Fort Collins trip and the multiple use

So last week I made the trip out to Fort Collins, CO for some riding under the guise of work. I was actually out ther to get trained on how to use the NLEAP model. NLEAP is a model that has been around for some time but its most recent incarnation has been to join it with GIS programs to evaluate how different scenarios in agricultural productions system affect nitrogen use and loss pathways.

What this really meant was that I was gonna have to sit in class all day before I could get some riding in.

Upon arriving in the FC, I moseyed over to Full Cycle, as they appeared to have the largest selection of nicer demo bikes in stock. They had a full arrray of sizes for a Giant Anthem 29er in a X2 build. They also had Reigns, Trances, a Ibis Mojo HD, and a Maverick ML8. The Giants could be had for $50 a day, while the Mojo and the ML8 were 75 dollars a day.

I should also point out that if you should desire a more modest mountain bike you should get in touch with New World Adventures. Its like 5 blocks from Full Cycle, and they have really reasonable older, fully functional mountain bikes for rent.

So for the first night I went with a Anthem 29er and headed for the foothills trails just on the western edge of the campus. After a couple of laps around the little lake trails we headed north along the foothills trails. I managed to make it up to the overlook, before darkness started to descend. Time to turnaround unlock the fork, and head back towards town. Brap.

Then Next morning I got up really early for some FIFO bidness while throwing down 950 lumens. I road all the way to the north side of town on the foothills trail before the sun started coming up. I was just me, the coyotes, and a suicidal rabbit.

The next day I turned the Anthem back in and checked out the Ibis Mojo HD. It was pretty well spec'ed with X9 all the way around, and Stans Flow wheels with a 15 mm axel.

I can honestly say that I have never ridden a 6 inch travel bike, and I probably will not in the future. The Ibis was a sweet bike, and once you were pointed down hill it was awesome, but I just felt like I was wallowing in all that travel. This wallowing sensation, not to be confused with "Wallering", was especially pronounced in technical sections that undulated and did not allow you to carry a lot of speed.

I took the Mojo to Horsetooth Mountain Park, climbed up the top to Spring Creek, tied that into Walthan, then down and over. It is a really technical trail with a lot of chunky rocks. There were a couple of parts where you could really appreciate all the travel, but for the most part I was left wishing that I had the Anthem. I will say that climb up Horsetooth went surprisingly well on the Mojo. My contempt for the way it handed in the technical non-downhill sections probably had a lot to do with being on a a unfamiliar bike on a unfamiliar trail. A gravity dropper post would have been a nice addition to this demo, but that’s neither here nor there.

Needed something to complement the Borscht I made tonite.

Which brings up the subject of why I do not get as much posting as some my more genteel readers are accustomed to. Having kids were does consume a large part of your life, but fear not, I am learning how to better manage my time.

A large part of being a trophy husband is deirectly related to the ability to multi-task.

Making Jasper dinner.

In Big Al's dinner.

My boys were sated.