Head over heels

Had a good ride but a interlude of a head over heels crash. Bike is good but I am in some pain. I was really enjoying my time going down the hill. The day was gorgeous and everything seemed so great. I was just out having fun. I am going to be riding this circle as my circuit. It is 6.2 miles with some good climbing and some fun singletrack heading down. I did find out though that when you are tired you make little mistakes.

I made one little error. I was not going fast but I was tired. Fatigued from the climb up the hill and should have slowed down even a little more. I came up to a right hand with a little rock and then a good sized drop. Instead of prepping for the drop and unweighting the bike so I could settle it on the drop and ride out I just rode through. The rock did just enough to slide the front tire a little and then the back tire hit the rock which made my momentum go even more forward. I keep playing that back over and over in my mind. I still feel like I should have been able to ride that out but nope, my momentum carried me over the bars. Took the impact with my hands and then ate the track up with my face and chest. OUCH. This is the first crash that I have ever had that hurt me more then me just hurting my pride.

This was the path to my demise! Yes this was the top of the hill and made for such a nice view. The weather was great and I was happy to be on the bike again. I have not been as faithful to riding as I should have. And now I have paid the price. Now I have a sprained wrist and elbow. So I have to made sure I have the stamina and am pain free before I try this ride again. But oh what fun it was until my experience of flying into the side of the hill.

I had to grab a parting shot of the sunset. Some beauty while I was in pain heading down the hill to rest up and heal for some more adventures.

I love it when a plan comes together.

A good 9 mile ride in the books. I have been feeling like I need to get some stamina back in the legs and get the lungs working again so this was more of a training ride then finding good places to get the bike out there and see what I can do.

I could have tried to get a gym membership and kept on going to the gym every now and then. I could have paid more for hockey each session and had a blast. But I am very happy that I was able to find a bike that I am riding. I love the fact that at this point I am the limiting factor. The bike will do what I need of it.

After being away from biking for a while I have rekindled my passion for getting in the saddle. I am working on  getting a good cadence, and feeling in rhythm.  Each ride feels better and my legs and lungs allow me to keep riding and I have more and more fun.

So finally after figuring out that I wanted a new bike, going through a process of what to buy and now working my self back into riding, now I am seeing that the initial step of saying yes I want to mountain bike again was such a good plan. I am now feeling better, and seeing how awesome I feel after a good ride. Now I have to get my son working up on his 12 inch specialized so that we can start going out for little rides together.

Old Borges Ranch RIde

This was a great place to ride. Still quite a lot of elevation change, 260 ft of it. This ride wasn't just go to the top and then fly down. You do climb right off the bat and then get into the meat of the ride.

 The first ridge you see here is actually what I climbed and then the fun decent during the last ride. You start in the valley on the opposite side which is where a creek bed lies. The hills in the background are those lush green hills which are already browning this early in late spring.

Late afternoon ride after work, this is about a third of the way up the hill as I was trying to get a decent sun bloom shot but didn't quite work out.

 

 Looking south east during the ride this is such a great view. What a great place to be able to ride! Glad I love exploring, but I am sure I will be visiting this place and getting some good riding in all summer long. This is in the East Bay Area in Northern California. Berkeley and Oakland are on the other side of those hills with San Francisco past them. Yet up here I feel like I am away from all the crazy population.

A few shots of the Airborne Guardian and the singletrack.

 Showing Mount Diablo looming over my riding area.

After the ride a parting shot of the trail.

So far the 29er is doing a good job of keeping me riding. I did have to break out the grease and take care of a creak in either the seat rails or the seat post. 

I am really loving the hydraulic disc brakes. They are a large upgrade from my previous Trek 950 and I have been confident in my ability to scrub speed or control the bike on some steep transitions. Overall I have positive things to say about the Guardian. For only $600 the bike has been a great purchase for me to get out and ride.

8 Miles a ridin

Had to start the week off right. 7.93 miles I call it 8.

I had to stop and take this photo though. I am amazed at how good it came out considering it was with my droid x and no filters.

So the good trails start 4 miles away. I didnt have enough time or energy to get into that area. I could get some open range space like I did my first ride but I really want to get into some better options with some loops. Then I can start tracking my progress on my bike and getting back into some riding shape. I am beat tonight, but I feel good. Just trying to get out there the hills get the legs burning and heart pumping and its not so bad with some nice riding like the picture.

My wife was using the Honda Pilot so I didnt have a vehicle to get out to the trails for a ride so I just had to go and do what I could. As you can see the sun was starting to go down, at this point I was already headed back home.

I am looking for a good option to put a bike rack on the back of my Pilot. I would like a rig that attaches to a hitch, so I need to buy a Tow rig and the Bike rack. Any good options that you know of please leave a comment.

Lungs burning, legs of rubber

So I was able to get in a good 7 mile ride in. Wow, now I remember why I bought the bike. To get some exercise which I actually like. Hockey is too expensive each year with two kids, but a $600 bike for hopefully 5 years is a good buy(5 being a lowball estimate)

The ride was good, I was able to map out where I wanted to get to and I took off on the Guardian. The bike does ride nice and I was able to just have fun getting to the trails. The couple big hills reminded me of why I need to ride, I have to get miles on the tires every week. Those hills made the heart pound, the muscles burn, and the lungs ache.

The bike did perform good. I love the Hydraulic disc brakes, they worked as expected and having a front shock was actually enjoyable. I rode down an extremely bumpy single-track that was quite the descent and had no problems controlling the bike or the speed. I felt very connected and in control.

I found a little friend as I was riding along. Nice little snake minding his own business. I was hoping he would curl up so I could get a better shot but he just kept moving along.






 I took a few photos, from the open space in the midst of the crazy California suburbs. I cant wait to explore more of the area and some more great trails.

Thank you Airborne, so far I am happy about my experience.

I need another ride this weekend, my goal is set at 10-20 miles of riding each week. Gotta keep riding.

Thanks for coming along.

Rode, but not a first REAL ride

I have yet to get in a great off-road trail ride.

I have gone on a couple family excursions riding 11 miles on two separate jaunts. The bike rides great. I really like the geometry, the 29 inch tires and how great the bike rolls. The price point really sells this bike as the quality of this bike is phenomenal for the cost. This bike now lets me work my legs and lungs and once something breaks, then I might be able to start working towards Goblin or higher level of components.

I am still getting used to having a front shock and the shifters are slightly different from the trigger rapid fires I rode with my Trek back in the day. I really like my pedals as well, the ability to go with normal shoes or be able to clip in is fabulous.

 But I am excited to get my first great ride in. This will be very soon. Rain today but tomorrow I am riding....

Getting it all together

I admit I had a few frustrations. The first was that chain dropped off the first cog on the front sprocket. This scratched the paint and was a minor irritation. But that meant the front derailleur was a little off because the low limit let the chain drop onto the bottom bracket shell.

I took all the bubble wrap, and cardboard off the frame, cut the twine holding everything tight and getting the bike rolling was a simple matter.

1)Putting the wheel on the front
2)Getting the handle bar onto the stem
3) and putting the seat tube in.
4) The last piece was the pedals. I only needed three tools for the whole process. A number 5 allen key, a screwdriver, and a wrench for the pedals.

 Getting the front derailleur tuned was a little hassle but nothing that I couldn't figure out with a little help from youtube to make sure I did things in the correct order and spacing.

Now to get some miles on the tires.