Salsa El Mariachi Ti: First Impressions

 I finally got the bike out in the woods for a spin.  The only problem was that my legs are toast from cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood,  getting it ready for next winter.  But, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!   Hopefully it will make me stronger, and I can work on faster and longer soon!  

I'm going to have to go see Eddie at WN Precison in ATL to get my fit dialed in, but all I can say is that I am not disappointed.  The first little drop in out of the parking lot I got a taste of how smooth and stable this bike was going to be. 

I ground my way up to the first down hill, and stopped to catch my breath.  The wind was blowing the big storm clouds overhead and occasionally I could see a patch of blue sky.  It was chilly and I was a hair overdressed. 

The bike climbed the gravel road well.  Then I dropped in to the longer downhill section. 

Smooth.  I hit a line that was not really the best choice.  The bike rolled through and brought me out on the other side.  Wow!   I couldn't believe that I had just rolled through that and not gotten pushed around.  The only non techy way I can describe it is smooth and stable. 

I continued my ride.  Choosing to take a longer climb and a longer decent.  The bike climbs well,  smooth and goes where I point it.  The decent,  pure fun.  Stable and forgiving, I gradually started rolling over trail features that I normally would not have.  The bike was so smooth that the downhill ended quickly.   I can't wait to try it out on Laurel/ Heartbreak/ Farlow type trails!

Looking forward to some more adventures!!