when a biker crashes...

and no one is around to see it... is there a reason?

Saturday I hit up Wompatuck with no real route in mind.  I had thought about going down to check out Burlingame (even though I wasn't racing on Sunday) but when I realized it was an hour and 3/4 drive I decided against it.  I had also thought about going to the race to take pictures... but again, the distance and the 9am start kind of made that an unlikely event.

So, Saturday I rode around Wompatuck.  My general idea was to get 20+ miles.  With no pre-set route I was free to just ride.  Wompatuck is big, but it is hard to get lost (or at least lost for long) as there are a plethora of old paved paths that will lead back to the road and major trail intersections are well marked (assuming you have a map - or knowledge of the area).  My ride started well.  My legs were feeling pretty good - definitely stronger.  The weather was great for riding - low 50s, and the trails were in fantastic condition (some blow down here and there, but overall things were great).

I wore my new long sleeve merino jersey and that thing is sweet ass!!  It's made by Icebreaker.

I got a large, and all I can say is that I'm glad I've shed some pounds (and continue to do so) because it was tight.  Not so tight that it was uncomfortable or restricted movement, etc... but it is tight.  I've never worn merino wool before and wasn't sure what to expect.  When I tried it on I wasn't sure how warm it would actually be as it felt super light weight.  I decided to try it out on Saturday with temps in the low 50s because I figured my jacket would be too much and a ss jersey alone wouldn't be enough.  Well, it was PERFECT!!  It somehow managed to keep in body heat while also keeping me cool... as I flew down trails I could feel the cool air - but it felt good.... never got a chill from it (even when I soaked my back with an exploding water bottle... more about that later).



I ended up my ride with 25.8 miles and something to explore on my next (non-ride) visit.  I came across a whole section (so I guess there are areas I haven't ridden) of old abandoned buildings along an old railroad line.  Just a lot of opportunities for some great shots so I MUST go back with the camera and see what I can get.  But, let's get to exploding water bottle....

So I was following a bit of the race course and at one point I wasn't exactly sure which trail to take (turn or continue straight).  I stayed straight and as I was flying down the trail I saw ahead a slight bend with the outside having a slight berm to boulder.  Somehow, someway, something got caught up and I took a spill.  It felt as though something had grabbed my derailleur and flipped my rear in the air... I tried to keep my balance but soon felt like a spill was inevitable so I tried to separate from my bike.  I landed on my left elbow/side with my bike away from my body - but of course still tangled in my legs.  As the dust settled I saw a water bottle top laying in the trail in front of my face.  I look to the bottle on my bike and it's in tact, so I quickly reach back to my jersey and pull the open bottle from my pocket.  At this point I was more concerned with my bike than anything else so I methodically look it over and everything was fine!  My shins on the other hand were beat to hell, but overall ok.

I could not for the life of me figure out how the crash happened.  There wasn't anything there that snagged my bike... it was a mystery.  I continued my ride and soon forgot the crash... except for the wet jersey.  But even though I was wet - I didn't feel wet... if that makes any sense?  The jersey did not retain a chill from the spill, so I probably just looked a mess to other trail users after that point.  I didn't take any pictures before continuing my ride, but before the day was done I decided to find my way back to investigate the scene further.

approach to the scene... looks like a nice turn, right?

ride the outside... that's the plan

ground disturbance....

So, there was a nice divot in the area where the "accident" occurred... but what caused it?  Like I said, it felt like something had grabbed from behind... like a derailleur pull or something.  But there was nothing around that could have grabbed it, and of course no damage to my derailleur....

So I set my bike up to check if I could have hit the ground with a pedal.  I thought I had my pedals parallel to the ground, but maybe not??  

Nope, inside pedal doesn't reach... 

outside doesn't reach either...

Maybe I had the inside pedal down by mistake?















Maybe I wasn't as far to the outside as I thought and I had my outside foot down??

It's a freakin mystery!  Now that I'm back home thinking about it the only thing I can imagine is that I dislodged a rock (my rear wheel bouncing over it - thus giving my that feeling of my rear wheel lifting??) and that divot is where it had been resting?

As I worked my way down the trail there were a number of impact areas on the trail before I came to my final resting spot... the whole spill must have been a sight to see!!

Initial impact zone

circles in the upper right are from the picture above.  bottom circles were about where my feet/bike came to rest - body further down the trail.

Top circle is accident spot, lower circles are from the first impact zone - picture taken from where my bike came to rest. 

It's one of those crashes that will go down in the books as a head scratcher.  Bike wasn't hurt, I have no major injuries, so we just keep rolling forward.  

Back to the original question: When a biker crashes and no one is around to see it, is there a reason?  My answer is: NO

BUT

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound?  That one is not so clear... what I can tell you is that the trees in Wompatuck are a little scary...

ok, relax!! I won't...

"Death is Coming" "He is Very Close"... ok then, I'll just keep on riding, maybe a little faster now!!

Saddle Time

Media Fridays

We'll posts videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

I like the video, the angles, the music... but it left me with one nagging question.

Why did he bother adjusting his seat height... I don't think he used his saddle once in the whole video

A Winter's Day on pinkbike.com

Wounded Knee

No, I'm not talking about the book

Or the high flying Boston Celtic from my youth

(Did you make the connection??)

I'm talking about the tightness/strain in the back of my left knee.  Before my road ride on Sunday I boosted the saddle a little... and I'm thinking maybe I took it up a little too much??  Halfway through the ride I started feeling it in the back of my left knee, but that's it.  Not a sharp pain, just a "stretch" pain I guess.  I thought about stopping to lower the seat (which I should have done) but I didn't.  After the ride my knee was ok and I didn't think about it until Monday morning as I was walking up the stairs to head out to work.  I could feel the strain there.  Again, no "real" pain... just enough to let me know something was up.

During the day on Monday as I walked around campus my knee felt a little "loose" whenever going up an incline... but again, no real pain.  Having missed opportunities to hit the trails over the weekend, I ignored my concern about the knee and hit up Foxboro- hey, maybe more riding would make it go away?? 

Nope... right from the start I was aware of the strain back there... it seemed to go away as I rode, but every once in a while I could feel it....  blah.  What to do, what to do?  The weather this week is insane!!  high 70s yesterday... high 70s (if not 80s) today, and 80s tomorrow... are we sure it's still March??

Yesterday no ride time because of the knee in combination to Annie's trivia night, so straight home for the dogs.  Who, by the way, thoroughly disappointed me with their design ideas... apparently garbage looks better across the floor and on the couch and chair then it does in a garbage bag...  I couldn't believe it!!  I thought about taking some pictures of the crime scene - I mean, there were bottles on the couch!!  But I couldn't bring myself to visually documenting the total obliteration of our place by our lovely puppies... I almost had to question if a frat had broken in and had a rager!!  But, as all dogs quickly learn - their spoils are truly just spoiled.  In the garbage was remnants of sushi from the other night... although I found a bit of wasabe left alone in various areas of the floor, some must have been ingested (and from the #2s last night and vomit this morning I'd say it certainly had been).

Today I will be off the bike as well.... I have to stop in to either the LBS or the Home Depot to pick up some stem bolts anyway.  During my ride on Monday there was some creaking going on and I was guessing it was from the stem.  Yesterday (after my garbage clean up) I planned on flipping the stem anyway for a more aggressive stance and did notice one of the bolts already a little loose - probably the culprit for the creak... but in the process also noticed the rust going on with some of the bolts.  For fear of stripping them I am just going to go ahead and replace them. 

But the main reason for a no ride today is another adventure in Restaurant Week!!  Delicious food on the cheap!!  Appetizer, Entree, and Dessert for $33.12 - sweetness!!  Am I worried about the calories... a little.  But, and I'm sorry to have not been reporting on the regular, I'm doing pretty well on the weight loss side of things.  I'm about 3 pounds from my goal, with a total loss so far of 9.6 lbs.  I'm thinking that I'll probably shed a few more pounds after that, but we'll have to see.... some further loss may just be a natural by product as ride time increases with the season anyway.  But I do want to be mindful of not going too far and sacrificing power or strength at this point.

St. Patrick's Day

Ah, the time of year that Southie is over run by thousands, intoxicated and in green.  This is also a time that if you move your car, be prepared to park very very far from your house... so I was pretty much stuck in Southie all weekend.

Saturday I took the risk and left Southie bright and early for the first trail work session at the Fells.  It was a great turnout, had about 30 people there.  We made short work of the task at hand - rerouting an uphill section of trail and then regrading and narrowing the trail coming down the backside.  I had never ridden this trail before (orange), as it had previously been illegal for mountain bikers to access, but it was great to start getting our "new" trails ready to ride in April.  It was also nice to hear "thank you" from the many dog walkers, hikers, and joggers that came through while we were working.  So no matter how loud one group may be in damning us mountain bikers, the majority are truly cool with shared access and appreciate the work we are doing.

We've got much more work to do in the weeks ahead to get the orange trail fully open and ready to go for bikes... and then some planning and work on building new trails - which will be rad!  Working on the trail was rather fun.  At the end (sorry, didn't take any pictures) the trail looked as if we hadn't done anything to it... which is perfect!! One guy commented - "it's like a woman and her make up - takes 2 hours and you can't tell the difference!!"  Too funny!!

When I got home I was luckily able to park right down the street (after multiple laps looking for a spot).  I was itching to hit the trails, but already the streets were getting packed (and double parked) as the masses were rolling in for their night of partying, so Annie and I just went out for a nice lunch down at the Seaport instead.

Sunday was parade day.  Again, that meant no trail riding for me... so I took out Georgia and hit the streets.  As I was leaving Southie (a couple hours before the parade start) I encountered cab after cab coming into the neighborhood and masses of people in green walking their way in.  Of course I represented with the Ireland jersey but was headed out of the chaos.  Nice little ride.  The weather was perfect and I combined the last two ride routes into a 35.2 jaunt.  Still have one section to iron out but this will be a nice little loop I think.

Today I do have the HiFi on the pterodactyl and I'm ready to ride after work!!  Not sure exactly where I'll be yet... maybe Foxboro or Upton... but I'm sure it will include fat tires and dirt!!

So hard to choose

Media Fridays

We'll posts videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

This week I couldn't decide which video to post... an "homage" to the "winter" we've had in the Northeast, a beautiful trek through the Andes, or a little more Dick(y)?

Was there any doubt??  We are all entertained by his words and adventures... here's a taste of Dicky in the beginning, and then he sneaks back in for a track-stand battle towards the end...
Or you can just enjoy the preview of the Trans-Sylvania Epic.

Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic 2012 from Dirt Rag Magazine on Vimeo.

If you are exceptionally bored today, feel free to check out the other contenders for today.

Check out this Winterbike video - a "winter ending" event up at Kingdom Trails.

The scenery is absolutely AMAZING in this video... I'm not sure if anyone has done a destination trip/ride like this, but it looks like something to look into.  I don't know how you'd focus on the trail with those mountains in the background... breathtaking for sure!

yeah yeah

So I "forgot" to post yesterday... sorry!  I didn't so much forget as I put it off to the morning... then I slept in (just a little) and didn't leave myself enough time to post as I had a parent meeting before school yesterday morning.... so that equals no post.  My bad.  I guess I have to get back into writing the night before.

So, yesterday I was supposed to tell you about my road rides.  Saturday Annie and I went to the "deeps," as Annie affectionately calls it.

Afterwards I DID have enough time to ride on the trainer.  Sunday was beautiful.  Decision time, do I head out to Wompatuck for a 20+ ride or do I get some pavement under my wheels and let Georgia out on the roads??  I opted to see what this carbon beauty could do on real hills (not just a training video simulation) and I was LOVING it.  Good thing I went the road route as at that point I wasn't aware of the HiFi's spoke issue.

Anyway.  Riding a road bike, for real, what's it like?  Crazy.  At first I was a bit "off balance" as those skinny tires felt sooooo very different then the big knobbies I'm used to.  Combine that with the feather weight of the bike, and of course the difference in body positioning, and it was a whole new world.  I quickly got over that and settled in for a ride.  Decided to hit up the Charles River as that had been an old faithful "crap weather" ride for me.  I got to what I had figured my half way point would be and I was dying for more.  So I pulled out the Igadget and mapped out a further loop.  Decent ride, got in 34.3 miles on a route I can certainly follow and expand upon in the future.  There was one sharp twisting decline that I was completely NOT ready for - wasn't sure my brakes were going to do the job as my hands were on the hoods... mental note - next time flip to the under bar grip for better braking action on a steep decline!!

Getting back into riding I never really had an interest in road riding... sometimes I would think of it fondly (around the time Harpoon does there Brewery to Brewery ride) and wish I had a sweet bike (and the legs) to join such an event, but most of the time I figured it would be a boring ride compared to the adventures of the dirt trail.  I don't know if it was the fact that I was stuck on a trainer listening to the same "coach" for 8 weeks, but riding Georgia on the roads was freaking outstanding!!  LOVED IT!  The lights, yeah they were annoying.  Traffic - well I'm sure it was lighter than a weekday, but I don't mind so much jockeying with traffic.  For the most part people were good about spacing (just one A-hole who decided the empty left lane wasn't his deal but 6 inches was enough clearance to give me) and I was happily surprised at how well cabbies did with bikers.  In one instance I was coming up to a green light and a cab coming the opposite way was looking to turn left.  He started to go for a second and I started shaking my head as I prepared to get on the brakes and he stopped.  I was really surprised that he didn't just floor it and go anyway.  It's nice when people are nice.

Monday - discovered the broken spoke - so I rush home, put the HiFi away and grab Georgia for round 2.  Had to be a shorter ride as I was now contending with the setting sun (thank you daylight savings for giving me the opportunity for an after work road ride) so I set out for the Charles again.  This time where I extended the loop on Sunday I cut up and back down through Cambridge.  I didn't want to follow the Charles so much as the Harvard side of the river gets packed with people and was a complete cluster F on Sunday. 

Rant time:  if you are visiting our fair city - welcome!!  Can I offer any help, directions, recommendations for dinner perhaps??  But PLEASE, if you do not speak English well enough to understand "on your left, behind you.... on your left... hello... your left.... hello!!" then please do not take up the entire bike path while strolling along our beautiful river way.  Hell, that goes for locals walking dogs... the picture should not be: dog extended on leash to far left of path, owners side by side in the middle, with other dog extended on leash to the right...  Common sense and courtesy people.  I do not expect to go full speed.  I am super happy to share the path with any and everyone.  I understand, and am ok with the fact that, slowing down, holding up behind you, and waiting for an opportunity to pass is all part of the game.  But, if we all navigated our world with a little common sense and decency there would be much better flow - in the streets, sidewalks, grocery stores, you name it!!

So back to the main objective... the plan is to hit only the city side of the Charles as there is better bike lane delineation on the path and less "strollers," and then take city streets back to and through the city.  Oh yeah, and of course on my rides I hit some Strava sections... too much fun!!  

  

broke

So, you know how the other day I mentioned grabbing a stick between the wheel and derailleur... and everything seemed fine?

Well, yeah, it's not.  Nothing traumatic, but enough to be annoying.  As I was loading the HiFi on the pterodactyl yesterday (you think I would be able to spell pterodactyl by now, but no... 3 out of 4 times I spell it wrong...) I noticed a busted spoke.  The weather... high 60s/70!!  And no trail time...

Instead I went straight home and got some pavement under Georgia's tires (the roadie) for the second day in a row... but more about that tomorrow.

So today after work I guess I'll be going all "Mr. Fix-it."  Seems like a busted spoke is more of an annoyance than anything - saving the sealant, taking up the rim tape... replacing said spoke, retaping the rim, and resealing... a bit much "re" for my liking.