Gary Fisher approved: The 25 for 52 Challenge - Hanging out with "The Fish" in Greensboro, NC

Words: Randy King

Photos: Greensboro Trek; Randy King; Sports Management Group; Mary-Whitt Jones

Here at Big Mountain Riding, we’re fans of a good challenge. And we’ve learned that a long-term riding goal encourages discipline and yields unexpected pay-offs. So, for 2011, I decided to challenge myself to logging an average of 25 off-road miles on the bike each week for the entire year.

Truthfully, that doesn’t sound like much, right? One good ride a week and I’d be good to go. Aha! This is where a long-term challenge presents its own hurdles. Winter’s early dusk and iffy weather meant nights when I had no desire to get suited up and out in the cold, dark rain. (It also meant evenings when my neighbors saw me dash out to my 4Runner in the cold rain and come back in the dark, drenched and mud-caked an hour or so later. And an average needs to be fed. So, a slow start to they year meant that I had to really pedal up the miles in the second half of the year to pass that 25 mile weekly average. I did it though, with the exception of the median weekly mileage, which ended up .3 less than 25 miles. I had hoped to get it to 25 as well.

The vital stats: 1,503.5 miles for the year, for an average of 28.9 miles per week. Median weekly mileage: 24.7. Highest weekly mileage: 48. Lowest weekly mileage: 2.

• Weeks of more than 40 miles: 9
• Weeks of 30-40 miles: 19
• Weeks of 25-30 miles: 9
• Weeks of 20-25 miles: 5
• Weeks of 10-20 miles: 7
• Weeks of less than 10 miles: 3

Challenges: The beauty of a long-term riding goal is the switch to a work-a-day cyclist mentality. However, that’s the biggest challenge too. There are many days – too hot, too cold, rainy, feeling sick, etc. – that I did not want to leave the comfort of home and the big couch to pedal a few miles by myself. But a work-a-day cyclist gets it done.

No clean victory - rocking the rigid single speed to 1st place in the Shootout on Angler's Ridge

Other challenges were more mundane: the more one rides – especially in the rain and mud – the more mechanical damages one racks up. And a week at the shop is 25 miles not ridden. I found an easy solution: Get another bike! Logic, who can argue with it?

I opted for cheap and reliable. My Redline Monocog rigid 29-er single speed didn’t lose derailleurs to downed tree limbs. And I felt much less guilt about slogging it through the gritty wet sand on rainy rides.

Tracking the mileage also proved a small challenge. I relied on MS Excel and documenting my mileage the next morning at the latest. The few times I forgot to document several days’ rides immediately, I ended up struggling to remember mileages.

The bikes: 2011 Trek Fuel Ex 9, 2010 Redline Monocog, 2005 Gary Fisher Tassajara.

Not fast enough - a dead-last finish at the Greensboro Wednesday Time Trials

The damages: 1 XT rear derailleur, 1 Avid brake rotor, 1 Shimano press fit bottom bracket, 1 9-speed SRAM rear cogset, two new Shimano chain rings, 3 SRAM chains.

• 12th place in the Triad Wednesday night training series single speed class
• 2nd place in the Tuesday Night Time Trials in Danville, VA
• DNF’d the Wild 100 – a race I had rocked the year before.
• 1st Place SS class at the Southside Scramble Angler’s Ridge Race
• 3:30 for the Point to Point race at Warrior Creek

Trail Systems: Anglers Ridge in Danville, VA; Cedar Ridge in Martinsville, VA; Candler’s Mountain, Blackwater Creek and Peaks View Park in Lynchburg, VA;  Hobby Park, Northeast Park and Country Park around Greensboro, NC; Garin/Dry Creek Regional Park, Lake Chabot Regional Park in the East Bay area, CA; Slatyfork, WV; Oxford, NC – The wood work of Tar River trails; The woods roads and singletrack of my parents’ farm in MN.

A stable full of single speeds on race day in Greensboro, NC

The Pay-off / Lessons Learned:

• Satisfaction of exceeding a goal. It is rewarding to know that you are pushing toward something bigger. It definitely helps make a ride in the cold rain easier to cope with.
• Definite advancement in skills and the ability to see the bike’s potential. I rode the rocks and gnar-gnar of National Trail in Phoenix, AZ in Aug. 2010, riding on a Giant Trance X full-suss. In Feb. 2011, after the 25 for 52 challenge, I returned. Unable to rent a full sussy, I ended up on a 26″ hardtail. However, I rode more of the tech stuff and ledges than I had on the suspension bike. A year of frequent riding – and lots of time on a rigid SS – had upped my game. I realized that I know thought of stair sections, for example, in terms of the full length of the stairs not just each individual rock drop.
• Camaraderie of racing/riding buddies. Show up at the trail head more frequently and you will end up riding with more people. And a casual racing scene like Greensboro, NC’s Wednesday Night Time Trials forges friendship among riders as they see each other week after week and compete for total points in the series.
• Urge to ride more. Yes, I finished up the year with a 4-week push of more than 41 miles per week. Yes, I wound up wanting to ride my bike in the woods even more. Inspired by the 25 for 52 challenge, I started off 2012 strong, winning second place in the open category in a USA Cycling sanctioned race and earning an invitation to the National Championship Qualifiers, road-tripping to Cleveland to experience two days of Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park, and checking out the sweet mountain bike park in Boone, NC.
• Desire for longer rides, uninterrupted. I did end up wishing for fewer, longer rides though. A long epic is at the heart of big mountain riding, and this challenge made me hanker for those 4-8 hour rides up and down mountains. Ah, that’s for another challenge, I guess.

© 2012 Big Mountain Riding

Always challenge yourself and advance your riding skills. PHOTO: Mary-Whitt Jones

Review & Images: Randy King

R.I.P. for Roll In Peace. 9 for its 29er wheels. Put it all together and you have RIP 9, for a bike that is made to order for big mountain riding. Big wheels to roll over roots and provide extra traction in loose terrain. 4.5 inches of travel paired with a 120 MM fork to float through the gnarl that comes with the territory on back country trails. Active suspension that feels plush in the rough yet climbs efficiently. It’s the real deal, amigos. And it should be at the top of your list of bikes to ride next.

Niner is dedicated to pushing the envelop of 29er wheeled bikes, and only makes big wheelers. Their stable ranges from steel-framed single speeds to flowing carbon racers to the Kermit-colored WFO 9, a 29er free ride machine.  The RIP 9 is right below the WFO – recommended for XC, enduro and all mountain riding. For years I’ve wanted to ride a “long travel” 29er aimed at the all mountain riding style. The Niner godfather granted my wish with the RIP 9.

Hot Tamale looks good on Niner's RIP 9 XC to All-Mountain rig.

I put the RIP 9 through its paces on Liberty Mountain in Lynchburg, VA. A loop of Lake Trail to cut across to A Trail Too Far before coming back to the bottom of Lake Trail and the long gradual side hill climb back out, dished up narrow side hill singletrack descents, a log ride or two, and the bridges of ATTF with enough climbing to appreciate how efficient the RIP 9’s Constantly Varying Arc (CVA) suspension design is.

The RIP I rode rocked a SRAM XO drive train and brakes, a custom-valved Fox RP-23 shock and a RockShox Reba RLT Ti with a 20 MM through axle. All the parts performed well, and I don’t know if the red anodized bearing caps on the pivots helped functionally or not, but they did look convincing. The Continental Mountain King 2.4 tires did not fuss or fume about doing their job on the ups or the down. In fact, it’s a tribute to the bike and tire combo that RIP didn’t feel sluggish with that big of shoes.

The Niner RIP 9 is a long-legged sailor ready to travel the whole mountain.

Now this may sound strange, but I think the RIP 9 is more efficient and fast feeling than the JET 9, Niner’s full-suspension XC race bike.  The RIP 9 boasted that long-legged seven-league boots feel that some all mountain bikes have. It makes a bike feel like it can go all day over rough terrain, climbing and descending whatever mountains may be in front of its tires.  These bikes are geared toward the “mountain” aspect of all-mountain, and do not seem to be built to be hucked off towering man-made ramps, etc. The Giant Reign (although you could huck that puppy with confidence off of some pretty good rock drops) and Gary Fisher Fat Possum were such bikes.  I tend to prefer this type of rig, since it suits my long distance pursuits and love of technical single track. Since I have a trauma-induced fear of jumping a bike, I’m not looking for the beefiest huckster.

At the end of the day, I did not want to dismount from my size large, Hot Tamale colored RIP 9. It was one of the few bikes that made my “gotta have it” juices start flowing immediately. And to demonstrate just how good this bike is as a “one bike,” Scott – who loves to climb the trails I think of as good descents – was with me that day, and after getting in saddle time on several Niners, we both agreed that the RIP 9 left us wanting more and trying to figure out how to scrounge together the more than $5,000 it would cost to buy our own 29er all mountain bike that was so much fun to ride.

You can check out Niner bikes at your local authorized Niner dealer. My two favorites are Blackwater Bike Shop in Lynchburg, VA and Just the Right Gear in Salem, VA.  Both are located near trail systems that will allow you to really test the capability of the Niner of your choice.

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

Review & Images: Randy King

The 29er version of the Gary Fisher HiFi has been on my to-ride list for some time. Along with my curiosity, I brought some baggage with me into this short-term relationship. My best bike for three years was a 26″ wheel HiFi Deluxe. It helped me up my epic race game and went through 1,000’s of miles of mud and dust before coming to a sudden and calamitous demise when the frame broke in three places. These positive memories and nervousness about durability took turns coloring my opinion about how the big-wheeled version would ride. So, how did it go? Well, a bit like that … a mix of good and not-so-good.

Technically, there is no Gary Fisher HiFi. Gary’s bikes have been drawn into the Trek line-up, and now all that remains on the bike of Gary’s name is a copy of his signature on the frame. Hmmph, I say. I’ve met Gary Fisher (I know, I know, Jeremiah Bishop told me not to name drop), and it didn’t even take those meaningful 60-seconds for me to vote that  Fisher should have his own line-up in the Trek conglomerate.

Along with the bigger wheels, the HiFi Pro I tested sports a few other differences from my former bike. Trek has opened up the suspension linkage design a bit.  The bike also gets some upgrades, moving up to a Fox fork and adding three gears with the SRAM — 10 speed drive train. I tested the HiFi Pro model.

What I loved about my 26″ HiFi was its adapt-to-anything attitude. Above all, it was fun to ride. I am glad to see that this vibe is shared by the big wheel HiFi.

I chose the Witchback trail at Angler’s Ridge in Danville, VA for the test. This is a frequent up-and-down six mile loop with several short but gut-busting climbs and several quick and fast descents.  A mini-rock garden and a small drop-off add to the mix to make it a good test trail for trail and XC bikes.

The HiFi Pro tackles climbs with aplomb and good manners. It is stable and tracks well even on sudden steeps. The Bontrager 29-2 Team Issue tires are a good combination of fast and grippy for a trail bike.  The suspension is definitely more noticeable on climbs than it was on the 26″ HiFi – credit in part to the more open suspension design. It is also noticeable on the descents, where the HiFi has pretty good small-bump compliance without the harsh edge that sometimes plagued the 26″ bike.

What I didn’t like about my 26″ HiFi was its lack of durability. Durability is a key virtue in a bike that one hopes to ride for 100 KM or more at a time, over rough terrain.  The first time the frame broke on my 26″ HiFi, I had to climb the side of a mountain to get cell phone reception, limp for several miles out of the woods on stiff-soled cycling shoes, with a lump the size of a baseball on my thigh from a crash earlier in the ride. Durability is good. Unfortunately, the big-wheeled HiFi seems to bring its fragility with it. After less than 5 miles, I noticed some noise coming from the linkage. Hmm. The bolt that connects the top of the shock to the bike had worked loose.

The 29″ HiFi has 100 MM of travel, compared to the 120 of the 26″ version. And despite what so many say, a 29″ wheel is not the same as suspsension. In another words, I miss that extra 4/5 of an inch of travel. In its absence, it makes the bike feel more racy and less rideable.

Parting thoughts:

The $3,600 Gary Fisher HiFi Pro seems like a viable epic racer or enduro bike, and is up to frequent trail rides. While less “racy” than the Superfly 100, and costing less, it still feels less of a true trail bike than a high-priced bike meant mostly for going fast. A different set of tires and a wider riser bar might correct that, and you can get aboard a HiFi Plus for about $2,300, but stock the HiFi Pro feels like a long distance runner for those who can afford it.

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

Photos: Lily Felgenhauer

If you live in the Inland NW and ride a mountain bike, there is only one place for you to spend your Memorial Day Weekend: Round and Round Production’s 24-hour mountain bike race at Riverside State Park in Spokane, WA.  2011 marked the 12^th running of the endurance mountain bike race with more than 850 riders.  Racers compete solo or in teams of 2, 5, or 10 members.  The race starts at noon on Saturday and riders can start their final lap at 11:59 a.m. on Sunday.

The race starts with a Le Mans style 600 meter run to spread the pack out before the first lap.

And They’re Off

Rain had made the course very soggy the week leading up to the race. However, it held off for the weekend, making a well compacted and very fast race course.  The approximately 15-mile course covers a good mix of technical rock garden infested single track, fast smooth single track, and fire roads with a ¾-mile section of pavement thrown-in to bypass the flooded “little Vietnam” section that the course normally runs on.

As the fatigue of lack of sleep and ever-increasing mileage built, riders began to fully understand the local names for different sections; Marakesh Express, Purple Haze, Devil’s Up, and Devil’s Down.

Devil’s Down claims another victim.

Let Not the Pain Stop

Due to the fact that there are so many categories and one has no idea what lap everyone else is on, competitions are pretty much internal or arbitrary.  I found myself in a top gear sprint to the finish at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, against a rider from EMDE Sports, a local development team.  I beat him to the line only to realize two disappointing facts: my team did not have another rider lined up for the final lap and if your team finishes before noon on Sunday you are marked down as a DNF.

“292 going out again” I gasped to the timing folks as I scanned my chip.  I darted off course to our tents and gulped down four partially empty water bottles that belonged to other team mates and the dog and got back on course for the final time.

It was eerily quiet on the final lap.  Giving encouragement to nearly unconscious solo riders was almost the only distraction from the numbness that was spreading up-limb from my toes and fingers.  Fatigue got the best of a Badlands Cycling Team member on the final section of pavement.  When I passed, medics had him back boarded and were sucking teeth out of his airway as he had eaten pavement while trying to grab a power gel before the last 5 miles.

Before the race I had asked my brother for any last minute advice.  He said to develop a mantra.  For most of the race, mine had been “keep pressing,” but it changed to “don’t crash” on that trying final lap.  I decided to stop and loosen my shoes lest I join the count of bodies next to the trail, because at that time I was numb up to my knees.

Parting Thoughts

Our team finished last in the Police, Fire, and Military category.  Yet it was our first year, and most of the team has already asked if we are going to do it again next year … and besides, we were only one lap down from the Olympia FD that won.  Like most endurance sports events, it was kind of fun, kind of painful, makes for great stories, and is very addicting.

Join us at Spokane’s Riverside State Park next year to find out for yourself!

For more info

www.roundandround.com

www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/29/geared-up-for-spin-cycle/

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

Dr. Kevin Peterson is associate professor of mathematics and coordinator of Lynchburg College’s 2010-11 Year of Sustainability. He is also a work-a-day cyclist, pedaling 32-miles daily for his commute to and from work. I’ve had the chance to ride with him, and I’ve seen him on the trails around the Hill City.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Peterson possesses a significant amount of facts to make one consider our unsustainable national lifestyles. He shares them because they were what persuaded him to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, which along with commuting by bike, includes using solar power and eating local food.

Read the whole story here.

This is a continuation of my earlier review of the Salsa Mamasita …  or perhaps just another step forward in my quest for the ideal single speed (for the way I ride).  After I bought a  2009 Salsa Dos Niner frame and built it up as my regular-rider 29er trail bike,  I decided to convert the Mama to a one gear bike to see how it would do.  After several weeks of riding it, I believe I’d summarize it in two words – RACE BIKE.

"Race Bike!" The Mama drops some gears to show off its true lightness of being.

I borrowed all the components from my Redline Flight rigid SS, and then I installed an 80mm Rock Shox Reba up front.

At one time, Salsa did offer this frame as a dedicated single speed frame and called it the Selma. However, it was discontinued along with the Mamasita. Rumor has it Salsa is bringing back a version of the Mamasita, maybe the Selma will make a reappearance too.
The first ride of this frame built in this configuration was destined to be at the Candlers/Liberty Mountain trail system, my local playground. Candlers has almost everything you could want except large rock gardens.

My very first impression was that I under geared it even though I used the same ratio. It is that responsive to pedal input. When I pedal, it leaps forward. This frame puts the power to the ground and that trait is even more noticeable when it’s set up as a SS. No wasted effort here! I think the only thing that might be better is a full carbon frame.

If this might appeal to your inner racer or you are just desiring a responsive single speed it seems eBay or Craigslist  might be your only choice in building up a mean SS race machine from the Salsa Mamasita.

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

The Giant Reign 1 is ready to aim and fire. Photo - BIKEMAGIC.COM

Review: Randy King

Photos & Video: Doug King and Randy King [Coming Soon]

We who live more than a day’s drive to Moab have a choice to make as we prepare for our pilgrimage: Ship the faithful rig that you know like an extension of yourself, or rent a dream machine / fun wagon while you’re in the mountain bike playground? My vote: rent the dream. On my last trip to Moab I rented a Giant Reign 1 for four days of tecchy riding on the rocks, sand and ledges – a.k.a. the gnarl.

Picking a bike built for the style of riding you’re seeking ups the fun factor. Back east I ride a trail bike, a Trek Fuel Ex 9. In Moab, my brother and I seek out the ledges and technical terrain and ride the rocks. We’re not big hucksters, but we do seek out rougher lines and push our personal limits on the gnarl. The Giant Reign 7 is purpose-built for those all-mountain kinds of days.

Friends, you do not want to realize too late that you brought a knife to a gunfight. Not two hours after my first pedal stroke in Moab, I questioned whether I was in over my head. We had climbed Amasa Back and then taken the extension out to Pothole Arch. From there we completed our loop via Rockstacker and Jackson trail.  Less than 200 yards into Rockstacker is when my serious questioning began. The trail dropped over a six-foot-high rock. I almost lost it trying slide down this beast with my bike. Dig dropped in on his older Reign, rolling down the grippy sandstone. Ah, I had brought a gun. I got back on the Reign and committed to be a worthy rider – or at least to remember that I had the firepower for the task at hand. We proceeded to tackle one of the most technically fun trails ever. Rockstacker and Jackson drop down the side of the Colorado River rim on the opposite side of the river from the infamous Portal Trail. Exposure, ledges and slots abound. The Reign was stable on serious steeps, and handles drops precisely – a key when dropping onto a narrow, exposed trail. The Fox suspension performed as I have come to expect of Fox, very competently.

The Reign 1 was competent and bold in the gnarl.

The Giant Reign 1 is a well-designed, well-kitted all-mountain rig. Hung with a Fox DHX Air 5 shock and a Float fork with through-axle, the bike can mix it up with the gnarl. However, it also climbs well for a beef-cake. Getting it up Amasa Back and Bartlett’s Wash was not as much of a chore as I had feared. In fact, it climbed well. The Maestro suspension design has aged well and is efficient under pedaling forces.

The Reign’s components and drivetrain held up well to a week of hard riding and less than tender loving care. Even after an almost total submersion in the creek at the bottom of the Jackson trail, a tumble or two on Killer B trail, and plenty of little ledges and hasty down shifts, the Reign remained in good working order. It did everything you’d expect of an all-mountain bike, and had that extra bit – it was a fun bike to ride.

The Reign is an all-round performer, which is just what I want in an all-mountain bike. Suspension platforms and design can hide heft and make riding a 6-inch (150MM) travel, 30-pound bike up the hill easier. And when the trail turns downhill and the rocks and ledges are coming fast, the Reign will make you happy that it is not too knife-like. It blasts through rough terrain. On the legendary Porcupine Rim descent I powered over the babyheads and off of small ledges, confident that the Reign could make up for minor mistakes on my part.

I liked the Reign. In Moab I loved the Reign. While I don’t know that I’d want to push the extra pounds around for every ride on the local trail system at home, I miss not having that firepower at my disposal when I’m out in the big mountains and it is time to go downhill. And when I go back to Moab, I’ll rent again … It may just be another Giant Reign.

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

The new mountain bike film, The Potential Inside, premiered in Lynchburg, Virginia on March 10, 2011. Liberty University’s Tower Theater hosted the premier of this inspirational film, and several hundred attended the red carpet event and the showing.

The singletrack of Candler's / Liberty Mountain played a pivotal role in the film. PHOTO: REDCLOUD PRODUCTIONS

The film is well produced, and shows off the Blue Ridge Mountains and Central Virginia’s trails and twisty mountain roads. For a local rider who built my riding skills in these hills, it was a joy to see how good The Potential Inside made this area look on the big screen.

The film has a strong faith-based message, and is a Christian film as much as it is a mountain bike film. Director Scotty Curlee, who also wrote the script and stars in the film, does a good job of showing (not telling), and the serious messages conveyed in the movie are not meted out with a heavy hand. I’d summarize it as being a movie about the challenges and ups and downs of both cycling and life, and how we can overcome.

Most who have spent a significant time aboard bikes know that there is a spiritual component to our pursuit – it’s one of the elements that warrant our obsession. The lessons learned striving for hard-to-achieve goals, suffering setbacks and overcoming trials mirror life and our spiritual journeys.

Rookie Jake gets lectured by veteran Chris. PHOTO: REDCLOUD PRODUCTIONS

The Potential Inside is also a cycling film, and features mountain and road riding, with extensive race scenes and in-depth physical performance testing with Hunter Allen.

The dynamic between Jake (Michael Cuddire), who is not young although he is a racing rookie, and Chris (Scotty Curlee), the veteran who is at a loss in how to handle a deep personal loss, is what makes this film standout. As Chris shares from his expertise to help Jake realize his full potential as a mountain bike racer, Jake is able to help Chris come to terms with his deep loss and move forward with his life. Jake’s age – which almost made Chris refuse to coach him – is what makes him believable as someone who has experienced and overcome tragedy in his own life. The dynamic is a well-executed example of Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

The bridges of Blackwater Creek Trail PHOTO: REDCLOUD PRODUCTIONS

I enjoyed watching The Potential Inside. While some of my enjoyment stemmed from seeing someone from my earliest days of mountain biking succeed in achieving their vision (Scotty Curlee was instrumental in LU’s mountain bike club when I attended), and from seeing the trails I know and love on the big screen, I also enjoyed The Potential Inside for its quality storytelling, production and mountain bike scenes. I’ll be picking up several copies of the film for those on my gift list when it goes on sale on April 19, 2011.

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding

After over 18 years of providing the mountain bike industry with high quality OEM and aftermarket components, Race Face is officially being liquidated. This Canadian manufacturer has been a staple in the industry almost since the mainstream adoption of mountain biking. Read the story on BIKE198.

A familiar sight for riders from the Hill City - The Blackwater Creek Tunnel

Several years in the making, a film by one of our own about the sport we love and what drives us, premiers in Lynchburg, VA on Thursday, March 10 at 6 p.m. on Liberty University’s north campus, at the new Tower Theater. Filmed in part in Lynchburg, The Potential Inside features the terrain that define East Coast cycling – whether off-road or on.

The plot is one familiar in sports stories. A veteran, out of the sport, is brought back to the competition by personal tragedy and a budding rookie. A rocky coaching relationship follows.

Using cutting edge technology and scientific training methods, the retired racer Chris transforms Jake, the young prodigy, into a top contending cyclist; however, he struggles to teach Jake the most important lesson prominent in all champions, finding the true POTENTIAL INSIDE. The movie also features a big mountain riding star – Jeremiah Bishop.

Put on your red carpet duds, get a chauffeur to pilot the tandem and drop you off curbside, it’s Hollywood time in our little hill town. Learn more about the film, the premier and how to get tickets by visiting the premier site on Facebook. For those who cannot make it to the event, Big Mountain Riding will post a review following the premier. Read the review!

© 2011 Big Mountain Riding