I'm going to be trying some new things for this blog as well as create a new blog specifically for massage and health topics, so look for that soon. You will be able to subscribe to either one, so do that! Share your thoughts, experiences and make this a more interactive experience.
I noticed that I did a blog post last year around this time when I first received my new Kona, with lots of Fall images. Seems the color this year has not been as spectacular as it was last year. I wonder what causes that. The riding however, has been equally good, if not better. This has been a great year for me for cycling, perhaps rivaling some of the years in CO, where riding was so abundant. But riding in CO took years to be a "great" experience. The learning curve was exceptionally steep, no pun intended. Riding in real mountains is a feat of utter strength, stamina and iron will. Many trails, especially those out West, were not built for cyclists. Over time as bikes became more used, trails were opened to cyclists, but the steep inclines and poor construction rendered them incredibly difficult. 30 years of mountain biking in earnest has begun to produce more cycling friendly trails. But coupled with the difficult terrain was the sheer lack of oxygen, this sea level rider took months to adapt! Once I got strong enough and built enough endurance, I found I didn't even have the proper equipment capable of riding much of Colorado's tough terrain. I went through 3 different bikes in 5 years, with many experiments in tires, suspension and clothing to find the right fit for all the opportunities that CO, UT, WY, AZ and NM provided. Though I never suffered serious injury, I sure shed a lot of blood in the Desert! I learned to be a tougher biker, to ride steep grades, jump off of ledges, ride faster, smoother, better.
After about 3 years, I settled on this bike, the 6" travel Ellsworth Moment. It was stiff, heavy and had all the attributes I needed to climb, drop and repeat. Even this bike, though, was a compromise and since 2005, when I bought this bike, things have changed radically. I loved this bike though and rode it for at least 8 years, which in the life of an aluminum mountain bike is pretty good.
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| Riding Cowboy Trails in Las Vegas Nevada, some of the gnarliest desert riding I found |
Segway past Nevada riding, which was just excellent, and on to Michigan, where it all began for me. The trails don't go up and down in large quantities, but they roll like a roller coaster, if they change at all. Equipment needed to change and thus last year I sold the Ellsworth and got a Kona Honzo steel framed hardtail 29er. The change is wheel size from the traditional 26" wheel of the 1980s was an excellent upgrade for MI trails and the "feeling" of the bike is so similar to the 6" travel bike that the changeover for me was quite seamless.
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| Believe it or not, this is actually a Spring ride in MI, Easter to be exact |
Well, that was a bit of round about way of coming to the images of the Fall riding I've been doing to tie in last year's post. So, here they are!
