Any ride you survive is a good one, eh. When you slap on the Weirwolfs, don't forget to add 700mm mountain bars, and you'll shred the gnar for sure.
I've had some great rides in NM, made even greater by the thought of green chile anything at the end. Cheers jim m wc ca On Sat, Sep 29, 2012 at 5:45 PM, PATRICK MOORE <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Only a few times have I ridden true singletrack, and the last time I did > so (Aspen) was 12 years ago, and, with most of my road riding being on a > fixed gear, my bike handling skills are rather pathetic. So grunting the > lumbering Fargo over true 7/10 singletrack (10 being experts only) was > quite an experience for an old tyro. > > There is a state recreational area some 5 miles south of HWY 550 just a > few miles south of the little corner village of San Ysidro with typical > high desert terrain and fauna: more ground cover than Albuquerque (my > iPhone showed 5600-6400 feet for the ride) and terrain more rugged and > rolling; small, bent pinions with cactus; pinions more common as you rise > north and west of ABQ. We drove out to the trailhead for a brief late > afternoon ride, me on my Fargo complete with front and rear Tubus racks, > dynohub lighting and Big Apples on SnoCats, and brother on his new KHS > 29er. > > The trail follows a ridge with steep dropoffs on each side for a loop of > nine miles; we bailed at about the 4 mile mark thanks to my incapacity and > made the return on a rutted, sandy jeep track at the bottom of the spine. > Given my inexperience, the lack of tire knobs, and the newly revealed fact > that the Fargo is not by any means the ideal bike for technical > singletrack, I walked about a quarter of the ridge, mostly rutted, steep, > rock-obstructed downhlls and one frightening 1/4 mile section of slanting, > narrow, loose-surfaced trail on the side of a 45* slope. > > The Fargo, especially with 42 cm Noodles, does not respond quickly to fast > steering inputs; doubtless the soft, wide tires also affect this behavior. > Riding on the flats with the interrupters was even more frightening than > riding the hoods -- bars are about level with saddle and lower than ideal > for technical riding. Still, I was pleased by the way that the fat tires > absorbed small stones and floated over sand, tho' I can easily see how > suspension would be desirable for the big pits, ruts, and rocks. I did > notice that the Fargo floated over deep sand that sent my brother, with > 50-55s at 40 or so, fishtailing as he powered through to keep his momentum > up. > > God willing we'll go back next weekend, and I'll install 60mm Weirwolfs in > place of the BAs and take off some of the weight: probably the front rack > and some of the lbs from the 4 lb kit bag. > > I meant to take more photos but we were rather rushed and I was too intent > in clearing obstacles, making uphills, and surviving steep dropoffs. > > -- > "Believe nothing until it has been officially denied." > -- Claude Cockburn > > ------------------------- > Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA > For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW > http://resumespecialties.com/index.html > ------------------------- > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
