In the Hot Rod World I Believe They Call Them "Trailer Queens"

Yesterday some dood was going off in a Facebook group for 24",26"and 29" BMX bikes, about how he was Joe Cool because he "always did all the work on his bikes himself and never took it to a shop". Not only was he was making a ridiculous point he was doing it in a very rude way, using some smugtone and 'tude.

I had to resist my urge to piss all over him by reminding him that he is part of a group that builds insanely awesome bikes which then just SIT THERE never being ridden, like some kind of sad museum pieces. Seriously these guys get a blister on their peen if they so much as get a spec of dirt on their authentic skinwall Comp III tires.

They also make stupid parts choices sometimes, using parts that would immediately get destroyed if the bikes were actually ridden (I'm looking at you Suntour XC pedals ).

I can appreciate that they love bikes and love building them, but when I was a kid I hated the rich kids that always had the best bikes and parts and couldn't even do a wheelie or a bunnyhop. Fucking poseurs. I hated it when they would come into the bike shop I worked at because I knew I was selling them parts that would be served much better by people I knew personally who couldn't afford them.

Then this morning I had another laugh at that particular group as one of the members was showing off his builds, which were all different equipped/colorwayed version of the same bike! How fucking boring. He had 4 of the same bike, and no doubt is working on one or two more. 

I dunno, maybe my way of thinking is wrong. Maybe some of the guys doing these builds ARE the ones who couldn't afford the best bikes and parts when they were growing up, so now that they can, they are indulging themselves. Good for them I guess, and I will say that there are some great builds from time to time, like this Bassett.



 But there are definitely people in that group who are really into doing a build JUST so they can sell it and do another one. I just don't get that. Oh I'm sorry, is my retro grouch showing? I guess after working at a shop I really just can't get into the concept or working on bikes for fun. RIDING bikes for fun, now there's a concept!

The Blues

Rad new anodized bolt for the star nut inside the steerer tube. My buddy Jay hooked me up. Thanks Jay! I love little details like this that heads see but normals don't. 

Slowing Down to Speed Up

Lately it has been HOT here in Georgia, so I've been adapting my riding style to deal with the heat. By that I mean I have been slowing it waaaay down. Not that I was very fast to begin with, but the slow down isn't just the pace of the rides, it is my approach to summer riding in general.

First off, I am not doing as many rides. Throughout winter and spring, my ride strategy was: RIDE EVERY TIME WEATHER ALLOWS. Here in Georgia it does get cold wet and windy, but those days are usually interspersed with mild sunny somewhat unseasonably warm days. So you have to be ready for all of it, and unless it is pissing down cold rain, you better take advantage of acceptable riding conditions when you can. This year the winter was fairly mild. Lots of warm days, not too much rain, and the wind was even cooperating more than in years past. Still, since you can never tell when the streak of good weather may end, the sense of urgency to ride from January through the end of April is high. So I rode a lot over winter/spring. A lot for me anyway. Now that I am using the Stavistix plug in to enhance my Strava stats, I am able to see where I am mileage-wise compared to years past, to the day. Definitely did some work this winter. UPSIDE: I can tell that the work paid off.

Secondly I'm not working towards any immediate goals right now. Through winter there were a few organized rides happening in spring that were always percolating in the back of my mind to work towards. They were the Atlanta Cycling Festival Bicycle Camping ride, Athens Twilight Criterium - The Gambler ride, and the Jackson County Brevet. But right now there are no organized rides on my agenda. This could change quickly though, as this is the forst year that I have been keeping a spreadsheet of upcoming charity rides so that I can actually make plans. So I'll be making a late summer - fall plan soon. No, Six-Gap (well, 3 Gap for me) will not be part of my plans, but it is on my radar as a long term goal.

Lastly, I'm kind of bored with riding all the same places, so I needed to change things up a bit. To do this, I finally got a new KONA BLAST mountain bike, and I've been hitting the woods.



Getting back on a mountain bike has been awesome. Lots of shade in the woods so riding is cooler, and being in the woods makes me feel great. No buyers remorse at all on the bike, it is the nicest I've ever had. In addition to hitting the trails I've also developed a little liking for pump tracks.



But lets get back to talking about going slow.

Right now, when I am riding, I have been deliberately turning easier gears. I've been thinking about  and trying different techniques. I've been working on different positions on the bike. I've been standing up to pedal more than in the past. I've been choosing easy, fun routes.

Right now on my road bike rides, I'm taking it easy on the flats and downhills, but putting stronger efforts into the climbs. I'm hoping that it will have an effect of making my overall rides as fast or faster than I've been doing, but sort of tricking myself into feeling like I haven't used as much energy, since I will go for long periods in chillmode between climbs. usually I am giving a decent effort on the flats and downhills and then automatically go into "high torque high cadence" mode on the climbs. Now I am telling myself that I am strong enough that I should be turning a higher gear on the climbs, getting my butt out of the saddle and attacking them. Plenty of time to rest on the other side. We'll see how this works out.

I'm also breaking out ye Olde GT Talera for some rides. Always a pleasure cruise on that contraption. I'll wear my wal-mart imitation crocs when I go Talera. That will insure that no aggressive riding will happen. It is my "Forget Strava and just have a good time" bike. Of course I still log the ride though.

I'm cool with slowing down my riding in most aspects right now. I had a great winter and spring so I'm due for getting back to ENJOYING the ride again, rather than having each session come off like work. I'll get back to workmode soon enough.

Atlanta Cyling Festival 2016 - Pump Track / Opening Party Action

Atlanta Cycling Festival - The Big Opening Party happened this past weekend. Fun times! The event was at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, on the top two floors of the parking deck. BONUS: You didn't have to ride your bike up all 6 decks, you were able to come up with your bike in the elevators. That was a nice touch because it was HOT out.

Once on the top floors, you could scoot around and check out lots of biking related vendors, and also grab some beers which were included with your admission. What I was really excited about though, was the REI  portable pumptrack.

It was a Shoretrax wooden slat board system which is able to be set up in a different configuration each time. I had never ridden a Shoretrax system before. Lots of fun was had. My buddy Mershon rode it on his new 700c, while I used my 27.5 Kona Blast. I pumped up the tires and locked out the fork for maximum pumpability, which worked out pretty well.

The pump track was very popular and lots of people tried it on all kinds of bikes. A few people didn't make it through the whole way the first time, and some even had some small bails, but I am pretty sure everyone who gave it a try eventually cleared the whole course.

Overall I am glad I went to check it out, and I'm glad I got to support ACF. I heard that they are going to have the pump track at the closing party so I may have to hit it again.


Mershon gettin' it on the MBike


Regular Cyclist using the berm as a launch device.


Manual off the final berm yes yes

BRAG 2016 Swainsboro Overnight

I've been following the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) on Faccebook. I'd really love to do a multi-day ride like BRAG at some point, and watching the posts on FB is a great way to get a feel for what to expect.

The photo above (by BRAG participant Stacy Johnson) is from a gymnasium in Swainsboro GA, where riders stayed overnight. Looks pretty comfortable compared to not having to deal with the unpredictable weather when outdoor camping. However, the photo has me wondering...did it get weird after hours when the lights went down?

By weird, I actually mean the "night noises". These people are all sleeping in very close quarters without even a tent between them, which means that you can hear EVERYTHING. So I'm thinking that once people started to fall asleep, it became a Symphony of Snores. At some point someone is also going to fart...loudly.

I wouldn't have thought about this at all if it weren't for attending the Atlanta Cycling Festival Bicycle Camping event earlier this year. The event was amazing. Forty five of us rode 35 miles out on the Silver Comet Trail, then camped and did the return trip the following morniing. Most people fell asleep and slept soundly, but not me. I was awake for most of the night for various reasons, so I was exposed to my first Symphony of Snores. I've never heard anything like it. Every single tent had one or more people sawing wood like it was some kind of contest to see who could be the loudest. In the brief moments that I fell asleep, I am sure I contributed. Part of why I was awake was that I had lost my mobile phone, so I was panicking, walking around outside the tent thinking about how rad it would be if I could record the snoring. Unfortunately I did not find my phone until morning when people were waking up (it was under my pillow...doh!), so I did not get to record any audio. But I'll be prepared next year.

Anyway, BRAG riders have the option of not staying in the group overnight areas, by finding a hotel or other accommodations, but from what I understand, if you stay offsite you are on your own getting your back to the daily ride start location.

The rest of the photos I've seen so far look like everyone on the ride is having a great time!