Sunday, October 21, 2012

2012_10_21 GETTING OUT ON OUR CYCLOCROSS BIKES


Author:  Mike Hassur


This will be a short report.  I just got back from a ride on my new cyclocross bike.  Scott Larson took me on a tour of the levee system around Orting.  One and a half hours, no climbing, pretty easy – AND REALLY FUN SINCE IT WAS ONE OF MY FIRST EXPERIENCES ON A CYCLOCROSS BIKE!!  A word of warning: if Scott says “let’s get on our cyclocross bikes and go exploring” make sure that you get a definition of what Scott means by “exploring”.  If he wants to go fast (especially on some of the rougher trails), the appropriate response is “thank you, Scott, but I DECLINE”.

Anyway, Scott, was a great tour guide.  We rode the levees around Orting and north toward McCutchen Road and spent the time visiting.  Unlike yesterday, when Scott and Rod rode the trail south out of Carbonado, got rained on, and froze; today’s weather was nice.  It was in the 30’s when we started; but it was sunny, and it wasn’t long before I was peeling my vest off.  It turned out to be a spectacular, sunny morning with temps in the middle 40’s.

I don’t know what it will be like if the trail is more technical, but those bigger tires and lower tire pressures make regular trails and gravel surfaces (like forest service roads) a cinch to ride on.  It opens up a whole slew of new areas to explore.  Now that road biking season is winding down, I’m psyched to get guys together to see what we can find on our  cyclocross and/or mountain bikes (weather permitting).

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