Riding The Tsunami

For me, cyclocross is the absolute best kind of racing. I love it and my entire training this year is focused on having a kick-ass cross season with a top ten finish in my age group race at Nationals in KC this year. This also has me thinking about retiring the Surly as a pit bike and replacing it with something a little lighter and snappier. Given my size it's somewhat difficult to find a stock bike that fits well. Sure, I can futz around with stem length, etc but all that jury-rigging means a trade-off in handling, power, and just plain comfort.

So I'm contemplating going custom and if you're going to go custom, why not go the best? Thanks to a friend at Seven, I've been picking their brains and trying to decide between the Tsunami and the Mudhoney (can you buy a bike just because you like the name?) And they've gone totally above and beyond and managed to get a bike for me a week or so test ride. Sweet! They totally rock.

Today was my first ride on it. Despite the fact that the top tube is too long for me, it was still a total blast to ride. Decided a 20 mile ride on dirt would make the bike feel right at home so I headed out the Battle Road Trail to Concord Center then back on what I call the Slug Trail. First impression, the bike felt super light and FAST. I think part of that is because most of my trail riding lately has been on my full suspension mtb. I'd forgotten how quick and nimble a cross bike is on trails. Pretty much felt effortless to fly on the hard packed dirt of the Battle Road trail. Once I got to Concord, I punched it on the rockier Slug Trail. It handled the rocks and roots on that trail smoothly and despite it not being the right size for me, still a piece of cake to handle. I think I had one of those rides where I'm smiling so much I need a toothpick at the end to get all the bugs out of my teeth. ;-) Wow. It'll be a privilege to race one of these machines this fall. Look out, Nemesis!

Along the route back, saw an odd rock in the middle of the trail. Looked slicker than the other rocks (kind of wet?) so I decided to avoid it. Didn't want to crash a bike that wasn't mine, after all. Took a closer look and discovered it wasn't a rock at all. Sunday I was racing a deer, today a turtle. :)