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The Yawp Company in Crested Butte

July 30, 2015Yawp Cyclery

This Rec Path is the ugliest trail in Crested Butte.

Earlier in July, the Yawp Company went to Crested Butte for a weekend. We all got blurry immediately.

Crested Butte makes it so hard to go back to wherever you came from that it's actually easy to hate the place. Nonetheless, we made ourselves ride these sickening trails anyway.

Jon, Rebecca, and I rode a new trail called Gunsight that splits off from the Lupine Trail (UPDATE: this trail is now called Lando Calrissian). It definitely needs some buffing out, but chances are that in a year or so it will be one of the best trails around. It's so good! There is one short section of trail where the forest gets so thick that it blots out the sun (more completely even than Mr. Burns could). There's also a strange section that makes you think you've somehow transcended space and time and turned around and are going back the way you came, though you haven't.

It's easy to link Gunsight up with the Lower Loop or the Budd Trail for a 13-mile ride that starts and leaves from beer. I mean from burritos. I mean from town.

A load of Surly: Karate Monkey, Krampus, Ogre, Instigator — A load of Surly: Karate Monkey, Krampus, Ogre, Instigator

We camped at the end of one of Crested Butte's best trails: Doctor Park. Some very nice people shuttled us up to, and then through, the creek, cutting out a 45-minute dirt road ride. There's nothing wrong with that ride; it's not too steep and the scenery is typical for the area. It's like they took the entire state of Colorado and distilled it down into a single valley. However, as the fire road climb up to the top of Doctor Park is almost offensively difficult, we kindly accepted said shuttle.

The end of suffering: the top of Doctor Park.

If we look this happy at the top of a murderous climb, just imagine how happy we looked at the bottom of one of the best descents around (where our keg of beer awaited us).

A few folks have asked me to describe why Doctor Park is so good, but words fail me. Let's ask my trail partner and life buddy Rebecca why Doctor Park is so good.

"Well first there was these pointy rocks that were powdery like the moon, and I was up in the air forever because of moon gravity, and then I landed and there was this part like fishooooo fishooooo fishooooo where thing… — "Well first there was these pointy rocks that were powdery like the moon, and I was up in the air forever because of moon gravity, and then I landed and there was this part like *fishooooo* *fishooooo* *fishooooo* where things went by that I didn't know what they were, and then there was this wreck I almost had, and then those strobing trees, and then we were going even faster so fast that we went to plaid, and that unicorn with the golden horn appeared, and then there was that part that was like *buddabuddabuddabudda* and I ate this bee because I was trying to slow myself down with my mouth like a parachute!"

Nate enjoys his visit to the Doctor. — Nate enjoys his visit to the Doctor.

We rode the 401, too, which is about as scenic a trail as ever there was.

Crested Butte is one of those rare places where you can let your mind get all the way quiet. The cell phone service is poor, the air is clean, and every star is visible. There's a line in a Wilco song, "I would die if I could come back new." Somebody tell Jeff Tweedy all he has to do is ride his bike in Crested Butte for the weekend.

You can see more pictures and read another account of this trip here.

Finally, we'll leave you with this.

Jon found a sunglasses mirror in the parking lot and wanted to test it out. Greg though he'd give Jon something to look at. Success! The mirror worked.Photo: Rebecca and the bee she ate — Jon found a sunglasses mirror in the parking lot and wanted to test it out. Greg though he'd give Jon something to look at. Success! The mirror worked.
Photo: Rebecca and the bee she ate

Video of the Week

Save Money and Get Happy

July 24, 2015Yawp Cyclery

Something to consider:

1. Time Magazine recently released this article, in which they estimate that the average American spends $2600 every year commuting to work.

2. This article claims that about 50% of all drivers experience some form of road rage every day.

3. The more time you spend on the road, the more you spend on gas and the greater the chance you'll encounter some form of road rage.

We assimilated this information into a simple graph:

The more you spend, the the angrier you get.

Let's break this down a little further.

If you drive to work everyday and you spend near the average amount on commuting, you could instead ride your bike to work half of the time and have an extra $1300 or so in your pocket. If you don't own a bike, you could purchase a Linus for as little as $490 or a Surly Cross Check for $1250, and still come in under budget. Then, next year, you might need to spend $100 or $200 on tires, brake pads, and some service, but you'd have more than $1000 extra dollars.

$1000 extra dollars. If you're like me, there are a lot of things you'd do for $1000 extra dollars. Isn't riding your bike to work every other day one of those things? If you rode your bike to work every day, you'd have an extra $1300 this year, and about $2300 every year thereafter.

An extra $2300 every year. It's like getting a raise and increasing the quality of your life just by doing something fun (every day!). Here are a few things you could buy with $2300:

Why aren't more people doing this? Let's examine a few of the most common reasons.

-I live too far away from my job.

It's true that a long commute can seem daunting, if not impossible. There was a time when my commute was about 20 miles each way, and when I first took the job I was disappointed that I would no longer be commuting by bike. However, that 20-mile drive was at its shortest a 60-minute drive, even when I was able to avoid the peak of rush hour. I decided I would try riding to work a couple of times per week. It wasn't long before I was riding almost every day. I could ride uphill to work in about 75 minutes, and ride home in under 50. It was to my great surprise faster, less frustrating, cheaper, and healthier.

-Bad weather.

There's a saying out there that I didn't trust for a long time because it was first said to me by a salesman. However, after a lot of experience riding in the winter, it turns out to be true. "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing." If you learn to dress correctly, there's not a day you can't ride. Also, don't forget that public transportation is an option on the worst of days.

-My butt/wrists/neck/knees hurt after five miles. I can't possibly ride twenty.

It's important to have a bike that fits correctly if you're going to ride consistently. Sometimes this can be as simple as getting a different saddle. Sometimes, merely adjusting the saddle height or the angle of the brake levers can work wonders.

-I'm afraid of traffic.

You should be. There are a lot of nose-picking texters out there. Watch yourself, be aware, be prepared for cars to make the worst possible decisions, and follow the rules. This formula works well for many cyclists.

But don't take our word for it. Let your bike do the talking. If you ride your bike to work every day for a week and hate every minute of it, come see us and we'll figure out why and help you find a solution.

Our friend Kate had an old, heavy bike that didn't fit her, and we helped her customize a sweet new Surly Cross Check. She sent us an email after she'd owned the bike for one day that read, "I just wanted you to know I had a BLAST riding my new bike to work today. Thanks so much for putting so much care into it! I am hooked." Thanks, Kate!

That's not to say that you need a new bike to enjoy your ride to work. If you don't enjoy your commute, let's figure out why. We're here to help! We're also here to change the world:

Video of the Week

Zoom!

tags Surly, Cross Check, Commute, Save Money, Quality of Life

The Yawp Company Goes to Eagle

July 10, 2015Yawp Cyclery

Once a month, Yawp unleashes its camping anti-team to wreak havoc on the trails of some small, credulous Colorado village. By 'wreak havoc' I mean we ride at an enjoyable pace and practice good etiquette but we get pretty damn rowdy in the turns and when there's pizza on the table. On the last weekend in June, havoc was wrecked in the town of Eagle. Joyride Brewing Company gave us one of these to take with us:

We camped southeast of town in the National Forest. It was buggy, but it was the quiet, lush kind of Colorado valley that is the only antidote to living in the city. Places like that are just about the only places where I can feel truly at rest. Plus, somebody left us a chimney log.

Mountainbikeeagle.com makes finding trails in Eagle really easy (if you can get service). We had word that the Tick Alley/Itch/Scratch/World's Greatest loop was well worth doing, so a few of us snuck out on Friday afternoon to, from the sound of it, ride through tick-infested shrubbery.

The four of us ride a lot. We are experienced. We ride steep front range trails. We ride across the country and we ride Hunditos and to the top of Mt. Evans and we like to think we are reasonably fit. We enjoy being challenged. And yet we could find no expletive strong enough for how difficult Tick Alley was.

Gathered under the tick-infested shrub of misery.

It was exposed, hot, steep as steep gets, and an endless string of whoops formed by motorized dirt bikes. We weren't prepared to give the kind of effort required. We didn't have a thermometer, but it was approximately one million degrees out there.

Shortly after this photo was taken, molten yellow plastic scalded Jim to death. — Shortly after this photo was taken, molten yellow plastic scalded Jim to death.

We were so tired that we skipped Itch and Scratch and went straight for the World's Greatest Downhill. It was fine. Any downhill would've been fine. World's Greatest eventually intersected with Tick Alley, and two thousand whoops weren't much more fun to descend than they'd been to climb. At the bottom of Tick Alley, we had one more maliciously steep climb. Seriously, that climb took so much out of me that my family will be tired for generations to come.

Mere minutes after we climbed into the truck, this happened:

It took a night's sleep, a chimney log, lots of counseling, and a keg of beer to recover.

We rode Pipeline the next day, and we brought reinforcements. It was much better.

This is the only water that anyone in Eagle has ever seen.

After some beer and pizza, we parked near the ice rink and rode Haymaker. Haymaker is worth pulling off I-70 to ride any time you pass the town of Eagle with your bike. Really. Even if you're on your way to a wedding, it's worth showing up late in dirty, wrinkled formalwear. Ride this trail and then ride it again. It's five miles and it will make your week. It was so much fun that I didn't stop to take any pictures. There's also a BMX course at the trailhead.

Some havoc is looking to get wreaked here.Photo: Sarah Bacon — Some havoc is looking to get wreaked here.
Photo: Sarah Bacon

Eagle made Seth blurry. He is like this always now.

Here are a few important qualifying stats from our weekend in Eagle.

Pizzas consumed: 3

Tick buddies checked: 10

Ticks found: 0

S'mores made: 22

Hammocks fallen out of: 0

Hammocks fallen into: 2

Beers consumed: Yes.

Fully rigid bikes ridden: 3

Milky Ways identified: 1

Dreams crushed: 0

Children left behind: 0

Amount of havoc wreaked: All the havoc.

tags Mountain Biking, Eagle, Colorado, Singletrack, Yawp Company

Surly Krampus: The Dark Companion

June 16, 2015Yawp Cyclery

If you're unfamiliar with the Surly Krampus, it can be a little tough to describe. Fortunately, this video--with Austrian concision--explains everything you need to know about this bike without mentioning bikes at all:

Mr. Waltz's comparison of the American and Austrian Christmas celebrations is an apt comparison of the Surly Krampus to what most of us think of when we think "mountain bike." Indeed, universes part one from the other.

What most of us think of when we think "mountain bike:"

Most of us think mountain bikes are full suspension, as light as possible, preferably made of carbon, stiff, plush, fast, and nimble. Most of the trouble with suspension has been engineered out--you can climb without bobbing and brake without diving. Your suspension will remain active while braking and the bike will squat when you turn. These bikes are marvels of engineering, and they can drastically improve your confidence. In a way, these bikes are very much like Santa Claus; they will give you what you want. Want to be fast? Want to clean that gnarly line? This bike comes with praise and presents. Merry Christmas.

The Surly Krampus

In film and literature, the Devil always gets the best lines (the Joker, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter). Counterintuitively, the fully rigid Krampus takes the best lines as well. Rigid does not mean incapable, boring, or slow. In fact, the extra air volume in Krampus's 29x3.0 tires will change the way you think about riding a rigid bike forever. The traction is obviously fantastic, and you can roll over everything. The large tires have the small bump compliance of a suspension fork and none of the bounce you might feel on a 4.0 or 5.0 fatbike tire.

Not surprisingly, technical sections are where Krampus feels most unlike a bike with suspension. Krampus won't smooth out the trail for you; you won't forget you are mountain biking. However, Krampus has no trouble navigating coarse trail. Jump it. Drop it. The harder you push Krampus the better it performs. Your tires may ping, your cables may rattle, but the bike will rocket onward and your mouth will make the shape it makes when you've found bliss.

When he won the DH World Cup without a chain, Aaron Gwin proved that there are things a rider can perceive as a limitation that are in fact not that limiting at all. If you are accustomed to suspension, the Krampus will certainly change the way you ride. That doesn't mean it will slow you down or ruin your fun or force you to walk over obstacles. In fact, my experience has been exactly the opposite.

As Mr. Waltz said, Krampus comes from a culture of traumatization. It wouldn't be difficult to incorrectly associate the term 'traumatization' with how a rigid bike leaves you feeling after a ride. And it's kind of true; if you're afraid and tense and crouched over your bike in terror, Krampus will probably punish you for it. If you behave how Krampus wants you to behave, though, and get low and loose and relaxed, then you will become smooth where the trail is not.

Even if you upgrade the stock build with a dropper post and hydraulic brakes, the Krampus Ops costs about $2300 and is as fast, fun, and capable as the last carbon, full suspension bike I owned, which cost than three times as much. I don't mean to diminish any of that technology when I say that the Krampus is as good a trail bike as I've ridden despite rejecting much of that technology. Krampus does exactly what you want it to do (or vice versa, maybe).

There's no one bike that's perfect for everyone, and some people may prefer dropper posts, suspension forks or carbon wheels on their Krampuses. (The head tube will accommodate tapered steerer forks, and the rear dropouts will accommodate a 135mm quick-release or a 12x142mm thru-axle, but you can catch up on tech specs at Surly's website). As it is, though, the Krampus is already pretty darn perfect.

Krampus in bling: suspension fork, I9 hubs, Chris King headset and bottom bracket, XX1 drivetrain, flask.

The mythological Krampus may be difficult to love, but the steel Krampus will ever be your dark companion.

Video of the Week

Some of the most amazing handmade masks you'll ever see:

The Yawp Company Goes to Fruita

May 26, 2015Yawp Cyclery

Did you know that Yawp has a mountain bike (dis)organization? If you didn't, you can read all about it here. We recently made it out to Fruita for a weekend of bikes, beer, pizza, and bad decisions. Despite a little rain on Friday night and Saturday morning, each of our objectives were met:

1. Ride bikes.

2. Drink beer.

3. Have fun.

The first night was cold and rainy and the second was cold and windy. We spent quite a bit of time huddled around a small charcoal fire, which was all our campground allowed. We took turns melting our shoes against the charcoal bbq grill, trying to keep our toes warm. As is often the case, good people had good times despite weather that was not so good. We here at Yawp would like to take a second to thank those of you in the Company who made some cold camping into a warm memory.

We spent more time riding bikes than taking pictures, but we did snap a few.