Going up...

the ride's singletrack soundtrack:

All Mixed Up - The Red House Painters



So this is how I look when my heartrate is on the redline, going up a hill. This shot (taken by Jed Santos) was taken during last weekend's ride at La Mesa - and I was part of a 10-rider gaggle led by King. There were several other groups of riders too, and it was a great day to ride and enjoy the lush scenery - as well as contribute to the preservation of the area by paying the entrance fee.

This was the last big hill before heading back to the parking lot. Vic and I broke off from the group and did some exploring :)

Did feel the effects of my efforts later in the day, though. But it was well worth it. Cleaned all the climbs, and Spanky with the Maxxis Ignitors worked like a charm - well, mostly. Back at the parking lot I decided to check all the bolts on the bike (lesson learned!) and as I torqued down on my crankbolts, one of them snapped. It was a Salsa one to boot. Should've known better. Never run alloy chainring bolts on a singlespeed. Luckily All Terra had some stainless steel bolts and spacers for sale. I duly grabbed a set of 10, and replaced all 4 alloy bolts on my crank. Problem solved, with spares to boot.

The Mother of all 29er FS Shootouts

Looks like Francois and the rest of the MTBR crew have outdone themselves on this one.

A heeeyuuuuge 29er full-suspension shootout. Lots of bikes, lots of riders, lots of reading!

Here's what they tested (in alphabetical order):

Astix Monk
Ellsworth Evolve
Intense Spyder
Lenz Sport Leviathan
Niner R.I.P.9
Titus Racer X 29er
Van Dessel Jersey Devil FS
Ventana El Rey

Personally, I think I'd go for the Ventana. Get all the big wheel action here.

It's great to see the bike industry embracing this "new idea". We'll be seeing more 29er-specific components in the near future, that's for sure - wheelsets, tires and forks to be exact. Now, I wonder how long it will take for this movement to reach Philippine shores ;)

Bike Lust!!!

After yesterday's round of maintenance, today was time to give the bike some good ol' rubbin and lovin!

Before anything else, I hadn't gotten anything for Spanky this Yuletide season yet - hmmm let's see...can't upgrade the drivetrain (no gears here!); chain is still ok; brakes are fine (got spare pads...heck, I even have a spare set of brakes from the Tingle!); handlebars are fine, grip tape is perfect; new saddle! I wanted one, but all the local shops are out of white leather saddles for some reason...hmmm...I got it!

Carbon Fibre Bar-end Plugs. Yep. I know, I know, it's a cosmetic upgrade, but it's a subtle touch hehe

After installing the plugs, it was time to give the bike a good wipe-down of Pedro's Bike Lust. Right down to the rims and spokes. Lovely shine.

Oh, I also did a number on my brother's FS rig. As you can see in the background.



And for good measure, I also did his Dahon SpeedPro.



What can I say, I guess I love bikes!

How can I forget - it's also the last day of 2006! If you're looking for a retrospective, well, just click away at the links underneath THE TRAIL, on the right.

Powder and Lotion

Yes, it may be a referral to massage parlors and sauna baths (hmmm, that may be a good post-ride idea!)...but in my case, it was my bike that needed some post-ride pampering...

Earlier today, Polly, Jay and I rode in Sta. Rosa - and we all agreed on an early take off time of 730am. I woke up early enough, and had half a mind to wear tights, instead of my normal bib shorts, underneath my baggies. The weather's been pretty cool lately too. A quick peek outside my window for a weather check (ala groundhog), and spotted a glimmer of sunlight. Nah, real men don't wear tights hehe

The farther I drove south, the greyer the skies were. In fact, by the time I parked at Paseo, it was drizzling pretty strongly. Got out of the car to unrack Spanky, and darnit, it was chilly and breezy too! I should've worn tights.

Polly and Jay arrived soon after and we pushed off - the drizzle stopped and we had perfect riding conditions, that is, until we hit the 3nd climb of what they call "cardiac hill". It seems that land development has started to creep into the familiar trails here. What was once a dirt-road climb has now been widened by bulldozers - not a big problem really, but our concern is that since the construction company had NOT steamrollered the soil to compact it, it all turns into a muddy mess when it starts to rain. And so it did when we hit the third climb. I should've worn tights.

We took a breather at the bukohan and that's when the skies really opened up. We decided to just stick to the main trails as most of the plantation dirt roads would either be too muddy or rutted to ride through. We resumed riding when the rain stopped, whilst the fog came rolling in. Nice! (sorry no photos of that - too much moisture in the air ya know).

We bombed down the fire road, headed for Duck Trail, and I was all over the place for some strange reason. Steering wasn't as responsive as I remember and I was getting a free arm workout thanks to the rocky descent. Before cutting into duck trail I decreased my tire pressure a bit, which seemed to help my traction woes.




Yes, Jay, the sun is out.

Halfway through Duck I got stuck in a rut - literally. I had to bail to the left, slo-mo style. Got a bruised shin for my trouble and I was puzzled as to why the Monkey was going all squirrelly on me. Hmmm. Not even tights could've changed that bit.

After the ride I decide to do some maintenance on the bike:

1) swap tires from my Kenda Klaw XTs to my Maxxis Ignitors
Hence the powder - it helps stop the inner tube from sticking to the tire casing. Also:

2) Suss out that damn slow leak in my rear tire
Finally found the culprit - a smaller-than-a-needle sized sliver of something was causing the leak.

3) Take care of that dry saddle
Wet rides and getting sun dried is hell on leather saddles, and my old WTB still has a few years left on it. Hell, it's got titanium rails too. So I slather on some lotion to get it back to its softness, and add some leather conditioner for good measure. Decided to grease the seatpost too...but

4) Siezed seatpost!
It won't come off! Try as I might, it wouldn't budge. Good thing my bro has a spray that helps loosen siezed bolts and stuff. A spritz and a few minutes later, I got the bugger off. Note to self: never use lithium grease (the white stuff) anywhere on the bike.

5) Figure out handling gremlins
I think I got that sorted out too. It seems I over-compensated and rotated the bars downwards too much after my close encounter during the last ride - funny how a degree or two can affect a bike's handling.

So the bike's tip-top, well, mechanically at least. That's alright, coz tomorrow, I'm getting all intimate on it with some Bike Lust.

James Brown, 1928-2006

I know it's not quite bicycling-related (though sometimes his tunes do play in my head when sweeping thru singletrack or huffing up a climb), but the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, passed away Christmas Day.

Here are some quotes from The Man:

"I don't really care what people think, ... I just do my own thing. ... I like being loud and letting people know I'm there.”

“I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know.”

“My expectations of other people, I double them on myself.”

and finally...

“The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing”

Come to think of it, when was the last time you danced? When was the last time I danced?

How about now? Jazz and Beyond has a podcast that pays homage to the late, great one.

Get on the good foot!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE IN INTERNET-LAND!

ChriSStmaSS riding!

So today King, JM and myself decided to squeeze in a quick ride in Maarat. Route was Ka Tobias - Yes/No - Ka Vergel and back to Ka Tobias, and we took off at 7:45am with perfect December weather - a cool breeze blowing in despite the morning sun.

It was the first real trail ride for JM's Seven Sola, and what better venue than the varied terrain that Maarat offers. We turned into Yes/No after the initial climb and the rolling terrain was a blast to ride. We rested a bit to take some photos, before continuing the descent and the subsequent hike-a-bike down, and up, some really rutted trails (thanks to the rains and the frequent use of the area by dirt-bikers). Altogether a good ride with around 20+km of mileage.

Funny that this ride had it's share of close and not-so-close calls: JM took a spill when his front wheel slid out from under him when going downhill. He landed on a thicket, but was otherwise unscathed. King on the other hand, lost his tire patch kit and spare chain links when they fell out of his jersey's rear pocket, and landed in the fishpond at Ka Tobias - we were chilling out in one of the "floating" huts on top of the fish pond. As for me, well, a scary moment during the final downhill when after a slight jump my Mary bars rotated downwards. Luckily this happened during a straight and I was able to get them back to their original position by yanking them up and doing a wheelie. Could've ben much, much worse, and much, much messier!

Note to self: when ANYTHING on your bike starts to creak or make funny sounds, DO NOT take it for granted. Investigate immediately and check bolts often for correct tightness!

Another thing I've been noticing recently is that whenever I ride, songs start playing in my head! recent rides include the following tracks:

It's Different For Girls (Joe Jackson remake) - Boy Kill Boy
Cars and Girls - Prefab Sprout
Long Time Coming - The Delays

and today's soundtrack?

Chains - The Wolfgang Press

Enough chatter! Here are some photies:


"The King is number 1!" says JM


Spanky the Monkey, King's GF and JM's ESSther taking 5


Another (artsy) angle


Ruts galore



JM's Seven Sola


King's GF


Sorry, no photos of Spanky - you guys must be sick of seeing MY bike by now!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Trails to you!

P1SSer v2 jersey

Ed Lee showed me the prototype of the P1SSer v2 jersey, and it's looking pretty good. Just a few tweaks and this design will be coming to a trail near you!

front (make use of thinner material for a deeper color of black)
:


rear (tweak circle outlines on text, make them 100% black)



seal (will be reduced 50% size)



slogan (will be reduced by 50% as well, or replaced by the seal)


What you guys think?

Mabuhay Ang ReboluSSYon!

Back to La Mesa

Last Saturday, King, Vic, Mach and I headed to the La Mesa Watershed for some exploratory riding. After a delay at the gate (they're pretty strict with regards to access), we pushed off at around 230pm.

The first third of the ride was on the familiar trails that we had ridden before. We had maps and a GPS (courtesy of Vic), as well as an accompanying forest ranger (who can hammer uphill!), so we proceeded to head to Tower 1. The forest doubletrack was a joy to ride, with some waterbars with which to catch some air (at least when going downhill)...these waterbars are a challenge when crawling uphill though. More than once I felt like Spanky and I were going to stall out. The first sustained climb seemed to go on forever. I had to resort to Jedi Mind Tricks - convincing myself it will flatten itself out after the next turn - and soon enough we were at Tower 1.

The top of Tower 1 gives a magnificent view of the North and Northeastern parts of the metropolis. We can see the familiar hills of Maarat as well as the Ortigas Center skyline from our crow's nest. After catching our breath, we rode on to Tower 3 - point to point, "about 2km", according to the map.

The route to Tower 3 passes through some rolling terrain and the now-common waterbars. I had to restrain myself from getting airborne as these lil humps are quite abrupt, and the landings can be treacherous. Some sections of the trail were covered with soft, loamy soil, which felt like molasses when you'd pass through - eating your momentum whether you're going downhill or up. It was and in and out/to and from Tower 3, as the rangers had closed the gate that links this trail to the rest of the system. Admittedly, I walked for a short bit in once section, and paused to catch my breath at another climb - just tried to pace myself after the lung-busting climb earlier.

Our way back to the parking lot took us through the course that was used in the Cecon 24H challenge - which King participated in. Nice bermed switchbacks and a flowing descent to end our ride at 5:30pm. A good day, and well worth the entrance fee.

To quote Vic's posting in the All Terra Yahoogroup:

"Some stats: 18k ride, 1500 ft of total vertical over gradually rolling terrain (max 20% grade). Tower 1 is the highest point at 720ft..."

La Mesa has a lot of riding potential - we can't wait to head back and explore more!

Go JM Go!

Congratulations to fellow P1SSer JM for finishing a strong 2nd place in the recently-concluded Giant XC Race in the Divine Mercy Race Track in Maarat, Rizal. JM rode his Seven Sola singlespeed...make that a blinglespeed - Chris King hubs, Push'd Fox Fork, etc. etc. He ran a 32x16 gearing. I've ridden with him on his Gary Fisher SS, which was geared 34x18 (I think) and he left me for dead on the climbs in Sta Rosa, so I wasn't surprised he smoked the competition (except one) in this race.

We test-rode the trck the day before, and it is do-able. A simple change to semi-slicks on the dry course and JM was all set.

Why didn't I race? Well, I have a perfectly good reason, which I'll keep to myself ;-)

More info in this PinoyMTBiker thread.

P1SSer jersey, second edition

Finally found some free time to hammer out my definitive design for the P1SSer jersey...let me know what you think:

Critical MaSS ride!

Well, it's finally happened. Last November 18 was the first time more than 2 single-speeders rode together...aside from me, there was King (on his Gary Fisher), DanDan (on his Big Cat), and Noel (on his On-One Inbred 29er) - yes, another milestone is that I am not the lone 29er/SS rider over here. It was Noel's first time to hit the trails in Maarat on the Inbred, but he had a great ride. He's a pretty strong rider! He also wore the sample of the 1st P1SSer jersey...

Some pics for your pleasure:



That's Noel, myself, Franz (geared rider but all-around good guy!), and King. Pic was snapped by DanDan.



Me pretending to be Drill Sergeant and urging Noel to Go!Go!Go! and attack the climb. He cleaned it easily :)



DanDan effortlessly sailing up the same climb. He makes everything look easy.



King powering up another climb. It's great to ride with him again, and to see him recovering well after his accident earlier this year. Incidentally, the last time we rode this trail together was before his accident. Now he's back with a singlespeed. Hail to the King!



Yes that's my butt hitting the climb. I have personal issues with this particular hill - and I attack it with gusto. Now that I manage to clean it, another hill farther down the trail earns my ire when I stall a few feet short of the top. As I always say, "There's always something to come back to next ride." Or in our vernacular, "babalikan kita!".



UK's On-One Inbred 29er meets its US counterpart, in the Surly Karate Monkey...where else but in Da Pilipins!



Yes, we got singlespeeders growing on trees over here! (Ya right!)



Back at the trailhead for a post-ride shot.

Thanks to Noel, Franz and DanDan for the snaps!

PISSer jerseys

Apparently, there's a demand for these! Aside from King's design, I contributed these two options:


This is my "retro" design...text may be subject to change...


While this is a more modern take:


Will whip up more designs as the days go by, free time permitting ;)

recommended listening

If you got an iPod, just like several zillion other people do - and you ride, you should tune in to the Crooked Cog Podcast. It's run by the good guys at TwentyNineInches.com, and has excerpts from the Interbike 2006 show, as well as interviews with bike industry bigwigs. They talk about stuff that interests me (such as 29ers, single-speeding, etc), and maybe, it'll interest you too.

Speaking of podcasts, that's all my iPod is good for now. Guess it's starting to show its age.

another month, another post

Yes it's been a month since I've posted, because once again, some real-world responsibilities have gotten into the way. And when you start prioritizing things that (a) you MUST do; (b) you SHOULD do; (c) you BETTER do; and (d) you WANT to do - guess which one gets tossed out? For me, it's (d)!

So here's how my October went by, in a nutshell:

Oct 3-13 Run up to my trip to the States
Oct 14-21 One week away: 1/2 day in Detroit. 2 1/2 days in Pennsylvania, 2 days in NYC, close to 2 days in the air. Lovely. Hours spent riding this whole time? ZERO.
Oct 22-29 Fended off jet lag, and a bad case of the cold, usccessfully. Again, no riding.
Oct 31 - did some "trick or treating" hehe.

But I did check out some bike shops in NYC - and yes, I dropped by NYC Velo, where I got myself a largish Timbuk2 messenger bag (coz my luggage was full to the brim already with work stuff to take home), a long-sleeved NYC Velo shirt (just like what Andrew's got on here), Dirt Rags #118 and #124...so no ENO crankset, no bike rentals...

I did snap a pic of a ghost bike:



This one's a memorial to Reginald Chan, aged 60, who was hit by a truck on Third Avenue at 17th Street, on September 18, 2006. Rest in peace, fellow rider.

I spotted this while walking back from NYC Velo to another bike shop, Manhattan Velo...I actually missed it the first time I walked by. Strange. But when I did see it, it was a chilling experience. Said a short prayer for the fallen rider, snapped a pic, and went on my way.

Interbike 2006 29er Bike Porn

click here

'nuff said!

why...why...why

Why do you ride a singlespeed?!

Why do you ride rigid?!

Why do you ride a 29er?!

Those are probably the three most oft-asked questions of me when I meet people when I ride. My answers would range from:

Why do you ride a singlespeed?!
"I like the simplicity, the challenge of it"


Why do you ride rigid?!
"I like to feel more-connected to the trail"
"The bike's more responsive that way"

Why do you ride a 29er?!
"The bigger wheels smooth out the bumps"
"They give more traction"
"I'm compensating!"

Maybe I should just direct them to this post, by fellow SS/Rigid/29er rider Evil Kojiro.

An entertaining read. Go click it.

put on the lobster bib, ready the drool bucket...

coz Interbike is currently running!
Interbike 2006 showcases upcoming bikes, parts, accessories, you name it. enough to get all our chamois(es) in a bunch. Wonder when we'll get to see these goodies on our shores?

here are some links to specific coverages:

Twentynineinches: For everything about the big wheels. Man, that Salsa Mamasita looks hot! Carbon and geared...arriba!


MTBR's live coverage: Due to the amount of traffic, expect some s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n-s.

Cycling News has got more general coverage too.

we're in!

the photos I submitted to the Singlespeed Gallery have been published online!

snap o' da day

hahaha!


Polly snapped this before we headed for our second serving of Duck Trail last Sunday. Ride went well as it was a bit overcast. Inner trails were a bit muddy but rideable. Jay is still fine-tuning his 1x1+Mary combo, so the verdict is still out.

I made the mistake of adding more PSI to my Kenda Klaws - while they did still grip well, they didn't absorb the bumps as much as the last time. Will tweak settings again for this weekend.

Crank is still a-creaking, and I definitely have to grab a new one soon. Hmmm...maybe a White Industries ENO crank will do...something to track down when I leave mid-October for the US.

NYCVELO, here I come! I have a day or so of free time in New York, and I plan to rent a bike and see the sights. Despite this article from the New York Times. Could riding there be as bad as here in Manila?!? But thanks, Lara, for the heads-up :)