Mountain Bike? Yeah I guess so.

2011 Trek Paragon Hello mountain bike racing fans.

So I did it. I bit the bullet. I jumped the gun. Pulled the trigger. I had my friends at the shop order in a Paragon. Yup, big wheels, 10 speeds, and 100mm of squishy fork. Now we play the waiting game. Ahhh - the waiting game sucks. Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!

Anyhow, I enlisted some friends on twitter and facebook for advice since it's been a real long time since I'd ridden a mountain bike. Seemed as tho most of them agreed that I should prolly go 29er, hardtail. With aluminum I'd get more bang for the buck. Was looking at the Scott Scale, the Stumpy Comp, and possibly the Giant XtC. I don't care for the local Giant dealer, so I've have to find something out of town or online (hello eBay). And almost the same with the Scott, in that there are no local dealers at all.

I would have liked to have more ride time before I made a decision, but no one had a large in stock of whichever model for me to try. I tried the Specialized in a medium, it was nice, but you could tell the fork was only 80mm of travel, and I figured a little more would be better.

The Paragon has 100, and riding a different Fisher for sizing gave me a little more confidence that it's the correct size. A couple things I'm a little nervous about tho. A lot of people complain about the handlebar with 17 degrees of awkward sweep. And the press fit bottom bracket. Hopefully if I don't like the bars, I can swap them out for some others.

The only reason the BB is any concern, is that I'm thinking that when we head into winter, I convert to singlespeed and possibly install a rigid fork (if that's possible because of the 51mm offset). My idea was to use a Forward Components Eccentric BB to tension the chain instead of a tensioner. But since the bearings press in to the frame, there's no chance of that. At least I don't think so. Guess we'll see.

Hopefully I'll be able to hot the trail(s) soon. Maybe I can free up some time for the RMBT and volunteer as a ride leader sometimes. Of course I'm already kinda looking at some races. We'll see how that goes.

One last thing, I have no idea about tubeless technology. It sounds like voo-doo magic to me. What would I need to convert to that type of system. And does it work in the winter?

Follow me: @AnelloGrande

2011 Trek Paragon Hello mountain bike racing fans.

2011 Almanzo results

Photo borrowed from http://kyiabikes.blogspot.com/2011/05/almanzo-100-and-royal-162-pics.html

Sorry to say, I didn't do it this yeah. Maybe that was a good thing? Not sure. In a rare use of the term, it looks and sound like it was EPIC! Truly a sufferfest! Here's a link to the official results http://almanzo100.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-results.html

There are reports from all over the web of the horrific conditions. Funny that the ATOC had some weather issues too. Of course I don't want to see dangerous racing conditions, but calling off stages because it's cold etc? Then again, who am I to say anything, I almost never ride in the rain, and I didn't ride this years Almanzo.

There's a great collection of photos here. And a huge collection here and here.

Seriously, I have to give major props to the 177 hard ass finishers of this years race. What a test of mental fortitude.

Update: I have added the 2011 results to my post with every running of the race here.

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Travel Channel shelves Triple Rush

There is a video embedded in this post that you may not be able to view. Click through to the blog to watch it.

So I'm hearing that TripleRush is being cancelled. With only 3 episodes out, and one mini marathon, I'm hearing that it's because it's too much of a niche and that only cyclists will watch it.

My youngest daughter made a good point that what about the Tour de'France. I mean it's the biggest yearly sports event in the world. Passionate fans scream at their TV's every year. Not all of them are cyclists.

The show is like Deadliest Catch for messengers. Are only crab fishermen watching that show. I highly doubt that.

The show realistically show 3 very different bike messenger companies operating in New York City. The footage is exciting. The riders do break some traffic laws, but in reality they need too, otherwise there is no benefit to using a bike messenger over a car service. The rules designed to keep auto traffic moving only limits what a cyclist can do. And the riders are not doing it just to be jerks and daredevils. In fact they are doing the same thing as other delivery services do. How many times have you seen a FedEx or UPS truck parked illegally, or blocking sidewalks, etc.

Anyway, tell the Travel Channel that you want the show to come back, by signing the petition.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/triple_rush/signatures

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