Sunday, March 26, 2006

no way!!!

The Terry Larrazabal Bikefest has a special guest for 2006 - trials and mountain bike legend Hans "No Way" Rey.

After the ride I hurried over to Rockwell to catch his demonstration, and boy, did he put on a show. I'm at a loss for words. Suffice to say, even at age 40, Hans Rey still has the skillz!

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and here are some snaps I took..enjoy!







More pics here

a ride a day...

after a layoff of two weekends it was time to hit the trails once again. Saturday dawned with much apprehension - after all, I wasn't sure about my state of fitness after that hiatus. Rode down in Sta Rosa and the trails were bone dry - almost powdery in some parts of the climbs, making traction quite tricky. the Tingle's BB developed a clicking sound early on the ride, and I suspected a busted bearing (OH NO!). The ride went pretty well, which surprised me. It wasn't uneventful though, as Toffee's Intense Tracer lost a bolt in the drive side rear pivot. NOT GOOD. He was lucky that the frame wasn't damaged further. We were able to jury rig a temporary bolt which fitted perfectly. But still, what a bummer. Mannito (henceforth now known as Manitou) took a spill as well, when a wayward branch clipped his bar ends. He strained a chest muscle but he is excited about the imminent arrival of his Santa Cruz Heckler. Niiiiice.

Headed to All Terra to have the BB checked and all it needed was some tightening and lovin' grease. Elvin and Dom were there and asked me about the trails in Sta Rosa - how to navigate them, etc. They said they needed a trail guide for Sunday, so I, ermm, volunteered my services.

I was surprised to be riding in a big group - we were 12 riders all in all, but it was fun. I usually ride in a gang of four, which is a manageable number. I told them we'll take it easy coz I "ain't got no gears". hehe. The same tree that tagged Manitou caught Dom as well, despite warnings passed down through the group. Hmmm, maybe it's time to cut it down to size?

So two days, two rides (albeit same location), and am none the worse for wear. It's good to be back.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

the Witch Doctor



Here's my friend Mickey's 2005 Voodoo Sobo (Sobo means Soldier Deity), fresh off the mech's work area in our
local bikeshop (pardon the quality, only had a camera phone at the
moment):

Build details:

16" Voodoo Sobo frame
Manitou R7 Super 80 fork
Avid Juicy 5 brakes
SRAM X7 drivetrain
WTB Speed Disc Comp wheels
WTB Motoraptor Race 2.1 tires
Titec goodies all around

Geometry is great, and riding position is kinda upright (for now)
since Mickey's a newbie rider. He'll be ripping the local singletrack
soon though!

Labels:

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

shit happens

Went for my usual ride last Saturday, hitting the trails in Sta Rosa with Polly. As I did my morning ritual I noticed things were, ummm, runnier than normal. I thought it was a one-off thing, and drove south to meet the rest of the guys.

As I tried to put air in the Tingle's front tire, it deflated completely! Seems like something was wrong with the valve and it needed much higher pressure than what a hand pump could provide to stay closed. Luckily the nearby shop had a floor pump and that remedied the situation. Got myself a spare tube just in case...though I normally ride with two spares...I remember giving one to Ramon for the race...hmmmm...

The ride started out pretty normally - in fact, I felt good despite the heat. After the first set of dirt climbs, I waited for the rest of the pack and noticed my stomach was feeling a bit queasy. And I felt dehydrated, despite me downing a sports drink and sipping religiously from my hydration pack...

As the guys caught up I decided to dismount and rest for a while. They asked if I was OK and I recounted my early morning "experience"...we agreed that I would turn back and head for home, while they complete the ride.

Heading back I felt real bummed, but I was worried about my stomach. When I got home, my health quickly deteriorated - with feverish chills, lack of appetite and non-stop visits to the bathroom.

I slept for most of the day and night. Only getting up to go to the toilet and to replenish my lost fluid. A classic case of food poisoning.

Sunday morning had me throwing up. Funny thing is, I felt a lot better after puking my guts out. Tried to have a banana and some super-diluted Gatorade after that, and it kinda helped. Dinner was my first bowl of real food - consisting of chicken arroz caldo.

Monday night was my first go at "solid" food. And the fever has also left me. Tuesday was a lot better. And I even dared go to work earlier today. So, well on the way to recovery...BUT

...there goes my preparatin for the TLBF Singlespeed Race. There also goes my timetable for picking up the Monkey!

Oh well, some things aren't meant to be I guess. At any rate, I do get some time off work AND the bike, which may prove to be a good thing. Can't wait to start riding again!

Friday, March 03, 2006

it's a friday


and am at work, daydreaming about this weekend's rides...hold on, I've been doing that since Wednesday!