Happy Thanksgiving!

In order to give Michele a fighting chance to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner for her family, I took the kids on an 11.5 mile bike ride on the Trumbull Rail Trail. We started at Whitney Avenue and rode the new section that heads north, which passes by Parlor Rock, and goes under Rte 25 along side the Pequonnock River, since the original roadbed is blocked by the high way. Unfortunately, there are two parts of this section of the trail that are not completed and it made riding through there impossible. One was under the high way and the other was near Old Mine Park.


Here is picture of me, taken by Katie, with the infamous Dumpgoose 69er. This bike is something that a buddy of mine found at the town dump and thought I might be able to do something with, and as you can I was able to. It's probably the only single speed mountain bike with center suspension and two different sized wheels. The center suspension is actually pretty nice because it acts like a shock post.

As with every ride with the kids, it's always punctuated with plenty of snack breaks and hamming it up for the camera.



Juice boxes are always a big hit.


The boys love riding in the Burley and funny thing is that they can be so quite that I have to stop from time to time to check and see if they are not sleeping. Elliot usually falls to sleep but the last couple rides with both boys they just like to see scenery go buy.

Of course with the wet trails and mud in a few places I realized that Brodie was on the receiving end of everything from my rear tire so I put up the screen. Brodie didn't like it at first but he quickly got used to it.

Here is one of the sections of the trail that still needs a lot of work.

Katie love to go fast.

Took the 'Horse to Mianus

I don't think I have had Veterans Day off from work since I got off active duty from the Army so in honor of Veteran's day, Tren and I hit up Mianus River Park. I know, I know, there are all sorts of euphemisms for Mianus, especially when the trail conditions are wet and muddy. Only today the conditions were dry and pretty leafy, which actually made it slippery.

Tried some new stuff, rode some old stuff, did some stunts and all in all had a pretty good XC fest. Rode the River Trail that Friends of Mianus River Park built on the Tree Tops property that the State acquired a few years ago. Thanks to those salamanders and vernal pools this adjacent section of the park is now for ever preserved as openspace. Gott Sei Dank!

I think this trail is probably the newest trail in the park and its pretty good. Quite bit of little rocks to roll or huck along the way and it passes by Indian Rock, there is a witty little description of the terrain feature www.crankfire.com, a carved out bowl in a boulder.

We also ventured over to the parking lot in Greenwich off of Connewagh Road that I have never seen. Alot less parking there but there are some nice log rides, drops, and rollers worth hitting up along the way.

Following the new map that I had some input on and helped out with my GPS along the Swamp and Laurel Trails, we hit up alot of stuff that I have ridden before but always with someone else leading the way.

At one stream crossing on the Greenwich side, not sure what I was thinking, but trying to avoid the water, I rode the rocks to side, stalled and when down. Good thing I was wearing arm guards or it would have been bad, and while trying to avoid getting wet, boy did I get wet! Fortunately, since we were hammering, I never had a chance to get cold.

We did 8 miles altogether. Mianus is great little nugget tucked away within some pricey neighborhoods.

Happy Hunting Day

Two more changes for the Qball, a red Salsa Moto stem and a red saddle. Got the stem from a guy on Craig's List and the saddle from riding buddy who bought it off another guy. Great saddle, has titanium rails.


I got the Qball dressed up to ride in North Newtown this morning. Paula wanted to see the Burr Farm area that I posted on Crankfire so I agreed to lead a ride. She checked with her riding posse and found only one other take, Heather. So it was three of us, riding on a Saturday in the middle of hunting season. I usually don't ride on Saturdays because its hunting season, but I was still prepared with a blaze orange Henly that I got from Cabelas. It's really brite!


Riding up from the Pond Brook boat ramp, we headed up Pond Brook Road and turned into the old road right after crossing Pond Brook. Last time I was here the ground was pretty soft but I was amazed to find it so dry. There was no mud!

Started on the first loop going counter clockwise through the horse trails and I cleaned all the hills! Then we started the second loop which starts in Newtown and then moves into Brookfield which is part of the Burr Farm Open Space property.

Then started the second loop which is a series of downhill shots till you get to bench at Dingle Brook. We stopped and took a few pictures.

When we got back to the boat ramp, Paula wanted so more, so we headed off into Upper Paugussett State Forest where we encountered three different groups of hunters and it's shot gun season, now! One hunter I have run into before at the start of bow season last year. He was out showing his kids how to hunt with a 20 gauge, looking to pop a few squirrels but all the squirrels were actually over by the Polly Brody.

We took the connector trail to the old right of way that will be part of my new trail, if DEP ever approves it - its been six months now - and through the tunnel of love, which is an up and over I built from a bunch of trees that were knocked down when that tornado ripped through town last spring.

Then we hit the opening part of my new trail and I got to show off the Play Ground, in which the trail winds around many different kinds of exposed rocks that will make excellent rollers and drops in the future.

Dropped down onto the jeep trail that exits the Forest at Sanford Road and road home.

All in all, it was an 11.5 mile ride!

Dump, dump, Goose!

A good friend of mine saw this frame at the town dump and thought I might be able to do something with it. Well here it is, the first ever Mongoose 69er! I have the Qstick upfront with the 29er wheel and the 26er wheel in the back.


For one, thing, this is where I got the Rock Shock Jett for the Fixation. So, after stripping it down, even took the shock off and was about to send it back to the dump, when I realized that it has a unified rear triangle. That is where the bottom bracket (where the crank arms connect to the frame) and the rear axel are connected and the suspension is off of this triangle. This idea came to me while daydreaming one day only to find out that it's been done before. I figured since I have all the parts I need, it would be a snap to assemble.

As for riding, I have only ridden on the Monroe Rail Trail with it pulling the boys in the Burley Trailer. It rides like a comfort bike and the center suspension takes the bumps out of your back. Need to take it out on some single track and see how it really rides but I am having too much fun with my 'Horse and Qball right now. For now, it's the kid puller and it also proves a point that I can fit four bikes in my garage. In fact, I think I can fit 5 bikes. So, we'll see what next summer brings to the stable!

Rube Goldberg, eat your heart out!

Here is the latest update to my commuter. Still pushing a 32:13 gear ratio, but I have added a few things, like fenders, a mirror, a RockShock Jett fork, a new stem that lifts up the handlebars a good three inches and a rechargeable headlight.



The RS Jett is nice because it probably has somewhere between 30 and 60 mm of travel and is still quite stiff. It smooths out the ride on the bumpiest of roads and makes taking the speed bumps in the office park at higher speeds really fun.

The profile design stem puts the bars in a nice position. Before, I was using the Misphit Psycles stem that only had 5 degree rise. It worked fine with the Qstick fork because the extra crown height brought the bars up to a nice riding configuration. When I went to the Jett, the front end dropped considerably, so I needed a stem with an increased rise. Wait till you see what I did with the Qstick fork!


Using a one inch U bolt, which fit nicely over the bars once I provided some padding so it wouldn't slip, I mounted the U-bolt to a bottle cage in which the light fits in very snuggly. I had to create a half inch spacer between the bar and the bottom of the bottle cage so that only a minimal amount of the thread were exposed on the underside of the cage. The spacer, made of wood, also helps hold the whole thing in one place because the wood compresses against the bar when I tightened the bolts. I don't think I have ever fully changed the light. Right now, I get about an hour out of it, but that is all I need.

Total build cost: $22, compared to the $100 to $500 light sets you can buy, this worked out great, but it's a temporary solution until I can afford a real light set, like the Light & Motion Solo Logic, that maybe Santa Claus will put in my stocking this year. Let's hope.

As for the ride, I have found the ideal route that minimizes exposure to Route 25 and still gives me 10 mile ride in total. Of course riding when is 32 degrees out in the morning presents other challenges, like keeping the feet, hands, and face warm enough. Already have started riding with a face mask, over gloves (but I probably needs some lobster mits) and neoprene socks (I am going to give galoshes a try, though). My old Army PT uniform works great for the outer wear.

Here is the best route: