iRide

Wow, it’s already been 4 weeks since my last update. I have been pretty busy (read: LAZY!!)

So to catch up, I’ll just do a little “stream of conciousness” thing and hope it’s not too hard to follow.

First things first, I sold the Reign a couple weeks ago. It just didn’t really have a place anymore. It was too heavy for a trail bike and not heavy duty enough to be a downhill bike, so I sold it off to a good home after swapping out some of the nicer parts for stuff I had laying around and wanted to get rid of.

One of the things I did was put the Marzocchi All Mountain SL1 fork from the Reign onto the Yeti. It is a more versatile fork than the Fox TALAS that was on the Yeti. Don’t get me wrong, the TALAS is one of the best forks on the market, but the AM SL just makes more sense. The TALAS has adjustable travel from 90-130mm. I rarely ever went below 100mm and that was only for the steepest climbs. The AM SL has adjustable travel from 120-160mm and it just makes more sense. Dial it all the way down for the climbs–120mm= 4.7 inches which is a pretty good setting for climbs. Run it anywhere from 130-140mm for the flats and open it up to 160mm for the descents. When you consider that the TALAS’s max setting was 130mm which is equal to 5.1 inches and the AM SL’s 160mm is equal to 6.3 inches, you can see why I made the switch. Plus, the AM SL uses a stiffer and stronger axle than the TALAS. Now, the Yeti is pretty much a do everything All Mountain bike. But wait, there’s more…

…I used some of the money to get a new set of wheels for the Yeti. They are Mavic Crossmax SX’s and they are SAWEEET!! The Yeti had some nice custom wheels already, but they are heavy. The set I bought shaved over a pound of weight. Now, a pound may not sound like a lot, but when you take into account that it’s a pound of rolling weight, it’s HUGE!! I noticed a big difference right away.

I rode Noble again on the 15th and had a blast. The day didn’t quite turn out as I had hoped it would though. Jeremy went with this time and we left his car at the top with our lunch and cold water inside. We drove to the bottom, met up with our group and proceeded to climb. When we got to the top, Jeremy realized he had left his car keys in my car. No lunch and no water meant we had to turn around and head straight back down instead of looping the top and descending with the group. Oh well. It was still fun. I’m heading back on the 20th for another go ’round. At the time I didn’t have the AM SL switched over on the Yeti, but the descent was still fun. I can’t wait to go back on the 20th when instead of the TALAS’s 130mm of travel, I can run 160mm down the mountain.

I’ve gained back about 10 pounds of the weight I lost, so it’s “back on the diet” for me. I’m not worried I won’t be able to lose it, just more aggravated I gained that much back in the first place.

I’m still loving the Single Speed. I haven’t been on it a whole lot the last couple weeks because the faceplate on the stem cracked and I had to wait for a replacement. I did take it out last Wednesday though and it kicked my butt, but in a good way.

I am already into the planning stages for next year’s Moab trip. We will be going April 27-May 4. I will be going with J, Tom/NappyT and a few other friends. Tonya has opted to stay home with the kids instead of going and I can’t say I blame her. There’s really not a whole lot for her to do in Moab. I will miss them but I know I’ll manage to have a good time anyway. I can hardly wait and it’s still 7 months away. The clock is ticking though–I reserved the cabins on Monday!!

I’m really liking the part time gig at Beyond Bikes. I have only worked 2 shifts, but it is fun and the guys I work with are all cool. I wish I could afford to take a pay cut and work there full time.

The boys and I test for our Green belts at Taekwondo next week. We are all pretty excited. Green belt is the halfway point from White to Black.

A few pics:

Me at Noble

J at Noble

Group photo

Our trusty steeds. About $50,000 in bikes in this pic–no joke!!

Heading out. Conga line part 1

Conga line part 2

Bowling for bikers

Hike-A-Bike up “Waterfall”

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll try to keep ‘em coming more frequently. Until then, seek your bliss.

Ride Lots…

Yessiree–the kids are back in school–YEA!! I know that may sound like I’m glad to be rid of them, but that’s not entirely accurate. They seem to behave better when they have the daily routine school provides. Plus, school saps a little bit of the excess energy, so bedtime is easier.

Plus, it means getting in the weekday rides is a little easier. I can bust out a quick Fallbrook or Hodges ride before I have to pick them up and head off to Taekwondo. It will be nice to resume Wednesday rides at Hodges with J.

Speaking of rides, I have been getting in a pretty good number of them lately. 21 in August to be exact!! I have been riding the Singlespeed a lot the last week or so after not riding it much the beginning part of the month. Man I love that bike. It is so fun to ride. I love the way it pushes my pain threshold and makes trails harder. I rode it today at Los Penasquitos today and cleaned EVERYTHING!! I was actually a little surprised by that. I thought it would be harder than it was. Don’t get me wrong–it was very difficult in certain sections, but I was able to do it.

I also started a new job today. It’s only a part time gig–a couple Saturday’s a month. I needed some extra spending money for bike stuff, so I decided it was needed. And where do you think I might take on such a job???? A bike shop of course. I started at Beyond Bikes down in the northern part of San Diego. I had a good time today and think I’ll get the hang of things pretty quick. I’ll also get some kick ass, crazy discounts on bikes and parts. I hope this new job doesn’t end up costing me money.

Seek your bliss.

Ride lots…