Another lovely day of riding

The sun has been shining here in the Pacific NW and the trails are in fantastic condition. I met up with Jeep, Muldoon, Davy Sprocket, and the Crumpster for a nice pre-Superbowl ride. Jeep promised a "sub-glacial" pace which is right up my alley. However, the person who was going to ride with us (and is one of the few slower than me on climbs) locked his keys in his car and couldn't be convinced to break a window to get in. We headed out from the yellow gate and up the Heart Attack climb, which I made without stopping...a good sign. Then off to Big Easy, and I cleared the painfully steep but short climb out, another good sign. Then into Carnage, Piece, and Pound where I quickly figured out that the pace would be a little more than "sub-glacial". I had to back off the pace so I didn't blow up but the guys waited for me at the end of the trail. I wasn't too far behind. Then up the 9312 and the 9313 "Wall" to the tank trap and onto the Legacy trail. Muldoon and I chose to take the discounted path and shortcut the Legacy climb...I hate that climb anyway! The view from the top was as pleasant as ever with a panoramic view of the Olympic range, Rainier, Adams, St. Helens, and Hood. Some claimed they could see Jefferson too but I wasn't convinced.

From the top we bombed the Legacy descent and then into the silent but deadly WTF trail with the off camber turns and randomly placed stumps trying to grab your tires if you miss the line.WTF has claimed its fair share of victims over the short lifespan of the trail. I've gotten a few bruises and scrapes but nothing major from it. Then down Vortex which is a absolute blast. The corners are all bermed and the trail just flows. What a blast, easily one of my favorite trails. I finished it off with my maiden run down Little Sister then rode the logging roads back to the car. A good solid three hours of riding and while I was slow on the climbs, I didn't walk them (except short-cutting Legacy).

Winter Rides

Well the weather has been pretty crappy the last couple weeks. Snow, then ice, then rain and flooding. Sadly I don't own a Fat Bike, otherwise a snow ride would have been in order. But we did get some beautiful days earlier in the month and I made it out for a few rides. I was finally able to make it to the top of the Legacy Trail at Growlers Gulch. I was able to ride all the way to the beginning of the Legacy Trail before have to do a mix of riding and hike-a-bike to the summit. Once at the top I was greeted with some amazing views.

Me at the top of Legacy

Mt Adams and Mt St Helens

Back on the trail

Last Sunday, December 18th I was finally able to make it out on the trails again. It wasn't a long ride, but it felt so good to be back riding in the woods. Here are a few pictures

Building a new wheel

I've probably built 100 wheels in my lifetime. But I haven't built one since 2004 so I have been contemplating building a new one for a while. First I needed to find the right hub. I got a brand new WTB LaserDisc Lite rear hub for $50!!! They normally retail for $275 and this is the newest version with stainless steel bearings and steel inserts on the aluminum freehub body to prevent a cassette from gouging. Sweet hub and a great price.

Then it was time to select a rim, spokes, and nipples. I debated over the rims but settled on the Sun EQ27 29er rim. It is a good rim that is reasonably light and should convert to tubeless fairly easy. For spokes I picked my favorite Wheelsmith DB14 (2.0-1.7-2.0) and brass nipples. 32h and 3x lacing.

Wheel weight should come out at just under 1000g which is fairly light for a rear 29er wheel with a 27mm wide rim.

Pictures to follow

UPDATE-I built the wheel this weekend, it came out real nice and a total weight of 1100g including the tubeless rim tape.

Almost ready to get back on the bike

I started working part time in late September and started working full time this week. Yesterday I took a 1.5 mile walk at lunch which I'm a bit sore from today but the fact that I was able to do it and work the rest of the day is a good sign. I'm hoping to get on the single speed and ride the mostly flat 3.1 mile loop around Lake Sacajawea by the end of the month. Next month is the annual trail work party for Growler's Gulch which I plan to participate in even if all I can do is provide support. I also ordered a Ostomy Armor product to protect my illeostomy while riding. I talked directly to the owner and inventor of this product who is also an ostomate. He is a very active guy and is continually developing the product, in fact he is working on a lighter kevlar/carbon fiber model...now that would be cool!

Where the hell have I been????

No posts since April, what the hell happened you might be wondering. Well let me tell you, I've been through hell and back and I just now starting to get better again.

First off let me give you some background, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2006. For the first four years it would have mild flare ups which I used medication for and the disease was mostly in control. However, I honestly made very little effort to take care of myself like I should have dietary wise which I now very much regret. I could have made changes to my diet, I would have probably been healthier right now, I should have lost weight...coulda, woulda, shoulda!!!

The last year or so I've been sick much more, more colds, more infections, more colitis flare ups. Starting in April I began to get unusual infections in my armpits and as a result was put on heavy doses of anti-biotics. The anti-biotics in turn caused massive flair ups in my UC and before I knew it I was in real trouble. The doctors I had been seeing got it all wrong as well and by late July I was so sick that I had to be admitted to the hospital. The first hospital had me for two weeks where I continued to lose weight and get sicker, they had no clue what to do and were about as incompetent as can be. I checked out and then five days later checked in to a much better hospital with specialists and physicians who knew what they were doing. Within a few days I was rushed into emergency surgery where I had a Colectomy to remove a now toxic colon. I am now left with an Ileostomy that may be permanent depending on what future surgeries I may or may not choose.

So it has been two weeks today since the surgery, I am home now recovering with a 13" scar in on my abdomen and learning to live with the changes. I lost 60 lbs in the process, though I have regained about 8 lbs since the surgery. My body is weak, I have a long recovery, but for the first time in quite a while I look forward to getting back on the bike.

The Making of a Huffy 29er

OK, it isn't really a Huffy...but the welds and "craftsmenship" from the Chinese factory are not far off. The bike started out as a Dawes Bullseye from Bikes Direct for $350. Here is what it looks like stock, notice the lack of decals which I liked.

After receiving the bike, I sold the Avid BB5 brakes (with 160 Avid rotors and adapters I had sitting around) to a friend who was in need of some disc brakes cheap. I sold the wheelset and crankset/bb to another guy that I know from a few rides in my area. I had a good collection of parts left over from my Access XCL 9r that broke. First thing was to make a 1 x 9 out of it as I am not quite ready for a singlespeed (maybe later). I installed my Truvativ FireX GXP crankset with a 32t Salsa unramped ring and BBG Bash up front. Next I installed a rear SLX/DT 470 wheels in the back and a Wheeltech (Novatec)/WTB SpeedDisc XC wheels up front secured with bolt on skewers. The rear SLX hub uses a Alligator centerlock adapter. 185mm disc rotors were used with my Avid Juicy 5 brakes complete with obnoxious orange housing which seems fitting for looking like a clunker. A mid cage X-7 rear derailleur with a older X-9 shifter were installed with some Origin-8 Space Bar OR handlebars. So now I had a 1 x 9 setup, but one thing was missing...Huffy Decals!!! Yes I found a set on E-Bay complete with 4130 Cro-Mo advertising which is what the frame is. Perfect!