Draper Pre-Ride

After work I met my lovely wife over at the Draper Equestrian Center for a pre-ride of the Draper race course (the race is on Monday). The Titus rep was on hand for demos. Ryan from Revolution set me up on a RacerX 29er and off we went.

Matt Ohran had just come in from the course and he reported that the top of the dirt road was a muddy mess, what with the rain and grading. So we decided to do a half lap by going up the Corner Canyon trail then jump on the BST to finish the 2nd half of the course.

The start includes crossing the Corner Canyon Creek that was running pretty high. I didn't think much of it until my front wheel dropped 10" in the middle of the flow. I was surprised and cranked the pedals hard hoping to power out of it. I made it but soaked both feet up to the ankles. I shouted to Jolene, "it's really deep", but she was still surprised at how deep it was. She made it, but got wet feet too.

The RacerX rode pretty nice. The 29er wheels roll over the rough stuff easy. It climbs good, but felt heavy. For a demo before a cross country race they should have set it up with lighter tires than those Kenda Nevegals at 830 g, but the bigger wheel also made it feel heavier. The bike handled well and even did OK on switchbacks. I had to steer it more actively, but it railed the corners. Overall a nice bike, but the rotational weight of the big wheels made it feel sluggish. Perhaps lighter tires would solve that issue. If I needed a new bike I would look hard at 29ers, but my Cannondale Prophet serves me pretty well right now and I just didn't see enough advantage to the 29er to switch.

The ride was nice. Jolene was annoyed that her legs didn't feel snappier at first, but they loosened up about half way out. I pushed the pace in part in prep for the race and also to put the RacerX through it's paces. I did the finish around the pond. The start and finish is a bit convoluted so I'm glad I rode it.

After the ride I talked with some UMB teamates and some folks from Revolution. It was nice to hang out with other mountain bikers.