Dumb Ideas

Everyone has them, some more often than others. I’ve had mine & here’s a couple:

Dirt crits 1st May 2008:
First bad idea: rocking up to dirt crits after a spell of rain & cold weather expecting that the track would soak it all up & it’ll be business as usual. Waiting on new parts to replace the worn sprockets & chain on the Specialized Stumpjumper which is what I would have normally taken to a wet event but took the Giant Anthem in it’s place to crits. In the past the Anthem seemed to be the hot ticket to an easy time of punching out fast, consistent laps with a strong finish, so I was blasé & confident. Problem was, the course was a deluge & fitted with Hutchinson Pirana tyres & an eternity since my last muddy ride I rolled out hopelessly unprepared for what lay ahead. First lap I was dead last but managed some nice passes. But then the mud started to play havoc with my forward momentum, I was having real basic problems of just being able to ride in a straight line, let alone the corners. Not sure if it was the tyres or the fact that I was so tence, but the bike would just step out from under me when I least expected it. I was having problems in sections of the track I would normally fly or coast over. Slowing down was worse, the tyres just filled in & would just spin & slide. After coming to a sliding halt against a tree for the 20th time I just got the shits & pulled out after the 2nd lap.
Watching all the other riders go through start/finish I immediately realised that it was a bad idea to pull out as, but there you go. Getting digs for DNFing without a mech just put the icing on the cake. I hung about for the finish – didn’t think it was good just to rack off half way through like that – which is when I found out I didn’t pack my rain jacket, just a light wind vest which was another bad idea.
Ride home was a chilly affair, & having to hose the bike & myself down after a muddy ride in the dark with the garden hose wasn’t the best fun I’ve ever had. Still had to wash the bike properly as rolling it into the shed after the hose down you could still hear the gridin the disks & drivetrain.

Bike carries bike:
I’ve been toying with rigging up a rack on the Hornet to carry the MTB & gear to events, but it’s not all that easy. The initial idea is to run a single skid on one side, fixing the MTB by removing the front wheel & using the Quick Release & strapping the rear wheel down. Also looking at a side pannier on the opposite side to carry gear/food etc & hopefully balance up the weight. I was looking at having the load effect the handling as little as possible. I’ll trial some rough racks & go from there. I’ll post pix as it happens .

New commute:
New hoops for the Langster commute: Continental Ultra Gators. Opted for 25mm instead of the standard 23mm, I thought the slight width difference might make the commuter ride, umm ,I dunno better. These Conti Gators are springing up on everyones commuters nowadays so I figured I’ll go with the masses & give them a try. Been through a million bike tyres in my time, but never got 2 sets that same, seems the ‘next new thing’ is always popping up.
Used the opportunity of working on the Langster to wash it, really don’t like working on dirty bikes. Looks 100% now but wouldn’t you know it, it’s developed a clicking noise in the Bottom Bracket. Might just need the BB cups tightened which is hard to tell, but there is no discernable play or binding in the BB, so I wont think about replacing/servicing the BB until it becomes obvious there is work to be done. I’ll just run my headphones a little louder on the commute…

Stumpjumer money pit.
After dropping a bomb on brakes/shifters on the Stumpjumper, the drive chain & sprockets become shagged & needed an update. Shopped around locally but nothing could come close to what was offered on-line, so 4 days later & Chain Reaction (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/?PartnerID=1002&gclid=CPz1nOmdopMCFSahiQodaWcIow )
supplied a Shim XT 9spd chain, XT cassette & 2x LX chainwheels (the granny gear wasn’t replaced).