The MTB Thread

[Arcangelo]

On 3/7/2019 at 11:09 PM, Arcangelo said:

I am gonna do an exploration ride to Athens at least a month before the race.

Doing this on Sunday, wish me luck. It is 70km from my apt. and back. I think it is gonna take me 10 hours, I will be having lunch at Athens and scout a couple of hotels for the day of the championship. I need to stay at a hotel with a decent bed. Cheap stuff it is not gonna cut it this time, this is the championship! Everything is in it's place. I am bringing gels and salt pills because it's guaranteed that it's gonna be hot at Athens.

It's gonna be great!

See you next week.

[Arcangelo]

Athens Trip Report: 

  Hi. Yesterday i went to Athens with my friend. It was great! 

We rode on the bike for 9 hours. That's effective time. The whole trip took us like 11 hours, it was 85km.  I forgot to buy salt pills for this ride, but i did buy a couple of gels, those are good, they make you feel almost like brand new. At Athens we ate some sea food, and after that we had coffee with cake. The climate was great we had a lot of sun, but during some decent periods of time we had clouds with no rain blocking the sun for us. I felt really good on this trip, i used my energy wisely. I like the navigational part of exploration rides. During rides you got guides and during races you got a lot of arrows and judges with flags, and you gotta pay. Exploration rides are the real deal.

Announcements:

-I might not race the championship. I will say right now is 50/50

 

See you next time.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Arcangelo
coma

[Arcangelo]

Hi, on June 23rd i am going mountain biking to some indigenous territory with the minibus guys. It's gonna be Great!

The place is called Golden Grain. It's a 60 km round trip that starts at a watering place called Adriano's. This trip is only for guys that have done previous rides, it's sort of exclusive haha!

Hmmm... Now that i think about it. It's gonna be as tough as usual. They just want proven people. I shouldn't be laughing yet.... haha!

I got the message today. When i go on these rides i compose a to-do and a to-carry list, it's very useful. That's a tip in case you are planning a nice ride yourself. I am getting new tires for this ride, i might even go tubeless but idk. I am gonna tell the guys at the shop where i am going, so they can tell me what tire to use. I am getting new gloves too.

I'll let you know when my bike is at tip top for the ride. My baby is like a race car every single detail has to be perfect.

 

See you next time!

 

[Arcangelo]

Hi, today i payed the fee for the trip. I am staying the night before at my dad's house, so the minibus can pick me from there. Tomorrow i am buying gloves, salt pills and gels.

I am gonna wait until a few days before the ride to switch to tubeless tires, just like a Formula 1 car. I'll be getting rid of aprox. 1kg off of my bike with this move. It's a lot of weight that i don't need to be carrying around + is probably more green to go tubeless.

Tomorrow's training blocks:     5:20 am- 6:20 mellow ride / 8am -8:30 am sprint ride / 2:30 - 3:15 mellow ride    (All flat pavement) 

It's gonna be great!

 

See you next time.

 

 

[Arcangelo]

Hi, the hype is real for this Golden Grain ride! This area is known for it's abundance of magic mushrooms, so OFC I'll pick me a couple if i spot them.

I cope me some new Maxxis IKON tires + some Biogel Louis Garneau gloves. These tires are easy to put on and easy to get off, i got them at a good price from my best friend. I made a research online and decided to stay using regular tube tires. Already got the mineral pills and a couple of gels too.

My bike looks like a Ferrari F1 car with those new tires!

Every thing is all set ,and it's gonna be great!

 

I'll leave you with the cycling tip of the week:

                                                                                Stay in your lane.

 

 

See you next week with a full trip report.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Arcangelo
on

[Arcangelo]

Golden Grain trip report:

     I got picked from my dad's house at 4:45 am by the organizer. We arrived to Adriano's at 630, and we started the ride at 7:20 am. I burned a couple of matches at the very beginning trying to stay with the leading pack but I thought to myself: -''You know what? fuck this shit, those guys are riding to fast and I will probably pass them at the mountain''

So I started taking it slow and going back to my original plan which was to take it easy and start burning matches 3 hours in into the ride, not before.

So i did that and every single rider passed me. I arrived last at the first check point, there i started to take things more seriously and was able to pass like 12-15 riders by checkpoint #2. When I reached checkpoint #3 the elite pack was there I could have just skipped checkpoint #3 and try to arrive with the leaders, but i didn't. I did my routine at the checkpoint and went downhill with one of the guides. At the main downhill I forgot to unblock my suspension and did the whole downhill on a rigid bike, and i was still able to keep up with the guide. I am truly The Lord and Master of The Downhill.

The whole ride took me 5 hours and 20 minutes. It was great!

 

Cycling tip of the week:

                                           Maintain your right.

 

See you next time.

[Arcangelo]

Hi guys I am back! This sunday I am going to a biological reserve called Carara with the minibus guys, same logistics: I am staying at my dad's on saturday so they can pick me up from there. I have been to this place 3 times already. I haven't trained too much but I stayed active riding 4-5 hours a week. Better than nothing. 

         ''There is no competition because we are all different, and that's how it should be''

 

Mods please move this to the journal section.

 

See you next week with a trip report!

[Arcangelo]

If money is not buying you happiness, you are buying the wrong things

Hi tomorrow is the big day. I transferred the rear tire to the front and the front tire to the back, i put a new tube in the front in the process. I bought me some new handlebar grips too, they are black and blue. I washed it with several cleaning products and used 2 different oils afterwards, so now she looks (and smells) like a race car. I am carrying my stuff in a big triangle bag: pump, tools and a spare tube. 

For this ride I'll be drinking a stuff called TailWind. I have been drinking it all week long to get used to it. I will be carrying extra powder to refill at the check points. I am planning to be really fast at the check points. My mindset is: Start from behind, develop a pace but don't be lazy, push it. Starting from last position is great psychologically, because you will pass a lot of people.

I am The Lord and Master of the DownHill (T.L.M.D.H.) and nothing can or will ever change that.

 

 

See you next week! 

[Arcangelo]

Hi, the trip was awesome. I finished 15th out of 20 (i am not in the shape i used to be + I took way too long at the first 2 check points) It was a 45km ride with 1550 meters of ascent. At one point i thought i was lost and i was not carrying my cellphone or any money, so I decided to go back and the moment i was about to do that I could see another rider, so it was like a perfect timing situation. 

A good tip will be to always carry a cellphone and some money just in case.

 

See you next time! 

[Arcangelo]

@Michael569  Thanks for your advice at the beginning of the thread! The other day I made a mix of water, 1/2 lemon, honey, olive oil and salt. It tasted like an eternal youth elixir. Then I added a ginger infusion but it didn't taste that good, prolly too much water.

Today I paid to reserve my spot to go on a ride that starts from the top of The Mountain of Death and ends up at a beach called Little Grape Beach. It's a 70KM ride, It starts at a restaurant called Georgina's, at this restaurant I need to move fast. My sunblock and repellent need to be on before I hop off the bus. The tour is on April 5th.

The main objective for this ride is to be ready at the start, and to always ride in a group, preferably a group with a guide in it.

 

Every decision I take is based on this ride, I am locked in.

 

See you next month!

 

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Arcangelo
grammar

[Michael569]

@Arcangelo great stuff mate. Good luck in the race! 

[Arcangelo]

Hi yesterday I went on a 50km+ ride. At the downhill I scared a deer and it started to run downhill ahead of me. As you guys already know I am TLMDH so I started pedaling downhill going faster than my usual pace, to keep track of the deer. The deer ran faster than what I could ride. Then there was sharp turn and I kept pedaling (dumb rookie mistake that I never do) and hit a rock with the pedal. I didn't crash because I am TLMDH but still, I should have never allowed myself to get distracted by that deer.

But it was something special, I could really understand why the purple indians worship the animals like they are gods.

The deer was brown and beautiful like 1m tall. It had no horns.

 

Cycling tip of the week:

              Never allow yourself to be distracted.

 

See you next month!

[Girzo]

On 5.11.2018 at 4:27 PM, Arcangelo said:

All of my life i have wanted a moped. Now that there are E-bikes, I want an E-bike. Is a little bit like cheating but who cares, i think they are cool.

Go for it Girzo!

You know, after 2 years I have finally built an ebike, it's soo cool to ride 

But it's a trekking, not an MTB because I like to do long distance trips.

About deers, yea it's cool to see them close. Once, I have had almost crashed into a one that was running across the dirt road in front of me. I often meet moose, too. They are so big, when it's geting dark and you can only see it's shape you may think it's a dinosaur standing in the field, hah.

[Arcangelo]

On 4/26/2020 at 3:34 PM, Girzo said:

You know, after 2 years I have finally built an ebike

That's so cool to hear! Congrats!

My ride was rescheduled until November.

[Arcangelo]

Hi it's me again! Since the pandemic started I haven't been able to go anywhere.

I invested good money and upgraded my drivetrain. I changed the front and rear pinions, and the chain as well. I also bought new grips and tires. 

Last Thursday I went to a place called Prussia Sector, it's a volcanic zone. It was like an 80KM ride It took me like 13 hours to complete.

First I left the house at 6:20am I got to my uncle's house who gave me a lift of 15 km on his truck. He dropped me in paradise, a place called: Round Ranch. It was cold but I expected it to be colder. I went to this place 18 years ago on my 26er.

Global warming is real and is happening FAST like really, really fast. Enjoy while you can!

At 8am I finished smoking and putting my gear on, and started my ride. I stopped 4 hours later to smoke another joint.

I underrate the distances on these maps. I have decided that the next time I see a distance on a map and I think it's ok I am gonna divide it in half.

At 1:00pm I got to a restaurant called The Path of the Quetzal. Bird watchers like to go there.

At 2:15pm I was finished eating and smoking. I could feel the effects of altitude, specially after smoking. It was a different kind of high.

At 3:00pm I finally got to Prussia. I went further ahead, and saw a sign of private property do not trespass  and a warning of an angry dog. So I smoked my fourth joint made a U turn and went to my grandma's.

At 620pm I got to my grandma's. There I drank coffee, ate chocolates and bread, and went home.

The climate was great.

I saw a UFO, it was small. It was like watching a piece of shiny metal the size of an engine cover of a car. I just saw it for like 3 seconds. The thing was flying between the mountains when it lost altitude I couldn't see it anymore, the mountain blocked my sight.

 

See you next time!

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by Arcangelo

[Arcangelo]

Hi the other day I went to a place called Crazy About the Forest. And the other day I went to a place called Parrot River.

Crazy About the Forest is nice! I need to go back, there is some more exploration to be done.

[Arcangelo]

I am back!