collideous

Maiden Ride On The Focus Mares CX 2.0

On Tuesday I picked up a box with SRAM Red parts at the post office. As my local bike shop was just a few blocks down the street, I walked to the shop to see if they had news about the cyclocross bike I had ordered. Well, as I walked into the shop, my Focus Mares CX 2.0 was already standing fully assembled in the shop. Those Focus guys were fast. I gave the shop the SRAM Red parts that were going to replace the factory equipped Ultegra components and returned Thursday evening to pick it up. I paid cash and got an additional rebate for doing so. Back home, I tweaked a few things, tuned the Avid Shorty cantis with titanium bolts from the 90ies cantilever era and routed the shifter cables differently than the shop had set it up.

Friday, I was super busy at the office but still made it out at 4.30 PM. I stopped at the shop one more time to get a few spare tubes and hurried home to head out for a short ride on the new cyclocrosser. Only having less than 2 hours before dark, I hit fire roads heading up to the Hohmatt above Magglingen. First impressions. In comparison to my Niner Air 9 Carbon singlespeed, the Mares needs harder steering input to get into a turn. It wants to stay straight and is a pretty stable rig. Climbing is awesome, but then I’ve always found road handlebars more natural and more effective to hold while riding out of the saddle. Another area the Mares beats any mountain bike is acceleration. Grab the hoods, jump out of the saddle, turn the cranks and the bike takes off. This bike will be a lot of fun to ride. Next ride Sunday. Tomorrow I’m off to Zurich.

Distance:	23.3km (14.5 miles)
Elevation:	1’173m (3’848 feet)
Time:	01:17:27
Speed (avg/max):	18.0/46.6 kph (11.2/29.0 mph)

Monday Evening Out And Back

Back out on the same ride as last Friday. It was a lot chillier with a headwind during the whole climb. I beat my previous KOM by 5 minutes despite the wind thanks to the cooler temperatures. We’re heading into the season where knee and arm warmers will need to be stuffed into a jersey pocket, especially when riding after sunset. Love it! My engine runs much smoother at lower outside temps. Rain forecast for much of the week so the bikes will get a short break.

Distance:	33.0km (20.5 miles)
Elevation:	1’241m (4’072 feet)
Time:	01:24:20
Speed (avg/max):	23.5/79.8 kph (14.6/49.6 mph)

Friday Evening Out And Back

Finished a long week at work and started a weekend on two wheels with an evening road climb up to Les Près d’Orvin and La Place Centrale where all pavement ends. A quick stop to instagram the above pic and return back to town the very same way. The Alize felt fast the way up and the way down - thanks to two madly spinning legs.

Distance:	33.0km (20.5 miles)
Elevation:	1’672m (5’485 feet)
Time:	01:26:14
Speed (avg/max):	22.9/78.6 kph (14.2/48.8 mph)

A “Feierabend” Loop

I haven’t been posting on here as frequently as I used to, mainly because I’ve written more over at 29in.ch. As soon as I get back going building a new road, I’ll have more updates about the progress with that and this place should see more activity again. Spring in Switzerland so far has been absolutely terrific allowing me to spend a lot of dirt miles on my tang carbon rocket. Interested in where I’ve been with it these past couple of weekends? On April 3rd, I drove west to Baulmes in the canton of Vaud to explore the Needles of Baulmes. The following weekend, a 55k ride took me up to the Chasseral for the first time this year and a day later I covered another 39k above “The Rocks”.

Yesterday, a usually pretty uneventful after-work ride turned into one of these epic rides that finds a permanent place in memory. Warm and sunny days invite for long, great rides. But don’t such rides quickly fade away in memory? The rides when the weather is tough on the other hand are a different story. You remember ever puddle along the way and every hailstone that smashed into your glasses even years later. I still recollect every foot of pavement of a ride with friends, when a rainstorm pounded us on the way back from Fort Ross to Santa Rosa. We were racing single-file on River Road in heavy rain. We jumped onto Westside and crossed Wohler Bridge to reach Slusser Road. As we passed by the Sonoma County Airport we were suddenly hit hard by hail. It’s a ride my friends and I will never forget.

When I left town Tuesday evening, a strong wind was blowing through the streets but the sun was out. As I climbed into the Jura, the mountains were more and more darkened by heavy clouds. As I zig-zagged up a mountain-side, it started to drizzle and soon enough to snow. The wind was howling the message “cut this ride short” through the trees. I didn’t listen. Instead I charged ahead and accelerated to be done faster with the loop I wasn’t going to shorten. At the top of the ridge, the wind got really unpleseant. Every gust was saying I should not be there. A few more miles fighting the wind, battling the cold and then I let myself carry down the mountain by a whipping tailwind.

Finding protection in the forest, I followed my usual singletracks only to find them extremely slippery due to the rain. Caution was advised. I felt a little stiff on the bike due to the cold and rode these trails a lot more cautiously than normally. I made it back home in one piece. A bit wet, more cold and ready for a long, hot shower.

Distance:	30km (18.5 miles)
Total Climb:	1000m (3300 feet)
GPS Track:	GPSies.com

Zoom

Spring Ride

•

Thanks to daylight savings there’s enough time after a long day at the office to grab the bike and push a heavy gear on my backyard trails. Daffodils everywhere and some snow too.

Zoom

Winter Time, Night Time, Rain Time, Ride Time

•

It was cold, it was dark, it was wet and it was time to ride. Magicshine on the handlebar, a blinking light on the back of my helmet and a red taillight attached to the seatpost and I was ready for a short climb up to the 3000 foot peak in my backyard. Except for the occasional moth in the beam of my light nothing was on the road up there. I thought snow might have already covered the top of the mountain, but it has not come down as low just yet. I don’t mind though. Still a couple of white months ahead.

Autumn On Big Wheels

At 4.30PM I logged off my computer at work, wished those who were still at the office a nice weekend and ran down to the basement to change into my cycling clothes. I tossed my good old red Giro helmet on my head, quickly pressed the six Velcro straps of my Shimano sandals against my feet, and sped home.

» read more at 29in.ch.

Watching The Sunset

Today was an amazing early October day. The morning started in a layer of fog and through the course of the day the sun burnt it away to reveal a wonderful evening sky. Since these kinds of days won’t be as numerous in the coming months, I hopped onto my plastic racer for an evening spin on the first mountain ridge close to home. I managed to ride the climb in daylight and reached the Twannberg right when the sun was setting behind the Chasseral. I snapped an iphoto of the moment then mounted my helmet light for the ride back down into town. Trail riding in the dark with lights is a whole new experience for me. Last winter, I only rode my road bike on the road. Seemingly easy technical trails become a lot more challenging in the dark. In fact, some of the technical descents I’m not yet willing to ride. It’s fun though. A bit halloweenish too with the many bats flying in the beam of my helmet light.

Tweetbox