My season has started early! I've been bike commuting to work (only 2 mile from home) for the past 3 weeks and i'm loving it! Its keeps me a little in shape plus it's One Less Car on the road!
I just picked up a new (new to me) Ted Wojcik hardtail with a full XTR build. YAHOO!! This will be my new XC rig for the new few years. I'm super psyched about it since it's made by a small frame builder here in Southern NH!!! look to the right for pics
the ground was firm, and the trails were ready for riding, so I took out my new bike (the TW) for a small spin! The bike is amazing! It climbs great, and decends well too! I'm really impressed with it, and I think it was a very wise purchase.
I just finished rebuilding my old (1995) Rock Shox Judy SL tonight. I had thought of rebuilding my 1998 Manitou Spyder R instead, but the lowers were shot, so I took out the elastomers and springs and swapped them with the broken ones in the Judy. The Judy seems to work fine now! I installed it on my Balance so I didn't have to ride that rigid again, so we'll figure out how well that rides later this week.
I've been busy building up my other bikes for their specific purposes over the past few days. Their purposes are outlined below:
Ted Wojcik-pure lightweight XC only bike.
Balance XR 750-converted to Single Speed adn built up for commuting and XC
K2 Brass Monkey-built up for Cross Stuntry/jumping/DH
I've also been working on some plans for some new portable bike stunts in my spare time at work. Plans include-a kicker for the hill in the orchard, a 3' tall ramp/bridge system with a small rollercoaster off the end of it, and a 2' tall teeter totter.
I built a small up/down style ramp on the crest of a hill in my yard last night with the idea that it can be jumped at speed, or just simply rolled over if the rider wants.
I rode the Balance into work today (and back home) and the new fork (rebuilt 1995 Judy SL) passed the test (so far!) It seems to work well, only time and a little beating on the trails will tell though!
I also finished grinding down my "super studs" on my snow/ice tires so that they do not rub the frame and so that I have a much smoother ride on hard frozen ground.
I started scoping out the woods behind the house to create a technical trail or two. I flagged out a nice XC route, but also looked at a few other possible lines for a sick freeride/fast route
My neighbor and I started construction and raking out the new freeride trail. We engineered a few ladder bridges and built them, then called it a day!
I raked out more of the trail today and so far it looks quite promising! I found a nice large pine that is down further down in the woods that could make a nice log ride.. I just have to make the trail get to it! I've decided to name the trail "The Playground".
I went home early from work yesterday and raked out and cleared out more of the trail. I raked the trail all the way to the log ride and began to shave the bark off the log. I still have to cut out a bunch of underbrush before the trail is rideable though. I also built "trail feature #2" which is a simple plank bridge that spans over a wet area just after the first stunt. Its fairly narrow, and close to a tree, so it should be challenging even though its only two feet off the ground.
I sprayed camo paint on all the log structures to make them blen in with the woods a bit more, so far, mission accomplished! Ellen and I raked out some more of the trail, and did some much needed rock-work to go thru some wet spots on the trail. Its getting more and more complete everyday!
Jake came over and helped me clean out the area around the log ride so now was have a fall zone. We also cleared the top of the log off so that we're getting closer to being able to ride the log. .
