Close One at the Causeway

It was one of those crashes that could easily have gone either way. It ended with some scrapes and bruises. It was soooo close to ending with some dental work and probably some collateral facial damage. 

I was off Mike's rear wheel as he approached the causeway by the Creative Playthings Bridge. We were returning from happy hour at The Overlook (you get the picture). We were loose and moving at a nice clip approaching the 10" step up onto the causeway. Mike was a fraction of a second late lifting his front wheel up onto step. His front wheel stopped instantaneously, the bike kicked out backward, and Mike catapulted over the handlebars with his face on a perfect trajectory to plant, hard, on the causeway. Somehow he got his forearms in front of his face to break the fall.

On the way home I was thinking of revising the happy hour axiom "one is not enough and three is too many." I was going to revise it down, but then I remembered the 7% on Mike's microbrew can. Maybe my lite beer tastes like cold piss but the 3.5% sure felt about right on the ride home. 

It's one of those things that happens occasionally in this sport - just look at the "Notable Crashes" section on this blog. Most of them end OK but occasionally you get one that rattles you a little. It replays in slow motion over and over in your head the next day. You clearly see what could have happened. And next time you ride, you are just a little more focused. That slight pucker factor is actually one of the wonderful things about this sport. It focuses the mind, clears away the distractions. Keeps you "in the zone."

Chris

P.S. We were just 13 days from setting new "days since last crash" record (ironically today is Friday the 13th).

"Safe biking is no accident"

     - unknown

Sunday Services

Carb Loading Al Fresco

The Temple

This morning's carb loading included fresh fruit salad, sticky buns, and champagne. Oh and five soft boiled eggs with prepared horseradish. Oh...my...God...yum!  After our mid morning breakfast (taken al fresco), Ruth, Mom, and Dad took their annual pilgrimage to Waterloo Gardens while I ducked out for a ride Sunday Services in the temple that mother nature built. Reflection, inspiration, and grace were in abundance and I came home rejuvinated in body and in spirit.

Chris

"Cycling is like church-many attend but few understand."
     -- Jim Burlant

Happiest Hour

Capacity crowd at The Overlook today, ogling at bikes and comparing craft beers. This bodes well for the 2012 riding season, Fridays in particular.

Regarding mid-ride consumption of beer, I would like to amend my previous statement that "one is not enough and three is too many." Judging by my performance on the ride back, two Heinekens is definitely too many, I think lite beer may be more appropriate...or one of those 10oz Corona girly-beers  masquerading as a Kinger (very clever Mark).

Chris

"Bikes, babes, and beer. Whenever life gets you down, return to the fundamentals."
     -- Unknown

First Dirt

First dirt (and beers) at The Overlook

Classic American story: (51 year old) kid gets shiny new bike. Report after first ride: Need to change my riding style.

Turning. The Rig needs to be horsed around some of the turns, the El Mar turns much easier. Horsing it almost sent me into the trees a couple of times. Maybe it's geometry, maybe the maxel, maybe the new Reba fork (stiffer?) but it is definitely more nimble.

Acceleration. OMG yes. While it's not a light frame, the hoops are light and with 26" 1.95 tubes (trick I learned at the shop) so are the tires. So it accelerates quickly. Or maybe it's the new bike buzz I had going, but who cares.

The shifting is fast and precise, both front and back, thanks to the X9 upgrade.

And the unexpected surprise is the brakes. Hydraulics give such a better feel than cable. Maybe the big rotor up front makes a difference. Whatever. I had not anticipated this bonus. Huge.

Only two knocks against it after two rides:

• Needs chain stay protector. Actually very little chain slap, but with a BRAND NEW shiny frame I want to keep it that way.
• Front tire feels slightly out of round. Only noticeable on very smooth stretches, but is noticeable. Maybe tire bead needs to be re-seated. That should be fun (see prior post).

Oh and one more great feature. I suspected it ahead of time, but still it may be the best of all. The new bike draws a crowd! It started with fellow riders stopping by the house to "sneak a peek" and it culminated with myself, MikeR, RobI, and Zoey out at The Overlook. Moments later MikeM came screaming in sweaty and out of breath after a dash from the boat launch to meet us  see the bike  drink beer. And MarkS arriving 5 minutes later from the bonus loop with the same agenda.

If the first couple of rides are any indication, many more memories will be made with this bike.

Chris

"It won't make you ride better, it will make you ride more, and that will make you ride better."
     - Nippleworks ad (talking about value of a good bike)

Glamour Shoot

Photo shoot prior to Friday's cherry popper ride.

Enjoy these glam shots of the El Mar before she sees the dirt. She's a 2012 El Mar 2 with upgraded shifters (X9) and Ergon grips. And one unexpected upgrade at the shop was a maxel adaptor for my roof rack (du-oh).

Glad I had them change the tubes at Garrison's Cyclery (1.96 26-ers to reduce rotational mass). In the process we discovered that the Continental X Kings are really tight on those Stans Arch rims. How tight? Well 5 minutes after Rob started preaching to me about the importance of never using an iron to put a tire back on the rim (I agree), he was using an iron to put the tire on the rim. Oh and he busted the iron in the process. So these tires are tight and the rim sidewalls are tall. I hope something loosens up because that could be a real bitch out on the trail.

Small green globule in middle of the Salsa headtube badge is a bug who met his unfortunate but mercifully quick demise during the car ride home from the bike shop. Next post will be a first dirt ride report.

Chris

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a bicycle, must be in want of another one."
     -- unknown

Dos and Don'ts

Don't Do This

My life expectancy rose but my heart sank yesterday as I rode to the totter meeting place by The Bonus Loop. The tree that mother nature had placed at a perfectly gnarly 45 degree angle across the trail had been moved aside by some miscreant. That log at that angle definitely made things interesting (especially when the log was wet) but I personally do not subscribe to "dumbing down" the local trails.

Do Do This

But my heart was lifted (and my life expectancy probably rose) today as we made our happy hour dash to The Overlook. It was my first ride in months with short sleeves, the trails were buff, and my Camelback was full of beer. And it was there on the Overlook that I decided to pull the trigger on a new Salsa El Mariachi. I will have to wait until tomorrow morning at 10am to actually pull it, but finally making up my mind, standing at the overlook with a beer in my hand, was memorable.

Oh and the mad dash back in tight four bike formation will not soon be forgotten. Chests heaving, beers sloshing, faces smiling.

Chris

"It never gets easier, you just go faster."
     – Greg LeMond

A Wednesday to Remember

All we could eat

The day started with my bike and roof rack being violently ripped off my car and unceremoniously thrown into into the driveway. But it ended with a couple of hours of sweet single track, wings, and some beer with friends. I would call that a net gain.

This morning's culprit was the basketball hoop hanging over my driveway at the perfect height to snag the handlebar of a roof mounted bike. Hundreds of times I have backed out of the driveway, peeking through the moon roof, expertly guiding the car and it's valuable payload around the net with inches to spare. This morning not so much.

This afternoon's culprit was the trio of spectacular springtime weather, three riding buddies, and the buff single track of White Clay. Adrenaline and fresh air made up for a winter of atrophy and we ripped the sh*t out of those trails for a couple of hours, having more fun than is normally allowed for a Wednesday afternoon.  The ride even helped Mark avoid a minor surgical procedure and a $35 copay (sorry I can't figure out how to elaborate without disgusting my Mom who I know reads this blog).

We decided to cap the ride with a beer at McGlynn's. Turns out that Wednesday is all you can eat wings. Oh yeah. The morning driveway calamity was a distant memory...

“Like dogs, bicycles are social catalysts that attract a superior category of people” 
     -- Chip Brown