IT'S LIKE THAT...
New Mexico Pavement...
WORDS... June - Already???
So... its been a few I guess. Not too much earth-shattering going on here, lets see....
Since the last journal about the Gallup trip, there's been a couple trips to Moab for riding, a nice drive out to Montrose to visit friends, and some scouting on barren landscapes for things to ride. Really not a lot of specifically huge highlights, life is just happening and I'm cool with that. I don't mean things are boring - far from it, as this is shaping up to be on of the coolest summers on record. My record anyhow.
Backing up a little....
Really need to update this image, forgot about it for a while... (whish I had some older images...)
Only really two things to note with this update, though as I type that may change...
First...
Over the years, I've built many, many bicycles to ride and generally thrash about on. Some have been some real clunkers, and a couple or few have been pretty... eh, "pimp". I've gone back and forth between what I could afford at the time, to things I can't really afford, and end up eating Ramen for several weeks, or sometimes not eating at all.
(Yes, I sacrifice food/sustinance for bikes). And sometimes, the bike changes over a period of months, evolving as my riding evolves/devolves...
But this weekend marked the culmination of months of bike-part-finagling, half starving, and just plain waiting for things to show up. Back in march I purchased a Giant Faith frame, and have since been trying to accumulate everything for a "budget" freeride/dh bike. Actually, I began collecting parts for this back in December when I purchased the dual crown Marzocchi Super T. Funny - that the first one I acquired specifically for this beast, ends up not being used on it.
Last Friday night, as I sit there putting the bike together, I was surprised to find that I didn't really forget to acquire anything I needed - cables, tube/tires (all in one in this case), grips, bars, even a new chain. Awesome. I get to greasing the bearings on the headset, go to slide the fork in, and damn, dontcha know that the fork was too short to fit all the way through.
I was really hoping to get this together the next day so I could show it off ;) and maybe even tool around on it a bit, but without the fork, I was done. A local bike shop (Pedal the Peaks) had a used Super T, but it did not have the same part on it that I needed. At that point, I was sure that I would have to locate and purchase another fork. Great. That means more waiting to ride this thing. Not happy.
I was scheduled to go ride a desert trail the next day, and was going to take the Reign, but Ben invited me for a wrenching session beforehand in basement of envy - so I figured I'd take both bikes so I could show him the Faith, and if worse came to worse, I'd thow the dual crown back on the Reign...
Well, Ben is one cool cat, props to him for sure. After my arrival we caught up a bit then examined all the bike parts that we had mutually acummulated. He offered to let me use his Boxxer fork, and while I was installing it, he offered to trade up for the Super T, since it fit his bike, and actually looked better on it. That was not the first trade of the day. We spent the next couple hours swapping parts, trading back and forth and wrenching. All said and done, many barters were bartered, trades traded, bikes and riders were content. And, well, the Boxxer does look fairly dapper on the Faith:
This has to be the "bling-iest" rides I've ever owned. A little more Captain America looking than I'd really prefer, but I got some really good deals on some of the parts (Art and bartering do pay off)(Thanks again to Pedal the Peaks also). So, yeah, submitted for your approval, a 2005 Giant Faith. 8 inches of pretty darn plush travel in the back, 7 in the front provided by the RockShox Boxxers. Azonic Outlaw wheels, Profile cranks/bb, E13 chainguide, Crank Bros 50/50 pedals, and keen camo seat... and some other stuff.
Years ago, in Ohio, I about swore I'd never ride, much less "need" a contraption like this. Now... if I found good deal on a 10 inch travel frame, I'd seriously look in to it.
As for "needing" it.... :
Photo by Ben Nance
Need is a relative term. :D
But I sure can find all kindsa ways to use it. After we got the bikes packed up, we headed out to a location that will remain to remain unnamed and unknown. Its a keen place, one of those things that could easily blow up and become a crowded place to ride.
The Faith felt surprisingly like my Reign. Then, maybe I shouldn't be surprised, as they were pretty much designed/released at the same time - suffice it to say the Faith was very comfortable. Dig it.
Photo by Ben Nance
But I wasn't the only one riding and shooting either - Ben took out the Eastern slash, complete with dual crown-camo Sherman fork, ready to put it task... and he did...
Ben takes (IMO) the harder of two lines and becomes an iconic image...
Pick a line, any line... c'mon...
Testing mettle... Photo by Ben Nance
Ben on the exposure with sick roll in...
Photo by Ben Nance. And the requisite "steeper than it looks" disclaimer...
We had absolute choice of lines... There were no trails yet, and lots of lines to choose from. Not that crazy about the hike-a-bike stuff after every run, but I have to say earning your turns here was totally worth it. Besides, we can shuttle back in or near Durango, or hit up a ski area do lift assist runs. Landscape was lunar, extraterrestrial even.
Big props to Ben for the shots, and fork trade... Check out his report of the days events here: Location X, or Area 52, or...
Be sure to check out Ben's gallery too: Ben Nance
Other things to note... Not much.. I'm moving. Out of Durango proper, and into the "burbs" in a matter of speaking. Moving to place called Forest Lakes, about a half hour drive from DGO. I guess some would call it living out in the country or something, I dunno. It sorta feels like it, but when you live in a... "community" of nearly 1,000 strong, it's hard to say you're getting away from it all. I will say though, it's nice. For sure quieter than being in town, and I'm just that much closer to any "wilderness" there is here. I probably sound cynical, and in a way I am - but I'm excited to move out there, I'm just not excited about watching Durango, or similar mountain towns trying to grow. Ineveitable, yes. Sad, yes. And well, I guess technically I'm a part of the problem. and well.. too bad ;)
Not a view from the new digs, but from an exploratory trail excursion last week.
Ran in to that guy on the trail too. He was very bold for his size, which was
equivalent to one's thumb.
Rainbow outside the new place...
It was a rather large one...
and it turned out to be a double... sweet.
I'll be in the moving process for the next couple weeks, which is nice to have that sort of timeline to take care of it, as the last few times were quite hectic.
Not much else happening. Might have a project or two in the works once the move is complete, but right now I'm just working and waiting to ride and explore and be out in it.
Switchbacks coming up from... somewhere in Moab...
And that's about it for now... when I get my monitor issues sorted out, I'll probably have some new images to post up, but for now its too frustrating tyring to use the laptop screen to judge shadows and stuff. Hope all is well out there, and thanks for stopping to look!
So... its been a few I guess. Not too much earth-shattering going on here, lets see....
Since the last journal about the Gallup trip, there's been a couple trips to Moab for riding, a nice drive out to Montrose to visit friends, and some scouting on barren landscapes for things to ride. Really not a lot of specifically huge highlights, life is just happening and I'm cool with that. I don't mean things are boring - far from it, as this is shaping up to be on of the coolest summers on record. My record anyhow.
Backing up a little....
Really need to update this image, forgot about it for a while... (whish I had some older images...)
Only really two things to note with this update, though as I type that may change...
First...
Over the years, I've built many, many bicycles to ride and generally thrash about on. Some have been some real clunkers, and a couple or few have been pretty... eh, "pimp". I've gone back and forth between what I could afford at the time, to things I can't really afford, and end up eating Ramen for several weeks, or sometimes not eating at all.
(Yes, I sacrifice food/sustinance for bikes). And sometimes, the bike changes over a period of months, evolving as my riding evolves/devolves...
But this weekend marked the culmination of months of bike-part-finagling, half starving, and just plain waiting for things to show up. Back in march I purchased a Giant Faith frame, and have since been trying to accumulate everything for a "budget" freeride/dh bike. Actually, I began collecting parts for this back in December when I purchased the dual crown Marzocchi Super T. Funny - that the first one I acquired specifically for this beast, ends up not being used on it.
Last Friday night, as I sit there putting the bike together, I was surprised to find that I didn't really forget to acquire anything I needed - cables, tube/tires (all in one in this case), grips, bars, even a new chain. Awesome. I get to greasing the bearings on the headset, go to slide the fork in, and damn, dontcha know that the fork was too short to fit all the way through.
I was really hoping to get this together the next day so I could show it off ;) and maybe even tool around on it a bit, but without the fork, I was done. A local bike shop (Pedal the Peaks) had a used Super T, but it did not have the same part on it that I needed. At that point, I was sure that I would have to locate and purchase another fork. Great. That means more waiting to ride this thing. Not happy.
I was scheduled to go ride a desert trail the next day, and was going to take the Reign, but Ben invited me for a wrenching session beforehand in basement of envy - so I figured I'd take both bikes so I could show him the Faith, and if worse came to worse, I'd thow the dual crown back on the Reign...
Well, Ben is one cool cat, props to him for sure. After my arrival we caught up a bit then examined all the bike parts that we had mutually acummulated. He offered to let me use his Boxxer fork, and while I was installing it, he offered to trade up for the Super T, since it fit his bike, and actually looked better on it. That was not the first trade of the day. We spent the next couple hours swapping parts, trading back and forth and wrenching. All said and done, many barters were bartered, trades traded, bikes and riders were content. And, well, the Boxxer does look fairly dapper on the Faith:
This has to be the "bling-iest" rides I've ever owned. A little more Captain America looking than I'd really prefer, but I got some really good deals on some of the parts (Art and bartering do pay off)(Thanks again to Pedal the Peaks also). So, yeah, submitted for your approval, a 2005 Giant Faith. 8 inches of pretty darn plush travel in the back, 7 in the front provided by the RockShox Boxxers. Azonic Outlaw wheels, Profile cranks/bb, E13 chainguide, Crank Bros 50/50 pedals, and keen camo seat... and some other stuff.
Years ago, in Ohio, I about swore I'd never ride, much less "need" a contraption like this. Now... if I found good deal on a 10 inch travel frame, I'd seriously look in to it.
As for "needing" it.... :
Photo by Ben Nance
Need is a relative term. :D
But I sure can find all kindsa ways to use it. After we got the bikes packed up, we headed out to a location that will remain to remain unnamed and unknown. Its a keen place, one of those things that could easily blow up and become a crowded place to ride.
The Faith felt surprisingly like my Reign. Then, maybe I shouldn't be surprised, as they were pretty much designed/released at the same time - suffice it to say the Faith was very comfortable. Dig it.
Photo by Ben Nance
But I wasn't the only one riding and shooting either - Ben took out the Eastern slash, complete with dual crown-camo Sherman fork, ready to put it task... and he did...
Ben takes (IMO) the harder of two lines and becomes an iconic image...
Pick a line, any line... c'mon...
Testing mettle... Photo by Ben Nance
Ben on the exposure with sick roll in...
Photo by Ben Nance. And the requisite "steeper than it looks" disclaimer...
We had absolute choice of lines... There were no trails yet, and lots of lines to choose from. Not that crazy about the hike-a-bike stuff after every run, but I have to say earning your turns here was totally worth it. Besides, we can shuttle back in or near Durango, or hit up a ski area do lift assist runs. Landscape was lunar, extraterrestrial even.
Big props to Ben for the shots, and fork trade... Check out his report of the days events here: Location X, or Area 52, or...
Be sure to check out Ben's gallery too: Ben Nance
Other things to note... Not much.. I'm moving. Out of Durango proper, and into the "burbs" in a matter of speaking. Moving to place called Forest Lakes, about a half hour drive from DGO. I guess some would call it living out in the country or something, I dunno. It sorta feels like it, but when you live in a... "community" of nearly 1,000 strong, it's hard to say you're getting away from it all. I will say though, it's nice. For sure quieter than being in town, and I'm just that much closer to any "wilderness" there is here. I probably sound cynical, and in a way I am - but I'm excited to move out there, I'm just not excited about watching Durango, or similar mountain towns trying to grow. Ineveitable, yes. Sad, yes. And well, I guess technically I'm a part of the problem. and well.. too bad ;)
Not a view from the new digs, but from an exploratory trail excursion last week.
Ran in to that guy on the trail too. He was very bold for his size, which was
equivalent to one's thumb.
Rainbow outside the new place...
It was a rather large one...
and it turned out to be a double... sweet.
I'll be in the moving process for the next couple weeks, which is nice to have that sort of timeline to take care of it, as the last few times were quite hectic.
Not much else happening. Might have a project or two in the works once the move is complete, but right now I'm just working and waiting to ride and explore and be out in it.
Switchbacks coming up from... somewhere in Moab...
And that's about it for now... when I get my monitor issues sorted out, I'll probably have some new images to post up, but for now its too frustrating tyring to use the laptop screen to judge shadows and stuff. Hope all is well out there, and thanks for stopping to look!
----------------------------------------------------------
AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS...
The next shirt I make...
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