TrailTapes Mountain Biking TV video podcast is now listed with Podcast Alley in the Video Podcast section. The details may be found here. Podcast Alley features the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts (as voted on by the listeners). To place your vote, click on the Podcast Alley badge located on the left side menu. So please vote for me. Each vote raises the profile of this show and exposes it to more viewers. Every vote makes a difference. You may vote once a month, and the votes are reset at the start of the month. I thank you for your support!

I’ve received several emails since the release of the second episode of TrailTapes, complimenting me on the show. I truly appreciate hearing them. Here are a few excerpts.

Just saying Hi from over here in the UK. I’m a member for a mountain bike forum over this side of the pond and wanted to say I have enjoyed your last two podcasts and I have started a tread on our forum to try and get some more people to sing up for your podcast. You can check us out at http://mtbbritain.com/forum/ –Mark

Thanks for the vodcasts. It’s obvious a lot of time goes into the planning, filming and editing. I especially enjoyed the Rays interview, I’d love to get up there. –Chad in Western North Carolina

You guys have a very cool video podcast. Would it be possible for you guys to show us riders, who may not be familiar with the areas you are riding, where you guys are riding on a map or something? –Travis in New Orleans

Chris, I think that the work in progress is awesome! What an excellent format for riders to get news, tips and tidbits easily & on-demand. –Brian in Colorado

I think it’s fascinating to get comments from all over the US and abroad and really appreciate them. It’s inspiring to know that other people are enjoying TrailTapes. Thank you for the suggestions. You can send comments from the comments page.

 Episode 2: TrailTapes Mountain Biking TV: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

News of Syntace Force 99 Stem Recall. Leage of Illinois Bicyclists gets input from bike clubs for preferred bike routes. They’ll be producing a map. 10 Tips for Spring Bike Maintenance. Road trip to Cleveland, OH and interview with Ray Petro from Ray’s MTB, indoor mountain bike park. Trail-logue features footage from rays and music video from Milwaukee, WI band, SORE. Other Links: Gearnoise Podcast; MTBCast Podcast.

The Rock Cut Trail Crew’s first scheduled trail maintenance was scheduled for this morning. There are a couple areas that need rerouting. One tight right turn right after a slippery bridge where people wipe out all the time. We are going to move the turn-off a little farther up the trail after the bridge. Another section in the same area is a muddy corner. We’re going to sweep the turn out wider to help with water control and erosion. That should keep the turn drier.

It seemed like a good idea when we made the plans earlier this month. It was unseasonably warm for early February with temps in the high 20’s or so. In fact it got into the high 50’s on Tuesday. But February in northern Illinois is hard to predict. There was an ice storm Wednesday night. We got a few inches of slush that froze. Then last night the temp dropped to 0. Wind chills made it -11.

Not sure if anyone showed up this morning for the trail building. Here’s the thread from the RCTC forum. http://www.rctrailcrew.org/forum/index.php?topic=233.0

I first rode the Klein Palomino when Trek came down to Rock Cut for a demo day early in 2005. I had purchased a Klein Attitude only the season before, so I admit, I held a bit of brand loyalty. I loved the art of the Klein frames. The gradient paint job, the smooth welds, the internal cables. It is so pretty. But I wanted a dual suspension mountain bike.

Trek had their full line of mtb brands there to try that day. I rode the Trek Fuel and the Fisher Cake. But that Maverick monolink shock on the Palomino was so radically different than other dualies I had tried. It was like riding on air. And I found out that the 2005 Palomino would also include the Maverick fork. Cool!

I ordered mine in early 2005. It finally arrived in April. So sweet. The inverted stansions on that Maverick fork get a lot of looks and the monolink smooths out the trail. I hate to admit it, but the hardtail spent the rest of the year up on the rack in the garage.

The 2006 Klein catalog came out late last summer, but the Palomino was missing. It looks like the short run of the Klein Palomino is over. Why did Trek, which owns the brand, pull the plug on this fantastic bike?

There’s been no official word from Trek, which purchased Klein in 2002. Financial woes? Changing times? Here is a post with some background on the decline of Klein. http://no.oneslistening.com/193

The days of the Klein mountain bike are over, and one can only hope that their road bike division keeps the tradition alive. With Trek at the helm, however, the future of Klein may be a foregone conclusion.

Are patent disputes and lawsuits the reason for the Palomino’s disappearance? Read more about that at BikeMag. Scroll a bit on the page to get to the part about Maverick History.

Had I known the Palomino would be discontinued, would I have purchased a Fuel or Cake? I don’t know. I love my Kleins. I know a couple guys who ride Mantras and swear by them. Being the proud owner of one of the end of the line I feel like the last of the Mohicans. I hold an emotional attachment to my Kleins and I’m sad to see them go away.

TrailTapes plans to visit the Chicago Bike Show at Navy Pier, March 25 and 26, 2006. There will, no doubt, be plenty of bicycling stuff to report on and bring to you for the April show.

Supergo.com has closed and is now part of Performance Bicycle. Supergo.com customers can get a 10% discount at Performance Bicycle thru this Monday, Feb. 6, 2006.

Trails.com has announced its annual Top Trails list, based on trail popularity and usage in 2005. Only three trails made the top 100 based on mountain bike usage.

• Ringwood State Park, Ringwood, NJ #47
• Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail Woodbury, NY #53
• Aliso / Wood Canyons Regional Park: Rock-It / Cholla Loop Laguna Beach, CA #91

Top Trails of 2005

Here is their list of Best Mountain Biking Destinataions

Carole Anne, our treasurer, broke the news at our Rock Cut Trail Crew planning meeting this morning. Lance and Sheryl are splitsville. More importantly, she had to call Lance to offer her condolences. Seriously though, Sheryl’s available? Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow Split | Sheryl Crow, Lance Armstrong : People.com