Rough And Rugged

I did learn something during the last Winter Short Track Race…

Riding a bike in its simplest form is pretty damn rad.

Super awesome photo credit today goes to CherylAnnePhotography

The second race of the day for me would be the debut of my fully rigid single speed bike, and it was fun as hell.  I was a little worried at first, but as it turns out I didn’t need to be.  I setup my Maxxis Ardent with a guestimated “ideal” tire pressure, and took off in the woods with the rest of the one-geared folks.  The first lap was a little interesting, since I had to get used to a little bouncing around in the corners due to a lack of front suspension.

It didn’t take long to forget about that squishy front end I used to have.

I felt faster and in much more control, and as you can see above I had no problems catching air either.  The smaller jump after the one pictured above was full of hecklers as usual, so I made sure to jump that one too.

I was having a shitload of fun.

My legs were tired from racing earlier, but I was having so much fun riding a rigid bike that I forgot about that for a while.  Plus, Good Guy Greg decided to join in on the fun and “race” with me, also on a rigid single speed.

Hopefully he doesn’t hate me for talking him into it.

I did okay out there, and I have to say that I enjoyed my second race much more than the first.  Towards the end though, I did have a small issue with my right hand falling asleep.  I’ll chalk that up to the death grip I had on the handlebars.  I know, I know, I shouldn’t do that, but I was still getting used to the small amount of bouncing around.

That will get better with time I suppose.

For now, I think I may have found a new way to torture myself.

I mean, a new way to have fun.

Bring The Pain

I’m finally giving this a shot:

Yeah.

Monday evening I installed my rigid fork again on the single speed, and this time I plan on keeping it there for a while.  It didn’t work out so well before, but that’s because I didn’t really give it a chance.  I had a tire on the front that didn’t do well with lower pressures, but I may have solved that issue by putting on a Maxxis Ardent.  From what I hear, it’s the go to tire for rigid setups. 

It’s a big, beefy tire, and I couldn’t wait to try it out.  It just so happens that last night was our weekly night ride so I brought it along for some testing.  I didn’t get to ride right away because when I got there I realized that I didn’t bring all the lights with me (required for night riding, you know.)  So, I split up the lights I had between Lunchbox and Little Miss Sunshine, left them with the group, and made the trek back to my house to get the rest of my forgotten night riding accessories.

Dumbass.

When I got back, the group had just finished one lap.  I was ready to ride, and people were laughing about the pain I was gonna feel without any suspension.  I thought it was funny, especially since Good Guy Greg was also running a rigid fork.  He didn’t’ seem to mind it, but’s also running a carbon fork.  Mine isn’t so fancy.

I took off in the intermediate group, riding the trail backwards.  It was a little odd a first, because I felt every single bump.  It threw me off course quite a bit until I got the hang of it.  I don’t remember where I had the tire pressure, but I ended up taking a bit of air out when we stopped.  That seemed to to do the trick, because the rest of the ride was pretty awesome.  I had more control, and I could actually feel everything that the bike was doing underneath me.  I made “on the fly” adjustments really easy, and I felt faster because of it. 

It even felt great on rocky, rooty downhills.

I dig it.

My wrists and hands were a little sore, but I’ll get used to that.  Will I convert my other bike to rigid?  Hell no.  I do like having suspension, and this little test ride was to see if I could handle the bike enough to be ready to race it this weekend.  I think it will be fun.  Who knows, maybe I’ll keep the single speed setup without suspension.

Hey, it could happen.

In other news, I hit the beer jackpot yesterday before the ride (probably explains why I forgot the lights for my night ride.)  I found a local spot close to the house that has every kind of beer I could imagine (I can imagine a lot of beer though.)  More about that at a later date, but I thought I should at least share my find here.

That will dull the pain for a little while.

I Can Change My Mind

As it turns out, I’m not burned out on the single speed like I thought I was, and taking a break from it for a long time is not the right answer.  I rode my geared bike once (after a two month hiatus) and it was fun and all that, but I forgot about one of the main reasons to ride a bike with only one gear.

Simplicity.

Rather than hang up the SS for a while and ride the geared bike exclusively, I wanted to make things even simpler.  I’ve been doing a lot of bike work lately, so I wasn’t sure if I was up to the task.  It was time to call in my little astromech droid to help.

Yes, my little shop helper R2D2.  Even though I haven’t mentioned him in a while, he’s still here.  You might remember that he fixes things quite well, but that little fucker also spilled my beer one time.  He’s not bad for free help, and it gives me time to drink more beer.  I’ll just make sure not to let him carry it.

Anyway, I had him change things up on the single speed.  Before I even finished one beer, he changed out my squisy fork for one that’s not so squishy.  Yes folks, I have gone the way of the rigid.

And yeah, that’s my nod to the boys over at Drunk Cyclist. 

The other side is for the rest of you:

I did a little test riding, and I totally dig it.  I’ll definitely have to play with tire pressure and whatnot, but I think I will enjoy this change.  It’s probably just what I needed to make things all fresh and new.

When I got back from rolling on my rigid around the neighborhood (I do have my own private trail, you know), I noticed an odd sight.  Some lady from my neighborhood (I didn’t really recognize her) had stopped in front of my house and was just staring down at the sidewalk.  Before I could walk over and say something to her, she grabbed a stick or something and starting poking at the concrete.  She looked up at me and immediately stopped.  She then proceeded to walk away like nothing happened. 

I walked over to that spot on the sidewalk to see what the hell she was doing, and I found this little fella:

I yelled to Lunchbox to come outside, because he loves snakes almost as much as I do. We watched him slither around for a bit, and when I tried to pick him up he pooed a little.  That was his way of saying hello I guess.  Okay, not really, since that was his only way to defend himself.  We decided to leave him alone, but not before taking another picture.

That lady was fucking with it (it was a harmless Brown Snake, btw), and if she was still around I would’ve given her the business.  Snakes are pretty damn cool, and I don’t get why people are so hung up about them.  I guess they didn’t have the luxury of growing up around them like Lunchbox and I have.  Any chance I get to see one it makes me happy.  I got a thing for critters, I guess.

So, maybe this weekend I’ll get to see some snakes out in the wild.  I plan on tearing up some local trails, but since it’s cooled off here a bit there probably won’t be too many snake sightings.  Now the question is do I bring the newly rigid SS or the geared bike?

Shit, I hate making decisions.