Nassahegan RAW, 8/14/08

**Greg** · Aug 14, 2008, 10:18 PM

Goal this evening was to introduce Grassi21 to MTB. We all met at the Scoville lot around 6 pm. Brian, Jeff and I teamed up to pull Chris's road tires off his bike and replacing them with his new MTB tires. Brian also fixed his faulty front derailleur to stay on the middle chainring. Within 20 minutes or so, we were off.

Jeff took the lead into the warm-up loop, followed by Brian, severine, Grassi and I took up the rear. I tried to help Chris with a few basic tips. He seemed to attack things within short order and I notice he has some really good balance. He hung right in there on the warm up loop. We then crossed Scoville again and headed into the southern trails. It's pretty tricky in there and I was impressed with how Chris didn't hold back and attacked a lot of the obstacles. His overall speed started to pick up as well. Carrie was doing a nice job too. Chris actually hit many of the obstacles that I skipped for several rides. He really is a bit of a natural and that's not a suck up. I was definitely impressed, especially given the piece of crap rigid bike he was riding.

We then crossed E. Chippens and sessioned around the rocky junction up there. Carrie took a few pics of us being foolish. Even Chris tried hitting the small drop there and wrecked nicely. Awesome job, bud!

We then headed down to B street. After some encouragement Brian finally took the B street ledge. We then headed back to the junction and took the Tunxis trail back to Scoville.

All in all a fun ride. I think we did a solid job introducing Chris to MTBing. Actually it was a pretty hard core intro.

I hope you had a good time, Chris. You really did do a great job given that was your first ride. Carrie hung right in there as well. Nice job! I hope you two join us again soon.

We missed you, 2knees...

o3jeff · Aug 14, 2008, 10:30 PM

Was a fun getting out with some new people. Nice to meet you Chris and both you and Carrie did a great job out there.

Was also a change of pace for me being out there on the hardtail with the el cheapo platforms, definitely a different riding experience after being on a FS for about a month.

gmcunni · Aug 14, 2008, 10:44 PM

sounds like you guys had fun.. i was really considering blowing off the plans i had tonight to try and join up but couldn't swing it.. i'll make it up that way one of these days.

severine · Aug 14, 2008, 10:57 PM

Pics? I have video, man.

Working on it right now....

Thanks guys for letting me tag along! The roots were a little more slippery than I'm used to, but heck, I've only been out there 4 or 5 times now. It was fun! Glad you guys got b to go down that ledge... I've been dying to see him do it but scared to encourage him (cuz I'm not dragging his ass out of the woods by myself!

).

Chris, you did an awesome job tonight! Considering you were on a bike with no suspension and is totally ancient, I'm impressed! WTG!

You all are much gutsier than I am.

But I feel like I'm making some progress on the stuff I did tackle.

**bvibert** · Aug 14, 2008, 11:14 PM

Great ride guys. Chris did an awesome job, as did Carrie. She got some video of us screwing around on that rock, including Chris's spill.

o3jeff · Aug 14, 2008, 11:20 PM

I think we all took spills tonight, only Chris is lucky to have his recorded.

BTW I still have no clue how my rear wheel unhooked when I just about endoed.

**bvibert** · Aug 14, 2008, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o3jeff

I think we all took spills tonight, only Chris is lucky to have his recorded.

BTW I still have no clue how my rear wheel unhooked when I just about endoed.

That was kinda freaky. Maybe you didn't have it quite tight enough?

**Greg** · Aug 14, 2008, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by severine

Pics? I have video, man.

Working on it right now....

Oh Jeez.

Please do not include my first attempt at wheelie dropping that rock.

And a Grassi day one wreck on vid?! Thanks hilarious.

If he decides to keep riding, that will be great footage to look back on. Too bad you didn't get Brian tackling the ledge.

A much slower pace tonight than usual, but I really enjoyed watching the newcomers ride. That's worth hanging back a bit, especially if we can get some new blood into the mix. Like I said, the learning curve is a steep one, but like skiing, it's all about the miles.

o3jeff · Aug 14, 2008, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bvibert

That was kinda freaky. Maybe you didn't have it quite tight enough?

I don't think I have taken it off in years, I guess I should do some routine maintenance and check stuff on the bikes instead of just riding them.

Grassi21 · Aug 14, 2008, 11:25 PM

I had a blast tonight gang. Great meeting you Jeff. Thanks for the patience and great intro to MTB gang. I appreciate the kind words but I have a long way to go. Just ask my taint. Ouch. There are probably other parts of my body that hurt but the safety meeting when I got home seemed to dull the pain. I will definitely take that beater out a few more times this summer/fall.

B and Sev, feel free to post my spill. I def. want to see that.

Aug 14, 2008, 10:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
Greg Hunter: 10.29.08 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Thomaston, CT Posts: 22,316	Nassahegan RAW, 8/14/08 Goal this evening was to introduce Grassi21 to MTB. We all met at the Scoville lot around 6 pm. Brian, Jeff and I teamed up to pull Chris's road tires off his bike and replacing them with his new MTB tires. Brian also fixed his faulty front derailleur to stay on the middle chainring. Within 20 minutes or so, we were off. Jeff took the lead into the warm-up loop, followed by Brian, severine, Grassi and I took up the rear. I tried to help Chris with a few basic tips. He seemed to attack things within short order and I notice he has some really good balance. He hung right in there on the warm up loop. We then crossed Scoville again and headed into the southern trails. It's pretty tricky in there and I was impressed with how Chris didn't hold back and attacked a lot of the obstacles. His overall speed started to pick up as well. Carrie was doing a nice job too. Chris actually hit many of the obstacles that I skipped for several rides. He really is a bit of a natural and that's not a suck up. I was definitely impressed, especially given the piece of crap rigid bike he was riding. We then crossed E. Chippens and sessioned around the rocky junction up there. Carrie took a few pics of us being foolish. Even Chris tried hitting the small drop there and wrecked nicely. Awesome job, bud! We then headed down to B street. After some encouragement Brian finally took the B street ledge. We then headed back to the junction and took the Tunxis trail back to Scoville. All in all a fun ride. I think we did a solid job introducing Chris to MTBing. Actually it was a pretty hard core intro. I hope you had a good time, Chris. You really did do a great job given that was your first ride. Carrie hung right in there as well. Nice job! I hope you two join us again soon. We missed you, 2knees... __________________ Greg 10/29, 11/21

Aug 14, 2008, 10:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
severine My skis! Dynastar Marie Martinod Pro & Line Celebrity Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CT Posts: 5,116	Pics? I have video, man. Working on it right now.... Thanks guys for letting me tag along! The roots were a little more slippery than I'm used to, but heck, I've only been out there 4 or 5 times now. It was fun! Glad you guys got b to go down that ledge... I've been dying to see him do it but scared to encourage him (cuz I'm not dragging his ass out of the woods by myself! ). Chris, you did an awesome job tonight! Considering you were on a bike with no suspension and is totally ancient, I'm impressed! WTG! You all are much gutsier than I am. But I feel like I'm making some progress on the stuff I did tackle. __________________ Carrie 2007-2008 ~ 20 2005-2006 ~ 2 2004 ~ 17 It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. ~ Agnes Repplier Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. ~ Lance Armstrong

Aug 14, 2008, 11:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
bvibert October 2008 turns Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Torrington, CT Posts: 13,448	Great ride guys. Chris did an awesome job, as did Carrie. She got some video of us screwing around on that rock, including Chris's spill. __________________ Brian 08/09 - 1 SAC Tracker - Tramdock Tracker - Chainlove Tracker - WhiskeyMilitia Tracker 2008/09 Demo Days

Aug 14, 2008, 11:25 PM	#10 (permalink)
Grassi21 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Southbury, CT Posts: 3,722	I had a blast tonight gang. Great meeting you Jeff. Thanks for the patience and great intro to MTB gang. I appreciate the kind words but I have a long way to go. Just ask my taint. Ouch. There are probably other parts of my body that hurt but the safety meeting when I got home seemed to dull the pain. I will definitely take that beater out a few more times this summer/fall. B and Sev, feel free to post my spill. I def. want to see that. __________________ '04-'05 - 2 days '05-'06 - 11 days '06-'07 - 20 days '07-'08 - 19 days Namaste you guys!

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Aug 14, 2008, 10:30 PM	#2 (permalink)
o3jeff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Southington, CT Posts: 1,594	Was a fun getting out with some new people. Nice to meet you Chris and both you and Carrie did a great job out there. Was also a change of pace for me being out there on the hardtail with the el cheapo platforms, definitely a different riding experience after being on a FS for about a month.

Aug 14, 2008, 10:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
gmcunni killington 11/21 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Monroe, CT Posts: 793	sounds like you guys had fun.. i was really considering blowing off the plans i had tonight to try and join up but couldn't swing it.. i'll make it up that way one of these days.

Aug 14, 2008, 11:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
o3jeff Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Southington, CT Posts: 1,594	I think we all took spills tonight, only Chris is lucky to have his recorded. BTW I still have no clue how my rear wheel unhooked when I just about endoed.