Rubber swap for the Panasonic; dirt bike summer school

1988 Panasonic MC 4500, before picture. I've always liked the dual water bottle mount on the down tube design of the old days. It's a shame bike builders don't seem to use that placement anymore.

I've been riding my old Panasonic MC 4500 a lot more, as it's been my most accessible mountain bike of late at a time when I'm instructing a little Dirt Riding 101. This is a bit of a change for the Panasonic, because for the past couple of years it had been my office bike, parked next to my desk, patiently waiting to shuttle me to meetings or errands. However, I now primarily use Denver B-cycle downtown, so a while back I brought it home for a new duty assignment.

After several evenings of service on the dirt trails in its urban commuter kit, I decided to swap the Ritchey Moby Bite 2.1 slicks for something with knobs. The Moby Bites are among the best fat slicks I've ever had, and actually do fine on hardpack dirt, but I own a variety of good knobbies and I'm not afraid to use them. So off with the smooth and on with the tractor tread. I popped the fenders off while I was at it, because it just seemed the right thing to do.

It's a big boy. The 22 inch frame is now sporting some different rubber: IRC Mythos XC 2.1 inch meats.

I've been happy with the result. There's a reason why mountain biking caught on in the mid 80s. These old steel bikes from the golden era are just plain fun to ride off road. I previously built this bike up as a geared mountain bike and it was just as good to ride, but something about the current single speed setup brings me back to riding BMX bikes on dirt hills in vacant lots around 30 years ago.

The bike itself started life as a good honest mountain bike, akin to a Specialized Rockhopper or a Bridgestone MB-3, all of which were built in the same factories in Japan. Curiously, the MC in the bike's name inexplicably stands for "mountain cat." The original gray paint has seen better days, but is still adorned with pink, yellow and white moniker decals. For those whose hobby is time wasting, I'll tempt you with the future possibility of a soliloquy regarding this bike.

On to the dirt bike school update.

Had to tie up the princess dress for the demonstration.

In the photo above, notice a fine demonstration of the the standing with feet level while coasting technique. This technique is used to cushion the body against bumps while off road. Our girl has been learning and working toward mastery of many riding techniques, and this is one of her latest.

Yesterday, she had the opportunity to learn through some first hand experience with recovering from a crash. Nothing serious, just a moment of inattentive steering on the roll out following a downhill that led to a fall to one side. That's the good thing about crashing on grass and dirt: it doesn't hurt too much. However, a while later she made too tight of a turn on some loose gravel and ended up with a scraped palm that required a band-aid. There were no tears with either crash, and more than a bit of pride for good recoveries from both student and instructor.

Dirt bike fairies like to have their dress match their bike.

Colorado Bike Summit

The Titan stands alone on Capitol Hill.

I was fortunate to be able to attend Colorado's first ever bike summit, which finished up a two day run today. It coincided with some chilly weather hovering around 0F, and a blizzard that began last night and continued into the morning. The summit attracted many of the most enthusiastic and connected bike people from around the state and the region. A lot is happening with a variety of bicycle related efforts throughout Colorado, and it was enlightening to gain a better view of the big picture.

Denver Mayor Bill Vidal was the lead-off speaker on Monday.

The first day of the summit featured several speakers including Mayor Bill Vidal of Denver, Dan Grunig of Bicycle Colorado, Tim Blumenthal of Bikes Belong, John Burke of Trek, and Randy Neufeld of SRAM Cycling Fund. Later in the day, breakout sessions focused on complete streets, safe routes to school and the power of mountain biking in your community.

Overall the content was thought provoking and the opportunity to discuss issues with new and different people contributed to a solidly positive experience. At the end of the first day I left convinced that frequent communication within the state's bicycling community would probably do much to identify common goals and facilitate projects.

A wind driven snow storm began as I returned home on Monday night.

I should take a moment to mention that I finished reassembling my Titan on Sunday evening just prior to the bike summit, with the help of my ever eager shop assistant. The Titan had dependably performed for several years during an extended period between service intervals, and is now ready for many more.

Shop assistant / bike fairy using her magnetic wand to identify objects made of ferrous materials. This grin signifies a positive discovery.

On Tuesday, the Colorado Bike Summit continued with a trip to the state capitol for constituents to meet elected officials and to ask for support of bi-partisan house bill 1092. The bill would ensure road rights for bicycles on public thoroughfares or require the necessity to provide alternative routes. The goal is to resolve Blackhawk's unreasonable bike ban, and to stem potential similar actions which might deny bicyclists from access to public roads elsewhere.

Representative Andy Kerr (D) and Senator Greg Brophy (R) are co-sponsors of the bill. After a press conference, Rep. Kerr took a spin on his bike for a photo op in front of the capitol building. It turns out he forgot his helmet, and I happened to be the only person around with one, so I loaned him mine.

Rep. Kerr sporting my trusty old helmet, still featuring the team 290 sticker.

Making sure the moment is adequately recorded for posterity.

Rep. Kerr and Sen. Brophy did a great job talking about how bicycling tourism, industries and activities are important contributors to Colorado's economy, and that arbitrary bike bans such as in Blackhawk create a negative image for the state. Kerr is a regular bike commuter and noted that although bicycling is possible here for nearly every day of the year, today was one of the few exceptions. I won't argue his point of view, except to say that I had a nice ride anyway.

Regardless of weather-related challenges, reduced traffic volume and much slower car speeds equals good riding in my book.

Elusive bike fairy sighting

I know what you're thinking. Like other fanciful creatures, the bike fairy is just a myth. A little pixie who spreads two-wheeled cheer while sprouting magical bike lanes from her tire tracks seems a little ridiculous, right?

That's what I thought too, until recently. As luck would have it, I had my camera at the ready and now have evidence to the contrary.

I'm sure those magical bike lanes will materialize any minute now...