Me and the Moonlander!

[Gear]

Dusted off the bike - April 20, 2012

Well it has been four days since I rode last. Why - life has gotten in the way! To be exact Ethan's 9th Birthday was yesterday. The days before his big day I was busy building this skate/scooter/bike box. This probably had more to do with the dust on the bike!

Little bit of action with the GoPro using a skateboard to follow close behind.

Ethan chose a scooter over a BMX bike. Here is his new toy!

Oh Ya, I went for a short bike ride today!

Nothing spectacular. A short trip up to the Boy Scout Kiosk. By 10:00 am the heavy fog had lifted.

Down the Switchback trail and around. It's good to be back out on the bike. Now if only I could get my skateboard legs back. At my age I am no longer one with the board. I know I am on top of it! Oh to be young again!

Distance 7.0 miles
Elevation 937 feet
Moving Average 8.0 mph

 

[Gear]

Heavy Fog - April 21, 2012

I had a delivery to make in San Marcos this morning. The fog bank was still present as I left on the ride.

Working my way up to the tower overlooking Lake San Marcos.

Right at the top I busted thru to the warm sun.

Then it was off the backside and right back into it. Actually it was nice. Kept the temperature down.

Final destination was the boys baseball field. I had to drop off some tickets to another player. Then it was a quick trip home around the mountain.

Distance 13.3 miles
Elevation 1261 feet
Moving Average 10.5 mph

 

[Gear]

Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve - April 24, 2012

A Beautiful Day in San Diego. I headed out to the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve. I spent most of my time shooting video. With any luck I will have one up shortly!

Distance 7.6 miles
Elevation 1564 feet
Moving Average 5.4 mph

Alright here is the video! Just shy of 5 minutes.

[video=vimeo;40989814]http://vimeo.com/40989814[/video]

[video]http://vimeo.com/user10659806/me-and-the-moonlander[/video]

 

[Gear]

La Costa Preserve - April 25, 2012

Trying to stick with it! A quick trip up to the Boy Scout Kiosk and then down Vista Del Mar. It was suppose to rain today.

Distance 7.2 miles
Elevation 967 feet
Moving Average 7.8 mph

 

[nwoods]

Alright here is the video! Just shy of 5 minutes.

[video=vimeo;40989814]http://vimeo.com/40989814[/video]

[video]http://vimeo.com/user10659806/me-and-the-moonlander[/video]

That was totally awesome! I'm impressed at how far you rode away from the camera in a couple of those uphill scenes!
Also, looks like you are wearing away more than one tire. Looking pretty trim there Justin!

 

[sarahyoung75]

Name: Justin, aka Gear
bicycle Surly- Moonlander 18", aka Fat Bike
Reason for the purchase Well lets see, I turned 40 years of age. I was getting tired of running on a tread mill at the gym. The weights at the gym did not look very inviting. I was looking for a reason to get back Outside!
Why this thread I wanted a place to post up a photograph or two of my rides. Sort of a visual reminder for me to get off my butt and stay active.

The Moonlander - On the jetty just North of South Ponto Beach, Carlsbad, CA

Nice beach bike photos. It looks great and I want to ride it. It seems like they would be great in sand too.

 

[Gear]

That was totally awesome! I'm impressed at how far you rode away from the camera in a couple of those uphill scenes!
Also, looks like you are wearing away more than one tire. Looking pretty trim there Justin!

Thanks Nathan, The film turned out better than I expected. The only down side is it's a little long.

Nice beach bike photos. It looks great and I want to ride it. It seems like they would be great in sand too.

The bike is a blast, if you get a chance try one out!

 

[Gear]

Critical Mass - April 27, 2012

Well this weekend I had two fantastic rides. The first was Friday - Critical Mass. We started the ride at 12 pm and I got back to my home at 12 am.

It was a gorgeous day and Miles and I left early for a long days ride. Here we stopped off at Aqua Adventures on our way out to Ocean Beach.

I played at the local skatepark.

Got in a little beach riding down at dog park in OB. Stopped off and had some Mexican food as well.

Then it was out thru Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.

From there we made our way up to Cabrillo National Monument for some fantastic views of San Diego.

The old light house.

Next we headed towards San Diego harbor and up to Balboa park for the start of the ride.

Playing on the docks.

At a traffic light in Hill Crest.

My brother Miles. Messing with my GoPro while I was in getting a refill of my soda. Smash Burger was diner. At this point we have already rode 25 miles. He gets photographic credit for all of the shots that I am in.

Balboa Park and the start of Critical Mass.

The ride took us into down town San Diego, an interesting trip into the parking structure at Horton Plaza, over to the San Diego Airport, back out to OB and then finally around Pacific beach.

Distance 61.3 miles
Elevation 2577 feet
Moving Average 6.5 mph

 

[Gear]

Archipelago Ride 2012 - April 28, 2012

So in the last post I enjoyed a great ride thru San Diego. If you recall I returned home at Midnight. Well it is now 6:30 am on Saturday morning and I am feeling good. So I decided to go poach the Archipelago Ride. It started right by my house. Normally I would not try and ride for free, but I am a procrastinator and they caped the entrance to 250 riders. So I asked politely if there were any drop outs. There words were here have a map and have fun.

Here are a few riders leaving the start. This is considered an epic ride and not a race. A lot of this has to do with liability as well as capping the entrance to 250 people. So I snapped a photograph and off I went. First stop La Costa Preserve.

Ah the Boy Scout Kiosk. Looks familiar. Since I was winging this. I attached an OR bag to the front rack with a jacket and some sandwiches. In the black bag I stashed a Coke. So half way up the Switchback trail I hear this hissing sound and I think to myself you got to be kidding me a flat tire. So I pull over check the front tire. Spin the wheel hopping the Stan's(tire slime) will fill the hole. The hissing stops and I get back in line and push forward hoping my troubles are solved. Not so lucky, a few minutes later I hear the noise again. This time thought I think hey maybe that is my Coke. Sure enough a pin hole leak in the aluminum can. I quickly cracked it open, downed it and that was the end of my tire problems. At this point I also made a call to Miles. I was hoping he would pick me up at the end. The thought of riding home after did not sound to good, but hey this bike is all about the adventure!

Here is the first set of GPS tracks. I new it started on the west side of La Costa, but as you can see it took me a few tries to find the actual start.

Here I am summiting the highest point of the ride. On top of the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve about to drop down to Lake Hodges. Yes I am a bit fatigued.

This was the Aid Station #2 at Hernandez Hideaway.

At Hernandez Hideaway I glanced at my GPS and if I recall correctly it said 15 miles and just over 3000 ft of climbing so far.

A few riders ahead on the trail.

Black Mountain off in the distance. This section was a lot of fun and a change of pace.

A good sign. More water a bite to eat and 11 miles to go!

A quick photograph after the Black Mountain Aid Station. I got a message from Miles that he would pick me up and would be back tracking the course to find me. Another fun and fast section.

So I had just completed the last big hill climb up the SDGE fire road and my battery dies on the GPS. Bummer!

Final miles thru Penasquitos Canyon. I found my brother on the trail. It was all coming together!

Final Destination - North of the Border - Bike Shop.

Thanks to everyone that helped me out! It was a Great Adventure.

For locals, here is the read out on the back of the map.

Distance 38.7 miles before the GPS went dead - Adding 5 miles - total 43.7 miles
Elevation 5282 feet before the GPS went dead - Since it was mostly down hill I will leave it at this.
Moving Average 7.3 mph

 

[ywen]

I see your fatty is 18". What size MTB do you usually ride? Did you see a need to decrease in frame size from normal 26" MTB to a fat bike?

 

[Funrover]

I love this thread. Makes me happy to see this bike used.

 

[trump]

I see your fatty is 18". What size MTB do you usually ride? Did you see a need to decrease in frame size from normal 26" MTB to a fat bike?

I think you're mixing up frame size and wheel diameter.

 

[BIGVAN]

Nope, he has it right. (18" Frame)

 

[trump]

Nope, he has it right. (18" Frame)

Think I misunderstood his context after rereading. An 18" frame I understand, but a 26" frame would be a bit large.

 

[Gear]

I see your fatty is 18". What size MTB do you usually ride? Did you see a need to decrease in frame size from normal 26" MTB to a fat bike?

Hello ywen,

Yes I have an 18" frame. My other bike is a Santa Cruz, Blur. It is also a Medium/18" frame. I did not decrease the frame size when switching over to the fat bike. I see were you are going with this. As I had the same questions you have before purchasing my Moonlander. Unfortunately I was unable to source a 16" to try before I purchased mine. So I went on the recommendation of a seasoned bike shop owner. I would still like to try a 16" Moonlander just to see the difference. Just to give you more information that might help. I am 5' 8" tall and have a 30" inseam. Currently weighting in at 183 pounds. The smaller frame would help with stand over clearance especially in situations where your feet sink in. Think snow! Your best bet is to find one and give it a try.

I love this thread. Makes me happy to see this bike used.

Keep riding! I enjoyed your last ride report.

Nope, he has it right. (18" Frame)

Love the coffee smiley.

Think I misunderstood his context after rereading. An 18" frame I understand, but a 26" frame would be a bit large.

Hi Mark -:wavey: