Memorial Day

I was and am so jazzed about this weekend, theirs nothing unusual going on, but maybe that's why.I can do what I want when I want this time .It seems like people travel so the roads and stores are less crowded and people are less stressed.I prefer staying local on holiday weekends.
All I want to do is ride my bike for hours on end and drink cold cold beer. Not to sound like I don't respect this holiday,I cant say enough about the people who have sacrificed All! Very unselfish. It conjure's up a whole stinking vat of emotions about war and now is not the time to go there,I am going to be my selfish self and write about me,and how stoked I am to just be.

Friday 4:30 upper loch raven,three single speeds riding the loop backwards,sooo much fun,great way to end the week, not as much climbing,and so much fun riding the rhythm sections backwards . It's a different trail.I used to ride it that way,that was the standard,you know back in the early mid nineties.It brought back a lot of memories, riding with B-rad and crew of miss- fits that would congregate on those days of youth,not knowing why but being smart enough to not think about it,just do it.

So that was fun. Capped of with the first of many well earned beers this weekend will deliver.

Today, Saturday A-Fish and I headed out on a forty mile Pretty Boy reservoir loop. I give the weather conditions for the ride an eleven. It's the biggest ride Miss Fisher has done and well done it was!
Big grins were worn the whole time.The Quikbeam is a fast roller,today felt good I'm still getting used to it as to be expected,But I can tell I am gonna have more fun on this bike than I realized.
On the last seven miles I noticed some evil clouds to the north west ,sure enough we got home grabbed the clothes off the line and the fury of the isolated T-storm unleashed,beer and a couch proceeded.

Frisbee golf at the location of the pond jump parties and the Sowebo festival tomorrow,and of course more bike.
Things are shaping up.

This Kills Me

I missed this photo.
This place opened up and like a month later it burned.
It was a country store type establishment, even though it's not much like the country here any more.
They were gonna rent out these cruisers to ride on the N.C.R., that was my idea from way back,I guess I still could now.
The picture I saw was disturbingly cool,a row of bikes still standing, like their ready to go but completely singed,toasted,smoked, rims with no rubber seats with no seating.
Lesson learned, if you see a shot, take it!

This kills me . 

This morning I painted the bottom of the boat, miserable job that can be,It's bad enough when your doing one that is on blocks,or even in a sling, well that's not so bad, but crawling around under that trailer is a bit of a pain.I only have to get under it to cut in around the rollers and chines,then I roll the rest.I can feel my brain cell gettin ate away. But it does get me excited.Summer is right around the bend.

 

Rivendell

I would like to welcome a new member to the family, long awaited much anticipated,although it's new it's like welcoming an elder home. Looking at how it was built and seeing the geometry and materials and holding it,it reeks of time tested and years of disappointment and of success in what was trying to be accomplished.I am having trouble wrapping my words around it,......it has a real presence.I really didn't want to put it together, I could have looked at it for days.The bottom bracket shell, the meeting place of four steel tubes, was something to see,again I cant explain why I was so impressed but looking into that shell was really cool Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I put it together with old and new parts that I had been saving for years,there not nice parts but they are reliable enough to get me rolling, and roll it does first ride was set up fixed,we took the road circuit up through pretty Boy reservoir, saw a ton of other cyclist out, it was cool, before the last long bombing down hill I switched it around to the free wheel,and that felt much better hadn't ridden fixed since last October and with it being a new ride it was very weird. Sunday I got the brakes working like they should and lowered the bars as far as they would go,this was so much better,I had a lot more control, and I was very comfortable.It handles differently than any bike I've ridden,I still have some bugs to work out and once I get used to being up higher and not in an attack position I'll be loving it.

 

Weekend

Had a fun bike oriented weekend saw us at Lower Lock with the regulars and two guys I hadn't ridden with in years was a little bit slower pace than I am used to with those guys, kind of a lot of people. Super fun. Although I did forget my water bottle followed parking lot beers.
Saturday was awesome sunny and warm with a little breeze,I woke up wanting to ride all day,so I put the rack on and headed to Timonium,R.E.I, mixed it up with road and N.C.R trail, turned out to be forty miles,and not all day but I was loving the few hours it took, a little adventure.
Sunday I went to Lake Red Man with Todd rode for two hours at a medium pace,another nice day,it was raining here when we left but sunny up there place rips.

Weekend in may

Saturday I had stuff to do with my dad in the morning but met up with Tim for a ride at the lower Loch Raven in the afternoon. We blew it out ,the trails are real fast. I am definitely not where I want to be strength wise, but I am building it back up, it just takes a while.
Sunday was cool, I took the d. o. g. to the river. We like to go to Big Falls road at the Blue Mount Quarry its the Gun Powder river and wilderness area,just beautiful there, an awesome nugget to have close by.It was nice to wade around and fish while the wild man tore it up.Water is cold but I managed it for an hour or so.Then to moms for moms day and mas beer, laid in the grass in the sun with my niece and nephew.
That trail head is four miles from home,I used to ride there all the time ,since the early nineties, but they say your not supposed to, you know ,big bro, uncle sam.There aren't any signs prohibiting bikes but I have had run ins with the man in the past, he has never been able to tell me why, thanks to Dirt Rag #112 I know more than he, and I am sorry I missed the summit in D.C a couple weeks ago. The whole thing really burns me up these trails are awesome, they will always have a special place with me,and their dry too. Monday I couldn't hold back any longer and rode about five miles of it,super fun, it had been a long time.I rode trail up toMasemore road, saw people taking kyaking lessons,the river is up pretty good,then took the road up to Pretty Boy swung it around and down past Gennise valley, across Middletown rd. to Rayville and down a long, excellent down hill all the way to Parkton,n.c.r. trail to White Hall and home.
the good life.

surly cross check

http://www.geocities.com/socko12345/home.html

I can totally and definitely and completely say that I agree with the description given by Alabama (see above link) in regards to the handling and feel of the snappy quick witted Cross Check.
Except! The head set part, I don't know if he is referring to the one that came on the bike,mine came complete with a Ritchy Logic four years ago and it's still tight and smooth.Considering the look in the pic, he probably built his up and through trial and error used a real cheap one, in that case I agree If your gonna ride it hard don't use thin sloppy parts, and even if you just ride don't use thin sloppy parts. My M.T.B has an Ahead Set set , its inexpensive and works great. Both of these will were out,but you get a lot of use for a little spend.
Yesterday I did my dirt road loop, at work I kept thinking about riding trail but got home didn't feel like driving out again to the trail head ,so I was gonna do a road and trail mix but A-Fish informed me she was majorally hassled by a creepy looking LL.Bean guy with a big hat and big shades talking on his cell phone about a half mile in,he gave her shit about the dogs not being leash'd,the dogs wouldn't go near him because he looked like such a freak my dog barked at him twice not aggressively, I am sure the happy hiker would have had a real fit when he saw me,on a bicickle.
Being spent from the day I opted for the quiet back roads.

The Good and Bad

Saturday night at three forty five am the phone rang,as the answering machine picked up and started recording A-Fish was on her way to see who it was.I didn't recognize the voice,but I did hear "flown to shock trauma" immediately I shot up and said Who?!!! A said Layton, she was on the phone by now with Laytons Girl friend Laurie who said he was working in Havre-De-Grace, he works a friends restaurant some weekends .Saturday rained quite a bit and by that hour of night it was wet, foggy, and low visibility.He remembers driving, but not going off the road,apparently went into a ditch, up a bank only to roll back down it. I know Layton can drive and details are vauge any number of senarios could have played out. He was able to get out, walk up to a house ,nock on the door and they let him use the phone,It sounds like he was covered in blood at that point,God bless those people for answering the door. He called nine eleven then called his girl , I think it was better getting it from him than the paramedic.She called us to get good directions to University of Maryland,since A-Fish collects a check from there,she's a good one to ask.He came home that day with like eight staples in his head and a lot of stiches on his hand and some broken fingers.
I have been riding with Layton quite a bit lately and he's one of the strongest riders and definatly toughest guys I know, I am stoked that he didn't get hurt worse and I wish him a healthy and speedy recovery.
The Good,
Sunday Tim,Todd and I went to Rocky Ridge state part in P.A ,its just north east of York proper, about fortyfive mins from here.Man it was Fun, totally dry fast as hell and kind of technical, a beautiful day to boot.
There were two crushing climbs but the rest was mostly single track with some longish gradual climbs, fast rolling sections and some sweet down hill, the elevation change is similar to Lake Red man if you have ever been there,but more fun,more technically challenging than Red Man. And it's cool because the trail is wider than it appears. With so many rocks it appears as their is a dedicated line but it's really two that kind of grape vine or figure eight across themselves, thats how I see it any way ,there are more lines if your srtong enough to take them, and the look outs are super nice.Tim was riding his newly acquired 29er s.s and T.G and I were on our home made singles speeds. I am ready to go back!