I heart GG

First things first: if you want to map power, TopoFusion v3.31 has been released including all the new power stuff.

There’s always lotsa talk about SS’ing. Not so much about GG’ing.

Singlespeeding is (often) about forgoing the easier gears. If anything I’m moving in the opposite direction. I want more gears. Or not necessarily more gears, but lower and lower ones!

Mike hooked me up with a 36 tooth cog from Actiontek that can be added to any old cassette. I’m still getting some skipping, but when it works…

…it’s the bees knees.

Most people don’t see the point in a super Granny Gear. Even some that (gasp!) have an interest in technical climbing don’t get it. And it’s true that there are many climbs where a low gear doesn’t buy you anything. Sometimes it’s about momentum. Sometimes it’s just pure technique, or raw strength. Or, even luck — just to keep you on your toes.

But I’ve been riding the local goods with a 20t up front and 36 in the rear, and I love it. I’ve already cracked so many new moves that I’ve lost count. Oh let me count the ways:

1) fatigue. I’m not the strongest cyclist in the world, and there are some climbs around here where you either SERIOUSLY stall, or aerobic fitness becomes a limiting factor. Case one – the rock garden (between switchbacks) on the north side of the Hidden Canyon Trail. This is a tough one to ride down, and I’ve always run out of juice trying to climb it. I nailed it with the 36.

2) Hippity Hop. There’s a trail that was constructed to “hiking standards.” My good friend the trail builder attempted to build it such that no mountain biker would want to ride it. He failed at that, but the switchbacks are darned tight. I’d considered many of them unrideable… until recently. I got to hoppin’ out there and was shocked to ride out of at least six switchys that I’d always walked in the past. True, they were a hefty effort, but having powerful brakes and a nice low gear to pedal out of (these aren’t traditional switchbacks with a platform — these are steep at the turn) made all the difference in the world.

3) slip slidin’ away. Pedal timing can be huge when trying to clean things, especially around here. One way to adjust timing (when it feels wrong) is to intentionally slip the rear tire by pedaling off-stroke. The lower the gear the less you need to slip to move the pedals around. I’ve found it easier to get my pedals in a ~close to right place with the lower gear.

It should be noted that I’m running this 36 on my ~33 lb Behemoth with 29″ wheels. 20×36 just gets me about to a 22×34 in a 26, which is the climbing gear I’m accustomed to. I feel a lot more comfortable with this gear while climbing, and it’s definitely starting to unlock the 29er climbing potential. At least in my eyes.

Boy oh boy have I had some good rides out in the Tucson Mountains.

Hidden Canyon – coast to coast. Missed 3 switchbacks on the south side. 2 descending the north.

On the return leg, 3 dabs going up, and 6 (!!) going down. That’s 3 that I rode on the way up but was too chicken to contort my bike and attempt trials maneuvering on the way down. There is a pretty stiff penalty for failure on this trail.

A highlight (as always) was this sunset run on the Krein trail. I made some serious progress on the one “unrideable” section near the middle.

Descending the ridge trail to dynamic light. Being shoved down Yetman Wash as the moon rose and everything turned purple.

Monkey cat has seen better days. I ended up taking him to the vet @2am sunday after he had some pretty scary seizures. He’s hanging in there, but the cause is still unknown. He’s done pretty well considering the emaciated flea bag he was when we adopted him as a stray. He’s a cool cat.