I rode 50 miles this morning. That's right. 50.

-Ryan

Boooo!..... Yay!!!!!!!

Mountain Bikes in The Mist:

Sunday I took a break from my road ride training schedule and got out onto the dirt of Santa Cruz. I decided I would park along Highway 9 and ride up through Pogonip, across the campus and down into Wilder Ranch to do the Eucalyptus loop and back out. Well, that was the plan at any rate. The parking area was packed with cars and bikes. I was lucky to find a spot. There were, without exaggeration, maybe 25 people either just getting back from a ride, or prepping to start one. Oh, and it was foggy and cold. Not a problem, I had arm warmers. Pogonip can be a rough ride. With no warm up you launch directly into the ride up to the campus. Despite not getting enough sleep and feeling a little like I was getting a headache, I was in high spirits. Once I got on the trail my mood improved. It was colder ans, significantly, wetter than I had anticipated. After a mile of mist an sweat I was soaked to the bone, but I was still feeling great. I was climbing much faster than I ever had on that trail, despite not feeling 100% physically. I was moving through a particularly steep rocky section when I hear a PANK! sound from the back of my bike and felt a stutter through the chain. It was suspiciously similar to when I broke a frame in the fall. I stopped, looked at everything, and it all looked OK. OK, maybe it was the tire snapping off a rock I think. I get to the campus, and on a gentle down hill I finally stop spinning my feet to rest when it happens. I'm standing on my pedals because the trail is a little rough and the cranks suddenly begin to turn forcibly almost bucking my off the bike. What? The? Fuck? I manage to panic stop and hop off. I try to spin the cranks by hand backwards. No go, the chain goes slack and the dereailuer moves forward uncomfortably. Hell. I get a stick and a large rock and pound on the casset for a bit to try to loosen it up. No go. I ride back down the hill to my car constantly reminding myself that I MUST pedal or I will crash. Twice I forget. Both times I manage to recover. The hub is a total gonner. I could not even get it apart to see what happened. If I had to guess I'd say one of the ratchet bits bent or sheard off and lodged in the shell seizing it up.

I bought a new wheel this morning. The bike mechanic listened to what had happened with wide eyed horror.

Cool Trails Go up Hill:

After that fiasco I wanted nothing to do with the geared bike today. On a whim I hauled the single speed out to Wilder. I was just going to ride up the coast and back, but when I got to the western boundary I headed inland. I ended up on a trail that I had, somehow, never ridden before. As I could not shift there was about 1/2 mile that I had to push the bike up hill, but other than that I rode the whole time. About 12 miles on one gear. What a total blast. It was one of the best rides I've had in months. I really like the single speed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to snap and get rid of the geared bikes. I'll ride those more often, but sometimes there is something beautiful about riding with no gear or suspension. You don't so much ride the trail, and much as the trail rides you. Today was very nearly a perfect ride.