kent Ericsen ti post!

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I’ve ridden the custom Kent Eriksen ti post I got for my Niner a few times now. It is awesome. It has a noticeable bit of flex to it, which I love because my Niner is fully rigid, and I wanted a bit more help :) It also looks really nice on the bike, as the ti color matches the Niner lettering, and the orange head/clamp hardware fits with the orange paint.

Swiss Stop King/Flash Brake Pads - Phenomenal

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

If you ride carbon rims (and maybe even if you don’t), you should immediately get yourself some Swiss Stop King brake pads! These things just rock. I’m running them on my Zero Gravity brakes stopping Reynolds Stratus DV wheels/rims. The improvement is just amazing (and that is coming off the pads that Reynolds recommended/supplied). I feel that my brakes work equally as well as any aluminum rim combo now.The pads come in Campy/Zero Gravity, or Shimano/SRAM compatible versions, and come in pairs (total of 4 pads). Unfortunately the Campy version costs $15 more, which I can’t understand why, but maybe it’s just the “Campy tax”). 2007 Swiss Stop Race 2000 Yellow King Carbon Brake Pads for Campagnolo 2007 Swiss Stop Flash Yellow King Carbon Brake Pads for Shimano/SRAM

Trail Work Day

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I put in my dues with the Disciples of Dirt today, doing trail work. This was really my first real trail work! I’ve done some stuff on friend’s land before, but this was earnest trail network work. We started at 10am, in the drizzle and 40 degrees.

The first task we did was to haul a bunch of rock (pieces ranged from marble to softball size) down to a trail that needed it. We used 5 gallon(?) buckets, and most of us were schlepping two roughly half-full buckets at a time. Probably a half mile of trail to carry them over. Each probably weighed a good 50lbs. I made 3 runs, so did maybe 300lbs, and my shoulders definitely feel it!

After carrying the rock, we went to work on the new Alpha trail. How it got this name, such a tame name, given that a good half the other trails in our stash have very 3rd grade humor names (pubic, “upp er asshole” (the two words part is key :), and so on. This is a sweet new trail, measuring in at about 1.3 miles. I’d ridden a tiny chunk of it two weeks ago when only part of it had been scraped out. Today however, with 6-8 of us working on it, we made awesome progress, and the trail is pretty much rideable now, at least once the rain lets up a bit and it can pack down some more. I was stunned at the progress. Good hands, good tools, and hard work. We probably spent 3.5 hours on this.

I really enjoyed my intro. The DoD guys know what they’re doing, are nice folks, and fun to hang out with. Being the newbie, I fulfilled my duty and brought the beer, which people were quite happy with. It was nice to have one after 5 hours in the semi-cold and rainy conditions (it rained varying levels the entire day). I somehow got out of there without being too muddy (mostly my boots and pants).

The other thing I was happy with is how I dressed. I wasn’t sure, but I nailed it. From top to bottom: Smartwool hat (so awesome - I never knew it was wet at all, stayed nice and warm, natch), Patagonia Capilene #1 base layer, some REI thicker layer next, then a thin fleece, all covered up by an awesome REI rain jacket (light, inexpensive, totally waterproof, great fit, etc.). On to the bottom… Mountain Khaki pants. These rock. Burly, Carhart like pants, somehow they never got wet, and I love these things both for hard work, or just wearing everyday. Then Smartwool socks (are there any other?), and the Keen waterproof hiking boots I love (they basically took zero break in, fit perfectly, comfy, no bad spots, and are truly waterproof). Oh, and on my hands, and the piece that really most impressed me, were my probably 15 year old Saranac leather gloves. The leather got sorta wet and muddy, but the remnants of insulation inside kept my hands the perfect temp, and of course these things are great to work in. It only occurred to me today how old they were, can’t believe it, but they’re still kickin.

About the only thing I would consider doing differently next time was to have some gaitors. I really didn’t need them, but several folks had them and it seemed like a decent idea. Either that, or folks had some bit mud/rain work boots, that might be even better, but they don’t look like they fit well (sloppy), and I can be picky about that (especially when tromping all around on muddy hillsides).

So, I’ve got the trail work bug now, and need to pick up a Mcleod for myself, and will likely get a hand saw as well. A folding hand saw will be something that could just live in my Camelbak, as here in Oregon, you come across so many downed trees on rides, that it’d be quite useful (obviously, for the smaller trees).

I plan to head out in two weeks for the next big DoD trail work weekend as well, and then reap the rewards at the All Comer's Meat (Force Kin).

Big Ride at Alpine (Creampuff course) on Saturday

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Did a big ride on Saturday with Dan. We rode the Alpine Trail, which is also the course for the Cascade Cream Puff 100. Of course we only did it once, they do it three brutal times. The ride worked me over! It’s 16 miles of climbing to the top, then you do the descent, which has a bit of climbing mixed in as well. All in all, 5260’ of climbing, in 32 miles is what I registered. By the time we got to the top (about 3.5 hours for me :(, I was pretty much wasted. I was also out of water, which really sucked, because we had about two hours to go! The Alpine trail singletrack descent is really nice though. Very narrow singletrack, super high quality. It wasn’t technical, but it was fast and fun for sure. I used my GPS and posted the map.I am fairly eager to go back to Alpine, because honestly, I wasn’t fully able to enjoy the descent. I was out of water, bonked, and so was mainly working to get down fast, not cramp (any more), and so on. It was also raining a good chunk of the time, although mostly the latter half of the climb, at the top where it was fairly cold (there was still some snow left). So, I know at minimum I’ll be riding this again in August during Mountain Bike Oregon, and we’ll do it as a shuttle, so that’ll be very nice.Oh, last bit. This was the maiden voyage on the Lyric fork. It worked great so far. I did notice that it’s a bit taller, and I don’t have the Flood Gate dialed in, so it was diving under braking and steeper sections more than I’d like. I think when I get the Flood Gate going it’ll be sweet, as when I played with it quickly, it clearly has the platform type effect.

Oakridge: Middle Fork Ride

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I gathered with 14 other riders for a ride setup by the Disciples of Dirt, which is Eugene’s very active mtb group (which mostly amounts to a slew of folks on the same mailing list, who do a lot of riding, and a lot of trail maintenance!). Two of the folks, Andy and Megan, had driven down for the weekend from Seattle. Andy was probably one of the best riders of the group, and Megan hung just fine (and was a Daily Distraction to boot). This was a “Slow Boyz” ride as the DoD group has a few self-classified sub-groups (others include the “X-Men” who are the hardcore guys that are out to win the Creampuff (which makes the death ride look easy), 3 of which we came across going the other way, as they did the 50 mile variant of our ride, primarily on single speeds).The ride was aptly named Slow Boyz. There were some good riders, but it was a bit of a party ride - each stop was a bit longer than at least I (and a few others) would like, but that’s also par for the course with 15 people on a ride! The people were all very friendly and nice, and it was a nice mix, likely age range from about 30-50 (I know one guy was 50). The courtesy level was very high, and the DoD hosts were great about keeping everyone together and ensuring folks knew where to go, etc.We rode the Middle Fork trail in Oakridge. This is a great trail. There was still snow at the top so we put in a bit lower (Chuckle Springs), but overall got in 22 miles of 100% singletrack! We were out riding for 5.5 hours. During that time I kid you not, we must have done 20 creek crossings, about half of which were not really rideable, and also went over these awesome log bridges (probably a half dozen of them - killer views of the river while walking across - wish I had my camera). The trail was primarily flat/rolling - even with 23 miles, we only did 1100’ of climbing, and 2600’ of descending.Not as technical as I’m used to, but I got the impression that it was on the more technical side for the area(?), as there aren’t a lot of rocky trails there (technical = rocky, for me). It sounds like the more technical or harder trails there tend to be super steep stuff. I plan to get out to “Heckletooth” and “Larikin” (sp?) soon. Also Tire Mountain and I think it was Black Bear or something. I’ve ordered up the super sweet laminated Tread maps of all this stuff. And then there’s Willamette Pass, which is a small ski area, but does the lift-served stuff in the summer, and puts on a bunch of DH races, etc. I will be hitting this hopefully, as I hear it’s quite good. There is also Oregon Adventures ( http://www.oregon-adventures.com/) that does shuttle and guide service. Randy and his crew sported two vans to shuttle us up to yesterday’s ride. This was very cool, and I plan to use that service again for sure (as well as possibly some guided rides, so I can learn the trails faster).Anyway, the trail is a river trail, meaning we followed the river the whole time, crossing back and forth a few times. I rode my rigid Niner (to the disbelief of nearly everyone on the ride - there were a couple Nomads, a few other Santa Cruz’s, a Turner, two Reigns, and then a couple hardtails, etc.). The Niner performed superbly! I am absolutely sold on the bigger wheels acting like a form of limited suspension. I won’t say it was a plush, but the thing just charged that trail, and I love it. I am fairly beat today - my feet are sore, and my shoulder is sore from all the bike portages over creeks and bridges (I usually hang my saddle on my shoulder, which isn’t overly comfy to begin with). I also ran out of water with over an hour of time to go.After the ride, we hit the Trailhead Coffee Shop, for beers and dinner. The whole thing with at least the Slow Boyz is very social, and it was a fun time. Nice that folks are so welcoming and friendly. THC has got to be making a good half of it’s revenue from mountain bikers, as 100% of the folks in there at dinner were post-ride, and we met there in the morning as well, where some folks were grabbing breakfast, we got coffee, etc. Anyway, finally drove home, and rolled in about 10pm. A pretty long day given that I’d met the carpool folks at 8:30am. All in all a lot of fun, and I’m psyched to see the various other trails. I definitely plan to ride with the Slow Boyz again (the Creampuff is not my idea of fun).

McKenzie River Trail

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

HTML parse error: 
<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1430350357/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1210/1430350357_cc59e309d6_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1430350357/">Tim riding the lava section</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Saturday was my first ride on the famous McKenzie River Trail (MRT).  BIKE magazine named the MRT one of the 10 best trails in their December 2004 issue, and I was excited to see why.I heard about the ride on the DoD mailing list, and joined up.  The DoDers have been good at showing me trails, and this was a great opportunity, especially since riding the MRT involves a shuttle.  Nine of us met in Springfield to carpool: Candy and Steve, Laurie and Bianca (her dog :), Lee, Mike, Tim, Chris, Chris, and Chris (me).Tim rode with me, on the 45 mile drive out to the bottom of the MRT, where we dropped one car.  From there, the remaining cars drove another 20 miles up Hwy 126 to the top of the MRT.We all saddled up, and headed out on the trail, primarily guided by Steve and Laurie (although I believe at least a few others had done the trail, and some had done parts).About 10 feet into the trail, the stunning scenery starts.  Right off we cross a bridge with a beautiful river and the beautiful color of the turning trees surrounding it.  We jumped into the singletrack, and a short bit after, we're riding above a lake, again with just amazing scenery.  We were barely even getting warmed up, and I was already wanting to stop every couple minutes to take pictures!  This vibe was brought down a bit shortly thereafter when Mike broke his chain, for what would be the first of <span style="font-style: italic">four</span> times (yes, you read that right).  Luckily he quickly fixed it, and we were off again.<p style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1430354475/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1010/1430354475_71e497401d_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1430354475/">Mike's first broken chain</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Continuing on, was more stellar singeltrack - really fun stuff, great flow, super fun.  A brief break next at Sahalie Falls, which is a really cool waterfall.  It was hard to get a great photo of it, but was quite nice to see.<span style="font-weight: bold">Bring On the Lava</span>The top half of MRT is known for it's lava sections of trail.  This is a really killer, technical section of trail.  Hands down this was my favorite length of trail.  It's not as hard as somewhere like Grouse Ridge, but there are definitely a few tricky sections.  I was able to ride everything, except I believe two or so tiny "climbs" (more like quick upturns in the trail).  The  lava took its toll on tubes though!  We had several flats in the group during this section, and also found two people had tubes with tears at the valve stem of their spares.  We wound up scrunching one of my 29er tubes into Tim's rear wheel.I can't wait to get back to the MRT to ride the lava section again.  While technical, everything still had a great flow to it, and you could really get after it.  I was rocking this on my full rigid Niner, and just loving it!  In my past cycling life, I would have thought I was nuts to ride a rigid, but the Niner particularly ripped it up through here.  I survived without flatting, and couldn't wait for the rest of the trail.<span style="font-weight: bold">Lunch at Blue Pool</span><p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1431217444/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1106/1431217444_1a42dfdc71_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1431217444/">Mike's first broken chain</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Backing up a minute (got carried away thinking about such a great section)...  A ways into the lava, we stopped at Blue Pool to eat.  I sucked down a PB&amp;J, while we waited for Mike who had stopped just a bit up the trail with a flat.  I talked to Laurie while we hung out, and watched Bianca take after her (<span style="font-style: italic">wink wink</span>, Laurie).  Mike had still not shown, so Lee walked back up to find him.  This is when we found out his spare tube, had a rip at the valve stem, and then his pump broke!  Dude was not having a good day, mechanically.After the lava section, the trail turns more buff, and gets going faster.  I was following Laurie for most of it.  Laurie was spun out on her 29er single speed, with Bianca trailing close behind (man can that dog run!).  We were pushing it nicely, and it's darn good I had someone in front of me to show the trail.  We both could have gone faster (if Laurie had gears, and if I was being smart and knew the trail), but it was perfect as is.  Somewhere along the way I think Mike broke his chain one or two more times.  We were probably two-thirds of the way at this point.The rest of the trail is pretty consistently super sweet, twisty, fast, flowing, fairly buff singletrack through the trees.  We stopped occasionally to fuel up, and then got to a point where Mike broke his chain for the final time.  He was about out of chain, and it was getting late.  We had to send Mike out to the highway at this point.  It was a bummer for him, but a good call.<p style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1430367587/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1035/1430367587_7ae673cfcc_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1430367587/">Laurie and Bianca</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Through the last sections of trail, it was gorgeous...  The sun was getting lower in the sky, and the cool fall air had crept in.  It cooled things down enough to rev up the goose bumps both from the cool air, and the great trail.  This is the kind of ride that you really don't want to end.  Ok, maybe stop for some monster burritos, then keep going.After 5.5 hours on trail (although only about 2.5-3 ride time) we arrived back at the remaining car at the end of the trail.  A really great ride, good company, and stunning scenery.  The route (<a href="http://discovermachine.com/maps/456#">GPS data/info</a>) was 25.5 miles, with about 1070' climbing, and 2700' descending.  The drivers piled into Lauri's mobile, and retrieved the cars at the top.  We all then hauled ass home, I'm guessing most of us thinking about what we'd ride next, or when we'd get to ride MRT again...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/sets/72157602128659918/">Full set of photos available here.</a>

New Bits and Bobs

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I’ve returned from a week of travel, and am very eager to be back on the bike. While I was gone, I received a new Syncros FL Stem, and the Panaracer Rampage 29er tires. This weekend I’m planning to head out to a local, small trail system here in Eugene, with my GPS and maybe camera, and map it out. The trail map I have shows it as a simple line, but in fact, it’s at least a loop, and has several off-shoots. Nothing spectacular, but as a fun exercise I’ll go map it out and try out the Niner with some real mtb tires and such.I may sport the Endura Humvee 3/4 shorts again too. I’m still mixed on whether I can pull off the nicker variant, but I like these things a lot. They’re nice and light, the cell phone pocket works very well for me for town riding (unlike the review I read - but super fit messenger boy probably gets more movement out of it than me :) They’re an ideal town riding short/knicker.

Avid Matchmakers: cleaner bars - rider’s view

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

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<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/534143831/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1261/534143831_f2ef6f64f2_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/534143831/">Matchmakers: clean bars - rider's view</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>If you run Juicy 7's and X-9's or other compatible combos, you should run out and get some Avid Matchmakers.  These create a single bar clamp for both, and clean up your bars nicely.  It's a small thing, but it's really slick.  This picture shows the rider's view, and it's just nice and clean.You still get a dual-bolt setup, so you can now take off both your brake levers and shifters without removing grips, etc.  This shot is from my Niner.  Unfortunately the X-9's on my Reign are older and aren't compatible.  I will try to resist getting new X-9's simply to be able to use Matchmakers ;-)

Jill Finishes the Iditarod Bike and Writes A Great Story to Boot!

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

First off, a huge congratulations to Jill, for finishing the Iditarod Trail Invitational! Second, she wrote about her experience, and wow, what a story! This is a must read - great writing, great journey, certainly some crazy, and well, just go read it.

Laser Guided, Cost Effective Helmet Cam

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

The upcoming VholdR's laser guided helmet cam looks extremely promising! It is cheap in terms of such gizmos ($350), simple, and looks very effective. I like my VIO POV.1 a lot, but encapsulating everything in the helmet unit is awesome, and the laser guides and lens tilt adjust are brilliant (this is always a pain when swapping my helmet cam to other people’s helmets or what not). I look forward to seeing this when it comes out.

Camelbak Transalp vs. Blowfish

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

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<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1386633559/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1208/1386633559_43b4e79b1b_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1386633559/">Camelbak Transalp vs. Blowfish</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>I've been using a Camelbak Transalp pack for rides for several years now. Until the somewhat recent explosion of pack choices from Camelbak, it was their largest pack. Recently however, I've been wanting something lighter and smaller. Enter the latest Blowfish.Some of you might be questioning whether "lighter and smaller" go with the Blowfish, since, as Camelbak cycling packs go, it's currently the second largest (or largest depending on how you calculate) pack. Camelbak no longer makes the Transalp, and the HAWG is their largest cycling specific pack (when compared to the Blowfish not expanded, but also as compared in a more visual or general sense).The Blowfish has over 700 cubic inches of storage space by default, and expands to 1000. The HAWG has 801. There is actually another pack, the Havoc, which holds 794, but wasn't what I was after. The Transalp I believe will hold well over 1000 cubic inches of gear, I'd guess it's around 1200-1500.Anyway, numbers aside, the Blowfish is very streamlined. It has no extra straps, flaps, partial pockets or other such things on the outside as compared to the HAWG and most other packs. While it can hold a fair bit, especially as compared to smaller packs like the Mule, it feels minimal and efficient. I felt I wanted to comfortably be able to carry tools, tubes, jacket, energy bars/gels, and of course the 100oz bladder. I only looked at packs that can hold 100oz reservoirs, as I frequently need to carry that much water (or more).I've now used the pack a few times, so how does it compare to my trusty Transalp? First, check the picture for a visual difference. Check. Now, I should note, this pack definitely feels smaller and lighter, but really only once you have drained the 100oz down to probably 60 or less. When it's fully, it feels just as big, heavy, and less stable than the Transalp. The Transalp is wide, so it tends to stabilize heavy loads very well.Getting down to it... I expect to use this pack on many of my rides, but likely when it comes to the bigger rides, or in winter when I need to carry more gear, I may likely reach for the Transalp. As big and bulky as the Transalp can seem, when it's on your back, it really carries very well, especially when heavily loaded. In the name of efficiency, here's my pseudo-list of pros/cons:<ul> <li>Blowfish has sleek, non-hiker geek/non-Macgyver look and feel. I could even wear this on my road bike for mega-epic road rides where I can't get water somewhere along the way.</li>?? <li>Good organization: I really like the very slim front/outer pocket, which is ideal for stashing a half dozen gels, or some gels and a bar or two. I also say a big thanks for putting in what I call the car key leash in the second/tool pocket. The Transalp is missing this, and it's a simple, but very effective addition.</li>?? <li>For me, at 6'2" the shoulder straps are way too short. In order to ensure the weight is carried low on my back, I have the straps almost completely extended, which means there's not much coming around in terms of the padded straps, and the sternum strap I have all the way at the bottom, yet it is too high on my chest.</li>?? <li>The Blowfish, when fully loaded is a bit unwieldy and sways side to side on your back, at least compared to the Transalp. If you plan to regularly carry 700+ inches of gear, and a full water bladder, I'd suggest looking to another pack. The HAWG seems wider, and may work better, or one of Camelbak's multi-purpose packs like the Alpine or something might be better.</li>?? <li>I was able to carry multi-tool, tube, two other small tools, 4 gels, 3 bars, water filter, extra jersey, extra gloves, cell phone, GPS, and small first aid kid in the pack without expanding it. This was maxed out without expansion, and was pushing it to not expand it. But, it means that if I'd needed, I could have added a big water bottle, jacket, more food, and so on with the pack expanded.</li>?? <li>Good price. I think I paid $70 for this pack, which included the 100oz Omega reservoir. A HAWG in comparison was $100.</li>?? <li>The one thing I'd have liked to have seen, but would have likely made it a bit bulky, is the built in rain cover. The Transalp has this (see that little zipper on the bottom of the pack), and it's just an awesome addition when you need it.</li>??</ul>Anyway, so, upshot... If you don't regularly need to carry a lot of gear, but want to have the ability to on occasion, or if you only want one pack, and you want something very sleek and streamlined, etc., this is a good choice. Otherwise, you might want to go with a HAWG (or if you only do roughly two hour rides, and in pleasant weather, etc., you can likely use some other pack), or if you really need to haul some serious gear, check out an Alpine, or the Octane 14+ which actually looks like a really sweet pack. The Octane 14+ is likely what I'll replace my Transalp with when that time comes.

Andrew Skurka's Incredible Journeys

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Andrew Skurka

Two interesting tidbits from this journey… He blows through massive calories each day, but can't eat enough to replace them. So, he lives on energy bars and the like for several days during the hike, then when he hits a town, he binge eats to make up for it, and then repeats this cycle. I don’t think I could do it, but in this journey, he ate 1200 Balance Bars! Second, and just kind of a fun fact: he went through 17 pairs of shoes to complete the journey.

The physical aspects of this are very impressive of course, but I’m also impressed with his demeanor, psche, or general outlook. National Geographic Adventure magazine had a good article on him, since they named him 2007 Adventurer of the Year. He seems like a no-nonsense, friendly guy, who loves to be outdoors, loves the solitude (but isn’t a hermit or anti-social), and just purely enjoys these adventures. From what I’ve read, and the podcasts of his that I’ve listened to, I just don’t feel he’s one of these folks who “must conquer Everest”, or prove something to anyone. Sure, it’s a feat, there is no doubt, but he just seems like he is heavily motivated by the sheer love of the adventure.

Finally, the other thing I love is that he is a proponent of going lite, but he isn’t insane about it. He does it, in my observation, partly out of necessity, and partly simply because he can, but not for the sake of it, if that makes sense. Check out the Gear Talk section of his website for some recommendations and general info.

p.s. here’s an article on an even longer trip he did in 2004, the transcontinental sea-to-sea route (7700 miles).

Gear Testing Ride

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

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<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1420283023/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1144/1420283023_430b8c2168_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1420283023/">RidgelineTestingOfG9-19</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Did a quick ride at Ridgeline this evening, mainly to test some things before tomorrow's big McKenzie River Trail ride.  I was testing a few things:<ul>	<li>New 7" rotor up front</li>??	<li>Camelbak's energy drink pills</li>??	<li>New Specialized <a href="http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=26123">BG Comp</a> shoes</li>??	<li>New <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_g9.asp">Canon Powershot G9</a> camera</li>??	<li>New Novara/REI gloves</li>??</ul>I had to stop twice to reposition the caliper on the disc brake, but by the second time it was dialed: no rub, no sounds when braking, etc.  And, yes, more power, nice.The Camelbak drink pills were interesting.  Very light flavor, which is nice, and the flavor was pretty decent, not ideal, but pretty close.  I'm thinking I'll go with my tried and true Powerbar stuff for tomorrow, but then continue to try the Camelbak stuff (which will ba damn convenient for travel).The gloves worked well, and were a nice deal at $19 on sale.  I will ride these tomorrow for sure, while I wait for Troy Lee to send me a new pair of SE gloves (story on that in a future blog post).The shoes...  Well, I'm a serious fan of Specialized shoes, and had simply worn out my last pair.  These new ones were dialed pretty quick.  They do need some breaking in, although oddly, the left shoe felt great, and only the right shoe had some slightly less comfy points.  I actually "downgraded" this time around, not going with the most high end shoe, mainly for reason of cost, and not feeling I needed the carbon soles.  So, I went with the <a href="http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=26123">BG Comps</a>.Finally, the camera.  I bought this camera for the sole purpose of being able to take lots of pics on rides.  Carrying around my Canon Rebel XTi DSLR was just way too much.  I also wanted something that was quicker to get going on the trail.  The G9 is killer, because it's basically most of the features of the DSLR packed into this tiny unit.  IT's not as small and light as many folks' point and shoot's, but it's got way more features, such as adjustable ISO, all the normal Canon shooting modes (P, TV, and AV being the key modes), hot shoe, and it shoots video, etc.  It has some other really slick features.  And, best of all, or well, a great thing, is that it shoots RAW (or JPEG of course).This little camera kicks ass.  I have it in a neoprene type pouch secured to my Camelbak strap.  So, I don't have to take off my Camelbak, and can get to the camera really quickly.  The particular pouch seems extremely secure (it's a very tight fit on my camera, a bit tighter than I'd like, but even if the flap opened up, the camera wouldn't come out, and it's got a super secure attachment to the Camelbak strap).  The camera takes excellent pictures, and I'm just ramping up on full use of it, and all the features.  This will just be great to have.Can't wait for tomorrow's big ride...

Retirement Tour Off to a Great Start

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

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<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1574533828/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2118/1574533828_e7e9f523e1_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1574533828/">Sovereign Trail in Moab</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Matt and I have been having a great time during the first two days of our riding adventure.  I flew into Phoenix yesterday, and we headed out to ride the old Cactus Cup course.  This is a short loop, only about an hour, but mildly technical, and fun.  Of course it was pretty damn hot, but that's par for the course in Phoenix.  We'd met up with Fletcher, a friend of Matt's, who was in full racer mode during the ride (we saw him for about the first 15 minutes).  After that, headed back to Fletcher's house for lunch, showers, then we jumped back in the Sportsmobile and headed to Flagstaff.In Flag we returned the Niner RIP 9 I had rented, and I requested a refund on my 2nd day rental fee (Matt picked up the bike two days prior), as they were idiots and put what was likely an 18" flat handlebar on the bike.  Seriously, no, really, I mean, I felt like I was riding with my hands on each side of the stem.  Oh, also, they'd thought to replace the shift cables the day before, but negelected to stretch the cables, and so I had to re-adjust the rear derailleur.  It doesn't end there... about half the threads in the pedal hole of the cranks arms were stripped/gone, and I actually had one of my pedals unscrew on the trail.  Nice job guys, way to ensure your demo rider has a good experience on the bike!<p style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1573270598/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2289/1573270598_34a962912e_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1573270598/">Grand Canyon</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Anyway, grabbed a quick espresso and sandwich and hauled ass for the Grand Canyon.Unfortunately we arrived after dark at the GC.  But, thankfully I had my tripod and DSLR, and managed to get some shots that make it look like we were there during the day!  Pretty amazing place - I'd never been before, need to go back.<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1572386409/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2235/1572386409_1121fdc951_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1572386409/">Camp outside Moab</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>After that we drove late into the night to 30 miles outside Moab, and found a clearing a ways off the road to spend the night.  Nice and quiet and dark, perfect.  Asleep before 2am Utah time (lost an hour).  Up the next morning to a nice sunrise, got the espresso/moka flowin', and headed into Moab.<p style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://bailey.bingodisk.com/public/NicoleAndMattSovereignTrail.mov" title="Helmet Cam on Sovereign Trail"><img src="http://aycu29.webshots.com/image/29028/2006164494361031032_rs.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a>Click the photo to play the videoIn Moab we hooked up with Michael and Sylvi, and four other friend's of Matt's, and rode Sovereign trail.  Absolutely great trail.  About a 2hr ride, on prime Moab terrain - very rocky/slickrock, sandy, technical stuff.  I rode my rigid Niner, which was brutal at times, but actually quite nice at others (really nice for rolling up and over ledges).  We had the helmet cam in full effect.  Should have video avail, once we get a chance to edit down the couple hours we have.  Matt wore the camera to chase Nicole (former pro DH racer) down, which was sweet (this woman can fly!).  I am renting a full suspension bike for tomorrow, as we're doing a mega downhill shuttle (as long as it doesn't snow at the top).Finally, back into town, had some food, hung out, then a great dinner with Michael and Sylvi at Buck's.  Massive double pork chop, wine, stories.  Now, back in the Sportsmobile, calling it a night soon, early shuttle ride tomorrow morning.For all the pictures, check my <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/tags/retirementtour/">Retirement Tour tag on Flickr</a>.

Mountain Bike Oregon 2007

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

This past week/weekend, eight friends and I attended Mountain Bike Oregon. ??There were some rough edges for the event, but we wound up having a pretty great time, and some superb riding. ??Matt took his new Sportsmobile on pretty much its maiden voyage here, and I slept in the top bunk during the trip - very cush, and certainly nicer than camping. ??Some of the others had an RV, and Rich and Barry each slept in a tent. ??On Thursday when some of us had arrived, we did a quick two hours on the south side of the Salmon Creek trail. ??This is a really cool trail. ??I’d expected something kinda lame, since we could just ride to this, and heard it was just a quicky loop from town, but it was very good! ??Very scenic bridge/river crossing bit at the end too. ??Friday was the big epic shuttle of the Middle Fork. ??33 miles I believe, about 5 hours +/- riding time. ??The chaos began in the morning with a bus ride gone wrong: driver got lost. ??What was supposed to be a 1.25 hour shuttle, became 3 hours! ??John, our Google Earth guy, used a GPS and the map and got us on the right track, and we all made the ride and loved it. ??Saturday we did the Tire Mountain/Alpine shuttle, which was just awesome. ??I was totally knackered on the climbs, but the descents were so sweet! ??Lots of long, flowy, fast, tight singletrack, some extreme switchbacks, and just great stuff! ??I ran out of water with about an hour to go, which sucked, but oh well. ??This was a really great trail.??Sunday it had rained all night the night before, and was still in the morning, and most of us had to get going, so we just packed it in and headed out after breakfast in the rain (the MBO folks had put up some tents/EZ-Ups, so it was fine). ??A few of us took pictures:

I rode my Reign for the duration. ??It was great on the Middle Fork, but I think I’d actually rather of had my Niner on Tire. ??There were some rough spots, but I just love my Niner, and the lower center of gravity.The Specialized folks were at MBO, and I got to take a quick spin on their new 5” travel 29er. ??No doubt about it, that’s my next bike - will be getting rid of the Reign for that.

Stellar Ride Today, and I Think I’m Back!

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

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<p>This morning I headed to Brice Creek for a ride. ??After navigating my way through the 2200 roadies taking part in <a href="http://www.cycleoregon.com/">Cycle Oregon</a> (which I may try to do next year, just found out about it this morning), I arrived at the trailhead, where it was 52 degrees. ??Luckily, the slight rain had let up, and the trail was likely to be in perfect condition. ??I was riding my Niner 1x9, and was excited to see how the 1x9 worked out on this trail since it's a rough trail (check the potential chain jump), and has some extremely steep climbing.
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<div>I took off and immediately began to work up a good sweat. ??I had arm warmers and a vest on and shed the vest pretty quickly. ??The trail was feeling great, and I was going nicely. ??I made it to the trail junction for the waterfall in 45 mins, and started up the climb. ??The climb was brutal, and I walked at least half of it. ??It was like doing intervals, because the pitches are so steep (even to hike), and then you get a short breather, and then another bitch of a pitch. ??All of a sudden I reached the falls, and quickly realized, I'd screwed up again, just like when I rode it with Matt! ??I went up the descent! ??Argh--I'd promised myself not to do that. ??The problem with this direction of climbing, is that it is 700' of gain in 1 mile. ??Yep kids, that's a 13% grade on average. ??Uh, huh. ??</div>
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<div>However, I was actually pretty psyched that I'd done this in 25 mins, as memory says it took Matt and I like 40 minutes (of course that day it was also in the 80's, and I know I was suffering on the hike much more). ??I thought for a moment that I'd turn around and head back down to enjoy the descent, but then said, no, I want to see how I screwed up and turned too early, so I headed down the other side. ??This is a fun descent as well - rolling on the top half, and steeper on the bottom. ??Got down, and now know that I have to ride the trail until I get to pavement, then make the 20' hop up the pavement to where the proper entry into the climb lies. ??</div>
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<div>Now is where I start getting pretty excited about my ride though. ??I was feeling good, and so I turned around and rode back up to the falls again! ??Ya baby! ??Climbing this direction it's also 700' of gain (probably more like 850' given that you do a few mini-descents in there, which I saw were 50' of drop or so), but in 2.5 miles. ??As an interesting comparison, this climb I was able to ride much more of, and it took 27 minutes - much longer mileage wise, but the milder overall grade means it only took 2 minutes longer. ??Sweet.</div>
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<div>I proceeded to ride the full rock wall section, and then up and under the falls, and then ripped the descent. ??This side of the descent, being a lot steeper, is just a ton of fun. ??And at this point, I was truly in the zone. ??I was just flying, and maneuvering the bike like nothing else existed, really working the front end hard, and at one with the bike and trail. ??Combine this feeling with the happiness of being able to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style:italic;">want</span> to do the climb again, and I was quit high (no Rich, not like that). ??</div>
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<div>At the bottom of the climb, I could smell the campfire of a nearby camp, and boy did that smell good. ??Just added to the buzz. ??I also realized how little time it'd taken overall so far. ??With that in mind, I put it in race, and flew over the remainder of trail back to the car. ??I finished up the ride, in a total of 2 hours, 44 minutes, for 2800' of climbing. ??Not an epic by any means, but very stoked. ??Further, during various points in the ride, I was doing a lot of standing up and hammering, and it was the first time, in, well, I can't remember, that I actually felt I had some power in my legs. ??This was a really big deal for me, and I am just so psyched! ??It has no doubt helped, that I've ridden 4 times in the preceding week (which is about 3-4 more times than normal ;-)</div>
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<div>The weather was extremely helpful for me today. ??As folks know, I don't like the heat at all, so the temps today (stayed in the 50's all day) were outstanding. ??I did wind up putting the vest back on on the first descent, and never took it back off (even for the 2nd climb). ??Again, just an outstanding ride for me as everything came together, and it is the best I've felt on a ride in a long, long time. ??To top it off, I wasn't even tired when I finished, and had contemplated going back out for another lap, but knew that I wanted to save some juice for tomorrow, as I'm hoping to go ride Waldo Lake, which I hear is about 4-5 hours. ??</div>
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<div>Lastly, the 1x9 worked out just fine. ??There were a couple sections I could have ridden if I had a granny gear, but the majority of the super steep pitches I'd have had to hike even with a granny gear. ??I had two close calls crash wise: one where I hit my pedal pretty hard going round a corner at high speed, throwing me a good bit, but rode it out, and second where I lost the front wheel in a fast corner, having it slide a ways, but then I think it caught on something and carved out the rest of the turn. ??A very good day, can't wait to see what tomorrow brings...</div>

6.5" Travel Niner On the Way

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

It’s super exciting to see Niner getting close on their 6.5" travel freeride 29er! While I don’t see picking one of these up myself very soon, I could in fact see ditching my DH bike, and using this instead. MOre versatile, pedalable, etc. I could use this at placed like Black Rock, Tahoe/Northstar, Whistler, etc. And, for what I’m after these days, it’d be sweet. I’m not as into doing the big drops (well, what were big for me, at the over 6 foot range, but below 10’).This bike has some really well thought out bits: dishless rear wheel, use of Maxle oversize axle and QR in on rear wheel, very short chainstays, etc. Go check it out, this is going to be a superb ride.

Maxle: the Ultimate QR/Axle?

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Today was my first exposure to RockShox’ Maxle 20mm thru axle/quick release combo. I mounted up my new Lyric fork, and of course it has a Maxle. All I can say is, this is it, this is the ultimate axle/QR I’ve used! It is so darn easy to use, and it seems to combine all the good attributes of any of the other designs. For example, I liked what Manitou did with their hex-axle, so that the axle wouldn’t twist/spin. Maxle solves that because it threads in. Maxle’s quick release is trivialy easy and nice to use, and there are no pinch bolts, no tools needed, etc. Basically, all the advantages of 20mm thru axles, combined with all the advantages of a standard QR. I love it. Now I can’t wait to ride the Lyric. Maiden voyage will be this Saturday (unless I sneak out sooner).

Incredible New Bike GPS/Power Meter/Cyclometer - Open Source

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Jay tipped me off to this amazing, at least from a geek point of view new bike bit. A new company, Quark, has applied open source, and open standards to bike equipment, specifically power meters, GPS, heart rate monitors, and cyclometers.

Quark has a crank spider that can replace the spider on many cranksets, including FSA, TruVativ, Cannondale, Rotor, and they’re working on others. In the spider is a all the bits for power measurement, as well as a temperature range compensation mechanism to help deal with adjustments in measurement (I’m presuming for other things, unless that affects power measurement). It also has the new Ant +Four transmitter system. As they describe in the above video, this is “like bluetooth for bicycles.” It’s a new standard from Garmin, and is intended to be just like Bluetooth to transmit data between heart rate monitors, GPS, power meters, cyclometers, and so on. Very cool.

Now, going further, they have a head unit, aka the cyclometer/computer part, that is pretty sick. It can be mounted portrait/veritcal or landscape/horizontal, has a nice big color screen, and does everything: GPS, power meter, usual cyclometer stuff, etc. But, the even crazier catch? It’s Linux based, and completely open source! Ok, this is getting into the geeky part for sure, but what is so great about this is that it means anyone who wants can hack on it. They said there is an XML file that controls the layout of the display and what info is there, and more. Presumably given it’s Linux and open source, you could go really wild with this, and completely modify the software. My hat is off to them, as this is really a big step forward in this part of the industry. So, even though most people wouldn’t be hacking on it themselves, what you may find is that a whole cottage industry of mods will be available, allowing you to just download some new software or a new file, etc. and it will change the appearance or functionality of your unit. Good stuff.

Top Tube Pads/Protectors

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Check out these cool top tube protectors from Yancopads!

Cycling Podcasts

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I just found the Crooked Cog podcast, courtesy of the twentynineinches.com site. Haven’t listened to it yet, but looks like it has potential. I’ve listened to a couple of Specialized's podcasts. What others are out there that are at least halfway good?I should note that I’m familiar with VeloNews, Bicycing magazine, Zipp, and various other more commercial entries, but haven’t been interested in those. Obviously everyone’s taste varies, but if you have ones you really like, lemme know!

Film Screening: Lost & Found from TGR

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I went to see the screening of Lost and Found from Teton Gravity Research on Thursday night. The venue was the McDonald Theatre in Eugene, which seats 700-800 people, and it was packed. There were a few booths in the entry way: local ski shop (Berg’s), a raffle booth (raising money for kids ski team), Amp beverage (no thanks), and Willamette Pass ski area. I lingered for a little bit as I was there somewhat early, and then parked my butt in a prime spot in the theater. Note, if you are hardcore and want to not have any knowledge of the film before watching it, skip reading this…

Before the movie started they threw various schwag into the crowd: t-shirts, socks, stickers, etc. Then they fired up the film. The opening scene was good, and then I believe the second main segment was with Kye Petersen, who is 17 years old. I may have been biased by the fact that the kid is 17, but holy crap, this kid absolutely rocked it! He was skiing some big mountain terrain, combined with throwing stylin’ airs, flips, and just nailing it. I would say this was one of the best segments of the film.

There was a lot of good footage, in particular of really steep stuff in Alaska and a few other places, shot with helmet cams. This was just awesome. I haven’t kept up on ski films much, so I don’t know how much helmet cam work has been done, but they had a lot here, and it was awesome. Seeing what the skier sees, especially in these far more extreme environments was just phenomenal. Amazing what these guys are doing - it really gives you an appreciation for their ability to work a line that they can hardly see half the time.

Further into the movie was the Eric Roner segment where he ski-base-jumps a 192’ cliff in Jackson. I think the whole crowd thought he was actually going to huck it just on skis, and it really seemed anti-climactic when you finally watched the whole thing top to bottom and saw him pull the chute. There was this subdued utterance from the crowd denoting the let-down. Granted, it was still a sick trick, because that is a very short base jump (I think they say 150’ is the absolute bare minimum, so he was real close, combined with skiing into it (which means added speed as compared to just jumping off it from a stand still), but still. The rest of his segment was good too though.

My other favorite part was some incredibly deep and light powder stuff. Sorry, I’ve forgotten the couple folks that were in it (Chris Collins maybe?). I would term this the most “beautiful” segment of the flick.

Oh, ya, one other fun bit - watching the heli rest it’s nose on a knife edge and drop Nobis and dudes off. Way sketch for all involved, and pretty sweet shot of the heli.

All in all, fun times, and always good to see in a theater to hear the whole crowd oohing and ahing. Go check it out at a theater near you.

Lyric 2 Step mounted on my Reign

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

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<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/534149509/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1276/534149509_b5a75c77a4_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/534149509/">Lyric 2 Step mounted on my Reign</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Today I mounted up my new RockShox Lyric 2 Step fork on the Reign.  Easy of course.  I have to say, as per my previous post, the Maxle is just amazingly easy and nice to use.  See <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey">my Flickr photos</a> for more pics if you want.

Schwalbe Big Apple 29×2.35 Tires

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Got a chance to put in some good time on the Schwalbe Big Apple 29x2.35 tires today. What a blast. They’re basically a nearly-slick cruiser tire - big volume, great ride. I did an all-pavement, town ride today. Goofed around on and off sidewalks and other urban areas, powered up some solid climbing, ripped some very fast descents. These things are just so fun. They provide some much desired extra suspension on the fully rigid Niner, and I’m looking forward to the Panaracer Rampage 2.3’s that are on the way for off-road duty.

Snow/Winter Camping Class

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Last night I attended a winter/snow camping basics class at REI. It was given by the woman, Amanda, as the Map & Compass 101 class I took last week. Amanda is REI’s Outreach coordinator, and does a lot of the classes. She’s good at it, and makes the class enjoyable.

I have never gone camping in the snow or serious winter conditions, but I’ve wanted to do so this winter, for some of the same reasons Amanda pointed out: there are far fewer people out camping in the winter, the solitude, and the potential of building a snow shelter :) I am intrigued by the idea of going to an area where I can say take my camera gear, and snowshoe around for a while, taking pictures, hiking, exploring, etc., and staying there a couple days. The extent of it that I do I don’t now yet - i.e. I don’t know whether I’ll just go to Waldo lake, drive in to a camp site, pitch my tent and use that as base camp, or whether I’ll backpack in a ways somewhere, hauling all my gear, and then setup camp. It was suggested to start that you don’t go too far from your car, so that if you forget something, or wind up being miserable for some reason (although part of the class was to ensure you won’t be miserable), you can exit if needed, or at least run back to your car for something.

The class covered trip planning, clothing, gear, food, travel, camping aspects, and hazards. Amanda had a lot of product there for us to compare and contrast to, so that we could readily see the difference between, for example, a down vs. synthetic sleeping bag, wool vs. synthetic layers, and so on. I have been in the market for a new sleeping bag, so this in particular was very interesting, and I’m sold on down (previously I’ve gone synthetic, although, uh, I think my existing sleeping bag is at least 15 years old, so it’s not as if I have recent experience).

One of the other quite interesting topics was shelter: tent vs. bivy and/or tarp, vs. snow shelter or snow cave, etc. Amanda never uses a tent, and most often builds a snow shelter (aka a digloo), or uses a tarp. She loves building the snow shelters. I myself am quite interested in non-tent options. Tents are great, but one drawback in the winter is condensation. Admittedly, the easiest, and potentially safest route for me to start out though is likely going to be a tent, I just don’t really want to have to carry that in if I don’t have to.

Amanda also recommended the book,

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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1575400766?ie=UTF8&tag=mountainmonkeys-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1575400766">Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book</a>

. Don’t be scared off by the comical cover and such, the book has really good info and is what she used to learn. She doe a lot of winter camping/backpacking, ski backpacking, etc.

Lots of other good tips on things like stoves and cooking, water purification, keeping warm, and so on. One other little interesting nugget was these pretty cool folding bowls. Amanda claims she has chucked all her old bowls, and only uses these now. They’re really cool in that they open up flat, and are probably easier to pack, super light, etc., but they still work really well.

Now it’s time for me to gear up. Thankfully they also gave out 15% off coupons last night :) REI has already received a ton of money from me this year, so I shall be getting a pretty massive dividend…

Silverton Record Snowfall - Incredible Early Season Pow!

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Matt, who’s now living in Silverton, and most definitely reaping the benefits emailed me to mention (brag?) about Silverton’s crazy early season snow conditions. From the Silverton email:

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<blockquote><a href="http://www.silvertonmountain.com/gallery/index.php?gallery=December%2520%25208%2520%2526%25209%25202007"><img src="http://www.silvertonmountain.com/gallery/galleries/December%20%208%20&%209%202007/_thumbs/375x250-Barneyairweb12-09-07.jpg" align="right" border=0 /></a>
Silverton, Colo., December 10, 2007???This December is one to remember.  Another 10??? of new snow fell overnight, bringing the upper mountain base to 110 inches deep!  There has been 40??? of new snow that has fallen on Silverton Mountain in the last 48 hours and 90??? of new snow in the last week.  The only larger storm to hit Silverton Mountain was during the record setting winter of 2005 which dropped 117??? in one long storm cycle that lasted 13 days.

 
Silverton Mountain does not usually have a 100??? base until February, making this the deepest base Silverton Mountain has ever had in any December on record.  Silverton Mountain is known for having ???Expert Only??? ski terrain and skiers that love to jump of cliffs and ski tight chutes.  With the fantastic base right now skiers have been jumping off 30 foot high cliffs, and steep 50 degree chutes that normally are not skiable until late in the season (see 6 quality photos attached).

 
The sky finally cleared for a few hours on Sunday allowing the weekend skiers to enjoy some unbelievable bluebird powder conditions.  By Sunday evening the snow returned and the dumping continued on.</blockquote>

The pictures in the email were pretty sick. The photos are all available on Silverton’s web site, but are unfortunately the small versions. Still, check it out.

Also, I’ve been helping Matt build a community web site for Silverton folks, it’s early, but feel free to check out Basecamp Silverton.

Resources

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Schools, Classes, and Related

Michael Clark's Photography

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Michael Clark

Awesome Road Ride with 16% Grade Dirt Road Climb!

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I planned a fairly epic (for me) road ride on Saturday. It did not disappoint. First, it was cold - 41 degrees when I left, and stayed that way through the shaded country roads for most of the ride. I made it harder on myself (not on purpose), but not putting my jacket on until halfway through. I had a windproof type jersey on and a windproof fleece-lined vest, but when it’s really cold, those just don’t keep you warm. Heh, I was also wearing not only a skullcap, but also my Surly wool cap. I wished I had something to close/block the major vents in my helmet though (if anyone thinks a modern helmet like the Giro Atmos makes them hot, they’re crazy).View Larger MapI had plotted out my ride on Google Maps, targeting 50 miles. Late in the ride I was having some leg strain, so I took one short cut, and the ride wound up being 47 miles. The ride featured just shy of 4000’ of climbing, took 3 hours and 18 minutes (ride time), and featured some interesting roads!The first 15 miles occurred on roads I’d ridden before. From there though, I turned onto Battle Creek, and shortly thereafter things got interesting. The road started out small and right off there was a cool covered bridge to ride through. I believe this was the first covered bridge I’ve ridden over. About a mile or two later though, the climbing began, and then, almost immediately after that the road turned to dirt! And, to make things even more interesting, the grade just kept increasing. It hit 13% right quick, and then throughout the rest of the climb, there were sections of 16%. Ya baby, mini Giro! Ok, yes, very mini, but hey, I dig this stuff.So, while I’m loving this, the road of course had to then turn into a descent. Now normally, this would be much welcomed, but two things: It was 41 degrees, and more tricky, it was a relatively steep dirt and gravel road descent. I enjoy this, but had to watch it of course, not wanting to flat. The climb had been a mile or two, and the descent was probably a solid two miles. Chilly, but pretty fun. I was surfing back and forth across the gravel central line looking for the smoothest side. Good times.Oh, the other tricky point… the dirt roads, with a bunch of little offshoots, didn’t inspire confidence that I’d known when I’d hit Panther Creek, or how well it’d be marked. Just as I was getting a bit nervous though, ah, Panther Creek and pavement. I had mixed feelings about the pavement though. I actually love riding dirt roads on my road bike. I’d held off from them for a long while after getting my custom Calfee and riding Reynolds carbon wheels, thinking I wanted to protect them. But these days I’ve been riding them more (I’m also riding my Campy Eurus wheels though).The other half of this loop, Wolf Creek, featured a pretty sweet descent. Luckily by this time I’d put on my jacket and was somewhat warmer. The temps were up to maybe 44-46 at this point, but honestly, I was still pretty chilly. Time for some food. Sucked down a Clif Mojo bar (my favorite), and headed towards Crow.By the time I arrived in Crow, my right leg was feeling a bit strained, like a cramp might be coming on. I realized it was the first time in a long time I hadn’t taken Sport Legs before riding, and I didn’t have any Enduralytes with me. I stopped in at the Crow County Store, as V8 was calling. After passing by the big dudes buying cases of Bud, I snagged a V8 and some peanut butter/cheese crackers. V8 has got to be the most well kept secret when it comes to mid-ride convenience store liquids.This is also where I took my shortcut, cutting out about 2-3 miles. I was back on familiar roads. Another freezer descent, but then back into the sun. I was in the final stretches, with of course the final climb being fairly burly (gradients in the teens). Pushed through, with one stop for the nice fall color on the final climb. Arrived home, psyched, but fairly blown. Inhaled some recovery drink, oh, and ya, some more V8. I had also warmed up nicely by now.Not long after it was off for burgers and Bloody Mary’s. And after that, I was in that blissful, yet totally knackered, post big ride, post big food, state - an achy and great, near coma state. tagsbike, rides, Eugene/tags

Up in Alaska: Jill's Subarctic Journal

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Check out this blog: Up in Alaska: Jill's Subarctic Journal. Jill is working on doing the human powered Iditarod, as well as she does other long distance, extreme weather events. A recent entry shows an epic training ride: 68 miles, 9 hours, in 19 degree weather, in the snow, etc. Frickin awesome! Go Jill!

Crossmax 29er Wheels and Tubeless Setup

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

HTML parse error: 
<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1461731000/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1099/1461731000_2cdfbebf26_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1461731000/">Niner Crossmax Update</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>I received my C29ssmax (Crossmax 29er) wheels yesterday, and got them mounted up today.  They are sweet!  First, I'm stunned by how easily I was able to mount up non-UST tires tubeless.  I used some used Panaracer Rampages with Stans.  When I first mounted them, I was worried because they fit really loosely.  But, amazingly, I was able to inflate them first shot, with a <em>floor pump</em>!  This doesn't even work half the time with UST tires (at least in my experience).  Very nice.The wheels ride great.  They feel a smidge lighter than my WTB Laserdisc Lites (they should, they're a 1/2 pound lighter, but I haven't weighed the bike to see what the overall weight difference is, given the other factor of tubeless vs. yes-tubes).<p style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1460870627/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1032/1460870627_761ccb7732_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1460870627/">Crossmax disc bolts</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Another interesting bit is that my front 7" disc is now perfectly quiet, whereas before I was getting some rub and squeek, even after several  remounting/adjustments.  Check out the picture of the disc bolts though - they just go straight through the mount.  Wild.Very happy to have these wheels, and I can't wait to get into some terrain that really showcases the tubeless advantage.  Need to go ride MRT again or something.

Custom Eriksen Seat Post

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

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<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/606694451/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1324/606694451_6c3c5df6eb_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/606694451/">Eriksen Seat Post</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>I received my custom Kent Eriksen seat post, and have now mounted it on my Niner.  This is absolutely a beautiful piece of jewelry, I mean, bicycle component!  Check out the picture.  At 430mm it's very long (which I needed, or wanted to ensure a longer than minimum extension down into my frame).  Another picture on my Flickr page shows the length if you're interested.

If I could run any retail business…

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Matt told me about Mojo this evening, as we discussed my new espresso machine setup. ??One of my dreams for a while now, has been to open a combo high end bike shop and high end espresso cafe. ??Both would be done top notch - it wouldn’t just be another bike shop that happened to have an espresso machine inside with untrained, or poorly trained baristas (aka the bike shop folks who’ve been told quickly to slap some coffee in the portafilter, and press a button, etc.). ??Anyway, this Mojo shop in San Francisco looks pretty close to what I’d want to do. ??Now I just have to make a zillion bucks first, so I can bankroll the shop, and know that I likely wouldn’t actually make money running such a shop (Mojo might make it in a place like SF where there’s a crapload of money, and good taste in coffee, but many other places it’d be tough). ??

It's Not Bad Weather

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I read with joy, this Bicyles and Icicles blog entry, about how weather isn’t bad, unless it’ll kill your house or similar (e.g. hurricane), it’s just otherwise weather. Tim rides in nearly all weather, and was commenting on how folks will offer him rides, or say he’s crazy, or just think weather is bad. I feel the same way though, I like all the different kinds of weather. I love the rain (otherwise I wouldn’t have moved to Oregon) – the sounds it makes, the way it cleans up the surrounding environment, kids splashing in puddles; love a wicked snow storm – it creates a superb quiet that I love, as well as makes for great pow skiing. I’m not as big a fan of huge wind storms, but again, it’s just weather.

When I lived in Northern California, I rode in any kind of weather, and some friends often called me Aquaman, because I’d go out and do road bike rides in rainstorms, whereas most guys opted to not ride, or ride an indoor trainer. I hate exercising indoors, so to me, and riding in the rain has never bothered me. On the mountain bike, riding in the rain can be awesome - it creates new/different technical challenges. I don’t like super sticky mud, but that’s easy, I ride somewhere that doesn’t have that :)

Matt is experiencing some seriously cold temps lately in Silverton, CO, waking up to -13 degrees F this morning. I kind of wish I was there, it’s just sort of interesting to me.

Ok, so is there anything I don’t like, well, of course! I hate the heat. I still ride in it, and live, but I left the area of Nor Cal where we were in part because of it. The funny thing is that I think there is almost nobody who thinks severe heat is “bad weather”! At least, if there are, I don’t think I’ve met them. Maybe when temps are into the 100-teens, and people start dying, ok, maybe then they’ll say it’s bad, but 105 and they’re out tanning. Yeesh. Ok, so I don’t go out and tan anyway, but I likely won’t ride in this either, since it could actually hurt me - but in that case, it’s just what it is, and it means I need to ride early in the day or at night.

Obviously, as you can tell, I actually love weather, weather changes, the seasons, etc. I grew up where there were no seasons (on the beach in Southern California) - you judged weather by waking up, looking outside, and if it looked cloudy or foggy, you added a sweatshirt to your likely shorts-and-t-shirt wardrobe. But now, I simply cannot live without seasons, it drives me crazy when it’s essentially the same all year round. I do definitely prefer cooler weather, but like Tim said, most weather is simply that, weather, not bad weather. End of rant, move along now…

Matt Helping Baja 1000 Trophy Truck Team

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Fellow Mountain Monkey, Matt, has embarked a pretty sweet volunteer gig… He’s helping the T-Force Motor Sports team in their quest to win the Trophy Truck class of Baja 1000. Their web site, which will feature live race tracking, has gone live. Check out the picture of the sweet truck (and specs, etc.) by clicking on the Team section of the home page.

Also, BF Goodrich has a historical film, and full race tracking on this site.

Brice Creek Ride On Niner

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I rode Brice Creek today. This is an excellent trail, and was perfect for what I wanted today. It’s on the shorter side as compared to the mtb rides I’ve done here in OR so far, as I spent exactly 2.5 hours out on the trail, which included flailing around at one trail junction trying to figure out where to go (which turned out to be relatively easy, but I had mis-interpreted the directions I had).The trail has some nice rocky bits, and superb views, of both the river/creek, and the waterfall. The pictures linked to above show the waterfall, which is cool, because you can actually ride behind it. This was certainly the first time I’ve ridden behind/under a waterfall.I rode my Niner today which was wonderful. I just have so muc fun with this bike. Sure, it does float over the rocky bits, or land airs like my Reign, but it’s just a ton of fun, and is a nice change of pace.Drove home, and as I got into town, conversed with the family, and picked up some excellent Mexican at Fina Taqueria, and ate at a park. Gorgeous day too.

Bike parts, clothes, frames, etc. for sale

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Recently got a bunch of photos and descriptions of random bike stuff I have for sale. Just a bunch of random stuff, but check it out.

The "Snowman" Trek: Month-long Himalayan Trek, and My Upcoming Trip Desires

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

National Geographic Adventure magazine’s latest issue has a great article on the "Snowman" trek in Bhutan. It was a fascinating article, and honestly, I would be seriously interested in doing this trek. The referenced article link looks like it is the full article from the print magazine, but I’m not certain. Regardless, it’s a very good read.

Over the last about two years or so, my interests in the kind of events or adventures I do has shifted from being more adrenaline oriented towards that of being a really great “journey” or “adventure”, or “experience”. This really centers around mountain biking (or road riding as well), but I’ve been doing a bit of hiking, and my wife and I are discussing a backpacking trip this summer (we have never done a true backpacking trip (plenty of camping though)). I’ve been enjoying longer rides, and have been itching to do either a hut-to-hut trip again, or some other multi-day journey.

Some friends and I have been starting to consider a multi-day, full backcountry mtb trip. We’ve been looking at everything from a trip designed completely by us, fully self-sufficient, to things like the Ride the Divide, a 3 day, 100 mile mtb event in Colorado. My interests have really gone towards it being minimal people, very backcountry, as well as a very relaxed attitude (which doesn’t mean we won’t be doing big days or tough terrain, just that the people are relaxed and have the right attitudes). Unfortunately the two guys most likely to want to do this are both laid up with injuries at the moment.

Likely independant of that, I am working on a small Oregon tour for myself and friends this summer. Camp-based, and riding in a couple spots: North Umpqua, MRT, and Waldo are probably the requisites, and hopefully this one epic day in Bend (70 miles from what I hear).

Great, Cold Road Ride

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Yesterday I did a great road ride, that was also very cold (which was mostly my fault). I headed out in the morning for a 40 miler. It was about 45 degrees when I left. I was dressed reasonably, except when doing long descents at 35-40mph! I had mapped out a route using Google Maps, but one roughly 4 mile chunk of my ride turned out to be a non-existant road! I should have used the Hybrid view in Google Maps to determine if the roads existed as looking at that I’m sure I would have second guessed it (the road does not show connecting, etc.). It didn’t matter though, as the road I was on that I thought it forked off, continued to the same eventual point anyway. But, this particular road, is a 4 mile descent, and a good one at that, with sustained speeds of 35mph+ (I think I hit in the low 40mph’s during the descent and I wasn’t pedaling much, because I was freezing).I say the cold was my fault, because I didn’t take a jacket. Dumb, but I thought I was set sufficiently, based on the ride I’d done the day before that was just about as cold, and where I was dressed a bit too warm. Yet this ride, I was wearing fleece-lined tights (day before had just knee warmers), Pearli Amfib shoe covers (day before none), and then a wind proof and fleece-lined vest (no vest day before). But, that long descent just froze me to the core. The temps were a bit lower than the day before, but still. It took me a good 20+ minutes to get relatively warm again, and for the rest of the ride I relished the climbs. But, it was an overall great riding day, and the ache the cold and decent mileage (for me) put in to my legs felt great. It has motivated me to do a 50 miler tomorrow (Saturday). I’ve made sure to check the roads with the Hybrid view in Google maps this time. Still some potential for bad, but these roads look more “major” (as far as country roads go :) Oh, and they aren’t called “Foot Path”, which I think was truly a foot path, and not a road.With the slight route deviation, the ride wound up being 38.3 miles, 3550’ of climbing, and took about 2 hours 38 minutes. The most interesting bit from my cyclometer had to be the max percent grade that occurred during the ride: 18%! Wowzers. I know there are some steep sections along the way, but I think that is bogus. I’ve climbed up Blanton the steep way, and that seems to max out at about 16-17%, and I don’t recall anything on yesterday’s ride being as steep, but who knows. It’s not exact either of course.

Perforce for CruiseControl.rb

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I used to use Perforce heavily, and needed support for it in CruiseControl.rb. Thus, I provide here the Perforce support I wrote for CruiseControl.rb, as-is, without warranty, etc. I no longer use Perforce (stopped using this about mid, to later, 2007), so I cannot verify that it works with the latest versions. But for those who have been looking for this, here you go. Note that I blogged about this previously (on my main blog ”Code Intensity”).
perforce.rb
To install/use it:

Put the above file into your cruisecontrol/app/models directory.
Manually setup your project:
Create a directory under the cruisecontrol/projects directory.
Place a cruise_config.rb file in it. It should contain something like the following in order to use Perforce:

Project.configure do |project|

  project.source_control = Perforce.new(

    :port => 'your.perforce.server:1666',

    :clientspec => 'clientspec-for-cruisecontrol',

    :user => 'buildusername',

    :password => 'builduserpassword',

    :path => '//depot/path/to/your/rails/app/...')

end

Human Flying Squirrels

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

A friend sent this to me - video of what amounts to human flying squirrels. It’s some guys in “wing suits” flying through the mountains. It’s awesome, amazing, and pretty sick. You’ve got to wonder what the first time is like, as I’m guessing there is just no way to ease into this “sport”!

I've Forgotten How To Ride Casually

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I realized today, as I pedaled around town, that casual riding feels completely foreign to me. I’ve ridden in such a serious, competitive, or hard core way for so long now, that I can’t get on a bike and not want to go hard, wear the full gear, etc. I can’t seem to bring myself to get on a bike and not be wearing a $100+ chamois, gloves, cycling shoes, and so on. Not wearing a helmet is out of the question (and should be required for anyone whose brain is worth saving; if you think you don’t need to wear a helmet…).

Anyway, so I’m relearning how to ride “casually.” How to ride at a pace where I don’t break a sweat, to fully enjoy the scenery, to ride with no intention other than to be on a bike and out enjoying life, ride for transportation, or whatever. It’s been fun getting back to this. Don’t get me wrong, I am still going to be hammering whenever I can, but this adds a new dimension to my cycling life, and I love it. Today I actually hit the grocery store as part of my ride. Picked up a few things for dinner. It was the first time I’ve locked up a bike (other than on my car’s rack), probably since college!The next phase in this process is to ride into town and work a few hours in a coffee shop (Wandering Goat probably) once in a while. Luckily the big hills are always on the way home, so I can coast and soft-pedal it down to the shop, then get the workout on the way home. This way I also won’t be stinking out my cafe mates :)

Great, Hillarious Rock Climbing Report

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

A friend sent me a link to his freiends’ trip report from a climb of the Fisher Towers. The report is pretty hillarious, featuring beer, bats(!), and some pictures. Enjoy.

Mike Curiak's Blog

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Another great blog, linked to from Jill’s Subarctic Journal: Mike Curiak???s blog is about custom 29er wheels, riding in the winter in Alaska, Iditabike, and so on. I’ve been spending some time reading it tonight, as there’s a lot of good stuff. For example, check out his custom Moot's snow bike, including the rigid double-triple clamp titanium fork, that doubles as storage for camp stove fuel. As it turns out the whole bike stores fuel!

Or, he’s got a rather interesting entry on the food he ate during the 2000 and 2002 Iditarod Impossible (1100 mile Iditabike race). I know if I ate 240 Clif Bars, I’d be in a hospital, if even alive. Yikes. The bacon, even if turkey, on the other hand, yum :)

Anyway, some great reading there.

A Fully Rigid Transition - Rich’s Take

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

One of my Team Baggy buddies, Rich, had some great words in response to my first real 29er ride, so consider this a guest entry:

I think you're on your way to becoming a fully rigid 29er singlespeeder and you just don't know it yet! Not quite, but I do think you will ride that bike more, and come to love it, perhaps more than any other bike you are currently riding. Here's why, in my own experience, I say that: First, it is a simple bike and will always be ready to ride right out the garage with no fuss. ( That aint no NIXON Fork on there ) and second you will be riding this bike right out the garage, whenever you want, on your own schedule, for whatever pupose your heart desires. In other words this bike will bring you back to the true freedom of the wheels that our first bikes brought us when we were kids. You will get to know the lay of the land in your new community looking over the front end of this bike and so, in a way, it will become your best friend for exploring the local rides available to you. And, I've discovered this for myself on the monocog, because the bike is fully rigid you don't want to load it up in a car and take it to Grouse Ridge. That's a good thing because what it means is that this bike is aching to rock out on the "trails in the hood"! Give me buff dirt roads, give me swoopy "easy" single track near town, give me mixed dirt and road rides that I'd never even looked twice at before on my road bike or my F.S. mtn bike....You'll be out on the niner for short "workout" rides close to town and you won't need to spend an hour prepping the bike, drive anywhere, or scare up a ride buddy, just plug in your i-pod and go ride for an hour or two. A month from now your fitness level will be way up and the sky is the limit as to how far you want to go with challangeing yourself in this regard. Monday, after getting back from Moab, I looked at my tired, muddy, sqeaky, loose pivot linkage, Blur and said "thanks for all the great rides in Moab" and then turned my back on her ( instead of spending two hours cleanaing her up for the next ride) and rode the moncog to Nevada City and back on a variety of dirt roads and pavement. I bought a beverage in N.C. and sat on a bench and watched the middle aged shopper hotties strut their stuff between botique shops ( thinking, "thank God she's not my wife!") before hopping back on my ride and dissapearing into the wooods on the "backside" of town. I'm glad I had the Blur to ride in Moab, but for the close to home stuff, I love the monocog. I think you'll even come to love the fully rigid bit of it. It will force you to re-think your riding style as you've already noticed. You'll find yourself out of the saddle looking for the sweet line that "flows" Once you start riding like that, and you happen to go our for a "real" ride on the Reign, you will be amazed at how well you climb and fly over obstacles in ways you never even considered before. You will be more effecient and fit and ride with a new sense of "flow" and it will all be better than ever before thanks to that rigid 29er of yours! just a few thoughts and predictions from my own experiences....Rich??

WTB Weirwolf 2.55 LT 29er First Impressions

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Today was my first ride on the WTB Weirwolf 2.55 LT 29er tire. ??I had it mounted up front on my fully rigid Niner. ??After inflating it, I was rather disappointed in the size. ??It seemed smaller than my Panaracer Rampage 2.35’s. ??Upon measuring them, the Weirwolf has a wider casing/volume, but the Rampage has wider knobs. ??The “LT” portion is definitely true as well, I’d call this tire a semi-knob, as the knobs are very short, and not aggressive. ??I rode the local Ridgeline area, which is mild. ??The tire has decent volume, and felt squishy enough, but I did not find I felt confidence with it in the corners. ??It was fine on tacky soil, and at slower speeds, but when things got going fast, and there was a bit of loose, and really, I mean, only very minimal loose dirt, covering harder soil, it just didn’t feel like it was holding that well, or felt like it was going to go at any second. ??I did not lose it, but, I didn’t feel I could push it as hard either.In part, I suspect this tire is not intended for technical, or really aggressive riding, but who knows. ??It certainly seems to roll fast, and the large volume is great (although I didn’t feel to be much more noticeable than the Rampages). ??If you ride mild terrain, and want a large volume, fast roller, it’s probably a good choice. ??For me though, I think I will likely not be using it much more, but sticking with the dual Rampages, as they simply rock. ??I’ll put some more rides on the Weirwolf to see for sure though.

Maverick Speedball R seatpost: get one!

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I recently put a Maverick Speedball R on my Reign. After only one ride, I can’t imagine not having one of these on my all-mountain bike! This thing simply rocks! I chose the Speedball over a Gravity Dropper for two reasons:

The infinite adjustability within the range of travel. ??The Gravity Dropper has two settings, drop 1" or drop 3".
The more polished/refined design.

Now, the Gravity Dropper may be your only choice depending on your seatpost/seat tube size, because the Mavericks only come in 30.9 and one other larger size I believe, whereas the Gravity Droppers can be had in 27.2, etc. ??What I found, as others told me, is that once you install one of these and ride with it, you will use it a lot! ??And indeed I did. ??The first ride I had it on was the Middle Fork trail in Oakridge, OR. ??This is a trail that is over 30 miles of rolling singletrack. ??There is a lot of variation. ??The first section for example has a lot of switchbacks (descending), and I dropped the post down all the way for these super tight switches. ??Much of the rest of the trail has a lot of medium-level technical stuff (roots, creek crossings, tight turns through trees, etc.). ??I love being able to drop my post just a little bit for a lot of this, as I’m 6’2” and being able to simply drop my center of gravity, and get a bit more wiggle room while remaining seated makes the bike perform a lot better. ??The Speedball made this so convenient: no stopping to drop the post (or before the Speedball, in many cases I wouldn’t have stopped), and then the ability to be right back to full seatpost height when needed. ??I can’t say it enough, the convenience factor, of not having to get off your bike, but being able to adjust your post height is just huge, and you will find you use it a lot.To really drive home how much I like this post, consider this: I am looking at a new full suspension bike (I want a 29er FS, now that I am completely sold on 29ers). ??The Speedball is so key to me, that it may directly determine which bike I buy! ??Right now I think I’ll go either with the new Specialized Stumpjumper FSR SJ 29er, or a ??Niner Rip 9. ??The Sumpjumper has a 30.9 seatpost size, and would allow me to just move my Speedball over. ??The Rip 9 uses a 31.6 which happens to be the other Speedball size. ??Phew! ??I had thought I would rule out the Rip 9, because my Niner MCR 9 has a 27.2 seatpost and I thought that the Rip 9 would as well, but luckily it does not. ??But, that drives the point home - I almost ruled out a bike based on the seatpost size because I wouldn’t be able to run a Speedball! ??The Speedball (and the Gravity Dropper) are very expensive in terms of a seatpost ($250 for the remote versions, which you should definitely get - don’t even bother with the non-remote versions), but 100% worth it. ??This has to be the best accessory I’ve come across in a long time.

Tahoe-Sierra 110: Endurance MTB Race

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Check out this new event, the Tahoe-Sierra 110 (or 100 if you’re riding it solo). The course/map is not available until race day. It sounds pretty interesting, see all the details on their site.

Figuring Out the Percent Grade of A Climb

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

You always hear about the percent grade of climbs during the grand tours, or other road races. The final climb up to my house after any road ride is a fairly harsh way to finish up a ride, and I wanted to see what it was.I realized I wasn’t truly sure how they determined what the percent grade of a climb was. As it turns out, it’s pretty simple, it’s just rise over run, or the tangent of the angle. So, you can easily figure out the average gradient of a climb by using Google Maps for quick distance, and Google Earth for the elevations. You don’t need addresses in Google Maps, just find the area on the map, and right click to set start and end points. In Google Earth you can just hover over the spot and look at the status info at the bottom to see the altitude (in meters). Using that, I found that the average gradient, over the .7 mile last climb to my house is 9.2%. Not too shabby.Now go figure out the pain of your local climb…

My Retirement Tour 2007

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Matt and I have finally settled on some dates for what I’ve nicknamed the “Retirement Tour 2007” (in hopes that there will be more in the future). Matt sold all his houses (yes, multiple), and picked up a small place in Silverton, CO, and a Sportsmobile (SMB) and is now traveling around, doing a lot of riding, traveling, and this winter, chasing powder. He’s Living The Life. Since I recently quit my job, and am only now working part time, I’m temporarily, and partly retired. So, I’m joining Matt for about a week to do some good riding. Matt will start off in Silverton in the SMB, visit some family, and then we’ll meet up in Flagstaff. We’ll do some riding around there, Sedona, etc., then likely head up to Moab for a day, then to Fruita and Grand Junction for more riding, where I’ll finally fly back from Junction. Here’s a map of Matt's SMB route.I have chosen to bring my Niner full rigid on the trip, but will be renting a Niner Rip 9 for my time in Arizona, thanks to Absolute Bikes in Flagstaff. I plan to get a full suspension 29er next spring, and it’s down to the Rip 9 or Specialized's new Stumpjumper 29er. This will be a great way to get in some serious test riding on the Rip 9. I’m waiting to find out about any full suspension 29ers that Over the Edge Sports has in Fruita. If they have something, then I may rent there as well.The flights for me, flying from/to Eugene airport, are pretty crappy (i.e. the only flight out of Eugene to Flagstaff on the 13th, departs at 5:40am!), but it’s a small price to pay for should be a great trip. During the trip, we’ll “live” in the SMB, as we did at Mountain Bike Oregon. This should give us great flexibility in where we want to go on any given day, and we don’t have to worry about hotel reservations, etc. We are also thinking we’ll take a short side trip to the Grand Canyon, since essentially neither of us have been (Matt was there when we was too young to remember it), and we’ll be right in the neighborhood.While my family is a bit bummed that I’ll be gone for six days (especially since I’ll have only been home for two after the business trip I have right before this, and then we leave for Hawaii a day after I get back :), it’s really something I need to do at this point. I would even like to turn such trips and experiences into more than just something I enjoy, and have been scheming about how I might actually turn this into part of what I do for a living. I give it a pretty outside chance right now (especially since I’ve been used to the nicer lifestyle afforded by being a software developer), but who knows - passion can take you far!Also, if you have favorite trails to recommend for Flagstaff in particular, as well as any of the other places I’ve mentioned, please do tell. I can’t wait to ride in some of the new places, as well as revisit places I’ve ridden, but not for at least a couple years. I will be blogging the trip every day once it’s underway.

Avid Matchmakers

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I recently installed some Avid Matchmakers on my Niner. These things are great little widgets. Short story: if you have Juicy brakes, and newer SRAM trigger shifters, get some Matchmakers and unclutter your bars! In addition to uncluttering, the other big win is that you can take the brake and shifter off without removing grips (you could do this with brakes before, but the shifter clamp was single bolt). Sure, I use lock-on grips, which make this easy as well, but the whole thing is just a nicer overall setup. I highly recommend them.Also, for those who may be wondering - there is some adjustment in terms of how the two levers are positioned in relation to each other. The shifter mounts to a bolt on the brake lever’s clamp. This bolt fits within a hole that gives you rotational movement, allowing you to rotate the shift lever either all the way up against the brake lever, or maybe as much as half an inch away. I run mine nearly right up against the brake lever, so it’s a non-issue for me, but I suspect the range would suit nearly everyone.

Rich's Solo Kayak Experience

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Rich, a fellow Mountain Monkey, went for a solo kayak the other day, and wrote me a great report about it. His enthusiasm and joy has me sharing his report here:

Oh my Buddha, that was awesome... Today was my first ever solo paddle adventure and it was amazing. Bullards Bar is a beautiful place this time of year and I basically had the whole lake to myself (I only saw one other boat and two other kayakers during my five hour tour). Words won't begin to describe the bliss of paddling through the mirror smooth waters with reflections of the canyon floating all around me. Whether I was paddling for progress and mileage or just simply drifting, it was all bliss. I managed to take in the entire length of the lake today from Dark Day boat ramp in about five hours of mostly constant moving along.

The highlight for me, and one of the many the benefits of going solo, came when I stalked up on a young Bald Eagle feeding on a freshly dead deer carcass on the shore of the lake. The parent Eagle was perched nearby and only revealed itself after the young brown headed adolescent spooked off it's feed. I spent a few minutes stalking in closer and closer as the big bird fed on the carcass of the dead young deer. Every time it lowered it head and tore off another bite of meat I would take a paddle stroke and then "freeze" my upper body as I drifted closer. In this manner I got to within about fifty feet of the feeding bird before it got worried and hopped off to a rocky perch about 30 feet away. Once it finally spotted me it flew off to the other side of the canyon then the full adult Bald Eagle with white head and tail feathers revealed itself from a nearby tree and flew a few circles over me and the dead deer washed up on shore...

All this happened in the glow of the sunset light and it was simply a near religious experience for me. It was so quiet I could hear the flesh tearing as the young Eagle fed itself. Maybe a little too graphic for some, but it is natures way and always has been. If I had been traveling with other companions it is not likely that we would have been able to experience this scene quite so intimately. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy kayaking with others by any means. I do so and will heartily enjoy the company of companions as opportunity permits, hopefully for many years to come. Going solo in the kayak offers up a unique opportunity to be immersed in nature not just as a observer but as a participant in a way I have rarely experienced before in my life and I'm completely smitten by this aspect of the kayak experience. I hope that you may get the oppurtunity to enjoy the solo paddling experience too. Even if I had a camera today, I would not have been able to "be with" the Eagle in the same way. Some things are just meant to be experienced in the moment and are not available to be shared with others beyond a few feeble words such as these...

Rich

Even Loan a Wheel to a Pro? Check This Out...

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

There is a great thread over on SlowTwitch.com about a guy who loaned his rear wheel to Bobby Julich during the Tour of California this year, and the whole ensuing story. It’s a long thread, but a great story, and has a good ending. Check it out.

La Ruta de Los Conquestadores - 29er reports

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Being a big 29er bike fan, I checked out a new thread on MTBR about folks who did La Ruta on their 29ers. Many of these guys went singlespeed, which is great in the mud, but was probably semi-brutal with the massive doses of climbing. Anyway, some good reports on the abuse to the bikes, as well as lots of photos. The above link to La Ruta also has a photo gallery…

MTBR Thread Good photo set on Flickr

Ski Bikes

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Here’s a fun blog entry over on Big Wheel Building, about ski bikes. In particular, ones from Lenz, who also makes really nice mountain bikes. In fact, you can put his ski setup onto a regular mtb, although the ski bikes are a better setup. The blog post has video of some guys ripping (including taking them up lifts at a ski resort - many Colorado places at least allow this, according to the post).

Looks like another way to have fun to me. Given that I love mountain biking, and skiing, it’s an interesting combo. I don’t know if I’d like it as much as the individual sports, but I’d sure as heck try it!

Energy/Carb vs. Electrolyte Drinks, Bars, Gels, etc.

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I recently just about ran out of “energy drink” stuff, as well as bars and gels. I’ve recently been using Camelbak's Elixer and really liking it. I spent this past winter trying out various things (about a 8 products in all), and Elixer was the overall winner. I’ve known about Nuun as well, so now that I was about to go buy more stuff, I took a look at both, and asked friends if they’d tried them. Nobody had tried both, and I think nobody had even tried any of the tablet (Camelbak or Nuun) kinds.

First, I will note right off, both the Camelbak and Nuun products are electrolyte only drink tablets, as compared to say Powerbar Energy, which has carbs as well (and is my general favorite of the carb drink powders). But, one of the things that came up in discussion was cost. Apparently some backpacking magazine said the Nuun stuff was expensive. Well, I checked, and in fact, it is FAR cheaper than any of the others! Here’s what I found and wrote back to friends:

I was just over at REI, and picked up both some more Camelbak Elixer, plus some Nuun. I got both the original lemon/lime Elixer, plus the new orange one, and then a citrus Nuun. But, the reviewer is way off on price aspect, unless you use a sort of more complex comparison. For example:

Powerbar energy drink, at Colorado Cyclist's sale price of $18/25 (16 oz per) servings => $0.72/serving

Nuun tube of 12 tablets, 16 oz serving per tablet, at $5.20/tube => $0.43/serving

Camelbak tube of 12 tablets, at $8/tube => $0.66/serving

Now, technically, Camelbak says 24oz serving per tablet, which is perfect, because that's how I do it: one tablet per large water bottle (and that seems to work well for 4 tabs per 100oz bladder), so that changes things to add 50% more cost, if you want to be fair, to the others, making it per serving costs of:

Powerbar drink: $1.08

Nuun: $0.65

Camelbak: $0.66

The reason I said above that a more complex comparison would be, that the Camelbak and Nuun ones are basically just electrolytes, no carbs, whereas the Powerbar/Gatorade/etc have carbs. Interestingly, I used to never touch solid food on rides, even pretty big rides in the 4+ hour range (once they got say 6 hour ish, then we'd be carrying lunch). But these days, I've found that I really do much better on taking on "food" of some sort. "real" foods, like PB&J sandwich work great, but for speed, the Clif Mojo bars are my hands down favorites. Not too sweet, but great mix of carb and protein and they taste fucking awesome (yes, fucking awesome). I use gels too, but the Mojos just really create a great mix I think when combined with these electrolyte drinks.

So, granted, this comparison has nothing to do with effectiveness, but I’ve found that the Elixer has worked really well for me.

Welcome All You Mountain Monkeys

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Welcome to Mountain Monkeys! ??This site covers mountain biking, skiing, and various other activities as told and inspired by those who love their mountain-oriented activities.

Initial Review of Pearl Izumi Alp-X Mid Shoes

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I picked up a pair of Pearl Izumi's Alp-X Mid shoes, mainly as a “town riding” shoe. My intent was to have a shoe that could use clipless pedal cleats, but also be comfy to hang out in while sitting in a coffee shop for a few hours, and also not look too dorky. I’ve had a few hours on these shoes now…First, fit is great, very comfy shoes. They also are light weight, and seem to breathe well. Most of my riding buddies think they’re ugly, although they’ve only seen the online pics. I think they’re pretty nice actually, and they’re slightly more subdued, and less space-agey than the web site picture.These shoes will definitely rock for riding around town: comfy, easy to walk in, and most folks probably won’t even notice they’re a cycling shoe, and will just think they’re trail running shoes. But, they are NOT shoes to use for serious riding. They’re more squishy in the foot-bed overall. So while the shoe sole/shank itself is stiff, they feel squishy when you stand up and hammer on the pedals. If you’re spinning, you don’t notice it at all, and they’re simply nice.Thus, so far, they definitely satisfy the goals I had when I bought them. And, I may even use them for various mtb riding as well, we’ll see.

Waldo Lake Inaugural Ride

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

HTML parse error: 
<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1383753333/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1290/1383753333_76b5456d59_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0.9em">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1383753333/">Waldo Lake Typical Forest Section</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Today was my first experience riding the Waldo Lake trail.  What an experience it was!  This has to be one of the most beautiful trails, scenery wise, I've ever been on.  It is also a superb ride.  22 miles of rolling singletrack through the forest, as you parallel the lake's edge.I began by driving out to Oakridge, where I hit the Willamette Mercantile bike shop to pick up a forest parking pass, as well as the USFS map, which has a lot more detail than the Tread map.  McKenzie was there, and gave me some good tips on the ride.  He and another guy suggested starting at Shadow Bay, instead of the North Camp, which I'd planned to.  This was a much better choice, as it was a fair bit less driving.Upon arriving at the Shadow Bay boat launch parking area, it was a rather chilly 43 degrees!  I quickly suited up, and went looking for the trailhead.  It was actually right across from the parking lot, but then that teed into another trail.  A bit of map and compass work and I figured out the particular point, and headed out, looking for the next important trail junction which was the key to getting started properly for a counter-clockwise ride.Once on the trail, it was a joy.  Buff, yet frequently rooted singletrack, all rolling.  I don't think I did a climb all day that was more than probably a 50' elevation gain.  In the 22 miles of riding, it was a mere 1670' of ascent.  I turned the gas on, to get warm, and to keep the pace high, as I knew I was pretty time limited today.I made it up to the North Camp in 45 minutes, at which point it was another bout of exploration to find out where the trail continued.  Weak signage, and I had to guess a bit, but it worked out.  Interestingly, in this area, the sun peaked out briefly, which was quite welcome.  Into the large burnt section of forest I went.  This was a real change, and felt desolate.  This section started to have a few more technical sections.  Nothing overly hard, but kept it interesting.  I ran into some hikers here who I talked with for a while, and then another rider.  I motored on.<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1383752773/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1020/1383752773_cff8152b65_m_d.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1384649132/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1169/1384649132_544e1658ef_m_d.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a>The burnt section ended, and I was back into some truly beautiful areas, right along the water's edge.  So peaceful.  If it weren't so chilly, I'd have gone down to the water, but I needed to keep going.  I then came upon Day Camp, and this cool little bridge crossing a really nice little creek.  At this point, I said to myself I had to take some pictures, even if it was just with my camera phone.  Also popped a Gu.<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1384651040/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1039/1384651040_88ea714594_m_d.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a>Continued on, and not too far after this was this sweet section of shale.  It reminded me a lot of Glass Mountain in Tahoe, but not as challenging to ride.<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1383754015/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1343/1383754015_8fc4912489_m_d.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a>I cranked on for a while, and then came across the most technical section on the trail.  The pictures do NOT do it justice at all.  This rock chute/slot was very much like the rock slot area on the Watson Lake section of TRT, but I'd say harder.  There were two tough drops, but making it harder, was how to make the turn between them.<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1384650394/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1394/1384650394_64d84602b5_m_d.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a>I had to try this four times, and was feeling like it wasn't going to happen.  My fork is also not happy with me, as I managed to scrape a good chunk of paint off of it, as I ground it across one of the large rocks during a failed attempt.  On number four, it came together, and while I had a foot out at one point, I rode it all, including having to hop the bike around a bit to make that turn.  Sweet!There was an alternative line that involved going all the way down on the right side, but when I tried it, my rear tire wanted to make sweet love to my ass in order to let me pass, and, well, I wasn't into that.It turned out that the next about 4 miles included a bunch more technical sections.  Nothing anywhere as challenging as this one, but it was a really killer few miles, both of techy descents, and some tricky climbs.  Rode it all!From there, it was a couple miles of, quite damp at this point, singletrack back to the car.  There was one climb I was unable to ride.  It was very steep, and by now I was feeling the ride, and just couldn't swing it with the 1x9 (it'd have been a trick with a granny gear too, but rideable).At the car, I quickly stripped off my wet clothes, and donned a nice toasty hoody, and headed off to Oakridge.  When I left Waldo, it gotten up to about 46 degrees I think.  Arriving in Oakridge it was completely sunny and 68 degrees!  I stopped off to quickly thank McKenzie, and ask for a burrito place.  Hit Mazatlan, for a bit more than your average take out burrito (burrito on a plate, smothered).  Scarfed half that down, and headed home.  Awesome day.Ride stats...  22 miles, 1670' climbing/descending, 2 hours 37 minutes of ride time, about 3.5 hours of total time.  <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/sets/72157602013108662/">Complete set of full size photos here</a>.

Niner Converted to 1×9

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

HTML parse error: 
<p style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1349135260/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1315/1349135260_2997b5077e_m.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid" /></a><span style="margin-top: 0px; font-size: 0.9em">  <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisrbailey/1349135260/">Niner 1x9</a>Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/chrisrbailey/">Christopher Bailey</a> </span>Yesterday I converted my Niner to a 1x9 drivetrain.  Came out quite nice.  I used a Spot bashguard and an N-Gear JumpStop to keep the chain on the chainring.  I had already shortened up my chain when blocking out my big ring, so that was dialed.  Pulled off the front deraileur and shifter, dropping probably 3/4 of a pount.  Bike weighs exactly 27.05 pounds now according to my digital scale.I have also put on a WTB Weirwolf 2.55 LT tire up front, but haven't been very impressed.  Here's <a href="http://headangle.blogspot.com/2007/09/wtb-weirwolf-255-lt-29er-first.html">my review</a> of that.  I've basically been riding this bike as 1x9 for the last several rides anyway, so should be great.

Mountain Bike Video Game

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

This is a really fun little time waster mountain bike game on the web, check it out!

From Sunburn to Snow

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

We’ve had some pretty wild weather swings here in Eugene, OR over the last 10 days or so. The weekend before last, I went on a road bike ride on Saturday and wore short sleeves, and actually got a sunburn! It was a gorgeous day, and hit temps in the low 80’s. I rode on Sunday of this weekend as well, and it was still pretty warm. Then, during the week it rained and got colder…

This past weekend though, it snowed. Yep. We actually had an accumulated 2” around our house on Sunday morning. On Saturday morning I went out for another road ride, leaving the house while it was snowing, and with temps in the mid to upper 30’s. It was beautiful as well! It was not snowing hard, and was amazingly nice to ride in. I rode out doing a new chunk of rode that I hadn’t been on, and eventually reached this place:

You betcha, Whopperoonie Ranch! What a great name. I was unable to see the actual ranch itself (I only went a few feet down the road as I didn’t want to trespass, and knew it was a dead end, etc.). Fun.

By the time I got home this same day, it was sunny and the temperature was about 44. Of course not long after that it snowed again. Sunday was crazier. We woke up to the snow as mentioned, and then it got probably up to 50 degrees and sunny, then snowed, then sunny, then it hailed several times, and so on. Just wacky.

From what I understand this is the latest its snowed since 1911. New record, set first Saturday, then again on Sunday.

Snowy Festivus Eve Ride

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Brock and I continued on and finished up the ride. I was absolutely charging, and Brock was just trying to hang. In particular I was nailing every rocky, slick climb, no dabs, and totally in the zone. I was absolutley loving it. Well, all but my feet, which were pretty damn frozen at this point, so that was also motivating me to go fast and get back to some dry socks and car’s heater. I was really psyched on this ride, as you can see from my semi-muddy, grin, post ride. Ok, the pic doesn’t have a big grin, but whatever.

Note, the first photo (of me, in yellow jacket), and the photo of the broken chainstays are courtest of Paul, and the full size ones can be found in the MTBR thread).

Great 29er Shirt

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I am pretty tempted to order this shirt: 29 Inches and Rigid.

Movie Review: 24 Solo

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

24 Solo

I found 24 Solo to be riveting. I was really glued to it, drawn in to the story, and impressed and intrigued by Eatough. Then you throw in the unexpected (to me anyway) Craig Gordon, the guy who practically died doing the race. I haven’t followed 24 hour racing much, so didn’t know about Gordon. Gripped Films did a really good job of weaving this story into the movie.

The movie covers some personal bits of Eatough’s life, his training, shots of him riding on his home trails in the snow, a race in China, and of course the World Championships. It also interviews other racers, and some big names.

The movie is more of a documentary if you will, and if you think, oh, no big hucks it can’t be good, I strongly urge you to reconsider. If you’re into mountain biking, big adventure, impressive performances and quests, then check it out, it’s great. I also like that they didn’t skimp on the length. This is a feature length film, or feels like it, at 75 minutes long. Further, the music is good (and isn’t a bunch of crappy metal that is supposed to get you all psyched up, but winds up annoying you instead). Hi quality, great story, and I fully recommend it.

Interview with Bear Grylls

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Outside magazine’s latest issue has an interview with Bear Grylls, however the full length interview is??available online. ??The interview covers the controversy over some aspects of filming the show, gives some history and insight into Mr. Grylls, and was a generally interesting read.

Ridgeline Ride Today - Lots of Off-shoots

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

I rode the Ridgeline trails in Eugene this morning. It’s a small place, but boy are there a ton of little off-shoots! I really need to spend some time with the GPS there and map stuff out - so many interesting looking little chunks of singletrack. Today I did the main drop down towards Amazon Parkway, but at a fork at the bottom I went left. This took me over to W. Amazon which lead back to Fox Hollow, which I then rode back up to the park and did another loop on the main trail. Quick and fun.This was also only my second ride on dirt on the Niner. Definitely still getting used to lack of suspension (I nearly ate it on a relatively mild rooted descent). The bike rolls so nicely though, just have to learn how to ride it better in the rougher terrain. Tomorrow’s ride at Oakridge (never been there) ought to be interesting :)

In Case of Emergency...

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Ever been in an emergency on the trail/slopes/water? I had an extremely bad bike crash in 1992 in Moab that had me ATV’ed and later helicoptered to a hospital. But, this story over on the Crooked Cog site, while not a life threatening injury, brings to light again what you can do in emergencies.

In their case, they were lucky they had cell phone reception and could call 911, and even more lucky one of them had an iPhone with GPS enabled. When I lived in Northern California, cell phone reception in most of the places I rode and skied was pretty common, but here in Oregon it’s incredibly rare to have cell phone reception. That combined with some past experiences, etc., recently prompted me to buy a SPOT Satellite Messenger. The SPOT is an inexpensive ($150) unit that ties into GPS and satellite communication. I’ve just started using it, and would like to get a few more rides under my belt before doing a review. Look for a review soon enough.

And, while I’m at it, a special thanks to all the emergency and SAR people out there. It is amazing how often you’re hearing about rescues, lost people, deaths, and other such scary or tragic situations these days. If it weren’t for all the great folks helping, we’d be hearing a lot more bad news, so thanks to all those that help!

Hut-to-Hut Mountain Bike System Opening for Mt. Hood

2008-04-21T00:00:00+00:00

Back in 1995 I did the trip from Telluride to Moab. It is one of the best bike trips, vacations, and things I’ve done in my life. So, I was excited to see that there is a now.http://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhttp://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif