29er test #1

one sexy-ass bike

Had the good fortune of being offered a 'test ride'--a period of about two weeks in which to 'demo' a 2010 Specialized 29er hardtail from Bike Barn. Not sure whether I can afford one right now--well I' sure I can't, but maybe it'll snow alot this winter and my son and I can make bank on shovellin'....

Anyhow, I figure I'll tack two more weeks of riding onto my 'season' and make the best of it.

My first ride on the bike was on my real local trails, the ones right out my back door, a 3.5-mile marsh-loop, with an eclectic mix of dirt road, rooty woods, rock steps, quick steep climbs, squishy mud spots, grassy knolls, singletrack, with a tiny bit of pavement and curb-hopping thrown in. Home to Osprey, Cormorants, Red Tail Hawks, Great Blue Heron, lots of Crow and Starling, Coyote, and too many Squirrel, there's plenty wildlife.......It's a fast loop, best done twice for a base workout.

I rode like I usually do, as fast as is comfortable, while babying my 'arthritic' wrist. My first impression was that it rolls FAST!! When I hit my first curb it practically rolled right up itself, with less 'wheelie' input. When I tried the granite steps, I hardly had to try, save for the tires being wet, which made me try harder not to let slip.....

The fastest section, an arc through a gravelly parking lot, was a breeze. The singletrack bench trail above the marsh was nice, but the quick turns on and off that section showed me how the big wheels need more space to turn, and I'd need to anticipate earlier....

The true test was of the quick climbs. If there are any aspects of a bike that I really want it to excel at, it's climbing and short bursts of speed. This bike had me climbing like a goat and has no trouble drag-racing.

The things I didn't like about the bike were:

• the SRAM thumb-shifters, which I would knock accidentally with my left thumb, dropping me into granny real quick. I could probably get used to better hand placement. I've only ever had gripshift....
• the Specialized tires, not knobby enough for my tastes. While I wouldnt want to pile on much more weight to this lean 25 pound machine, I like my traction all-around.

The only other things I'd change right now would be to throw on my thudbuster and maybe riser bars. But I'll flip the stem first to see if I get high enough with that....

Santa's Ride

Last night the temps dropped and the weather went from pouring rain torrentially to blizzard-like snow conditions. The Fells had cancelled their ride, and it didn't look good for the annual Blue Hills Toys Ride. The deck was icy, the marsh was relatively snowless, and it was below freezing...... but the sun was shining!....I broke the crust off the Thule and loaded the bikes. As I drove closer to the BH it became more obvious that more snow had fallen away from the coast. Not alot, but the 2 inches of powder on top of the ice had bent trees over the road. Driving up Wompatuck Road was that amazing winter wonderland, one that only comes once a year, that is, the first snow of the year. I tried to video the scene, which my 1.3mp phone-era really didn't translate very well, and besides I had to keep my eyes on the icy road.

Ride Part #1

I got to the parking lot in time to hook up with Howie The Plumber, Jim the CandyMan, Captain Dave, Dave P, and a couple other riders. Starting up the paved 'Picnic Loop' on the ice wasn't a wholelotta fun. But as we hit the first trail it became apparent how much fun this was gonna be. The snow was fresh, alittle crisp, and covered up many of the rocks and roots that would normally slow us down...

I just remembered also why this ride was shaping up to be fun--I was handed a StumpJumper 29er hardtail to demo last time I stopped at BikeBarn. Kevin said to 'ride it for awhile'. I had already tried it on my local marsh-loop and was real happy with the Big Wheels. They were smoothing out the trail real nicely.

Riding along, we knocked the bent trees out of the way, sending snow all over the guy behind, laughing all the way up the first hill and back down the backside 'no name' trail and back to the VC for coffee. We probably rode about 45 minutes total, but it was enough to get the spirits warmed up for the rest of the day.

Ride Part #2

Back at the VC enjoying some donut-carbo-loading and coffee with the local riding scene, another group was forming. The Silver Lake middle school mtb club had arrived, and was chomping to ride. Probably 9 13-14 year old boys, an 11-year old girl, a couple of parents, and their fearless leader, a teacher from the school, and a couple of us Yellowjackets to lead and sweep. We started our ride up the paved loop(again) and proceeded to follow the white multi-use loop, with a few diversions here and there. Traction in the snow was amazing. The kids (all of us..)were having a good time, especially when it came to going downhill. A few scary no-brake moments there. The snow cakes up quickly on the rim-brakes and renders them basically useless. But of course I was on the new disc-braked Specialized grinning all the way. We stopped to do some impromptu trail cleanup--the trails were littered with derailleur-breaking branches and some larger trees and limbs. We sessioned the log-over --always a good photo-opp. Crossing Hillside Street we bombed down the Cable Trail and behind the old zoo dump, before crossing Unquity and beginning the long grind back up to Five Corners. Finally! I didn't have to lie again with 'it's all down hill from here' It really was, and after the waterbar safety talk, we cruised down Wolcott back to HQ and the VC.

Amazingly enough, no mechanicals, injuries, and hardly a complaint! And Santa was at the VC waiting for us with hot chocolate and more pastries....

Oh Yeah! And we collected a truck-full of toys for kids in need...

My Food Blog

My previous post about 'salt your onions' inspired me to create a separate blog for all my food-related musings.....

Hopefully, Thoughts on Food will entertain, amuse, sate, and inspire all at the same time...

Blog On!

Salt your onions

OK here's the thing--you gotta salt your onions, ANY onions, garlic included, when you begin cooking them. You gotta lubricate them. too, with alittle oil in the pan. Actually this applies also to when you're not actually HEATING them, but when you want to soften them and take the edge off--i.e. when starting to make a vinaigrette...In that case, you don't add the oil until later. Salt the onions, and let them sit for a few minutes, then add your acid, and let it steep a few more minutes before adding the oil and other flavors. If you are making an emulisified vinaigrette with egg yolk, the yolk would be added just before the oil.

Not to say you need so much salt as to be offensive, just enough to start bringing out the moisture from the onion. Be especially careful not to use too much salt when making caramelized onions...

The only exception to this rule is when using shallots in a wine reduction(beurre blanc), add the wine directly to the cold sliced or minced shallots then turn on the heat to reduce. Add salt later on as needed. This only applies to shallots, as they are sweet and not so pungent as other onions.

DO NOT put raw onions on a pizza. Always cook at least alittle first! (with salt of course)

The smaller that you mince or slice the onion, the faster the salt will bring out the moisture and soften the onion's flavor...

IF you're one of those people who LIKES raw onion, then disregard all of this!

I'm so happy that my new blog here is spam-free(so far)

mtbchurch sent you a video: "Mark Weir pump track mountain bike dirt jump style riding"

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mtbchurch sent you a video: "Stowe Bike Park Pump Track"

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mtbchurch has shared a video with you on YouTube: more pump track Stowe Bike Park Pump Track A pump track session from the early days of the Stowe Bike Park. The park has grown considerably, check it out. Visit http://www.stowemountainbike.com Video by Brent Buckman. Location: Stowe, Vermont
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