PDA

View Full Version : Ride Report: New Bike gets broken in...!



TheNextLevel
05-13-2007, 09:44 PM
Well, the inaugural ride Thursday was cut short because of rain. And yes, I got it muddy!

But it was a BEAUTIFUL day at CT today!

Got out there about 2:30. Met a couple of guys, one that had been at DSG, and they rode with me.

Lap 1:
I took my time in some spots, and let her run in others. She is SO fast! Love the Juicy 7's!
I made it up sections that have given me problems in the past, with little or no trouble. It's so much more responsive. It is a BEAST, but it's so light, you don't notice it. I'm use to a bigger frame anyway, and cornered really well with it.
Lap 2:
Daniel showed up, so we waited for him to get rigged up... Somebody said "Let's go in reverse!" Who's idea was that!!!??? Oh yeah- mine. Bad idea. Me no likey.... It kicked my but, because I've never done it before and was simply not ready for the climbs in time. After 0 crashes the first lap, I must have ate it 4 times. Even then, the suspension bailed me out on more than one occasion. Cornering even faster than lap one and braking less. Made some adjustments on rebound, both front and back before this lap and also let the TALAS II out to 130mm at the beginning. Another bad idea that I changed about half way through this lap. Then it started getting really loose heading into the fields and realized I had a slow leak. Pumped it up and got back to the parking lot and changed the tube(yes tubes-gimme a break!-for now...)
Lap 3::big_grin: Yeah Reed!
Daniel took off and it was all I could do to stay with him- for a while. We went the original direction, so my confidence was much higher. The rock garden still gives me trouble, but I think it's more due to the "fear factor" from when I sprained my wrist there.
Riding with much more speed this time. MUCH more. Really loose and just pointing her where I wanted to go- and she responded well. I can't tell you what a difference, but I had perma-grin the whole lap, even when the climbs were politely reminding me this was my third lap! It just seems like the harder and faster I run, the more the bike does it's job.
We ended up with a 50-and change-minute lap there. That's the fastest I've ever run there, but it helps when you're just trying to keep up with someone who's faster!:thumb:

I'd say there's still some suspension issues to be dealt with. I think I'm getting closer though. The Terra Logic feature is needing some attention as well, but I think I'm on the right track. It's a great feature though.

Needless to say, I'm going to sleep VERY well tonight. Looking forward to getting faster and more familiar with the bike as the days and weeks progress. I love riding with you faster guys because I learn faster- as long as I can keep up with you for any extended period of time!:lol:

Hope you enjoyed the report!

Reedly
05-13-2007, 10:26 PM
Yeah man!! That's a great 'new ride' report!! It's also awesome that you're putting so many miles in when you ride already!! I just wasn't even considering riding 3 laps anywhere in my first year of riding - especially chickasaw!!

Hitting those hills on lap two right away after hitting them at the end of the first lap had to be a killer!! Good thing you're a 'die-hard' and willing to fight through the pain!!

Glad to see you're having a blast on your new bike! You keep saying it's great to ride with the 'faster guys', but pretty soon you won't have anyone left to ride with that's faster than you! :thumb: :eek:

Can't wait to get out there and start riding ct backwards to get ready for the race! It's a whole new beast that way!

Thanks for the report!

TNcaveman
05-14-2007, 05:52 AM
Wow - sounds like a great ride - did you say the fastest lap was the third one? That's awesome. At the Dirty Spokes race, my third lap was slooooow. 1 and 2 were the same.

Enjoy the bike :cyclist:

Steve

Paddlechris
05-14-2007, 06:23 AM
Mike.. I saw you Sat night at Costco (or Sat Day) you where gassing up, I waved but you must not have recognized me..

Anyway sounds like you are really likeing the new ride congrats..

Awsome ride report..

C

TheNextLevel
05-14-2007, 06:45 AM
Reed- there will ALWAYS be somebody faster!:plane:
It was a blast, and I'm not nearly as sore today as I thought I might be(gotta love the glutamine supplimentation!). I'm considering going tubeless, but want to just get more hours on the bike first. Everyone says the handling is so much better. I hate that I won't be able to race the Bassackwards- I have a certification that weekend that's already paid for...

But it did kick my but!

Steve- I don't know man- I think it was just such a great day, I hated to waste any daylight and not take one more lap!

Chris- Dude! I did a double take and said "I know him!", but it just didn't register... That, and I was on my way to a wedding... sorry about that!

Daniel
05-14-2007, 04:31 PM
Enjoyed the ride Michael. Post up anytime you are going out.

If any of you haven't riden CT backwards it is a whole different ball game. There are some steep climbs that seem to come out nowhere just because your not used the trail. (One was reminiscent of DSG as you come out of The Blackhills Trail and go straight up to the top of the ridge.

It's sort of dissorienting. I ride CT a lot so it feels funny going the other way. I kept catching myself saying, "now where am I?" then I would recognize where I was and be like "man I'
m already here". It's fun though. You get to finish full bore as fast as you can go.