Bay Circuit Trail - introduction

The scheme was hatched back in the spring to tackle some 200 miles of primarily trails from Plumb Island to Duxbury, following the Bay Circuit Trail.  The mastermind of this trip was Paul Benson.  Those of us along for the adventure included * Gerry Finnegan, Steve Goneau, Adam Young, Keith Borgaro, and myself.  In our planning, it was decided that camping was out of the question, but accomplishing this in 3 (long) days would be possible.

Throughout the summer, we continued planning, scouting out as many sections of the trail as possible, relying on the less than stellar Bay Circuit website and waiting for their high resolution hard copy maps to arrive.  I rode sections from Soutboro to Ashland, others rode the beginning section, and the finish.  But we left a bunch of areas unscouted.

Additional planning included a shuttle to the start for 6 guys and 6 bikes, specifics on what gear to carry. securing hotels along the route, and dropping off some supplies at those hotels.  We ended up with a mixture of bikes, though all 29ers

Paul - hardtail
* Gerry - hardtail
Steve - single speed
Scott - single speed
Adam - dual suspension
Keith - dual suspension

Amazingly we only had one mechanical (a trashed rear derailleur around mile 20) and two flats.  But we had lots of adventure, plenty of bee stings, a few brief detours, and some really long days in the saddle.

Single Speed World Championships of the World!

Waaay back in August, when the temperature was still above 70 degrees at all times, I went over to Ireland to race SSWC 2011.  Joining me for the race was Thom Parsons, Gerry Finnegan, and Rob Ide.  Of course my bike didn't make the connecting flight so I spent the first 30 hours trying to get updates of its whereabouts and having to stay close to the house. 

When it did arrive, the frame was sticking out of the cardboard box though nothing was missing or damaged

(note to self, look for packing material more than 6 hours before your flight).

I reassembled the bike on Friday night (yes, awesome way to spend my night in Dublin) so we'd be ready to go on Saturday morning.  Although I had free lodging with Gerry's family in Dublin, it was at least 2.5 hours away from the race sight.  We set out in two cars with bikes in the trunks and made it to the registration table about 10 minutes after they had closed.  Luckily this is SSWC, not a Verge race, so they were more than happy to re-open and get us squared away.  It also only took about 30 seconds per person because they don't have lengthy waivers and licenses.

Since it was SSWC, 90% of participants had a costume or bizarre attire of some sort and probably 50% were already drinking. 

We scrambled to change into cycling attire (we were all lame and without costumes) and get our race gear together in the 15 minutes before the procession out of town to the trail head.

Everyone left town together and we were escorted by local police some 6 or 7 miles to the trails.  It's comical enough to ride an mtb on the road, but to see a group of 500+ on single speeds with trail gearing was even better.  Beers were passed around, costumes got stuck in the spokes, and janky single speed conversions were failing left and right...and we hadn't even made it to staging yet!

Once at staging, we were told to leave our bikes and go over to the music/food/beer tents that they'd set up.  This gave people more time to drink beer and dance it up while the organizers disorganized all of our bikes.  An eternity later, we lined up under one of those inflatable arch things and were sent running up the hill to where our bikes had been left.  Slightly anaerobic from running, we all scrambled to find where they'd hid our bikes.  White bikes were all piled on top of each other (there were A LOT of white bikes).  Some were hung from trees, some were moved all the way from the front to the back, and some, like mine, were barely moved at all.  Despite my bike barely being moved, I still spent a ton of time looking for it because I expected it to have been moved.  Finally found it and set out on the two lap, roughly 20 mile course, behind at least half of the field.

We started with a long-ish fire road climb where those with janky single speeds that made it through the road ride began shooting parts into the air as their riders tried to grind the 34x15 up the hill.  Seriously, so many broken chains in the first .5 miles.  When I finally came to the single track, I had to dismount and wait as we funneled into the trail.  Not fun!  The single track though, was fun, and whenever possible I'd pass a rider or two and then try to pass a dozen on the next double track.  It went like that for the whole first lap until early into the second lap when I was finally clear of traffic for a bit.  Not much they could have done, but it did make for a less than stellar first half and reminded me how important it is to start well (and find your bike) if you want to take an event seriously.  Also, next year my bike will be neon pink so I can't miss it!

Anyway, the course was pretty fun, and it was impressively dry given that it's in Ireland where it is rainy and crappy 364 days of the year.  The winner was a local who apparently is in charge of mountain biking in Ireland and may well have built the trails.  Hey, I didn't want the tattoo anyway.  I did get a heinous neon orange shirt and stupid looking mismatched socks with leprechauns (seriously guys, save your money and give me a free beer or two instead) which were both used to clean my muddy bike before packing for the return.

Overall, I had fun.  We didn't get to immerse ourselves in the usual silliness of the event because we were staying far away and because we had to rush back to Dublin afterwards so I can't comment on who won the partying (though I know Thom won the pre-party). 

Next year is in South Africa which definitely is not going to happen for me.  It's ok because I think singlespeedapalooza and Dark Horse 40 are probably better anyway.

I didn't take many pictures, but there are some good ones here: http://acunamatadaar.blogspot.com/2011/08/sswc-2011-ireland.html

Oops, I think I broked it

After buying my sweet new ride my budget was tapped and I had to reach into my parts bin for used wheels from my stock of used wheels. The first wheelset I installed was a set of King hubs laced to Bontrager rims from 2001 or so. I bought them for pennies from a former coworker who was getting out of the sport. Although they were well built, I thrashed them for 3 years before finally relegating them to the parts bin (mismatched spokes and all). I figured I might as well finish them off so I could justify a rebuild for the new bike. It didn't take me very long and after two rides on the new rig, the rear is finished.

I went deeper into my parts bin for the next rear wheel, a King ISO hub laced to a hefty Sun rim that I built with straight gauge spokes in my "hucking" days. By hucking I mean falling over 3 foot drops and usually tacoing the front wheel. Anyway, this is one of the first wheels I ever built (I am reminded of this when I look at the valve stem that is not properly located between straight spokes, ugh). What was I saying? Oh yeah, I intended to install this wheel on the new rig. As I removed the old disc rotor and cassette body I quickly realized things were not right.

I apparently snapped the axle on this wheel, though not having ridden it in 1+ year I can't remember where or when this might have happened.

I just finished talking to Chris King and they are more than happy to work with me on the repair. Not only did a live person answer my call, but that live person was able to accurately and confidently answer every one of my questions. It's so rare these days to get that level of service from any company, let alone a bike company. But I guess if you are going to expect it anywhere in the Bike Biz, Chris King would be the first place I'd look. So, for $125 a new axle is on its way. When they get my broken one back, I'll get a credit for the cost. In the meantime, I'm stealing my wife's wheels (which are nicer than any of mine anyway). Hope she doesn't mind...

Great weather

This week has been full of great weather. Sure it was wicked hawt on Tuesday but I made sure to ride really early in the morning and then, since I was stuck at work until 9pm, it was a mild 65 degrees for my ride home. Last night, after getting in from my ride, I overhauled the mtb. Granted there is not much that needs to be overhauled on a hardtail singlespeed but the thing was filthy and creaking worse than an old lady's arthritic hip when we rode on Saturday. I also had a new front wheel built by Brian at JRA Cycles and I wanted to inspect the condition of it after 2 rides.
The 650b experiment seems to be working out great. It fits my Fox Vanilla fork with room to spare and feels just big enough to give me a little extra rolling momentum over the technical stuff without feeling sluggish or challenging to maneuver when it gets really technical. For those that like 26 inch wheels but are on the taller side of the scale (and thus carrying some body mass up higher than average) I'd recommend the 650b wheel option, at least on the front.

With a cold beverage in one hand and some simple green soaked rags in the other I scrubbed the ti frame clean and then moved on to cleaning the parts. I even pulled out the EBB to clean and properly lube it and I moved the bb to the bottom of the shell instead of the top just like Thom recommends. While I wouldn't call the bike spotless, it is a lot cleaner than when I started and it is (seemingly) creak free which is even more important.

The other big motivator for cleaning the Verve is that tonight I've been invited to an exclusive session at some of the best trails in the greater Boston area and I don't want to disappoint the audience with a dirty, noisy machine. I may not keep up, but it won't be due to mechanical issues.

Sublime

On February 21st I embarked on a "casual" base miles ride with Chiu, Gunn, Morrison, Bradshaw, Murphy, CCC (on his single speed 'cross bike) and other roadies that are way too fit for February. 6 hours, a few long climbs, and 100 miles later I was home in cozy house nursing sore legs.

Fast forward one week and I met many of the same characters for another Saturday adventure. I had tried to join Colin Reuter and Cary Fridrich for a trip to Otis but my last minute planning did not work out so they went without me. On the road, Gunn and I decided not to be as bold this week and turned off for a reasonable 70 miles while the other animals continued to do the CRW Climb to the Clouds route.

Later on Saturday I met up with the Kyler for dinner and drinks in Washington Square. The best part of the night was watching an overly confident off-duty Brookline police officer who looked to be around 50 or 55 try to hit on the two 30 somethings sitting next to us at the bar. Kyle and I had front row seats to some of the worst game I've ever witnessed. When the guy took a bathroom break the ladies turned to us and asked if we had just witnessed that horror show. Oh yeah, we saw it.

Somewhere in the course of the night I cemented my plans for a trip to Otis with Colin on Sunday. Despite the forecast we figured it'd be worth the trip. We met up on Rt 24 south of Boston and shoved our two bikes into the trunk of Colin's well traveled Honda Fit.By that time the snow was coming down pretty steadily and when we got to the trailhead there were a few inches already.

We were an hour from home, there was no way we were turning back without at least trying to ride. I rode Otis many years ago but have not been back since. Luckily Colin was up for playing tour guide (even if other participants who said they wanted to join the tour did not show up) and we quickly entrenched ourselves in the maze of trails that make up Otis. Within 15 minutes we were both shedding layers and we spotted for the first and only time, another group of riders enjoying the unique conditions.


Despite promising to stop at a convenience store we somehow found our way to the trailhead without ever making that stop. I'd powered down a few bowls of cereal and some hot tea in the morning and I had a banana before we left the parking lot but I forgot to pack any trail food so I knew I'd be in trouble. Well about two hours in I was pretty cooked so Colin split his lone Clif Bar with me. The energy came back for about 20 minutes but that was barely enough to get us back to the car. We were went spent and soaked but had smiles from ear to ear. It was a great 12.5 mile "exploration."
Our bikes were nicely frosted but Colin threw 'em back in the car anyway.

We detoured on the way back to find a Subway and were rewarded with $2.99 footlong subs!

I'm not even joking. I lived off the $5 variety last summer but somehow $2.99 tastes even better. So good in fact that I ate two feet! Well, almost. Colin wisely suggested I save some for later. I never did eat the last 4 inches which is probably good because 20 inches of Subway is enough for one day.

If you haven't been to Otis, look up Colin's tour company for a future trip. It's worth the time, especially now when the trails are a mess anywhere else. If you're lucky, Colin may even be willing to drag you around with him. Actually, there's a damn good chance that if there isn't a ski race or bike race within driving distance, Colin will definitely drag you on a tour of Otis.