All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I hear you! Haven't ridden since mid-November. Skiing's been pretty good, though.



Although I see mid-50s in Moab next week.

 

Closest I can get to some good riding conditions would be somewhere south of San Fran so 4-5 hours. St george is 9 :/

Trying to sell the homies on a sedona spring break trip. Want to see how I'll ride Hiline and Hogs now vs 4 years ago

 

I think a training plan would be worth it. Dylan Johnson has some that are decently priced with 1 time payments. Dylan Johnson | Road Cycling Coach | TrainingPeaks

Trainer road also has some good training plans with their subscriptions.

If you want building the training plan to be part of the fun then there is a ton of good info out there, I really like this book. It's not MTB specific but it's good at explaining everything with enough detail for you to actually learn something:

$42 Training for the Uphill Athlete: A Manual for Mountain Runners and Ski Mountaineers

Training for the Uphill Athlete: A Manual for Mountain Runners and Ski Mountaineers: House, Steve, Johnston, Scott, Jornet, Kilian: 9781938340840: Amazon.com: Books


Looking at the race, it's about 71 miles over 3 days, I think the key will be getting used to time in saddle for the long days. Eventually I think you would want to be doing big rides on back to back days. Learning how to fuel for those 3 days will be just as important as training too.

 

This looks perfect. One of Dylan Johnson's plans are what I'm looking for. Looks like I can import those into Zwift too for these winter months.

 

Kurt Refsnider has a good plan. It's specific to bikepacking races but would work for stage races too. MTB focused and he emphasizes keeping it fun.

https://www.ultramtb.net/trainingplans.html

 

Yep, a few rides in high 20s low 30s with a little moisture/snow/ rain had the whole rear end sticking and not wanting to shift all the way up or down.

 

Yup, happened a few times when I lived in the Midwest, was exactly the thing that got me into singlespeeding.

 

Pre-Superbowl ride. No Taco content but still sorta Toyota.

 

We did the same except the trails are a mess so we did a gravel/pavement ride

 

Dang, figured BC would be closed so went for a run in the hood. Guess I shoulda checked

 

I was surprised it was open. It was a little slick but still fun!

 

spring break? i'm gonna be in sedona mid march!

 

Man this looks good. What mods did you do to the Redwood?

 

So far Redshift stem (game changer for me), 700c wheels (still have the stock 650's for more dedicated off road rides), WTB Venture 700x50c tires, tubeless setup, new seat (Ergon is in the photo, it usually has a Spank 160), PNW bar tape, Shimano Zee bottom bracket and crankset (replaced the square taper BB), 40t chainring, Jagwire compression-less brake cables, Juin Tech cable to hydraulic brakes and upgraded to a 180mm front rotor.

I focused on touch points and braking (stock brakes were terrible). The compressionless housings made a world of difference, more so then the new calipers. The Redshift stem now keep my hands from going numb with normal gravel road vibrations, it was a welcomed upgrade. Otherwise, the stock wheels are tires are very heavy and chunky. Stock tires also are not tubeless compatible but the rims are. I threw some rim tape on them and went with lighter and better tires for my intended use. Saddle is personal preference, I'm going to stick with the Spank 160.

The bike is a lot of fun, but it's a fairly heavy pig. The frame is very stout, I don't think twice about running that thing through any chunk I have the courage to ride.

 

Nice! Been think about the Redwood but leaning a little more towards the Ambition X. I don't really need the stoutness of the Redwood.

 

I have a redwood as well and have been looking at selling for a nicer bike. Don't get me wrong, the Poseidon is great and there is really nothing wrong with it, but it weighs a ton and it has a lot of 'eh' components on it. Really can't complain through, it eats up chunk and has never left me with an uneasy feeling that I'm pushing it too hard. Settled on the Redwood because it has a thru-axle and its a bit more robust, but with a new bike I can easily shave 6-7 pounds off the whole setup. Went that route at first not knowing if I would even like gravel biking, but with the miles and amount of saddle time I have put in, wished I could of spent a little more up front and got the nicer bike.

Pic from the same day and ride as Pugga:

 

One thing to keep an eye on when looking at the X Ambition is the components. The X Ambition is lighter by 4-5 lbs I believe but doesn't have thru axles and the frame spacing is such that it's not really a modern standard. It's lighter, but less upgrade-friendly. Obviously, you can still upgrade brakes, bars, seat, etc. but you're a little more locked in with your wheelset.

 

Managed to get in a 12 mile, 1300’ loop from home up into UC Santa Cruz, venturing off the fire roads onto single track for the first time since the big rain we had about ten days ago. And before we get more rain tomorrow. Today, the inland side trails were nicely covered with moist redwood duff and pretty darn nice. Still, there was mud but not enough to damage the trails. I rarely wash my bike but today it got a quick shower after I got home.




I’ve passed this sign at the bottom of campus hundreds of times but today for the first time I thought, “But what about trail, or XC bikes?”

 

When I don't want to climb back up to the tanks from the bottom of Wilder, I usually go through campus also. It's kind of a pleasant climb up actually.

 

Heading to Laguna Beach next week. Was hoping to demo a bike from YT 1-2 days and ride San Clemente but it looks like rain again