I landed a day early in SF and got to play tourist, then Josh and Pete picked me up at the hotel and gave me the West Coast education on the way to Sea Otter… Someday I’ll get those boys down South where snakes, gators and swamps have a whole new meaning.

The event was rain free, so I can’t call it the Sea Water this year. But the wind…

It was good to see our newly sponsored CRC/Intense and Team America teams in action. During the weekend, we were busy getting the teams familiar with the Double Barrel. It’s a great information feast. Each rider brings a different twist to how they want their own shock set up. It’s really different what the World Cup riders want a shock to do compared to what I want out of the shock. In simple terms, I don’t and won’t ever reach their level of speed and sheer aggression they put the shock through.

Also got to see the dual slalom practice and finals… where I got the What The Flip Am I Doing Here? award for standing on a hillside while being wind- and sand-blasted into a sand sculpture. (Note: Above photo not actually from Sea Otter, but it might as well be.)

If you made it by the Cane Creek tent you would have seen the Gold sprints going off. Basically pedal ’till you puke against your rival. Murphy and Ian had those poor souls in the palm of their hands. Oh, and thanks to Chuey for the hats.

Pete and Paul installed plenty of 110 headset upgrades during the 3 days. It was good to see the riders turn out for that one.

No matter how good you are or how good you think you are, there’s always someone lurking with more talent.

Case in point: my 13 year old son. A go-all-day, long hair, hesh skate rat, who can ride a bike real fast DH when he wants to.

I set up a bike with a Double Barrel and a 200lb spring. We proceeded to hit Greens Lick. This trail is like an old school BMX track that points down hill. Before we head down, I tell him, “Chill behind me, I’ll keep my speed down so you don’t get over your head”
 
“Whatever, Dad”

So right off this little guy is putting a wheel on me, dragging his foot roosting corners and just plain being a pain. (The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…) I see his bottom bracket near my head on one jump. He’s hurling no brakes just because.

If my son’s generation is any indication and the hammered rear wheel and tire factor into this, I’d say the future of this sport is in for more like him lurking, waiting to show us all the way.

I got out this weekend for an incredible ride, one that really made me question my “ideal bike”. I wanted to give Cane Creek’s Double Barrel equipped 2008 Turner Highline a go in some rocky fast stuff.

The trail I had in mind requires some serious climbing though, and the prospect of doing it on a 7″ travel bike certainly had me calculating the pain/benefit ratio.

Once I got going I couldn’t have been happier. Since the Highline has a full length seat tube, I could get into a full leg extension position for climbing. This along with a front derailleur and a few extra clicks of low speed compression into the Double Barrel turned the Highline into a respectable climbing bike. I rode everything I could have ridden on a “little bike” or a hardtail… just slower.

I found myself enjoying the challenge of it, cranking a “big bike” up the long, steep, technical uphill sections. At the top I was tired, sure, but had cleaned everything and gotten my cardio in for the day! Also, I was at the top of a 15min downhill with a super bike… fantastic.

The ride really made me appreciate a full length seat tube (enough seatpost for climbing and can also be dropped down for descending), clearance for a front derailleur, and the zero-bob attained by the suspension design/Double Barrel shock combo. For me, a bike that can’t be ridden up the hard stuff just isn’t much fun since I like riding uphill almost as much as down. Getting this ability from a 7” bike opens up a world of possibilities. I won’t be winning any races on it, but for a day in the woods, I’ll be taking the Highline (or similar) far more often than I would have previously.

The last 15 minutes of your ride should be fun. That is until you pass someone giving them plenty of verbal warning and room they still drift into your line, so you give them more room. Now, you move over more, they drift more. It’s hard to stop a train wreck. Now it’s time to take a beating, served up by wet leaves, a wet log under the leaves, which now is as slick as a wet PVC pipe.

Well you get the idea, a lame 15mph yard sale. All I hear is “dude, you alright?” I can’t say anything to this guy, ’cause whatever I say is gonna be bad. At first I can’t feel anything, then the wave of pain starts… Anger, pain, anger.

You know it’s not as if the guy tried to make me ride off into no man’s land, but. Just hold your line and all would have been fine. Don’t bring the suck!

So I hobble back to the truck, the blood starts flowing out of the cuts and gashes from the fall. My left knee swells up. I’m starting to get a love handle on my left side that wasn’t there before the ride. Clean up from this crash is gonna hurt.

For some reason dumb slow falls like this hurt more than anything else. I mean after breaking 24 bones in my career. It still baffles me how this type of crash can leave you so jacked up.

Congrats to Chris Herndon for taking care of business down South, with a win in Clemson!

Congrats to Julien Camellini for taking care of business down South as well… the South of France that is. Julien won the opening round of the French South East regional championship. Riding the CRC sponsored M6 with his new gold Double Barrel.

It’s wide open on the Cane Creek home front. Warm weather will do that… Warm weather also means urban Motard time. Ahh yes, wheelies and drifts on the way to work. Sketchy motorists beware…

The Double Barrel is now available with a 3.5″ stroke to fit Trek Session 10 and Intense M6. Both Ti and steel springs are available.

It seemed like ages since I really rode.

Sure I had been on a bike; I’d thrown a leg over a few rigs for parking lot spins, ran up to the store on my commuter, but as far as really riding… it had been a long while. Last weekend though, after putting my 6 month old daughter down for her morning nap, I dusted off my trusty old Tuscany for a couple hours in the saddle.

At first it hurt as my heart rate jumped up close to my max BPM and my body struggled to keep up with my contorted sense of “easy spinning”. The problem is, I still think I’m fast. What was a leisurely big ring climb only months ago is now a paced breathing effort. As I huffed and puffed along to my secret entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway I was surprised at how quick my fitness had gone and the real climbing hadn’t even started. As the road steepened, it was slow going at first, even for me. I could barely turn over my 39×27 (I used to spin a 39×23 up this thing!).

After about 10 minutes of this, my heart rate settled down, I started pedaling circles, and a smile started slowly emerging from my grimaced face. It felt great, really breathing hard, controlling the effort but getting that connection with the bike back, ticking off the elevation, turning over the cranks, letting the shoulders down.

After about an hour of this I turned around and headed back to relive my wife from her solo mission at home. Soon thereafter a twosome passed me, just flying. Instinctively I punched it to catch on. They were hammering, but it was easy to suck wheel, and when we had to part ways, they smiled and waved as I thanked them for the pull.

Being back on two wheels, feeling the intensity of a steep climb, the rush of screaming downhill, and taking advantage of the orchestrated chemistry of two guys in a hurry… it was a great ride.

Just need it more often…

When Cane Creek sat down to design the 110, it was clear that we all wanted something different, something at a whole new level. Engineering got a green light to make no compromises so we could put 110% into every detail.

As a testament to this effort the Astana cycling team has chosen to ride the Cane Creek 110 headset on all bikes, from the team Madones to the TT rockets. We are happy to see the fruits of our labor being appreciated and the benefits enjoyed by people who not only love to ride, but who make a career of winning.

Last weekend some of us at Cane Creek headed up to Frostbike 2008 to talk shop with dealers nationwide. As much as I like to think I’m on top of things, it’s always eye-opening to get feedback from other parts of the country.

For example, at Cane Creek World HQ in Fletcher NC, I would never think to build a single speed disk braked cross bike, much less design components with this build in mind. Just wouldn’t happen…

But several shops that do unique custom builds in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa assure me that this kind of craziness goes off in “elevationally challenged” areas. While this might not be for everyone, these fringe type concepts can really inspire and motivate innovation. As an engineer it’s great fun to discuss such concepts as they become intertwined with more “standard” needs during the design process, and the resulting products can often serve the niche needs in subtle but functional ways. Thanks for the ideas!

I often get asked what bike I’m riding with a Double Barrel. Well the past few weeks it’s been an Intense 6.6. Before that I was on the new Turner Highline and a Session 10. I don’t have any rhyme or reason why I ride one bike over another.
Basically whatever mood I’m in is what I will ride. The bike of choice at my house is my Standard 125R model or my new favorite thanks to Joe Haley, the Eastern DJ-4 . On the weekends I like to hit the dirt jumps or my son’s mini ramp to clear my head.