Mountain Bike Church #1

In case anyone was wonderin' about that early November('04)  Sunday in Wompatuck State Park:

The first* official 'Mountain Bike Church' was a wheelie uplifting experience. With 3 inches or so of combination of Virgin light powder/crunchy popcorn snow (depending on what part of the Wompy microclimate you were in), riding was a Joy. We rode over the technical stuff-well, it was like, walking on water, although much drier. The Sermon was performed by the crackling of the tree branches and the sound of icicles melting in the warming sunlight. I must admit the 8 o'clock 'mass' was a solo ride, which was fine with me because I had no idea what riding would be like and gave me a chance to scout it out and prepare for the First Gathering. And I assured myself that I was not alone...

The 10 o'clock started out with myself and three Wise People, 'Jessica', 'Ben', and 'Ed'. All brand new to Wompy, I think they too were ready for the 'baptism' about to commence, as they all arrived with big smiles and pleasant conversation. We had steaming dixie cups of freshly-brewed tailgate Brazilian espresso and Jessica's freshly baked sweet 'Wonder Scones', then proceeded to explore the 'left' side of the 'Cathedral'. We rode for an hour and a half with hardly more than a coupla goofy falls, and no mechanicals, save for the fact that my front derailleur was frozen stuck in the granny the whole time. Didn't make much difference since we averaged 5.0 and wasn't worth trying to go faster. Riding in the snow requires us to really pay attention to everything that's around us and gives us a chance to Reflect as well as work on our balance and technical skills. Studded tires were not at all necessary and would have been a Burden. The only sketchy stuff were the Bridges which were icy underneath the snow. The only sin was we couldn't ride all day……………

Now for the Cranxology:

Grease all where your chain will flow,

Lube all where dirt may go

Clean all including the seatpost

Ride all day till you're ass is toast………

Amen.

*All this doesn't mean that we 'invented' the church that day.....the MountainBikeChurch ideal has existed for many centuries.......only recently has the icon of knobby-tired bike come rolling along to confirm our ideals and to quantify our passions for speed, distance, ride time, and to get us out to breath the fresh air and to share all of that with our fellow riders......   

Chain Stretch Part One

After many total drivetrain replacements, I have come to the resolution that I WILL replace my chain every 3 months, or less.The chain is what causes all the cogs to wear. There's a whole set of technical jargon to explain why this happens, and the purists would refute what I am about to proclaim, but here goes--'the chain stretches', and no longer matches the teeth perfectly after a certain 'X' amount of time--kind of like when you buy a new car and drive it off the lot--its not new anymore. So prolonging the time between chain changes(say that 3 times fast) only naturally puts undue wear on the softer cassette and chainring metals. Of course the  bigger chainrings last longer because there bigger, but the granny I usually replace every coupla chains anyways. My formula goes like this:

Every three chains, one new cassette

Every four chains(or one year), new middle ring and one new granny

Every time I forget to do any of this, one new of everything, every year, except big ring. (I think I've replaced 3 in 20 years, and not because they wore out, just that a new one looks cool, for awhile......) Will all this save money? Maybe not.. But your drivetrain WILL run smoother if you use the formula! AND use Phil's Tenacious oil. 

Just my two Abe Lincolns. You can take them to the bank.

 

Yep! It's cold again!

The toys ride went off as usual bringing so many people outta the woodwork. It's always good to see all those smiley red-faced helmet-heads chattin' it  up at the BH VC pre-and post ride.......

the cold

it numbs my toes

it brings me in to the warm gathered room

of friends old and new noshing and enjoying

the company and a warm beverage and a glimpse of 'santa'

it brings me in to duct-tape my shoes

insert chemical toe warmers

it brings me outside to warmup the lycra carefully, by the bonfire

to meet my friends before the ride

it gets me back on the bike

onto the trail

with friends old and new bouncing down, climbing up,

trying old dreaded technical sections and making them

speeding, drag-racing, clipping in and out

it gets my lungs burning, my nose dripping and freezing and falling off

it gets my adrenaline up, my fears down

it numbs my toes

it brings me back to that warm gathered room

full with friends old and new

back to the bonfire with warm beverage in hand

and makes me forget about

the cold

Thanks to all who came and donated and/or braved the coldest day of the year(so far)!!

Happy Holidays and don't let the cold keep you inside...........