Stuff That Sucks: Part II

You never see these things coming. About a week ago during a long training ride on my mountain bike I blew a front tire and crashed hard. After standing up and shaking off the crash I realized that I was bleeding profusely and that my right arm was making odd popping sounds when I would bend it. After a trip to the hospital I was told that I had a massive fracture in my right elbow that I would need surgery to repair it.

Now about a week later I am feeling better and, aside from being a little stiff, am back to normal and looking forward to start training for some summer MTB races.

Wanted to thank Dr Prieto at SportsMed in SF for the wires and staples and Anna for all the help and the Lasagna.

Ride on.

CRIZE

Fox Talas 32

I am now the proud owner of a Fox Talas 32 RLC fork. I've heard nothing but good things about this fork and have been using Fox Suspension for years so am excited to get it out on the trails. Plan on heading to Santa Cruz this weekend to test it out. Will let you know how it goes.

No Moab this Year

Just lamenting over how I didn't get to go to moab this year. This is the first summer in five years I haven't been there. :(

A rant about horses on trails

If you are an active mountain biker you should be used to sharing trails with other trail users (horses, hikers, motorcycles, hippies, homeless people, etc) . Something that has been on my mind lately is how we as cyclists ended up at the bottom of the totom poll as far as trail users are concerned. Over the 20 years I have been riding bikes off road I have had a lot more run ins with equestrians than any other trail user I can think of. I have been kicked chased and verbally assaulted by horses and there riders (sometimes at the same time). What I don't understand is why cyclists are demonized by trail stewards as being dangerous and destructive while a very large, strong, fast animal with a tendency to be easily spooked is seen as acceptable. Don't get me wrong, I grew up around horses and think they are very beautiful animals. But I think there impact on trails and potential danger to others far outweigh that of any mountain biker. Fact is horses cause a lot of trail erosion, leave there feces all over the place and have a tendency to get freaked around other trail users (my bike has never started bucking wildly when a hiker passes). Perhaps more trails should adopt a system like Tsali National Recreation Area on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains and create a schedule so horses and bikes are never on the trails at the same time. Ridden there several times and it is great to not have to worry about getting stomped by some large animal.

Well, I will stop complaining now. Just had to get that off my chest. See you all on the trails.

Slatyfork West Virginia - In Pictures!

Recently returned to the my hometown of Pittsburgh PA to spend some time with family and friends. While I was there I got the chance to head down into West Virginia to do some mountain biking in the remote Slatyfork region. This area doesn't have the hype of Moab or Whistler but it is some of the best riding in the country. Miles of gnarly root and rock strewn singletrack are available and it is all MTB legal. So next time your in DC, Philly or NYC, plan a couple of days to check out this gem nestled deep in the Appalachian mountains.

And now for the pictures:

City Cycles in San Francisco

After a long and hard search I have finally found a bike shop that I am happy with. For those who knew me back in my mid Atlantic days know hw I used to frequent ThreeSports in Richmond Virginia. There service department and mechanics were out of this world. After relocating to SF I was a little surprised at how mediocre many of the bike shops were. I would usually end up paying a decent chunk of cash for a half-assed attempt at working on my bike.

City Cycles in the Marina district in San Francisco changed all that. I went in there with my two year old Santa Cruz Blur that was in desperate need of a tune up and left with a bike that felt new. I have to say they are by far the most professional shop I have dealt with in the Bay area to date. So if you live in San Francisco or are just passing through stop by and check them out. They are just off the 101.

City Cycles
3001 Steiner Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
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These guys are also a hot item on my Bike Shops in San Francisco Swicki.

Video of Downieville River Jump