Mondayze

Just got back to town. Me and the "little woman" took a trip to lower lands where the sunshine was abundant, the temperatures allowed the donning of shorts and t-shirts and there wasn't even a speck of snow to look at the entire week. Umm umm good.

Saw the parking lot at Boreal PACKED on our way back into town of Saturday night. They had the snow guns at full throttle. So much so that I couldn't even see anyone doing the actual act of skiing or snowboarding through all the fog and blowing snow, but it's safe to say that at least someone must have been out there with the 200+ cars filling in the parking lot at Donner Summit.

Although I still have an absolutely zero % desire to race the bike right now, if I did I'd surely be heading down to San Fran to do the SSCXWC this weekend. That's sure to be a good time. I actually found the link to the site while checking in on this little piece of hardware. Safe to say I didn't spend many days on the one speed this season but look to change that for 2012.

Speaking of the one speed, I've got my Sniper for sale. Putting this rig up for sale wasn't the easiest of decisions to make but I've got another bike in the quiver that's ready for all the back breaking and knee damaging fun that IS one speeding. Seriously, this bike is sick. If your interested, give a brother a shout and we'll talk.

Asking $675.00

It's light.

It's custom.

It's awesome.

More info here.

Although it's cold enough to make your nose hairs stand on end Mighty Mobile is still out and about doing repairs. I'm typically scheduling work between 10:00 and 3:00 while the sun is shining and it's warm to the point where the tools don't get frozen to my hands like the kids tongue in Christmas Story. If you got stuff broken, get it fixed!

Although you gotta spend a little "seat time" in a car to escape the snow, the trails off either side of the hill are in incredibly good shape right now. The dirt is that dark, chocolate brown color that you dream about when you're riding the moon dust of Tahoe in August with dusty shins and crusty boogers. Get revenge... GO RIDE!!!

Sure, everybody knows about the Auburn trails, but if you wanna try something different, hit up this site for some other stuff off the west slope. Round Mountain is usually free of snow all year long and is a really fun ride. The South Yuba meets this criteria as well although it's not what I'd call "easy trail". Don't forget Downieville either. Although "the downhill" will get shut down with snow, the North Yuba trail has seen lots of work in the past few years and rides really well in both directions. It doesn't stay open "year 'round" but has a long riding season nonetheless.

And don't forget Reno. These trails won't win any "best vista" awards, but there's plenty of little brown ribbons of singletrack to keep you entertained for hours on end. Here's a link to a map, although I think the best thing to do is head out there and just start trying stuff until you get lost enough times that you figure out a ride that works for you. I don't like, or recommend, riding Reno trails when it's windy or muddy. It sucks. Really bad. Don't do it. Trust me. Also, take a couple more layers of clothing than you think you'll need. Most of the trail head access points have this weird effect of tricking you into thinking that you'll be fine dressing in light layers. You'll be fine for a while until you reach the upper elevations of the trails where you'll start to think "hmm, it's a little chilly" then you'll freeze your ass off on the way back to the car. Again, it sucks. Really bad. Dont' do it. Trust me... I've done this more times than I care to admit.

Newz

Welp. Mark it. November 3rd. That just might have been the last day for riding on the dirt here in the immediate Truckee area for this season. Don't get me wrong, I'm a "glass is half full" kind of guy but I've already mentally prepared myself for a bit of driving down the hill for my fix of riding before it's "full on" winter and we leave the bikes in trade for skis. I hope I'm eating my words as I clip in and pedal from the house a couple of weeks from now, but I'm not holding my breath.

Let's see... what else. Oh yea! Come one out this Wed (9th) to the Cottonwood to support the Truckee Pump Track. This is going to be a fundraiser for what's sure to be THE best way to tire your arms out in less than a minute on a bike. Check out the latest and greatest on their site. This will probably be one of those events where the chances of winning are on your side.



Other goings ons here at Mighty Mobile have been of the tedious sort. I do some occasional product testing and review for Singletrack.com.... sorta like this one. After a summer of testing out gear -that really wasn't mine- I finally got the call. "Ummm... Gregg..... you still out there? Do you think 4 months is enough time to test out those grips we sent ya? You got any stories?" Yea.... I was slackin'. Sorta.

Truth be told I sorta had my hands full wrenchin' full days and trying to squeeze in a ride here and there during our all too short summer. That being said I had adequate time to test gear but lacked the computer time it takes to actually write about said gear. So, this found me spinnin' wrenches on my own rig a bit of Wed night and most of yesterday morning so I could box up miscelaneous test gear and send it back to VeloNews. I cleaned up the Magura Thor 150 fork that I'd had on the front of my Blur for a while. (Sorry 'bout the scratches on the stanchions boys) Uninstalled the M8 Brakes from the race bike. (Damn those things are light!) Then stripped the remaining 2012 Shimano XT componentry from the Blur.

It's funny how fast old parts come off a bike and how unbelievably long it takes to build it back up. Especially when its a bike being "cobbled" together with parts from various manufacturers with various ideas about compatibility. This inevitably leads to shimming, grinding, bloody knuckles and a fair amount of cussin'.

Welp, hunker down kids. The next phase of snow is due through the night. When it's all over, I'll see ya in the foothills for day trips to ride.... just like you'll probably be doing.

Season Finale

Welp, it's over. A summer full of turning myself inside-out on the bike, downing copious amounts of energy gels & drink mixes and piling a ton of miles on my car has come to an end.

The season finale for the Sierra Cup Series was held at Northstar this past weekend. Fun course. Poor bike choice on my part. Hardtails at Northstar don't really make a ton of sense. I knew this but felt like the 4,000+ ft of climbing would suit the hardtail better and I could just "deal" with the descents and try to not loose any time. Yea. That only kind of worked. The climbs were more manageable on the hardtail, but the descents (especially towards the bottom the the mountain) were really taxing. Don't get me wrong. This isn't a "shoulda, coulda, woulda" story in an attempt at telling you I could've won had I ridden my Blur... but I would've had a metric ass load more fun on the descents on Sunday.

In the end, I lost the battle (Sunday's race... I finished 2nd) but won the war (Sierra Cup Series) in a close battle with Clint Claasen all season long. I haven't seen the points yet, but I'm guessing the championship was down to single digits.

So, now it's time to start working on the "bucket list" of trails that I really want to ride this year. This includes stuff I haven't done in years, trails that are super fun but I haven't got a chance to ride yet this year and some others that may require some travel.... yep.... road trip.

If I were to keep racing this season, it would surely include some cyclocross and wouldn't feel complete unless I checked out this race at least once. Damn... that looks fun. Maybe...????

miss me???

Since it's been well over a month without a blog posting I figured this might be a good time to get something going so ya'll don't think I packed up shop and flew the coop.

Time's been flying by and we've reached that point in time where the days are officially shorter than the nights. If you're "on the fence" about weather or not to go for a ride, remember.... our days are numbered. Factor in work, firewood and the honey-do list and our potential number of riding days is nearing the endangered list for this season.

Not to fear though, the best riding season is just getting under way. The temps are perfect and the recent rains have left trails in good condition.

If you still have a hankering to get your suffer on you should definitely be thinking of heading out to Northstar for the final round of the Sierra Cup Mountain Bike Race Series . Word has it their using the 2010 Collegiate Nation Course. Seems like a good course with enough varying terrain to suit everyone's style and preference. I'm heading into this race with a 12 point lead in the series. If all goes to plan I should come out on the top step of the podium ensuring me fame, fortune and bragging rights. Well.... at least bragging rights. The action happens this Sunday Oct 2nd. Race starts at 9:30.... sharp.

Hope this finds everyone well... if there's still anyone out there.

And so it begins

It starts with an email.

Someones burning desire to "get outta' dodge".

Ideas get thrown about.

A plan forms.

Then.... then it begins.

A new day starts in a new place.

You reach new heights

in a new place

searching for.....

....perfection

You explore your options....

....pick a direction

and go deep

loving every minute of it

regardless of how much it hurts

Every day has its end and this trip will be no different

as the sun sets and you begin to plan for your next day and your next adventure.

Here's to road trips.

Not Bikes....

....almost.

The TS100 Race Report... fianlly

Ok. This event is O-ficially on the team Mighty Mobile race calendar for next year.
The aid stations were stacked with everything you'd ever want and the volunteers go above and beyond to ensure your day of ultimate suffering goes foreword without hesitation or holdups.

The race - damn hard. Classic Tahoe dust, sketchy descents on both singletrack and Jeep trail. Ridiculously hard climbs. Chilly temps at the start that turned into plenty hot for me by mid day. Mmmm. I can almost taste the warm water in my bottles as I type.

The excitement at the start was electrifying. Or at least it must've been. I was actually at Sakos' truck shedding a layer when I heard everyone hooping and hollering. Sheeiite! I hopped on my bike and made it about halfway back to the start when I saw the pack coming at me full bore. I pulled in between two cars, got myself turned around and hopped in the front third-ish of the pack.

After a mile or so of pavement the course hit the dirt through some of the ski trails at Royal Gorge. Dusty. I was glad I had a bandanna tied around my neck that I could pull up over my nose and mouth to filter at least some of the dust. I probably re-passed most of the people that passed me at the start and was told about an hour into the race that I was 40th.

At this point of the day (7:00am) I was still uncertain as to how hard I wanted to push for what I thought would be about 9 more hours.

I spent the next hour riding at a medium pace and started to feel pretty good. At one point I saw Obie Miller get waaayy out of control on a fast rocky fireroad descent. His bike was swapping so far sideways left to right that I could read the letters on his downtube! I don't know how he saved it but I'm damn glad he did. We would end up riding quite a bit together throughout the day - sometimes talking, other times just pedaling along in survival mode with the classic "100 mile stare" in the eyes.

I didn't have enough time to get my ipod filled with music so I left it up to chance that I'd have some killer tunes in my head. This can be a deadly gamble. Seriously, one wrong thought on a tough climb will have you humming "don't worry be happy" over and over and over again until it makes you half crazy. Fortunately, I dodged that bullet and lucked out with stuff that didn't suck.... at least to me.

So, on and on. More aid stations. More drink mix. More gel packs. A nibble of PB&J. Perhaps a banana. Occasionally, two cookies - one for now and one in the leg of my shorts for later. Hate to eat and run but.....

At some point we got to the section of the course that I'd done a few weeks prior. This was both good and bad. The good thing was that I knew what was coming up. The bad thing was that I knew what was coming up.

All hundred milers (or at least the good ones) have an element on the course that "stands out" from the rest of its route. For the Tahoe Sierra 100 it's the last three climbs that takes this ride to eleven.

After a descent that overheats brakes and tests the limits of suspension you have 15 miles to go when you face the first of the last three climbs. It's 1,600 vertical ft in 1.5 miles. Plenty steep. 75% hike a bike even on a good day. The blood drains from your arms as you push your bike up this ungrateful ascension to Devils Thumb. Sweat stings your eyes as tiny flies buzz your head making an already tough situation even harder. You pray for the climbing to stop - and it will.

You'll have just enough time to get a few quick drinks from your water bottles before a second helping of ledgy, loose and steep switchbacks descend to yet another canyon. You'll need two fingers on your brake levers this time. Partly because it's steeper but mostly because your entire hands will be stinging from the constant beating their dealing with on this downhill.

Not to worry though, the pendulum of gravity will start to swing the other way once again and you'll be faced with your next climb. This one isn't quite as bad as the last but you'll still have to dig deep to get yourself out. 2,000ft in 3.5 miles. You'll be pedalling a little more on this climb but still be off the bike pushing for more time than you probably will the rest of the season. The last "kick up" on this one is a real monster. You round each corner hoping that you'll see the top of the climb... but you won't. Hang in there.

Thank you ma'am may I have another. Yep, one more time. Another descent and another climb. The last climb isn't as hard as the first two but it's still a soul crusher. You'll be glad to see the pavement near the top of this one and even more stoked to see the finish.

Full Epic. The course is hard. The help is amazing. You get fed after the race. There's beer. I mean, what more could you ask for out of a bike ride.

I would definitely recommend this race to a friend.

Results here.

GPS file here.