Officially Unofficial

I no longer own a geared mountain bike. Sure, I have a Vicious frame or two knockin' around, but I'm pretty sure they won't see much action. Yes, I was in possession of a carbon Sworks Epic. I also had access to a sweet Sworks hardtail. I had way too many options. The last time I rode gears in the woods was December and it didn't go well. I always had issues with the Epic. It got to the point that people would ask me what bike I would be bringing to rides and if I said, "the Epic" I would get frowny faces. I guess they knew they were in for a day a unsavory language, temper tantrums and constantly asking the question, "Where in the hell is Jocelyn?". Usually I would get, "Bring your S/S. please." I would reply," but there's a lot of climbing and it's technical," and I would still get, "just change your gear and bring your single."

I've been happier with just the S/S again. A few people have even pointed out that I look much happier on the bike and I look like I'm enjoying it again. They're right. I used to only have a rigid single. It didn't matter where I was going or who I was riding with or where I was racing. That was my bike. It is just a bike and that's that. I was even banging around thoughts of going rigid again until my c-spine and hands reminded me of why I went to a squish fork. Unfortunately, we don't live in an area of groomed trails. We may have some technical sections and a rock or two (gazillion). It does do a number on your body after a awhile.

After my carbon Sworks frame cracked, I was riding Mike's black Sworks frame. I decided I liked it, so I gave him my Epic and any other 26er leftover bits I had. I basically sold my soul. I decided to sell the warrantied frame because I really wanted the Brain fork. If you set it correctly it locks out on the roads and only activates when you really need it. I'm not good about locking/unlocking a fork with a remote lock-out. Sounds silly. It's only a lever, but I do forget. I don't like all that nonsense on my handlebars, anyway. It was a big step for me to put a computer on. I've always preferred the aesthetics of a track bike. No pesky brakes, shifty bits or cables...too bad that won't work for me in the woods.

Eventually, I'll probably throw some gears on one of the Marathon frames (Please note I've been saying that since December). Mostly for the road and training. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with my lack of options for now. Keep it simple.