Thanks for the tow.....

For the last two weekends I have been doing training rides in Black Mountain to prepare for the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell. Unfortunately, last week my riding mates ended up with more training than I did. My plan was to park at the end of old 70 and ride Kitzuma with an old riding partner Jeff and then do the Heartbreak loop with an old friend from Charlotte. This would add up to about 37 miles of riding with approx. 21 to 22 miles of climbing. For those of you who have done either part of this ride you know that it's backwoods and bailing out to walk back to the car is not an option. Here's how it went...

Jeff and I started climbing the Kitzuma switchbacks around 8am. This part of the ride is usually the hardest of the 37 miles, simply b/c I've always done it on a SS and there's no warm up from the lot. You immediately go straight up. However, this week I decided to ride my Bandersnatch which is set up as a 1X9. An extra 10 teeth in the rear almost make the climb pleasurable. We climbed to the top and then completed the downhill with out a hitch. As we headed out of the park at Old Fort I realized my seat had dropped about a quarter of an inch. Just enough to be annoying. So I stopped to raise my seat. My seat clamp bolt broke during this process leaving me with a 5 mile climb up old 70 without a seat. Jeff and I proceeded to climb up to meet Charles with me rotating b/w riding on the top tube of my bike, standing and getting frequent pulls from Jeff. We managed to get back to the car about 15 minutes later than scheduled, put in a new bolt from an old clamp and then started the Heartbreak loop with Charles, Kyle and Mike. Jeff went home exhausted and sore. Pulling an extra 180 lbs up a 5 mile climb seemed to take a little out of him. THANKS JEFF!!!!

The four of us made it through Montreat and up Toll Rd at a great pace. This loop with a group always adds up to ride and wait ride and wait, but today everyone stayed on and 14 miles later we were at the top. This is usually where we would eat a quick bite and start the 7 miles of singletrack that points down. However, Mike took a hard fall approx 20 yards from the top which postponed the downward spiral for a few minutes. Ten minutes later we were on our way. About 10 seconds later a stick jumped into my chain and snapped my rear deraileur (I immediately forgot about the benefits of the gears that I had enjoyed earlier on Kitzuma). After approx 45 minutes of "repairs" we realized that I was going home without a chain.

We ate a bite and started to ride some of the best single track in Western NC. single track in Western NC. It's just as fun wihtout a chain as it with one. In fact I made more of the switchback at the bottom than I had ever made before (Maybe I'll take my chain off before the descent during the ORAMM)? Once at the bottom My smile quickly vanished with the thought of pushing back up that 5 miles of dirt road. After a little thought I CAME UP WITH A BRILLIANT PLAN!!!! We could ride the road over to the bottom of Kitzuma and everyone could take turns pulling me back to the car on Old 70. HELL, JEFF DID IT BY HIMSELF. That's all I really needed to say to persuade the group. Charles, Kyle and Mike took turns pulling me for the next 7 miles or so and approx 2 hours later we were at the top. It's good to have friends who are in shape...

This week I ventured back to the top of Old 70 to redeem myself. Once again I met up with Jeff at 8am to do Kitzuma and then with Shaun Boyd to do the Heartbreak loop. My Bandersnatch is still out of commission until I can get some parts from George at Bike29 so I had to ride my old Rig. This ride went without a hitch. SS are great. My only complaint is that I wasn't riding a steel SS. I felt like I was taking a beating on the downhill and on the rocky Toll Rd. climb. ALUMINUM BIKES SUCK!!! Can't wait to get my Jabberwocky from Vassago. SEE YOU AT THE ORAMM....

WTB (spreading the Word)

A few weeks ago I received a package from WTB containing 2 NanoRaptors, 2 ExiWolfs, a new 2007 Silverado Saddle, a pair of WTB QR Skewers and new Jersey from Vassago with WTB written all over it. Being familiar with WTB products (avid user of their Rocket Saddle and ExiWolf 2.3 tire for the last few years) I couldn't wait to get this stuff on my bike and get out on the trail. Unfortunately, I had to wait a few days. It was the day before the 24 Hours of Panthers Creek and I learned the hard way never to make major changes the day before a race. Anyway, the week after the race all products were added to my Bandersnatch and after approx. 250 miles of trail I'm ready to spread the word....

The tires: I've used the ExiWolf on my SS in the past but due to money and the need to try new stuff I had stopped using it. My latest set up was a Navegal on the Front and an Ignitor on the rear. I placed the 2.3 Exi on the front and the 2.1 Nano on the rear. This is the best set up I've ridden by far. Both tires have bite on sandy, rocky, rooty and hard packed trails (I've ridden Harbison State Forest in SC, Bent Creek in Asheville, Pisgah in Brevard, and HeartBreak/Kitzuma in Black Mountain on these tires and they never let me down, know matter what the condition. For you weight weenies, the ExiWolf weighs withing 10 grams of the Navegal and the Nano is about the same as the Ignitor but the rolling resistance, or lack there of is the catch. These tires roll so much faster than my previous set up (i wouldn't care if they were 200 grams heavier).

The saddle: I've ridden a WTB Rocket Saddle for several years on 3 different bikes and I had no intentions of trying anything new. I was a little skeptical. Anyway, I placed the new 2007 Silverado on my Bandersnatch and rode it for 3 four to five hour rides within a two week period. I will trade my Rockets for a couple more of these saddles. This saddle fit like a glove. I never got any sore or numb spots and still haven't. This saddle is strong and light and comes in black and white w/urban como trim. I've crashed several times and there's not a scratch on it. The white is also shedding mud/stains well. I've ridden in the mud and rain and to my disbelief it's still white. I've noticed many shops in our area have WTB saddles you can take out on trial/trail rides. Give it a try, you can thank me later.

The Skewers: Bontrager skewers came on both my old 29'ers which are now on sale. I'm not one for spending money on stuff until it breaks so I've been using them for 2 years. I have one thing to say about them. They slip. These skewers have always slowly loosened up after approx 20 miles of riding. So when WTB sent me some new WTB QR Skewers, I was happy to try them. I've ridden approx 250 miles on them and I've never had to stop and tighten. They're black, sleek and dependable. Of course you can spend twice the amount on some more popular skewers, but why would you want to?

Bottom Line: WTB continues to make great, affordable and dependable products. I haven't had the opportunity to ride their 29er wheels yet but this is what I will put on my new Jabberwocky soon. Reviews to come....