The ride in was 26 miles and took me 1:45 hrs. It was a ton of climbing and descending, and I definitely felt it on the fixed gear. Every time the brim of my cap flopped into my eyes going downhill, I could tell that I had hit 40mph. Good times.
I was forced to change my route at the half way point. One innocent looking section of connecting fireroad turned out to be a steep trail covered in mud. Needless to say, I didn't feel like attempting a ride up it on a bike with 32c tires.
The Poo Poo Thunder II did its job, but its going to need a few tweaks. The tires I'm running are way to small for wet fire roads, I think I need at least a 40c. I'm geared entirely to high for the mountains around here. I can ride them with a 39X14, but its much harder than it need be. Crank brothers egg beaters are downright scary on a fixed gear when spinning a high rpm downhill. My feet did not feel secure. I'll need to find some full coverage fenders at some point because the clip-on mountain fenders I have don't fit. Other than those set up gripes, I absolutely love the bike. It's light, strong, and handles better than anything else I've ridden.
Onward to the failure.
It looked like it was going to storm when I got off work at 6:00, and with 1500 feet more climbing on the way home, it was probably going to be dark before I got back to the townhouse. So a coworker graciously offered me a ride in return for an ice cream cone. I accepted.
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