Saturday morning

Sun rise rides are awesome but always take a good commitment to get out cracking at 6:30. LuAnn is slaving to her school this semester with a heavy load of organic chemistry and genetics so I am slaving to the baby so 6am was my only ride option for Saturday. With tired legs and eyes I set out on a nice morning. It was perfect temperature out at 39 degrees and loving it. Things were going normal, suffering more than I would like on Al's trail but taking my sweet time. Looks like the far end of of the trail is getting logged, they marked some trees and got a sign up, nice of them to post a notice right on a trail that sees very little use. Cleared debris from the trail as I rode, not much just little stuff. Got to my favorite section and BONG rear wheels locks up, before looking down I already knew what happened. Three spokes, derailleur and hanger, and skewer nut cap are toast..... the wheel is massively off true and rubbed the whole walk home. I hope it can all be repaired, I did not sweat it much since these things do happen and I might have been due. I knew I should of went SS but was scared of my chicky legs. I guess monday morning will be my next shot. Can;t wait for her semester to end, but her summer courses will be tough for me trying to ride schedule but oh well. Ride On!

Morning fail

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Getting it done

Thursday night group ride was on at Hale, with walking Al's trail I was wondering how good it was out there, turns out it was way more clear of snow than I was expecting. The group was still gathering as I arrived and I knew it would be a little before they would start, so I headed of on a warm up ride and I guess I got carried away cause they were gone when I came back. So I set off on the path I expected them to be headed on. I was not really sweating it cause 90% of the time I want to ride solo and prefer it so I rode with the idea of maybe catching up to them but did not need them since it is getting darker later now. Trail was bad in the wet sections, tons of people have already been riding this week and last week probably, it was sad to see the trail damaged from knuckleheads going around the mud to avoid it despite how easy it was to ride through the middle of it. Where the trail was dry it was perfect and in very good shape. It took about 30 minutes or so before I got my first glimpse of the group, I was going down hill and they were on the uphill still a ways in front of me. I opted out of all shortcuts to join them and made myself work for it to catch them. By the time I did, I could barely keep up with them. The group was in good shape and I just could not hang in the last mile, by the time I got my lights on I could see the scattered lights and eventually it was just me and my dog in the woods. Sucked being so far behind but oh well, I did eventually find them at the cars. First real ride of the year and cranked a good 9.9 miles and felt every mile of it. Great stuff!

Hale 1st group

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A walk with the boy

not much going on around here with waiting for the ground the clear still. Some warmer temps thsi week but still not the heat we need to snap out of this thing as quick as I would hope. It was worth a walk to see what it's doing out there for giggles. The boy woke up early from his nap and I was waiting on new work to come in so we set off across the street and went on a walk. It was a mix of on and off soft 2-3 inch snow and and bone dry trail. Where there was dirt he ground was not even soft. Which means less time to dry once the stupid snow finally does get out of here. I walked to Al's trail since it's closest to the house and shortly in the boy was back to sleep so I probably spent about an hour walking a section clearing any debris and admiring what it's like on two feet. What a strange feeling that was, most the time I am too busy pedaling and focusing on all the attributes of controlling the bike through the woods effectively that I miss getting to that peaceful place. I can say things should be good to go this weekend at this rate, if not I will head south to find a ride. Onward melting!!!!!!!!!!!

Got it

Heard there was a ride going on down at West woods, this is a place I have heard a little about from a fellow rider and he knows it very well and looked forward since last year to get a tour. Unfortunately he was not feeling well so I still adventured out solo and as usual took probably all the wrong bike friendly trails. I got to the trail head and was pedaling by 3:45 down by the ocean side. I had some maps from everytrail that showed some different routes so I could have an idea of what I was doing. Well right off the bat it was pretty wide and I had more decisions to make than I could manage so it led me to violet eventually which was a wide double track and then a rough trail from there on. This place was obliterated from the last two hurricanes, I have never seen anything like it, so so many trees were down it must have been a nightmare getting it back into shape. The trail I was riding was in terrible shape which seemed to be the vibe for the ride. I could tell no bikes have been on it recently and probably hasn't seen maintenance in last few months. I was hiking a bike plenty on and off but I was pretty happy to not be dealing with snow. The terrain was incredible I must say, steep narrow valleys and huge boulders. There were some really nice lines for getting steep. I was on a mission for miles so I ignored them sadly but oh well. I ended up at another trail head and then finally found some smooth pedaling and was hoping for things to mellow out but sadly it came to more unknown reckless decisions. I soon found myself on top of a big rock looking down at inland ocean shore, it was somewhat of a sight. looking to see where the trail went there was no relief in sight. At times the trail was soo good, but it met too steep and too rocky for human consumption. I finally arrived to an intersection where I saw my first bike tire track and hour into the ride. Still I rode meh trail after trail hoping for the goods. I guess there wasn't too much goods by the time I was done. I really wish I had that tour but it is always fun to go somewhere new and explore. Sadly this meant mass confusion and lots of hike a bike. Would I go back, not likely. I always end up at the same result when I go ride somewhere down south, it just sucks, it's nowhere near as good as it is up north here, plain and simple. Not to say I won't check out new places but it is so nice to come home and know my local trails are nice and narrow for me.

Close but not quite

Friday morning I set out for Case for some frozen gravel power line roads. When I got to the trail head I was sick, my stomach was in pain and I took the bike out still and took a little walk down to the woods and had to call it off. I puked on the side of the road on the way home, turns out this cleansing diet I am on did not agree with me that morning. Checking the interwebs later that day I hear word Hale was ride capable, in fear of being let down I was less than ambitious to check conditions but hearing this was good news! So Saturday morning was the day, wake up at 8:00, feed the boy, change him put him back to crib and a free man I was. It was a later start than I wanted but it worked. I hit the woods and found Al's trail perfect, dry and snow free. As I rode I found snow, it was just soft enough to cause tough pedaling but somewhat worked. I lazily put feet down and walked sine I did not want to burn up my legs and heart just yet. I got to the normal start and things were on and off, since things were mellow it was on and off crusty snow. I was really hoping to be seeing less snow but at this point I was pedaling and pretty ok with that. Every little incline sent me off the bike, I just had no desire to burn out trying to crawl in the snow. It was pretty frustrating and I began to loose my energy quickly and then begin to feel sick again. So I walked for a good 15 minutes and then found a rock and laid down on my side and wondered how I was going to get out of this one. Damn morning smoothie with different ingredient still got me funky up. I took a good 10 on that rock and just lay looking into the woods, as dramatically dead the woods are right now I tried to picture them green and full of life that they are in the other time of the year. It was dreary looking on at all the gray sticks. I regained my strength and escaped another vomiting episode thankfully, so on I went trying to escape the grip of Hale. I began to pedal, still finding more snow than dry dirt but my demeanor getting better by the minute. I hit dirt road and was on my way to quit and as I passed wiggle I decided I was feeling well enough to run into it and see what it had to say. It said great things apparently, I ended up doing two laps on it. Still a lack of snow free trail but more dirt than anywhere else I had been. I stopped by a fellow group that had just finished riding, good guys that I know, I actually opted out of their ride and good thing I did right. All in all the legs and lungs felt pretty good. My storytelling is foggy tonight so excuse my lack of grammar. Tomorrow, Hale AM or Westwoods evening. (*&$%^#$^^%*&^&#$%#$%# is all I have to say about the weather, So *&^*(&^ tired of cold. Hope all is well fellow riders, relief in sight...maybe

Do work

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drug addiction

I am an addict, I love nothing more than a high on two wheels. I have been suffering massive with drawls from my bicycle and can see relief on the horizon. I spent the last two months at a stand still watching snow melt painfully slow, I think the day of reckoning is coming. The sun might come out and I might be on my bike on dry dirt in less than a week. So please for the love of all that is holy melt and dry for my sanity! On a side note, I bought some tools today, my first trail tools, I plan to give back as much as I can this year with some maintenance and some future log rides. See you out there!

New Steed

After my taxes were all done I found out that the Roy house would be getting a fatter tax return due to having a child in the house. So I talked with my lady and we agreed we should take out 10% and split it between the two of us to do as we please and send the rest to our savings account. Obviously my bike whore mind went into motion, so I got on the emails thing and sent another request to get back in line for a custom built Belltown frame. Since my SS ride has treated me well it never was the apple of my eye, it never fit me like a bike should either, and I have broken two of them and am on my third so it probably is only a matter of time. I love SS rigid, I would ride it all day anywhere around here. SS can be great with its lack of mechanicals and upkeep, but can also be tough when one gear defeats you when climbing steeps. So without enough for a complete bike I am going to hopefully piece together a modest build to replace the Raleigh. I am very nervous to be going to sliders and no more eccentric bottom bracket but I am hopeful since they are very common. Part of a bummer is the frame is 5 months out, Mr. Bob Spooner with Belltown bikes is currently producing out of his workshop while working full time job and frame building bikes on the side. He also has several builds in front of me so it will be a patient wait but well worth. I know some of his deigns I like best, he is going to have me test drive one of his rigid rides on his trails by his house which will be great to find what geometry and fit he wants to do. The whole experience is exciting for me and I cannot wait as this thing gets built. I get a choice of paint and I really thinking matte black. Here are some of his designs, I think the green one is most likely to be my primary choice, but that a look at some of his other design especially seat stays and top tube pretty neat.

i rode

I rode on snow yesterday with my riding buddy, got started at 6:30am and had a heck of a hard time. He sure made it look easy as I struggled to catchup. The lungs burned, my heart beat through my chest, it was a crap show. I walked a lot and after 45 minutes I quit. He kept on as I walked home with my tail behind my legs. It won't be long before I will be on dirt!