Weekend Adventurecross Fun!

Tiffin and I were somewhere between Mudlick Road and Turkey Run Road in Buckhannon, WV. These are some rutted out abandoned country roads that are primarily used by ATV’s now. I put some 29 x 1.8’s (46mm) tires on my cross bike, and decided to see how well it did. Everything was fine, other than the frame and fork clearances for mud…

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Contact Michelin Now For Green Cross Tires!

 

Michelin Muds (GREEN) at Cross Vegas 2012!

Who doesn’t love the celeste beauties that were the Michelin Mud and Sprint tires from the early 2000’s?

These tires are becoming more and more scarce, and this is a very sad thing since their color is recognizable even a half-field over on a cross course, even when covered in mud and slop!

The pneus vert has a spot in everyone’s heart that has ever seen them. Check out these postings:

http://www.cxmagazine.com/bjorn-fox-worlds-raffle-michelin-green-mud-tires

http://crossjunkie.blogspot.com/2010/12/getting-evangelical-about-going-green.html

http://www.cxmagazine.com/bid-nos-green-michelin-mud-cyclocross-tires-auction

http://www.cxmagazine.com/michelin-mud-gree-cyclocross-tire-auction

The Michelin Mud (v.1) has a review of 4.33/5 on RoadBikeReview: http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/wheels/tires-clincher/michelin/cyclocross-mud/prd_112167_2489crx.aspx

With the Michelin Sprint (v.1) having a 5/5 review: http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/wheels/tires-clincher/michelin/cyclocross-sprint/prd_112168_2489crx.aspx

CXMagazine.com has an obsession of showing how much these tires sell for on ebay: http://www.cxmagazine.com/green-with-envy-another-nos-green-michelin-mud-cyclocross-tire-auction

 

Take a look at this forum post on RoadBikeReview that talks about the reverence held for these tires!: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/cyclocross/michelin-green-tires-112014.html

Quotes:

“The green was a compound that has a cult following, myself included. Michelin will tell you that the new rubber is better I am sure.  Are they Mudds or Sprints? All green (inc sidewalls) or tan sidewalls? How is the tread wear? “

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/cyclocross/michelin-green-tires-30311.html

Quotes:

“Sorry I can’t help with a source, but I’d sure like to know if any supplier you find has the green Sprints…I’ve tried every online dealer I could think of, visited about 2 dozen local shops, Googled, all to no avail.”

“the 2s seem to hook up ever so slightly better than the 1s, but the 1s clear mud better. I like the 1s better. if you are consistently washing out the front tire it means your bike is under-stering. It generally means you weight is too far back. The closer your nose is to your front hub, the more weight is on your front tire. Experiment on a slick surface. At will you should be able to switch your weight on your bike where you can induce over-steer (your back tire washing out) and under-steer. Also, be very careful when using your front brake while cornering on slick surfaces. Your front brake is for slowing, your rear brake is for steering. That’s a really long way of saying the tires aren’t your problem.”

There is even a petition going with seven pages of posts: http://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/forum/topics/who-wants-michelin-to

This is on a site where you have to register, wait for moderator confirmation, then sign up before being able to sign the petition! Dedication!

Many people finding remains of these legendary tires are not sending them to FMB (http://www.fmbtires.com/) to be glued onto a tubular casing, either for the specific purpose of being a tubular, or because the casings of the tires are dry-rotting.

http://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/ebay-warning-green-michelin-muds-on-dugast-casings?xg_source=activity

These are on Dugast casings: http://www.cxmagazine.com/green-michelin-mud-cyclocross-tire-more-than-dugast

Well, this is where you can do your part. Contact Michelin. http://www.michelinman.com/contact-us.page

You can also call them: 1-866-866-6605 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (M-F) 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Sat.) (Eastern Time)

I emailed them, received a quick message from an automated response unit, then another from a human. After this THEY SEND A SURVEY. Make sure you state that your inquiry or resolution has not been solved. They will call you. Speak to the person on the line and make it clear to them that they need to reissue these green tires.

The marketing lady I spoke to said that they need some consumer confidence before doing a pilot study, and if there is enough attention, they will forward their claims to the home office.

Do your part and spread the word!

 

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New Year Ride!

Everyone in West Virginia has been rejoicing in the wonderful weather this late into the season. Tons of my friends have posted on Facebook photos or Garmin courses of their New Year rides.

I decided to show Jeff the Petit Roubaix course here in Buckhannon. This was a great ride with some interesting discoveries. As I stated last time I talked about the Petit Roubaix, there was a tunnel… maybe 100 feet deep that I did not explore. We finally went through it, on our bikes, and found out that it could be rideable… in certain conditions. Also, with the large rock walls on both sides, we both scaled one of the sides to see where the path went.

This was a random mailbox we saw. First time I’ve ever seen people use a bike in a little mailbox design. Look how the N’s are backwards!

Lastly, a video of our little trek into the tunnel, footage of the other side, and use scaling the rock wall in cleats.

The ride overall was a success, with it being 30 minutes faster than the last time I took it on. The rain held off long enough to get home, and I’m hoping that we can either get a TON of snow, or avoid it all together.

I’m hoping the rides keep getting better this year, and that I get even more miles in!

What are your cycling related New Year Resolutions?

Check Facebook to see what others did during New Year’s Day: http://www.facebook.com/WestVirginiaCycling

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When We’re Not Biking, We’re Hiking

I visited Braxton County for Christmas, and ended up doing more than just riding while down there.

First off, what’s up with the weather? All week, it’s been in the 40’s and 50’s, when last year, we had 18 inches of snow!

December 20th, 2010

December 20th, 2010

Heck, Yukon Charlie can even tell you that I bought a pair of snowshoes this year, thinking that there was going to be a time where it no longer made sense to ride in the snow…

Well, in Braxton, there’s not a speck of snow, unless you count the morning frost on the grass and your car’s windshield. This weather just invites you to go out and do something, anything that makes you appreciate and thankful that it isn’t snowing.

First day, the girlfriend and I went on a dirty-road ride to some general store-esque shop that provides goods for the local residents, since the closest Kroger or something of that sort is 15-20 miles away. If you’ve ever been to Duck, West Virginia (Yes, Duck.)… I’m sure you’re familiar with Nottingham’s store, off of Route 4.

I took a ton of photos of Llamas, self-made town signs, and rope bridges to get to their home. Most of these pictures were taken with a disposable camera that I got from an Amgen Tour advertiser and decided to use it while I could still get it developed.

This footage shows the lovely scenery that exists in WV:

Here’s a few of the pictures I took:

The new bridge in Strange Creek

A rope bridge to cross to someone's house. This was behind the Strange Creek Baptist Church

The next day, we took the dogs out to the meeting point of the Elk River and Birch River, hiking around on the girlfriends cattle trails and tractor paths. Her dog was very excited, ran around in one of the really shallow areas, and we climbed a small waterfall and decided to take some pictures.

Waterfall!

She was ready to roam the whole farm!

I wanted to take some *film* photographs from the ledge!

While hiking isn’t my forte, and I don’t think I could do it on a day-to-day basis… It was fun romping around and exploring land that I’ve never ventured on before.

The refreshing part of this non-cycling excursion was just enjoying this weather!

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Straddle Cable Bike Hacks

I HATE SETTING UP CYCLOCROSS BRAKES.

I hate setting them up more than installing disc brakes. The straddle cable is the worst part… Centering the pad spacing between the rim, then attaching the main brake cable to the straddle cable… Just ugh. I know I’m complaining, but it’s one of my biggest bike aversions.

I’ve recently kinda stumbled upon a bike hack in order to make it easier. I was being cranky and was trying to find a way to properly align the straddle wire between the left and right side and needed a clamp. Couldn’t find one (inside the house), so I thought I could tie them together… Too much work… I then ran into the tool room and grabbed our smallest elastic band strap (12″).

PERFECTO!

I attached it to one side of the brakes, then over the seatpost for some mild tension, back to the other brake. Tadaa! The brakes were touching the rim, and I could eye things to an accurate adjustment 😀

I know, not the most groundbreaking hack ever, but it did save me about five minutes per set. Yes, I’m typically that terrible at it…

 

 

Do you guys have any other hacks that help set up cross brakes?

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