Congrats to those who completed their challenge! I was only attempting the 20 day, but the legs didn't want to cooperate. Part of me wonders if it was "the C" (never tested, nor had symptoms) as I could simply not recover or put down any power earlier in the month. However, after a couple of weeks off, I was able to finish off the month with a decent ride at
Pennypack with friends. At one point on a climb, I decided to see how well my legs were feeling and managed to set a PR on the climb as well as the singletrack segment afterwards.
Finally got the Spot back together with a rear tire, new chain and new derailleur cable/housing. Looks like a timed the chain replacement right as even after over 2 years and 1000+ miles, the original chain didn't seem to stretch, so I dodged the $$$ XTR cassette-replacement-bullet:
Tom/Workboot. Can still kick butt (usually podiums at enduro races) riding half-clapped out bikes and toe-clips.
Two of the women were riding fully-rigid Engins. At least Naomi was riding gears for a change (she often runs it SS).
Frankie making me want an eBike:
Jill on her rigid Engin:
Jill, Elizabeth & Kim:
Kim riding my old Intense Carbine 275:
It's funny how bike sizing has changed a bit over the years. I bought and built up the Carbine in 2014 to be my "forever" bike for DH and trail riding. It's a Medium frame and I'm 5' 10" - just on the upper end of that frame's sizing chart. I used to like my bikes on the smaller size, so it felt OK - until I bought the Primer a couple of years later and had a taste of the "modern geo" Koolaid. Since I sold it to her a few years ago, she has since swapped out the fork, brakes and seat post as well as removed the decals from the Ringle Charger Pro wheels. The bike fits her well despite the fact she's about 5" shorter than me:
And despite being around 8 years old (holy shit - it's really been that long??), the Race Race press-fit BB I installed seems to be holding up well.
Thank you to Norm for the heads up on the lift situation at Burke. I'm heading up to Kingdom on Weds for a few days and I'm hoping the bike park is open since I'm staying at a condo on the mtn. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the week & weekend does not look promising, so I also plan to bring a few books to read.
Hopefully next year the legs will cooperate! Congrats again to all who finished!