P-Springing My Way Down The Freeway.

Early last week, I called Cal Coast to ask about the P-Spring issue. The mechanic told me to bring the bike in and they would probably just swap out the derailleur and I'd be on my way. Well, since I was also having an issue with the handle bars coming lose on every ride, I thought I might as well have them give it a once over before I go to Moab. So, since I was going to be in the area from Friday night to Sunday evening, I thought I'd just drop if off at the beginning of my time in San Diego, and pick it up at the end of the workshop.

Well, the best laid plans are often ruined by other people, and in this case many different plans were sabotaged to the point of being useless. First, my carpooler couldn't make it early enough for us to get to the bike shop on Friday, so I had to take it in on Saturday. They took the bike in and sent me on my way, mentioning to stop in on Monday evening to pick up the bike.

So, tonight I headed down the freeway, ready to get my bike with visions of riding tomorrow evening after work because I wouldn't be able to commute on my road bike because I need to drop it off to get new tires. So, I skipped work about 20 minutes early and the freeway was empty. I dashed down to Adams Ave. in no time, walked into the shop and saw my bike still in the stand, the chain dangling from a string tied to the stem.

The bad news was relayed to me...They couldn't get in touch with anyone at Shimano because everyone was just coming back from Interbike. So, they had no authority to swap the part out as a warranty issue and weren't about to eat the cost of a new XTR Shadow rear derailleur if it wasn't covered. I was guaranteed that it would be resolved by Tuesday, and could I come back then...

What really sucked is that I was then right in the heart of rush hour, 25 miles from where I wanted to be, and I didn't have a gym kit or a book or a computer or anything else to occupy my time for 90 minutes. Then, to top it all off, I will need to go down there again tomorrow, which really sucks! Oh well, I just hope I don't get a call tomorrow telling me it's not covered! Then I'll really be pissed!.

2008-09-20 Sycamore Canyon Group Ride

I know Ron. I know that Ron is always late. I'm usually late because I know Ron will be late. But for this ride, I got to Ron's house at 7:15 even though I told him I'd pick him up at 7:30, because it wasn't just the two of us who were involved in this ride. Bill R, Jake and Chris were also going to show up to ride, and a last minute addition, which I didn't know about until we got to Santee, was Gardner.

With a fire under Ron's cute little ass, I drank a nice cup of coffee and waited for him to finish all the stuff he needed to accomplish before we could leave. When all was finished, we were only 10 minutes late leaving his house. We jumped on the freeway and I did my usual of staying in the right hand lane and setting the cruise control at 90 km/h, and we chitted and chatted all the way to Santee.

When we arrived at 8:15, Jake and Gardner were already there, and comments were made about posts I had made about getting there at 8:00 sharp so we could be on the trail by 8:30. Yeah, yeah, at least we weren't getting there at 8:45...

We quickly went about getting bikes put back together and I changed my clothes and we were actually ready to go at 8:30. But Chris still hadn't arrived. Apparently he had called Jake when he woke up at 8, but was on his way.

When Chris arrived, he was quick to get moving since everything on his bike was ready to go after getting fixed up and tuned up over the past week. Well, everything except for the cleats on his shoes hadn't been swapped out after getting the new pedals. So, with a little bit of help, he was expeditiously clipping in to his new pedals and we were on our way.

Since I seem to often ride by myself, or ride with one other person, I'm not used to all the conversation that takes place on the trail. With six people, all at different skill, speed, fitness, endourance, and awakeness levels, there is a lot more time spent waiting at turns and at tops of hills to regroup (and to allow the tail of the group to recover) than I'm used to. It's not bad to socialize, but it does eat up a lot more time. But, since Ron's husband had been told he'd be back by noon and he carpooled with me, there was a certain level of unease on my part of knowing he'd be very late but not wanting to make it any later than necessary. After listening to all of my married riding partners 'complain' about how they can't just go off riding whenever and wherever they want to, or for as long as they want to, I'm starting to feel a lot better about being single.

This area is Gardner's back yard, so it was good to have someone to ask when I zigged us instead of zagging us. We quickly (although at the expense of energy reserves) returned to the correct trail and proceeded onward. After the power lines and the creekbed, we made the correct left turn and found ourselves climbing on the switchbacks up to the top of the ridge.

At the top of our first climb, I waited by myself for only a short time before 28 year old Jake summited. It's good that he showed up second, being the baby in this group of 40-50-somethings. I watched as the rest of the guys made their way up the switchbacks.

As soon as everyone had made it to the top of the climb, it became obvious to me that we were not going to do the ride in the 2 hour range that I'm used to doing it. But the conversation was pleasant, so I was enjoying myself with this very nice and growing group of guys. I must say, it's also nice to ride with a group of gay men because there isn't the expectation that I either "leave my sexuality at the trailhead and just ride" or that I make the guys feel uncomfortable by making statements about some cute guy.

Gardner, being the only straight guy in the group, may have felt out of place, but he certainly didn't show it and it felt very comfortable. On the other hand, he has a very fun-loving personality, so I hope he enjoyed himself as much as I was enjoying myself.

After continuing along the ridge road, we hit the singletrack that jogs around the side of the hill rather than requiring what looks like a less than exciting rocky climb up the fire road. From there, zipping around the hill we finally came to the singletrack that goes back down into the canyon via a large number of switchbacks. It was a lot of fun, and given that I'm now much more familiar with the trail, I'm able to do it a bit faster than the first couple of times.

At the bottom of the hill, I had the opportunity to look up and see the herd of riders slashing back and forth along the side of the hill. As the last riders in our group were approaching the bottom I spotted a rider at the top who was descending very quickly. He made it down the entire hill in the time that it took some of our riders to do two or three switchbacks. As he zoomed past our chit-chatty clan, I noticed it was Claus. He was engrossed in his music and almost didn't notice me. But, when he picked me out of the croud, he came to a screeching stop, pulled an earbud from his head and we talked briefly. Then, like a married man who needed to be home in a very short time, he zoomed off.

We took off, following Claus, but he was gone before we all got around the first turn. We stayed on singletrack until we got to the gate that marks the entry into Sycamore Canyon Preserve. At that spot we met up with three guys who knew Gardner from SDMBA, and also ended up losing Chris and Bill R. Bill had to get to the lumber store (we all know what kind of wood he was looking for) and Chris was complaining about having arrived on a plane at 1am (instead of 10:30pm). So, now our little group of seven took off past the old ranch and ranger station until we got to the road we'd take up to the east ridge of the park.

When we got there, Gardner was nowhere to be found, but someone had heard he was stopping over at the ranger station. I wasn't sure if that meant he'd be coming soon or if it was a cue to leave him behind, but I assumed the former, so we waited. Just as we were getting impatient, he ambled up and we continued on our way up "cardiac" hill.

Ron was the speed demon on the hill, followed by Doug, one of the guys we picked up at the gate. I came in third, and the rest followed at various speeds. When we were all finally at the top of the hill, we took off northward down the big dirt road. I zoomed ahead until I tried to change gears and something wasn't working right. I looked down and it was immediately obvious that my P-Spring tension had been lost.

Jake stayed there with me while the rest of the guys raced ahead. I have one of those SRAM chains with the nifty quick link, but to be completely honest, I've never been able to get them to come undone. Putting the link on is easy, but the other way around just doesn't seem to work. If there's a trick, I don't know it. So after fussing for a while, I got out the chain tool, broke the chain and fixed the P-Spring tension.

I put everything back together (fortunately, the right way the first time out!) just as Gardner and Ron came flying down the hill towards us. I packed the tools away and we all started the climb back to the trail that leads us to Martha's Grove.

The descent to Martha's Grove is always a fast, fun flying experience with a few ruts and sand traps added in to keep a rider's focus. Doug, Jack and their friend apparently had gotten lost and found us just as we were coming into the parking lot at the north end of the park.

We continued on from there, with me in the lead again, doing the fun that is Martha's Grove.

At one point I looked back and didn't see anyone behind me, so I pulled out the camera and waited until riders started to come around the corner. I snapped several pictures until I found myself near the end of the group. I then jumped on my bike. I saw Jake at the top of the left-hand branch of the trail--the one that goes to the ridable but eminently scary rock drop off. I called out to say I was coming through as it is definately not a place you want to stop and look. So I vaulted down the rock face, giving Jake an idea of how to handle this particular messy spot. Seeing me do it made him realize it could be done, and as he told it, he backed up quite a ways and took a run at it, but didn't stay far enough to the left of the face and had to jump off the bike. The only casualty on Martha's downhill was Gardner who had a nice looking scrape on his knee.

We jetted out of Martha's and made our way back to the gate that lets us out of the preserve and back onto the Marine Corps land. At the gate we encountered the park ranger and trail maintenance worker. I introduced myself and explained the patrol to them. They were both very enthusiastic about the idea which was nice. It was also rather nice that this really cute guy with blond hair spiking through his helmet came along giving us all a nice trailside fantasy for the way back.

Gardner bid us farewell at that point, leaving just Ron, Jake and myself to pedal back to the cars. Ron was worried that Oscar wouldn't talk to him for a week as a result of him not being on time, so we had to bypass the switchback climb and descent, instead rushing back by the easier route. Just about the time we got onto the fire road, past the jumps, my chain broke. But rather than deal with fixing it on the spot, I just ran and coasted until we got back to Mast Blvd. at which point I told ron to come along side of me, and I grabbed ahold of his seat and he pulled me down the road.

We loaded up, and drove back to Cardiff, Jake following in his Jeep. I dropped Ron off and Jake and I headed to Mozy's for lunch. The conversation was fun and the food hit the spot. We then went back to my place to chat, drink some ale, pray to the virgin Mary and just relax. I had so much fun that I can't wait to do it all over again.

The Wheel is being rebuilt!

I finally found a hub nut. In the end, I just bought a spoke for $8.00 and it came with the hub nut. The guy ended up giving me a spare shimano wrench. Turns out I will need to do a bit of research on building these wheels because apparently it's not the standard process. In the mean time, I said *fuck it* and decided to just take the wheel in and have it rebuilt. I just don't see myself having the time to do it today. It will take the shop about an hour, but it would probably take me double that or longer with only about an 80% chance that I'd get everything right. At least now I'm going to be able to ride tomorrow! So, I was driving away from the bike shop when I passed a guy on a tall bike. Here's what I ended up doing with the picture.

Fixing A Wheel

How hard can it be to fix a broken spoke. I've done it at least a dozen times. In fact, I've built wheels from scratch. I've got a professional grade truing stand. I've got a wheel dishing tool. I've got a spoke tensionometer. I've got every spoke wrench size. So, like I said, how hard could it be?

Well, it seems that if you've got XTR wheels, it can be quite difficult. Shimano decided that they would put a tiny little part called a Hub Nut. It's a tiny little part, about a half inch long that fits into a hole in the hub and is threaded on the inside. The hub side of the spoke screws into the Hub Nut and then because it's slightly flanged, causes the spoke to stay snug in the hub.

But it seems like none of the shops in San Diego has ever had to replace an XTR M975 spoke. I find it hard to believe that no one in the past year has broken a spoke, but that may be the case. One bike shop touted the strength and stiffness of the wheel and that he's never heard of a spoke breaking without some sort of impact. So, he has heard of a spoke breaking, but still, the shop he worked for didn't have the part available.

Dana had the same thing happen on one of our Nobel Canyon rides a few months ago, and he called the bike shop where he had his repaired (North of the Border) to see if they still had any of the hub nuts available. They said that they did. I'm hoping that it is in deed the same part. I've asked a friend to go to lunch today and will see if she can give me a lift over to the shop to buy the part. In the mean time, I've also ordered a pack of 10 from the Trek store (I suppose I could have ordered it from somewhere closer to me, but they were very helpful on the phone--much moreso than any of the other shops I called.

I certainly hope that I can get this silly wheel fixed by Friday night because I want to ride this weekend.

1/September/2008 - Good Intentions, Good Motivations, Bad Luck.

Everything was all ready for a ride at Sycamore Canyon. The bike was on the roof, the clothes were packed, the camelbak filled with water and tools and snacks. All I needed to do was put on some street clothes, grab my keys and hit the road.

This was a Dirt Treader's organized group ride that was scheduled to leave at 8. Since I didn't know the group, I wanted to be early to put the last minute touches on the video camera and personal music, and this and that. I didn't want to be the limiting factor in the group's departure. Amazingly enough, I was heading out the door at 7am ready to jump in the car and make the 25 minute commute to the trail head. As I exited the house I noticed that a spoke on my month old XTR rear wheel was broken with just a 10cm stub sticking out of the rim. I figured I could still ride it, and then I'd stop in at a bike shop and grab a few spokes.

As I drove down the street, I heard a slap, slap, slap sound coming from the rear passenger side. It sounded like I had a flat tire, but it didn't feel like it. I pulled over, got out and looked at the car tire which wasn't flat at all, but there was a screw embedded deeply into the tire. With a 3/4 cm head, I'll assume that the screw itself was probably quite long. So, there went the possibility of the group ride, at least for me.

I took the car to the tire dealer. Fortunately, the one I wanted to take it to was open. The guy said it would take about an hour. So, I grabbed a book and headed to the coffee shop in the building across the parking lot. After an hour, I headed back. As I rounded the corner the guy waved at me like he'd been looking for me all over the place and asked me where the special lug nut bit was to remove the locking lug nut. It hadn't dawned on either of us that the mechanic would need this. The office manager said he went to the coffee shop but didn't see me (I was sitting at the table right next to the door). Anyway, excuse me for thinking that threre is a reason these guys are changing tires. To me, the most logical place to keep the lug nut bit is in the tool bag that hold the lug nut wrench, jack, etc. I've asked several other people and they all say that's where they keep theirs. So, the hour turned into an hour and three-quarters. At least they don't charge for the service. (I guess they figure I'll go back there when I need new tires.)

At this point I figured I'd just go and get my spoke. I drove down to San Diego to Cal Coast Bicycles (along with a price-match for some new 26x2.35 UST tires). I bought 3 drive side and 3 left side or front spokes. At $8 each, it was a bit expensive. And, to top it all of, they didn't have a crucial part: the hub nuts (little flanged threaded nuts that the hub side of the spoke threads into.) These tiny little things apparently get lost when the spoke breaks.) At first I thought Black Mountain Bicycles would be a good place to go--they tend to have parts and sell high-end bikes. But, it was Labor Day, and Black Mountain Bicycles was closed. Leucadia Cyclery was closed. REI didn't have the part. B&L in Solana Beach doesn't carry any MtB parts. By the time I'd been to all these places, I didn't have time to check Amazon Bikes or Mountain Bike Wherehouse up in Oceanside. I am pretty certain that I don't need to check at Performance Bicycles as they seem to only carry lower-end mass-market items, so the chance of them having an obscure XTR part is pretty slim.

So, Labor Day riding was a blow-out for me which really sucks. Now, I'm back to riding on the road until the weekend.

31/August/2008 La Costa Solo Ride

After this morning's abbreviated ride with my son, I was still in the mood to pedal. The bike was still on the roof of my car, a fresh riding kit tucked away in a duffel in the back of the car, and my energy was high. I got in the car for drive over to La Costa. Everything seemed to be ready. After about 20 starts and stops as I fiddled with this and that, I jumped on the bike and was riding up the hill.

The temperature was cool enough and even though I was working hard something about the ride was very easy. There were technical sections of the trail that I seemed to be able to just climb like I never had been able to do before. I was on my Mojo and filled with it too. It was awesome.

I had forgotten my heart rate monitor, which usually means that I'm off my mark, but this time, I just listened to my body as it told me how much I could push and when. I don't know how long it took me to get to the top of the hill. It both seemed like it took a long time and like I was there before I knew it. I rode past the kiosk, down the singletrack to the swirly, swoopy trail that crosses the road and then continues zig-zagging around until it finally ends at the road, just primed for the downhill.

Before I crossed the road the first time on the singltrack, I came zipping over a rise and around a corner and ran smack over the neck of a rattle snake. It didn't hurt me although it must have hurt the snake, but it sure did startle me. Since there wouldn't have been much I could do to help the snake if I'd injured it, I just continued riding.

When I got to the downhill section, I lowered my seat and hammered the hill until I got to the bottom. Then, something got into my mind and I lost a lot of motivation. It wasn't physical because I did the climb back up the hill without any problem. I think I was lamenting the way the morning's ride with my son had turned out and wishing again that I wasn't riding by myself.

I rode down past the old green waste site, past the trail marker and continued down the road that eventually just dead ended. I had hoped I'd be able to find a trail out, but there was nothing that looked like it had been used by bikers. I turned around, headed back the way I came--up the fire road climb, back to the singletrack, crossing the road in the reverse of the way I'd come down. I was looking for the snake, which I never found. I figure it either slithered into the grass to recuperate or a hawk saw it and had a tasty snack. Either way, what ever happened to the snake will never be known to me.

The way down the hill was as fun and swoopy as ever, although I was less speedy then I usually am because I didn't wear my guards (the trail rash on my elbow from the morning's escapade would have made wearing elbow guards a bit painful!)

17-August La Costa Technical Fiasco

It started off like a great ride. I got to the trailhead at about 4pm and was on my bike by 4:20 (Oh how I wish...) Anyway, video camera was rolling, the ipod was jamming and I was zipping up the hill with all my protective gear in place.

I made some of the switchbacks that usually have me pushing the bike and some of the steep loose climbs were easy with my Mojo SL. I had just made it around one of those corners and up a steep grade when I noticed I had some chain suck. I back pedaled and the chain fell out from between the cranks and the chainstay, but then I noticed that the chain was dragging on the ground. I looked back and saw that the lower jockey wheel was completely forward. I handled the Shimano XTR Shadow derailleur hoping that something would snap back into place or something, but there was absolutely no tension on the chain. A fellow MtB rider came by and offered about the same amount of assistance I was able to provide--pushing the jockey wheel cage backwards only to watch it spring forward.

Fortunately, the return to my car was about 98% down hill, so I coasted back, only having to push a few times. I drove home, put the bike on the stand and grabbed my favorite bike repair manual "Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance." I quickly found the page and discovered that there is a part in the derailleur called a Pivot Spring or P-Spring that puts tension on the jockey wheel cage, and thus, pulls the chain taught. This P-Spring was the source of my issues. I quickly disassembled the derailleur and found the P-Spring, put it into place and tightened everything up, but still no tension. So, it was time to read the manual a bit more closely. It turned out I needed to twist the jockey wheel cage around. But to do that I needed to remove a set screw that prevents the jockey wheel cage from spinning all the way around. I removed the screw, but discovered, to my frustration, that I needed to break the chain in order for everything to work right. I guess it was a good time to replace the chain, even though it was almost brand new.

The original chain was an XTR, which while a good chain, caused me some consternation in that I have been using SRAM 971 chains for some years and don't have any XTR links in the even that I would need to replace a few on the trail. So, with the added benefit of some over-zealous chain breaking, where I knocked the pin completely out of the link, it seemed like a good time to just put on the SRAM chain that I had sitting in front of me in the toolbox.

After breaking the chain, I once again removed the set screw from the jockey wheel housing, twisted the jockey wheel housing around, replaced the set screw, and voila, I had a derailleur that would tension the chain once again. I put on the new chain; tested the shifting, which worked flawlessly, and went about cleaning up my mess.

I'm questioning whether I should take the bike in to the shop to have them take a look at it, or whether I should just trust Mr. Zinn's technical explanation and give the bike a ride. I'll be leading two rides this coming weekend for the California Men's Gathering's camping trip to Mt. Laguna. I think I'll bring along another derailleur though, just in case.