A lumberjack and a waffle....

 I am sitting here with a healthy helping of waffles. 

Not the real kind, but the decision kind where you can't make up your mind. I need to make a major decision coming up. I plan to make that decision by Monday. 

But what is the question?

What is this dude thinking?

The short answer is really a long and involved answer. 

I will start last June....at Lumberjack. I took what would turn out to be an emotionally devastating kick in the teeth. When the DUFF frame failed at mile 52 I knew I was in for a journey. I didn't fully understand what that journey would entail. 

It started innocent enough. I filed a warranty claim with Giant. I had misguided thoughts that they would honor their warranty and I would end up with a new and potentially awesome bike. That never came to be. They didn't find the same value in my Anthem SX that I did. Their offer just wasn't good enough for me to jump at it. Whether they didn't understand, or just didn't care, is irrelevant at this point. But, that weighed on me.

My riding dipped the second half of 2023. I let the situation with Giant get the best of me and I tanked. I tried to gain composure in August, but didn't even touch a bike in September or October. Not good for me physically nor mentally. You can see my calendar below. The year started off pretty good overall. I was making steady gains and actually riding my bike.

Not great, but a solid start to the year. After Lumberjack my motivation tanked. My focus was simply elsewhere. I was trying to sort out a new mountain bike. Work was bananas. Life, as usual, was happening at 200 miles per hour. So my riding got put on the back burner. I tried a few times in November but just couldn't get back into the swing of things. In December I tried harder again. Knowing I had to get my ass moving for the start of the 2024 season. No better way to kick start the year than to end the previous year on a high note...right? 

And the year did start great. I got spend a week in Hawaii with Christine. It was there she accepted my proposal. So the year personally has been good. I even did that crazy ass crater climb when I was there. All good things. Emotionally I was doing great. Physically.....well.....

Ending 2023 I didn't really ride the last 2 weeks of the year. Then I didn't ride again until the last week of January. Another 6 week gap off of the bike. So a few months off.....followed by a decent couple of weeks....followed by another month and a half off. Major physical losses. 

So the year didn't start off great. And that slow start bled into February. I was finally able to land a new bike. That should help right? Well yeah, new bike day is always good. But February being a light month meant that I was still losing fitness. Work stress has been gaining steam too, which we know isn't a great combo. 

High stress + low physical activity = not good

Where I should be using the bike to burn off that stress and build fitness, I am so emotionally drained at the end of the day that I just don't want to. Thus the downward spiral continues. Add in that I am an emotional eater and that spiral goes even faster downward. The only thing that has gone up is my weight. I am currently 20 pounds heavier than I was at LJ last year. It all keeps adding up.

So what am I saying?

Short answer is that I am about 70% sure I am pulling the plug on LJ100 for 2024. All of the factors have been adding up. I am not making excuses....just looking at facts to arrive at the inevitable conclusion.....

I simply cannot be ready. And if by some miracle I did manage to train hard for 3 months, I would still have the mental side of things weighing me down. Yeah, work stress will be what it is. But I have lost faith in myself. That is what pushed the scales far enough that I don't believe they will tip back, but just this year. 

I plan to make my final decision over the weekend, but its not looking good for LJ100 in 2024.

Mudhorn Shakedown Ride and initial review

 I was finally out of excuses and managed to get the Mudhorn out of the house and onto the trail. Here is how it went.

I loaded up and headed to Yankee Springs on Sunday morning. It was a decent 45 degrees with a decent breeze. The drive over was uneventful. I arrived around 10 AM to a fairly full parking lot. Its funny this time of year to see the lot full. With the race coming in a month a lot of people are getting their training rides accomplished. And you cannot beat the weather for March. I geared up and made sure everything was good on the bike. Pumped up the tires and it was time to head out.

The drop in at Yankee (in the red direction) is always fun. That initial little drop with some rocky flow showed me a bit about the bike. Right away I thought "bars are too wide". lol. That distracted me from anything else at that moment. But once I got thru there and hit the first little climb I was shocked at how fast the bike ramped up to speed. Well....my speed. 

Going from a 27.5 to a 29er doesn't seem like a dramatic change....but it really is. The last 29er I had was my Trance X. While I loved the bike (for the year I had it) it had it drawbacks. It had aluminum frame and wheels so it was a tank in and out of the corners. Ramp up speed was awful. That being said, the last ride I did on that bike was LJ100....so....I made it work.

I went into the first set of sandy corners at the top of that small climb and found the 2nd thing about the bike.....the brakes still suck. Of all the things SRAM does, they fall short here. But, lets think of a few other factors here too. This was my first mountain bike ride (on a mountain bike) since Lumberjack last year. A solid 9 months since being on a full squish bike with only a handful of fatbike rides mixed in....so that is one thing. Second and most important, I have never ridden this bike. Its going to take some time to get used to the handling. Lastly, its a 29er....and its been 8 years since I have had those big wheels. Those factors made the first part of the trail interesting. 

From there I tried to settle in and just think about riding again. How it felt to be out at Yankee Springs for the first time in forever getting miles into my legs and trail abuse into my body. Safe to say I have missed being in the woods. I am over the gravel craze and ready to spend a lot of hours in the woods where I belong. Even if I am riding alone, the woods are calling.

The riding goes on. I reached the ditch climb and decided to try out the suspension lockout. I snapped it LOCK and immediately was shocked to feel the bike stop bobbing. I followed a guy up the climb and was surprised to actually gain and hold his wheel to the top. A few other guys were coming up behind me so I let them pass. Then I opened up the suspension and started the next section. This section I am typically pretty comfortable and quick. Being on a new bike, I was a bit more cautious as I dropped in. The bike responded how I figured it would, but I was riding slower. I thought I heard another rider coming up behind me so I took off again on the flatter section. There wasn't a rider. lol. But, it did make me push a bit and open up the new bike for a bit. Its fast.....but the engine needs work.

I popped out of the woods to ride around the valley and again locked the suspension out. Got up the climb, opened again and tried to carry my speed across to the next climb. I caught another guy right there but wasn't closing the gap yet. I was just riding my pace and trying to get comfortable on the new bike.

The first real climb came into view. I actually closed the gap on the rider in front of me and caught him right at the Washington monument stone at the first level of the climb. My buddy Dwight passed and offered his encouragement. I hopped back on and climbed to the top. The gearing is awesome and the shifting was crisp. I like the big wheels when climbing. Seems to make it easier. I got to the top and tried to open the throttle until I got to the Pines. Still tentative on the corners I kept losing speed. But that is something that improve with more hours on the saddle.

I got through the pines and caught that same guy again on the climb out. I passed him and gapped him on that climb by mile marker 7. While the climb isn't easy for me....I was able to make the climb and keep going to bomb the next downhill section. I was coming in hot to all of the corners as I descended. Not sure if the bike is faster, or if I just wasn't setting up right for the corners but I was getting a bit out of control. I eased up and just took more of a flow than a bomb style of descent. Slow flow for now, fast bomb later.

A few other guys passed and I found myself on the climb out. In general this climb isn't terrible, but its gets super loose as the year presses on. I just kept climbing.....and that is always my weak point. This bike still climbs pretty good all things considered. The fact that I made all the climbs is a good thing for me this early in the year.

I finally got to the last stretch heading back. I decided to try to push my body a bit to see what I had left. It wasn't much, but the bike felt like it wanted more. The more I ride it the harder I will be able to push it and trust it. But being able to push in the sections I know, I like it. I got back to the lot and decided to hit the short section as well. A full Yankee Springs on dry dirt in early March isn't unheard of, but it is so welcome. 

Overall a great ride. Not fast. A few quirks. Just a great day to be out in the woods. I do want to give some impression of the bike and I will do that here. 

Suspension

   I could actually feel how active it was. Maybe the Anthem was just old and not functioning as well, but this bike I could feel the movement. It felt smooth and quick. It wasn't harsh or jumpy. So when I say I could feel it, it was just the bike coming back to normal position. Having a lockout for both front and rear is seemingly a game changer. It has 3 modes of operation. Open, Pedal, and Closed. Open operates as expected, fully allowing the fork and rear shock to do its thing. 120mm up front and rear both mean a lot of movement. Being a heavier rider I appreciate the movement. Pedal, this one is unique. It limits the travel while still soaking up the bumps and roots. Great on the flat sections with some roots where you still want to go fast. Closed was great on the climbs. It locked immediately and worked great. The twist motion on the Rock Shox lockout is ok. I would prefer a button, but I got used to the twist lock as the ride progressed.

Brakes

I wish SRAM would buy a better company....because these brakes are worthless. I hated them on my Anthem and I don't like them on this bike. They are surely something that I will be upgrading. They just feel under powered. Yes I am a heavy rider, but the brakes feel like they are barely working at some points. Plus this bike has a 4 piston on the rear and 2 piston on the front. Meaning the pull actions are different between the sides. The front moves so far that you are almost touching the bar with the handle. PLEASE SRAM....buy a better BRAKE COMPANY.

Handle Bar - cockpit

The race face bar is nice enough, but it will be one of the first things I replace. Its too wide, which is fixable with a simple cut. But the setup is ok. The grips are not my fav. I will be switching back to my ESI Chunkies when I upgrade the bar. Overall the setup isn't bad, just not what I prefer.

Wheels

The spec shines here. The DT swiss 1501 carbon wheels make this bike GO. As I said before my biggest grip on my last 29er was rampup speed. These wheels don't have any issues. They will go as fast as I can push them. The rear hub is super quiet too. Not a BEE style that we often hear in the woods. I won't be annoying anyone while coasting. Of all things on this ride, I worried about the wheels the least.

Dropper

This bike came with a Rock Shox Reverb AXS dropper. As I have never used a dropper I gave it a go a few times. Not really sure I like it....and I don't really need it for this area. I am likely going to take it off and sell it. Initial thoughts are that it would come in handy if you are riding enduro or super steep trails....neither of which I do. Kind of cool, but not really needed.

Handling, rolling, ramping

Like I said before, a first ride is hard to gauge the performance of a bike. But....I had less complaints than compliments on these aspects. On the corners that I actually trusted I was able to lean in and come out of the corners with some speed. The bigger wheels will take some time for me to learn, but I will get there. Initial impression is that I can be faster on this bike. It rolls better and it ramps up better than my old 29er, and seemingly better than my 27.5 (that I won't even speak the brand). The build spec is close from my old bike to this one, but the wheels are lighter (even though they are bigger). The overall weight is pretty much the same. So bigger wheels, means I carry more speed over obstacles and the bike just feels faster. More to come.....but so far so good. 

Overall Impression

Bike = Good

Engine = needs work

In all honesty, I just need to ride the bike more to get used to it. The more I ride the fitter I will get. The fitter I get and the more I ride this bike the more comfortable I will get. Ultimately, I hope to be faster than I was last year. That true test comes in June. Stay tuned.