Today I went back to the Central park MTB trails. These trails are more than decent, with about 3ish miles of nice singletrack that flows well and goes through some nice woods. The moderate portions are moderate, with some technical obstacles and some tough climbs. There are some neat sections with rock and root obstacles before the approaches of some pretty short steep climbs. It's also a pretty spot, and it doesn't get too crowded. I really can't believe there's such a legit singletrack trail in FoCo. Thanks RAMBO.
I took my new Camelbak out, it's great. Very very light. Really don't even notice it, even with 2 liters of water, a field pump and some hex keys.
Also tried out my new bontrager gloves again today. These things are great, the padding is perfect, and it has really reduced my fatigue in general. My hands were always the first thing to start bothering me when I ride, especially on tight bumpy singletrack.
Right by the trail in many areas of the park are disc golf "holes". What a silly thing to do. Anything to get you outside having fun is good by me, but really guys? There's beautiful singletrack two feet away. Get on your bikes already.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Its been a good few days for cycling.
First things first, I discovered a new trail in Forsyth that i enjoyed. The trail is in Central park on Keith Bridge, close to FCHS. It's got some nice tight singletrack, including nice wooded portions. It's a little short, but honestly having any legal open MTB trails in FOCO is a step in the right direction. Word from RAMBO (Local trail builders) is that another trail is under construction. Awesome news. Even such, I spend hours the other day researching area trails, and found some exciting stuff.
The Chicopee woods continue to get talked up on MTBR forums. Also, there was an olympic cross country trail in Elijay for the 1996 games in ATL, it's also been used by horses and it could be gone at this point but boy do I want to see that. Even if I never end up able to see that trail, there's evidently 15+ miles of trail at Ft Yargo, so things just keep looking up at this point when it comes to the local stuff. Honestly thats a drop in the bucket from what I found, but enough for now.
2nd, my friend Abbey's dad got his first 'real' bike! He's in his early 60's and the man is in great shape, so hopefully his new Specialized will give him the fever. He got a nice, aggressive hybrid. He was also looking at a used Cannondale with some interesting equipment on it, and he evidently has a Raleigh in bad shape that wasn't in running condition. It was given to him by a friend, and I've been given some hits from Abbey that it may be rolling my way in the new year.
3rd: Santa brought me lots of fun things for my bike. As soon as I have the chance (hope tomorrow, but more than likely Sunday) I'll be posting reviews about the new gear and how it seems to work. I'm not making any major component changes to my bike this December. Nonetheless, I have new gloves (Fingerless from Pearl Izumi and full-finger from Bontrager). Also got a nice pair of SPD Compatible Pearl Izumi cycling shoes. They should fit quite well with some lightweight shimano cleats and pedals when I decide its time to put my Wellgo pedals on my Zebrano hybrid. I also got my hands on a CamelBak XLP and I can already tell you, this pack is amazing. Put my new CrankBros field pump, two sets of hex keys and two liters of water into this bad boy. It's a beautiful hydration system.
To top all of these great new toys out, I got Bicycling Magazines Complete Bike repair book as well as The Cyclist's Training Bible.
A quick quote from the Bible: "Cycling is a life long sport to be enjoyed for what it brings to your life - superb fitness, excellent health, enjoyable times, and good friends. It is not an opponent to be subdues and conquered"
That book is going to be a great help as I finish up my first full season of avid cycling this may and get ready to embark on my first few MTB races.
Happy Trails and Merry Christmas
First things first, I discovered a new trail in Forsyth that i enjoyed. The trail is in Central park on Keith Bridge, close to FCHS. It's got some nice tight singletrack, including nice wooded portions. It's a little short, but honestly having any legal open MTB trails in FOCO is a step in the right direction. Word from RAMBO (Local trail builders) is that another trail is under construction. Awesome news. Even such, I spend hours the other day researching area trails, and found some exciting stuff.
The Chicopee woods continue to get talked up on MTBR forums. Also, there was an olympic cross country trail in Elijay for the 1996 games in ATL, it's also been used by horses and it could be gone at this point but boy do I want to see that. Even if I never end up able to see that trail, there's evidently 15+ miles of trail at Ft Yargo, so things just keep looking up at this point when it comes to the local stuff. Honestly thats a drop in the bucket from what I found, but enough for now.
2nd, my friend Abbey's dad got his first 'real' bike! He's in his early 60's and the man is in great shape, so hopefully his new Specialized will give him the fever. He got a nice, aggressive hybrid. He was also looking at a used Cannondale with some interesting equipment on it, and he evidently has a Raleigh in bad shape that wasn't in running condition. It was given to him by a friend, and I've been given some hits from Abbey that it may be rolling my way in the new year.
3rd: Santa brought me lots of fun things for my bike. As soon as I have the chance (hope tomorrow, but more than likely Sunday) I'll be posting reviews about the new gear and how it seems to work. I'm not making any major component changes to my bike this December. Nonetheless, I have new gloves (Fingerless from Pearl Izumi and full-finger from Bontrager). Also got a nice pair of SPD Compatible Pearl Izumi cycling shoes. They should fit quite well with some lightweight shimano cleats and pedals when I decide its time to put my Wellgo pedals on my Zebrano hybrid. I also got my hands on a CamelBak XLP and I can already tell you, this pack is amazing. Put my new CrankBros field pump, two sets of hex keys and two liters of water into this bad boy. It's a beautiful hydration system.
To top all of these great new toys out, I got Bicycling Magazines Complete Bike repair book as well as The Cyclist's Training Bible.
A quick quote from the Bible: "Cycling is a life long sport to be enjoyed for what it brings to your life - superb fitness, excellent health, enjoyable times, and good friends. It is not an opponent to be subdues and conquered"
That book is going to be a great help as I finish up my first full season of avid cycling this may and get ready to embark on my first few MTB races.
Happy Trails and Merry Christmas
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Bike Time WIth Jay
You can praise or blame my buddy Zach for the resurgence of this blog. He took his passionate experiment (herding goats in a friends yard while living in a dorm) to the web. It helped him to document some of the things he learned, mistakes he made, etc. Check him out, his passion runs deep about goats and the outdoors in general: www.zachabides.blogspot.com
Zach's inspiration, combined with the urging of some close friends and the amazing Keith Bontrager Diaries will be the fuel for this bike blogs soul.
This is by no means a pro's blog, nor an industry insiders'. It's an enthusiasts, at his most enthusiastic. If you want the pro blogs, you know where to go. If not, start here: http://autobus.cyclingnews.com
Whether or not you want to read pro blogs, If you only check out one link today it should be this one from KB: http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/diaries/keith
I hope this blog will serve the same purpose in my journey as it has in Zach's. Also, it should serve to save some of my friends ears from constant yammering about the advantages of 29 in wheels, trail descriptions, new bike models/tech, etc. The yammering will go to the web, I hope it informs
Zach's inspiration, combined with the urging of some close friends and the amazing Keith Bontrager Diaries will be the fuel for this bike blogs soul.
This is by no means a pro's blog, nor an industry insiders'. It's an enthusiasts, at his most enthusiastic. If you want the pro blogs, you know where to go. If not, start here: http://autobus.cyclingnews.com
Whether or not you want to read pro blogs, If you only check out one link today it should be this one from KB: http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/riders/2005/diaries/keith
I hope this blog will serve the same purpose in my journey as it has in Zach's. Also, it should serve to save some of my friends ears from constant yammering about the advantages of 29 in wheels, trail descriptions, new bike models/tech, etc. The yammering will go to the web, I hope it informs
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