PROLLY IS NOT PROBABLY

Posts Tagged ‘dirt’

MelburnOut: Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash – Day 01

The day began with a cold start up a big climb. Reefton Spur road is a beauty!

“Aged many years in the wood”. How many years? Well, like everything in Straya, there’s a story for that. Daniel John Hale has seen his share of saddle time in the years he’s spent on Earth. An ex-pro mountain biker, owner of the Best Bike Shop in the World and one of the first solo riders to take on this particular area of Australian Bush, Dan’s no stranger to the wood.

Ten years ago, he did a similar ride to what we just completed this past weekend but instead of two days, it took him four. Rather than ride a mountain bike or a geared bike, he took his singlespeed Monster Cross. No GPS, no satellite phone and no idea where he was going, save for a map he bought on the side of the road. Later, he, Dave, Scooter and Andy began to tackle these rides annually. That’s 10 years in the wood of Upper Yarra, familiarizing themselves with the ‘bush, the many off-shooting tracks and trails.

Last year, a very similar ride changed me as a cyclist. It took the 215 pound me and slapped it around before spitting (i.e. shitting) it back out. I learned a lot in two long days, but left Melbourne wanting more. When I mentioned returning this year, Andy proposed me landing in for Dan’s 40th. As Andy put it, “we’ll do another ride”…

I’m now around 185 pounds and have been putting in serious saddle time, so the anxiety wasn’t as bad. Until he showed me the route. Day 01, 100 miles, 16,000′ of climbing. BUGGA!

A total of nine riders started, seven finished. Andy’s brother made it up the first climb before returning home and Scooter, one of the original badass couriers in Australia (and aforementioned Upper Yarra riders) only had time for Woods Point and back. That left Dan, Andy, Joe, Dave, Reuben, Mal and myself for the haul… Enclosed is the ride report for the first leg of this 26.6 MP/C* ride.

Check out a bunch of narrated photos in the Gallery!

If There Was an HC for Stokedness

Well, we’re all back from Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash. After two days, 180 miles and over 31′,000 of climbing, we’re all a little sore. That said, if there was an HC for stokedness, we’d all be there. More to come, but for now, here’s Dan finding his inner spirit animal while climbing into the birthplace of the Necronomicog.

What a Good Way to End the Day

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With all the SxSW madness engulfing the town, I’ve been hitting the roads in the morning and the trails late afternoon. All the while preparing for the Mission Workshop trip to Taiwan and China. There’s plenty of radness coming with that next week but for now, I’m just glad I had the time to ride.

Bunyan Velo: Issue 01

Bunyan Velo Issue 01, an online publication dedicated to bike camping, touring, expeditions and general badassery is now online for free. I don’t have time to read it at the moment but the photos alone are worth the flip through.

Check it out above and you’ll want to go full-screen with this one.

An Ode to the Grifo

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I have a love / hate relationship with this tire. Last year, I had a bad batch. The tread pulled off almost immediately but luckily, they were easy enough to return. I swore them off, claiming they were just popular because of their gum-colored side wall. It took me going to LA and seeing how people rode their Grifos on everything: asphalt, dirt, rock, and even mud (yes, there’s mud in SoCal).

Bruce Gordon Cycles: O.G.G. 25th Anniversary Frameset

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I just got in the Bruce Gordon Cycles Rock ‘n Road tires yesterday and literally moments after I opened the box, an email came in from Bruce Gordon alerting me to the new Original Gravel Grinder Rock ‘n Road 25th Anniversary framesets:

“We are going to celebrate 25 years of the Rock ‘n Road with a limited run of numbered, signed 25th Anniversary Rock ‘n Road bicycles. We will produce only 10 of these.

The 25th Anniversary Rock ‘n Road frames will be made right here in the shop, using the same geometry we’ve been using for the past 25 years. The only changes we’ve made are to rear spacing (which is now a modern 135mm) and the headtube, which is now 1⅛” threadless. Forks will be built with the snazzy Pacenti bi-plane lugged fork crown.

The 25th Anniversary frames will come standard with our Signature Rust powdercoat. Other powder coat colors are available for an upcharge. The frames will be expertly TIGged. Fillet brazing is also available for an upcharge. Please note, the Rock ‘n Road is different from the RnR Tour. Its shorter chainstays are ideal for nimble handling and especially good for Gravel Grinding.”

Check out ordering information at Bruce Gordon Cycles!

Recent Roll: I’ve Never Taken This Trail

“Yeah, I’ve got a route planned, but we might dip off and take this one trail”. No matter how organized you try to make a friendly, chill ride, sometimes the best thing you can do is take that trail. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you end up walking a hobo path over a twelve foot drop onto limestone but more often than not, you can make due.

Most of the trails here in Austin are very cross-bike friendly. Some are not, but we avoid those for the most part. People say, “get a MTB”, but they’re also the ones driving their cars to do a piece of 5 mile singletrack. You don’t want to ride a MTB out 15 miles on the road, then up a 18% sealed climb before you bomb down a scenic descent. But a cross bike…

When Kyle was in town, I pulled together a little ride with some friends. We spent about 40% of the time on sealed road and 50% on gravel, singletrack or dirt. That missing 10% was on this one “oh shit” hiking trail we poached on a piece of government land. We made it out alive, save for Chris flipping over his bars and one flat tire. John even rode a stock Nature Boy up some very steep faces. It was impressive.

Beers were had and stories were made. Bottom line is, we had a fucking blast and all lived to tell the tale / Instagram it but no Strava for this route. I wanna keep some of it a secret. We ended up doing +/- 40 miles and about 3,500′.

Fyxomatosis: Office

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Photo by Andy White

While the Fixed Mag cover is a beautiful sealed road, this road epitomizes unsealed beauty. Andy posted this around the beginning of the New Year and I was holding off to post it so I didn’t jinx my trip back to Melbourne. I’ll be staring down this frontage road once again and I can’t wait. This truly is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and having ridden it already, maybe it’ll be easier? Who knows. Andy and Dan are already threatening to “break me again“…

Download this as a wallpaper for your desktop here.

Signal Cycles: Black Gravel Crusher

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You can do gravel rides on a road bike with 23c tires if you’re careful and you pick your lines wisely or you can roll on some 33c Grifos and enjoy the ride a little more. This new Signal Cycles Gravel Crusher looks like a lotta fun, especially with the Mini Moto setup. Check out more at Signal Cycles’ Flickr.

Recent Roll: Crossin’ Town

While I try to ride everyday, it’s usually impossible. Believe it or not, it’s a lot of work to run this site but that’s why I’ve gotten in the habit of looking at riding as “coffee rides”. I usually kit up, hop on the cross bike and kick around on the local trails and roads, inevitably ending up at the best coffee bar in town, Frank for an Americano. The rides are never more than 20 miles or so and take about an hour and a half. Something even the busiest blogger can find time for.

When Kyle came to town last week (I already miss that little shit!), I took him on a coffee ride. We cross’d town and had a freaking blast, stopping at every jib spot we could find along the way until we got to the Hill of Life and the Greenbelt. Once there, we encountered a few falls, some sketchy, techy lines and a helmet-stealing dog. It was a lot of fun.