Sunday "Have To Ride" Ride

Well it was Sunday and I had to ride, yeah I know the trails were a little muddy, but as I said, I had to ride and ride I did. From my craftsman style above ground lair I pedaled to the trails atop Monte Sano to ride and ride and ride. Rode a lot of the same stuff that I usually ride, but in a different order and direction. Change is good is what most say and I tend to agree. I even stopped to snap some pics along the trail.

These were taken at the top of a ridge whre a trail traverses through an area called, appropriately enough, "The Stone Cuts". Pretty cool if you are hiking, (would take someone like Hans Rey to ride through) and are not claustrophobic. Oh yeah that is the new 575 in the pics, still having the issue with my 2.3 Exiwolf rubbing the drive side chainstay. My conclusion is that my light ass wheelset is to0 light ass for my winter ass or dare I say even my summer ass.

I go through some type of crisis every winter, either it's what wheels will best suit my needs and gradient challengedl style of riding or it's tires. This winter it is both. As all of you that read this know (I am probable the only one who reads this, oh no wait, come to think of it, I blog this dribble, but I sure as hell don't read it) I am heading off to Jamaica next week to ride with the Freeriders. Yeah it is the Jamaica Fat Tire Festival. http://smorba.com No, I know I am not a Freerider. Hucking, ladder bridges, take offs, landings they all frighten me but I sure like going down so at least that part will be fun, until the landing. Any way back to my dillema, I have another older, heavier, wheelset, red Chirs King's with Mavic x3.1's but have not ridden those wheels in ages, don't know if it is true or what but should be stronger than the blue Chris Kings and Olympic ZTR's. It is a risk either way, the Ztr's are the heavier version so are stronger than the regular Olympics but they are for some reason way flexy. Should I buy some tubeless tires and take the red wheelset or put my regular tires on with a Stan's strip or just go wit wat I got mon. Stay tuned, this is every bit as exciting as the season premier of "Lost".........................

Why do they call it Mountain Mist?

The much anticipated Mountain Mist Trail Run was held this past Saturday on Monte Sano. Authors note: They stole the title "Mountain Mist" from my cycling team. Being the outdoor types that we are "The Little Man" and I got up early, slipped on some ice on the porch, busted our ass, cried to mama and somehow eventurally put on enough clothes to go watch the run. I figured we burned about 350calories each just watching the runners. Now that is what I call winter training. The weather was as it should be, cold, misty, wet and misty. The race which traverses some 50km up and down most of the mountain, uses the same trails that we use on our mountain bike assaults on Monte Sano. I can't imagine running that far or even half that far on these trails, not even if I were being chased by a big angry deer. Congratulations to all who took part.

New Year, New Bike

Alberto and I went to the 2008 version of the Tour de Felasco via the Dauset Trails system two weeks ago. One picture and a full trip report to come soon, I am sure no one is reading this blog but if they are I can bet they are on the edge of their seats waiting to hear of Alberto's shenanigans.

Anyway, new year, new bike(see above). The 2008 Yeti 575 has been called in to replace my 2006 575. The 08 is a medium vs my previous large, however the top tube of the 575 was lengthened for '08 and now fits me perfectly. I am really enjoying this bike, it climbs well(considering the pilot), and is fast enough on the downs to scare the hell out of me and anyone watching. A few issues to work out with some tire rub on the chainstay and I should be good to go. A less beefy tire would fix the issue, but that is too simple, besides, I likes the fat tires, they are cushy and grippy and make a cool four wheel drive driven by a redneck deer slayer sound on the pave. A stiffer rim or bigger spokes or blah, blah, blah, technical bike term will certainly solve my minor problem. Look for a full in depth review of the new '08 575 in a future blog.

Eonugh about equipment, I am ready to ride this weekend, the weather has been horrible in the Tennessee Valley so it has been a struggle to squeeze in a measly ride. I rode monday and wore booties, I swore I would never, ever look like Peter Pan on the bicycle. Funny what I will do to at least make a ride possible. By the way it was only 34 deg. but I do not do well in the cold. I have a new camera, so if I get out this weekend for a ride I will post pics and a ride report. I know no one is reading this, I am typing to myself.