Trail Hog

Back In the Saddle, in 2011

2011-02-12T13:21:00.011-05:00

Again, it's been awhile since my last post and so many things have changed.

i finally bought a road bike, i think last year or so. a cannondale synapse carbon 4(?) i don't know if it was a 4 or 3. at this point it's maybe a year old but it looks like this red/black/white bike with sram rival parts. the bike rides nice, i just need to swap the saddle out to my favorite wtb devo i have it on my mountain bike and never had problems with it, so why not put it on my road bike. i'd like to upgrade to easton carbon bars and a stem and of course the saddle. i also thought about selling the frame and fork and swapping it out for a cyclocross frame and fork. i still haven't decided on that idea.

no new upgrades to the mtn. bike. i need a tune-up, maybe, i'll bring that in soon, to beat the spring time rush. this year, i may put on new grips, buy a spare chain, really run the wheels tubeless and not just run 1 wheel. i'd like new tires, just not sure what would be a good all around tire for this area. the soil conditions are always changing and i don't have the patience or time to be swapping tires on and off, so often.

in some late night down time, i have been creating t-shirt designs and selling them on a website. my store name is Trail Hog and i think i did pretty considering, i haven't really advertised it anywhere else. it takes me more time to post up the work, then to actually create a design. if you have time, check it out.

we have had a ton of snow this season, and it's finally melting. i'm getting the itch to ride but i don't want to ruin the trails, so this is where the road bike comes in handy. maybe i can motivate my phat ass and hook the bike up to the trainer and start riding. i read it's suppose to climb to 60 by friday. i gotta say, it's a bit boring riding on the trainer and never understood why anyone needed a fan blowing at you until i did a ride in my garage. jeeze, i looked like i just stepped out of a shower with my road shoes on. dripping disgusting wet. oh yea, i did my research and bought a kurt kinetic road machine, 100% leak proof and quiet (compared to other brands). I'm completely satisfied and would highly recommend it and it's well worth the extra cash. i got mine from Performance and they matched a price for me, i got it 60 bucks less with free shipping. a sweet deal i couldn't pass up.

happy muddy frozen trails,
th

2 Years Later!

2010-03-06T00:27:00.007-05:00

Wow, it's been a super long time since i posted a blog entry. Within that time, my lower back healed nicely and the wifey had 2 beautiful, healthy twin boys.

the boys are now 14 months old, walking, somewhat talking and got teeth and some hair. they have been a so much fun to play with but a lot of work as well. I was able to ride more than i thought with the boys around. i remember the first time i escaped, i contemplated on whether to just sit in the suv in silence and take a catnap or go out on a ride. i enjoyed the silence but went for that ride. i think within that first year i got out 2 to 3 times a month, which doesn't sound like much but it was more than i ever expected.

it seems like my bikes last for 6 years. i don't think i'm hard on the parts or the bike but 6 is the magic number for me. the Turner is still around, nothing wrong with it but i have been itching for something new. the way i see it, i got 2 options. The first is the Turner Rebuild Program includes re-powder coating the main frame and rear, complete pivot rebuild kit installed, new down tube decals and a stainless head badge. They offer any color from their custom color list and the complete process takes approximately 3 weeks. All this for a mere 275 dollars. option 2 is to buy a new frame and transfer some parts over to the new frame and sell the Turner frame and parts together or separate. i mean who'd be interested in the last year Turner used the Horst link suspension?

i initially wanted a light build of a xc bike. i wasn't planning on purchasing a Turner nor considered it until i got that great deal. i like the ibis mojo sl or the Yeti ASR Carbon or even the Santa Cruz Blur Carbon. i tried a 29er but only liked the front wheel being big but that's it, otherwise i'm not crossing over to that side.

b4 i drop a chunk of cash i'd like to test ride the bikes on actual trails and not the parking lot ride. so i guess that will be my next step for right now.

no more snow. more sunshine and sum heat to dry up those trails.

~happy muddy trails

So Close

2008-12-01T22:58:00.003-05:00

I haven't been writing because i haven't been riding. although i rode on black friday at one of my favorite spots, 6 mile. it was nice out, some wind, lots of sun and mud. for some reason i didn't expect it, nor did i pack fenders but i did pack a change of clothes. i just rode for an hour, rode the loop i wanted to do, nothing more or less. i took breaks and listened to the trees screeching on other trees, listening to the wind gust thru the trees and leaves rustle on the ground. it was a good ride.

so, the babies still haven't come. the wifey is pregnant with twin boys and the c section is scheduled for december 15th. the wifey is large, maybe a quarter the size of kate from the opening of that show jon and kate plus eight. i think she looks good and is still functioning day to day by herself. the babies room is done, the mural is painted, all their clothes are washed, her bag is packed, the bouncer and swing are ready but i think we will never be ready.

happy trails,
~db

Time Flies When Yer Having Fun

2008-11-08T07:47:00.007-05:00

whoa, it's been a long time since the last post. I haven't done much riding because i was letting my back heal. when i got word i could ride again, i went out and tried it. it probably wasn't the greatest idea but i needed to get it out of my system. i lasted only an hour the first time and only noticed sharp pain when i pulled up on the handlebars, trying to get over logs. the second time i went out, was for an hour and had a little less pain from going over logs but a strong tight feeling in my lower back, at time it would be unbearable but a sign i need to wrap up the ride. so i gave it some time and didn't ride for a few weeks.

well i just went out recently and the lower back hurt a lot less but i'm so much out of shape, from not being active. i have been a lot busy doing home projects and prepping the home for the new babies. my wife is pregnant with twin boys, so there has been a lot of work done in the house. last month, all i did was spackle, sand, prime and paint for a month.

i dragged my wife to an after hours bike shop pizza party, sale at Halters. i bought winter gloves, Giordana Silverline lobster style. i also got woolie boolie my favorite winter socks AND i finally purchased Light & Motion Stella 200L bike lite for nite riding.

happy trails,
dirty bert

Make It a Double

2008-09-10T23:30:00.005-04:00

Whew, so much has gone on since the last time i posted. let's see if i can make the long bad story short and the good stuff fun.

first up, i took a bad fall on may 31st, that landed me in the hospital for a week and home on disability for 6 weeks in a back brace 24/7. i fracture all 5 lower vertebrates in my back. i'm much better, but i'm still ache. 2hrs is the longest ride i have taken and i was in agony from it, so right now an hour is what i can do.

now the good news. my wife is pregnant!! very exciting news, our firsts, the twin boys are due to arrive in the beginning of december. yes, i did write, twins and yes they are boys. i'm pretty excited about that and i can't wait to buy them bikes, i already got my eye on something at the bike shop.

life has been good lately, i know it can sneak up on you and make it bad but the wifey is feeling good, as expected and there is more food in the house now. while sitting at home for 6 weeks, i have looked around and saw all the things i neglected over the summer, in order to go riding instead of doing the things i should have done. well now, i'm making other jobs a priority. all the things i neglected are getting done and that includes some biking issues.

i finally convert my 1991 Klein Rascal into a single speed. i will take pics this weekend to show you. it's pretty light, i kept the xt levers and SE scott peterson brakes on their for a bit but are removing them soon. i guess i'm a weight weenie, i want the bike lighter, like my 5.5 pound turner frame (why did i think i could make a 5spot light). anyway, i'm replacing the brakes with avid single digit 7's and brake levers and i need to find a 5 bolt bash guard. anyone know of any?

ride for me!
happy trails
~dirty bert

Daily Rituals

2008-06-30T00:19:00.005-04:00

since i haven't been working for 5 weeks now, i have a ton of time internet surfing AND most of it is spent on looking for bike stuff or deals.

one of my new favorite sites to check daily is ChainLove. it has some pretty good bike deals daily, from bike sox's to winter gear. lately i have been seeing a lot of gurls stuff on there.

my other favorite site to watch is Steep and Cheap. at Steep and Cheap, they sell premium, core outdoor gear and clothing at prices that are downright criminal. they sell one screamin' deal at a time until it's gone. the deals are fat (up to 80% off and no less than 50% off), so they sell out fast. you have to act fast or you'll miss it, but don't stress-as soon as one deal sells out, they kick off another.

today, i saw this bumper stick on a car it said, save the ta-ta's. sock guy is selling the sock but here's the official ta-ta site... save the ta-ta's.

cancer sucks.
~dirty bert

House Arrest!

2008-06-24T00:00:00.004-04:00

so you'd think after 4 weeks of being home, i'd make at least 1 post on this blog. 2 weeks ago, i felt like i was on house arrest, instead of having that bracelet on my ankle, i have a brace around my back and chest.

you see almost 5 weeks ago, on May 31st, i fell mountain biking, a freak accident is what i like to call it. a friend and i were riding chimney rock and decided to do 1 more trail. i usually don't ride that trail because its physical with the roots, rocks and ruts. so as i was climbing this hill, i lost my steam (i think) and wanted to unclip, with my right foot but i didn't do it in enough time. so instead of falling to the sides, like we most do, who ride with clipless, i fell backwards, with great speed and force. i landed, back first into a huge fallen tree on the ground.

i remember screaming in pain, a wave of nausea, sweeping my body and i didn't want to move because the pain was that bad. my friend wasn't to far behind me, but didn't see me fall, because the fallen tree was that big and was laying in the apex of the turn. i had fallen backwards and smashed my lower back into the tree. i had a camelback on and THANK GOD i did because it cushioned my fall and back. but where the camelback didn't cover, my lower back, is where the pain was.

after maybe a half and hour i was on my feet, in some excruciating pain and i used the bike as a crutch to walk out of the forest. i honestly thought i broke or bruised some ribs and maybe even my kidney because the pain had gone to my groin. i think it took us about 45 minutes to walk out of the woods and back to the car, where my friend put the bikes back on the car and i painfully got back into the car to drive home. yes, i drove home. 45 minutes later, i dropped him off and called another friend to see if he'd drive me to the hospital but first meet me at my house.

at the hospital, i waited an 1 hr and 15 minutes to get an x-ray, in all that time i stood up because it was to painful to sit down. i got a CT scan and minutes later, my wife and i found out i broke 5 vertebrate's in my lower back and had internal bleeding. SUPER, FANTASTIC, AWESOME, BRAVO, GOOD JOB!!

well this whole time, since i was laying on the ground to now, all i could think is, my wife is going to KILL ME! recently my wife and i were told, that we were going to be blessed with TWINS in december. yes, wonderful news but she'd didn't need this stress.

ok, so to wrap this long winded story, i spent a week in the hospital where i was fitted with a back brace. i was told it would take 6 weeks for my bones to heal and this monday will be my 5th week. i also have to wear this huge back brace for 6 weeks and i only take it off to shower. i can't ride a bike, drive a car or lift anything heavy for 2 months and i'm out of work till september with my short term disability. i'm getting an x-ray this tuesday and hopefully a follow up appointment with my neurosurgeon, the following week. i'm keeping my finger's crossed, so that the doctor will tell me, i'm healed and i can remove the brace, no surgery is needed and i can return to work and be able to drive again. we shall see!

happy trails and
please ride for me!
~dirty bert

Taco Bash Guard

2008-04-27T11:44:00.005-04:00

i got this bash guard on my bike from Dark Cycles, called Black Guard. i gotta say it's pretty phat looking and it does its purpose well. it makes me look better in my non-graceful way of clearing logs.

I just found this on E-Thirteen Taco Bashguard. for 45 bucks you get a quarter of what you really need in a bash guard. i like the idea, plain and simple and definitely puts its self in the ranks of "why didn't i think of that."

happy trails
~dirty bert

Spring Bike Deals!

2008-04-25T07:24:00.009-04:00

i ask myself, is it really spring? it's nothing like last year, where we jump from a very short spring into summer. although yesterday was very warm, i think a high of 85, we haven't hit the 90's just yet. i'm thankful because i got 2 many outside projects to worry about that.

i found a cool site to do price comparisons called, Spadout. i only search for mountain biking stuff that's on sale but there are other options as well. for example, i found Time ATAC Cleats, for $14.99! so basically you can buy 2 sets of them for the price of one at a bike shop but then again there's the waiting factor and shipping cost.

another site, i stumbled along is Bike 29, a 29er site for those dedicated to big wheels. i like looking at the shop section, dreaming of what i would buy if i had the loot.

i like Twin Six jerseys and t-shirt designs. i like the arygle jerseys. although i vow not to wear bike jerseys, i'd wear them if it was a loose performance, coolmax, shirt, maybe 3/4 length design.

tasty thursday deal, even though it's friday (thank god), is this 6-pack of GU for $5.50. this offer expires today!

get out there and ride!
~dirty bert

Tubeless in Seattle (well not really)

2008-04-23T00:20:00.007-04:00

where did i go? i was here. i didn't forget about you completely. i was just having to much fun and the way it goes for me, i'm too tired to do much at nite. so since the mild winter we had here in NJ, i have been riding faithfully. i think i was out every weekend until i got hit with that crappy flu. 4 days of fevers, chills and aches. it took about 2 weeks for me to finally get rid of that bug, but the whole dam office had got it at that point as well. i think i didn't ride for like 3 weeks.

well i'm back and i hope i'm more regular than my morning poops. everyone poops or is it farts, like the book says but more importantly since the new year my bike has gone thru some changes and i gotta say right now, is performing better than the day i got to ride it the first time.

lets see, since the new year, i have replaced my rear hanger. i got it from Derailleur Hanger. 2 for 39 bucks. i had to get rid of my Goodridge front brake & shifter lines because my front brake and shifting just sucked with them. the brake lines were replaced with Magura front brake lines and the shifter was replaced with Gore cable. my rear wheel has been rebuild, re-greased and re-loved. my fat ass cracked the rail on my Selle Italia SLK saddle. so now i'm sportin' a WTB Speed V and i made the switch to tubeless tires. i'm using Hutchinson tires and it's "protect' air tubeless" suppose to be better than stan's because it can be used on all tires, unlike stan's.

i'm tired. i'll post some morrow.

happy trails
~dirty bert

It's Been Awhile, Well Not Really.

2008-03-07T23:20:00.002-05:00

it's been awhile, i said, i'd try to be a better blogger in 08'and i already failed at that. although, i have been riding, getting out at least once during the weekend which has been good.

i just got over the flu. i'm sure plenty on you out there have had it or know someone that had or has it. it's pretty rough, i can't remember last when i had a fever and the chills as i did last weekend. 4 days of a fever, drained, achin' and just no interest in eating. i was hoping to lose weight on this, but it did nothing for me.

so back to riding, i'm excited that this weekend is daylight savings time. this marks it when i can squeeze riding in after work. last year, i did real well, by riding at least 4 days during the week and either one or both days on the weekend. my addiction was being satisfied. unfortunately, it's been raining a lot so the trails aren't in the best shape.

i was hoping to purchase a road bike this spring but it seems like uncle sam squashed my hopes for that. i couldn't believe how expensive parts were for a road bike. 300 bucks for shifters, you gotta be kidding.

well weather permitting and hopefully it isn't so muddy, i'm headed to allaire on sunday. a lil early morning riding before the hellish week that i already know that i'm going to have at work.

happy muddy trails,
~Db

Skinny Wooden Bridges

2008-02-12T20:52:00.002-05:00

i know it's been awhile since the last i wrote. AND i know i said in the last posting that i was going to blog more in 08', but i never realized how much work goes into writing something for a blog. i have no problem rambling in emails or textin' but here it requires so much more time. See, i think i was just rambling.

so i bought those Lake MXZ302 winter shoes. they make my toes nice and warm and happy. i stepped into a puddle and they were fine, as long as the puddle or in my case the stream crossing isn't over the top of the shoe. my feet were wet and on top of it, i could feel the water sloushin' around inside my shoe, yes i was to lazy to drain my shoe. so we are in mid February and you'd think i would have broken in these Lakes by now, ravin' about how well they fit and oh-so-warm and happy my toes are but how can i when last Saturday was 50! for once, global warming is good!

i have been riding almost, practically every weekend. i got 2 new fearless riders joining me this winter. i especially enjoyed it when they graduated to clip-less pedals. endless, silly crashes. you all remember all the embarrassing falls. falling just trying to clip in, falling just stopping for a brief moment, falling backwards on your rear tire, while you tumble down a hill, still clipped in and only unclip as you land into the stream (that was me). the 1 guy falls silently, very very stealthy, you have no idea. 1 minute he's there and the next he's laying on his side on the ground. very quick and quiet.

i got a problem. i cannot ride in a straight line in order to save my life. i panic and psyche myself out before i come to a wooden bridge, forget a skinny. how could i ride that when i can't ride a curb and only last for 3 feet. i need practice. i need someone to build stuff for me to practice on.

happy frozen trails,
~dirty bert

It Must Be the Shoes.

2008-01-06T00:46:00.000-05:00

Well i finally broke down and bought winter shoes. I bought them 1 size bigger to accommodate the thicker socks or multiple pairs that i wear. I got the new cleat attached to the shoe and tried it out last Sunday. It kept my toes nice and warm AND dry for the most part. I had a lot of trouble trying to clip into my pedal. The cleat was in a new positioned so i had trouble searching for it on the pedal. I felt like a newbie once again, minus all the falling.

The shoes held up well until i stepped into a stream crossing. I'm sure they would have been fine if the water wasn't so high. So from then on, they became a ice block. I mean these shoes are so water tight, i could feel the water swishing around the inside as i rode.

Fenders are also a key part of winter riding. They keep the slop to a minimal on yer back and butt. I found spraying the underside with Pam spray reduces the mud from actually sticking. I also wear a helmet cap or if it's really cold and windy a face protector or also know as Balaclava.

So tomorrow, they are forecasting 50 degrees in January. Wow, what a way to extend my riding season. Despite the trails being a tad bit muddy and still frozen by mid morning, it's kinda nice to have global warming.

happy muddy trails
~dirty "frozen" bert

Holidays

2007-12-27T00:06:00.000-05:00

It's been a while but I didn't forget about it. I can't describe in a enough words what work has been like these past few months. In all it's great to be at a busy ad agency. Enough about that.

Winter has arrived and for the first time, I keep hoping it gets cold. Why, because the ground will freeze and I won't have to ride in the mud. When I first started mtn. biking, I loved riding in the mud. I really never knew the bad effects I caused doing that but thought it was a lot of fun. Now a days, after doing trail maintenance at my local riding spot, I try to stay away from the trails, when it gets muddy.

I finally broke down this year and bought winter mtn. bike shoes. The day after Thanksgiving, my favorite bike shop, Halter's Cycles had a black Friday sale. 20% off on bikes and 30% off on everything else. I picked myself up Lake MXZ302 winter mtb shoe. Yea, they aren't cheap but I'm sure they will last a lot longer than any other mtb shoe I ever had. They are pretty toasty warm, but I haven't had the chance to actually wear them in a ride because I needed to order an extra set of Time ATAC cleats. If you use these, this is the best price on the internet.

Christmas has come and gone (Merry Christmas to you!) Santa brought me a nice long sleeve Fox Jersey, a cool 2008 mtn bike calendar, a Price Point gift card and Roam dvd. I also got the green light to purchase a road bike. I have no idea what brand to get but I want to get a good frame and fork, that way, I can always upgrade it from there.

Many thanks to those who have listened to me rant in 2007. I want to be a better blogger in 2008 and HOPEFULLY design a new blog/site in the new year.

Have a safe New Year!

happy frozen trails
~dirty bert

Upgradin'!

2007-09-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

i'm look to do a lil upgrades on my bike. when i first set out to build my bike up, i selected all the parts that i wanted and knew that were good. so i basically got my dream bike and parts to boot. after riding it for 2 years, i finally figured out that i need a new stem. it's not like i broke my old stem but it's to short for me to climb with. the front end of the bike pops up on steep climbs. it has nothing to do wit weight distribution but for the fact that it's a 90mm and i want 110 like i have used in the past.

i saw this stem, called Rotor S1 stem. It's being sold by Speedgoat. the 110mm weighs 108 grams and cost 160 bucks!! i mean i'd like a light stem. i'm no huckster, nor smooth on my bike but the price of the stem out weights the actual cost of the stem.

i'm sure i will need to replace the cassette soon, as well as the chain and the rear tire has seen better days. i will try to get the XTR cassette, i got the chain already and new tires, i'll ask around and see what everyone else is using and liking or dislikin'.

i went to local bike store and bought 3 tubes for $19.50!! jeeze! u got to be kiddin' i just saw online at Price Point, 10 tubes for $19.98! yes i know, i'd have to pay for shipping and then have to wait for it to come, but the mark up at the shop is insane! support yer local shop, yea yea yea, i know but come on!

happy trails
~dirty bert

New bike friend!

2007-09-12T17:30:00.000-04:00

2008 giant yukon fx

so one of my friends wants to jump into mtn biking. "find me a bike between 5 to 600 bucks wit full suspension and disc brakes!" finding a bike in that price range can be difficult, if you ever notice all the bikes are the same parts and different colors. yer looking at a bike at least 35 pounds, a coil shock, a low end front fork and disc brakes and maybe some flashy colors on the frame with a fancy name. i'm not trying to be a snob by saying negative things about these bikes but, when it comes down to the long run, these parts will fail you quicker than you expected AND with mtn biking being so addicting, you will want to head back to the bike shop and buy something better.

as you can see above, this is the 2008 giant yukon fx. it's equipped with a RockShox Dart 2 100mm suspension fork, Giant air shock, SRAM SX-4 trigger shifting, SX-4 rear derailleur, Hayes MX-4 mechanical disc brakes and a WTB Dual Duty XC rim/Formula disc hub wheelset. honestly not a bad setup for a beginner bike, the way i look at it, it's something to build from for a year or 2. swap out the shifters and rear derailleur for SRAM X7's or X9's and maybe go with a lighter wheelset and you got a great transformation of yer bike.

i'm going to try to get more close up pics soon, i saw it in person today and i gotta say it's a sweet looking bike. I'm sure he'll love it and soon we can hit the trails together (as soon as the mud dries).

happy muddy trails
~dirty bert

911

2007-09-11T00:41:00.000-04:00

i remember my parents talking about when they first saw the man land on the moon or when JFK was shot. they ask each other, "do you remember where you were?". Well today marks 6 years since 911 and i will never forget where i was on that day...

never forget.
~dirty bert

NEW Favorite Site!

2007-09-09T00:04:00.000-04:00

so i was lazy today. the first time in a long time that i actually did nothing. it was beautiful outside, in the 90's and i didn't ride. i couldn't find anyone to ride with and usually that doesn't stop me to ride but their was a lil urge to go but was deflated when i saw i had a flat rear tire. UGH! i HATE changing the rear tire, it causes me some many issues, i feel like i need another set of arms to change that tire.

so i pretty much spent the day on ebay, surfin' the web, looking for a good deal on bike lights and reading posts on mtbnj forums. It has become one of my favorite bike site/forums for New Jersey. I can now find new people to ride with and share my experiences, opinions and hopefully make new friends.

happy trails,
~dirty bert

My All-Time Favorite Video

2007-09-08T00:27:00.000-04:00

here is my favorite all-time bike video.

whatever made him think that this was going to work!? i also like listening to the crowds reactions to his attempt. i'm sure he's glad he had that tree to fall into.

ride this weekend, saturday is 90 and sunday is 86. i'm thinking about heading to allaire or hartshorne.

happy sweaty trails
~dirty bert

Bargains and bike catalogs

2007-09-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

i'm a bargain shopper. i continuously look for bargains on the internet for bike related stuff. it seems like i spend hours of time trying to save 10 bucks. i found a bike related search engine called Spadout. they seem like a good search engine for bike related products. go check them out!

i also found another cool site that has old bike catalogs. you remember those things, that bike shops loved to give away free but now a days, the websites want you to download the pdf. it's just not the same. so here's a bunch of pdf's of the old catalogs. there pretty interesting to see how mountain bikes came such a long way.

happy trails
~dirty bert

5 Days a Week

2007-09-06T00:08:00.000-04:00

well not quite 5 days this week, 3 so far but this summer i have been getting more ride time in during the weekdays, than the weekends. the rides are lasting from 2 hrs or 45 minutes, my range is huge because of the daylight i'm losing. i still didn't plunker down money for lights, not just yet. i'm still not sure whether i want to drain my money clip with HID lights. time will tell, more like me getting the urge to spend.

i have met A LOT of people this season riding. i'm a lil bit more sociable and invite people to come riding with me or try to join them. i have been riding for about 15 yrs now, and by no means a pro or an expert but still an intermediate rider. i really don't mind it. i like looking around, checking out the what trees the beavers are trying to chop down, spottin' deer, yelling at the rabbits to make up ther minds and get off my trail or just plain ol' talking to myself. who the hell cares. my job causes so much stress at times, that i look forward to ride and unwind and not rush or race others.

i like to call myself a technical rider, i really like to think that but i know i'm no where near that skill set. at times, i bash thru the obstacles, no finesse is used. my logs skills are ok, after 15yrs, i still can't bunny-hop over them nor pull a wheelie intentionally. man, i would love to learn how to do a nose wheelie, on purpose and not followed by me OTB.

i got a new toy, the garmin 305. wish i could use it on my mac. i always want these new gadgets but never really learn the full potential of them, god i hope that doesn't make me a poser.

i know i'm rambling, so take care and be good to yer bike.

happy trails
~dirty bert

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2007-08-23T07:40:00.000-04:00

I know rain is good for the environment, it makes my flowers, weeds, and grass grow and my trails wet. It's been raining, literally 5 days straight. 3 days of it has been the misty rain, which I personally like the best. At least with the misty rain, you still can ride, it delays the point where you are completely soaked. Of course this weekend will be beautiful, i have a wedding to go to that's at least 2 hrs away, nothing close to home, where I can get home at a decent hour and squeeze a ride in. And with summer drawing to a close, the hours of sunlight and warmth are going to end.

I have been thinking more and more about buying lights for my bike. It would extend my riding time but being the way that I am I would want something good and that means trying to buy HID lights. I can't find them lights for under $300. I also had a hard time finding reviews on lights, word of mouth is helpful but I wanna see what the lights look like at night. So I searched on the MTBR forums and found this lights shootout. Yes, it is from 2005, 2 years old but at least it shows what the lights look like at night. There was a set-up on there that seemed as bright as HID lights and it was TurboCat S47 system. Now I know a lot has changed since 2005 and i also know that a lot online retailers don't sell TurboCat. I hear from the forums that Light & Motion is good and so is Nite Rider but what do you buy. Magazines never do an in-depth articles, a shoot-out of lights and if they do it's all the high-end lights kinda like what they do with their bikes (i.e. mountain bike action). So who do we turn to?

So what are you using? Why do you like it? How much was it and where did you buy it? Did you buy and extra battery and how much? Do you know how much the bulbs are? All important questions that need to be answered by... YOU!? who knows but I NEED ANSWERS!

~happy muddy trails
dirty bert

LOTSA SLIPPIN' & SLIDIN'

2007-08-20T23:22:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since we last talked, and a lot has gone on. I lost and found a new job. A better commute, a bigger company, tons of work to keep me busy AND more opportunities to ride.

See the new job is centraly located for me to ride at 4 spots. 2 of them is less than an hour away, 1 is about 30 minutes and the other is about 25 minutes and with me getting out of work by 5 pm, that gives me plenty of time to ride. So I have been fortunate this summer in getting a lot of riding time in. For awhile there I was riding 5 to 6 days a week, hence no postings.

So tonight i met up a few people from NJ MTBR forum. We all met at 6 Mile Run but when I got there, the dark clouds already rolled in and in the faint distance you heard thunder and quick flashes of lightening. The wind picked up and the rain came and we all went to our cars hoping it would pass thru. Well it rained lightly, then harder and then hail dropped, about the size of marbles and of course the wind. Well it finally let up a lil and we all came out of our cars and started the ride. I say we had about 7 people, all different ranges but with the way the trails were, the playing field was even. It seemed like a quick ride, lotsa slippin and slidin' but on the way back, the wind picked up, some thunder was heard and the rain came back, heavy. Now riding in the rain is fine in the woods, half the time you don't feel it thru the trees unless it pours and thats what it did. So as we climbed up the trails, the trails themselves became lil rivers or like lil log flumes of fun.

It was fun. The ride was cut short from the rain earlier. I wish I could ride a bit longer, but hey, that's what the weekends are for!

~happy trails
dirty "muddy" bert

QUICK RELEASE BANNED!?!?!

2007-06-19T00:07:00.000-04:00

I know most of the readers of this blog aren't from New Jersey but I thought you'd be interested in how ridiculous this sate has gotten.
How crazy is this crap.... New Jersey is trying to pass a bill that would outlaw quick release wheels on ALL bicycles. There are no commercially available wheel retention systems that would meet the requirements of this bill. If this bill is passed, it would put all New Jersey bicycle dealers out of business IMMEDIATELY.

NJ Assembly Bill No. 2686 would make it illegal to sell any bicycle, including ADULT bicycles with current quick releases

It is wrongly promoted as being directed only to children's bicycles

This will have an immediate, significant, adverse impact on NJ bicycle consumers and dealers.

None of the bicycles currently on the market could meet the standard in Assembly Bill 2686

This would IMMEDIATELY shut down the bicycle retail business in NJ

The Bill would require a quick release retention system on adult bikes, that works AUTOMATICALLY, ALWAYS retains the wheel.

There is no commercially available system that meets this impossible standard

The quick release has been in use for over 50 years

A properly used Quick Release is SAFER than a bicycle with a bolted axle.

So as usual we are to contact our state senators ASAP and let them know this bill will put them out of business. Here is the link to find your Senator's contact information.

happy trails?
~dirty bert

ESCAPE ADVENTURES, FOR SALE... AGAIN!!!

2007-06-14T01:30:00.000-04:00

I got a lovely bday gift last summer. It was a gift certificate to Escape Adventures. AND yes, I'm re-posting this again!

After much though I decided that I can't use these gift certificates. I have a new job and 2 weeks of vacation (my last job i had 30 days off). I initially wanted to take a week to do a tour with Escape Adventures, thinking that would be the best thing to do since I probably will never have a good chance experiencing anything like this. A week or weekend would be enough to quench my thirst of west coast riding in Utah's Moab, Canyonlands & Arches or Bryce & Zion National Parks.

So I got a gift certificates valued at $400 that I'm willing to sell for $350. Check out their site, the gift certificates are still good and I'm allowed to sell them. there also a discount if you book before a certain date, so there you will save a little more extra cash. The price is discounted for what was spent on them but they seem to be well worth the trip of being fully supported guided tour. So please, is there any takers out there who will help me and help yourself to a worth wild trip?

Thanks,
~dirty bert

BIKE(S) FOR SALE?

2007-06-14T00:30:00.000-04:00

It hurts me to even do it but I don't even use them anymore. I'm willing to part with my 2001 Trek Liquid 20 and a original 1991 Klein Rascal (fully rigid).
I really hate to sell them because I'm afraid that they will go to a home where they won't be appreciated or cared for. I know, I know, these aren't living things here, these aren't kids but to me there memories that brought me joy and excitement and I just hate to have someone buy it just because it looks cool or even worse a phase that there going thru.
Yer thinking, why sell them then? Well, because it will be the easiest way for me to finance a 29er frame and or a road bike. I'm looking for 600 bucks for the Trek and 400 bucks for the Klein and somewhere on this blog there's pics of both. The Klein is all original parts and if you find pics of the Trek, for 600 you get a 5" bike with a tubeless wheelset and disc brakes. The only things that aren't for sale on the Trek is the red Chris King headset and the Time ATAC pedals, those would be extra.
I will post additional pics of the bikes and the specs soon. Right now the Trek is at the shop getting it's last service, so see I do take care of my bikes. the trek is a good bike, I would consider it, a good starter bike, a building bike in a sense, an easy upgradable bike. As far as the Klein, it's, I'd say 95% original. the only thing that isn't original is the brakes, Scott SE brakes, tires and maybe the huge gel seat. It's got the original one piece stem and handlebar, xt shifters, i think it's a Topline crank. Let me get the specs together to make sure first and I will post back onto here.
Soon I will post some other bike realted stuff I have for sale. I wanna try to sell it on here first, than on ebay or craig's list. So check back again, soon.

happy trails
~dirty bert

A DAY AT THE RACES

2007-05-08T00:30:00.000-04:00

I think it's not fair that we all work 5 days a week and ONLY get 2 days off. That's less time to squeeze in for a ride. Not fair and I know life is unfair.

With the new job, came new perks. My drive is 40 minutes rather than the hour and 15 minutes of before and that was days with no traffic. With my new job and short commute I gained the option of being able to ride after work. It's a nice perk. I bring my bike to work and jet at 5-5:30 to ride at the closets spot which is about half and hour away. Lately, I can squeeze in 2 hours and like tonight 10 miles. 10 miles and 2 hours seems like, ima snail but lately, I have been taking out a newbie with me or my other friends that have some "ride-time" under there paddy shorts but we do like to stop often, catch out breath, drink a lil water and tease each other. I find that type of riding fun.

I got some friends racing this year. I'm not a racer nor do I want to compete in any races. With my job, I have deadlines everyday and often it seems like on every hour. I feel like I race to work to get there on time and race to get home or race to get to the park for a after work ride. I don't want to race with something I really enjoy, something that unwinds me after a day at work, something that I look forward to do on the weekends. I just don't need another job, a commitment to do well or compete with others, I don't need to prove myself or with others.

I do compete with my friends when we ride. I just did it tonight. I just need to be in front, to guide, to warn and just be ahead of everyone. When someone got ahead, i made sure that I somehow, got around them. Maybe tonight I was more of a control freak because I wanted to be able to cover as much ground as possible before it got to dark.

We all compete with our friends when we ride. We all have our "fast" friends, that when we ride, we need to push ourselves to keep up. I still do it but I get more enjoyment riding with slower people or even newbies. I choose to be slow now and i rather ride with them because in my mind there still taking their time to enjoy and absorb there surroundings (maybe just to survive) and not fly by as a blur.

Side Note: Cambria is having a tire sale. The tire coupon code is... CBOTIRE7. Save an extra 11% on all tires. Offer can not be combined with any other offer.

happy trails
~dirty bert

STAN TO THE RESCUE!

2007-05-02T23:31:00.000-04:00

I need Stan, Stan's tubeless system. I gather some people from work, 3 people and 2 more at the last minute, for a fun group ride at Mercer. Mercer seems to be the best meeting spot during the weekdays, since it is the quickest place to get to after work.
Well within 15 minutes into our ride, someones tire started to hiss. We all stopped and helped change the tire and as usual we made fun of each other. The ride was good, there was one newbie riding with us, that was doing well and Mercer is a relatively easy place to start mtn. biking and a good place to get back into shape and start the new season.
On the way back, my rear tire decided to finally go flat. I have been having an everlasting low/flat tire for about 5 months now. i think this has been the longest streak of not having a flat in my rear tire. I gotta say this, I HATE changing my rear tire. There is so much to deal with, aligning the disc with the caliper, then rerouting the chain around the cassette and trying to align the quick release back into the drop-outs AND all doing this with 2 hands. NO f-en way, can i do this by myself. Well anyway, I rode that tire, completely deflated on that rim to long. So long, that the rim nipped or cut into the sidewall.
When we got back to the parking lot, I had my chance to get some help changing the rear tire. So Jeff kindly, held the bike up for me, while I cursed at the chain, disc and rear derailleur for about 15 minutes. I have learned valuable lessons in changing tires and one of them is to NEVER turn the bike upside down when you have hydraulic brakes. Why, because you will always get air in yer brake lines causing yer brakes to not work properly. AND as you can already tell from this post, that I'm mechanically challenged and can't handle bleeding my brakes, let alone changing my rear tire.
Well, after I changed the tire, 3 people bailed to go home and ME and 2 others wanted to join me for some more riding on the other side of Mercer. We had a quick pace because at this point the sun just set and I needed to squeeze in a lil more trail time in. We hustled around the trails, stopping very lil but it became dark quickly, than I expected and once again we were out riding the trails in the dark. Thank god, I know the trails, so well and my eye sight is pretty good, well my squinting is excellent. We made it back to the cars by 8:25, with the lightning in the distance.
I have learned, once again, I seriously need to invest in a couple of things, if I want to keep up riding like this.

Lights: Relatively cheap, under 100 bucks for a system. Any suggestions?
Stan's: I still need tubes but I heard and read this system works.
CO2 Inflation System: Ya still gonna need it, if you are using tubes or No Tubes and it beats killing yer arm for pumping (there's a joke in here somewhere and I'm not gonna touch it)
Tubes: 10 boxes of tubes for 20 bucks, not a bad deal.

I think right now, that would be a good start. I know, them lights can be expensive, especially the HID lights. I think the cheapest i saw them, were for, maybe 300 bucks. LED, here i come! On eBay, you can score Stan's for under 60 bucks.

happy trails
~dirty bert

MY NEW, KINDA OLD 1991 KLEIN RASCAL

2007-04-29T23:59:00.000-04:00

Here's my new toy. A 1991 Klein Rascal with some original XT parts and I'm planning to convert it to single speed. I'm looking to buy Cooks Brothers or Kooka cranks, I may keep on the Scott Pederson SE brakes until I an get my hands on more powerful Avid stoppers. The 26" wheels, I'll keep and also the rigid fork. The one-piece Mission Control stem and handlebar looks cool, as well as the black to green fade. The bike is in great condition, since it's 16 years old.

~happy trails
dirty bert

SHOE DEAL

2007-04-23T00:29:00.000-04:00

Hey I know it's been awhile, the new job is sucking the life out of me but that's a good thing. I have been riding until the monster rain storm came. Mercer got flooded BIG time, i will post before and after pics of that and 6 Mile became a mud bog.
I was just bike window shopping online and noticed this great deal on Performance Bike for Northwave Celsius GTX winter bike shoe. I know spring may be finally here in the US but for 99 bucks, it's a great bargain that's hard to pass up. IF you do buy them, remember to order 1 size up, to allow for heavier socks.

happy muddy trails,
~dirty bert

IT'S SHOE SUCKING MUD...

2007-04-04T23:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay with the postings. I know my avid readers, all 3 of you have been patiently waiting for a posting. But was consumed with job hunting and finally landed a new job. I had dedicated 9 years to 1 place and I had to move on, it was definitely hard to do considering I lost my 6 weeks vacation in the process but I gained a commute closer to home (25 minutes) and a chance to work in a growing company. In a matter of 2 weeks, I'm starting to see my desk again. I have had a 2" pile of work sitting on my desk and maybe by Friday, I will see the fake wood grain of my desk.
Anyway, to more important things... I have been riding, which is good. I rode just right up till we had our first and second snow fall. But I have been patiently waiting for the snow and mud to dry up a bit to ride again. It's funny how things change, when I was younger, I would think of nothing better to do than ride in the mud. The muddier the better but now if it's muddy, i think twice about riding. I really think that comes from all the trail maintenance I have been doing lately.
So a week ago, I volunteered my time to ATUG, Allaire Trail Users Group. 8 am was the start time, so that meant I was up at 6:45 on a Sunday, so I can get a bagel for breakfast and be on the road by 7:15. There were about 20 people waiting in a circle in the parking lot. Hikers, bikers and horse owners were there to help, a great crowd for most places. We ended up splitting into 3 groups, the horse people went somewhere, the bike people rode off to re-route a trail and we stayed near the entrance to fix the muddy areas. it certainly was a learning experience and I learned a lot that day but it was a long day. We wrapped up at 11:30, i figured people would ride afterwards but everyone left, i stood around and talked to a new friend and left to go ride at Mercer.
I was at Mercer this past Saturday doing TM. Filling in the trail with much needed wood chippings. The mud in some areas was as deep as 4", shoe sucking mud is what it is. I spent a lot of time there 9:30 till 12:30 full of fun. I didn't care it was a good time and I'm hoping this year we get to ride after TM and enjoy what we did.

Happy Trails
~dirty bert

Rumor has it...

2007-03-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

Rumor has it, that Redline is strictly going to just make single speed bikes. I also saw in my most current issue of Performance catalog, the Redline frames were on sale. I think the non 29er was about 100 bucks for a frame and fork, not a bad deal. Have you seen any great deals on the internet?

Well it isn't a rumor but I just got a email today from Bike Nashbar. Hurry it's only good for today! 15% Off discount applies to all web or phone orders, no minimum purchase amount is required. Coupon Code DAYLITE must be presented at time of purchase. Coupon/Discount can not be applied to previous purchases and cannot be combined with any other offer. Discount does not apply to shipping/handling or taxes and is not valid on gift certificates. Code expires 3/12/07 11:59 est.

I also got this email from Beyond Bikes. Here's lots coupon codes for you all to enjoy! Now I have read on the MTBR forums that people had problems with Beyond. I haven't had any, well because I never ordered from them. Has anyone had any problems with them?

Well with day light savings starting early and the thaw out here on the east coast, trail maintenace is about to start. For NJ, you can find information on the JORBA and find the chapter, where you ride. It's important to support your favorite trails with some hours and it's also a great way to meet new people and of course being able to ride with them afterwards. I wish that here in NJ, they would stagger the TM dates to Saturday & Sundays. So I can do TM at Mercer on Saturday and TM at Allaire on Sunday. I bet they would get more people out if they'd do that, hell I know I would. Do you do TM?

~happy trails
dirty bert

VANDALS!

2007-02-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

It's always good to give back to your community but in this case it's trail maintenance. I do volunteer, it may not be for every meeting but I try to make a conscience effort in volunteering my time to a trail that I use and enjoy. It's a good way to meet other people, a sort of a way to network and also to share yer passion or riding experiences with others.

Lately I have been doing it here at Mercer County Park. Like I said, I'm not out there every month but I try to make a conscience effort in volunteering some time. Over this past summer I helped with 2 bridges (repair and a build), pruning of a trails and picking up garbage from the fisherman.

The one bridge I helped build has just been vandalized, again! It's in a remote area of the park, where I think not a lot of people frequent because it's on the other side of the lake. I think this weekend a group of people are going back out to fix the bridge and I'm hoping I'm one of them.

I just don't understand why people can be so bored and need to destroy things. Is trail destruction like this all over the country? I haven't read many places that receive this kind of destruction. Granted, it isn't the "end of the world" but it makes me believe that people don't respect others enough. It's a shame.

happy safe trails
~dirty bert

WIN A NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE!

2007-02-13T07:08:00.000-05:00

The guys at winanewmountainbike.com are giving away a brand new Giant Trance 0 mountain bike. All you need to do to be sure it becomes yours, is go to win a new mountainbike and purchase as many $5.00 tickets as you can. A portion of each ticket will go to benefit Wheels4life.org.

Wheels4Life is a non-profit organization that provides bikes for people in 3rd world countries in need of transportation to get to work or to school; including health care workers. This charity was founded by extreme biking legend and former Mountain Bike World Champion Hans Rey. With Wheels4Life Hans wanted to give something back to the people he met on his journey's, he so very grateful for the opportunities and career he had through the sport.

The winner of the winanewmountainbike.com Sweepstakes will win a brand new Giant Trance 0, 2 pair of Utopia shades, a set of SixSixOne knee and arm pads, a pair of SixSixOne riding shoes and a pair of SixSixOne gloves and a helmet from Pro-Tec.

The Giant Trance 0 is designed with a balanced Maestro 4.2 and 4" of rear/front travel and uses lightweight aluminum ALUXX SL. You can check out all the specs and features on the official Giant website.

happy trails and good luck!
~dirty bert

p.s. happy birthday dad!

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BIKE OR IS IT YOU?

2007-02-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

What gives with Mountain Bike Action!? I do subscribe to that glossy magazine but lately who are they trying to target? The past 2 issues they reviewed nothing but high end bikes! I do like looking at the high end bikes like anyone else but constantly reviewing ALL high end is a bit annoying. AND I'm not talking about 2 to maybe 3 grand bikes but 6 thousand plus bikes!?!?!?

In the February issue, they reviewed the Santa Cruz Nomad at $4,427. Then there's the Cannondale Rush Carbon Team in at $6,499. Also there was the Jamis Dakar XCR Expert coming in at $3,087. Ok, it was a 1k to 2k of a difference but still, I'm sure there's more people out there who can't afford to buy these high end scoots than there is to buy them. Ooh, wow, they threw in the KHS AM1000 in there at $1,599 for us low end users, how nice of them.

In the March issue, they tested the Intense 5.5 FRO at a staggering price of $5,800. What a bargain, the frame and shock is only, $2,225. Hahaha, then we got the Felt Virture One coming in at $6,199. And also in this issue, is the ever so popular "Buyer's Guide". Where they showcase tons of more bikes ranging from $350 to $6,500.

It's a shame, not everyone can afford those high-end bikes. I can understand reviewing at least 1 high-end bike in the mag but not dedicate the whole mag to those bikes. When we first start out, people usually spend, I'd say a grand or less for there first bike. My first bike cost me 350 and it lasted for 6 years. But now people today, just shoot for the high end bikes without learning to graduate and evolve to the next level on a bicycle. Think of it this way, it will be less a waste of money, or if you have less time to dedicate to ride or if you don't like it or even if yer passion turns to something else. Maybe technology is to blame and maybe it's the industries fault to accelerate the growth the growth of a bicycle from fully rigid to freeride bike. I always tell the newbies when we ride, remember it's not how much you spend on a bike, or the latest technology or all fancy, clothing yer wearing, it's just you.

happy trails
~dirty bert

CLIPPIN' COUPONS, well kinda

2007-02-03T01:43:00.000-05:00

I like to save. Who doesn't. We all do. And when it comes to upgrading our bikes, some of us like to get it the cheapest way possible. I have only come across 1 bike store in NJ that will price match online prices. That's a pretty good deal but its gotta kill the store for doing that. I have been finding some deals online at some of these bike sites. Here are a few I'd like to pass along to you.

FIRST up is Sage Cycles. I haven't ordered anything from them but I would and take the chance if I needed something. WHY would I order from them? Well first and foremost, they offer a 15% off on the 1st order and FREE shipping on orders over 50 bucks. Not a bad deal. But the 15% is excluded from complete bikes.

And SECOND is Universal Cycles. I have order from them in the past and I received my order on time and it was correct. No complains from me and occasionally I will receive via email some VIP coupons like 10% off of 100 bucks using this code, febvip10 (original huh?) and 15% off 300 bucks using this code, febvip15. This coupon will end at midnight of 2/28/07. Also another plus, I like to say about Universal, is that there website is easy to navigate on. It's not overwhelming like these guys.

Air Bomb.com has a fantastic price for Lake MXZ301 Winter shoe BUT only if yer a size 36! Or you can call this place, Lickbike for the 07 Lake MXZ301 Winter shoe for $194.88!

Icycles has BB5's for $39 each.

Colorado Cyclist tends to be EXPENSIVE. Check out there print catalog and look at the prices.

Or look at Richard Bicycles and drool on all the big name custom mtn bikes out there. Major drool right here.

happy trails
~dirty bert

GROUNDHOG'S DAY

2007-02-03T01:16:00.000-05:00

I still haven't cleaned the bike from last Sunday's ride. I just haven't had time. It's no excuse but work has been crazy despite what's going on and cleaning my bike is the last priority i need to do on a week night. I did take 2 pics to show how caked it is, in the mud.

where does the chain go?

The Turner frame is sweet to look at. It's milled out in certain areas of the bike frame, to cut down on the weight. It's a great idea until those areas clogged with the mud, as you can see in this one picture above, the nooks and crannys are clogged and even the chain disappears in the semi dryed mud jam. I cant wait to chisel the chain out of that mess.

spring is here, the grass is growing!

In this picture above, i guess it wasn't enough to carry all the extra poundage of mud around but I was also lucky enough to get some grass as well. Or maybe Phil is right and spring is just around the corner and by the look of things, the grass has just sprouted in my rear derailleur.

happy muddy trails
~dirty bert

MUD SLINGING AT 6 MILE!

2007-01-30T16:30:00.000-05:00

there's v-brakes under there somewhere

WOW, what a ride! I thought last weekend ride was muddy but this was insane!

For the first time, I rode with Mike, Pat, Andy and Lee at 6 Mile. The weather was nice, a sunny 40 degree day with no wind. I was sportin' my fenders again and the same outfit as last weekend because that seemed to work for me.

a major mud dam begins

As we hit the first section of trail, it became a preview of how the ride was going to be. The mud was as slick as ice and sticky like GU. I thought my fenders would give me an advantage but it only protected my eyes from the flying mud clumps as i rode down any hills.

I know everything seems to blend together, but you understand what's going on here

I fell twice. I leaned into the slope and when I leaned to far, the front tire would just slide out and down i'd go. The tires got completely clogged to the point where my tire's mud extended a good inch past the tire and the big brown tire looked at least 4" wide.

here's the bike after the ride on the rack

As you can see from the pictures, it clogged everywhere. I think my bike gained at least 5 pounds of mud. Would I do it again? Sure. Why? Because, I was out riding, first and foremost. Secondly, the mud made me somewhat a better rider, with all the braking and steering that I had to do. And third, I got to ride with new people and share one of favorite NJ riding spots.

happy muddy trails
~dirty bert

Buying Bike Parts. Wouldja do it?

2007-01-25T10:18:00.000-05:00

eBay does it, so does Craig's List and also MTBR. BUT why not ME!?

Well I'm interested into, start selling some bike stuff, I figured this would be a great forum to do so. I wouldn't have to pay any fees other than the cut PayPal gets. I just wonder if people would be interested in some of my new and 2nd hand stuff.

For instance, I got a great Trek full suspension sitting in my garage begging to be ridden. Somewhere on this blog, I have posted pictures of this bike. It's about 4 years old, it hasn't been beaten, I'm far from a huckster, it's been professionally been taken care of, tune-ups regularly and was given lotsa love. What would one wanna pay for something like that? Is it like buying a car, where it depreciates once it leaves the car lot or in this case, once it's been ridden on a trail? Or how about this concept called Trade My Bicycle. Where you trade your bicycle for instant store credit, I like the concept but I just wonder if it will really work. In the condition section of that site, I'd rate the Trek to be in "excellent to excellent plus" condition and it will probably see a tune-up prior to it being sold.

I may also got some parts for sale. I got a pair of Eggbeaters sitting out in the garage. I tried to use them on 1 ride but I didn't like them and went back to using my Time ATAC carbons. I bought them because they were light and we the latest cool pedal out. I think they are the CrankBrothers Egg Beaters SL. They weight in at 266 grams a pair and that's pretty sweet! I also have Easton 2006 MonkeyLite SL riser bar.

I will have to look around the garage this weekend to see what else I got to sell, I think I might have tires in there, maybe the Kenda Nevegal 2.1 tire. While yer on that link, check out the size of the outer knobs on the "King of Traction" tire, jeeze i could have used that mud tire last weekend.

Has anyone had any luck selling outside of those forums mentioned above?

happy trails
~dirty bert

My Mud Buddy & Me!

2007-01-24T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a muddy day. Well I met Jen for a nice, bitter, windy cold ride this past weekend at 6m (aka 6 Mile Run). I arrived late and not only do I do that but lost my disc brake pad in the gravel parking lot. Yea, it was like finding a needle in the haystack. The pad was black and gray and the gravel parking lot was black and gray and to add insult to injury, I think the dam pad floated away in the wind.

Not to be discouraged from no front brake, I decided to ride anyways and not be denied of this ride wit Jen. Off we go, Me sportin' front and rear fenders, wool socks, over my thermal thighs and a long sleeve coml. shirt tucked into the tights and another warm jersey over that and my heavyweight jersey/jacket over that and under my helmet i was wearing balaclava.

The trails were muddy, the logs looked wet but you never know if they were actually wet or just iced, either way, my rear tire slid along them. All the mud ruts were frozen, which is always interesting to try to ride in or over them. You always fall a victim of riding in them, hoping the other person before you, picked a good line.

We got to ride over the new bridge, thank god it was much wider with a nice approach, I walked my bike over it because the snow/ice that formed on it made me second guess myself. On the way home, I did ride it but was so paranoid thinking that I would ride off of it.

The mud we did find, was thick and heavy, nothing like the soupy kind you find in the summer. This crap stuck like crazy glue to the bike and loved to clog every hole on the bike, I think my bike gained 3 pounds of mud over the 2.5 hrs. we rode. I forgot to spray the underside of my fenders with Pam, you know that "non-stick" cooking spray, the crap wipes off so much easier, try it next time.

Very lil traction in da mud.

Look at the mud nest.

Well the ride was a lot of fun and we got back to the parking lot in time to see the bow hunter head into the woods. I didn't wipe my bike down in the parking lot, I probably should have, so instead I placed the bike on the roof and the wind, froze the mud onto the bike but not before some mud splattered and froze to car. I got a frozen mud splatter on my roof, back window and on the trunk.

My brown & silver Turner.

It took me 3 days to clean the bike, along with me doing the dumb thing of washing it outside. The sudsy bubbles on the frame, actually froze, good job, dummy! Anyway it's clean, well kinda of, but I'm dropping it off at the shop tonight for sum repairs. Real quick, one time i didn't clean my bike off, well not that labor intensive as I did this time and the bike shop charged me additionally for cleaning the bike so they could work on it. It sounds crazy but it's true. I don't care about the cold weather, nor the wind or the sno, all I care about is getting back to 6m for more mud madness.

happy trails
~dirty "muddy" bert

It's So Intense!

2007-01-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

I just found this and I wanted to share this with you. This bike looks PHAT! I don't know whether it has to do with the brand, Intense or the fact that the black and silver look HOT or it's a full suspension 29er. I'd be more excited (if that was possible) if this was a 96er.

It looks like a custom selection for the parts. I see on it Thompson Elite X-4 stem, the red version of Magura Martha SL disc brakes, a Recon Rock Shox, red Salsa skewers, SRAM XO trigger and rear derailuer, a Thompson Masterpiece seatpost, a WTB saddle and a RaceFace crank. A real nice parts selection and if I was to guess how much this bike cost, I'd say $4,750!! I cheated and got it from the Hammerhead bikes website.

I also found another cool bike product website for custom fenders. It's called, Woody's Custom Fenders. I can't even imagine what it would cost for these fenders. Then again paying 4,750 bucks for a custom bike is a drop in the bucket for sum custom wood fenders!

happy trails
~dirty bert

Riding with Dark Cycles

2007-01-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

I noticed this company, Dark Cycles about a year ago, when someone posted ther bash guard on MTBR.

Here's a close up of what my bash guard looks like.

The bash guard i got is called Black Guard. Up close it looks SWEET and the CNC engraving is well done. I had never had a bash guard on a bike but it makes a world of a difference for me to get up and over a log pile. No more, chainring digging or scraping over a log. It's makes me into a better rider or less sloppy looking as I cross over the logs.

As I roamed around thier website I noticed they have a DH bike called, Scarab DH. A cro-moly steel frameset with 8.5" of rear travel and a frame weight (incl. shock) of 11.8 lbs. I'm no DH guy but this bike looks pretty menacing and with 8.5" of travel, it sounds like it has more travel then my civic.

They also have a hard tail bike called, Supernova. What stood out the most from the picture of the bike was the CNC engraving of the flame dropouts! I gotta say that's pretty phat and original on their part.

If yer looking for a bash guard, I'd recommend Dark Cycles, Black Guard. You will have to give up yer large chainring but I didn't mind because I rarely used it, so it wasn't a big lose for me. I bought mine at Red Barn Bicycles. Chad was the guy I emailed and eventually call and ordered from. You can email Chad at sales@RedBarnBicycles.com. I'd say mention me when you order but I doubt he'd remember me, since it was so long ago.

happy bashing!
~dirty bert

Winter Fun!

2007-01-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

Here's a photo of what it look liked last winter.

And here's me, minus that sleeveless T but I'm wearing a short sleeve T instead.

Here is a pic of the flesh piercing, tire puncturing, tube poppin' Mercers' thorns.

A new bridge at Mercer, at a differrent angle.

happy trails and warm weather!
~dirty bert

Sun, Mud and Fun!

2007-01-08T22:41:00.000-05:00

Well it didn't take long, but i did it. I broke my 1 of my New Year's resolution by not posting everyday. Thursday was my last post but I did start to create a post for Friday about how nice global warming has been with it extending my riding season. I know it's bad but this season is actually livable on the east coast.

Well I got to ride the whole weekend. Saturday was insane, we broke a record here, at 73 degrees and I got to wear shorts and a short sleeve jersey. I was planning to ride at 6 Mile but I was warned that it was swampy there and then thought about going to Hartshorne but I didn't want to do the drive and then I thought about Allaire but I hate to ride somewhere, where I'm still completely unfamiliar with the trails, so instead I rode at Mercer.

The trails were slick, lotsa slippin' and slidin' in that goop. I think I rode for 2.5 hours on Saturday and 1.5 on Sunday. Both days I fell, Saturday I clipped a tree and I tried to correct the direction I was heading after the clip and the tire tire just washed out and down I went. No big deal, I just receive some minor scrapes. On Sunday, I cut the corner to slow and tight and the front tire again, washed out and I fell to the ground but this time my back found a way to smash and scrape down a tree nearby. I'm so thankful that lil tree didn't break like they normally do or otherwise I would have been jabbed in the side with the stump. I also unclipped at a bad moment, where I just got over a log and my left foot unclipped and whipped back around to smash and scraped the back of my leg. Remember the days, where we rode with metal cages and toe straps and yer shoe was wet or the pedal was and you'd slip on the pedal and it would reel around and slap you on the shin! Oh god, there was no other pain like tha in the world!

I got re-invest in some fenders. I had a pair that snapped on but a lil accident broke them. I saw a pic at the Interbike show, of some company has made inflatible fenders. i really like that idea because you can always carry that in yer camelback. I also like THE fenders. The THE fenders are kinda more fancier and I guess prettier than the ordinary Topeak fenders that I currently run. The "THE" in these fenders stand for "Toby Henderson Enterprise". Here's a lil bit of a background in case yer wondering who the hell is Toby Henderson is.

I took some pics of when I was riding this past weekend but I need to upload them on my computer. I hate not posting a lil pic along with these ramblings but I will try to get them up, sometime tomorrow.

happy muddy trails!
~dirty bert

Spinning the Night Away!

2007-01-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

I slacked last month with riding. I think I missed the whole month and it wasn't because of being sick or having to do with the weather but trying and I hate to say it, trying to finish christmas shopping. Work was hectic and on top of that, I got a frantic call from my mother, that she fell and broke her shoulder. So with taking care of her and shopping and working, my bike was buried in the garage under all the boxes of outdoor lights and furniture AND still covered in the dried mud of the month before.

Within the month of bike slacking, I also neglected going to the gym so I asked santa to bring me a bike trainer. I figured I could spin in my unheated garage amongst the mountains of cardboard boxes while staring at the garage door. I thought it would be fun. I ruled out asking santa for rollers because i thought it wouldn't be fun, careening off the roller and smashing into the garage door or better yet into the beer frig.

I thought about getting the trainer that ran along the rim like, Minoura's Progressive Rim Drive. It's ideal for mtn bikes so it cuts back on the noise and tire wear. Tire wear!? Like I need something that eats away at my 40 dollar tire. I'd rather have a rock rip the sidewall than this to happen. But I ended up asking santa for Travel Trac Century Fluid Plus trainer (wow, that was a mouthful). My plans were to take my Trek Liquid and put a slick tire on it and spin the night away.

This never happened. Instead santa got me a much needed Fox Racing Launch knee/shin guards. I now look like a baseball catcher riding a bike. Don't get me wrong, there real nice and will save my knee when i do go back to riding at Chimney Rock. And they look pretty sweet, in a heavy duty fashion.

Well anyway, I know I got off topic here but I was wondering if anyone uses a trainer and or what brand are they using? Thanks!

Happy Trails!
~dirty bert

Single Speed Anyone!?

2007-01-03T17:45:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed the sudden population by bicycle companies to make SS and 29er's? Nearly every bike company has a 29er or a single speed. I haven't jumped on the band wagon but I am certainly interested in the concept.

Going SS would bring me back into my early childhood days, where I rode back and forth in from of my house on my Ross. My Ross was blue with a gigantic banana seat. I'm sure the monster weighted more than my 5" bike now. I remember having blocks on my pedals, to help me reach my pedals.

This past summer I was trying to decide whether to jump on the bandwagon and build a SS or 29er up or just get a road bike. I figured I'd have more fun customizing a SS/29er than a road bike and still be able to take it off road as well. It would cost a lot less than what I would spend on a road bike. So over the past months I have been thinking about what are my favorite single speed or 29er would be. I also like the idea of having a 29er wheel in the front and a 26" wheel in the back with Avid BB7's. The jury is still out on whether or not, i'd go with a suspension fork. Ok, here are my few choices.

Niner Bikes and i like this model, it's called ONE 9. I like the Godzilla Green, then Tang and then Hot Tamale. There's no price list on the website but I'm sure they don't come as cheap as some of my other choices.
Monoco Flight 29er by Redline. Pea soup green, is the color with Avid BB5's and a rigid fork. That's gotta feel good, while truckin' down a rocky hill. It will be like riding on a jack hammer.
Now I know, I have no chance in buying this bike but it is still sweet looking bike with all the custom details to it. Offroad by Independent Fabrication. I bet this is bike costs close to 2k.
I bet you thought, they were no longer around, but GT is back with their Peace 9r. V-brakes are used and it looks like there's no disc tabs on this bike but I think I'd upgrade to Avid v-brakes and there line of cables as well.
We can't forget about Gary Fisher and his bike called Rig. A lot of cash for a SS/29er, but for $1199 but you get a Reba SL fork and Avid BB7 brakes, it makes it a sweeter bike.
I'd like this bike, the 1FG Ultra by Cannondale even more if it had a Lefty fork and BB7's. I wonder what a Lefty fork would look like with a big 29er wheel on it. Is it possible or was this a dumb question.
Now Trek has a sweet looking SS called 69er. The price scares me but a custom double crown Maverick fork and Juicy 7's, it sounds pretty serious for that root beer color bike.

I could go on and on and bore you even more but like i said everyday, there seems to be another bike company making a SS or 29er. I also can do what everyone else does and convert an old mtn bike into a SS. I got an old Giant Iguana laying around with Suntour thumb shifters and a crank. It might be even more fun to restore that old bike and maybe even get it repainted. I guess it would be fun to breath life into my old bike that gave me hours of fun, all over again.

Happy Trails
~Dirty Bert

New Year's Resolutions

2007-01-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

People tend to make new year's resolutions that there never gonna keep. They do it for a few weeks or even days and then give up. I'm going to try to make some new year's resolutions, that can be attainable. Here are some of my ideas...

Try to post everyday. Try is the key word.
Make this blog into a RSS feed.
I wanna re-ride Ringwood (i haven't been there in 2+ years)
I wanna re-ride Huber Woods (i haven't been there in 3+ years)
I wanna re-ride Mahalon Dickerson (i haven't been there in 2+ years)
I wanna ride Waywayanda (Mmm bear)
I wanna re-ride Allamuchy (i haven't been there in 6+ years)
I wanna ride Wissahickon, PA
I wanna ride Fairmount Park, PA
Sell my Trek Liquid.
Learn how to maintain my bike.
I want a road bike.
Clean my garage and make it stop growing cardboard.

AND most important, to ride more!

I think my list is doable, we will see. I'm sure I'll break #1 very quickly.

I'm thankful and happy that I had so many people visit this blog last year. I don't get a lot of people who comment so it's had to see if anyone is reading it other than my friends. So I started to keep track of how many people came to the blog but I had only tracked it from November to December and reached a total of 539 people.

I was really interested to see where people viewed this blog. Here's the US breakdown. 24 from California, 20 from NJ, 10 from Wisconsin, 3 from Pennsylvania, 3 from Texas, 3 from Massachusetts and so on. Also here is other countries. 9 from UK, 1 from Australia, 1 from Czech Republic, 1 from Korea, 1 from Netherlands, 1 from Canada and 1 from Finland.

Anyway, enough of that and let me get back to the important stuff. In the coming blogs, I'll be posting some of bike parts that I'm willing to sell and that trusty new/old Trek will be up for grabs. Some else should love it, like I once did. I'm sure I can find a loving home for it. So who what's it!?!?

happy trails
~dirty bert

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T03:18:00.000-05:00

Last Ride of 2006

2006-12-31T19:30:00.000-05:00

So I tried to make plans to ride with a few people today, but that fell thru today, no biggie. So instead, I rode at Mercer by myself knowing that I won't be the only person out there, trying to squeeze one last ride in for 2006.

It was brisk out today, partly sunny because I had gone out so late in the day. I wore shorts with my De Feet wool Kneekers on and 2 long sleeve shirts, one which was my new Hoss freeride shirt and a bike jacket over that. On my feet, i had my regular bike socks on and over that was my WoolEator bike socks, on my hands, were my full finger Fox gloves and under my helmet was my skull cap.

I met someone doing some trail maintenance to the area where the bmx jumps were. That guy told me a bunch people had actually put together some CAD drawings and wanted to build skinnies in that area. I told him good luck with that idea, because I doubt the park rangers would allow something like that and that they should first get in touch with SMART first. Imagine all the hard work and effort put into something like that and is ripped down quicker than it was put up?

I also saw the new mini bridges put up along the back-end of Quaker Bridge Rd. Nice stuff but you can tell they weren't built by SMART. SMART builds there bridges solid and big, unlike the some of the few skinny bridges that were in there. It's a great effort by whoever took the time to do them but it would have been a greater team effort if it was done thru SMART and more recognizable thru the parks. Anyway, nice work, whoever did them.

So I rode for a short 2 hours and had a great time. I was sad that it was getting dark, pretty quickly but that was my fault for being so lazy and not going earlier. I'm glad I got to ride and was planning to go tomorrow, but I see on the TV, it's suppose to rain tomorrow. Hopefully it will stop at some point and I'll be able to squeeze in another 2 hr short ride.

See you next year!

~dirty bert

Winter Gear: What to Wear.

2006-12-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

I was going to write about, what to wear this winter and how to stay warm but it's hard to talk about the weather when for the past couple weeks it was above 40. I figured the weather gotta bust sometime soon, you know the drill 50 one day and then the temps drop 20 degrees and the snow is falling. In any case here's what I learned over the years.

Winter tights are an excellent choice, because you will find that regular sweat pants or nylon running pants are difficult to ride in and once wet they are very cold. I have been using these Performance tights. They have been so warm and as an added bonus, they have leg zippers which made it easier to get yer wool socks streamlined under the tights. These tights aren't padded, soI wear my loose bike shorts over them for padding and for the pockets. You can also wear long johns under the tights but I'm sure you'd have to buy a larger size tights to accommodate the extra material otherwise you'll look like a sausage riding a bike.

Breathable fabrics are key here. The newer Polartec (and similar) fabrics are really great for high-exercise activities. You can work hard, but still vent most of the moisture and it's not unusual to be out on a cold crisp day and see frost forming on your jacket from all the vented moisture.

Shoes are the single biggest problem area. My feet freeze in the winter and cramp so easily. I have wool socks, a gortex liner soxs and the shoe booties. There are only a couple brands of cycling shoes that are warm enough for real winter use. Some can be expensive like the Sidi GTX Winter shoe or you got the Answer Kashmir winter shoe. It looks like Shimano has there own winter shoe, SH-MW02 All Weather Off-Road shoe. I might bite the bullet and buy a pair, I figured they gotta be cheap to buy right now, since most of the country has warm winter weather. I was just wondering if it's wise to buy a size larger, to accommodate 2 pairs of soxs or wool socks? Some winter cyclists may switch to toe clips and straps. There are all sorts of other combinations of overbooties, neoprene underbooties, plastic bags and duct tape (i have tried the last 2). My advice is to either spend the money and get the winter cycling boots which are compatible with clipless pedals or just switch to clips and straps and use winter or hiking boots.

Studded Tires are expensive, but last 3 to 6 winters. I hear they make a big difference on icy roads, or hard packed snow and I'm sure your confidence level is higher with studs than without.

Fenders are good to have to keep the slush spray off yer back and butt. They will still cake up and cause the the slush/snow to build up in certain areas. But for preventative measures, I spray the underside of the fenders with WD40 or Pam, cooking spray or RainX (a windshield product) to avoid the build-up on the fenders.

Lights are another key item because darkness comes fast. Cold temperatures will affect battery performance. Lead Acid batteries are more affected by cold than are NiCads. The amount of power a lead acid battery can produce is greatly reduced by the cold. I don't have any lights, so my knowledge is very little about lites and I'm sure just talking about lights can be extensive and expensive.

Camelbacks supply tube and bite valve will freeze. After you take a swig of water, you should blow air back into the bladder, keeping the tube clear of water. Also I have seen people put the camelback under their jackets and rout the tube up and under the collar. I also know Camelback sells an insulator cover for the supply tube.

Gloves are a personal choice. I just use wool gloves under a gortex liner glove or the wool glove with bike glove over that. Nothing to bulkly for me, i don't need to have any problems trying to shift or brake while riding.

Well i guess all this information isn't important right now. As I look at the 10 day forcast i see it's only going to be cold at night with the lowest low at 32 degress and the highest high at 53. It's just crazy.

Thanks Global Warming!

~dirty bert
happy "snowless" trails

My Fists Of Fury Stem

2006-12-18T17:27:00.001-05:00

I'm looking for a new stem, the one I got is to short (insert jokes here). I thought it would be fine until I noticed the front end lift up alot when i climbed up a hill. Originally I thought that was my fault for not balancing my weight between the front or the back of the bike. When I looked at my other bike, the stem was much longer and but more comfortable and basically, less cramped.

Here's what my choices were...

It's a nice selection of quality stems but how will I narrow my decision down, is there anything else out there, that will stand out, ahead of these choices???

Well I did find something that stands of the crowd. It's called the Fists of Fury stem. It certainly looks like it would grip well and it's so blue. Is it because it's gripping so hard? I just wonder if I need to use bike grease to make it easier to slide the handlebar in.

Also here was the runner up to the Fists of Fury stem, the Skull stem!

Where the hell can I buy these stems. That anadozing on the fist stem resembles the Hope stem. Do a google search and try find these stems because i can't.

~dirty bert
happy trails

Bike Online Coupons and Deals

2006-12-11T22:28:00.000-05:00

Shocker, I got more bike coupons and here they are...

Bike Nashbar: FREE Ground Shipping, No Minimum order. Use coupon code: SHIPDEC. Now thru Friday, December 15th.

Performance Bike: FREE Ground Shipping, On all orders. Now thru Friday, December 15th.

Cambria Bicycle: 20%. Off, on all in stock items. Tuesday, December 12th ONLY! Use coupon code: CB0X20.

It's been 52 degrees in December, in New Jersey AND I still haven't had the chance to go riding. Saturday, I was planning to go to 6 Mile Run but the xmas lights took longer than I thought. So I'm gonna try real hard and push for this Saturday, I'm sure with the rain due on Wednesday, it will make anyplace muddy. And an added bonus, it's hunting season for most spots in NJ, so you won't see me wearing my white gloves or my brown jacket on the trails.

happy trails
~dirty bert

Let's Make a Deal, Part 2!

2006-12-08T01:04:00.001-05:00

So the emails continue. Here are 2 more 15% off deals from Cambria.

Cambria Bikes: Offer good for December 8th on all Headsets & Stems. Use coupon code: XMAS0608 during checkout to save an extra 15%.

Cambria Bikes: Offer good for December 9th on all Helmets and Hydration Packs. Use coupon code: XMAS0609 during checkout to save an extra 15%.

Jenson USA: A 2005 Manitou Splice Super Oe (original equiptment) Fork, for $49

So that's it for now, I'm sure I will have more tomorrow or this weekend. Good luck with finding time to ride, there aren't many days left to do sum xmas shopping.

happy trails.
-dirty bert

Let's Make a Deal!

2006-12-04T16:28:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been geting tons of emails regarding coupon codes for bike mail order. Some aren't really good deals, like spend 500 hundred and get 15 percent off. I don't have 500 hundred to spend nor do I really need that much to upgrade on my bike.

So this post, is dedicated to a listing of codes for certain online bike sites that I ordered from. I figured, if I'm not going to enjoy using them, maybe someone will put them to good use. So here they are...

Nashbar: 3 days only. Now thru Dec. 6th. 20% off. Coupon code: NASHMAS. (what a original code)

Performance: 3 days only. Now thru Dec. 6th. 20% off. Coupon code: 6001742. (Performance owns Nashbar, so they usually have the same sales)

Cambria Bike: Good till Dec. 4th, 15% on all drivetrain. Coupon code: XMAS0604. And till Dec. 5th, 15% on all forks. Coupon code: XMAS0605

Universal Cycles: Receive 10% off orders over 150 bucks. Coupon code: DEC1005. And receive 15% off orders over 300 bucks. Coupon code: DEC1506. They all expire on 12/31/06 at midnight.

If anyone has any codes to share, please do so in the comment section, if not I know you can find more here in the MTBR forum: Where are the Best Deals

happy trails
dirty bert

Tubes All Around!

2006-11-27T10:15:00.000-05:00

60 degrees, you can't beat that for a day in late November. The few days prior gave us a lot of rain, so no matter where we went to ride it was going to be muddy. We all met at Mercer, 6 people came out in total, Keith, Kerry, Phil, Jen, Sam and me.

The trails were squishy in the turns, as my rear wheel slid around the turns but I think my ever, slow leak in the rear wheel contributed to most of the sliding. I got torn up with the most stickiest thorns, my legs are covered in scratches from my ankle to upper thigh and i think i took the worst beating because everyone was smart enough to cover there legs up.

Mercer trails can be tight in spots like handlebar forest section and most of the tree trunks have marks of people's handlebars scraping them. When the leaves drop on the trails making it more impossible to follow the twisting trail, I have watched others, make their own temporary trail by trail blazing thru the leaves and vines which just leads to a flat.

One time Barry and I were out at Mercer, he blazed thru some thorns and quickly learned that going off the trail isn't a good idea. Instant flat. No tube for either of us. I know, i know, not wise to ride without a tube or a patch kit nor a pump. But instead, i took the bad tube out and stuffed the tire with leaves, it worked just enough to ride the bike back to the parking lot. When we took the tire off the rim, the leaves completely shredded to practically nothing, it was like instant mulch!

Well 3 out of 6 got a flat, I was spared. Then again I put them big, bulky Slime tire liners in there and i got that crappy, Slime tube as well. I'm hoping Santa brings me Stan's, No Tube's system.

So what's the advantages of going tubeless you ask, here are some benefits...

Yer wheel set can be converted to a tubeless without having to purchase a new wheel set and no modifications to your existing wheel set

No more pinched flat

Maybe NEVER having another puncture flat again

The sealant can also be used to seal punctures and slow leaks

The sealant will usually last from 3 weeks to up to 3 months. Add more, when needed.

this is not a commercial for Stan's No Tubes, nor am I paid by them

Well I hear from some friends and people on the MTBR forum, that it works well althought some tires work better than others, so check the forum out.

happy flat-free trails
dirty bert

Happy Belated Turkey Day!

2006-11-24T15:30:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone didn't over-indulge with all that starch but maybe you were thinking of burning it off today and tomorrow with all this beautiful 60 degree weather we are having.

Thank You Global Warming!

I'm hoping to go riding Saturday, some place not so muddy, HA!. I remember the days where I LOVED riding in mud but then again, i didn't care so much about my bike or the way it handled after it was covered in it. Nor did i care or even think about the effect it was having on the trails.

So tomorrow, I'll be huffin' and puffin' up some small hill that I would have flew on when I was in my twenties BUT never would i have done it, in the end of November, in 60 degree weather.

happy muddy trails.
~db

New & Improved Allaire!

2006-11-20T00:27:00.000-05:00

First things first. A BIG CONGRATS, goes out to Frank and his whole crew at ATUG that builds and maintains all of the trails at Allaire. The trail systems consist of the orange trail which is about 4.6 miles long, the blue trail which is about 3.1 miles and the white trail is about 2.3 miles. The trail systems were fast and fun and still moderately challenging.

What a day, we gathered a total of 13 people for Saturday. 6 from my crew and 7 new people from Mtbr forum. It was, Jen aka "Jen Jen", Mike aka "Bud", Barry aka "BEC", Dave aka "Datadude68", Mike aka "beefy jerky", Keith aka "EtsxTeam", Kerry aka "Kerrybelle", John aka "Ice25gt", Sam aka "Skygrowscold", Brian aka "Idbrian" and Brian's gurlfriend (sorry, i don't know how to spell her name), Phil aka "the 13th man" and me Jim aka "Dirty Bert".

We roughly started the ride around 12:30 and Keith and John guided us thru 12 sweet miles of trails. This was my second trip to Allaire, my first was about 10 yrs ago when the trails were deep sand and mounds of horse land mines littered the trails. I tried to stay in mid pack where my friends were at and also kept a distance from the person ahead of me. Keith did a great job, waiting for us at certain intersections, telling us what the trails were like ahead and what to except or how to avoid the trail and what to take as an alternate route. I also liked when a turn was being made, and "RIGHT" or "LEFT" continuously shouted as each rider made that turn. Despite it not having many huge climbs, ther were still times where i walked. I'm never one to be ashamed of that. I noticed it more at Allaire, that my front end lifted off the ground a lot. So it may be time to get a new stem, a longer stem will keep my front end down. the trails were twisty but not as twisty as Mercer or even 6 Mile but they were still decent. Despite where we were, ther wasn't much sand on the trails as there is at Hartshorne. Hartshorne always has sand in the turns, it's always nice blasting into a corner and burying the front tire in 4 inches of soft sand. "Tiger's Woods" was cool. It got it's name from the trail being alongside a golf course. "FORE!"

In all, I had a great time and i got to meet more new people. I wish i got to take sum pictures but I was to selfish to stop and take them. Hopefully next time, I will have sum pics to post, more names to talk about and all the good times we had.

happy trails
~dirty bert

Masta Is Home!

2006-11-07T01:20:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time, since I rode with John, maybe 10 years give or take. We all met up at 6 Mile Run. It turned out to be Mike, Anthony, John and Me. (betty bailed!) The day was brisk and very windy and I knew the trails were going to be muddy after all that rain we had all week.

Bad cell pic of a yoga headstand.
It became apparent early, that John hasn't ridden in a long time because he busted out his yoga headstand within the first few minutes. It was fine by me, that we rested alot because it gave us more time to catch on the lost years.

Mike and me

If you ever been to 6 Mile Run you would know this section, it's right after the "Wet your Pallet" section, the concrete crossing. Well with all the rain, the concrete section was under about 6 inches of water.

Mike went thru first. Usually there's a lot of jumbled rocks in the beginning and at the end but this time Mike powered thru the water and found the big hole. the front wheel sank in and the rear end came way up, in what it looked to be a very wet endo. But Mike, somehow, saved himself and ended up stepping off to the side of the bridge. See the pic below...

double click on this picture to see a great shot sequence!
Mike made a great effort and the rest of us continued on our ride.

Here are some great shots Anthony took the rest of the day...
Tiny tight pine forest in 6 Mile Run

Proof of me, actually riding the pallets

John, riding the skinny bridge, right before the muddy marsh

(L to R) Me, John and Mike

(L to R) Me, John and Anthony

Well the ride ended quicker than I thought, no problem, it was still great to be back riding with some good friends. We would have gotten back a lot sooner, if we didn't take my "short cut" but that was ok because it extended our riding time.

BIG, thanks to Anthony for all those great pictures! ( Check out Anthony's site ) You took the risk carrying that big camera around yer neck all day. As always, I still marvel at Mike's ability and confidence to ride up and over things, maybe one day, I'll have that confidence. And for John to come out and ride again, like we use to, in our "younger" days, when we cut Pete's class to ride Watchung or South Mountain with Barry. This has become my second favorite ride, this year!

Happy Trails!
~Dirty Bert

6 Mile Run

2006-10-09T09:38:00.000-04:00

Total time: 4hrs.
Sunny, a lil humid about 80
Miles: 6 miles?

So I have been riding at 6 Mile Run lately. It's fairly close, probably less than half an hour from the home. The trails remind me a lil of Mercer but it has more short steeper climbs, tons of mud, some stream crossings, a muddy marsh crossing, skinnies, teeter totter and bow hunting.

It became a mud fest last Sunday, with the 2 Mike's. Mike 1 is riding his Mary and Mike 2 was riding his Intense. Mike 2 rode over all the large, scary high log build ups. I wish i had pics to post, but i was lazy and didn't bring a camera nor did i have extra batteries for Mike 1's camera.

TM and Haro Mary 29er!

2006-09-27T01:11:00.000-04:00

So I helped SMART build a new bridge at Mercer. I got there a little late because of the heart walk going on at Mercer but I found the secret spot where they were meeting anyway. The bridge was built and laid across the stream and I helped gather rocks to widen the approach to the bridge and dig up the ground to cover up the rocks. I went back to the bridge, this past Sunday, it looks great and I'm thankful it was built because the skinny to the left of it was to scary for me to go up or down it. Puss!

Speaking of riding, I was planning to ride Hartshorn, Sunday, but my crew had other plans and couldn't join me until later that day. So instead of riding alone, I waited till later and met Mike and Mercer and we rode for an hour until Betty showed up.

Haro Mary 29er SS bike and not Mike holding the bike.

Mike was sporting his new Haro Mary 29er SS bike, a pretty sweet looking single speed. Copper in color with Avid BB5 disc brakes and bash guard and I finally got back my DLW from the shop and I was trying out the new Nokon shifter cable. We headed to the other side of the park because I wanted to see that log that mugged me a few weeks ago. Well we found the log, it stuck out about a foot into the trail and partially covered up from the weeds. Mike & I pulled the log off the trail and then I proceeded to kick and stomp on the log for mugging me.

An hour later, Betty finally showed up and brought the rain with her but she impressed me by changing her flat front tire in a little over 10 minutes! She has had plenty of practice this past summer with all her flats. I'd say, she had more flats than Berry has been riding this summer!

So I think we squeeze in 3 hours of riding on a late Sunday. The highlights of the ride were... Mike getting to squeeze his Mary bars thru the trees, getting to ride over the new bridge I helped build, sloppin' thru the mud, getting lost AGAIN on the blue trail, stepping shin deep in the marsh/stream, watching Mike power over the logs wit that 29er, Betty not falling and hurting her knee and no flat tires!

Hopefully this weekend, the weather will be as sweet as last and I get to ride 2 days instead of one. Where should I go... Six Mile Run? Hartshorne? Huber Woods? Chimney Rock? Clayton, naw, maybe Hartshorne and maybe I can get Mikey to come out as well.

happy trails,
dirty bert

And This Lil Piggy Went...

2006-09-06T22:30:00.000-04:00

So i rode at mercer yesterday, it a nice way to end the day of working. i rode by myself and headed towards the dam and i zipped thru the woods and made my pit stop at the stuff animal shrine (kinda creepy there), i noticed an abundance of deer. i noticed the deer aren't scared of you here. They are more curious and it takes longer for them to scoot away from you. Anyway, i almost collide with what i thought was a deer but another rider. In short, the new rider, John, was new to the park and i agreed to show him around.

So as we were making our way back to the parking lot and i decided to take one last small trail. I zipped around the turn, the weeds covering the trail were pretty overgrown, allowing me to see about 6" wide of the trail ahead. All I can remember is hitting something with my right pedal and waking up laying on the ground with the bike on my head! i seemed to clip a log, that was well hidden in the turn and i was catapulted over the handlebars. i landed on my face & shoulder area (my jaw was sore for 3 days) and I also put my right hand out as a reaction, thus making my pinkie twist and turn to the east (see photo). Anyway, i think i knocked myself out because I remember so lil of the crash. My legs were cut up a lil but my finga was throbbin at this point.

We headed back to the car, John put my bike on the roof rack and I drove home, hoping the wifey would accompany me to the hospital. 6 x-rays later, a slight alignment of the finga all turned into 2 hrs. at the hospital and i was told my finga was dislocated. A week later, a letter came in the mail and said that the x-ray was re-evulated and it's now a fracture. GOOD JOB!

The finga is in a splint, still swollen and it doesn't bend, 2 weeks have past and tonight i rode the bike around the neighborhood. i should be fine, as long as i wrap, just the pinkie, in the splint and not wit the buddy finga. I can grip the bar, brake and shift if I do it that way. I'm hoping, weather permitting, I can return to Mercer for a "nice" ride. But then again, the greater powers may have a different say.

THANKS again to John, for helping me and hopefully soon we can ride at Fairmount Park (before the sno comes) and for an extended tour of Mercer and the surrounding areas.

(like he's gonna read this OR anyone else OR anyone finding this BLOG!!!)

- dirty bert
"happy trails without me"

Betty's Back!

2006-07-26T13:11:00.000-04:00

So I met up with Dirty Bert tonight at Chimney Rock around 6. He's always so dependable...not like Warren who comes up with a ton of excuses or Crash who goes to the beach and nurses her poison ivy. E Daddy got a kid and an entourage to worry about, and Java...well...he's Java. One never knows when he'll come riding.

Anyhoo, we started the same way we always start. Over the bridge, into the small creek, and up the first tight incline. We headed the way we went last Thursday with E and Warren. Man—one storm and 5 days makes a helluva difference. The wood plank bridge shifted and a couple of planks were missing. We kept going, cut through the park and back into the woods. Lots of other girl riders out there tonight. DB made a point of bringin it to my attention, but puhleease...there is only room for ONE Betty.

When we got down by the river, some young buck on another Cannondale Jekyll came down and showed off for us. A couple of older guys came down from the other side and across. What a friendly bunch. It's folks like them that make mountain biking such a pleasant experience. LOL.

At this point, we turned around. We weren't really in the mood to climb that much. We tried to find another trail before crossing back into the park. Instead, we found lots of rocks, lots of mud and I found lots of thorns. I won't be surprised if I get yet ANOTHER flat. See DB's blog from last Wednesday for details.

Back to the parking lot...it's only 7:50. So not time to go home yet!! We trekked across the street. By this time, my shins are beggin for mercy. My clipless haven't come in yet—I ordered them over a week ago—that guy on eBay is SOO getting negative feedback. So anyway, with all the mud, roots and rocks in that place...I've had more than my fair share of shin bangin. Just think about how great it feels to have a sharp piece of aluminum smack you in the shin when you're pedalin hard—it is NO FUN and it's hindering my ability to wear skirts!!

At the top, we saw a couple of fox. It's nice to know I wasn't the only fox in the woods—ha ha, just jokin. I took a picture, but I of course waited till the last possible second, so the fox was already disinterested and headin back into the woods. Oh well, next time. I also took a nice picture of DB's arm...so blood...lucky!!

There's a wide creek there that was pretty deep due to all the rain...Hey DB has a great idea—let's go through it! We went through—phew, we made it. Now it's time to turn around and go back through. DB makes it across, pedalin hard, but he makes it. My bike by this point has sooo much gunk in it and my gears are slippin all over the place. I can hardly pedal because of it, so I'm thinking going through the water will clean it up a bit and make things a lil easier?? I should be so lucky. I'm almost to the end, so what do I do?? I get stuck in some mud, lose my balance and put my right foot down. Right down into about a foot of water. YAY!! I love when that happens. One soaked foot later, it's time to get back to the lot.

Now it's 8:25, that's more like it. In the lot, I ran into the guy that tuned my bike last Thursday from the bike shop again—Fancy Frank is what DB called him. I think he was feelin a lil left out and like I'm gonna forget him and the rest of the group, and run off with Frank and his riot gear—clad clan on his weekly runs at CR, but I don't think so. Although, I will have to bring my bike back to the shop for Franky to fix. After all, I can't keep up with my boys if my gears don't shift!!

I got home around 9:30 to see that Warren and E text messaged me while we were riding, bustin my chops about mountain biking, telling me it's gay and inappropriate...THEY RIDE!! They're just jealous cus they spent the night in some joint in Hoboken with Java watchin Langhorne Slim belt out lame tunes, when they coulda been riding with me.

;) betty
...Thanks Betty for contributing to this wonderful, well read blog with her view of mtn biking and i'm sure there's plenty more you can write.

Welcome To Mud Fest 2006 !!

2006-07-24T15:03:00.000-04:00

from left to right: db, betty, warren and edaddy.

I got the usual crew last week to ride. The weather felt great until we started to ride, then the sweat began. I can't recall a summer where I have sweated as much as I have, this summer. I look and feel like I just stepped out of the shower.

Speaking of a shower. From all the sweating, my helmet smells. I once washed the helmet pads in the washer and ripped off some of the felt of the pads. Yesterday i read a blog about someone getting rid of the smelly helmet by wearing the helmet in the shower. Just lather up yer hair with shampoo and then put the helmet on and proceeded to rub the helmet, side to side and back and forth on yer nogging and then rinse. YES, i did try it and the sweaty smell is gone. AND if I happened to slip in the tub, well at least I know I wouldn't have had a concussion but can u imagine the sight, if someone found me on the floor.

The crew was assembled. There was no farting around, get the helmets on, gloves, camelback and lets go! We started around the lake and up into the forest, across the wooden bridge that spans across the swamp and up the hill (I'm surprised i got up it!), rode behind the yards, up along the fence to the road, across the road, past the baseball fields, thru the grass and chasing the rabbits, down the rutted hill and thru the stream, up the rocky hill that continually climbed and then thru the slop fest of mud. CR doesn't drain well, it's a sponge wit water and these mud puddin' puddles were thick and sloppy. Warren, my newest gurl rider was complaining about the mud and rode or walked around them, avoiding to get mud on his bike and skirt.

I finally got betty to go down the OS hill, in fact edaddy went down, i think four times. we all got a pic snapped so there's proof. that hill is steep near the top, more doable on the left side. the right side is doable but it has more rock & root to negotiate which can be distracting. i tried the right side, more fun i think and a blast when the back tire bounces over the rock and you feel like like yer doing a baby size nose wheelie.

It was a great ride. It felt like a Saturday ride where we were out all day but really we were out for 2.5 hrs. not bad for a weekday and for the amount of trails that we covered. Thanks for the great ride, edaddy, betty and warren.

The Curse of the Rear Tire...

2006-07-20T01:11:00.000-04:00

Riding at Mercer you need extra protection for yer tubes. I have flatted here, more times there than any other park. In order to ride here, you do need heavy duty tubes and a tire liner like this. Yes, it's expensive but if you wanna change yer tires less, than it's worth the money.

Betty & I rode Mercer tonight. It was a good time, nice weather, cooler and still early, we had plenty of time. She needed the floor pump, for extra air in the rear tire but the tube released more air than what went in. I personally HATE changing the rear tire. There's so much you need to watch for, where and how to get off or on the chain, watching the rotors going safely back into the capliers, aligning the dropouts to the wheel axle and all by doing this with 2 hands! Anyway, I changed the tube for another slime tube and after 10 minutes we were ready.

So we went out of the parking lot, across the marina, thru the woods, around the back of the tennis courts, thru the mud, on the road, across the wooden bridge, back on the trail, thru some thorns (bad idea), over a log and then she kinda flatted. I mean, her tire was low, you could tell but I figured, pump more air into the tire and it will be alright, i hope. We began again, so it was over the roots, thru the mud, onto the fire road, over a bridge, over a log, over another log and this time she had a real flat. This time, i changed the tube. Pumped that dam tube up until my arm hurt (my pump sucks) and prayed to god it would work this time and IT DID! Back on the bike, over a bridge, over several more logs and back out on the fire road to the boat house. I think at this point our legs were covered in mud, sweet!

In all it was a great ride despite the tire changing which was fine because it gave me good practice to change that dreaded rear tire and it didn't take so long each time I did it. Thanks, Betty!

My Trail Wish List...

2006-07-18T00:12:00.000-04:00

There's 1 month left for this summer. I know september can be as hot as June but the way these seasons go, we'll skip the fall weather and shoot right into the november weather.

I have put together a wish list of places that I would like to ride before the year ends. Originally I was going to say the summer, but with 1 month left, it's going to be difficult to hit all of these spots. So here's my list...

Allamuchy: been ther a long time ago, maybe I'll got and watch the 24hr race.

Diablo Freeride Park at Mountain Creek: not that i'm a big freerider nor have the skill to ride the skinnies but to be able to rent a downhill bike, wit full pads and helmet for 100 bucks. it beats spending over 2k for all of that and not liking it or not doing it often, (poser).

Estell Manor Park: i'll go when i'm at sea isle and bring lotsa bug spray.

Hubber Woods: i have been there a long time ago, i remeber the fine sand in the turns but i ignored going there because Hartshorne was closer, bigger and better. i still like hitting the smaller parks as well.

Mahalon Dickerson: been there 2 summers ago and raced. i wanna go back, i didn't have enough time to stop and look at all the beaver dams.

Ringwood: i've been there about 3 summers ago, lotsa rocks and technical riding AND very easy to get lost. but i do remember it's a place where i broke my steel frame.

South Mountain Reservation: yes, these trails are illegal, but i hear hikers never seem to mind as long as you are polite and yield to them and i also know a local bke store's team trains there. this is the place where i donated alot of blood to, back in the day and it's one of the best in the area.

Waywayanda State Park: i heard it's big and beautiful here, so we'll see.

Wissahickon Valley, PA: lots of technical climbing, descending, roots and rocks. it sounds like fun!

Fairmount Park, PA: i heard it's another great trail but i need a local who knows the park.

Blue Marsh Trail, PA: it was voted one of the top 10 trails in the US some time back. it's not very technical but fun to ride nontheless

am i missing any???

So we will see how many i can actually hit from now to the end of the year. i have a few loyal friends that will share my experiences there and hopefully one of us can remember to bring a camera!

happy trails,
dirty bert

A repost of Mercer

2006-07-17T07:36:00.000-04:00

I don't live that far from Mercer County Park and I read alot of negative reviews about this park. I think if they just peddle harder and ride faster thru the trails, it would be a challenge. Try not to dab thru "Handlebar Forrest". I think a lost a lot of skin on them trees, it's very, very twisty thru them trails, there about handlebar width, if that. The trees are mostly 3 inches thick, so you could forcefully bang your handlebars thru them. Although this park may not have any steep downhill sections to please the downhillers, but the trails are fun and not boring at all. There are enough log and stream crossings and trees to avoid hitting to make for some fun riding. Beware though, there are tons of deer. I have seen at least 20 in some spots and a dam herd (maybe 30 deer) crossing the road, for a split second you'd think, yer driving thru the safari park at Great Adventure.

THANKS to SMART for maintaining this park. I have joined them, this past year to give back to one of my favorite riding spot. Give back and do trail maintenance at yer one of yer favorite riding spots.

happy trails, (corny, huh?)
dirty bert

Trail Maintenace

2006-06-24T00:50:00.000-04:00

i did trail maintenance last saturday. i like "giving back" to the park i ride mostly in, but this time, it gave me back more.

i wish i could return it...

and get a refund...

or exchange it for something else.

but i think i got poison ivy again!

THANKS!

next time, it's jeans and long sleeves and gloves and i'm sure it will be sweltering out.

dirty "scratchin'' bert

Rain Rain Everywhere

2006-06-23T22:57:00.000-04:00

i wanna ride.

i'm going to try tomorrow.

they said it's suppose to rain till wednesday. friday didn't look so bad, i think could have squeeze a ride in for an hour, instead i went to the dreaded gym. dreaded because i haven't been there in a 2 weeks and for me it's hard to get back into that routine.

at the gym, i was watching some trainer, show some chunky guy, the proper way to lift weights. what I really wished he was taught, was to not to wear black dress socks pulled up to his knees while wearing bright white sneakers or the white headband around his pale forehead or not to wear lycria to the gym. UGH!!! my rambling about the gym attire maybe another blog for me.

back to biking. fenders are great in this crappy weather. SKS or Headland, makes great fenders and realatively cheap. But for more style and color, nothing can beat T.H.E fenders and sometimes you can find them under 12 bucks. see blue sky cycling they have a nice selection of both. i made fun of betty & her fenders, the last time we went out. teased her about the stream crossing an how good it was to have them on. i have fenders, i use to carry it with me all the time, look arounf in the parking lot to see, if peoples bikes were muddy. i think my front fender is broke and my rear fender is somewhere in the garage.

they sell tires especially for the mud. wider spacing, less caking of the mud. speaking of caking, i have heard, about spray the downtube with cooking spray, so the mud doesn't stick to the bike. i really hate changing that rear tire. i could do it in a snap before i got my disc brakes but now, there's so much to look for, "is everything aligned?". i seem to need 3 hands to get that rear wheel back on! im so mechanically challenge. thats 1 thing is wish to change this year other than building my endurance up.

happy muddy trails!
Db

A Quickie

2006-06-02T15:47:00.000-04:00

So the crew & I got a quick ride in yesterday. Betty & I waited for Warren & Java to show but they were stuck in traffic. So Betty & I rode a lil loop. A nice lil warmup and a introduction of what is expected of Chimney Rock. It was a quick run and back to the parking lot and waited. Still no Warren. So we went back for another quick loop, a lil larger this time and I'm riding thru and up, what I didn't do, just 10 minutes ago. Just as we were finishing up, we get a call that Warren is at the parking lot.

Alright, we are all together now, finally, lets begin. I figured it's going to be a rough, bumpy ride for java since he's riding a suspenless huffy (kick stand and all and wearing jeans) but no, this rides up and over and smashes over things. It goes to show you, it doesn't matter, how much you spent on your bike, what kind of components yer sportin' or what kinda of clothes yer wearing, it's all about YOU! Anyway, we climb and get to the top. I hear thunder. Not so loud but loud enough to make you wonder, how soon is it coming. I figure, lets do a loop, somewhat challenging and by the time we are done the rain should start. Well we continue on, the thunder gets louder and the trail gets more rockier. I somewhat happen to fall and I'm so thankful that for that football size rock, help cushion my hip when it kissed it. DAMN, that hurt. THAT has to leave a mark. At that point we needed to turn around and head back where we came from because the thunder was getting louder and louder and more frequent. Well we made it to the parking lot, loaded the bikes and nothing. Yea there was lots of thunder but no rain, until we left the park.

Well what normally takes me an hour and 15 minutes to drive home took me 2 and half hours to drive thru the most torrential rains and wind and scarriest lightening that I ever witnessed nor drove thru. It was so windy, that my wiper blades stopped in mid wipe from the wind. AND what's even more fun, is stopping to get gas when it's lightening all around you. I reached out the window to check if my bike was still on the roof.

Oh well, it was still kinda fun, despite the long drive. Next time, I think Betty and I wont be waiting and hopefully I'm not late myself.

dirty bert

4 of us and 9 Crashes.

2006-05-07T00:59:00.000-04:00

Well today we rode for 3 hours.

It was a beautiful day, a lil hot, probably in the 70's, not a cloud in the sky, one of those perfect days to ride.

There were only 4 of us today. Betty (only her 3rd ride and first time on her new bike), Warren and his squeaky bike, Speeder-Man and his downhill bike and me with the 5 spot. Out of the 4 of us, we only crashed 9 times!

The first was Betty, she endoed over sum logs. We taught her, if she falls to get that bike away from her, because it will only hurt you (*see Speeder-Man's fall). Then not to be out done by Betty, Warren did a sweet endo over the same log pile and landed on his shoulder. Then I washed my front tire out and decided that it would be cooler to dismount off the bike backwards and to put my knee down to stop my fall, good job! AND thank god it was only the left knee.

Then Warren decided to fall into the brush next to a series of logs to determine where the thorns were. Thanks buddy!
I think Betty toppled a few times in between, I didn't see them because Speeder-Man and I were in front of them clipping trees with our handlebars.

Next stop were the bmx pit. *Speeder-Man decided to do a jump on his DH bike but didn't see the hole on the other side of the jump. So the bike's front tire dug into the hole, he endoed and his head dug into the ground and tumble saulted over and sat there, for a second or two and then WHAM! His 40 pound bike landed sideways on the back of his head, neck and upper back. I sat there stunned because where I was at, all I remember is his head digging into the ground and that bike wailing on him in the end. Speeder-Man got up like it was nothing, not scratch nor cut on him but a lil dusty to say the least.

Now I didn't see this fall but Betty fell down this HUGE dip. I think she gave it to much brake, since she just got the new bike wit disc brakes, a Cannondale Jekyll 500 few days ago. But Warren said she looked like she was continuously was falling down this dip. Finally she got some war wounds (cuts) on her legs.

The last crash was me, I endoed over a log pile and the handle bar jabbed me into my hip. I think that hurt more than flipping and falling over. Oh well, not a bad day, I got a few scratches from the thorns, a cut on my knee from kneeling down for a fall and that's about it. I'm sure I'll awake tomorrow with a flat. This place is notorious for thorns and flats, so I wont be surprised by tomorrow.

I doubt I'll ride tomorrow but I might eat my words. My knee is pretty sore right now, I have been icing it and I should really start to do my exercises again. Maybe the gym tomorrow or just lay in my hammock out back, what do you think I'll do?

Till the next ride!
Dirty Bert

All done...

2006-05-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

So it's almost 2 weeks now and I'm back to riding. I have been out of the game for 4 months with my knee surgery.

Yes, I did have to write "YES" on the knee that needed to be operated on. Kinda funny to see now and a bitch to get off.

Anyway, back to more important things, I'm back on the bike. It still hurts to climb on the bike as well as going up and down stairs. I was told this is natural and is to be expected. I think I have about 7 rides in since I got the green light back in late April. I have been riding Mercer a lot because of the flatness of the park. I don't mind it, the park really hasn't bore me and I got a nice lil circuit I do each time I go out.

The thorns are back in full force. As you can see here, this pic is my shin with 2 scrapes from a thorn bush, I love these natural tattoos but to bad they don't feel natural when it comes time to take a shower.

Here's a pic from a ride just recently. God, I can't believe how great it feels to ride that bike again and words can't describe how nice the bike actually rides.

More pics to come...

–dirty bert

Wish List

2006-02-05T02:00:00.000-05:00

So here's what my completed 2005 Turner 5 Spot looks like and it's about 26 pounds!

~Dirty Bert

It's Dropped Off!

2006-01-30T22:56:00.000-05:00

So it took me 3 trips to load the car up tonight. The car seats were down, the frame was in, the box of wheels and the other box of parts were packed away.

I trucked over to the shop and asked if they were to busy to build a bike up but if they could have it built by this Friday. "Sure, no problem" just the answer I wanted to hear. I had someone help me carry the items in. they checked my inventory to see if I had everything, all the correct sizes and parts. Everything seemed ago.

So Wednesday there closed. Kinda odd but then again they are open Sundays. Isn't Sundays the day bike shops are closed? Or even I seen Mondays.

I need to have it for Saturday, it's maiden voyage. I'm thinking either Hartshorn or Chimney Rock, all depending on trail conditions. I hope the weather cooperates for this weekend as much as it did for last saturday. 60 degree weather in January on the east coast is a dream. Thanks Global Warming!

So this weekend I'll have pics to post of my new ride and I'll post them in the Turner forum on MTBR.

Remember... RIDE NOW work later.
–dirty bert

Thanks...

2006-01-21T00:32:00.000-05:00

A muddy Trek Liquid

It's funny to think about the time when I was younger and first started to mountain bike. I had a beater of a bike, my 1990 black giant iguna, probably less than 300 bucks. Nothing was advance technology as of today. I think the only cool upgrades I had on it was my Panaracer Smoke tires and my Onza bar ends. I use to beat the hell out of that hardtail. Now, a hardtail is a bike with front suspension and a rigid bike is well what I rode back then.

I remember when the girvin-flex stem just came out and the Scott fork. The white Scott fork had just a coil spring inside the legs and the Frank-en-stem, I mean the girvin-flex stem was a hunk of metal clamped onto yer bars providing somewhat suspension for the front end. That big blob of metal scared me, I thought it would eat my knees.

Then the first set of bar ends came out. I had a pair of silver Onza bar ends. Wow, they seem to make a big difference in my climbing, I seemed so much faster, they were awesome! So awesome until they started to hook onto the the trees or better yet lock together with another friends bar ends on a trail (that resulted in a sprain wrist).

That first summer I had my bike, George and I would ride literally 7 days a week for the entire summer. A ride would be no less than 12 miles a day. Hell, I was 20 at the time, so I could do it! We would ride in and thru everything. Mud! hahahaha, hell I'm not going around it, I'm going thru it! "I got this far in here!". Stopping and standing in a puddle that was past my ankles. "Let's see how far you can peddle thru it!?" George seem to always do a little better than me but that was ok, it helped me push myself even harder to do better. But I would always smoke him going uphill. I guess weighting in at 125 pounds helped me out.

We never worried about trail conditions as I do today. I can't ride here, it rained to much there, we'll cause to much damage, we don't want to piss the rangers off. This was never an issue back then but then again we rode thru coal stripping fields of Pennsylvania where houses have bloomed onto my favorite riding trails.

Thanks George for introducing me to my most favorite and loved sport, hobby and passion. And thanks to Pennsylvania, especially Nanticoke, Wilkes-Barre (old Kirby park, where I learned a lot. WATCH out for that green monster puddle!!!), Kingston and all over that area (and I still glad I didn't ride over that train trussle!). I'm hoping that this summer I can come back to rekindle my memories and even get George off his quad and come for a ride with me.

Thanks Whibbles!!

A Rusty Bike

2006-01-19T00:25:00.000-05:00

Dirty Bert & More Dirt

2006-01-18T14:13:00.001-05:00

Here I am resting by the lil lake/pond at Chimney Rock. See my sperm soxs!

This was last spring. It's always muddy here, it holds the water here forever.

Them Time ATAC pedals are awesome in the mud as well as the snow/ice weather. I got a leaf stuck in the rings.

Winter Riding at Lewis Morris

2006-01-05T15:06:00.000-05:00

Yea that's Burger King. He does have a big head and that is snow on the ground. Not a new pic because it's like 50 degrees outside. THIS isn't January but I'm not complaining, I LOVE IT!!!

It sure is muddy out there. Beautiful wheather and muddy trails, just great! It's awesome to ride in this weather but if you do, you'll ruin the trail by riding in the mud! What to do!?!?!?!? I'm glad I didn't buy studded tires this year or even spend a wad of cash on them Sidi winter shoes.

HEY, since no one reads this blog I'm going to shout out my favorite places to order from...

1. Speedgoat: My favorite site and a good bike blog to boot!

2. Universal Cycles: Good Prices wit always 10% off.

3. Jenson: Good Prices wit good mtb cartoon people.

4. Performance Bike: Get the team membership, earn points and Free 2nd Business Day Delivery Upgrade. I haven't had a problem with delivery and always matched prices.

5. Price Point: I like their site, easy to navigate and good prices.

More to come...

yer friend,
dirty bert

My Yellow Klein

2006-01-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

My first full suspension bike. My Klein Mantra Comp. I went from my black Giant Iguana to this. The poor Iguana, cracked at the bottom bracket area after 6 years of a hard beating and I only weighting 125 lbs. (whew those days are long gone, i'm taking about that weight!). I think I paid $1200 for the Klein, it was yellow. I had a friend who had the same year bike but it was with a black swing arm. He claimed they ran out of yellow swing arms and they just used black instead. I liked the full yellers instead. It was a great climber, it felt a lot lighter riding it, although it wasn't great going down a rocky hill. But then again it wasn't meant for the rugged trails of Ringwood. Incidentally, Ringwood took my Iguanas' life away.

Anyway, I must have upgraded the Klein near the end of it's life. See what happened, it didn't have a replaceable hanger and I bent the rear swing arm. So I had to get the bike aligned every Tuesday at the shop. At this point, there was no more swing arms avaiable thru Klein. Everytime I rode, the chain skipped like the cassette and chain were bad. They replaced the cranks, the bottom bracket and the rear hub bearings. Finally after the bike store sucked all my money, they called Klein to get some answers and possibly a new swing arm. No swing arms, instead they offered a trade in the frame and a reduced price for a new bike.

So my choices were a Trek, Klein and a Gary Fisher. They gave me a a paltry 150 bucks for the frame and I got the Trek Liquid 25 for $1200. Jeeze what different ride that is. Sitting upright, so heavy compared to the Klein but it handled downhills much better. BUT that front fork, RS Psylo sucks. It's been rebuilt twice. It tops out with a clang. I don't need a bell to warn the other bikers or hikers, this thing clangs loud enough to hear me coming!

I still have it. Still riding it. But shortly I'll be moving on to my next ride my new DLW.

-dirty bert

Security Issues

2006-01-03T14:13:00.000-05:00

This would be a good ad for Kryptonite New York Locks.

Mercer County Park, NJ

2006-01-02T13:29:00.000-05:00

Dabbin' at Mercer County Park

Well this pic wasn't today but it could have been. It's 50 degrees, in January and in New Jersey. I know it's gonna happen real soon, we'll get use to this weather, we'll all be loving it and all and then BAM it will drop 30 degrees and snow. Well that's life on the east coast.

I don't live that far from Mercer County Park and I read alot of negative reviews about this park. I think if they just peddle harder and ride faster thru the trails, it would be a challenge. Try not to dab thru "Handlebar Forrest". I think a lost a lot of skin on them trees, it's very, very twisty thru them trails, there about handlebar width, if that. The trees are mostly 3 inches thick, so you could forcefully bang your handlebars thru them. Although this park may not have any steep downhill sections to please the downhillers, but the trails are fun and not boring at all. There are enough log and stream crossings and trees to avoid hitting to make for some fun riding. Beware though, there are tons of deer. I have seen at least 20 in some spots and a dam herd (maybe 30 deeer) crossing the road, for a split second I thought I was driving thru the Safari at Great Adventure.

THANKS to SMART for maintaining this park. I have joined them, this past year to give back to one of my favorite riding spot. Do you do trail maintenance and where?

happy trails (corny, huh?)
dirty bert

Dave Attell at Carolines, NYC

2005-12-30T01:03:00.000-05:00

Here's Dave Attell at Carolines at NYC.

Not to bad for a camera phone picture. I gotta say Dave Attell ROCKS!! if you can get a chance to see him, GO!!! he was so funny. Although, I wished the table next to us got tossed, they heckled all during the show, it would have been interesting to hear Dave talk about it at the next show.

Ever been to Carolines in NYC? I was suprised. If you do go there, Get a reservation for dinner, you actually get a better seating for the show. I sat 3 people to the stage. The tickets are 35 bucks each with a 2 drink mininum (and that includes soda) You can also eat while the show is going on but we weren't interested in that.

Wish I had more pics of the show. Afterwards we went to the Red Rock Saloon. The link isn't there real website, it seems to be under construction. But this place can be a lot of fun ESPECIALLY when your women gets on the bar to dance with the other gurls. The movie Coyote Ugly was based from this bar. Lotsa durty girls are ther, go and see.

dirty bert

All Hail the King!!

2005-12-01T17:24:00.000-05:00

Here's a pic of the King enjoying a milkshake at White Castle. I wonder if Warren ever found that WC box under his car seat. There was a special treat inside the carton, a onion chip and sum ketchup. Mmmmm white castle, aka belly bombers.

I remember riding at Watchung Reservation and afterwards on our way home on Rt. 22 we'd stop for a healthy meal at White Castle. And ocasionally, we'd shoot across 22 and park and eat in Living Well Lady's parking lot. It was our reward after riding and sloppin' in those trails. And I think it was even more fun to watch the womens, step on the stair masters while we ate our White Castles just below them.

Ahh the good ol' days.

-old dirty bert