Ships Log: Fat Aircraft carrier war games

[UtahJoe]

One last day in Moab....

So we woke up all rather tired and sore. Given the day ahead, we decided to ride the famous slickrock loop...We had all never been, plus since we wanted to ride early, get back to the condo, shower, hit arches, then drive 4 hrs to SLC...it was the closest and easiest.

Kirt decided to sit this one out and after the day we had saturday, I cant say I blame him. I was pretty beat myself. That left me, bill and 6er to go knock this out quick...

While I have ridden in Moab twice, the slickrock trail was always skipped bc it has a bad reputation of not being much fun...And I have never had enough extra to just go do it on that extra day. First thing I noticed when arriving is that the terrain is a little different than your typical moab in that its 100% slick rock, which makes for an amazing view. We decided to skip the "warm up" loop and just go hit the real thing...which is about 10 miles.

As I mentioned, the views...some of the best I have ever seen while on a bike...

Really was something to see.....

So the trail itself....Way more fun than I was expecting...Its odd riding what feels like rock pavement....grip is endless. Downhills and uphills are short and usually steep. Made for some tough climbing on my already tired legs. Did I think it was the best trail in moab? Certainly not...was it worth going to, 100%. Really cool. We did clean every climb except for part of one....so steep. I used the living shit out of that 50T pie plate that was on the back of my bike. Kinda reminded me of riding at Fugawe with regard to the effort.

Finished up the loop in like an hour and 15....Back to the condo, shower/pack...breakfast at the Love Muffin cafe (go there if you happen to be in moab) ...Then we took a drive thru Arches...we were tired and did the vehicle tour. Then we hit the road back to SLC.

Found a hotel near the Airport...Then went to Squatter in SLC for dinner where we met up with NJ transplant Dan Sturm and had a nice chat about MTB life in Utah. Good times for sure.


Our flight wasnt until noon, so next morning I took the crew for a drive up big cottonwood canyon to check out solitude/brighton and guardsmans pass.....I find it so funny that this is paved now...when I was in HS, we used to steal my friends dad subaru GL and rally it thru these dirt roads.

Took a hike up what I remember locals naming something like ten-4-60....I cant remember the number...it was the height of peak...Its behind Jupiter, I never skied it bc the only way out of this valley is on foot and that it didnt seem like that good of a run for the hike after......Anyway, as I mentioned earier, I used to come to this valley alot and ride my dirtbike, snowmobile with my dad....camp with my idiot friends...rode a horse thru it once....Lot of great memories here....i feel very lucky that I had the opportunity to grow up in this area.

Hey bonus, we got to see some moose!

So the end...What a great trip....Hope to do it again soon. Like next week.

 

[Juggernaut]

One last day in Moab....

So we woke up all rather tired and sore. Given the day ahead, we decided to ride the famous slickrock loop...We had all never been, plus since we wanted to ride early, get back to the condo, shower, hit arches, then drive 4 hrs to SLC...it was the closest and easiest.

Kirt decided to sit this one out and after the day we had saturday, I cant say I blame him. I was pretty beat myself. That left me, bill and 6er to go knock this out quick...

While I have ridden in Moab twice, the slickrock trail was always skipped bc it has a bad reputation of not being much fun...And I have never had enough extra to just go do it on that extra day. First thing I noticed when arriving is that the terrain is a little different than your typical moab in that its 100% slick rock, which makes for an amazing view. We decided to skip the "warm up" loop and just go hit the real thing...which is about 10 miles.

As I mentioned, the views...some of the best I have ever seen while on a bike...

View attachment 77928View attachment 77929View attachment 77930View attachment 77931View attachment 77932View attachment 77933View attachment 77934View attachment 77935


Really was something to see.....

So the trail itself....Way more fun than I was expecting...Its odd riding what feels like rock pavement....grip is endless. Downhills and uphills are short and usually steep. Made for some tough climbing on my already tired legs. Did I think it was the best trail in moab? Certainly not...was it worth going to, 100%. Really cool. We did clean every climb except for part of one....so steep. I used the living shit out of that 50T pie plate that was on the back of my bike. Kinda reminded me of riding at Fugawe with regard to the effort.

Finished up the loop in like an hour and 15....Back to the condo, shower/pack...breakfast at the Love Muffin cafe (go there if you happen to be in moab) ...Then we took a drive thru Arches...we were tired and did the vehicle tour. Then we hit the road back to SLC.

Found a hotel near the Airport...Then went to Squatter in SLC for dinner where we met up with NJ transplant Dan Sturm and had a nice chat about MTB life in Utah. Good times for sure.


Our flight wasnt until noon, so next morning I took the crew for a drive up big cottonwood canyon to check out solitude/brighton and guardsmans pass.....I find it so funny that this is paved now...when I was in HS, we used to steal my friends dad subaru GL and rally it thru these dirt roads.

Took a hike up what I remember locals naming something like ten-4-60....I cant remember the number...it was the height of peak...Its behind Jupiter, I never skied it bc the only way out of this valley is on foot and that it didnt seem like that good of a run for the hike after......Anyway, as I mentioned earier, I used to come to this valley alot and ride my dirtbike, snowmobile with my dad....camp with my idiot friends...rode a horse thru it once....Lot of great memories here....i feel very lucky that I had the opportunity to grow up in this area.
View attachment 77937
Hey bonus, we got to see some moose!
View attachment 77938

So the end...What a great trip....Hope to do it again soon. Like next week.

Really cool trip.... you guys look so care free and a peace it’s a strong motivator to make the trek out there.

 

[UtahJoe]

Lucky Charm cross....

I havent done a race in my god...How long has it been now? May? I cant even remember. But this race is close to home, I love that @xc62701 and the HB crew were doing a race in memory of Lucky....so I wanted to come out if for no other reason than to hang. Then @Norm decided to race, so I said what the hell im in! As im signing up, I remember the kids race...perfect...I can get bob out there too...

Crazy morning around the house...Bob had a bday party for one of his pre school friends, then my wife was going to drive him over, but she was expecting to get called into work, so it was going to be a crazy day.

I went out and took my scalpel off the wall...its been hanging up there for close to 2 months now...I remember that the last time I rode it I ripped a hole in what was a brand new racing ralph...So it needs a tire. I fix that, pack the car and make my way over. Meet up with the crew, get my stuff, say hi to everyone, etc...

My wife arrives with bob just in time for the kids race....I was really excited for this, mainly bc my son was super excited and demanded to wear his mtbnj jersey to the kids party he was going to before the race.....Nice to see such a huge group of kids. Bob has never really ridden his bike with other kids yet...maybe a couple of times outside of the pump track.

So bob lined up with @David Taylor offspring, as well as BJ (who if you are on this board, I dont know your screen name to tag you)....

fantastically entertaining for my wife and I to watch bob ride around with that same dumb smile that I have and cheer him on. I have to say, I cant wait until he can just take over for me as the family bike racer and I can retire WAY WAY less painful cheering him on that actually racing myself. I was very happy that bob had fun, didnt punch anyone, didnt throw his bike...it was a successful outing

Then bob spent the rest of the afternoon riding with all of the other kids for ever and ever....As i said to Dave, I think our boys might have ended up with more miles than we did.

So then, the time came. I have to say by 2pm, I wanted to do this race like I wanted a hernia operation.....Somewhere in my head, my brain was saying...you know, you really need this...just go do it. Oh ok...your going to not make it hurt right? Yes of course, not a bit....ok fine.

2015 was the last time @Norm and I got line up together....ok, maybe its not like the old days where we are going to have a serious battle...actually we never really did that in cross...actually we never really did that too much....were kinda like the yankees and red sox, its rare that we are fast at the same time in the same place.

Anyway, off we go...I stuck with Norm at the start...If I know anything about myself its that if im not in racing shape...DONT do anything for like 5 minutes...Just try to hang on and minimize the damage...my power will start to come around after 5min or so once my legs get fully warmed up. So Norm helps me thru this period and keeps us pretty close to the front behind @xc62701 Phil and Angelo whose leading. At the first run up, norm gives me the inside line so that I can king kong smash my way up the hill.,....I mean if you are going to bring the sledgehammer out on the course, might as well use it. I get a little squirely at the top and probably end up slowing norm down a bit, but I made it....in the end, im not sure it was any faster to ride this section.

Head down the backside and the off camber sections are quite the nightmare with the mtb tires...They float, they dont dig into the mud, so its rather sketchy...On the backside there is a small set of concrete steps that most people are dismounting and running...Ryan and I just fly over them...this was effortless on the mtb and I made time here every lap. Hit the climb...and for a cross course, this is a climb....Maybe not as steep as martys, but id argue that it was longer. Whatever, this is where I might have an advantage, so bring on the climbing. Back into clover leaf section is where the MTB was a mess. Grass is worn away leaving this slick mud layer....This is where the cx bike allows you to dig in thru the turn and be smooth...with the mtb, im forced to keep the bike up right as any leaning is causing the front end to push.....this in turn makes you do microbursts out of every turn...and at my weight, I dont win microburst battles.

First lap I hopped the barriers, but the 3 guys in front of me went much faster on foot...Problem for me was the second barrier...I struggled to get the second hop as fast as the first one. After that, i just ran them, was way faster for me anyway. Second lap after the barriers I lost the front end in the turn and slid down letting Brett get by. Took me a minute to stop laughing at myself, but then I gave chase....Me, Brett and Phil had a nice battle going for a while. Then Brett pulled away a bit. I would lose time to phil in the clover leaf stuff, then make it back on the climbs. This went on for most of the rest of the race...last lap I tried throwing it down to see if i could catch phil, but I popped my chain off on that last muddy climb...Doubt I would have closed that gap anyway.

So that was fun....See thats how I like cross...Nothing serious...no spare wheelsets, trainers, pit bikes, barrier practice, etc. Just get on a bike and have some fun. Then im into it. Im not a cross hater at all, I actually think its some of the most fun pure racing I have done....Just the whole production of doing cross seriously wears on me.

And bonus, I got on the podium...Which is actually my second mtb cx podium, my last being in 2010 at Horseshoe.

Brett has 3 times as many kids as I do and built his own bike with a hammer, fire, blowtorch and welder....im out of excuses If you dont know Brett, check out his bikes sometime, guy is a super talented. https://burnsideforge.com/

I thought about racing in the baggys, by they get hot and quite frankly I look like a big enough ass hole out there on the mtb I think....like im not trying to make some anti cross statement by riding my scalpel...I simply dont own a cross bike...ill be there first one to tell you, CX bike is the overall better weapon...95% of the time.


Anyway, that was a fun day....im sure ill hit a couple more before this year is over

 

[UtahJoe]

Jorbafest, njmtbfest...whatever its called now....

I have gone to all of these events dating back to 2007 I think where I bought my first MTBNJ.com t shirt. Still one of my favorite events every year. Nice getting to see everyone, the rides are usually fun...although leading them could be stressfull at jungle at times...and I ALWAYS love demo'ing new bikes. This year was a little different since my wife was working and I would be bringing bob. I wasnt able to join any of the group rides, but bob and I had a nice ride on part of the demo loop and then back. He then met up with some kids in the parking lot and rode around there for hours....Its amazing how I have been trying to teach him to stand on his pedals and he wont listen to me....Watches the older kids for 5 minutes...boom, done, got it. Aint kids great. Anyway, outside of getting to hang with a bunch you U's I did get to take a couple of quick test rides on some new bikes i wanted to try......

First was the newest scalpel...Which is essentially the same as my current scalpel, it just now has the lefty ocho....if your not familar with the lefty ocho...it looks like this....Single crown design, rather than dual like my current 2.0 lefty. Also all new internals, etc...etc..etc...

I was very interested to try this because i have heard its amazing...I mean I hear everything is amazing, thats nothing new..But is it better than my 2.0 is what I was really curious about. I mean looking at it logically, you wouldn't think it would be possible for it to be as stiff and as solid feeling....Which is what I like most about the left. Comparing XC forks...which are meant to be as light as they can and always somewhat comprised bc XC races are still generally on uphills....I still havent found one as good as my lefty. The rock solid feeling of it and small bump compliance is what i love most. So anyway...The bike. Same large scalpel as mine...new fork, fox rear shock now, sram 12 speed....which I still dont understand for an XC bike, but whatever.

I hit the connector trail that takes you to sterling...some rocks, some fast ST, some climbing....I would have not even bothered writing this if I wasnt super impressed. Right off the bat, first rock i smashed the front wheel into...not only did it have the same solid feel...as in the fork moves, the tire stays right where you left it.....It really felt much smoother than my 2.0. I know it has some totally new/different dampener, and now has a compression circuit...not getting into all of that, but the difference I could feel in my hands was very noticeable. I was really pretty shocked at how planted the front end felt....moreso that this was an XC fork...and lighter than the carbon 2.0 on my bike. I couldnt think of a spot where I was able to really upset the front of the bike. My 2.0 is good, but its not this good...ok maybe its brand new, etc...I dont know...But i was very impressed. The other aspects of the bike were very similar to my current scalpel....Climbs GREAT, turns excellent...its perfect for what I use it for.

So just to make sure I wasnt crazy...I went right back to the parking lot and took out a new Santa Cruz blur. So in my case....Santa Cruz, Cannondale....@jdog sells both so I dont really have some attachment to cannondale...I have been very happy with my scalpels and I still love my trigger 29er, but I also think the Tallboy is the best all around bike I have ridden so far. So if I was to replace my scalpel, the blur is definitely something I would consider. First thing I noticed on the blur is that the position in which you stand on it does feel more geared to downhill than my scalpel. Wide bar, short stem, not overly surprising. this bike has the step cast fox 32, so I was interested to see how it compared to the ocho.....Right off the bat, its not going to be apples to apples bc the scalpel had a racing ray front tire vs the aspen on the blur...In the conditions this day, big advantage to the scalpel. But smashing it thru the same rocks I had just ridden on the scalpel...at my weight...no comparison which was better, the lefty. The 32 really struggled in comparison when it came to taking a hit and staying planted. Maybe a little due to the tire, and its not like I spent hours setting it up....However, it lacked the smooth feel of the lefty, that was obvious. If I was to buy a blur, I would definitely opt for the 34 step cast at my weight. Rest of the bike was on par with the scalpel I felt...I didnt think it climbed quite as well, but the cockpit setup was more AM than XC, so that probably had something to do with it. Really both bikes were excellent, the fork was really the major difference. Both of these bikes have the dual lockout which im not huge fan of...I dont always want my rear shock locked out at the same time as my front...I have disable this feature on my current scalpel.

But anyway...great bikes, amazing that they are "xc" bikes....I had all mountain bikes years ago that werent nearly as fun downhill. That ocho is really good, I dont care it looks.

 

[Carson]

I like that all the kids aren't even facing the right way at the start line. Every one of them deserves to be on the podium for that alone.

 

[JDurk]

Jumped on a demo Scalpel as well after I saw you and Bob on the demo loop while I was on the Jekyl 29. What an amazing bike. Climbing felt effortless. I thought my current Scalpel with the 2.0 climbed great, but the SI with an Ocho is on another level.

 

[Magic]

Its amazing how I have been trying to teach him to stand on his pedals and he wont listen to me

Funny you mention this...

At some point after our Sterling ride I was hanging out in under the team tent. Bob rolls by and sees me and say "Magic look at my stand on my pedals". Of course he tries this uphill and busted his ass.

 

[UtahJoe]

So back to the Mustang....

Its been a while since I have had anytime to do some mustang work, but I finally headed out to the garage this week after putting bob to bed. I wanted to get the rearend finished up and ready to install back in the car....Mainly so I can get it the hell out of my way in the garage.

First I got the new center section installed. I mentioned this earlier...I traded my old 3.50 open center section for this new/rebuilt 3.50 traction lok center section.....This piece weighs no joke, 90lbs. Its a real joy to take in and out when the rear is bolted in the car, so I wanted to do this while the rear was on the ground....

Then I did the rear disc conversion, which the assembly of which was easy,.....Pressing in the new wheel studs required me to use a bearing press as was probably the most labor intensive part...SHOULD stop a little better now I would think.

I still need to get the lines finished up, but I can do that after I put this back in the car.

 

[rick81721]

Is that the factory color of the housing?

 

[UtahJoe]

Is that the factory color of the housing?

Yes, satin black for the housing, red oxide primer for the center section.....Only difference is that since I plan on driving this car...I had the housing powder coated black and I clear coated the red oxide primer....Primer is porous, so if you just leave it uncleared it will absorb dirt and moisture and in short order have a rust coating on it...Like your typical factory cast iron rearend. Springs are supposed to be phosphate coated natural steel...another thing that doesnt last very long, but works great for trailered cars that live in a museum.

 

[Magic]

I don't know much about leaf springs, but do you have to align the axle with those u-bolts yourself to make sure that the rear end is perpendicular to the frame? Or is there some sort of guide where it falls in to make sure your car doesn't drive in circles by itself?

 

[Patrick]

I don't know much about leaf springs, but do you have to align the axle with those u-bolts yourself to make sure that the rear end is perpendicular to the frame? Or is there some sort of guide where it falls in to make sure your car doesn't drive in circles by itself?

this made me laugh a little. some have a registration peg, and even then they get screwed up (bent spring/mount point,etc.)
not only do they need to be aligned, they need to be in the right position fore-aft....

I put a 4" suspension lift in a p/u truck, and it took me a couple days to get it to track straight down the road. they don't "turn"
just the ass of the car sticks out left/right on a solid axle car. entertaining at least for a bit. guess an alignment machine might have helped.

 

[Magic]

just the ass of the car sticks out left/right on a solid axle car.

I thought I was going crazy whenever I see work vans on the highway that look like their ass it out sideways. This makes sense. Also must be why their tires are always messed up.

 

[UtahJoe]

What @fidodie said...In the case of my car, there are alignment pins on the springs themselves that fit into a hole on the rear end bracket....and no worries, there's not much to know about leaf springs other than they suck.

 

[Patrick]

is there a trailing link conversion for that year?
How about an jaguar independent replacement?

oh, i forgot this is classic restoration with some modern upgrades.....restomod?

 

[Santapez]

What @fidodie said...In the case of my car, there are alignment pins on the springs themselves that fit into a hole on the rear end bracket....and no worries, there's not much to know about leaf springs other than they suck.

My old '65 Mustang I had wouldn't track straight. Turned out the replacement leaf springs were defective and the alignment pin was off. Was so annoying to figure that out. Being poor I just drilled a new hole and used a bolt.

 

[UtahJoe]

is there a trailing link conversion for that year?
How about an jaguar independent replacement?

oh, i forgot this is classic restoration with some modern upgrades.....restomod?

Sure, you can put some pretty modern IRS conversions, 4 link, etc....MAD MAD money tho...and I want it too "look" stock.

Heidts IRS is like the one to get I hear....looks awesome, but $5000 +....not in the cards right now

 

[ChrisG]

Inboard brakes...

 

[pooriggy]

Outboard motor...

 

[rick81721]

Sure, you can put some pretty modern IRS conversions, 4 link, etc....MAD MAD money tho...and I want it too "look" stock.

Heidts IRS is like the one to get I hear....looks awesome, but $5000 +....not in the cards right now

They make a front suspension package as well.

When I get my 60s stang project car I gotta decide whether to keep it stock or go restomod. Right now I'm leaning the latter, but I wouldn't consider dropping a coyote motor in, maybe a stroked small block.