Riley trails

NEEDING to ride a bike I loaded up Albert and headed to Riley Trails.

Why Riley? one might ask. Well, I had to get to Cross Country Cycle to get some footbeds and Riley is just around the corner. So I was killing two birds with one stone.

 Tom met me and we headed off down the trail with our fat bikes. I was on Albert. My 35 pound tank of a fatty with 3.5" tires. Tom was on his Mukluk with 4.5" tires....what a massive difference. lol. 

I did upgrade my fork to a carbon Carver O'Beast this year. That makes a massive difference actually. I bought the fork a few years ago and finally got it installed this winter. I have had this fat bike for years and barely have any miles on it. I am learning that it is a lot of fun to ride.

If you have never ridden at Riley I can tell you this...its a 4ish mile trail that is relatively flat with a bit of sand and one kicker that can be a pain. We got started and didn't have any issues. Then we did. I was leading and I missed a turn as the trail kicks out of the woods to an open area. There were some people walking and for some reason I went that way instead of turning. So we made it a bit before I was like....eh....we missed a turn. lol.  So we quickly made the jaunt back and were back on the trail. 

Being on the fat bike means I am learning how to ride it faster. It handles like a tank, but it has traction for days. We were clipping along at a decent pace. Passed a few hikers. We reached that kicker and both of us cleared it. We finished the first lap pretty fast and took a little breather. 

Second lap we caught a guy walking same direction as us. I could hear his radio but I yelled "riders back, can we get around you?" and the guy didn't even budge. So I yelled ON YOUR LEFT and he finally looked. But he looked at me with a look like he didn't give a rip that we were there. He never moved off the trail. Never acknowledged we were even there. We pressed on. Didn't seem like very long and we were back at the parking lot again. This is the cool thing about short laps...you get back fast.

We decided on a 3rd lap and headed out. This time I was starting to wonder about fatigue. With minimal riding since LJ100 I know my endurance is gone. So riding at a decent pace on a super heavy bike was starting to take its toll. We chugged along and reached that last climb again. This time I took off and downshifted (one too many gears). I was almost to the top and I spun the rear tire, losing traction and momentum. Ugh. Having to put a foot down on an easy trail is disheartening. lol. Tom made it....chose a better gear than I did.

We finished with about 12 miles total. Not bad and I feel great today. I will get to riding more consistent again now that things are hopefully settling down. I got the Anthem in pieces and plan to start selling parts here soon. I also tore the crank off the TCX and figured out that I needed a new bottom bracket. I have that in my hands and will get it installed tonight. Hopefully get a nice gravel ride in tomorrow.

As far as the Anthem goes....well....I had a friend reach out and say someone else would be trying to get ahold of me. Haven't heard from them yet, but I am guessing that maybe they didn't get anywhere either. I am resigned to the fact that I will never get what the warranty states. I can guarantee that I will never buy another Giant Bicycle for as long as I am riding.

Health update. With the lack of riding and poor food choices I did put a few pounds back on. Chris and I are back at it to lose more weight and be thinner for Hawaii. Overall I am feeling good and we are doing great, just need to get diet and exercise back on track. 

Hope you all are doing well! See you on the road, gravel, or trails.