WTF WTB!?

July 4th, lil E & I set out on our own backdoor 'Firecracker 50' - rolled outta Alameda parking lot at 4:50am and....went straight up Hayden trail to Summit Loop, down Box o' Rox, up Zorro, across Dakota Ridge, through Red Rocks over to Mt Falcon. Up that S.O.B. then dropped the road to O'Fallon to Lair o' the Bear. Hopped on the road for about 2 miles & hung a left on Grapevine Rd, which led us to the top of Apex, through Enchanted/Apex, then over the top section of Dakota Ridge, down Zorro & finished up rounding the bottom of Green Mt, rolling to the cars 7 hrs after lift-off.

Pain, pure pain today. Last week's 3 Pass 55-miler, part of Spikefest '09, felt like a deathmarch at the time, but I wasn't hurting as much as I thought. Today's really did it to me. It may be b/c I tried to keep e's pace throughout the ride, except for where he left me days behind when he jammed non-stop up Mt Falcon bottom to top. Bravo, bro!! Had to wake him up from his slumber when I finally got there.

In the final 1/2 mile of the brutality, I hear a pop, kinda like someone cracking bubblegum. Noticed the tires were still holding air, so kept rolling. Then again, I hear it - a loud, weird sound. I put the bike on the rack to head home & notice a huge bubble in the center of the tread.

Stout #2 is dead. Not again!!

Guessing the casing snapped in these spots & the pressure is blowing it out. 10 rides (about 275 miles) & less than 3 weeks of use. I need a new rear tire, again.

This time, I ain't looking at WTB!

Still rolling

Been getting out here & there. All I know is that on May 11th, I put on a brand stinkin' new WTB Stout, and one month later, it's been replaced.

12 rides with about 200 miles & shot.

Got the rear wheel built last July & have been running it tubeless since. Tried out a few different tires - Exiwolf, Rampage & Stout, all of which I slapped on & aired up. Yesterday, I started losing air, so I pulled the valve & slap in a tube (first time in almost 1 year). Got up this morning & pulled the tube to start the routine of re-seating/-filling the tire & kept having a valve leak. I'm guessing the rubber deformed from staying in 1 positions the entire time, so it wouldn't seal well enough.

To the internetz I went, searching on tips to try:

-dipped valve end in sealant goop = NOPE

-tried a few O-rings = all failed much like the Challenger.

This is when I also noticed a slight tear in the Stan's tape over a spoke hole. Must have happened from the pressure of a tube pushing on the old, brittle tape.

-wrapped electrical tape around rim & gave it another shot.

Still a bit of leakage between the rim & tire. Decided it was time to go back to the ghetto. The LBS, Treads, said they use the 20" tubes, so grabbed 1 & hurried home to rock it out. Had a hell of a time getting that little tube over my enormous rim. The new Stout was a tight fit as well! Floor pump to it & POW!, I'm back online.

Hope this one lasts more than a month!!

Cinco de Mayo?

May have to head out for lunch to get a last taste of swine flu combo before it's all gone.

Went out for an easy leg-stretcher worship session w/Steve Sunday am. Rolled thru Stonehouse to link with North Park trail & u-turned.

Yesterday, I got out for a true spin. Left home at 3:30 & shot up to the big green hill. Shot straight up to the top, rounded Summit Loop & skipped BoR to blast down Rooney Valley trail. Stopped in the Rooney Rd lot to psyche myself up for the climb up Zorro to DR. After dropping DR, I hung a left on RR & passed the chapel on my way thru Morrison. Thought of making the right to Mt Falcon, but better judgement decided against it.........good thing.

Next I wheeled into BCLP & headed ccw to link up with my exit by Fox Hollow & Stonehouse trail to arrive home at 7:20.   

Can't believe I felt pretty good the entire way, even jumped on the Steamroller to make a quick grocery trip immediately after getting off the Monkey.

Signs of spring/summer....

It's Tuesday, wanna fight?

Suis-j'en France?

Went or an easy spin on the backyard creekside trail under a gray, dreary sky. It made me think of '99 in Caen, pedaling around under the same conditions on a Saturday morning - chilly & a constant mist in the air.
Got my hopes up for Primanti Brother's.............never found it.

Back on the homefront, some dirt & plants met for a lifelong partnership of good tastes: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, basil, cilantro.......mmmm, mmmm good.

Had a great pedal out at Buffalo Creek last night for the weekly, which I've missed the last 4) T.I.T.S. ride. 12 started, Jeremy lost a crankarm at the start, so we were down to  9 riders. Baldy-Buck Gulch-Strawberry Jack-Charlie's-Sandy = 22.8miles. Niiiiiiiiiice!

What's this 69-er shit people been raving about?

Sounds fun. Hell, I'll give it a try.

Swapped out the QR for a solid and threw on my old-ass beat-up flat-spotted 26" XT/DoubleWide/WTB WW 2.5". Dood, that thing is heavy! 1kg for the rim alone. 7.12# for the whole shebang. If it stops raining, I'll pedal it somewhere & see what's up.

Winter?

Big snow, not in our yard, but on the trails. Almost 5' at friends' house in Coal Creek Canyon, almost 4" here in Lakewood. Had to resort to pedaling the Steamroller around the past 2 days.....man, riding on the road is boring! And here in the USA, scary & dangerous. Enough whining, let's rock...

Tomorrow, Fruita has dry trails & I will ride them.

Pre-blizzard spin

All forecasts point to huge piles of snow in the next few days. Insert frown here. Decided to wheel out to Centennial Cone, since I thought this might be my last chance to hit it up since they are closing Mayhem Gulch over the summer, & I refuse to drive an extra 20 minutes to get to one of the other trailheads. It turned out to be a lovely day with the best trail conditions I think I've ever experienced there.

Me at the rocky high point of the ride.

Troy wheeling along. 

Felt pretty good, does that mean I might be getting in shape? 22 miles with 4,500' (unsure if that is correct) of joy.

Slashed & trashed

Headed out w/Steve yesterday to roll through Green Mt, but more specifically to get over to Dakota Ridge to play in the rocks. Our day didn't turn out too well. First hill we head up & his chain blows. I thought this was a bad sign since we were heading towards a bigger hill at the moment. Got there & I hear him yell....yep, ride done & walking time.

Steve headed back, half-walking, half-coasting & I rolled up Zorro, dabbing on that stinking left-handed switchback, which I've cleaned smoothly only 1 or 2 times so far. Hung a left & rolled through the techy stuff, fun as usual, following another large rider, who showed some nice skills, and a few lines I didn't notice before.

Popped out on the road & rolled up o the other side to notice that my goop was starting to leak outta the sidewall of my WTBWWLT, I noticed it when I Stan'sed the tire & was hoping this wouldn't happen. Wouldn't hold up at all, so called home for my saviour to scoop me up on the way back home.

The rain kicked in today, so I blew off the spin I wanted to do. Did enjoy some Affligem while enjoying the Paris-Roubaix. I caught a pretty good buzz, so the day wasn't a total loss.

That's a nice pair......

Had MikeC build me a rear wheel last year. Ebay & Craigslist sales of late increased my PayPal account enough to get the matching front finally done.

Here 'tis mounted & ready to roll.

The dirt beckons!

Ummmmmmmm, yeah.

Back on this thing........finally got out for a pedal yesterday after about 3 weeks off the bike, and following a nasty virus that had me in bed last week. Wheeled outta the garage at 3:50 - headed to Bear Creek park via Stonehouse & did about 2 laps. Made all the climbs, but skipped 'Granny's Grunt'? on the 2nd, cuz I still had about 10miles to get back home. Arrived back at the pad at 7:30 and boy, do my legs hurt!

Did ya know??

Stone-age sk8er

Boomer made it to town again, on his way to Whistler. We went to Denver skate park & he showed the kids what's up.

Those pads are over 25yrs old.

Today, I decided to try to get to the top of Argentine Pass, 13,132'.

The snow & lack of lungs kept me from making it. I was SOO close.

I'll be back.

We're losing sunlight!

Summer solstice has passed & there's still snow up high.
Let's get rolling.

I worked & I rode, nothing new here.


Breaking in the new brakes at Golden Gate.











Jamie wheeling Walker Ranch.








Mt. Falcon was friggin' hot!!










That's more like it. 

Waterton to high point on Marshall Ridge & back. Very cool ride.

Techmology ain't all bad

I rode gears & suspension in Moab & GJ.

I was pleased.

Capabilites & Limitations of Shedding

My luck for the past days has not been there. Had off yesterday, so I thought I'd head out & pedal a few miles. Problem was that I couldn't find my keys. Looked & looked, then Mally got home & found'em within 5 minutes.

Worked today, for an hour....so load up the bike & try to wheel Green Mountain starting at the Stegasaurus lot off 470/70.

This was just heading to the top of Dakota Ridge, I didn't even make it there. Just walking the bike was enough for this slop to stop the wheels from rolling, so I turned around & headed home to pout.....

Moab/Fruita tomorrow!

Hisashi buri!

This thing is too confusing to me, so I haven't added nothing new.
Anyway, lots different a year later.

Camping trip to Mt. Evans area.


Nederland to Winter Park ride


Kenosha Pass to GA Pass ride.


Renlynn's Sweet 16 party.

Hisashiburi desu!!

I remember this thing.......sorta.


So, last time I wrote up anything here, I was in Cackalacky prepping for the haul out west. Since then, I been around CO, France & recently hit up PA for ma's 60th.


It’s gonna take a montage

Boulder	Pueblo	Mt. Evans
GA Pass	le Puisac	Dakota Ridge
Vogue	Summit Lake	The Bourges

NCCSSR

This is what it's about.

















Pat sporting the new t-shirt, slightly used.

Ouch, I hurt.

Typical Friday night

Psyched up and ready for my 2nd NCCSSR tomorrow. Had rain all day and the temp dropped a bunch. I will be a superhero.

Money Pit?

Wonder how badly this will nickel & dime me?

Broken , now fixed

My oldest steed has seen some heavy usage & finally the rear hub worked its way down to 30spokes. I guess riding off-road didn't help the situation much, along with my 100kg.

Finally dusted off the wallet & picked up a flip-flop rear end & slapped it on entering the fixed gear world. Went out yesterday for the 1st time as such, and I can just say it ain't too bad....till I want to stop. Let me just say, I'll be leaving my front brake on for some time.

Who's says there ain't no such thing as golobal warming. January 14th & mid-70s. Something doesn't seem right here.

2007

Another year down the tubes, the dog's done & now it's the time of the Boar.

Took off for Denver to start out my new year & arrived just in time to see some snow.

Well, in addition to the approximately 2' they already had. Streets were covered with 4"-6" of ice with ruts where the cares were rolling, just put the tires in the tracks & let go of the wheel, auto-pilot on!

Then, I got out just in time to miss the next dropping of the white stuff. 'Twas cool to visit winter, since it sure ain't around these parts. Gonna be 70f during this weekend. Denver offered up many food opportunities & I took advantage. Raw fish, mussels, Indian, Mexican galore. Be jealous, be very jealous.......