Monday, September 28, 2009

Gravel Road

Did an out'n'back totaling a whopping 3 miles with Sterling in tow on the trailabike up our road. It's pathetic that little trips like this actually count since I have been riding so little lately.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Robbers Cave State Park (Oklahoma)

There were a few reports online indicating that there was mountain biking at this park, so when the wife suggested we go there on vacation, I packed up the bike with high expectations. Unfortunately, the park staff were only able to point me to about 1/2 mile of "bike trail." I never did try that trail and decided instead to try the "Mountain Loop" around the lakes. I can't say that was a good idea, but it was interesting.
The trail started good and was well marked with paint on every other tree....that is, until there was no paint on any trees anywhere. This scenario played itself out several times before the ride was over. I would not recommend this ride to anyone due to the fact that there were several sections that were not ridable by any skill level - they were sections where I had to shoulder the bike and scramble up the hillside. Coming down was exhillarating with 'chest on the seat' action. THe trail was also poorly maintained with respect to fallen trees and overgrown vegetation. I saw no other riders/hikers at all on the trail.
I abandoned the ride about half way (having exhausted my time alotment backtracking over and over again to find the trail) by taking a horsetrail shortcut back in between the two lakes. This trail was much easier to follow and is obviously used on a regular basis by horseriders. I still wouldn't recommend it though due to the loose large rocks on the trail intermixed with deep sandy sections and the potential to spook a horse coming down the trail.
Overall, I don't think the section of trail I rode was more than 2-3 miles and I did manage to include one major "tactical dismount" coming down a very technical and steep switchback.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Beach Ride in FL

I guess this qualifies as offroad riding.  I slogged out approx 12 miles of beach riding on Alligator Point in Panacea, FL last week on Thursday.  Wow!  That is a mega-workout!  That 12 miles actually had my muscles sore the next day and it has been quite some time since I last was sore from riding - good times.  I rode right on the shore line within inches of the surf to stay on the "hardest" sand and it worked quite well.  There were only a few places where the structure of the sand was too low to support my weight and I really had to push to keep momentum.  There were also a few moments with the trailabike on the beach:

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Tractor pull

We celebrated Sterling's B-day early on Sunday with Grandma & grandpa. We gave Sterling an Adam's Trail-a-bike and he seemed happy with it, but since it was Sunday, we didn't go for any long rides or anything and he really didn't mention anything about it until today when he asked if we could go for a ride today after school. I told him yes and tried to slip out with him incognito, but Ginger is always quick to notice any furtive activity around the back door and sure enough, we were busted. She came out in tears knowing that she was getting ditched - it was too much and I buckled. The result:

This bike is currently set up for Jessica (women's saddle, low seat) and I just went ahead and rode it as is...ouch! With the saddle being that low, it was a killer on the knees and apparently my keister is not well-suited to women's saddle design. After viewing these pics that Jessica took, I think Sterling's seat was too low as well. I'd figure we prolly rode a couple of miles (maximum) in an out and back, but it was real punishment.
The seat post on the Trek (pictured above) is a 26.9mm diameter and my Ellsworth has a 31.6mm. That seemingly insignificant difference makes it so that I need to order a new collar for the trail-a-bike to get it to work on my Ellsworth. After today's ride, I can tell you that I will be ordering that part very soon. I want to try to take Sterling on a real trail or two - once we get him a good helmet.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Back to Erwin Park

Is this getting monotonous?  Last night, I slipped in a loop at Erwin Park in Mckinney, TX again.  Things there are starting to feel a lot more 'comfortable.'  The little drop that pops up to surprise you when you round a corner - no longer a surprise.  The little climb that catches you in the wrong gear - ready for it.  That tight corner that pretends to have a smooth exit, but actually has a small sapling growing right in the exit path - ready for it.  
The trail itself was in fine form.  No dust, no mud, just a hardpacked dirt that must resemeble what it would look like if there was a concrete singletrack path going through the woods.  I passed a single jogger and saw only one other mountain biker who started a few minutes after me and pulled into the parking lot as I was leaving.
This was my first ride in over a year on my old Marzocchi fork and dissappointingly, I beleive that it will never be the same.  I have been riding a Rockshox Psylo for quite a bit while I worked on getting around to taking my Marz into the shop.  I finally got it into Plano Cycling and Fitness where I was glad to hear that it needed only to have it's oil changed.  They did that, but it is still the same.  It feels as though the damping is only working at about 1/2 capacity - just a big spring on the front of the bike.  I have to admit though that I still like the Marz with its extra inch of travel better than the Psylo.  Unfortunately, it looks like I'll be looking for a new fork here...it will be a Marzocchi.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Intervals

Being stashed away in a hotel hundreds of miles away from my bikes, I was forced to put in some miles on the dreaded excercise machine that pretends to mimic cycling.  You know the type - the ones they put in cheap exercise rooms that rarely get used?  I'm not sure who designs these things, but the seat was gigantic and applied pressure in all the wrong spot while simultaneously impeding free movement of the legs by putting pressure against the very back of the leg just below the buttocks.  
OK - that last paragraph was a bit of a downer...  On the upside, I was able to log a few "miles" and the interval setting on the machine at least added some variety and challenge to the routine.  The machine somehow calculated my speed at an average rate of somewhere around 20mph - just don't ask me where the come up with that.  It was also certainly nice to be able to watch TV while riding.  It sort of changes the whole couch-potatoe thing that is normally associated with TV watching.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Pathetic

In a rather pathetic turn of events, I have not been on a single ride since the last post.  The good news is that I just finished the removal of my "temporary" Rockshox Psylo fork and the reinstallation of my cherished Marzocchi fork.  At least the next ride will be pleasantly cushy and smooth.  One other thing of note is that I had forgotten how having that extra inch of travel (the Psylo has like 3.5" or something and the Marzocchi has more like 5" really changes the geometry.  I can now also look forward to more comfortable high speeds as the change the head tube angle switches things up for me. 

Friday, February 20, 2009

Finding a pace

I rode Erwin Park in Mckinney, TX a few times over the last few weeks and since I am now blogging about riding, here's the report:

Trail: Erwin Park - Mckinney, TX
Estimated mileage: 16 miles (8 miles each time)
Trail Report: Dry as a bone and very well-cut/maintained.  Passed just four riders and two hikers.
Notes: Shoulder checked two trees on the first ride and only one on the second, so apparently I am getting better?  Loved this trail the first time I rode it and by number two, I was still having fun, but I received a glimpse into the (not so distant?) future in which I was so tired of this short little trail that I was road riding.  Heaven help me....  Overall, it is a fun trail and there are at least 3-4 places where you can actually catch air on a little rise or something.  The "drops" that are often claimed to exist on this trail by over-exhuberant mtbikenewbies are actually roll-ins into creek bottoms, none of which exceed a height of 40 feet (being generous here.)  The adrenaline rush comes purely from the potential to collide with a tree as you pick up speed and then run straight into one of the many sections of trail that are bounded by trees growing just distant enough to allow a handlebar to pass, but without a very large margin for error.  For me, this is the qunitessential Texas trail; 8 miles of trail packed into a 40 acre? park with endless bends, unnecessary (but fun) switchbacks, dropping into and climbing out of small creekbeds and generally meandering around in sweet pointlessness.  The objective is to ride - not to get somewhere.