MtnBikeRiders.com

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Much like most of you folks, we took advantage of the holiday and got some riding in. But before I go on, I would like to thank the men and women, past, preset, and future who have served this great country we live in. Thank you for all the hard work and sacrifice that you all have done.

On this holiday ride, we decided to enjoy the trails of Aliso Woods in Southern California. This is one of our favorite local destinations because it provides something for every skill level. From fire roads to downhill trails, Aliso Woods has it all.

We were joined by some of the guys on the race team, Dan Burdett, Corey Pond, Priscilla Policar, Yours Truly, and Art Aguilar. We were also in for a treat because one of our favorite Chinese people, Jeremy Yang was in attendance. The last time Jeremy and I rode together was just about a year ago, it was right before his Jet9 got stolen. Though, he and I only live minutes away from each other, our busy family lives have prevented us from doing too many group rides…DARN KIDS, always cramping my style! Anyhow, Team Medic, Doctor Thunda was there on hand to make sure that we were all medically safe. Khoa Nguyen, Team IT Administrator was also there just to make sure none of our technological equipment had any problems.

As we worked our way up Woods Canyon, Priscilla lead the faster group.

This is Charles, he has magical Asian hair. I was super jealous of his long dark locks. But then again, in order for me to grow hair longer than 2″, I’d need a some major doses of Rogaine.

My Daughter and I rocked the trail on our tandem.

We ended up doing a short ride because we had to hurry on over to the Original Pancake House for Breakfast. Holy Smokes! Have you ever eaten there? This was a first for many of us, but Dan Burdett goes there at least 3 times a week. He says their food is his secret training weapon.

Here’s a glimpse of how intimate our team can be. Corey and I LOVE to feed each other. Let’s just hope this photo doesn’t surface when either of us are looking for a new job and the potential employer decides to Google our names.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I’ve mentioned my wicked-kick butt Diamondback Wildwood Tandem on here more than a few times. When we first raced it back in the fall of 2010, it had some humble beginnings and it needed so many upgrades in order to make it somewhat worthy for off-road use.

The first of many upgrades it received was a suspension fork, but even that fork needed some help. Leaking oil and air, it was due to have it serviced. I had scoured the Internet and called a few shops to see if I could find someone to perform the needed service on the fork. But I ended up ordering the service kit for about $11 and went to work in my garage. Within an hour, the fork was good as new.

The next major upgrade was its drive train. It came with an 24speed set up and the rear cassette was a MegaRange with a 34t. Though the 34t helped in climbing, I just couldn’t find a happy medium when I was pedaling, it was either too high or too low. I decided to slap on the 36t cassette that I purchased from a recent review I wrote about.

I then mated the new 9speed cassette with a set of LX shifter pods that I bought off ebay. You’ll also notice that I’m now running a set of Avid brake levers. More on that later. Mind you, prior to my upgrades, the bike had an 8speed Rapidfire shifter/levers.

Check out my new set of Shimano MX pedals with alloy body, got those from a swap meet for $5!

Here’s why I mentioned the Avid brake levers, its to match the front Avid BB5 disc brake caliper, and yes that’s a Dirty Dog MTB Web Rotor (Thanks Nick DeBeer!).

The Ergon GC3 grips are awesome for comfort and added leverage. One thing I learned with the tandem, the wider the Captain’s bar is, the easier it is to handle the bike especially when you’re riding through technical terrain. That 30″ silver bar, got that at a swap meet as well for $5!

One of my goals with the 2Fast4U tandem was to ride up a trail called Cholla and down Rockit in Aliso Woods, Ca. My daughter and I accomplished that today. Though our climb up to Cholla had some breaks in between, our time down Rockit was a blast! Aleah did a great job as my Stoker and lucky for me, she didn’t fall off!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

This past Tuesday was the kickoff for the 2011 season of Over The Hump. If you are not familiar, this is an XC event held at Irvine lake on Tuesday nights. I participated in a few last season, and enjoyed the laid back, friendly vibe. So I am back again for some more fun. One thing I noticed right away, it was packed! There were 450+ racers! And tons of sponsors on hand to help out. I got there early, check in was a breeze. Met up with teammate Dan B, and hit the course for a pre-ride.

The course was close to last seasons. The lake is full right now, so some of the single track on the first half is under water. This lead us to run a lot of fire road this time out. One lap was just at 4 miles. Also one thing to note, the last section, ( which never had any mud last season ) was little muddy on the pre ride.

After the kids race, the masses lined up. It was kinda hectic at the start, I couldn’t tell how big may class was. I got a spot on the front row, planning for a good start. When the horn went off, I sprinted to get out front. That didn’t last too long. Guys were going all out to get a good position on the first climb. I settled in the middle of the pack, and fought some traffic up the hill. Once we hit the return road I was able to pass a few, and jump on a group charging the flat road to the other side of the lake. This side has a short and a longer climb that leads into twisty stuff, the entire course is pretty smooth and super tame, this meant guys were hammering the whole time. At the end of lap 1 we hit the muddy section I mentioned. By now it was worse, I was able to pedal through it, but it was tough. Part way into lap 2 I wasn’t feeling so good. I think it was the bad result of eating a banana, Honey Stingers, and a GU before the start. I backed off a bit, but kept a good pace. once I hit the mud again, there was no riding through it. I dismounted and ran past a few guys trying to ride it out. How muddy was it? Heres an idea.

The third lap my legs felt good, but my poor choice of food was messing with me. I didn’t see any others from my class. There was another bottleneck in the mud, so I jumped off again and this time it was ankle deep. I know most of the racers hated this section. But honestly it was a great place to pass the faster guys that didn’t want to get their shoes dirty. After a quick spin to the finish line, it was all over. At just under an hour and 12 miles, this race was a real fast paced. I placed 17th the a class of 43, I got some work to do to hit the Top Ten. The word on the street is, no muddy section next race. Stay tuned for more reports from the OTH series.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Not sure if you’ve seen this, but its pretty insane!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Check it out kids, I found a solid carbon fiber ring. I was tempted to get it to match my carbon fiber wallet.

Funny thing is, the only thing that I own that’s carbon on my bikes would be a seat post and some head tube spacers and a top cap. Other than that, I really don’t see a big need for it. But I figure, some of you carbon freaks would get a kick out of this ring. Now all you have to do is “misplace” your wedding bad, but in reality, just hide it in your garage and then you tell your wife you lost it so now you can buy the new carbon ring! No need to thank me for the wonderful idea.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites