Bike, Not A Bike

When is a bike not a bike?

When Brent says it’s not, that’s when.

All of the following contraptions, er, bikes have been in the shop recently but only one of them elicited the response, “that’s not a bike” from Brent.

Since Brent has worked around bikes and bike shops longer than anyone I know I am going to defer to him as the authority on bikes. If I were a trial lawyer and needed an expert witness on bikes I’d call Brent.

Which is not a bike?

The first person to guess correctly gets a free can of CarboRocket.

Sansabelt

Here it is. The much hyped Spot brand belt drive mountain bike. Only it has a new name, it’s now known as the Sansabelt model. It’s compatible with a belt drive system but currently only works with a conventional chain setup. I noticed the design has changed from what i saw in pics from Interbike. This design seems too simple. A hacksaw cut in the dropout. I think Ill convert my bike into a belt drive tomorrow.

I told Kenny that he was lucky it was compatible with a regular chain and drive train because he’s never gonna see the the belt drive setup. He says Monday. We’ll see.

Belt drive system aside it is a very nice looking bike and Kenny made it up the hill and back down without the rear end falling apart. Which is more than dug can say.

I’m So Weak

Usually, but not today. Today I was strong, so strong.

I went out on a road ride with the goal being to spin easily. I’ve actually got a few hard rides in lately and thought it would do me some good to take it easy today.

I was spinning along doing fine until this woman or girl, I couldn’t tell which as she was going too fast, went flying by me at warp speed on a tri-bike. I’m fine with a girl passing me and even fine that she was on a tri-bike. Really, it doesn’t bug me. At all. Seriously.

But, as she passed me she blurted out, “how you doin?” I was doing really fine until you blew past me like I was standing still thank you very much, I thought to myself.

Two thing happened at that very instant that prove I’m not as weak as I thought I was, at least not today anyways.

First, I bit my tongue and didn’t blurt out, “I’m just doing a recovery ride today.” which woulda made me seem like an idiot even though that is what I was thinking. Instead I said, “fine thanks, you?” Of course, she didn’t hear a word.

Second, I overcame the almost impossible to overcome urge to stand up, sprint by her and leave her in my dust. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to catch her but that’s not the point.

The point is I was tempted and didn’t take the bait. My flesh ain’t ain’t so weak. I can walk proud. I am strong. I have self discipline.

Mas Gooseberry Mesa Por Favor

I can’t get enough and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. The Gooseberry stuff, I mean. I’m an addict. It’s beyond my control.

Karl Burns posted a link to some pics he took on the Inaugural Gooseberry 100k Report in the comments section. I then borrowed some pointers to make them “pop” from pro outdoor photographer Adam. Here are my faves:

Dug, Paul and Myself waiting for the detoured group to catch back up and in no hurry to go anywhere. See how happy and peaceful Dug looks, that’s what a day on or around Gooseberry Mesa will do to you. I mean, wow! look how beautiful it is and the weather, don’t get me started on the weather.

A portion of the hike-a-bike.

Barely walkable in sections but tons of fun.

Nice silhouette of Dug pondering his place in the universe. Yup, that’s what he told me he was doing.

The Future

I’ve not only seen it I’ve experienced it and you can too. It’ll change mountain biking forever.

Last week before Camp Lynda I was in need of some new rubber for the dork bike. My tires were bare down to the threads in places, had little cuts all over them and must be 10 years old.

Allow me to digress a bit. In committing to the dork bike this year I have also made some silent vows for the year. I haven’t mentioned them to anyone until now. I will only speak of one of the vows today. It is this: I vow not purchase anything for my bike all year. No new anything. No new shiny technology or bike part of any kind. I can, however, buy a new chain or tires as they wear out and the obvious tube or two. But that’s it. If I happen to break a seatpost or taco a rim I must beg, borrow or steal the replacement.

I stopped by Revolution and Ryan and Melissa hooked me me up with some Maxxis Monorail tubeless tires. Ryan even mounted them up for me on the spot, what service. Yep, I said tubeless tires. I am now running tubeless tires on the dork bike. It’s practically geeky which seems like it wouldn’t be in keeping the dork bike rules. I had to check my list (yes, I have a list) to make sure I wasn’t breaking any of the dork bike rules. Whaddya know, tubeless tires aren’t on the list anywhere.

Pic from Adam L.

What a revelation! Unbelievable! I’m a whole new mountain biker with new found skills. They roll over anything and corner like crazy and these babies are plush. I feel like I have a whole inch of travel front and rear. I must also say they make me feel like I’m cheating a little. I’ll never go back to tubes though. I’ve seen the future for me and it’s tubeless.

There Was No Blood

Lots of endo’s and I’m pretty sure everyone fell at least twice. I wiped out a dozen or more times. It was extremely cold, someone said 10 degrees at the start. The downhill was a total riot. I pitched headfirst 3 different times into snowbanks. No blood, dislocated fingers or shoulders. See if you can find the half-naked lunatic mountain man aka Bill Friedman in the pics below.

If you weren’t there you definitely missed out. You only have to wait 12 more months to give it a go.

Coffee With Jesus

Perfect Christmas Eve Day. I realize it’s Christmas today but I’m running a day behind.

We yanked the kids outta bed this morning at 5 a.m. and went downtown to the Salt Lake Mission and brewed around 10 gallons of coffee for the people. If my girls learn nothing else from me they’ll have learned how to make some good coffee. An invaluable skill that should serve them well throughout their lives and ensure that they take good care of me when I’m too old to do it myself.

I then got out for a nice ride on the Monkey right before the cold front and big storm rolled in.

If you have a good eye you’ll notice the carbon post on the Monkey. At first you may think I’m geekin but really, what could be more dork than a carbon post on a 10 pound Monkey frame? And yes, those are disc brakes but they’re not hydros just cable actuated and 2nd hand at that.

More about Christmas Eve and Christmas a bit later and maybe some video if I can get those liability release forms signed.

Merry Christmas!

Tempted By The Darkside

This is exactly the kind of temptation that makes me weak. I am very capable of returning to full on geek mode in the presence of such a specimen. Jaime P. has just put all bike geeks to shame, again. He’s gonna be very hard to de-throne after this.

This bike oozes geek more than anything I’ve seen in a very long time. Jamie is really making me question myself and my decision to go dork.

I will overcome. I am stronger than I think I am. I can do more than I think I can. Where’s Ken Chlouber when I need him?

BTW, bike was an early Christmas gift to himself and is a custom Blacksheep with the blingiest stuff you could imagine.

Get Your Dork On!

Rick S. got me thinking about next year. My plan for next year as far as my bike goes is to get my dork on.

Getting your dork on should not be confused with getting your geek on.

If you are easily hypnotized by shiny pieces of carbon fiber or titanium bike gizmos and consider yourself an early adopter of bike technology, chances are you don’t need any help getting your geek on. If you’re still unsure of what I’m talking about I suggest you pay a visit to Jamie Pogue’s garage. No one gets their geek on like Jamie. I mean that as a compliment. I must pause here to thank Jamie for all the wonderful hand-me-downs from his garage that have allowed me to get my geek on in my own little way.

Getting your dork on is the opposite of Jamie’s garage. It’s your D. I. to your Nordy’s. It’s your Huckabee to your Romney, your Accordion Hero to your Guitar Hero.

Last season, geek on:

Next season, dork on:

To the untrained eye the above bikes may look similar but they couldn’t be more different. I’ve loved the custom, made just for me, frame from Walt Works. As a matter of fact I’ve owned a couple Walt Works and they rock.

Next season though, I’m going with a 5 year old totally stock 2nd owner Kona Unit. It even has a big dent in the downtube. You may not notice all the geekiness on the Walt Works but its there, from the carbon fiber hydraulic brake levers to the carbon cranks and titanium seat post. Zero carbon on the Kona in the second picture, no titanium either. I’ll be using rim brakes in lieu of hydros and my brake levers don’t match.

I cant’ wait. Join me in getting your dork on.