Mountain Biking 101: Bike Types

Without a doubt, this post could get wordy.  We’re going to work to keep it cogent.  The problem is, any discussion of various types of mountain bikes immediately gets clouded by a lot of subtle distinctions and shadings.  By no means are we attempting to do a definitive or exhaustive treatment of the subject.  Rather, what follows is an overview of some of the more common types of off-road bicycles.

Essentially, mountain bikes are defined by a purpose.  How the bike is to be ridden, and where, determines a lot of design choices.  So that’s how we’re going to proceed here.

Before we get to the meat and potatoes, let’s state this.  There is a lot of cross-over and interbreeding in today’s mountain bike market.  It’s almost like ordering from a Chinese restaurant menu.  Basic choices are, Rigid, Hardtail, and full suspension.  Any of those basic categories can be had with either 26 inch or 29 inch wheels.

Rigid:  These have no suspension parts.  Often they are singlespeed machines as well.  This is about simplicity and overall durable function.  The fewer moving parts there are, the fewer things can go wrong.

Surly Karate Monkey

Hardtail:  A bike with a suspension fork at the front, but no rear suspension.

Giant Boulder ~ hardtail

Full-Suspension (or Dual-Suspension):  Bikes with forks and dampers at the front of the bike, and a spring/damper and pivots at the back.

Giant Yukon ~ dualie

26 inch:  Refers to the more common, mountain bike with a “26 inch” wheel.

29er:  (Hang on!)  Refers to a newer wheel size.  The 29 inch wheel referenced by the name is actually a 700C wheel.  The 700C is the same wheel diameter as the most common of road bikes, but with mountain bike tires mounted, the overall diameter is roughly 29 inches.  The advantage?  Larger diameter wheels roll over stuff better.

Giant Talon ~ 29er  (this one is a hartail too)

Bike Types by Purpose:

XC (Cross Country):  May be either a hardtail, or a dual suspension.  Typically, these are lighter, competition oriented bikes.  They will have less suspension travel, and a bit stiffer spring action.  Usually the suspension travel is around 4 inches (100mm).  Bikes in this category are designed to climb well, as well as to be fairly stable descenders.  These are not big hit bikes!  (If hucking off of big drops is your thing, do not try it on one of these!)

Giant Anthem X (also a 29er)

Trail Bikes:  Much like XC Bikes, trail bikes are a bit heavier, and with typically longer and more plush suspension.  These are usually enthusiast bikes, designed to make a day on the trails a bit more comfortable.

Giant Trance X

All Mountain:  This type is a bit more of a “big hit” bike.  Longer travel and a bit heavier.  These bikes can still climb, but they really are designed for the spirited descender.

Giant Reign X (note long travel)

Freeride:  Gravity Pilots arise!  The Freeride bike is meant for you.  These beasts are designed to bomb downhill, and take some fairly serious hits.  Heavier still, and with longer suspension travel.  These aren’t much fun to try and climb on, but they are an absolute blast doing what they do best, go down hill, over rough terrain, and do it fast.

Giant Faith (Definitely a Freeride bike!)

Downhill:  A true Downhill is basically an off-road motorcycle without the engine.  These are extremely tough, heavy bikes, with very long suspensions.  They are built to be raced down wicked double black diamond descents.

Kona Stab (this one's an all-out downhiller!)

There!  Maybe that will help a bit with some of the confusion.

Today’s Term(s): (See all of the above.)

This series, running every Tuesday, is intended to help those who are new to mountain bike riding.  By no means is it an exhaustive treatment, but it is our fond hope that it will help you, the beginner, to begin to enjoy riding your bike off road.

Future Topics:

Your next mountain bike  or  Mountain Biking 201

Memorial Day

It’s party time!  It’s the start of the Summer season.  Sure, we know that Summer doesn’t officially start until 21 June, but now is when things start to really happen.  The kids are out of school.  Swimming pools are open.  The car people genuflect toward Indiana.  Most of us get a day off from work.  And, in some lonely and forsaken place, a long way from home, a soldier stands watch.

Please reflect on that last statement.  Memorial Day is set aside to remember the fallen soldiers.  Our soldiers, sailors, and airmen have repeatedly answered the call.  They have delivered us from tyranny, and repeatedly kept us free.  They have advanced into horror to protect us.

We’ll have great weather today.  By all means, go out and ride.  Have that picnic.  But take a moment to reflect on those who are no longer with us, and those who are on duty far from home.  How about riding for them?  And while you’re at it, why not write a letter to a soldier?  Pick one who is from this area.  (You’ll have things in common with them.)  Tell them about things here.  Be upbeat.  And by all means, say “Thank you!  You are in my thoughts and prayers.”

Friday Follies ~~ How many bikes..?

From time to time, I’m asked the question,  “How many bikes do you have?”

Oddly, the answer is not a simple one.  More oddly, I am seldom asked,  “Why do you have that many?”

I can answer the second question with a bit more precision.  Different bikes do different things.  Let’s face it.  Almost any bicycle can be ridden almost anywhere.  It’s possible to use just about any bike for almost any given purpose. 

Examples abound:

• I know a man who commutes regularly on a very high end, all carbon Time Trial bike.
• I’ve seen messengers ply their trade on BMX rigs.
• I’ve seen road bikes ridden on singletrack.
• Occasionally someone will show up for one of the Audax Tune Ups on a mountainbike.  (Once we even had a young guy do one of the 65 mile editions on a full suspension rig, complete with aggressive knobbies!  He made it too!)
• Go to this year’s Tri-Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon, in August.  You’ll see almost everything.
• There used to be a wonderful character who did B.R.A.G. on a restored high wheeler, complete with Gay ‘90s period costume, handlebar mustaches and all.
• There’s the young guy on the old, steel, Raleigh, complete with cargo rack, doing the Cat V race.  (And not doing too badly at that!)

We could go on.

The point is, it’s possible to use a given bicycle for almost any purpose.  But possible doesn’t make it a good fit.  Likely, in most of these cases we are seeing the “one tool effect.”  You know how it goes.  “If all you have is a hammer, then all the world starts to look like a nail.”

Does anyone ask a golfer, “How many clubs do you have?”  I know they carry a lot of them, and I suppose each one has a specific purpose.  (I wouldn’t know.  I’m not a golfer.)  How about fishermen?  What’s the point of all that stuff in the tackle box?  At work I have a very full toolbox, a tool wall, and a specialty tool room.  Some of those tools are only used a couple of times a year.  Each has a specific purpose.

And there is the practical reason for owning more than one bike.  It’s possible, for a relatively low investment, to buy a purpose built bicycle.  One that does a specific job, and does it excellently.  There’s a second practical reason for having more than one rig available.  That’s increased reliability.  With a stable of well maintained bikes, I always have something to ride.

But the real reason, the one that is most honest is simply this.  I like bicycles.  I like bikes with character.  But mostly, I like bikes.

Weird Bikes and the “Tandem Effect”

The old Tandem is coming down from the hooks.  It lives up near the ceiling for long periods now.  I’m bringing it down to tune it up and go out for some practice, and a bit of fun.  The long bike doesn’t get much action these days, but the looming 4^th of July Parade is reason enough to put the old gal back into service.

Different kinds of riding help keep the whole thing “fresh.”  It’s easy to get stuck, to turn the groove into a rut.  I like variety.  I like routine.  I know these conflict, but that’s being a human for you.

Thing is, riding is good for you, but anything can get old.  “Mixing it up,” helps to keep it fresh.  It’s possible to pontificate on the training value to be derived from various bikes and riding styles, but the simple fact is, the variety is fun, and it’s challenging.  But there are some unlooked for effects too.

The Longbike

I noticed this years ago.  Ride the streets and roadways on a bicycle, and one will be treated to a certain amount of incivility.  Horn honks and shouts are about the worst of it, although some drivers are a bit more aggressive in displaying their ignorance.  But show up on a tandem, and things change.  The old “bicycle built for two,” works an odd magic.  Motorists smile and wave.  They point you out to their children.  The kids shout,  “Look look!  Cool bike!”

When I first experienced this, I thought it was just a luck of the draw thing.  Maybe I was going out on those days when only the nice drivers were around.  But it has remained pretty consistent.  In fact, when I mix the tandem in with other riders on conventional bikes, the tandem receives the smiles, and the others get the frowns.  There is no reasonable explanation for this.

In a bit more limited fashion, recumbents generate the same effect.  Folks seem to get a kick out of seeing the odd, semi-reclined bikes scuttling down the road.

It’s real

I’m not imagining things here.  I’ve seen identifiable drivers behave differently (kindly and with smiles) toward tandems.  We’re talking about drivers who can be identified.  The guy in chartreuse and red pickup, with the orange door, and the “Garth Rocks” bumper stickers is kind of hard to mistake.  More so as he is always wearing those overalls, and that faded red straw hat.  He’s hateful to me when I’m on a conventional bike, and actually pleasant and kind when it’s the twicer.  Why is this?  What is it about one kind of bicycle that makes it acceptable, while another provokes rage?

Even Among Us

We cyclists are not immune to this.  We tend to look at the bike and assess the individual.  Think about it.  Picture the following in your mind:

• Time Trial or Tri-Bike
• High End Road Bike
• Vintage (read OLD) Road Bike
• Mountain Bike
• Slick Tire Mountain Bike on the road
• BMX bike
• Tourist
• Fixed Gear
• Tall Bike

I’m betting that you had a strong reaction (positive or negative) to at least two of those categories.  What was it, and why did you have it?  Did you experience anger or distaste for one or more?  Why?  Why is it that the “Tandem Effect” cannot apply to every bicycle and everyone riding a bicycle?

Mountain Biking 101: Trail Care & Maintenance

If we are to be able to ride good trails, we must take care of them.  It’s that simple.

Land access is an ongoing and tough struggle.  We who ride mountain bikes can help a lot, or we can do great damage.  The help part comes from doing our best to ride responsibly, and to take care of the trails we ride.  We need to get involved in the process of opening trails, and working to keep them open.  That’s tough work.  It means going to meetings, writing letters, a lot of finiky detail paper work.

But the active side of land access is taking good care of the trails we ride on.  It boils down to a fairly simple set of actions:

Don’t Shred.  (Skids and washouts may be fun, but they tear up fragile forest floors.)

Don’t ride when the trails are wet.

Don’t widen trails.  (If you aren’t able to ride through an obstacle, dismount and portage over it.  Widened trails tend to increase erosion.)

If you bring it in, pack it out.

Avoid disturbing wildlife.

Volunteer for trail maintenance work.

We can boil a lot of this down.  Ride responsibly.  Treat the land gently.  Clean up after yourself and others.  I make a habit of looking for debris and litter, and try to pack out more than I brought in.  Sadly, I’m usually successful.

Join IMBA.  The International Mountain Bicycling Association is the umbrella organization for off road cyclists the world over.  This link will take you to the IMBA homepage.

Today’s Term(s):

 Shred:  To ride in a destructive manner.  esp.  skidding, or sliding over the ground.

This series, running every Tuesday, is intended to help those who are new to mountain bike riding.  By no means is it an exhaustive treatment, but it is our fond hope that it will help you, the beginner, to begin to enjoy riding your bike off road.

Future Topics:

Bike Types

Your next mountain bike  or  Mountain Biking 201

Post-Apocalyptic Notes

The world ended on Saturday.  Oddly this has happened before.  I seem to recall a big party for the end of the world.  That one happened back in the 1970s.  I’m not clear on the dates and details of that one.  (It was a very good party!)

I’m having trouble noticing any differences.  I’ve been told that this is because I missed the Great Recall Notice in the Sky.  Be that as it may, I’m enjoying the aftermath of the Apocalypse just fine, thank you very much.  Went for a nice ride yesterday evening. 

The early morning is still a bit on the cool side for my taste.  Perhaps that’s fallout from the recent end of the world.

On the other hand, proponents of the Mayan calendar maintain that we will have to wait until after the next general election for the real end of the world.  According to the experts, the Mayan “Long Year” calendar ends, very abruptly, on either December 21, 2012, or December 23, 2012.  Both schools seem to have a specific hour and minute, but I don’t speak or read Mayan, so I cannot translate that part.

What I don’t understand is the confusion.  I mean, if it is possible to calculate the End of the World with such precision, why the discrepancy in the timing?  Why the missing day?  Perhaps we’re not thinking about an Apocalypse after all.  Could it be the Mayan Calendar actually predicted an Acapulolypse?

{For those not familiar by the phenomena under its theological technical name:  An }

{Acapulcolypse occurs when the party (usually involving drinks with umbrellas and }

{fruits) starts on Friday evening, and really gets going on Saturday.  Things get         }

{fuzzy on Sunday, and the victim awakens on Tuesday, with no vague idea of what  }

{happened to Monday.                                                                                                  }

Let us pause for a moment and reflect on the meaning of all this.  Just what is meant by the EOTW?  Does it mean the weather gets bad?  How about earthquakes?  Perhaps Shimano will stop producing wonderfully precise drivelines and weirdly designed wheelsets?  Maybe Campagnolo Veloce™ group parts will start working properly?  (Now that would be a truly apocalyptic event!)  Or is it even possible that Grant Peterson would bring out a full-carbon touring frame?  Maybe tri-athletes will start maintaining their bicycles, and all the Freds out there will stop blasting through stop signs.  We shall just have to wait and see.

Friday Follies ~~ Impacts

It’s been a long time since I came into contact with a car while riding my bicycle.  I’ve worked hard to avoid that kind of thing, and studied a lot on the matter.  Also, I’ve been fortunate.  I learned something from each and every one of those “impact incidents.”

Lesson 1:  Uncle Gravity never sleeps:

I Taught myself to ride a bike.  At the tender age of eight, I dragged my kidclunker up a hill and pushed off.  For the next several seconds I thought I’d made a terrible mistake.  But I got to the bottom of the hill just fine.  In fact it was so much fun that I did it again.  In the thrill of the moment, I had missed an important point.  That moment of terror was based on the realization that

gravity + uncontrol = trouble.

For a long time I didn’t get how the bike’s brakes worked.  I used two methods of stopping. 

Method 1:  Coast until the thing slows down, then drag feet. 

Method 2:  Hit something soft.

Pedaling the bike was kind of boring.  Costing down that same hill (the equipment ramp to our barn) grew tame.  I looked for more thrills.  I found them.  I tried riding off of the rocky side of the earth ramp.  The result was a trip to the emergency room.  Sudden stops at the bottom of steep rocky descents are painful.

Lesson 2:  Buicks don’t budge.

Early in my cycling career, I was still intrigued with the speed and thrill of rushing downhill, but I had not learned much about controlling the bike.  My grandparents came for a visit.  Old Pete, my grandfather, always drove the biggest most impressive car that he could afford.  In the 1950s this was a Buick with four holes in the fenders.  (Buick aficionados consider the number of fender holes in early Buicks to be significant.  For the uninitiated, the more holes, the bigger the car.)

I was encouraged to show off my new riding trick for the grandparents.  Old Pete got his camera out.  I pushed the bike up the hill.  I mounted the bike.  I rode wildly down the hill.  (By this time, I’d learned how to add some speed by pedaling the thing.)  I promptly rammed the Buick.  Result?  Another trip to the emergency room, and no apparent damage to the car.

Over the next few years I managed to find multiple ways to reinforce the Gravity and Buick lessons.

Lesson 3:  Watch where you are going.  (No matter how cute she is!)

Around age ten, I started using my bicycle to go places.  At first this was on sidewalks.  (My family had moved to the city, where such things existed.)  Soon I was venturing out farther and farther.  My destinations were places that sidewalks didn’t go to.  I was slowly learning how to ride a bike on the road.  By my early twenties I was doing this a lot.

So there I was, idling along in bumper to bumper traffic, in the small Virginia college town.  Stop and start.  Sit and wait.  Go a bit.  (Why do they call it rush hour?)  It was a warm Spring afternoon.  I spotted a really cute young lady on the sidewalk.  She saw me, and smiled.  I smiled back and started to say something witty.  That was when I rammed the car ahead of me, flipped over my bars, and came to rest on the trunk and rear window of the car ahead.

Lesson 4:  Stop Signs

I was cruising down a long hill.  There was a stop sign at the bottom.  The cross traffic did not have a stop.  I routinely blew through this one.  There was seldom any traffic.  On that particular afternoon, it didn’t work.  There was a car coming from my left.  I almost made it.  The car hit my rear wheel.  Result?  A totally trashed rear wheel and rear derailler, along with copious amounts of road rash.  Totally my fault.

Lesson 5:  Car doors.

Yep.  It happened to me.  I’d read about it.  I’d been told about it.  I thought I was in the habit of checking cars for occupants.  I was cruising along, not going particularly fast or slow.  Suddenly there was a door in front of me.  Up in the air.  Down on the ground, rolling and abrading.

The result?  A completely wrecked bike and a lot of road rash.  At that I was incredibly lucky.  I wasn’t wearing a helmet.  In those days they weren’t generally available.  Secondary result?  I did some pretty good damage to the car, sprung the door, and bent some metal.  The cage driver was furious.  Cops showed up.  I got the ticket.  (Later dismissed.)

I was incredibly lucky.  It could have been much much worse.  Treat parked cars like armed bombs.

Lesson 6:  Truck bumpers are hard.

I’ve been riding a long long time.  I flatter myself that I am a moderately good bike handler. 

I was doing some simple brake maintenance on one of my bikes.  I was in a hurry, and time was pressing.  I finished the work, and lowered the bike from my repair stand.  I’d only do a very short test ride.  No need to go inside the house and grab the helmet. 

A quick roll down the drive.  Brake check.  Turn up the street.  Double brake check.  A slow and easy 180, and back to the drive.  In the process of dismounting, I stepped down on some of those pesky sweetgum balls.  My foot slipped.  I fumbled and almost recovered.  Then, in slow motion, I fell over.  My head hit the bumper of my parked truck.

There is nothing dramatic, or heroic, about the incident.  I hurt like blazes, and resulted in a concussion.  When you are on the way to the ground, it’s too late to put the helmet on.

Thursday Thoughts: Rules of the Road?

If there is a one lane bridge on a road, and two vehicles are on the road, it can be demonstrated that they are heading in opposite directions, and they will meet at the bridge.

The phrase “competitive cyclist” is redundant.

You are approaching a 4-way stop in moderate traffic.  A normal and smooth “rotation” has been established at the intersection.  The vehicle in front of you goes through the intersection, and you advance to the stop line.  At this point the following sequence will occur:

First)  The driver whose turn it is will hesitate due to a distracting cell phone call.

B)  The opposing driver will be both incredibly impatient and aggressive.

3)  The remaining driver will attempt an un-signaled left turn after you begin to enter the intersection.

No matter how simple a traffic situation is, a redneck in a pickup truck can foul it up completely by turning left.

When you share the path with an elephant, if anyone stumbles, you lose.

The ones behind you are maniacs, the ones in front of you are idiots.

It can be demonstrated, that on any closed loop bicycle course, the entire loop is uphill all the way around.  In both directions.  Further, there will be a headwind at all times.

Blondes on cell phones have the right way.

No matter how complicated a traffic situation is, a redneck in a pickup truck can make it far worse by turning left.

Whatever you are about to do, if there is a good chance it will get you killed, you shouldn’t do it.

Flats are most likely to occur, at the farthest point in the ride, just before the heaviest downpour, when your pump breaks, and your spare also has a hole in it.

A certain method for having a flat.  Another rider has a flat.  You stop to help.  You give them your spare.  As soon as they are fixed, they ride away, while you are packing up.  All the other riders on the ride also ride off into the distance.  Now both your tires are flat.  (You will also find that someone else mistakenly took your pump.)

Being dead right doesn’t make you any less dead.

If used, sunblock will always get in your eyes just before you come to an extremely busy intersection or a truly hairy descent.

If used, sunblock will always get in your eyes.

You can’t cure stupid.

There is an apparent, severe shortage of blinker fluid.  How else to explain the lack of turn signal usage?

When it is about to rain, you will find

• The shortest distance to home is under construction.
• All lights are red.
• Your rain jacket is either at home, or has just ripped in two.
• Your phone battery is dead.
• You have a flat.
• Your legs are going to cramp.
• Traffic is getting heavier.
• Your shortcut is closed due to construction.
• Your tail light just burned out.
• You left your rain jacket at home.
• Your brake is dragging.
• Your shorts are chafing.
• Your shifter will refuse to select the most favorable and needed gear.

No matter which way you have to ride, it’s always uphill.

And against the wind.

Purchase and carry a rain cape.  Equip your bike with fenders.  Never leave home without a rain jacket.  Droughts are caused by this.

There is no limit to stupid.

In the middle of a “century drought,” the weather forecast is for 0% rainchance.  You remove your fenders and leave your rain gear at home.  Expect flash flooding and freezing conditions.

It’s not possible to make it rain by riding your bike, IF the rain is what you really want.

It is not humanly possible to carry too much water.

Or food.

There is no such thing as being too visible.

No matter how brightly illuminated and reflectorized the cyclist is, the motorist that hits her will claim that she was invisible.

Rabbits run away in straight lines.  This is why we call them rabbits.  Squirrels don’t and this is why we call them squirrels.

If there are just two bicycles in the same county, then there is no question about it, there will be a race.

The only flying insect in the county will hit the cyclist in the eye.

Unless the cyclist’s mouth is open.

Any group ride, consisting of three or more riders will “break” into at least two (if not three) groups.

There will be no automotive traffic on the road until a cyclist is approaching an intersection.

If there exists a six lane highway with only two vehicles upon it, it can demonstrated that one of the vehicles is a cyclist, and the other is a Dodge “dualie” pickup.  Further, the pickup will be approaching the cyclist from behind.  Further, the driver of the pickup will consider the cyclist to be in the way  and going too slowly.

Nothing moves through dense traffic faster than a cyclist…  Until a car door is opened in front of him.

On a freshly built and paved stretch of road, there will be exactly one microscopic shard of glass.  A cyclist riding on this stretch of road will roll over this bit of glass, and it will puncture both tires.

It is a blistering hot day.  At the exact moment that you run out of water,
1) no one else will be around. 
2)  Every store in the vicinity will have just closed.

There is no ground floor under stupid.  The elevator just keeps going down.

Helmets are positively charged.  Angry wasps carry a negative charge.

You prepare well for every eventuality.  If so the following is a certainty.  When you have a flat…  It is about to start raining.  Your pump will blow a seal.  Your spare already has a hole in it.  Your patch kit has dried out.  Your tire levers will break.  Your cell phone’s battery just went dead.

When riding on the road, always remember these four rules. 
1) You can’t win.
2) You can’t break even. 
3) You can’t get out of the game. 
4)  Yes, they are out to get you!

Corollary:  Even paranoids have enemies.

Cycling is a relaxing pastime, and will provide you with hours of enjoyment.

Survival

We survived the Great Blog Blackout last week.  Doesn’t it figure?  I take a brief hiatus, and everything seems to fall apart.  Seriously, the timing was lousy.  Just as I came back from an absence, blogger went down and went down hard.  Still, as I’m sure some of you (at least two or three) have noticed, we are back up and running strong.

RIDE OF SILENCE

On a bit more serious note:  Tonight we ride in silent remembrance.  We’ll participate in the event locally, as will many thousands globally.  It’s a time to honor and remember cyclists who have fallen.  I just got word about one of us.  She was hit from behind.  The motorist “didn’t see her.”  This was not at an intersection, or during a group ride.  The lady was doing it right, and she was struck.  Happily, with time, she will recover.  Others won’t.  Some will not rise again.

This is the grim side of cycling.  Sometimes it incurs the penalty of  injury or death.  It should not be so.  At another time, we can debate the merits of bike lanes, traffic calming devices, of the value of various techniques.  Tonight is not a time for that.  Tonight it is fitting that we ride in remembrance of all of those who have been injured or killed.

The Ride of Silence is a global event.  The mission of the world wide Ride of Silence is to honor bicyclists killed by motorists, promote sharing the road, and provide awareness of bicycling safety.  The ride starts in many locations, at 7:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight time.  Then it continues, time zone by time zone.  Each zone will begin its rides at the local 7:00 P.M.  For 24 hours, the ride rolls around the globe.  Our local part of the ride will take place tonight, at 7:00.  We will start from Peachtree City, from the front of the Library.  We will ride slowly, and silently.  We will remember.  Be there, and come early.

Mountain Biking 101: More on carrying “stuff”

I wrestle with this.  I fight against a conflict.  Part of me wants to carry a lot of stuff.  Part of me wants me and the bike to be stripped down, light, and responsive.

The Heavy Rider:  I am a professional bike wrench.  I know just about everything that can go wrong with a bike, and I tend to want to pack tools and spares against all of those possibilities.  Mountain bike riding also presents injury risk, so a good first aid kit would be nice.  Add insect repellent, sunscreen, water, and food (must have food!) to this and the load can become impressive.  (Some would say excessive.)  At one point in my journey I had a mountainbike equipped with a rear cargo rack and panniers, and I still carried a large backpack hydration system.  Lights.  (After all, even though the ride starts at 10:00 A.M., I could end up out at night.)  GPS.  Compass.  Map.  Signal Mirror.  You name it.

The Light Rider:  I like a lightweight responsive bike, and I like the freedom of not carrying a lot of stuff.  There is joy in being unencumbered.  Carefree.  Climbing easily.  The backpack affects center of gravity?  Leave it behind!  Spare tubes?  We almost never get flats!

In a more sober moment, it’s possible to reflect, how much, and what is carried sort of depends on where and how the ride is.  If the ride is in deep woods, a long way from home, and a long way from the trailhead, perhaps a bit more equipment and supplies are in order.  If it’s on very local trails, less is needed.  Think about how difficult it is to walk out while carrying your bike.  If the difficulty is likely to be extreme, perhaps more support equipment should be packed in.

Bike Type:  Another factor is the kind of bike you are riding.  (See Today’s Terms for more on this.)  A “hardtail” can have rear racks and panniers mounted.  “Full Suspension” bikes make this more difficult.  The moving parts at the rear of the bike interfere with rack mounts.  There are beam type racks for these bikes, but rigging panniers and such is complicated, and stabilizing them is even trickier.

The trailer option:  There are trailers that are designed to be pulled behind mountain bikes.  These are generally used for truly epic cross-country treks.  (Consider:  Do you really want to pull 50 pounds of gear up that hill?)

I don’t know if this is helpful…  But my personal approach is to use a moderately large backpack hydration pack.  I alter what goes into it, depending on the season, and my intended ride.  I’m also constantly removing stuff from it.  Things just seem to accumulate in there.

Good luck with all this.

Today’s Term(s):

Rigid, n.  A mountain bike with no suspension parts.  The rear triangle of the bike is solid and does not move.  The forks are also non-moving, and non-suspended.

hardtail n. any bike with front suspension but no rear suspension.

F/S, Full-Suspension, n.  A bike with a suspension fork at the front, and a lot of moving parts at the rear, that allow the rear triangle of the bike to move.

Dualie  see F/S

Bounce Bike see F/S

Shock n.  In mountain biking parlance, a device that contains a spring and some means of damping the travel.  Cynically:  Parts that are installed on a bike by the manufacturer to add weight, complexity, and cost.

This series, running every Tuesday, is intended to help those who are new to mountain bike riding.  By no means is it an exhaustive treatment, but it is our fond hope that it will help you, the beginner, to begin to enjoy riding your bike off road.

Future Topics:

Trail Care & Maintenance

Bike Types

Your next mountain bike  or  Mountain Biking 201

One for the Books

A sage once opined,  “Climate is what you expect.  Weather is what you get.”  By that measure, we sure have been getting a lot of weather lately.

Take the forecast for yesterday.  It was supposed to be in the mid 50s and cloudy at ride time.  The temps were supposed to climb into the upper 60s, and the clouds to diminish.  It didn’t quite work out that way.

Five of us lined up to do my annual Audax 200K.  At ride time, it was completely overcast, and the temperature was definitely in the low 50s.  Unlike the Tune Up rides, the actual Audax ride starts out by going downhill.  So there is no chance to make power and self-warm.  (That does change after the first six miles.)  This made for a brisk start to the day.

Long rides and variable weather.  That combination presents us with some real quandries.  If we dress warmly enough for the beginning of the day, we have to lug all that stuff around for the rest of the day.  If it turns nicer, it gets annoying.  There’s all that stuff in the pack, the pockets, and on the rack, adding weight.  If we only needed the gear for the first hour or so, it’s extra aggravating.  A lot of us will choose to suffer through the beginning of the ride, with the idea that things will get better.  Sometimes that strategy works.

Yesterday a couple of our Audax riders chose the “suffer early, lighter is better” approach.  I tended toward that myself.  I was one of the more heavily packed, wearing arm warmers, a polypro base shirt, a summer jersey, and light windvest.  I had a super light rain jacket in my bag.

For the very beginning of the ride, it looked like the “go light, suffer for an hour” was going to pay off.  The temps crept up, and the overcast grew first lighter, and then a bit scattered.

Just south of Alvaton, I had my first intimation of challenges ahead.  It’s interesting.  This is often the case.  By the time we reach the turn for GA-362, we have been on the road for about an hour, and we turn almost due west.

The skies stopped clearing, and the headwind hit us.  A somewhat chill headwind.  It never really got warmer.  And that headwind never left us.  Does that sound like a recipe for a disaster?  It could have been.  Instead, we had us one great day!

The group contained no whiners.  (Amy reserves the right to shout about the indignity of the conditions, but she does this in a humorous self-parady.)  We made fun of it, and made the best of it.  Martha bought a thermal undershirt at a convenience store.  We all laughed.

As we approached the town of Pine Mountain, it started to rain.  Huh?  The forecast had called for a 10% rainchance for just part of the morning, dropping to 0% by eleven o’clock.  What was this!?  Again, this was a chance for a disaster in the making.

Instead, the rain remained intermittent and light.  By the time we finished lunch, the rain was almost done with us.  It delayed our start for the restaurant, but only that.

Of course, the headwind seemed to redouble itself on our northward trip.

What makes the difference between a “deathmarch” and a party?  Simply this, the nature of the group.  Good riding companions and good cheer make adversity a challenge and a game.

This was the smallest group I’ve taken on the Audax 200K.  I could not have asked for a better one.  Scott, Martha, Amy, Chris, I salute you!  A day met with courage and bravado, a group of people with happy determination, what could make for a better day?

In the words of the Immortal Ahnold

I need a vacation!


So, on that note, this blog is going to be on hiatus until next Tuesday.  See you back here on May 10, 2011.

Please enjoy the week, and do play safe out there.

An Invitation

Yesterday was our last Audax Tune Up Ride.  It was a good one.  Of course the perfect weather helped.  The mid-Spring foliage is lush, green and remarkable, the air crisp and clean, the clover blooming.  No Spring ride would be complete without some good buffeting headwinds, and we had that as we climbed back up out of the Chattahootchee River Valley. 

We had a great group, if a bit small.  Five of us went the whole way around the loop.  We all stayed pretty much together, and finished as a unit.  Bravo!

I’m seriously looking forward to the Audax 200K, in just two weeks.  We’ll have lots of detailed info about that.  Look for it in upcoming posts, and of course, in the Tuesday Tome.

Having said all that, here’s the reason for the title of today’s post.  We’re issuing an invitation to any and all of the prominent cycling bloggers, in particular, BikeSnobNYC, FatCyclist, and Lovely Bicycle, but others are welcome too.  The invitation is simple.  Contact me, and then come down here and ride with us.

Here’s what we have on offer:

• You will have to arrange your own travel, and pay for it yourself.  I’ll see to it you are met at the airport.  (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson is quite nice, and it is served by commuter rail.)
• You will have to pay for your own hotel accommodations.  (We can suggest several convenient and nice ones, or a couple of friendly B&Bs here.)
• I’ll do my level best to publicize your arrival.  I’ll do this in this blog, in my weekly e-zine, on the South Side Cycling Club website Bike Chat page, and by word-of-mouth as I work at Bicycles Unlimited.
• We’ll put together some kind of “event” for you to meet and greet some of our local riders.  (You may feel free to promote any books, t-shirts, or other self- aggrandizing merchandise there.)
• We will go and ride in Georgia!
• For all you northerners and westerners, the Georgia Scene should provide you with enough material for a good week’s worth of posting.

Don’t worry about being mobbed by adulating flocks.  Mostly our local riders are too self-involved to pay too much attention to your celebrity status.

Do look forward to some of the sweetest riding on the planet.  We have the following available:

• Countless miles of rural roads with exceptional vistas.
• Ignorant, but mostly almost tolerant drivers.  (We do have the occasional obnoxious lout, but these really are in a minority.) 
• Oh yes!  Expect to encounter a few unleashed and annoying dogs on every ride.
• Mountain biking on some very sweet, and sometimes quite challenging local trails.
• The Great Smokey Mountains are only a few hours away, and offer exceptional road and off-road opportunities.
• Hospitality, in the best southern tradition.
• Some good rural roads where banjos can actually be heard.
• A fine large city with interesting local customs, and the best in urban cycling challenges, including roads in horrible repair, construction, dense traffic, and maniacal drivers.
• A climate that is likely to entertain, while it provides any (or all) of the following features:  Blistering heat, Freezing cold, torrential downpours, high winds, sultry days, drought, floods, tornadoes, impressive thunderstorms, soft gentle evenings, spectacular sunsets, flash floods, mosquitoes, chiggers, and ticks, and frequently some of the most amazingly good riding weather to be found on the planet.
• We have an abundance of hills, none too large, some good descents, and the (rare) long flat.
• We can even provide miles of happy bouncy fun on our quaint clay-gravel-sand unpaved roads.
• Let us introduce you to “Georgia Pave” while you are here.

And, as an added bonus, if you act quickly, I might even be able to arrange for us to go out on a night time excursion to do some cow tipping.

So what say?  Are you game for an adventure?