Saturday I returned to the scene of my crash and rode Sherman Branch. It was a good ride, a fun ride. I did, however, notice that my heart rate was up. I was pushing it, and haven't been riding so much with all the rain and whatnot... but I never felt like I was going to explode, so that is good. Other than that, I honestly can't remember too much about the ride. I didn't crash - so there is a plus!
So, you know how I "fixed" my chain line the other day? Nope. I was dropping chains like my name was Snoop Dogg.
Yesterday I decided to haul my ass up to Lake Norman State Park and get some miles in. The strangest thing happened yesterday, I got to work from home. Which, at this point, pretty much meant I was getting paid to hang out and answer any emails that came through. Part of my wanted to "work from the trail" but being a new job I was a good boy and stayed home all day.
Finally I got up to LKNSP and got riding. The trails were AMAZING. A couple "soft" spots, but overall things were fast. Feeling good as the Glow Worm was just eating up trail... until the first effort climb. As I crested the climb POP! Chain blew off. I stopped, put it back on thinking that was VERY strange and continued my ride without incident.
Now that I think about it, I don't think I have ever ridden the Glow Worm out there before... makes sense, because it's been a loooong time since I've been out there. Anyway, 32x18 is pretty much perfect for the trails there. Loved it. I absolutely love SS. Love climbing. Love my noisy ass hub. THAT is something I never thought I would like. Previously I thought noisy hubs were annoying and destroyed the peace that I enjoyed while solo riding. But it doesn't bother me. If anything, it's helpful as it alerts other trail users that I'm coming up before I have to apply breaks or announce myself (of course I still do both things!).
I finished up the Laurel side of things and stopped at the car to refill water bottles and make a decision. Finish up the other half of the trail system, or drive back to Charlotte for the group ride? I checked with the garmins in the pterodactyl and it said I could make it by the start time... I hemmed and hawed and decided being social might be nice. So I quickly loaded my gear and hopped on the road.
Things looked good... for a minute. Then 77 was a parking lot so I detoured myself - adding another 20 minutes to my drive time... I figured I'd be able to catch the group on the trail by cutting out the first black diamond section at good old Col FB. I put the hammer down and took off into the trails. First thing I noticed was my seat was low. I had thought it was a little loose while I was riding LKNSP and now I know it certainly was. I was only getting a little over 3/4 extension while seated... felt like I was on a little kids BMX bike... but I figured I'd just adjust it when I caught up with everyone. POP! My chain blew off again, so I put it back on and fixed my seat height.
As I predicted I ran into The Mutt by the side of the trail working on his headset. Looks like it was going to be one of those days... We rejoined the group and got going. Shortly we passed one of our group members with a mechanical, and I dropped my chain one more time! Looks like I should have left my chain line well enough alone! The Mutt took a look at it after the ride and helped me identify how much/little to move it back towards the original position to hopefully cure that issue. The EBB seemed to be sticking in place, which was the one positive of the situation - too bad that didn't help the chain stay on!
Even though I've had more "issues" running the Glow Worm so far over the HiFi it doesn't change a thing... singlespeed is where it's at.
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