General

I am looking for people or groups to ride various areas in S. Oregon. My favorites are Lakes trails near Lake of the Woods, Applegate Lake, and Lost Creek, but am open to any suggestions for new rides. I am an intermediate level rider and live in Medford. Anyone interested is welcome to call me at (541) 890-2632. Thanks and happy trails, Rick.

Well, well, well, look he decided to show up? I've been riding (and working) so much that I've neglected my blog duties. That's just got to change. Life is good folks, sorry for not showing my head around here lately. Here's a quick one to keep you entertained on a Tuesday: 

Buying a new bike is a lot like courting a new significant other. Sometimes you pick the right one and then they don't work out, immediately. That's kind of what happened to me. As for buying new bikes you'll want to:

1. Ride it

2. Ride it again, if the geometry is right

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Most people call Hawaii an island paradise. I call it relaxation paradise. For those of you who know me or have kept up with my blog, I'm not much of a beach person. "Chillin" isn't in my vocabulary, which is why I'm blogging now incidentally. I've been filling my days with a morning run after breakfast, swimming and sea kayaking. But still that isn't enough for me. I'm used to six hours on the mountain bike a day! So, I call what I'm doing "relaxing". Now, there is something I'm really excited about and that is our time on Kauai and hiking the Na Pali coast trail.

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I'm in the Hawaii as I write this and boy what a trip it has been already. Not a ton of mountain biking here, but I still love hearing about the scene from my local friends.

Near where we are staying is the home of some great downhill. I was told last night that this trail was the home of the 1994 world cup. That piqued my interest and I sat there wondering: why didn't I bring my mountain bike. Well, I'm in the hotel and watching MTB porn will have to do. But I wanted to keep it local, so I took a few "rides" through some Hawaiian MTB sites.

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When was the last time you sat down and wrote your training results? Was it yesterday? Was it two hours ago? Have you ever done this? Let me get more specific... Let's say you ride for two hours. Naturally, your heart was beating during that time and some pedaling was involved which equates to speed happening. My question is do you have hardware that records this information or do you simply write down what you did to remember how fast or your experience? In other words, where/how do you keep track?

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Just took my racing shoes out last weekend and filled them with dust and supercharged fun! The 2008 Dawn til Dusk 12 hour mountain bike race is finished and I feel good about 5th place/Duo.

This race has it all! Desert heat (and morning cold), a cool group of folks from town, pros, intermediates, beginners, kids and dogs all love the Gallup race scene. My friend and I did too, especially,  like I mentioned before, when we get 5th place!

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Heading off to your first race can seem daunting, but boy is it exciting! My first is in Gallup, NM this weeked. A 12-hour power-fest. I'm on a team this year, duo style. We are out to crush it like you wouldn't believe. OK, we'll see about that. Pics, video and more to come stay tuned...

In other racing news, check out these links:

- Results of the NOVA NORBA National...

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Rode at the Applegate again last Saturday.  It was great ... as always.  Except for those two dudes I saw.  Cops.  Definately cops. 

Took the day off from work yesterday to ride at Applegate Lake. Saw a few tracks from recent riders and one guy riding the fire road but nobody on the trails. By the time I got back the car, there were two other cars in the lot. Weather was clear and sunny but a little cold. The trail is in great shape with very few puddles. I would've like to spend all day out there, but real life calls. I'll be back on Saturday for another go round.

Laters.

If you're not an expert with bike repairs then I'd suggest reading a few books, which I've linked to at the bottom of this page, or taking a quick look at www.biketutor.com. The site is dedicated to producing videos and instructional blogs about how to fix your bike. I watched this video on fixing rear deurailers: http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-rear-derailleur/. Pretty cool video with some great pointers.

Other books I'd suggest reading for repair info:

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