Misty Mountain Hop.

Took a walk on the Rocky Knob Trail the other day and took this shot along the way. This is looking east at Rocky Knob and the Long Pine Reservoir. The loop is four miles.

Night lights...

I finally made a decision after the long debate. Since we rode until almost dark last evening, I figured I need to commit to this and make a purchase. I probably won't have it until next week at this time. I price shopped and went with Sunrise Cyclery through Amazon....about $70 cheaper after shipping compared to most other retailers.

How to videos

ExpertVillage
This dude is riding a prophet I think. Regardless, his videos aren't that bad. Just something to think about next time you want to hop, drag, or drop. They look like Michaux trails.

Will work for food!

I built this bridge for my neighbor. Made completely of recycled wood. It goes over a narrow stream in her backyard. So, when she mentioned she wanted it built I cut a great deal. She's an awesome cook and now whenever she makes something she sends some over to me. So far this week has been chicken noodle soup, three cheese sausage casserole and apple cobbler. The week is only half over! I may have to go back and make it a covered bridge!

Road Trip.

I'd like to know if anyone is interested in a roadtrip to some place other than Michaux for a three or four hour bike ride? It could be for the morning or afternoon depending on where we choose. If we can discuss locations, dates and skill level we can then post something more official on the blog.

Any suggestions? I suggest drive time no longer than two hours one way.

This is Cowans Gap. They deter biking by only having one trail that climbs forever. Could be fun on the way down.

The Michaux shirt

The front

The back

This is an old shirt I used for the test run. It'll look better on a brand new shirt. What do you guys think?

Second half

Sometimes the trail wins.

The second half of the Teaberry Sport just doesn't do it for me. A tough ride even though its mostly double track. It's a great workout but I push entirely too much of that loop.
Rocky Ridge is a great piece of single trac if you have the nuts and strength of a gorilla. I can't seem to find a line on that trail that doesn't go straight to the E.R. I end up walking over stuff because I can't keep my speed up. Then I look at it and think "I could have hit that."
If Greensickle can keep a bike in one piece for the race he'll be a serious threat. That was some nice riding yesterday. Sorry I left you guys waiting.
I'm now certain that all the preride food is not working. I was also riding a brick with slow rollers at low pressure. I'll run tubless on raceday and eat real food instead of power bars. That seems to be my formula.
I'm riding the race loop on Thursday night instead of the club ride. I want to run that and then do something low impact Friday and take Saturday off.

After Dark

It's time to think about lights if we're going to keep riding in the evenings.
I have the MityCross and I think its awesome. It's a out half the size of many other lights and it easily mounts on the helmet or bars. It has 3 intensity levels and a rechargeable Li battery. I've never run the battery down so I'm not even sure how long it will last. Beyond two - three hours.
No they didn't pay me to say this but I spent a lot of time shopping lights last year this was a great find. Its under 200 bucks and competes with lights twice the size which cost more. It's also made in the USA.

This guy here might have been dead. Didn't move at all and I ain't the type to poke at them. I think its a black snake.

Took a spin today down Secret and back and then around the beginner trails and then once around the park. Maybe six or eight miles total. All in the big ring and somewhere in the middle of the cassette. Except for the climb up secret, I granny'd some of that. I'd really like to keep up with you guys on rides. So, I need to work at it.

Ever been up that trail? The section along Corals Ridge is pretty rocky. Some small but good logs too. I rode to the top and took a break and then smashed back down it.

It was another perfect day for riding. There's leaves covering parts of the trail already. I hope we get a little more summer.

Thule Rack for the Honda

Picked up a Thule roof rack for the Honda Monday on my way back from Delaware. I was only looking for the proper feet for a rack since I had a complete rack for the Porsche but I found a rack with three bike carriers for $100 on craigslist. Easily $300-$400 worth of rack parts to duplicate so I grabbed it. Now I just have to find the time to put it on the car!

New stuff for the old bike.

It was a beautiful day to work on the bike. It needed it bad. I hosed it off and as soon as the tire patch got wet it failed and the tube poked back out.
Anyway, I built up the new rims. Easton two's with a PG990 cassette. They're not tubless. They are a big step up from the Rangers I've been running. Stiffer rims and sealed cartridge bearings. New tires and tubes.
I also noticed that I carved up the bash guards I taped on the carbon seat stays when I crashed. So, I'm glad I put them on. I put on new tape and good to go.
I also fixed the loose headset. Thanks for telling me how Brad, it worked perfect!
I hit the rr derailuer in the same crash. It needed some adjustment and I can't tell if its bent or not. Seems to be working but the heavy gears not so well.
New chain too. The stock one had a year of Michaux so it was time.
I'll bring it out Tuesday and see how it goes.

The Epic Hurricane Bill Ride

I was able to make it to Teaberry parking lot with about five minutes to spare. However,

I deviated from the intended ride at that point. We made a few wrong turns, got lost, kept going, saw Sasquach, entered the worm hole and as you can see we arrived back at the parking lot I'm not sure how. At that point Steve gave me a lift back to my car. I think it was 16-18 miles total. I'm wiped out and on my way to an afternoon nap. We'll see about tomorrow.

See you at The Next Ride!

Hurricane Bill Ride

Todays outlook goes from partly sunny to 80% chance of showers depending on what site you check for weather. Therefore, in an attempt to forget about the economy and health care for five seconds I hereby dedicate this ride to Hurricane Bill.

Provided nobody else shows up for some EZ fun, I intend to ride from Caledonia to Teaberry in one hour. Rain, shine, bees, whatever. Then I'll ride with the group back to the reservoir and head home. No idea how many miles it is but if you zoom out far enough on the map, these two places are pretty close together. The other thing is that, I'm not even sure they're riding back to the reservoir?! And the kicker ... I'm not even sure if I remeber the trails to get to Teaberry ([:o

See you on a ride soon!

We still using this?

Whats up. Just wondering if we're still using this blog? This was my first Michaux bike. Pic taken on the beginner trails.

New bike gear

Got a bash guard coming for the Prophet.  Hopefully this will help prevent any top of the log gymnastic maneuvers like the one I almost had Tuesday!  I'll lose the third ring but I never use it anyway.

Vacation?

Brian-you can't just take off for 10 days!

This post is a test

Just here conducting a test.