The Road to Somewhere
- Thread starter xc62701
- Start date
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Don't worry homie you're taken care of.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
I went to my shop and got a fit for my road bike on Thursday and they tweaked a few things. New saddle, new saddle fore-aft adjustment, and some new insoles with arch support. It seemed to feel good on the trainer but I wanted to get outside and see how it felt. The last time I had any kind of arch support it was awful and felt very uncomfortable. So I went and did a ride near lake hopatcong and the adjustments seemed to go well. The insoles I didn’t even think about which was great. All felt great until I had to stop for a flat. Damnit.
I seem to have the worst luck on the road. There was a decent slice in the tire and it went down fast. I popped the tire off and found a patch on the inside of the tire. So I obviously had an issue before and forgot about it lol. The tube was protruding evidently and that trashed the tube. I patched it and thankfully a cyclist was passing by on his way back from riding Mooch and had a floor pump. Bingo! Thanks whoever you were dood!!! I pumped it up and I was on my way. I got maybe two miles away and it was hissing again. Shit!!! The tube rubbed through again and I had to patch hole number 2. This time I wasn’t an idiot and found some trash to use as a boot. I popped that in and pumped it up without that wonderful floor pump and headed out in my way again. The best part was me and my buddy were on the grass on the side of 206 - well off the road and got flipped off by a passerby. Lol we laughed our asses off. We will get flipped off but at least we are usually riding out bikes hahaha. The god news was that the patch held and we made our way back. Unfortunately my saddle was slipping and it slid over an inch by the time I got home which made pedaling really uncomfortable. At least we got out and put some miles in.
When I got home my daughter was saying that she wanted to ride her bike with me inside. So I thought up a contraption and spent some daddy daughter time spinning and watching Spongebob. My son is in the pic checking it out.
Up next is Stephens in the morning. The dirt(frozen dirt) is calling.
I seem to have the worst luck on the road. There was a decent slice in the tire and it went down fast. I popped the tire off and found a patch on the inside of the tire. So I obviously had an issue before and forgot about it lol. The tube was protruding evidently and that trashed the tube. I patched it and thankfully a cyclist was passing by on his way back from riding Mooch and had a floor pump. Bingo! Thanks whoever you were dood!!! I pumped it up and I was on my way. I got maybe two miles away and it was hissing again. Shit!!! The tube rubbed through again and I had to patch hole number 2. This time I wasn’t an idiot and found some trash to use as a boot. I popped that in and pumped it up without that wonderful floor pump and headed out in my way again. The best part was me and my buddy were on the grass on the side of 206 - well off the road and got flipped off by a passerby. Lol we laughed our asses off. We will get flipped off but at least we are usually riding out bikes hahaha. The god news was that the patch held and we made our way back. Unfortunately my saddle was slipping and it slid over an inch by the time I got home which made pedaling really uncomfortable. At least we got out and put some miles in.
When I got home my daughter was saying that she wanted to ride her bike with me inside. So I thought up a contraption and spent some daddy daughter time spinning and watching Spongebob. My son is in the pic checking it out.
Up next is Stephens in the morning. The dirt(frozen dirt) is calling.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
That was a good weekend of riding. Not the most time on the bike but quality time for sure. I'm still getting over being sick and having breathing issues so it was good for the most part. The constant clearing of my sinuses I could go without...but anyway it was fun. After the road ride on Saturday I had to get out early on Sunday to get my time in. A buddy suggested we hit Stephens early and that was perfect. We headed out around 7:30 and everything was frozen and super grippy. I didn't have my usual fatbike so I had to take my back fatty on loan and use that. It's definitely a slow roller with knobby 5" tires but man does that thing go downhill. It's actually a handful. It wan't to plow through and over anything and I have to do my best to hold on and keep it where I want it to go. Stephens is already one of my favorite parks but after yesterday it got even better. My buddy took us on a few of the trails I didn't know existed. I have my standby loop that is amazing but now I know there are some really good options down from the top of the ridge. So with the knowledge of new(to me) trails I want to go back and explore and link more up there. It was a ripping good time!
So after my last down week with being sick I managed to get in over 10 hours. I'm trying to keep the hours up to work on more fitness and less fatness. With that NC 2 day race coming up in 2 weeks we will see how the fitness goes. I'm not aiming for any specific goals but to have two solid days on the bike where I'm feeling good. Hopefully that comes with warmer/dryer conditions.
On the promotion side of things I'm still working out some options for Lucky's Revenge which include changing the prologue and making the course even harder. Harder? Yes. It's what people seem to want(until race day when they will complain it's too hard). The race is already hard enough but some subtle tweaks, a few more feed/water stations will make the event even betterer. In addition to that , lets just say that behind the scenes there are some thoughts swirling around as to what more we could offer to bring some more fun to the local MTB scene. It all depends on logistics and whatnot but there could be things in the works.
So after my last down week with being sick I managed to get in over 10 hours. I'm trying to keep the hours up to work on more fitness and less fatness. With that NC 2 day race coming up in 2 weeks we will see how the fitness goes. I'm not aiming for any specific goals but to have two solid days on the bike where I'm feeling good. Hopefully that comes with warmer/dryer conditions.
On the promotion side of things I'm still working out some options for Lucky's Revenge which include changing the prologue and making the course even harder. Harder? Yes. It's what people seem to want(until race day when they will complain it's too hard). The race is already hard enough but some subtle tweaks, a few more feed/water stations will make the event even betterer. In addition to that , lets just say that behind the scenes there are some thoughts swirling around as to what more we could offer to bring some more fun to the local MTB scene. It all depends on logistics and whatnot but there could be things in the works.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
This is some enduro bro ripping the way the trail goes on saturday (first downhill anyway)
Everyone normally does a figure8 out this way: https://www.strava.com/activities/953069481/overview
Sheesh, clockwise strava times on a regular old ride for me out that way:
Supertree clockwise: 15 minutes
Keyauwee Clockwise: 34 minutes
So this race is two hours with the small connectors in between that aren't on strava? Kind of sucks he's bailing because the longer option is way better money/mile wise.
Everyone normally does a figure8 out this way: https://www.strava.com/activities/953069481/overview
Sheesh, clockwise strava times on a regular old ride for me out that way:
Supertree clockwise: 15 minutes
Keyauwee Clockwise: 34 minutes
So this race is two hours with the small connectors in between that aren't on strava? Kind of sucks he's bailing because the longer option is way better money/mile wise.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Dammit well that kind of sucks. I was banking on at least three hours each day. So now you have to let me know what other trails to ride after the race. Is there anything in that area?
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Just for the hell of it I took that weird mtb/cx contraption out for a road ride last night. I mostly wanted to see if the drivetrain was working well for this race I have coming up. It was working really well and then one of my worst fears almost happened. On a fast downhill at night a deer stepped out in front of me. Thank God I had my head up and saw it as early as possible but I yelled and locked up the brakes and narrowly avoided hitting it. I think about it every now and then but damn that would have hurt! Up next is Wildcat Wednesday. I have the Fuse back which is great. I swapped the drivetrain for the one on my Lynskey so now it's an xx1 fuse instead of gx. I've still got to switch the cassette but I need a new driver body for these stout wheels. When that's done it'll be good. On the other hand my Lynskey is getting torn down and sold off. It's time. I'll have most of the bits and pieces posted up here soon. Frame, fork, wheels, etc...
xc62701
Well-Known Member
I took out the fuse with the new drivetrain at wildcat last night and it was good. Much crisper shifting and it went where I needed it to. The legs didn't feel so hot but it was great to get back in the rocks. I'm hoping to get back there this weekend. Maybe on Saturday. The schedule so far looks like trainer tonight, Dickerson from home tomorrow, Spiltrock Saturday and Stephens Sunday. Then I'm thinking a full loop of the Lucky's Revenge course on Monday for the holiday. That could be fun! It's only 5.5 months until the race!
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Best laid plans and F the trainer. I had a decent day yesterday and got tons done at work. Took care of a lot of chores at home so I figured I'd cap the night off with an hour on the trainer. I get on the trainer and finally get zwift to load/connect and then I feel the wheel slipping. WTF!?!?!?!? 3rd flat on this F'ing trainer! I said screw it and went and watched TV. I was tired so I went to bed early to catch up on sleep. Sometimes the best plans just fall short. I swear this trainer is out to get me though. Anyway I'm heading to Dickerson on the plus bike today so hopefully that will be good. The road bike has just been letting me down lately. On the road and off. I'm going to try a different tire combination and hopefully that fixes my issues. Well at least my road bike issues anyway...
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Friday was a good 2 hour cruise in Dickerson Mine in the frigid temps. I met up with @DanBrodeen for a proper tour and showed him some of the goods that DM has to offer. After a windy commute in the roads to/from I had a good 2 hours there.
Saturday afternoon I went to Wildcat with @Santa. I was hoping for a 4 hour ride but as I was traversing the hard rock line on the top of Oreland I stuffed my front wheel and almost went OTB and bashed my knee on the stem/bars. It really f’d up my mojo. It was sore and starting to swell so I called it a day. I went home and iced it as I knew I was going to ride today.
This morning the knee felt much better thankfully, and I headed out early with @Santa at Stephens. We hit most of the great stuff there and just enjoyed the frozen grippy goodness and the amazing flow of that place! Up next is a proper loop of Mooch tomorrow. I’ll get out early to avoid the thaw and play in the rocks!
Saturday afternoon I went to Wildcat with @Santa. I was hoping for a 4 hour ride but as I was traversing the hard rock line on the top of Oreland I stuffed my front wheel and almost went OTB and bashed my knee on the stem/bars. It really f’d up my mojo. It was sore and starting to swell so I called it a day. I went home and iced it as I knew I was going to ride today.
This morning the knee felt much better thankfully, and I headed out early with @Santa at Stephens. We hit most of the great stuff there and just enjoyed the frozen grippy goodness and the amazing flow of that place! Up next is a proper loop of Mooch tomorrow. I’ll get out early to avoid the thaw and play in the rocks!
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Today capped off a hard 4 day stretch. I rode the Lucky’s Revenge loop early before the trails started to melt out. I left from the Waterloo/Sussex branch lot and did the usual loop plus candyass. Let’s just say that if you want to ride candyass wait. The trail is hard to spot and there are serious trees down all over it. It’s just as hard as I remember and those ass puckering spots still make you sweat. Even in the cold. It was a hard loop and challenging to put that in toward the end.
The last 4 days were:
2 hours at Dickerson Mine
2 hours in Wildcat
2.5 hours in Stephens
3.5 hours in Mooch
I’m tired.
The FSR in its natural habitat.
The last 4 days were:
2 hours at Dickerson Mine
2 hours in Wildcat
2.5 hours in Stephens
3.5 hours in Mooch
I’m tired.
The FSR in its natural habitat.
Last edited:
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Rest day sucked. I know I wanted to take yesterday off to help rest after the 4 days of riding and it was annoying. I found a couple of points where I wanted to ride but didn't. I figure it'll help for this weekend to give the legs some rest and hopefully they will want to go soon. I'll be riding today which will be light. I'm thinking 60-90 mins max with little vert but I need to hit some trails to get my FS bike dialed in more. I was getting a weird bang in the rear of the bike which I was told was my shock settings so I'm going to go out and try and figure that out. Then I'll clean it up and get ready for the race this weekend in @Pearl ville. The plan is to race Saturday morning, ride Saturday afternoon, race Sunday morning and then head home. I'm hoping for some warmer temps, some good food, and some good trails to make this worth while.