The weather has not been kind to me over the past week as I try to prepare for nationals, so I took advantage of a break in the constant rain and went out to the Whirlpool Trails for a little fat tire action. I worked out a loop that simulates, to the best of my knowledge, the conditions I’ll face at Mt. Snow. The washouts on the Power-Line trail work quite well as boulder/rock replacements and the rail bed served as stand-in for the Mt. Snow staging area. The log obstacles, roots, stumps, and other assorted things didn’t require an understudy. A root is a root, and I’ll put Mississippi roots up against anything in Vermont. Heck, I'll put up our humidity too!
For 3 hours, I go around and around at a semi-race speed, only stopping to wipe the sweat out of my eyes and to brush off some cob webs that were freaking me out.
The bike felt great, everything seemed to be dialed in perfectly. I was a little worried about the rebound setting on the front shock, but the adjustments I made hit the mark. The bike just felt smooth once the shock was set! My only concern during my ride was the front tire. I ran 30 in the front and 32 in the rear. The rear hooked up great, but I did notice the front feeling slightly “weak” in sharp cornering. I’m not sure if it was due to flex in the sidewall or the smaller side knobs.
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