How to Get a Free Cue Sheet from MapMyRide.com

You need:
-Internet Explorer
-MS Excel
-Windows Vista/7 snipping tool (or alternative Print Screen and crop in MS Paint instead)

Sorry, Apple users;-(  You can't do this trick without a right mouse button;-P

narrated_cue_sheet_for_free.mp4
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free_cue_sheet2.xls
Download this file

Has it been that long?

BB

Fisticuff Sliding Rear Disc Mount Issue Solved?!?!

I mentioned in my Fisticuff First Impressions post that I'd probably run into issue when trying to mount a fatter tire in the rear.  You see, the frame's rear disc brake mount doesn't want to allow for the axle to slide back in the track end drops.  This posed no problem with the 700X35 tire I originally mounted.

But last night I mounted a 700X45 in the rear and couldn't get frame clearance for the tire at seat tube or chain stays without sliding the axle 3/4 inch back in the drops.  Sliding the axle back in the drops took care of the tire/frame clearance, but posed a new problem with rotor caliper aligment.  So I got creative with the Avid Road Mecahnical brake's "74mm post mount to 51 mm IS mount" adapter.  I found that if I stacked all of the spacer/washers on the frame side of the caliper I could get the proper clearance to get the brake working!  Notice the photos of the FRONT with the default spacer/washer configuration and the REAR with the double-stack to allow clearance.

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Now it just needs a test ride to make sure it works.  I'm also curious if switching from a 160mm rotor/adapter to a 185mm rotor/adapter would allow for a broader range of adjustability.

 

Dirt Rag is Here

Our own Jon Baler is featured in rider's eye!

Shoulda Wore Booties and Derailed Derailleur Ride

Me and KR met at Landing around 7.  Dawn at 7:01 today so no lights shining.
I was fiddling with Fisticuff right pedal when KR arrived.  It was tightened all the way down and still clipping out randomly the whole ride...errrrr;-( 

It musta been about 32 degrees down in the park cause my tooties were freezing and bike was icing up.  I had to stop a few times to break the ice (that's right...ice) off my derailleur cable and pulleys.  Woulda been a good day for the single speed. 

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KR had his share of minor mechanical issue too.  He had to pump his brakes like an old Chevy Nova to get any stopping power at all but he didn't complain as much as me;-)  He's in need of a bleed!

Log>Morning Choice>Old Track>Old Connector (closed trail)>Ridge>Valley View>Adam and ??? sighting near the park office--100's of fisherman pulling trout out of the river on opening day--dozens of trucks all over railroad tracks and Gristmill handling the derailed train>Gristmill>Buzzards Rock (hike bike up steps)>Charcoal>Santee Branch>Tire Playground>Power Li ne>Fox Hall Farm>Vineyard downhill>Swinging Bridge>Cascade>Morning Choice>Log>Landing >Renegade (exit KR by U turn before the big dip)>Nacho

I went right at the end of Nacho thinking that the mud wouldn't be as bad as it is over near the old boardwalk.  I was right except for one hole.  Whoa!  I went ass over tea kettle and endoed so bad in a hole that I dunked my left brake lever in the mud.  Nearly threw my back out.

Good ride...
Missing YDT out there...I'm coming to get you Surgically Enhance YDT!!!

Funny...if you look at the map below there's a yellow line and no Renegade/Nacho data.  I can only chalk it up to the fact that I crashed on Log Trail and musta hit the Start/Stop button on Garmin with my knee(?).  Then when I fell in the mud hole after Nacho I musta kneed the Start/Stop button again. Hmmmm.

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/657636" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/657636">here</a> instead.

 

Garden Full of Rocks and a Fisti Full of Nachoes

Solo.
Belmont>Farm Field>Log>Old Track>Morning Choice>Lewis & Clark>Cascade>Rock Garden repeats until I cleaned it!>U turn back up Cascade>Morning Choice>Renegade>Nacho
Fisticuff loves Nachoes!!!
Usual mud holes and bogs, but great conditions elsewhere.

 

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/655786" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/655786">here</a> instead.

Monday = Hat Trick Streak for Bike Commute;-)

Followed by wrenching tonight...
Chainring had started rubbing against frame since I tore down and rebuilt (with lotsa spindle grease) the creaky HUFFY drivetrain last week.  Put a spacer on the right BB cup and all's well with creaks, squeaks, rubs, and chainlines.
Then I swapped the fixie rear for the freewheel on the Surly 1X1.  I'll have to take her for a spin soon but I'll still in lust with the Fisticuff.

Sunny and 73 degrees

Fisti's a bit muddy;-)

Put in a Belmont.  Man, that creek crossing below the farm field has changed...deeeeep and my old exit line is gone.

Rockburn to Kerger was a mudfest before the pumping station.

Met up on Josie at 2 with XX, Mel, John, CBC, Fabs, Madio, KR.

We put in thru the woods behind the pumping station...good choice but still a few mud holes.  At Landing, enter Ebae and Charley.  Log trail (Ebae broke his rear brake master cylinder right off the handlebar so we ziptied it and were on the way).

Morning Choice (right after the little wooden bridge Madio had leaky tubeless rear tire issue to compound the clicky pawls in her rear hub problem).

Connector>Valley View (exit Madi b/c of mechanicals, enter Traci coming up VV)

Swimming Prohibited was surprisingly dry>Vineyard>Fox Hall Farm trail>  exit BB and KR down the Sawmill Branch lower nuns trail (I one-dabbed the triple log crossing!)  --the rest of the group continued to CCBC loop but I had to be home by 4.

Swinging Bridge (exit KR up Ilchester)

Ridge>RBB>Belmont>home

Trails are perfect except for a few mudholes here and there that make you and your bike look afterward like you were tearing up the park out there.

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/652266" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/652266">here</a> instead.

 

Jen's race bike!

i'm sure she'll be the only one in expert women on a 1996 SuperGo frame and Judy fork. BB

Another Gorgeous Day for a Commute

Road the SPECIAL ED fixie;-)
It's got the trunk in back so I can mount the Budweiser 18 pack on the way home.

Yum! FREE Lunch

leftovers from a meeting downstairs:-)
BB

Beautiful morning for a bike commute

BB

Night MTB Sugarhill Preride

My first solo night ride ever.  Took it nice and mellow as I didn't want to be found unconscious by a dog walker tomorrow morning.  I can't speak for the waterbars, but the rest of the Sugarhill course is in really good shape.  http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/647311  It should be pristine by Friday!  Saturday it might be a little to dry;-P

Rockburn Branch climb and Ridge were totally dry and clear (except for the usual puddle area on Ridge near the footbridge).  I didn't put a foot down til I was halfway thru the rock garden heading up cascade.   I noted one 14" diagonal log on a sidehill section of Cascade that could use a chainsawwing (I secretly want it to stay there cause it's a challenge trying to ride over).  There were still a few puddles on Cascade.  Also one of the footbridges on Cascade was a little washed out on the entry (still totally ridable but kinda scary looking).  Morning Choice hairpin turn and climb near Landing road was surprisingly dry.  Old Track had a puddle or two.  Fields on Morning Choice before and after the old houses ruins were dry.  Just before the 4-way on the way down the end of Morning Choice there is a tree top down in the trail.  Riding around it thru the brush is a bit of a challenge, but it prolly should be sawed out for race day.  Rockburn Branch descent was totally clear and dry.

Rockburn Branch to Belmont was pretty trashed;-(  Either sandy, really eroded, or swampy.

Trail Conditions Improving Quickly

Here's two photos from Morning Choice by Landing Road parking area.
A little standing water next to the long skinny.
And the swampy area to the right towards the farm field...already has a clear bike route and drying out quickly.  This spot is usually a lake for days after a rain.
Prognosis is excellent for primo conditions this Saturday for Sugar Hill race;-)

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Inspecting River Carnage on the Fixie

Short little test ride on the new Stoopid Rear Wheel #3.  Uneventful...except for the thwarting of web forum naysayers.  As much as I've searched it on Google, I've never read a forum that said, "Go ahead!  It's totally safe and cool mixing hub and rim spoke counts." On the contrary, all that I've read warns you not to even try it.   Bah humbug!  Of course you can lace hubs and rims that have different spoke counts.  You just need different length spokes, patience, and faith in your stoopid idea;-)

Anyway...

LHR>Levering>Jogging Jelly sighting near purple playground at Avalon Orange Grove (he was talking about Cleveland going to the Superbowl so I sped away toward...)>Lost Lake (the river that Mike photographed this AM was still flowing, but not as deep)>Gristmill (lots of debris and more than a few sections where the streams are running down the paved path...COOL!  Also spotted a MTBer coming out of Vineyard tunnel...APPARENTLY, SOMEONE'S TRAIL CONDITIONS CONTINUUM IS MORE LIBERAL THAN MINE;-P)>BonneBranch (rode past CdW but all the lights were out and Barry White was playing, so I kept going;-) )>103>Monty>home

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/643892" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/643892">here</a> instead.

Stoopid wheel 3 is good

32H Hub and 36H Rim...stoopid...don't try this at home, kids!

16 @ 285mm spokes and 16 @ 275mm spokes. ready to mount on the fixie road bike i never ride any more. then i'll take its wheel and use for dedicated fixie/ss on the fisticuff.
BB

Spring peepers

0313101114.3g2
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abby and joe BB

Crazy kids in rain

0313101113.3g2
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51 degrees out. BB

First Night Ride on Fisticuff

Tonight...yes, Thursday night...was a "Mud Holes in the Usual Spots" on the Trail Conditions Continuum.  Surprisingly dry out there.  Trails were lots drier than this morning.  Some spots in the upper field on Morning Choice could even kick up a little dust!

Me and CBC hit the trails from Landing with lights shining and Snoop blinking.  CBC's Maiden voyage on his Vassago Jabberwocky.  Me on the Vassago Fisticuff again.  The fraternal Vassago twins.

Set list = Log>Morning Choice>Lewis and Clark>Cascade>Ridge>Rockburn Branch (down right, up left)>Morning Choice from the 4 way all the way back to Landing

CBC was tearing it up.  Cleaned every hill it seemed.  I was running more of a 3,4,5 ride in the gears tonight trying not to slow CBC down when climbing in front of his SS, and trying to keep up when he was in the lead.  Maybe it's Vassago's Wet Cat Geometry that makes it climb so well????

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Feeling the burn from riding off road at dawn and then again after putting the kids to bed.  And feeling the shiner I got on my arm narrowly escaping a head on collision with the tree that jumped out in front of me on Rockburn Branch downhill--you may know the spot where the triple-root-slgihtly-off-camber-soft-right-turn is.   That's going to hurt in the morning!  D'oh...my first Fisting injury!

Spoda rain for daze on end, so it may be a while til the next off road fun;-(

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/641494" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/641494">here</a> instead.

BB’s Trail Conditions Continuum

More Fisti Fun on the HoCo Side

BikerX texted at 5:45 that he was out;-( I rode solo. Trails are
getting better fast. Yesterday I spent most of the ride in gears 1,2,3
and today it was more like 2,3,4. Places I spun out yesterday were
ridable today. Set list included MC>L&C>Old Track>Connector>bit-o-Ridge>RBB
v^v>Belmont. FISTI-LOVE!

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/640425" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/640425">here</a> instead.

 

Snow-Free HoCo Loop at Dawn

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/639633" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/639633">here</a> instead.

Sugarhill race loop at dawn (1 short cut by Landing Rd on Cascade)
No snow & 80% recovered. Mud in usual spots. 1 tree top down near
Ridge bridge. A tree down on Morning Choice near 4-way.
But GOOD!
Words can't explain the Fisticuff love! Riding PVSP on CX bike is fun!

 

 

My Friend Just Got Back From Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park

He just took the Cleveland steamer back home to PA this Sunday.  Check out his vids.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St6pM8zg8Ao?wmode=transparent]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oZJIfsKaKE?wmode=transparent]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhzGB0T6rPo?wmode=transparent]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTdyy6SK9Go?wmode=transparent]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs9I1kRCYGY?wmode=transparent]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qrS7nIfwF0?wmode=transparent]

Crash

0309101720.3g2
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BB

Snow is Melting Fisticuff Ride

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/638024" mce_href="http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/638024">here</a> instead.

Belmont>Farm Field>MorningChoice>Log>Landing (ALL RIDABLE..but muddy near Belmont of course)

Rockburn>Pavilion to meet Jen and kids for picnic lunch (ALL RIDABLE...except too snowy on the trail behind the beach volleyball court to continue over towards Kerger)

Back into Rockburn to hit lower rooty trails (NO SNOW but tons of pines down)

Landing>Log>MC>Farm Field>Belmont and home;-)

SEG

ISO the Idiot who Littered the Morning Choice Trailhead

What was this douche bag thinking?  Probably something like this...

"Grrr!  F^&)ing plow knocked my mailbox off kilter!  That sucks.
I guess I should throw it in the back of the F-150 and throw it off the side of the road into the State Park.
Oh wait!?!?!?  I should pull the numbers off the side first so nobody known it came from 308 Douche Bag Drive.  Phew, that was a close one.
Part of me thinks it's a good idea to drop it where no one will see it....nah!!!...I'm going to lay it right across the Morning Choice trailhead cause that's f$%ing smart!!!"

I think that every day on the way home from work everyone who reads this should ride some side road developments looking for the 308 with a fresh new mailbox.

Keep me "post"ed;-)

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Solo Dawn Patrol on Fisticuff - UGH!

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Twas the best of times--I got a new Fisticuff bike, beeeotch;-)

Twas the worst of times--the trails are in no shape to ride;-(

Trails were pretty much trashed.  Standing water/mud by Belmont put-in of course.  Then too snowy to even ride downhill to Rockburn Branch. 

Creek crossing was deeeeep, but totally ridable;-)

Rockburn Branch was seldom ridable except for a few sections that do get afternoon sun.  Had to hike up the middle Rockburn Branch trail.

Worst part wasn't the snow though....Debris, trees down, saplings-bushes-jaggers collapsed across the trails everywhere. 

BaltCo side surprisingly not so bad.  Millstream/SwimmingProhibited is clear, except for one big tree fall.  Gristmill ridable, but you wouldn't want to ride it on a road bike b/c one tree is down, tons of debris, and a few snowy spots remain.  Vineyard wasn't too bad (I turned around at first sign of 2 inch snow) but if I'd pressed on I'm betting it would be more go than stop.

Rode up Ilchester to Landing and home.

Fisticuff feels great.  It handles like a mountain bike.  No toe overlap with the 35mm tires.  Shifts, brakes, pops over logs, climbs, and descends like a champ.  Loving it whilst in the saddle:-)  Not so fun to hike a bike;-(

Photos: L to R

1. Looking down river on old River Road towards Levering Ave and Lawyers Hill.


2. 4 way at top of Waterbars


3. 4 way at top of Waterbars


4. On the way up middle Rockburn Branch climb.  Downed saplings bring new meaning to Rockburn "BRANCH"


5. The high foot bridge at Rockburn Branch middle/left intersection.


6. Some spots are totally ridable:-)  Bottom of scarred hill after Rockburn Branch creek crossing.


7. Where the snow started.  Just after the mudfest by Belmont put-in.


8. Fisti on the skinny by Rockburn Branch after creek crossing.

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Look Who's Trying to Flip My Old 4 Banger on Craigslist

Posted on DC and Frederick Craigslists.
If you want to pay more than double what I sold it to him for, then drop this guy an email;-)
Personally, I think he deserves it.  After all, he shined it up with lemon pledge and did a much better job posting photos than I did.
I wonder if he knows that I couldn't sell it on DC Craigslist for $575...he's asking $800.