Bike Project TBLT Greenlighted an Saturday Solo

I've been busy the past several weeks figuring a few things out. For the past three weeks, I've been battling a non-illness that has made me pretty lethargic. Lack of energy, mild headaches, explosive diarrhea. Ok, I'm kidding on the last one there. I think it explains my brain cloud post a few weeks ago. Maybe allergies, I dunno, but whatever it was, I'm ready to turn the page. After this weekend I feel like the positive energy is flowing.

I've been motivated lately to sell off some (more) bike stuff. This weekend I sold another bike, my road bike, so the list is up to:

1. Trek Mountain Bike
2. Trek Road Bike
3. Mountain Bike Wheelset
4. 2 Mountain Bike Tires
5. Shimano MTB Crank

The green machine and the one on the far right of the photo are gone. With the influx of old bike ca$h, I've been plotting what to do next. Lately, I've been enjoying going downhill more than uphill. I'm less interesting in the racing scene this year and more interested in the smile on my face. When I bought my "race" bike I struggled with the 80mm suspension decision. It was a step backwards from my 120mm Trek, but moving to a 29r platform picked up the gap nicely. My Jet9 is an awesome bike and I still love it, but I'm still wanting a larger cushion in the mountains, so I pulled the trigger on Project Santa Cruz.

Let's just say that Santa Cruz released a bike on April 1st that I haven't been able to pull out of my head. It's a 135mm (5"+) long travel bike. It's been so popular that the wait is currently out to August for custom builds. Since I'm always tinkering, I decided to wait for the frame only option so that I could build it up the way I wanted it. A lot of stuff I own is black. Its a neutral color that I tend to gravitate towards. I don't know why, but I'm forcing myself to try something different on this project. PURPLE. That's right, I'm going with a purple themed Santa Cruz Tallboy LT (TBLT). It's supposed to look something like the photo below.

Because the wait is so long, I decided to get an early start on the wheelset. Purple I9 hubs laced to Stans ZTR Flow rims. I just got the email on Friday that they are done and the photo looks fantastic. The good news is that I can run them on my current bike while I wait.

I can hardly contain my excitement for the frame. Over the next several weeks I need to pick out the rest of the parts for the build. Very exciting for me. For you, probably not so much unless you like riding your bike down the side of a mountain like me.

In other random news, I was able to test a new product out over the weekend. I struggle with cramps in longer endurance events and if I don't pay attention to it, it completely cripples me. During the Dragon's Tale race, with less than 5 miles to go, I had to climb over a guy completely destroyed my muscle cramps. He was literally writhing in pain in the middle of the trail. just so you don't think I'm a total jerkface, someone was already helping him. I've been THAT GUY so many times before. Now, I'm smarter and rely on electrolytes to keep replenishing the stuff that is lost through sweat. This product has a minimalist concept. Why include other stuff you don't need and I like the idea so I picked up a bottle of Salt Stick caps at REI.

The first ride was a success. I decided to only take one of these before my 25 mile solo EPIC on Saturday to see how well it would perform. It wasn't a particularly hot day, but hot enough to have an effect over an extended ride. I had a great ride and pushed it at probably 90-95%. I never had a inkling of cramps until I stood up on the pedals on the gravel road back to the car. Before I declare success on the new fuel, I'll need another long ride in Pisgah to test my limits.

Saturday was a great day to ride!!! :-) I snuck out early on Saturday to hit the Uwharrie National Forest.