One more video from Calvin Crest

Chasing after Chris after the tower climb. I've realized that riding this section fast seems to be a really big thrill ride. Those fast swooping switchbacks and the roots that are all too easy to avoid now. Good times!

Mukluk comes to a stop

I thought my bike was unstoppable. A leafy covered tower climb at Calvin Crest? No problem. Made it through three times with just a little bit of tire spin over the leaves. The wider tires running with a medium pressure are awesome for traction. I really can't wait to try it in the snow. After our second time through the tower climb yesterday, it was my turn to lead up to the tower and through the crazy S curves. I took off with Chris in tow. I saw the trail ahead, aimed for it. After about five seconds, I realized that I was off of the trail. I think I even said something to Chris, Dave N, and Dale. Turns out that I was heading towards the walking trail on the other side of the tower. Next thing I know, my front tire was in a hole with a root covering the lip of the hole. I started to endo!



I guess the Mukluk can be stopped! from Misterlime on Vimeo.

I was still pedaling as my rear tire lifted up in the air! Eventually, the rear end came down and I landed on my side. Whew. Of course, it was more funny than anything. Chris would agree.

Calvin Crest is leafy like crazy. The walnuts and acorns are gone (or at least covered by leaves) as are the spiderwebs. That trail is fun as ever. Glad I got out there and decided to skip watching the NU game.

Leaves everywhere!

Up the tower climb on the Mukluk from Misterlime on Vimeo.

One of the best parts of the ride! from DJ Chi Wai on Vimeo.

Riding at Calvin Crest

What a gorgeous fall day! High of mid 70s, leaves were falling on the trail, and a good breeze was keeping us cool. Cody, Dave N, and I hit up Calvin Crest today for a good two and a half laps of trail goodness. The walnuts and acorns made the trail slick in the corners, but that was the only trouble that we had. Leaves were starting to fall on the trail. Made for a real pretty ride. Cody plans to attach a leaf blower to his Chumba frame, gonna clear the trail for us next time.

Down by the river

Not a big fan of this climb. Although it seems alot easier compared to when we first rode at Calvin Crest

The crazy root section after the trail climb is no longer a problem. Looks like they cleared out the weeds on the high side of it. Probably for the cross country meet that they had out there a few weeks ago. Now, your bike just automatically steers to the top of it. On the third loop, I told Cody that I wanted to do it old school. Go right over the root like ol' times and take my chances. Well, the root came up faster than I remembered, I slowed down, almost didn't know what to do. You hesitate and that is when accidents start happening. We both chuckled at my slight pause and unsureness.

Tower climb. Dave finally found out the reasoning behind the name. We all made that tough section, three times even! Either because it is just easier to do for some reason, or we have finally honed our skills and can tackle anything that comes in our way. You make the call.

Watch your head!

I tried my GoPro in two places today. I don't usually bring out the GoPro when I have other riders with me because I'm always stopping to mess with it. Becomes a hassle after awhile. I tried the rear facing view, attached to the seatpost. I need to bring some velcro straps next time to help secure it, still having problems with it rotating on the linking arms. Even with the locking screws as tight as I can get them, the amount of vibration on the trail kept causing the camera to shift as you'll see in the video. But what is cool is that you get some really cool POV pictures where the environment is just passing by. It's kind of a guess as to how the pictures will turn out.

Can't wait for my fatbike. Need to crush those acorns and walnuts. Gonna call it The Nutcracker! See you guys tomorrow at the Monday night ride!

Acorns and walnuts were everywhere

Dave starts off this video by doing the hand jive. Camera wasn't properly secured, all you see is tire by the end of the video.

Rear facing Go Pro at Calvin Crest from Misterlime on Vimeo.

Sorry, I mislabeled this one. It's not going down to the river. Just descending after the tower climb.

Calvin Crest, descending to the river from DJ Chi Wai on Vimeo.

I'm not Spiderman

I'm not Spiderman, but I sure felt like I was Spidey after riding through Calvin Crest on Sunday at noon. Spiderwebs on your bike, in your face, arms, mouth, ears. Everywhere! And some were stronger than others, almost felt like fishing line strength before breaking. Or maybe it was just because I was biking so fast! Haha, doubtful. Funny thing is that I read on the THOR facebook page that somebody had ridden CC that morning. Wow, those spiders work fast! And to tell you the truth, on my second lap I was still getting spiderwebs in my face. I'd stop and see webs, spiders and dead bugs all over the front of my bike and on me. Spiders crawling on my frame holding on for dear life. What an experience!

 

 Spider in the middle of this one! Click to see bigified version

It was hot Sunday and by the second lap it was even hotter. Because of this, I took my time and tried different positions with the GoPro. Purposely hopped off the bike trying to find the correct reroutes, etc. Anything to cool me down since NO breeze gets through the woods. Out in the main parking lot, there was a very nice breeze in the shade.

The gullies and the bridges

Do not pass GO 

As for the reroutes, the one after you finish the tower climb is simple and well marked. But the other reroute over the gullies and around the two bridges was not. First lap, I ended up walking my bike up the hill and rode down the fire road after getting stopped by the tape across the trail. Somehow on the second lap, I got turned around in that area, but found myself on the reroute east of the gullies and bridges heading the right direction.

And that root that sticks up like crazy after the tower climb, yes, the one that worries people. It seems to be sticking up more than when Cody and I rode CC earlier in the season. And now there seem to be one or two others before and after it starting to stick out of the ground. Just go fast over them, no big deal!

Paul reminded me that Calvin Crest is closed to riders on August 7, 2011. Save yourself the trip and feed your biking addiction elsewhere.
http://www.calvincrest.org/Mt_Biking_Trails.php

This time, the GoPro was mounted at the front of the downtube. Perfectly out of my knees' way and easily adjustable after going down the trail. The videos were pretty choppy. I used too many extensions to hold the GoPro out to the side, so every little bump was magnified.

It was a busy weekend!

Huskers lost, got some riding in at Calvin Crest, Halloween party/out until 5am, then out to take some pictures on Sunday at the lake.

Paul handles the log crossing with ease... 

 

Cody pushing his way through

Todd, Cody, Cody's friend Brian, Paul, Dave N and I made it out to Calvin Crest to get 2-3 laps in last Saturday around noon. Dale was also out walking the trail looking for some new trail ideas. I'd say that place is getting packed down, but then again I ate the dirt when I slid out at a certain section. Yes, now my fourth time falling recently? Man, I lost count. This time my tires were properly inflated, so it was just the loose dirt that caught me off guard on the third lap. Before the ride I checked the Tubeless Race Kings. I had 20 psi in the rear, and ONLY 10 psi in the front. Yikes! No wonder why my bike felt like ice skates the past few rides. Anyway, great ride fellas! Can't wait to do it again!

Last lap, we cleared some branches and low hanging tree limbs of the trail 

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My coworker decided to have her Halloween party a few weeks early. Fun time yes. Hell of a party, yes. You know the party is good when there are shots involved, beer pong, a hole punched in the garage wall (on accident), a fight over women in the living room turned dance floor, and the grand finale...a guy dressed as a hippy passes out on the couch, only to wake up and find out that he pissed himself. lol. Don't get me wrong, these are all decent people and not huge party troublemaker types of people. So maybe I'll just call them amateurs...

Yes, I was a Chinese takeout container. Enjoy the spicy Chinese! 

Coworkers and I 

I almost got the Gumby costume, would have been awkward! Like wearing the same shirt as someone else to school

I absolutely hate doing shots

 Beerpong champs!

Kate was hungry!

Steph and I

Tony the Tiger mug. Heck yeah!

Just like the 10 psi I had in my Trek's front tire! How ironic. 

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Sunday was my day for some photography. Finally went to bed around 5am, so I got a really late start to the day. Took some pictures around sunset and used the bracket mode on my DSLR to output some HDR images. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, which basically means you under/over/properly expose the exact same image and combine the three to give you a super wide range of lighting. This was my first attempt at the hdr imaging, so I'm still learning what works and doesn't. How you process and set the ranges is up to you, giving you a very wide range of effects and looks. Here's a link to some really good examples of what I'm talking about. Like I said, sometimes they almost look fake, beyond what a picture should look like. It is up to you how much you wish to manipulate the photo.