I intended to write a prologue for Cumberlandworx this year, a Day 0 if you will. An introduction to what the where, what, and why of the other ‘worx. But, given that we’re fresh back from day one of riding, well, clearly it was not to be. I have a pile of fantastic excuses.
First, we were having too great a time hanging out with some family in Gnarnaimo for a couple days. Then we were late getting in as we had to stop at Claire’s second favourite restaurant anywhere, Roy’s Towne Pub, and then there was just enough time after we unpacked to grab a pint and a (fantastic) salad at Cumberland Brewing.
On day dot we randomly ran into a bunch of folks we know. Mike and his son Max were having a bite in Royston at this midpoint in an enduro-moto adventure and Mike recognized me from my Different Bikes days over a decade ago. Later, we bumped into a grom we know, Lincoln, out with his folks and set up some morning Space Nuggets laps with them.
DAY 1 – Greatest Hits
We started the day with a couple laps of Claire’s all-time favourite trail anywhere, Space Nugget. She was 6-years-old and rocking a rigid Early Rider the first time she rode it, but regardless of how she’s progressed since, and all the challenging terrain she’s tackled, it’s apparently still the trail. Despite grabbing a couple of laps with Lincoln we still had to end our day with a short pull back up to finish with the Nug.
Claire’s been progressing quite a bit this summer, and really enjoying her own improvements, especially when it comes to technical climbing. The plan was to get out and pedal a pile of Claire’s favourite trails from last year so we can check out some awesome Cumberland classics that are new to her and Nina for Day 2.
Today, in addition to ripping Nuggets, Claire ran through Swamp Monster, Upper-through-Lower Crafty Butcher, and the full 50:01. They’re all two-thumbs-up, five-star, happily recommended trails. One trail we rode for the first time was a meandering XC line through the trees call Round Out with some tight-tight uphill corners that had her sh*t talking about the advantages of a short-short wheelbase.
Day 1 – Bike Issue
Everyone’s bikes held together fine, which is both what I’d expect – especially given how much work I put into them before we left – and also a minor miracle given all the mechanical issues we had the week before we left.
Nina ate shit a couple weeks back and broke a spoke and nipple. It’s not the first time so I ended up re-lacing both her wheels. Then, the week following, the Clairebarian killed the b-tension spring on the 2005 SRAM X0 derailleur she’s been riding and discovered a new level of shifting performance with her X0 shifter hooked up to my Zee rear derailleur running a 10-spd cassette with nine cogs. The shifting is sweet. This is a good reminder I need to track down another Zee derailleur.
Then, Nina’s Chris King hub started slipping occasionally under load. It ended up being a quick fix but it was the kind of cloudy moment that had me checking an re-checking every damn bolt, topping up tubeless sealant, and there are two rolls of Gorilla Tape an a quart of Stan’s in the truck just in case.
What could go wrong? Well, part way through Day 1 the eccentric bottom bracket I run in the Enigma I’m reviewing for NSMB slipped. Zero chain tension. In theory that would be repairable on the trail just by loosening a couple of 3mm hex-head bolts but on the previous occasion that it happened, I discovered that’s simply not the case. My Wolf Tooth multi-tool is rad, but it doesn’t include a hammer nor am I keen to hammer it with a rock.
Good news though, between the retention of my Wolf Tooth stainless narrow-wide ring, Kick Ass Cog, and that perfectly straight chainline the only difference it made up or down was a bit of noise.
I love single speeds.
Day #
For those that have been asking for it, I promise you’ll be totally sick of Cumberlandworx coverage by the time we’re done this year.
Enjoy?!