Spot Rocker SS: Initial Review

The last time it will ever be clean

My offroad season is finally underway.  Looking back on Strava data I was consistently on dirt almost a month earlier last year.  Last year global warming was real this year it is a hoax.  We got the team together again at Russell Mill to hand out new kits and meet new racers.  We've got another good group this year, should be a great year.

I was very excited to get my first ride on the Spot and Russell Mill is a great proving ground.  Fast and flowy with some decent tech mixed in here and there.  Good all round spot to get a good mix of terrain.  Long story really short...IM PUMPED.

Biggest difference between this frame and my old Redline is probably the angles on the seat and head.  I forget the exact numbers but this frame is about 1-2 degrees more slack and a bit more compact in design.  I love Redline's geometry but I'm really digging this setup as well.  I would say this frame is definitely more comfortable descending and is super nimble and playful in the tight and twisty stuff.  I'm also really digging the Niner fork.  Steering accuracy is ridiculous, best I've ever experienced.  Solid in the corners, tracks amazingly well.

Most of my time was spent just getting a bit familiar with limitations and behavior as well as getting my trail eyes back on (I was looking at my front wheel for probably the first 5-10mins).  Some of my lines were less than ideal but I'll get those kinks worked out.  This setup and me are going to get along just fine.

The only 'issue' that I might need to address is my super long 180mm SS cranks.  There was plenty of room for them with the geometry on the Redline, not so much with this frame.  Combined with my big boy 2.4 Ardent up front when my foot is at about 45 degrees in the rotation of the crank there is a tiny bit of overlap with the front tire.  I probably only touched a few times in the course of the ride and it doesn't really create issues when it does but its not ideal.  I was also pedal striking a bit more than I would have liked.  I think the BB is a bit lower on this frame and the extra 5mm on the cranks over the more standard 175mm I think might be just enough to cause enough annoyance that I might need to look into stepping back down to 175mm.  I'm gonna wait it out a bit to see if some of the pedal strike was just me being rusty, plus it will only really be an issue in more technical terrain which in the grand scheme I ride a bit less often.

But just in case anybody got 175mm crank arms just sitting around?  Preferably with a 4 bolt 104 BCD?  Truvativ would also be nice so I don't need to get a new BB.  I'm a choosy beggar.

PK was on hand taking some sweet pics.  Maybe I'll even get another cover of SingleTracks.  At the very least we got this sweet 'band pic' of the team.

Brace Yourself...Race Season is Coming

Crap its been a long time since I've updated this jam.  WHAT THE HELL HAVE I BEEN UP TO?

Part of the problem was I finally pulled the trigger and reg'd for the Wildcat 100(K) and then immediately realized I was staring down the pipe at 66 race miles in early May and it was basically April and I had just about 0 actual real world miles in my legs.  Its kind of hard to blog when you are trying to jam as much saddle time as you can into most of your free time.

Happy to report I can take a blog breather because the last few weeks have gone pretty damn well.  Commuting got underway, trying to get a few days a week where and when I can.  I've gotten some good road rides in around here as well as one bigger one down south with Bully and Matt C.  My legs have felt pretty ok for April.  Some of my Strava numbers are promising, VAM on a few of my climbs is already looking mid-season and energy levels are still decent even after long hours in the saddle.

Confidence level is pretty good for the Wildcat.  The 100K SS field is pretty small right now (only 5 of us) and after a bit of internet stalking I think I should probably be battling for the win.  Unless we've got a darkhorse roadie who can throw down serious watts but never races.  I know my body at this distance and I recently found a bit of info on the course and I think it will suit me.  Nice easy warm up to about mile 15 and then two enormous climbs back to back...almost 15mi sustained to about mile 30 then big long descent and what looks to be a predominantly flat drag to the finish.  They are claiming 6265ft total elevation gain.  About on par with the NH100 but this looks like climbing that will be much easier for me to manage.

Still trying to figure out my nutrition plan.  An email to the promoter about whether or not there are going to be any drops has gone unanswered so I'll probably have to prepare like there won't be any.  Shouldn't be a huge problem.  The NH100 has only had drops for the last two years, I've done this distance without them.  Figured out a way to turn my little top tube mounted bag into a Stinger Waffle dispenser.  Haven't tested capacity but I bet I can get at least 8-10 in there.  Good thing too because it kind of looks like there is a pretty big gap in between aid stations mid course.  Race management is going to be pretty important.

I'm swinging down to Chainline after work today to sit over the bike with the new fork installed to get the fit comfy then we'll trim the steer tube and finish that all up.  After that its just bolt some brakes on and cable them up and its rideable.  I've got some new rubber I'll eventually need to mount as well but I'm gonna wait a week or so so I've got fresh Stan's in there for race day.  I'm extremely pumped on this build.  It's definitely going to look WAY faster than I actually am.  Which is good.  INTIMIDATION IS KEY.

LOOK AT HOW FAST IT IS

Then you go and do something like this...

This season TOTALLY REDEEMED ITSELF.

Early to mid Feb and I would have told you we had another bust on our hands this year.  Probably not as bad as last year but still pretty bad.  Just couldn't seem to hold anything together, no consistency with the good weather we were getting.  Then late Feb / early March happened.

The last 2 weeks or so have been one of the better stretches of conditions I can remember in the last few years.  The snow piled up and then it stayed cold.  Lots of resorts started picking up those little refresher events in the 1-4in range which don't get a lot of attention but in my opinion those make for some of the best days you can snag.  May sound weird but I would take 3-4in that no one really knew was coming over a 12in day throwing elbows with every other GoPro owning yahoo in a 100mi radius every time.  Well maybe not every time.

We didn't have any fresh snow for yesterday but we got the next best thing.  A deep solid base, abundant sunshine and somehow absolutely no crust.  That is a combo I'm not sure I've ever gotten to enjoy before and it was awesome for it to all come together on a meetup day we've been trying to pull off all season.

I've seen this view from the base maybe twice in 10+ years

Full roster included Shaun, D-bone, Amanda and Clint.  We made second Tram and early on we knew we were in for an amazing day.  The sun was out from the get go but we thought for sure we'd be dealing with some pretty crusty conditions until the solar gain picked up a bit.  But first run down Green Beret was already pretty soft and there were still even some spots with sugary pow here and there in the shade.  Didn't make any sense.

All morning was just repeated awesome.  You couldn't go wrong.  We went to all our usual spots and everything was riding amazing.  Soft buttery bumps as far as the eye could see.  With a bit of luck we were able to avoid the crowds for much of the morning.

unfortunately no one makes 5 person chairs, just imagine Clint in here.

After lunch we took the Tram ride from hell.  I kind of forgot that Spring skiing brings out the douche factor and we got sandwiched between two groups trying to one-up each other's idiocy.  They were highly successful.  We scoped out the face after lunch but the snow pack was a bit lacking.  Clint summed it up accurately, "It's navigable but I wouldn't call it skiing.".  So we skirted off the shoulder and got back to following the afternoon sun around trying to stay with the soft snow.  Not before I snapped some pics, one of which was pretty ok.

My last few days out have been season saving for sure.  Tons of good riding that has left me whupped several times.  Would have been nice if it was late Jan / early Feb but we'll have to take what we can get.  Extended forecast looks like we will soon be into a solid freeze/thaw cycle.  Hopefully get a few more good spring days in and then before you know it we'll be rolling on dirt again.  Speaking of which where the hell is my fork Niner!?

Sleepah!?

I went in to this weekend thinking things would be decent at best and as the sun sets on Sunday I'm trying to recover from my two best days of the season.

Cannon got missed entirely on Wed when most other spots in the Whites picked up 12+ but they have managed to pick up onesy-twosy events here and there since with 2in into Saturday and 4in into Sunday.  Got a late text from Clint Friday night and we met up Saturday to see what we could find.

Clint has spent a decent amount of time at Cannon but has yet to really be shown around so we had some work to do.  Showed him some easy to miss tree shots on Cannon proper, got in a Hardscrabble top to bottom, and showed him the harder to find spots on Mittersill.

not hard to find but still rode well all day

We were riding hard all day and all of it was good.  Highlight was probably our venture out to Stinger.  First time out there in 2 years and it was oh so sweet.  Gonna go on record that Stinger is my favorite line in the Notch.  So much FLOW.  Late in the day we decided to see if anyone had peeked into 2nd Shift.  Surprisingly it looked like everyone had skipped it that day.  It could use a bit more snow because of how steep it is but it was a good time.  It sapped the little energy we had left and we called it a day shortly after.

tele-shred intrigues me but looks very tiring

After a few beers and a bouncy house? Clint and I started heading south.  As we left it started snowing hard and I got a feeling that this was gonna be one of those sneaky Notch events.  Even though I was pretty shredded I started sending texts to see who was going to be on mountain Sunday.  The usual suspects chimed right in and the plan was made for first chair.

?

We went right for it and were the first group heading to Mittersill after 4in overnight.  Firsties in the Tube, Tuckerbrook and Troll/Meadowbrook.  One of the best runs of the year.  Maybe even one of the best overall of the last few.

  each one of the 13 turns was quite nice

Hiked back and lapped Mittersill a bit and got some great turns on Bunny.  Usually that one doesn't last but it was riding amazing and no one was hitting it for some reason.

Karen was nice enough to offer a pickup at the end of Tuckerbrook so we ended the day with a full run.  The bottom half was riding great.  Super fun and soft.  We even ran into the complementary folks completely lost halfway down.  They had parked at Coppermine skinned their way over to Tuckerbrook, somehow managed to get split up and had no idea where their other party member was or exactly how to get back to their car.  Nice work guys!  AND we even also got to see the standard issue group of three 20 somethings at the end of Tuckerbrook coming to the realization that they didn't know where they were and they were going to need a ride back to Cannon.  I miss this stuff!

As long as we avoid any big thaws, March is going to be real good in the Notch.  I even got word that they opened Tramline today.  It was too late by the time I heard and I was too tired to get over there but I think that is the first time its been open in 3 years?  That also means Gunsight should be in.  GAME ON!

Skiing!....In Trees!

The stars are finally aligning for what looks like a pretty decent tail end to this winter season.  We've finally been able to string together some consistent precip with some consistent temps and this weekend marks the first time I've been able to really ski Cannon in probably a little over a year.

Saturday was a bit strange weather wise in the Notch.  Gorgeous at the base. Sun was out, temps were mild.  Climb 1000 vertical feet and you've got dense freezing fog, 20-30mph south wind...you know the usual.  The snow was still pretty good and holding up to the traffic well.  Jim and I got to some early recon seeing what wooded lines were in and what needed a bit more coverage.

Obvious wooded lines were already played out but the coverage was good enough to still ski them without much issue.  Other lines with a bit more junk could still use another shot of snow but a handful were riding just about as good as they usually do.  It was great to finally duck in and have at it.  I felt like my 'glade eyes' came back fast this year and I was linking things fine in the tight stuff before too long.

Mittersill was scraped pretty clean but I found a line or two that was still a bit fluffy.  I bet Sunday was pretty nice over there early but it doesn't last long with that chair running nowadays.  Luckily even the slackcountry has slackcountry up in the Notch and Shaun and I decided to try our luck Sunday finding the goods.

Goods = Found

Looking up at our prize

Find them we did and we found them first.  An easy 4-5in had fallen at elevation overnight (on top of everything else we got during the week) and it was still snowing at a good clip on the skin in and during most of the day.  No one had been in here since the latest round of precip so we were looking at at least a foot of untouched.

The initial skin in is nice and gentle, perfect to get warmed up.  Its followed by some sporty terrain for a bit that required us to boot up a pitch until we could contour around again to our target.  Skinning up the actual line was a bit tricky but we got a track set that was workable.  Its a fun little run; decent pitch, stuff to jib off of a bit.  It would be nicer if it was a bit longer but the top of the line gets pretty choked out as it heads up to the ridge so we actually didn't skin all the way to the top.  There is an obvious stop point for the best part of the line where we transitioned.  From there its probably a couple hundred yards of fun...rinse and repeat.

 Shaun dropping in on lap 3

We got 3 laps in before heading out.  We were starting to feel the up by then and had gotten the best of the snow on the line itself.  The out was surprisingly fun even though it is a bit more low angle.  All in all probably one of the most successful days I've had in the backcountry.  Simple plan, executed without issue in great conditions.  Forecast for the next few looks pretty decent, hopefully the temps stay where they need to up north...