The Quest for the Elusive Cassette

Had QUITE the journey to convert my wife's bike to a 1x10 with one of e13's extended range cogs and a Race Face wide/narrow chainring. I've done this on a few bikes already and the process only takes about an hour total...

I had done my research and ordered a 40t cog compatible with the Shimano cassette which was already on the bike. Upon the cog's arrival, I found that a special tool was required to remove the crank arms. D'oh! I have two huge Craftsman rolling tool chests full of bike tools, but I love needing one more special tool that only does one thing on one bike. Argh.

I headed up to Riverside Cycles, a local Cannondale dealer about 45 min away. They had the tool and had me on my way in only a couple of minutes, but that still took almost 2hrs. I did ask them to order one of the tools for me also. There's always room for more in my workshop. Read more...

Bradbury Mountain State Park, more Maine!

Back to Maine...

Our camping season started in Maine, and we had a good time so we went back for more.

This time, Bradbury Mountain State Park for mountain biking. It was relatively close so it served as a great little weekend get-away.

It's been several years since I rode the trails at Bradbury Mountain and I had forgotten what they were like. Perfect reason to refresh the memories...

Central Vermont Cycling Tour

Vermont? Gravel roads? A camping weekend? Yes, sign me up!

A couple of months after a super fun ride in the Montpelier area (Muddy Onion), it was time for Jean and I to head back up for another fun event, this time the Central Vermont Cycling Tour.

If you're a regular reader of this blog (and why wouldn't you be?), you may recall that Jean and I attempted this ride last summer. (READ MORE)

NEMBAFest 2016, Kingdom Trails, East Burke, Vermont

You want photos? Read on...

Acadia National Park, Maine, 2016

Of course, even though our vacation started off by "sleeping" in a Maine Turnpike rest area, and then by being woken up by the possibility that our house had been broken in to, AND some rain on our first full day in Maine, we had fun.

We did some exploring, took the dogs to the beach, and had some great seafood (a recurring theme).

See more for pics & video!

The Ride Down Cadillac Mountain

The ride UP is much less entertaining to watch but stay tuned for more from Maine!

Maine 2016

Who says I don't know how to show a girl a good time?

Nothing says romance like waking up in a truck stop, so that's what we did...

We decided to leave for Maine after work on Friday, and as you can imagine, traffic heading north on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend was going to be epic. We let traffic clear out a bit, left late, and then slept in a Maine Turnpike service area after getting a couple of hours of driving done. So this is the view that Jean and I woke up to on the morning of our 11-year anniversary. Romantic indeed! Needless to say, we didn't linger, and hit the road to get up to Mount Desert Island.

Weeping Willow MTB Race (May, 2016)

I was only able to catch the 9:30 group of races due to those pesky work obligations. And with that, I didn't get shots of everyone. What I did get though, is posted here for all to see. Check out that link for access to the 170+ pics.

I should have been out there racing too, but again, I had work, and I wanted to get some pics. Willowdale is such an awesome place to rice...

Anyway, enjoy the pics! See ya!

https://davealden.smugmug.com/Weeping-Willow-MTB-Race-2016/

A New Perspective

Working on a new way of using my GoPro... this was just a test run, more coming soon...

Dirt Rag Magazine

I've written many print articles in my time, but one of my favorite magazines to read, and to write for, is Dirt Rag. (Read more)

46 and Flatland (47 soon)

Well, it's already May, so a good portion of 2016 is in the bag. Damn, time flies. I haven't been on my BMX bike as much as I would have liked, both from lack of time and on some days, lack of motivation. I've got the itch again though... here are some clips from the few times I've ridden so far this year. Nothing I probably haven't posted before, but it's good for me to keep up with some of the old stuff. I hope to have some better clips coming soon!

Muddy Onion Gravel Ride Video

Muddy Onion Gravel Ride 2016, Montpelier, VT

Jean and I had ridden in an event in Montpelier a few years ago, and we still talk about the great dirt roads, awesome views, and killer climbs. We were registered for the Central Vermont Cycling Tour last year, but that got rained out. We've been eager to get back up to the Montpelier area so when I saw that Onion River Sports was hosting an early season gravel ride, I signed us up. Thirty four miles, a few thousand feet of climbing and chocolate covered bacon... take my money! Read more...

Niner ROS 9+ Bike Review

My review of the Niner ROS 9+, 29'er plus with 3 inch tires. After about 150 miles on the bike, I've got some thoughts to share...
http://www.ninerbikes.com/ros9plus
https://youtu.be/tRYbr_qLF2g

Emergency Medicine (not)

Every day I see examples of people who sabotage their own healthcare. EVERY DAY. From the patients with COPD who continue to smoke, to the morbidly obese patients who don't know why their back pain doesn't get better, to the patients who just decide not to take their medications for whatever reason. By and large, people are in complete control of their health, and many people do not take the actions needed.

Bike Therapy

ther·a·py \ˈther-ə-pē\

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the simple definition of "therapy" is the treatment of physical or mental illnesses.

That's a simple definition with a broad range of possible options, from a course of antibiotic therapy, physical therapy or psychotherapy.

My therapy often involves bikes; sometimes riding them, sometimes working on them.

Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve Mountain Bike Trails, Lithia, Florida

Today’s featured trail network is Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve in Lithia, FL, another great spot I rode while I was in the Tampa area on vacation.

I had never heard of Lithia before… according to Wikipedia,  Lithia is an  unincorporated community in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States.  It is a suburb of Tampa and has a population of 8,527. The zip code is  33547. The area code is 813. The area includes the Census-designated  place of Fish Hawk… whatever that is. Read more...

Jay B Starkey Wilderness Park MTB Trails

After a few days in Orlando visiting with my mother, it was time to head towards the Tampa area with my wife and her parents. They were there for the beaches, I was there for the riding. And lucky for me, there was some good riding to be found. First up on my agenda was an area called the Jay B Starkey Wilderness Park in New Port Richey, FL. This was about an hour north of where I was staying. Distance-wise, not that far, but time-wise, it seemed like it took forever because it was just one traffic light after another after another after another. And, each traffic light seemed to last like 48 minutes. But I digress... oh, one more note about the drive though... I think this area of the country has more injury and accident lawyer billboards than in any area I've driven in. Billboard after billboard asking if I had been hurt or an in an accident... Okay, now let's talk about the riding...

Snow Hill MTB Trails in Oviedo, Florida (Little Big Econ State Forest)

Paradoxically, my interest, and subsequent obsession with mountain biking began when I was living in Orlando, Florida; a part of the world not known for any mountains except for Space Mountain. That being said, in the mid-nineties (and probably even still today), central Florida had a great MTB scene. It’s been almost 20 years since I’ve ridden off road in Florida though, and I wasn’t sure where to go. (Video after the jump too) Read MORE...

BMXish 2

BMXish2 from David Alden on Vimeo.