Nice Little Ditty

It's all about the TIME to RIDE

Some of you know how I’ve been drooling over new bikes lately—been demo’ing all manner of 29er there is, hardtail, singlespeed, full-suspension, 96-er…the eclecticity of  my taste in bikes only matched by my musical tastes….but ya know, it IS the time of year again, the full moon is calling, the fever is high….but my current ride still works…and I ain't got the cash anyhow...
So I slapped on a couple new Michy's, a new tubeless strip in the rear, new Stans goop all around, and new Bontrager carbon bars. Rode 5 days this week. Sweet!

Bike Lust

Transition TransAM 29, a photo by LordOnOne on Flickr.

Once again it's that time of year when I start lusting over new bikes. This year it started with the search for a slacker 29er steel hardtail--I came up with the Transition TransAm29, which is a sweet 'looking' bike. I say that because I haven't yet the chance to ride one, as noone within 200mi has a demo...but the skyblue paintjob on a steel frame with a ride that has been described as 'damp' by those who have had chance to ride one, and with the slackness and capability of a longer-travel fork, just has me by the balls.

Worth mentioning is that  Transition is based in the Seattle area, one of my favorite geographical areas....Lived there for a halfa year once, biked all over the area but wasn't yet but on the cusp of my mountain biking lifestyle.

And the dealer is at Chuck's Bikes, in Vermont , of course my all-time favorite place to be. The frame goes for 650, which wouldn't be too outta line if I stripped my Redline for it. Full bike with Fox 120, 2400....plus Thudbuster...

Moving on to more local offerings, Canton Velo let medemo a Niner Sir9 with gears. Truly a rigid 853 singlespeed, this one was built up with a Reba and SRAM drivetrain. Weighing a  pound or two less than my current steed, and sporting lighter, less knobby Conti Race Kings run on tubeless Stans Crest rims, it did feel nicer. I used my Thudbuster as a control point. It was fast but not that much faster, and I was more over the bars than I like. The ECC BB would come in handy if I really wanted to go SS, but even if I did, I don't really like an ECC , as opposed to sliding drops. Not at all an engineer, but I 'think'  the larger shell stiffens and weights up the frame too much.

Next I took out the Jet9 demo, also with a Reba, Stans more standard rim and SRAM X7 build including hubs, same tires as the Sir9. Wow, whatta difference! All my energy moved the bike forward. Very efficient design, and about the same weight or maybe even less than the Sir9! I had fun on it and brought it back, reluctantly, but the weather turning to rain and snow just wasn't conducive to riding for a few days.

Both Niners were for sale around the same price(2400-2500)....

So, when I got thinking about it and sliding the idea by the wife and kids, all that speed and efficiency didn't mean a thing, since I don't have any money to spend on a new bike. And all it would do would be to create more bike envy  from my son, who apparently wears the same jeans(genes..), and that will only result in more 13 yo angst than I can handle right now.....

But, next chance I get, I'm doing a midnight run up to Morrisville to see about that Transition demo....

2012 SEMass NEMBA Trail Care Days, so far..

2012 SEMass NEMBA Trail Care Days, so far..


March
11 Ames Nowell
25 Ames Nowell
31 Wompatuck


April
7  Foxboro Roadside Cleanup(with KPTR)    10 am
14 Wrentham Roadside Cleanup(with KPTR)    10 am
15 Ames Nowell
21 Wompatuck
28 Braintree Townwide Cleanup (Eaton’s Pond)
29 Ames Nowell


June
2  Wompatuck


August
18 Wompatuck


Lots of work to do! Do what you can, where you can...
The important thing is that your local trails get local help. Support from local riders goes a long way at Town Halls and ConsComms....




The Ames Nowell days are particularly important, as there's lots of bridge build/repair/trail reroutes necessary in there. Contact Malcolm Neilson for details and to rsvp.


Wompatuck will need lots of help, contact Tyler Eusden about plans there.


Foxboro/Wrentham dates are just the beginning, I'm sure there will be more trail work posted. Contact Brad Childs at bcam64@yahoo.com.


Eaton's Pond and any other Braintree trail work, Steve Cobble


Blue Hills Buck Hill ReRoute may be coming up anytime now, to throw a big weekend of work into the mix. Again, Steve Cobble for updates on that.


All days are meeting at 8:30am, unless otherwise posted.

Eaton's Pond, Feb 25, 2012

Eaton's Pond, Feb 25, 2012, a set on Flickr.

Eaton's Pond #3 Feb 25, 2012

Eaton's Pond #3 Feb 25, 2012, a set on Flickr.

Profile: Trail Builder, Rider, Shop Owner

“I came up with a new motto, Only YOU can prevent trail erosion”,  Hank wryly quips with a nod to the old Smokey the Bear saying about forest fires.

We were having a conversation about the new generation of mountain bikers, who, just like previous generations, are in need of schooling on trail building, care and etiquette. His sense of humor enables him to deal with these more serious issues, and seems to help him convey his values and opinions without alienating riders and landowners alike. He has great working relationships with the town and the abutters of the town forest, that is, they give him carte blanche  to build and maintain the local forest trails. Hank admits that the wink-and-nod relationship with the town and with private landowners could change at any moment—the forest could be “harvested”, or a private landowner could decide to develop the land. At any rate, he is a first-class  “old-school” trailbuilder –designing switchbacks, proper drainage features, wooden bridges and jumps, using only his instinctive eye and riding experience.

Hank Glowiak is the owner of Chuck’s Bikes in Morrisville, Vermont. I’ve had a few occasions to follow him on some of the best singletrack riding anywhere. On basically what amounts to the side of a hill above Cadys Falls, you can ride up that hill with hardly a grunt, rather winding up some of the twistiest, sometimes smoothest, sometimes rootiest stuff in the Northeast…..One of those rides where it’s as fun riding up as it is down….
While on vacation this July, I got to ride again with him. He’s got some unique opinions and viewpoints  about the local riding, the bike industry as a whole, and don’t get him started about politics or the redundant packaging of his egg and cheese breakfast sandwich from Thompson’s Flour Shop( I was forewarned by the owner when I went to pick one up for him after our ride)

 He’s not a board member or president of any local chapter of NEMBA, IMBA, VMBA, in fact the trails he rides and takes care of aren’t even mapped. To know of this riding area, you really have to know Hank or one of his friends. The trails are within riding distance of another huge network of trails in Stowe. the tourist capital of the state and up-and-coming mountain bike mecca in it’s own right. But just like most of Vermont, the geography plays a huge part of who you know and where you ride. Every little valley seems to have its own network of riders and trails. And every little valley is surrounded by mountains and hills that have defined the state since the beginning of time. Morrisville has always been very much a working class town. It’s a crossroads that sees a lot of everyday traffic going somewhere else. Morrisville gets some of the overflow from the ski resort visitors and those wanting to escape the mountain traffic and enjoy the countryside. Morrisville is also the economic center of the region—it has two supermarkets, farmers feeds ’n needs stores, an old-school movie theater  with all the latest hit flicks, a McDonald’s, a skate park, plenty of building contractors, no lack of wi-fi when you need it, and of course, Chuck’s Bikes, well respected in the community for providing great service and sales to bmx’ers, roadies, commuters and local trail riders.…in other words, something for everybody. The one thing lacking in Morrisville is an organized bike club. “Diversity”, another of Hank’s favorite words. “Bike clubs are necessary to draw on the diverse demographic that is biking. Some people need to ‘belong’ to a club. That’s OK ..!. but I am my own bike club. I contribute in my own ways, therefore indirectly being a part of the bike club network”. He explains that he organizes his own trail work days, but digresses that very few of the locals ever show to help. “I get folks who report broken tree branches that are hanging over  the trail—they should bring along a trail saw next time and stop and cut it out of the way…that’ll save the next rider from being impaled by a stick or losing an eye…” Talking to Hank more recently, he reported that after Tropical Storm Irene, he personally cut 33 blowdowns out of the way on one mile of trail, with handsaws!

“I’ve read  in certain club mags that ‘all trails need to be flow trails’  designed with increasing speeds in mind, but some trails just need to be old-school, renegade, twisty gnarly stuff that makes you look ahead to the next turn. Stuff that is challenging, makes you think, and reminds you how dangerous it can be. Keeps you awake. New England doesn’t always fit the models for proper trail flowyness” (One ride on the Cadys Falls trails with Hank will beat that into your rider’s mind! ) Not to say that Hank’s trails don’t flow nicely into one another…and some have that pump-track feel, even when up on the side of that hill.

“Probably 40-50 people ride these trails every weekday. Even more on the weekends and during the peak (fall)season”. But he’s happy that they don’t all know all the trails. There are some that are only known to Hank and those who follow him on a ride. A ride through the ferns to hidden, pine needley  singletrack, seeming at first glance to be virgin trail, but then obvious that these are heirloom trails, some gnarly, some smooth and, yes, some even ‘flowy’, and well-taken care of.

Chuck’s Bikes carries the latest offerings from a very functional assortment of bike companies, like Redline, KHS, with Hank’s personal ride being a Transition. He’s also one of the only Norco dealers in the US…look him up at http://www.chucksbikesvt.com and on facebook or just give him a call 802-888-7642