Back In the Saddle Again

Date: August 8, 2024
Event: Mt. Abram Enduro Week #8
Venue: Mt. Abram,Greenwood, ME
Bike: Kona Process 153 – 27.5

Race Day

Today marked 2024 season ride #2 and race #2! Finally! After a few years attempting to fit a bike frame that was too small, I am stoked to be back on a frame the fits properly! Thanks to the staff at Bikeman.com I was able to procure a leftover aluminum frameset for my ‘antiquated’ 27.5” wheels and nearly all of my existing components. All that was needed to complete the full swap was a new bottom bracket and headset, both of which were on hand at Bikeman.com. The build had been in the works for a few weeks as time allowed and at last the time had come to put tires to dirt and let it ride!

I took a half day off from work to arrive at MTA around noon and get started on practice laps. Bike felt great right out of the box. I added a RockShox MegNeg air canister to the rear shock before ever riding the new frame without it, knowing that the mid-stroke support it adds would only enhance the ride quality. I took a lap down Pinball Wizard -> Rock Bottom (blue square technical -> black diamond technical) to shake out the cobwebs. Though I was being worked physically due to lack of practice, the bike behaved more or less as I had hoped requiring only minor adjustments to air pressure in the fork’s negative and positive air chambers and an additional click of high speed rebound on the shock. From there I pounded laps on Whiplash, gaining confidence and composure with each attempt. Whiplash is MTA’s jump flow-jump trail and the subject of the day’s race, best 2 of 3 runs. By the time the race started I had accumulated four practice laps on Whiplash and was nice and familiar with the line choice and terrain nuances of the day, knowing where to navigate and pump to clear all the jumps and rest between features.

I am getting to know my fellow 40+ competitors pretty well now and we socialize more as a ‘team’ which is nice to have on race day. I was able to produce two good runs, enough to squeeze my way into another 3rd place of 10 finish by 0.39 seconds! Not bad for second bike ride of the year!

Again, so thankful for Bikeman.com support! Much of what I am doing would not be possible with them. On to the next!

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