Rough Riders, Are you game?

I've always toyed with mountain biking but never took it seriously. And...after purchasing two mountain bikes, watching them hang on my wall for over two years, I finally gave them to my son and his friend. Well as fate would have it, I recently discovered a website, while I was reading about one of the San Diego Randonneurs, that appeared to be a little between cross-biking (never got that bug either) and mountain biking. It is appropriately named "Rough Riders." Chris Kostman, the same guy who started AdventureCorps and who is also synonymous with the Furnace Creek 508, started this fledgling group. I instantly became curious and started reading the myriad of information, as well as enjoying all the photos he, and several others, have taken of their Rough Riding experiences. The thought of taking a "road bike" off road always appealed to me but I really wasn't quite sure if I wanted to risk all that expensive componetry, not mention expensive wheels, on a whim. So, I did the next best thing! I bought another frame! Go figure. Well, this one was quite a deal from Nashbar ($139) so I couldn't resist, so to speak. I had some extra components lying around gathering dust and I also had a pair of wheels I scammed from a guy at work for $50 bucks. So, I said, "self, why not become a Rough Rider." Well the rest they say is history. And now, here I am now waiting for all the goodies to show up so I can at least become a "poser" until I get everything together for a good 'ole Rough Rider day.

Remember, we enjoy getting "out there" by riding roads, dirt roads, trails, and paths on whatever bike we happen to be on or have handy. Sometimes the pavement's long gone and we're still on our "road bikes" or some bike that would be commonly considered inadequate for the job - and that's just fine by us! Rough Riding is not defined by the type of bicycle or type of riding surface. Rough Riding is a state of mind, a riding style with limitless freedom and an all-pervasive sense of adventure. -- Chris Kostman, Rough Riders

The whole framework for the Rough Riders is centered around the slogan, "Any bike, any where" and falls directly in-line with Chris' philosophy of adventure, in any form. For some odd reason this just appealed to me. Not because I'm bored, but because I really have a sense of adventure, even though I'm a little cautious about how much adventure I really do take on these days. Sloggin' through mud at 3am in the rain is not my sense of adventure, but cruisin' the back woods on poorly maintained, or dirt roads sounds great! At least as long as there is a shower, warm bed and beer at the end!



Like I said earlier, the frame is Nashbar's cross-frame, made primarily from cast aluminum tubing. A 56cm is to my liking and I added Nashbar's carbon cross-bike fork for the front end. Aluminum may be kinda rough on the bumps, but I wasn't looking for comfort on this type of experience and besides, you can't beat the prices! I had a 48x38x28 triple crank lying around that I'll use and I'll strip the Kestrel of the Dura Ace triple shifters to complete the brains of the drive train. I opted for a 11x32 cassette as the workhorse on the rear and we'll be mounting some 700x38 cross tires for the trails. The plan is to keep this ride on fire roads, graded trails, sidewalks, and paved roads. None of that rock infested single track stuff for me this time around. If I encounter that crap, the Rough Rider becomes a Rough Walker. At least until I can find suitable riding conditions again. Sounds like a plan, eh? Click here for a detailed listing of the trails we plan to ride in and around Henderson.

Here is a photo like the one I'm planning to build. Should be a sweet machine. Specs include Dura Ace Triple shifters and brake combo. Shimano Wheels, 11x32 Sram 9-speed cassette. Nashbar cantilever breaks, Cannondale suspension seatpost 27.2, Deore 9-speed rear derailleur, Dura Ace Triple front derailleur, and a 48x38x28 Triple chainring combo. Should be plenty for them thar' hills.



Here is the frame sans fork. The rear drop out measures out to 130mm, unlike a lot of cross bikes that are 135mm. This is nice because you can just swap out a regular set of road wheels. Most of them are the standard 130mm dropout measurement.



And the tread! 38mm treking tires from WTB via Nashbar. Got these on sale for $10 a piece. We'll see how these hold out on the trails around our house.

Are you a Billy Goat?

So, you think you can climb a hill on your bike, huh? Well check this out: Fargo Hill Climb I've always been fascinated by how those really, really skinny dudes can go up hill so fast and I've come to realize that it is all about physics. You see, if you are a little skinny f__ker you can go UP hill faster. Why you ask? Well, why is there air? Just because. And remember: "gravity is not just a good idea, it is the LAW!" So, what's a guy to do? For starters give up the crappy food, loose the belly, and start climbing hills. Sounds simple enough right. So, if I keep the same strength and lose a few elbeess' I'll be able to go faster uphill. Let me think about that again over another glass of wine. After all, there is no extra calories in wine so I'm safe right?

Cheers, Mozam

Yeah! I know, I know....

I know, I know. It's been ages since I updated this thing, but hey, now that I'm on FaceMagnet, I can't seem to find the time to update this Blog very often. So here goes.

What's happened since Nov of 2008 anyway. Well, a lot of the same old shit, and of course, work, work and more work. But, I have found time to ride many, many miles and that has been a bonus for life. Let's see: 51 rides, 1,749 miles, and 49,891 feet of climbing so far this year. Not bad for a working old man, eh?

I would go out for a ride today, but some asshole turned up the wind machine, and turned it full blast! As you can see from the insert. It's a howlin' at 27 miles per hour around here. And judging from the trees bangin' against the house, it's every bit of that 27 miles an hour. So, today I enter the dreaded home gym for some real work on some muscles that haven't seen exercise in awhile. Oh boy, soreness tomorrow. Well better get to it.

Cheers, Mozam

Reflection...

The first road bike I built. This one for Bobbie in 1994

News Fash! BikeJournal is now fully up and running. So, my daily cycling blog should be up again. I'll update that once it stops raining!!

I've been on a quest now for almost 3 years to catalog most, if not all, of our family photos into electronic form. The task has been much larger than I originally thought, as well as consumed much more of my time. Murphy: "Everything takes longer than you think." Looking at all these pictures of time gone by in multiple succession, I couldn't help but think to myself, "where did all the time go?" So, I guess I started reflecting on the past and in some way hoping to match up braincells with the multitudes of images. What does this have to do with bicycling? Well, a lot actually. I began to reflect on how long I have been riding my bike. Not riding my bike as a kid because most, if not all of us, can remember those days. But, rather, reflecting more on how and when I got serious about cycling. Some of the pictures brought me back to 1989 and the time I got my "real" road bike. A friend of mine got me into cycling after running got just too damn painful and hard. I remember how cool 7-speed index shifting felt, and how cool that Trek 2300 looked sitting in my garage ready for a spin on the road. With each image, those memories seem to stand still in a weird sort of way. Kind of like all the old family photos I have been going through. The photos, viewed individually, seem to freeze time. They halt your thoughts and transport you to that instant in the past, while at the same time, leave you with the feeling that it was only a moment before. Photos awaken memories of my first Century to Mesquite, Nevada and how I carried that 400-pound gorilla on my back with about 40 miles to go. And the exhaustion I felt finally dragging myself to the finish line with a nearly flat front tire, unwilling to get off the bike before the end to fix it. And, how good that beer tasted at 150 miles of my first double attempt. It never felt so good to quit something in my entire life. Yep, reflection. A perfect word to describe my mood of late. Here's a quote from an article I like:

"Everything Dies (Every Rider Crashes.) Everyone and everything falls down eventually; Twin Towers, The Roman Empire (most of it anyway, except for the ruins still on the official tour) Kurt Vonnegut, rest in peace our hopeful cynic. Truth is, the more you worry about crashing the more likely it is you will. Riding and living tentatively is the kiss of... well, you know. Worse still, if you try to eliminate all chances of crashing, it's the kiss of mediocrity. Over time you'll go brittle, hollow and old while barely noticing, and your bike will grow cobwebs from hanging in the garage. Try this, act as if today is the last day you'll own a set of legs... it might be. No, I haven't heard anything, but if I had, I'd want exactly what you would want... one more ride."

Joe Kurmaskie.


Honolulu Century circa 1995!


Ride the Rockies circa 1998


Windmill Century, Central Coast California circa 1999.