Well, I finally bought a Mountain Bike, Sept 2000. It's a Gary Fisher, Big Sur. All the bike shops are having a summer end sale. The most you can save is somewhere between $50 and $100. My plan was to buy a really cheap bike and use it for winter riding. I test rode bike from $129 to $3300 at different shops. It did not take long for me to determine that I would not be happy with a really cheap bike. Poor shifting, heavy, bad components and parts that can't be replaced (like the chain-ring). Also some were on the ugly side. (See update at the bottom)
My first ride was 45 miles. I was more tired after the ride than I think I would have been on my road bike. Of course it was very windy today, up to 30mph. Two of my grandsons (Matthew and Charlie) took me to an off road trail to test the bike. It was VERY challenging with lots of steep up hills and down hills, winding path through the forest, and built in jumps. You also had to duck under and around tree branches, bushes and blackberry vines.
I have put the bike to it's first real off road test, my second ride. I rode 65 miles with 25 of them being off road. Once I learned to relaxed, it was great fun. The bike did great. I must say there is a lot to learn about off road riding.
Trip to Moab, UT - April 2001
I tried to plan this trip so both my wife (who does not ride) and I could have some fun. For me the trip was to do my first real mountain bike riding and to ride in four new states. The new states were NV, UT, CO, and WY. I now have ridden in 27 states. For Lois it was to stop at as many Wal Mart stores as possible. For both of us was a stop in Fort Collins, CO to see our next door neighbors, Pete and Pat, from when we both lived in Torrance, CA.
Our route was a big circle covering 8 states, OR, ID, NV, UT, CO, WY, MT, ID, and WA. Total miles driven was 3332. We were gone for 16 days and much to Lois' delight we stopped at 16 Wal Marts. On the trip we had a little of everything sunny and warm, snow, rain, hail, cold, and high wind.
My friend, David who lives in Minneapolis, MN and rode coast-to-coast will me in 1998 will meet us in Moab. He will fly to Las Vegas and then ride to Moab. After the ride he will take to long way to Salt Lake City and fly home. Also meeting us in Moab was Keith and Nancy who I met while riding RAGBRAI in 1998. New to me was John and Jan also from MN. Since this is a biking website I will only cover the riding part of this trip.
4-23 to Moab, UT. We woke to clouds but it stayed dry all day. On the way we (Lois) found Wal Mart number 5 and 6. If you every go this way take Hwy. 6/191, south of Salt Lake City, to Moab. It's a very beautify drive. Again we switched motels, from Motel-6 to Best Western, not a better price but more in town and a better room. This was good for Lois who would not be riding all day as I did. After checking in we headed for the campground to meet up with our friends from Minneapolis, MN. They invited us to have dinner with them. During dinner we make plans for the next days ride. Since this was my first real Mt. Bike ride and the others were not pros, we decided to take a "Giggle" ride. The name comes from the book "Rider Mel's Mt. Bike Guide to Moab." "Giggle," off road fun for the whole family. The book also rates the ride for Grunt Factor (physical difficulty), Techno Factor (technical difficulty) and Fear Factor (how scary, exposure to cliff edges, nasty rock drops and severity of slope). We decided on the Gemini Bridges ride. This ride was rated (1 the easiest to 10 the hardest).
- Grunt Factor = 3
- Techno Factor = 3
- Fear Factor = 4
4-24 Moab. We woke to a great day, sunny, blue skies, and warm (high around 78 degrees). The ride started 12 miles north of town. Everyone took a lunch so we could make a day of it. The ride, round trip, was 17 miles and some of us would ride back to Moab. Making the total ride for the day 35 miles (David and I did a few extra miles once we got back to town). We rode on a jeep road with mostly firm dirt but lots of rocks and holes to keep you on your toes. There was one pretty steep hill with very loose dirt and rocks. By the way I will find out on tomorrow's ride that making a tough up or down hill depends or more than skill. There are so many factors and each one must be right or you end up crashing and/or walking. As we approached Gemini Bridges I could see the two bridges, really arches, over the canyon below. The canyon below was beautify as was the whole area. We rode over one of the bridges and had lunch. It was so clear you could see forever. On top was a plaque in memory of a guy who drove his jeep over the edge. It said, he died doing what he like doing the best. I wish I knew what happened. By the way it's was a long way down. The ride back to town was fun as it was on a paved road and mostly downhill.
4-25 Moab. Today would be the big day. We would ride Slick Rock the ride that made Moab famous.
- Grunt Factor = 10
- Techno Factor = 10
- Fear Factor = 10
This ride is know as a "Classic." The ride is 13 miles of the steepest ups and downs I have ever seen and all on solid rock. Some of the names given to a place are:
- The Big Drop
- Fried Egg Hill
- Snake Alley
- Loose The Juice
- Testosterone Poisoning
- Stairway to Heavin
- Assault with a Lively Weapon
- Natural Selection
As I rode along I soon noticed that almost everyone who either passed me or were coming from the other direction were in their twenties. Of our group of 6 only four decided to try this ride, David, TOB, John and Jan. All of us were over 50. Jan took several pretty hard spills. Her legs were a mess but she keep going. There was this group of three "hot shots" who we saw on several occasions. On one steep up hill two would make it while the other one would take a spill and have to finish the hill walking. On the next hill another one would spill and have to walk it, and so it went. Their speed on the down hills and the skill this group of three showed was awesome. It was very obvious to me that I did not have the skill to ride the really hard spots.
The route on the Slick Rock was marked with white dashes. I soon learned that the real hard spots has a yellow dot in the middle of the white dash (it looked like a fried egg). When I saw a yellow dot I would slow down and most often get off the bike and walk the hill, either up or down. I must say as the ride went on I either got more brave, became more stupid, or developed more skill, as I found myself riding more and walking less. I did not take a spill, but I did come close several times. As you might guess a spill on rock is not fun. For the younger hot shot rides it seems like a little blood was a sign of a successful ride.
It took us 3.5 hours to do the 13 miles. To sum it up, it was very hard work but great fun. The challenge was what it's all about.
4-26 Moab. Today was a non riding day. We toured and hiked Canyonland and Arches National Parks. Again to was sunny, blue skies, and warm. If you can do only one I would suggest seeing/hiking Arches. I guess I say this because I grew up in the West and have seen many canyons including the Grand Canyon.
All to soon it was time to say good-bye to my riding friends and move on. I hope to return to Moab as there many more rides to do.
Other rides along the way were in Wells, NV, Eagle, CO and Casper, WY. The Well's ride was short due to a very strong wind and being very cold. The ride in Eagle was up a canyon along side Brush Creek. After about 10 miles I reach the snow level and it started to get cold. I headed back to the warm motel. In Casper I found a nice bike path along the North Platte River.
Same Stats:
- Wal Marts visited = 16
- Money found = $6.15
- Bandannas found = 2
- Total number of states I have now visited (lifetime) 32
- Total number of states I have now ridden in (lifetime) 27
- Miles driven 3332
We kept track of how many different states license plates we saw = 49 (the only one we did not see was Hawaii). Of course we were in Hawaii just 2 months ago so does that count?
Sekai - Winter bike - May 2002
I finally found and bought my Winter bike. The neighbor across street was about to load several bikes into his van, so I walked over to see what he was doing. He said they were for sale. So I looked them over and one caught my eye. I asked how much did he want for it. He said $25 and I said sold. I did look it over and noticed it did need some work but for $25 it was a good deal. So here is my Winter bike.
The bike is a Sekai 1000, cro moly butted frame, Suntour AR components, came with fenders, 10 speed (which have changed to 12 speed). While the gearing is higher than I would like the bike is just right for Winter riding. I don't worry about getting it 100% clean after a ride. I just wash it off and put some oil on the chain. Riding is the rain is now fun. All in all a very good buy.