The ATOC just wrapped up and I had the experience of riding up Stage 7 with a bunch of friends to watch the race come through a KOM point. We packed beers and food, and rode up to the Rapha bus where we saw old friends and made some new ones. Thought it would be fun to carry on the spirit of cyclocross with some dollar handups for the PRO’s … actually had two riders (one of them, of course, was Chris Jones from Rapha) go for it. So fun. Check out my photos here.
Sorry for the crickets around here … been spending a lot of time with her.
Newbikeday. Niner Air 9 carbon, DT Swiss XMC fork, SRAM XX, Avid RSL hydraulic brakes, Chris King MTB hubs to Stan’s ZTR. I was pretty anxious riding it the first time, as you kind of hope such an investment provides noticeable ride differences and it did not disappoint. It flies up climbs and despite the harshness associated with carbon, the huge carbon tubes actually buffer rough terrain well. I opted to go with a Thomson seatpost to avoid more stiffness that a carbon seatpost would give. Going down this thing rolls super smoothly. I rode obstacles I usually got nervous approacching since my crash a few months back. The fork is extremely smooth and compliant. The built in blow off control for the lockout is a nice touch which keeps your hands on the grips and not fumbling around with the lever, and when locked out the front end lowers and locks in at about 50mm which is perfect for someone my size (I am 5’4). Tailwinds!
