2009.01.17 & 18 MTB
January 19th, 2009
2009.01.17 So I braved riding my bicycle again, but this time it was actually cold. This is a mixed blessing. If it’s cold enough, the trails will be frozen. Of course if it’s that cold, parts of my body will be frozen too. For that reason, fortunately it wasn’t that cold. But unfortunately, the trails weren’t frozen, and there were some slippery muddy parts here and there, even though the trails were generally dry.
At any rate, the cold day was set aside for riding the new trails at Whirlpool. I’d ridden part of the new one, but it had since been finished. The first half is pretty twisty and … not “technical” but not just terribly fast. So maybe the best way to describe it is “slow.” Fun, but slow.
Then there’s a clear change, about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way in. It become fast. Flowy, swoopy, and very fun. There are some technical features, but most of the trail is open, and begging for speed. To be fair, it’s a different kind of forest, too. The slow part is a lot of pines, and a bunch of smaller trees. I say smaller to indicate there’s still a lot of competition among them, and they cover the area. It’s what I’d call secondary-growth forest, although that could be wrong. The fast trail is in old growth forest. There are a lot of big trees, so the cover is higher, and so less ground level competition. Which means a more open forest. Which means a more open trail. Which means speed. 
The first picture below is actually where the change is made.
Cross this (usually dry) ditch, then everything just sort of opens up.
This even follows in a low area, so it’s pretty flat to boot. There are hills, in fact a little ridge similar to what’s in “The Junkyard”, this is just the next ridge to the West. This trail goes up and comes down that ridge, to much enjoyment.
The most “wait, what was that now?” section is this tree pair, on a sharp steep uphill section. You have to hit this with speed, but too much and you’ll probably eat it. Too little and you won’t roll up the hill. And you’ll amost surely have to roll, because these trees are close enough that they’ll either be happy to catch a pedal on your downstroke.
Then we actually go get on The Junkyard and ride out. It’s reverse from the normal direction, but it adds miles (maybe 2) of singletrack compared to fire roads.
11.75 miles, 4.9 (!!!) mph (like I said, 1/2 of the new trail is slow.
2009.01.18 Temperatures were excellent today. Called for shorts and a windproof jacket. Pictures only:
12.19 miles, 6.3 mph.
Note that I’ve nearly figured out how to do what I want to do with the pictures. If (what amounts to) the nested images pass muster with everyone, I’ll stick with that format. It’s not too difficult to set them up that way.
Filed under: Canon SD870, gadgets, mountain biking | 1 Comment »
2009.01.12 First Bike Ride of the Year.
January 16th, 2009
Almost 2 solid weeks into the year and I had not ridden my bike (recreationally) even once. Last year, at least I got out on New Year’s Day. (Though in my defense, I was not in town and with my bikes on NYD).
So I got out for a little spin on the twelfth. Finally. I didn’t have in mind a route, but I was somewhat limited in time. Being that I get done with work at 3:30 (conveniently) and it’s not dark until 5:30 or 6, I figured I could play for a while. I did. I rode sections that (to my knowledge) do not have names yet, and on to what I call “The Junkyard.”
Beavers clearly got a hold on a few trees out in this area beside the “lake” (barely a lake, but bigger than what I call a pond). It’s pretty cool seeing their work. But then, beavers, why cut a tree and leave it? I guess they’ll get around to it. Wonder why they cut 1-2 feet up off the ground, too. I put my hand in one of these for scale. Beavers are determined little creatures. I wouldn’t care to chew through a tree, thank you very much.
It was pretty uneventful. It was very fun, though. It helped me realize how out of shape I have gotten — something that needs to be fixed post haste. A secondary goal for the “first ride” was to get some good in-the-woods pictures of my bike. Which I did:
That’s a 2005 Scott Scale 10 (frame)… Technically the “10″ specifies the build as well, but in this case, I built the bike from ground up. So it’s a “10″ in a sense, but in reality, not really. Having said that, the parts I chose are at least as good as stock Scott Scale 10’s. I have only about 100 miles on the bike as of now, and I love it. I have been through bikes, and never got comfortable, but this is not the case with the Scale. It’s just right.
One of my goals after a pitiful performance last year (about 2500 total miles) was to do something like a Century a month. The goal was never too specific, or set in stone, or anything. And these early months of the year, an organized century might be hard to find (but we’re close enough to Florida…) Even so, training would prohibit that.
So I’ll hope to make it up later in the year. Let’s say average a century a month. Any takers (even for the trips?)? I would merely ask for help in planning.
Sidenote: I’m still getting worked out how I want to display pictures and whatnot. This is not exactly how I want it. We’ll see. And I just noted that the rss displays the images differently than the site. Will work on.
Filed under: Canon SD870, Photography, design, mountain biking | No Comments »
Bike bag contents (& stuff “on” me).
January 10th, 2009
I figured it’d be fun (for me, probably not for anyone else) to see what all I carry in my bag when I ride to work (and increasingly, wherever I go). It’s a bit of a “goal” and not something I always do, just yet. In any case, the following is a list of what I generally carry, or generally intend to carry. Remind me to go back through the list before I fly anywhere. O_o
I carry a Crumpler Considerable Embarrassment (too small to put shoes and anything else) Osprey Resource Elroy (1/2/2009), and this stuff in it:
- Fenix PD20 (1/5/2009)
- Leatherman CX Skeletool (1/10/2009) [pre-review: the blade on this thing is incredible. in. cred. uh. ble.]
- Leatherman Bit Kit (1/5/2009)
- Moleskine Soft Cover Pocket Ruled Notebook (3.5 x 5.5)
- Pigma Micron 01 (0.25mm) #1 Archival Ink Pen, Black
- Sharpie Pen, black (testing)
- Shure IC2-MP Sound isolating earphones (11/5/2008)
- Granite Gear Air Tote (1/2/2009)
- Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (and three 4GB SD cards so I can take a hundred bajillion pictures if I need to (9/12/2008)
- Lowepro Ridge 10
- Joby Gorillapod Go-Go! (1/2/2009)
- Sandisk SD Extreme III 4GB – for my portable apps – it’s like a computer in my pocket (because I also carry a usb reader)
- Sigg Metro Thermos 13oz Dark Blue (6/17/2008)
- iPhone 3G 16gb of course, in black (7/12/2008) (in a Griffin Elan Form case)
- Topeak Master Blaster DX Pump (rei.com link since Topeak doesn’t make it anymore)
- Gore Bike Wear Signature Cap
- WhiBal G6 Pocket Kit (1/10/2009)
Pocket:
Gerber Paraframe IICRKT P.E.C.K. Knife (a “money clip” knife) (9/22/2008)- Chapstick Moisturizer
- Kavu Wally Wallet in Khaki of course (I love this thing)
Over the course of … something … I’ll probably review each of these items. I’ll try to annotate here when I’ve done the review.
Need to add:
- medical stuff (bandaids at the very least)
- spare tube
- multi-tool (one in the mail to me, now, actually [that I won!!!]) (and actually the Leatherman Bit Kit I already carry has a hex set)
- HP Mini 2140 netbook (no link yet because they haven’t been released [but I can't wait to get one])
This brings up a fair few important and interesting points. I have a love for messenger bags, and before it was messenger bags, it was backpacks and hip bags in general. I have had more than my fair share of them. In fact still have most of them. And there is one more on it’s way to me now (to fill a gap in my bag lineup that I created just for it to fill) [sidenote: I listed things on ebay just today to "make room" for the new item(s)].
It also exaggerates the point of my interest in gadgetry (for example, the Leatherman). And my firm commitment to things I’m used to and comfortable with (ChapStick).
I try to keep only items I will use, but at the same time, try to always have items I need. It’s a fine line, and one that an expanding bag size and diminutive bike commute has allowed me to push dramatically. I was never a Boy Scout, but my preparedness (at least in this one case, which is carrying stuff I might need ["Be Prepared"]) is clear. Yes, all this stuff is easily overkill. But, it’s good practice. Plus it’s fun. It’s like a man-purse. Full of gadgetry.
If you read that all intently you’ll notice that at pretty much all times I have thirty-two gigabytes of storage on my person. I hadn’t realized that until just now. That’s heavy.
Also, I am interested in suggestions on items I have left out. I know there’s something obvious that I need to have but just hasn’t happened to come up on my list just yet. Ok if I haven’t needed it, do I really need it? Maybe not. But there could be that one thing…
Filed under: Canon SD870, Photography, Reviews, commuting, gadgets | No Comments »