MTB

I have always liked biking. Road biking is good but it gets boring after riding for more than a hour. I have had the luxury of trying different bikes in Bay Area. One reason is California is very well set up for bikers , the biking lanes and moderate weather helps.

Covid made us stay home and since our house is next to Foothill road and the Pleasanton Ridge, I took the opportunity to take my humble ( ultra basic ) mountain bike on a trail. That attempt was a failure. But I liked the fact that many of Pleasanton trails are empty and can be accessed throughout the year. Since the trails were within a few hundred meters, the opportunity was there. 

 

Raleigh Talus 2 was a basic bike with rim brakes and basic fork. The rear cassette was 11-34 , not very comfortable for a beginner. This bike is sold now ( I had to make room in our garage ). I had it for 1.5 years. It has moved one house only ;)

A gentlemen was selling a 2010 specialized stump jumper for a fair price. I picked it up. I had to try the trails now, better bike and all. Used bikes come with some problem , the rear shock was bottoming. Had to wait a week to get the replacement gaskets for the fork. Installed it after a lot of effort. Now I was ready to ride. I was able to ride the Pleasanton Preserve trail loop.

 Now time to find a companion. Talking to a neighbor I figured he was interested in Mountain biking and already had a basic bike. On one fine day we both went around the Preserve trail loop. It involved a lot of stop, pushing the bike every 2 min. We took 40 min to complete the loop. It take 40 min to walk the loop :) . We were pretty bad. 

Gradually both of us built up our stamina. Now we can complete the loop in 14 min.