Pint-to-Pint III

I think I have rigor mortis. Yesterday's pedal hurt bad.

It didn't help matters that the temps were close to 80°f & about 90% of the ride was under the blazing sun.

Pint-to-Pint III was a major success - 97 people were counted exiting Ironworks at noon-ish!! 

Getting hydrated pre-ride.

Trouble, with a capital 'T'

I'd guess about 15 of those were support & not riding, so we still packed the trails with about 80 riders on a perfect Saturday afternoon in early November on trails just outside city limits. The posse rolled to Green Mt & headed up to the top, via Hayden trail. However, the 1st group must have thought this was  road ride as they stayed on the GM service road instead of taking the 'official' route, which was single-track, seeing that this was an MTB event.

Greg & I stop a bit before Hayden turnoff (which about 25 riders missed)

It was a nice hot grind up to the top - which is where we again saw those in front of us turning left on the service road instead of hanging a right to get on Summit Loop, my favorite little section on that hill. It turned out to be NOT my favorite trail that day, when I felt rock meet rim. I didn't go immediately flat, but felt the squish as we started to descend Rooney Valley trail. 20# in the rear tire felt real nice on RV, but had me on edge afraid of totally flatting, so I stopped at the bottom & topped up the pressure to my normal 60#. 

Time to climb. Up Zorro, then a left on DR. After all riders going this way & that atop GM, the group was getting spread out by now. Only able to catch/pass about 4 riders down DR, then topped off my tire again before rolling thru RR/MW. The little grind up around the rocks on RR really put a hurting on me today, I walked over 1/2 of that bitch. Weak sauce! Felt better rolling MW until I came thru the 1 tricky-ish rock section there. The rock itself was no biggie, but the little step up following it took me out. Got the front end over & stood up to power the rear thru when the front tire came to an abrupt halt on another rock, sending me OTB to land firmly on my left cheekbone. Visions of WKD-RDRs incident earlier this summer flashed in my head as I smacked the ground. Luckily had just a tiny bit of swelling, no black eye or bruising.....yet. 

Heritage Square parking, yay! Supplies & somewhere to lie flat on my back for a bit & recover before starting my walk of shame up Apex.

Mike refueling.

Lots of folks hung out refueling in the lot, then took off in lots of little groups, so Apex had a few jams on the way up. Somewhere around 1/2-way up is where all but 1 muscle in my legs started to cramp. Nearing the top, I would walk, try to pedal for about 100', start cramping, so I'd get off the bike to stretch, then hobble a bit more......I guess the espresso for b-fast, then beer at the start weren't enough fuel for my large mass. Here's some pix as I laid in a pitiful heap on the side the trail....

 

Ended up finishing up Apex with Andy & Mark, then I had to rest & stretch again before attempting even the road to get to entrance of CG. I was so relieved to finally get to CG since as spike occasionally says, 'it's all DH from here.' One last bit of rear tire pumping & it was time to coast to the bottom, then pedal along the path to arrive at GCB. 

Freakin' Hallelujah!

It was hot, it was big, it was fun.  Thanks Evan!!

Late Autumn?

Cold weather showed up so I tore up the garden remains to see what I could salvage. I ended up canning about 12 jars of tomato sauce, 8 jars of salsa, 3 bags of dried tomatoes & 2 bags of frozen jalapeños, as well as eating as much okra, zucchini & yellow squash as I could keep up with.

The crop is unfortunately only unripened tomatoes.

XVelo #002 is hanging tough in the midst of its long-term clydesdale testing. It's been a fun bit of trial & error getting it set up just right, which is helping to give me a good idea of dos/don'ts for when I get my frame built. Despite its little intricacies, I have it pretty dialed in: I can completely attach or detach the fenders in under 5 minutes, or I can pull the rear tire in case of a flat or gear swap quite painlessly as well. The PlanetBike Hardcore fenders are OK, but wondering if I should have gone for the Cascadias, as they go down just below axle level........I'll find out soon enough I'm sure.

Fenders 93% attached (had to fab the 2 rear supports)

Depending on ride distance/difficulty, I have several gears ready to swap in an instant: 16t free(daily gear)/18t free, 18t free/17t fixed, or 18t/20t free/free for the big ones. Steve's Brooks saddle is off after several rides with no satisfaction....guess that model doesn't suit my fat ass. I do want to try another, but unsure of which to go for next. Enjoying the cockpit & brakes set-up lots: Woodchipper bar & Salsa gel tape, Tektro levers & Avid cantis. I had Steve's Paul cantis on at first, which were a PITA to set up, but these Shorty6s are a dream - both to maintain & their efficiency in slowing down my mass.
The frame feels good, but for my size, I need tubes that a touch bigger, as I can flex it a bit if I stand up & hammer. When I do get on it, the bike does go well. I'm still not completely comfortable with the feel that the bent setastays give, but I'm getting there.

Took it out for another spin last week: to GBP for the grand opening, then detoured thru Highlands before heading home. GBP was going on with a bunch of jumpin', hootin' & hollerin'. Great job to all involved!!

 

It's Nov 5 & it may hit close to 80°f tomorrow in Denver, CO. 

Pint-to-Pinters, it's gonna be a hot one! Stay hydrated & hard.........

Let'em know what's up.

Oh yeah, there's word of some big roadie race next August. I'll be out there somewhere between Golden & Denver on the 28th - better find me some XXL speedos right quick.