First MTB Ride of 2014

It was cold today!

I know, I know...Its a little pathetic that it has taken me this long to get a ride in for the first time this year. I have a decent reason. Before my deployment I rode up at Raystown Lake and trashed my bike. I just finally got it on the stand in at EPBC to get it up and ride-able again. Brian and I, mostly him were able to throw it together for the ride today even though it still needs some work.

Brian EPBC

We had a decent group today for our ride. We rode at the Frederick Watershed...many of the trails were new to me and mostly all-mountain/ downhill trails. I am not too good at super technical rocks and natural obstacles. I am pretty efficient with a little technical mixed into cross-country riding but these trails were rough! The first 3 miles felt like 10 but overall the trails were in good condition and the ride was awesome! Today we climbed 2,000+ feet over 12 miles and my legs were done! I am looking forward to many more great rides this year! I hope I can get better at the very extreme technical trails. I think a lot of it is in my head! Oh and it was COLD today as well, you can see that in the photo... 

Post ride...brake lines need trimmed

I've Got A Fever...and the Only Perscription is a New Bike...

      I am kind of in a bike dilemma at the moment, I have a road bike which has a few thousand miles and many seasons on it. The bike needs a full rebuild. It is an older Tiagra/105 mixed 9spd bike. 10spd stuff has been out for years and now 11spd groups have hit the mainstream. I had thoughts to bring my bike into the current times but I am thinking its just not worth fixing up. There is also some non-crash damage on the frame. I will always say that mountain biking is my favorite but the truth is that I get so many more opportunities to get out on the road or do some gravel road riding. I feel that I need a good all around road/cross bike. I am looking to get a 11spd, disc brake road bike.

New in 09



Yesterday (Kidding)

Crux in Blue

When I got home from my deployment my search begun. I have shared with some of my family that I was wanting to get a new bike when I returned so for them not to get me anything for Christmas but if they felt the need to get me something, I would accept donations to the bike fund and/or gift certificates to EPBC. The first decision I was going to have to make would be a full build or get a complete bike.  I did the pros and cons list and I decided to go ahead and get a complete bike. I was doing the math on a custom build and I quickly floated past my ceiling. After that I narrowed it down to two different companies, Specialized and Fuji. I settled on these two brands because my LBS carries both and I have had good luck with both brands in the past. My road bike I currently have is a Fuji and I have a good buddy that loves his Specialized Crux, which is the particular model I was looking at. If I decided on the build option I was going to go with the Specialized Crux, but I decided to go the complete route so I went with the Fuji. More specifically I went with the Fuji Altamira CX model.




Bike I ordered

The 2014 Fuji Altamira CX is a full carbon fiber frame. I am a little nervous about carbon given my Clydesdale size but I am hoping to shave a few pounds while commuting on the new rig. It is also built out with the new Sram Force 22 setup. Which is the new Sram 11spd group. It also doesn't include the road hydraulic disc brakes that are being recalled. The bike comes with the mechanical avid BB7s, which are a proven brake. Overall this bike was the most bang for my buck and Brian down at Eastern Panhandle Bicycles is making all this happen for me. Such a great shop! I cannot wait to get the bike and get a good fitting done. I hope to put 1500+ miles on this bike this year!

  

WVPedalers 2013 Year in Review...

Hello everyone, I think we all find time to look back on our past year, the decisions we made, good or bad and the life lessons that were learned from those experiences. 2013 was a good year for me. I had a great time with my family as well as on the saddle.

 This past year I got to bike a decent bit considering we had our second child months before 2013. Having two little ones at home makes it hard to get out there and ride but I have a wonderful wife. This past year our family also encountered a new obstacle, I was sent on a deployment with the military. I had a 120 day trip to Turkey. This trip has nothing on those poor soldiers that deploy for up to a year in the box but the distance would be hard for us. My wife is a trooper and I am so proud of the job she did in my absence. That all being said I was able to get a bike over there with me and I cycled close to 800 miles on my deployment. Riding a bike was a great way to get out and see the country side. There is so much history in Turkey. I encourage anyone that can to get two wheel down in a foreign country. The experience is so much better then riding in the states. Plus it is neat riding through the small villages and having children run along with you like your a Tour De France rider. There were some miles that didn't get logged when I first got to Turkey but this year I logged around 1600 miles all together. This number may not be that big to some but for me it isn't that bad and a number for me to try to beat in 2014! I hope 2014 will bring more fun on the bike, a new bike that is...A post about my bike search is on the way.