New Ellsworth!!!!

Finally got a new beautiful Ellsworth Moment on February 2, 2007 - what a dream!! The guys at Beyondbikes.com were awesome and they knocked a $1000 off the price. Been out on it half a dozen times and I had forgotten what a joy it was to ride a bike with no mechanical problems!! Good times ahead for sure!

Not with the fast group

Went out for a Saturday ride w/5 other riders. Before we left the parking lot I knew it was going to a grueling struggle to keep up. As it turns out, a mechanical semi-kept my pride in check. Rear shock air went out (second time this month) and I had to call AHEAD (make that way ahead) to one of the riders and let them know that I would be heading back...I could still see them as specks in the distance. So turned around with Dave and we headed down the side of Monkey Face...only after I did and endo and jammed my rear brake lever so hard it was no longer functioning. Still managed to get down without a hitch and back on Middle Trail. At this point decided might as well go out Middle Trail to the "gully" and head back on Lower Trail. Dave kept my heart rate up and we cruised back to 5 mile in good time...or so I thought! Don with the fast crew called as we were in the parking lot - he was already at 1 mile - keep in mind that they finished North Rim and went down B trail and not sure how they got back other than it was A LOT faster than Dave and I. It was all good - good company and a decent ride...time for a new bike. Between the ghost shifting, endo bucking, deflated rear shock and problematic rear linkage bolt my bike is either telling me to lose some weight or retire her after 4 very hard years of riding...now I just have to convince the family finance committee and put a new number at the front of the checkbook balance - make that another number in front of the decimal point!

Morning ride

Went on a morning ride with Don & Bryan at 5:45 Thursday. These are the guys that made me realize I need to get a road bike in order to keep up with them. It was a pretty brisk start in Lower Park - both in pace and temperature! I only wore a jersey and was pretty cold at the start. The pace quickly warmed up the ol' blood. Went out to Middle trail at parking lot A - D&B quickly gained about 50 yards on me - but it used to be 100+. So either they are slowing down (doubtful), I am getting faster (more doubtful) or they were taking it a bit easy and I was at max pace (likely). Up Blue Oak and a brief rest there - kept the 50 yard gap to Maidu and closed it a bit on the way down. Have to admit that the road base at the top of Maidu has settled a bit and the trail is not near as bad as it was before. The first section is still a little sketchy but after the first switchback it gets better. Have to eventually do something with the lower waterbars - they take away the whole flow of the trail - we kind of blew it when remaking those. Went out Middle Trail to just before the power lines and headed back. These guys are like stable horses - once you turn them around they are gone! Good pace back on Lower Trail and crossed the road near Horseshoe Lake and took trail back to golf course and last bit of South Rim by old shooting range. Pretty relaxed pace back on Lower Park Road...then the sprint! Well, I'm not sure if they were showing me pity for being behind on the trail or if I just got a good jump...I sprung first and didn't see them again...hit almost 27 mph from a rolling speed of 14 mph in approx. 75 yards. Good cool down back home and off to work by 7:30.

Time to Unicycle?

Well - it's been three weeks to the day that I had my rear wheel sent back to the maker to for a "re-do". The local bike shop (lbs) said it would be out for a week - I expected two. I wish I would have taken up the unicycle and at least I could still get out on the trails with my one good wheel! Yet another call to the lbs today to get an update on the wheel...followed up with another "we'll call you back"....that was 3 hours ago and they close in 2 more hours...looks like another call tomorrow - saving grace is that I have them on speed dial. This will be the last test of the drivetrain rebuild to see if the bike will perform as it should on steep climbs. I've thrown money at a new chain, cassette, derailleur, and now hub rebuild (hopefully free). Already had a new rear triangle put on last year due to frame wear. If this isn't the fix, then not sure where to go or what to do. Good weather is limited for the rest of the year and really hope to get back out on the trails before they close...if you see a unicycle in Upper Bidwell next week - give a holler and ask how Mavic is treating me! OK - my rant is over.

Tahoe video success!

Another try at posting video...sweet it works! This is a group of Chico riders in Tahoe. The quality is a little lower than what I wanted but they'll get better as I go along. Putting together a couple of clips from the OR/WA/MT trip. Took 10 hours for my computer to make the DVD of the Tahoe trip - but it was worth it.

Tahoe ride video

Here's a 7 minute clip of a 3 hour ride on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Oops - can't get a video to play...just think of this picture moving over rocks and dirt...really fast. It'll be on YouTube soon. Keep posted!

Tuesday ride

Had a great ride tonight with 5 of us heading up North Rim. Lost one rider at Maidu as he headed down and back. The two Steve's had set a blistering pace up N. Rim and didn't break until the power lines - the rest of us took a much needed regroup (for me at least) and finally got them. Good rest time at the power lines and picked Jason from Oregon. He comes to town once in a while (2x in a year) and rides with us. He had to bust his butt to catch up but got it done. We decided to head down Red Bud and walked the upper chute and marveled at how Larry has ridden it in the past. Headed out Goat aka A+ trail to Meditation Rock and back on A trail...this is when it got interesting. Jason proceeded to have 3 flat tires w/in a 2 mile stretch! Two rear and one front flat. He got a workout with his pump, used all my CO2 cartridges (they were old and heavy - happy to give them up) and finally lead us out of the final mile just as it started to get dark. Rode back in lower park after saying good-bye to Bob - the only one with enough sense to drive to the ride. We peeled off one by one and headed home in the dark. This weekend it's to Tahoe with a group of local riders - it will be a blast!