Race Report, Oh My!

[Collin A]

Not the typical report that comes from the site, I know, but I think its worth mentioning since diversity in thought helps contribute to an inclusive group!

 

I’ve got a history in racing, but from the side of running, so I’ve always had an itch that a race usually scratches, just that sense of competition (and the comradery) that can only really develop in a race. Obviously, I wasn’t riding for the podium, so it wasn’t cut throat, but instead cheerful, friendly and chatty.

 

There were quite a few interesting bikes out there. Some retrotechs, blackcats, singlespeeds, vintage MTBs, full carbon squish machines, you name it, there was a good variety in the group. The people were mostly top notch as well, with most speaking out against the hard-ass personalities that can sometimes dominate the group during these kinds of events, so it was nice to see and hear all sorts of people out enjoying a fun and difficult day out on the trails. Still plenty of interesting comments and reactions to the ol’ Clem Smith, though, mostly from the single-speeders and other rigid bike riders.

 

I stripped the bike down to its basics: Two bottles, ½ framebag, no racks or basket (wah wah), and even switched out to my racey clip pedals rather than my normal flat pedals, but kept the brooks and my safety triangle for some flare. Things worked well for the most part, except I had some drivetrain problems with friction shifting (hence an update to the advent in the last month) and took a wrong turn at one point, whoops. I endo’d twice and busted my brake levers and tweaked the front brake in the process…did I mention it was muddy and very wet? Needless to say, it was a tough course on the bike and the body, but the bike definitely performed better than the body.

 

Overall it was a great day, I stayed around the middle of the pack and had fun with the other riders and the course volunteers and realized that a lime-a-rita tastes amazing at the end of a hard race, ha!

 

Here are some before and after shots, hopefully it gives you a good idea of the level of muddiness that was on the trails that day… (scroll to the bottom of the album https://photos.app.goo.gl/JU2uuwp957K5S5H79)

 

Enjoy the week everyone!

 

Collin in Oakland

[Collin A]

A route map might be helpful, it would make for a nice little bumble around the lake for those interested:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19396289

[Patrick Moore]

Collin: Thanks for that informative and witty report, and the wonderful photos -- as someone who is entirely hamfisted with cameras, I appreciate expertise.

I've never seen so many bottles on 1 bike.

Is that frame bag made by FBJ Creations? If not, please post source. I use a Med Revelate, but it doesn't quite fit my Matthews, and (2) I could use a wee bit more room inside. I see that the bag allows a 28 oz bottle on the seat tube; important. (Tsk tsk for the language.)

What is the light?

Crane bell: just splurged on Spurs for 2003 riv and Matthews; high zoot but really the nicest while also loudest sound I've heard.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique

[tc]

Holy cow - muddy is right! Congrats - sounds like a blast.
So, is an ugly big ol’ indexing SRAM shifter in your future?
Tom

[Collin A]

Patrick, my camera skills are not the greatest, but thank you for the compliment!

Tom, I ended up with the microshift 9 speed advent clutch deraileur and shifter. It works well enough, but doesn't look as nice as the silver bits, sadly.

The framebag is a custom from Rockgeist bags: https://rockgeist.com/product/halfframebag/ 

Greg is a wonderful guy to work with and there are lots of options on what can be done with those bags. They are a bit pricy, but nicely made and fits my frame like a glove, and the lace-ups look better than the velcro straps in my opinion. The patch is courtesy of Crust Bikes, it speaks to me, haha.

The light is a pre-production version of the k-lite, but pretty much the same as the production I think: https://www.kliteusa.net/product-page/klite

It has a symmetrical beam pattern, so I'd recommend sticking to the trails with this light (or make some sort of cutoff to avoid blinding people).

I've found the ring-volume of the bell is significantly hampered when the bell ends up full of mud or covered in water, pro-tip!

[Deacon Patrick]

Friendly competition is an entirely different beastie than racing, and you've got it dialed it. Och, aye! Bells are flat to useless when wet or muddy and ain't no way 'round it but to let em dry and flick it off. Grin. Trails following lake contours are fun ... and surprisingly varied. Looks like a fantastic and gritty time. Heal well from your tumbles!

With abandon,
Patrick

[Ed Fausto]

Hi Collin!

Wow! dried up mud :-)

Did you have problems shifting with all that mud on your front and rear deraileur?

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[Patrick Moore]

Collin: How do you like the K-Lite? I have an earlier model -- 2016 IIRC, with single lamp, 600 and 1,200 lumens claimed, and candybar-sized capacitor+switching system that tucks nicely away in a frame bag.

I use it only on familiar dirt "acequia" irrigation roads in our bosque, but even with my bad night vision it is very nice -- I do carry a battery back up for those times when speed drops below, say, 8-10 mph. 

Agree about blinding oncomers, but I do use mine largely, if not entirely, on dirt roads and paths that after dark are not very much frequented.

Must look more closely at the Rocketgeist product line.

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[Sean McRobert]

Hey Collin, I love your Clem!  It wears mud well.  Nice camera work too.  What kind of saddle bag is that in the pic in this thread?  I like they way it tucks in there and leaves some rack space.