MR. evil
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I hope this makes sence. As I write this I am very tired and my right foot REALLY hurts!
I met up this morning with my friend Red, and AZ’s very own awf170 other wise know as Austin to ride Bachelor Street in Granby / Amherst MA. It was a very eventful ride.
On my way to pick up Red I stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a very cheap pair of skate board sneakers. They have flat solid rubber soles that are very grippy and are good for riding with platform pedals. Because of the solid rubber soles they also transmit power to the pedals very efficiently. I only mention this because it will come into play later.
Red and I arranged to meet with Austin at a local whole food store near the trail head. We pulled into the parking lot around 9:00am and meet with Austin a couple of minutes later. I briefly introduced Austin and Red to one another and we headed off to the trail head. While we were getting ready I took out my new leg / armour to show Red. I wasn’t planning on wearing it but Red mentioned that maybe I should because the trails were going to be very slick today. The B-Street trails are covered in roots & rocks and are slick on dry days. I thought about it for a minute and decided not to. Austin on the other hand was smart enough to wear his leg protection. I think my choice here set in motion the tone of my ride to come.
We started out the ride on trail called IPA. It wasn’t too bad, but did have some slick spots. It was a long climb right off the bat and was a real kick to the balls. We then made our way to one of my favorite trails there called Jacobs Ladder. This is when things started getting pretty slick and I had my first minor crash. I tried riding over a rock pile close to a trail edge and my bars clipped a tree. I feel into some soft brush and got right back on the bike. A little while later on the same trail I had the 2nd or 3rd crash of the day. There were so many I lost count. Coming down a really slick rocky decent I lost control of my bike hitting a steep slippery switch back. I jumped off my bike and landed downhill about 4 feet below my bike. I was able to land on my feet, but while my left foot landed on soft ground my right foot landed on solid rock. My new skate sneakers with the solid rubber soles do not provide much impact absorption. All the force from the landing went directly into my right heel and hurt like a MTF (and still does). I think the bone may be bruised.
After a few minutes to shake it off, we headed off to another one of my favorite trails called Roller Coaster. As the name implies the trail is just like a Roller Coaster. Lots of fun steep DH’s immediately followed by a short steep uphill. If you ride the DH’s fast enough you can usually make it up the following climb with pure momentum. Lots of fun! The middle section of RC is sort of like a DH race course. Lots a fun lines with drops, rock gardens, jumps and several really cool banked turns. We all hit this section with out any problems and stopped at the bottom so we could hike / ride back up and do it again. It is just that much fun. Halfway back up the climb we took a detour on a side trail so Austin could hit a pretty large drop. It was about 4 feet with a pretty steep landing area. He nailed it and made it look too easy. Red and I hate him at this point. So we got back to the top of the really fun DH and all did it again. It was a blast!
Now before the ride a let a little bit of pressure out of my rear tire for extra grip. I wasn’t worried about pinch flats because I run a tubeless set up. Well on the second run on that DH I was a lot more aggressive. I was following Austin’s line hitting the drops, launching some of jumps and just flying. But my rear tire felt really weird and were making funny sounds. A bit later we figured out that the pressure was too low to keep the tire bead seated in the wheel. The tire was rolling off the wheel and burping air. I also had a small puncture but the sealant sealed that up. By the time we stopped my tire maybe had 10psi in it. So after a quick pit stop to add more air to my rear tire off we went. We rode a little while longer and came accros a cool rock out cropping that Austin rode up and down. He made it look so easy and I had to give it a try. I got up half way and all of the sudden heard a loud gush of air coming from my tire. Red and Austin heard it too from about 40 feet away. That’s how load it was. We all assumed it was my rear tire. Nope….it was the front this time. After examination we found a slice in the tire side wall that was just too big for the sealant to patch up. This is where things just got ridiculous!
I had a spare tube in my pack, but the real issue was getting the F’g tire off. The sealant in the tire almost glued the tire bead onto the wheel. I was a royal pain to get off. But knowing how well the tire is bedded onto the wheel gave both Red and I loads of confidence in the tubeless set up (he runs the same ghetto tubeless setup that I do). So Red and I are both working together to get the tire off the wheel, and my hands are getting covered in the sealant liquid that is now leaking from out of the tire. It took about 10 minutes just to get the tire off. Anyway with Red’s help I was able to get the tire fixed and back on the bike. Apparently while my tire was off the bike I hit the front brake lever. Those of you with hydo brakes know it is a huge no-no to squeeze your hydro brakes with out the rotor in the brake caliper. And if you didn’t you now do. When I got my tire back on the brake pads were rubbing the rotor. It was so bad that if you spun the front tire with force it wouldn’t even make one full revolution. At this point I just wanted to ride and said I would deal with the brake rub….huge mistake! I went back and hit the rock feature that started this whole mess and we then went on our way.
We decided that we wanted to hit another of our favorite trail there called Twister. But this meant that we had to do the longest climb of the day. A very long, very rocky jeep road that had to be 1 to 1.5 miles long…….. it sucked! And my front brake issues made the whole climb feel like I was riding in heavy mud. The next time you ride up hill hold your front brake ½ way closed and see how it feels, it’s not easy! Once to the top of the climb we headed down Twister and after a very short distance I had to stop and fix my brakes. It wasn’t the rubbing, but the fact that the slightest touch to my front brakes locked them up. I had a couple of minor crashes and decided it was time to fix the brakes. So after removing the front wheel I used a flat head screw driver to pry the brake pads apart. Put the tire back on and everything was good as new. It was right around this time we came across another large drop that Austin hit 2 or 3 times. After Austin’s play time we headed back down Twister. Twister is with out a doubt my favorite trail at B-street. It is a very long twisty technical DH that is covered in large boulders and ledges about 80% of the way down. The trail just beats you up the entire way down. We were all in a good groove until Austin’s tires slipped out from underneath him on a very slick rock face. He landed on his knees but was smart enough to be wearing armour. A little while later I tried getting tricky and bunny hoping a couple of large rocks. I cleared the first rock and my front wheel hit the second rock head on. I went over the bars and again landed on my feet only to have my bike hit me from behind.
We finished up on Twister and then headed over to one of the hardest trails there called Entrance Exam. We rode the first 500 feet of EA only to stop and turn back. The entire trail is rock, ledge & very steep. It was just too slick to take any chances on. So we turned around and headed back to the cars. We only rode 7 miles but it felt more like 14. When I dropped Red off at home he was kind enough to give me a brand new WTB MotoRaptor 2.4 tire to replace the front one I shredded earlier. It had been sitting in his spare parts bin for months and he had no intention of using it. So at least that worked out for me. Even with all the crashed and mechanical issues it was still a fun ride.
I met up this morning with my friend Red, and AZ’s very own awf170 other wise know as Austin to ride Bachelor Street in Granby / Amherst MA. It was a very eventful ride.
On my way to pick up Red I stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a very cheap pair of skate board sneakers. They have flat solid rubber soles that are very grippy and are good for riding with platform pedals. Because of the solid rubber soles they also transmit power to the pedals very efficiently. I only mention this because it will come into play later.
Red and I arranged to meet with Austin at a local whole food store near the trail head. We pulled into the parking lot around 9:00am and meet with Austin a couple of minutes later. I briefly introduced Austin and Red to one another and we headed off to the trail head. While we were getting ready I took out my new leg / armour to show Red. I wasn’t planning on wearing it but Red mentioned that maybe I should because the trails were going to be very slick today. The B-Street trails are covered in roots & rocks and are slick on dry days. I thought about it for a minute and decided not to. Austin on the other hand was smart enough to wear his leg protection. I think my choice here set in motion the tone of my ride to come.
We started out the ride on trail called IPA. It wasn’t too bad, but did have some slick spots. It was a long climb right off the bat and was a real kick to the balls. We then made our way to one of my favorite trails there called Jacobs Ladder. This is when things started getting pretty slick and I had my first minor crash. I tried riding over a rock pile close to a trail edge and my bars clipped a tree. I feel into some soft brush and got right back on the bike. A little while later on the same trail I had the 2nd or 3rd crash of the day. There were so many I lost count. Coming down a really slick rocky decent I lost control of my bike hitting a steep slippery switch back. I jumped off my bike and landed downhill about 4 feet below my bike. I was able to land on my feet, but while my left foot landed on soft ground my right foot landed on solid rock. My new skate sneakers with the solid rubber soles do not provide much impact absorption. All the force from the landing went directly into my right heel and hurt like a MTF (and still does). I think the bone may be bruised.
After a few minutes to shake it off, we headed off to another one of my favorite trails called Roller Coaster. As the name implies the trail is just like a Roller Coaster. Lots of fun steep DH’s immediately followed by a short steep uphill. If you ride the DH’s fast enough you can usually make it up the following climb with pure momentum. Lots of fun! The middle section of RC is sort of like a DH race course. Lots a fun lines with drops, rock gardens, jumps and several really cool banked turns. We all hit this section with out any problems and stopped at the bottom so we could hike / ride back up and do it again. It is just that much fun. Halfway back up the climb we took a detour on a side trail so Austin could hit a pretty large drop. It was about 4 feet with a pretty steep landing area. He nailed it and made it look too easy. Red and I hate him at this point. So we got back to the top of the really fun DH and all did it again. It was a blast!
Now before the ride a let a little bit of pressure out of my rear tire for extra grip. I wasn’t worried about pinch flats because I run a tubeless set up. Well on the second run on that DH I was a lot more aggressive. I was following Austin’s line hitting the drops, launching some of jumps and just flying. But my rear tire felt really weird and were making funny sounds. A bit later we figured out that the pressure was too low to keep the tire bead seated in the wheel. The tire was rolling off the wheel and burping air. I also had a small puncture but the sealant sealed that up. By the time we stopped my tire maybe had 10psi in it. So after a quick pit stop to add more air to my rear tire off we went. We rode a little while longer and came accros a cool rock out cropping that Austin rode up and down. He made it look so easy and I had to give it a try. I got up half way and all of the sudden heard a loud gush of air coming from my tire. Red and Austin heard it too from about 40 feet away. That’s how load it was. We all assumed it was my rear tire. Nope….it was the front this time. After examination we found a slice in the tire side wall that was just too big for the sealant to patch up. This is where things just got ridiculous!
I had a spare tube in my pack, but the real issue was getting the F’g tire off. The sealant in the tire almost glued the tire bead onto the wheel. I was a royal pain to get off. But knowing how well the tire is bedded onto the wheel gave both Red and I loads of confidence in the tubeless set up (he runs the same ghetto tubeless setup that I do). So Red and I are both working together to get the tire off the wheel, and my hands are getting covered in the sealant liquid that is now leaking from out of the tire. It took about 10 minutes just to get the tire off. Anyway with Red’s help I was able to get the tire fixed and back on the bike. Apparently while my tire was off the bike I hit the front brake lever. Those of you with hydo brakes know it is a huge no-no to squeeze your hydro brakes with out the rotor in the brake caliper. And if you didn’t you now do. When I got my tire back on the brake pads were rubbing the rotor. It was so bad that if you spun the front tire with force it wouldn’t even make one full revolution. At this point I just wanted to ride and said I would deal with the brake rub….huge mistake! I went back and hit the rock feature that started this whole mess and we then went on our way.
We decided that we wanted to hit another of our favorite trail there called Twister. But this meant that we had to do the longest climb of the day. A very long, very rocky jeep road that had to be 1 to 1.5 miles long…….. it sucked! And my front brake issues made the whole climb feel like I was riding in heavy mud. The next time you ride up hill hold your front brake ½ way closed and see how it feels, it’s not easy! Once to the top of the climb we headed down Twister and after a very short distance I had to stop and fix my brakes. It wasn’t the rubbing, but the fact that the slightest touch to my front brakes locked them up. I had a couple of minor crashes and decided it was time to fix the brakes. So after removing the front wheel I used a flat head screw driver to pry the brake pads apart. Put the tire back on and everything was good as new. It was right around this time we came across another large drop that Austin hit 2 or 3 times. After Austin’s play time we headed back down Twister. Twister is with out a doubt my favorite trail at B-street. It is a very long twisty technical DH that is covered in large boulders and ledges about 80% of the way down. The trail just beats you up the entire way down. We were all in a good groove until Austin’s tires slipped out from underneath him on a very slick rock face. He landed on his knees but was smart enough to be wearing armour. A little while later I tried getting tricky and bunny hoping a couple of large rocks. I cleared the first rock and my front wheel hit the second rock head on. I went over the bars and again landed on my feet only to have my bike hit me from behind.
We finished up on Twister and then headed over to one of the hardest trails there called Entrance Exam. We rode the first 500 feet of EA only to stop and turn back. The entire trail is rock, ledge & very steep. It was just too slick to take any chances on. So we turned around and headed back to the cars. We only rode 7 miles but it felt more like 14. When I dropped Red off at home he was kind enough to give me a brand new WTB MotoRaptor 2.4 tire to replace the front one I shredded earlier. It had been sitting in his spare parts bin for months and he had no intention of using it. So at least that worked out for me. Even with all the crashed and mechanical issues it was still a fun ride.
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