A Taste ... of what is yet to come

Is poaching your own trail really poaching?
I wanted to see how what we have done so far rides.
Some parts are sweet;
Other parts still need A-L-O-T of work!

First 4 miles of the Bloomin Metric

2012 Singlespeed A-Palooza: The Muni!

This takes some balls!

2012 Singlespeed A-Palooza: So Many Singlespeeders

2012 Singlespeed A-Palooza: I finished despite many mechanicals!

I arrived at Stewart kind of late after having to get gas in Fishkill but in way it was serendipitous because I parked behind the two guys who put me on the right track two weeks ago when I got miserably lost on my first pre-ride.  One of them gave me a bag of salted, Yukon Gold potatoes and told me they are much better than eating gel or gu.  I threw them into my back pouch and got ready.  The one thing I did this time around is stay away from any caffeine because a reputable source (who happens to be a Roadie) told me that it will lead to cramps.  No coffee in the morning and none of my Gu had caffeine, either.

I started towards the back of the pack and into the first mile my non-drive side crank arm came off!  So I grabbed my bike tool and got it back on.  At the turn onto Scofield I stopped and tightened it some more but I think that was a waste.  At the end of the prologue it was about to fall off again and  the guy from Niner helped me out.  That got me about 8 miles when I noticed it was about to come off again.  This time I took it off and cleaned it out put it back on and it never bothered me during the rest of the course.

Now that the crank issue had been resolved it was time for something else to come up, like my chain dropping.  It would drop whenever I was out of the saddle and mashing on the pedals.  While I started out with good tension, my chain must have stretched because when the drops started happening I noticed it was much looser.  While that wasn't a terrible setback it meant many of the short climbs that I would normally power up out of saddle I had to walk. 

Nothing like Beer and Weenies at the finish line!  

Dark Horse Cycles really knows how to do it right!

I came upon John at the top of the big hill that I had to walk both times.  He had a wardrobe malfunction with his hydration pack and was fixing it when I "passed" by.  Another problem with my crank arm happened when John passed me.  Getting the crank arm back on I took off again and finished the race in 3 hours, 35 minutes, and 11 seconds.  My chain dropped in the last little dip and I ran across the finish line pushing the bike.  83rd out of 89.  Can't wait for next year and here's hoping to no mechanicals!

SSAP Pre-Ride: The Horse Trail

This is the Horse Trail at Stewart State Forest.
The Helmet Cam runs from New Road to just shy of the power lines.
Enjoy!

SSAP Pre-Ride Helmet Cam Part 1

Gearing up for SSAP 2012 from Cycle Snack on Vimeo.

Beers and Gears - Helmet Cam

I know it's a little light, that's because I had the exposure set to +2.0 stops by accident. Didn't realize how bright it would be in the woods midday.

The Walk of Shame

Looks like this was my final ride of 2008 and while it had its share of ups and downs, I think there were a few more downs than I expected. Had an hour to kill around lunch time so I oranged up, it's still hunting season in New England, jumped on the 'Horse and headed out to the Dinglebrook Trails. This trail system is a hodge podge of old ATV now equestrian trails connected to open space in the neighboring town (Brookfield). My friend Tom, who I teamed up to build the Gussy Trail this summer, takes care of the trails on the Newtown side.

Decided to give the helmet cam a try, well not really a true helmet cam, rather I this attachment for a Flip Camera that allows you to mount the device on a helmet or handlebars. I had a credit on Amazon so I decided to give it a try. Below is my first try with it and you will notice that towards the end of it I started to have derailer problems. I guess you could say that is where the downs of the ride started.



I had a stick get stuck in my chain and gears on Sunday that must have messed up my derailer which led to many low gear problems today. In fact, I actually had to call on Granny for the first time in order to get the same low range of gears that I am comfotable climbing with. She was actually pretty helpful and I will ask her again in the future for help.

The next part I filmed is the downhill section that runs from Burr Farm down to the Bench on the Dinglebrook brook. Clearly, I need to remount it so the perspective is looking more forwards and not as far down onto the trail.



Here I am sitting at the bench at the Brook. The 'Horse was performing well now that Granny was helping out.

Of course, nothing like another gratuitous bike porn shot at the bench by the stream.

The 15 inches of snow that we got before Christmas is almost all gone. What was left was still pretty rideable. I think I had one spot where I spun out in the snow climbing up from the bench. Speaking of which, Granny was really, really helpful climbing up from the bench. Don't know why I haven't asked for her help sooner.

The only draw back to riding equestrian trails, besides plenty of road apples, is they tend to be a lot muddier than normal single track. I had to wipe my face of blotches of mud before taking this shot. As I was riding back towards the trail head I felt my rear end feeling a lot more mushier than usual and sure enough, I flatted!

At this point I was about a mile from home. I started walking until I got to Tom's house where I figured I could quickly change the rear tube and stay warm in the sun despite the chilling winds. When I got the replacement tube in it wouldn't blow up! Either it was a bad tube, I didn't get all the prickers out of my tire, or it got a snake bite while I was putting the tire back on the rim, what ever the case I was screwed. Thankfully, Tom came out and offered me a ride home which I gladly accepted.

Kind of ironic when you think about I had the same problem with the 'Horse last year about this time. Flatted while riding at Huntington SP, in the same kind of conditions. Fortunately, I was able to fix the tire and continue riding. Below are the tracks for my two rides Dinglebrook this year. Guess I have been so busy with the Gussy Trail that I haven't really gotten to ride much of anywhere else.

Apparently there is even a continuation of the "red" track that Tom built this fall that I completely missed. I'd really like to go back and hit that trail but it will have to wait till next year!