One gear, good beer, punk rock, great people (pix)…
Part 1
The first annual Loch Raven Punk Bike Enduro took place on Sunday and if you missed it, well, to put it mildly, you really messed up. Somewhere around 30 of the finest biking folks from nearby and not so nearby areas showed up to determine the coefficient of kinetic friction using rubber, ice, and speed. Some ran fatties with low pressure, some had spikes, a couple ran 29s, a few had gears (despite the threat that their shifters would be disabled), most went full rigid, all of them hoping that trail conditions would be at least marginally ride-able a few days after Lady Nature’s recent snowy assault.
They weren’t disappointed. Thin, sparse patches of snow sprinkled here and there over one long and continuous ribbon of solid ice provided the occasional islands of traction needed to keep one upright and rolling. Horse hoof prints like moon craters stippled various sections, adding a little bounce to the already sketchy conditions. Wander ever so slightly off the “beaten path” and you were rewarded with rapid deceleration as your tires knifed into a thick crust overlaying a couple inches of crunchy powder--come to a stop and you either walked over the next hill or you tested your track stand skills as you tried to clip in and hammer for momentum all at the same time, slowly slicing your way back to the path most traveled. Go down on a squirrely section as your front tire butters off and put your health and well-being in the hands and skills of the rider behind you. Fun stuff!
Like its forefather, the Dirt Rag Punk Bike Enduro, the LRPBE featured 9 stage races punctuated by the occasional hidden “punk”—laminated yellow pages with images of such icons as Henry Rollins, Ian Mackaye, Iggy Pop, and Jello Biafra—hung randomly on flora just within the periphery of the attentive rider, each worth points toward the coveted Enduro awards waiting at the finish. Ice, snow, low temps, endos, wrecks, flats, microbrew, creek bed drops, awards, revenge, laughter, this ride had it all and brought together a large number of folks from the MD-DC-VA area to reaffirm what it’s all about.
Thanks to riderx for putting it all together, and to others who helped in the prep work. I met a lot of great people who I look forward to riding with again soon. Until the next one, enjoy the pix…
Impromptu "Park and Ride 1"--riders show up for the start...
Impromptu "Park and Ride 2"--across the road, swelling the ranks...
At the trailhead, awaiting stragglers and the completion of some pre-stage prepwork...
A forelorn but highly-coveted punk flutters in the breeze, awaiting a ride: From out of the past, Danzig lumbers defiantly to the front of the stage...
Riders blend gravity, balance, control, cajones, and a little luck to produce a sustained forward motion...
Amy rolls in, making it look easy. Despite a demure appearance, this young lady was tough as nails and put the boys to shame on more than one occasion...
More riders carve the slopes...
Assembling at the frozen reservoir for the next stage...
Jay checks the studs on his tire...
If it ain't broken, fix it anyway: riderx straddles his fixie and begins to pass out points before the next stage. Cleatgrrl is at left...
More to come soon...
__________________ "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!'' -- Henri Desgrange, from an article in L'Equipe
Apparently, HTML can't be copied from Word and pasted into the post with the expected results.
__________________ "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!'' -- Henri Desgrange, from an article in L'Equipe
Another punk hooks a thumb out, waiting for a rider to appear on the horizon: Black Flag rises above the stark landscape...
And here they come, fresh from a LeMans style start from the reservoir. Cycletek rider rolls down to the tricky water crossing, where hidden rocks and mysterious forces pay homage to the god of Endos...
Other riders approach...
Concentrate, sure, but never lose the smile: drevil rolls down, aptly dressed...
Trickier than it looks: JoeP comes up a little short--he wasn't the only one...
Some encounter unexpected surprises hidden beneath the crusty veneer: art of the nose wheelie...
Quiet, smooth, and steady: SSweetleaf has a go at it...
K9's turn...
Stage coach: riderx makes up ground lost in starting the stage...hey, somebody has got to yell "go!"...
At the end of another stage: waiting while some scramble back to look for another bypassed punk.
Part 3 coming soon (yeah, that's right, DmofoT, you're just around the corner )...
__________________ "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!'' -- Henri Desgrange, from an article in L'Equipe
Side note: since mugg couldn't make it, the photo duties fell to those poor shlubs like myself who think they can take a good pic...well, fortunately, most of these turned out well. So if you stepped up to the lens, by all means, post your pix!
The start of another stage: Chris leads the way...
Steeper than it looks (and a ton of fun): drevil rips a downhill leading to a liquid reward. Fortunately for all, his nudist tendencies didn't get the better of him that day...
Same hill, different rider...
Reverse view: nearing the bottom...
Perfect day for a punk: gliding down atop an Ionic Johnny Rotten, perhaps the most aptly-named bike for the event...
No fear here: more riders tackle the downhill...
K9 on his Inbred...
Too close for comfort...
Take your ironies where you find them: the only place with more ground than snow. Riders rally 'round the "pony keg of/loose charm" (with apologies to Jawbreaker) at the first and only real break. Jack Frost bock...what else?
Belly full of brown courage: DmofoT shows 'em how it's done--drop off and perfect text book landing on rear spokes you could play like a Stratocaster. Okay, truth is, I had to shoot this scene about 4 times before I got a decent shot...DmfT's a patient man. (Another truth--Amy dropped this, sight unseen, before anyone else.)
Before the last stage: 2003 Grimey winner cleatgrrl throws up her arms in victory as riders await a few who took a wrong turn. Yep, rub your eyes and put down that bottle of Night Train--that's Allroy in the white just to the right of center, who, like me, was riding on the back of a monkey who has a penchant for martial arts. Two 29ers out of the lot of them...maybe it is just a fad...
Post ride gathering at a local pub whose name eludes me: nothing like a 13 ounce burger to replace that fat and cholesterol burned off during the ride. K9 at far right, riderx to the left of him. If you squint real hard and stand on your head, you can make out relative SS newbie TryAndStopMe in the background, below and between the neon Lite and Budweiser signs, chest logo aglow. With the exception of the staff and one other patron, we had the joint to ourselves...
Why we did it: it's all about the bling...
__________________ "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!'' -- Henri Desgrange, from an article in L'Equipe
__________________ "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!'' -- Henri Desgrange, from an article in L'Equipe
I would really have to relocate to some remote destination if I didn't show up for this one, beeatches...
First singletrack ride for the KM, I don't know if it was because I haven't seen the twisties in a while if there is really something to be said about these 29'ers, but it was a blast. With all the miserable weather we've had and the missed rides, cough cough... I thought I would be in worse shape, those long C&O miles do help a little. I even managed to out sprint Johnny-boy Hansen (Cycletek, Cleatgrrl's guy) for a punk (not like he needed the points).
Great to see everyone again or for the first time, nother great SS event, see everyone on the trails soon!
iconoclaSSt - Next time Straub's are on me mugg - You're lucky you can use an impending child as an excuse SSO - It seemed like just last week chain sawing that last stage, hard to believe it's been a year in the making, but well worth it! drevil - Feel free to forward this on to him as my approval of you ________.
This turned out to be a great event (didn't expect anything less from SSO and crew). For those that couldn't get outta bed and step out into the cold ya missed out.
About 30-35 riders showed up to blaze a trail through mostly ice, sluchy snow and crusty ice on top of all of that.
There were some classic battles for the Punks as riders would spot a punk 30 feet off the trail, drop their bikes, haul ass through the snow and ice and dive for the punks in the snow. A great battle I witnessed between John and Allroy where both went sprinting through the woods and dove at the Punk only to both mishandle it and go sliding 10 feet past it. Jason prevailed to the dismay of John (who later lost to me in a similar battle for the covetted Punk Jello Biafra.
At the end of Stage 5 an oasis awaited us as a Keg of Jack Frost Bock called out to us at the bottom of a muddy downhill section that sent about 60% of the group over their handle bars. That was some damn good beer and filling our water bottle with it provided the necessary nurishment to get us through the rest of the day. It could have also proved to impair the judgement of myself and others as I was one of the dozen folks that took the infamous wrong turn. For those that went the right way you missed an epic battle for top placement as we battled up a long icey climb to a false finish line.
Can't go wrong with a great group of like-minded people riding singlespeeds and drinking some tasty beers.
Well worth the trip from NoVa and look forward to riding with everyone again.
For those that I talked to that'll be doing some riding in Va soon drop me an email at jim@pedalshop.com
Here are a few more pics from Joe's "whatever it is called" ride...Good Job! Outlaw. And to JT and Chris and whoever helped out with the Delicious keg and all.Thanx! SSweeteaf
...(who later lost to me in a similar battle for the covetted Punk Jello Biafra).
Jello Biafra punk pic.
__________________ "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!'' -- Henri Desgrange, from an article in L'Equipe
Nice pics SSweetleaf! It would have been great if someone was filming that muddy downhill just before we got to the beer. It would have been hilarious to see at least half the group go down and bite it in the same 5 foot section of trail.
Great pics by everyone and excellent write-up! Can't wait to do it all again.
Nice pics SSweetleaf! It would have been great if someone was filming that muddy downhill just before we got to the beer. It would have been hilarious to see at least half the group go down and bite it in the same 5 foot section of trail.
Great pics by everyone and excellent write-up! Can't wait to do it all again.
DT
I've got a couple of pix of fallen soldiers at that spot, one being Steve on his back like a turtle. I'll post 'em soon.
I've got a couple of pix of fallen soldiers at that spot, one being Steve on his back like a turtle. I'll post 'em soon.
before or after the beer?
Hey, I'm just glad I wasn't the only one.
__________________ "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!'' -- Henri Desgrange, from an article in L'Equipe
Thanks SSOutlaw for putting that on! It ruled. The pics are awesome also. The walls of my crib are now pimpin' some fine ass SSPBE bling bling. Thanks.
One gear, good beer, punk rock, great people (pix)…
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
My bad...
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
)...
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Said coveted...
Was that...
Linear Mode
