Kittatinny Hose Down Thread

Toro toro toro

I've been running the Pythons all year, even in the off-season during my snow rides. Bonty just made a new tire called the 29-3 that I'm gonna run during this break to see what it's like.

-Jim.

I'm diggin the Huthinsons, front and rear. Light as Pythons, more cornering bite. I like em. Put about 200 miles on em in rocks, roots, hardpack and sand.
 
Its too bad that nobody got a pic of Graveyard man launching his superfly up and over the rock wall by the road crossing.
 
The real world of racing.

This is only my third race, so I expected everything to go like my first two; well it didn't, but I still had a great time and the experience and lessons will stay with me.
I still say that everyone who entered and tried is a winner.
My day in the twilight zone began as I pulled into the lot @7am and realized I forgot my helmet. Too far to go back home, I hoped to rely on the kindness of others. PTB66 came through big time and lent me a spare(THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS "Sport"!).
So he, Liong, and I do a preride. I'm ordinarily superstitious about being on the race course the day of but I rationalized my way through it by acknowledging the current altered conditions warranted a new strategy. We talked about stategy and what lines to take. I'm deciding to be cautions because conditions were as slick as I've seen anywhere and that it would not be prudent to go ape shit mad dog. I experienced some erratic shifting at my front derailer but figured I would tweak it when I got back to the lot. After all I would need to do a quick cleaning and let some air out of my tires anyway.
Back to the lot and truck to do my thing and greet and chat with all my new riding buddies. OK I thought..."the race Gods are smiling"... when we were called to the staging area.
Idle banter, everbody wishing each other well while silently scoping out the competition and finalizing strategy. And we're off! A couple hundred yards in the grass I'm in fourth after passing several guys as we turn up the hill into the woods. I figure this will be a good place to hang (if I can). Then, left turn onto the singletrack rock garden. They're all slippin' as I new they would. Here I go-but, pssssstt flat tire. Pinch flat I thought; I softened my psi too much. off the trail I go to change the tube as the rest of my class passes me. New tube in as the 50+ crowd passes, then as I'm filling it with
CO2, I can't decide what bothers me more; all the women and children going by or the sight of the new tube bulging through the gash in my sidewall, then Kaboom! I'm out of the race.
Carrying the bike down the trail past the timekeepers and out of the woods I get this peaceful sensation as I come across Liong frantically pulling on his locked truck doors. It really put things in perspective for me. I feel as if he saved my day...
Sometimes you just can't do anything about the unplanned stuff that happens...but you can decide how you react to it.
I had a great day and congratulate all who showed up for life.
 
I've been running the Pythons all year, even in the off-season during my snow rides. Bonty just made a new tire called the 29-3 that I'm gonna run during this break to see what it's like.

-Jim.

I love my Pythons, and was curious when you were going to run some of the newer Bonty treads given your personal relationship with GF. I need an all-terrain 29er tire for courses like Blue and Ringwood. Haven't heard much, and what little I did hear was bad, about the Hutch Toro 29er, and was thinking maybe the FR3 29er TLR or XR29 TLR - any experience with them? This is for my Sultan.

Thought you might like the new XDX.
 
I did get stung a bunch of times by those wasps. Man they hurt a lot more than the one's that got me on my ride last week.
 
Its too bad that nobody got a pic of Graveyard man launching his superfly up and over the rock wall by the road crossing.

I almost did that a couple times, but not on purpose! There were a bunch of large rocks jumping out, right where I was trying to put my front tire. I hate when that happens! 😉
 
I must say that I had a blast out there, and once again I ran into some bears, this time on the pre-ride. I did a quick sprint up last years finish to get my heart rate up, and when I got to the top, I turned around to go back down and there was a family of little bears up on a rock over the trail I had just ridden on. I felt a little uncomfortable, not seeing a mama and being by myself, so I took off the other way.

DAMMIT! S.O.B! SH!T F@%# :cry::cry::cry: I want to see the bears! Hey Pix, next time I'll give you my cell number when you see the little darlings
call me 😛

RC ... 😱
 
I did get stung a bunch of times by those wasps. Man they hurt a lot more than the one's that got me on my ride last week.

I was stung 6X by those wasp too on the staging area, that thing hurts! After that it's all downhill for me. I was so out of shape yesterday it seems that most of the racers in Cat 2 just passed me. After approximately a mile from my first lap I made a spill and I think all my energy just stayed on the ground. All those small climbs that I cleared when we pre-rode the race course with UtahJoe couple of days ago, I just couldn't cleared it yesterday.:drooling: Halfway down my first lap, I was ready to quit, settle for DNF and call it the day but when I completed my first lap I saw my two kids and my wifey just cheering on me so loud that I just couldn't let them down and decided to finish the race. 🙂
 
I was ready to quit, settle for DNF and call it the day but when I completed my first lap I saw my two kids and my wifey just cheering on me so loud that I just couldn't let them down and decided to finish the race. 🙂

There you go! Unless you or your bike are broken, there is no DNF. But slowing down is always an option! 😉
 
I was stung 6X by those wasp too on the staging area, that thing hurts! After that it's all downhill for me. I was so out of shape yesterday it seems that most of the racers in Cat 2 just passed me. After approximately a mile from my first lap I made a spill and I think all my energy just stayed on the ground. All those small climbs that I cleared when we pre-rode the race course with UtahJoe couple of days ago, I just couldn't cleared it yesterday.:drooling: Halfway down my first lap, I was ready to quit, settle for DNF and call it the day but when I completed my first lap I saw my two kids and my wifey just cheering on me so loud that I just couldn't let them down and decided to finish the race. 🙂

That was awful. Our entire group got swarmed. For a minute or two, people were dropping bikes and running. I didnt know you got stung, that sux. I was lucky not to have. While I dont think im alergic, bee stings often make me lightheaded and im sure it would have effected my race. Glad to hear that you didnt quit.
 
There you go! Unless you or your bike are broken, there is no DNF. But slowing down is always an option! 😉

My rule takes that one step further to say it depends on "how badly" you or your bike is broken....
The slowing down option is definitely valid🙂
 
This is only my third race, so I expected everything to go like my first two; well it didn't, but I still had a great time and the experience and lessons will stay with me...

Again, didn't know at the time but nice to meet you. I was one of the guys helping to try and find the CO2 pump part. Again, why don't they make these things flourecent so they show up on the black dirt😕

Because if they did, you wouldn't have to go fork over the money for a new part:mad3:
 
One thing that seemed cool to me was this race seemed to have more cheering groups spread around the course. I had one guy on my wheel for a long time until I some how dropped him off and didn't see him till he finished we had a nice run together going. 1 guy in a yellow/black jersey was pre riding the course and was very supportive as well. It helps alot to have folks like that around the course.
 
Never quit!

My rule takes that one step further to say it depends on "how badly" you or your bike is broken....
The slowing down option is definitely valid🙂

There you go! Unless you or your bike are broken, there is no DNF. But slowing down is always an option! 😉

I flatted on the first lap 🙁
then realized I left my spare tube in the car...😡
But...I WALKED THE ENTIRE second lap and since I'm a nj resident AND have an annual lisence that made me the cat3 50+ male nj state champion! 😀
Besides that I'm an EX-Marine and my daughter is in the Army how could I have possibly told her that I QUIT.. DNF... NEVER not untill they pry my cold hands off my grips! NEVER EVER QUIT!! NEVER! 😀
 
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