What the Q?

I've been selling off as many parts as I can. My garage is getting cluttered, and I need to recover something from this money pit of a sport. However, sometimes there are items for sale that make you pull out the credit card, whatever the circumstance. Last week, I pulled the trigger on some used Rotor Q Rings. My brother has raved about them, but I've found their $260 price tag ridiculous. I found a set of used rings on mtbr.com. It didn't include the big ring, but I don't really spend much time in the big ring. At a huge discount, I had to just try them out...

... and they feel amazing. I installed the Q rings on the Orbea and headed out to Peters Canyon. The difference in the 2nd gear was immediate. I felt smoother and faster from the get go. The granny felt a bit jerky for me, but I'll give it time to smooth out. For the first time ever, I cleared the reservoir climb, and for the second time ever, I cleared Big Red. Two monstrous climbs in one ride! I know these climbs are just normal training rides for you athletic types, but I'm not the athletic type =). Anyways, the Q rotors will prove to be a big help when trying to catch Mark at the Over the Hump races.

Anything You Can Do

In lieu of the Tuesday Over the Hump race, Mark and I decided to do a little training at Whiting Ranch.

A Little Background...
Two weeks ago, I rode Whiting on my 26" Zaskar. It was the first time I could clear the Mustard climb on 1-2. I kind of cheated by using an 11-34 cassette instead of 11-32, so my gearing was kind of 1-1.5. Whatever. Big win for me. In my mind, clearing Mustard on 1-2 with the Zasky showcased the improvement in my physical fitness. If I can do it on 1-2, I surely can granny it on my 29er. I need to do it on my 29er. I need to validate buying the Orbea 29er. Today's the day the Orbea meets Whiting.

Oh The Pain...
Even before the ride, I sensed some pain in my future. It all started with a quippy, "Let's do Whiting twice" comment from Mark. To understand the gravity of the comment, we have to rewind to last Thursday, when I decided it would be a good idea to do some resistance exercises at the gym. I think I dislocated my shoulder when bracing my body to do some standing leg lifts. Since then, my shoulder has been popping in and out of the socket resulting in sharp, blinding pains. So doing Whiting twice didn't really appeal to me. Still, we ride on.

Anything You Can Do...
The ride starts out as well as can be. High 60s, very light rain in the morning packing down the loose sand. Borrego doesn't pose that much of a problem, and my shoulder is in good condition. I just have to take pressure off the bars. Then we hit Mustard. I start out in 1-2 thinking I'll shift down when I hit the really steep stuff. To my surprise, I started climbing Mustard in 1-2! All throughout the climb, I had a mental musical playing in my head. It went kind of like this:

Orbea 29:
Anything you can do, I can do better.
I can do anything better than you.

Zasky 26:
No you can't.

Orbea 29:
Yes I can.
Anything you can climb I can climb better.
Sooner or later, I'm climbing better than you.

I can smash a steep incline,
without the resulting supine.

I can roll through a rut,
with out much fuss.

Zasky 26:
=(.


Ok, so I'm not the best lyricist, but the music kept me going. I ended up killing mustard on 1-2. A very proud day for me and my 29er. On the second go around, I did Mustard in 1-1, but I still didn't stop. All said and done, the 29er felt faster on the climbs, felt less like I was going to flip backwards, and navigate through sand like nothing. On my Zaskar, I did mustard in 15:38. Orbea 29er did it in 13:03 and 13:56. Not exactly the same bike or the same test, but a very marked difference.

On another note, there was a downed tree on Serrano. It kind of sneaks up on you if you're the type to push it.


The big branch is a bit under eye level when I'm on the bike, so it required quite a bit of squatting to get under it.