Moonblinked...

Hilarious Graffiti atop the Oakridge Paved Loop.

I thought about not riding tonight. It's been cold, I've been bitchy and riding like an ass; why would I want to continue to torture myself with another crappy ride.

Jimbob sent me a message, asked if I wanted to go climbing instead of ride. I really need to do some climbing but my internal schedule just says 'go ride' on Wednesday nights. It's just what I have to do, so I went.

It was the second edition of the weekly Swope Night Rides - I'm two for two. There was a large turn-out of folks ready to get a taste of all that is Swope; the mountain bikers holy grail. Scotter was there, The Manimal on his Fixie, Doc, Maxithad, Winters, Cliff, RonJ, The Trail Hermets and a hand full of others. A good showing of those who indulge in all things dirt.

We randomly rolled-out - scattered like cats in all directions. It was an antisocial night of random cliques rolling through the woods at varied speeds. We stopped a lot to check out the full moon, which glowed so bright that we could have gone sans lights. RonJ flatted - tore a sidewall on the same type tire that I shredded last week. Must be a sign never to roll that rubber again. I crashed more times than Evil Knievel. Stupid crashes where I'd just fall over or try an obstacle too slow and loose my track-stand voodoo only to go OTB into the rock strewn trail. I did clean a few of the good technical spots, failed at others.

A great ride for sure. It brought me out of my bitch-ass slump. I'm ready to get in some mileage, get on with a regular riding schedule, plan some winter races for you jorks and enjoy a cold one around a warm fire. See you again next week...

F U...

If you're reading this and it offends, it's pointed directly at you.

N.W.A. said it best...

Rogue Wanderings...

Rubber...

Here is a brief and short post on my recent tire scenario. Nothing pisses me off more than dealing with tire issues when you are on a long ride, especially if that means your pals are having to wait for you. I've been running either Specialized tires in the 'Grid" variations OR Maxxis with the 'LUST' sidewall. I thought last week that I should try something lighter to get my rolling weight down a bit. Riding a hard-tail, your rear tire can take a beating - especially on our local trail that is covered in baby-head rock; often sharp and unavoidable. My choice to try the lighter weight sidewall/tire version, in this case the Specialized Fast Track 'Control', was a poor one at best. Specialized does however offer a customer satisfaction guarantee, they stand behind their product and provided a full refund. Since Maxxis is finally shipping a 29er tire with the LUST sidewall, I ended up choosing it for my new rear.

Brand New Specialized Fast Track 2.0 Control - Ride #1 = torn sidewall. I usually run the Grid version of this tire with the beefier sidewall. If you ride rock-strewn trail and have a hard tail bike, I suggest sucking-up the extra weight in exchange for the more bombproof sidewall version (the Grid)

The replacement - Maxxis Crossmark LUST. I ran this tire on my Fixie for two seasons of skidding and rock bashing with zero issues. This is my preferred XC tread pattern and the sidewall can take some major punishment. The only down side is the higher price, but like most things in cycling, you get what you pay for.  

I'm 100% confident in the Maxxis LUST sidewall and know it will perform as desired. I have the same confidence in the 'Grid' version of Specialized tires and would suggest that as a viable option. Everyone has an opinion, this is mine for a fast rolling tire - great for sharp and rock-strewn, hard pack single track while riding a hard-tail XC bike. All the best...

Caress My Stupidity...

The Wednesday Night Ride went down, and so did I. I broke way too many of my own rules and got bitch-slapped across the choppers for it. First thing, I bought some new rubber, not the usual bombproof sidewall version but a step down in weight. How could my pals possibly lead me wrong? I went against my gut instinct and went for it. WRONG PHUKING ANSWER! 

Literally 10 minutes into the ride, the first ride on this new set of tires - I cut a sidewall. There's rule #1 broken: stick with what you know works. I didn't. 

No big deal though, right? I carry everything I need to fix my bike and keep rolling, always. Well, I screwed myself in that department too. I had removed my seat bag containing my spare tube earlier in the day. I'd brought it with me to the trail but left it in my truck. I'm a retard. I had to be saved by a pal, borrow a tube, even a dollar bill to keep the tube from bulging out of the tear. I really ate my own words and felt like a total douchehtard. 

Later I paid for my mistakes. I crashed so hard that I'm still sore and have multiple contusions and bruises to show for my OTB shit circus. Fortunately only Cliff was anywhere near me when I tumbled at least three rotations down the rock-strewn hill. 

Thank god their was beer and a warm fire post-ride to caress my stupidity.

Thanks to the Trail Hermits for putting on a good show and leading us through the thick of it. No matter how much of a crap ride I had, it was still flippin' fun to be out in the woods, riding in the dark on some sick trail with good friends. Always a good time, no matter how much I'm bitching about it...

Night Train @ Swope...

The Trail Hermits have worked out a deal that will allow a Wednesday Night Group Ride at Swope. This is a great opportunity to park up-top without fear of getting gang-raped or robbed after the street lights come on. Tonight is the first of these group rides, and we're taking the Pirate Crew over to support the cause; maybe just for tonight, maybe a few of these over the winter - only time will tell. 

If you've wanted to ride with the Pirate Crew, The Trail Hermits or just in the dark at Swope and feel all cozy about it, then show up ready to ride at 6:30 sharp. 

More info from the horses mouth;

" Starting the 21st, we will have a weekly night ride @ Swope with the kicker being that we will be able to park up top.
Here's how it's going to work initially:
Gate entrance will open at 6:30 and close at 6:45. If you come after 6:45...tough luck.

You can ride as long as you'd like as long as you want as long as you're done by 8:50 p.m.

The exit gate wil be locked at 9pm. 

We've been able to work out this deal to allow us to do this ride, don't ruin it for everyone else.

If we have problems we will simply no longer do this ride."

We hope to see a good showing tonight, hope to see YOU there having a good time on one of the best trail system in the metro. The Trail Hermits have poured their heart and soul into these trails - Lets show-up, show some support, ride bikes and have a kick-a$$ time. See you tonight!

You can stay updated on the Swope Trails HERE.

Bloodletting...

Today The Silent Killer and I headed over to BuRP to ride for a few hours. We'd be meeting Coletrain at the trail-head.  I'm trying to get in more and more quality ride time, and today was the day! BuRP trails would be just what I needed; technical an unyielding singletrack bliss. I was pretty psyched to be getting out with a couple solid riders.

We like to ride year round, and this is the place to do it

When we arrive, Coletrain has a newbie in tow. I have nothing against newbies - we were all there once. The problem I have is with those who bring a newb to ride, and don't claim responsibility for them. This preface sums up my less-than-optimal riding experience for the day. My limited ride time just got phucked...

We roll out to do some adventure riding - to explore a route into the park from Coletrains new house. We had great luck and navigated a spiderweb of trail south to our ultimate location; the Polo Fields.

The Silent Killer riding an old bridge we found deep in the woods

Then we headed over to the Wagon trail - a trail that separates the men from the boys. Newbie was the caboose. [He] was falling way back. Coletrain was nowhere to be seen, way in the front, not a care in the world. 

I waited, and waited, and kept waiting at every turn, technical section and junction for the newb. Not my phuking job. When we'd finally meet-up with the group, Coletrain would once again split like we were racing. I felt bad for his 'friend'. Eventually, said friend is nowhere to be seen behind me, The Silent Killer and Coletrain no where to be seen ahead. WTF?!?!

I wait ten minutes. No one comes rolling in. I ride back, over a mile, to find the newb - hoping he was not hurt or dead. I find him walking his bike due to a blown chain. I fix it for him and send him home.

I head back into the East side trails to actually get some riding in. Finally I get to have some fun. This video clip is the newly refurbished log skinny on HighLine. The incarnation is ten times easier than before. Your mom could ride it...

Coletrain, you owe me, big, you phuking a$$hole!

Wild Turkey...

It was a perfect weather day on Saturday, absolutely beautiful out. 

The kind of nice day that would eat at your soul if some time was not spent at dirt church.

Kitchen pass in hand, I headed out for a bit of an exploratory style recon ride.

I found a few miles of new terrain to play on, fast and flowing trail with some honorable climbs tossed-in for good measure.
I saw three giant turkeys, running.
I sometimes find myself deep in the woods, far from any trail, just wondering around - trying to stay on two wheels.
Only the rustling of leaves under a tire can be heard, the occasional crack of a stick, your own heavy breathing.

Eventually I landed on some groomed single track - perfect conditions.

I rode for a few hours, alone, just thinking about the universe.

Maybe I was just thinking about getting home and having a beer.

Yeah, beer.

Nothing like a cold one after a good romp in the woods. 

Soulshine...

In Memory of a fellow cyclist and friend, whose time on this earth was cut way too short.

News of this has my stomach in knots. A harsh reminder to truly live, every moment, with intention.

Good times had in the saddle, or at the shop with you bro, will not be forgotten.

Freeze Out...

Some of you locals know of a hill called Lawrence. It's a bitch of a climb; long rollers without an end-in-sight, getting steeper as you go. Well, I live on that hill. This means that every Pirate Ride starts with a long descent, and ends with a long ascent. As we get closer to the winter solstice, it gets damn chilly riding down that hill at the beginning of the ride, when you are not even close to being 'warmed up'. Not to mention the blast of cold that you get when you reach it's bottom - the Mill Creek Valley. Flippin' cold. Reminds me of times as a teenager, cruising around in my VW Bus, every window down with temps in the teens: Freeze Out!

I knew tonight's ride was going to be a good one due to the simple fact that I've been off the bike (for way too long) and have been craving some saddle time. I also knew it was going to hurt. We'd ride a ton of rogue trail (which I had scoped-out earlier in the day, knowing it was in speck-TACK-u-lar condition), the beer fridge was full and the post ride fire prepared.

The crew; The Silent Killer, The Manimal, Captain Cuntwat, Cliff and Me. We rolled into the woods moving at a steady pace under a crystal-clear, star-filled sky. We warmed-up quickly as we rode the first four miles/400 feet of elevation gain. It seemed as though we were on a mission to climb every hill, be it short and technical or a long torture fest. If we failed on any section, we'd give it another go, stopping once in a while to watch and heckle each other makes a ride more fun for sure. It's great to ride with friends that are psyched to be out, having a good time and not overly possesed by a training schedule - but rather enjoy being outside, in the dark with the feeling you have somehow escaped the hustle of city life. 

We had a few interesting moments in the woods where we might have been somewhere we shouldn't have been, and had to elude those who might expose our quest for the holy grail ofall things dirt. Times like this keep your heart rate up and your mind alert. We were like ninjas on bikes. We felt like kids again - out after the streetlights were on, getting into harmless mischief, the kind that 'the man' tries to help us protect ourselves from. You know what I mean.

We rode a lot of varied terrain - mostly dirt single-track strewn with rock and tree roots that all too often gave you a chance to go OTB, like it or not. There was a ton of dead-fall on the trail; logs ranging from 6" to 30" in diameter. I enjoy hoping these random logs that come out of nowhere, at speed - a test of reflexes where hesitation would get the best of you.

Toes were getting cold so we opted for an 'as the crow flies' effort back to the lair. We chilled, laughed about our mini epic 16 mile night ride, and enjoyed a few malt beverages around a warm fire. What can I say, riding bikes in the dark = fun. Do it.