I picked up Niner Air 9 Carbon #3 on Saturday but left it untouched and unassembled today. Instead, I rolled out of the house on the Focus Mares for another long Sunday ride through the Jura hills. I rode pretty much the identical route from last Sunday up to the Montoz and down to the Col de Pierre Pertuis. But instead of dropping into the valley, I crossed the Col and climbed to the Jeanbrenin. Past that point, I had to pull out my map occasionally to stay on the right track heading towards the Col du Mont Crosin. This is a nice crossover the Montagne du Droit which cannot be accomplished on a road bike. Pavement, gravel and grass - a marvelous terrain for a cross bike. Before reaching the Col du Mont Crosin though, I turned left at the Chalet Neuf and hit a fast descent to Courtelary. Just before reaching the village, I stopped for a short snack (Banana Passa as usual).
Right after I crossed the main street and passed by the train station, I stood at the foot of today’s next long climb to the Petite Douanne. As the narrow paved road pointed upwards, my legs signaled that they were tired. Luckily, the ascent to the Métairie du Prince was pretty mellow. It took a while but it never turned steep. The trail from the Métairie dropped to Le Grabe creek and went up a steep pitch to Le Pletz. I walked the bottom section until the trail turned left and headed into the forest. Back on the bike I reached the Petite Douanne within minutes.
From here one could gain some more elevation by heading west and climb the Chasseral. During my short snack stop, I iphoned home and realized that I had been out riding for some time. Without including the Chasseral, I turned east to pass the Place Centrale and head home taking the shortest way. When I arrived in Orvin, I deliberately missed the turn and shot down a gravel road to Frinvillier. At first, it was a newly graveled trail - wide, smooth and seriously fast. Closer to Frinvillier, it got bumpy and rocky and therefore not very fast on the Mares. The last couple of miles were spent on the road with a last short gravel section along the Suze creek, where I almost ran over an old lady with her dog as I shot through a tight turn. What did she say? “Jesus Christ”, neither in German nor French but in plain American English. Note to self: be more careful on that trail on a Sunday afternoon.
After I’ve had 200 fun kilometers on the Focus Mares CX 2.0 I need to bring it back to the shop. Just like my previous two Niners, it’s got a BB issue. Last week I noticed that the BB would release a popping sound when I turned it backwards by hand. Always at the same crank position. Pedaling forward there was no such sound until today. In the climb out of Courtelary the bottom bracket all of a sudden started creaking horribly. It creaked for several miles regardless if I was sitting or climbing out of the saddle. Then as suddenly as it started it ceased. It remained quiet all the way to Frinvillier, where it started again and continued all the way home. Could be a damaged or contaminated bearing occasionally preventing the balls from spinning freely. Won’t know until I’ll let the shop have a look at it. Sure strange. What’s up with oversized bottom brackets? Can modern BB designs not handle my singlespeed-optimized leg power?
| Distance: | 79.7km (49.5 miles) |
| Elevation: | 3’330m (10’925 feet) |
| Time: | 04:30:34 |
| Speed (avg/max): | 17.7/78.1 kph (11.0/48.5 mph) |
| GPS Track: | GPSies.com |
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