Cunningham Park

I found myself back on Long Island at the end of May and I brought my Rocky with me to ride at either Glacier Ridge or Cunningham Park. Unfortunately I spent most of the day looking for a new chain and rear cog because I was having severe skipping issues and simply could not ride it like that. I got the parts I needed, installed and adjusted them and headed home. On the way I back to Albany, I stopped in Queens to ride at Cunningham. The trails are always superb there. I love it! I was able to ride everything. I wish these trails were a lot closer but getting to ride them a few times a year make it a real treat!

New bits for the Rocky

Early Spring found me pouring over websites for sales of any kind but particularly bike components. I had been eyeing several different parts but I wasn't making any purchases unless the price was right. I was sure if I waited long enough, what I wanted would be priced right.

I've been longing over some bits from Diety Components (http://www.deitycomponents.com/) for like ever. I love the Enoki grips as well as some of their bars and stems. I found out they were having a closeout sale on last years Dirty30 bars and the lifesaver bar ends. I jumped at the chance, I think the bar ends cost me $10, the bar was $25 and I think the grips were $20. Normal price for the grips but the bar and end caps were half off!

Okay, so now I needed a stem. There was a local guy selling a used Race Face Diabolus D2 stem for $45. The thing was practically brand new! It was also what I was looking for 70mm length with zero degree rise, 1.25" stem and 31.8mm clamp. I wanted something similar to my current stem, which was 50mm with zero degree rise, but just a bit longer so the front end wouldn't dance on steep climbs. The stem looks sick too, it's a perfect match for the Diety bits.

My first real ride with these parts was at Cunningham Park. What a difference from the last time I was there. The steering was so crisp, almost felt like when I had the triple crown up front. The bars, because of their width, also put me almost always in the optimal position. Helped keep my chest open for effective breathing and put my torso in attack position. I felt really confident riding with this setup and man does it look sweet!

20101122 - Jet Line Trail, Cunningham Park

20101122_Poison Line_Cunningham Park from John Ruiz on Vimeo.

A Good Week for Rides

My mom was coming up to stay and visit the week of Thanksgiving. I was able to take the whole week off. My Mom lives on Long Island, where I grew up. She drives, but not long distance and since I live near Albany I'd have to drive down to get her. I had planned on riding at some point during the week and this afforded me the perfect opportunity to do so.

Mike Vitti of C.L.I.M.B.

The plan was on my way down I'd stop and hit Cunningham Park in Queens and maybe hit Glacier Ridge the next morning before I have to head back home. I had ridden Cunningham before and the trails are well marked and well made but having someone who knows the trails always provides a better experience. I was able to contact Mike Vitti, President of C.L.I.M.B. and NYS I.M.B.A. representative, to take me for a tour. I rode with him last year here but they had completed some recent projects that I did not want to miss out on. Once again the trails were stellar! We ran into many other riders all of whom were very friendly. Whoever said new yorkers aren't nice haven't met many mountain bikers. And they all held such respect and admiration for Mike. Kind of made me proud to be a biker and a New Yorker at the same time. Mike was an excellent guide. I always enjoy discussing trail building issues or ideas with him, he's always got good sound advice and it nice to see that implemented in the trails. If you ever get the chance to ride here, it's a must see for how a well managed trail network can function and what it can provide to the community. After the ride we chatted with some other bikers and then we went our seperate ways. Thanks so much Mike!

2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon

I have a friend, Mike Musto, who saw my post on fb about driving down to ride at Cunningham. He emailed me about stopping by his place after my ride. Turns out he lives 10 minutes away from the park. So after I was done riding I called Mike, got his address, and headed over. Now I hadn't seen Mike in a long time (probably several years) so this was a great opportunity for us to catch up. He now works from home and is the Editor-in-Chief of an online car blog called Ride Lust. Part of his job is writing articles, lots of them, and posting them online. The other part of his job is test driving vehicles. Companies like GM send him cars to drive for a week and review online. He recently had the opportunity to drive the Chevy Volt and more recently a 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon. The Corvette just happened to be sitting in the driveway...in all it's $98,000 splendor. So after I changed out of my riding clothes and chatted for a bit, we of course went for a ride. All I can say is HOLY SHIT! What an amazingly fast car, I hadn't been thrown back in my seat like that since I went for a ride in my friends 650 HP pro/street Chevelle. This car was doing all it could to transfer the 505 HP to the pavement...really just unbelievable. I believe we were actually giggling like school girls...what can I say, machines like this can do that to a man. After our joyride, we went back to his apartment. His wife Aisha came home soon after and we went out for a bite to eat. We went to a pub, the food was actually really good and the beer was cold. We had a few good laughs but then it was time for me to head to my sisters out east. These are two of the nicest people I know. They were also nice enough to buy me dinner. So thanks to Mike and Aisha for the joy ride, dinner, and your excellent company. I am really glad I got to see you.

I ended up not getting to my sister's until 10:30p or so and didn't get to bed till almost 12a. I had the best of  intentions to ride Glacier Ridge in the morning but was just too tired and too sore from Cunningham the day before to do so. I had a 4 hour drive ahead of me so I figured I would take it easy and get back home. I picked up my Mom and we headed back North. It was a really nice day for a drive too.