Trouble in the Tour

On my way back from Thurmont I once again decided to swing by Glade Elementary to check in on the racers. I believe Alex was in the group pictured above and about a minute down the road I ran into Steve walking his bike down the shoulder of the road. He ended up flatting on the last lap. I gave him a tube and continued on my way. 10 minutes later my phone ran and it was Alex informing me that his calf cramped up on the last lap and he had to pull out of the lead pack. No racing for me but my casual ride was fun. I came in around 44 miles for the day.

Tour De Walkersville

Due to the fact I was lazy this morning and didn't get out of bed until 10:00 I missed all the group rides. Still wanting to get some miles in I headed out by myself. On the trip from New Market to Thurmont I decided to stop by Glade Elementary since I knew the Tour De Walkersville Race was taking place somewhere around there. I ended up running in Alex and Steve in the parking lot preparing for the race. I snapped the above picture as I left to continue my ride.

Patapsco Trail Damage

While riding at Patapsco State Park yesterday I snapped this picture of a severely damaged section of trail. This area of trail used to much narrower but over the years of people riding it, especially when wet, has widened it to the point a single lane road. The original line used to be way to the right hand side. The original line on the right is dry in this picture whereas the left hand side of the trail is muddy and rutted.

My ride ended up being a flop, about 2 miles in I snapped my chain with no tools to fix it. Surprisingly, there were relatively few people riding this evening. Only 3 riders passed me on the way out and none of them had the necessary tools to make the repair either. I own the necessary tools but they were all left in my road bike saddle bag after I finished up my last road ride. The evening wasn't a total loss, my ride turned into a relaxing hike, I cleared out a stream crossing that was blocked by leaves causing the trail to flood and I managed to get home in time to once again hit-up Redneck Ribs.

Jamis Exile Review Update 1

Follow up to my original Jamis Exile 29er review

It was an all Exile weekend so I had a bit more time to judge the performance of the bike. I think the Hayes Sole brakes are going to be on the way out shortly. Instead of feeling better as they broke in, they started feeling worse. Modulation is just about non existent, the front brake has a choppy pulsation that occurs when they heat up and they just don't cut the cake when it comes hard braking. I'm going to ride them a bit longer and see what happens. The seat post slowly slipped down on me a couple times, I adjusted the quick release as tight as humanly possible and it seemed to hold for the rest of the day. The fork is also very flexy, this is good when it comes to providing a nice ride but if you're not used to it, the back-to-front spring motion of the fork makes it feel like something in the front end is loose when you are riding over rough stuff at high speed. This isn't a problem, just an observation. The high dollar tapered tube rigid fork on my IF feels the same way. The 22 tooth ACS freewheel that I added is also a piece of junk. It makes all sorts of weird noises while pedaling and it's a bit out of round so it makes setting the chain tension harder than it should be. Once I'm sure of my gearing, I'll be getting a White Industries freewheel. More to come as I log additonal miles in the saddle.....

Redneck Ribs

My wife and I finally got around to paying a visit to a new establishment that recently popped up in historic New Market. The name? Redneck Ribs. I initially discovered the place when I noticed a new, attractive sign while driving through New Market. I remember being immediately intrigued, not only because I've been hunting for a good local rib joint but because it seemed a little out of place for historic New Market. In my opinion, this a welcome change. Anything outside the overwhelming number of stuffy antique shops is refreshing. I believe a little diversification could really help the town by drawing in folks that aren't necessarily into antiques. Thousands and thousands of people drive through historic New Market every day with no reason to stop. How often do you need to buy an antique armoire on your way home from work?

Anyway, back to Redneck Ribs. It's located behind the old New Market General Store. Upon first sight it looks...well, a little Redneck. The entrance is located under a vinyl carport canopy and flanked by outdoor walk-in freezers. While these features caused my wife to raise an eyebrow, it gave me hope, hope that the ribs would be tender and delicious. Every good BBQ joint I have ever visited has some of these unrefined elements and to be honest, I think these elements add to the atmosphere.

Upon entry, I was pleasantly surprised and more importantly, so was my wife. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting. We were greeted by Jeff, self proclaimed "Head Redneck". Within moments Jeff's friendly demeanor had us feeling like we visiting family members for Sunday dinner. The place is small but exceptionally clean and well decorated. Personal pictures and Bluegrass/Country album covers adorn the walls.

Onto the food. They have everything you would expect a BBQ joint to have and then some. I won't go too in depth on the menu because you can check it out here for yourself. 6 homemade sauces await the taste buds. Undecided on which sauce to choose? Jeff and crew will gladly give you samples. My wife and I decided on "Doc's Kentucky" sauce. She got the pulled pork sandwich and I got the 1/2 rack. My wife was the first to speak after taking the initial bite. Her words were...."Oh my god, we need to come here once a week." I smiled in response to her comment as I took a bite of my meaty, falling off the bone tender ribs. They were absolutely delicious, in my opinion, perfect. Tender but with that little crispy/charred coating on the outside. (Jeff told me that is called the "Bark") My ribs were covered with a generous helping of BBQ sauce whereas my wife said that she could have used a little more BBQ sauce on her pulled pork. If you don't like a lot of sauce on your ribs, be sure to specify when you order. I am sure the staff will be willing to accommodate your sauce preference. Other items like Crush Yuppies(Redneck Hush Puppies)Stewarts Soda's and Yoo-Hoo round out the menu offerings. If you like BBQ, do yourself a favor and pay Redneck Ribs a visit.

Desperate

Desperate to get some riding in, Kevin, Stephen and myself hit Gambrill in foggy, damp, 45 degree temps. We scaled back the scope of our ride plans once we saw what the weather on the mountain was like. In the end, we ended up riding the yellow trail, with the extension. The trails were in good shape, only one section on the west side of the extension was sloppy. We also spent some time covering up a cut through that was starting form on the yellow extension. Some riders have been cutting straight down the hill, instead of following the switchback. Since it runs straight downhill, it will certainly erode if use continues. Not to mention, it probably cuts out nearly 1/8 mile of trail. Hopefully the diversion tactics we put in place do the job.

Jamis Exile Review

Photo of me hitting the rocks courtesy of John G


Even though I haven't spent much time in the saddle, I am really digging my new ride. As I already mentioned in a previous blog posting, in the $1,000 price range, I think this bike is hard to beat. I looked at other SS 29'er options in this price range but for me they fell short. The runners up were the Haro Mary SS 29'er and the Redline Monocog Flight 29'er. The Haro Mary had mechanical discs and an EBB which I really didn't want to deal with and the Redline Monocog Flight came with mechanical discs and an Isis crank which I also didn't want to deal with. The Exile doesn't have the best cranks (Truvativ FireX) but they do sport Truvative's Giga-X external bearings which I have had good luck with on other bikes. The Hayes Sole brakes aren't very high-end either but they do a great job of stopping the big wheels and have good reliability. Reynolds 631 tubing provides a nice ride and the setup flows well on the trail. The Chromoly fork also gives a great ride and the tubes are tapered providing styling similar to forks made by high end fabricators(IF, Vicious, etc). I immediately swapped out the grips and headset since they weren't going to cut it on the rocks in the area I live. The grips have absolutely no squish which is generally a bad thing for a rigid fork. The stock Aheadset also had way to much slop in it for my preference. It's not a high-end, high-dollar machine but it's built to last and the frame is upgrade worthy. For a touch under $1000 I don't see how anyone could be disappointed. Considering that just this past summer I bought a pricey, custom 26 inch wheeled mountain bike, I'm very concerned with my immediate affection for the Exile 29'er. I guess we will see how it plays out.

Turns out all of these bikes are available from shops in Frederick
The Jamis Exile is available from The Bicycle Escape
The Haro Mary is available from The Bike Doctor and The Bicycle Escape
The Redline Monocog is available from both The Bicycle Escape and The Bicycle Fix

What happened to Boom Boxes?

I can't help but think the world would be a better place if more people carried around boom boxes. I mean cmon, how are you supposed to have a good old-fashioned impromtu, bike break dance thow-down if no one has a boom box handy? If only the D batteries required to power such a device weren't so expensive and harmful to the environment. Now that's a real world use for fuel cell technology.

St. Paddy's Day

The view from inside Bushwaller's in downtown Frederick around 6pm on St. Paddy's Day. As you can see, it was a packed house.

Still more snow....

I decided to bail on today's Watershed ride since I am battling a bug and the snow up on the mountain was a little deeper than I expected. Jeff, Joe and Todd hit the trail without me. I snapped this pic as they headed out in the 6-8 inches of powder. Unfortunately, 5 minutes later they returned because the trail was unrideable. Determined to do some pedalling, they hit the fire roads. Hopefully, this is Old Man Winter's final fling.

Wintry view

The unfortunate view from my deck when I got home. It was freakin 80 degress last week!

SSPBE 2007

The Single Speed Punk Bike Enduro was this past Sunday. It was quite possibly the most fun I have ever had on a bike. I'll put it this way... I bought a SS just so I could attend this event and if I were to never ride it again(this is not the case), it would still be worth the expense. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera so I have nothing to show. I'm betting that I was either smiling ear to ear or grimacing in pain in every picture I made it into. I can't wait until next year. John G snapped some shots, you can check them out on his Flickr page. Big thanks to Joe for setting up this awesome day of riding and providing everyone with great beer.

YOAIS

Yeti Oak Aged Imperial Stout. This is one of the beers I picked up from mega- liquors last Friday. When I see a beer with a name like that, my expectations are high. The YOAIS did not disappoint, one sip and there was no doubt in my mind that this beer was indeed aged in oak barrels. The flavor is malty, roatsy and hoppy(are those even words?) with some sweet undertones. The color is so dark I had to turn on additional lights in my house after I poured it into a pint glass. If you like stouts that are bit more on the hoppy side, get yourself a bottle. If you like the super smooth finishing Stouts...steer clear. This one is going to make it into my regular rotation.

Wintry Departure

I snapped this pic as I was leaving for work this morning. Just as I was starting to dream of warmer temps and the reappearance of greenery Mother Nature issued me a bitch-slap in the way of another snowfall. It's supposed to break into the 60's this weekend so all is good. Soon enough the snow on the mountain will be melted and I will be able to resume a normal, fun riding schedule where I'm not worried on every ride that my tires are going to slip out from underneath me, causing me to bust my ass.

New Ride

Jamis Exile

Bought a new bike over the weekend. A Jamis Exile SS 29'er. Yeah, yeah....I know. I almost hate to say "SS and 29'er" in the same sentence because it sounds so cliche. All that follow the leader, trendy BS aside, it's a great bike. With a nice, upgrade worthy, steel frame/fork and decent componentry. In the $1,000 price category I don't think the Exile can be beat. One thing I don't care for is the 33x16 stock gearing. It seems like most production 29'ers are sporting a 32x20 combo from the factory, so I'm not sure what Jamis was thinking when they decided to slap on a 33x16. Unfortunately, the first ride probably won't be until this weekend. It's OK though....my 22 tooth freewheel shoud be in by then.

Dead Guy

Finally got around to cracking open the 1/2 gallon jug of Rogue Dead Guy Ale I picked up of Friday. Good stuff! I found out from another local that Brewers Alley will refill the jug with their brew so I don't think it's going to end up as a change jar after all.

Montarino

Montarino

Cross posted on the TBE Blog

A few months back a customer brought an old road bike into the shop looking for someone to take it off their hands. Although very old and beat up, Tom took the bike thinking it might make a good project bike for someone. After looking at the ugly beater hanging from the ceiling for months, I decided to pull it down and measure it. It came in around 58cm which wouldn't you know...would work just fine for me. The bike is a Montarino, which sounds Italian but it's not, the sticker on the seat tube proudly proclaims that it was made in West Germany. From the little bit of information I could find regarding the Montarino brand on the Internet and using the components as a gauge, I estimate that this bike was manufactured during the early to mid 70's. I decided to strip the old busted components off of the bike and make it a fixed gear city cruiser. I tried to keep it as original as possible yet still make it safe and comfortable. New wheels and tires were a must since I was unable to locate tires that would fit the original wheels. Besides that, I flipped and chopped the handlebar, gave it a fresh wrap of Cateye cloth tape and added a new seat and chrome toe clips. I've taken it out a few times so far and it's a great ride. It feels good breath life into and ride something you saved from the landfill.

Mega Liquior

Like many people in the Baltimore Washington Metro area I work over an hour away from where I live. One of the good things about driving that far is that you drive past a lot of stuff on your way home. One of the great places along my route is a store called Corridor Fine Wine. It's a mega liquior store located in Laurel Maryland that's size would best be described as the Walmart of Liquor. I like wine, but I go there for the beer. They have the largest make-your own-6-pack section I have ever seen. Anyway, if you're in the Laurel area, check this place out, it won't dissapoint. The picture above is a selection I bought on my lunch break today. Sorry for the fuzzy pic. Selections are Rogue Dead Guy Ale in a 1/2 gallon jug(my new change jar), Great Divide's Oak Aged Imperial Stout and Republic Brewing Big Bear Black Stout. I can't wait...