Greetings Team Hot Dog

My name is David. I recently discovered through facebook that my friend Steve has a hot dog fetish and likes to mountain bike. I of course shared my interest in hot dogs, mountain biking and the Echidna.

Echidnas are by far my favorite four legged Austrailian animal. The picture above shows three Echidnas enjoying a cold beverage after a long ride. Anyway, after Steve and I had a long discussion of echidna mating habits, he invited me to join Team Hot Dog. Low and behold, I accepted the invitation.

Besides my love of Echidna's I also enjoy their beverage of choice, beer. I have been riding for quite a while and typically enjoy a cold "carbo load" upon completion of a long ride. I have wanted to get involved in racing in one form or another for some time. But nobody had a hot dog suit that would fit me. My weapon of choice is a 2001 Stumpjumper Comp. However, the only original thing left of the bike is the frame. I upgraded just about everything between 2007 and 2008. I think I'm going to move up to sram x.0 hydraulic discs this year rather than the mechanical I have on there now. I'm still on the fence.

That is the corner of a pool table as well. Yes, sometimes I spill beer on it. I also have a Vasago Bandersnatch. It's a 29er for those not familiar with the Bandersnatch. It's also a fictional creature found in Lewis Carroll poems. It's a steel frame rigid bike setup as a 1x9. It's a fun ride and I may opt for a suspension fork this year. I think I'd rather buy the hydraulic discs and save the rest for beer money. 29er suspension forks are a wee bit pricey and that's a whole lot of beer.

I tend to ride the Tree Farm and Maybury most frequently due to location. I'm in Redford and it's a relatively quick drive to either trail. However, my favorite trail is probably Highland. Tree Farm is tons of fun too. On the weekends I like to make the drive and hit something other than my usual weekday rides. I sometimes head up to Brighton and do Murray Lake and Torn Shirt. Last year I gave Proud Lake a try. I liked it due to the lack of traffic. However, you had to dodge the occasional horse dump. I found the Kensington connector and started riding from Proud Lake to Kensington, doing the Milford loop and then riding back. That actually turned out to be a pretty fun ride and if one really wanted you could take the paved trail through Kensington to Island Lake and ride that as well. And if you really really wanted to you could probably start at Hickory Glen and ride that, Proud Lake, Kensington connection, Island Lake, Milford and make your way back. That gives me an idea for this year. I'll have to pack a lunch.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I'm really looking forward to the Spandex Party where I'll get meet you folks face to face. It'll be good to see you again too Steve, it's been ages. Oh, can I bring my roller skates?