Monumentally Afflicted

Went out for a night ride this evening on the new Access XCL 9r, which is down to 24.8 pounds with the new WTB/355 wheel. I recently picked up a Y cable for my 2 Magicshines, so I can run 2 lights off of one battery. After completing a technical descent with both lights on the bar, I hit the fire road and noticed all the shadows being cast by the brake and shifter cables. I thought, why don't I try the two lights out on the Titec H-bar horns... I put them up there and noticed that they sat a bit cock-eyed, pointing outwards. At first I thought it wouldn't be any good, but then realized that by mounting them this way, I'd have a really nice horizontal spread of light. Turned them on, hit some more technical trails, and sure enough, it is sweet! Due to a really nasty crash in Rabbit Valley back in about 2003, I have a pretty hosed up neck. This double bar light configuration may be a good alternative for me during endurance night rides (like 18 Hours of Fruita) where ne

Picked up my new Access XCL 9r frame today and got it all put together this evening. Even took it out for a short night ride in the Preserve. These frames/bikes have gotten surprisingly good reviews for being insanely cheap (I paid $81 for my frame, using a couple coupons that were available at the time). I'm a fan of steel, so it'll be interesting to see how I like this aluminum frame. Weight is about 25.8 pounds, including a tube in the front tire. I spazzed and tore the valve stem off of my Stan's tubeless rimstrip. On my short night ride tonight, I definitely noticed the 5 pounds weight savings over my Monocog 29er! Here is the build spec: Frame - 17" Access XCL 9r Fork - ManitouMinute 29 80mm Cranks/BB/Rings - LX/LX/Truvativ SS Handlebar/Grips/Stem - Titec H-bar/ESI/Forte Pedals - Eggbeaters Headset - Cane Creek Headset spacers Front wheel - DT Onyx/SX24/DB Rear wheel - WTB/355/DB Tires - Racing Ralph Brakes - BB7 Rotors - Ashima Airotor Cassette - SRAM PG-9

Got out for a great ride today. Lots of climbing, miles, hike-a-bike, descending, routefinding, and smiles. This is the kind of ride that reminds me why I started mountain biking 21 years ago (whoa, I must be getting old). Rode up through the clouds from here Climbed about 11 miles to here Bushwacked and hike-a-biked up here Checked out an old B-24 bomber crash site here Crossed this incredible ridge Hiked up to here Descended past a hundred of so of these And checked out some cool wildlife and scenery here All in all, way more fun that the stats below can capture

It has been a pretty good week for riding. After the 42 miler on Sunday, I needed a down day on Monday. Did some stretching and rode about a mile on the Mundo. Picked the munchkin up at the bus stop, where she said, "This is the coolest bike ever, Dad!" :-) Tuesday at lunch, I totally hammered the Woodmen, Rockrimmon hill loop. 45 minutes from the parking lot, around the loop, and back to the parking lot. Felt great in the massive winds. Tuesday evening, I met up for a night ride with Tirpak and Nordby. Got in another hour and fifteen minutes and ran the Magicshines through their paces. 2xMS900 is good. Should suffice for just about anything I can throw at them. Wednesday, got out for a nice hour long ride on the Sante Fe Trail. Neither slow nor fast, just right. Thursday, did a couple hour loop. Cruised up to the Blodgett Peak trails. Hike-a-biked up to the Academy trail traverse, rolled over to the Academy, down through the horse trails and stables, then back So

After many years of endurance bike racing, I sat down and reanalyzed my tool choices, focusing on weight and space reduction. The list of what to bring and how to bring it is heavily dependent upon the course. In my case, I'm packing for 18 Hours of Fruita, a race with short, fairly non-technical laps. I'm also running tubeless tires, front and rear. By carefully assessing what I bring along, and how I carry it, I've reduced carried weight by ~390g. Almost a whole pound! How did I do it? Take an ultralight 26er tube instead of a full weight 29er tube. Take the tiny Topeak Super Chain Tool instead of the much larger and more functional Crank Brothers Multitool. Ditch the dumbell tool, since I'm running a quick release rear wheel this year. Replace the seat bag with an Awesome Strap . Pictured above is the entire kit. Below are the details: Genuine Innovations Second Wind IH pump Velcro strap for pump Awesome Strap (strap in pic is actually a generic strap) Forte

After yesterday's technical 8 mile ride, Tirpak and I decided to put some real miles in today. We headed south on the Sante Fe Trail, did the Falcon Trail twice, and headed back to Monument on the Sante Fe Trail. We met Nordby for the end of our second lap and he made sure to tighten the screws a bit more. Some pretty decent suffering towards the end of the ride. Just the kind of stuff we need to prepare for 18 Hours of Fruita. So, I've done about 95 miles in the past 3 days. Need to take it easy tomorrow and focus on some stretching, which I've neglected...

Did the cyclocommute yesterday with my Inbred back in singlespeed config. Threw the Pugsley fork on the front, the old Shimano DX cassette wheel on the rear, and ran outta time/patience for getting the rear brake installed. So, I cruised into work with one brake and gearing of 32x18. Way too low for the Monument to Co Springs directions, but ok on the way home. Actually got a tailwind on the way home and decided to tack on a bunch more mileage. Rode to Palmer Lake, then back through the Preserve and finished on Flow Dog. After 45 miles, Flow Dog on the rigid singlespeed was like sticking a fork in me. I was done. Good stuff and I actually felt pretty decent. Knees felt great! Waiting for my new Access XCL 9r frame to arrive. I'm thinking 1x9 is the way to go and the build should come in under 25 pounds. I need to build up my rear wheel. Planning on using a WTB LaserLite Disc hub that I have sitting around, laced to a Stan's 355 29er rim, with double-butted spokes fro

41 miles on Friday, 6 quite technical miles yesterday, and 29 miles and 1855ft of elevation gain today with Tirpak. Feeling tired, but good. Tirpak ran over a monster snake today. Not a rattlesnake, which was surprising. Amazingly, the snake appeared to have survived the two tire treatment unscathed. Oh yeah, the descent on Falcon Trail today was awesome! Seriously, the flow was so good and Tirpak was right there, ready to run me over if I happened to hose up one of the many jumps. I have a new 29er hardtail in the works. A regular geared bike. 5 pounds lighter than the bike I raced with last year! Woohoo! I've also lost over a half a pound in carried weight, by carefully assessing my tools/spares selection.

After about 12 days of vacation, I'm back to some real riding. On Tuesday, I did a short ride in GoG with Jon, Greg, and Nick. Felt ok, but a bit tired due to all the travel and probably elevation change. Yesterday, I put in about 48 miles. Whoa, was I toast by the end of the ride. Got hit with a quick cold front and headwind. Ugh. Got out today for a short 4 mile 950ft of elevation gain ride near the house. Felt pretty decent. Came down Stoopid trail, which was surprisingly dry. Thinking of things to do differently at 18 Hours of Fruita...have coffee ready a couple times during the day...carry lighter tools...run lighter tires...maybe start a bit slower...try Endurolytes powder with my drink. Oh yeah, I have 2 Magicshine 900 lumen lights I plan to use this year. 4 battery packs. No screwing around with blackouts this year. Also, I plan to do lots of rides with the light on my helmet (like today's ride). Training for my lame neck. Here are some more Costa Rica bike