Riding Vicariously

My time on dirt these days has been quite limited.  So instead of sharing my own, generally lame, trail stories, I'll share what my friends, who do mountain bike, send me for a while.

My buddies in Sedona. Rad.

Sucks Being a Soccer Fan...

I can relate to soccer fans now.  I naively thought that NBC or ESPN or someone might air the Cyclocross World Championships today.  That was a stupid thought.  I did, however find some soccer games being broadcasted.  Maybe in another decade or so cycling will make it to the big leagues on American TV.

Clarification

Are "Weekend Warriors" people who exclusively ride on the weekend or can it be people who commute during the week and ride trails on the weekend?  What about people who only mountain bike twice a week, but one day is during the weekend and the other is a week day?  What if a person only rides (dirt or road) twice a week, but one of those rides is always over four hours?

Admissions

I wasn't sure if I was going to fess up, but since I've already admitted to being off the bike for a while I might as well admit a few other things.

1) I've been eating bacon and I like it.
2) I went on a road ride and got a Justin Bieber song stuck in my head.
3) I've ridden a geared bike this year more than a singlespeed.
4) Stating the obvious, I've gained a few pounds.
5) I'm probably not soloing anything longer than 50 miles this year.
6) I went on a four hour mountain bike ride last week that consisted of 50 minutes of riding and 3 hours, 10 minutes of shooting the breeze about bikes, history and religion over a cup of foo-foo coffee and pie.
7) I woke up this morning, saw the temperature was 9 degrees with a windchill of -4 and decided not to run or ride until later.
8) I have not commuted anywhere by bike a single time this year.

It looks so much worse when its all listed together.  I'm getting delicate.  In the words of my buddy Gavin, "Don't judge me."

I haven't

ridden my bike in three days! No indoor training, no crank spinning whatsoever.  There are far worse ills in the world, but for me in my lucky little life, three days off the bike sucks.  I think I'll squeeze in a freeze-fest today.

Trust Issues: Relations With Gears

Recently, I've been thinking about adding some bikes to the fleet even though I have no money or space to do so.  Specifically, a hardtail, geared, 29er and a Yuba for commuting have been at the top of the list.  Since neither of those bikes are in my bike shop bum budget, I've gone with a cheaper alternative.  The Voodoo has gears again and my commuter has a borrowed B.O.B Trailer to haul behind it.  This is where my revelation began.

My commuter's drivetrain is shot.  How I didn't notice this before, I don't know.  It shifts like ___________ (you fill in the blank).  Easy fix, but it adds to my unfair contempt for gears.  The drivetrain on the Voodoo is golden.  It shifts great although the XTR rear derailleur was finicky initially.  Despite perfect functionality, I've come to realized that I do not trust gears. Specifically in technical climbs or negotiating technical features, I expect them to let me down.  Dare I say, I even fear gears.

My thought process on my ride yesterday went something like this:

On approach to a rock ledge climb, "Don't slip-don't slip-don't slip-phew".
On approach to a steeper rock ledge climb with a steep drop at the end, "If it slips I'm going to back-don't think about it-don't think about-if it slips I'm going to-back flop."

It went on like this for some time.  I kept thinking.  I don't think very much on my single speed.  As Dukes puts it, "If its there, I take it." Its this lack of thinking that makes riding a single speed so much fun.  I am going to stick with gears because they have benefits like being able to cover more ground in the flats faster on long rides.  Learning to ride tech on gears is going to be a bit of a mental challenge though.  I'll keep trying, but  when my confidence starts to wane, I'll look to my oner for reaffirmation.

Palmer Park Cravings

Palmer Park is not Moab, or Whistler and unless you have lived in Colorado Springs, you have probably never heard of it.  Now that I no longer have it at my finger tips, I miss and crave it.

Palmer Park is best described as being like a sampler at your favorite brewery or restaurant.  It has a little bit of the best of everything.  Want a taste of tech? Ride Templeton.  Feeling like finding a little flow? Ride the Palmer Trail and Yucca with some locals who know.  Like to climb? You can nickel and dime enough hills there to bury your legs and ease your mind. Want to get creative? Link "Panty Drop" to "Dead Coon", hit 'Trigonometry" and finish off with a little "When Pigs Fly".

Now that I have moved on, the "Sampler Platter" analogy has taken on new meaning.  Nobody every orders the sampler at their favorite restaurant unless they are introducing someone new to the place, or they have moved away and come back to visit.  This is because locals can have one favorite today and another tomorrow.  They have time to work their way through the menu.  I used to be a local, working my way through Palmer's tasty offerings.  Now, I am dying to order the sampler.  Mmmm...Palmer Park Sampler Platter.