Snow Day

It's snowed on early Saturday morning. I felt like a kid again, not being able to sleep in anticipation of the forthcoming storm. I woke up to about 4" of snowfall, and knew I had a small window of time before the white snow turned to black sludge. I geared up, hopped on my mountain bike and rolled slowly down the hill, then up to Prospect Park. People looked at me like I was crazy as I rolled by, but I love riding in the snow.

Riding in the snow is a bit easier than you'd think, as long as the snow is fresh. I have hydraulic disc brakes so stopping wasn't an issue. My mountain bike is also a 29er, and the bigger wheels help in providing more grip to surface. I did notice my front fork becoming slow and sluggish. It has Specialized's Brain technology, and I felt like it was the cause for its lack in performance, but who really needs to soak up bumps while riding in soft snow?

It was 25º outside and the snow was quickly turning into sleet and blowing sideways. I rode for an hour and a half and covered 18 miles. My fingers were frozen by the time I got home, and the streets were already turning into black rivers of sludge.

Cunningham Park

I took advantage of another warm day in Brooklyn and rode out to Cunningham Park in Queens for a little mountain biking. It's one of three accessible mountain bike specific parks in New York City. I rode 15 miles to the trail head and did about 5 miles of fast rolling single-track. While it lacks in good long sustained climbs it makes up in overall fun with technical twisty trails.

The trailhead is at 210th St in Oakland Gardens, Queens. It's maintained by CLIMB (Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists).

The trails are directional and pretty well-marked. Since it's directional you rarely see anyone on the trail. The park also features a few pump tracks, and bunch of technical sections with log rollers, drops and jumps.

The mud that day was rather sneaky. What looked like hard-pack dirt turned out to be very tacky and soupy underneath. I slid out a few times, but managed to stay pretty clean. I can't say the same for my bike.

Cunningham is good for a quick fix. It has a bit of everything, and is close enough to either take a train or ride there.

Maine

As winter begins to take hold here in Brooklyn, I can't help think about warmer times. This past summer we went up to Maine for a wedding. We also rented mountain bikes for the weekend and road all over Acadia National Park. But what struck me to be the more memorable ride was a random outing through Blue Hill, where I came upon this gorgeous section of trail off main the road. It only lasted a few hundred yards, but the timing and scenery was perfect. It reminded me of the good old days of scouting hidden trails, often making new ones in my hometown of Vancouver, WA.

I think what I rode through was a farm of sorts. Maybe blueberries. You can see faint lines delineating sections of brush. For all I know I was trespassing, but I didn't see any signs. No harm done.

The path meandered down towards the water, cutting through boulder fields, gradually turning into brush.

It was my first time in Maine, and it reminded me a lot of the Pacific Northwest with its rolling hills and endless tree line. I look forward to my next visit.

Another Blast from the Past

My first real mountain bike was a chromoly Specialized Stumpjumper from REI. It had a custom Rock Shox air/oil front suspension fork and a Shimano LX groupo. I gradually customized it with a Gorilla brake booster and Bear Trap pedals amongst other unnecessary upgrades. It was a great starter bike.

I tore it apart and put it back together again, stripping bolts along the way. I borrowed Sloane's New Bicycle Maintenance Manual from the library and absorbed as much as I could. It's how I got into becoming a bicycle mechanic.

My dad snapped this shot of me, just as we descended the Dog River trail near Mt. Hood. It was one of my first group rides with my local shop, Custom Bicycles, who eventually became my first employer. I was sporting my dad's old Nike running shoes because they were so spongy and gripped so well with my pedals. I also had on a pair of protective shop glasses. Talk about performance on a budget.

Leadville 100 Qualifier

The Leadville 100 qualifying races were announced the other day. Even though I won a lottery that automatically places me at the start line of the race, I'm determined to officially qualify at the Wilmington Whiteface 100 in Wilmington, NY on June 17.

The course features 62% fire/jeep roads, 34% paved, and 4% single track and about 6500 ft climbing over 57 miles (100k). I think with all the training I'm doing on my road bike I'll definitely be in shape for this. Check out the course map and profile here.

They only have 100 qualifying slots based on performance with a cap of 1000 racers per race. That means only 10% of the top finishers make it into the Leadville 100. They added more qualifying races this year so chances are better if you do poorly in any one race.

What Did I Get Myself Into?

Here's a trailer for Race Across The Sky, the 2009 Leadville 100 documentary, featuring six-time champion, Dave Weins, and seven-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong. If these guys suffered how am I going to survive? I definitely need to get my support team in order to force feed me. Anybody interested in helping me in Colorado this August?

Hans Rey's Distant Nephew?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj6ho1-G6tw&feature=youtube_gdata_player Who remembers trials riders of the 90's? Libor Karas and Hans "No Way" Rey, of course. To me they're considered old school. The pioneers. It's been forever since I've watched these scale 8 ft walls in a single bound, or hop from palette to picnic table.

Well Danny MacAskill, a trials, free-riding, hybrid from Scotland has recaptured my attention and admiration for anyone capable of doing just about anything on two wheels. He's different from Hans and Libor in that he combines BMX, trials and the free-riding spirit of todays extreme riders.

The Captain

Ned Overend "The Captain" turned 56 years old this year, and has dominated the mountain biking scene for as long as I can remember getting into mountain biking.

Having won the first official World XC Mountain Bike Championship, the picture above is of his recent victory at the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, beating out pros half his age. It goes to show you're never too old to ride or race. Truly an inspiration.