Alright, let's ride!

This is the only place we are announcing this first demo ride, cause we need the right people for our trial. (We are gonna try it out and get your feedback.)

On Saturday July 26th (2008), we will meet at the back parking lot of Salvagetti Bicycle Workshop at 8am. Scott will be taking the new van and up to 9 bikes and 8 people on a trail ride. This also means if you have a car with bike racks, maybe you should bring it along... There is a time constriction, so the trail will be a close one (probably Golden), but it promises to be fun.

We will bring along with us a combination of the following bikes:
Giant Trance
Giant Trance X
Giant Anthem
Brooklyn Machine Works Park Bike
Black Sheep Ti 29er SS
Maverick Durance (oh, mommma! Scott gets this one first)
Jamis Dakar XAM
Jamis Dakar XCR

You don't *have* to have (or bring)a mountain bike to join us. Please bring water, a helmet, a snack, some money for a post-ride snack and a can-do smile.

We'll get you back to the shop by noon, cause Scott has to go back to work then!

See you there.

Here is the van:

Kevin on the Ridge

We sold a Giant Trance to Kevin and then took him on his first real mountain ride in quite a while. Of course, we had to go to one of the most technical (rocky and steep) trails in Colorado: The one and only Dakota Ridge to Mathews Winters. Dakota Ridge will chew you up with its mighty incisor rocks and spit you out into the muddy field between it and Red Rocks. It is a hard trail, indeed.

The trail starts off with a large amount of vertical gain in less than 500 yards. At the top you begin to think the worst is behind you. You begin to feel adequate and warm. But, the trail has a different plan for you!

We encouraged Kevin to walk sections that he felt he couldn't clear, cause wrecking at slow speeds when you are trying to get used to a bike is for suckers. We are all for pushing the limits a bit, but walking back to the car with a broken you-name-it really sucks more than walking a little section so you can keep on riding.

We all were having slightly off days, so Greg and Andres both flipped over the handle bars once a piece. Scott couldn't clean anything without dabbing a little foot here and there. And Kevin was still getting used to a bike that actually has travel (his old bike was a Trek Fuel). We watched him get faster and smoother through the hour long loop. His smile also got more intense as you could see his confidence increase.

We finished up through the front of Mathews Winters and found ourselves flying through the air. Kevin did an amazing job getting better acquainted with his Trance. And the Trance did an amazing job letting him in to the wonderful world of letting go of the brakes and FLYING!

The weather was perfect. The trail was truly perfect. And we all had coffee and donuts afterward to make it a calorie neutral morning.

Greg - Jamis Exile 29
Andres - Mountain Cycle Hardtail
Kevin - Giant Trance
Scott - Maverick ML8
Myra - Paws

Myra's first ride along

Our newest mechanic and I (Scott) went on an actual real mountain bike ride yesterday. We took our bikes up to Green Mountain for a quick and dirty loop. Our lungs were relieved to be out of the brown cloud, but quickly found the burn as we started up the winding forever climb. I always forget how long that climb is because I keep thinking it has about 6 turns before you get to the "top". No no... it has more like 14. We took Myra the shop dog on this ride, thinking she would appreciate a good long jog. We made it up to the top and began our fun descent. It seemed like Myra could keep going forever. Being that she is just a puppy, she started to get pretty pooped about 65% of the way through the ride. I let Brian take off like a bat out of hell and stayed back with Myra. She trooped it all the way back to the car without so much as a whimper. She did have to stop to play with a border collie, but otherwise she was focused. I thought bringing a dog on bike trips would be a lot more work, but she was purely pleasure for us. Once she gets older, I'm certain she will be leading the way instead of following behind. I look forward to more people joining us on our morning rides in the mountains. It is way more fun to ride in bigger groups.

Brian: GF Full Suspension
Scott: Giant Trance
Myra: 4 Paws