Big Mama and Eki get to know each other...

An unusually early spring to Duluth has trails in mid August like conditions and I've been dying to get on Big Mama's back. I built her up a few months back, but it seems like a couple of years ago as I've been keeping her on the back burner while gravel road racing has been at the forefront of my mind. Countless hours on the cross bike has made utilizing the hook in the garage a little easy. I'm hungry for something different.

Building the bike myself and knowing me like I know me had me wondering what would go wrong on the first ride in the woods. Amazingly, NOTHING apart from a cable loosening up, which was no biggie. Right out of the gate she felt good and nimble. Salsa must spread some magic potion over the bikes before they box 'em up that gets them wanting to go fast! I vowed I'd take it slow and easy at first just to make sure every thing was running good and I actually remembered how to ride trail. After about 5 minutes I found myself cutting loose and feeling hooked up.

Hell, I was cleaning sections I never have before and I don't think it really had much to do with me. Big Mama had me cheatin'! She climbed very well and after a few adjustments to the damping in the rear shock I forgot I had a rear shock, which is always an A+ for a shock. If you're not thinking about your suspension, it means it's working perfect.

I've never made it through this boulder field without at least one "dab". O.k., I didn't today either, but I was SUPER close!

Some times when you're on a ride and everything is so perfect, the only thing missing is that you don't have some one with you. It was one of those kind of days.