Testing Theory

LBL moon dust.

The theory: 'Clean bikes are faster'.  Cooper's bikes are always spotless and he's pretty damn fast, so he must be on to something, right?

The Rigor was in need of a little preventative maintenance and since I was putting new wheels and swapping gears for today's short track race anyway, I figured it was a good time to pull it apart and give it a once over. The chain hadn't worn enough to warrant a change, but a new chain cleaner product I tried has made the chain stiff and dry. So dry lubing it doesn't seem to last and stiff links are multiplying. The spiffy looking nickel plated 870 chain was a victim of May's flood so a less sexy but similar weight 850 will have to do.

A side effect of a clean bike is usually a quiet bike. 

Admittedly I'm a little over excited about the short track race today. I've not raced since the collapse and puke gastrointestinal failure that was Kanza. Several tests, scopes, needles, and kidney challenging inject-able dyes later I'm no more closer to a solution than I was in June. I have, however, been able to actually ride my bike without incident the last month so improvement is promising. I see today's 25 minutes + 3 laps of pain more of a litmus test for cross to see if the body is better behaved. I'm also hoping to see a large turn out as I'm wanting to host a weekly short track & short course series over the fall.

New meats, new chain, new hoops. All clean and a fresh coating of lemon Pledge on the Moots. If it doesn't make me faster at least it'll take better photos. Having a spotless bike and tires will also go a long way in making the starting line lies of "I've not really been riding much" a little more believable.

What's the Story, Morning Glory

H's Moots Blue Morning Glories in the glory of morning.

As previous posts have stated, the past weekend offered phenomenal weather to be out of doors. The Holiday Monday was no exception. A friend has moved back and is currently living and working around the East side of Nash, thereby it is imperative that he has a bike. I believe there is some ordinance requiring Eastsiders to acquire a bike for transportation within 6 business days of moving in. Otherwise they have to purchase a comically over-sized SUV and move South of town into equally comically over-sized suburban McMansions.

Anyway, money being what it is and still highly scarce in this neck of the woods purchasing a new bike wasn't as high priority as other necessities such as food and rent. Being in a recent "pay it forward" mood, I'd mentioned to Sam that he was welcome to my old 12 speed but that I'd need to go over it before I'd let him take it as it's not been ridden since 2005. Monday turned out to be the perfect day to preempt the procrastination.

I set up shop out back, where I frequently love to work but this time was welcomed by the low humidity and autumn weather teaser day. The bike was in pretty decent shape but I installed new cables for the brakes and new tires with kevlar "no flat" protection. The wheels needed some truing and tensioning love but came round pretty easily.  I'd like to get him a new set of 27" bolt-ons sometime soon to replace the aging wheelset, but he promised not to take it off any sweet jumps in the mean time.

Austrian made lugged steel sold through Sears in the 80's.

Hip before I knew how hip it could be. Think I was 14 or 15 when I rode this baby home from Sears one Friday night.

Shop manager JD snoozing in the background.

It was fun taking apart and rebuilding a bike I'd gotten as a kid. Back when I knew little about wrenching on a bike or even how to change a flat. I remember just pulling back the tire and patching the tube, wheel still bolted on. Riding for miles and miles without a spare tube or patch kit. I think I'd get one flat a summer. Nowadays I don't feel comfortable riding 5 miles up the road without a spare tube and a mini pump strapped to the bike. Then there were the brakes that wouldn't retract and I'd just adjust them open while riding. I'm not even sure they really closed properly as they were usually set up wide to allow the wobbly wheel to pass through. No helmets, gloves,  toe-clips or clipless pedals, not even sure the saddle was an appropriate height, but I rode the heck out of the 12 speed friction shifting beast. Luckily the old metal serrated edged shin eating pedals have been replaced with updated and more shin friendly plastic pedals.

No bike is complete without a little Awesomeness tucked in the back. 

Hopefully it will continue to serve Sam well as a reliable commuter bike for the current chapter of his life. I left the red rear reflector on so Sam can remain Class C Misdemeanor free (TN Bike laws require a rear reflector to be legal even if you have a red tail light*) and threw in 4 spare tubes, a tire lever, and a mini-pump nestled into an Awesome Strap to get him started on his bike commuting journey.

After finishing with Sam's new old school bike (I'm threatening to cut the bars down, fix it, and buy him some skinny jeans to help the laid back surfer fit in) I was lucky enough to work on the opposite end of the bike spectrum. GrassMoots' Mike brought over his Moots Vamoots CR for a little tweaking of some handlebar creaking. Turned out his headset was a loose (needed another spacer) and I swapped him over to a stiffer stem I had. When he left is was quiet, so I'm going to go ahead and say I fixed it, although it took me a few renditions but really I was just enjoying all the test riding. I sure like the way that road bike rides in the yard, even if it won't fit a 38 in the stays.

Current 2.25 Aspen Front tide tread.

While I've got some time to update, I figured I'd add an update to my tire review from March as I'm getting several people asking about tires. I've been running the same pair of Maxxis Aspen tires since late February/ early March of this year. I ran them for Cohutta, CrudeXC, Dirty Kanza, PMBAR, DSG and every ride in-between and afterward. I must say they have been a great running tire in all conditions. The slick Cohutta mud on the quartz trail had me sliding a bit, but they never caked up or completely gave up traction, just a few seconds of surfing until the side knobs bit in. Since they are more XC racing tires for mid to hard pack designs, I'm more than impressed on how they handled themselves in those conditions.

Current rear Aspen 2.25 tread

The rear tread still has some life left but (as typical of a rear tire) is showing a bit more age than the front. The side knobs are still all intact and square edged and the center tread is still going strong. This is even after several hundred road miles have been put on the tires as well. I hate changing tires and haven't removed these since I installed them earlier this year. Pretty much an "all around" tire if I do say so myself, which I just did.

Same sidewall tear no worse for wear. 

Aspen 2.10 left, 2.25 right.

The 2.25 tire's profile is wider than my WTB Wierwolf LT 2.55 making for a wide tire with lots of volume, perfect for a rigid hardtail (Note: both probably measure 2.35 ish in honest sizing). I recently picked up a set of the 2.10 Aspens to try out as potential cross tires at the Monkey Bell Short Track race this weekend. Mounted up they appear pretty true to an average 2.10 tire width compared to the 2.25.

I have no affiliation with Maxxis and paid for all 4 tires with my hardly earned money and offer this review as an honest assessment of the tires as a consumer. The Aspens work great for almost anything I've needed to ride, especially for endurance races where pavement/gravel play as much part of the course as singletrack. If I want a burlier tire I reach for a Maxxis Ignitor, still rolls fast but has more grip, although I like the Aspen's larger volume casing better. In my opinion these two tire treads can mate up for some killer tire combos for Southeast riders/racers.

I'm also running my new DT Swiss hoops. This will be the first time they've been installed on the bike and seen some action. My soon to be retired to non-race duty DT Swiss race wheels have only seen 3 dry races in their 4 year service. It is pretty fitting then that after weeks of dry trails the new wheels will be greeted by mud and water. Yay new bearings!


* Update from the Mighty mighty 'Dorfer: It appears the law was amended last year to allow for either a red reflector OR a red tail light:

TCA 55-8-177

(a)  Every bicycle, when in use at nighttime, shall be equipped with a lamp
on the front which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least
five hundred feet (500') to the front and either a red reflector or a lamp emitting a red
light which shall be visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet (500') to the rear
when directly in front of lawful upper beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle.

Through the Eyes of Steven

The lone wolf ascending some fire road. 

All photos by Steven Myers

Monday was a relaxing day off that seemed to get exponentially busier and disappear quickly somehow. I'd planned on updating with some of the highlights, but an email link to some photos led me to want a guest Photoblogger posting. I'm not highlighting Steven's photographic skills because his point and shoot camera is a step up from mine with a fancy touch screen. No, I've culled the ones that expressively capture the moments from the weekend. I know it's Tuesday already, but I'm not ready to let go of the weekend just yet. Thanks for the pics Steven. Nice camera work.

Ah sweetness.

Steven and Max on the trail.

Enjoying some sun mid-ride on the beach while the pup cools off in the lake.

Me, JD, and The Jeffy.

Lonewolf.

Super couple Steven and Ruthie. (ok I took this one with his camera).

Enjoying the discussions around the evening campfire.

The Lu.

Walking Occam's Razor with $4 Friends

Saturday started out gorgeous and only got better.

Occam's Razor loosely translates to "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one." I've been having health issues, stress issues, and just plain issues. I could go into the details and create some complicated reason or I could abide Occam's Razor and just say I needed a vacation away from it all. Long days at work, the emergency birth of my niece, and the passing of a friend and great human were the lead in to one of the best weekends of my year.

Token 29'er content (I know that's all you all care about. Haters.)

Temps were to be in the high 70's / low 80's with overnight lows approaching 50 and no rain in sight. The only thing that could derail us would be no available camping sites or the diesel truck going out. A perfect weekend can't really qualify as perfect if there aren't trials and tribulations leading up to it now, can it? Camping sites were going faster than 18 year olds on crotch rockets but I managed to sneak up very early in the morning and net us the last remaining lake side primitive site. Bullet dodged.

I made it back home with some time to pack, prepare food for group dinner Friday night, load up the truck, shower, kiss H. goodbye, and head out to meet Max and his dad at the meeting spot. Ice and fuel purchased, Max arrived and we loaded his gear and headed out for the weekend. Well, almost. The truck sputtered, lurched, service lights went on, and we coasted into a parking lot. A quick check showed nothing immediately awry, restart and we're off again, no service engine light and no lurching. Perhaps it's related to the new battery installation? Back down the road and as we make the ramp to the highway, lights, spurts, and lurches. We limp the truck back home. Defeated.

Not being one who seems to know when to give up, we met the girls in the driveway and swapped gear to Krvin with NASCAR pit crew agility. The Han let us borrow her Saris rack and amazingly the interior of Krvin allowed for all our gear plus tons of room for JD to spread out in the back. Back on the road for round 3. Friday was turning into a very long day, but we were a little over an hour away from happiness.

Since I'd set the tent up as the sun crawled up into the sky, we didn't have to unpack and setup when we finally arrived. Our Cookeville Comrades and the Peagram Posse were spending the weekend with us and had already set up camp and were ready to roll. A quick transition into riding clothes and we were shortly off with our campsite family for a quick evening ride along the N/S trail towards the canal loop. The temps were still fairly hot so I stopped with JD to let him cool off in the lake while the others rode a bit further up the trail. We all ended back at the campsite and headed into the water for a post ride swim in the warm summer evening.

Lucky Lulu is one pampered pup.

This formula was to be repeated often throughout the course of the weekend. Ride, swim, eat. Eat, swim, ride, swim, eat. It was all about relaxing and having fun. No schedules. No phones. No internet. Nothing, just hanging out enjoying each others' company and being outside.

OK, there were some phones and internet appearances. 

As night came a bright planet in the distance rose like the moon. Some said it was Mars, I claimed Venus. It was bright, full, and cast a gorgeous reflection down on the lake as it traversed the night sky. Saturday night we were graced by the electric car which deposited Parker and Eva into our campsite. We commented on the rising planet and Parker pulled out his new Droid Incredible (new? well he just needed a new one) and downloaded the Google star map. Aside from the Google maps integration and Google search features, this is finally an app worthy of me considering considering a smart phone. This app rocks. Anyway, the planet turned out to be Jupiter and Venus which are in alignment and make one mega bright double start at the moment. Pretty cool. Thanks for letting me run the battery down and finding us worthy of the $4 visitor fee, Parker.

Sunday's sunrise was just as gorgeous, albeit a cooler start to the day.

JD's new water girlfriend Gracie. Many an hour was spent playing in the water.

Cicada Steve. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Sunday was much cooler and the Canal loop was the destination. After 30 miles and many hours of swimming and running on the beach, JD's feet were starting to feel a bit tender so he was left at camp with puppy master sitter Jeffy while the rest of us plus Eric B. suited up and rolled out for a final ride of the weekend.

It was nice to head out on a ride and not holdup the group by keeping downhills slow and taking multiple water breaks or riding solo allowing them to ride their own pace. JD is in shape enough for fast rides, but the sandy, rocky soil and heat required keeping him paced until his pads callous up. The back trails he's used to are soft and loamy and cooling water is never farther than 1/2 mile away, vastly different from the weekend's trails. So until he get's his form back (thanks to the cooling weather) it's a pace based ride.  But he's got the speed and endurance, he showed it to us several times with his explosive counter attacks on climbs. Good pup. He'll be in shape for Snake in no time.

Max showing his handling skillz.

It didn't really matter though as the weekend was all about relaxing and having fun. Riding for the sake of riding rather than for training or a workout. Today's ride had it all, easy chit-chat paced fun, hammer sections, sprints, chases, crashes, and photo ops. A great time with a great group of friends. Even the trails were awesome this weekend. The Canal loop, which beat me into a nearly fetal mess last time I was up there, felt more like it's flowy rollercoastery self today, and despite the loose sandy sections left me wanting for another lap.

Counter Culture: Ruthie and Wendy rode opposite us.

The N/S trail towards the Canal was loose and sandy. By contrast, heading South was primo. Dry and dusty, but perfect conditions. There is something magical about riding a point to point trail that you just don't get from a loop,  no matter how sweet the loop. I had an ear to ear smile every pedal stroke. If you're a semi-local rider and you've never made it up to LBL, I suggest hitting it in fall and plan a couple days to take it all in. It is an amazing piece of mountain biking paradise in middle America.

It was an all around incredible time away. We were able to indulge ourselves but still leave just enough out to keep us wanting more. Another weekend will be planned for October when Dish and H. can come. I'm keeping the site tag as the beach access is perfect for the dogs and private enough to let them run amok. 

We regrouped with Ruthie, said farewell to the Peagram crew then rode the paved bike path from the North Welcome Center back to camp in a fun cat and mouse pace line. Random sprints and shenanigans kept the fun level up despite the burning pain in the legs. We also managed to bring up our ride average which is always a fun little psychological game to make one feel better about their abilities.

How 'bout it, good weekend?

Thanks again to Steven and Ruthie for making the trek out and entertaining me and Max for the weekend. Thanks to Jeffy and Wendy for bringing the dogs and, as always, the fun. And thanks to Wolfgang for trusting me enough to include Max into the fun that is mountain biking.