Ultra Stumpy and Me - Return to Bergen Peak

Part 1: Theme Music

My SparkFriend, KA_JUN, often has theme music for his blogs. Here is my theme music for this blog.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=
vr1bz877zE0

Although this song was written and first performed by Bob Dylan, I like the 1967 version by the Byrds.

Part 2: That is Going to Leave a Mark

On July 25th, 2012, I had a really bad mountain bike accident on Bergen Peak. I was seriously injured. Here is a link to my blog regarding my face plant.

www.sparkpeople.com/mypa
ge_public_journal_individu
al.asp?blog_id=4990839

This was me shortly after I was glued back together.


The cause of the accident was faulty bike brakes. My Stumpjumper FSR Carbon Expert ("Ultra Stumpy") came with Formula brakes. The front brake fluid got contaminated with water and locked-up during a fast descent down the Bergen Peak Trail in Evergreen, Colorado.

The bike shop replaced these troublesome Formula brakes with Shimano XT brakes. I did a lot of riding of Ultra Stumpy to make sure the Shimano XT brakes were working well.

Part 3: Return to Bergen Peak

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;" Shakespeare - King Henry V

Ok, quoting The Bard is a little dramatic for a mountain bike ride. But as a pedaled toward Bergen Peak, and almost certain doom, I was a wee bit nervous. In a life filled with hospital stays due to accidents, 100's stitches and many broken bones, I had never felt as much pain as my July 25th bike accident on Bergen Peak.

My helmet saved my life!

I bought a new mountain bike helmet.

I got a Giro Phase helmet. This photo compares my new helmet with the Specialized helmet I destroyed during my accident.

I have been wearing my road bike helmet on my mountain bike, which is fine. However, mountain bike helmets offer more protection from frontal blows. Since I ripped my scalp open during the accident, I had to wait for my noggin to heal before I could be fitted for a new helmet.

Just as a reminder, here is Bergen Peak trail.


Bergen Peak is steep with lots of switchbacks.


Pictures don't do this trail justice. This is rough.


Not all of Bergen Peak Trail is horrible.


Fun boulder to fly over and catch some air!


Piece of cake!


Ultra Stumpy was made for this!

Part 3: Cut to the Chase

I successfully navigated 10 miles of Bergen Peak without a scratch! The new Shimano XT brakes performed flawlessly! Some parts of Bergen Peak have a 30% to 40% grade, which is very steep. You have to use your front brake. I was able to crawl down bad sections with my new brakes.

Here is how I did:

Ascent: 1,834 feet
Elevation: 9,260 feet
Time: 59.5 minutes
Average Speed: 10.2 mph
Maximum Speed: 28.3 mph

Part 4: Little Cam

Currently my Specialized Camber Comp is at Green Mountain Cyclery getting a transplant of the great components he deserves. The pros at Green Mountain Cyclery are installing a new XT Crank, XT Shifters, XT Derailuers, HG93 Chain, and new Jagwire shifting cable housings.

Green Mountain Cyclery has 80% of the floor space dedicated to the repair shop. For all this installation and tuning, the estimate is $85! The bike doc says this lightweight XT stuff will knock over 3 pounds off Little Cam.

Pretty cool.

Thanks for reading my blog.