Half Century by Fall

Yesterday I logged the most miles riding road on the Monocog 29er, I rode for 18.25 miles via San Gabriel River Trail in around 1 hour and 43 minutes.  Not bad considering I am on a 28+ pound, single speed and rigid 29er!  Not to mention I just started cycling not to long ago.

Short of a quarter century and a marathon’s distance, I know its an attainable goal.  I could do that by this weekend weather permitting.  The miles flew by easily.  I was moving at what I consider a moderate pace for my physical condition and the gear limitation at an average of about 9-10 miles per hour.  I focused on smooth pedalling and equal cadence for most of the ride.  I only stopped twice to clear my sunglasses of a bug and to wait to cross the street.  I practically rode non-stop.

Now my goal is to do a half century (50 miles) by fall, which I am sure I’ll be able to do.

Riding rigid not for me?

Last week I took the Monocog on my usual weekday grind but instead of sticking with the paved bike path, I went on the dirt trails that I usually ride on my full squish Hi Fi.  The trail is flat and the terrain is loose rock/gravel over hard pack.  There’s even a short stretch of the trail that looks like a gator’s back.  The 29er rolls on through but I have to take it slower and really pick my path, riding rigid was really harsh.  I even have the tires aired down do about 38 psi (minimum is 35) to get some bounce and absorb the shock.

Once I got home I felt the usual aches associated with riding single speed and rigid; aching knees, back, wrists and shoulders.  I just took some aspirin and slept it off.  Next day when I woke up my right elbow was hurting.  Probably the result of locked elbows getting jarred by the unforgiving rigid fork.  The pain was enough to keep me off the bike for 3 days as I didn’t want my elbow to get aggrevated some more than will result in some sort of injury.

This has seriously put me in a quandry.  Should I even continue to ride my Monocog 29er as rigid?  I love the simplicity of the rigid-single speed set up (and the anti-gear / tough guy biker appearance) but my bike has beaten me good.  I’m beginning to think that rigid isn’t for me.  The cons have outweighed the pros and I think I’m going to start saving up for an entry level 80mm 29er fork.  Fingers crossed, I hope I can do this by the fall riding season.

The fork plus front disc brakes (the Redline Monocog 29er came with Tektro v-brakes) will most likely cost more than the whole bike itself.  I’ll have to chose my fork and other parts wisely so that when I do build up a geared 29er hardtail I can move the parts over.

For now for my weekday fitness rides I have to stick to the paved bike trail and avoid the call of the dirt.

Looking back: Louis Garneau Knee Warmers

Another Looking Back article:  Louis Garneau Knee Warmers

Right before winter I bought a pair of LG knee warmers from Performance Bike and I haven’t had the chance to post up a review about it. 

My Louis Garneau knee warmers are part of my favorite biking kit.  Even now in spring I still carry my arm and knee warmers with me though most of the time the arm warmers stay inside my pack.  The knee warmers still see frequent use.

Image courtesy of Performance Bike

 Fit with the LG knee warmers are perfect.  When I first wore them, I noticed that they had a tendency to creep down on my legs and I had to keep pulling them up.  After a couple of times I figured it out that I had to wear them a lot higher; bottom hem at mid-shin and upper at mid-thigh.

Leg movement was unhindered and non-binding, its very comfortable to wear and in a few minutes you’ll actually forget you’re wearing them.  The tags do poke the inside of the thigh and are bothersome so I have to make sure the tags are flat against my skin.  Maybe LG should make a tagless version in the future.

The LG Heatmaxx (sic) fabric is good enough for the typical Southern California winter weather and not once have I felt cold.  And once the day warms up, the LG knee warmers rolls up without much bulk and fits easily in a pack or shorts pockets!

So far I have no issues with the LG knee warmers, the leg elastic has held up fine with no signs of being overstretched and the fabric itself does not look like its wearing thin, especially at the knee.  The Louis Garneau knee warmer looks like its a quality product that will last for a long time.

Hits:

Fit is great, just make sure you try them out first.

Price.  Great value for the money

Quality.  No loose threads, elastic and material has held up so far.

Miss:

Nothing really to complain about, just make sure you try it out.  Sizing maybe decieving.  I thought I would fit with a large but it turned out way too big for me and got a medium instead.

I found my sock!

I found my missing sock!

For months I was left with one sock and it happened to be my favorite pair of biking socks; my DeFeet Air-E-ator D sock. 

The Air-E-Ator was my first bike specific sock and I trully love them.   At first I was turned off with the idea of wearing black socks, even my sister made fun of my ‘fashion sense’.  But after a while I realized why why dark socks are best for trail riding; white or light colored socks get really dirty fast on a dusty trail!

The fit is great and the elastic retained its shape and hold even after over a year’s worth of laundering!  The color has not faded either.  The material dries out quickly thanks to CoolMax fabric  and the top of the sock is vented to allow feet to get air.

While I was looking for the aforementioned missing sock, I even bought another DeFeet Air-E-Ator pair to fill in that missing void.  I do have other pairs of biking socks (2 pairs of Fox) but my DeFeet are hands-down my favorite.

First impression: Fly Racing F-16 jersey

Over the Easter weekend I went to a local motorcycle dealer to check out a long sleeve riding jersey that I can use for mountain biking.  Since most mountain bike wear are derived from motocross gear (i.e. Fox) it just makes sense to go look at motocross accessories at the motorcycle dealer.

At Bert’s Motorcycle Mall I found several brands of jerseys also sold at local bike shops.  My budget of the day was $30 or less and with the help of a Bert’s sales associate, I found the Fly Racing F-16:

Fly Racing’s product description:

F-16 Jersey

Affordable pro performance has never been easier. Fly Racing’s F-16 Series is anything but entry level. Constructed from race proven designs and materials, the F-16 kit boasts such features as 1680D denier knee panels, and sub-dyed graphics, not to mention a huge variety of sizing options. F-16 is high performance without the high price.

 

Jersey Features and Materials:

 

• SUBLIMATED GRAPHICS – All Fly jerseys are printed using dye sublimation, a process that allows the highest quality, fade free graphics possible
• SHORTY CUFFS – Elastic sleeve cuff help avoid arm pump
• RAGLAN SLEEVES – Superior comfort and heavy-duty flat stitch construction makes this one durable jersey
• COMFORT STRETCH COLLAR – Soft, stretch rib collar

First impressions:

The shirt appears to be well made.  No loose threads or poor stitching.  The colors are bright as well as the graphics.  The material looks like its thin enough to be worn during summer and not be hot, though this I will have to find out as hot weather is fast approaching.

Hits:

Loose fitting allows full range of motion.

Looks durable.

Loose fit allows use of pads or impact suit to be worn underneath.

Miss:

Since these are made for motocross and not really bike specific, the shirt’s hem is way too long to be worn outside the pants.  The shirt could be easily be caught on the saddle and the shirt must be worn tucked in riding shorts.  I happen to like wear my shirts out of my shorts untucked as to keep it cool and airy when riding.

As the weeks go by I will be testing the jersey and see if its comfortable during XC-type riding.

Looking back: Slime Tubes

Come summer it will be a year since I have been using Slime Lite tubes in my Fisher Hi-Fi Plus and so far I have had ZERO flats.  I love this product so much that I have installed Slime tubes on my Redline Monocog 29er as well, though they weren’t the Lite versions and they were a tad smaller.  As the 29er revolution continues on, I’m sure Slime will develop 29er Lite tubes.

Yesterday while resting at mid-ride, I saw a couple of thorns embedded in the knobbies of my tires.  I picked and pulled one out and HISSSSSSSS out comes air and the green slime.  I picked up the front wheel and spun it around several times.  At each revolution I can clearly hear the Slime at work; at each pass I could hear the HISS get quieter until there was no more.  I pulled out another thorn and did the same thing.  The last one took a few more seconds of spinning until the hissing stopped.

Slime tubes are definitely worth the extra couple of dollars compared to standard tubes.  At this point I am more than satisfied with the Slime’s performance I don’t think I’ll be going tubeless for a while.

3 weeks in a row at Chino Hills State Park

3 weeks in a row at Lower Aliso Trail, Chino Hills State Park:

Since my friend took me there 3 weeks ago, I got hooked on this trail.  Perfect XC-trail for me–smooth rolling hills with a lots of fast sections and wide fire roads.

When I first got there it was still chilly in the morning.  CHSP looks beautiful this time of year

Water Canyon Trail closed to allow reforestation after the wildfires last year

A loong fireroad climb. We just wanted to reach 1000 feet of climbing elevation then after we passed that point, we turned around and headed downhill

—

Last week I went by myself but met up with other Filipinos and took them through the same trail but I wasnt able to take pics or video.  Hey, I made new friends!

—

 I went again but this time my teammate and friend Depthcharge with me.  This was his first time at CHSP.

Depthcharge

 

Self portrait, LOL

 

The requisite bike porn pic

 

Towards the opposite end of the Lower Aliso Trail

It was significantly warmer that day but with a cool breeze blowing.

Sunburned... ha ha

 

Ride Stats according to my Ascent Cyclometer

Total Distance:  10.96 miles (17.64 kms)
Average speed:  7.6 MPH (12.23 KPH)
Max speed:  29.6 MPH (47.64 KPH)

VIDEOS!

Finally got to take video going down Elevator Hill.  Its a near 100-foot very steep, smooth drop that is very fast.  Hit the brakes and you will be in for a horrendous accident.  At the bottom of the hill you can feel the g-force suck you down (and compress the suspension) and slingshot you over onto over the other side.

Depthcharge going down:

You can see how he picks up speed near the bottom.  It doesn’t look very steep in the video but it is…

This time around I took a farther rolling start and a few pedal strokes.  Was able to break my fastest speed of 28.9 MPH last week to 29.6 MPH.  I cant wait to get a helmet cam!

Spring is here!

Spring is here and that means for Southern California, warmer riding weather.  While the rest of the country is thawing out, Southern California has been enjoying year-round great riding weather except for some rains. 

Not really looking forward to the hot upper 90′s to low 100′s but just enough to get a good sweat going while riding.  Another thing to think about with the changing of the season is that snakes will up and out.  Having almost ran over a rattler last year, I have to keep an eye out again.

I haven’t been able to update this blog in several weeks since I have been busy.  I have some articles still to post like my review of the Jelly Belly Sport Beans  and post some pics of my last ride at Chino Hills State Park; just waiting for the ride video to be sent to me.

Still haven’t recieved my Brooks Saddle either and I quit expecting for it to arrive in the mail.  Oh well…

More posts soon!

Operation New Horizon III

Operation: New Horizon 3 this past Saturday was my return to large scale gaming in over a year and it was great!  Instead of donning a helmet and cycling shorts, I wore my combat boots and BDU’s and instead of my bicycle, I was holding my M4.

OP: New Horizon 3 is a one day scenario game hosted by Best Of USA Marketing (a John Lu production) and co-sponsored by Evike.com and Airsoftgi.com and was held at Sanna Ranch (a movie set) out in Acton, CA.  Our team HAGIBIS played on the drug cartel side fighting against US forces tasked to destroy poppy fields.  The Area of Operations (AO) was heavily wooded with bamboo plants and numberous stream crossings.  Weather was mild so it was just perfect.

Firefights were very intense in the thick foliage especially when large squads would face each other.  I was unfortunate enough to get hit behind the ear which still is tender to the touch, some of my guys got hit in the face and was left bleeding. 

My friend Wanhand took his SLR in the first game and took pictures instead before joining in the fight in the second scenario of the game.  I will post of the pics as soon as its available.  My friend Mr.Fred also took some pics and these 2 so far are my favorites:

Crossing the creek by raft. Photo by Mr. Fred

Reaching the other side. Photo by Mr.Fred

More Flair: Duck!

While waiting for the leather anvil (aka the Brooks B17 saddle) to arrive in the mail, I added more flair to my Redline Monocog 29er:

Using the chrome duck hood ornament from the movie Death Proof as inspiration, now I have a  Death Proof Duck!

I do need a name for the duck though so I’ll be taking suggestions.  Comment away!