Raleigh XXIX: First Ride

Tuesday turned out to be a good day to go riding after all, even though it did rain the night before and into the morning making the rocks on the Upper Gussy a little greasy.  I wasn't quite down the driveway before I realized a few adjustments were necessary on my seat height.  When I got out on the road I also noticed a rubbing sound coming from the brakes that I first thought might be coming from the brakes hitting the spokes.  I don't have the best of rotors and probably there was a rub that manifests itself only when there is weight on the wheels.

The 32:21 gearing felt great and I was able to climb all the hills at Upper Paugussett with ease, perhaps too easy, but keeping it easy is the best course of action while I get used to riding rigid again.  Once on the single track I started to notice a slight creak.  Pretty sure it was coming from the bottom bracket, after all it's eccentric and prone to move.  It must have slipped because when I checked it further down the trail my chain was looser than when I started out.  Also noticed that my Cane Creak bar end was loose, too.

This corner was smoothed out!

Having no suspension means you are the suspension and to me that means riding out the saddle a lot more and picking better lines.  In way, it wasn't a great first ride because I noticed quite a few alterations on the Gussy Trail that must have been done over the weekend by the more stuntry inclined riders.  Some of the changes were great and others were more rake and ride.  I will get into more of that in a later post.  I took a Muligan on the Wet Spot only because I rounded the corner with too much brake and didn't set up for the right line that ensures a proper roll through this rock garden.  I suppose if you were fully suspended you could just bull your way through but no on a hard tail or unsuspended like me.

It's Squirrel Season!

Came across this hunter on the ROW (right of way) where the Gussy trail intersects with the Blue Trail.  The ROW is a straight section with rock walls on either side that used to be an old road that went into woods.  The bike rolled smoothly through the Cleavage Reroute but the tight corner is still nagging at me.  Once fall comes, I will fix this section.  I did the big roller that crosses the blue trail again and it was a little harsh.  The rest of the roll down the Gussy was good.  Looking forward to riding up the trail on the bike but it definitely climbs well.

A little sag in the chain after the ride.

The 21 inch frame is definitely more to my liking.  If I ever got another diSSent it would have to be a 21 inch frame as well.  19" frames are not what I could call too small but the limit for my size range.  In fact, when I think about it, the larger the single speed frame, the better the ride!