New Bike! First Ride!

See below . . . Trek 3700 Disc Brake, SR SunTour XCT V3 suspension fork (SF11-XCT-V3-DS-26-80).

We headed out on the same route as yesterday. Today we started the GPS at the house and checked waypoints. (Also figured out that there is a "notes/comments" feature in the waypoints, and this for logging interim mileage, elevation, etc.)

We'll check elevation as we attack that learning curve. Sometimes I get the data, sometimes not. Today it said 885 feet -- which I presume is total ascent.

Miles:

House to Logan Road entry: 3.76 miles

Logan Road gate to Youngs River Falls gate: 4.62 miles.

Youngs River Falls to home: 4.04 miles.

Total distance: 12.42 miles. 90 minutes, 8 mph pace, faster on road, slower on unpaved.

Some of the typical fine tune stuff --

Rear brake squeaks when released. We'll cleaned it; squeak stopped. Brakes are nice! Two finger grip, sensitive, smooth, lots of control.

Seat post release was set pretty loose. I adjusted seat height several times. I wonder if I just wasn't getting the saddle tall enough in the first place. I don't think it was slipping, no lateral movement, but who knows?

Gear indexes seemed to skip a bit. I think this is break-in stuff for the cogs, chain. They seemed to settle down after a while. Might be my shifting?

Shop filled the tires to 30 lb. We rode that, but I jacked them to 45 lb. This seems about right on roadway. 30 lb. for trails, dirt, soft surface.

Wonderful ride! The fork suspension keeps me from being beat to death on the road. I realize now that with the mt. bike rides the following stiffness is due to being jostled on the road, vibration. The suspension on this bike seems to alleviate a lot of jostle. What is hard to get used to is getting on the bike, getting underway and having the front end compress. Takes some getting used to. (I need to read up on the front fork use/adjust.)

High end gear is about the same as the Nishiki. Low end gears are much lower. Seems to be less prone to lifting the front wheel when climbing steep in lowest gears. (That's frame geometry.) But also, on the driveway here we found that the ultra-low gear doesn't generate enough forward speed to keep the bike on track. It's a balance game.

About 1 1/2 hr moving. The trip data says 26 mph max -- down Tucker Creek Lane or Peter Johnson. I won't go fast down the gravel log roads. Too much chance of sliding and spilling.

Using a lot of low gears, lots of shifting for terrain. More focused on effort than speed. The speed gets down to walking pace on some stretches -- slight inclines w/ gravel surface. This is a mt. bike! It's not a racing bike.

Equipment -- The Zefal Mt. Pump won't fit the frame, and so I taped it compressed short and stow it in the CamelBack M.U.L.E. -- along w/ a tube, hex key tool, tire patch kit. I wonder if I should pack the chain tool?

Pearl Izumi shorts (not the bibs), perfect for riding. Cotton T-shirt -- no need for the jersey pockets, the CamelBak stows the gear.

Water, couple bananas . . .

GPS, cell phone, I should take the compact binoculars.

Ohhhhhhhh yeah, and this the reason for riding in the woods -- Yesterday it was a Red Tail Hawk. Today it was five Roosevelt Elk, standing in the road, grazing. I got probably within 25 yds.

NICE RIDE!

Road 490 looks interesting. I think this is the climb up along the ridge. Some elevation gain. I'm looking to ride it, but need to prepare, pack a lunch and take the day for it. The climb up from Youngs River Falls gate is long, steep, unrelenting. Then 490 would be more climbing.