THE 3rd Annual, Unofficial, Unorganized, Rocky Mountain MonkeyButt 500 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bikepikespeak.com]

I've been away from advrider for awhile. Just checked back in and got all caught up on this thread. Still planning on coming along. If any of the saggers want to drive my Sprinter that may provide some good extra space if needed.

[Pablo83]

Where's that countdown clock? I'm getting excited about this years ride.

.



.

[Raul Duke]

Originally Posted by Pablo83

Where's that countdown clock?

What, you want another one?

[plusone]

Originally Posted by shearboy2004

What could possible go wrong ?

I think I want in on this one....

[BillyGoatGruff]

Well after a pm with Paul. He has me talked into the MonkeyButt. So I'm going to throw my hat in the ring on this one. I had a great time on the BreckTreck and have been toying around with this for awhile.

Questions.
I carry the basic tools and stuff but I don't have a lot of experience with trail repairs. I have been fortunate in that department. I have tubes from the BreckTrek run. JB weld? anything special with that stuff? just get some.( seen it, just never used it)
Any part(s) tool(s) I shouldn't leave home with out? anybody have a Short list of stuff (not including basic tools) that should be carried as a minimum?

Flats? I read a lot about flats on these rides, BreckTrek, MonkeyButt. any cause for this? (poor installation?)
or its it dumb luck? I've only been riding for about two years and have probably put on 4500 mi in that time and have been lucky enough to not get a flat. I'm I just lucky? or is it just a matter of time? Any pre-maintenance I can do to prevent a flat?

Sag Wagon? I like the idea of donating to the meal fund. I'm in for that. What about personal food,water,beer and such? Bring my own cooler? I have an ARB freezer/fridge that I can bring if there is a 12v source to plug into. It will keep beer really cold... It will even keep ice cream.(No Ice!) Keep personal gear (tent,bag, change of clothes) to a medium/large duffel bag? Lawn chair? Rain gear? I assume we ride thru all weather conditions? I road 717 today and man was it nice! cool, wet, the rain is a welcome sight even nice to ride in for a change. NO Dust!

Things to do to the bike? I definitely need to upgrade my headlight. (any recommendations?) Trials tire or knobby?

Paul, Is the trail route listed earlier in the thread still the basic plan? of those trails, which trail section is the most difficult? I have ridden some of the trails and am going to be in the Taylor park area in late July and would like to run some of the tougher sections to get a feel of what I'm in for.

I'm looking forward to the challenge and meeting some new friends

I have been thinking about this since BreckTrek. Thanks Paul, for the nudge.

Sorry for the long post

Scott

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by BillyGoatGruff

Questions.
I carry the basic tools and stuff but I don't have a lot of experience with trail repairs. I have been fortunate in that department. I have tubes from the BreckTrek run. JB weld? anything special with that stuff? just get some.( seen it, just never used it)
Any part(s) tool(s) I shouldn't leave home with out? anybody have a Short list of stuff (not including basic tools) that should be carried as a minimum?

Bring tubes, JBweld, a light weight wrench for your front and rear axle and if your bike came with a tool for the spark plug bring that too. We will have any other required tools and will be able to instruct you on trail repairs as they are required.

[BillyGoatGruff]

I'm currently carrying all that minus the jb weld. Ran into a guy on 717 today who lost his rear axle nut.
That was pretty suckful. he was with a few other guys and they were working on safety wiring something up to limp it back

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by BillyGoatGruff

Flats? I read a lot about flats on these rides, BreckTrek, MonkeyButt. any cause for this? (poor installation?)
or its it dumb luck? I've only been riding for about two years and have probably put on 4500 mi in that time and have been lucky enough to not get a flat. I'm I just lucky? or is it just a matter of time? Any pre-maintenance I can do to prevent a flat?

It's mainly luck, but there are things you can do to help. You should run heavy duty tubes. You can run higher tire pressures. I run 18 PSI which is relatively high. Alex from brecktrek runs 32 which would make me miserable. You can decrease your fork damping, but that can have adverse handling effects. Also you can try to keep the front end light over rocks and roots.

Now it's time to start the tire system debate again... I do not recommend TuBliss for this particular ride. There is about an 83% chance it will fail and it will be a huge pain to remove. Tire Balls are not meant for high speeds, so I doubt they would work on this ride either. No one has tried a bib mousse yet, but I wouldn't suggest trying anything new to you the first year you ride the MB.

My best advice is to be prepared to learn to change tubes on the trail.

[BillyGoatGruff]

I read enough on the BreckTrek thread to know to stay away from the tubliss contraption. I don't know much about the others. I've been running medium tubes. Worth while to swap in some heavy duty ones for the MonkeyButt?

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by BillyGoatGruff

Sag Wagon? I like the idea of donating to the meal fund. I'm in for that. What about personal food,water,beer and such? Bring my own cooler? I have an ARB freezer/fridge that I can bring if there is a 12v source to plug into. It will keep beer really cold... It will even keep ice cream.(No Ice!) Keep personal gear (tent,bag, change of clothes) to a medium/large duffel bag? Lawn chair? Rain gear? I assume we ride thru all weather conditions?t

Bring whatever you want. Either your food will get put in someone else's cooler or someone else's food will be put in yours. Everything gets rearranged the night before the ride at Ryan's house. If you bring too much crap we will make you leave some of it at Ryan's house, but we usually have room for everything. Just remember that we roll into camp real tired so you will want to keep the camping side of things real simple, so leave the easy-up at home.

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by BillyGoatGruff

I read enough on the BreckTrek thread to know to stay away from the tubliss contraption. I don't know much about the others. I've been running medium tubes. Worth while to swap in some heavy duty ones for the MonkeyButt?

Yes! I should have said that in my earlier post.

[Pablo83]

Originally Posted by BillyGoatGruff

Paul, Is the trail route listed earlier in the thread still the basic plan? of those trails, which trail section is the most difficult? I have ridden some of the trails and am going to be in the Taylor park area in late July and would like to run some of the tougher sections to get a feel of what I'm in for.

Yes, the route is still the same. Trails to worry about in the Taylor Park area are Timberline trail and Block and Tackle trail. Ther is also another trail that we might be running at night, but I don't remember the name or number so you probably won't be able to practice that one. And then there's trail 483, Quartz Creek, but it's real hard to find so good luck pre-running that one. Others to think about that are farther out are Agate and the northern part of Rainbow.

[dirtydoug]

"you probably won't be able to practice that one"



practice........ is that aloud

[Redhurricane]

We are OFFICIALLY in, sagwagon and all. Thanks Paul for info via PM, we will be bringing enough trailer to support carrying most of the camping gear, food, etc.

My wife will be driving from stop to stop, and is a certified massage therapist so anyone that needs work each night will have the resources available. She will have her table and also her massage chair set up inside the trailer.

Can't wait!!!!!

[onlead]

Originally Posted by Redhurricane

We are OFFICIALLY in, sagwagon and all. Thanks Paul for info via PM, we will be bringing enough trailer to support carrying most of the camping gear, food, etc.

My wife will be driving from stop to stop, and is a certified massage therapist so anyone that needs work each night will have the resources available. She will have her table and also her massage chair set up inside the trailer.

Can't wait!!!!!

Guess I'll have to skip the last trail (as usual) to be first in line.

Actually Tom and I are upgrading headlights (again). Trust me, it will seem like daylight when we turn these bad boys on.