Almost Did Nothing

Other than buying Lunchbox a brand new goofy hat.

After doing trail work for most of the day on Saturday and getting in a ride afterwards, I woke up Sunday morning feeling really tired.  So tired in fact, that I felt like doing absolutely nothing at all.  If the weather is nice and I have the day off, I usually get out and ride.  This was the first time in a long time that I didn’t have any set plans, so I had a hard time even dragging my ass outside, let alone out on the trails.

After several cups of coffee (which I don’t normally drink), I finally had enough energy to go outside and look at the sun.  I started thinking about where to ride, but still couldn’t motivate myself to do anything.  Little Miss Sunshine had a dirt play date with one of her Dirt Diva friends.  Rather than cramp her style by showing up at an all girls ride (like I normally would), I texted a buddy of mine to see if he was down to ride.  He got back to me and said he would, but much later in the afternoon.  I had to find something to do in the meantime.

I realized that I had been having a headset issue on my single speed bike, so I pulled it apart to see what the problem was.  It was just a little loose, but I cleaned and regreased the bearing while I had it torn down.  That didn’t take very long, so I wanted to find something to do to pass the time.  I decided to head over to a local park near my house to check on some vacant land that could be used for a future trail.

I’m not going to reveal the location just yet, but I’ve been there a few times.  This time though, I wanted to give the place a thorough check to see if it was worth the time and effort to have our club put some singletrack in.   As I got ready to head out in the woods, my buddy texted me back and told me he was ready.  We decided to meet there at the park (since it is also in his neighborhood), and see what kind of trailbuilding opportunity we had.

Wow.  There is a shitload of land ready to be ridden.  There’s a ton of elevation change, and even a few natural features.  We scoped out the place for a few hours, and decided that it was time to get our shit together to create a proposal to get ‘er done.  I can’t wait. 

More details when I have some.

I eventually went for a ride.  We headed over to nearby Poplar Tent, which I hear may close down pretty soon due to a potential ownership change.  For now though, it was ready to ride.

We stayed out there for quite a while, but I didn’t break out the camera even once out on the trail.  Of course, I brought my single speed, and I’m pleased to report that my mechanic skills are up to par.  No more creaky headset. 

I did have one more thing to do though, and yes, it involved beer.  Little Miss Sunshine brought me home a couple of bottles of a local favorite of mine:

Death By Hops, and it would be a pleasant way to die.

That’s not the only reason I selected that particular brew though.  I needed a new bottle cap to replace the one on my headset, and this one seemed perfect.

Why yes, I’m a patriotic beer drinker. 

And yes, I’m done for the day.

Looking For Crazy

Uh, wait. I mean looking for love. And no, this is not about my Valentine’s Day adventures with Little Miss Sunshine. It’s about bike love, and how I’ve failed to show mine anything proper.


Back when I got a new frame last season, I swapped everything over from the old one (to make my current single speed bike.) Since the frames were the exact same size, I just moved everything over without having to adjust any cables, etc. Turns out I should’ve given everything the once over.


I’ve been having some shifting problems lately, so I knew it was time to replace the shifty cables. I ended up going with the same thing I had, the Jagwire Ripcord kit (in red again of course.)



I am a big fan of Jagwire cables. I've used many other types of cables and housings, and I guarantee that none of them would've lasted this long without any maintenance. If you absolutely have to have shifty crap on your bike, then you won't go wrong using their stuff.


Changing out cables and housings would normally be an easy task (even easier since I only have a 1X9 setup), but I ran into a problem when I tried to remove the old housing from the rear derailleur. It was jammed in there pretty good, and I couldn’t get it out. In fact, the barrel adjuster screw was seized up too. I eventually got it out, but not with ruining it. After sifting through the parts bin I found an old derailleur that had the same screw, so I replaced it and got right back to the cable installation.



Shitty photo, I know.


Once I got the new cable and housing installed, the tune-up phase was pretty simple. The shifting is way more precise now, which is not surprising. I should’ve done this a long time ago, but I guess I’ve been paying too much attention to my single speed. I’m a sucker for simplicity, and ignoring problems with the hope that they will go away.


Since I found myself with a little free time, I tackled another project I’d been putting off. One of my spare 29er forks will be put back into service again, this time on Little Miss Sunshine’s new SS project. The fork travel was set at 100mm, so I needed to set it at 80mm to match her geared bike.




Pulling out the air spring and putting in a spacer is one of the easiest things you can do. In fact, it was so easy that I didn’t even finish the beer I poured for my “work session.” I put everything back together and aired it up, and it’s ready to roll.


Now I’m waiting for Peter to get that new frame across the border from Canada so I can start bike-building.


In related news, parts are slowly trickling in for the new, yet-to-be-named tiny SS bike.



Well, that’s all that’s trickled in. I did say, “slowly.”

I could have bigger problems, I guess.



I don’t have that kind of dog, so it must mean something else.

I Was There

But for some reason I felt like I shouldn’t have been. I’m talking about the race report from last Sunday’s Sizzler in Greensboro, by the way. Since I’ve slept a few days since then, it may be a little difficult to remember the details. Here goes.


Sunday morning, the Dirty Party Cycle met us at the B-43 Worldwide Headquarters, and we headed north. It had rained all night, so I was kind of regretting my decision to race. The fact that it was an unfamiliar trail made it worse. We got there, and I found out that it had rained there, but that the trail was in pretty good shape. Well, except for the bridges. Those were super slick. Everyone I talked to warned me about how dangerous they were when wed and covered with mud, and I took note of it. I didn’t need to worry about that though, because I later found out that it would be out of my control.


After warming up, I was ready to go. My class had a pretty good turnout, which meant a lot of points for me if I could place well enough. I didn’t have high expectations though. I can afford to drop a few races and remain high in the standings, so I approached this race with caution. I would take it easy on the climb at the start, then try to pick off the other riders over the eighteen mile course. We took off.



I started riding at what I thought was a slower pace, but I started passing people. I decided to push it a little more, and I got all the way up to second place before we reached the top of the hill. Before I could pass the last guy though, I started hearing a funny noise coming from my drivetrain. My bike felt weird too, so I slowed down to see if I could spot anything while I was riding. When I did that, most of the pack went by me. I didn’t care though, because I knew I could catch back up if my bike was okay.


I didn’t see anything obvious, so I kept going. I pushed a little harder, and got right back into the pack. As we hit the singletrack, I mashed up a short but steep climb. The funny noise I was hearing was a little louder now, but I didn’t care. I said to myself at that point though, “I can’t remember the last time I replaced my chain.” Those words would bit me in the ass moments later.


After a little singletrack, I saw the bridges up ahead. I adjusted my speed before hitting the little downhill section right before them, and cleared the first one just fine. In between, I mashed a little to gain some extra speed to make an upcoming climb, and I heard a loud pop. My chain had broken, and it caused my rear wheel to lock up…right on the slippery bridge. I was violently thrown from my bike into the ditch, and got whacked in the tailbone by the nose of my seat. That shit hurt. At least it only broke two links from the quick link though.



I ran my bike up the hill, and tried to repair the chain. Since I had plenty of chain left, I knew I could fix it and get back in the race. The only problem was that I couldn’t find half of the quick link. I ran back down the hill and dug around on the side of the trail. After what seemed like forever, I found it. I ran back up the hill, put my chain back on, and I was on my way. My group was long gone, but I felt good enough to try to catch them. With three laps of racing, I had plenty of time. My problems weren’t finished though, because I started hearing that noise again. Shit.


After a few short climbs (which had me stressing the shit outta my repaired chain), The sound was getting worse. I stopped to take a look, and found that my chain was ready to break again, but in a different spot.



Without a spare quick link, I wouldn’t be able to fix that one. It was in the middle of the chain, and if it broke I would have to walk the rest of the race just to get out. That didn’t sound very appealing to me. However, I paid money to ride, I mean race out there, so I at least wanted to get one lap in. With the pack too far out of reach and pretty much a guaranteed DNF, I decided to ride slowly and carefully. At least I could enjoy myself out there, I thought.


I wasn’t mad about my situation at all. In fact, I enjoyed my ride. The trail was fun, and it was surprisingly dry (well, except for the bridges.) If I had a fully functioning bike, I probably would have finished the race in a respectable position. Since I was just out “joyriding”, I pulled over for other racers that came up behind me. I walked some of the longer climbs to make my chain last a little longer, and hauled as on the downhills (you know, because you don’t really need a chain for that stuff.) I even stopped to have a conversation with a local Bike Patroller. I was having fun in the middle of a race, without actually racing. I don’t want to do that all the time, but it was nice.


Eventually, I made it to the finish line. After only one lap (which took an hour), I called it quits. I hated to do that, but at least I didn’t break my chain again. If I would’ve had to walk a few miles to get of of there, I probably wouldn’t have been too happy about it. I wasn’t happy that I DNF’d though, but at least I didn’t have to walk out. Lunchbox did a good job of catching my disappointment with this photo:



It wasn’t that bad, and I could actually afford (points-wise) to drop the race. Besides, I could buy a new chain and fix it later. And that’s just what I did.



After the “race”, we stopped by a local shop and I picked up a new chain. Lunchbox and I weren’t going back home that day though, so I made sure I had a chain tool in my truck before we hit the road. I did, and I waited until we got to the hotel in D.C. to install the new chain.



Nothing like a little hotel room bike mechanic work, I guess. We hit up a local restaurant, and I drowned my sorrows with a tasty beverage.



I would live to ride another day. It’s a good thing, because there’s another race this weekend. I wasn’t thinking about that though, because we were on vacation. We had lots of fun stuff planned, and I couldn’t wait for the next morning to get going. Speaking of the next morning, I’ll talk about the rest of our adventures tomorrow.

Drop It Like It’s Hot

I’ve still been battling with chain drop issues, even though I thoughtI found a fix. After some local testing, I made a few more adjustments to my bike (and Lunchbox’s too.) When we rode at Dark Mountain during the Burn 24 Hour Race though, I dropped my chain five times. Lunchbox lost his three times, and we were both pretty frustrated. Hell, I even made a video out of it (including a bonus crash from me not paying attention.)





So yeah, this sucks. I was determined to keep trying to find the issue, since there was no way I wanted to go back to a full set of gears of front. There was one more thing to try though. I finally broke down and bought this:



A new Salsa singlespeed 32 tooth chainring. Non-ramped, non-pinned, for my riding pleasure. I tried everything else, and this was the last resort. I put it on last week, and got out for a ride at Fisher Farm (after the trail work day.) After beating the shit out of my bike on the roots and rocks out there, I thought maybe I had finally gotten it right. I didn’t drop my chain once, and that was encouraging. I wasn’t completely satisfied though, so I decided that one more test was in order.


When I rode at North Meck da udda night with the Dirt Divas, I thought that this would be the proving ground. This is the same place where I first tested the Awesome Strap, and it is a fine place for such testing because it is rooty as shit. On the first lap out there, Lunchbox and I rode together. I haven’t made the switch on his bike yet, so his bike would be the control in this experiment.


No dropped chains for me, five for the youngin’. He was pretty frustrated, but I told him that it was actually good news. Since my chain stayed put during the ride when his didn’t, that pretty much told me that I had found a solution. I told him I would get a singlespeed ring on his crankset as quick as I could.


I’m pretty happy I finally figured it out, but I’m a little pissed that I took so long to do it. That damn chain dropping issue cost me a podium spot in the Catawba Riverfront Classic, and it caused me countless hours of frustration on “normal” rides. That looks like the end of my bike issues for now, until something else pops up. It always does.

My Mechanic Has Taken A Vacation

Damn you R2. Just when things start to get busy around here, you take off and mix it up with the ladies. Those are ladies in that photo, right? It’s hard to tell since they are machines. Anyway, I would fire his ass, but since I’m not really paying him I shouldn’t complain. I can handle the workload I guess, but I have to pay closer attention to what I’m doing.


Since I’ve been having issues with chains a-dropping on my 1X9 setup, it was time to figure out what was going on. With the chain watcher thingy in the way, it’s supposed to prevent the chain from dropping, but actually it just made it more difficult to put back on when it did fall off. I think I may have figured out the proper placement though.



I moved it down a little further, and placed it a little closer to the crankset. I did some on the workstand testing, and I couldn’t get the chain to fall down in there no matter how hard I tried. I left as little room as possible.



I think this might be the sweet spot. I did the same to Lunchbox’s bike too, but we haven’t had a chance to test it out on the trail. I’m pretty confident that it will work just fine. I have a little bit of riding planned this week, so I’ll hopefully be back here with a success story. If it does indeed work, then I guess The Dirty Party Cycle will be bringing his bike for some adjustments as well.


The next item on the agenda was something I was unsure about. I’ve been rocking my Cane Creek Ergo 2 Bar Ends for about a year now, and I like them. Well, when I remembered to use them anyway. They are great for climbing, but most of the time I never switched my hand position to use them for that. Plus, my hands would hurt sometimes when they pressed up against them (in the normal hand position), so I started to feel like they were in the way. I noticed that the last few rides I’ve done that I didn’t even use them once. It was time to get them off of there.



I liked them, I really did. I just figured that I would try riding without them for a while though, just to see if I would miss them. Besides, it did save me a little weight when I replaced them with the standard Lizard Skins lock rings.



Even without R2D2 doing all the work, things still went well under the supervision of my pal Boba Fett. He’s a real ball buster, so there was no chance of me slipping up.


I got some other odds and ends wrapped up, and then my pal Space Cowboy dropped by for a visit. We had to setup his new tubeless tires on his primary ride, and then get his spare bike back together. He plans on using it in case of an emergency only, which is a good thing because I’m the one who put it together. That shit could fall apart at any time, and I don’t want to be the one responsible for him having another DNF. He was taking plenty of pictures while I did all the work, so I expect that he will put them on his blog in the near future. You know, as soon as he is done blogging about his wedding and stuff.

I’m out. Y’all just relax here until I come back tomorrow.

Things Could Be Worse

Yeah, my race at the Catawba Riverfront Classic was kinda shitty. I could have been a whole lot worse I guess. The fact that I even finished the race with two mechanical issues should be enough. That’s not the real issue though.


I was so close to a podium spot that I could almost taste it. During my mad fury (and before my chain crappage), I made my way up to the front of the pack. In fact, I felt so great out there that I could have caught the leader. I guess that’s what pisses me off the most. The trails out there are mine (so to speak), and there’s no way that some out of towners should have gotten the best of me. I went out to the trail ready to put it all out there, and I left with my tail between my legs. I was on pace to beat my time from last year, but instead I spent probably a total of 10 -12 minutes fixing shit that shouldn’t have been broken in the first place.


Yeah, I was sick too, but that didn’t matter. Once the race started I felt fine. No excuses though, and I certainly don’t mean to bitch about the way things turned out. I’m just disappointed. There are a few bright spots though.


First, I finally have a reason to address my chain issue. It’s happened before, but never during a race. I shrugged it off, but now I found out that Lunchbox, The DPC, and my pal Hop are having the same issues. I put some thought and my awesome troubleshooting skills to work on it, and I think I figured it out. More on that later though.


Second, I looked damn good in my Bike29 team kit, even if I do say so myself. I know I had sworn off of the tight shorts when I ride, but I was reminded of how comfortable that stuff is to ride in. It didn’t make me any faster, but I sure felt better. As a bonus, I get to represent Bike29 at my races and on the Internets. You know, much better than I have been. Big thanks again, ‘cause it did make me fell better out on the race course.


Lastly, it looks like the little bit of actual “training” I’ve been doing is paying off. I’ve been riding harder out on my leisurely trail jaunts, and I can see the improvement. I had plenty of leg power on Sunday, but my mind wasn’t in it after having chainage crap. It looks like I will keep up the ‘training” rides from now on though.


I learned some lessons out there, and that’s what it’s all about. I’m not in danger of becoming a super serious dirt roadie/ racer boi, but I do need to get a little better. I’ll cut my whiny rant off here I guess. I’ll be back tomorrow, with a lot less bitchin’. Maybe we can talk about beer…and Sonya Looney.




I’m sure she won’t mind that I stole this photo. I like taking shit from the Internets. It completes me.

I Can Fix It

This bike belongs to my pal the Space Cowboy. Over the weekend, I was summoned over to his domicile for my uh mechanical *cough* expertise *cough*. His bike had been in a state of disrepair the whole week, and something needed to be done. Since I had a shitload of tools and he did not, that more than qualified me to help him get his bike back in shape.


After getting the bottom bracket and crankset installed, it was so close to being “ready to ride.” The derailleurs were put into place and adjusted, and it was time for the chain. Since it was a new install, we had to measure the chain without using the old one. The first fit wasn’t so great, so we put a few links back in. I was really worried about this, and recommended that we get another chain. Time was of the essence though, so we opted to use what we both thought would be an unreliable chain. Besides, it wasn’t like we were using state of the art equipment. I even had to use old t-shirts and (I think) clean underwear to wipe the grease off of my hands.


You don’t want to see that shit anyway.



So, after finally getting everything together, it was time for a test ride. Even though it was a mountain bike build, there was no reason whatsoever to test out the new equipment on an actual trail. So, we did the next best thing:


Yeah, that’ll do it.

Did it work? Well, at yesterday’s Winter Series race, it was time to see if our efforts were worth it. As the Space Cowboy’s race took of, I watched nervously. Everything looked fine. As he went around the trail on lap one, there were no issues whatsoever.



I saw him come around the start/finish line, and it made me feel like everything was going to be okay. I quit worrying about that untrustworthy chain. Lap two seemed to be more of the same.



After the race had gone on for a while, he appeared out of nowhere at the start/finish line, with a non-functioning bicycle. It looked like my fears were warranted:



Shit. With my help, he received his very first DNF. He didn’t seem to be too troubled by it though:



I apologized many times, but that didn’t get him back in the race. One of the local bike shop fellers said it was due to shifting under a load, but we both knew better. Next time I’ll let my real mechanic tackle such a monumental task. He’s better equipped for it.



Tune in tomorrow for more mechanical ineptitude (possibly.)

Nothing New Yet

Yup, that’s what I'm feeling right now. I’m waiting for some new shit to roll into the B-43 compound, but nothing has arrived yet. I’ve heard that things are on the way via various shipping means, but as of yet I am left empty-handed. In the meantime though, I decided that I would keep my new little helper plenty busy until I get some stuff delivered here. First, I had R2 install my new 11-34 cassette that I showed you yesterday:




After installing it, I asked R2-D2 to adjust my gears. He has to earn his keep around here, so I put his little metal ass to work:




It didn’t take him long, probably because he is used to pretending to work on large spaceships and the like. I wasn’t satisfied with the amount of work I was getting out of him, so I had him grab the shock pump to check the air in my suspension components:




Yeah, that’s real exciting, huh? Actually, it only got worse from here. I guess the little fella got tired of me bossing him around, and he started getting a little sassy. I don’t think the work bothered him so much as the fact that I kept interrupting him to ask for more beer:


Thanks again to Bike29 for the beer koozie, by the way.


After finishing that particular beverage, I asked him for one more. I decided I would run the video camera this time to show you folks at home what a neat little droid he is. I think I picked the wrong time to film him though:





Yep, fail indeed. The little bastard must have been tired of the questions or something, because he just threw the damn beer at my feet. Maybe I’ll take him down to Anchorhead to have his memory erased.


An entire post devoted to my new mechanic? Yup. I figured that you folks would like to get to know him a bit better. I’m starting to think I should let one of my cats take over the mechanic duties. It might cut down on the headache factor around here.


As for upcoming events, there are none right now. I’m holding out hope that some of my new shit comes in today or tomorrow so I can have something to talk about. I’ll get out on the bike for sure this weekend, but I haven’t decided where. I think I’ll just grab the skateboard after work today and forget about this whole “sassy mechanic issue.” Maybe I should just see if C-3P0 is available to work for me. I’m sure I could keep him busy and he wouldn’t mind.

There's More Work To Be Done I Guess

Since it’s now the “offseason”, I gotta find some shit to keep me busy. The days are getting shorter, which means soon I won’t even be able to ride after work anymore. Currently I’m able to get out of work, haul ass over to one of my local trails, and get a lap in before dark. The other day I had a nice surprise though, since I got out really early and had time for some daytime riding at Sherman Branch.



Sorry, but I don’t have any “action shots” from the trail. The ride was fast and fun. I was worn out when I finished, and that was the goal I guess. I guess you’ll have to take my word for it. One of these days though, I’ll get one of those fancy helmet cameras and start making some videos. That will surely help pass the time around here. Videos are always a good thing. For now maybe I can show you a sex tape:




Anyway, since it won’t be long until I’m only riding on the weekends, I have to keep my new little helper busy. I did mention that there are a few parts and such slowly trickling into the B-43 Worldwide Headquarters though. I have lots of “projects” in mind. Changing the wheels on Little Miss Sunshine’s bike was one of them, and now I can cross that off the list. Another thing I’ve been wanting to do is to change the rear shock on my full squishy bike, Goose.


Back when I broke it and got a new one, I knew I would eventually need to change the shock. My 2008 Diamondback Sortie 3 had four inches of rear travel, and the 2009 Sortie 3 and later all have five inches. When Diamondback sent me a new frame, they didn’t send a new shock. The shop just used the old one.


It was a nice shock, but it kind of screwed up the ride. My bottom bracket and pedals were lower to the ground, so I kept bumping into stuff (like rocks.) This kept me from really enjoying the bike when I rode it, so I finally ordered a new shock.





It was basically the same shock, but a little longer (matching the original specifications from Diamondback.) This was an easy thing to replace, but I still let R2-D2 do it. I sat back with a beer as he removed the old shock from the frame:




After replacing the mounting hardware, R2 installed the new shock, inflated the air canister, and tested it. I took the photo:



I took a little test ride and I was amazed at the difference. The bike handled a lot better, which is probably why these bike companies spend tons of money on shit like research, engineers, and other fancy stuff. Once again my R2 unit did a great job on the mechanic work. There will be plenty of work for him in the future, including this:



Yeah, that’s a new cassette. There’s been talk of me doing the single speed thing on my 29er, but for now I may put this cassette on so my rides will be a little “easier.” It’s an 11-34, and I’m currently running an 11-32. It won’t be a huge difference, but it will help me in the offseason should I choose to drink more beer and ride my bike fewer miles (which is very likely.) I know, I should be training in the offseason, but I’ll probably just take it easy for a while. Maybe I’ll just look for a tandem bike and have someone pull me around the trails this winter…