Birthday ride 2007

Yesterday (December 30th) was my 33rd birthday, and I like to go for rides on that day no matter what, so damn all the snow we have been getting lately, there were some warm (40 deg F) days, so people must be out there hiking, etc.

Tom G and I headed out to the "Rock" around 7:30am. It was chilly but no wind, I haven't ridden the mtn bike in a while, the chain was rusty, the tires a little low in pressure from the last snow ride, etc....We wanted to get out on the trails before the sun really got time to melt the snow. We went up to the trestle parking lot and headed in on the first trail on the right. It was surprisingly good, you had to work some sections, walk some sections, but others were faster than normal. The footsteps and ski tracks packed down the snow good, (no bike tire tracks!) and if you veered off the trail a little you were coming to an immediate stop. This got real fun on the down hill sections as you would endo over the bars, etc.

We decided to stay on the south side, it would be a epic ride in length of time, but not distance with these conditions. The important part was that we had a blast! Fun to be out in the woods, cruising along, earning every second with leg busting turns of the cranks.

The last bit of trail we rode, we figured out that if you went off the trail, you could stay on top of the 1+ feet of snow and it was awesome. Then we went over the RR tracks, and down the side apple tree trail, same thing, off to the side and WOW we were flying down the hill, I was smiling ear to ear, then at the end my front tire sank to the quick release and some how I managed to hop over the handle bars and land on my feet! Laughing the whole time.

FUN.

Snow ride report (12-11-07)

We got another 1-2" of snow yesterday, the snow we got last week (~6") had alot of tracks on it so todays ride was pretty good. Definately overdressed, but that is better than not dressing warm enough.
It was still below freezing when I went out this morning, which provided decent traction. Again the old trusty Rampage up front was a little sketchy, but the Mtn King did great. Once I got to the trails I let out the air pressure on both tires, this increased the tire foot print and worked great to "float" on the soft and sorta crunchy snow. With this much snow I didn't have to worry about pinch flatting on roots or rocks, as it feels pretty smooth out there. Pretty happy with the performance of the tires today, no real need for studs yet.

Here are some crappy cell phone pix:

SNOW!!!

We got about 6" of wet and heavy snow last night, now freezing rain.

What better time to go for a ride?

I'm leaving the Mtn King on the back, will do a post ride report afterwards.


Snow Ride Report:
No loss of traction, it was a little better than the Rampage in front, but I was the first on the trail, and the Rampage may have been sliding a little (though not too bad) from breaking through the snow, no slippage, and I tried to grunt up a few hills, etc.

For no studs, I would say this is a good slushy, wet, heavy snow tire from the 45 minute ride I put on it today.

The Rampage didn't like to be ridden on the same track that I made on an out and back run. This is true for most tires on the front in my experience, best to have the virgin snow, but it takes way more effort to break through new snow as well.

I will be interested to see how they both do throughout the winter, and all the different types of snow that is coming our way. I want to stay off the trainer, so.....

Pix:

Conti Mtn King 2.4" update

Went for a ride yesterday with Tom G, and it was about 17 deg F outside, the trails were frozen solid. It is so cold that the snot dripping from your nose freezes on your jacket and pants. Water bottles, Camelback hoses, and toes froze as well. This made for awesome traction, but the tall spaced knobs on the Conti Mtn King felt squirmy in the corners. I was constantly checking tire pressure (squeezing the side) to see if I had flatted, as that is what it felt like. If there was snow, it may have been a different story, but I may be changing the back tire to something with a lower profile until the white stuff flies.

First ride on the Conti Mtn King

Well the trails were kinda frozen on today's lunch ride. So a tire will virtually any tread would have been fine. The one thing i did notice was off camber trails hooked up, like benched trails, and I had no issues on rocks, leaves, ice, pine needles, I think this is going to be a great rear tire!

Continental Mountain King 2.4"

Here are a few thousand words:
1) If there is any doubt what the wheel size is
2) Next to the Panaracer Rampage -side view
3) Next to the Panaracer Rampage -top view
4) Mountain King vs. Exi vs. Rampage

LBS weighed them at 760grams.

Tale of the calipers:
Tread width: 2.33"
Casing Width: 2.05"
Rim to top tread: 2.09"

All tires mounted to Salsa Delgado 29er Disc (29mm wide) rims and inflated to 30 psi.

Can't wait to go out and get it dirty.

New England Niner Tire Review

Going to make the AOF Blog go in another direction....the review of 29" mountain bike tires as to how they perform in the north east part of the United States. Compared to what works out West or even the central and southern part of the US of A, it doesn't necessarily mean good traction, control, braking, etc. for us in New England. The terrain and trails are just different.

I'm getting sort of obsessed with 29" mountain bike tires and how they affect the trail ride in different conditions and such. I'm going to start gathering and collecting data from the 5 or 6 different models of tires that I already have some time on, and one new tire that I am excited about. Well I always get excited about new tires, and then I get some time on them, and I either like them or I don't.



Here is a pic of my favorite tire, the Panaracer Rampage, a true 2.35" high volume 29 inch tire. It is the best all around tire for the crazy New England weather and trail conditions.


I like to ride a rigid single speed, and I think this is the best way to test tires as their performance can't hide behind suspension or gears. Does it provide enough cushion? Does it hook up in various trail conditions? Leaves? Pine Needles? Mud? Ice? Snow? Hail? Rock? Loose Sand? Hard pack? Under power does it retain traction while climbing? Those are the types of things that really make a tire shine or get taken off the bike.

Here is a pic of the test platform. It is a Dean Colonel 29er titanium frame with a Salsa Cro Moto Grande steel fork. I am a big fan of the Salsa Delgado 29er Disc rims, nice and wide, fairly light, and very strong.

Single Speed Epic July 8, 2007

FOMBA to Bear Brook and then back to FOMBA.

This past Sunday morning PAW and I met at Depot rd. in Auburn (FOMBA) with one goal in mind, mileage.
Riding around FOMBA on past rides I had seen the sign that states "Bear Brook" that way, and always wanted to try that, so with our need to get in some miles to train for the NH100, PAW bought into the idea.

We headed out to NH trail 11, then trail 15 doing some of the Watershed Wahoo trails around Tower Hill Rd. We crossed rte 27 (the only time our tires touched pavement) which is about the halfway point between the 2 parks, the trails are mainly used for snowmobiles and undulate up and down with skree and baby heads, soft sand, some mud, and trees and their branches crossing into our path. It took us about 1.5 hours to make it to Bear Brook. We had escorts for this whole section, horse flies, fast little insects they are. When I was riding behind PAW it looked like a comet's tail. From FOMBA to BB the total was 12.5 miles.

PAW freaking out over the horseflies



When we got to BB we were greeted with a climb up Hall mtn, from here we could see the cell tower on Tower Hill Rd.

AOF's steed on the top of Hall Mtn.


PAW on the trail along the ridge of Hall Mtn


Tower Hill in the distance from Hall mtn trail


PAW could tell you the trails we did, I apologize for not knowing the names. We went to the toll booth to get a new map and decided to have lunch in the picnic area, and we rolled up on YoG and his crew. They were headed out for a ripper of their own at BB. After lunch and re-filling the camelbacks by the statue of the CCC worker, we started making our way back to trail 15 south. This time we opted to go around Hall mtn, but not without a small glitch (ask PAW if he will be donating to the 4-H clubs this year).

PAW getting ready to ride Little Bear(?)


We figured out a way to do it and snuck in some more singletrack. We did about 17.5 miles in the park, giving us a total of 30 so far for the day.

My handlebars and PAW going down Podunk Rd. at Bear Brook


PAW on Podunk Rd.


On trail 15 south I came upon a Moose cow and her 2 calves, both me and the moose were very spooked. They aren't the most graceful animal when they run, and all 3 tromped out of site, I skidded going uphill PAW pointed out later.
For some reason it seemed shorter on the way back, we followed our 'bread crumbs' the only bike tire tracks at the intersections that didn't look familiar to us, and crossed 27, then made it into the Tower Hill area, and finally into FOMBA territory. We rode around and got a little turned around and finally found our reward for all this riding, a rip on "Woodpecker". That was the perfect end to our Epic, and we ended up riding 45.5 miles in 5:30!

This was the longest Mtn bike ride for me, and PAW as well. That was such a fun ride, it felt like 4 rides in one, and I guess it was. Hopefully we can have another epic soon as we both train for the NH100, next may be Ft Rock to Pawtuckaway.

See ya out there,
Dan