Cold Friday

The Creek TrailMan, it was cold today. The Pavilion Sign at Mills Park advertised 24 degrees F when I passed by on the morning commute. Although with no winds, it wasn’t all that bad. Riding in 24 degrees gives me confidence that it won’t be that bad commuting when the snow starts to fall. I still have more weather armor to put on.

The real cold came at the lunch time ride, as the north winds tried to pierce any part of clothing not protected by wind stopper. 32 degrees with a wind chill of 24. All of us complained about not being able to feel this or that at some point in the ride. My pinkies went numb. Once we got up into the canyon though, the sun came out and the canyon walls blocked the wind. It felt like fall again for the brief time we spent up in the canyon.

The Creek TrailToday’s riders were me, Scott, Marcus, and Keith. The climb was fast paced, but it was keeping me warm. We paused for a bit at the top of the creek trail, and the guys agreed to let me go ahead and find a good photo spot. I’m lucky that day after day, people put up with me and my camera! Two days off the trails, and I was feeling a bit sloppy. I made a few mistakes on the creek trail, and one almost resulted in a crash. I pulled it together for the 2nd half of the descent though, and had a good rest of the run.

I posted these pictures over on Flickr, and one viewer in New Zealand had this to say, “It’s weird. Your photos still look like summer but the riders are all wrapped up. This guy looks like a vicar on his way to church in July.” That cracked me up! He’s right though…it does look pretty warm in these pictures!

The wind died down for the commute home. Like the commute in, it was cold but pretty tolerable. Nevertheless, I was still glad to be home and warm up with a hot bowl of French onion soup, a half a loaf of bread, two big bowls of salad, and a couple glasses of wine.

Egg Beater Pedal Review

Egg Beater SLSorry in advance to all foodies that may have gotten here looking for the latest in oviparous food processing, but this review is for the Egg Beater pedals from Crank Brothers.

My introduction to clipless pedals began with Shimanos. They were set to a medium tension, and I fell down a lot learning how to use them. One time I crashed at a busy intersection and came out of my left shoe, my shoe still dangling in the pedal! It wasn’t till I put them on the loosest setting that I stopped hitting the dirt. The only problem with the loosest setting is that I came unclipped at times. Usually when trying to catch a little air.

I always thought the egg beaters were a cool design, but was wary of purchasing a pair. Most of my buddies had Shimanos, and it made it easy to swap bikes if we wanted. I had also seen a broken egg beater, and felt that my Shimanos were indestructible. Additionally, a friend of mine said that egg beaters, with their roundish shape, could roll on you when trying to clip in. I put my fears aside and purchased a pair of Egg Beater SL’s back in May, lured by the light weight.

It’s always fun to buy a new bicycle part, and Crank Brothers packaging really makes you feel like you just bought something special. I weighed the pedals before installing them, making sure they matched the advertised weight. They were right on. The SL’s weigh in at 266 grams per pair, compared to the Shimanos I was using at 380-430 grams per pair. That’s a 1/4 lb or more of weight (rotating mass) savings! Upon installation there was no adjusting them. There is only one spring tension, unlike the Shimanos that have several clicks of adjustment. This gave me a little concern before I tried them…what if I didn’t like the way they were set?

The final thing to do before riding was to install the cleats on my shoes. You can swap the cleats on the shoes to get different release angles. I chose the earlier release angle, and still have them that way to this day.

Once underway, clipping in to the Egg Beaters was just a little different than the Shimanos. Once you learn the slightly different technique and the pedal breaks in a bit, there is no more thinking about it. Click and you’re in! The four sided entry made it easy to clip in no matter which position the pedal was in. The tension turned out to be just perfect after an initial break in period. The effort to release from the pedals seems like it would work for beginners and more experienced riders alike.

One thing that I noticed right away in the increased float the pedals have. This refers to the angle you have to reach with your heel before your shoe will unclip from the pedal. A little float helps your foot go to its natural position, which is supposed to be easier on your knees too. I was surprised at my natural position. My left foot seems a bit toe in, while my right foot seems to be a little toe out. The Shimanos had very little float, and forced my feet into one position. Another cool thing is that even though the pedals have the extra float, I don’t recall ever unclipping unexpectedly!

On One 29er

I really started liking the SL’s, so I decided to outfit another bike with them. I didn’t feel like shelling out another $100 so I purchased the Egg Beater C’s for a bit less cash. The C’s weigh in slightly heavier at 294 grams per pair, but are still lighter than most other pedals on the market. It seems to me the only difference between the pedals is the weight. I can’t tell the difference in performance.

Aesthetically, the pedals go very well with single speed bikes. The pedals are a very simple design and compliment the simplicity of a fully rigid steel framed bicycle. They look pretty good on my geared bikes though too!

Some riders talk about a “hot spot” on their feet when using egg beaters due to the small platform size of the pedal. I may have experienced this once while on a long ride, coming down a downhill section, standing for an extended period of time. I may have just been tired and beat up though. Typically though, I have never felt any discomfort. It is good to point out though that Crank Brothers makes this design with various platform sizes surrounding the pedal, if you think this would be an issue for you. Your choice of shoe could also factor into the shoe/pedal comfort equation.

Going into winter I’m excited to try the egg beaters in the winter snow and mud. One thing the egg beaters are famous for are their ability to shed trail junk from the pedal. I’ve had experiences with the Shimanos where it was impossible to clip in after putting a foot down in the winter muck.

Well that’s a lot of words to say about a simple pair of pedals, but I really like these things. If you’re looking for a new pair of pedals or trying clipless pedals for the first time, go buy a pair. You won’t be disappointed!

The Commute Report

IMG_0754It’s been a cold week. I check the temperature before leaving the house, and today it said it was in the 20′s. So of course, I dressed pretty warm. The commute started off pretty comfortable, and only my ankles were cold, taking a bit of draft from lack of wind protection.

The bicycle commute has become pretty normal feeling now, and I feel pretty relaxed. I even found a new short cut this week, a steep little dirt trail that gets me directly to the intersection at HWY 50. The UHaul station on HWY 50 still hasn’t turned off its sprinklers, so they have a nice little ice skating rink on the sidewalk every morning. The trip through the park is also pleasant, since there are tons of Canadian Geese hanging out on the lawn.

In the final few blocks before I get to work, I work up a lot of body heat. It’s still below freezing out, but I start to get pretty warm. Once I get to work, I carry my bike down the basement stairs and enter the heated building. I can barely make it to my cubicle before I start stripping off all my cold weather gear. I feel like I’M ON FIRE!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFHR9O3tQ54]

Another thing I’d like to get for commuting soon is a nice backpack. I was over at my friend Brent’s house, and he was showing me his Oakley Tool Box, a cycling specific backpack. I have a couple of backpacks, but both have a few problems. My old JanSport is falling apart. It has one big chamber that must be opened all the way because the zipper is broken. When I was changing in the bathroom stall on Monday, I pulled the zipper on the backpack, and the contents spilled out onto the bathroom floor…including my lunch! Thank goodness for plastic wrap! My other backpack was a freebie I got for donating to an environmental group. It doesn’t have as much volume, but has more compartments. It’s handy for keeping things separated, but because of the small volume, the thing sticks way off my back like a huge mutant hump. If I want to encourage others to commute by bike to work, it’s important to not look like a freak. I think an Oakley is in my near future lest I become the cycling bete noire of Carson City!

On One Mary Bars – Revisited

IMG_0743In a previous post, I reviewed the Mary Bars from On One as installed on the On One 29er. At the end of the test period, I felt that the Mary’s didn’t feel quite right on the 29er. I suspect it was just a bit too much rise for my tastes on that bike, since the front end of the 29er is already a bit tall.

After testing the Mary’s on the 29er, I moved them to my On One 26 inch single speed. After several weeks of riding, I’m in love with these bars! The bars add just the right amount of rise, and the width is just about perfect. If you measure straight across the bars, they are around 26 inches wide; however, if you measure the total length of the tubing, they are closer to 28 inches wide. This seems to translate into a lot of leverage for a bar that feels a bit narrower.

IMG_0750Sometimes a good way to test things out is to go back to what you are used to after some time with a new product. I rode my hardtail last week, and the standard riser bars felt a bit odd with my hands straight out in front of me. I missed the comfortable bend all week and never really got used to the standard bars again. I’m back on the Mary bars this week, and I’m happy again!

My single speed On One Inbred is my favorite bike for commuting. The Mary’s feel very natural in the urban setting. You can sprint easily enough if you need to, but they are quite comfortable for just putting around too. Another concern for commuting this time of year is mounting lights. I was worried that lights would be crooked mounted on the strange bend, but they mount perfectly on the tips of the M’s.

Since I use the same bike for singletrack jamming at lunch, it’s nice to have a bike that feels so comfortable for both settings. It did take several days to feel as comfortable on the Mary’s as I did with the standard riser bars, but now they feel as natural as can be and don’t seem to hinder me in any situation. I like the body position the bars put me in for descents, and they feel like bar ends on the climbs. Slow technical stuff is great with all the leverage the bars provide.

In summary, I highly recommend these bars for your 26 inch rig, especially if you will be using the bike for multiple purposes like I do. Like many of the parts on my single speed, the Mary Bars are another great product from On One. Simple, practical, and durable.

Sunday Ride

IMG_0735On Sunday, Kristy, Brent, and I rode out to the Centennial Trailhead (located behind the ball fields at Centennial Park) for some cold weather singletrack. After hooking up with the rest of the gang, we started the rocky ascent up into the deserty highlands above Carson City’s east side. This place was already pretty barren, but is even more so after a recent fire. There isn’t much cover out here as you can see, so this place is a better place to ride when the temperatures drop (although I hear it’s fun to ride at night in the summer!).

IMG_0740The Centennial Trail system is a stark contrast to the west side trail system. Although only a few miles apart, the dirt, rocks, plants, and animals are all quite different from each other. That’s one of the cool things about this area; if you get bored with one environment, it’s only a few miles to something completely different! You can go from THIS to THIS in no time at all!

For the most part, the west side of Carson City is made up of decomposed granite. Nice, smooth, sandy trails. Centennial has some nice smooth sections, but they lie between some fairly rocky sections. A full suspension rig is your best bet for the rapidly changing terrain. It’s not uncommon to come flying out of a fast, smooth corner into a rock garden! There are a lot of trails out there, and many can be ridden in any direction, making for plenty of options.

IMG_0737I hadn’t tried my full suspension rig, the Coiler from Kona, out at Centennial, so I decided to try it out. The five inches of free ride travel made the ride comfortable; however, the bike’s portly weight of 35 lbs made all the climbs much harder than they should have been. The geometry and handling were awkward for me too. It’s funny that a bike that I loved so much a few years ago can feel so foreign to me today! I’ve thought about it for a while now, but it’s time to sell it. I’m sick of complaining every time I ride it. It’ll make a great for bike for some shuttler/freerider. It will also give me some money to put towards what I think to be the ultimate bike. More on that later…

End of the Week Review

The Baldy Green TrailThere was no riding for me on Thanksgiving; however, I did witness some pretty amazing sprints and feats of endurance at the dinner table…

I finished off my riding week on Wednesday with an extended lunch time ride, squeezing in two great trails into one ride. The temperatures plummeted this week making for some pretty chilly rides. Cycling specific clothing is key to comfort in temperatures like this, as the climbs can be hot and sweaty, and the descents bone chilling cold! A light insulation layer for just the right amount of warmth, and and outer layer that has most of its wind stopping properties in the front works awesome. As cold as it is, it’s still important to let excess body heat vent.

The Baldy Green TrailThis was also a week of great accomplishment for me. Although it was a short work week, I was able to complete the week CAR FREE! Commutes to work and lunch were all spent on the bicycle.

It was also a week spent learning. I found that the ideal route to work wasn’t necessarily the best route home. In fact the 1st route I took home had a couple of near death misses at the corner of Saliman Road and HWY 50! I would have almost certainly perished if not for my ninja-like reflexes. The best route home was found through Mills Park, thanks to tips from Scott and Sandie. Riding the narrow trails through the park at night is a blast. Additionally, cutting across HWY 50 through the large gaps in traffic on the north side of Mills Park is the safest option so far.

I also need to work on “the routine”. One day I forgot my wind vest, and another day I forgot a pair of underwear! I did, however, bring a few things to leave at work so I wouldn’t have to haul them back and forth everyday. Every day is a new adventure, and every day I learn something new!

Thanks FBC

000_0525It was almost a year ago that I ran into the FBC crew while riding in the Pine Nut Mountain Range in Gardnerville, NV. It was a beautiful fall day, and as I was rounding a corner I came upon an unconscious rider, her right leg twitching. I thought she was dead. The rider turned out to be J-Mo’s wife, Kristy. At the same time I saw Kristy in the face plant position, I noticed a rider (J-Mo ) coming to her rescue from the other direction. You can read their story here (now that I know J-Mo better, I’m surprised that upon his arrival he didn’t pull out his camera and take photos of his unconscious wife for his blog). When more riders from their group started showing up to the accident scene, I recognized them as the lunch time cyclists from Carson City. This wasn’t a good time to bring up trails in CC. I would have to do that another time.

That time came two days later when I stalked ran into Jeff and Kristy at her dentist’s office. I figured since they couldn’t get away from me I’d be able to talk to them about building more trails in CC. I then started blathering away to Jeff about my vision of trails in the Ash Canyon area. In particular, if I were to place pin flags on the ground, would they be willing ride in a trail during their lunch hour? He replied,”umm, yeah sure”.

You see, I thought the end of Deer Run needed a reroute. The end of the trail was an overgrown fall-line rut that wasn’t much fun. The reroute would take us around the contour of the mountain and end up near the bottom of the original trail. That was the beginning of the Postal Route (later named Sandie Goes Postal). Without their help it would have taken me forever to ride this section in. To all the riders of the FBC, I thank you.

Thank you Kristy for the face plant.

Thank you Sandie for this post. It got me motivated to do more. I am sorry you broke your ankle, but your accident did provide a great name for the trail (Sandie Goes Postal). Trail networks are always much better when there is a story attached to each trail in the system. I just hope I never have to name one the Deliverance trail.

Special thanks to J-Mo for providing this blog for us to have a forum, share information and tell our stories.

Thank you M & K for showing me the start of Baldy Green.

Thank you Amy for putting up with my long hours working on the trail, and my OCD.