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Another nice ride up north, starting just before sunrise. 30 miles out and back on the North Bend Rail Trail. After this pic was taken, I adjusted the stem upward about 20 degrees, and rotated the bars forward so my grips were flat. Made a huge difference in my comfort level. There were several long climbs going in each direction, and they gave me no problem.

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I adjusted the stem upward about 20 degrees, and rotated the bars forward so my grips were flat. Made a huge difference in my comfort level. There were several long climbs going in each direction, and they gave me no problem.
It's amazing what a difference relatively small adjustments make to ride comfort and control. I used to ride up to 160km occasionally and set up my now 13 year old bike up with that in mind. It's still a joy to ride and never needs any alignment tweaked.
 
I so wish our community was bikeable. We have many miles of winding country roads and beautiful scenery around us, but I'd never risk my life road biking around here. Too many people treat our roads as their own personal race tracks.
 
Demoing a new bike, a Trek Stache 9.7. I was in the local bike shop to have some repairs done on our son’s bike, and struck up a conversation with the owner. I’ve been thinking of replacing Beastie Bike, and the owner suggested I take his personal ride home for a couple of days to test it. I was rather surprised, but thanked him and politely declined. But as we looked through the various models, he again insisted I needed to borrow his bike and take it out before I decided what I want.

I have talked to this gentleman from time to time as I’ve bought various supplies or had repairs done, but we really don’t know each other well. The Stache 9.7 is a $3,800 Rolls Royce of a bicycle, with full carbon frame, 29 x 2.8 tires, and several other goodies that make it a top shelf ride. It also weighs a svelte 22 pounds, much lighter than my current fat bike’s 40 pounds. Today was the first time I’ve ever ridden any 29er, much less one with Plus tires.

I rode it 14 miles through the trails of a local State Forest. While I still got off and pushed on some really steep, technical climbs I encountered, I was able to stay on the bike through many other trail segments I’ve had difficulty with in the past. Ride comfort and handling were excellent. A few times, when I felt the terrain and trail conditions were safe, I hammered the pedals, and the bike can really get going. It rained during most of the ride, sometimes hard, and both the bike and I were soaked and filthy when I got back to the car. It was an incredibly satisfying ride. I’ll be returning it tomorrow . . . and there’s a very good chance I’ll be returning home with a different bike.

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