As much as we all love skiing....

Fess up, who's jonesing?

I keep looking at the 10 day forecast hoping to see some 60s or 70s, but to no avail.

The models are starting to show something for the Mon-Tue time frame. Unfortunately that'll be 1 day too late for a lot of places.

I haven't been formally diagnosed but I think I'm jonesing. The kids are leaving to spend the next few days at their grandparents so I'm thinking about going either tomorrow or Friday. Wonder if Winterplace can recover from today's rain?

I'm not sure Murph got it - but I know what you mean Leo. I spent this morning wrenching on my trusty Santa Cruz. Refreshed the Stan's sealant in my tubeless setup. Took a spin through the back yard. Jumped the horse shoe pits.

Just saw this awesome bike tour of the Roaring Plains posted on MTBR. Every rider's gotta ride this tour this summer before the wilderness bullies lock the area up forever for their hiking pleasure. Bicycles are human powered not "mechanized" - get over it. Call your representative - BIKES BELONG - ADD BICYCLE EASEMENTS TO THE WEST VIRGINIA WILDERNESS BILL!

Tom

Oops, wrong kind or riding.

I can't wait for temps in the 60s or 70s so I can ride my bicycle again! Of course, if I lived in a region where one could bicycle year-round, the skiing wouldn't be so good.

Usually the areas where you can cycle year-round (save the CA-OR-WA coast), you can't cycle because the drivers will try to run you down

Good thing we live in a snowy, mountainous locale like DC. Even though the cycling season is short, at least the courteous and skilled DC drivers are very careful not to run over bikers.

You have a point... But the difference is that we've also got hundreds of miles of bicycle trails, dedicated cycleways, where you seldom see a traffic light or a road crossing.

I've been bike-mutting to work in DC, off and on since 1989. It is nice to just get a couple of extra hours in the PM and do 36 miles in the Mt Vernon Trail, or 26-mile round trip on the Capital Crescent, or a Century ride on the W&OD, or perhaps do the 184 miles of the C&O. Very few, if any US met areas can boast that.

Of course, DC drivers can be crazy but cyclists are also at fault for not behaving according to law. But at least we have the infrastructure that other places even dream of. The entire state of Kansas, for example, has only 3 trails totaling 25 miles. And a member of the US Congress who views rails-to-trails as a part of a great conspiracy... Go figure.

That sounds pretty funny. Care to elaborate???

Yeah, I was being sarcastic. I ride year round. But I'll admit local bike paths can be ugly during the winter. I remember one particular run I made to National Airport that was very challenging. When the roads are salty and dry, the bike paths can feature crusty frozen foot prints. Even the side roads that I usually take can be bad, but the major roads are usually always rideable. I'm sure out in WVa, the trails are too snowy or muddy during most of the winter. So I certainly understand why bikers get excited when the weather turns nice. Being cold and wet doesn't enhance the riding experience.

I don't always obey the traffic laws, but both times I got hit I was not doing anything wrong. One one occasion I assumed I could proceed through an intersection on a green light. The other time, I was hit from behind. I'm not sure obeying traffic laws makes cycling safer.

I could elaborate at length. Better yet, please note http://www.rainbowtel.net/~bryants/abbnws30.htm for a better explanation...

Interesting. I had no idea that rail trails were just a way to maintain those corridors "against possible future transportation needs". I doubt that means human powered transportation.

Relative to traffic laws, safety, etc...this was originally posted on Epic, you may have seen it there.

See how well you can do:

Take The Test

I just picked up a really cheap, hardly used Trek 4300 today. I can't wait for the weather to break so I can take it out. I can finally retire the old (and heavy) Mongoose that I have been riding for the past 3 years.

Here is exactly what it looks like:

GOOD BIKE!!! Front suspension, alum and alloy, and do I see rear disk brakes? If not, it may make sense later on... Hardtails are great on both urban and country scapes.

Second the hardtail vote. FS is overrated. Especially on technical single track so common to the mid Atlantic area. It is V brakes on the back in the picture, however...And if you are going to add disc, start with the front as the forces created by braking are much greater in the front than the rear.

Are disc brakes a whole lot better than the current V-brakes that I have on there now? My Mongoose (fancy Wal-Mart bike) has disc brakes on the front and all they really seem to do is rub all of the time, not matter how I adjust them. I do realize though that they are terribly cheap so I expect good ones wouldn't do this.

Disc brakes are (or should be) more responsive. The quality of the disc brakes you use is an issue, though...so you are probably better off with V brakes unless you want to spend more and get quality.

If you do not want to deal with hydraulic brakes, the Avid BB7 is a good bet for mechanical disc brakes, IMO. The other issues to be aware of are:

Weight - disc brakes add weight
Wheels - you need wheels that are disc ready
Frame/Fork - also need to be disc ready
Maintenance - would be easier with a better disc brake (i.e. vs what you have with your Mongoose and the pads rubbing, etc); but a bent or warped rotor is also an issue to watch for if you are running disc brakes.

I think if you had good disc brakes, you would definitely like them and see the difference. With that said, there is nothing wrong with V brakes and plenty of people continue to run them...especially if you're riding XC and urban commuting as opposed to downhill or something like that.

I've had a Marin Mt Vision for three years now, haven't even had to change the break pads in either front or rear. I use it both in the city and the country, primarily at Snowshoe for mountain biking and the Greenbriar Trail. Yes, the quality does make a difference but the performance is well worth it, especially on rain and mud.

yeah disc brakes are especially more responsive when you are riding in wet/muddy conditions since your rim sidewalls are going to be wet/muddy.

BTW, REI has 20% off on Novara and K2 mtn bikes until the 30th if anyone is in the market currently

Ibotta - Three years on the same brake pads? You need to take a break from posting and ride a little more.

David - You don't need no stinking disc brakes. All they do is slow you down.

I am quite conservative in my break usage and plan way ahead so I don't end up wasting energy. No need to ride the brakes nor speed up just to slow down. Once I go on an open trail, the sky is the limit.

I also have three bikes that I use for different purposes, a hybrid for commuting (Cannondale T-700), a racer (Felt Carbon F4) and the MTB Marin Mt Vision. So the Mt Vision gets MTB especially at Snowshoe, but I don't use it for other purposes generally.

I do have to confess that with a job change this past year, my riding went to hell, which is now remedied. Plan to use my Snowshoe place as a home base for rides in the Potomac Highlands as well as trail riding on North Fork and Greenbriar. You don't need brakes in either...

Yeah, I am hoping to get up that way and ride some of the trails up there. I would really like to do a couple of These rides this summer.

Lou, have you ventured out to the Scenic Highway on the other side of Slatyfork? If you haven't you should definitely make a trip over to check it out, especially when the trees start to get some leaves on them. It is a beautiful drive. There is also a lot of biking/hiking/fishing to be done right off of it. If you have been across it you know exactly what I am talking about when I say beautiful......

Yes I did and agree with you. I used the Elk River Touring Center http://www.ertc.com which I find them about the nicest people in the world and besides, they have one of the best restaurants in the area. Got documentation and maps from them and my friend also rented a bike from them. We went to a trailhead off the Highland and it was a blast. And the scenery is amazing. It only wet my thirst, that's why this summer, with time on my hands, I plant to recon the place quite well.

I also would love to do a good hike on the Cranberry Glades. Not many places in the South where sub-arctic tundra can be seen...

Yep, ERTC's Gill Willis is a great advocate for mountain biking in Pocahontas County - too bad he could give a damn about mountain biking elsewhere in the mountain state. He testified in Congress in favor of CLOSING trails to mountain bikers in Tucker and Pendleton County. No skin off his bones or business (or Snowshoe's either). Sure hurts other businesses in WVA that thrive on mountain biking in the Mountain State though. Wonder how he'd like some Wilderness in his neck of the woods?

lbotta, does the Marin have disc brakes? I've never had a disc brake bike. I'd save a lot of money on rims.

Rod: In general, I believe disc brakes are a great upgrade for a mountain bike - but only if you are riding technical terrain (IMHO). Discs give you great modulation - that is excellent and subtle control over the amount of braking force. They will also perform consistently in all conditions - mud, wet, dry, etc.... Also disc brakes will perform fine regardless of how true your wheels are.

However, as Lou correctly pointed out there are a variety of disc systems - some great and some not so great. For example, I have a set of Shimano XT hydraulics on my full suspension rig. These are so much nicer than the V-brakes on my old Stumpjumper. I also have a single-speed MTB running a pair of Hayes Sole Hydraulics which ain't so great.

Avid seems to be the gold standard in disc brakes these days. The Juicy's are their hydraulics and the "BB"s are their mechanical. The chief advantage I see in a set of hydraulics over mechanical is the hydraulics do not have steel cables to get fouled by dirt, rust, or corrosion.

For bike paths, rail trails, dirt roads, and generally non-technical riding I don't really see an advantage for discs over traditional V-Brakes (probably why disk brakes are not widely used on road bikes). Another advantage of V-brakes is that they are much easier for a home mechanic to keep adjusted.

Tom

Although there is still plenty of skiing left to be done here in Utah... I have been able to get a few rides under my belt.

Starting the season out right! Got my first set of clip-less pedals, and am being taught how to bunny hop by my ever patient teacher (tromano)