Steve's Mountain Bike Page
Turlock, California

Auburn, California
November 12, 2011

I'm pretty frugal and I've never made an extravagant purchase in my life. But I'm getting older and who knows how long my knees will last. So this week I bought a 2012 Specialized S-Works 29er Stumpjumper FSR. I often have second thoughts after a major purchase, but after riding it 42 miles today at Auburn, California, I have absolutely no regrets. The bike rides like a dream. Pedaling is smooth and almost effortless, it feels like I've gained a few gears on the low end, and it just might extend the life of my knees. The new bike is 5 lbs. lighter than my SJ Expert, but it rides like it weighs half as much due to the top quality carbon wheels. It is scary how fast the bike will pick up speed going downhill when I just let it coast.

Anticipating this ride was like Christmas morning for me. I barely slept and I awoke at 2 am, got on the road at 4:30, and made it to the trail at 6:30. The sun hadn't come up, it was very foggy, and the temperature was in the 30's. But I didn't care. Two weeks ago I set out a new 42 mile epic in anticipation of the new bike. I started down in the canyon at the Confluence of the American Rivers and did: Stagecoach - Manzanita - Mossy Rock - Fuel Break - Connector - Foresthill Divide clockwise then counterclockwise - Connector - Fuel Break - Mossy Rock - Manzanita - Stagecoach - to start. By the time I climbed out of the canyon I was overheating. So I stopped to remove my jacket. I set my camera down and only discovered it missing many miles later. But last night I put my business card in the camera bag. I didn't want to spoil my ride and I was pretty confident an honest person would return the camera if they knew who it belonged to. So I continued on with my ride. When I finished I had a message on my office phone from the guy who found it. He brought it right to me and refused a reward!

It turned out to be a great day and I did some of my best riding ever! I only took a few photos before leaving the camera behind.

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