Nope, that last ride wasn’t the last of 2009. I cross-country skied a couple of days before Christmas. Then it rained, got warm, etc. Today the snow was gone, but last night it dropped below freezing again, and the trail had hardened.

I got some bigger tires – WTB Stout 2.3’s, and put them on today. They fit pretty well, although I get a bit of interference on the front derailleur that I hope can be fixed by bringing in the stop for the small chain ring. I ran 22 lbs in the new tires, and the bike is just unstoppable. Even though things were a bit slick as the top layer of mud was thawing, they just didn’t slip ever. They weigh a good bit more than the Maxxis Ignitors that I had been running (2.1’s), so I’ll probably switch back once things dry out in June.

I rode the whole way around Willowdale – probably about 15 miles, in two and a half hours. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be down in the 20’s, so I should be able to do it again then.

I got out again today ahead of the snow storm. Cold, frozen and grey. The prediction is for a foot of snow here tonight, and it looks like snow off and on all week.

I missed Wednesday (too busy with kids’ school events) and Thursday (10 degrees, 30 mph winds), but I rode today as it had warmed up to 24 and was sunny. The trail was hard as a rock and oddly dry, making it very fast. I’m not crazy about riding in the cold, but it was fun to be out. I hope to ride every day it’s above 20 without snow cover. Once it snows, I’ll probably try XC skis.

It’s December, and I’m still riding pretty much every day. I think I’ve missed maybe 2-3 days this fall. Today it was hovering around 40 degrees. Colder than I’d like, but not too bad. This time of year, three weeks from the solstice, the sun is pretty low in the sky no matter when I ride. Last year I stopped regular riding mid-October, and my last ride of the season was the last day of October. This year, I’d like to keep going until there’s snow on the ground. After that, I’ll switch to either XC skis, or snowshoes.

I ran into Steve Arseneault’s Video of some nice single-track, This is pretty much what my rides in Willowdale look like, except I’m probably a bit slower.

Flowing Singletrack….A Short Ride Video from Steve Arseneault on Vimeo.

I thought I’d compare my typical daily ride with the new bike. Yesterday I did the usual run in just about 1 hour even, 6.4 mph average. This run is about 4 mi of singletrack, followed by 2 miles of double-track to get me back to the car.

Willowdale, New Bike at EveryTrail

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Here’s the same trip from a month ago, with the old bike. 10 min longer, and 1 mph slower. I’ve probably gained a bit fitness-wise in the last month, but still, that says a lot for the lighter, bigger-wheeled bike.

Willowdale, Old Bike at EveryTrail

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The new bike, a Kona Big Kahuna, fit perfectly, and rode wonderfully. It’s a 29er hard-tail. I got the 18″ frame, which turns out to have an effective top-tube length of about one inch less than my old bike. This might still be a little bit big, but it’s pretty close. I took it out on my usual Willowdale ride today. The bike just seems much better balanced front-to-back. The top tube is shorter, but the chainstays are longer. This made climbs quite a bit easier, with less of the unicycle feel of the old bike, where I had to put my chin to the handlebars to keep balanced.

The 29er wheels are a huge improvement, with no real down-side that I could feel. They roll over things much better, and the bike feels much more stable at low speed, which makes the bike feel more nimble for tight spaces, rather than less, as you might expect given the larger wheels. Climbs were much easier, given the better balance and traction.

Brakes are the other major difference. They work, require light pull, and work the same every time. My old rim brakes seemed to be a bit random and spongy. Beyond that, everything about the bike is a step up in quality.

I’m hoping to get another month of riding in before winter. I dark cloud of sorts is that I have a nagging injury from a crash last week, perhaps a cracked rib, which may slow me down.

My new bike arrives, and assuming it’s a fit, I’ll pick it up tomorrow. So for now, an update on the old one, an 06 Gary Fisher Marlin. This season has been the most riding I’ve ever done. I’ve averaged six days a week starting back in April. My typical ride as been between and hour and ninety minutes, tending toward the longer end recently. Nearly all of the riding has been in Bradley Palmer and Willowdale. I’ve attended most of the Monday night NS-NEMBA rides. I’ve lost 40 lbs.

The bike has held up quite well. No significant breakage except for a couple of rear spokes. Early in the season I removed the front derailer, figuring that I didn’t use it much. This worked pretty well early on. But by September, the drivetrain was getting tired, so I decided to replace it. I ordered a low-end shimano cassette and chain, and new chain rings, but I couldn’t get the crank off the bike, and managed to strip out the threads. I brought it to the local shop, and they bailed me out. So I had to order a new crank and BB – Jenson USA had a deal on some take-offs: $40, plus $5 for the BB. Here’s the bike after the operation:

The bike rode much more nicely after this. I’m not sure if the ratios had changed, or that perhaps I use different gears being 40lbs lighter, but I found the bike seemed to shift chainrings by itself at the most annoying moments. So, I re-installed the front derailer, and use it a good bit now.

All things considered, it’s been a great bike to get started with. It’s been pretty strong, especially considering I started this at around 230 lbs. I’m replacing grenerally because I ride a lot now, and I’d like something that’s a bit better all around. There are some specific areas I’d like to fix with the new bike. The first is fit. The old bike is a “large” 19″ frame, and the effective top-tube length feels just a bit long (I’m 5′10″). The other is the brakes – I really want hydraulic disks. Finally, the 2.35 rear tire just doesn’t fit. I like riding the 2.35’s at 32-34 lbs. Given that I’m a good bit ligher now, I could probably go down to 2.2’s for the rear tire, but I’d like wider tires to fit.

Well, it’s not really “goodbye” either. I’ll still be riding it now and then, and I’ve got 4 kids to train.

We went up to the northeast side of Willowdale last night. We did 12 miles, 2:30 (the end of the track was in my car – forgot to stop the GPS).

NEMBA Willowdale at EveryTrail

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