The whole story tomorrow!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Quick after work ride at the shed!
So, it was back on the Creaky Monkey (my 26" ss conversion)for tonights ride. It was quite a difference to go from 29" wheels and 32x20 gearing to 26" and 32x18 again! However, it was still a great ride and I conquered a bunch of large rocks I had never been over before on a rigid single speed!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Ooh, Punish the Monkey . . .
―Mark Knopfler
Mic ridin' the blue trail at the Frederick Watershed on the bike he just bought from DaveG! It's a 2003 'Campstove Green’ Surly Karate Monkey SS 29'er ! "Who needs suspension," he says ― "this rig can really roll"!
Music: "Burrito" by Seether
Another Monkey in the House: Trek goes Ape!
Well, it's official, the check is in the mail, and there's another monkey in the house! After getting the 2003 'Campstove Green' Surly Karate Monkey SS 29'er last Thursday and test riding it at Seneca Creek State Park, the Frederick Watershed (two days), and Gambrill State Park Mic decided to lay down the change for a birthday present to himself!
The Creaky Monkey (pictured above), Mic's 26" SS conversion, took the news okay and they both primates have had a few days together in the same room to get acquainted. However, the 2008 FS Trek Fuel EX 8 is not so pleased about any of it and continues to rebel by getting pinch flats, snapping chain links, and jumping from gear-to-gear (even after being constantly adjusted)! This hardcore protesting is obviously due to Mic's almost exclusive move to singlespeeding, no doubt!
Oh, well! It was bound to happen sooner or later! Anywho, the KM 29'er now has a 32x20 Surly gearing (rear cog) setup as opposed to the 32x18 Chris King setup it came with and I already went to a new WTB Devo Thinline saddle, and OURY Lock-On grips. The Titec H-Bar that was sitting around the house would not fit (too small in diameter) the larger BBB stem that came with the bike so I replaced the stem with a new Thompson "Elite" Mountain Stem, as well as a Chris King NoThreadSet™. Also changed the tires to Panaracer Rampage 29er/2.35's, as well as added a new set of Shimano PD M-520 SPD pedals (Black), and a new Race Face bash ring! I am waiting on the shipment of a new 32t Surly Stainless Steel chainring to replace the existing aluminum one.
Hope the weather holds out a while longer today so a ride will be possible! (It did, great ride ― more on this later!)
Ride on (and on, and on, and on, and . . . )!
Wow, I never bother to look at the "Totals" screen on my Garmin 305; however, today I looked and discovered that since December 25, 2007 (the Edge 305 was a Christmas present from Brie) up to and including this past weekend we have pedaled:
647.0 Miles (Mostly in the Fredeick Watershed)
127:26 Hours (Not enough hours in the day, I say!)
71,943 Calories (Allowing for huge amounts of energy replenishment with some of the world's finest barley and hops!)
Okay! So what? Greg Kolodziejzyk travelled 647 miles in 24 hours under his own power and set the Guinness World Record, you say! True enough, you are right, but it wasn't on a mountain bike, and it wasn't someplace like the "shed" ― methinks Greg is a just a wee bit of an overachiever!
The greatest distance on a human powered vehicle in 24 hours is 1041.24 km (647 m) and was achieved by Greg Kolodziejzyk (Canada) at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka, Alberta, Canada, on 20 July 2006
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Happy Birthday to Me!!
The first test ride on the Karate Monkey from Hamburg on Friday afternoon was convincing enough! A smooth ride down the blue to the Volkswagen to Lawnmower and back was all it took to make Mic realize that a 29er was the way to go. The rest of the weekend was spent trying the Surly out on numerous trails including the Yellow trail from Gambrill and up and down Delauter Road.
Saturday, after running the "Deco Shuttle" we headed out on the Yellow trail towards Hamburg. Although it started out cloudy, the sun shined through and made way for a lovely and challenging ride. On the way back to camp we decided to check in on the runners finishing up the Catoctin Race -- what a feat! Amazing to see!! It really takes a lot of dedication to accomplish something like that. Although slightly overcome by the awe-inspiring feeling of witnessing such dedication, I was very happy to return to my simple life of chowing down on veggie dogs and Miller Lite. If my knees ever feel perfect I'll try to run a mile out there! Kudos to you runners!
After seeking shelter from the storms on Saturday evening at Brewer's we returned to the campsite where we were....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
