Soul Cycles Dillinger - It's Back!

Well, it didn't really go anywhere but I finally got it back together this weekend.  The reason for putting it back together was I needed the fork rebuilt, switch out headsets, and come to find out I had a problem with the brake caliper hitting the spokes.  My wheel doesn't sit right in the drops and it's canted to one side by a couple of millimeters.  There is no impact to the ride, or at least nothing I can feel but I can't fit any tire wider than a 2.2 in it.  So I decided to go to BB7s because I knew they wouldn't cause a problem.

I had some white cables laying around so I threw those but found that the cable for the rear brake was really cheap and doesn't perform well.  I need to hit the LBS for some Slick cable to fix that.  Took it out for a little test pedal and worked reasonably enough.

I read on a few blogs that Race Face went belly up, I wonder if this means Doral is going to by them, hopefully my cranks wont need warranty service because that isn't going to happen.

Matched with the Green Blunts the bike still looks pretty hot.  Now I just have to get it out on the trail.  Question is, do I try to sell the bike or do something else with it and something else is convert it to 1x9.  I have just about all I need, just need a guide upfront and a SRAM shifter (I got a SRAM X9 rear derailleur from a buddy).  I think I will find plenty of reasons to ride it, like riding with my daughter when I finally get around to buying her a bike (not enough time on the weekends), NEMBA events and festivals.

A few changes to the cockpit, same bars and stem, just different grips, older Ergons and Avid Levers.  Need to find new screws for the bar clamps for the levers, though.

Riding the Blow Hole: Vimeo

Riding the Blow Hole from Cycle Snack on Vimeo.

Is it me or do these sites just butcher the quality so as not to compromise bandwidth?

Riding the Blow Hole: YouTube

Riding the Monster in the Blow Hole

I guess you could call this the season opener for quite a few us with spring like conditions finally taking hold and most places being dry enough to ride.  CT NEMBA held it's first member's ride at the Blow Hole, aka River Highlands State Park.  While there are some really steep and fun descents, along with some pump track features on some of the trails the Blow Hole is not a terribly difficult, nor technical place to ride.  However, it was a good place to visit after a long hiatus of not riding.

We had a great turn out that included Glenn Vernes, Al Tinti, pictured above trying to get Brett's dog to smile for the camera, Brett Metzger, Ed Perten, Salem Mazzawy, Jim Senner, and Brendan Mahoney.  Brett had his two little dogs that were perfect trail dogs.

We stopped off at the overlook on the Connecticut River for snacks and to check gear.  While not technically a mechanical Jim was experiencing a little issue with his SRAM XX drive train that Brendan and Salem found intriguing.

Brett came to the party on a vintage full suspension bike

Al was riding his GF Carbon 29er

Looking out over the Connecticut River

I rode the Qball MCX today and every ride on this bike just gets better and better.  It was the first time being off road with the Fme bars and they performed reasonably well.  I did, however, have them slip after doing some small hucks.  While the width is OK they could still be a little wider I think I need to put on a longer stem.  I was also rolling on Kenda Klaw 29x1.95s and they were surprisingly comfortable, then again, the Blow Hole is pretty buff.  Overall it was fun riding the Qball, rigid, and can't wait to do it some more.  We'll see how it goes with the Fme's because I kind of considering switching over to my FUbars and use the Fme's on the Surly 1x1 I want to eventually get.

Afternoon Monster Cross Commute

60 degrees when I left work at 5 PM yesterday and yet Thursday morning it was 30!  Along with Daylight Savings, these temperature extremes are killing me.  Riding home mean shedding a lot of what I rode in with.  Of course not wearing my Lobsters was a no brainer but my other gloves were too warm as well so I rode bare handed.  I have only ridden this way once before and that was off road in the middle of summer.  That was pretty uncomfortable because my hand was always sweaty and I couldn't get a grip.  Riding home last night, it wasn't that bad but I still felt awkward not having gloves on.

I decided to experiment with the route home and try to get off the beaten path.  All the online maps show Scudder Road as going straight through but that's an obvious mistake because I finally rode and it's hardly anything but straight and flat for that matter.  Nice huge climb up and blasting descent down.  I have to say though there is no leverage to be gained from the Fme's by coming out of the saddle.  Just have to gear down and pedal away.

Wearing shorts for the first time was nice although it started to get chilly with all the hills I was riding down.  Yesterday definitely felt like spring!