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Post by kconner on Dec 11, 2013 11:50:33 GMT -5
Is January 15 a Wednesday or am I looking at the wrong calendar?
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Post by kconner on Nov 13, 2013 22:41:41 GMT -5
It's pretty cool that Georgia has something like this going on, and I look forward to watching this develop and hopefully take hold. Any idea if any local teams are forming, or of any opportunities to help out/volunteer?
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Post by kconner on Nov 5, 2013 19:17:44 GMT -5
Rode LCHT about a week and a half ago and it's in great shape! Parked at the "E" point and rode the entire upper loop clockwise, including the spur to the metal bridge. The entire trail was dry, easy to follow and had several logs down, but all were riders for me.
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Post by kconner on Oct 16, 2013 21:30:36 GMT -5
Not sure you want to do the 65 miles of the Not-Bakers-Dozen Thurmond Epic? Not sure you have the time to do the Not-Bakers-Dozen Thurmond Epic? Never fear, there will be some riders meeting up this Saturday, October 19th to do the Not-Bakers-Dozen Christmas Party Ride. Just like the Thurmond Epic version of the Not-Bakers-Dozen rides, this is not an official SORBA-CSRA ride, and you are responsible for yourself. Bring your own food/snacks/water, as the only place to re-stock is Mistletoe and I'm not sure what they have available. Also, if you're not familiar with the route, bring directions just in case. While this will also be considered a ride at your own pace ride, I would imagine this ride will be done at a more leisurely pace than most of the Thurmond Epic riders will be doing. If you want to set land speed records, come on out! If you wanna just cruise along through the woods, you're welcome as well! We will be meeting up in the Keg parking lot around 9 am and riding out around 9:30. Anybody and everybody is welcome to join us....reply here and let us know you're coming and we'll be looking for ya.
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Post by kconner on Oct 14, 2013 11:43:01 GMT -5
Big thanks to all the volunteers who've been working on organizing this...and sorry. I hate that it had to be canceled, but I'd have voted to cancel as well with such a low registration #. I'd still like to spend the majority of the day on the bike though...anyone up for a big ride? Either a Modoc/Wine/Turkey ride or the Thurmond Epic (Bartram + Keg + Mistletoe)? I'd also like to throw out a big "thank you" to all the volunteers, it's a shame that it didn't happen, but I think it was probably a good decision. Jmyers and myself were also talking about doing a ride since the race is cancelled. Since Modoc and Wine are in such rough shape, we were talking about doing all or part of the Christmas Party ride, at a somewhat leisurely pace. If you decide to ride that way and the timing works out, we'd be in, but we would be doing more of a somewhat leisurely ride.
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Post by kconner on Oct 9, 2013 9:53:46 GMT -5
Nice pictures, looks like a fun event!
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Post by kconner on Oct 4, 2013 13:42:42 GMT -5
FATS can't be closed for 25 years from at least 2003. It was built with RTP $$$ and the USFS signed on saying it couldn't be closed for 25 years. Read more: sorbacsra.proboards.com/thread/3421?page=13#ixzz2glv294cHhhhhmmmm.... Anyways, hopefully turkey and wine get some much need wheels during this closure. As I understand it, FATS can't be closed PERMANENTLY until at least 2028. I see this as being different from TEMPORARY closures. For example, earlier this year FATS was closed temporarily due to adverse weather conditions, and FATS should have been closed more than once this spring/summer IMHO. This time FATS was closed because of a bunch of bickering politicians, which sucks, but doesn't mean it's being closed permanently. FATS has opened up after all other temporary closures, and I feel confident that it will open back up once the politicians grow up (IF they grow up). That's why it's a TEMPORARY closure. Anyways, how is a closure at FATS always a bad thing? While FATS is close to home for me and is where I do a large chunk of my riding just because of convenience, I look at FATS closures as just another excuse to ride some of our other trails, most of which are a straight up awesome ride. I'd stay off of FATS during the closure. It looks bad for mountain bikers as a whole, and besides, who wants to deal with a ticket/fine when there's great trails just up the road?
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Post by kconner on Sept 30, 2013 20:40:57 GMT -5
Morning ride today, trail is in great shape. Several trees down (probably about 6) spaced pretty evenly throughout sections 2 & 3, several are riders for me, but some will probably need to be cut out, and I don't have the exact locations of these trees.
The bridge that is slated to be replaced is looking pretty rough. It appears to have shifted since my last ride and seems to have a bounce and is leaning and may cause some problems for the race. I didn't look at it closely, but I imagine a temporary fix for the race will probably solve this issue.
If anybody is heading out to do any work on the trail, I may be available depending on my work schedule. Let me know.
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Post by kconner on Sept 18, 2013 20:48:34 GMT -5
Road/gravel tires are definitely all about compromise. There is no good tire in that sticky red clay, and nothing will grip well in deep loose gravel, even MTB tires struggle in it. Red clay is a pain for sure....the trick is to find a tire that works well for most conditions you ride in, unless you just have the money to own a different set of tires for different routes/conditions, which I don't lol. So far, I'm liking the Clement MSOs and the Kenda Happy Mediums....hopefully I can find some time to snoop around the interwebs and get some reviews soon.
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Post by kconner on Sept 17, 2013 13:08:09 GMT -5
If you're riding gravel, how much is mud an issue, really? I went on a ride that included anything from pavement to gravel to rock to sticky mud. Some sections of the route were fairly dry, but some sections probably got rain ~10 minutes before we rode through. I would think that the vast majority of what I'll ride will be decent, well draining gravel, but there's definitely some sub-par sections of road out there, and it would be nice to have tires that would do well in this type terrain, as long as I'm not sacrificing too much on the rest of the roads. Of course, I doubt that there is a truly ideal tire for that sticky red clay lol, but I'd like to have one set of tires that would do will in most conditions rather than have multiple sets for different conditions. Thanks again for the suggestions!
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Post by kconner on Sept 17, 2013 10:12:52 GMT -5
That Clement does look nice. I looked at the Small Block 8s, but I've heard people having problems with mud packing in the tread on the MTB version, and I'd imagine the CX version would have similar issues. Thanks for the input!
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Post by kconner on Sept 16, 2013 13:17:57 GMT -5
The stock tires are Bontrager something or others....all I remember is that they're labelled as 32c but only measure up to 30c and have minimal tread. They slip more than I would like. I first noticed it on this ride but thought it was due to mud build up, but I also noticed some slippage today on the towpath, especially in some of the softer spots. I really want to go wider, like 35c-ish, and maybe wider. Not really sure how wide is too wide for the riding I want to do, but I can go wide, up to 1.8" as claimed by the manufacturer. As far as tubeless is concerned, I'm on the fence. I figured running tubeless would soften some bumps, but how many bumps are there really on gravel roads? Also, is it worth the added rolling resistance? It may add more grip, but I don't really know if it's worth it. AJBW had several CX tires in stock that they recommended, although I don't remember the models. Robert at Chain Reaction says he's happy with his Kenda SB8s, and also said he's heard good things about some Contis they had in stock (again, I don't remember the model).
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Post by kconner on Sept 16, 2013 11:57:47 GMT -5
I'm looking into getting rid of the stock tires on my cross bike. I'm not looking for a racing tire, just something that will work well for local pavel rides, especially when the trails are too wet to ride. I'd really like something with a good balance between low rolling resistance and grip, and I'm currently riding with a Specialized Ground Control up front and a Specialized Fast Track on the back of my 29er, set up tubeless, to give you an idea of what I like on my mountain bike. I'd also like the option to go tubeless in the future. I've talked to several people at the local shops, but I'd like to see if anybody has tried anything not offered by one of the local shops. How wide of a tire do you ride? Are you set up tubeless?
Thoughts, suggestions, opinions?
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Post by kconner on Aug 31, 2013 21:10:43 GMT -5
This really is such a great trail....it's got a little bit of everything. An extended climb, some nice downhills, rocks, roots and logs. Climbing up section 3, the fast exposed downhill in section 4, then cooling off next to the creek in section 5 is in my top 3 (maybe 2) favorite sections of trail in the CSRA.
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Post by kconner on Aug 29, 2013 16:23:24 GMT -5
As of 2 days ago, Great Wall was in good shape with only 3-4 soft spots, and some debris spread throughout the trail. I hear Deep Step is in good shape as well. Not sure about Skinny or Brown Wave, but I'd bet they'd be good to go. Same story with Big Rock and Tower.
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Post by kconner on Jul 29, 2013 17:44:36 GMT -5
I cracked a Fisher frame a couple of years ago and was very happy with the results from the warranty claim. Outspokin is the local Trek dealer and is who I dealt with. You should be golden as long as you're the original owner. Good luck!
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Post by kconner on Jul 18, 2013 8:50:31 GMT -5
I wish I would've thought to take more pictures of this trail, but it was too fun to stop! Cape Fear SORBA also maintains Blue Clay in the Wilmington area, but it was closed due to wet conditions. Blue Clay is supposed to be more technical with some elevation (it's built into the side of an old landfill). UNCW is supposed to have trails, but Singletracks.com has them listed as closed, although I'm not sure why. Don with CFSORBA mentioned them in passing but I forgot to ask what the deal was with UNCW. There's a looser group that maintains and builds trails on Camp Lejeune outside of Jacksonville. We are actually closer to Lejeune, and rode these trails last year, but the problem is that since they're on the Marine base, you have to have a sponsor to gain access (most users are either active duty Marines or retirees). Luckily, we were able to find someone to sponsor us last year. These trails are all hand built and are rough and rooty....think Keg in hard pack sand. Also lots of fun, but the access issue for civilians is a pain.
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Post by kconner on Jul 16, 2013 15:52:39 GMT -5
Spending the weekend at the beach in North Carolina with the wife's side of the family, so I loaded up the mountain bike and brought it along since I haven't gotten any trail time in at home. My buddy Steve brought bits and pieces of a bike, so we spent the better part of two nights building up his new Sette hardtail Frankenbike. I don't have any pictures, but he recently got a brand new 26" Sette Reken frame, and loaded it down with components that had been cannibalized from at least 3 older bikes. Once that task was finished, we got in touch with The Trail Mayor from Cape Fear SORBA and set up a ride time at Brunswick Nature Park outside of Wilmington. Brunswick Nature Park is a fairly new park that is owned by the Coastal Land Trust and run by Brunswick County Parks and Recreation. BNP is a multi use facility and has trails and other facilities dedicated to hiking, running, mountain biking as well as equestrian use. Cape Fear SORBA currently has 6 miles of dedicated MTB trail arranged in a stacked loop system, with many more miles in the planning stages, including a skills area and pump track. The current trails have a similar feel to the Canal Singletrack....sandy with little elevation change, but with lots of short, steep ups and downs. They've also installed some nice features, including skinnies, drops, jumps, and some gnarly rock gardens. All "trail features" have ride arounds as well. Steve jumping off one of the wood ramps with his new/used Frankenbike The start of the second rock garden It goes on....and on..... It even has multiple lines depending on your taste Same spot, different angle. The ledges on the left are pretty cool. The trailhead has his/her bathrooms with running water, a shower, and a bike repair station well equipped with common tools Cape Fear SORBA really did a great job with this trail, and their hospitality was first rate. Looking forward to visiting in the future and sampling the new trails!
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Post by kconner on Jul 6, 2013 20:35:08 GMT -5
Hard, but fun day on a bike!
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Post by kconner on Jun 26, 2013 20:21:13 GMT -5
Modoc is one of my favorite trails, especially in the fall! If you want to learn how to ride some of the technical features out there, the best way is to ride with others that have ridden it before....keep an eye out on the forum for others posting about rides at Modoc as they pop up from time to time.
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