Trial By Fire

I haven't owned a mountain bike for almost 2 years, and it's probably been about 3 years since I've actually ridden one on a trail.

With that in mind, I did the only logical thing I could do with my new bike. I went for a night ride. I'm not a particularly good mountain biker to begin with so I was mildly concerned about riding a brand new bike through the woods in the dark. I did my best to clear the forest of trees, but came away relatively unscathed. Except my elbow, which hurts like a bitch.

Riding in the dark was a blast. I've had a nice set of lights for a couple years now, but haven't really gotten to use them till last night. It really adds a whole new dimension to riding. I may want to supplement with a helmet-mounted light. We'll see how much night riding I do. Ted was leading most of the ride, so it helps to have another light to follow.

I couldn't be more pleased with the bike itself. I am absolutely smitten with the 29-inch wheels. They roll over everything effortlessly. Combined with the steel frame, they provide a relatively smooth ride for a rigid bike, although I think I need to reduce the air pressure in my tires. I was running right around 40psi, and I think I should probably go lower. Ben? Anyone?

This was also my first experience with disc brakes. I really like them, but they'll take some getting used to. I kept locking them up in corners, instead of modulating them so scrub off speed.

Since I had very little time to set the bike up properly, I'll definitely need to make some ergonomic changes. The bars are REALLY wide and I kept clipping trees with them, so I'll have to cut 'em down. I also need a longer stem and the saddle height needs some work.

Aside from that, I'm very happy, and the ride was awesome. I had forgotten what it's like to do something besides ride in circles!