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Oct 29, 2007

Newest Member Of The Family


Picked up this dirty red beauty on Craigslist today. This is more or less a starter 29er for me. Nothing much will be changed other than a new suspension fork down the road. It's hard for me to bring myself to purchase a nice suspension fork when it will cost 1-1.5x as much as I paid for the bike itself. New yeti grips and eggbeaters are on their way from BlueSkyCycling. Some Kenda SM8's would run really nice on this beast.


-MikeyB

:::UPDATE #1:::11.06.2007:::

Some Avid BB7 185mm brakes showed up today from Speedgoat.com. The stock BB5's will be switched over to Aimee's Specialized Rockhopper. I also put on some Crank Brothers eggbeaters and some ODI Yeti lock on grips. Not much more I will to do to this bike. I'm going to give this full rigid thing a try for a while. I hope to upgrade to a Reba Race front suspension.



:::UPDATE #1:::11.16.2007:::

I added some new rubber to the XXIX. Kenda Tomac Small Block 8's.


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Karate Monkey Build

Picked up a Surly Karate Monkey frame the other day and will be building it up. Wheels, tires, and tubes are on their way. Also some Avid BB7 brakes, and tensioner. I plan on keeping this post updated with the build as it progresses. Stay tuned!

Pictures:
Surly KM 01

Surly KM 03

:::UPDATE #1:::11.02.2007:::

I got my Chris King headset from Hiawatha Cyclery this afternoon and they popped it into the frame for me while I waited. The pictures don't do the green headset justice. It looks rad. Thanks Jim and company!

Chris King KM

Chris King headset

Also the Santa in the brown truck brought me my wheelset, tubes, and a tire. Why just one tire? The second one was back ordered. No big deal, can't ride it yet anyway.

Shimano XT Hubs

Mavic with the mounted Kenda SB8

Tire: Kenda Small Block 8

So I put the tire and tube on the rear wheel and put a little air in it. I had to toss it on the frame to see what it looks like. I also threw a stem on there just to keep the fork in place, that one isn't a keeper on this frame.

Wheel Mounted


:::UPDATE #2:::11.05.2007:::


Received in the mail a nice Chris King Cog Set. So nice and shiny! Loaded it up on the XT hub to see what it will look like but didn't tighten the lock ring down yet since I don't know what the chain line is going to be. Took some pictures anyway, enjoy!

Chris King 20t Cog w/ Spacers & Lock Ring 01

Chris King 20t Cog w/ Spacers & Lock Ring 01

I can't wait to ride this thing!


:::UPDATE #3:::11.06.2007:::


Getting closer! Got the Salsa Pro Moto XC Riser Bars, Moto Ace S.U.L. Stem, and the Lip-Lock seat collar. The stem had a different stack height than the temporary Bontrager I had on there so I needed to get some different spaces. Scott came to my rescue. He had a 1cm spaces all ready to go for me, I stopped over and he was kind enough to give me that and some other nice items that will help with the build. Gotta love Phil Wood.

Here are a few pics:

Salsa Parts

Salsa Lip-Lock Seat Collar

Salsa Stem and Bars 02

Salsa Stem and Bars 01


:::UPDATE #4:::11.08.2007:::


So because I am a moron and don't know my new zip code my cranks and seat post didn't arrive when I thought they were going to. So a day later they found me. Then I put them on the bike. Boy you really have to tighten that crank bolt down, they aren't kidding.

Pictures:

Seat Post Installed

New Cranks and Bottom Bracket

New 32t Cranks With a Bash Guard

All coming together


:::UPDATE #5:::11.12.2007:::


The bike is ridable but not 100% complete. I was able to put on the front tire, the levers and grips pretty quick. Then I mounted the disc rotors, threw on the flat pedals. Added the chain and the Surly Tuggnut tensioner, it was starting to look more like a bike and less like a project. Mounted the BB7 brake calipers and ran the cables to them. Used the rubber band trick to get them adjusted and then gave it a test ride up and down 25th Ave. She is a fine bike. Still waiting on a few little touches like skewers and grips since I stole the ODI Yetis off my Stumpjumper FSR.

Enjoy some pictures:

Kenda Small Block 8

Avid BB7 185mm

Chain, Tuggnut, Kona JackShit

Levers, Cables, and Grips

95% Complete Karate Monkey

:::UPDATE #6:::11.27.2007:::

I finished 'er up a while ago with some nice Salsa Flip-Off Skewers and took it off road at the River Bottoms to test it out with MikeyB. It is awesome. I will update this at least once more with info about where I got everything and how the service was. See you out there!

KM Finishing Touches

-pete

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Oct 24, 2007

“Night” Riding Murphy-Hanrahan

MikeyB: Sunrise is 7:36 AM’ish these days. Park opens @ 5am. This is the only way we will be able to get a “night” ride in at Murphy since the gates close at sunset.
Scott: Are you crazy? Keep me posted.
Pete: I am totally in. Do we drink before? I am confused…

And so it began. Up at 4 a.m with just a few grumbles to Laura as I got out of bed. Loaded the bike and gear and was in the car by 4:20. The forty minute trip to Savage, Mn turned into the one hour forty minute trip as my sense of direction is completely off once I head south of the cities and I couldn’t find the road to the trail head. Arriving at the trail head I meet up with Pete and MikeyB. Get the lights up and running and there is still plenty of darkness as we head off for a ten mile jaunt. The wind chills you to the bone as we all find our groove with only the occasional “branch, bridge, rock!” to break the silence. Three miles in and I’m hurting, my stomach is in knots and I pull over and out goes the blueberry muffin I ate in the car. Much better. Back in the saddle we continue our way along the trail and watch as the sunrises. The last few miles the legs start to complain about the time but they hold out and we make it back to the parking lot for beers and coffee.

Drinks consumed:
Peppermint Schnapps on the trail
One pint of Boddingtons Pub Ale
One bottle New Glarus Totally Naked
One mug of coffee and Irish whisky
Photos by Scott Haraldson

-Scott

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Oct 23, 2007

Ft. Snelling River Ride

Location: Ft. Snelling, Mpls, MN
Time: 9pm
Bikes: Check
Lights: Check
MORBID Members: Mikey, Pete

After two weeks of rain and every trail in the metro being closed Mikey and I couldn't stand it anymore. We needed to get out, even if that meant grabbing the lights and riding from 9-11:30pm.

We headed up to the Minnehaha path over to the falls and then on down to 54th Street where the trail heads down to the base of the Fort. Along here are some nice little hiking and biking trails that can be a little sketchy in places but still offer some ass kicking. We dropped in near the dog park and rode around a little in there. Then headed over to where the HFF had there Feats of Strength. Checked that out a bit. Even with the moon out it was dark and tough to follow most of the trails. T'was a good time.

Mikey took us up some dear path and something took his ass out. I helped pull him outta the thorns and we looped back. There were some nice drop offs that were a little freaky in the dark but there were plenty of fun trails.

Made our way back home via a nice little skate park that we hit some ramps and jumps. It wasn't big enough to get any good speed on the 26" but it was still fun.

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Oct 22, 2007

Texas Cyclocross Massacre

Tis the season for cross. The training levels are down, and I am only now beginning the long base training for the next road season (which begins in a short 4 months). I decided I needed to feed my competitive nature and show up for some cyclocross fun, wait a minute who in their right mind calls cross fun. It's one hour of pure agony where all you want to do is quit. My body still aches, as I limped into work this morning hoping my back pain lessens. I want to slap the man who decided it would be fun to take a road bike and race it off road, and then make tired souls hop of their bikes to hurdle barricades. Saturday, after deciding to sleep in I hopped in the car with a team mate and drove over to Dallas to enter in the B race. Maybe a bit over my head as I have only done 3 cross races ever prior to this. Oops, oh well. I didn't care about results, only that I finished and got a good workout. Well that didn't happen. Half way into the first lap I pinch flatted and had to walk back to the start\finish line. A friend kindly gave me another wheel so I could continue to suffer. After about another half hour I was cruising down one of the few level straight areas of the course when I hear a horrible metal on metal clanking sound and feel my rear wheel lock up. Upon looking back I am stunned to see my rear derailleur lodged in the wheel . I then had the pleasure of walking my bike back to the start\finish area again, this time I was allow to call it quits. See the photos of the carnage. See the photos from the race.


Sunday: Thank goodness for being sponsored by a bike shop. I was able to bring it in and have all of the damage (Bent Rim, Bent Spoke, Broken derailleur hanger, 2 broken derailleur pulley wheels) fixed in short order so I was able to hurt myself again today. We showed up again in Dallas at a different course, more to my liking. Half way into the first lap (yes again) I found myself behind a crash that split the group. I knew I was going to be in the hurt locker bad today. So I just put my head down and suffered. Sometime in I was hopping over some barricades when I rolled my right ankle slightly, not bad enough to make me quit so I kept pushing the tempo. Things were going fine except for the crazy pain my lower back was in. Until....the last lap where I came through a wash out section of single track that I had successfully ridden many time before. The two sides of the track were rutted and washed away, you had to keep on the center line to make it through. Well I hit it dead on but let my front wheel slide out and went down hard on my right knee. Lucky me there was a photo man there to capture the entire show. As my face was getting an extreme close up of the dirt I could see the flash going off, and the dude asking me "Are you ok?". My only response at the time was "Only if you got a good shot, cause I am not doing a second take." I proceeded to get moving again, but my knee was swelling fast and by the end of the lap pushing the pedals around was a tough task.

I hate cyclocross, but I guess I will be heading out to the races again when they come to Ft Worth in a few weeks time. I am a glutton for punishment.

-Chris

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Oct 18, 2007

Hey, Hey, Hey!



With a break in the rain MikeyB and I decided to do a little urban session near my house. We suited up at about 8pm and went on our way. I had been scoping stuff out in my area for a while and found a few pretty nice spots that had some potential. We were to investigate. First up was a school about a mile from my house. It had a set of 4 nice humps that I saw from the road and some nice looking stairs.

When we got there we found the humps not to be very fun but hit them to their full potential. After that we did find some other fun. A nice little drop off a set of benches provided tens of minutes of fun! Mikey eyed up a nice little 6" skinny we messed around on for about 20 minutes. He was clearing it pretty well at the end, I was still having a little trouble. It was about 20 feet long and a foot high at the tallest point. I am going back to practice next week. :) We hit a few more sets of stairs, cleared the drop again and then decided to checkout another location nearby that I didn't have a chance to scout.



We rolled across the street to a church we rolled by the front and went around to the other side. MikeyB gets paged so we stopped. As he is calling in I spot some stairs and ride them. Then I see a nice little drop on the grass. I get cruising and hit it while MikeyB is talking on the phone. I jump a little early and get shit for air. Again. Second time was better, on the third I nailed it. Felt good. :) Mikey hung up and proceeded to try it. He got some nice air too. We head back around to the other side of the church, I decide to ride the double set of stairs, it was a little narrow and pretty steep but was a lot of fun. We mess around out front for a bit and then I can't find Mikey. I bike down a nice little grassy hill and air it out on another.

Then I hear a distant, "Hey!". I think it is Mikey so I look around for him...nothing. I hear it again and see a larger lady moving toward me. I decided to get outta there. She shouts again, "HEY, HEY, HEY! You! Come here!, HEY! HEY!" in a voice I could only describe as raspy, smoky, and crazy. I ride up to the opposite corner and wait to see if I can find MikeyB. I wait for a minute and see him round the corner. He says, "Let's get outta here before they call the Popo on us." I agree and we head North to Minnehaha.

It is starting to sprinkle and we head back to my place. Got back, grabbed my last two SurlyFests out of the fridge and drink them down while bullshitting about bikes and stuff. Fun night, next time I think we will head to the skatepark and rock that.

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Oct 15, 2007

Work Time

Working on the Bikes
Rainy day once again and my bikes were in need of some attention. So I grabbed a beer and went to work. I finished up my single speed conversion on my old Rockhopper. It is now setup perfect for the trails around here at 34x18. I had to add the Surly Singleator back on to the bike since 34x18 isn't the magic gear and I don't have either horizontal dropouts or a eccentric bottom bracket on that bike. It is setup in the push down position since I destroyed the spring that is used for the push up position. I may have to order a new one if the chain starts skipping.

Cleaned up my work bench area a bit too and sorted chain chunks into areas with their similar brethren. This week looks equally crappy in the weather department with rain from Monday through Friday with Wednesday being a maybe for a nice day but trails would be closed. Road Ride. Looks like MORBID is going to turn into Minnesota On Road Bikers Into Drinking. Eh, at least I would be riding.

See ya out there.

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Oct 13, 2007

Murphy Fall Day

Location: Murphy-Hanrehan, Savage, MN
Time: 6am
Bikes: Check
Breakfast: Honey Nut Cheerios, check
Beers: None (to early)
MORBID Members: Mikey, Pete

Pete & I hit Murphy this morning. We did two laps of the "Most Difficult" trail today. Our legs were hitting on all cylinders and we ended up doing about 18 miles. We got our first look at the new trail features at marker 63 which includes a couple rock jumps and a rock ride over the log. The new trail back by the log ride was looking pretty good. Still a little soft but once it gets more traffic it should be just as fast as the rest of the trail.




-MikeyB

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Oct 10, 2007

King of the Castle!

Location: Salem Hills, Inver Grove Heights, MN
Time: 6pm
Bikes: Check
Lights: Yep
Beers: New Glarus Staghorn
Food: White Castle
MORBID Members: Mikey, Pete

Cold night, but it was perfect after a long stretch of rain and wet trails. We took advantage of the light that was still out when we rolled out to the trail. Mikey and I knocked out a nice warm-up lap that seemed to fly by. We took a short breather and headed out for another loop, we still had plenty of light left. We rocked that lap out and headed back up to the parking lot until it got a little darker.

The lights were flipped on and we set off again, lap #3. I hit it a little harder, or at least it felt harder on this lap. Finished the lap without killing ourselves and made it back to the lot. The beer felt extra cold tonight and tasted really good. I like the New Glarus Staghorn. Try some next time you hit Wisconsin.

The Hunger set in and knowing The Castle was close and tasty we decided to hit it up. 8 burgers, a box of fries, and a donation of a dollar to Jerry's Kids or something each later we were full, both with food and feeling good about getting to write our name on a paper pumpkin for the kids.

Next time you hit Salem, don't forget the Castle.

***UPDATE***
My farts today smell like White Castle...mmm....

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Oct 4, 2007

Trippel Belgium Style Ale

Not much biking going on since it has been raining non stop for the last week. Plus my bike is still at Hollywood Cycles getting some components fixed. BUT I can still enjoy a good brew while watching the MN Wild opener. That brew would be New Belgium's Trippel Belgian Style Ale. Like most Belgian style ales it has a high ABV at 7.8% which is on the mild side compared to some other Belgian brews I have tasted. Trippel is a flavorful full bodied ale that tastes like many Belgian beers but doesn't leave a nasty after taste on you buds.

GO WILD!

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Oct 1, 2007

Slickrock Bike Trail Moab, UT

Yes I said Moab.
I went out to Moab last week to do some Jeepin' and decided to rent a full suspension Felt Virtue Two bike from Poison Spider Cycles. I was expecting some downhills but once we got to the trail I was in for a shock. Yeah it has downhills but it's so "downhill" that you have to place your ass behind the seat over the rear wheel and start praying so you do not become a bloody pile of a mess on the slickrock below. Also what goes down must come back up on the Slickrock Bike Trail which means you better be in the best shape of your life if you want it make it back up a hill or start hiking. Unfortunately for me I did fall and bruise my tail bone so I ended up hiking 50% of the trail. Another word of advice, bring water, lots and lots of water. I had the camelbak full and I still needed more water and this was only on a 70 degree day.



Now to the beers. Utah is not the greatest place to buy beer since it is all 3/2 domestic beer but you can buy microbrews with the original alcohol content. We found a liquor store that sold beer buy the bottle so I was able to mix an match. One of my favorites was Delirium Tremens from Huyghe Brewery in Melle Belgium. If it's Belgium its got to be good and high alcohol content (8.5%) . Another tasty one was the Henry Weinhard's Blonde, skip their Hefeweizen it was not as good as their Blonde. Another beer I tried was Steinlager, a New Zealand brew that tastes great so don't let the green bottle fool you.




-MikeyB

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