Hall Ranch - 29, Single, and Clean
Sometimes I look at my site statistics to see what articles keep people coming back over time. Last year’s “Fall Riding Kicks Ass” article resonated in the Google-sphere and has been a solid performer. This year I have been guilty of letting my career drive get in the way of one of my loves, that same fall mountain bike riding that I gushed about. I did not go on a single ride in the mountains beneath the fall foliage. In fact, I went two months without riding at all. On one hand, starting a business takes some sacrifice on the front end, but on the other hand, I haven’t been living my life in the way that I ultimately want it to be.
That single minded drive was put on hold this past week. I’ve been having some more big wins happen in my life, even extending out beyond the photography arena. As a result I’ve taken some time this week to smell the flowers, and enjoy this absolutely stellar weather we’ve been having here in Boulder, Colorado.
Personally, I think the flowers (or scrub grass) smell best at 25 mph, so Justin and I set out for some Front Range MTB action. On Tuesday we rode the new trail up at Heil Ranch for the first time. It’s a pretty sweet addition, although it is more of the same rocky-ness that pervades the rest of the trails up there. It will make a nice addition to the new Hall-Heil connector that is purportedly going to be built next year. I rode the On-One 1×9 on that day, since I still hadn’t put the finishing touches on my new ride that I picked up at Veloswap a couple weeks ago.
Tuesday’s ride in shorts and short sleeves was so satisfying that we decided to hit Hall Ranch on Wednesday. And this time I was ready to christen my new ride, the Bianchi Rita 29er singlespeed. I was very pleased with the ride. This is the first aluminum hardtail that I’ve owned since I quit racing mountain bikes in 2001, and I was curious to see how the ride felt. With the big wheels smoothing out the desert-like rock features, I was totally happy with the ride. I’ll be interested to give it a go in rougher conditions like Heil Ranch, since Hall is pretty buff for the most part. But on this day, with my marginal fitness, I was able to clean the entire rocky ascent without any dabs for the first time ever on a single speed. Was it the 29 inch wheels? Or was it just another win for me as a result of my new and improved outlook?
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