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Lyme Disease Sucks!

Saw this in the news. Multiple cross country mountain bike world champion Mary McConneloug will be missing this years US Mountain Bike Cross Country National Championships because she is sidelined with Lyme Disease. I know three people close to me who caught Lyme last year all in different geographical locations. I think doctors are both really underestimating the frequency and spread of this disease and too ready to brush off their patients as hypochondriacs. I think it is significantly more common than people realize. See the article at the link below:

Cycling News article: McConneloug sidelined with Lyme disease

Manhattan River Trails

I finally got a chance to try out my new helmet cam. Worked like a champ! Contour's trail mapping feature is pretty neat. Check it out. This is the old loop of the Manhattan River Trails in Manhattan, KS. This loop is roughly 3 miles and there is a total of 6 or so miles of singletrack here. Not much, but at least it is good quality trail and fun to ride.

Miller's Meadows Trail Review

I was in Wichita and figured while I was in a new part of Kansas, I would see if there were any new bike trails I could try out. Off singletracks.com's website I found Miller's Meadows. This is a nice enough place and they've made a lot out of very little. This place offers about 5 or so miles of singletrack with about 70% through what little bit of tree cover is in the Wichita area. Over all, it is a fun little trail with only moderate difficulty. It has nice flow, however, and will reward you with increased difficulty the faster you attack it. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more too, had it not been 110 degrees outside.

From Trail Hooligan

Singletracks directions are pretty on the money, and you will find a nice parking lot just off the road. The exact location is:

Datum: World Geodetic System 1984,
Latitude: 37° 39' 0.7915" N, Longitude: 97° 10' 25.1494" W,
MGRS: 14S PG 61114 68576,
UTM: 14S 0661114 4168576
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.650220,-97.173653



The trailhead is right there and well marked. The local club regulates traffic by designating your direction of travel by the day of the week. Saturday was clockwise, so I started off with the full onslaught of the sun as I pedaled through the un-protected, un-shaded, first mile. Better to start this way and end in the shade though.



Again, this wasn't a bad bit of trail. It was a lot more fun once you got into the woods. There were corduroy bridges in some of the creek beds that added a fun dynamic even if they didn't up the difficulty. The trail also appeared to be regularly maintained. I'm not sure if I would make a special trip out of going there, but since I was in the area, it was nice to get back on the bike. The River Trails in Manhattan have been unrideable due to the rain we've been getting. I have no idea what the financial or engineering capabilities of the club that maintains Miller's Meadows are, but should they choose to, they could easily add structures like teeter-totters, moustache rides, and fat-skinny-fat bridges as side obstacles to the trail.



I also made some friends on the way back. They wanted attention and bug spray...not necessarily in that order.

Hemet Cams

I am very excited about the Contour GPS I have in the mail, so possibly, I could start recording and mapping out different trail systems I visit. The GPS feature looks pretty neat and should be helpful if someone (me?) actually starts a database where people can find trailheads. Currently, I rely on singletracks.com's Iphone app to find new trails, but it is only marginal at getting me to the actual trailhead.

Speaking of helmet cams, this video is amazing! Since I am completely inept at bunny hopping, I might have to learn this. Then again, my saddle skillz are pretty much on par with my bunny-hopping skillz, so this might take some time.



Take a look. All the current helmet cams seem to have their shortcomings, but they seem to hit the target closest to the mark...especially with their Connect View app. Expect a full review soon.

http://contour.com/camera/contour_gps

Water Crossing and Flooding

Water crossings, rivers, ponds, lakes and streams are some of my favorite trail features.  The biodiversity in these natural areas is often many times greater then the surrounding trail.  Whether you love these water crossings or not, they are generally unavoidable for hikers, bikers and trail riders alike. 

In the springtime, many rivers overflow and have very strong currents.  During this time of year, special care must be taken to ensure that water crossings done safely and that risk is minimized.  If you are unsure about the waterway, it is not worth the risk!  While it is typically safe to cross familiar waters in summer and fall, caution must be taken to cross the same rivers in springtime.  There are countless stories of people and animals drowning, so it's no secret great care should be when deciding to cross a waterway. 

Before deciding to cross a river, one should check the current level; which can often be decieving.  This can be done by dropping a stick into the water.  If you see the stick get drawn underneath the water, know that is likely where you could end up too.  Be sure to evaluate the speed of the stick as well.  Shallow depths are also favorable, although there are no guerentees that the bottom will not have drop-offs.  If you cannot swim, being able to touch the bottom may not be sufficient as you could easily be pulled downstream where the water is deeper.

Probably the best river crossings are areas where there are exposed rocks or sandbars.  These locations can keep you away from dangerous currents, and also can serve to allow you to regain footing should you fall into the water.  Fallen trees can work for this purpose too, however care must be taken to ensure that the tree is of sufficient strength. Be wary if the tree trunk is not wide, or if it appears rotted.

If you are from the south, you probably do not need to be reminded, be wary of poisonous snakes in and near the water.  Snakes like the Water Moccisin carries potentially lethal poison.

Check out this website for additional information on How to Ford a River

Headlines: Ticks Suck!

After some time outside last weekend, I saw what I thought was a zit on my knee. I went to scrape it off with my nail and it turns out that zit had legs and its mouth was already seated in my skin. Tick season (which appears to be all year) is here. Kansas has the lovely distinction of being the overlap zone of pretty much every tick species geographical area. Do yourself a favor and go buy Dirt Rag's latest issue (issue 155) and read their writeup.



Also, make sure you remove ticks properly should you get bitten. Grabbing the tick and squeezing to pull it off will make the tick puke into your bite wound. Likewise if you use the old remedy of burning the tick off with a match or lighter. It used to be thought that the heat would cause the tick to unlatch voluntarily, but this method also causes the tick to puke into the wound. Grab the tick as close to the skin as possible and gently pull up. Make sure you spray the wound with a disinfectant immediately.

Riding Horses in the Dark

As bikehooligan mentioned, horses have pretty good natural night vision.  The high-intensity light from a flashlight is blinding and actually worsens their vision.   The serious endurance folks generally rely on their horses to take them through their courses at night. You can train the horse to stay on the trail; trouble arises when there is a split and you, the navigator misses it!  So.. most poeple let the horse's eyes do the work and turn on their headlamps when they need to make a navigation decision.  My recomendation though, is that hat if you go this route... wear kneepads!  You're bound to get your knee bonked!

Trail Update!

It is amazing weather today. I got to get out and check out the local singletrack. It did not disappoint. I could tell one of the local clubs had done some trail work. Debris and deadfall had been cleared and some paths had been blocked or re-routed to control erosion. I cant take any credit for this work. I've helped out before though. It is fun and rewarding to actually contribute to trail maintenance. Anyway, I loaded up the bike after a good chain waxing.



...and made my way to the trail. It was an gorgeous day, the photos dont even do justice. Fortunately, these trails drain well and there was no evidence of the rain earlier in the week.





This is my favorite part of the trail. The tabletop is shaped just right and impossible to hit wrong. Just sail on over!



The trail was also full of dernt-der-dernt-ers. I try not to pay them too much mind even if they are in the way. It is nice that they are able to get out and enjoy the outdoors too. I give a friendly greeting and pass on by and they look like they think I'm crazy for going the speed I do. I figure if I'm friendly, maybe they might actually take up the sport instead of just the trail.

Speaking of the trail, referring back to the rules, remember both bikes and horses yield to hikers? Why? On a horse or a bike, you certainly aren't in danger of being passed by a hiker, so why do you have to yield? It is because hikers are the most clueless and the least aware of their surroundings. Seriously. If people decide to walk on a trail, they seem to universally check their brain at the trailhead. So I roll up on a couple and slow down behind them so I don't startle them. If the prawls on my White Ind. freehub aren't grating enough to announce my presence, I give the polite "Coming up on your left!" ...no response... ** cough ** "Coming up on your left!" So between the "rrrrrrrrrrrrrr" of my freewheel, the "squeek, creak, squeek" of my bottom bracket, and my polite announcement (twice), they finally notice me and jump out of their shorts in surprise like someone blew an airhorn in their ears. Really?? Wow. Oh, and they both jumped to their left after I said that was the side I was going to pass them on. Sigh....

I can't see!

The burden of adult-hood sometimes monopolizes your time in such a manner that there just isn't enough time in the day to hit the trails. What to do? Ride in the dark! Here are some methods for night riding on the bike. Perhaps Horsehooligan can elaborate later on night horse riding strategies, but for the mean time, consider these to be bike specific. Remember, horses have eyeballs that don't appreciate high intensity light. Bikes on the other hand don't seem to care.

I've chose to buck up and go with a dual light setup. I have a Light and Motion Stella 300 on my handlebars and a Stella 150 mounted on my helmet. The 300 mounts easy enough but you will need to put some thought into the battery placement.



Riding with this though, you quickly find out how rarely your handlebars and your head point in the same direction. Any turn on the trail quickly leaves you in the dark. The solution for this was the Stella 150.



This is set up for easy helmet mounting and it goes together quite easily thanks to the hook and loop fastening. The battery clings on nicely in the back and helps to balance the weight on your head, preventing helmet shifting.





Together, these lights put out a lot of brightness. 450 lumens to be precise. You can adjust them to point wherever, but I prefer the barmount light to point just ahead of the front tire so I know what I'm immediately rolling up on. My headlight, however, I have pointing directly ahead of my line of vision. Here I have the trail ahead of my tire lighted up as well as the next turn when I'm looking ahead on the trail. Works out pretty good.



There are other ways to skin the cat. If there was a hot product for 2010, it might have been the light; it appears this corner of the market experienced amazing growth and development. There are lots of brands at all different price points. Do your homework and give it a try!

Boots and Butsniffers

Good evening, horsehooligan here!  I want to be clear about the earlier post.  I did not use the word “Like” in the title.  That was bikehooligan.  Go ahead and make your assumptions. 

Bikehooligan is in love with gagets, and even more in love with shoes. Because of this, he requested that I remove Aurora’s metal shoes and try hoof boots.  The boots, which are called Renegades come in a variety of colors.  Because I have a tendency to lose things, I chose red to make them easier to find. 

The first week I used them, they were fantastic!  Then when I went to use them the second weekend, I tried to tighten them, but didn’t put the set screws in tight enough. 

Below are the photos of a boot set up properly, and how the boot comes apart if the set screw are not tightened enough. 

Long story short, the boots came apart in 3 pieces, in the woods, several miles from our trailer. The other big concern, the trail was called “Green Rock Trail.” Of course, I didn’t actually know the location of the other boot pieces, so spent quite a bit of time trying to locate them.  While I was looking, I came in contact with some bikers.  They tried to ease by my horse like she had rocket fuel under her butt and were impressed with my horse’s calm demeanor and my polite behavior. I rolled my eyes and told them that I get yelled at by the butsniffers as well.  The bikers were quite nice and helped me find the rest of my boots.  I had long since lost my horsey friends, so continued on the trail; riding where the terraine was soft, leading when the terrain got rocky.  We made it back to the trailer with feet in one piece.  The second day that weekend, I carried my own Allen Wrench and tightened the set screws as much as possible.  And as I had hoped, the boots performed quite well!!  The bikers who helped me ended up inviting me and bikehooligan to a trail build in a few weeks.  If I can make it, I plan on attending!

Before I sign off for the night, I want to comment on one more thing.

While people always need to respect horses, they don’t own the trail… and if those folks keep up their disrespectful behavior, we horse people will end up losing access to beautiful places like Greensfelder.  If you're afraid of your horse and need help, find a friend or a trainer who can help you learn and gain confidence. Don't blame everyone else!

Butsniffer=people who ride horses that they are afraid of.  They generally ride nose to tail.  If an unsuspecting horsehooligan, bike rider, or hiker encounters these people, be prepared to put in earplugs.  Expect to be bitched at.  Don’t worry, its not you.  They do that to everyone, especially other horse people who can actually ride their horses.

Run With The Pack...er...Herd

I cant say this blog is only going to be about the confluence of horse and bike culture, but while I'm on it, I found a couple examples of horses and bikes mixing like oil and water. These are two polar opposite worlds and mixing the two is more or less akin to dividing by zero as you can see here:



Hey, he is trying to run free with the herd! No fences for this cat (I mean horse). Too bad his free range buddies are more concerned with getting their musette and a panini. Our next horse friend, however, shows her absolute terror at the mere sight of a bicycle.



I think the videographer captured the terror quite well. If any of the zero readers of this blog happen to be horse riders, and you have had a good or bad experience with a cyclist on the trail, please share. Disagreements typically stem from misunderstanding. Discuss!

I'm confused...are there like two authors to this blog??

This blog will consist of two writers. One writer (horsehooligan) competes in equestrian endurance and jumps for fun (she gets a rash from the snobby English riding culture, but still loves the sport itself). She breaks and trains horses for her own use as well as some of her friends. She believes that rather than blame circumstances and every stimuli around them for horse caused problems, horseback riders need to understand that if they leave the comfort of their own backyard that anything can happen.. and to be prepared for it. We have shared-use trails and while we have right of way rules, the only things you can actually control is your own actions and possibly those of your horse. She is not callous about this fact, and is working on combining desensitization, behavioral and natural horsemanship training with simple and consistent rider techniques to enable this cultural shift. In addition, she also encourages those who purchase horses to put temperament above all else when making their equine choice.

At the same time, she spends just as much time getting yelled at as the bikers.. she gallops through the forest, long trots and jumps obstacles; earning the reputation as the local trail hooligan. While her roots are small town, she currently lives in a 5-story high rise in a posh part of the city, loves water and downhill skiing, as well as gallivanting around the city.

Writer number two (bike hooligan) is a bike lover and totally immersed in the bike culture. He owns 6? Bikes as well as probably enough various spare parts to build another. While not competitive, he enjoys yearly trips to northern Michigan and Moab and has been on trails all over the continental US. He grew up in the city and is now experiencing life in a small town. He has recently learned to horseback ride, so while he understands issues that beginners face he is also a bold trail rider. Horses are like bikes with brains....and they are softer... He doesn't see these two pursuits as conflicting, but rather complementary.

Both of us are ready for spring and the upcoming riding season!

It's in my teeth!

Mountain bikers and horse people naturally get off on the wrong foot relationship-wise. Why? Horses poop. They poop a lot, in fact. Summer before last, my primary place of riding was the Petersburg Battlefield in Petersburg, VA. Lots of poop. Keep in mind that VA is quite humid in the summer, so said poop is not dry. What it was, was plentiful, moist, and always piled right in the middle of the trail. The great part of this is that just as horses are so skilled at pooping, bike tires are equally perfect for flinging every bit of ground they touch up at the rider. I've had poop on my bike, poop on my feet, poop up my back, poop in my eyes, poop in my hair, poop in my teeth, and poop in my mouth. If you ever hear someone exclaim "that tastes like horse shit" and they sound like they know what they are talking about, they just might have biked these trails. What is my point? Horses shouldnt poop? Good luck with that one. Certainly not. But it does put a taste in a bikers mouth concerning horse people.

So there I am with a bad taste in my mouth about horse people, and I'm riding my bike of course, as fast as I can too 'cause what fun is riding slow. This is perfectly normal and accepted behaviour, in fact, I would say anyone who wants to plod along all willy-nilly on their bike might as well walk. So I'm pinning it around this sharp blind corner and there stands a horse (with rider). Horses have the right of way. Bikes yeild to horses. Bikes yeild to hikers. Horses yeild to hikers. These are the rules of the trail and it is no secret since most trailheads have signs posted stating such. The signs do not, however, explain the differential in time between the biker stopping, dismounting, and walking past the horse and the time it takes the horse rider to completely spaz out.

Apparantly it is common in the horse community to walk slowly down trails, quite the opposite of the bike community. Strange too, since even a lard butt horse could smoke most cyclists. And this rider, who was walking slow, in a blind corner, in the woods, and mounted on a naturally cammoflaged animal, was enraged that me and my friend (who also had poop in his mouth) didn't see her and yeild in a sufficiently appropriate time for her comfort level. As we attempted to yeild to someone going slower than us, she lectured us on spooking horses and what not. It would have been amusing had I not been in shock since she was the one who was spooked and her horse seemed completely oblivious that he was supposed to be terrified.

I must say my opinion of horse people was improved the next time I encountered riders. This couple yelled out to us not to dismount and to ride by them because it was good for their horses experience. They were quite friendly too. The taste in my mouth got a little less nutty. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to ride in Greensfelder Park in St. Louis, MO (this time on a horse myself). As a group of bikers approached, I rode up to them and happily talked bike stuff while they took a breather. My horse, kindly, did not go and trample small children at the mere sight of a bike. This isnt to say that horses dont spook, but gosh, those bad apples of riders could at least be friendly. After all, we all have the same goals of trail advocacy.

Butt Bubbles for Riders

The strangest thing about trail etiquette for horseback riders is that most of it is completely unspoken. Fearful equestrians expect brave horseback riders, bikers, dog walkers and everyone else to approach them at a snail’s pace and treat them as though they are sitting on a lit firecracker.  God forbid if someone were to exercise or at a quick pace, for that may scare their horse…

The part that they don’t realize is that the horse has extremely sensitive hearing and will hear someone approaching long before the rider is aware, which also means that if the horse were to spook from this stimuli, that it would have occurred at that time. 99% of the time that does not happen.  What really happens when a horse “spooks” at the sight of an offending party is that the rider gets startled and tenses by the stranger’s sudden approach.  The horse, who is quite in tune to the rider’s fear, reads the rider’s tension as “oh my God! There’s a monster!” The horse, ever a prey animal, then believes that the rider is cuing for him to flea the situation; which he generally obliges.  The fearful rider then blames his horse for “spooking.”

I am an endurance horseback rider and local hooligan.  I race through the woods and stop when I see horses.  If I come up behind them quickly, I get attacked by the offended party for scaring their horse; several ladies have begun to call me “the hooligan”, the namesake for this blog.  But I just smile, because I know the truth.