Mitchell Canyon - 750 - chain buddy

Got out recently to camp on Mt Diablo, but took a new route up Mitchell Canyon on the east side. It was a helluva climb, but it seems like it's always worth it.

Riding out of Clayton another rider helped us navigate the tangle of trails in order to get to the head of Mitchell canyon.

 Looks flat in the pic, but we are in granny the whole way up. I was dreaming of a new 24 toother up front...

 Most of the way up

 panorific

 Eventually we made it to the saddle near the campground.

 We dropped our gear at camp and headed for the summit, but had to catch the fogset on the way up.

 Some of what remains at the Green Ranch. I really love finding these types of ruins out in the wild, it is always a treat to see nature reclaiming these spaces.

 Ridge running

 cave man

I've been curious about these bikes for a while. It's a 1991 Trek 750. A buddy of mine decided to sell his old Bianchi and switch to something that would accept a larger tire and that could be generally set up in a more comfortable way, and this was the solution. It's pretty well Riv'ed out: technomic stem, noodle bar, xd2 crank, xt front der, Deore rear, and of course a Brooks. The frame has ample clearance for a big tire and a fender (if you go that way), interesting lugs, rack mounts with a mid fork, and True Temper tubes. Still it's no Rivendell, one downside we noticed is a highish bottom bracket so you have to have a tall stem. He's got it set up as a roadie but it might make a fun monster cross too.

 That seat cluster is radical!

It's got a pump peg even.

 Great tire clearance, these are 38s with plenty of extra room.

 New xt der has the clunkiest clamp I've ever seen. I try not to get too hung up on aesthetics but this thing is a bookshelf!

 Lastly, here is a nasty little hack. It's a home made chain buddy to run a single ring up front with multiple cogs in the rear. I've tried a single ring in the past with no support but it always drops the chain at some point. This bike is going to be a junky townie so I'm not going to clean it up at all, maybe I'll spray some Boeshield on it, maybe.