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Showing posts from April, 2025

When disk brakes attack

 The first time I saw a brake rotor draw blood was with my old dog Seamus . Seamus loved to chase bikes, he was a great dog.  A black and white border collie lab, he was born in Crested Butte and later honed his bike dog skills on the singletrack trails of Bend, Oregon.   I wouldn't say he was cuddly and loving, he was more like a heroin junkie jonzing for a fix. As soon as he saw me or any other human he would find some item to drop at your feet and begin begging you to throw it. He would lift the stick or slimy tennis ball up and try to spit it into your hand. If you hid the ball he would find a stick. If you hid the stick he'd find a rock. He was relentless. His lower teeth were chipped and broken from his fetching habit and he kept himself in constant motion, desperate to chase or retrieve. He was a dock jumper, frisbee catcher and bike chaser. The first bike he learned to chase had Vee brakes. So neither of us were expecting what happened when he chased me on my...

new perspectives

 I was in the middle section of a long climb when another rider slowly closed the gap behind me. As he started to crank past me I heard a slight swiping sound in the cadence of his pedal strokes. Vip,vip,vip,vip. He didn't say anything as he rode past, but I looked over at his rig and saw the cause of the swiping sound. He had his knee pads on the wrong knees and the straps were on the inside. With each rotation of the pedals the nylon straps rubbed against his frame and shock. I try to be a helpful mountain biker. I'm always willing to give trail directions or help change a flat. And I try not to be judgmental, everyone was a beginner at once. I remember someone pointing out a tire I had mounted backwards, the little rotation arrow going the wrong way. I also wore a women's ski jacket for several seasons. I never would have known if someone didn't notice the buttons on the opposite side. It's also possible to be a bike rider for a long time, yet not be very familia...