Sometimes It Snows In October/I Ain't Goin Out Like That

Well, I guess it hadn't happened since the 1800's, but we got 3 inches of snow in NYC in October! Nothing good about it. Couldn't go snowboarding. Bad for business. Bad for riding streets and trails. West Milford, NJ got a whopping 19 inches! Yep, the home of our favorite Jungle Habitat. I guess we're not going there til it thaws. I didn't care how much it snowed, I was goin' out to ride the trails today. I had to. LI didn't get snow, just rain, so I headed out to Stillwell in Syosset. The Sos was having a block party so I figured I could spin at least 10 miles of trail before I went over there to check it out. After the snowy day and night and cold temps I was ready for a cold ride, but it was actually beautiful and sunny in the mid 40's. Winter shoes, long sleeves top and bottom, thermal vest...done. Toasty and perfect. I raged the trail like a stealthy beast to the soundtrack of Cypress Hill. It was a lil' soft in a few spots, but otherwise superb. The Sos block party was in full swing when I got there. Kids havin' fun, adults hangin' out. I visited the catering/food truck for a delicious angus burger and pommes frites, yum! Then, I was off to NYC to deliver Baby Blue to the BK. A great day, in my new life. Gotta ride again tomorrow....Halloween! Boo!

A Snowy Saturday In October...NYC

Stillwell by the train tracks/tunnel

Yes, The Ewok Forest

Sos Block Party, Food Truck. Yum.

Food Truck Menu

The Sos MTB Quiver in Full Force (with Spot)

A Specialized Jungle Ride

Brennan, from Specialized University in Morgan Hill, CA, was coming in to NYC so we put together a ride to show him our local trails. Jungle Habitat is a big favorite of ours right now, so it was on. We had a powerful riding crew...Sam, Kevin, Paul, Chris Facas (our Spec Rep), Brennan, and myself....your narrator. Facas had a head cold...boo hoo, and when he pulled his bike out of the car he realized that he had no brake pads left.....hmmmm. He jetted over to the local bike shop and got some new pads while we waited for Brennan who was running late. How many bike biz guys does it take to change disc brake pads? Quite a few, it seems. New brake pads in, and we finally got rolling...and we did roll. Fast and furious rock gobbling trail abuse. I crashed myself up hard, again. Wow, that hurt. We rocked most of the trails including....Otter Slide, Warthog, Cages, Rhino, (the new one) Boon, and more that I can't remember. I was sort of delirious and hanging on after my crash up. A great ride overall. Everybody dug it. We love taking visitors out so they can go home with NYC MTB stories.....on to the next one.

The Waiting

The moment when Chris realized he had no brake pads...

Paul, certified Cervelo mechanic, installing new pads

Brennan arrives with Spec Sprinter Van. Team meeting.

LW, before the pain. Ready, set, let's go

Happy Birthday Max!

Yep....another October birthday ride! Max, the birthday boy, Sam, Kevin, and me...your narrator. Stewart was Max's choice for the ride in Newburgh, NY next to the airport....home of the Dark Horse 40. We were less than a mile into the ride when Max's pedal came off! It didn't thread off, it broke and came apart. We turned around and went back to the cars to retool the ride. Of course, Sam had the flat pedals in his truck that Kevin had to use last week when he forgot to bring his shoes to Ringwood. Kevin found a pair of Time pedals in his truck that could work if he could fix up one of them. He even had a new set of cleats. Kevin got busy on the pedal while Max swapped the cleats out. It was all good and we were back on the trail. 20 blazing, bumpy miles of fun! Muddy, messy, stinky. Dirty riders, dirty bikes. Gotta go again tomorrow...

Max and the broken pedal

A close look at the problem...

Pedal repair, cleat swap

Dirty Spot back home in the DL in the quiver

Riding!

I'm riding for my life, really. It rained all day and night and stopped around 5 AM. I arose like a zombie from Dawn Of The Dead, suited up in my costume and headed out on my lil' rocket System Six. Blazing 26 miles in Central Park on the wet tarmac with slippery leaves....letting it all out. Yep, it felt good. Gotta do it again tomorrow.

Dirty System Six....with Kitten

Appropriate for This Morning's Ride

Jason's First Single Speed 29er Ride

Yep. We were planning to go to Waywayanda or Jungle Habitat, but my wounded leg wasn't having it. I was hoping to coax Jason into a SS 29er ride out on LI at Glacier Ridge. This would be his first time on a hardtail in a very long time....and his first time ever on a singlespeed with 29" wheels. Jason was game so we went for it. I hoped that my banged up leg could deal with spinning out the miles without the rocks and treachery of Northern NJ trails. It was a lightning fast ride! 12 miles in 75 minutes. We were flying. My leg started to ache after the first 10 minutes, but I couldn't slow down. Jason is a ripper. A little bit faster, please.

Jason, SS 29 Ripper.

Superhero, or mere mortal? Mutant Mountain Biker.

Sam's Ringwood Birthday Ride!

October seems to be a big birthday month! My pal Sam, manager of Bicycles NYC, had his birthday this past Sunday so the ride was his choice and his choice was old faithful Ringwood in NJ. We love Ringwood. It is brutal, unforgiving, and satisfying. In the crew....Sam, Kevin, Jason, and myself. An excellent group and we've ridden together so the pacing is pretty happening, Sam riding his SS 29er baby, twisted titanium Lynskey. Very manly. Low to mid 60's and the weather couldn't have been better. We layed down the destruction with me in the lead and those animals pushing me harder and faster. It felt great and it hurt at the same time. I love birthday rides... Kevin forgot his shoes, Sam had a pair of flat pedals in his truck and a pedal wrench. Kevin did not forget the cold beers. Thank you Kevin!

The Birthday Boy

The Fellas Getting Ready

Nothin Like Riding With Your Pals

Happy Birthday Sam!

Birthday Ride

Big birthday week for me. Yeah. Lots of partying. 2 great road rides. A successful mtb event at the shop with 2 of the top pro women riders in the world...Rebecca Rusch and Katie Holden, both Specialized riders. Great fun with the band Fishbone at their film documentary premier. And, an excellent birthday ride at Jungle Habitat today. We did some serious damage at the Jungle and I'm feeling it. Tom Hennigan, the guy who authored the Jungle Habitat trail map, found us in the parking lot and took us on a tour of some new trails including "Boon" which is near the old baboon cages. Crazy. What a ride. Rocks galore. And fun. A great birthday and it's still going! Gotta ride again tomorrow! Bikes and skateboards. Yep.

The Birthday Boy!

Paul, me, and Jose (B)

Pauly laying it down in the Jungle

Rebecca Rusch at Sid's

Super Hot Baby Blue 2012 Cannondale CAAD 10 Rival Bike

Smoother Is Faster

Yeah....that's what they say. So, at Glacier Ridge on LI today I kept that concept in my head throughout the ride. Smooth pedal stroke. Smooth, twisty turns, burms, and jumps. Yep. Smooth is pretty fun too. CLIMB had an organized ride in the morning and they were back at the parking lot hanging out with a tent and barbecuing burgers! We had an excellent, fast ride and the trail was in near mint condition. Smooth and fast. Just a lil' wet in the low spots. Perfect weather after all the turbulent rainy days lately....blue skies and mid-60's temps. The ride brought me back today....mentally, physically, and psychologically. Gotta go again tomorrow.

My Spot Single Speed, Belt Drive 29er and a crowd

Team Cannondale Rides Again