Steve's Mountain Bike Page
Turlock, California

New Melones (GH) Recreation Area

February 16, 2003

My knees have been hurting quite a bit so I haven't ridden in about seven weeks, since January 1st. However, my new Specialized Epic Disc came in yesterday so I had to try it out. I didn't want to go too far in case the knees got worse and I also wanted to try the bike on very familiar territory for comparison purposes. New Melones (GH) is the closest place and I've probably ridden the trails there 75 times. Neil came along for the ride and we took the helmet cam. We did the Frontier, Angels Creek, Buckbrush, Angels Creek again, and back via the Frontier. However, we had some problems with the video: no sound whatsoever, a good bit of fogging, and the last and best tape was blank. Too bad because we took it fairly slow on the first run through Angels Creek (most of the video) because Neil had only ridden there once, more than two years ago, and I stayed back because I was still feeling out the new brakes and getting back my "trail legs". On the second run we really flew and I stayed right on Neil's tail. 

I transferred my old XTR shifters, XT rear cassette, Terry Fly saddle, and Shimano 545 clipless pedals to the new bike. At first glance, the stock Shimano disc brakes did not appear to be as good as my old XT's but it looked like it might be difficult fitting them on my old bike, which I had already pre-sold. However, I left them on the new bike and they seemed to be just as good, if not better than my old ones once I got them on the trail. In contrast to my old brakes they are nearly silent, even on steep descents. The only thing I miss is the cool stainless steel brake cables. The new bike was even better than I expected. It is much lower, more nimble, and several pounds lighter than my old GT. "The Beast" was a very appropriate name for the GT. The new bike handles really well. Despite being off for seven weeks I took the hills as good as ever and my cornering was better and faster than ever. Since my old GT had quite a plush ride and I'd never ridden a hard tail seriously before, I was a bit apprehensive about the brain shock. However, it worked perfectly, activating exactly when needed and locking out when not needed. The lock out was especially noticeable when I stood up and pedaled up several hills. There is absolutely no bobbing like I used to get with the GT and the rear tire really hugs the trail. The bike climbs like a monkey. At some point we started calling it "Monkey Boy",  and the name stuck. The bike is put together really well and it even has a good sound (whurrrr ) on the trail, like I've heard when really good riders zoom past me. It had rained the night before and the trail was a bit muddy but the tires seemed perfect. Neil slipped in several places but I had no problems.

The knees weren't too bad, which is a good sign. If they feel OK once I warm up that bodes well. However, if they hurt while riding that usually means they'll get worse the next few days. I'm a bit optimistic that I may be able to ride again in a week. I'm scheduled for cortisone injections in about two weeks anyway. I may also try the Synvisc injections again, even if I have to pay for them myself. Ironically, my lungs, not my knees, were the weakest link today. I had to slow down to recover at the top of the big hills. However, if I get into reasonable shape, perhaps I'll be able to keep up with the new bike. I have absolutely no doubt that it will make me a much better rider. I'm certain I did so well despite a seven week layoff, just because of the bike.

As I noted above, we had trouble with the helmet cam but I managed to scrape up about five minutes of usable video. The fogging started just towards the end of this video. It always seems to start when the camera points into the sun. Before putting the last tape in we noted the fog, opened the lens housing, and it dried up in seconds. Unfortunately, that was our best riding but the tape was blank. That's happened before because I pulled the video cord out while packing the camera. I'll investigate further to see if that was the case. The fogging problem is probably easily preventable if I remember to check and open the lens housing occasionally. I've never had a sound problem before so I'll have to check into that. Here is the trail map.

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