Chris S. came to town yesterday to say hello. He and I used to ride bikes all the time back in our undergrad days. To commemorate our many bike adventures, we set out on my Felt 95 and KHS Alite 4000. At the base of Bald Hill the KHS started losing air from the front tire. We limped back to my apartment. Even with the short ride it was still nice to get out and have some fun with an old friend.
Mountain biking on lower Horse Trail
Yesterday I went out with Jordan for a quick thrashing session on Horse Trail out in Mac Forest. We did about 12 miles of trail and road. Maybe a little more since Google isn’t the most accurate in following trails through woods.
First ride of the upgraded mountain bike and a quick road ride
Yesterday I picked up my freshly updated mountain bike. I had been riding on the same original bike that I bought back in 2002. Needless to say, there were parts that needed replacing. I put a Marzocchi Bomber fork (10 Marzocchi 44 TST2 Air 140mm) on the front to replace a destroyed Sid Race fork. The wheelsets were changed out for XTR WTB Trail Lazerdisk rear and XT WTB Trail Lazerdisk front. New 2.3″ Continental Vertical (made in Germany!) tires. Juicy 3.5 disk brakes to replace the old vees that ate through the last set of rims. The upgrades weren’t substantial and the fork could actually be seen as a downgrade but the handling and performance of the bike was GREATLY improved.
Jordan and I went out for a short mountain bike ride up the back side of Dimple Hill on Lower and Upper Horse Trails. I was almost able to keep up with him on the descents. Still getting the feel of being able to go fast and take turns hard. One thing I did notice is that it’s more difficult to pedal the bike uphill. Must be the extra couple of pounds of weight and the larger mass at the outside of the rims.
The mountain bike ride was about 10 miles long. We turned around at the end of Horse Trail because Jordan had to be at work in a little while. The bomber run down the trails was great!
After I got home I decided to do a little road bike ride to try and keep the break-in process going for my new Felt 95. The weather looked ominous but I figured I could beat the rain. Just as I got to the base of Bald Hill the rain hit in full force. I raced back to my apartment just in front of the storm. The road bike ride was 5.5 miles and I did it in about 20ish minutes. Rain is a big motivator!