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!

  

"Take A Kid Mountain Biking"

This past weekend I was out helping EP/BC with their first ever "Take A Kid Mountain Biking" event down at Poor House Farm Park. This was an event sponsored by the bike shop but also largely sponsored by Specialized Bicycle Company and IMBA.(International Mountain Bicycling Association) The main purpose of this event is to spread the word about mountain biking and introduce this great sport to the children as well as their parents.

Trail Tools

Down at Poor House Farm there are a few trails cut throughout the Frisbee golf course in behind the fishing pond. These trails have not really been managed really well or taken care of so they are overgrown and not really that well known. I have ridden there a few times in the past and had not gone back due to poor marking and the confusion of the trails mixed with the course. I also have gotten flats every time I have ridden there, including this event but i can pinpoint my mistake this time. The trails are not kept up and ridden much so the trails hold a lot of hazards for your tires. With the success of this event I am hoping this will change. On Friday, myself and Brian Weber, the owner of EP/BC met up at the park and walked out about 1/2 mile of singletrack for the kids to ride the next day. Once we got the course marked out which included some existing singletrack as well as some new that we had to cut, the trail maintenance begun. After we had worked at the trails for a little over an hour a few more helpers showed up to help us finish. All in all we had about 2 hours into cutting in and cleaning up 1/2 of singletrack. After a few pre-ride laps around out beginner and intermediate courses we were set for the event the following day.

Singletrack out of the Intermediate Course

I showed up at the event right at the start. I was running a little behind but that's okay. Once I got out of my truck I saw the first 3 kids heading out with their father to ride our trail. that was neat to see. There was a pretty decent turnout for a Saturday considering all the things that go on in our area. I was pleased to see that we had a good mix or ages as well as young boys and girls. I had the pleasure to ride the course over and over kind of keeping an eye out and helping kids along the way. I think our beginner course was a little easy for some of them but I know they all found parts of the intermediate course to be challenging. I also rode with a young boy that wanted to try the intermediate course with me and he had a blast! He left wanting to do more and try different stuff and that is awesome! I think we may have hooked a few more mountain bikers in our area this weekend. With that being said many of the parents and kids were asking us when we are going to be building more trails. That is probably the second best thing that came of this weekend. Poor House Farm Park has potential to be a good spot to ride we just need volunteers that are willing to put in the time. I for one cannot wait to see the progress that is made at the park in the near future.

If you are reading this and want to help you can either drop me a message or stop in to EP/BC and sign-up and there will be organized work days in the future. Again thanks for reading this and I hope that many others will venture out in the woods and discover this awesome sport I love so much!

Part of the climb on Intermediate Course

Start of the decent on Intermediate Course

Looking up to the rock garden on Intermediate Course

Start of Beginner Course

Little obstacle and zig zag to finish

Itch Has Been Scratched...

Well as I had said before the itch for a new bike and a 29'er got the better of me this year. I have been wanting a 29'er for a few years now but wasn't really ready to make the jump. I have been looking and researching as well as riding many different styles, and brands of 29'ers. As many of you may know I work part time down at EP/BC and they carry many brands and my decision came down to three bikes, the Cannondale Flash alloy series, the Specialized Stumpjumpers, or a Breezer Lightning. I had rode many of these bikes and decided to go with the Cannondale Flash 2...

Picture taken right when I brought her home...

I choose this bike for the way it felt mostly but I also like the styling of the bike as well. Cannondale doesn't go overboard on the designs of their bikes and I like that, I like the clean lines on the bike, nothing crazy about it. Oh...the Lefty fork was also a bike selling feature! That fork is awesome, not only is it unique looking it is light, stiff, and responsive. I got this in a medium frame and that is just perfect for me. I am not sure of the actual weight of the bike, I still need to weight it soon but this sucker is so much lighter then any other bike I own besides my roadie.

After the big climb at Greenbrier waiting for Rapsack to catch up!

Pic by the lake at Greenbrier

Pic from my commute home after 12:30 am...

I have only took it out once on the trail so far and commuted to work one night and did some XC type riding on the grounds of the base were I work. I only have 14.5 miles on her so far and I am itching for more. So far this bike rides like a dream, I climb faster and descend faster as well. I think this bike will make me a better rider and I can't wait to ride it more!

Setup:
Frame: Flash 29'er Medium
Fork: Lefty OPI
Tires: Schwalbe Rapid Robs 2.2
Wheels: Sun Ringle Infernos
Hubs: Formula rear, Lefty front
Shifters: Sram X-7 (I have X-9 to swap out)
FD: Sram X-7 3X10 (I have X-9 2X10 to swap out)
RD: Sram X-9
Crankset: Sram S1400, 3X10 44/33/22 (I have X-9 2X10 chainrings to swap out)
Brakes: Elixer 3's

Post ride pic at Greenbrier! Again waiting on Rapsack HaHa!

Yearly goals list: UPDATE...

I just wanted to stop by my blog and post that I have already marked one item off my list, well partially anyway. I have been pulling a few hours wrenching at my LBS www.epbicycles.com. In just the few days and about 8 hours of total time in the back I have a completely different appreciation for bike shops. There is so much that goes into every bike. I do know that not all bikes go through as much as the bikes down at EP/BC. Brian has a really good way of doing things and strict attention to every detail. I love working on bikes and being in that atmosphere.

We never know what life holds for us but I do know that I love the world of cycling and having a job were I could do that would be awesome. You never know, maybe years from now I will have a shop of my own somewhere. Well that's it for now, I can't wait to get back in the shop and finish up on a build I was working on today, a sweet Specialized Tricross Elite. Awesome bike, come down to Eastern Panhandle Bicycles(www.epbicycles.com) and check them out...maybe i'll be there!