SNOW!!!

Finally some snow on the ground to make the riding interesting. 4 of us got out on saturday and hit some of the local rail trails for a nice little 40 mile loop. It was 25 and sunny, a perfect day to spend 3+ hours on the bike. We hit the macomb orchard trail, then the paint creek trail and back home. The original plan was to ride the poly ann trail as well. But by the time we pulled into Lake Orion, we were all a little sore from the ride up there in the snow, and with a head wind. Of course we had to stop in at Paint Creek bikes and checkout all the cool new Niners and all the high end stuff that Keith carries.
I rode stony creek last week just after the ice storm hit. The logs, roots etc had a nice glaze on them that made them pretty slick. There were a ton of trees down on the trail. I did my part as a MMBA member and cleared what I could off the trail. Some were to big for me to move by myself though, but I think I made it a better ride for anyone riding after me.
I was planning on riding tomorrow night, but I found out that my sump pump check valve is shot and water is spraying out of it everytime it runs. So it looks like a trip to the plumbing store and then fixing that is in store for me.

Bike build up

I am adding to my collection on new parts for the build up of my new bike. So far I have the 07 xtr rear der., Reba Team fork, King headset of course, Thomson seatpost. I debated long and hard over which crankset to put on the bike. 06 XTR, Race Face Dues, 07 XTR, XT, etc... Well I picked this up tonight.This is a light crankset. The claimed weight 797 grams. I weighed it out at 870, so I am going to re-weigh it to see if it is really closer to claimed weight or not. I cant wait to get it on the bike.
The middle and small ring are a composite material that is supposed to save weight and also last longer than previous versions.

The next thing I guess I am going to pick up are the 07 XTR DCL levers. I have the old version and love them. The new ones are supposed to be even better. Then the 07 XTR brakes, a stem and the 07 XTR front der. and I will be all set.

Is it winter?

Well now that the holidays have past, and we are into Janurary my riding is starting to pick back up again. Typically this time of year the temps are only in the 20`s in the day, but this "winter" we are mostly in the 40`s with a lot of rain. It has made for some good trail riding in between the, seems like, daily rain storms. Of course it would be much better for the trails if it would just freeze up out there and let the ground firm up. I must admit I am enjoying the warm weather, thanks to global warming and El Nino. Not so good for the polar bears though.
I am still waiting to get the new bike all built up. I am working on collecting parts for it, my goal is to get it all put together about a month before the first race of the year in April. The most recent purchase has been a Reba fork and King headset. I am trying to decide between the new XTR Dual Control shifters or the new XTR Rapidfire shifters. Not sure about the about the DCL due to fact that you have to use Shimano disc brakes with them. I would like to have some choices. I have the old style of DCL shifters on my current bike and I love them. So will I miss them if I go with the RF`s I dont know. Too many decisions, too many ways to blow my money I guess.