Rocky Mountain Bikes Demo Day

Please join Us on May 29th for a day of test riding The new Rocky Mountain 2011 line up. We will be leading an early morning ride from the shop, for those who can join us for a short 16-20 mile loop. After that the bikes will be at our shop all day for you to take on Mt.D or Las Trampas.

Please call ahead to reserve a bike for the Mt. Diablo loop ride as models and sizes will be limited and, available on a first-come-first-served basis.

We will have the following bikes for the demo this weekend:

Element 70 18"
Element 50 16.5"

Slayer 70  18" & 19"

Altitude 29 18"

We will be setting up early and ready to ride by 8 a.m. After that the bike bikes will be back at the shop by 10:30-11:00 am.

Again please call and reserve a bike if you would like to join us for the early morning ride. Reserved list is below.

Gravity, Allergens and Vertebrae

It's always wicked fun to introduce a newbie to Diablo, so we were quite happy to have Mike show up with the venerable Bloggin Goggin for a thrash up Dan Cook and through the swaying grass ocean that is blanketing the Diablo Ranch trail. Just before we left the shop an old friend rode by and we goaded AJ into riding his singlespeed up to the start of the gnarly climb. Idle banter, chitchat and taunting soon gave way to wheezing and gasping once the gradient steepened and Chris and John lit it up and took off.

We regrouped at a couple of points along the way and soon it was banzai time as we tipped our bikes into the singletrack that was barely visible as the grass had grown even taller since we'd ridden here just two weeks ago - nothing like rain, sun and more rain. For once I was able to draw on local knowledge and harried the typically unassailable Marin contingent as we threaded our way through the undergrowth - which now is more like overgrowth...

Of course the allergens were off the charts and we all inhaled copious quantities that we'd go on to enjoy later once the ride was done. Seems the last few times it's not been so bad while riding, but once off the bike it was time to cue up the misery as nasal passages clogged, eyes watered and reddened and a general feeling of itchiness came over us.

We wrapped it up with burritos and beer and talk about riding other places throughout the Bay Area. Sadly for me, a couple of days later (largely due to a lack of stretching and a long hike with my daughter on Monday that did nothing for my hoopty spinal column) I blew it up again and have been off the bike as I try to get some relief for my collapsed L4, L5 disks. Seems my IT bands are tighter than a snare drum and a major cause of my unhappiness - on and off the bike. Chris has taken up Bikram Yoga and swears by it. As soon as I'm able to get some basic stability back, I'm definitely going to give it a go. Right now, I'm following Dr. Heidi's orders and look forward to my massage tomorrow like a kid looking forward to Christmas morning!

Peace ~

GPS data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32321448?sms_ss=email

Cinco De Mayo Cruiser Ride At Norms Place

Come one come all to the first cruiser ride of the season! Wednesday, May 5th at 7pm.

Join us at Norms Place in Danville for their Inaugural 2010 Cruiser Night Ride. This fun family romp through the quiet neighborhoods of Danville is quickly becoming a tradition that we all look forward to. Entering it's fourth year, the ride has only gotten larger and the smiles bigger.

Any bike will do, but its not called a cruiser ride for nothing.

Join the revolucion ! Wear your sombrero and Norms will supply the moustache!

Need a cruiser in a pinch? We have plenty in stock and we rent them too!

Mountain Bike Ride - Sunday!

Join us for a ride up and around Mt. Diablo's western face - get your heartbeat on as we climb up Dan Cook to the junction, then grin the whole way down as we surf through the tall waving grassy singletrack of Diablo Ranch. Medium to beastly climbing, medium technical, totally awesome. We leave from the shop at 9 - see you there!

Green Grows the Grass.

I was doddering about what to do for a ride but late-night call from Chris sealed the deal and saved me from wandering around aimlessly on yet another solo ride in the local environs. The next day we headed down to Danville and hit Dan Cook as herds of roadies rolled by heading up South Gate road. The day couldn’t have been any finer – temps were in the upper 60’s already and the air was clear. The lower trails were dry and fast and my ischial tuberosities were singing a happy song being as how I had put a vintage WTB SST saddle on my bike, replacing the stocker which was a bonafide torture rack.

We climbed up past the junction and dropped down on the road to the first of the two Diablo Ranch singletrack trails that traverse the western face of Mt. Diablo. We were instantly engulfed by tall waving grasses in a sea of green as all the rain we’ve had has made for an absolutely stunning landscape, but as can be expected, the pollen count is off the charts. I was as giddy as a schoolgirl as we threaded our way down the improbably lush vegetation – intuition and local knowledge paid dividends as the trail was visible just a few feet ahead. We splashed through several creek crossings and stopped a couple of times to ogle the beauty all around. But as is always the case, downhill rides never last long enough and we found ourselves down in the canyon. Faced with an easy pavement slog back to the South Gate entrance, or the painful climb back up Wall Point so we could ride down Dan Cook, we stepped up and opted for the latter.

At the top of Wall Point the temp was 80, which explained the massive amount of sweat pouring from my noggin. We took a last look around at the swaying grass and the shiny new leaves bursting from the trees—as well as the massive explosion of poison oak that is absolutely everywhere this year—and flew back down, dodging the stick people tromping up the hill and through death clouds of tiny gnats that always get stuck to my shiny pate. We loaded up and headed back home, where cold Sierra Nevada beer beckoned. Ahhhh!

Ride on ~

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31261025?sms_ss=email

Our Easter Resurrection

After many days of being sequestered in a technological cave, our ISP provider has finally been able to roll the tombstone and set us free, at least on the web. We apologize to all those who tried to communicate via e-mail. It was unimaginably frustrating to us as well.

Please feel free to hit the send button once again.

Ready to hang? Next time we see them, they will be up.

Flingin’ it like a monkey…

More than a month off of any sort of bike due to spinal issues made yours truly a grumpy old fart. But I listened to my wise chiropractor (Dr. Heidi Olson rules!), took it easy, did what I was told and just a couple of weeks ago was able to rig up my trainer and flail indoors while the last of the season’s rains came down. A few sessions of boredom finally led to an actual hoopty ride, then a longer jaunt and it was game on at last. Now I’m slowly bridging up to my vanished early season fitness after it was collapsed by 2 vertebral disks that blew up like ancient tubulars.

Made sure to get a couple more road rides in to see how things were holding together and then it was time to get dirty. This past weekend I finally rolled on my brand spanking new Scott Genius mountain bike and immediately began to experience epic moments of transcendence and Zen. Even though I was out of shape and hadn’t ridden a mountain bike in over 2 months, the feeling was of immediate composure and speed. The Scott utterly overshadowed the performance of my old Marin and had me grinning from ear to ear. (I promise to write up a proper report once I get a few more miles in!)

Of course since the trails I was riding were on Diablo - and this being spring - I’d forgotten that not only is it drop dead gorgeous and the trails are just awesome, there are truckloads of young cows grazing and processing the lush vegetation into prodigious quantities of delicately scented bovine excreta. Up until now I’d done a good job dodging cowpies – until I rode up to a small herd ambling along on the trail. I tried to scatter them by yelling at them in Spanish, but three of beasts held formation and kept trotting along. The fire road tightened up on both sides and then as if on cue all three let loose – their massive wave of effluvia covering the trail. There was no escape. I did my best to slow down even more and thread my way through the curtain of doom – but avoidance was not in the books. I got spackled. My spanking new bike got spackled, and my stunning white saddle looked anything but.

Once anointed with fragrant Diablo Curry I decided that dropping down into the canyon and sloshing through the stream crossings would be a great way to knock the gruesomeness of it all back a notch or two. I thought it had helped, but maybe not so much. On the way home I picked up my daughter and she gave it to me straight as soon as she hopped in the car, she said “Eww daddy – you really smell like poo!”

Ride on ~ Melvis

Almost there.

New Store, New Sign

Our new location is almost official. While we have been open for months, our new signs are about to adorn our new home.

Master craftsman Erich M. is busy at work bringing our vision to life. Employing old world skill and modern materials, Erich has brought the Pegasus logos to life.

The results so far are impressive. And, we think you will enjoy seeing them to.

Look for the signs to appear in the upcoming weeks.

Thursday Night Clinics

Our clinics will begin with the basics of road side repairs. The first class will cover bicycle anatomy 101 and typical road/off-road repairs you can perform on the fly and impress all your friends. Next, we move on to basic bicycle maintenance and "my bike makes a creaky-sound" diagnosis. From there I like to leave things open. In the past we have had clinics on wheel building, bike fitting, nutrition, coaching, competitive riding and Off-road skills. It's all up to you so, let's begin!

Clinic One March 25th at 6:00 p.m.

Clinic Two April 1st at 6:00 p.m.

Clinic Three April 8th at 6:00 p.m.

Please R.S.V.P via email.

February Brings in a New Band of 2010 Bikes!

We are busy building your next bike. On your next visit take a moment to preview our new inventory for twenty-ten. We just received shipments from Wilier, Colnago, Bianchi, Scott, Marin, Rocky Mountain and Felt. If you're tired of riding in the rain.... the shop is always dry and the bikes are always clean.

Looking for a deal on a frame set? The dust is settling after our expansion and guess what we found? We are closing out some great frames, many of them below our cost. Come check it out!

Pegasus Crew Members Ride in Marin

Pegasus Bicycle Works has "team members" all over CA, and probably beyond. Today Chris and Darrin came out to Marin County to ride with me, BlogginGoggin. If you become a follower of this site, we make sure that you know about these outrageously fun rides.

The day was amazing and the riding was impeccable. We did all of the usual suspects in terms of the fire roads on Mount Tamalpais. We rode on Railroad Grade, Eldridge Grade, Indian Fire Road, and Blithedale Ridge. It was a lot of climbing, and then there were also a lot of miles were laid down today.

At the end there was a treat that was provided by BlogginGoggin. I promised Chris and Darrin that I'd show them some really great legal single track, but that they'd need to do at least another 1,000 ft of climbing. They were down with that! So off we went. We reached the entrance to the single track and we dove in with gusto. The trails are perfect right now, and I always ride the ones that drain well after storms. We rolled and swooped along the narrow and obstacle ridden trail until we reached the road below. I think that they enjoyed that! Thanks for coming out to Marin guys, it was a hoot!

Gut Check

There are a few places in the local ride arsenal that quickly reveal one’s technical skills – or lack thereof, in my case. Rockville Park is definitely one of them. Especially when you add 98% average humidity and temps barely brushing 40, creating a dank foggy blanket of misty wetness that coats every rock and root with snot-like slipperiness.

Five of us convened for early morning service at the Church of Rotating Mass on Sunday. We tithed our donation to the Gods of Rockville and hit the trails. The nice level warm-up lasted next to nothing and the push uphill was on. Gasping like a lungfish, I kept reminding myself that every hill here is short. But I mustn’t have been paying much attention because my suffering didn’t abate. So I hereby blame the Holidays for the demise of the puny shred of fitness I was grasping onto – now withered into a leathery and incompliant strip of jerky, ready to be stretched, pushed and molded back into something that resembles a cyclist and not a wheezing old codger. I’ve got some work ahead of me…

Once we got to the top the spectacular view was – nonexistent. Maybe 50 yards at best. The mist swirled and coated eyelashes and fogged glasses. But it didn’t dampen the fun. With an eager (and quite capable) Rockville virgin in our midst we laced together a series of trails that induced big grins and a few sphincter-puckering moments. Gravity bit a couple of us more than once and a small blood donation was made to appease the carnivorous spirits that keep watch over this very cool gem from the Pliocene era. As for my dreadful technical skills, the more we rode the looser I got, so towards the end of the ride I was actually not ploughing into rocks and trees, but dancing over and weaving around them. It was encouraging, to say the least…

Just before we got back down to the lot where our cars awaited, we found a sweet jump with a nice run-in and mellow landing slope that provided excellent elevation and distance. Whooping and hollering like kids, we hit the jump several times before we called it a day and rolled back to the entrance of this small (635 acres) park, but laced with a sweet network of trails of varying difficulty that can keep all but the most cynical cyclist happy for hours. Cheers to Alex, Chris, Darin and Steve who thumbed their noses at the less than stellar conditions and made it out for a sweet ride. Which begs the question: when are we hitting Rockville again?

Kids and Candy

There used to be a time when I’d have trouble getting to sleep because I was so worked up over the ride planned for the next day. That was back during my newbie phase – where every ride was an adventure and just like a kid at Christmas, the next day couldn’t come fast enough. Over time, that excitable boy I once knew fell prey to routine, and while riding bikes still is something I look forward to with a passion, fewer rides these days offer up a genuine sniff of serious excitement anymore.

And so it was that last Saturday I found myself fettling with my bike and getting my gear ready – all while there was still sun in the sky. The plan called for a rendezvous with our good friend Johnny Ribeye—the notorious BlogginGoggin—for a major gathering of serious talent at Annadel park in Santa Rosa. We were riding together to celebrate his making it to the halfway mark of an epic adventure consisting of doing a major ride on a bike every day for a year.

On Sunday I met up with Chris at sparrowfart and we rolled north as a feeble sun tried to poke gauzy holes through the fog. Bypassing Sonoma, we arrived at Annadel in record time and awaited the arrival of the Marin posse—and the top-shelf talent that guaranteed this would more than likely be a hammer-fest. Alas, for better or worse (we voted for the former!) the only two other entities to show were John and his friend Gita, her on Moab-friendly tires which generated much friendly ribbing.

We set out as the temps hung in the frisky low 40’s and quickly stopped shivering as we rode up towards the higher parts of this drop-dead gorgeous park. Thick green moss covered the boulders and logs and the ground was wet and fragrant from the recent downpours. When we hit the delicious singletrack we rode up through thick primal forest to the exposed rocky meadows above, plunged through icy chocolate-milk-colored puddles and laughed as the newbie from Colorado marveled at the various consistencies of mud.

Two and a half hours of serious grin-inducing riding later we dropped back to our cars, and as is always the case, a minor wave of disappointment set in as our ride came to a close. But of this I’m absolutely certain: it won’t be long before I head back for another dose of the good stuff across the Bay. The aftereffects from Annadel are already starting to wear off…

Commitment to the Ride

Some say that I'm "committed,” and others say that I should be committed. A little less than six months ago I got a wild hair up my bum. I randomly decided to ride every single day for the next calendar year. Ooops! What in the hell was I thinking?!? Apparently I wasn’t thinking at all. Here I am in the middle of my journey, and riding in the rain, hail, and bitter cold temperatures. Nope, I definitely wasn't thinking.

Not thinking aside, I did make a commitment, and I’m standing by it, or pedaling through it…

I’ll be posting some of the stories about my journey here. The photo is from yesterday’s ride on Mount Tamalpais. It was rainy and cold, and doing a striptease in my backyard was the only way to keep the mud out of my house! ;-)

Some friends have nicknamed me “Bloggin-Goggin.” I think that’s how I’ll sign off from here on out.

Until the next posting, Bloggin-Goggin.

Climbing, Cowpies and Goatheads

Briones is a pretty straight-forward place to ride. It’s either UP or DOWN. On some days it bites and on others, like today, it’s just plain fun. Originally slated to be a gathering with a bunch of friends in Rockville, today’s ride just sort of unraveled and in the end it was me and Chris heading out to Briones under an ominous slate-gray sky and 42 showing on the thermometer.

Quite by chance we met up with Darin and Steve, who like a certain un-named Marin-county denizen, were themselves off to a late start. Dependence on alarm clocks was clearly the problem here. But it didn’t much matter because on this day none of us were feeling our oats, so it was a placid affair from the go.

We dodged frozen cow patties as we thawed out during the climb up into a surprising amount of bright sun, the icy biting wind however made it moot. Along the way Steve scored another flat and after clocking supra-legal speeds on the descents, all too soon we were down in the floor of the valley. We grabbed a short section of cow trail that led us back to the road and for good measure, everyone picked up a handful of Goathead thorns. To add some texture to the event as I hopped off to do gate duties I stepped in a massive pile of festive green cow doodie. I was none too pleased to have the rustic scent of bovine excreta accompany me all the way home, but the cats were quite interested in my new aroma and followed me around with strange looks on their faces.

There’s no confusing Briones with Marin or other epic destinations, but as my old man likes to say, it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Mel Bearns

Riding to the Junction and a Mountain Bike Ride Invitation

Mel and I had a lot of fun yesterday as we rode up Mount Diablo from the North Gate. It was a bit of a chilly start to the ride as we left Mel's house in Concord, but as soon as we hit the rollers that are just past the north gate, we began to warm up, and by the time that we hit the climb we were steaming along.

Being it that I'm from Marin and only ride Diablo a couple of times a year, I always forget about just how long of a climb it is up to the Junction. Yesterday was no exception. It's quite simply a great climb, if you're a masochist like me.

Once at the Junction we rested briefly before hopping back on our rigs and freezing our butts off on the way back to down to Danville on the south side. Once there we warmed up while eating lunch in the PBW/Peets quad. How about we all plan to do a Diablo mountain bike ride before the rains muck things up?

Here's the Garmin information from the ride if anyone is interested: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/19969537

Giving Thanks.

Having fallen afoul of dread routine rides that are a result of complications brought on by modern life, I was thoroughly worked up about hitting the legendary Marin Turkey Day ride in the company of a handful of good friends, and a few thousand other like-minded riders.

The day before, I meticulously prepped my bike and got my gear ready in anticipation of heading out the door at sparrow-fart. That night I actually didn’t sleep all that well, mostly because of gastric perambulations caused by some seriously undercooked beans, but also because I was genuinely excited about finally doing this ride.

The first year I tried to join the fray the rain conspired against us and the mountain was pretty much closed off as much of the Pine Mountain Loop would have been impassable, so I went off on a downgraded version on trails that had better drainage. Next time I tried I got sick as a dog a few days before. Then there was one more attempt that never got off the ground for reasons that I can’t even remember.

So it was that I met up with Chris and D and once we were fully caffeinated we headed out to meet our good friend John and M at Fairfax. Even though it was 7:30 the lot by the Java Hut was already teeming with bikers getting ready and rolling towards the mountain. We threw our frigid bodies onto our bikes and made way towards the trail that leads past the golf course and up to Four Corners, and after a good 15 minute climb to warm up we were steaming and started shedding a few layers.

The day couldn’t have been better – it was sunny and only some high clouds conspired to keep temps down enough to make it a brisk affair every time we gathered speed on descents. Idle chat and jolly banter rang out as we made our way and soon we were at the dreaded Baby Head section. And here’s where it started getting much more interesting.

Firstly, it’s a lung-busting technical climb that is relentless in its dispensation of misery. Secondly, it is a notorious newbie trap – lose forward momentum and it’s a long walk up to the top. And thirdly, I could not for the life of me figure out why I kept smelling exhaust – until we cleared the first rise and saw a Marin sheriff on an ATV pulling a trailer up the hill, scattering bikers as he chugged up the hill.

My first thought was that there was an injured rider somewhere, but the pace the rider was maintaining was bucolic at best and soon it became painfully apparent that this was part and parcel of the new approach towards “managing” mountain bikers – by intimidation. When we tried to pass the rider, he’d speed up, on long ascents he would slow down. And all the time we were inhaling fumes – just what we wanted to do on our mountain bikes. I finally passed him at the bottom of the last climb and even though it sounded like he was about to roll over me I pipped him at the top of Smoker’s Knoll, on which nary a smoker was partaking as it looked like half of the Marin sheriff’s force was just hanging around, scowling at the riders who scowled back.

After a quick snack during which we saw a few legendary riders like Charlie Kelly and local racers like Rachel Lloyd, John pointed out the approaching monster SUV that was coming up the hill and said “We’d better get rolling – this guy HATES mountain bikers…”
Even though my bike was off the side of the road I quickly dashed over to get it as he appeared to be heading straight toward it. Next to me was a lovely Ventana tandem bike, which unfortunately fell foul of the law.

I was the first to start rolling down the steep descent into the canyon below, and it wasn’t long before Chris caught up to me and John and called out ”Typical! He rolled OVER the tandem!” When we bunched up at the bottom we got the 411 from M, who even tried to stop the “sheriff” from rolling over the bike, but he didn’t stop and destroyed the rear wheel of the tandem and ruined the day for its two owners. The scene started getting ugly immediately and several riders were calling out insults and “explaining” how much a new wheel costs for a tandem. And I’m sure on that day a lot of riders were not only polarized but hopefully energized into action, because this was truly beyond the pale.

So what did we do to deserve this? Are we torch-bearing anarchists? Serial killers? Thieves, murderers and rapists? A look around at the crowd revealed a cross-section of riders – from die-hard racers to weekend warriors. Rawboned teenagers and AARP candidates. Riders on 1980’s vintage iron to the latest in carbon fiber trickery. Men, women, boys and girls – all trying to have a good time, but when we’re singled out as scofflaws and harassed simply because we’re trying to enjoy some recreation, it’s enough to make a grown man sigh.

I lost count, but on that day I counted about 10 SUVs, 6 or 8 ATVs, and well over 2 dozen law enforcement officials – enforcing what exactly? On a holiday. On our tax-dollar. At triple overtime. At a time when the state is fiscally and morally bankrupt and our parks are on the ropes. Great – makes me feel all warm and fuzzy – how about you?

So the rest of the ride was great, but tainted with the sour taste left by that one moment. Along the way we passed several more SUVs and officers out in the middle of bloody nowhere, ensuring that we all felt “protected” – yeah, so long as our bikes aren’t in the path of one of their vehicles. At the top of Repack, Access for Bikes (A4B) was collecting signatures and trying to get people involved – no doubt they had a banner day, considering the warmth we felt from the Marin sheriffs.

If there’s a moral to this story it’s that we ALL need to get more involved in all manner of activities – from continuing to work towards greater trail access, to doing trail maintenance, policing ourselves and in general becoming more politically active – and savvy. If not, intimidation tactics like this will continue to strip from our hands that which is rightfully ours. So if you’re feeling grateful for being able to ride today, consider this a call to get involved – so that we all may continue to ride tomorrow.

M. Bearns

Happy Thanksgiving!

A posse of us from the Pegasus family got up at Oh-My-God-O-Clock on Thursday in order to make it out to Fairfax. We did so because we signed up do the Thanksgiving Day Ride. It's a fantastic gathering of the cycling tribes that's existed for over 20 years now.

JuAs we unloaded our bikes in the parking lot you could see jerseys from dozens of cycling teams and clubs, counties, and even states. The rigs are even more interesting to look at, as many people bring out their old hardware to show off on this special day and gathering. I almost brought out my WTB Phoenix, and I even contemplated bringing out my Potts-built Bon Tempe since I'm riding with broken ribs right now. In the end I brought along five inches of supple travel provided by Santa Cruz, Fox, and WTB.

Chris, Darin, Mel, Michael and I, had a blast on this ride. There was a bit of an unwelcoming supplied to us by the Marin County Sheriff's Department, but that's a sign of the times here in Marin County, arguably the birthplace of mountain biking. To me it feels like the last stand before the county realizes that there are more of us riders paying taxes than the average Joe. I don't want to taint the day's fun with too much politics, so I'll stop here. We had a great time, and I look forward to more of the PBW family taking rides out here in Marin where I call it home.

Best wishes and Happy Holidays to all of you!