Minus Ten Review 2009-43

Ten years ago on the blog this week I was talking about Fall riding. That Fall was spectacular. The colors were intense and saturated. One particularly great place that year was Cedar Bend Park.

I had first heard about Cedar Bend from an old friend of mine at the time who used to ride a lot out there. It sounded intriguing, so around about 2007-8 or so I finally made the trip up North of Waverly, Iowa and found Cedar Bend Park.

The trails were mowed like a cross country skiing trail- wide, no weeds, and no discernible "tread" to ride in much of the time. But otherwise they were a blast to ride on due to their fast, rough nature. There was also some elevation change, and some cool short wooden bridges leaping across ravines here and there. There were really steep climbs longer than most anything in Ingawanis, and there was a lot of potential there for building on to what they had.

In general, I hardly ever saw anyone on these trails, but later on equestrians started coming in, and the horse excrement issues were really bad. The equestrians also were running their steeds on the wooden bridges, damaging them, as they weren't spec'ed to handle a horse. Finally it just got to be no fun to go there and I stopped my riding in that park about six years ago now.

Anyway, I have my great memories and images like the one shared here today from my Cedar Bend rides. Maybe I should go back and check it out again some day.

Minus Ten Review 2009-43

Ten years ago on the blog this week I was talking about Fall riding. That Fall was spectacular. The colors were intense and saturated. One particularly great place that year was Cedar Bend Park.

I had first heard about Cedar Bend from an old friend of mine at the time who used to ride a lot out there. It sounded intriguing, so around about 2007-8 or so I finally made the trip up North of Waverly, Iowa and found Cedar Bend Park.

The trails were mowed like a cross country skiing trail- wide, no weeds, and no discernible "tread" to ride in much of the time. But otherwise they were a blast to ride on due to their fast, rough nature. There was also some elevation change, and some cool short wooden bridges leaping across ravines here and there. There were really steep climbs longer than most anything in Ingawanis, and there was a lot of potential there for building on to what they had.

In general, I hardly ever saw anyone on these trails, but later on equestrians started coming in, and the horse excrement issues were really bad. The equestrians also were running their steeds on the wooden bridges, damaging them, as they weren't spec'ed to handle a horse. Finally it just got to be no fun to go there and I stopped my riding in that park about six years ago now.

Anyway, I have my great memories and images like the one shared here today from my Cedar Bend rides. Maybe I should go back and check it out again some day.

Loose Ends

I was reminded once again why off-roading in Northeast Iowa in the Summer is often a bad idea.

This is Monday......right? Not sure. It's been a weird six or seven days what with my schedule, a holiday, and a weekend all running together to make it so I wasn't sure what day it was several times throughout the period.

Anyway, back to the regular grind, right? I will find my feet in a hurry, I am sure. So, a few things to clean up on that have happened of late that didn't make the blog in the last several days. I guess it could almost have been a "Randomonium" post, but there actually is a common thread, so, no....... Just some loose ends here this time to cover.

First off, it is not only the height of "green" here in the Mid-West, but it is also the traditional time of year that I abandon mountain biking in the local area. It's been that way for years, and thanks to Ingawanis Woodlands, or otherwise I'd never have gotten much done in Summertime back in the old "Twenty Nine Inches" days. Well, there and Cedar Bend Park. Those were mainstays back in the day. That said, I almost never went anywhere in the local area due to the height of "jungle season". The time of year here when our river bottom oriented trails are water-logged, overgrown with vegetation, and rife with mosquitoes. In other words, absolutely no fun at all.

We have a local group here that for the last ten years, well.....around that long....have been busting their butts trying to fight with the regular seasons. They've had some successes for sure, but this year is quintessential "jungle season" conditions, and, well...... The results have been predictable. No one is having much fun with the soft trails locally and everyone that can goes to Ingawanis Woodlands.

Yep. Same song, second verse.

Testing the Spank Vibrocore handle bar has been challenging.

So, gravel travel has been the ticket around these parts. It's interesting hearing the tales of roadies this year. More close calls. More crashes in group rides leading to broken bikes and bones. Bah! Like Jeff Kerkove used to say, "The Road is the devil!", when he spoke of road riding. Now, admittedly, I am not a roadie. I ride gravel, and I like mountain biking a lot. Take that for what it's worth. But you can have road riding. I don't have any interest in it at all right now.

At any rate, I have enough to get done with "Riding Gravel" to keep me gravel riding for the rest of the year. One of the latest review items is the Spank Vibrocore drop bar I am reviewing for the site. It's not an easy product to talk about, by the way.

First of all, even Spank says this bar "changes the vibrations" from harmful ones to a rider to less harmful ones. Note- they do not claim that vibrations will be absent. This makes talking about this bar difficult, because what are harmful vibrations for you, and what are they for me? See where I am coming from? It's an odd world of marketing claims and products out there, and we all have to navigate it when considering products. That said, I like the bar fine. It's got a great flare and drop shape, and that 31.8mm top section is brilliant. I just have to do some more riding to suss out the rest.

Not that I mind. Riding the gravel roads is fun and, obviously, I enjoy it. But with July running on, and August staring at me from a few weeks away, I already feel like time is running short, and it seems like Summer just got rolling here. Plus I have the GTDRI and Gravel Worlds to get ready for. Sheesh! It's daunting. Lots to do- little time to get it done.

Loose Ends

I was reminded once again why off-roading in Northeast Iowa in the Summer is often a bad idea.

This is Monday......right? Not sure. It's been a weird six or seven days what with my schedule, a holiday, and a weekend all running together to make it so I wasn't sure what day it was several times throughout the period.

Anyway, back to the regular grind, right? I will find my feet in a hurry, I am sure. So, a few things to clean up on that have happened of late that didn't make the blog in the last several days. I guess it could almost have been a "Randomonium" post, but there actually is a common thread, so, no....... Just some loose ends here this time to cover.

First off, it is not only the height of "green" here in the Mid-West, but it is also the traditional time of year that I abandon mountain biking in the local area. It's been that way for years, and thanks to Ingawanis Woodlands, or otherwise I'd never have gotten much done in Summertime back in the old "Twenty Nine Inches" days. Well, there and Cedar Bend Park. Those were mainstays back in the day. That said, I almost never went anywhere in the local area due to the height of "jungle season". The time of year here when our river bottom oriented trails are water-logged, overgrown with vegetation, and rife with mosquitoes. In other words, absolutely no fun at all.

We have a local group here that for the last ten years, well.....around that long....have been busting their butts trying to fight with the regular seasons. They've had some successes for sure, but this year is quintessential "jungle season" conditions, and, well...... The results have been predictable. No one is having much fun with the soft trails locally and everyone that can goes to Ingawanis Woodlands.

Yep. Same song, second verse.

Testing the Spank Vibrocore handle bar has been challenging.

So, gravel travel has been the ticket around these parts. It's interesting hearing the tales of roadies this year. More close calls. More crashes in group rides leading to broken bikes and bones. Bah! Like Jeff Kerkove used to say, "The Road is the devil!", when he spoke of road riding. Now, admittedly, I am not a roadie. I ride gravel, and I like mountain biking a lot. Take that for what it's worth. But you can have road riding. I don't have any interest in it at all right now.

At any rate, I have enough to get done with "Riding Gravel" to keep me gravel riding for the rest of the year. One of the latest review items is the Spank Vibrocore drop bar I am reviewing for the site. It's not an easy product to talk about, by the way.

First of all, even Spank says this bar "changes the vibrations" from harmful ones to a rider to less harmful ones. Note- they do not claim that vibrations will be absent. This makes talking about this bar difficult, because what are harmful vibrations for you, and what are they for me? See where I am coming from? It's an odd world of marketing claims and products out there, and we all have to navigate it when considering products. That said, I like the bar fine. It's got a great flare and drop shape, and that 31.8mm top section is brilliant. I just have to do some more riding to suss out the rest.

Not that I mind. Riding the gravel roads is fun and, obviously, I enjoy it. But with July running on, and August staring at me from a few weeks away, I already feel like time is running short, and it seems like Summer just got rolling here. Plus I have the GTDRI and Gravel Worlds to get ready for. Sheesh! It's daunting. Lots to do- little time to get it done.

Minus Ten Review -32

I miss both the bike and the trail in this image.

Ten years ago on the blog I was really busy testing forks, tires, and other stuff for my gigs online. I spent a LOT of time running back and forth to Cedar Bend Park and Camp Ingawanis every Wednesday and weekend. What is odd is that while the mountain biking was excellent, hardly anyone would drive up from Waterloo or Cedar Falls to partake. 

Most times I rode up there I never saw anyone. No other bikers and no walkers. Now a day doesn't go by when someone on social media asks about riding up there. I guess that's what it took to get the ball moving with trail use. Well, things are a lot different now then they once were. While the South Side trails, now called Ingawanis Woodlands, are awesome, the old North Side/Boy Scout Camp trails were far more fun, technical, and covered a wider area of land. If you did the "big loop" on the North Side, you weren't simply folding back in on the same hill over and over again. No.....you were riding somewhere. Covering ground. It was more like trails are in Wisconsin, Minnesota, or elsewhere. Not that what we have now is bad, but the Scout Camp wasn't like anything else anywhere near here. I could go on.....

The bike,the old, battered Superior Blue El Mariachi, was the last of its kind. Salsa tuned the compliance right out of the El Mar after 2008 and it never was the bike it had been before. It was a sweet, decent little mountain bike in the old school mode where you just rode for the experience of being in the woods. Not to shred or be some bike that was "playful". It handled quickly, didn't steer like a truck, and you could go up and down within reason. The only modern day bike like it is the current Krampus. Only the Krampus is a 29+ bike. But anyway, I ruined that bike when I had it repainted and re-purposed as a single speed. That was the dumbest thing I ever did with a bike within recent memory.

A very legendary visitor from Colorado was here to see me back then....

I was graced by the visitation of a somewhat legendary individual from Colorado named Mike Curiak back then. He had gotten a hold of me and asked about stopping by for a ride. What got into this man to come and cruise some humble, ordinary wooded single track in Iowa, I'll never know.

We rode in the afternoon and went to down town Cedar Falls for a cuppa then he split town and went back to Colorado, and onward to much more exciting things.

I was very grateful for his stop, and to this day, I owe Mr. Curiak a debt of thanks for helping Jeff Kerkove and I to formulate the foundations of Trans Iowa. Mike had a heavy influence on the initial rules, format, and ethos of Trans Iowa, and on some early tweaks I made to the event. It could be said that much of what became gravel racing and riding was influenced through Mike Curiak directly and by his friends who started the Great Divide Race and other Western ultra-mtb events.

If you ever read the following here: "If you don't like that, then maybe this event isn't for you.", that is a direct quote from Mike. There's more to this, but maybe I'll get around to that another time.

Trans Iowa v5 was announced ten years ago this week. It was a big deal since we moved the event out of Decorah due to the desires of a certain irritated cycling luminary from Decorah that asked me not to consider Decorah for any future cycling events I had planned. This stemming from the failed Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. Here's a snippet from ten years ago concerning this.....

"The next thing you noticed is probably the location change. We have felt all along that Trans Iowa should be about showing folks that Iowa is something more than "flat", corn fields, and pigs. There is a lot more to Iowa than that. We have endeavored to move the event around since last year when d.p, (David Pals) and I started talking about doing T.I.V4, so this move to Williamsburg fits in with our plans and our philosophy."

 So we were already thinking about getting out of Decorah, but we weren't going to do that until v6 at the earliest. The disgruntled shot fired at us in the Summer of '08 changed all that though. While leaving Decorah as our base for TI was a bummer, it wasn't without future benefits of which we had no idea about at the time.

Minus Ten Review -32

I miss both the bike and the trail in this image.

Ten years ago on the blog I was really busy testing forks, tires, and other stuff for my gigs online. I spent a LOT of time running back and forth to Cedar Bend Park and Camp Ingawanis every Wednesday and weekend. What is odd is that while the mountain biking was excellent, hardly anyone would drive up from Waterloo or Cedar Falls to partake. 

Most times I rode up there I never saw anyone. No other bikers and no walkers. Now a day doesn't go by when someone on social media asks about riding up there. I guess that's what it took to get the ball moving with trail use. Well, things are a lot different now then they once were. While the South Side trails, now called Ingawanis Woodlands, are awesome, the old North Side/Boy Scout Camp trails were far more fun, technical, and covered a wider area of land. If you did the "big loop" on the North Side, you weren't simply folding back in on the same hill over and over again. No.....you were riding somewhere. Covering ground. It was more like trails are in Wisconsin, Minnesota, or elsewhere. Not that what we have now is bad, but the Scout Camp wasn't like anything else anywhere near here. I could go on.....

The bike,the old, battered Superior Blue El Mariachi, was the last of its kind. Salsa tuned the compliance right out of the El Mar after 2008 and it never was the bike it had been before. It was a sweet, decent little mountain bike in the old school mode where you just rode for the experience of being in the woods. Not to shred or be some bike that was "playful". It handled quickly, didn't steer like a truck, and you could go up and down within reason. The only modern day bike like it is the current Krampus. Only the Krampus is a 29+ bike. But anyway, I ruined that bike when I had it repainted and re-purposed as a single speed. That was the dumbest thing I ever did with a bike within recent memory.

A very legendary visitor from Colorado was here to see me back then....

I was graced by the visitation of a somewhat legendary individual from Colorado named Mike Curiak back then. He had gotten a hold of me and asked about stopping by for a ride. What got into this man to come and cruise some humble, ordinary wooded single track in Iowa, I'll never know.

We rode in the afternoon and went to down town Cedar Falls for a cuppa then he split town and went back to Colorado, and onward to much more exciting things.

I was very grateful for his stop, and to this day, I owe Mr. Curiak a debt of thanks for helping Jeff Kerkove and I to formulate the foundations of Trans Iowa. Mike had a heavy influence on the initial rules, format, and ethos of Trans Iowa, and on some early tweaks I made to the event. It could be said that much of what became gravel racing and riding was influenced through Mike Curiak directly and by his friends who started the Great Divide Race and other Western ultra-mtb events.

If you ever read the following here: "If you don't like that, then maybe this event isn't for you.", that is a direct quote from Mike. There's more to this, but maybe I'll get around to that another time.

Trans Iowa v5 was announced ten years ago this week. It was a big deal since we moved the event out of Decorah due to the desires of a certain irritated cycling luminary from Decorah that asked me not to consider Decorah for any future cycling events I had planned. This stemming from the failed Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. Here's a snippet from ten years ago concerning this.....

"The next thing you noticed is probably the location change. We have felt all along that Trans Iowa should be about showing folks that Iowa is something more than "flat", corn fields, and pigs. There is a lot more to Iowa than that. We have endeavored to move the event around since last year when d.p, (David Pals) and I started talking about doing T.I.V4, so this move to Williamsburg fits in with our plans and our philosophy."

 So we were already thinking about getting out of Decorah, but we weren't going to do that until v6 at the earliest. The disgruntled shot fired at us in the Summer of '08 changed all that though. While leaving Decorah as our base for TI was a bummer, it wasn't without future benefits of which we had no idea about at the time.

Minus Ten Review- 27

The beginning of a lot of appearances on this blog. My OS Bikes Blackbuck single speed.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about how a 29"er had won a World Cup XC MTB race for the first time. That was a big, big deal back then. No one was giving the big wheels a chance to be anything but a circus side show and certainly not a serious platform for racing of any kind.

Then I also penned a post about technologies 29"ers needed to adopt ASAP. Things like tubeless tires and rims, preferably a systemic approach. I also talked about how 29"ers need tapered steer tubes and through axles. Oddly enough it was the through axles that took the longest to take hold.

I rode Cedar Bend Park North of Waverly for the first time on my OS Bikes Blackbuck. That bike became a regular on the blog from then on for several years. I haven't trotted it out a whole bunch of late, but it still abides in the stable here. Probably my favorite configuration of this bike ever is seen here. Titec H-Bar with a longer than acceptable today purple anodized stem. Salsa Gordo rims with wide-ish tires. I should get a new H-Bar and a stem the same length as that old purple one and set the Blackbuck up like this again. I still have the rims and red Hope hubs but the free hub is roasted. I probably should relace to a single speed specific one.

The other thing that was going on ten years ago was recon for the third Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. This one was run from Hickory Hills and was mostly in Tama County. It was a 100 mile course and it was a good time, but I;ll get to that later.

This GTDRI was a really big deal for another reason. I knew by this time that Jason Boucher was to show up for the event. He had a project that was coming to fruition that he wanted to ride in the event. Salsa Cycles was his ship to steer back then and he and the team were about to unleash something new on the world and the GTDRI would be its first public outing. Well.......not 100%. While we got to see and touch the bike, we couldn't know its name yet.

It was an interesting situation, and to boot, we weren't even allowed to take any images of this bike. Like I said, we will get into all of this very soon, as the 2008 GTDRI happened in mid-July. I think I was planning on running my drop bar Badger custom bike, but as we shall see, some part failure action dampened my confidence in the bike and I am pretty sure I didn't use it.

Anyway, the Summer was heating up and a LOT was going down.........

Minus Ten Review- 27

The beginning of a lot of appearances on this blog. My OS Bikes Blackbuck single speed.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about how a 29"er had won a World Cup XC MTB race for the first time. That was a big, big deal back then. No one was giving the big wheels a chance to be anything but a circus side show and certainly not a serious platform for racing of any kind.

Then I also penned a post about technologies 29"ers needed to adopt ASAP. Things like tubeless tires and rims, preferably a systemic approach. I also talked about how 29"ers need tapered steer tubes and through axles. Oddly enough it was the through axles that took the longest to take hold.

I rode Cedar Bend Park North of Waverly for the first time on my OS Bikes Blackbuck. That bike became a regular on the blog from then on for several years. I haven't trotted it out a whole bunch of late, but it still abides in the stable here. Probably my favorite configuration of this bike ever is seen here. Titec H-Bar with a longer than acceptable today purple anodized stem. Salsa Gordo rims with wide-ish tires. I should get a new H-Bar and a stem the same length as that old purple one and set the Blackbuck up like this again. I still have the rims and red Hope hubs but the free hub is roasted. I probably should relace to a single speed specific one.

The other thing that was going on ten years ago was recon for the third Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. This one was run from Hickory Hills and was mostly in Tama County. It was a 100 mile course and it was a good time, but I;ll get to that later.

This GTDRI was a really big deal for another reason. I knew by this time that Jason Boucher was to show up for the event. He had a project that was coming to fruition that he wanted to ride in the event. Salsa Cycles was his ship to steer back then and he and the team were about to unleash something new on the world and the GTDRI would be its first public outing. Well.......not 100%. While we got to see and touch the bike, we couldn't know its name yet.

It was an interesting situation, and to boot, we weren't even allowed to take any images of this bike. Like I said, we will get into all of this very soon, as the 2008 GTDRI happened in mid-July. I think I was planning on running my drop bar Badger custom bike, but as we shall see, some part failure action dampened my confidence in the bike and I am pretty sure I didn't use it.

Anyway, the Summer was heating up and a LOT was going down.........

Nature's Repair Stand

Wednesday and another test ride day. This time I decided to roll on up to Cedar Bend Park north and west of Waverly to see how the trails were. Last time I tried to check the place out the county road access to the park was being repaved, so I was thwarted in my attempt to ride that day.

As I got ready to ride I noticed the temperature was pretty hot already. Southwesterly winds were going to bring the heat even more, that much was clear. Hopefully I wouldn't wilt. Generally heat and I don't get along all that well when I am cycling.

As it turned out, I spent a fair bit of time fiddling with adjustments on the new-ish rig. Seems that derailleur hangars sometimes bend when you try bashing them with broken limbs. Who knew? So, I found an appropriate branch to use as a makeshift repair stand, applied an "equal and opposite force", and re-tuned the cable to get back to a crisp interchange of gears once more.

Then a badly behaving brake made for more fettling, although there wasn't a whole lot one can do with a hydraulic set up in the field. Meh.... I ended up eating into a big chunk of my ride time allotment with all this mechanical grubbing, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

At least I got sum skilz at mechanickin'!

Nature's Repair Stand

Wednesday and another test ride day. This time I decided to roll on up to Cedar Bend Park north and west of Waverly to see how the trails were. Last time I tried to check the place out the county road access to the park was being repaved, so I was thwarted in my attempt to ride that day.

As I got ready to ride I noticed the temperature was pretty hot already. Southwesterly winds were going to bring the heat even more, that much was clear. Hopefully I wouldn't wilt. Generally heat and I don't get along all that well when I am cycling.

As it turned out, I spent a fair bit of time fiddling with adjustments on the new-ish rig. Seems that derailleur hangars sometimes bend when you try bashing them with broken limbs. Who knew? So, I found an appropriate branch to use as a makeshift repair stand, applied an "equal and opposite force", and re-tuned the cable to get back to a crisp interchange of gears once more.

Then a badly behaving brake made for more fettling, although there wasn't a whole lot one can do with a hydraulic set up in the field. Meh.... I ended up eating into a big chunk of my ride time allotment with all this mechanical grubbing, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

At least I got sum skilz at mechanickin'!

Things Have A Way Of Working Out

At Cedar Bend Park

March was a blistering, dry month. it left many to wonder if April and May would be more like July and August. Things were dry. Really dry, and the potential for drought was very real.

My, what a difference a month or so makes! We got colder and wetter in April, and now the rivers are full again, the plant life is lush and green, and well......it's more like Spring!

Since it was May, I had to drive up to Cedar Bend and ride, because the gates are opened May 1st for cars. The trails were fantastic, albeit wet from the previous day's rain. Oddly enough, horse traffic has damaged things up there a bit. Pock marks that weren't there before. Erosion. Then add in the bohunk that took some end loader through there to clear out the underbrush. Hey, here's a news flash for ya- "Single track" doesn't mean wide enough for a D-9 Cat. Sheesh!

I get it though. One guy can clear out a trail in one tenth the time it takes to do it the right way. With county budgets being stretched thin, I bet this made more sense from the government standpoint. Too bad it is ugly, stupid, and hurts the trails more than it helps them. In my experience, once you make a trail wide by using a motor vehicle, other motor vehicles will follow, because they can now. I'm telling you, I won't be at all surprised to see ATV tracks back there this season. Just wait and see.

Big, old trees rule.

I got in the rare double yesterday. The middle of the day saw me over at George Wyth State Park to do some single speeding. The place is perfect for that. Gears? Ha! Not necessary in this terrain.

The CVAST group has been doing a bang-up job of maintaining these trails and adding cool new sections. Not only that, but they have a fun, social ride every Wednesday evening. All that riding and trail work means the trails are buffed out like a pretty penny.

The rain that rained on Cedar Bend obviously did not reach Geo Wyth. It was dry, fast, and clean. Totally different than the duff ridden, soft, muddy in spots Cedar Bend, and that is odd. Really odd, because Cedar Bend is always drier than anywhere else. Well.....except for this time!

I rode from one end to the other, taking in almost every trail out there. It was pretty fun too. The single speed I rode had the Gates Carbon Drive on it which is geared for places requiring some moderate amount of climbing. That meant that at Geo Wyth, I was spun out almost the entire time, but I still was grinning.

Deer- dead center in the image

Geo Wyth is not only flat, it is infested with somewhat people friendly, four legged wood rats, otherwise known as deer. I ran across several of them yesterday. A couple actually looked annoyed at me as I disrupted their gnawing of vegetation. Whoops! "S'cuse me!"

It used to be that the deer were rather runt-ish in Geo Wyth, but not anymore, it would seem. These looked to be healthy, big, strong deer. Yeah- the kind that could take you out if they get spooked. Color me not a fan of these critters that have lost their fear of Man to a degree. A deer on a trail is a dangerous thing when it doesn't know if it should run or not. (Hint: They should always run away well before you get within ten yards of them)

I guess it'll all work out in the end. Just like a buddy of mine's situation. He got some bummer news that actually was timed perfectly. If it all works out, and it looks like it should, he'll be back amongst us Mid-Westerners and gravel grinding his heart out again. That'd be cool for him and great for us.

Just like our dire weather situation ended up turning into one of the prettiest Springs in a long time. Who knew? Sometimes things really do work out for the best.

Things Have A Way Of Working Out

At Cedar Bend Park

March was a blistering, dry month. it left many to wonder if April and May would be more like July and August. Things were dry. Really dry, and the potential for drought was very real.

My, what a difference a month or so makes! We got colder and wetter in April, and now the rivers are full again, the plant life is lush and green, and well......it's more like Spring!

Since it was May, I had to drive up to Cedar Bend and ride, because the gates are opened May 1st for cars. The trails were fantastic, albeit wet from the previous day's rain. Oddly enough, horse traffic has damaged things up there a bit. Pock marks that weren't there before. Erosion. Then add in the bohunk that took some end loader through there to clear out the underbrush. Hey, here's a news flash for ya- "Single track" doesn't mean wide enough for a D-9 Cat. Sheesh!

I get it though. One guy can clear out a trail in one tenth the time it takes to do it the right way. With county budgets being stretched thin, I bet this made more sense from the government standpoint. Too bad it is ugly, stupid, and hurts the trails more than it helps them. In my experience, once you make a trail wide by using a motor vehicle, other motor vehicles will follow, because they can now. I'm telling you, I won't be at all surprised to see ATV tracks back there this season. Just wait and see.

Big, old trees rule.

I got in the rare double yesterday. The middle of the day saw me over at George Wyth State Park to do some single speeding. The place is perfect for that. Gears? Ha! Not necessary in this terrain.

The CVAST group has been doing a bang-up job of maintaining these trails and adding cool new sections. Not only that, but they have a fun, social ride every Wednesday evening. All that riding and trail work means the trails are buffed out like a pretty penny.

The rain that rained on Cedar Bend obviously did not reach Geo Wyth. It was dry, fast, and clean. Totally different than the duff ridden, soft, muddy in spots Cedar Bend, and that is odd. Really odd, because Cedar Bend is always drier than anywhere else. Well.....except for this time!

I rode from one end to the other, taking in almost every trail out there. It was pretty fun too. The single speed I rode had the Gates Carbon Drive on it which is geared for places requiring some moderate amount of climbing. That meant that at Geo Wyth, I was spun out almost the entire time, but I still was grinning.

Deer- dead center in the image

Geo Wyth is not only flat, it is infested with somewhat people friendly, four legged wood rats, otherwise known as deer. I ran across several of them yesterday. A couple actually looked annoyed at me as I disrupted their gnawing of vegetation. Whoops! "S'cuse me!"

It used to be that the deer were rather runt-ish in Geo Wyth, but not anymore, it would seem. These looked to be healthy, big, strong deer. Yeah- the kind that could take you out if they get spooked. Color me not a fan of these critters that have lost their fear of Man to a degree. A deer on a trail is a dangerous thing when it doesn't know if it should run or not. (Hint: They should always run away well before you get within ten yards of them)

I guess it'll all work out in the end. Just like a buddy of mine's situation. He got some bummer news that actually was timed perfectly. If it all works out, and it looks like it should, he'll be back amongst us Mid-Westerners and gravel grinding his heart out again. That'd be cool for him and great for us.

Just like our dire weather situation ended up turning into one of the prettiest Springs in a long time. Who knew? Sometimes things really do work out for the best.

Trail Mines

I went for a ride Saturday, (who wouldn't? it was gorgeous!), and up at Cedar Bend the trails were littered with all sorts of "land mines". You know, sticks and branches. We had a bad wind storm go through here the other day, and it cleared out all the dead branches, trees, and broke off not a few live bits and pieces as well.

Sticks. Branches. Nuts!

That wasn't all either. You could tell where every Walnut tree was at, because right underneath each one was a covering of Black Walnuts in their green fleshy coatings.

These things are from golf ball to tennis ball in size, and they would roll and upset the bike whenever you came across them. Of course, they weren't all that easy to see, camouflaged as they were by all the detritus from the wind storm.

Fortunately, the Diamondback Sortie Black has some really active suspension. In fact, I could rail all of the sections I wanted to without fear, since the suspension was really keeping the tire gripping out back, and the trail oriented front end was not upset by the rolling and bouncing nuts, or by any of the various branches I encountered.

The wheels and derailleur out back concerned me though. These sorts of conditions are primo for ripping off rear derailleurs and popping spokes. I had to stop a couple of times when I feared that the XTR derailleur was in danger.

Other times I listened while wincing repeatedly as I heard the spokes go "pop....ziiiIIIIInnnng! Twang.....ping-ping....bwannnnGGGG!" all the way down certain sections of trail that were littered with twigs and branches.

Good thing that the "frequency" of a 29"er seems to be out of sync with what the wood demons are used to in regard to damaging wheels and ripping off derailleurs. Several times I had branches popped up by my front wheel only to be deflected harmlessly to the side by the crank, my feet, or the frame. Normally a 26"er would have died a thousand deaths by the time I had done one lap around Cedar Bend.

Look, I don't know that a 29"er really makes any difference here, but it seemed to yesterday. So, I'm going with that!

What I really need out there at this time of year is a branch eatin' single speed. Throw a stick in the rear wheel of a single speed, and with no "dangly bits" hanging in dangers way, those devilish trail obstacles are chewed to bits. No match!

Trail Mines

I went for a ride Saturday, (who wouldn't? it was gorgeous!), and up at Cedar Bend the trails were littered with all sorts of "land mines". You know, sticks and branches. We had a bad wind storm go through here the other day, and it cleared out all the dead branches, trees, and broke off not a few live bits and pieces as well.

Sticks. Branches. Nuts!

That wasn't all either. You could tell where every Walnut tree was at, because right underneath each one was a covering of Black Walnuts in their green fleshy coatings.

These things are from golf ball to tennis ball in size, and they would roll and upset the bike whenever you came across them. Of course, they weren't all that easy to see, camouflaged as they were by all the detritus from the wind storm.

Fortunately, the Diamondback Sortie Black has some really active suspension. In fact, I could rail all of the sections I wanted to without fear, since the suspension was really keeping the tire gripping out back, and the trail oriented front end was not upset by the rolling and bouncing nuts, or by any of the various branches I encountered.

The wheels and derailleur out back concerned me though. These sorts of conditions are primo for ripping off rear derailleurs and popping spokes. I had to stop a couple of times when I feared that the XTR derailleur was in danger.

Other times I listened while wincing repeatedly as I heard the spokes go "pop....ziiiIIIIInnnng! Twang.....ping-ping....bwannnnGGGG!" all the way down certain sections of trail that were littered with twigs and branches.

Good thing that the "frequency" of a 29"er seems to be out of sync with what the wood demons are used to in regard to damaging wheels and ripping off derailleurs. Several times I had branches popped up by my front wheel only to be deflected harmlessly to the side by the crank, my feet, or the frame. Normally a 26"er would have died a thousand deaths by the time I had done one lap around Cedar Bend.

Look, I don't know that a 29"er really makes any difference here, but it seemed to yesterday. So, I'm going with that!

What I really need out there at this time of year is a branch eatin' single speed. Throw a stick in the rear wheel of a single speed, and with no "dangly bits" hanging in dangers way, those devilish trail obstacles are chewed to bits. No match!

The First Day Of Summer.....(Really?)

With yesterday being the first day of summer, you'd think we would be basking in sunshine, humidity, and mosquitoes. Well, you'd be wrong on all counts. It was anything but summer-like out there yesterday, but I had a good day anyway.

A Wet Muddy Goblin

I got an early start and headed up to Cedar Bend Park because of all the wet weather from the past days. It is the only place I  can ride near by that won't clag up the bike when it has been wet.

Well, it was wet, and in fact, it was drizzling all the way up there. The trails were holding up well though, even though there was some standing water in some spots. The sky was grey, the wind was blowing from the Northwest, and it was in the low 60's. Chilly.

It boggles my mind to think it was 45 degrees warmer where I was last week! The air was downright cold feeling as I went down the trail. No matter, it felt good to finally be mountain biking again after my biff in Texas. The knee? Well, it worked just fine, thank you. I think it is still a bit irritated and maybe a tad weak yet. Certainly stiff at full leg bend, but things look well on their way to full recovery.

Otherwise it was good to be back and riding familiar trails. The legs were still in good shape. The lungs seemed to be willing. I was a bit surprised, frankly. I thought I had lost more fitness than that from the rest necessary when I hurt my knee. 

All You Could Do Was Smile About It

Later, after doing laps at Cedar Bend, I decided to run an important errand on the Karate Monkey. I thought at the last second before leaving that I might pack my rain jacket. You know.....just in case. 

The wind was really kicking from the Northwest now, and going right into it on the single speed was a chore. Not even a mile from the house, I began to feel waves of mist hit my face. Then it became a constant spritz. A few hundred feet later......

Rain.

So I headed for the bike path that goes underneath the expressway. I stopped and pulled out that rain jacket, put it on, and then decided to goof around with the camera a bit. Maybe it would blow over, and I could continue on without the jacket. No such luck though. It rained all the way out to my destination.

It was all good. I was riding a bicycle, my knee wasn't an issue. Just those two things were enough to make it an awesome day. Rain or no.

The First Day Of Summer.....(Really?)

With yesterday being the first day of summer, you'd think we would be basking in sunshine, humidity, and mosquitoes. Well, you'd be wrong on all counts. It was anything but summer-like out there yesterday, but I had a good day anyway.

A Wet Muddy Goblin

I got an early start and headed up to Cedar Bend Park because of all the wet weather from the past days. It is the only place I  can ride near by that won't clag up the bike when it has been wet.

Well, it was wet, and in fact, it was drizzling all the way up there. The trails were holding up well though, even though there was some standing water in some spots. The sky was grey, the wind was blowing from the Northwest, and it was in the low 60's. Chilly.

It boggles my mind to think it was 45 degrees warmer where I was last week! The air was downright cold feeling as I went down the trail. No matter, it felt good to finally be mountain biking again after my biff in Texas. The knee? Well, it worked just fine, thank you. I think it is still a bit irritated and maybe a tad weak yet. Certainly stiff at full leg bend, but things look well on their way to full recovery.

Otherwise it was good to be back and riding familiar trails. The legs were still in good shape. The lungs seemed to be willing. I was a bit surprised, frankly. I thought I had lost more fitness than that from the rest necessary when I hurt my knee. 

All You Could Do Was Smile About It

Later, after doing laps at Cedar Bend, I decided to run an important errand on the Karate Monkey. I thought at the last second before leaving that I might pack my rain jacket. You know.....just in case. 

The wind was really kicking from the Northwest now, and going right into it on the single speed was a chore. Not even a mile from the house, I began to feel waves of mist hit my face. Then it became a constant spritz. A few hundred feet later......

Rain.

So I headed for the bike path that goes underneath the expressway. I stopped and pulled out that rain jacket, put it on, and then decided to goof around with the camera a bit. Maybe it would blow over, and I could continue on without the jacket. No such luck though. It rained all the way out to my destination.

It was all good. I was riding a bicycle, my knee wasn't an issue. Just those two things were enough to make it an awesome day. Rain or no.

Thursday News And Views

There are many things that don't quite tie together to talk about today, but as usual, the theme is cycling. So, here we go....

<===Image courtesy of Hayes Brakes' Twitter feed.

In the first of what is sure to be many new developments  for cyclo-cross brakes, Hayes Brakes released this image of a mechanical disc brake caliper they are calling the "CX-5". The description was that this is a polished, anodized, lazer etched and lightweight mechanical brake that will work with road levers.

I expect to see Shimano, SRAM, and others follow suit, and I also expect almost all of these will be mechanical disc brakes to start out with. Why? Because developing another line of hydraulically actuated brakes incorporating the lever body as a master cylinder/shifting mechanism will be a huge financial and engineering undertaking. Besides, the market for such levers is an unknown at this point, so without OEM support for such a project, I don't expect to see hydro road disc brakes with master cylinders in the shifting mechanism anytime soon. That's why most of the hydro brakes on CX bikes have used Bowden Cable actuated remote master cylinders tucked under the stem.

I'm not saying hydro drop bar levers won't come out, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see something pop up this fall as a prototype, but full on "brifters" that are hydraulic for the masses are a ways off yet, I think. Maybe just a lever will show up? I think that is more reasonable to expect.

<===Images courtesy of Raleigh's Twitter feed.

Raleigh is in the midst of their 2012 catalog shoot, and there are some sneak peeks of their line up of 29"ers showing on Twitter.

This is the 2012 XXIX, which looks relatively unchanged from the 2011 model with the exception of the paint scheme and tires. I'll be honest, I am not a fan of this bike's geometry, and that steel fork is the most brutal device for holding a mountain bike wheel this side of a Klein Attitude.

And here is perhaps the entire 2012 29"er line up on one bike rack from Raleigh. Rumor has it one of these is carbon. (I know.....I am shocked too!)

I am not sure what Raleigh is doing, but at one time, say......three years ago....when they had the XXIX Pro Reynolds 831 framed bike, and the hints of a 853 Reynolds single speed frame were being bandied about, well, then I was pretty stoked. Unfortunately, the XXIX got hacked so they could put a belt on the thing, and the 853 Reynolds stuff is gone. Too bad. I wish Raleigh had the same kind of vision for the mountain bike line as they do for the road bike line up. At least they are doing decent, relatively inexpensive aluminum 29"ers right. So, whadda ya say Raleigh? Hows a bout a "Heritage XXIX+G" in steel with a single speed option featuring that awesome geometry you used to do?

 Holy cow! That Specialized Blacklite Command Post I wrote about here? Wow, does that make a big difference!

<===Command Post in  "Descender  " mode on the Big Mama.

I decided to give the thing a try on a steep chute at Cedar Bend I haven't gone down before, and it made going down child's play. Crazy! Just getting that saddle down and out of the way opens up a whole nuther dimension to riding that I wish I had jumped on sooner now. Likely folks reading this that have been on dropper posts are chuckling and shaking their heads, but if you are one of those that have never tried one of these, you really ought to. It makes a huge difference in how well you can go down.

In fact, I can tell you right now after one ride that I'll never go without one of these on at least one of my bikes from now on. That's how much of a difference it makes. Now whether or not the Specialized Command Post cuts the mustard or not is yet to be seen, but it is pretty good. I am thinking right now it is just a matter of learning something new, and making a few tweaks. We'll see.

Thursday News And Views

There are many things that don't quite tie together to talk about today, but as usual, the theme is cycling. So, here we go....

<===Image courtesy of Hayes Brakes' Twitter feed.

In the first of what is sure to be many new developments  for cyclo-cross brakes, Hayes Brakes released this image of a mechanical disc brake caliper they are calling the "CX-5". The description was that this is a polished, anodized, lazer etched and lightweight mechanical brake that will work with road levers.

I expect to see Shimano, SRAM, and others follow suit, and I also expect almost all of these will be mechanical disc brakes to start out with. Why? Because developing another line of hydraulically actuated brakes incorporating the lever body as a master cylinder/shifting mechanism will be a huge financial and engineering undertaking. Besides, the market for such levers is an unknown at this point, so without OEM support for such a project, I don't expect to see hydro road disc brakes with master cylinders in the shifting mechanism anytime soon. That's why most of the hydro brakes on CX bikes have used Bowden Cable actuated remote master cylinders tucked under the stem.

I'm not saying hydro drop bar levers won't come out, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see something pop up this fall as a prototype, but full on "brifters" that are hydraulic for the masses are a ways off yet, I think. Maybe just a lever will show up? I think that is more reasonable to expect.

<===Images courtesy of Raleigh's Twitter feed.

Raleigh is in the midst of their 2012 catalog shoot, and there are some sneak peeks of their line up of 29"ers showing on Twitter.

This is the 2012 XXIX, which looks relatively unchanged from the 2011 model with the exception of the paint scheme and tires. I'll be honest, I am not a fan of this bike's geometry, and that steel fork is the most brutal device for holding a mountain bike wheel this side of a Klein Attitude.

And here is perhaps the entire 2012 29"er line up on one bike rack from Raleigh. Rumor has it one of these is carbon. (I know.....I am shocked too!)

I am not sure what Raleigh is doing, but at one time, say......three years ago....when they had the XXIX Pro Reynolds 831 framed bike, and the hints of a 853 Reynolds single speed frame were being bandied about, well, then I was pretty stoked. Unfortunately, the XXIX got hacked so they could put a belt on the thing, and the 853 Reynolds stuff is gone. Too bad. I wish Raleigh had the same kind of vision for the mountain bike line as they do for the road bike line up. At least they are doing decent, relatively inexpensive aluminum 29"ers right. So, whadda ya say Raleigh? Hows a bout a "Heritage XXIX+G" in steel with a single speed option featuring that awesome geometry you used to do?

 Holy cow! That Specialized Blacklite Command Post I wrote about here? Wow, does that make a big difference!

<===Command Post in  "Descender  " mode on the Big Mama.

I decided to give the thing a try on a steep chute at Cedar Bend I haven't gone down before, and it made going down child's play. Crazy! Just getting that saddle down and out of the way opens up a whole nuther dimension to riding that I wish I had jumped on sooner now. Likely folks reading this that have been on dropper posts are chuckling and shaking their heads, but if you are one of those that have never tried one of these, you really ought to. It makes a huge difference in how well you can go down.

In fact, I can tell you right now after one ride that I'll never go without one of these on at least one of my bikes from now on. That's how much of a difference it makes. Now whether or not the Specialized Command Post cuts the mustard or not is yet to be seen, but it is pretty good. I am thinking right now it is just a matter of learning something new, and making a few tweaks. We'll see.

Green Has A Grip

As per yesterday's post, I did get the Big Mama out and ridden yesterday. The Pure V saddle is on it, but other refinements have yet to occur. I couldn't wait though! It was too nice to wait out there, and I knew that Cedar Bend was open again, so I went north and checked it out.

The trails are so dry in most parts of the park that it reminds me of very late summer/early fall when things are rock hard, buff, and there are a few sandy spots. Those conditions prevailed yesterday, along with a healthy amount of duff here and there left over from last fall and winter.

This time of year is great when the trails allow you to experience the woods as things green up. The trees look like they have green fuzz on their branches, and the forest floors are just rife with new underbrush that doesn't look all crazy, and out of control yet.

Sure, there is mud along the lower trail, and yes, I got into it. Like a dang fool! That mud is super sticky! But beyond that, I had a great time and the trails were fast everywhere but on the lower section.

Besides that, my body was working surprisingly well.

The Big Mama was too. Man! That bike just sails over rough trail like it isn't even there. The Manitou and Fox rear damper are working well together and the front to rear balance is spot on.

The Pure V is stellar. Such a great saddle, and I will be getting some more of these. I can sit on the nose to climb comfortably, or slide back and power along the flats. It feels great on my posterior!

I still have to get some decent brakes on it, but this bike is pretty close right now to being perfect for my needs. I did mention swapping drive train parts, but that can wait. It's time to get some spring woods riding in!

Green Has A Grip

As per yesterday's post, I did get the Big Mama out and ridden yesterday. The Pure V saddle is on it, but other refinements have yet to occur. I couldn't wait though! It was too nice to wait out there, and I knew that Cedar Bend was open again, so I went north and checked it out.

The trails are so dry in most parts of the park that it reminds me of very late summer/early fall when things are rock hard, buff, and there are a few sandy spots. Those conditions prevailed yesterday, along with a healthy amount of duff here and there left over from last fall and winter.

This time of year is great when the trails allow you to experience the woods as things green up. The trees look like they have green fuzz on their branches, and the forest floors are just rife with new underbrush that doesn't look all crazy, and out of control yet.

Sure, there is mud along the lower trail, and yes, I got into it. Like a dang fool! That mud is super sticky! But beyond that, I had a great time and the trails were fast everywhere but on the lower section.

Besides that, my body was working surprisingly well.

The Big Mama was too. Man! That bike just sails over rough trail like it isn't even there. The Manitou and Fox rear damper are working well together and the front to rear balance is spot on.

The Pure V is stellar. Such a great saddle, and I will be getting some more of these. I can sit on the nose to climb comfortably, or slide back and power along the flats. It feels great on my posterior!

I still have to get some decent brakes on it, but this bike is pretty close right now to being perfect for my needs. I did mention swapping drive train parts, but that can wait. It's time to get some spring woods riding in!