I am married. With child. With large house payment. With job in city that keeps me away from home 13 hours a day.
I haven't even been able to ride my "city bike" (2004 Specialized Allez Comp with Foco tubing, magic motorcycle cranks-set up as a singlespeed (32:16 here too) and moustache bars) for a month because somehow I was able to effectively crack the driveside crank arm in half. BUM-MER. They were sweet cranks, the ones I drooled over in like 1988. The ones my good buddy gave me. And yes the ones that were beyond custom in that they were black anodized with red ring. Damn. I really went on and on. They are gone now...
My "City Bike"--2004 Specialized Allez Comp, moustache bars, Magic Motorcycle cranks, rear rack and the very important and necessary CycleSak cover---ferry rides DESTROY bikes, especially steel ones.... Back to the story at hand.
No boo hoos, no what if's. I used to get a good ride in almost everyday during my internment at King Cycle World and Cog Works. Singletrack, road, cross, beer. They all flowed seemlessly together. Now, I get 2 hours a weekend to slip away (thanks Cari) and ride on of my bikes. And lately, that bike has been the old El Toro.
Did I mention I am a bit of a tech dork? Oh, not so bad that it consumes my conversations or anything like that. More like, I see something that looks cool and actually works (well most of the time) and I have to get it. Being like this I have re-shuffled bikes every few years, always moving up to the perceived "better one". Steel, to aluminum, to carbon fiber to single pivot, to faux four bar to VPP. You name the acronym, I've probably owned it. Liked them all too for their own characteristics. But where the hell am I going with this? Sorry. Back to the El Toro.
So there I am getting across town (20 minutes to single track just for reference Kirby) to ride. I'm bigger than before and the gut weighs heavily, but I keep the pedals turning. Climb, climb some more, climb a bit more, wheeze and voila! I am at "the Lake" (Skyline park's lake). No time to rest, it's up around the lake and a bit more climbing before the FUN begins. * Sorry, I have not had a chance to actually "embrace" the "fun" of climbing.
This is where it gets good and where I finally get to the point of my rambling. The climb all leads me to a glorious little 10" wide sliver of perfect (right now) single track. Twisting, turning, undulating up and down, the roller coaster lets me open it up full throttle, and damn I love it! Mostly smooth with just the right mix of rocks and technical bits thrown in for good measure (it's no Rockville though). I grunt up (OK walk part of) the last climb and before me is Lower Skyline Trail---the final fun part. I bomb it and only run into some hikers near the bottom, what a joy!
So what am I getting at with this freakin' story? Bikes, fat, technology...it's just this: I really like riding and I firmly believe that in this technolgy driven world, bikes especially, you gotta get back to the basics more often. My El Toro has one gear, 80mm of travel and gives me an ear to ear grin pretty much the whole time. You have to be fully AWARE of evrything-cadence, upcoming obstacles, breathing, braking--the works. Some of things I notice I begin to take for granted when I have the opportunity my full-suspension offers-namely gears, 4" of travel at both ends and disc brakes. Taking it back to the basics is the best way to elevate your game on all fronts and helps me realize what a joy just being on a bike can be.
Of course this doesn't mean I am giving up the geared world. Couldn't do it. The Intense is down with a busted BB (I was lucky enough that the ol' TruVativ lasted as long as it did), and when the new one comes in and I install it, we'll be back into the rotation, but for now, I can't wait to get back onto the SS, look down at the handlebars and see only grips and brakes and head back out on my next weekend ride.
Yep.
3 comments:
hey, where is the picture of City Blue SS?
Sorry to hear about the injured fleet of bikes. I feel your pain. Nothing like a simple ss bike to keep you going! I am E-baying a lot of stuff right now because I have some sick idea in my head that a single speed cross bike would be fun to own.
Also glad to hear that you are getting out riding.
I remember the first time a saw a single speed. It was right when I moved to Redding and went on my first ride with you, and you were on a single speed. I thought to myself “why the hell would you ride a bike without gears”. Of course we all know what happened a few months down the road. I built up an old bike and started enjoying the simplicity of no gears. Matter of fact for the last year and half my geared bike had a broken chain and some small other little things (ken, remember when you were here and I rigged my geared bike and made it an 18speed so you could ride it at Tsali) but I just final fixed it about a month ago. So for the last 18 months I have been riding a single speed and really got back to the roots.
Ken you’re so right…it doesn’t matter what you’re riding, just get into woods and enjoy a few hours of nature and quality time doing something you love… and hell it’s good for your health. Good to here you’re getting more time on your bike. Keep on trucking!
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