Tour de Burg gear selection and a PSA

Not gear, as in 32Xsomething, but gear as in the shit that got me to the finish.

Once again, the Misfit diSSent Brontoawesomeous Meatplow V.5 did not disappoint. That said, due to the nature of the beast that is Le Tour, I kinda wished I woulda brought my Tallboy... with gears. It is hard to enjoy the "pleasure pace" in between timed sections when you're climbing on a single speed, and the Tallboy (with gears) was built for the purpose of leisure paced climbing and bombing down the nasty. Of course the Superbeast was still a single speed a week ago, so I didn't bring it. I did get around to mounting up the warranty rear derailleur (finally) when I got back, and it did actually fix my chain drop issues. That said, I rode it with gears twice, decided I like it better as a single speed, and will be relegating the shifty bits to a box until further notice.

Tires: Big and burly were the order of the day. I did not mind dragging around the heavy 2.2 WTB Wolverine on the back, and after ripping the front Rampage, I think I woulda been happy rolling the 1,420 gram 2.5 Kodiak up front with the rigid fork. Zac, the other rigid rider and my 2011 PMBAR partner, tore two front tires through the course of the week as well. The 28mm Conti Gatorskins did their job on the road, but I think I'm gonna have to replace them for next year. Too many deep cuts and slices. Meh.

Inflation: Genuine Innovations products were all over the place. I did learn a valuable lesson with the whole 16gram cartridge compatibility of the Mountain Pipe. Last night, I figured out that a Fat20 will fit in the handle as well. Guess what I will carry at races that warrant CO2 and a pump in the future? (Hmmmm... upon further inspection, the older and golder 25gram cartridges fit as well. Just the newer silver ones are too large.).

Tubeage: I carried one tube that first day and double flatted. The answer?

Missing from the photo is the 16gram cartridge I loaned to Chris Scott on the final day. So yes, I was carrying two tubes, three CO2's, patches, and a pump. The second tube and two CO2's were held in place with an old school Awesome Strap since the buckles on the Vital/Zone rub my thighs in that position. No worries, something's coming down the pike for the lovers of the versatile OG strap design. Just you wait.

Brakes: This was the litmus test for the new Hayes Prime disc brakes and the first time I've been to some really steep mountains with a 6" front rotor on my rigid single speed. I am pleased. How pleased? I just plunked down for four sets of Prime pads, so I plan on running these future forward. These brakes are powerful enough that I don't miss the 7" rotor, and the levers are way more comfy. Win.

Hydration: The Specialized Z cages never dropped a Podium bottle all week. It's not too hard to do the Tour de Burg with just bottles (plenty of chances to refill), but just don't plan on drinking much while riding the rocky technical trails. I am not looking forward to running non-Camelbak type bottles at ORAMM in a little over a week, but since it can take hours and hours to get back my drop bags, I'll only be using expendable bottles at the race.

Blah, blah blah....

These past couple weeks we've been fostering Emma.

She's looking at you funny because she only has one eye. Her left eye had to be removed due to a lack of care from her previous "owner." Emma is one of the almost 300 dogs that came from the big puppy mill rescue a few weeks ago in Caldwell County, North Carolina.



Kept in a small cage and only alive in order to breed. When The Pie brought her into the house post-surgery, I was filled with sadness and rage at the same time. NC has very lenient laws regarding puppy mills (this guy might get away with probation), so we're (the state of NC, not The Pie and I) kind of a haven for this type of business.

I only mention this to remind people that if you are going to choose a certain breed of dog to own, please be aware of where he/she came from. If the price is too good to be true, there's probably a reason behind it. If you wanna save money, consider adopting a dog from the Humane Society.

Please.

Emma is meeting what could possibly be her new family today. I'll have my fingers crossed until I get a call from The Pie later.