Sorry, no little people...

...But I took a couple new guys out to Tranquility on Sunday.

(One's new to the area, the other's new to biking)

Good times were had.

Crappy phone pics from the Stop to Stop ride

Angry Butcher's Manawa Revenge

The Angry Butcher had his revenge this last Saturday, against the evils of Manawa. This time he came loaded with the right weaponry to take out anything that attempted to block his path. Coop also came out for his first ride at Manawa, and his first ride with a GoatHead. He was quick to show off his dirt bike skills. Based on Coop's and Johnny Law's history, I say we all take up dirt bikes in the winter to practice up for the next MTB season.

It was a superb November day for the Professor and I to hit the trails with the guys.

Brass nipples, spitters, and flow

I was able to get out to Tranquility last night and ride a couple laps. It was one of those rides where all the insignificant details disappear. Parts, new and old, clothing, accessories, tire pressures (well, for a little while), they all molded together to what I can only describe with my finite mind as flow. I'm sure everyone has their own opinion as to what the flow is, but I think we can all agree that the flow is good.

That's not to say I didn't have my share of sidetracks. On the first lap I landed a bunny hop on an off-camber portion of the trail, blowing the tire bead off the rim and causing the wheel to become untrue. I flipped my bike over, deflated the tire, adjusted spoke tension, reseated the bead, and re-inflated and was back on the trial in about 13 minutes. Finished out the lap and the smile never left my face.

During that lap, however, I did come across a bunch of trash on the long uphill (counterclockwise) portion of the trail.

Apparently a pack of wild hyenas stole someone's precious tobacco spitter collection and scattered them all over the trail. I grabbed a trash bag out of my vehicle and started lap two. I encountered a nice fellow on a blue RIP9 (lucky!) who rode with me until we got to the clean-up site and then carried the trash bag out to the parking lot since he was leaving. Thanks buddy! Finished out the second lap, same big smile on my face. Ended up riding two of my fastest laps there ever, subtracting the duration of the stops on each lap. I hope you all took advantage of the beautiful night, too.

Great ride last night!

Met JC4300 at Tranquility last night. It felt really good to be out on such a nice night. I don't think we could've asked for any better conditions. The trail was perfect with the exception of a couple greasy spots, one of which is pretty much unavoidable (Dale, what's the best way to handle that spot: to just blast through it, or to slow down and creep through?). After JC left, Lumpy showed up with his brand new drivetrain, courtesy of the folks over at the Trek Store. We rode a lap, and he showed me no mercy. It's all good though, I'm trying to lose about 20 pounds this season. I'm starting to grow into the new gearing , I rode my first nonstop, no walking, lap last night with it. It may be more difficult, but I like getting the climbs done faster.
Still riding on a bent seatpost. It forces me to stand more to avoid reaching a new level of intimacy with my bike. The Bike Way is hooking up the warranty replacement from Redline for the original post, and then when that one comes in, I will send in the Sette post for warranty. I need to start riding with a little more finnesse.