LA Bike Ride and Gear Noise

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I am sitting in LAX waiting for a flight to Seattle and enjoying that great feeling you get after a long bike ride.

My friend Gordon took me on a mountain bike ride this morning in the mountains north of LA.  We started in Kenter Canyon and rode up to an old cold war lookout station that was part of the Nike Missile System protecting Los Angeles.

At the farthest point – the Nike Missile Station – I got a flat tire. I was riding a borrowed bike and Gordon and I were really struggling wtih changing the tube. It was the "blind leading the blind" as Gordon said.

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Then out of the blue these two guys show up and lo and behold, one of them (I forget his name) is the host of a mountain biking podcast called Gear Noise. It was a gift from the mountain biking gods! The guy showed us how to easily get the new tube in, how to work the newfangled pump that Gordon had bought the day before, and gave us a few pointers as well.

He was an expert and I suspect his podcast is really good. If you are a mountain biker, you should check it out for sure.

Here’s a picture of Gordon and Mr. Gear Noise after my tire was back on the bike and we were ready to go.

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On the way back down, we took the single track down the section called The Whoops.  These are basically non stop jumps for about a mile on a downhill track. It was a blast. If you like to mountain bike and live in LA and haven’t ridden on this trail, you really have to do it.  It’s so much fun.

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