Comments on: 7 Guys, 7 Single Speeds, 1 Perfect Day at Gooseberry http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/ It's like reality TV. Except it's real. And there's no TV. Fri, 04 Mar 2022 03:21:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Woody13Fox http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504589 Woody13Fox Fri, 29 Sep 2006 00:07:52 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504589 Man, I'm so insanely jealous right now.  Not just for the terrain, but for the skills too!  How is it you guys can suck and rock at the same time?! Man, I’m so insanely jealous right now.  Not just for the terrain, but for the skills too!  How is it you guys can suck and rock at the same time?!

]]> By: Tim http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504590 Tim Thu, 28 Sep 2006 19:50:53 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504590 Gooseberry Mesa was definately my favourite trail of my two week trip to Utah. It really does have a bit of everything and the flowing single track towards the end of the loop after hucking about on slickrock is rather special. I'd certainly need more practice before being able to pull stuff like Dug's little stunt in the pic. Nice work! Gooseberry Mesa was definately my favourite trail of my two week trip to Utah. It really does have a bit of everything and the flowing single track towards the end of the loop after hucking about on slickrock is rather special. I’d certainly need more practice before being able to pull stuff like Dug’s little stunt in the pic. Nice work!

]]> By: BotchedExperiment http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504591 BotchedExperiment Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:09:00 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504591 Weak Link, unfortunately, I think you're confusing me for Kenny. Kenny is the muscular one in the picture below the blurb about me; I'm the pudgy one letting gravity do the work in the picture above the blurb.   Botched Weak Link, unfortunately, I think you’re confusing me for Kenny. Kenny is the muscular one in the picture below the blurb about me; I’m the pudgy one letting gravity do the work in the picture above the blurb.
 
Botched

]]> By: Fat Cyclist http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504592 Fat Cyclist Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:38:09 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504592 boz - steep, rocky, muddy is fun too -- just a different kind of fun.   katie - yes, but some of us are way more mental than others.   mtnbike w - yeah, to look at that photo you wouldn't think he was going to clean that move, but he did. if he hadn't, i guarantee there would have been a follow-up picture. you're right about it being a fantastic place. it should be on every mountain biker's life list.   big mike - i agree with you that track is very cool, but it's so different from what we were doing as to make comparison pointless. track is as different from mountain biking as rally car racing is from formula 1. you've really got to try it sometime (mountain biking i mean, not rally cars or formula 1).   botched - you're spot-on about gooseberry being unique. there are lots of trails that have aspects of gooseberry, but gooseberry is unusual in that it somehow manages to have it all.   nick - wish you could've been there, man. move to utah.   born4lycra - actually, you don't need to feel too bad for dug. he had a new (rigid) fork on order even before we came out to gooseberry; it just didn't arrive in time. so having the suspension fork bite the dust just means it got to end its life in context. not a bad way to go.   ashbygirls - that's an excellent question, and i'd guess that you'll get a bunch of different answers. i think there's an aspect of vanity, but i think it's more that a singlespeed more thoroughly forces the mountain bike rider to do what you're doing anyway: using your body to get you where you're going. with gears, you're relying on mechanical contrivances to get the job done. without them, you're getting closer to the simplest possible expression of a bike, and what you accomplish has more to do with your own skill and power than the bike you're riding. also, a singlespeed is quieter and feels different. and without a fork, it really feels "direct." i doubt that i'll ever become a full-time singlespeed rider, but i love having the option for when the mood strikes.   weak link - 1. botched is a total stealth caveman. by day, a mild-mannered doctoral candidate in search of a cure for cancer. by nights and weekends, he's a technical wizard. 2. i once gave dug a nickname: "the shepherd." in spite of his snarkiness, he's brought more people into mountain biking than anyone i know, in such a way that everyone he introduces to the sport loves it. whenever i introduce someone to mountain biking or road biking, the question i ask myself when choosing a good first place to go is, "where would dug take them?" 3. sanity tastes like chicken. 4. yep, change your tires and check your ability to consider consequences at the door.   rocky - wish you could've been there, man. next time. and of course, you're fully locked-in for fall moab, right?   brett taylor - being away from this kind of riding for a while makes it all the sweeter when you come back for a visit. meanwhile, what you're riding doesn't sound at all sucky. boz – steep, rocky, muddy is fun too — just a different kind of fun.
 
katie – yes, but some of us are way more mental than others.
 
mtnbike w – yeah, to look at that photo you wouldn’t think he was going to clean that move, but he did. if he hadn’t, i guarantee there would have been a follow-up picture. you’re right about it being a fantastic place. it should be on every mountain biker’s life list.
 
big mike – i agree with you that track is very cool, but it’s so different from what we were doing as to make comparison pointless. track is as different from mountain biking as rally car racing is from formula 1. you’ve really got to try it sometime (mountain biking i mean, not rally cars or formula 1).
 
botched – you’re spot-on about gooseberry being unique. there are lots of trails that have aspects of gooseberry, but gooseberry is unusual in that it somehow manages to have it all.
 
nick – wish you could’ve been there, man. move to utah.
 
born4lycra – actually, you don’t need to feel too bad for dug. he had a new (rigid) fork on order even before we came out to gooseberry; it just didn’t arrive in time. so having the suspension fork bite the dust just means it got to end its life in context. not a bad way to go.
 
ashbygirls – that’s an excellent question, and i’d guess that you’ll get a bunch of different answers. i think there’s an aspect of vanity, but i think it’s more that a singlespeed more thoroughly forces the mountain bike rider to do what you’re doing anyway: using your body to get you where you’re going. with gears, you’re relying on mechanical contrivances to get the job done. without them, you’re getting closer to the simplest possible expression of a bike, and what you accomplish has more to do with your own skill and power than the bike you’re riding. also, a singlespeed is quieter and feels different. and without a fork, it really feels "direct." i doubt that i’ll ever become a full-time singlespeed rider, but i love having the option for when the mood strikes.
 
weak link – 1. botched is a total stealth caveman. by day, a mild-mannered doctoral candidate in search of a cure for cancer. by nights and weekends, he’s a technical wizard.
2. i once gave dug a nickname: "the shepherd." in spite of his snarkiness, he’s brought more people into mountain biking than anyone i know, in such a way that everyone he introduces to the sport loves it. whenever i introduce someone to mountain biking or road biking, the question i ask myself when choosing a good first place to go is, "where would dug take them?"
3. sanity tastes like chicken.
4. yep, change your tires and check your ability to consider consequences at the door.
 
rocky – wish you could’ve been there, man. next time. and of course, you’re fully locked-in for fall moab, right?
 
brett taylor – being away from this kind of riding for a while makes it all the sweeter when you come back for a visit. meanwhile, what you’re riding doesn’t sound at all sucky.

]]> By: Unknown http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504593 Unknown Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:28:45 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504593 Wow - that looks great. I haven't been to Utah (Moab primarily), at least to ride, since I moved out to Virginia. We don't have terrain like that and I miss it. We have roots, rocks, mud, (did I mention roots?) and trail builders who apparently don't know the word "switchback." I've never been anywhere where trails go straight up the hill (with the previously listed terrain) so often. I suppose this means my technical skills should be improving. :-) Wow – that looks great. I haven’t been to Utah (Moab primarily), at least to ride, since I moved out to Virginia. We don’t have terrain like that and I miss it. We have roots, rocks, mud, (did I mention roots?) and trail builders who apparently don’t know the word "switchback." I’ve never been anywhere where trails go straight up the hill (with the previously listed terrain) so often. I suppose this means my technical skills should be improving. :-)

]]> By: Unknown http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504594 Unknown Thu, 28 Sep 2006 13:41:04 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504594 Oh...I'm so sorry I missed it.  What a gorgeous day, and the SS action looks like, erm, fun.  It is a six hour drive from here...lessee...six hours one way, ride for five, and drive six hours back.  Maybe next year.   Does Ricky always get hurt?  Fall Moab '05, Gooseberry '06.  Hmmm.  Bummer about dug's fork.  Really, bummer.   Rocky Oh…I’m so sorry I missed it.  What a gorgeous day, and the SS action looks like, erm, fun.  It is a six hour drive from here…lessee…six hours one way, ride for five, and drive six hours back.  Maybe next year.
 
Does Ricky always get hurt?  Fall Moab ‘05, Gooseberry ‘06.  Hmmm.  Bummer about dug’s fork.  Really, bummer.
 
Rocky

]]> By: Andrew http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504595 Andrew Thu, 28 Sep 2006 10:58:17 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504595 1. Is Botched Experiment on steroids? Does he live better with chemicals? What a beast. 2. dug looks nice. Is his misanthropic demeanor just a guise? 3. FC, you're the only sane one for not trying some of that stuff. It's sick. 4. Sure wish I could do that. Should I change my tires? the weak link 1. Is Botched Experiment on steroids? Does he live better with chemicals? What a beast.
2. dug looks nice. Is his misanthropic demeanor just a guise?
3. FC, you’re the only sane one for not trying some of that stuff. It’s sick.
4. Sure wish I could do that. Should I change my tires?
the weak link

]]> By: Ashbygirls http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504596 Ashbygirls Thu, 28 Sep 2006 04:51:32 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504596 Can someone explain the value of the single speed to those of us who are less bike savvy? Is it mostly just a bragging rights, gimicky sort of thing, or do they have some kind of inherent value over, say, gears? Southern Utah is my favorite place in the world. Can someone explain the value of the single speed to those of us who are less bike savvy? Is it mostly just a bragging rights, gimicky sort of thing, or do they have some kind of inherent value over, say, gears?

Southern Utah is my favorite place in the world.

]]> By: Born4Lycra http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504597 Born4Lycra Thu, 28 Sep 2006 03:18:43 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504597 Great Weather, Good mates, Good Pics, lovely place to be on this planet but I agree with Katie_A978. Commiserations to Dug - will it cost much? Great Weather, Good mates, Good Pics, lovely place to be on this planet but I agree with Katie_A978. Commiserations to Dug – will it cost much?

]]> By: Nick http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry/comment-page-1/#comment-504598 Nick Thu, 28 Sep 2006 03:03:38 +0000 http://fatcyclistspacesarchive.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/7-guys-7-single-speeds-1-perfect-day-at-gooseberry#comment-504598 Mate, very jealous. Off to do Tiger Mountain this weekend. Nothing as challenging as it looks like you did, but i wont be taking my single speed.   Where is the photo of your Rig? Mate, very jealous. Off to do Tiger Mountain this weekend. Nothing as challenging as it looks like you did, but i wont be taking my single speed.
 
Where is the photo of your Rig?

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