As I was packing my shit, and realized I had enough clothing for 7 days, to be out 2 nights with the biking gear and fishing gear.... Well it took me all morning to get packed, and couldn't imagine how I got more than a car load. About 10-11am I realized if I didn't just accept that there was crap I would probably need, that I was going to leave home, I'd never get out of the house.
I did do some mountain biking a few years back, like many adults, I did start cycling on one. But my Mountain bike leaves a lot to be desired as a 2 wheeled vehicle. When I purchased my Road bike I had realize that I needed new rims, and had pretty much road the Bearings off of my Mountain bike, it's been shelved ever since, realistically trying to convince someone to take it off of my hands.
When I was invited to go on this trip, It's not like I was going with some serious Mountain bikers, to be kind it was more a weekend warrior type of person. Though a very fit person. I was assured that a reasonable Mountain bike would be available to me.
There we are pulling into the Trail Start for this bike ride.... and I hear the Fatefull words... "we have a little maintenance to do before we start..."
A sigh could be heard as the wind..... What wind is in my sails for a 30 minute high cadence Trail Scaring bike ride..... Exited my lungs,
"Ya, I don't know anything about mountain bikes.".... Prity much a bike is a bike.... but this was my way of saying..... Fuck.
As we pumped up up the tires with a 6 inch hand pump, and I exclaimed how I had my floor pump in my car, and had someone notified me about the "maintenance". I actually could have brought some tools.
"oh it will be fine, we just need to get these tires pumped up."
Getting a solid 30 lbs of pressure in the tires, I mounted the "Beast" and took it for a spin. Coming back 2 minutes later... My only comment was... "Mountain bikes are really fucking stupid", as half of the watts from every peddle stroke was taken up in the front and rear fluid suspension. We then got the seat adjusted, some adjustment in the shifting...... We then changed bikes....
Instead of borrowing that bike, someone who's bike we had didn't show up, so we switch up that the other bike which had a larger frame......
30 more minutes of Adjustment, and tweaking, we again were underway... with me commenting "this is funky, I'm not sure how this is supposed to feel.". Underway, we ride about 5 minutes, I stop a few times to get the shifting to adjust a single gear each time I shifted. Then trying to master how a Mountain bike shifts. At that point we hit our first hill, I'm literally struggling, The bike won't go into 80% of it's gears, I'm stuttering and struggling trying to find an acceptable gear. Then realizing I had about 4 rear gears and 2 fronts. I absolute struggle, wondering if My lack of sleep, or some massive blockage in my Cardiovascular system was about to put me down for the Count. Suddenly we hit a 15% Grade, and I pull off.... "There is no fucking way." We start tearing through the bike, I'm still playing possum, because.... working with this shitty bike with crazy MTB gear on it, No decent tools, looking for a bottle cap to use as a skrewdriver.... and I've hit my Lactic acid threshold a couple of times, I'm just laying up wondering why if your as bad a mechanic as this you don't take your bikes in to get them fixed. We mess with it for 10 more minutes, and finally we give up, decide to get back to where we have some tools.
Back at the car, finally I step up and just start tearing through it. Get the limits adjusted, then get the front derailleur adjusted. Realize that the big ring has a huge dent in it, and the cables are half an inch to long. and the chain is about 3 links to long. 30 minutes later, I have it all dialed in. and it actually does what I ask. I shift, it shifts. I pedal it goes forward.... Oh!!! also the disk brakes were dragging...... Then
The bikes proper owner shows up, after I show him all the improvements, and talk to him about how he needs to have it maintained by a mechanic... to which he responds "it was a rental", I'm like... ya, but it wasn't getting into 80 percent of the gears, you didn't realize that was a problem.. suddenly. He wants to ride it. .... At that moment I wanted to reach down and tear the rear derailleur off his bike.....
Now there I am working on the back up bike, instead of tearing through it for 2 hours. I was like... Fuck this lets go make camp, and we will ride in the morning.
8am, I tear through the bike and I still can't get it. every time I apply any decent power it starts skipping, then when I take the power off it skips again.... so, that was it. either the frame or dropout was bent. or the derailleur was fucked.
My buddy was like, just suffer through it... I was like, piss on that....
I'm not sure, but I think I must apply so much power to the bike that it drives me nuts to have it shifting around on me. Also it is a nightmair to bear down on a climb and have the bike fucking with your cadence, and rhythm.... course to my buddy that was my problem. So fuck it, I went fishing, and was sad that I didn't bring my road bike, or borrowed a bike that I knew, and could realy tune days before.
No comments:
Post a Comment