Cold Brandywine

Woke to a very chilly 20 degree morning. Headed down to the Brandywine to catch up with the usual suspects, Andrew, Mark, Louie and Ronnie. Turns out that another group of about 10 or 12 was also rallying at the exact same spot. I guess we're not the only ones who think a freezing cold day is a good day to ride.


Wasn't quite ready for it, but sometime you just need to saddle up. Thought I had some minor tweeking yet to do on the Moots and since this was NOT a good day for trailside adjustments, I was a little nervous. But she rode really well. Tracked nicely, the bars were comfy, she rolled right over everything I asked (some of the bigger logs I did not ask), the front end wasn't heavy at all and the whole bike came in around 22 pounds or thereabouts.


There were lots of little stream crossings and a couple of muddy spots where the trail ran too close to a spring or two. After a couple of crossings, the water got into some folks jockey pully bearings and froze them um. Warm bare hands applied in rotation got them rolling again. I was a little more careful with the water (or else the sealed cartridge bearings were not susceptible).



The trails at Brandywine are a pretty nice mix of intersting size and terrain, going up and down the hillside along the Brandywine River. A couple of very technical sections involving long stretches of rocks make for some challenging riding at parts. There is also a nice long uphill that is just the right grade for a good long crank.



Coming off of one log, there was no "down ramp" and I wasn't quite back far enough (still figuring out the new ride) and ended up getting a nice closeup view of the earth. Fortunately the helmet and my left deltoid took up most of the shock so I was able to keep riding. Mark was about 40 feet in front of me and he said he heard my helmet (not my "head" but my "helmet") hit the ground. Hey, if you're not falling, then you're not tryng hard enough, right?


Need to go back and make some adjustments, but everything went pretty well which is pretty amazing considering that I built this thing by myself from the ground up. With a nod to Andrew's wheelbuilding.


Grabbed some mexican food afterwards before heading off in our different directions. And then it is back to work tomorrow.


Hope everyone has a healthy and a peaceful 2010.