First rule of riding at the USNWC

Check to see what the hell is going on over there.  Other than being pretty finicky with closing down trails, they hold a lot of different events.

Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing!!  The place rocks - a dedicated place to get people off their asses and enjoying the outdoors - I can get down with that!!

Saturday I made plans to meet up with Sean at the USNWC to do a bit of riding.  When I arrive the parking lot is full.  There are people with dogs all over the place and I noticed some tape up and a water station on the trail as I drove in....  hmmmmm.

I met up with Sean and gave him the proper amount of shit for picking these trails... but whatever was going on had gone off earlier in the morning so we hoped that would mean the trails would be pretty clear of racers/runners/dogs.

Over all a pretty good ride... except for the fact that my bike was determined to drop gears and pop like a maniac whenever I had to stomp up a climb.  BLARG!!  Not at all what I need right now.

Sunday I tinkered around to see what I could do to get things back to working smoothly... yeah, I dunno.  Couldn't get it smoothed out and can't quite tell if the hanger is slightly bent (enough to throw things off) or not...

So I guess it's to the LBS to see if they can get it righted for the trip to Pisgah and Dupont this week/weekend.  The shop I've been frequenting isn't open on Mondays of course, so this will give me a chance to try someone new.  I'm hoping to just need a quick derailleur adjustment... but looks to me like I might need to get new cables.... I was hoping to wait until AFTER the trip to get a complete tune-up... so we'll see what I can do to make sure the trip is good.

One gear sounds awfully nice right now - no playing with temperamental derailleurs.

I'll be enjoying camp fires and bikes.... but hopefully not bikes IN camp fires....

"Me riding through fire. Not a good idea" - gwhawes 

dogs and tricks

Media Fridays

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

Teach a dog to ride a bike!!  

Or just go ride yourself and show that puppy in your life how great they are!!  

I miss my dogs...  2 weeks and counting!

Stop whining!!

Stop F'n whining!!

Seriously!

People are going completely f'n mental on the local forum regarding a shortcut put in on a local trail.  If you like, you can check out the action.  Or, I can save you the time.  A short cut was put in and now people are going nuts.  I get it.  There is a certain level of pride associated with this trail - it's hard.  It doesn't avoid terrain, it uses it.  I appreciate that to the fullest.

I also get that yeah, not all trail networks need to cater to beginner riders.  We are fortunate enough to have a ton of trails around - so beginners can ride here and there, and work their way up to the more difficult trails.  Makes sense.

BUT.  To go nuts because a short cut was added is a bit much.  Nothing was detracted.  We can all ride the full trail and smash a PBR after to earn all the hipster points we need.  Here is the kicker.  I rode the trail for the first time today after reading some of the virtual poo flinging and I can get why some people would rather not ride this section.  I'm not going to skip it personally... but I can see why it isn't appealing.  It is a grid - legit square grid of.... how shall we say...  well I'm not sure what it is.  Best description (sorry I didn't grab a photo) would be tiny rail road tracks sans cross beams that are raised above the surrounding swamp.  In reality - seems like a tight grid network of sewers... hence the Poo Tracks moniker.

So yeah, its interesting.  But after crossing back and forth down these poo tracks you kinda just want to get on with the ride.... I get it.  But, it's a unique feature for sure, so it's part of the trail system.  Will putting in a short cut around this make the entire trail that much easier that beginners will start flooding the trails... HELL F'N NO.  People really need to stop flipping out man and start riding the trail.

As I type this someone added a poo track segment for strava.... awesome.  I'm guessing it's a passive aggressive move - as nothing of the trail shows up on strava.... whatever.

All I know is that I loved it out there.  So much reminded me of riding back up north.  Just trails kicking your ass.  I actually had to work out there, and work I did (as well as I could on tired legs).  But it's a trail that will certainly bring me back for more.  To work harder to clean the sections I couldn't quite conquer on my first time out.

I did manage to take a few pictures while out there... certainly not enough though.  Right off the bat I was loving how the trail was "carved" out of the surrounding vines that invaded the ground... it looked awesome!

For any features they had, and they had a handful, they were marked and had an alternate - which was nice.  Some of them probably didn't need the alternate - but again that returns us to the argument above... so we'll stay away from commentary there.

looks as though most ride the feature... as you should, it's nice and wide.

another sweet, wide log/tree ride

I just love old cars in the woods.... dunno why?

Come on, that's just an easy one!

new stuff

Loch Ness perhaps?

Steeper ramp than it appears

I'll tame it soon enough

Full of surprises

I got out for a ride yesterday, and to my surprise there were quite a few cars in the lot!!  Oh yeah... Columbus Day - totally missed THAT one!

Yesterday was a chilly one to say the least.  Not so chilly to require a long sleeve jersey or anything of that nature - but I was sporting a hoodie on the way to the trail.

During my first lap I met our smallest local hero!!  No, I'm not talking about Dicky - what?  He claims to be 4 (maybe 3.5) apples high!!

No, I'm talking about the famed, the mysterious, the mythical creature of Sherman Branch - the WHITE SQUIRREL!!

What does he look like??  Well, let me tell you.  He looks just like a regular squirrel (same size, same nut hunting pre-occupation) except white.

How did I spot him?  I dunno.  I wasn't hunting for him, that is for sure.  Perhaps it's the fact that he's freakin snow white in a dead leaf kingdom.  So as my retina was burned by the searing pure white coat I guess something clicked and I stopped.  I snapped a few Big Foot-esque pictures.

Searching for nuts- that little scamp!

Pausing... wondering if he should run or continue business as usual

It was business as usual

PROOF!!  Undeniable proof bitches!!

So, yeah that was pretty surprising.  The other surprise came on lap 2.  When my feet started hurting.  Or were they?  At first I thought it was foot pain - as pretty much all of me was aching due to recent inactivity... legs were burning, back was aching, why not the feet?  But on second thought and further concentration I determined that my feet were COLD!!  What the what??  I guess I'm not ready to admit that temps do in fact dip down south.  Nothing a pair of wool socks won't take care of.

But it makes me wonder what the riding will be like out west in them there hills... base layers people, bring the base layers!!  Not this weekend, but NEXT weekend I'll be out in Pisgah with a bunch of WV boys.

crazy

It's been raining too much.  TOO DAMN MUCH.  Been off the bike too long.

At least if it continues this way I can now get the trainer set up - got out to Home Depot and bought a long ass extension cord to run some power out to the garage - cause it would be nice to have lights and whatnot while I'm out there.

Since I haven't been out riding I've been sifting through reviews on various components, searching through site after site for deal after deal as I put my build list together.  I am not sure when I will start pulling the trigger on purchases... but this will be a slow build for sure.

Excitement for ALL!!

Playing the air guitar Niner

So, I was/am obviously excited!!  Who else is excited?  Annie, at the very least, enjoyed the child-like enthusiasm and awe I displayed as I unraveled my new sweetness.  She was very pleased with the aesthetics of the frame, and was 100% on board with my first alterations.  I'll get to that in a second.

Sit back and enjoy the pictorial account of the unveiling:

So I found the sweet deal on the One9 frame at Competitive Cyclist.

I mentioned earlier that in my initial notification of shipment that the weight for the box seemed whack.  I had postulated that maybe there was a bonus with my purchase.  No luck, the box was the very definition of NOT 13.9lbs.  

The packing job was superb.  And this is where the added excitement about this whole ideal would come.  And that excitement would come from Maggie.  Maggie LOVES to not only help unwrap gifts, but she is more than willing to lend her talents to opening cardboard boxes.  Although she would certainly have no part in opening this package, she would have gone bananas at the sight of the "air bag" packaging you can see on the right side of the box.  

(The "air bags" will be saved for her arrival so she can dispose of such packing materials "appropriately."  Scout will be excited, but won't know why... she'll just go off with unfocused energy due to Maggie's reaction)

Locked up tight and safe... no movement during shipping.

Niner EBB - pretty big part of the whole Niner fame.  Here is where things get shady.  In the whole write up on the website there is much discussion about the EBB - and I think (or assume) it is widely understood that an order of a Niner One9 includes the EBB.  I got a little nervous about the lack of explicit mention that the EBB was in fact included so I "chatted" with a rep from Competitive Cyclist to ensure that my assumption was correct.

During my chat I was informed that the 2012 frames came with the EBB - no mention of the 2011... I didn't completely buy that response and researched where I would acquire said EBB if in fact it did not come with the frame.... but it came with the frame of course.

This was something I did NOT expect with the frame - most sites explicitly state that they do not ship the One9 with a seat post collar.... but I got one!!  One less thing to gather for the build - SWEET!

So not only was the frame nicely secured when shipped, but they went through and prepped everything - all with a thorough checklist - very nice

And they even included a bag of goodies - touch up paint and cable ties!

 The frame is freed!!

And upright!

Time for the first "customization." Sticker removal.  

So fresh and clean!!  Removed a "Made in Taiwan" sticker from the bottom of the bottom bracket as well.  

The frame is smooth and naked 

Now it's just waiting for the build.

I wanted to display the frame with pride over the fireplace.... but Annie nixed that idea immediately.  

it sucks

Trail closures... I don't know what else to say other then they suck.

Poplar closes for good today*

I only got to ride there twice - and that is a damn shame.  Certainly wasn't enough time to really master the trails there.  Hell, on my last ride I totally blanked and for the ENTIRE ride I had convinced myself that somehow I missed the Gravity Cavity... yeah, I hadn't.  Dunno why, buy I was certain it was towards the front end of the loop.... yeah, it's not.

So of course I hadn't missed it, instead I enjoyed it in it's full glory for the first time.  The first time I hit the trail I opted to ride around (which was fun in itself) but being my last ride EVER I hit it up and wished I hadn't missed out on my first ride.

ripped from TheMutt

 
Got to see Minnie again.  I was unable to bring her treats - we didn't bring any of the dog food stuffs with us on the move since we don't have the dogs with us yet.  But she was happy to drink water from my bottle again.  Such a sweet dog - who will she hang out with everyday without the constant stream of riders visiting?

I was only able to get in one lap on my final visit as I had to get up to our storage unit to grab the last of our stuff so we could close out the account up there.  I just BARELY got everything in the pterodactyl.  Things were so crammed that I had to take apart a step stool to get it in.  Professor Second-Guess much preferred the ample seating of the U-Haul.  Now he has a new home in the Bike Haven overseeing the One9 build.

The One9 shows up on Tuesday (fingers crossed).  I am beyond excited.  I asked Annie last night what I should name it, or if I should even name it.  The HiFi is just the "HiFi"... but my Madone is "Georgia."  Do I stick with One9?  Annie suggested "Slimer," cause of the color of course.  I think that would be shooting myself in the foot with a name like that - it just sounds slow.  Over the course of the build I'm sure I'll be hit with some inspiration - or maybe I'll have to hold out for the first few test rides....  but I'll keep a list running.

*So I think yesterday was the last day to ride... but maybe you can ride today since it is the 1st?  I dunno...