Big Ol’ Fun

So, back to the Mulberry Gap weekend.  We took off in one big group, heading up the five mile climb to the top o’ the mountain.

Eastwood and I were chatting it up with Quadsworth on the way up…

After a little bit I mentioned to him that we probably shouldn’t be keeping that kind of pace on a climb and he agreed.  Just as the conversation starting getting into why there will be no Wilkes 100k this year, the climb got steeper…

And I dropped off.

A few of us did as a matter of fact.  After a week of muscle relaxers and relaxing my muscles (i.e. sitting on my ass not riding a bike), all that climbing caught up to me.  It didn’t matter though, since Niner Mike made sure that no one got left behind.  It was a fun group ride after all.

Eventually we made it up to the lookout.

That view was definitely worth it, and the best part was that we were gonna start going downhill.  My legs were unresponsive at that point, so going downhill was a much needed break.  The descents were so awesome that I didn’t stop to take photos (probably a first for me), but luckily someone did when we stopped at one point to regroup.

Photo credit:  Trey Commander

I flew through the descents like I was a pro or some shit like that.  In fact, I had no idea I could ride that stuff so well.  It was more about the bike I guess, with my Niner ROS9 with a drooper post doing most of the work.  There were a few climbs here and there but we rode mostly downhill back to the finish of our big loop. 

The trail was quite rad.  Not quite as technical as The Pisgah, but technical enough to make you feel like you were actually riding in the mountains instead of some cross country dirt roadie track.  There were rocks, roots, jumps, creek crossing, and a shitload of blind turns.  I was going so fast that I almost peed a little.  That kind of fear on a bike is fun.

After the ride we gathered up in the barn before dinner.  We were socializing, and I took the opportunity to present Niner Chris (not me, the man in charge) with a gift that was handmade by Little Miss Sunshine.  She put her artistic ability and welding talent to good use to make him a one of a kind gift.

He was excite.

Photo cred:  Trey Commander

We met him at Interbike two years ago, and he make such an impression on her that she felt like making a gift for him.  She makes all kinds of art projects out of recycled bike parts (you already know this), and this custom piece is a fine example.  And in case you can’t really read it, it says, “Pedal Damn It.” 

Awesome.

What an amazing weekend.  I had high hopes for Mulberry Gap and I was not disappointed.  Amazing riding, awesome people, and a nice getaway from reality.  Well, as one of my new friends put it over the weekend, “This is reality.  Not that other stuff.”

Well said.

So this bullshit I do every day from 8 to 5 isn’t reality.  It’s just a means to an end.  I just work so I can go outside and play with my toys when I have free time.

Really expensive but fun toys.

Fun Friday

I feel better.  You know, not in a haze from meds anymore.  That’s good because I was starting to feel pretty dumb.

 Plus, no more weird side effects that were making me, um, uncomfortable and in need of help.

So anyway, this weekend is gonna be awesome.  In just a few short hours a few of us Charlotte folks are heading down to Mulberry Gap for a weekend of riding, beers, and socializing.  The best part is that we’re meeting up with a bunch of other Niner Ambassadors, Niner Mike, and even a special guest.

I has much excite.

I hope you’re gonna go out and have some fun this weekend too.  Don’t do anything lame that will come back to haunt you.

Um, yeah.

See y’all on Monday…maybe.

Probably Tuesday.

Too Much Change

So yeah, it’s been a while since I mentioned the new bike I got from Niner I guess.

If you’re looking for some sort of long term review, then I suppose this could be it.  I really like the new EMD9 for the most part.  It’s an entry level 29er hardtail XC bike, and with that comes decent components.  It’s a solid build, but a little on the heavy side.  Since I’ll probably keep it for a while (and race it of course), things are in the works to made it a little lighter.  Why just a few short days ago I made a call to my local bike shop to get things going…

Anyway, it is a good bike, especially for the price.  The geometry is the same as Darth Maul (my One9) so I didn’t really have to get used to a different ride. One minor complaint I have is the seat, but that’s just because I’ve been riding the same seat on every bike I own for years now.

I took care of that too.

My last and only real complaint is the shifty stuff.  And quite honestly, I hate it.  No offense to Niner or the quality build of the EMD9, but I just can’t get used to shifting.  Ain’t gonna happen.

I’m stuck being a single speeder.

Thanks to Mike L. for that gem.

Gears have a purpose, but not for me.  When racing, I either find myself in too high of gear (forcing myself to work harder than necessary on climbs) or I get lazy and shift down when the trail goes up.  This is unacceptable.  I’ll keep riding it geared and all that for a while, but I don’t think I’ll ever undo the damage that was done by riding just one gear these last few years.

Who gives a shit.  Single speed is dead.

I’m Pretty Excited

But Carl is moar excite:

You see, Monday was New Bike Day.  One of my perks as a Niner Ambassador is that I had a chance to get a new bike.  I didn’t really need a new bike, but the temptation was there anyway.  It shipped last week, and when I got a notification from the shipper that it was delivered I got pretty giddy.

Except that I was at work and no one was home.  Shit.

I got in touch with Lunchbox, and he was heading home but not soon enough.  I didn’t like the idea of my new bike sitting in front of the house (in plain view for would be thieves), so I texted The Chili Man to see if he was around.  He was, and kindly hauled the box down to his crib for safekeeping until I arrived back home.  A few hours later I got home, went down to his house to retrieve my new toy, dragged that sumbitch up the hill to my house, and got ready to build it.  At that very moment TomTom rolled up and got to witness me opening the box. 

While it did come mostly assembled, I had to make one change.  I removed the stock tires and replaced them with Maxxis Ikon (front and rear), and after a few minor mishaps I got it all together.  I rode it up and down the street to make sure shit wouldn’t fall off (it didn’t), and prepared to take it on its maiden voyage the next evening.

I gots a new EMD9, and yes, those are gears.  With the option to choose anything they had, I sorta went practical.  I had no use for fancy full suspension nonsense, but after racing with gears last Sunday I did have a need for those pesky things (once in a while anyway.)  Plus, as an ambassador I figured that I can show people that Niner does indeed have an affordable option instead of all crabon this and that. 

One ride with a group isn’t enough to tell the whole story, but my first impression is that I really dig it.  While I’m probably never gonna be really efficient trying to shift gears, I will find them useful on really flat sections when I need some top end speed. 

The handling of the EMD9 was really a nice surprise.  With basically the same geometry as my ONE9, I was comfortable digging into corners and sprinting out of them at at high rate of speed.  The front suspension will take a while for me to adjust to it, but I guess it was nice having a little bit of cushion over small bumps.  My shoulder has been hurting a lot lately from my crash nearly two years ago, so riding this will be a nice break.

I’m sure I’ll ride this thing quite a bit more around here to get a better feel for it, and I will definitely be racing on it next weekend when the Southern Classic Series resumes.  By no means am I permanently giving up single speeding, but this bike will be a nice change of pace every once in a while.  I guess that’s another reason why I got it.

Besides, single speed is dead.

I’m already dead inside anyway.

Things Are Happening

Just not every single day around here.  I wasn’t here yesterday, and I’m good with that.  I decided that it’s okay to take random days off during the week, especially if I don’t have much to talk about.  Besides, I’m not feeling too great still.  I didn’t sleep too well Tuesday night, so yesterday morning I decided that blogging could wait.  It’s my own fault though after spending Saturday out in the cold, waking up feeling bleh, then going outside in the cold again another day to clean some bikes.

Almost out of  ProGold Degreaser and Wash.  It works, so I’ll get more.

I scrubbed things, removed dirt and grease, and adjusted things that needed adjustment. 

A clean bike is a happy bike.

Darth Maul has never been happier.

Having a single speed is easy, maintenance wise.  Clean, lube the chain, add Stan's sealant to the tires, check random bolts for proper torque, etc.  It wasn’t much of a challenge, so I grabbed the little lady’s filthy bike, that hasn’t been cleaned in far too long even though I recently installed a drooper post.

New parts installation usually means a wash first.  Meh.

I used the last of the ProGold wash and got her bike all shiny and new looking.

With all those gears, I had to spend some time remembering how to adjust everything.  Shifty bits now shift properly and all that.  I felt like I accomplished something, especially since I also washed The Executor (my Niner ROS9.)

Sorry, no photos of that excitement.  You’ve seen enough clean bike photos.

I am pretty excited, but not about clean bikes.  I got some pretty cool news.  Since I ‘m not very good at segues (even though I did just mention Niner), I’ll show you a screen shot from an e-mail I got Tuesday night.

Yes, I am now a Niner Ambassador.  And yes, they picked me for some reason.  Over 1,300 applied, and they somehow narrowed it down to less than 75 people (worldwide.)  I’m sure there were more than a few folks that were just trying to “score some free stuff” or whatever, but I bet there were a lot of good people on that list that should have been selected but weren’t. 

So yeah, I feel pretty honored.  I met the requirements I’m sure, but I don’t feel like I’m better than the ones who didn’t make it.  I may act like a douche on here sometimes, but I know I’m not all that.  It’s just fun to pretend sometimes.

And it will be fun representing Niner this season (officially now), along with all the other great supporters you see over there on the right of this page.

I’m not exactly sure what this “season” holds, but there will definitely be more riding, some training, a little racing, and a whole lot of fun on two wheels.

Many Rides Happened

I just wasn’t on any of them. 

The weekend disappeared as fast as it got here.  I got word on Friday about a trip to The Pisgah on Saturday, but I was sorta feeling under the weather.  It wasn’t Ebola (I’m pretty sure), but it wasn’t serious either.  I’d just received a (required) flu shot at my place of employment and it left me feeling a little bit iffy, especially for a trip to the hills.  So, I got some much needed rest. 

The next day I had some other, non bike-related shit to take care of.  Boring stuff, like maintenance on my truck and Lunchbox’s car, which took up the whole day and left zero time for riding.    It did leave time for a nice fire out back with the little lady.

Sunday morning I had to uh, work.  Well, I didn’t have to, but I volunteered my services at the Niner demo out at the whitewater park because I wanted to feel useful. 

As soon as I got there, it was busy.  Setting up work stands and things, getting bikes in order for riders, and making sure people got out on a fun ride.  It was work, but fun.  I got to socialize quite a bit, and I even saw the biggest Stan’s booger ever.

I did bring my bike, hoping I would get to ride sometime.

A bunch of people showed up for a group ride, but I didn’t feel that it was appropriate to leave in the middle of my volunteer shift to go ride.  Once the demo ended, we packed everything up and I headed back towards home.  Even without a ride, I had a good day talking to people, working on bikes, and spending a nice day outside. 

And the best part (which is a little fuzzy) was that the night may or may not have ended at a local watering hole seeing the “sights.”

I won’t name names, but stories were told and fun was had.

A short weekend that went by too fast. 

In other news, blog posting over the next two weeks will be spotty at best.  I’m off tomorrow for Veterans Day (since I am in fact a veteran), but I’ll be back Wednesday and Thursday.  I’m off on Friday and a few days next week too.  More on that when I come back on Wednesday.

Did you get all that?

Good.  See you soon.

The “Other” Bike Show

For the third year in a row, I headed down to Conyers, GA for the Southeast Bike Expo. After checking in, I headed over to the Niner tent.

I announced my arrival, and got this response:


“I didn't think you'd come down here with that handmade show going on back in Charlotte”, said Niner Mike.


“What can I say, I'm loyal” I replied.


When the date was announced for this, I said I'd be there. After the handmade show decided on their dates I stuck to it (and eventually figured out how to cram in both on the same weekend.) This kind of event is more my speed anyway: socializing, riding, and sharing beverages with industry insiders. Since I got there right when they opened on Saturday, I decided to go for a walk around to check things out. When I heard a few people asking questions about the new ROS9, I asked Mike if he had any for people to ride.


“Nope. Do you have yours here?”


I did, and he asked if I would leave it there so he at least had something to show to the general public.

See, I give back sometimes too.


So I took off, wandering around to see what's new. I ended up talking to old friends, and even made a few new ones. The next stop was to introduce myself to the DeFeet rep.

We chatted for a bit about the latest products, and after a little bit I went back to wandering around. That's when I ran into Bruce from ProGold.

Then I hung out with the Industry Nine crew and chatted about all things Pisgah (and of course their wheel goodies.)

I spent more time talking to people this year than I did taking photos, and while the conversations were interesting, I'll keep them private for now so no one gets butt hurt.


Anyway, knowing I had to get back to Charlotte that evening, I decided that I should go for a ride. Not really needing a new bike (or not even being remotely interesting in trying one), I grabbed The Executor from the Niner Tent and took off on the trail. Riding on the course that was the site of the 1996 Olympic mountain bike race is always fun, and being on a familiar bike made it even more fun.


The most fun I had was in the very beginning, when there was a small crowd on the trail.

There was a couple (husband/wife), testing out the latest in fatbike technology that took off right before me. On the climb up, I managed to pass the dude and we exchanged pleasantries. His better half was up ahead, and she made a u-turn to go back to check on him. She said, “This is a fun bike!” and asked him how his was.


“This sucks.”


He was having a hard time, and she was schooling him on the climbs. I had a good laugh for a little bit and slowly pulled away. After that it was wide open.

It was awesome, made more awesome by the fact that I brought along some refreshments.

The rocky section was fun, but the fast(and dry unlike last year) singletrack was even moar fun.

Riding alone even gave me a chance to stop and check out the scenery.

It was an awesome day. The weather was beautiful and warm, the beer was cold, and the riding was quite awesome. I was worth the drive, and I'm glad I went. I said my goodbyes at the SE Bike Expo and hit the road. I had to mosey up the road to get to a Saint Patrick's party with some real Irish folks back here in town. I know St. Patty's Day was yesterday (and I'm not Irish either), but getting a chance to hang out with Irish Luke before he moves out to Seattle was something I didn't want to miss.


Besides, because of his new shirt I was Irish that day anyway.

Socializing

And just like that, things are back to normal. I’m riding my bike for fun, thinking about racing again, and most importantly, the weather is cooperating. After weeks of shit weather, most of the trails around here are finally in good enough shape to ride again. Our usual Tuesday night social ride is back on again, and I couldn’t be happier. The gang was all back together, and we had a blast.


Mostly because we couldn’t stop laughing at the pie plate that Eastwood had on the Glow Worm.

There was a down side though, as one of our riders had a mishap with his crabon crank.

At least the Charlotte Niner crew was back together again.

TomTom probably had the most fun though, because one of those bikes there is his. Yeah, he got a new bike. Us Niner folks around here pestered him about it enough, so he finally jumped on the big wheel bandwagon. He shopped for a while and finally gathered up all the necessary shit to build it, so he came over to the house to put it together.

Since this was the first time he’d put together his very own mountain bike, I tried to let him do most of it under my supervision. After a couple of small mishaps with the pressfit bottom bracket and the rear brake hose, we were moving along. A few beers later (for me), it was done.

Yes, we also suckered, I mean helped him decide to go single speed. I had a little trouble finding the “magic gear” to run it without a tensioner, but eventually it all worked out. With a 32 tooth ring up front, a KMC half link, and a Misfit Psycles 19 tooth cog he was ready to roll.


Even though it wasn’t my bike, building it made my day. In fact, it helped me find my mojo again to make bikes more fun. A road ride that morning, building a new bike for a friend (and creating a new single speeder in the process), and even heckling at a local race was just the kind of weekend I needed.


Now I just have to keep it going. Luckily I’m building one more bike (for me this time.)



Maybe, just maybe I’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Enduro™ Isn’t Dead Yet

Since I have an Enduro™ approved bike though, it soon will be.

The new ROS9 is done.  Wednesday night after work I went over to Casa de Dicky to drink beer, I mean convert my wheels to thru axle.  I got home and attempted to finish the build, but had an issue with the rear brake hose routing.  My never-cut hose wasn’t long enough, and after a couple more beers I just couldn’t get creative enough to find a solution (other than waiting for a new, longer hose to magically show up.)  So, I waited and picked up where I left off the next morning.

After Lunchbox headed off to school, I got back to work.  I came up with a sorta good idea to route the hose in a most unconventional way, until which time I can obtain a new, longer hose.  That particular part of the bike doesn’t look pretty, but it will work for now.

And it’s good enough to be Enduro™.

You might notice some extra (previously unmentioned) shit on there.  That’s because Dicky was kind enough to let me test out a drooper post to be even more Enduro™.  It’s the fancy Thompson one, which is probably way too fancy for me. 

Originally I wasn’t gonna build this bike with one, but after getting a chance to try one out for a while, it looks like a drooper post will remain a permanent part of this bike from now on.  I’ll get my own eventually.

Instead of taking my new bike up to the hills for a test ride, I decided to stay local.  I pissed away too much of the day to go out of town, and I needed to go by The Cycle Path anyway to order a new brake hose.  While I was there, all I heard was how big of a bike it is.  I always ride an extra large frame anyway, but this thing is huge.  The big 140mm fork and 780mm wide Niner bars probably have a lot to do with it I guess.  I’m not complaining at all, because it actually fits me quite well.

Just for poops and hahas we decided to throw it on the scale to see what it weighed.

Not bad for a big ass bike I suppose, but it’s almost ten pounds heavier than my rigid single speed.  Hopefully that means it can take some abuse.

Since I was on the north side of town, my first ride took place at Fisher Farm.  It’s not super tech and doesn’t have a lot of mileage, but I’m familiar enough with it to get in a proper test ride.  Plus, I rode the last demo ROS9 there and it was good enough. 

There are lots of fun things to play with out there, and it was enough to tell me that I just built a really fun bike.  Sure, it’s made for riding up in the hills, but I won’t hesitate to take it local and shred the gnar.  I know it’s way too much bike for around here, but I don’t really care about that.  I'm all about the fun these days.  

In other news, The Backyard Experience is this Sunday.

Are you registered?  Why the hell not?  Are you afraid to “race” out there?  You shouldn’t be.  But if you are, come out and join us while we politely toss waffles in the general direction of those that are racing.  It’s gonna be a hoot, and you won’t want to miss it.

Almost There

Remember when I bought that new frame?  Well, I’m slowly getting it together.

While not quite ready to hit the trail just yet, my new ROS9 will be soon.  Ignore that stem and that horrible looking stack of headset spacers, by the way.  It was just something to hold the fork on until I start robbing parts from another bike.  I’m actually further along than the photo above shows you, but I can’t find the photo I took of that (I think I deleted it yesterday.)  Everything is pretty much ready to go, save for cutting the steerer tube on the fork to my liking.  There’s one thing that’s keeping me from doing that…

The wheels.

Since I’m going from standard quick release to thru axles front and rear, I had to order some parts from IndustryNine.  I told you this already, pay attention.  They finally showed up and I’m ready to convert my hubs.

I didn’t have any free time last night though.  We had our usual Tuesday social ride at the Whitewater Center again, and I stayed out too late riding and drinking to get it done.  I’m not doing it myself anyway because, as dumb as it sounds, I don’t know how to do it.  I’m deathly afraid of ruining my fancy hubs because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, so I asked local good Samaritan and famous Dirt Rag columnist Dicky to help me. 

I know what you’re thinking.  We’re not teaming up so we can have shit to blog about, because I’m sure he’s not that desperate (I am though.)  I know he’s down with I9 and knows all there is to know about them, so I couldn’t think of anyone else to ask.  Plus, he’ll do it for beer which is a plus. 

I like beer.

Once we’re done, I’ll head back to the house and install my wheels, tighten a few things here and there, and I should be ready to take my new Super Enduro™ bike out for a test ride.  I have a few places in mind, and only one of them is local.  I usually like to take a new build somewhere local at first to get a feel for it, but in this case I’m ready to see what this thing can do. 

I won’t be here tomorrow, by the way, since I took the day off to ride my new bike.  I really should do that more often.

See y’all Friday.

Getting Ready To Get Ready To Do Something

I test rode a bike.  Twice.  And I liked it so much that I just had to have one.  So, when Niner Mike was in town for the last demo we got together with my local shop, The CyclePath and made sure I could get one. 

Well, just a couple of days ago this box showed up. 

See that?  It’s so excited to be here that it’s peeking out of the box.  It’s my new ROS9, in case this is your first time here or you’ve been living under a rock.

The bike building hasn’t commenced just yet, but I plan to use quite a few parts from my formerly geared, now single speed squishy bike, TK-421.  The 100mm travel fork won’t be enough for the new build, so I went with something a little more fun.

It’s a 140mm RockShox Revelation RCT3, which should be plenty comfortable when I ride up in the hills (or even around here sometimes.) 

I also got some new rubber straight from Maxxis

Before I can get started though, I’m waiting for a few parts to trickle in.  Most notably a couple of conversion kits for my hubs from IndustryNine.  The fork is a 15mm thru axle and the rear is 12X142, which means my standard quick release crap just won’t cut it.  Hopefully that stuff shows up today or tomorrow, because I can’t wait to build this thing and get it out in its natural habitat.

So, what am I gonna do until then (besides stare at a bare frame in the garage)?

Trail work.

Tomorrow there are a couple of work days at various local trails, and I picked the one that I’ve worked on the most.  We have a new trail in town that’s not quite open yet, and tomorrow is the big push to get everything done so the masses can start riding it. 

If I work really hard this weekend, maybe I can bring my new bike out there for a test lap. 

Or maybe I’ll just sit around staring at it all weekend.