For the past few years, I’ve made it a point to do a ride on New Year’s Day. Honestly its really hard to get a group ride going after a night full of partying. But luckily this year’s ride had a good turn out. We were joined by our newest riding buddy, David Sanderson as well as Eric “The Animal” Hunner. Priscilla, Moe and I met up with everyone this morning at 9:30am and rode the Loop at an easy pace.
Through out the ride, I was actually surprised by everyone’s performance. For the most part you wouldn’t think that any of them had hangovers…David recently purchased a new Redline Monocog 26 Single Speed and he was on fire.
Even though the rest of the crew did well riding, I was still recovering from being tired and fat. David and I actually rode Aliso Woods yesterday for a few hours. So if I include that ride, a long night trying to celebrate New Years, then my overall condition for riding was pretty sad…I was down right messed up. Luckily there’s this hot young thing that was kind enough to keep me company as I grinded my way through the trail…
David and Eric
The Moe
At one of the rest stops, we met up with our friend Christine. The last time we rode with her, she broke her derailleur hanger and chain. It took her shop a full month to get the hanger ordered and installed.
After the ride, we decided to eat at our favorite venue, Farmer Boys. Man that places has some great French Toast!
Moe, Eric, David, Christine and Priscilla. I was taking the photo.
As usual, we like to take short little videos of our adventures.
This weekend was the 5th Annual Le Tour de Tryptophan at the world famous Fullerton Loop. I met Moe & RL at the court house parking lot Friday afternoon. This event runs from Friday noon to Saturday noon (24hrs). I had every intentions of camping out with the guys however plans changed unexpectedly on Thanksgiving that I could only stay until the evening. Below is a brief description of the event:
Ride and Donate to the Fifth Annual Tour de Tryptophan/24 Hours of the Fullerton Loop.
Help Save Kids From Boredom and Protect the Future of Mountain Biking With High School Cycling Programs.
Fullerton, CA - November 25, 2008 - - If you’re in Southern California this Friday after Thanksgiving, come burn your Turkey off for a good cause at the Fifth Annual Tour de Tryptophan/24 Hours of the Fullerton Loop.
Presented by no one, this fund-raiser commences at noon on Friday and finishes at noon on Saturday. As it is a fun ride with no rules, you can start or finish at any time. Do one lap, go home for the evening and do another in the morning. Or ride your brains out for 24 Hours. Seventeen laps seems to be the reigning record.
The Fullerton Loop is an 11-mile network of suburban trails that pass through city parks, horse trails, hidden pathways and creekside wilderness. Originally pieced together by Richard Cunningham of Mantis Bikes and Mountain Bike Action fame in 1983, hundreds of people ride and train on the famed loop every week. This 24 Hour event was conceived as a celebration of the Loop, an excuse to burn off Thanksgiving dinner, and an opportunity to support a good cause. This year’s proceeds will benefit the SoCal High School Cycling League, which will bring cycling to Southern California High Schools in 2009. Former beneficiaries of the Tour de Tryp have included the Tara Llanes Recovery Fund, CHOC Hospitals, and various other charities.
The SoCal High School Cycling League is not even aware that they are the recipient of upcoming proceeds, so therefore are responsible in no way for this event.
The ride will start and end in the upper parking lot of the Courthouse in Fullerton at Harbor and Berkeley. You can show up at any time to donate $30 and receive the Ramones-inspired T-Shirt while supplies last.
As described above, this is more of a fun event; there were no pressure to do more laps than the next guy (unless you wanted to). There was a big turn out by the time I arrived at the parking lot. Moe had brought his pop-up trailer and RL had set-up the Team’s Redline tent. After signing up, we went out for our first lap. RL was pulling his daughter on a trailer while Moe and I followed. On the way to Gus Grissom Park, we were passed by Mountain Bike Action’s Richard “R.C.” Cunningham (see video). As mentioned above, R.C. was the man who made Fullerton Loop possible. In the past I’ve had several chats with R.C. where he shared stories on putting the Loop together in the 80s. Truly an honor to meet the man who created the trail that is shared by hundreds of riders on a weekly basis.
Base Camp. Not sure what Moe is doing back there…
Approximately 4 miles into the Loop, RL experienced mechanicals with trailer where the attachment was rubbing against his rear rotors. He tried several adjustments and it just wasn’t working out. He decided to head back to the parking lot and Moe and I continued on. From here Moe and I decided to switch bikes. Fortunately we were both using Crank Bros pedals so our cleats were compatible. I have never ridden on a 29er before so I was pretty stoked to try it. Also after reading Moe’s review of the Flagstaff 29er I couldn’t wait to ride it. In turn Moe rode my Intense 5.5. We had a very casual ride for the remainder of the Loop. First lap done!
When we returned to the parking lot, Priscilla had already arrived and will be joining us. Moe and I rested for a bit then the three of us would go for a second lap. RL was staying behind with their daughter. It was another casual ride however at a faster pace as we were losing light.
Making it back to the parking lot, we were greeted by Eric “the Animal” Hunner on a unicycle (see video) while RL was manning the bbq grill. By now it was dark and many participants were taking their breaks and also cooking dinner. There were also some riders heading out for more laps. After having dinner and a beer, I was too full to do another lap. At the same time it was getting cold and my helmet was wet (sweat) from the previous rides. Not so comfortable wearing a wet helmet… I decided to call it the night and return in the morning.
On Saturday I returned for the end of the event. The current record for the most laps is 17. This year the top rider would only complete 15 laps. Still a lot considering one lap is 11 miles. the next rider did 13 laps. The Moe checked in with 5 laps and RL with 3. Awesome job guys!
MtnBikeRiders.com with MBA’s Richard Cunningham
This was truly a fun event - I look forward to next year’s Le Tour de Tryptophan!
Recently my coworker gave me an old GT Palomar. It was a 13 inch frame and as soon as I showed it to my daughter Breanna, she fell in love with it. You would think that a World Class Mountain Biking Blogger such as I would have a whole litter of mountain biking kids. Well unfortunately none of them really took to the sport. Back to the bike. Breanna showed interest in this bike and I told her that she could have it if she’s willing to use it for mountain biking. Keep in mind Breanna is not completely closed to the idea of riding. In fact she and I placed 2nd in last years Mt Sac Fat Tire Classic in the the Tandem Class. She’s been a reliable tandem partner, but with the recent sale of the bike, she hasn’t gone with me at all.
Ok so today she and I had a little date after church. First we did some shopping, nothing fancy, just went to Home Depot and the Grocery store. Then during lunch at our favorite sushi joint, I had asked her if she would be interested in going mountain biking. She gave me happy yes.
Around 3pm, we got ready and headed down the back side of the Fullerton Loop. We rode around the area that was relatively easy. At first she was apprehensive on some of the steep hills. But after some coaching and encouraging, she was comfortable enough to ride down each small descent we hit.
Climbing was something new to her, granny gears and sitting down during the climb all seemed foreign to her. But after a few climbs she got the hang of it. However, she later confessed that she’d rather go down hills than climb them…hmm I wonder if that’s an indication of what kind of riding she’ll like to do…
Anyhow, we must have done about 4 miles today. We had talked about upping the mileage each time we go on our next few rides. Below are some pics of our little adventure.
Dad and Breanna.
Here’s Breanna proudly showing off her GT Palomar.
Until next time!
On Saturday morning, Priscilla, Moe and I scheduled a ride at the World Famous Fullerton Loop. While we were waiting for our friend Randall, Weyland one of Jeremy’s regular riding buddies pulls up. Unknown to us, he was meeting two other friends, Kenny and Calvin (avid reader of the site.)
Since they were starting their ride the same time as we were, we figured it would be better to ride together. Unfortunately I ended up having a mechanical problem. I think it started out on the first climb. My single speed started skipping on the rear cog while I was mashing it up the hill. As we rode through a different part of the trail, about half way through, my chain skipped again but this time I inspected it and found that one of my links was about to break off and another was on the verge of coming apart.
I decided to coast down the hill and try and fix it. But the way my chain broke, I had to take out 2 links and stupid me, I didn’t have one of them fancy quick link thingies to help with the problem. So I ended up fixing the chain with the rear wheel half way mounted on the dropout and limped back to the car. Looks like I’ll be shopping for a new chain tomorrow!
But before all this happened, Priscilla was able to snap a few pics of the guys…man, our point and shoot camera sucks…
That yellow shirt wearing guy is me! Calvin is right behind on his big wheeled Niner.
Kenny and Weyland, also on a Niner was not too far behind.
Check it out, Randall is our FIRST customer! He gladly purchased an Official MtnBikeRiders.com T-shirt for $15!
Oh by the way, we’d like to wish Weyland and Kenny a happy birthday! Turns out Calvin drove all the way in from the Santa Clarita area (that’s about 1.5 hours from the Loop) just to ride with his buddies and take them out to breakfast afterwards. That’s a good friend.
A while ago I mentioned that I built up a “faux” Full Suspension Redline for my buddy Loren. On Sunday after church, Priscilla and I took him to the Fullerton Loop to test out the bike. Back in his younger days, Loren used to be a pretty good BMX racer. So it was no surprise to me that he had excellent bike handling skills. So much so that he was like my shadow when it came to the jumps on the trail. The dude had some grace when taking jumps and he does a little flair kick too!
Here’s Loren coming down the trail.
Then there was I. Yup, that’s me sporting the MtnBikeRiders jersey.
We then headed over to the dirt jumps to see if Loren could do some of his magic. But those jumps were HUGE! Needless to say, we just tooled around the area and took the smaller ones…yah we showed them!
Anyhow, Loren did pretty well considering it was his first ride. Afterward, he said that he’d like to mountain bike on a regular basis!
One of our newest riding buddies, Ryan K. recently got some new gear for his birthday. He received a nice set of pads, shoes and Crank Brothers Pedals. Ryan and I had emailed each other prior to our ride last week and I warned him that it takes some time getting used to the clipless pedals. With that said, he advised me to bring my camera just in case he fell.
Well, I did bring it, and here he is on his first clipless fall. I felt honored to be part of this momentous occasion. Thanks Ryan!
Yesterday’s after work Single Speed Extraveganza was the first time I was able to wear the new MtnBikeRiders.com Jersey. But before we get to that, I wanted to share a few photos of the group that went. I say it was a single speed extraveganza, but in reality it was only Khoa, Joe and I that were on SS rigs. But our friends Ryan K. (the man behind my buff photo), Val and his brother Eric were on geared bikes.
Here’s our mandatory group shot.
And another…
Ok, now for the jersey. The fabric is Dry Fit, which means its moisture wicking and its super comfy. The cut and style allows for great arm movements, perfect for technical riding and climbing. The loose fit is great because I never felt constricted.
Sorry for the blurry photos, I just got this new camera and I’m not so sure how to set it up to take photos, but thanks to Ryan for taking them.
Here’s a side profile, that’s my new SS Red Rocket…it had red tires before…thus the name.
A staged photo of me climbing.
I do want to thank the rest of the guys for being patient with me. Man I am WAY out of shape…and I’m feeling the effects of the 170mm cranks…I’m spinning too much.
Last night I headed out for a slightly unexpected Thursday night ride at the local loop. After the kids were down, my wife graciously let me out of the house to go ride, of course with her obligatory “Don’t do anything stupid” parting phrase.
As this was sort of a last minute ride I had already mentally conceded that this would probably be a solo ride, which is always better than no ride at all, right? When I arrived at the trailhead though, I heard someone yell “is that Jeremy?” It was my friend Poy and he was about to start riding the loop too. Sweet, a ride partner!
As I was gathering my gear, I realized that I forgot some important essentials: cell phone and wallet. These items would normally be very important if I was riding a far less frequented trail but since I was riding the world famous Fullerton Loop and I was tagging along with a couple of friends, Poy and Matt (Poy’s friend), I figured I’d be fine if anything happened to me. I’d just have to make sure my riding partners knew I had Kaiser as my insurance so they could take me to the right hospital, the non-Kaiser hospital emergency room fees can get expensive!
About 4 miles into the ride I noticed I had a slow leaking flat. I normally only carry a co2 but I didn’t want to waste that on a leaker, so I asked to borrow a pump from my friends. After pumping up the tire, I heard a distinct hissing sound indicative of more than a slow leak. I figured that since we were already stopped, I might as swap out the tube and put in a fresh one. When I reached in to locate my co2 I realized it wasn’t in my bag. My last ride was on another bike and the co2 had been transferred to the bag on that bike. Doh!
After borrowing a couple of tire levers, a co2 and the hand pump, we were finally ready to resume our ride. I, of course, learned my lesson. The only thing you REALLY need to bring on a ride isn’t a hand pump, co2, or even tire levers. All you really need are a couple of riding buddies… who have those necessities.
As you all know last Saturday was our official dress ride. This is basically the ride in which Vince Rodarte of KHS Bicycles paid his bet by wearing a dress during a ride at the Fullerton Loop.
On Saturday morning we had gathered a group of riders that were there to get a ride in as well as a gander at Vince wearing a dress. Vince showed up like a real diva, fashionably late. Right away we gathered everyone and I was able to present Vince his attire for the day.
Here’s Vince sporting his authentic Hawaiian moomoo by Guadalupe. I loved how the flowers matched his helmet, of course he rode in style since he was adorned by a pair of aviator glasses.
Not only was Vince a brave man for wearing the dress, but the dude was tough enough to haul his two boys in the trailer while riding a single speed!
Here’s the two Rodarte Mom’s with their kids.
Mandatory group shot by Joe Solancho.
We ended the day with a BBQ that MtnBikeRiders.com provided for those that could make it. Burgers and Dogs were flowing like Evian out of my grill.
In true MtnBikeRiders.com style, a video captured our festivities! Enjoy!
We’d like to thank everyone that made it to the ride as well as the great sponsors of the weight loss challenge. Apparently, Juan Diaz of Specialized Bicycles donated $200 to the City of Hope!
MtnBikeRiders.com set up a last minute ride at the Fullerton Loop. Priscilla, Moe, I as well as our friend Anthony decided to get a quick ride in for Father’s Day Weekend. I normally send out a weekly ride invite and one fella said that he’ll try to make it. Well what do you know, the dude actually got up early enough and made it…Vince Rodarte of KHS Bicycles. That’s right, my weight loss nemesis and friend, was able to join our ride today. It’s not all too often he gets to come along, so this was a definite treat for us.
Shown in order, Ryan, Lance, Moe, Priscilla, Anthony and some random stranger on the right side.
Vince rode his old skool KHS Single Speed. This machine was actually the motivation for my Sette Reken single speed build project (right behind the KHS). What made today a unique ride was the fact that 3 of us, Vince, Moe and I, were all riding single. Another thing that made this day a bit more sweet was the amount of KHS Bikes we had on the ride. Moe had his Solo One, Anthony was riding the AM2000 that we built, Vince was on his KHS, and well…me, I had a KHS fork, that should count!
Here’s the Three Single Speeding Amigos…
We’re always trying to have fun when we ride. As always, I try to document our adventures…enjoy the video!
Base Camp. Not sure what Moe is doing back there…
MtnBikeRiders.com with MBA’s Richard Cunningham
www.bikecommuters.com
