Fall Riding

Fall is one of my favorite times to ride.I took Louis and Otto to Growlers Gulch and there we met Jim , Noah,Drew and Brian with his brand new Specialized 29'er. Nice and clean. We rode the usual trails and did the longer extension of the Terminator/Predator trail. Finally we did a death March to the top to find the entrance to the famed KMA trail. I rode it for the first time a few weeks back and was excited to find it by my self. We finally found the beginning and kept getting turned around ,so we had to cut over to the road and do the middle KMA and then out. Saw a ton of road hunters. I'm sure they had good luck driving around at 40 mph drinking their PBR.So, trails were in perfect condition and the weather could not have been nicer. The kid's had a great time and so did i.

Thinking of Fruita.

I've been thinking about Fruita a lot lately and can't wait to get back. Next year for sure. The clip is me on Horse Thief Bench and then Mary's loop and then zippety doo dah.

First Trail-a-bike experence

I was going to head back up to Growlers Gulch today for more riding on the perfect trails and maybe ride a new one again but we found a deal on Craig's list. A trail-a-bike for Olivia. She's 4 and not riding yet so we figured this would be a great way to get her to her ballet class and get comfortable on a bike. We did about 5 miles and went to Home Depot and Trader Joe's and back. She did really good and was trying to stand up by the time we got home. I think I'll try it off road some time in the future.

The Karate Monkey finally see's dirt

So, I've been riding the Karate Monkey for a while now but not off road until today. The K.M. is a 29" wheeled mountain bike. Normal Mtb's have 26" wheels. Mine is set up really simple with a rigid fork, Mech disc brakes and two speeds. Ride or walk. I heard about a ride they we're doing at Growlers Gulch that was for guy's new to the sport so i figured that would be a good way to test it out. I got there early so i could warm up a bit and see how the bike felt. Felt good! I kept hitting stuff with my foot so i guess the bottom bracket is lower than I'm used to, and no plowing through the root's and rocks. Good line choice was my goal for the day. I met up with Jeep and Paul who are trail builders in this system and they do a great job. There was about 8 others i think but i didn't really catch their names. I rode a few new trails and they were a blast. Good downhills with a climb thrown in for good measure. There's always a climb on the dh sections at Growlers. I really liked the Karate Monkey on dirt, even with the rigid fork. I think i should have had a different gear ratio but that is easily fixed. Looking forward to riding up there again soon.

Around Town

We like to these long-ish around town rides. Sometimes i take the kid's sometimes i ride with Marla. Last time Marla and i rode a lot of the perimeter of Portland. 65 miles worth. No shifting problems for me. Check her blog for a write up. http://ourtrail.blogspot.com/