New bike: Elephant CX

I once fancied myself a cyclocross racer. It only lasted for two seasons.

Every summer as cross season approaches, I decide I'm going to race cross. Then I keep drinking beers and fishing and being leisurely in my bike riding. Then October comes and I can't imagine attempting to race. Last year, at the end of the season I went and watched Glen race and remembered how much fun it was. I told him, "Force me to race next year, no matter what I say!"

we took this same picture last time we were here. way more color now. no filter! @maddie_speare #silvermountain

A photo posted by john (@cyclingspokane) on Sep 17, 2016 at 6:00pm PDT

A year goes by. I drink more beer. My bike riding is confined to short trail rides. Maddie and I go to Silver Mountain a couple times and bomb down the mountain there, but that doesn't count as "riding," since we're sitting in a gondola on the up part.

I did do a couple mountain bike races last spring. Those were fun until I got pneumonia. But Maddie raced a bunch of those races and had a great time. And did well.

This year, as cross season approached, Maddie sort of wanted to try it and I promptly broke a rib on a lunch trail ride. So Maddie and Glen started doing some training rides and Glen taught her how to do proper bike dismounts/mounts.

I sort of lazed around on a loaner bike. My super rad awesome CX bike was a Rivendell Legolas. I busted the chainstay on it about a year ago. It's been hanging in Glen's garage since then, waiting to be fixed.

@maddie_speare CDA CX. pic by @christa.copus #elephantbikes

A photo posted by john (@cyclingspokane) on Oct 16, 2016 at 1:19pm PDT

Maddie did her first CX race: last weekend in Coeur d'Alene. She rocked it and looked great. The next race we can make is Walla Walla, so I ask Glen if he's going and he says, he'll go if I step up and race. I say yes, but he's gotta fix my Legolas, cause the loaner bike he's lending me is whacked: it's an old Novara CX that doesn't fit and has a super weird front end. He says, "I built you a bike."

So there's that.

Then he reminds me that he's supposed to bust my ass about racing, which is something I'd hoped he had forgotten. But he hasn't. Maybe that's why he calls it "Elephant Bikes?" Dude never forgets.

So that's how a wheezy-assed guy like me came into a new CX bike: because Glen can knock out a new bike frame and fork in less time than it would take him to fix the chainstay on the Legolas. Or so he says.

SRAM double tap takes some getting used to. After two rides: I got it.

He gave me the bike yesterday. I'd originally planned to build it up with the parts from my old Legolas: the Shimergo 8/10 setup with whatever other old parts I could scrape up. Glen talked me out of that and got me into a SRAM 1x11 with clutch setup. I can't remember the last time I had a bike with all new parts on it. I think the only time was the Pugsley, which Glen also gave me. damn. This guy.

Honestly, the Legolas was perhaps my 2nd favorite bike of all time and most favorite road-shaped bike. (My first fav is my Elephant mountain bike - it's magic). I rode the crap out of that Legolas -- mainly dirt and non-technical single track, though lots of miles on pavement to get to the dirt. I loved the way it fit and how it responded to me and the way it handled and bombed. So, I was silently skeptical that Glen's CX bike was really going to fill that gap. And I was slightly disappointed that he didn't just fix it.

Note fender fixin's. Nice touch.

But after riding this bike I am amazed at how perfect it is. Glen has built me a lot of bikes. And we've done a fair amount of riding together. He knows how I ride, what I like, and what works for me. After bombing the Highdrive trails on this bike a couple times now, I'm ashamed for doubting his plan here. And I'm so grateful that he's pushed so hard on me to ride cross.

First wreck. Ahhh. It rained a metric shit ton yesterday.
The trails at lunch today were a tad soft. I only missed the line by an inch or two.

Riding the trails in yesterday's downpour and during lunch today, I felt the tug that I haven't felt for so long: I love riding light, road-shaped bikes on trails and dirt. And this bike wants to ride dirt and trails. I was immediately at home on challenging climbs and descents that I've done a zillion times on the Legolas or my mountain bike. The SRAM setup with the clutch is like a Swiss watch -- precise and reliable. The handling on this bike already understands me -- out of the box this bike just lets me do my thing. It's weird.

If you're doing it right, then riding cross is hard. I'm thinking it's just as hard if your out of shape than if you are in shape. Because you're going as hard as you can go the whole time. Pain is pain.

We've got a couple races in the queue. I'm gonna show up and race. I'll be killing myself and still probably come in DFL in the 40's Masters, but I'm looking forward to it and this bike is going to egg me on.