29 & Single

And no, that doesn't refer to my age and marital status but rather the sweet jersey Rick designed that I was able to wear on my lunch ride yesterday. In fact, if not for the jersey I would have brought my full suspension, geared BMC. However, knowing that I couldn't possibly wear the new jersey while on a geared bike with 26" wheels without constant heckling I manned up and chose the single speed.

I had been told that we would be riding the Bobsled and while the thought of descending on a fully rigid bike wasn't as appealing as ripping the dh on my full suspension, I knew I could make it down ok. What worried me, however, was when I learned of the route we would be taking to the Bobsled: Up the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from City Creek. For those unfamiliar with this stretch of trail it was a great ride down and a killer ride up. I did the latter for the first time this fall on my BMC and can ride it without putting a foot down (most of the time - I'm about 50% on the tight, steep corner with the retaining wall). Of course, that's in my 22x30!

So with some trepidation I followed Brad, Bob, Doug and Mark up 200 S to South Temple to State Street to Memory Grove to City Creek. Once we hit the singletrack I knew I was in trouble as it doesn't take long for the trail to get steep. I managed to ride to the corner with the retaining wall where I had to step off and walk. I had to do the same at each of the two rocky corners farther up but other than the final 10 feet of the last steep, loose climb by the water tank the magic of the 1-gear kept me on the bike and I was able to ride everything quite well. Of course, I wasn't riding particularly fast, but by continuing on solo when everybody else stopped to regroup I was able to avoid their having to stop and wait for me to catch up.

The weather was fantastic and the trail in great condition. The Bobsled was still fun on a rigid bike and after 1:09 of riding I was back at the office. Hopefully the weekly lunch ride out of SLC Bicycle becomes a regular event as it was tons of fun to ride with the group.