Mountain Biking 2020

[cantunamunch]

Well he's got all wheel drive...

Good point, I need one of those Christini things - and to polish up my hedge hops.

 

[scott43]

And like six or eight inches of auto-adapting intelligent suspension..

 

[cantunamunch]

And like six or eight inches of auto-adapting intelligent suspension..

Hey! Family forum!

 

[Philpug]

Are we talking e-Foxes?

 

[cantunamunch]

Are we talking e-Foxes?

He didn't look old enough to be able to afford e-crutchesupgrades

 

[Tom K.]

Well he's got all wheel drive...

And studs!

 

[firebanex]

Two separate rides this week, it's still very much winter in Fairbanks. Don't really need lights anymore with rideable light stretching to about 9:30 pm now. First two pics are from that evening ride on tuesday, someone had pushed two giant block of cut ice into the middle of the trail earlier in the week judging from the lack of snow on it. Last pic is what I call "the running of the border collie" since the world has decided to fall apart, I am only scheduled to work 3 days a week now so I took Powder for a 4.7mile bikejour this morning. He's learning well and only tried to murder every dog we ran across.. been working on trying to train his dog reactivity down for like 2 years now. It would help if people would keep their dogs on leashes too..

 

[Bendu]

Do you ride with your dog on a leash?

 

[AmyPJ]

I rode my MTB 16.6 miles yesterday...on the local roads! And the wind was at our face both ways, and on every downhill (seriously, it was.) Throw in 2.6 tires and it was a slog, but I loved it anyway. The local dirt trails that ARE dry are mostly WAY too crowded, they are too crowded even during normal times. I'm hopeful that in 6 weeks when things dry out enough to start riding on my side of the mountains, restrictions will start being lifted so we won't either be prevented from riding or won't be terrified if we come across people on the trails.

 

[Tom K.]

We're in the mud again for awhile, so in the spirit of positivity, I'll post this 2019 shot taken by a friend of mine that happens to be an astounding photographer (and wheel builder and fellow retired lunatic endurance racer -- Iditabike, Arrowhead 135, etc.).

 

[firebanex]

Do you ride with your dog on a leash?

I have a Ruffwear dogjouring belt set up, I have belt on my waist with a quick release on his lead, Powder has a pulling harness on, and about a 10ft bungee lead connecting us. To keep the lead from tangling in the front wheel I have a bike jouring "antenna" (Amazon search for non-stop dogwear antenna), you can barely see it in the picture, it's the silver loop thingy the lead is passing through. It works out pretty well for us.

 

[Bendu]

so the issue with the dogs interaction may be one dog is restrained and the others are not.

I just would always assume that all dog biking will not be on lease because in most cases it is dangerous to be on a lease.

 

[firebanex]

In part. My dog is just an ass sometimes. He is a purebred border collie who came from a working breeder in Alaska, while his herding instinct wasn't as strong as the rest of his litter mates it is still what he was bred for. If you have been around herding dogs in general, that instinct can manifest into a whole host of things to work with when training. If he thinks that something isn't the way it is supposed to be, he will tell you.

Specifically he is highly reactive to dogs and people when he perceives them to be in the way of his "work", He has been like this since we got him at 8 weeks. We've spent the entire time since then working on training him out of his reactivity. Sometimes we have good success but other times he's just worked up and can't come down from it even though I see him trying to. It really comes down to that he does not like strangers and strange dogs when we are out doing "work". His focus is amazing, but breaking the focus on a distraction is difficult. If we are walking, I pick him up and carry him past whatever it is. It's just about the only way that works to keep him from going over the edge. When we take him to his dayplay/daycare group on Fridays (before covid-19) where he is there all day without us, they tell us that 99% of the time he's an angel who plays nice with every other dog and even gets the shy nervous dogs to play. Put him in a situation where he isn't "working" and he is a huge cuddle bug who loves everyone he meets.

Bikejouring is like skijouring or canicross, its on essentially doubletrack dirt or groomed trails and the goal is to work together as a team to go places. You could consider it to be super mellow mountain biking. When we go on single track or actual mountain biking, he is definitely off leash as it would be flat out dangerous to have him on his pulling lead. There is a huge advantage to having him on the lead, we can access more trails in places that do not allow for off leash dogs. I run him on the Alaska Dog Mushers Association trail system in town.. you do NOT want an off leash dog if a dog team comes by, you are likely to come away with a injured or dead dog and a very pissed off musher. It's another reason why I'm irritated when I see off leash dogs on those trails, so many bad things could happen to them.

 

[AmyPJ]

We're in the mud again for awhile, so in the spirit of positivity, I'll post this 2019 shot taken by a friend of mine that happens to be an astounding photographer (and wheel builder and fellow retired lunatic endurance racer -- Iditabike, Arrowhead 135, etc.).

View attachment 98673

Nice bike. I've been tossing around buying one and selling my Fuel 9.8. Why? Because husband and I have the same paint job and I wanted the blue one. The 9.8 is currently sold out. (It's SUCH a great bike, I can see why.)
I wonder, too, if Trek is having supply chain issues.

 

[Tom K.]

Nice bike. I've been tossing around buying one and selling my Fuel 9.8. Why? Because husband and I have the same paint job and I wanted the blue one. The 9.8 is currently sold out. (It's SUCH a great bike, I can see why.)
I wonder, too, if Trek is having supply chain issues.

Probably not the bike you think it is? It's a Slash 9.9. Honestly, I never did that bike justice. SO much capability in rough stuff. It has been "re-homed" at my young endurance racing friend's garage. He's got access to a lift-served bike park, and is eager to expand his horizons.

I'm finding my current quiver of Top Fuel and Fuel EX to suit my needs and abilities perfectly. The difference in feel and ability between the two is bigger than the 115/130 mm rear travel difference would indicate. The TF is firm and racy, while the FEX is a magic carpet, esp with that Fox 36 up front.

 

[AmyPJ]

Probably not the bike you think it is? It's a Slash 9.9. Honestly, I never did that bike justice. SO much capability in rough stuff. It has been "re-homed" at my young endurance racing friend's garage. He's got access to a lift-served bike park, and is eager to expand his horizons.

I'm finding my current quiver of Top Fuel and Fuel EX to suit my needs and abilities perfectly. The difference in feel and ability between the two is bigger than the 115/130 mm rear travel difference would indicate. The TF is firm and racy, while the FEX is a magic carpet, esp with that Fox 36 up front.

Oh, that's the Slash! I was actually contemplating that, but for what I ride, it's way overkill. I'll stick with the magic carpet, as I like that plush feel. I still have some dickering to do with the fork.

 

[ZionPow]

Pow dog and I didn't have time to skin Snowbasin today so we went to a trail least likely to be crowded. Not the best riding but it was not crowded! Pow dog kicked my butt again

 

[firebanex]

Since my work week is now just Monday-Wednesday, my dog got another bikejour in today. Tired and happy pup sleeping across from me on the couch. The trails are hard as a rock and fast in the mornings now. Been a long time since I had my fat bike up to 16mph on the flat.

 

[firebanex]

Today it snowed about 4", still went for a ride and had a good time.

 

[wooglin]

Not exactly technical, but still an mtb ride. I’ll take it.