Waldo 6/14/09 - I think there is something wrong with my rear...

[Grassi21]

Great time with Greg, o3jeff, powhunter, and Trev. Nice to meet you Trev.

I am running out to dinner so I will let the crew give their impressions on Waldo. But I do want to say thanks to o3jeff for the tube and Greg for the fix. Jeff I will replace the tube on our next ride.

 

[WoodCore]

I bet all those stone wall crossings where nice and greasy for you guys!

I was trying to make this ride but got hung up doing IT chores at my parents new house. Maybe next time.

 

[o3jeff]

My first time riding Waldo, it's a work in progress, but has some nice xc trails.

Good riding with everyone again and was nice trying to keep up with Greg again(thanks for letting me keep you in sight!). Nice to meet Trev finally, will probably get a lot more mile in with him this year.

http://www.crankfire.com/trails/data.php?dataid=572

http://www.crankfire.com/map/index.php?tid=191&t=572&w=0

 

[Trev]

Enjoyed the ride today.. yes, rocks were greasy.

Nice to meet the gang as well!

Day one on the clipless pedals gave me a bit more of rougher ride then the greasy roots n rocks. Either way, went well with a couple of spills, I blame the pedals and the associated learning curve :smile:

Terrain is nice, hope to see the trail continue moving along!

 

[bvibert]

Nice looking ride guys. I want to get down there to try the newer stuff sometime.

 

[Trev]

Oh, and the trail repair crew!

 

[bvibert]

Nice work Captain America! I disappointed that you didn't have a tube with you Grassi... :roll:

 

[MR. evil]

My first time riding Waldo, it's a work in progress, but has some nice xc trails.

Good riding with everyone again and was nice trying to keep up with Greg again(thanks for letting me keep you in sight!). Nice to meet Trev finally, will probably get a lot more mile in with him this year.

http://www.crankfire.com/trails/data.php?dataid=572

http://www.crankfire.com/map/index.php?tid=191&t=572&w=0

Jeff,
How was your demo rig?

 

[o3jeff]

Nice work Captain America! I disappointed that you didn't have a tube with you Grassi... :roll:

The funny thing is in the parking lot before the ride he was telling me how he doesn't rock a camelback anymore, just a water bottle. I asked him what he does if he gets a flat, nothing. I told him just to bring $20 on the ride since that the going price for a tube on the trail.

Wouldn't you know it, 15 minutes into the ride he gets a flat!

 

[o3jeff]

Jeff,
How was your demo rig?

Didn't have the bike, had to have it back to them by 5 today or tomorrow morning. Since I will be in Missouri the next couple of days I returned it before the ride. Will try and get it for next weeks ride.

I did reset the bearings in the Lefty before the ride and set up the shock and fork pressures to what the book calls for, was very stiff in the rear. Will play around with the pressure in the shock and the tires the next couple of rides.

 

[MR. evil]

The funny thing is in the parking lot before the ride he was telling me how he doesn't rock a camelback anymore, just a water bottle. I asked him what he does if he gets a flat, nothing. I told him just to bring $20 on the ride since that the going price for a tube on the trail.

Wouldn't you know it, 15 minutes into the ride he gets a flat!

If it was me I would have made him hike out...tough love so to speak. Its one thing forgetting to have a spare tube or not having the right tool in your pack for a particular fix. But intentionally bringing nothing when you know better is a big no no.

 

[MR. evil]

Didn't have the bike, had to have it back to them by 5 today or tomorrow morning. Since I will be in Missouri the next couple of days I returned it before the ride. Will try and get it for next weeks ride.

I did reset the bearings in the Lefty before the ride and set up the shock and fork pressures to what the book calls for, was very stiff in the rear. Will play around with the pressure in the shock and the tires the next couple of rides.

The pressure they suggest for the rear shock is just a suggestion. You need to set the presure to get the correct sag. Did you ask over on MTBR yet about rear shock setup for your bike?

 

[Greg]

Good riding with everyone again and was nice trying to keep up with Greg again(thanks for letting me keep you in sight!).

Hardly. I mentioned to Chris today that you were flying right along. Good to finally ride with you again.

Nice work Captain America!

:lol: I was happy that chris let me change his flat. I only have had to change a couple before and it went pretty smooth.

The funny thing is in the parking lot before the ride he was telling me how he doesn't rock a camelback anymore, just a water bottle. I asked him what he does if he gets a flat, nothing. I told him just to bring $20 on the ride since that the going price for a tube on the trail.

Wouldn't you know it, 15 minutes into the ride he gets a flat!

I wasn't totally in on this conversation, but heard the $20 comment. Too funny.

If it was me I would have made him hike out...tough love so to speak. Its one thing forgetting to have a spare tube or not having the right tool in your pack for a particular fix. But intentionally bringing nothing when you know better is a big no no.

No winkie or anything so I'm going to assume you're serious. Sorry dude, I would never send someone walking if I could help them out (especially considering Chris is a friend and more than just a riding acquaintance), prepared adequately or not...

Anyway, fun riding Waldo again today. Nice to see some progress on the trail. We need to get the boys from Burlington involved though. They would have that sucker looped around by now. Still, cool to see some new stretches of trail. The section after the Hunter's Trail is a bit more flowy and easier than the first stretch. I made all the semi-techy sections (i.e. wall crossings) I struggled on last time. Grassi is fortunate to have something like that so close. Good finally riding with Chris and Steve-O for the first time this season. Jeff, always a a pleasure and Trev is just one of the boys already.

Hit up Hancock Brook Lake in Plymouth on my way home. Logged another 2.4 miles of exploratory there. Nothing too exciting, just a fisherman's trail (evidenced by the 20 feet of fishing line wrapped up around my rear hub that I discovered when I got home), some connecting trails and some ATV trails. Not sure I'm all that pumped to push for MTB development in an area that gets ravaged by ATVs regularly, but if the land managers can crack down on that, it might be worth it.

Turned out to be a nice afternoon of riding.

 

[2knees]

No winkie or anything so I'm going to assume you're serious. Sorry dude, I would never send someone walking if I could help them out (especially considering Chris is a friend and more than just a riding acquaintance), prepared adequately or not...

not to hijack, but i havent even thought about bringing spare tubes or parts cause i wouldnt know what to do with them if i did. Brian and Greg hooked me up the one time I got a flat and Jeff loaned me a spare tube before we left the sparking lot at the rez.

good people.

btw, I think Steve got lost on the way there.

 

[Grassi21]

i knew people like talking about there post ride meals. i skipped lunch yesterday on top of riding.

chips/salsa/guac, combo platter (tomale, chicken taco, and beef burrito) and a plate of rice and beanse. i misplaced my fork during the meal and my buddy was kind enough to give me one of his extras. :lol:

 

[powhunter]

Good riding with you guys again....Nice to meet ya Trev!!! Really liked the ride!! A mix of twisties and short climbs...I was sucking wind most of the ride...but the rest of the crew was ripping right along!! All in all a great day!!!

steveo

 

[Grassi21]

not to hijack, but i havent even thought about bringing spare tubes or parts cause i wouldnt know what to do with them if i did. Brian and Greg hooked me up the one time I got a flat and Jeff loaned me a spare tube before we left the sparking lot at the rez.

good people.

good people indeed. at least the guys got a chuckle for their efforts when i tried to pull the pump of the valve and smacked the back of my hand real hard on my cassette. ouch!

missed you yesterday pat. i had the lax sticks in the car for you. ;-)

 

[Trev]

Post ride meal: Turkey Meatloaf, Spanish Rice, Corn, Green Beans, Garlic Bread and Sam Adams.

First ride with clipless pedals(Crank Bros) caused a few falls, in a few bad locations. One of those rocky little tech climbs(fell on the return downhill), then the rock wall immediately following it. Both times, right hip slapped rock hard. My ass is killing me, soar, bruised, my right arm has a huge knot in it(thought I broke it when I looked at it after the fall...lol).

Either way, no pain no gain, I am not afraid of the falls, I am just getting older and the recovery takes a bit longer

Anyhow, enjoying the new pedals. I do like them.. but will take a bit more getting used to.

One problem I had with them yesterday was the fact I wasn't committing to the obstacles. I would worry more about the fall into rock... or the wetness and the increased chance for a fall.. then what I had to do to get over the darn thing. I blame this on the lack of confidence that I can eject from the pedals fast enough to catch myself...

I know, for a fact, I could get over those last week with my other normal pedals. Quite sure of it actually. Just, nervous, and bruised lol..

My pace was also slower than it has been recently... /shrug

Anyhow... this week looks awesome for riding weather and I have some extra time available too!! whoo hoo !

Thanks again for the ride guys, enjoy getting out with everyone. It's nice to ride with folks and not solo all the time.

 

[MR. evil]

not to hijack, but i havent even thought about bringing spare tubes or parts cause i wouldnt know what to do with them if i did. Brian and Greg hooked me up the one time I got a flat and Jeff loaned me a spare tube before we left the sparking lot at the rez.

good people.
.

Pat, for the record it was me that made sure you had a spare tube for the ride at the Rez. I noticed that Jeff had an extra tube in the back of his car, and that prompted me to ask you if you needed one. I would never choose to not help someone that made an honest mistake, didn’t know better or simply forgot to bring something. I have given countless tubes, chain links, snacks (I always carry two just incase) and time on rides to help friends and complete strangers alike with mechanical problems. I also don’t consider you and Grassi in the same class of riders. While you are technically better than he is on a bike. He is much more serious about MTB’g than you are. He not only researched and bough a pretty nice HT, he also has all the goodies to go with it (Camel Back, leg armor, nice shoes and pedals). He has even gone so far as to convert an old bike into an SS (single speed). Mountain biking newbs wouldn’t even know what SS means. Grassi is also a total gear whore (like the rest of us) and it’s very hard to imaging that his camel back is not full of riding essentials.

The funny thing is in the parking lot before the ride he was telling me how he doesn't rock a camelback anymore, just a water bottle. I asked him what he does if he gets a flat, nothing.

Now maybe I mis-read Jeff’s post, but I read it as if Grassi made a deliberate choice to only ride with a water bottle and no gear. If that’s not the case and he simply forgot his gear I would of course help him out on the trail. I am not sure about any of you, but there have been several times when I got to the trail head only to realize I forgot something and my riding crew told me not to worry as they had my back. But if someone deliberately makes a choice to ride light (no tools, tubes, ect) knowing full well the consequences I would have a very hard time helping them out. Of course I would take into account how far we were from the cars before I made a final call. If we were 5 miles out I wouldn’t be a hard ass, but if we were only a couple of miles out someone would be hiking or paying one hell of a mark up.

 

[Trev]

Ahh! you guys are a bit over the top with the gear thing.

I was there! lol

At the car he probably realized he forgot something or didn't account for it.. (tube + pump).. and didn't answer the question verbally but in his head said something to effect of "Shit, I forgot my tube... what are the chances I am gonna get a flat... "

So he got helped out on the trail and we used someone elses gear when he should have had is. Yup, true story.

I call it Lesson Learned!! - if of course he resumes riding with a tube and pump!!!

Disclaimer: I don't know anyone here. So... take that in consideration. I am just making a optimistic assumption.

Other than that, the on the trail fixing should be a bit more hands on for the guy who lost the tire. This way he/she knows better how to repair things... speed is an issue I know.. Greg was nice and took over.. probably just out of pure habit. For that matter I should have gotten dirty being I am the new guy who will be asking for help one of these days...

Anyhow.. /shrug