Single Track At Sunrise

As I roll around in bed this morning I think my alarm must be about ready to go off, it has to be close to 5:30.  I check my phone- 3:44... I'm in and out of sleep until my alarm finally goes off.  Last night I decided to ride at Lory State Park.  There is a weekly race series held here at the end of summer where single speed riders consistently destroy me.  Now it's my turn to roll a single speed along these trails and see how I do.  After wrangling my gear, I'm on the road heading to the trails.

I pull into the Timber trail head parking lot and get myself together.  My Subaru tells me that it is almost 30 degrees this morning but it feels chilly.  I get myself together and realize that I left my cold weather booties at home... hopefully all of the climbing will keep me warm.  I get my lights on the bike and my helmet, zip the jacket, and start up the trail.  The Timber trail starts climbing immediately and my legs are not yet warmed up.  Luckily I'm riding Mosaic's Single Speed 29er again, and it is handling the trail beautifully, again.  I am amazed at how well it climbs.

This climb is not as technical as what I rode the other morning but it is long with a number of tricky switchbacks and lots of little pull up moves.  It's definitely a solid start to the morning.  Much to my surprise, the long consistent grade was no problem.  I distinctly remember rolling up these trails on my Titus Racer X last season and feeling pretty rugged by the top.  I also remember having some issues with the switchbacks and holding my line.

The Mosaic leaves me feeling great at the top, despite not being warmed up, and I make it through all but one switchback without popping off.  The bike holds its line perfectly, all I have to do was point it and pedal.  Am I really riding this at 6:15am?  I get to the top of the Timber climb and look back toward Fort Collins.  It is still quite dark with a glint of sun on the horizon.  I roll along the Timber trail on flowing single track, some still covered with snow and ice, and random rocky sections until I come upon the Kimmons trail descent.

I'm very familiar with this descent but this morning it's dark and I'm on a rigid bike.  I let the single speed roll down the trail at its own pace.  The tires roll over everything in the way and the spot on geometry of the Mosaic frame let me rail down some serious switchbacks.  This is the first time I've ridden down this trail and really been able to rip through the corners.  I am able to sit back, push into the outside pedal, and whip the rear end around.

I get to the bottom of Kimmons trail and stop to take a pic of the trail sign and the sunrise over Fort Collins.  I start rolling along the West Valley trail.  This trail is a consistent but gradual climb towards the South and a lot of fun!  There's no real technical sections here, just nice flowing single track with a water bar here and there to pop off of.  As I climb up the trail at about the midway point I start to notice that there is more and more light and a perfect scene of single track, landscape, and half-moon.    I near the top of the climb and the end of the West Valley trail, near the Arthur's Rock trail.  I decide to stop here too for a quick picture. 

Now the descent back down the East Valley trail can begin! The East valley trail is similar to the West Valley trail except it goes back down and is a fun descent.  Again I let the Mosaic roll at its own pace and flow right along with it.  The bike is soo smooth through frozen bumpy trail and soft sand alike.

Now my toes are completely numb from the cold and I'm starting to get close to my car.  I start a brief climb back my car and decide to rail back to it as hard as I can, just like when we're out here racing and we're climbing up this last section as if our lives depended on it.  It is a great end to the ride and left me huffing and puffing, wishing there was more (even though I couldn't feel my toes).

It was a great ride this morning but I have to say that I am a little sad that the only wildlife I saw was a couple of birds that I stirred out of a shrub, but maybe that's ok considering that there are mountain lions and black bears residing in this park.

I only have to wait out one full day until I get to ride again but as I'm putting the Mosaic back on my roof rack I can't help but think that one day is one too many...

Ride on!

Chris Herron

Good Morning, Single Speed!

6:00am alarm, snooze...

6:08am alarm, snooze...

ugh...

I could get up right now and go for a sunrise ride, or I could keep sleeping.

I'm going riding.

I manage to get my things together without waking my family up and I make it out the door by 6:30.

I'm off!  Spinning at a much faster cadence than I'm used to and going almost nowhere....

This morning is my first single speed ride!  I am riding Mosaic's Mountain Steel Single Speed 29er, and loving the feel of steel.  I haven't even made it onto the dirt yet and this bike already has me riding wheelies off of curbs and whipping around corners.  I should be focusing on the task at hand, testing myself and this bike, but I can't help playing on it.  I did just wake up, didn't I?  As I ride west on the Spring Creek Trail heading to the Pineridge Natural Area I enjoy the simplicity of the single speed.  I may not be rolling as fast as I normally do but it's actually relaxing because I'm limited to a nice warm up cadence.  But I am really looking forward to that dirt...

The paved trails end and I find myself climbing a gently ascending trail.  I am very familiar with these trails, they are very near my house and I ride them several times a week when the weather is nice.  I know every climb, every rock and root, and each line that gets me through the technical sections.  I know that the first climb is coming.  It is short but steep with loose rocks, climbing over the first hogback of the foothills.  On my XC bike I normally downshift several times and start to hammer just before the climb starts to generate momentum.

Now I don't need to shift.  I can focus on the terrain and hammering the climb.  I pour on the juice at the same point that I normally would and with shockingly little effort I am at the top!  I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I reached the top of that first insignificant, but yet significant on this morning, climb.  This is going to be a great morning.

I roll down the back side of the hogback and start rolling South to make a longer connection to the Maxwell Natural Area to the North.  As I'm rolling along I can't help but notice how quiet everything is, the morning is peaceful.  The only noises I hear are the sound of the wind blowing through the tall smooth brome grass lining the trail and the sound of my tires, rolling.  As I look around in the new morning light I see two bucks bounding from a field off to my left, jumping over a 4 foot high fence, and then across the trail 20 yards in front of me.  Awesome.  I love moments like these.  I may have only been a quarter-mile from civilization but I feel connected with nature here, now.

Now I start another gradual climb along the foothill and roll in and out of Ponderosa pines.  The trail in this section is fast and flowy with a number of rocky and rooty sections that always keep my on my toes.  The trail sees enough use that the obstacles are always well carved out and can present a perfect opportunity for the unintended endo if you're not paying attention.  The bike handles these sections with the greatest of ease.  I was really surprised with how minimal of an effort was needed to direct the bike.  It seems like I can just look to where I want to go and my body naturally manages the bike to correct for any obstacles in my way.  Do I really have to go to work after this?  A couple more climbs get ticked off the list and I find myself in the Maxwell Natural Area.

This is where I will really test myself and the bike.  The A-trail climbs up behind the Colorado State University football stadium, it's steep and technical.  It can be tough to clean this entire climb on any given day, even if you've done it many times before.  I go forward with an open mind and determination.  There is something magical happening with every pedal stroke on the climb.  I'm hooking up, every stroke transfers 100% of the power to the wheels.  There's no suspension sag sucking up energy, there's no energy loss from climbing in a granny gear with the chain all crooked, just pure transfer of energy.  It's kind of an addicting feeling.

I like climbing, call me crazy, and this feeling is awesome!  Just as amazing, the Mosaic steel frame, White carbon fiber fork, and Maxxis Ardent 2.4 tires are doing an incredible job of soaking up the bumps in the trail.  I don't clean the whole climb this morning, and I'm ok with that.  The fact that I'm doing this on a single speed is a serious milestone for me!  As I make it to the top of the trail I stop to reflect on what just happened and take in the views of Horsetooth Reservoir, Horsetooth Mountain Park, Lory State Park, and Fort Collins.  Now I am realizing that I have to ride that rocky technical trail back down.  On a rigid bike...

Once again, the Mosaic bike really shined.  Whipping around corners and through lines that I take on my full suspension bike, I couldn't tell during my descent that I was on a rigid.  Ok, that's not entirely true... I did get jarred pretty good one time and thought that I gave myself a hernia, but aside from that it was great!  And I didn't have a hernia.  Coming down the final descent on the trail there is a little booter that I always like to hit.  This morning was no exception and launching this amazing bike off of it felt like a great way to end the ride.

I start spinning back to my house and wishing that I could have kept going, but I need to get back to the real world.  It was a refreshing start to the day.  Challenging.  Exciting.  Awesome.

Watch for more stories and adventures in the next couple of weeks with the Mosaic Mountain Steel Single Speed 29er!

Ride on!

Chris Herron

Local Bike Enthusiast and Grasslands Research Extraordinaire

2011- The New Year of the Bike

Welcome to the first of many posts from the Mosaic Cycles factory.

This blog will serve as a place to explore the many facets of the bicycle industry.  Various perspective articles, product testing and reviews, and other worthy ideas and products will be explored by myself and others.

The intent of this blog is not to be a marketing bonanza for our company. If you are interested in checking out what Mosaic has to offer, please see the website at www.mosaiccycles.com and become Mosaic Cycle's friend on facebook.

On occasion this blog will highlight special events that might benefit readers, cyclists and non-cyclists alike.
 

As Mosaic Cycles' head builder, owner, and cycling enthusiast, I welcome your comments, suggestions, disagreements and constructive criticisms. If you like what you see, please share this with your friends and colleagues.  

-Aaron Barcheck
info@mosaiccycles.com