24 hours in the Old Pueblo

No, I'm not planning to ride a 24 hour race.

On Saturday afternoon, I and a couple of my riding buddies went to the course where the 24 hour race is held and rode it to see what its like. The course is a really enjoyable 16.3 mile which is mostly beautiful single track with a few areas of old jeep roads thrown in. Since we got confused a couple of times, we ended up riding 17 miles. It took us 2 hours to complete a lap, a truly un-competitive time.

Before we started, we talked a bit with a guy who is probably 75-80 years old. He had just finished a lap on a single speed in 1:25. His tale, if true, solidified my resolve not to enter the race.

The drive from Phoenix actually takes you south of the track quite a way, then north on a gravel/dirt road to the course area, about 2.5 hours from Phoenix. It seems like a round about way to get there, but that's what the directions say.

When we finished up and were ready to head back to Phoenix, a guy we know said his GPS said there was a short cut back to Hwy 79 that would cut a good 25 miles off the return trip. I had mapped directions on Google Earth the day before and it showed a route across the valley, but when I zoomed in and followed the directions given, there were areas where the line across didn't appear to actually follow a road. Anyway, it was the weekend, so what the hell. We followed the guy west for about 30 minutes while the road became a jeep trail, then a set of tire tracks, then a barbed wire fence with nothing but mesquite, prickly pear, and no gate. By the time we got back to the race course, it was already dark, but no problem backtracking.

In all, we spent almost 6 hours travelling to get in a 2 hour bike ride. It was a nice way to delay the chores I would have done at home.

Wheels

Back in October, I bought a Vuelta Zerolite wheelset and put them on my Klein hardtail (still my only mtn bike). I had some reservations because the hubs looked kind of cheap, the 24 spoke seemed a bit odd, and mounting the tires on the rims was easier than any I have ever done. After a few rides, I figured they'll probably be ok.

A few weeks ago, I was descending a long, fairly steep trail at Deem hills and flatted without hitting anything. When I pulled the tube, I found that the tube had separated right at the stem. I tried cutting a hole in a patch and sliding it over the stem in holes that it would seal up and hold everything in place. I held everything except air in place. Since I didn't have a spare tube, I shouldered the bike and walked back to the truck, about a 2 mile hike.

Back home, I blamed the problem on a faulty tube and replaced it. All seemed ok until last weekend. While descending the same hill I flatted on previously, I experienced the same thing. The new tube separated right at the stem. This time I had a spare and was able to continue the ride. Back home, I started puzzling this one and decided that the tube and tire must have been slipping around the rim. Never had evidence of that problem before in aout 55 years of cycling, so in typical troubleshooting procedure, I settled in on blaming the only thing I had changed before the problem started - the rims, which may have been slightly smaller in diameter than normal (I'll have to measure them and see if that's true), or maybe the painted aluminum surface was too slippery. Either way, the result sucked and I didn't want to fight it.

On Monday morning I ordered two new wheels from BlueSkyCycling.com. If you haven't figured it out yet, Old Fat & Slow is a cheapskate. My bike is 15 years old and still in service. In its life, I replaced the rims once, and the hubs were still the originals, until I bought the Vueltes. One great thing about classic bikes (read: old and obsolete) is the availability of obsolete parts that no one else wants. BlueSkyCycling.com had the perfect wheels at really good prices. So ordered a front wheel with Mavic 221 rim and Shimano LX hub, and a rear wheel with a Mavic 117 rim and Shimano XT hub. The cool part is, I ordered on Monday and received shipment on Thursday. I also ordered a Butt Holder (saddle) by WTB.

Yesterday I took off work a little to put it all together and get out for a ride with the buddies. The only thing I found wrong was the rear wheel was out of true by about 1 mm. That took a few tweaks with a spoke wrench and I was good to go.

On the trail, it was like riding a different bike. Over the years, my old wheelset must have gotten somewhat flexible. The Vuelta Zerolite wheelset didn't seem much different than the old wheels because they must be pretty flexible with only 24 spokes. The new wheels are much stiffer and the ride is dramatically different. The one thing that actually took some getting used to was the difference in steering. The stiffness of the wheels made steering response much tighter, with the result that I started out cutting to the inside of some twists and turns in the trail, and almost bounced off a large boulder that would have left a mark. After a few minutes, I was re-calibrated and it was all good.

The new butt holder, a WTB Pure V Race FR (don't know what that all means) was similar to my old one, but just enough different that its going to take some getting used to. It will probably be ok and just needs some breaking in. May be a few rides before I'm willing to spend more than a couple hours with my fat butt being held by that one.

The moral of this story is, don't buy the cheapest stuff you can get. Shop around a bit and find better components that can still be a bargain. And, take a look at BlueSkyCycling.com since they seem like a good business.

Sonoran Preserve Trails

Sonoran Preserve is located east of I-17 at the Jomax exit. It is a nice set of trails. If you are from somewhere other than Phoenix, I-17 heads north out of central Phoenix and goes to Flagstaff. Jomax is one of the last exits before you rise out of the Sonoran Desert. The trails were built in 2010, but since there are many other places to ride, I hadn't been there until today. I would have to say, they are probably the smoothest trails in the general area. Immediately upon leaving the parking lot, you encounter a climb that get the heart rate up higher than a geezer like me would appreciate. I'm one of those folks who like to gradually get the heart, lungs and legs in sync gradually, but darn near every trail in the area starts with an uphill that prevents easy synchronization. By the way, I forgot to turn on the GPS until I was a few hundred feet up the trail. After the big climb, the smooth trail surface made for some fast downhills. The full suspension folks probably don't notice that much difference, but as an old fat guy on an aluminum hardtail, I found nirvana.

The route I took today went from the southwest corner of the picture, up to the northeast to the second intersection, then around counter clockwise, then back down the entrance spur to the other intersection and around to meet the first loop, then back down to the parking lot. Good ride that took about an hour and a half. Definitely a do again.

Advertising Rant

I'm sure you've seen the recent TV ads for Viagra (I'm not a user, by the way) unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of years. The theme appears to be, you're older now and know how to get things done. Their depiction of older guy wisdom is about as lame as it can get. Consider the three ads I've seen so far.

In the first ad, a guy is driving through the desert in his '67 Camaro. It overheats, so he pulls into an ancient roadside gas station and comes out with a bottle of water, which he pours into his overheateed radiator. In a moment he continues his journey and arrives at an invitingly lit up house where, I guess, he gets laid.

In the second ad, a cowboy in his pickup with a horse trailer gets stuck in the mud. He steps out of the cab, hitches up his team and pulls the truck and trailer out of the mudhole. The final scene shows him pulling up to an invitingly lit up farmhouse where, I assume, he gets laid.

In the third ad, a guy is sailing along with his sails improperly set, in a light breeze. Judging from the wave action, the wind isn't more than 5 knots. Suddenly, a midboom mainsheet clevis breaks and his boom swings away. Leaping into action, he points to windward and disables a life vest by removing the waist strap. He feeds the strap through the block, wraps it around the boom, and replaces the clevis. He then sails away and returns to the dock, apparently to get laid.

These guys are supposedly at an age where they know how to get things done. Problem is, none of them seem to have a clue. Let's take these problems one at a time.

Guys with classic Camaros should have some basic concept about maintenance and emergency repair. They know not to head out into the desert without having checked a few things like oil and coolant levels, condition of hoses, belts, etc. Guys with classic Camaros also know that when the beast overheats, they don't grab a bottle of cold water and dump it into a hot radiator. They also know that a liter of water ain't gonna fix the trouble. Maybe he dumped his little blue pills in the radiator and the cooling system hardened up. If so, he must have made it home in less than four hours.

The cowboy might know how to ride horses, but he sure doesn't know how to drive the backroads, of which we are led to believe he is most familiar. Having spent several years as a microwave radio technician, I am a bit familiar with driving in less than ideal conditions. If the cowboy knew a damned thing about backroad driving he would have either gone around the mudhole or maintained enough speed to allow his momentum to carry him through the mud without spinning his wheels. That's something that might also improve his performance in bed.

The sailor, ah yes. This guy should be drummed out of the Horatio Hornblower fan club. First problem. That clevis had to be at least 1/4 inch stainless steel with a rating in excess of a ton. If that sucker snapped in such a light breeze, he allowed it to wear out, never looking at it during the life of the boat, or the ten other boats it outlived. Those things don't wear out fast. How many other parts are in similar condition? Did Mrs. Hornblower sabotage his yacht? I'd be uneasy about sailing that boat in dead calm. Next problem, he disables an essential, and required, piece of safety equipment instead of grabbing one of the many chunks of line that are always readily at hand. What the hell?!! If the clevis pin can't hold, what makes him think that a 1 inch nylon strap is the right answer? Of course, being a TV ad, he successfully completes the repair with a spare clevis and, next problem, continues on with his sails improperly set. As he's walking the dock in the final scene, one has to wonder, is that sail bag his Viagra dosage? Maybe he can loan some to the guy with the Camaro.

You have to admit these are true guys. They don't properly prepare for what they intend to do, then, when they face a self inflicted woe, they come up with a lame solution. These guys are the ultimate teenagers. Dumb mistakes, followed by dumb fixes. All in hopes of getting laid.

New Wheels

The new wheels arrived yesterday, so in the evening I put them on the old Klein.

They are Vuelta Zerolite wheels from Nashbar and generally look ok. The hubs look kind of cheap, so it will be interesting to see how well they do in the dusty desert environment. The other oddity is the 24 spoke configuration. Seems to me the more spokes the better, given that I am not what one would consider as svelte. Tomorrow morning will be the first test. If they make it through the morning, maybe they'll be ok.

New trails in N Phoenix

Yesterday morning about 9, the temps were in the 80s, so I took of on my mtn bike for a little exploring. I hadn't been on the bike for about 3 weeks and needed the exercise. I left the house and followed the CAP canal east to Deem Hills. I haven't been over there since over a year ago when I found a few new trails. Since then, they seem to have added a pretty good network. The temps were getting up there by the time I had ridden anly about 1.5 miles of trail, so I turned around and headed back to the barn. Next time, with cooler temps coming I will spend a bit more time and take along my GPS.

I did a little maintenance on the old Klein today. After cleaning the bike off I noticed a little grinding in the front hub. When I get it apart and cleaned up, I could see some excessive wear in the bearing races. Hit the Nashbar page looking for a new set of hubs since these are apparently on thier last legs after 14 years and many 110s of miles of dirt. They had a wheel set regularly $199 for $79. The blessing of an old bike with rim brakes is that parts can be really cheap. We' see how it goes when the new wheels arrive...

Port Angeles

We visited Port Angeles last week for a few days and had a chance to ride part of the Discovery Trail west of town. Having ridden for the last 4 years in Phoenix, It was a real pleasure to ride something different. With the temp around 50 and rain threatening, we headed out, Sean on his Salsa El Mariachi and me on Michele's Jamis Dakar. The El M is a 29er 1x9, all rigid and the Jamis is a full suspension 3x9 26er. The ride consisted of an out and back, climbing about 600 ft over 3 miles. Our stopping point was in a clear cut overlooking the Elwha River Valley.

The climb was relatively easy, with a pretty smooth trail surface. It was one of those climbs that could go a long time without real suffering. The ride back down was joyful, smooth, fast and fun for a geezer like me. As usual, Sean bombed down while I maintained a bit of caution. It reminded me of our days in Spokane when Sean would tear ass down a steep rocky descent, while I would stop, figure out the line, then descend without much drama. Meeting at the bottom, Sean would wax eloquently about almost crashing on that rock, bouncing off this tree, etc. while I didn't have any good tails to tell. The age difference is still there.

Anyway, its alway great getting out on the trails with Sean. Maybe next time we hit that trail, we'll take it all the way to Crescent Lake. It will be an all day ride that should be awesome.