SSWC2012 and other stuff

So, I see that SSWC2012 is in South Africa this year. Feb 18th. No... I won't be heading down to participate, but if I did, I'd surely be taking this bike. It only has one gear. The video of the bike is sorta sub par, probably the exact opposite of riding the thing, but the description (0-60 in 3.6 sec) is what really makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up a bit and make me curious.



Onto other things; The 2012 mileage tally was coming along nicely until old man winter decided that it was time to finally get down to business here in Tahoe dropping a foot of snow at Mighty Mobile World Headquarters and counting. So, it'll be a bit before I swing my leg up and over the saddle again. It's time to strap some lumber on my feet and ski some powder for a while. However, with 11 rides under my belt (it's a nice lightweight belt made of lycra... and carbon fiber) the mileage total stands at 243.31. No, I'm not posting all the rides. You'll get bored. So will I. If you're really that into it, you can click here and surf my Garmin account till you're blue in the face... and arse.

Another reminder; Mighty Mobile is open for business ALL WINTER. Call anytime to schedule a pick up.

Whadda ya do in the winter??

A typical mid-summer day for Mighty Mobile Bike Repair usually finds me making house calls in the greater Truckee/Tahoe area adjusting shifting, replacing broken spokes and rebuilding suspension forks. In typical Tahoe fashion, the weather in the summer is mostly predictable and makes scheduling repairs days or even weeks in advance a fairly easy process.

I'm often times asked what I do in the winter. I'm usually quick to answer that question in a caveman-esque style and simply say "ski" as I have a split second day dream of bike repair actually having the ability of providing my sole income as I take the entire winter off from working and spend my time skiing through the day and sipping warm brandy at night. Then reality sets and I give the more honest answer of "... and part time work at a ski shop" as I realize that the electric company isn't really interested in the fact that most people don't think about bike repair in the winter.

But I'm hoping to change that in "oh-12"! Mighty Mobile Bike Repair is O-ficially in the "pick up and delivery" business for the winter. If you've ever thought to yourself "I'm gonna have my bike serviced in the winter so it's ready to go for spring", or if avoiding procrastination is one of your new years resolutions then well.... you're in luck. The time is now folks. Get that leaky for seal fixed. Replace those worn out tires. Get that skipping chain issue worked out before you slam your knee into your stem again. Mighty Mobile is well stocked and can to get your "steed" in tip top shape so the next time you're ready to ride... your bike is too.

Call anytime to schedule a pick up.

your name here

crickets.
i know.
stuff going on.
work.
birthday.
santa cruz.
more work.
lots to tell...
...later though.
till then, i caught this while working away today. if you have 3:33 i'd check it out for your local chuckle.

Ride #5

If the thought of hearing about yet another ride off hwy 20 has you rolling your eyes into the back of your head then you might want to stop reading this and just click here to navigate yourself into a different realm of the intraweb. (safe for all ages, genders and sexual preferences)

And with that... on with the show:



Using the knowledge gained after last Thursdays ride in the same area we set up the cars for a solid point to point from waaaay up on the ridge. Like most of my rides down there, this one might be a little hard to follow if you're loading the file into your personal GPS and attempting to recreate the route. If you do attempt this, just trust the navigation as it sends you trail-lessly bushwacking on a few occasions. There's a reason that you're doing this be it avoiding "blown out" motorcycle trails or hopping off one trail system to get to the better parts of another. In any event, be prepared for an adventure.... and bring a spare derailleur hanger just in case.

At this point I'm fairly certain that I'll be able to tie in some classic flume riding with a little more sniffing around... and more than likely quite a bit of hike a bike on my first attempt. In any event, if my hunch proves correct, the flume could be an exceptionally good way to loop back around to other trail options and sections. This exploratory mission will happen sooner than later as the needle on my curiosity meter is bouncing off the maximum position. Riding the flume is always a "special" kind of experience.

The stats at this point:
Rides: 5
Mileage: 111.69
Mountain bike rides: 5
Road rides: 0

And with that, I gotta go.
Till next time kids.

days 3 & 4

Ride #3


Ride #3 was a quickie on a local loop with my lady. We did have a slight "glitch" in the ride when Megan somehow snuck by me while I was shedding a layer and taking in a view looking south on the 89 corridor. This lead me to thinking she had flatted or laid it down on one of the icy spots on the trail. This theory would prove false however after I backtracked to a spot on the trail where I knew she was still up and running. So.... the chase was on.

Ride #4



Yep. More riding off the 20. I just can't stay away from that place. Why? Maybe it's because after riding down there for 10 years I'm still finding and riding new trail. Sure, some of it sucks, but when it all comes together... man can that shit be magical. I won't put this ride in that "magical" category just yet but the knowledge gained will make an epic soon... very soon.

So... where does that put me for miles in the season? I don't know and I'm too lazy to add up the numbers so early in the game.

New for 2012

I'd say I haven't done this in a while but it's more likely I've never done this. The "this" in question is tracking my mileage for the 2012 riding season. I'm sure I'll forget my Garmin from time to time which has been the standard mode of keeping tabs on my rides and races in the past, but I'll do my best to have it with me on most outings.
It'll be interesting to see how things look throughout the season and I'll be doing my best to post stuff on here as things get underway. With that being said... here we go:



This was the first ride of 2012 for me. This ride started with the realization about half way to Reno that I had forgot my helmet. A quick side trip to a friends house in Glenshire fixed that little issue up and we were back on track.

It's been years (7?) since I've ridden Cow Canyon and I'd got word that there was some newer trail above the stuff I'd ridden previously. Always a sucker for new trail, I headed down there with some peeps to check it out. The new trail is a ridgline moto trail with some steep, fast sections. The climb to get to this part of trail doesn't come easy and you'll loose your hard earned elevation quickly as you rocket back to the "normal" section. The ride is ok, but for me I prefer the Keystone/Evans canyon sections just a bit to the east.

Ride 2:



For my second ride of the season, I managed to remember all of my gear as we headed to the South East corner of Tahoe Lake for some newer/rerouted sections of Rim Trail and the new Vansickle Trail. We had perfect weather for this one. Amazing to be riding well over 8,000ft in January with no snow!

The southeast corner of the lake is quite a drive from Truckee but rest assured it's worth it. The section of Rim Trail between Kingsbury and the bench at Spooner was as good as I always remembered it. Lots of decomposed granite, fast and swoopy. The rerouted sections of the Rim Trail are going to be great once completed (their close, we bushwacked) and the new Vansickle Trail is a great descent of almost 2,000ft of funloving vertical.

And for now... that's it. Ride today? Not sure, but it's likely.