and you thought you were fast...

nice...

this being the...

mud from cross...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

aftermath of my drivetrain from the cross race this weekend that was put on by team spin. i hope that they put up pics., because this race was sick. toughest course in a long time.

the mud was only half the issues. they had a lot of zig-zags. a 'natural' barrier, in the name of a downed tree. and an enormous run up. this adjective doesn't even to being to describe it. we ran up the side of a massive hill. it was only supposed to go up half way, but the park system cut the grass all the way up, so that's what we did.

not only did i have trouble clicking in, i also had some trouble clicking out, as you are able to tell from the pedal. new pedals for me. this was a great time.

my problem was that i had a hard time telling what lap i was on, or how many more i had to do. so on two of the laps (both of which i thought were the last ones); i kicked it into overgear, and over took the guy ahead of me. needless to say on the last lap i couldn't keep up with him, and finished in fourth. first and second place took off right from the start. so bad in fact i didn't see them the rest of the race. so if i would have played a more conservative game, and understood what was going on through the start/finish i think i could have at least finished third, but by my last and sixth lap, i was spent.

i look forward to many more cross races, and thanks to mtn road cycles for the support.

namaste...

so here i have...

new version of the vicious...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

the vicious with the twenty nine inch wheel on the front. doing some researcher on this, this type of bike is able to be called a sixty niner single speed; however i like to think about it as an ninety sixer. i just want to get away from the sex reference.

i noticed the 'change' immediately. i felt more upright, taller and rolled 'smoother' (this is the best word i am able to come up with). i often heard that the twenty niner is 'slower', this i noticed on turning into the corners on the road, but i think that is due to the thickness of the tire, and not the size of the wheel.

when i hit the trail i noticed the difference, and it took some time to get used to. but once i got it, i got it.

it rode kind of like a c-cross bike. the twenty niner flowed with the trail. down. up. over. i just flowed. flowed better than a sixer. however my rear end was 'jumpy'. 'skiddish'. but once i learned how to 'control' this, it worked out to my advantage of moving around on the trail.

in the last post i spoke of how the trail is quick. well, that was on a fixed cross bike. now on a single speed free-wheel; i've got a new view. not a bad one, but a different one.

after the 'climbing' it's down the side of the hill, and it's freaking quick. you are able to 'bomb' it; however with quick forty-five degree turns, ninety degree turns, one eighty degree turns...control becomes key. at least skidding. things come up on you fast, and you better be ready, if you are taking the hill.

with the rear end 'jumping' i was able to vary my skidding around corners. more control, sit down. less control stand up. next week, i'd like to take the smoothie out there and see how that handles. but i think the trail is best suited for the i.f., but the vicious is fun as hell. i'm going to take this out on other trails to get a better/different feel for it. trails that i am familiar with, and see how it handles.

namaste...

i'm not one...

to give camba props, however i've got to in this case. it is often the case that i curse them as i ride. 'why the fuck did they put that rock there? wait, that's not a rock, that's a boulder.' 'bastards.' 'what do i need north shore shit in northeast ohio.'

however they have done a great job on the new metroparks' trail that i was able to ride the other night. this trail is about ten minutes from my house. so last monday night after teaching, i got home, and grab the bare minimum, grab the i.f., and out the door.

dashed down the hill into the valley, and hit the tow-path. as i got closer to the trail; i started looking around. i knew where the trail head was, but i didn't know where the trail went. question started to fill my mind...'is it over there?' 'it could go that way.' like a little kid on christmas. i get to the trail head, and begin to read the sign, but then like a new video game i rode with the 'who needs to read the instructions?' mind set. what i did grasp was that there were two trails. an easy. an intermediate. fine. i'll be riding them both.

the trail is quick. for both sections, it's about three miles. i did three laps in all. and that was only because i wanted to get home before the sun went down. like i said...'bare minimum'.

quite a few switchbacks. and on the fixie...fun. since i didn't bring a camera, i'll try and go through the ride. it begins with a small uphill. and then a left turn down into the woods. because of the location, they have many signs up warning you of what was coming. which makes sense. because of the 'novice' people in the area.

i hit the first switchback, grabbed the brakes, and skid around the corner. after you make the 'climb' up, and all down the side of the hill, and switchbacks. there were quite a few tricky turns around the hill, so i was able to skid my way around. also with the 'tight' course, i was able to skid on my non-dominate side; which is a great feeling. on the road i find myself skidding with my left foot forward only. but here i was able to do it with my right foot forward.

one corner i came in too fast, and up on a bank, and spilled. nice. on one of the laps i came upon a 'bridge.' they have many of these wooden bridges pressed against the hill side; which i assume is for erosion purposes. i came upon it hard on the bank of the hill. too hard in fact. since i was on the i.f. and the skinny tires, there was the possibility that the tire would get stuck in between the bridge and the hill; which would not be good. so i un-clipped my right foot (hill side leg) and pressed it against the hill side; all the while pedaling with my left. i kept pushing off the hill on the down stroke of my left, until i was pasted the bridge, and had the 'safety' to clip back in. i have to say...i was amazed by myself.

down some more into a built up bank, and on to a bridge (hammer, hammer, hammer) and out of the woods, and onto a gravel road, and a quick loop around the easy track, and out. just a great time. i even had thoughts about joining camba, with the intent of helping on upkeep of this trail. the jury is still out on that. i hit my pedal quite a few times on rocks and things, so on the next off-road fixie, shorter crank arms.

i'll be hitting this trail many times. if fact i'm going to get my wife on it. next time; which will be soon, i'll take my camera to get some pics.

until next time...

namaste...