Bobs get dirty!

[jobob]

Hell hath frozen over - the Bobs have gone over to the dark and dirty side! :eek:

After the fun time we had with SadieKate & Bubba in Bend, where minimal blood was shed, Lee and I decided to take the plunge and get our own mtn bikes.

We figured we'd go the cushy full suspension route with the hopes that our equipment would help compensate for our lack of skilz. :o

We bombarded people with questions, did lots of reading, and initially narrowed the choice down to Giant or Santa Cruz. Then Lee did some more reading and concluded that Specialized might give us lots of value for the buck.

We were able to borrow a Santa Cruz Superlight from Chris at Robinson Wheelworks (thanks again Chris!) and Lee took it out for a ride on Friday morning out on the dirt trails in Coyote Hills park, while yours truly was working :p.

That afternoon he made a return trip to GoRide Bikes in Redwood City and took a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR out for a test ride. GoRide was having a clearance on their 2008 models, and for what we figured we would pay for the Comp (lowest) level, they had an Expert level with far better components.

Long story short, Lee called me up and said "honey, I'm buying a bike" to which I replied "that's nice, dear".

Lee was absolutely delighted with how the Stumpy performed so, to cut to the chase, we schlepped back to GoRide and I got myself one too. :D

So, we have matching bikes for the moment, but I'm already thinking about accessorizing. ;)

It's a wonderfully cushy ride, so I've named mine Doughboy (DB for short):

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/jobob22/DBandGrayBike/Jo-and-dough.jpg

Yes, that's a Doughboy hanging off the saddle bag.

Lee, in typical fashion, named his "gray bike". :rolleyes:

Here's Lee with gray bike :rolleyes: pointing to where his tire caught and he endo'ed on his Friday morning test ride :D

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/jobob22/DBandGrayBike/Lee-endo-site.jpg

We're having a blast with these bikes! We've gone a couple of times out to the dirt trails out in Coyote Hills and Don Edwards parks. I have the shifting down pretty well (it has SRAM shifters, a bit different than the Shimanos - but boy they work great) and I'm more confident with climbing & descending. We've been tweaking lever positions and such, and I've been back to GoRide to swap out the stem for a slightly shorter one, and it fits me fabulously now.

We'll venture off to more 'technical' trails next week (am I getting the lingo right?).

I'm a little embarrassed about getting such a tricked-out bike for my first attempt at mtn biking - the shock has a brain for chrissakes!!! - but heck, you only live once.

Plus, it's such a hoot to hear my husband so matter-of-factly state "I'm going to tweak my brain tomorrow". I don't think he's said that for over twenty-five years.

But one thing I'm wondering ...

Why didn't you guys tell me this would be so much fun?!?
ducking & running :D

[maillotpois]

Very cool! Glad you have a new adventure ahead of you.

Come to Marin.... :D Seriously - let's ride Saturday....

[Trekhawk]

YAY!!
Great looking bikes. I hope you and Lee have heaps of fun on them.:)

[crazycanuck]

Sweet Jobob!! Nice to see you've come over to the dark side!!! Does this mean we'll see you at a local mtb xc race or 6hr or 12hr or 24hr event one day?

Enjoy the trails & remember mtn biking is much more fun than road riding! How can you not enjoy the peace & quiet?

[jobob]

Come to Marin.... :D Seriously - let's ride Saturday....

Sure! We can deliver your, ahem, supplies from Bend as well.

Just go easy on us, OK???

[maillotpois]

Ok! So mid morning - meet in MV? We'll do a nice RR grade loop - maybe we can get to the top - not a difficult ride all things considered. I will be moderately hung over from my b-day party the night before. It'll be great. :D

[snapdragen]

Birthday! Virtual polenta coming your way........:rolleyes:

[Veronica]

MP is going to be the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything!

Veronica

[Aggie_Ama]

Welcome to the dirrrty side! DH has the Stumpy Comp and loves it, man you are lucky he test rode the expert (rental) but the budget in July was Comp. Can't wait to hear about your rides and bruises (LOL!). I went yesterday, came back with a bruised hip, I don't remember hitting anything? :rolleyes:

BTW- You need bells. Seriously my bike doesn't have one and I am getting tired of scaring the bejeezus out of hikers. DH is getting one in his stocking, his racing buddies use them so it is okay to him now. And if you don't have one in those hydration packs, a first aid kit. We have needed to use ours on DH's bloodied finger (he slammed a tree in a tight turn).

[jobob]

Thanks Ama!

We'll definitely stock up on the first aid stuff. :)

Wish I could find a doughboy bell that would emit the doop-de-doop-de-doooooo that Poppin' Fresh does in the Pillsbury commercials. But that would probably scare the hikers even more. Or get me committed.

[Aggie_Ama]

That would be a great bell! DH wants something sleek like the little silver flat ones. I want something with personality, I saw a dragon one I liked. There are no style points when I am on the trail so my bike can be as goofy as I want. :p

[Trekhawk]

Thanks Ama!

We'll definitely stock up on the first aid stuff. :)



You can get great little first aid kits for mtb that fit really well into your camelbak. DH got me one for a present when I first started mtb. Seems he could tell I would be falling off a lot.:D

[alpinerabbit]

those are a sweet couple of toys for fellow roadies-turned-over to the dark side. :D We did not go for the "partner" look.

[jobob]

Heh - I'm not big on the partner look either (although two of our road bikes are also identical. Oh well). We toyed with one of us getting the orange/brown frame, but in real life it's kind of garish.

I'm looking into accessories to make my bike more, um, distinctive. :cool:

[Veronica]

Our mountain bikes are identical. Our road bikes use to be identical until Thom got hit. It's no biggie - really. :p Just means you both have good taste.

Now if you start matching all your clothes including shoes and helmets, I'll get worried.

Veronica

[maillotpois]

Birthday! Virtual polenta coming your way........:rolleyes:

YUM! :D

[Aggie_Ama]

Now if you start matching all your clothes including shoes and helmets, I'll get worried.


Or tell them to get on a tandem. I often see tandem riders looking like twinsies.

[Aggie_Ama]

Another note- most drug stores have small first aid kits. DH and I both carry the Camelbak Mule with tons of storage so our first aid kit that one of us always has is a bit big in height but it is slim. We don't even notice the bulk.

[sundial]

Jobob, I'm impressed! I am soooo envious of your trail.

Where Mr. Jobob did his endo--http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sign/sign0098.gif (http://www.mysmiley.net/free-evilgrin-smileys.php)

[andtckrtoo]

Ooooh!!!! Give me some heads up and I may join you. I started my cycling career on dirt. I'm not any good any more, but I'll give it the ole college try! :P I'll have to nab DD15's bike (as my poor old MTB needs major work), but if she needs a bike she can take my road bike.

[maillotpois]

We're leaving Mill Valley about 9:30 tomorrow morning....

[jobob]

... and there will be a goodly supply of Deschutes Brewery's finest awaiting our return. :D

[snapdragen]

... and there will be a goodly supply of Deschutes Brewery's finest awaiting our return. :D

Oooh, I hate you all..... ;);)

[andtckrtoo]

Okay, give me a little MORE heads up. :P Tomorrow I promised to take DD15 Christmas shopping. :( I swear I will get out riding with you soon! I have too much life getting in the way of my cycling right now. :mad:

[jobob]

No worries Chris, our paths will all cross eventually.

[Miranda]

Congrats! Those are awesome pics and great bikes:cool:.

You might find too certain skills will improve in both areas of your riding now that you have crossed over. I think it makes a person a more well rounded better rider. Each type of riding has it's high points. Great for mixing it up.

Ride in fun and good health:).

[Selkie]

Jo - You have the best calves! Looks like you were having a blast - nice trail and the best of company. How could you go wrong? Can't wait to see photos of and hear about future rides. ENJOY.

[andtckrtoo]

So, Jo and Maillotpois - how was the ride?! What did I miss?

[jobob]

What a great day!

We rode from mp's place in Mill Valley up mostly fire roads to the summit of Mt Tam.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've never actually been to the summit of Tam - either via a bike or car. So this was a real treat. And it was gorgeous up there - but no cameras came along so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Heading back down was loads of fun - the trails were well groomed with conveniently located bumps for a bit of airtime. Yee-hah! :D

As we approached the West Point Inn I rode thru some thick gravel, skidded and fell over - onto my left side, natch. Oh well, the bruises on my left leg needed some touching up anyhow, they were starting to fade. :rolleyes:

The rest of the ride down the mountain went well. It started sprinkling but luckily it didn't amount to much. It was pretty chilly out but I had ample woolage on so my body temp was fine, but, just as well we didn't get more rain because it probably would have turned to sleet, yech.

We headed down the Panoramic Highway part of the way. It felt so odd cruising downhill on a paved road on the mtn bike! It felt like I was crawling but evidently I was going a reasonably good clip. I had my Garmin in my Camelbak and I couldn't really gauge how fast I was going. Those disc brakes work very nicely when its wet out - I felt very secure even on the wet road.

A few miles from mp's home she suggested we take a trail that cut through the woods. We had to walk parts of it - lots of ruts and tree roots and tight steep ascents & descents.

There was one section that we were riding that was starting to give me a serious case of the willies. The left edge of the trail dropped off steeply down the side of a hill covered with lots of brush & trees & gawd knows what else. About the time I was about to get off, I went thru a tricky bit and yep, fell over onto my left side. (Do we see a pattern forming here?) The good news is the ground was nice & soft there. The bad news is, I fell over onto the very edge of the steep downslope! It was one of those slo-mo falls and I distinctly remember thinking to myself "this is gonna turn out bad". :eek: But somehow I managed to put my left arm out and stop myself from sliding down the hill.

So, there I was, lying on my left side, still straddling my bike, my upper body pointing downhill and supported by my left arm. There was no way I was going to be able to get up without some help. Lee & Sarah were a bit ahead, and I figured sooner or later they would notice I wasn't behind them anymore and come back to investigate. In the meantime I just laid there like a doof.

Moments later a really nice lady out running along the trail ran up asking me if I was OK, and I told her I was fine, but I really could use some help getting up. :o So she pulled my bike out from between my legs and then I was able to scooch back up to more level ground. After she made sure I was fine and brushed some of the leaves off me (she was really sweet) she took off on ahead. She encountered Lee & Sarah a little ways ahead and told them I was OK and would be there in a moment.

The rest of the short ride along the trail went sort of without incident (unless you count the near miss with the falling tree log that some other guy who was behind us experienced ), until we reached a short steep narrow downhill section with a 90 degree turn at the bottom. I was up ahead at this point and naturally I walked down, but Lee behind me decided he was going to ride down it.

It didn't turn out so well. He got to the bottom, didn't quite make the turn, and flipped around. Somehow his bike was facing the opposite direction when he came to rest in a heap. He banged up his knee pretty badly - popped it out actually :eek: It was scary there for a while, I thought he might be hurt really badly. But after a while his knee popped back in again :eek: and he was OK for the rest of the way back.

Once it became clear that Lee was going to be OK and we were just hanging around until he was ready to go, mp blurted out "Oh My God, I broke the Bobs!!!". Her expression was priceless. :D

Thank goodness we were at the end of the Trail of Death by then and it was only about a mile back to mp's place from there, all downhill on paved roads.

Since it was so damp and chilly, instead of beer I opted for a cup of tea, followed by hot chocolate with a goodly slug of peppermint schnapps. :cool: Hit the spot. Lee got some ice for his knee and a couple of vitamin I's - and a cup of tea.

Lee's still hobbling around a bit, and the finger he jammed is swelling some, but all in all he's fine. And I have a few new bruises to add to my collection.

But we had fun! :cool:

[crazycanuck]

Good work bob's! Nice to see you're having fun on the dirt :D

I think your right side might be a bit jealous of your left, how about falling on the right next time ;)

MP-thank you for taking the bob's trail hunting!

[SadieKate]

No, no, no. Right side bad. Right side more expensive than left side. You pay for body parts AND you pay for new rear derailleur.

Left side good side.

Says the person who always falls on her right except when MP stops in the middle of a rock garden so we all slow down and then I misjudge how fast Bubba is speeding up. Not a good idea to nearly ram someone in the middle of a rock garden.

[crazycanuck]

Sk-I just thought her right side might be jealous?

Yes, falling on the left is much cheaper!!

[andtckrtoo]

Thanks for the ride report! I've never been up Mt Tam, either, and now I'm really jealous!! Sounds like you had a fabulous ride, except for a few minor injuries. I do have to admit that you have reminded me why I've been road biking instead. I got tired of explaining to coworkers and others that the bruises I was sporting were from my MTN bike and not my hubby. :rolleyes: But I do miss dirt.

[jobob]

Oh well ... we're off to urgent care soon. Looks like LeeBob might have a strained ligament or two. :p

My honey always has to learn things the hard way. :rolleyes:

[maillotpois]

No way! I did break the Bobs. Crud. :(

Jo forgot to mention I made them walk their bikes around the "no bikes" touristy paved trail that rings the top of Mt. Tam for the complete view experience. :D

Please tell us how Lee is. although after he told those horse and bull riding stories I don't feel nearly as responsible for his injury as I initially did... :cool:

[snapdragen]

Oh well ... we're off to urgent care soon. Looks like LeeBob might have a strained ligament or two. :p

My honey always has to learn things the hard way. :rolleyes:

I was going to suggest Mr Lee get the knee looked at, it sounds like he dislocated it. :eek: See what happens when you play in dirt!!!:rolleyes::D

[Veronica]

Awww... poor Lee. I hope it's nothing serious.

We need to plan a dirt ride out here at Black Diamond Mines now.

Veronica

[Blueberry]

Once it became clear that Lee was going to be OK and we were just hanging around until he was ready to go, mp blurted out "Oh My God, I broke the Bobs!!!". Her expression was priceless. :D


LOL! Thanks for sharing the day (and next time, pretty please take a camera:)).

Here's hoping LeeBob has a speedy recovery:)

CA

[aka_kim]

Oh no! Hope LeeBob's OK.

Popping knees, hanging upside down from a cliff, yeah, sounds like fun!

[bikerz]

Yeah, I have to echo Kim's faint remarks! :eek: You guys be careful out there!

I hope LeeBob's knee is OK - The next few days look like good ones for sitting on the couch with the leg raised and the tv remote in hand or a good book in hand.

[jobob]

Yeah, I'd say our mtn biking experiences are not starting out particularly auspiciously. :rolleyes: :D

Lee had his knee & his jammed finger looked at at urgent care. Luckily we got there early so it hadn't already filled up with weekend warrior pre-holiday casualties.

He had xrays taken, no broken bones, yay. He did get a tetanus shot & a prescription for antibiotics (evidently the doc was more concerned about the finger than the knee). Knee is wrapped up and he's hanging out comfortably.

Geeze I hope he learned his lesson. Yeah right.

At least the little Christmas gift he has coming in the mail should help matters (Thanks for the tip SK! :cool:)

[SadieKate]

So nothing super serious at this point?

I try to stay up on my Tetanus shots (5 yr cycle) since between mtbbiking and fishing I'm exposed to "stuff."

[andtckrtoo]

Jo - I hope Lee heals quickly!!! Glad nothing is broken. Fortunately, the weather is not too condusive to cycling or being outdoors the next few days, so he won't miss much. I'd love to join you in Coyote Park or that area between December 30 and Jan 4th. If he's up for a ride. As I'm out of practive on dirt, we can go really slowly!

[aka_kim]

Geeze I hope he learned his lesson.And that would be ...?

I have to say that on pavement LeeBob is the best bike handler I know. Does he save all the clumsy/stupid stuff for the dirt?

[maillotpois]

I have to say that on pavement LeeBob is the best bike handler I know. Does he save all the clumsy/stupid stuff for the dirt?

Oh but it was ever so graceful. ;)

[jobob]

I'd say, so far, yes. :rolleyes:

More stupid (as in, trying things beyond his current skill level over unfamiliar terrain) than clumsy.

I'm the clumsy one. :p

[jobob]

I'd love to join you in Coyote Park or that area between December 30 and Jan 4th. If he's up for a ride. As I'm out of practive on dirt, we can go really slowly!

Sure! :)

[SadieKate]

Okey-dokey, I won't repeat what Chris just said about taking newbies down the Tenderfoot Trail . . . . :)

[maillotpois]

It wasn't Tenderfoot. I don't even go down Tenderfoot.

[jobob]

Naw, it was a short little trail near mp's home. It was just a bit beyond Ms. Clumsy's & Mr. Stoopid's capabilities.

And it's not like mp made us ride those parts - we were walking most of it anyhow.

[maillotpois]

Yeah it was the second time I'd been on that trail and the first time (as I think I mentioned) I walked most of it. This time I rode more. But the trail is so short and I love the paved parts because it's off the trafficy road I usually road bike on.

Mike says you learn by falling. I must be really smart by now. :rolleyes:

[SadieKate]

I'll tell him he can quit rolling his eyes. :p