I had two fun outings this weekend. I met up with Michael Lamb from Redbeard Racing for a ride at Glacier Ridge and Overton. It was easy to keep 6 feet apart as he was ripping the descents and technical bits on an old steel hardtail (thankfully for me, his fancy Spec Epic was out for a warranty repair). I feel like I was learning how fast you can take corners, which obstacles you can roll over, etc by following someone who knew what they were doing. He would gap me on the descents and then I would catch up on the climbs. We did a lot of GR and all of Overton but he bonked super hard after GR so we eased it back to the lot from there. 

https://www.strava.com/activities/4207956430

Then Sunday I didn't want to drive a bunch so I went to Cunningham and really enjoyed it! The rain has been good for all of the trails I think and CLIMB has been doing a lot of trail work in there. 

I'd love to do a socially distant mtb with ya'll sometime!

I did Cunningham on Sunday too, left the house with heavy legs from the day before, but was feeling pretty good by the time I got to the park. The trails were grippy and fast, had a blast and found some new PRs.

I've only done Cunningham and am itching to try more trails. Maybe I'll do a zip car to Glacier Ridge next weekend.

I want to chime in in support of the awesome stuff going on at Cunningham. CLIMB has been absolutely killing it there, new features, improved features (read: some features that were only unnecessarily technical and annoying have been taken away so that certain trails can flow better), and the pump track is rolling super fast (I could do a full zero-pedal loop even on my 27.5+ rig). I highly recommend all who are able to go and check it out. You can also marvel at the dirt jumps on the West side of the park (also new and improved but also probably a little too much for most of our bikes and skill levels)

Went to Stillwell for the first time today and admittedly it was not a very positive experience. I rode basically everything in like 40 minutes and there were tons of mask-less hikers on all the trails. One family forced me to shoot the gap between the 4 of them on a black trail endangering everyone involved, the father was literally going "yeah you got it, you got it" as he and his kids barely stayed clear on the sides. I now wish I had known what was going to happen so I could have asked them to backtrack to where they could give me room as I had nowhere to turn around. C'est la vie. Also future note, don't try rolling the sand chutes, it only ends in scrapes.

Sweet morning out at cathedral pines,
The boys in blue staying hydrated 

Not a NBD but new tires and grips made it feel like new! It's crazy how heavy tires can be. Thanks RB! 
(Also, my saddle angle isn't that crazy, the bike is just perched a lil downhill)

I'm sure it's a fashion trend that will fade but these days tan sidewalls look mega dope.

Gumwalls have always and will always look mega dope on all bikes forever. FOR. EV. ER.

I'm now acutely aware of the fact that my MTB desperately needs tan sidewalls.

Agreed! I feel like it classes up a modern bike a lil bit. 
Fashion aside, these Mezcal tires are actually rad. I felt a real difference in leafy corners vs the stock, tubed WTB tires i had before. And with the RB discount, I think they came out to $45-ish each? Not too bad all things considered. 

Glacier trails are covered in snow. I stopped by to check this morning and I saw a couple of guys on fat bikes. Have you guys ever riding regular Mtb on snow? It definitely looks challenging. I think I’ll try tomorrow. 

Awesome Christmas morning 
discovered a whole new network of trails at the Northwest woods 

So jealous 

Much like my first ever bike race, I've bowed to peer pressure and signed up for a 99 mile mountain bike race at the end of June. To be fair, it's only like 7 miles of single track and 80+ miles of snowmobile/forest service road with a bit of pavement thrown in. That, and 7k feet of climbing.

My thinking is that a race like that will be quite spread out after the start, so from a covid perspective it should be safe.

https://www.lutsen99er.com/race/99er/

Jules said:

Much like my first ever bike race, I've bowed to peer pressure and signed up for a 99 mile mountain bike race at the end of June. To be fair, it's only like 7 miles of single track and 80+ miles of snowmobile/forest service road with a bit of pavement thrown in. That, and 7k feet of climbing.

My thinking is that a race like that will be quite spread out after the start, so from a covid perspective it should be safe.

https://www.lutsen99er.com/race/99er/

RIDE THAT EXTRA MF'NG MILE.

also I would consider riding my cross/gravel bike on such an event.

eloy said:

Jules said:

Much like my first ever bike race, I've bowed to peer pressure and signed up for a 99 mile mountain bike race at the end of June. To be fair, it's only like 7 miles of single track and 80+ miles of snowmobile/forest service road with a bit of pavement thrown in. That, and 7k feet of climbing.

My thinking is that a race like that will be quite spread out after the start, so from a covid perspective it should be safe.

https://www.lutsen99er.com/race/99er/

RIDE THAT EXTRA MF'NG MILE.

also I would consider riding my cross/gravel bike on such an event.

I'm going to inquire with the folks who know.

the video of the event shows at least one person on drop bars, impossible to know from the video how they fared or what distance they rode.

Jules said:

eloy said:

Jules said:

Much like my first ever bike race, I've bowed to peer pressure and signed up for a 99 mile mountain bike race at the end of June. To be fair, it's only like 7 miles of single track and 80+ miles of snowmobile/forest service road with a bit of pavement thrown in. That, and 7k feet of climbing.

My thinking is that a race like that will be quite spread out after the start, so from a covid perspective it should be safe.

https://www.lutsen99er.com/race/99er/

RIDE THAT EXTRA MF'NG MILE.

also I would consider riding my cross/gravel bike on such an event.

I'm going to inquire with the folks who know.

Apparently the fire roads are so bad people rent full suspension bikes for it. Undecided about the extra mile

I'm confused - these bikes seem to be on top of the car.

Jules said:

.

Apparently the fire roads are so bad people rent full suspension bikes for it. Undecided about the extra mile

Warm up for a mile or so before the event.

Get that extra mile in early.  

As for the roads, some folks think you need suspension beyond air and flex on NYC roads.  

mugwump said:

Jules said:

.

Apparently the fire roads are so bad people rent full suspension bikes for it. Undecided about the extra mile

Warm up for a mile or so before the event.

Get that extra mile in early.  

As for the roads, some folks think you need suspension beyond air and flex on NYC roads.  

It's an hour forty to drive there so if I think the pre-ride will be crucial. Same-day decisions will be limited.

Jules said:

mugwump said:

Jules said:

.

Apparently the fire roads are so bad people rent full suspension bikes for it. Undecided about the extra mile

Warm up for a mile or so before the event.

Get that extra mile in early.  

As for the roads, some folks think you need suspension beyond air and flex on NYC roads.  

It's an hour forty to drive there so if I think the pre-ride will be crucial. Same-day decisions will be limited.

How could it be an hour forty drive, it's on the same lake!

jim_nelson said:

I'm confused - these bikes seem to be on top of the car.

This is unrelated to mountain biking but mark my words: one day a bike will be on top of the car. and I will be sat on top of said bike. on top of said car. driving along a road.

This place looks awesome
https://www.bikeparkwales.com/mountain-bike-trails-wales

Shameless plug

https://youtu.be/C4ta52z-L0o

 I just registered for the ~sport~ category for the Stillwell race later this month. I'm pretty comfortable and confident on all of the trails but am curious what trails you think they'll use? In the past have they used all of the black/blues? 

Anways, come reg and race! 

finished up my mtb (re)build and now thinking of going to Stillwell saturday. haven't been yet.

@RobertMullen i'm ~this~ close to signing up for that race. have to see how dialed in the bike is first.

James Reeder said:

finished up my mtb (re)build and now thinking of going to Stillwell saturday. haven't been yet.

@RobertMullen i'm ~this~ close to signing up for that race. have to see how dialed in the bike is first.

If you feel like driving more east. I'll be riding Cathedral Pines this saturday.