Single Speeding Opening Day of Shotgun Season

As I was riding to the trail head Wednesday morning the shotgun blasts in the not to distant reminded me that today was Opening Day for Shotgun.  I looked down to my bars and noticed that I didn't have my bell, but fortunately I was wearing a blaze orange jersey and I had my old orange Giro MX helmet on.  At least you could see me in the woods.

 

I didn't have a lot of time and my primary intention was to ride up the Gussy to see what it's like to ride the new re-route from the opposite direction.  Everything is great on the reroute until of course you get to that little bit of fall line climb.  On a geared bike, it would be a little slow but it could be done and if you had Granny's help then definitely no problemo.  The singlespeed is a different matter and therefore I think I need to go in and do a little more ramping on the downed tree at start of the climb.  The problem is you can't mash on the pedals going into the climb like any normal singlespeeder would do, rather you have to first negotiate the obstacle which automatically takes the wind out of your sails going into the climb.  I might just have to take the obstacle out all together and bench/berm that section so you can go into it guns a blazing!  

And then there was the Raleigh XXIX and my bottom bracket.  I noticed that it wasn't creaking as it normally does and upon entering the reroute I bounced on a rock and the chain fell off.  The chain fell off a few more times, too.  Clearly, the Bushnell isn't holding very well and I might have to try using locktite to hold it place.  Granted the Raleigh experiment won't be lasting long because I have my sights on another frame.  I will probably end up keeping the Raleigh and turning it into a Single Speed Monstercrosser/Commuter but it's days as my primary single speed mountain bike are numbered.

I didn't see him on the way up, because I wasn't paying attention, but on the way back I did notice some blaze orange camo about 20 yards off the Gussy.  It was a hunter!  I chatted with him for a second and he told me he could hear me coming and new it was a mountain biker and not a deer (a bell would have helped even more here).  In the course of our discourse I recognized him as the infamous Hunter Dumper.  I wished him luck and told him if I see any hooved rats that I would definitely try to send them his way!

I did see a dear much further down the trail but it was headed in the other direction and it was in a hurry.

I knew I should have ridden the Single Speed today!

After Sunday's Gravel Grinder and three hours of TM in the morning I didn't bring my A Game to this afternoon's ride and I would have bagged it all together but I was eager to the try riding the new reroute.

I decided to ride to Mulikin to see how it fared during Hurricane Sandy and it didn't.  There were a few dead trees on the run down to Al's Trail by Pond Brook that someone already took care of and another one that was ramped right on the edge.  In the muddy area past the first stream crossing (heading up) there is a big tree down blocking the trail in the muddy area.  Just as well because I hate this area because it's so wet and developed a reroute years ago but for some reason people continue to ride through the mud.  Well not, anymore.

This tree is at the top of the really big climb.  I am going to cut it and then try to move it into place to ride as a skinny.

 

On the last climb there was a big tree blocking the trail that took care.

Finally got to Sandy's Reroute only to find that my knobbies wouldn't be the first one on the trail.  The reroute rides really nice and is really fun to ride.  The big question is what will it be like to ride back up.  Even through I was pretty tired I was going to ride back up the trail to test it out but in the Reach Around I hit a stick that threw my rear derailleur out of whack and I decided to bag it and ride home.

Today's TM was brought to you by the letters R and H

I had originally planned to spend the day riding in Nassarica but those plans fell through so I decided to do a reroute on the Upper Gussy Trail because Hurricane Sandy knocked over some trees that really jammed up the trail.

There is one big tree that knocked over two more.  Even if you cut up the two that are lower to the ground I think you would have needed to take care of the higher one and that would have been a killer job.

After laying out pin flags, raking, cutting trees and tweaking the trail someone it was time to bring out the big gun:  My new 7 inch Rogue Hoe.  Basically it's a heavy duty McCleod that is the perfect tool for trail building.

Reroute on the way up starts right after this little up and over coming up from the big up and over further back on the trail.

 

 

Benched the opening section if you were coming down the Gussy but more benching will be required. 

Randonee de Roxbury

My wife's Brother-in-law was up from NYC this weekend and I took him up to the dirt roads of Roxbury and Washington, CT.  Temperature was funny, it was 38 at the house but very humid and seemed to make things warmer but knowing that the river valley would be cold I started out in full snivel regalia.  Will, on the other hand wore a lot less, including shorts!

We headed out on to the usual track for the Old Roxbury Rd climb as a warm up, then Upper Country over to the Moosehorn. 

 

 

Then it was Battle Swamp down to Judges Bridge

Up Shiner Mountain and down into Steep Rock Reservation

At the conclusion of this ride, the Qball broke the 2000 mile mark!

Riding the old rail road bed to the Tunnel and then through it.

Then we headed down to the Blue Barns and rode the lower section of the Shepaug Rail Road bed.

Then it was onto Mallory and some more monster climbing.  We bailed on the singletrack down to Squire because I wasn't sure where to go from there and we were running out of time, not mention Mallory kicked our asses.  So we just headed down Flag Swamp to South Street and back to the Market.

Outstanding day to be on the bike!

.Kona Unit rebuild

Starting to rebuild the Kona.
Probably rigid unless I can get a good deal on some squish.
Might try it as a single speed monster cross / commuter first.
Who knows, maybe I will lace up my IRO track hub and go fixed.