rigid

the Millstone Grind is tomorrow - 34m of good 'ole fashion technical, swooping, twisty-turny vermont singletrack. pre-rode the course last night w/shawn and can sum-up the 8.4m loop up in one work - AWESOME! maybe two words - FRIGGIN' AWESOME!

i am kinda freaked about racing rigid, have never raced rigid - and a 34m "marathon" event is an ... interesting way to try it out! but, figure if i can ride smooth and strong for 34m of true vt singletrack, then i can ride rigid (and be competitive) at the vt 50. trail riding rigid is one thing - and i love it, feel truly connected to the terrain - but racing is a whole 'nother thing - the speed and effort produced, riding at your limit, totally changes how you (and the bike) react...

the ti deluxe 29'er definitely takes the edge off the bumps, with a nice soft tire up front (maxxis ignitor 2.1), it feels nice, like i have a whole 10mm of travel! kinda like bringing a spoon to a knife fight. but hey, if you know how to wield that spoon.. and igleheart's rigid fork bends and absorbs best when at high speed - it takes putting a lot of force into the fork to get a lot of it. faster is better. am nervous, but totally stoked to try this set-up out for realzy.

time to go sharpen my spoon.