New bike toys are fun

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Well shit, it has been far too long since I’ve pounded the keys for a proper DC post.  Oh well such is the case when you are powering through the life you must live, as opposed to the life you wished you lived.  Work (in the form of extended to trips to West Texas and Kansas) got in the way of fun for several weeks, but as of last week shit got figured out.  To celebrate I did the only thing that made sense to me, ride bikes and spend a bunch of coin on some new bike toys.

In the past week, I’ve made two trips out to Buffalo Creek, one by myself, and one with friends.  Buffalo Creek can be a pain in the ass to get to (one hour drive each way), but the riding does not disappoint.  Having not been there in a few months I was surprised to see a new “picnic area” with communal bike tools, floor pump, trail maps, and a lost and found box.  Additionally there was a box full of bags of chips, and three coolers loaded with water, Gatorade, cookies, energy bars, and granola bars.  A sign simply said to return any tools that you used, and leave leave whatever donation you thought was appropriate for the food and drink.  It was great to see this new feature at a trailhead, and it was even better to see that it didn’t appear to be being abused.  A cold beer at the end of my ride was great, toss in some cookies, and I was in heaven.  On my second day of riding this past week (with D2 and Peter), I put all my remaining singles into the donation box and felt good about myself.  Any trip to Buffalo Creek, also requires a post stop ride at the Bucksnort Saloon.  A few miles up a narrow canyon, the Snort makes no apologies for what they are, and the customers wouldn’t have it any other way.

Onto the new bike toys, I moved out of the stone age and got some suspension for my singlespeed.  Granted this is probably the smallest step out of the stone age, as the fork has a straight steerer tube, and uses a 9 mm QR (my progress is pretty slow).  The Angry Bhuddist turned himself into “Bike Santa”, and was kind enough to hook me up with a Fox Fork.  Once I get back from this upcoming work trip (North Dakota here I come!), I’m looking forward to a life of squish.

But a new fork wasn’t enough, so I went ahead an bought a new mountain bike.  The great guys at Niner made me an offer I couldnt refuse on an geared Air9.  Having borrowed the Air9 D2 reviewed last year, I new Niner had their shit together as far as the frame was concerned.  Throw in a fine XT drivetrain, and I jumped at the chance to pick up this bike.  I haven’t owned a geared mountain bike since 2006, and over the years I have been hesitant to give geared riding a try for the same reason I was hesitant to try cocaine in college, I was afraid I would like it too much.  Well I got my ass on that geared bike, and rode up the whore of a climb at White Ranch outside of Golden.  Not being hunched over on that climb with my nose an inch away from the stem felt pretty fucking good, and I never once heard a “click” in my knees as I cranked away at 12 rpm (which was common on this climb on my SS).  So yeah, getting out and riding and picking up some new bike toys was a great way to spend the past few days.  I suggest you all do the same.

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