Go ride a bike.

[The Effen Gee]

After about ten years I decided to get back on a bike.


I used to ride freestyle street, my heart lies in the dirt though..
Something about dragging a sofa out to the trails in the summertime and the endless hours of digging, shaping, packing and my personal favorite...

The test run.

Riding street was fun, brutal on your bike though.
I miss the teenage years, for the vitality...not the mentality.

Recently I got tired of my body slowly starting to "Weaken" as I call it from lack of physical activity. So I bought a Mountian Bike.

...Man have things changed.
So much new technology, better trails, better bikes.

Plus, it seems like everyone from the "Mid-School Era" has gotten on a bigger, badder bike.

SO I went out and got one, removed all the gears, converted it to a single speed moderate terrain to awesome downhill bike.
Now I cannot get off the thing. In a month I put over a hundred miles on the thing, I got a trip meter.

Starting out was brutal to say the least, I have never felt so out of shape in my life. Not even when I went to boot camp. I have time to think about the soreness here. I found out real quick what my limits where physically so I knew when to push myself harder.

Now I can ride up steep grades that before I used to have to pick the thing up and carry it on my back. Turns a lot of heads on the crowded poor excuse for a creekside trail we have here in the south bay.

Plus I drink about 2 litres of water on a four hour ride. That helps immensely.

I am so deeply in love with riding again it's sickening. My wife does not want to hear me talk about it...ever. When people ask me what I am up to these days I say "Riding the crap out of my bike. Go get one."

The sunshine, the heat, the soreness, the burning, the cuts, crashes, solar rips (smoking pot with the sun and a magnifying glass) with a view, flies...in your teeth. the whole nine yards.

Tell us, do you have a bike?
What kind of riding are you into?

I want to know. I am sure somebody else might.

...Damn weed milkshake is kicking my butt tonight.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

not sure if flies in my teeth are my thing..But as long as you found some excersize..thats better then most people ...i myself like to walk..i either fall or the tires are bent..keep on rideing tho..take care and be safe

 

[The Effen Gee]

I am seeking primitive camping, on a bike.
After looking at most of the national forests in northen california I decided Lassen could be a better chioce than the coast or Humboldt National because I don't want to risk contaminated fish or crawdads.

Now...

Is anyone in northern california familiar with either of these areas? Have a better suggestion?

I am on a bike so I need moderate terrain, logging roads are perfect. I seek clean, fresh water so I don't jam my filter in a day. I want to be able to catch my food, as carrying that stuff sucks. I want all this and I want it to be spectacularly QUIET.

Can anybody offer me any suggestions?

 

[umbra]

well you know I ride, lol. I have a Gary Fisher. bout 15 years old now. still does the job.

 

[4u2sm0ke]

ciao: friend..i believe tcbud is from there and shows some nice sceanery..i know she is on a road trip now herself with hubby...Hope she will find this thread when she returns..I will mention it to her..Keep Bikeing..the National Forests are great for trails ..but I dont think you can camp in them..maybe ..just not fires....remember " Only you can prevent forest fires" use a Bong ( it has water to fire out if need be) :giggle: I am of no help sorry..but if ya ride you bike up here to Seattle we can go Mt Rainer..or even the Cascades..but im sure you will find many a places to smoke and ride..please bring back some pics..we would love to go on a trip with ya:ciao:

 

[cubby]

It's so odd that this subject would come up. I have been thinking of getting into bikking again. Years ago I did quite a bit of bike camping and have been looking into starting again. Northern Minnesota has litteraly thousands of miles of trails. Snow mobile trails, abbandoned railroad trails (sans tracks), logging roads and such criss cross the entire region.
Right now my biggest problem is finding a ride that is durable enough to fit me. I'm 6'2, 285 so jumping on the average bike shop offering is just not feasable. I've been looking around the net for something. So far it looks like my best bet is not a mountain bike, but rather a mountain trike. It sounds funny but they are geared for use by larger people on varied terrain. And there's also the bonus of the ability extend the rear of the frame to add a flat grid on wich you can pack camping gear and such.
Hey 4u, your right on with the Mt. Raineer, when I was in the service I was stationed at Ft. Lewis and did lots of biking around there. Another great place for bikking in Washington state is Yackama and the Columbia river gourge.
Well take care and keep your pant legs out of the chain.

 

[The Effen Gee]

Trust me man, you get on a bike and that 285 pounds start to quickly decrease.

I used to love jumping. No hander, barspin, bloddy bogger can-can, tailwhip, no handed seat grab...ect.

I do not do this anymore because I want a bike to last more than one season. So I try to keep it moderately on the ground. Straight wheels are happy wheels anyways and I don't exactly recover as fast as I used to after crashes.

The trike sounds good, but I would worry about weight, abd the width of the rear axle being an issue on thinner trails.

If you decide to get a bike, than I would recommend against a full suspension, as you can loose alot of energy in the rear shocks. I got a scott Aspect 45, coverted to a single speed (minus gears) and am extremely satisfied with the bike so far. For the price it was a good deal. My only complaints is the wheels and tires are kinda crappy but hey, most stock componets are.

 

[meds4me]

Funny, I have a 20" from '76 "kuwahara" and i get alot of grief for it....nothing like a 6' plus vanilla gorilla humpin a football...lol

Get a 20 speed and get pedallin !

 

[SmokinMom]

I ride a mens Giant Sedona comfort cruiser...might be more your speed cubby. We have a lot of paved trails in my area and stick with those.

Get a Camelback and go. Its a great exhillerating feeling.

 

[FrostyBud]

I have a bike that was bought new about 4 years ago, I rode it once. If I don't start riding it, it will just sit there for years and eventually become a mint condition antique bike! LOL! I am going to start riding it!

 

[The Effen Gee]

Camelback saved my life when I was in the service and it saves my butt almost every time I go out.

Get one, I use nmine almost everywhere I go.

 

[meds4me]

camelbacks are awesome for motorcycles as well. I ride anything with a motor 'cause i'm an amputee and riding a bicycle is to much like work...of course if it was a "whizzer"....

 

[SmokinMom]

Effen- how do you get the stale, sour taste out of yours? Do you know what I mean?

It works great for hydration....but wish I could get the fresh taste back.

 

[meds4me]

It's so odd that this subject would come up. I have been thinking of getting into bikking again. Years ago I did quite a bit of bike camping and have been looking into starting again. Northern Minnesota has litteraly thousands of miles of trails. Snow mobile trails, abbandoned railroad trails (sans tracks), logging roads and such criss cross the entire region.
Right now my biggest problem is finding a ride that is durable enough to fit me. I'm 6'2, 285 so jumping on the average bike shop offering is just not feasable. I've been looking around the net for something. So far it looks like my best bet is not a mountain bike, but rather a mountain trike. It sounds funny but they are geared for use by larger people on varied terrain. And there's also the bonus of the ability extend the rear of the frame to add a flat grid on wich you can pack camping gear and such.
Hey 4u, your right on with the Mt. Raineer, when I was in the service I was stationed at Ft. Lewis and did lots of biking around there. Another great place for bikking in Washington state is Yackama and the Columbia river gourge.
Well take care and keep your pant legs out of the chain.

Uhhh....Yackama huh ? never heard of that place.....lmao
errr okay , lets try "Yakima" and im down river from there... and yes the gorge is another great place . But dont forget to look at the "Skamania" area....GORGEOUS" is the first words that come to mind....

 

[meds4me]

sorry, couldnt resist!

 

[The Effen Gee]

Camelback bladder maint.

It's best to clean the bladder after you run around 20 gallons through it. Depending on your water, you may have to clean it more often. You can use 2 drops of bleach in the bladder, rinse repeat.
It may also be a good idea to get the actual cleaning kit, so you can clean out the tube and mouthpeice.

Personal recommendations:

Screw cleaning, I just buy new bladders and switch them out.
DO NOT USE TAP WATER. Tap water leaves residue in the bladder, and also allows algea and microbial growth. Tap water is disgusting...dont believe me? Grab a ppm meter and see for yourself.

I use RO, or bottled water if ro is not available. Do not put anything other than water in there unless you want to have that tastye forever.

This goes for Vodka and more specifically, carla rossi burgundy and pelligrino sparkling water. The hikers delight. Drunk + Hydrated. Just the taste will never get out of the bladder.

 

[SmokinMom]

Yea, always used tap water.

We tried the bleach thing but to no avail....then tried mouth wash...ick.

I think I will just get a new bladder.

Thanks for the recs, much appreciated.

 

[meds4me]

Yo "G" : I thought thats what "Boda bags" were for ....lol.
Sorry but thats the first thing that popped into my brain...

 

[dman1234]

i never drink from my camelback it always has fertz in it.
Hehe, the best way to get water to my OD gurls.

 

[Clandestino]

Hey Effen, thanks for the posting. I too love my bike. I hadn't had one for a long time then 3 years ago I was working at a triathlon and said, "I bet I could do that if I train a bit." So I got myself a road bike and hit the road, started running a bit and swimming too. Now I have done 2 olympic triathlons and I have a third coming up in September. I can't get enough. I even ride when I am not training. I picked myself up a Surly Long Haul Trucker and I go everywhere on that thing. I don't even use my car much anymore.

Everyone should get out and ride a bike.