Kid's Got Some Skills

Go Jackson, Go!

Love for the Ham

OH MY GOSH!

Rolled through Bellingham, Washington a couple of weeks ago. Didn't have a lot of time, but fortunately I had previously made the acquaintance of a kind fellow who happens to build a lot of trails around B'Ham. So my brief visit began with a quick guided tour of the goodness that has been built over the past year.

I wish I'd had more time to polish my skills, because it was a style of riding that I have not been privy to for quite some time. What little dirt jump skills I have were rusty at best, but man oh man did I enjoy myself.

It didn't hurt that the first evening of riding was capped off with a salmon and steak bbq. Many thanks EB!

B'Ham has some good things going for it. I enjoyed just sitting at a bakery watching all the different bikes roll by, and the trails are mighty sweet.

I'll be back.

Rolling with the In-laws

A new chainring arrived today from Jenson to replace one that I had blow up on me a couple of weeks ago. I slapped it on and took off on a nice afternoon loop with my father in-law and brother in-law.

Three cross bikes between us, and no tires narrower than 32mm. It typified what I like about riding. A lovely day, light rain to start the ride, and a beautiful location.

We rolled along at a comfortable pace, no one too concerned about how fast we rolled or what heart rates were at, although my brother in-law did take off and sprint up some of the hills. I guess he wanted to get in some intervals.

Our little country loop ended with a swooping long down hill back into town and a stop at Dairy Queen for huckleberry milkshakes before we peddled the last few miles home.

Sappy, I know, but a nice ride is a nice ride.

Reaping the Rewards of Impulsivity

I'm visiting the in-laws at the moment, which isn't as bad as it sounds. They have a cozy little house in a beautiful part of the country. Late in the evening I pulled my wife's rigid 29er off the roof rack. Figured I'd take a quick spin up the road at the end of a long day of driving. About 100yards up from the house the road crosses a lovely little creek.

I looked at the rocky creek bed and realized the rocky cobbles of the stream bed would be perfect for a little 29er exploration. I took off upstream rolling and crawling over the rocks, hopping off and wading through shallow braids of the creek when necessary. It was a lovely ride through previously glaciated terrain, with mountain wilderness as a back drop.

I rode as far as I could before oncoming darkness required that I turn around. It wasn't a long ride, and it wasn't a fast ride (I'm pretty sure I topped out around 3mph), but it was a great ride. Crawling along a nontraditional bike route with in shorts and sandals on a warm summer evening was about the best way I can think of to unwind after too many long weeks of hectic packing and moving. The creek bed ride wasn't my plan, but I'm glad I indulged my impulsivity.

All Aboard

Our upcoming move involves a ferry ride with our vehicles. Up until today there was only space aboard the ferry for one of our vehicles. This meant my wife insisted that we take the baby friendly mobile instead of the bike friendly truck. It was looking like we were going to have to travel bike free and get by with out our bikes until the movers got our things to us and we got settled.

Well, persistence paid off. I faithfully checked the ferry berths until this morning when a spot for our truck opened up. I made a quick phone call, and secured a spot for the truck on the ferry, as well as a plush cabin for all of us.

A quick discussion with my wife and we decided we could comfortably take 3 bikes with us, leaving us with some decisions to make. My wife said she could happily get by with her single speed 29er, and left me to fill the other two spots.

The ferry leaves from a little coastal free ride hot spot where we happen to have a couple of trailbuilder friends. I've been itching to get back there and ride ever since we rolled through there a year and a half ago, so the full suspension rig is going. I am excited to rally some of the new trails and indulge the bike in what it was meant to do.

The other spot will fulfill my practical needs. The crosscheck is a dream of a commuter bike and is a hoot to ride on everything from asphalt to flowy single track.

My wife and I will both do much better coping with the transition if we're able to hop on a familiar bike and ride.

Handle Bars Like These Deserve a Fine Bike

The last night of polo also meant I'll be saying good bye to my polo bike, well most of it. I scored the old Raleigh Carlton for $2, revived the old Brooks saddle, stripped it down to a single speed, and added a handle bar I snagged off a little girls bike. It wasn't fast, it wasn't flashy and most of the time it wasn't even really all that comfortable. But it was a bike which I had a ton of fun on. It took a pounding week in and week out and hardly complained. I'll take the saddle and handle bar, find another vintage frame and begin a relationship with a new polo bike once I've moved. It's good to know there is already a crew playing polo and waiting for me to join them. Game On!

The End of an Era?

Bikewrider is moving, not the blog, just me, my physical self. Life is moving forward and I'm along for the ride. From a bicycle perspective it will be a very good move. More trails, more bike shops, more people geeked about bikes.

I've tried to make the most of my time here, and I've tried to leave the community a bit better off than I found it. I know a few people here who ride there bikes more than they used to. There are a few folks who've caught the winter riding bug, and most importantly there are a handful of guys who had a ridiculous amount of fun on Thursday evening playing bike polo.

I played my last evening of polo with the local crew tonight. It was the warmest, most lovely evening we've ever had for polo. Most of the regulars were there, my brother made a guest appearance and we even had a newbie.

I don't know if polo will continue around here after I leave. I sincerely hope it does. We've almost always managed to scrounge up just enough players, but it hasn't grown like I hoped it would have by now. Even more significantly I don't know if there is someone to take up the torch after I leave, and I don't know if the community is large enough to really make polo work. The one guy I could guarantee would keep the momentum going is gone 'til november. If the remaining crew can keep things going until then it will be all good. For now I think I'll hang a few more flyers, leave a few extra mallets behind and hope for the best.