Exiwolf 29er 2.3 Review and a late Pinehurst lap

11-14-2010
For the last week or two, I've noticed my back tire just skidding all over the trail. On Wednesday, I had a lot of issues getting the rear tire to stay planted on ascents where I stood up and whenever I was braking hard around turns. It's not that I was necessarily braking hard, it seems that it would just lock up at the slightest braking.  After looking at the tires on Saturday morning, they almost looked like they were dry rotted.  I've beat these tires up a lot and I've been very pleased with them over the last few months, but I really felt like new tires would be helpful.  I had seen some WTB Exiwolfs at Wheels of Wellington for $26 each, so I decided to shop around and see who else had tires as well as any deals they might have. 


Awesome. At first I was a bit hesitant about the Exiwolfs at Amelia Earhart Park, but I'm more confident after putting 22 miles on them today. 22 miles? How did I get that number? Oh yeah, since I was a little concerned about their handling in the turns, I hurried back to the apt and went to Pinehurst as the sun was setting.  My idea was that maybe I hadn't given them as fair of a shake since I was at a place I had never been to before.


At the familiar Pinehurst trail, I had much more grip over logs and roots than with the Nevegals. The grip in the sand was better than the Nevegals, but I had to be careful not to turn too quickly or I'd wash out. Straight line grip is pretty good. I pushed myself pretty hard at Pinehurst and finished in 29 minutes. I probably could have been quicker, but I made some mistakes as I couldn't see the trail as well as I normally do and I was a little tired and cramped from the 14 miles earlier at Amelia Earhart Park. 

Exiwolf on the left, Nevegal on the right

Looking side by side, the Exiwolf 2.3s look thinner than the Nevegal 2.2s

Nothing screams class and sophistication like this.

I'm pretty sure I didn't hit 46.8 mph today, but if the computer says I did, then I'll take it.

New lowest weight.  I was 185+ a few months ago.

The tires definitely roll much better than the Nevegals, especially on pavement. I was able to hit 20 mph and sustain it without bouncing. I couldn't go above 15 mph without bouncing on the Nevegals. I don't want to dismiss the nevegals because when they were new, they bit into everything. I loved them. After 610 miles though, they showed a lot of wear and almost looked dry rotted in places. I'm keeping them in case I rip the Exiwolfs, but I'm betting the Exiwolfs won't come off the bike for some time.  I finished with 632 miles on my bike today.  Here are some pics of the new tires: 

Tire Search and Amelia Earhart Park

11-13-2010 

As boring as this sounds, I shopped the West Palm area bike shops that I haven't visited recently. I went to Wheels of Wellington first and found they still had the Exiwolfs and they were still $26 each. They didn't look nearly as beefy as the Nevegals did, but I was just looking at this point.  

Next, I headed to Bike America in Boynton.  This store has a lot of room.  It's nice, clean and neat. At the time I went in it had one customer other than myself and 2 people working.  I found a set of Specialized Captain 2.0s in 29", but nothing else.  I kind of expected a shop like this to have more of a selection.  I also expect at least a hi, hello, or something when you're walking around a store for 10 minutes.  After not seeing anything that I wanted/needed, I left and probably won't come back.

Next store up was Boynton Bicycle Rider.  I had been here a few years ago and they were nice, but it was a really small store. The employees were nice and helpful, but they didn't have any 29" tires for me.  I did get to overhear a...well, he sounded like a douchebag customer going on and on.  Seriously, he's the kind of asshole that sounds like he never left the Jersey shore and at 45 still tries to be a badass.  You see, he was there to buy a bike, not because he wanted to enjoy riding or exercise. No, it's because he got a DUI and wanted everyone in the store know how awesome he was.  Except he wasn't.  

Next store I was going to try was called Boynton Bicycle Shop.  It was supposedly at 312 E Boynton.  I looked all over and couldn't find it.  I got hungry, so I went to grab some food and talked with Jamie to see if I could grab the tires from Wheels of Wellington.  She ok'd it and I grabbed them late in the afternoon and put them on Saturday night.  

11-14-2010

Amelia Earhart park in Hialeah, FL. Fun trail. This is not a technical trail like oleta or Markham. The trail has enough for everyone though. I rode the trail twice back to back. It was 7 miles to the car and back. Actual trail length is probably 6.75 miles or so. On the first lap, I went pretty leisurely through the trail and it was a bit boring until I started on the hills at about the end of the first mile of trail.

The hills here are bigger than most places I've ridden here in South Florida and overall the trail seems to be more fun than Markham or Oleta. I say more fun because the trail is really laid out well and keeps riders on the same trail throughout. There are plenty of bypasses for novice riders, but they all reconnect to the main trail. 

The flow is what is so great here. There are plenty of fast and flat portions that weave in and out of the trees. The ground in many places is actual hard packed dirt, not the sandy dirt or limestone trail I've seen other places. I finished the first lap in about 45 min. Second lap was almost the same time. 

I began right behind a group that was taking a leisurely ride through and I was able to pass after the first mile. I also ran into a family that was hiking backwards through the trail and I think I spooked them all a little. I don't know if it's a multi use trail or only for bikes. I would definitely keep your eyes open because the park was extremely busy when I got there at about 2 pm. 

I also ran into a couple of kids who werent wearing helmets and were probably 7-11 years old. I never wore a helmet as a kid, but that's because my parents didn't like me. Just kidding Mom.  Parents should care enough about their kids enough to make sure they at least strap something to their heads to keep from getting seriously hurt.  If they don't care, they should put a helmet on them because going to the hospital is expensive. There are signs all over saying helmets are required.  Ok, rant over.

The hills should be approached with some caution, especially in the razorback section because of their height above ground level and the angles of the hills. On one hill I made it to the top with some effort and was able to put a foot down only to almost fall backwards down the hill. Many of the hills are covered with carpet that makes the ascents much easier than if they were simply the limestone thats underneath. 

This is a really fun trail.  I will definitely go back with Jordan and Jimmy to ride this trail again.  This trail has the best flow of any trail in South Florida and was a joy to ride.  Like I said before, it's not technical, but it's a satisfying ride and definitely fun.  Here's a map of today's ride:

Halpatiokee Regional Park Review

11-12-2010
Today, I left the apt at about 3:15PM for Halpiotokee Regional Park in Stuart, FL. Here is the location of the trailhead. It was a relatively short drive up to the park and no traffic. The park was nice and a mix of Fort Pierce and Pinehurst. There were plenty of roots and sand, but also a lot of smooth, relatively fast, good flowing parts of this trail. 


The photos I have below are low quality.  I didn't realize how poor the quality was until I looked at them later.  I was using the app Motion X GPS.  It's a good app, but I'd really like to have the option to change the quality in the app instead of going into the regular camera app.  


The trail seemed well marked the first few miles even to the point of being obnoxious in the middle where there was nowhere else to go. The trail moved from the wooded area to the open, and finally towards the highway. Unfortunately, the signs quit being helpful after awhile and the trail would end in a T and I no real idea of which way to go. I kept moving towards the highway (or at least where I thought the highway was) because I knew I could find my way to the highway, I could get back to the car. If you blow up the map below, you can see where I did a big loop towards the east side of the trail.  I later found that this is actually the route.  It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to go from being marked well to nothing and dump the rider hundreds of yards from a usable trail. I ended up making some wrong turns and did a fire road loop while the sun was setting and clouds were beginning to form overhead.  I did a total of 9 miles for the day and 610 miles on the bike overall.  Here are some pics from the day's ride:

Aerial image of my ride

About to get the Cog dirty again!

Towards the trailhead

Trail markers

This is what most of the trail looks like

Part of the wetter portion of the trail

Balance beam

One of several bridges

Clouds gathering at the end of the ride.

As soon as I took this shot, it began to rain.

Grazing birds eating asphalt

Mounted up and ready to go back to West Palm.

Tread worn down on the Nevegals

A parting shot leaving the park.

600 miles!

11-10-2010
I started out pretty early today and did a lap at Pinehurst in 28:50. That's been my fastest lap going through all the obstacles. I was pretty happy about that. After I finished, I didn't feel too well and I figured it might have something to do with my camelbak water tasting awful and me drinking a bit. You see, if you leave water or gatorade in a camelbak and don't keep it cool or clean it out after every ride, you get nastiness inside it.  I drank a bit of that nastiness, so for future reference, don't drink nasty smelling water/gatorade. 


I was disappointed and knew I'd have to ride a lot tomorrow to get my 600 miles in 3 months. I decided to do some riding at Okeeheelee and felt better soon after. I rode 28 miles today and now have 601 miles on the Monocog. I'm hoping to go to Amelia Earhart park either tomorrow (Veterans Day) or Friday in the late morning/ early afternoon. 

11-11-2010

I cleaned up, lubed, and got the bike set up again for smooth riding.  I had the day off, but I worked and kind of relaxed later in the afternoon by cleaning up my bike.

November coolness rolls into South Florida

11-1-2010

The new month has gotten off to a slow start. I planned on going riding in the morning. Not trusting the interwebs for information, I concluded that the sun should be up 30 minutes before it would be. Lo and behold this morning, guess what happened at 6:45? Yep, that's right, it was still dark. Apparently, my willpower is no match for gravity and planetary orbits and such. So, what to do so early? Go back to sleep of course. By the time I awoke, it was too late to begin a ride in time for work. 

At about 5, I headed out with Jordan to Pinehurst. I did one lap all reds in a little more than 30 minutes. I saw it was nearly 6, getting dark, and about to rain. I begrudgingly headed back to the apartment, but decided to ride a bit at Okeeheelee. A bit in this context is defined as me not being able to see much anymore due to the decreasing light. I got back at about 7:20 with 21 miles for the day and 506 miles on the bike.

11-2-2010

I decided to try to use a cage and water bottle today. I also ordered my avid speed dial 7 levers, which should be in on Friday. I also decided at lunch to clean my bike and relube my chain. The bike hadn’t been cleaned since Texas, so it certainly didn’t hurt to be clean again. The cage and bottle combo worked well today, although I should have probably drank a bit more water before I went for my ride seeing that the bottle is only 24 oz. I rode a fast first lap at Pinehurst at 29:10. My second lap started about 6, as it was getting dark out. I took it easy and was going to focus on the harder, red, rooty portions. I finished in a respectable 33:15. Not fast, but that's not what I was going for. I tried out Jordan's saddle bag, but it was simply too big for what I want. Stuff was flying all around inside it and made a ton of noise. I am really happy with how simple my bike is.  It’s awesome how it makes virtually no noise and I like to keep it that way.

Then rode to Okeeheelee for another 10 miles as the sun was setting and darkness took over. I finished with 21 miles for the day and 527 on the bike.

I am beginning to look at new tires as my Kenda Nevegals are starting to wear. I've used them everywhere and I like them, but I may try something with a little less rolling resistance around Christmas. I priced a headset at about $60 from Jim’s Bicycles in Deerfield. That price is about what others charge, but they will install it for free for me. I called all around the West Palm Area for the Avid Speed Dial 7 brake levers and no one had them in stock. This wasn't surprising, but the salespeople here could learn a little about how to talk to customers. Some shops just told me that they didn't have it. Some offered me something I didn't ask for and only 2 said they could order them and get them to me by Friday. Jim’s was the natural choice as they were the same price and they know who I am. I really like that place even though it's a 45 min drive. I need to find a good shop like that in Texas.

11-3-2010

No ride today. Relaxed a bit and had dinner with Jordan, Jimmy and Everette instead. I'm looking forward to my new levers Friday! By the way fried squash is awesome.

11-4-2010

Rain, so no riding today.

11-5-2010

It rained pretty good last night, but skies were clear all day. I was able to pick up my levers from Jim’s at about 5 pm. Since Jim’s is across from Quiet Waters, I really wanted to ride with the new levers. Jimmy was nice enough to let me borrow his truck so I could ride the park.

The levers are awesome. I felt like they were quite responsive and I know I haven’t adjusted them very well yet, so I'm excited to play around with them a bit. I will say I like my hand position, especially the reach. Quiet Waters was fun even though I got passed by 3 guys. I was puttering along for the most part since I don't know my way around here very well. I did 6 miles and have 533 miles on the bike. I did the trail in about 40 minutes. Not very fast today at all. There's a bit more hills at this park than at Pinehurst. I enjoyed the hills, but I was slipping and sliding around a ton! I didn't like that. I had the biggest problem when I was standing up. I was standing because it's a pretty rocky trail. It's only so much I can enjoy being seated on a trail like this. Once I did sit down, I did get better traction, but I didn't have as much power or comfort. 

 The trail was nice, but very windy and started to get cold.  The low temp was down in the 50's today. Looks like I'll begin looking for some warmer clothes.  I did wear a long sleeve under armor shirt along with my short sleeve.  

11-6-2010

Another Pinehurst ride today. 4 laps. 1st lap 29:15, 2nd lap 30:00, 3rd lap 28:56, 4th lap 30:30.  All reds today again. I have 22 miles on my bike today and 555 overall. I had to make a quick ride back to the apt after Jimmy tore his tire and tube open between laps 2 and 3. There’s a spot at Pinehurst on the west side where there are 2x4s across the trail nailed down.  I’ve seen the nails come up before and since then I’ve been able to avoid the spot.  It looks like Jimmy will need to get a new tube and tire before he can ride again.

I don't think I've ever put so much time and effort into enjoying a sport like this. I absolutely love riding. Even when I'm huffing and puffing down the trail, riding down the street, or doing somewhat boring road rides, it's a great feeling to be hugging the turns and making your bike do exactly what you want it to do.  I know I must be annoying to my wife by talking about riding so often and probably to my friends as well.  I am glad they put up with me though.  I really wish I had started riding again sooner than I did. I have set the 200 mile goal per month for myself, but I am hoping to do much longer rides than what I have so far starting in the spring and summer of 2011.  I am contemplating even doing the Hotter Than Hell 100 on the Monocog in Mineral Wells next year. 

11-7-2010

No ride today. I cleaned up the apartment and my room today. It was quite the mess. Were making chili at Heather and Trevors tonight. We’ll see how everyone likes spicy chili. 

It seems like everyone enjoyed both the spicy and the not so spicy chili. There was none left at the end of the evening, which may be a first at their house. I'm looking forward to some long rides this week at Pinehurst and then Miami /Ft Lauderdale next weekend. I had a good time watching the Walking Dead at 10 on AMC.  This show rocks!

11-8-2010

11 more miles today. I hit Pinehurst a little after 5. I was only able to do one lap because it was getting dark. I had one of my best laps today and I was really happy with the trail conditions except for the sand. I really don't like sand. There's just not a lot of fun in going through it. I changed my music from just Mumford & Sons to a mix from my collection based upon Cage the Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked". I was hauling through the trail today and ended my lap at 29:28. I rode around a bit to make it 11 miles and 566 miles total. I also got my new bottle opener in today. 

11-9-2010

I met Jordan at Pinehurst today after getting a late start. He had already done one lap by the time I got there. I rode one lap off and on with Jordan and he had a few problems with his bike.

The first time we stopped his headset was loose. The second time we stopped I noticed he was having a lot of noise coming from his rear derailleur. It just didn't look right. He was able to finish the trail, but we headed back before it got worse. It was a leisurely 7 mile ride in 31:30 minutes. 

We took his bike to the shop he purchased it at to see what was wrong. Apparently, he was able to bend his derailleur so badly the shop said it had “exploded”. He decided to wait to get it repaired till he got back since he's leaving in 2 days. 573 miles total on the bike now.

October

Ok, so I didn't update my blog for almost 2 months.  Why you may ask?  It all began with my trip to Texas in September.  I got behind posting and I was trying to figure out a way to put up all of these days of riding.  I put all my notes about riding in my iPhone and copy the notes to the blog.  It may not be the most efficient way of doing things, but it helps keep the notes with me whenever I want to look at it and doesn't depend on an internet connection.  I got an app to blog with and will try that out soon to see if I can post really quickly after a ride.  With that being said, here are my October rides:

10-1-2010 
I changed Jordan's pedals before all three of us left for the trail around 5:15.  I also tightened my chain because it felt loose and sloppy yesterday, aired up the tires to about 35 lbs and it was perfect. I rode the trails at Pinehurst 2x. First time by myself basically. Jimmy was ahead of me somehow in the first 3/4 of a mile. I was able to finish in 29 min. I was very pleased about this. I talked to Jordan and Jimmy after and we did one more lap. I tried to show them the way around the reds, but we became separated about 1/2 way through.

10-2-2010
Markham it was today! Markham is a county park in Broward County, FL.  It's map can be found here. Wow! I can't tell you how awesome this trail is. It gives a lot of variety. I did 11 hard miles today. It was a beating in some places going up and going down, especially the one called Crime Scene. The concrete hill slowed me down pretty quickly and I wasn't able to make it to the top, so I walked up. I figured the downhill wouldn't be any more difficult than the others I had done, but if you don't pay attention, it certainly is. You see, I was very focused on the portion directly in front of me and I needed to look ahead a bit more. I didn't see there were 3 drops and I came down a bit fast, grabbed my brakes and the rear of my bike pivoted to the right and pinned my right leg between the now backwards facing frame and my handlebars. I was hopping down the hill hoping against hope that I wouldn't get seriously hurt. I fell off the hill and trail eventually and was relatively unscathed, just a scratch from my cog. I felt very lucky in my opinion and it made me more focused for the test of the trail system. 11 miles today and Total miles to date 276.

I started riding with Jimmy and Jordy beginning with Fishing Hole Loop, then to Armadillo, Redback (first ladder section), Traverse, Supercross, Eviction, Outback, Upback, Puma Trail, Outback Extension (part of), Double Cross, Crime Scene, Jetski Hill, Twisted Trail, Lost Ring, Bermuda Triangle, Washing Machine, Deep Dark Forest, Rock Garden, Area 51, Pipeline, Grassy Knoll. I think I rode Alligator Alley, Big Gulp, and Black Snake. This was a fantastic day to ride and I had way more fun than I thought I would.

10-3-2010
Dead. That's how I felt today. I slept till 11 and I was exhausted on the trail. I made simple mistakes. I couldn't break the funk i was in. My legs felt like jello. I kept a good pace till 3/4 and I was done. I didn't want to ride after the first lap. I think yesterdays hard ride got to me today. I couldn't keep my pace no matter what I tried. I did the lap at Pinehurst in 32 min. Slow for me. I headed for the apartment. 

Suddenly I felt a ton better. I was out of the heat of the woods and into fresh air. I could make my legs move again. I decided to try Okeeheelee and let my legs spin up. I wanted to get up to 10 miles, but I ended up feeling good enough to do 26. That's 302 total on the bike.

10-4-2010
No ride today. Jordy and I went to a bike shop and he got a pair of SPD bike shoes, a fork mount for the truck, and ordered some grips for his bike. His new rear tire and pedals should arrive Wednesday. 

Jordan and I spent till about 8:15 getting the bikes mounted in the back of Jimmys truck. This should make traveling a bit easier on the bikes.

10-5-2010
Longest ride yet today. I rode Pinehurst 3x with ride times of 29:10, 28:54, and 28:35. I pushed hard today. I then rode to Okeeheelee and did another 14 miles. All told 28 miles today and 330 total. My legs were getting tired on the last part of the ride and the seat became less than comfortable after 18 miles. This has happened almost every time I have gone about 20 miles. Maybe the Rocket V saddle will be happening sooner than later.

I felt great today. I'm glad I rested my legs yesterday. I also know I need to regrease and take a look at the headset. It's been getting loose alot and has some sand in it.

10-6-2010
Longest day is followed by pitifully short day. 1 lap at Pinehurst at 31:14 and finished at Okeeheelee with 11 miles for the day. 341 total. My back was killing me this afternoon. My lower back just wouldn't stop hurting on the trail. As soon as I got off, it felt better, but not great. Decided to rest it a bit tonight in hopes of feeling better tomorrow for a good ride with Jordan and his new stuff which I am putting on tonite.

10-7-2010
This was a very early start to the day. I mean early because I was up till 5 am with putting my bike back together. You see, at 10 pm, I headed out to find grease to relube my headset. And of course, I wasn't tired at 11 when I got back, so I did the sensible thing and cleaned my bike by wiping down and relubing every part. The thing is with a bike headset is that you really need to know what order you take things out of as well as their orientation on the bike. I ended up putting the fork on 3 or 4 times because I couldn't remember which way the bearings faced in the headset.

I also took apart the front ring and put it back on a number of times to get the chainline correct. So after watching all my recorded shows and a movie, I realized it was 3:30 am. I was finished with most of the bike clean and lube, but I had to clean up my mess still. That took about an hour, and then I needed to shower and clean myself up, so I got into bed around 5 and got to sleep around 5:30 or 6.

The good thing is I learned a lot about my bike today,  but was a little too exhausted to ride.

10-8-2010
I headed out with Jordy at about 5 to go to Pinehurst. He and I split at Okeeheelee so he could try out his new pedals and get used to them a bit. I rode 3 laps at Pinehurst today. First lap was 28:54, second was all blues and I got 16:09 and third lap was probably 30-31 minutes. I'm not sure because I didn't start my stopwatch when I started riding. 

I finished with 14 miles on the bike today for a total of 355 miles on the bike.  I had a bit of lower back pain after going over a lot of roots. Hopefully, this goes away soon.

10-9-2010
First and only lap 30:25 at Pinehurst. I met and talked to Dennis about his Surly Pugsley. Holy crap! Those tires are gigantic. They certainly do pay off in the sand though. My biggest issue this week is slogging though the sand. 2.2 Kenda Nevegals just don't cut it, when it's this dry. 

He mentioned he helped clear West Delray Regional Park today and I'm excited about going tomorrow morning with Jordan. I did some adjustments before the ride with pushing my saddle forward a bit and angling my brake levers up a bit too. Seems to have helped my lower back and maybe my thumbs. Dennis showed me some "sand mountains" close by and I was amazed at how tall they were. They were at tree top level. Pretty neat looking out over them. I will have to bring a camera sometime. I rode back towards the apartment and did 2 loops around the neighborhood for 12 miles for the day and 367 total. 

10-10-2010
This was a very short ride today, but at a great new place, West Delray Regional Park (click for map) off 441 and Atlantic. This trail was helped immensely by the clearing done yesterday by FORCE members. This trail needs to be ridden soon to bed the trail in. I took it slow because I had never ridden it completely. It's not the most well marked, so I highly recommend that riders take it slow at least the first time and probably the second as well. The trail seems to be right at 2.75 miles how I rode it. I'm pretty sure I made the correct turns in the right places, but with very few markings, it's difficult at times to navigate. Going slower means you're probably not going to clear all the obstacles the first time. It takes some momentum to get through the roots and rocks and logs. Just take note and attack the second time. The grass needs to get bedded down to make the trail more rideable. The trail seems far removed from the urban jungle once you get inside the overhead areas. I had some doubts as to how this trail would turn out and I can tell you I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was.

10-11-2010
Today was Quiet Waters with Jordan.  We did 1 lap, 7 miles. Fun little park. Almost all of it was in the open, so it got pretty hot. After riding, I headed across the street to where I purchased my bike, Jim's Bicycles.  I talked to JT and he was happy to help me get my bottom bracket tightened up.  No charge, of course for this, which was awesome.  I asked about a new headset and how much to put it on.  Again, no charge.  This is place is awesome.

We got back to the apt around 5:30, so I headed to Pinehurst, did a lap in 29:25. I was happy with that, so I headed to Okeeheelee to finish the ride with 30 miles on the bike for the day and I have 400 on the bike overall. Yay.

10-12-2010
Jordan and I headed to baseball game in Tampa to watch the Rangers clinch the American League Division Series. On to the Yankees! I decided to go back to Texas with Jordan to surprise my wife and my family at the end of the week.

10-13-2010
Work work work and then played some Medal of Honor on 360. Fun, but I'm tired.

10-14-2010
Jordan and I left at 2:30 pm for Texas on a surprise trip home. Took about 21 hours with Jordy. We brought our bikes. I'm excited to try some trails with the Monocog. 

10-15-2010
We arrived at 10:30 am. I am exhausted. I drove about 12 hours today. Jamie almost shot me. Yes, surprising my wife is not a good idea. Went to the fair with Eric, Sean, and my wonderful wife. Legs feet and brain were tired. Very very tired.

10-16-2010
I rode River Legacy once for 7 miles. Much better flow and way drier. Fast and fun. They even put in a teeter totter! Jamie worked today. I picked her up at 10 PM and went to Tim and Michelle's. We enjoyed Katy Perry's "talents" as an actress on SNL. We introduced Jamie to foosball and played some Scattegories till 2 am. 407 miles total.

10-17-2010
River Legacy 1st lap 34 min 6.6 miles. not too shabby. Average speed 11.56 mph. Passed a bunch of people a couple times because I took longer routes. Funtown is fun. I do want to know the flow in this part, but I think it's just a play area and not a singletrack part f the trail. I hurried last mile to keep peeps behind me. 2nd lap was 6.5 miles (only did one time through Funtown. Had to stop once to adjust brake and found out later that I had to adjust because I didn't tighten the chain tensioner enough. Had to stop a second time for loose headset. Felt slower overall, but finished with a slightly faster pace. 3rd lap was 6.5 miles in 33:11. I saw a copperhead on the side of the trail and it freaked me out a bit. I bunny hopped as I went by because it started to coil up as I got closer. I stopped once to help a guy find his way out of the trail and another as kids were playing on the teeter totter. Finished with 20 miles for the day and 427 on the bike. This bike is awesome!

10-18-2010
I switched it up and went for a ride on my road bike to River Legacy and did the paved trails 2x and back to house. 40 miles. Fun ride. Much faster pace than I'm used to.

10-19-2010 to 10-21-2010
No riding. Shoulder was sore. Added disc brakes to Monocog.

10-22-2010
Did River Legacy off road trail 1st lap 34 min. Took it easy and made a few wrong turns. Oh well. 2nd lap 33:30. Still slow, but ok. Arm feels better and stronger now. 13 miles today. 440 total on the Monocog.

10-23-2010
Maybe the shortest ride so far. I waited a bit to ride to see if I could ride with my brother and eventually got to River Legacy trail at about 1:30. The trail was closed, but looked fine. I waited a few minutes and saw about 5 riders go ahead of me. I got my bike off the rack and got ready to ride. I got 1/8 of a mile into the trail when I heard and felt tons of rain coming down. I hurried back to the Jeep to get out of the rain and hoped the rain would pass quickly. It didn't pass, and I headed to Taco Bueno instead. Combo number 5, simply fantastic. No real ride, but I did see 2 other 29ers at the trailhead. One was a rigid EMD 9 and the other was another rigid that I couldn't remember. 

10-24-2010
I got to enjoy a leisurely ride with my wife on out road bikes at river legacy (paved). We rode 8.8 miles and there was tons of water and mud on the trail. I was surprised to see how much Jamie's bike was covered with mud between the fork and the tire. It basically kept her from getting any fun out of her ride. I had a lot of fun and I'm lucky that my wife enjoys going riding with me.

10-25-2010
Jordan and I drove back to Florida. 21 hours of driving. I got gas in my mouth after stopping in Mississippi for gas. Even sour patch kids do not get rid of the taste.

10-26-2010
After arriving in Palm Beach at 5:30 and getting to sleep at 6:30, I got up at 9:30 to look at my computer all day. I'm lucky the guys I work with like to ride, because it spurred me to get a quick ride in this afternoon. I did one lap at Pinehurst. It was the first time with the new brakes here and it was great. After spinning fast in Texas, I felt much quicker riding here. I didn't push too hard and I completed the lap in 29:11. Pretty decent since I missed several obstacles that I normally fly through. I think being able to stretch my legs a bit in Texas helped a lot. I was doing 15 mph on the paved paths on the way to the trail without any trouble at all. The brakes seem (yes, I know it's in my head) to make the bike lighter up front and more flickable. I rode back to the apartment and around the neighborhood and finished with 10 miles for the day, 450 on the Monocog.

10-27-2010
7 mile ride this morning at 7:30. It was a slow ride at 36:10 because it was so wet on the trail. Every log was super slick. It was better than laying in bed though. My bike is covered with sand.  It's everywhere! I was hoping to ride in the afternoon, but after finally finally finishing an 6 month project today, I was toast, so I'll try to ride twice tomorrow. 457 miles total.

10-28-2010
I was going to ride this morning, but slept late. I rode in the afternoon at Pinehurst for 7 miles. I took all the really really rooty portions this time. I finished in 33:15. I also met some people coming at me on the trail and let them know they were going the wrong way. I decided to take it easy after being behind them for awhile. I came upon a woman and her husband that were just getting back into riding after her knee surgery. I was pretty sweaty after getting done. I miss the speed and smoothness of river legacy. Pinehurst is great because it's right next to the apt, but it's difficult to pass people here and the roots slow down the flow quite a bit. I may start doing a red loop blue loop pattern to get my legs spinning more. The bike is much cleaner today after riding than it was yesterday morning. 464 miles on the Monocog.

10-29-2010
It rained till 3 today. The ground is too soaked to ride. Sadness. I will be catching up on tv tonight.

10-30-2010
Pinehurst 4x. Pretty tired after. I came up behind 3 people in laps 1,2 and 4. I kept my lap times at 30 and 31 minutes for the first 3 laps and 33 min for my final lap. I also did the more difficult red sections and will be riding through those from now on, or at least attempting to ride through them. It was 21 miles of riding and I was out for nearly 3 hours this afternoon.  Quite a ride for me.  I now have 485 miles on the Monocog.  I suspect I will make my 600 miles by November 13th, but will not make 800 miles on December 13th because I will be back in Texas quite a bit.


10-31-2010
Happy Halloween.  Unfortunately, no ride today.  The weather was nice, but when I went to the store this afternoon, my knees didn't feel great when I was crouched down looking for something in the bottom shelf.  So, I gave it a rest today and will be ready to ride in the morning hopefully.  I probably could have gone out today, but I didn't want to risk it and get myself hurt.  Yesterdays trail ride was pretty rough on me, so I took it easy, updated the blog and had some nachos.

Trip to Texas, Nicole and the rest of September

9-16 Unfortunately, no ride today. I was pretty busy with work and getting ready to get back  home.  I am hoping to get an early start tomorrow and get on the road bike and ride to and around river legacy. From what I read on the DORBA website, the MTB trail is closed after the rains and flooding last week.

9-17 to 9-19 Crazy busy at home!!! We had Jamie's birthday weekend and getting the house back in order.

9-20 I rode 25 miles at River Legacy in Arlington. I was surprised the trail was open after the rain that had flooded the area the previous week. The ground was tacky for the most part. Most of the trail was flat and fast. There were a few sections that had some hills and drops. Some of these were too muddy to ride or were completely under water. I rode the off road trail twice for 13 miles. Then, I went to the far end of the paved trail and back for another 12 miles. I pushed hard and kept my cadence above 100 for 3 min at a time. It was lots of fun. I was left exhausted in the evening after I cleaned up and ate. 

9-21 to 9-26 No rides. I worked a ton instead and had some rain come down which made trails closed over the weekend. Jamie and I went to Brownwood on Sunday.

9-27 finally got to go to Northshore in Grapevine, TX. Wow! The trail is completely different from years ago when I rode it. It seems a lot more technical than I remember on the west side towards twin coves. I began at Rockledge and kept a good pace for the first 6 miles. The next 4.5 were slow going with lots of climbs that didn't look possible from the bottom. I don't see how this trail could be done from a single speed unless it was geared really low. I wish I was on a 29er because it seems easier to go down hills and drops on instead of my 26. I fell over the handlebars several times. I called Jamie and had her pick me up at Twin Coves because I had told her I'd only be riding 2.5 hours. Next time, I'll plan for being out here longer and be ready for the tougher climbs. Also I will go to Murrell Park and start from there instead of Rockledge, so I won't be paying to enter the park or a parking fee.

9-28 to 9-29 I came back to FL to be greeted by Tropical Storm Nicole. It was too rainy to ride the trails.

9-30 I rode Pinehurst for a total of 16 miles total for the day. 3 ass kicking laps for 12.3 off-road. I'm beat. I weighed myself before I left and when I got back. Apparently, I can sweat 3.4 lbs off in 2 hrs. Now I'm super hungry and headed to the store to get some food and put some pounds on again.  

When i was home I checked Motion-X GPS data vs my bike computer and it consistently showed less miles than my computer. At River Legacy, I compared my mileage vs the markers on the trail. My computer was right on, even a little low, so I think that the Motion-X app is great for basic following a path or keeping track of where you were, but for bicycling I don't think it samples as many times as it should.  I think it may be a way to keep the battery from being drained as quickly. The paths viewed after the ride looks to straighten out some turns and curves my wheels don't miss.

Also, I am way more confident on downhills with a 29er than a 26. I have had no feelings like I would go over my bars like I actually was doing in Texas.  I can't wait to ride my Monocog in Texas!