From this picture you may not be able to see all the bug bites on the shaven leg. But maybe this isnt the sort of thing you’d want to see anyway.

The black flies this spring were absolutely vicious. The fuzz on my left left did a good job of keeping a lot if the little buggers at bay, but my right leg got munched. So score one for the hairy leg.

We’re headed up to Kingdom Trails for 2 nights of camping, and hopefully 3 days of riding. I’m only bringing one bike, Pale Horsie, so I will have a detailed ride report nexgt week.

Have a happy and safe weekend everyone!

I’m pretty amazed, JayPro was actually thinking along the same sort of lines with the name, he came up with Pale Rider, but he may have been talking about the color of my legs.

While I was putting it all together, I had several small flourishes that totally changed the timbre of the bike. I’m using Bad Horsie’s I9 wheels (now with ceramic hybrid bearings) which are blue. I tried out a red saddle, and had red cables in mind, and would have christened it The Thunderbird. While it looked cool in a patriotic way, I wasn’t feeling it. Neither was the bike.

So I chose to stick with the white/blue/black combo.

I LOVE the XX group. Blog superstar Thom Parsons had admitted to using on a XX group on his new bike too, but after our post Gravel Grinder conversation this spring, he let me in on a little secret. He doesn’t actually use all those gears. He pretty much keeps it in a gear that approximates his singlespeed set up, and mans up and kranks (yes, with a K) out the gears to get to where he is going. I tried this a bit, during the ladies ride, and then during the practice lap at Catamount. Yes, Wednesday Night Worlds has begun. I have 20 gears, but really only used one. The squish is awesome though.

I ended up riding Furley (to victory in my category no less), I didn’t necessarily want to go into “race mode” on a brand new bike. Pale Horsie and I are going to get very well aquainted up at Burke this weekend. I’m taking my time learning this new steed.
As some of you might remember, my black Jet was named Bad Horsie, as it had a really bad attitude, and was very different to anything else I was riding at the time. It was fractious, wicked quick, and would stuff me into whatever hard/pointy obstacle that was convenient. After a breaking in period (almost 2 summers) I feel like Bad Horsie and I finally came to terms with one another, and it was smooth sailing thereafter. Until the recall.
I waited 9 months for it’s successor.
This new Jet is a little different. While it is still wicked quick, it’s waaay stiffer, tracks better, and I’m pretty sure it will out maneuver anything at speed beyond my capacity to cope. It doesn’t come with a G-suit, and I don’t want to use the ejector seat.

So the build out is: large Vanna White frame, I9/Arch wheels, Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires, full XX group, 39-26/11-36t, Reba w/ Hydroloc (badass!), Easton EC70 post, Devo saddle, Thomson stem, Ritchey WCS carbon 10D bars and Ergon grips. With pedals and cage, it comes in at 25.75. Not as light as Jay’s, but hey, I got like 60 lbs on him.

Well, a lot of things have been going on around here lately, arrivals of things, shippings of things and general havoc.

I am combining a post of the weekend recap, and some of what to look forward to tomorrow. Kinda like a 2 for 1, except you didn’t get a post yesterday, so it is kind of like one big one instead of 2…

Pine Hill Park Escapade

Five humans and two dogs made the trip to Rutland on Saturday for an afternoon of riding and fun. Mandy and I have been there before, so we were able to navigate the trails in to some fun loops that we rode the crap out of. It was hot and sunny, so we had to be careful with the 4-leggers. Thankfully, the pond served as a rest spot for people and mutts alike. Seamus actually remembered that water is fun, and leaped into the pond after sticks.

We were out for about 3 hours, which was a little too long for the dogs. The funny thing about dogs, is that they are always so eager to play, but they often get ahead of themselves. We only rode about 10 miles, but they probably ran about 30. Their pads were cracked and dry after, and neither of them wanted to walk or even eat once everybody got home.

Lesson learned. No more dogs on longer rides. They are OK now though, and back to their normal doggy selves.

Oh, and another helpful tip, don’t be in Mandy’s way when the ice cream truck pulls into the parking lot. She is not afraid to step up and claim her place in line!

On Sunday, there was a huge trail work day out in the Little River Valley. Where is this? Ahhh, yes, well, this is a new connector trail that will eventually turn into some amazing riding. 55 people turned up for several VMBA chapters to do some serious drainage and armoring work on a crucial connecting piece of trail that links the Cottonbrook trails in Moscow to the Little River State Park in Waterbury. It’s a big deal.

Sadly I was not there this time. Instead, I ended up doing some much needed work around the house, the kind I have put off for about 2 years. I got a huge punch-list done, and even had time for a quick ride in the evening. Furley and I made the most of some quiet time. Results below.

Monday was shop craziness, but got a quick post up on JayPro’s race bike, but ya’ll already knew that.

Tuesday… Well, my Jet finally landed. In 90 degree heat. Funny to think that 2 weeks ago it was snowing, but hey, I’ll take it. Tuesday night is typically the “girls ride”, but Mandy wasn’t feeling well, so I stepped in to lead the ride. On my new bike. Which I spent all day tweaking, but have it pretty darn close to where I want it. I’ve only had 9 months to think about it, and the result is a completely different bike than it’s predecessor.

But I digress…

I led a group of 6 women into the Perry Hill Trail system. They had various skill levels, but fantastic attitudes. I spent a limited time as an assistant guide in Moab in my past, so I really tried to use those skills I learned way back then. I’m not a very good guide, nor am I a good coach, but I had big shoes to fill. I listened to them talk about how their boyfriends/husbands/significant others would “coach” them through sections of trail, which always ended up badly. And then I thought about the times I had “tried” to talk Mandy through stuff, pretty much the same result I’m guessing… It was pretty apparent that these ladies actually know how to ride bikes, but weren’t necessarily equipped to have fun doing it. They all stomped the crap out of the main climb up Perry Hill, rode hard stuff I took them on without telling them, and listened patiently to my suggestions on how to improve their trail experience.

I had fun riding with the ladies, and none of them told me to shut up while I was suggesting new ways to interpret the trail, so maybe that’s a good sign…

So, back to my Jet. Yep, many things to talk about here. You’ll just have to come back tomorrow to find out more, oh, and it already has a name…

Yeah, that drivetrain is actually red hot!

23.58 lbs.

Pretty impressive, no?

The frame is a medium “new and improved” Jet, with a tapered steerer tubed Reba XX, full XX group, Stan’s ZTR Race wheelset, Stan’s Racing Ralph front tire, Bontrager 29-0 rear tire, Ritchey Superlogic 10D bars, ESI grips, Bontrager Race X light stem, Easton EA90 seatpost, WTB Rocket V SLT saddle, and Crank Bros 4 Ti Eggbeater pedals.

And the contestant that guessed the closest weight without going over is:

RONALDO! He guessed 23.5

Well played! I’ll be sending you an email today to find out your shipping address so you can start using the tire you won.

Thanks for playing everyone, A ride report will be forthcoming!

It’s been a great week for RIPs. A couple out the door this week, and more to come. Seems like a lot of folks have been thinking about this bike all winter, and are finally pulling the trigger.

This black beauty is one of the new bikes that will be seen terrorizing the local trails this summer. A crew of us got together for our regular Thursday night ride, and we had a good mix of regulars and fresh faces. We were about 9 strong, and picked up and lost some stragglers along the way. T-Vo ventured out to join us, and got to get his feet wet on Perry Hill for the first time in a while. It was a great time.

Quote from the ride: “You’re not happy unless you are going 100 miles an hour with your hair on fire!”

I got the opportunity to ride Nat’s new Jet, I have to say, my first impression is that this is a much stiffer bike than it’s predecessor. I’m looking forward to getting mine back.

Bike29 will be making a trip down to Pine Hill Park in Rutland on Saturday. The planets were lined up for most of our crew to make a day trip to someplace outside our local trails. Only a handful of us had been there before, so it will be a great experience for those in our group that have yet to ride these amazing trails.

And next weekend  is Memorial Day weekend, which means it is our “Annual Chased Away By Rain Camping Trip” up at the Kingdom Trails at Burke. I hope it doesn’t rain.

Have a great weekend, ride lots!

Sort of a paradox if you think about it. But I actually saw one.

When we were loading up the car with bikes and stuff for the race on Saturday (except tools), I saw a rainbow to the east, which is generally opposite from where they normally appear in the west. The sky was dark and promising rain. I’d already resigned myself that I was going to be racing in the pouring rain so I was OK with this. This rainbow struck me as very odd.

In my mental ipod (my head), I had “Rainbow in the Dark” by Dio playing on constant repeat during my race because of this vision. If anyone has the latest Dirtrag, they should check out Dicky’s article about riding with music. It’s very true. If I don’t have headphones on while I’m riding, I have music in my head. At SSAP, it was a Maiden/Dio combo, with commercials for Powerthirst.

I thought nothing of this on the day, other than the fact that I used to listen to Dio all the time when I was a teenager. I had his first four albums on vinyl, drew the Dio logo on all of my school books, and generally drove my parents nuts with my musical obsession. Lately, I’ve been “kicking it old school” and listening to a lot of the old, and what might now be considered cheezy, metal that I used to listen to in my youth. Well I like it.

And imagine my surprise on Sunday, when I learned that Ronnie James Dio succumbed to stomach cancer on Sunday morning, not 24 hours after I saw the dark rainbow in the sky. I was shocked. The music he made has always been in my life and will always remain. He gave me, and so many others, a soundtrack to live your life to. Sometimes brooding, but most of the time rocking so hard you can’t believe it. Mandy doesn’t get it, because she was a “hardcore” kid. Hardcore, for the most part, is basically really bad metal, but I digress… I’m a fan of many musical genres, and Dio was one of my very favorite bands.

Ronnie James Dio, you will be missed, but your music lives on forever.

Long live rock.

I’ve gotten most of the new and improved Jet frames back form their long regeneration period. It seems that they have come back a little beefier than they left, but to my eyes, I see many improvements.

The new front triangles have hydroformed tubes, the down tube being a tear drop shape, the top tube a quadrilateral, both meeting a new tapered headtube. The seat tube brace is also a hydroformed tube, and not open like the previous generation. It looks stout. This medium frame weighs 6.42 lbs.

The rear triangle gets square stays, new lower bearing journals and a hydroformed Y brace that promises to be much stiffer than the old version.

We’re currently building this bike up for JayPro. It will be kitted out with a full SRAM XX group (39-26/11-36), including the new tapered steerer tube XX Reba with the Hydroloc feature (which is very baddass), Stan’s ZTR Race wheels, and a pretty questionable rear tire (which I will go into later). I’ll post pics up when it’s done. It’s coming together quite nicely, and it should prove to be a pretty astounding rig when it’s finished. I’m a little delayed in the build up of mine, so I will just have to help pimp this one out as much as Jay will allow.

I’m wagering a bet on the final weight of this bike.

Who wants in?

The winner will receive a 29er tire of my choice. And if said winner actually rides this tire ALL SUMMER (or at least 2 months), and gives me regular ride reports, I will give said “winner” 2 tires of their choice. Spicy!

Just like the Price is Right, the winner that guesses the closest actual weight without going over will win. I will accept bids for the correct weight until midnight, SVTT (Standard Vermont Time). I will announce the final riding weight of the bike, with pedals, with water bottle cage mounted, one week from today. For those that do not eagerly await my daily blog posts, that will be Wednesday May 23rd.

Start scribbling bike nerds…

Really? Randomly recommending round racing rubber requires reconnaissance.

Enough silliness, time to get to the point.

I raced the Rocket Rons on Saturday. The tires saw a mix of high speed grass sections, loamy fresh cut singletrack, loose gravel, wet rocks, slick roots and some fast hardpack. I’d have to say I was very happy with the tire overall. It rolls very fast, and is very predictable. The one thing that always seems to get me with the Scwalbe tires, is that they don’t like wet surfaces.

Maybe it’s just me, but I have found that the rubber compound to be a bit too hard for my liking. In a perfect world, a softer rubber compound would be the ticket, but it would most likely not last as long.

The front tire Stans’ed right up, the rear giving me a bit of a fit at first. True to my nature, I grabbed the lightest 2 tires that came through the door (518g and 515g), the lighter of the pair going on the back. I attribute the lightness to the amount of pinholes in the rear tire, it resembled Swiss cheese, but it did eventually seal, after I had gotten 2 practice laps in with a starting pressure of 40 psi and finishing of 10. The good news, is that I never once burped the tire or rolled it off the rim at such ridiculously low pressures. I started the race at 40 psi in the rear, and there it stayed. Figures…

Then I rode the bike socially on Monday morning. What is now a weekly “FAT GUYS RIDE”, we basically meet at the Perry Hill trailhead, and ride the lower Yellow trails. It is beginner ride, and not to be taken seriously at all, as most of us manage to be hung over on Monday mornings. Which is why we ride the easy stuff. And just because it’s easy, doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. In fact, I think I rode better here than I did all weekend.

Because these trails are essentially ingrained into my tiny brain, I could spend a bit more time finding the limits of the tire. Conditions right now are about perfect. Dry, but not dusty. I found myself going a lot faster than I usually do, and leaning the tires into the turns. They bite right in. And they roll super fast.

I’m going to get some more rides in this week, and will let you all know my verdict.

The Flower Power bike race was held on Saturday at Catamount in Williston. This is the second year we have sponsored the race. We arrived with time to set up the tent and get a practice lap in. I managed to not bring any tools with me, but that didn’t stop Joe from fixing a few people’s bikes with a set of allen wrenches. Joe is good like that.

The weather was a little iffy, it was cold and raw, and very unmotivational. I did my practice lap with every piece of clothing I brought. Thankfully, it didn’t rain, and once we all got moving at race time I was at a good temperature.

The singlespeed race (VSSSC) was three laps, and we left with the other 3 Lappers. The course was very up. It started out on the grassy field side, and climbed to the top meadow. The grass was freshly mown, and it was a lot like riding on broom bristles. A very odd feeling indeed. Then we traversed to the lower meadow before going into the woods where the singletrack was very tight, up and punchy. It was really hard to ride fast, as some of the turns were quite sharp. It was then a relentless up to the back of the upper meadow again, with some very evil features that are hard to clean when your heart is pounding in your ears from all the climbing.

After that though, it was practically all downhill. With one small low angle muddy momentum robbing climb in between some really challenging singletrack, it was all about lighting up the afterburners and getting to the next lap.

We were definitely a little less prepared this year, but we all looked good wearing our new kits. It was also great to see some folks wearing the old jersey too. Bike 29 was well represented.

There were only 16 singlespeeders duking it out for the title. Mandy of course won the women’s title, but this is by default. She was the only woman on a singlespeed, out of three ladies that raced the 3 lap. A pretty bad showing for the girls! I was 14th, which I was a little bummed about, because I thought I was riding well, but I did pass a lot of people on gears. My time would have placed me 7th with the rest of the starting group.

We did well as a team though, T-Vo was 2nd, Maggs was 6th, and Jay Pro 8th.

Thursday marked our very first official shop ride of the year. The trails were in great shape, and we even had a couple of new faces. I had a great ride, and even broke a few personal barriers.

Lately, I have been spending a little bit of extra ride time on my RIP. I’ve ridden it 3 times this week, but it isn’t because I’m loosing interest in the singlespeed thing. This bike is one that I have had for a while, but it was born out of the wreckage of the original Jet. I feel as if I haven’t connected with this bike at all, despite the 9.5 hours I spent riding, walking and fixing it during the VT 50. At that point, it was pinch hitting for my Jet, which has so far, has twice failed at being my “50 bike“. I guess I’m starting to learn about this particular bike, and how it helps me ride all my other bikes.

So if we look back at all the posts on the blog, it would seem like I’ve had like 15 RIPs over the last four years. Each one of them has been different than the last. I’m trying out a 185mm rotor on the rear, the new Ritchey WCS 10D flat handlebars. This one is starting to get it’s own personality, and it’s definitely become a valuable part of the stable.

I tried out the new Schwalbe Nobby Nic tire, which I thought was actually very good. It only broke free on one section where I knew it was a gamble. Like all other Schwalbe tires, they do not like wet, off camber stuff. Besides that one blemish, I’d have to say that after the first ride, the tires are a solid 7/10. This is a first impression mind you, I’ll keep you up to speed on this tire as I get more rides in on it. It promises to be a contender.

Speaking of Jets…

More on the arrival of these later…