One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Here's the thing.....Whatever bike you bring to the ride, is your choice. You can't make excuses. If you are the only SS in a group of geared bikes, so be it. It was your choice to ride without gears. Nobody wants to hear about how hard it is. Yet sometimes it's hard not to follow this rule.

Take this morning for example. I was already in the car half way to work when I got the text from the co-workers about a lunch MTB ride. Because it's cross season and because there is a cross race in my backyard on Sat (Draper), I decided to throw in the cross bike as I left the house. This, of course, meant I didn't have the right bike for the proposed ride.



I replied to the text confirming that I had "a" bike and would met up with them at lunch for the ride. I showed up with my skinny tires, 36x16 gearing, and fully rigid bike and did my best to hang with the group. I won't lie. I had to hike a bike in a few spots but managed to keep the group in sight.

The rides in Orem are steep. Designed for gears not so much for SS. And especially not for SS cross bikes. I'm not sure what was harder. The climbs or the descents. At the end of ride, I had a much greater appreciation for my disc brakes on my MTB.

I don't think anyone in the group noticed my bike looked a little different than theirs. Or at least, they pretended not to acknowledge it.

Evolution

At some point in time, I'll invest in the tools needed to swap out my cog. But until then, I'll keep relying on friends. Which means, I tend to run whatever gear I have for all my rides. Every 6-12 months, I'll make a change but I've noticed a disturbing trend.

The evolution of the gearing on my SS during the past 2 years looks like this:

• 32x20
• 34x20
• 32x19
• 32x18

At this rate, by March of 2010, I'll be running a 16t. I've heard the 16t cog comes with a discount on titanium knee joint replacement.

24 Hours of Moab

For those interested in seeing Kenny run, you can watch the video of the start of the race here:

I didn't get any of the race on video except the start. I guess I was too occupied with riding my bike and tinkering between laps.

A few quick thoughts....

• Maybe I'm still on an endorphin high or maybe its the lack of sleep but the 24 Hours of Moab was one of the best races I've done. I loved it.

• Kenny offered his "Daisy Dukes" to anyone on the team who posted the fast time. It was no surprise that Kenny kept his Dukes and maintained the alpha male status. It's also worth mentioning that Kenny decided to wear his daisy dukes for the run/1st lap. The rest of us placed bets on weather or not the shorts would make it around the 15 mile lap without falling apart.

• Elden was able to work his blogging celebrity status and outfit the team with Princeton Tec Switchback 3 lights. The lights worked great. I ran mine on my bar and after 3 night laps, with a rigid fork, over some very technical rocky sections, I never had to adjust the light or charge it. I give it an A. I'd buy one as my next light.

• Nick stepped up and filled a last minute vacancy on the team. He got the call Thur night and scrambled to get his gear ready and join us. There were some unknowns about how Nick would do. He has never owned or ridden a rigid fork and has been riding a SS for less than a year . He crushed it and posted some very fast laps and kept us on track for a strong finish.

I hope Team Fatty decides to be there again in 2010.

Superfly SS

Last week, I got a call from Fatty telling me my new Superfly SS frame had arrived. It turns out, Elden has some pull with guys over at Gary Fisher. Maybe those pics of Elden and Gary hanging out were real afterall.

Not only did he put in a good word but he managed to get me a frameset. And get it a full 3 months sooner than I thought.

With the frameset at Racer's shop, I had just enough time to swap over the parts from my Niner to the Superfly and still have a few days to ride it before the 24 hours of Moab race this weekend.

Taking a new bike down to a 24 hour race probably isn't the smartest thing to do. Not to mention I'll be running a borrowed rigid fork (Thanks Racer). I haven't run a rigid fork in more than three years.

But leaving a frame like this at home just seems wrong. So I'm doing it. I'm going to break it in in Moab.

I finally got it dirty today during a lunch ride so I can now post a pic.

Thanks to Fatty for pulling some strings with the guys at Gary Fisher. I owe you one. But I'm still going to try and post a faster lap than you this weekend. Count on it.

Niner One 9

For Sale:

2008 Niner One 9 frame (size large) with Rock Shox Reba Race fork (only used for half of a season). Also included is a brand new, still in the box, Niner Bio-Centric BB (blue).

Thomson seat post and Thomson stem included.

I could be talked into adding the Chris King headset (orange).

It's on KSL for $900 but I'd let it go for slightly less.

CX Race #1

I know what you're going to ask......Did I grab the dollar bill?

Hells yeah I did.

Getting paid to ride. I've finally arrived.

Video here:

Voicemail

6:15pm
"Hi you've reached Rick and Rachelle Sunderlage......please leave a message"

Jamie "Hey Rick, just calling to talk about your new bike......."

6:16pm

(Jamie calls my cell) "Dude, I think I may have messed up. I left a vm on your home phone about your new bike. Does Rachelle know about it?"

If you are a cyclist who has tried to upgrade your bike(s) and had to get creative about it, you might relate to this scenario.

I've tried to do a good job of planting the seed with Rachelle before I make a purchase. Although I don't have a perfect record. There was the time I somehow ended up as the high bidder on ebay for a frame. Or the time I used my RC Willey account to buy my first nice mountain bike (back when we were fresh out of college). For those of you not from Utah, RC Willey is a large furniture store that offers a generous line of credit. How a bike shop would accept an RC Willey card, I have no idea. I didn't ask questions. And I'm sure you would have done the same.

I know people who have purchased very expensive bikes without getting the proper approvals from their wife and were terrified to let them know about. In some cases, the hiding game went on for several weeks before it was finally discovered.

I'm fortunate that Rachelle has always been super cool about supporting my biking addiction. I guess there are worse things I could be involved in (like golf- the worst sport ever invented).

And in exchange, I try not to make a stink about the hundreds of pillows and baskets we've managed to accumulate over the course of our marriage.

I can deal with the pillows if she can deal with the bikes.

For me, bikes are like investments. You buy one, ride it for a year or two, sell it, take whatever you can get and apply that to a slightly nicer set up. After several years, you can end up with your dream bike and not need to pay out the nose for it.

My dream bike (at the least the frame) has finally arrived. Hopefully I'll have a week to dial it in before the big race next weekend.