iRide

…now onto the next one.

I’ve been getting in some good ride lately with J. It’s been really fun–just like old times. I’m glad he started riding again.

Anyway, I’ve been eyeing this certain rock roll at Hodges for quite a long time. Ben rolled it on his HT Single speed. Mark has rolled it no problem. I’m not sure why it has taken me so long to sack up for it. Well, that’s a lie. I do know why: it’s a total “eye-screw” when you look at it from the top. The lead in is a skinny little ride up onto the hillside, you then have to make a right turn as you begin the drop. It also sits about 5 feet higher than the trail, so there is a penalty for failure if you endo. All this made me afraid of it mentally. I’ve rolled worse I know. But the lead-in always sketched me out.

Well, today I just got sick and tired of not hitting it, so I finally did it. J got pics with his cell phone camera and they turned out pretty good for a cell camera.

The lead-in. Really narrow:

The drop. They always look so much easier in pics. The right-hand turn into the roll makes it sketchy. That and the 12″ sheer verticle section at the bottom of it:

The run-out. Nice rear shock compression!!

Of course, it wasn’t near as hard as I was making it out to be and I will definitely be hitting it again. Now there’s just one more roll at Hodges I’m working up to–and it’s actually a pretty new idea at that. I’ve done everything else there is to do here, but this new one will take some working up to. I roll them all everytime I ride there. I need to take pics of them all–you know, for funnseez.

Belt Testing at Taekwondo this week is putting a slight damper on rides, but I hope to get some good rides in this weekend. Until next time, seek your bliss and plant new seeds.

Ride lots…

I found this on a friends blog and thought it was interesting. Also, thanks to Facebook, I’m always answering silly questionnaires, so I figured why not post it up here, since it is somewhat bike related.

On Whistler MTB’s website and came across interviews for their “park sponsored” athletes: Andrew Shandro, Geoff Gulevich, Tyler Moreland and Claire Buchar. They asked them 12 questions about mountain biking and non-bike related stuff for that “get to know a little bit about you” thing. Well, here’s my answers to the questions:

Favorite mountain bike product from the early ninties or 80’s? I had a mountain bike back in the early 90’s, but I don’t remember a whole lot about it. I know it had “Rapid Fire” trigger shifters and at the time they hadn’t been out for long. So I’ll go with that.

Favorite Current Trend in Mountain biking. Bikes with 5-6+ inches of travel that are still light enough (around 30 lbs) to be pedaled all day. It’s a great time to be alive and be a Mountain Biker.

Least favorite Trend in mountain biking ever. The kits of the 90s…fluorescent lycra!

You’re flying down a trail when you come to section with three options to clear a stream that is about fifteen feet wide. You can either:
1) Go straight at it, launch off a root at the edge of the stream which will get you to a small island in the middle of the stream where you could hit a small lip and clear the second half of the stream
2) Carve left and hit a hip to the tranny on the far side
3) Go right and ride a 12′ wide ladder bridge that has a lip half way that sends you over a 3 foot gap to downhill ladder bridge tranny. (bridge4ft above water)
All fast and flowy…but what do you choose and why?

Since I’d probably kill myself if I tried to pull off any of these, I’ll attempt to ride through it.

How long have you been riding? Coming up on 5 years..

Favorite Nick Name you’ve been given? Pac Man

Dream Car? Anything that has a good stereo system and factory roof racks for my bike trays

Favorite Trail in Lower Whistler Bike Park? Never been. Hope to soon.

Ideal place for a dream vacation with your significant other given unlimited budget? Since she doesn’t ride, I’d say a tour of Europe.

G-Unit or Wu-Tang Clan?
Wu-Tang. No question.

Megadeth or Linkin Park?
Linkin Park.

Modest Mouse or Johnny Cash?
Modest Mouse is alright, but I gotta go with Johnny Cash.

Favorite off season training activity?
I live in SoCal. There is no off season.

More traction or less rolling resistance?
I always like to stick with the spirit of the question and answer what was asked. But this is 2009 and there are some awesome tires out there that do both well.

Honest opinion of Road Riding?
It’s alright, BUT: It’s dangerous (cars), there’s less to look at and see and most importantly–humans were not meant to ride on those skinny @$$ tires.

Words of advice to the Groms?
Remember to respect the trail and stop trying to turn everything into a jump or huck, Those are all fine and good in their place, but stop going for the stupid adrenaline rush all the time and JUST RIDE!!!

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled update….

I got the call back from Tom the mechanic at Bicycle Warehouse and the Spot is all fixed and ready to go. Apparently the bad squeak was a simple fix: apparently the bottom bracket just needed to be cleaned and re-greased and the bottom bracket cups weren’t tight enough. I’m glad it was something simple!!

Sydney has informed us she is too big for her tricycle and wants a pink “Princess” bike for her birthday. So, I stopped by Bicycle Warehouse today and put one on lay-away.

Giant Pudd’n:

A pink bike with flowers all over it, a white and pink basket, pink streamers and even a pink bell!! I don’t know–do you think that’s “girlie” enough?? LOL. I’m 100% sure she’ll absolutely love it!

While I was at Bicycle Warehouse, I got to test ride a bike with a Truvativ Hammerschmidt installed on it. I only got to ride it in the parking lot, but that was enough for me to fall in love with it!!! WOW was it ever amazing!! I was in the biggest gear, stopped pedaling, clicked the trigger shifter all the way down to granny gear, resumed pedaling and it took about 1 1/2 pedal strokes to change gears. There are so many ways that could come in handy on a ride. Hopefully, they’ll be able to make one that doesn’t require chain guide mounts soon.

I got in a ride today with J. It was HOT! Like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn’t stand that kind of hot. We only saw one other rider the whole time. It wasn’t too bad though. Plus, it’s always good to shake off the “winter legs” — riding in cool weather — and get back in the flow of riding in the heat. I mean, it’s SoCal, you have to just sack up and deal with it, or you won’t ride again until October.

Award for the most Crazy and Interesting sight on the trail today: We saw a rattle snake, but that didn’t make the cut. We had a creepy old guy come up to us and start asking a lot off random questions, but that didn’t make the cut either. The award goes to the Latino couple jogging on the trail in zipped up hooded sweatshirts WITH the hoods pulled up over their heads and cinched tight!! And we’re talking at least 90 degrees outside!! I was pretty shocked. I’m still not sure what their line of thought was on that one.

J and I also ventured out across the new Pedestrian-Bicycle bridge that spans the lake. It’s not officially open and they have gates at both ends that have always been padlocked closed, since the bridge hasn’t been “Officially” opened yet (more on that later). Anyway, the gates were padlocked OPEN today so we rode out across it to the South side and back. Pretty cool!! And staying with my usual lameness, I didn’t have a camera on me to snap pics. Here’s a link with pics and info though: Lake Hodges Bridge

As to why the bridge isn’t OPEN yet: the Rangers and the city want it closed at night and are dragging their feet installing the gates that will automatically close at 9PM and re-open at 6AM. They also want an info kiosk in the middle. So the bridge has been completed for OVER A MONTH, but we have to wait for a couple of lame finishing touches and an official ceremony before we can use it. Typical government crap!!

Another note on J and I crossing it today: the temporary gates have been up and padlocked closed with NO TRESPASSING signs on them ever since the bridge was completed back in March. Yet hikers have been going through/over the fences and crossing anyway. I refuse to do this, as it is technically illegal and it gives your specific user group a bad reputation in my opinion. Well, today the gates were padlocked in the Open position and the No Trespassing signs were taken down. As far as I’m concerned, that’s GAME ON!!

The weather is supposed to cool down later this week, which will make my rides on Thursday and Friday a little bit more enjoyable. Until next time, seek your bliss and plant new seeds. And as always…

Ride lots.

I thought I’d drop in with a quick little update since it’s been a few weeks. Not a whole lot has been going on. I’ve been getting in a few rides each week–though not as many as I’d like.

Life is getting in the way too much and rides are suffering because of it. Back in 2007, armed with my new GPS and online ride tracking software, I set out to ride 200 times, climb 100,000 vertical feet and get in 2,000 miles–all in the calendar year. Even though the Firestorm hit in late October and wiped out several of my local trails and I got in an ATV crash on Thanksgiving and didn’t ride the entire month of December–I still knocked out over 2,200 miles, close to 250,000 feet of climbing and around 210 rides. It was awesome!!

I was still doing Taekwondo a few times a week, but wasn’t instructing/assisting then, so I had more free time. Now, the kids are growing up and starting their own activities that require more of my time. I’m at Taekwondo more–a lot more. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Taekwondo. But I do wish I could find more time to get rides in. Sometimes I envy my riding friends who don’t have kids and other commitments. They can just pick up and go ride whenever they want. It’s harder for me–and when I do, I feel guilty sometimes that I spend too much time away. Tonya assures me I don’t. I suppose it’s my own insecurity. I know I’m rambling here, just venting out loud I suppose.

In bike related news:
I just picked up Dylan’s bike from Bicycle Warehouse. It got a much needed tune-up. I also was able to come across a set of used Shimano Deore hydraulic disc brakes for his bike–a big improvement over the mechanical disc brakes he has now.

I am absolutely LOVING the new wheels on the 5 Spot!! The difference they make is very noticeable. The bike flies now. I did have to drop it off at Bicycle Warehouse when I picked Dyl’s bike up though. There’s a really loud squeak coming from the cranks, so I needed to have that taken care of.

I’m planning on 3 rides this week and next weekend is pretty open, so hopefully I can get on the pedals more. Until then, seek your bliss.

Ride lots…

…or at least it seems that’s about all I’ve been doing lately. I had my Level II Instructor Certification Camp yesterday. You may recall, I did Level 1 cert back in October. That Level 1 day was SO hard. Thinking back on that, I have basically been a nervous wreck the last month or so–especially this past week.

My instructor for the day was 5th Degree Black Belt Mr. Brett Marsh. We took this pic at the end of the day. My sweaty shirt is gross, but proof of lot’s of hard work:

I really enjoyed Mr. Marsh’s teaching. He gave good examples and leadership, but also showed positive correction throughout the day. I feel like I learned a lot. I was nervous for sure, but got more comfortable as the day went on. It was hard work, but it payed off: I passed!! As soon as all the appropriate paper work get’s completed, I will officially be a Certified Level II Specialty Trainer!! That’s just one step away from a Certified Instructor!!

I was a little extra nervous because 8th Degree BB and Chief Master M.K. Lee would be at the camp. He is our current Grand Master’s and our Eternal Grand Master’s brother. He is extremely nice and I wanted to be a sponge for all he had to teach. He also made a stop by FMA Thursday night. He had a lot of good things to teach, both physically and mentally. He gave us some really good food for thought. I enjoyed his visit immensely!! One of the neatest things that happened during his visit was the 2 times he demonstrated a “Bicycle Kick”, or 3 front kicks in mid-air!! And who did he demonstrate these kicks on?? Yours truly. It was pretty cool to be the guinea pig for such an awesome demonstration of skill. In case you’re wondering, because he has excellent control of his techniques, No they didn’t hurt………………………..much.

Here’s some pics from Thursday night:
Me and Chief Master Lee:

Spencer with Chief Master Lee:

Chief Master Lee helping Dylan “extend” his stretch:

The FMA Instructors: Mrs. Neal, Mrs. Lystra, Mrs. Garcia and I with Chief Master Lee:

I’m not going to lie. I had fun at camp and learned a lot, but I’m SO glad it’s behind me. This past month or so at Taekwondo has been so stressful for me. This Level II camp is the final hurdle I’ve been faced with in the past 33 days.

First, I had my Black Belt testing back on February 28th. I was stressed over my own Black Belt testing for obvious reasons. Next was the ATA Spring National Tournament on March 14th. I was stressed over the Spring Nationals Tournament because it would be my first time at a huge national tourny. It would be my first Black Belt ring. I was nervous about performing my form in front of all those people and I was stressing over the sparring. Finally, was my Level II Instructor Cert. Camp, which I was stressing over because it’s a brutally demanding day both physically and mentally. Also, it’s not a “you showed up so here’s your certification” sort of thing at all. It’s a Pass or Fail situation and you have to work to earn it.

These three events have taken place in the last 33 days. You’ve heard the term “Hell Week”? I’ve been calling this last month “Hell Month”. On top of life’s normal stress, I’ve had these three VERY stressful events to conquer this past month and they are FINALLY behind me!! Hallelujah!!! I am so relieved I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of the weight that’s been lifted off my shoulders. Not to brag, but I am proud of myself for getting through and getting through it in a positive way. I earned my Black Belt. I did good at Spring Nationals–I got 3rd Place in Sparring. And, I passed my Level II certification requirements.

I shall now start to enjoy life a little bit more and hopefully get some rides in here and there. Speaking of riding, I finally sold my old Trek HT last week. I used the money to get some new shoes for the 5 Spot:

They are Shimano XT M775 Tubeless wheels. I can finally start running tubeless on the Spot, but more importantly, it’s dropping weight–about 700 grams, or close to 2 lbs–of rolling weight on top of that. The colors are black with some Grey. What’s cool is the spoke nipples are Red and match the Spot’s paint job perfectly!

I did get in a good ride at Sycamore Canyon today with Scott and a friend of his. My legs and lower back are pretty sore from yesterday and I’m really tired, but it was a beautiful day today and I wanted to get out and test out the Spot’s new wheels. I rode pretty strong all things considered. My legs protested at every climb but they delivered the whole ride. As for the new wheels: all I can say is WOW!! What a difference–a noticeable difference!! Anytime you can drop almost 2 lbs is a good thing–especially when it’s rolling weight. The Spot no longer feels like a pig. All in all, I’ve got the weight down from 31 lbs to about 28.5 lbs. Three total pounds might not sound like a whole lot, but when you consider it’s about 10% of the bikes’ weight, it puts it in perspective a little more.

The weather forecast isn’t promising for next week, but hopefully that will change and I can get some
good rides in. Until next time, seek your bliss and plant new seeds.

Ride lots…

So I’ve been thinking about life a lot lately. How busy and complicated it all is. How my kids are growing faster than I can keep up with them. How I’m never home due to my various other commitments and hobbies.

Also, Tonya and I really want to get into a position to be home owners again. We hate renting and want a place of our own again soon. I got to thinking about how much money all my bikes are worth. I also tallied up how much money I pay into Taekwondo and all the various tournaments and camps–on top of monthly dues and uniforms and gas it takes to get there, etc.

So this isn’t something I’m just coming up with out of the blue. Tonya and I have been discussing it for awhile. I never mentioned it here because the decision was never final until now—and it is a HUGE decision when you consider it all.

So, effective immediately, I am selling my bikes and dropping out of Taekwondo. I just can’t do it anymore. We need the money the bikes will bring in and the money we’ll save by no longer doing Taekwondo. It sucks and it’ll be hard, but I have to do what I have to do.

To all my riding bros: I will miss you guys. Hopefully we can get together for a beer sometime soon. I’ll still be poking around all the message boards, so I won’t be a complete stranger.

To all my friends at Taekwondo: It’s been a real pleasure training, sweating, learning and having fun with you. I have also immensely enjoyed my short time teaching you what I could. I will miss you all. Maybe someday in the future I can get back into it.

If you know anyone who is interested in buying a bike at a good price, please refer them to my Ebay auctions:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Turner5spot

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yeti-575

http://cgi.ebay.com/NinerCyclesEMD9

http://cgi.ebay.com/HaroX7

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!

Until next time, seek your bliss and plant new seeds.

Ride lots…