That was the theme of Sunday's ride. Our original group of 7 riders fizzled down to just Keith and myself. It was about 35 degrees at the start of the ride, and very very cold riding in the shade. Thanks to Keith for lending me his extra jacket. We rode up Clementine, did an out & back on the new Foresthill Connector trail, then dropped down into the Moto Park and hit Murderers & Rocky. The climbed up to Confluence and descended back to the cars. This was the coldest I've ever been on a ride for sure! There was even some icy spots which I skidded on, sketch!
The new Foresthill Connector trail is pretty cool. FATRAC did a really nice job building this trail. It's all rolling buff single track. A couple of steep climbs. A couple of fast descents. No technical sections at all. Just a good fun, fast 4 mile trail! Definitely ideal for hardtails & single speeders!
Monday, November 24, 2003
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
NorCal Bikers Product Review: ViewPoint™ Flare Compact LED Light
With the time change I've been riding home in twilight and, if I happen to work later than usual, outright darkness. So I did a little shopping and ordered up the ViewPoint™ Flare Compact LED Light. While the shipping was a bit slower than I'd hoped, the light did get here yesterday.
First off, this flashlight is very small. Three AAA batteries (included!) fit in it but its still nice and compact.
Second, it appears to be very rugged which is good because I'm kind of rough on bike things.
It was simple to load up the batteries and give it a try. The three LED's are focused to give a good sized cone of light and they are damned bright with a little blue to them. One press of the power button gets steady light, another push gets a flashing seizure inducing strobe effect, a third push results in a slower flash and another push flashes morse code for SOS (a nice idea). One more push and the light is off again.
The mounting bracket is very nice, easily attach and remove the light and the bracket from the bike. And just as fast to put right back on. The package also had a few lower tech mounting solutions that I've not had to try yet but look like they're useful as well. The bike slides into the mount and locks in tightly, a simple button push and it slides right back off. The light didn't flop around on the bars either, the mount stayed put.
I rode home with it last night and like the fact that you can set it to flash at twilight for really excellent visibility for the cars on the road. It also helps save batteries. Speaking of which, it was a really nice touch to have batteries in the box so I could use the light almost immediately.
I don't know how well a single light would work for riding trails at night but I'm pretty sure that two would be a good set up, or possibly one of these and a good LED headlamp.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with it and, since its on sale for a measly $18 right now, I might just buy a couple more for my other bikes as well.
[Update: As I was riding into work this morning I was pissed when I noticed the light was skewed off to the side because I thought it was broken. Come to realize that it wasn't broken at all but has a limited range of motion to angle the light for better coverage. Pretty damned cool. Now I want another one for the cruiser so I can have headlights and then one for my Mojo too.]
First off, this flashlight is very small. Three AAA batteries (included!) fit in it but its still nice and compact.
Second, it appears to be very rugged which is good because I'm kind of rough on bike things.
It was simple to load up the batteries and give it a try. The three LED's are focused to give a good sized cone of light and they are damned bright with a little blue to them. One press of the power button gets steady light, another push gets a flashing seizure inducing strobe effect, a third push results in a slower flash and another push flashes morse code for SOS (a nice idea). One more push and the light is off again.
The mounting bracket is very nice, easily attach and remove the light and the bracket from the bike. And just as fast to put right back on. The package also had a few lower tech mounting solutions that I've not had to try yet but look like they're useful as well. The bike slides into the mount and locks in tightly, a simple button push and it slides right back off. The light didn't flop around on the bars either, the mount stayed put.
I rode home with it last night and like the fact that you can set it to flash at twilight for really excellent visibility for the cars on the road. It also helps save batteries. Speaking of which, it was a really nice touch to have batteries in the box so I could use the light almost immediately.
I don't know how well a single light would work for riding trails at night but I'm pretty sure that two would be a good set up, or possibly one of these and a good LED headlamp.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with it and, since its on sale for a measly $18 right now, I might just buy a couple more for my other bikes as well.
[Update: As I was riding into work this morning I was pissed when I noticed the light was skewed off to the side because I thought it was broken. Come to realize that it wasn't broken at all but has a limited range of motion to angle the light for better coverage. Pretty damned cool. Now I want another one for the cruiser so I can have headlights and then one for my Mojo too.]
Monday, November 17, 2003
Cool Cycling Panos
Jay sent this over to me and, when I checked NorCal Bikers, I was astonished that he hadn't posted it yet.
So, here, go and check out sick panoramas. Some of them are pretty gorgeous.
Good stuff!
So, here, go and check out sick panoramas. Some of them are pretty gorgeous.
Good stuff!
Friday, November 14, 2003
IMBA Auction Live on e-Bay!
More than 100 cool items up for grabs. Help support IMBA and pick up some cool gear at the same time!
Head on over and Start Bidding!
Head on over and Start Bidding!
Monday, November 10, 2003
NorCal Bikers Game Review: Downhill Domination for the PS2
Jay originally brought this game to my attention a few weeks before it was released and then I started to see the ads for the game where the family’s driving along and a biker lands on their hood. Good ads, good game clips in the ad, it worked to get my salivating over getting my hands on a copy.
The Blockbuster up the street had the emphasis on the “buster” part of its name everytime I went there to try and get a copy to rent. One time they even had the empty box on the shelf but didn’t have the actual disk to go inside it. I was beginning to think that I would never get a chance to play the damned game.
So I bought it instead, knowing that, if I hated it, I could turn around and sell it to someone else for a decent price and end up paying a long rental on it.
But there’s no way this game’s going to anyone else anytime soon. Its just too fun, too engaging to give up. The race play is excellent, the motion, the sense of big air, the dropoffs, the nasty, nasty blood curdling wipeouts, the fighting, the tricks. Its excellent. Playing the game is great fun even if all you want to do is descend, take a path and roll it out, see just how fast you can get going (I’ve topped out at close to 80 mph) and go. Or switch to another route down the mountain because this game has a very open style that lets you run the same course ten times and still not see every part of the mountain. Its cool because you can try different routes to find even bigger air for multiple tricks.
I’ve read other reviews of the game that say the music gets tiresome, that the tricks were tacked on at the last minute and other knocks against the game. I admit that some of the tricks are damned hard to pull off but that’s alright, it gives me something to learn, more fun to experiment with.
There’s a huge variety of bikes available, add-ons, upgrades, racing resumes, pro racers, sponsors and lots more. It’s a pretty big game and I’ve only just begun to tap into it.
There’s also a multi-tap option to get four racers playing at once but there is no network support (I’d put a decent sized bet on it being in the next game).
Overall, its excellent! There are a few things I might want to change but overall, I can play it and lose a couple of hours just like that. And its really perfect for a day when the rain is coming down sideways outside. If its a choice of buy or don't buy then give it a try, you'll likely not be sorry.
The Blockbuster up the street had the emphasis on the “buster” part of its name everytime I went there to try and get a copy to rent. One time they even had the empty box on the shelf but didn’t have the actual disk to go inside it. I was beginning to think that I would never get a chance to play the damned game.
So I bought it instead, knowing that, if I hated it, I could turn around and sell it to someone else for a decent price and end up paying a long rental on it.
But there’s no way this game’s going to anyone else anytime soon. Its just too fun, too engaging to give up. The race play is excellent, the motion, the sense of big air, the dropoffs, the nasty, nasty blood curdling wipeouts, the fighting, the tricks. Its excellent. Playing the game is great fun even if all you want to do is descend, take a path and roll it out, see just how fast you can get going (I’ve topped out at close to 80 mph) and go. Or switch to another route down the mountain because this game has a very open style that lets you run the same course ten times and still not see every part of the mountain. Its cool because you can try different routes to find even bigger air for multiple tricks.
I’ve read other reviews of the game that say the music gets tiresome, that the tricks were tacked on at the last minute and other knocks against the game. I admit that some of the tricks are damned hard to pull off but that’s alright, it gives me something to learn, more fun to experiment with.
There’s a huge variety of bikes available, add-ons, upgrades, racing resumes, pro racers, sponsors and lots more. It’s a pretty big game and I’ve only just begun to tap into it.
There’s also a multi-tap option to get four racers playing at once but there is no network support (I’d put a decent sized bet on it being in the next game).
Overall, its excellent! There are a few things I might want to change but overall, I can play it and lose a couple of hours just like that. And its really perfect for a day when the rain is coming down sideways outside. If its a choice of buy or don't buy then give it a try, you'll likely not be sorry.
Thursday, November 06, 2003
Mountain bike trails to get big face lift.
IMBA Trail Care Crew will be visiting Nevada County & Sacramento over the next few days. Read the article here to find out more info. Hopefully the weather will cooperate but it's not looking good right now....
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Tires/tubes to avoid while riding in Auburn....
I took Dave from work up to Auburn on Saturday to show him around and let him give his new Specialized Epic a real test. After we blazed down Culvert and through the tunnel we stopped for a summary of the trail ahead. Then we heard the hissing coming from Dave's rear tire. Classic snakebite situation, two holes in the ultralight tube. I gave him a spare tube which was much stronger than the OEM ultralight. 1/3 of the way down confluence and it happened again. No more spare tubes, so time to patch. Another classic snakebite on the stronger tube. After the patches were applied we made sure to pump up the air pressure a bit more so he could make it to the end of the trail. He made it down, but when he got home, the tire had flatted yet again. I think that may be a new record, 3 pinch flats on one trail!
Lesson learned: if you want to run the Specialized Roll X Pro 2.0 tires in Auburn, (which I don't recommend) you better have strong ass tubes, and pump the air pressure waaay up. The paper thin sidewalls on these tires won't last long in the high speed rocky terrain up in Auburn either.
I'm running big 2.4 tires front & rear on my Bullit with standard tubes and have only had one flat!
Lesson learned: if you want to run the Specialized Roll X Pro 2.0 tires in Auburn, (which I don't recommend) you better have strong ass tubes, and pump the air pressure waaay up. The paper thin sidewalls on these tires won't last long in the high speed rocky terrain up in Auburn either.
I'm running big 2.4 tires front & rear on my Bullit with standard tubes and have only had one flat!
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