Peaceful Ride

Last night I was over in the Pipestone area for a ride. It was sunset, and totally quiet, no motos or anything. I spent an hour just pedaling around. It was really good. Really calming and centering. 9.5 miles, 11oo ft vertical. 45 min. up, 15 min. down. good times.

Safety First!

So with the new bike I find myself going ever faster down the hill, and I am ending up scaring myself. So I just ordered a new Giro full-face helmet and a set of RaceFace leg armor from pricepoint. 150 bucks for both things, not bad I think.

Epic!

Did the Curly Lake Highline ride yesterday with a great crew of guys. 7 hours, 5000 ft of climbing, and an 11+ mile downhill! This was one of my top 5 best rides ever, for sure. More later

Dirt Church

One of my buddies who rides a lot of dirt bikes (the motor kind) calls it Dirt Church. I had that kind of ride this morning. Got up, decided to go riding, Grassy Mountain, my current favorite downhill. I got to the trailhead at 9 am, and had a great ride up, taking my time, using the little ring a bunch, relaxing almost. Topped out a bit after 10, geared up, and hauled ass back down to the car. 4.4 miles one way, about 1500 vertical feet. I got home and it started to rain, so I am glad I happened to go that early. Tomorrow is Curly Lake, a legendary epic ride, with a big group of Bozeman mountain bikers. Should be good.

Wildlife

On my ride last night to Mystic Lake, I saw a black bear, a marten-type of thing, and a cow moose. Pretty cool for one ride? That's the second bear sighting this summer. The other was up in Truman Gulch in the Bridgers. It is really smoky in the valley right now, with all the wildfires in the state. Could barely see the mountains yesterday, but it cleared up overnight with a little rain.

New Bike Build

So my new Heckler finally arrived last week. It took 14 weeks to get here. I am gathering parts bit by bit:

Frame: 2007 Santa Cruz Heckler size M, Fox DHX 5.0 rear shock
Fr. Derailleur: Shimano Deore
Shifters: Mismatch set found at the shop new LX and Deore
Rear Cassette: Sram
Brakes: Hayes HFX 9 hydraulics salvaged from my roommates bike
Cranks: Shimano XT 751 also salvaged
Tires: Maxxis ADvantage 2.4. Found one on craigslist for 12 bucks, ridden once! Looks like one of the lightest, highest volume tires there is.
Pedals: Shimano PDM424. pulled from my old bike. I love these pedals, have used them for years. No issues ever.
Headset: Cane Creek. shop recommended. cheaper than king, but pretty solid.
Fork: 07 Marzocchi All Mountain 1. Coil spring, lockout, 20 mm axle, 6.3 inches travel. Should be really good. especially after riding a 2001 Z1 with 4 inches for the past 6 years.
Seat: I am thinking I use my haggard WTB seat from my current bike, just because I am used to it. And get a new one for the old bike.

I went coil on the shocks because I weigh in around 195 and like to rally on the downhills. Also I like the low maintenance with coils. Don't care much about weight: I weigh a lot, and so does my bike. But neither me or my bike break very often. It's all about the sturdy build!

If I am lucky and my parts come soon I may be riding this weekend. I hope so.