some of the folks of dcmtb at gambrill state park


sunday at the shed

this sunday past a group of riders from DCMTB met up at Gambrill State Park for a mellow group ride
it was a crisp fall day
the weather was nice
the leaves and rocks were wet from a rain days prior
the watershed is known for draining well
which meant that the slickness was just another variable on some already challenging enough terrain


it was a good gathering
nine members of the dcmtb squad were in attendance
perhaps the largest gathering of the team for anything other than a race
eight men and one woman

as said in a previous post i was not feeling as confident on the bike as I should

some of my lack of confidence had to do with the unfamiliar trails
most of my lack of confidence related to my lack of confidence with my bike

the bike of the day was my Surly Karate Monkey with gears
the bike had not been ridden since the Shenandoah Mountain 100
the frame was still dusty from the dirt of the Shenandoah
the chain was still gunked up from the lube minus the clean in the clean and lube process from the volunteers at the aid stations
my rear wheel was still flat from what may have been a slow leak caused by a thorn

I cleaned things up the night prior
I failed to adjust things to the level I should
the v-brakes in the back were grabbing the rim and the disc brakes in the front were not grabbing enough
the shock needed some air in the negative chamber
I really could have used some more travel
the fork is short travel and I was not even maximizing that

actually... I think I could have used another bike

of the nine riders in our group I think there were three hard-tails
Loren in his retro 80's day glow gear, Wheaton on his single speed, and myself on the monkey
the rest were squishy all around
a variety of the latest and greatest technology of the day
I got beat up worse than most
the Karate Monkey will do that to ya
235 pounds of rider on the rocks can be a rough ride

it was a good day on the bike
great to get out and ride with the team
racing is fun
just riding is good for the soul

it was a good gathering
something that needs to be repeated