Our skiing season 2007/2008 is getting close to its end.

I have planned one more ski trip for the first of may though - but that is quite unsure at the moment. I’d like to do some (08/09) gear testing, and I have a few negotiations going on about the issue (retailers and some other contacts). I was supposed to do some testing while in Lapland last week but unfortunately some schedules didn’t meet (and I was too lazy to drive some 3-4 hours to do tests, I just took it easy with my family. The great ski conditions we had made that decision also alot easier - skiing powder, if anyhow possible, is always  quite high on the priority list for me, even before gear tests…heh.

Ok, I’ll let you know later if I could still milk a few turns in Central Finland and possibly do a few ski reviews.

For now, it is time for us to get that summer mood on. Mountain biking is our number one summer time activity and we plan to write some articles about the sport in the coming months. I guess MTB is interesting for a large number of skiers - the sports have alot in common and at least riding your bike is a great way to keep you in ski shape in the warm months.

I did a season opener loop today and actually rode a bit longer that was planned, some four hours. Man, was I beaten after the ride. I’ve rode to work twice a week  since one month or so but that doesn’t compare at all. The daily commute is only about 4o minutes / day  (I’ve got a new job in late February, and got alot shorter daily commute too, which I enjoy quite alot.  Earlier the drive was too long for daily bike rides. On the other hand now I lost the 10 minute drive from work to our little ski play ground…the thing I am surely going to miss in the next ski season!)

Anyway, it was good to be back on the bike. Season changes are not that bad after all. I was also pretty stoked because this was the first real, longer ride on my new bike. I only did a few very short testing laps near my home in the winter months. So, I was a bit afraid that I had chose somehow wrong bike/parts combination but I was really positively suprised how everything worked out…

Here a bit more background to the above thought, a cross-post from MTBR thread (from last december, I didn’t had any “real” trail ride in winter). The thread was about Singular Cycles, a great little manufacturer specializing in so called 29er and single speed bikes:

“Another one…with a bit different mindset. Size L. This is kind of like my idea of the “29er hardtail trail bike”.The front end is (too) high at the moment, I think I swap a zero-rise stem or even flip the stem (although I don’t like the looks of flipped stems).

Since that picture I already did a few little changes: I swapped the stem to a zero rise, and I changed the rims for Salsa Delgado 29ers - I managed to bent the originals in one little test ride…they were some Mavic touring rims, and I didn’t trust those from the beginning.

I was afraid that the bike’s handling were too nervous and head angle too steep (after riding the said Gary Fisher Rig, which was a great bike but turned and handled more like a train…)

After today’s ride I was more than satisfied: on a 29er you just can’t endo if you half-decently know ho to ride; the slightly steeper head angle didn’t make any noticeable difference.  Faster handling (compared to GF Rig) then means that the bike will turn in lesser area than a city block…it is by no means too “nervous”. All in all the handling felt pretty intuitive, I just hopped on my bike and after the normal half an hour spring clumsiness everything felt very effortless.

Ok, that’s it for now. I will post some more MTB stuff later: some thoughs about 29ers and why I ride them, mountain biking in Finland (it is pretty good, actually), some earlier rode trips (Lake Garda in Italy -hmmmm, that was nice…) etc. Keep checking if mountain biking is your thing!