Tuesday, April 24, 2012

SSAP Preparation: Just add wheels.



Dropped the Blunts off at the LBS to get them trued.  After riding rigid on them all over New England it was time.  My WTB Nano Raptors are the perfect choice for the trails at Stewart.  I cleaned up the bike because it was pretty dirty after riding Stewart again.  The chain had dirt caked into it, too.  Once it was clean I started getting it ready to race.  After two long rides I can effectively say that wearing a hydration pack is not for me for racing.  I am going back to my Timbuktu seatpack and water bottles.



Depending on what the temperature is like next Sunday I might event have a third bottle in my back pouch.  However, one thing I am going to try is this bottle I won in contest two years ago from Hydrapak called a Gel Bot.  You fill the little bottle within with Gu/Hammer Gel and obviously water or some other energetic concoction in the main reservoir.  With valve closed, you can suck out the gel and with it open you drink water.  This should be much easier to manage then taping gel packs to my top tube and then putting the empties in the back pouch. 



The nice thing about this fork is now I don't have to be fearful of pinch flatting while riding rigid and thus riding with bigger meats up front.  As I mentioned earlier, the Nano Raptors on the bike are perfect for Stewart State Forest and with the squish I can really open up on the downhills.  I am even toying with the idea of taking my tubeless wheelset back from the Spot Longboard 9 to lighten the bike even further.  


I might have said this before but I will say it again I think Stewart State Forest has got to be the best place in the area to ride a single speed and I will be going back there for more as the opportunities present themselves!  Just have to find a decent Micro-Brew Pub nearby for the post road trip ride meal.  Won't be riding in the DH40, definitely not this year but who knows, maybe next year or least try to do it as a team event.

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