Holidays

    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'!

    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!

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

    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!

    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

    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

    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

    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!

    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'

    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!?!?!

    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.

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


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


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


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


5. This would IMMEDIATELY shut down the bicycle retail business in NJ


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


7. There is no commercially available system that meets this impossible standard


8. The quick release has been in use for over 50 years


9. 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!!!

    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?

    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

    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!

    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.

1. Lights: Relatively cheap, under 100 bucks for a system. Any suggestions?
2. Stan's: I still need tubes but I heard and read this system works.
3. 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)
4. 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

    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

    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...

    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...

    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!

    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