First Ride: Santa Cruz Blur LT

I rode my Large, Santa Cruz Blur LT for the first time today. It was a road ride that was quite hilly. The route is here

My thoughts of the bike... freakin awesome. Santa Cruz really put together a great ride. Even though this bike is a mountain bike, I rode it on the road and it felt completely capable. It didn't seem out of place climbing the steeper sections and felt strong on the fast decents. Another thing I noticed was that it felt like my hardtail when climbing but was super smooth on the decent. I expected it to feel a bit soft climbing.

I'm completely in love with this thing. It's comfortable, it fits, it's smooth and I can see many good things coming from it.

The bike has mostly XT pieces. The breaks are Avid Elixer, wheels/hubs are DT Swiss, Gravity Dropper seat post,





It's beautiful. I can't wait to get it on the trail and see how it handles some singletrack.

Let me konw if you've ever ridden one or what you think overall. My goals for the year are going to be much more fun on this thing.

Status Updates and Free Double Century

It's been a busy couple weeks in the bike world. There is so much going on everywhere that it's hard to keep up. The BHMBA has already made significant process in moving forward as an association. Ideas are going through the roof. I have a meeting tomorrow night regarding the racing structure and plans for the 2011 year. With the items I've seen run through my inbox for weekly rides and races I think we'll get some good buy-in. It will be interesting to see how well these are adopted and attended.

On another note, I traded in a couple bikes. I no longer own the Kula Supreme or the Dawg. I would say I downsized and upgraded to a 2011 Santa Cruz Blur LT. My biggest complaint is that it's been too cold and snowy to ride it. Well, I could but I don't want to get it dirty. The whole package was set up real nice. XT parts, DT Swiss wheels and hubs, Fox fork and rear shock. I'm so excited to get out and put some miles on. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

On a racing/riding note... Take time for this. Plan your weekend around it. It's free.

There is a double century Gravel Grinder in the works (Mickelson Trail). June 18, midnight start. Hill City to Deadwood and back. Then Hill City to Edgemont and back. Super epic, super hard, super duper. Same Acme Bicycle's exorbitant event fees ($0) and you need to get your own Mickelson Trail Pass. Fully self supported. Lame-ohs, winers, babies not invited. EZ to self support/re supply at your own car at the 1/2 way point (Hill City) or just quit after one century if you are smart.

I'll keep you posted on any updates or check out bhmba.org.

BHMBA

Lots and lots of things in the works in the Black Hills. The meeting we had went great and lots of people attended. It seems many good ideas are going to come out of this group.

I put in my application to become a board member. I've never been on a board, never attended a board meeting and do not really know what a board member does. What I do know is that I want to become more involved in the cycling community and get some of my ideas for biking out there. I'd love to see the BHMBA grow and be something really great.

I am also on the race committee for this year. Again, I have no idea what I will have to do or how much time I'll have to commit. What I do know is I would like the races we have to be more family oriented. It would be fun if I could bring my family to a race and get them involved in some other activities. We could have Strider races, mom/dad relays, trailer pulls and so much more.

So, I guess that's what I have going on. I'm hoping to have more information regarding the BHMBA in the near future but since we've only had one public meeting, I don't know what's going on.

On a bicycle related note I'm trying to sell 2 bikes so I can purchase 1. If anyone is interested in a 2006 Kona Dawg or a 2009 Kona Kula Supreme, let me know. The Dawg got all new parts last spring and the Kula is pretty much set up entirely with SLX bits. Both are awesome but I want to downsize and have one go-to bike, enter Santa Cruz Blur LT. We'll see what happens.

Be safe, wear your helmet and ride your bike.

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.