I'm not sure where to start on this whole dust issue. It's seriously like riding behind a farm truck on a gravel road out on the trails as of late. We need rain like zombies need brains . With good fortune and a slight bit of luck, we did get some rain last night, much needed and probably not enough to knock down the dust for more than a day or two, but rain none-the-less.
The Silent Killer showed-up last night with a new bike, a Ventana El Comandante SS with the Gates Belt Drive system installed. You break a chain during a race and go for belt drive? Sure, why not. Even though the El Comandante is aluminum, it's still a nice looking bike and I dig the rocker style dropouts.
Maxithad also showed-up with a new bike, or should I say a second Surly Pugsley from his stable: this time of the Single Speed variety in Good Guy White. Not wanting to get dropped in the first five seconds of the ride, he installed a larger White Industries rear cog as I passed around hits of PBR to keep pre-ride dehydration at bay. The Pugs is a sexy beast with it's motorcycle tires, but to get the chain line correct, Surly did some really funky stuff with the fork and chain stays. Really Funky.
Then there was Handleballs; he was still riding his blown-out Rock Shox Reba. That POS looked horrible with oil and crap all over the sanctions and delivering no more than .5" of travel. More of a boat anchor than anything.
Billyvanilly was on his usual dumpster bike, which sports a nice zip-tie tensioned chain tensioner, a lone rear brake and a sticker to which I have no clue of the meaning.
Lastly, I pulled the Niner from the rack only to find not twelve, but three broken spokes on my rear wheel. Phuk! I always preach preparedness and i go and drop the ball like that? Stupid me. So in the heat of the moment I grabbed my wife's Surly Instigator, swapped out the pedals, raised the seat and was ready for business. It felt like a bmx bike which helped me realize just how bad-ass my Niner Air 9 carbon really is, and how lucky I am to own one.
It was buisness time and we rode a fair amount of ripping fast trail, though none other than Billyvanilly and Silent Killer had much in their tank for getting things done in any kind of speedy fashion.
Riding the usual stuff has been boring the lights out of me, so we mixed it up a bit, rode some stuff backwards, checked out a local arachnoid, took a water break, talked shit and generally had a crash-free experience.
Fast forward after three hours of riding and picture the most delicious watermelon you've ever tasted dripping off Maxithads beard, many cold beers downed and a giant fan cooling our swollen thighs. That was a good night ride.
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