Saturday, August 19, 2006

Singletrack cyclocross

This morning I met fellow 'crossers Mike O, Mike H and Sean for a ride at Avalon on the 'cross bikes. Sean was on the yellow mtb since his cx bikes are not quite put together. We rocked a good chunk of the Park for 3 hours, only stopping to fix a couple of flats. Pinch flats are inevitable out there when riding skinny tires. You can try to float over the rocks and roots, but eventually one will sneak up and get you.

The big wheels roll really well on the dry singletrack so we were moving pretty fast the entire ride. When we got to logpiles and other obstacles sometimes we rode them and other times we dismounted to sharpen the cx skills. We shouldered the bikes and ran the rock garden at the top of Cascade Falls. We were tempted to hit the jumps, but we thought better of it. No need to destroy any 'cross wheels trying to flail around on the rocks or jumps. 8-)

Other than the rock gardens there's not much out there that you can't ride on a 'cross bike. It does give you a different perspective on the trails and you really have to watch your lines a lot more. I ride these trails all the time and I never get tired of them, but today I saw the trails in a new light. I've ridden them on the 'cross bike, but it's been almost a year. I had a blast out there...great trails and good company. I was incredibly stoked when I got home.

Thor helped me hose the dirt off my legs and now he's taking a nap. Melanie is out on the trails with Di. I just finished up a tasty bbq chicken quesadilla and a Hooegaarden. Now I'm chilling on the couch. Life is good.

Mike should have some photos of the ride up here later today.

1 comment:

gwadzilla said...

hey...

I will do a cross dismount and remount on my mountain bike for certain obstacles
especially in a race

schaffer farms is also good for the cross bike...