TR: Trailwork Review: Black Mountain

This morning I participated in my first trailwork experience. I joined with about 25 other people and the SDMBA for some trailwork at the Canyon Rim Trail at Black Mountain.

We met at the main parking lot off of Carmel Valley Road at 8:30 a.m., and after signing in and getting some basic instructions, we were off to work.

We split into 5-6 person teams and each were assigned to a section of the trail. My group consisted of me, Dave Wenk from SDMBA, Evan, Janel, and Mike. We were tasked with armoring an approximately thirty foot section of trail that had become rutted and eroded from the recent rains. Having never done trailwork before, I was a little tentative at first, but Dave and Evan were experts and gave good instruction and oversight.

When we started, the trail looked like this in my section:

We began by digging what was essentially a trench down the middle of the trail where the rut was. The trench was about two and a half feet wide and a foot and a half deep. Evan and Janel manned the picks (which everyone called "pulaskies") and I manned a shovel. So they would loosen up the dirt along the trail, and I would shovel it into a pile just off to the side.


After the trench was fully dug, we placed large rocks, most about the size of my head or so in the trench. Mike and Janel essentially set up a quarry just off the trail with rocks they found all over the place. They found as many flat rocks as possible, and we placed them together like a jigsaw puzzle in the trench so that they would form a solid foundation for the trail.

After a couple hours of getting the rocks placed perfectly, we then backfilled the trench with the dirt we had removed and tamped down the soil as much as possible. When we were done, you wouldn't have any idea the entire section of trail was laden with rocks underneath--it just looked like a normal section of dirt singletrack. Amazing!

From there we went to help another group who had tackled a larger, more difficult section and was a little behind. A group of about 12 of us all worked together to find fill dirt and smooth over the section that they had been working on.

At that point it was about 12:15, and we hiked back up to the main parking lot where we were going to have the post-work raffle. I love free stuff. We were first treated to mini-Clif Bars and packets of Clif drink powder that Andy had brought. I also scored a free water bottle from Black Mountain Bicycles, who sponsored the day by donating the swag for the raffle. And that was all before the raffle itself!

They had all the swag lined up along the bed of Dave's truck, and each time they called a person's name that person was allowed to go up and take their pick of the remaining items. They had tubes of chain lube, spare tire tubes, some other trinkets, and what I thought were the two best items; (1) two tubeless tires and (2) a Specialized E.M.T. survival kit that included a nylon under-seat bag, Specialized SK EMT Tool with 3, 4, 5 and 6mm Allen keys, tyre lever and Phillips-head screwdriver, and Specialized FlatBoy glueless patch kit with 6 patches.

Since I don't run tubeless tires, I had my eye on the EMT kit from the beginning. My name was called about 8th or 9th, and each time I saw someone go over to the row of swag and pick it up, I got anxious. I tried to tell myself that there were several tire tubes left, and I could always use one of those, but deep down I really wanted the EMT kit. I mean, if I had that, I wouldn't have had to pump my flat tire up 6 times on my last ride! I could have just patched it!

Finally they called my name, and the beautiful kit was still there. Happy day. I grabbed it and retreated back to the circle of people still waiting to hear their name called. It was all I could do not to open it right there.

As I was leaving Dave also told me to grab as much of the Clif drink powder as I wanted, so I scored about 8 packets or so, which was cool. I didn't do the trailwork for the swag, but it was really neat to get some free stuff for doing something that I would have done anyway. And with finances the way the are, free stuff is particularly welcome at the moment...

It was a great morning. I met some neat people, did worthwhile trailwork right near my own backyard, got some awesome swag, and was home before 1:00 p.m. I didn't get a ride in because Rachel and I were taking care of William and Christine while Adam and Pamella went to Disneyland for their anniversary. But we had a great afternoon and evening with the kids, so it was worth it.

I would absolutely do trailwork again, and hope to get a chance to do it again soon. Looking at my calendar and the SDMBA calendar, I may not get a chance in April, but hopefully I will in May. In fact, I would gladly sacrifice a ride to do trailwork again, which surprises me a little. It was just that good of an experience.

(All pictures courtesy of Dave Wenk with SDMBA. You can see all of them here.)

EDIT: The SDMBA writeup is here.

Welcome New Reader(s)

It's a little weird for me now that my tiny blog now has an (equally tiny) readership. For the first two months I was posting here, there wasn't another soul on the planet that was aware of its existence. It was just basically a personal journal that happened to be posted online instead of just saved to my computer.

Now Doug stops by regularly, and Rachel reads every once and a while. Craig and Scott have stopped by as well. I even posted the link to my site at the socaltrailriders site, which may drive a few more people here as well.

In any event, the site is still going to be pretty much my personal online journal, and if people read it and are interested, great. I don't intend to change the way I write or censor my musings because of what people who read it are going to think of me. I've been pretty transparent about myself thus far, and will continue to be so.

I bring this up because I've done a few more group rides recently, and will likely be doing more. So when I post my reviews, people who rode with me and then read my posts won't have only my perspective on the ride, but their own as well. Which changes the dynamic a little.

This is probably a pointless post, but I felt obligated to articulate that my reason for keeping this blog is to record my thoughts, and impressions of my rides to go back and read later, and not for any other purpose. I do hope that those who end up here enjoy reading what I write, and welcome your thoughts and comments.

GR: Garmin Edge 205

I've wanted to post my thoughts on my Garmin Edge 205 for a while now. I purchased it back in October, and it has become one of my absolute favorite biking accessories. In fact, its the one item I never leave at home. And on the very rare occasions where I've forgotten to bring it or the battery has been dead, I've been really disappointed.

I can't speak to all of the 205's features, since I honestly don't take advantage of all that it has to offer. My primary use for the unit is tracking the distance, duration, average speed, and location of each ride that I do. My favorite feature is its ability to export the gps map of the trails I've ridden to Google Maps and Google Earth, enabling me to see my route on those maps. Its a really cool way of reliving each ride that I've done, and since the inception of this blog, its been easy to just click on the maps I create and add them to my ride reviews, making for a cool scrapbook-style memory for each ride.

The 205 also has features like racing a virtual partner and setting up workout intervals with reminder beeps when you fall below a certain speed. But to be honest, I haven't used any of those. Since I don't really have a single, consistent ride that I do on a regular basis, racing a virtual partner hasn't been that important. Also, while I enjoy the improved fitness that comes with riding, the training features the Edge has don't do much for my casual trail riding style. But its nice to know the features are there...

The unit has great battery life. The websites say up to twelve hours, which I've never tested. I did ride with it running for a total of about seven hours over three days last weekend, and it showed no signs of quitting on me. There was still over 50% battery remaining even after all that time. The battery is chargeable via either USB or the included A/C adapter, which is nice. I generally download the data from a ride to my computer that same evening, and leave the unit plugged in to the USB port overnight to charge. The battery is not replaceable, so for those who do go on epic multi-day camping rides, that could be an issue. I am not one of those people.

Along with tracking speed, distance, time, etc., the unit also acts as a trail GPS, enabling me to see little breadcrumbs where I've been during a ride. The feature is nice to have, but the tiny grayscale dots on a smallish gray screen are not the easiest to see. However, if I was ever lost, it is nice to be able to re-trace my steps or use the "home" feature to help guide me back to my starting point. The screen overall is also more than adequate for reading the data that I want to see at a glance, even in bright sunlight.
The unit itself is also very compact and durable. It comes with both a stem and handlebar mount, and stays in place extremely well. (Its never fallen out of its mount for me, despite several rough crashes.) Its waterproof and mudproof, and has held up well in rain, snow, and high heat conditions.

The Garmin 205 includes software that helps with tracking ride data both on the computer and online. The Garmin Training Center tracks the time and date of each ride, as well as the total distance, total time, average pace, average speed, maximum speed, total calories burned, total ascent, and total descent for each ride. The website www.motionbased.com keeps track of the same data, as well as allows users to export the route to Google Maps and Google Earth as discussed above. Motionbased also allows other users to see your routes and permits members to share ride data and download new trails back to their Edge 205 devices. I have never done this, but would like to at some point.

The Edge 205 that I purchased does not have a heart rate sensor or cadence feature. Its big brother, the Edge 205, however, does have those features if that is something that you're looking for.

Interestingly enough, I think the Edge 205, along with this site, actually makes me ride more than I would if I didn't have it. The ability to compare my performance to previous rides, evaluate the distance and speed of a ride when its over, and see it displayed on a map afterwards makes riding more enjoyable for me. It also has made me try to go faster and try sections I otherwise would not, so that I can go back and review the data later and gauge my performance.

I purchased my Edge 205 from an Amazon.com third party dealer called Digitech Deals back in October. I only paid $109.99 with $10.00 shipping, which was a smoking deal. It is apparently no longer available through that dealer, and the cheapest I can find it on Amazon is $179.99. However, with the newer versions (the Edge 605 and 705) just being released, I expect the price of the 205 to go down quite a bit further. If nothing else, used 205's should be widely available from those people who choose to upgrade to a 605 or 705 and no longer need their old unit anymore.

Additional Manufacturer's Information for the Edge 205 is available here.

RR: Santa Fe Valley Ride

I had a chance to squeeze in a short post-Easter "linner" ride today. After my parents and brother and his family left, Rachel and I did some dishes and had some free time on our hands. Since there was some daylight left, and I was unhappy about my fitness yesterday on the Calavara ride, I figured I'd try to mix in a short local ride with some climbing.

I had not ridden my so called "local ride" through the Santa Fe Valley since mid-January, and decided to give it a shot. That way I didn't have to drive anywhere, and could hopefully get home in less than an hour. Turned out to be a bad choice.

My local ride is no more.

I rode my usual route, leaving from the house and out past where they're building Del Norte High School. I remembered from January that part of the beginning of the trail had become a little overgrown, but had no idea what I was in store for.

Because this was a quick neighborhood ride, I didn't bring a camera. I didn't even bring my camelback, instead opting for a bottle of water in the cage on the bike and some Cliff Shot Blocks in my pockets. I wish I had brought the camera. And my pack, as you'll see in a minute.

Virtually the whole trail that I had ridden so many times since last summer was completely overtaken by massive weeds and green plants. I found myself going from regular singletrack trails into dense forests of 6 foot tall weeds. Each time I encountered a new patch, I figured I could just keep going and rediscover the trail in a few yards, only to find that the weeds went on for much longer than I expected. At one point I had to bushwhack through almost a half a mile of spiny, prickly weeds that were almost above my head.

My theory is that with the High School being built, access to the trails to hikers and bikers has largely been cut off. Along with that, it was a rainy spring, and weeds have sprung up everywhere, not just along the trails.

I tried to just plow through the weeds wherever possible, and was successful for a while. I couldn't see ground beneath me at all, and was sometimes a little spooky wondering what was luring in the thick groundcover. Also, because the weeds were so tall, and the sun was setting in my eyes, I often had no idea where I was going or what was in front of me.

The trail was bad at the top of the hill near the High School, not too bad down the singletrack decent, miserable between there and the nursery, an then not bad after and for part that is used as portion of Santa Luz loop.

However the portion after it splits from the Santa Luz trail that heads uphill back to my house was an absolute horror show. Already a little overgrown on its best day, it was completely impassable. However, since I didn't have an alternate route home without a massive detour, I decided to just plow through. The weeds were so dense and high that there was no way to ride through them, and I even had to push the bike ahead of me in spots to clear a path. It was brutal.

Eventually I reached the uphill singletrack that was not overgrown, and did manage to climb up it without dismounting, which I've only done one other time. I had also made it up a previous uphill climb with less difficulty than in the past, which was nice. So it seems that I'm improving on the short climbs, but I have continued to struggle on the longer ones, like yesterday.

I realized at the top of the hill that my rear tire was going flat, almost certainly from the legion of spiky weeds that I had plowed through. I stopped to pump it up a couple of times during the pavement climb on the way back up to Camino San Bernardo, and during one of my stops I was approached by another mountainbiker. He was a very nice guy by the name of Vijay, who is apparently an engineer who lives in 4S and is looking for an MTB riding buddy. We exchanged information and will hopefully get a chance to ride together soon. He seemed like a very nice person.

I had to stop three times on the way home to pump up my rear tire, and by the time I hit my driveway it was pretty much completely flat. Could not have been good for my rims.

My legs were also a mess by the end of the ride. They were full of spiny pokers from the weeds, and I was bleeding and had hives all over the place. Fortunately there was no poison oak or poodle dog bush out there, or I would have been completely hosed.



I was still picking needles out of my legs later that night, even after a shower.



So as it stands, I'll never be able to do my local ride again. I may try to investigate some different versions of my usual route, but as it is now, my regular local ride is no more. Which is too bad.

(Where you see dirt roads/trails on the map below, do not be fooled. They are no longer roads. At all.)

Here are the stats:
Total Distance: 5.72 miles
Total Time: 57:13
Ascent: 720 feet
Average Speed: 6.0 mph
Top Speed: 23.9 mph
Bike: Specialized FSR XC Pro
Map:

View Larger Map

RR: Lake Calavera

Today I had an opportunity to ride another of my 2008 Ride List trails: Lake Calavera. The circumstances behind how I came to ride this particular trail are kind of neat, so I'll go into it a little here.

I spend some time virtually every day on the socaltrailriders web site and message board. Its a neat place to find out what rides people are doing, hear about new trails, and learn more about the hobby that I've come to love. It's also apparently a great place to meet new people.

It was on that site that I saw a post last week from Craig, who was looking for someone with a GPS to help him map some of his local trails at Lake Calavera. Since I have a GPS, and wanted to ride Calavera, I posted a reply to the message board and we started trading emails. After getting our schedules figured out, we settled on this afternoon for our ride.

I asked Sean to come along with me, and Craig brought a couple of friends, Scott and Shane, along as well. The five of us met at the trailhead near the pump station in Carlsbad, and after getting acquainted for a few minutes, we were off.

I honestly had no idea what to expect from this ride. I had visited Mountainbikebill's entry on Calavera a few months ago, but hadn't made time to check it out recently, and was totally relying on my new friends to show us around.

We started off down a rutted, gravel road that was pretty steep and had places where I had to bunny hop over bigger ruts that ran perpendicular to the road. It wasn't too bad, but it did give me a moment's pause about what I had gotten myself in to. From there we pedaled up a minor grade, cut through a construction site, and started up the main trail around the lake.

Craig had expressed interest in using the GPS to create a geoladders entry, so we stopped pretty often during the first few miles to take pictures at each fork in the trail so that we could re-create the route later. The frequent stops made riding easier for me, and overall I was doing OK for the first couple of miles anyway. The trails were relatively flat or had only a medium uphill slope, and I was feeling pretty good.

That changed rather quickly, however.

About two miles in, after some pretty fun singletrack, we reached our first sustained climb. I struggled a little at the outset of the first steep section, but wasn't too worried at that point. I hiked a bike up that first section, jumped back on, and rounded the corner to see the next climb that awaited. That was where the real trouble began for me.

I bonked almost immediately, am not sure why. I've documented in detail here most of my climbing struggles, but this was worse than usual. The trail was steep, no doubt, and on my best day I would have had to hike some of it. But I ran out of energy very, very quickly and had to HAB almost all of it. Slowly. With some short breaks.

Frankly, I was embarrassed. The guys I was riding with were extraordinarily gracious, and never left me behind or even got more than 100 yards or so ahead. But I was battling. Maybe it was the Silent Ride earlier in the day. (I doubt that, though, since the Silent Ride was 6.5 miles on flat pavement.) Maybe it was the club sandwich I ate right before the ride. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't been on the trainer in the last two weeks, and the only exercise I had was my weekend rides, which had been on largely flat trails. In any event, I sucked.

I finally made it to the top of the hill, and everyone continued their sensitivity to my plight by killing another 10 minutes up there waiting for me to recover. They didn't say anything about my lagging, just made general conversation and gave me a chance to rally a little. I can't say enough about their gracious attitude and temperament.
From there we were rewarded with a fun, sketchy downhill section that was among the most difficult I've ridden. It was steep, rutted, and had several rocky technical sections. I actually cleaned the first long section without dabbing at all, which was pretty good for me.

Here's what it looked like from the bottom:
After a brief regroup, we continued through another tricky downhill section that was not as good to me. Objectively, the second section was actually easier, but I let my speed get a little ahead of me, and was unable to avoid a giant rut that came out of nowhere around a bend. I biffed it pretty good, and went down hard on my right side. As has happened a few times in the past, my left foot did not come unclipped, resulting in a painful bruise on the inside of my left knee where it banged against the frame of the bike as I lay on the ground. I was a little scratched up but generally OK, and I jumped back on to finish the section.

A couple hundred yards later I went down again, this time because of the combination of a tricky corner, too much speed, and too much front brake. I escaped with some new scratches and bruises, but no real injuries other than my already battered pride.

I completed the rest of that downhill without further incident, and from there we had another relatively short climb ahead. My fatigue once again manifest itself early, and I found myself HABing another hill that I would normally have been able to ride. Also, at the beginning of that climb, I found that my rear dérailleur wouldn't shift. I hiked to the top of the hill, where Craig and Sean were waiting for me. I explained my shifting plight, and Craig looked at it for a minute. He made some tweaks, but the problem persisted. Scott and Shane were up the trail a little ways, and I rode as far as I could to toward them and then hiked the bike the rest of the way.

Scott spent a few minutes trying to diagnose the problem, and with a few tweaks got the rear dérailleur to shift, but it was still skipping gears and acting wonky. It was then that Shane made the diagnosis of the day. Apparently, at the Sycamore ride with Joel a few weeks ago, when my chain had broken, I had threaded the chain the wrong way through the dérailleur after fixing it. I had been riding all of the times since then with it threaded wrong, resulting in additional resistance while pedaling and problems shifting. I am an idiot. Fortunately, those who I ride with usually are not.

So Scott popped off the chain using the powerlink, threaded it properly, and we were back underway. I was once again humbled and extremely appreciative for my riding companions.

The next section of trail was a fun, twisty section of single track that wound both uphill and down. I was able to ride it all and mostly keep up, possibly due to my newly fixed chain. From there it was a short, easy climb to the next part of the route, which included a fireroad descent and subsequent short, steep climb. Again, while I wasn't setting any speed records, I didn't have to hike at all, which I considered a small victory. From the fireroad we rode uphill to a narrow singletrack section that I wouldn't have even noticed if I hadn't been following the rest of the guys because of the grass and weeds that had grown along the side of the trail.

We crested that hill and after a short break, descended into probably the most fun section of the entire trail. It was a great singletrack trail, with tight turns and some short, intermediate rocky sections thrown in. It lasted a mile or so, and then it was back to another medium doubletrack climb.

At the top of that climb we came upon a couple of teenagers who had wrangled a rattlesnake and were observing it in the middle of the trail. It was a beautiful creature, and the kids knew quite a lot about it, including its approximate age, Latin name, and specific sub-species (none of which I remember). They are apparently out there quite a bit, studying the snakes and documenting them for their own research. It was neat to see.

After a few minutes checking out the snake, we re-mounted and began making our way back towards home. If I had been able to hang, we would have taken a different route up to the water tower, and then another advanced technical trail back down the other side. I knew that I wasn't up for it today, and everyone was cool with that. (I still suck.)

We took a different route back to the main trail, which included some neat sandstone sections and one particularly steep downhill whoop that I came upon too quickly to stop for. I made it through fine, but my heart was in my throat for a minute as I shot down the steep slope.

From there we hooked back up with the singletrack that led us to the main trailhead, then back through the construction site, and over a dirt road. I was concerned that we would have to climb back up that rutted gravel road we had ridden down at the beginning, but Scott assured me that he had a better way home, which he did. We cut through a neighborhood and did three quarters of a mile or so of pavement riding to get back to the parking lot where started.

I was absolutely wiped out by the time we made it back to the car. Again, I don't know what to attribute my excessive fatigue to, but regardless, I was not pleased with my performance. I know Craig had hoped to map the entire trail system out there today, and I was only able to hang for about half of it. Even so, no one made me feel bad about myself, and everyone was encouraging and upbeat without exception. I didn't even catch so much as an exasperated sigh or gesture at my ineptitude.

We pledged to go back out and finish the mapping, which I sincerely hope to do. I also am committed to be on the trainer every night this week, in an effort to get my conditioning back up to where I'd like it to be.

Overall, I actually enjoyed myself. I wish I had performed better, but I met some extremely nice people, saw a new and interesting trail, and enjoyed a beautiful day experiencing God's creation.

Here are the stats:
Total Distance: 8.51 miles
Total Time: 2:13:02
Ascent: 1599 feet
Average Speed: 3.8 mph
Top Speed: 23.6 mph
Bike: Specialized FSR XC Pro
Map:

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Silent Ride

This morning Rachel and I took part in the Rock Church's 4th annual Silent Ride.

Here is the description of the history and inspiration for the Silent Ride, taken from the Rock MTB website:

Four years ago one of the leaders read an article about several hundred cyclists riding in silence for a 'fallen' bike rider. That rider was killed by a car, and the riders wanted to bring awareness to his death. The reaction was tremendous and has been repeated for fallen riders throughout the US. Why not do the same for Jesus!?

On March 22nd, RockMTB and several other partnering churches will join us at the Mission Beach Boardwalk to RIDE IN SILENCE FOR JESUS! The first year over 125 people rode in silence for Jesus with Fox News on location. The wonder, shock and comments from the other people (on the boardwalk) were amazing. Many riders spoke afterwards of being deeply moved by our Lord's presence while riding in awe and reverence for his sacrifice to us.

We picked this day intentionally. March 21st is Good Friday, the day or Lord was crucified for our sins. March 23rd is Easter, the day our Lord rose from the dead, breaking the veil of death granting us eternal life through the shedding of his innocent blood. The 22nd is the day he is fallen, in hell for our sins. What a fantastic day to join with family, friends, and fellow brothers in Christ to ride for him.

It was a great experience overall, and we intentionally sought to make it as Spirit filled and Christ-centered as possible. We met up with the rest of the group in the parking lot near the Bahia Hotel in Mission Beach. There were about 50 people total, including some other Skyline MTBers.


Nate and his wife Laura were there, as was Billy. I know Billy's wife Helenka had initially intended to come as well, but due to a family emergency, she was unable to attend.

After a short prayer, we set out from the parking lot in one large group, single file, toward the boardwalk. Rather than head to the ocean boardwalk as I expected, we instead took the route around Sail Bay back toward the main part of Mission Bay. It wasn't crowded yet at a little after 9:00 a.m., and the ride out to Crown Point was quiet and uneventful. I was able to spend much of it in prayer, and enjoyed the time of quiet introspection and devotion.

When we arrived at Crown Point, we gathered for a thirty minute devotional, and then mounted up and headed back to the parking lot. The ride back was a little different than the ride over, partly due to the increased crowds and distractions. Even so, when we finished, I was very happy we decided to take part in this event, and felt blessed to have been there.

If I was organizing a Silent Ride, I might choose to do it in another location, and if possible, earlier in the morning. I'm not sure if the organizers designed the event to be a time of personal reflection or more of an evangelistic effort. I assume, because of the silent nature of the ride, that it is more focused on a time of quiet contemplation of Christ's sacrifice for us and the joy of his resurrection. Because of that, a ride in a less populated area, with fewer distractions, may have served that purpose a little better. But I know several riders did (silently) pass out leaflets describing what we were doing during the ride, and each rider wore a paper pinned to the back of their shirt identifying them as a Silent Rider for Jesus, so there was an evangelistic component. Hopefully some passerby saw what we were doing and in some way was inspired to also spend some time on their own recognizing the nature of God's love for us that was manifest through the death and resurrection of his Son.

I did bring the GPS, and therefore do have some stats for the ride. There are also some pictures, which are available here. We're not in any of them, but they give you a flavor of the event.

Here are the stats:

Total Distance: 6.88 miles
Total Time: 1:42:59
Ascent: 219
Average Speed: 4.0 mph
Top Speed: 10.3 mph
Bike: Specialized FSR XC Pro
Map:

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GR: Shimano SH-M075 MTB Shoe

Here are a few of my thoughts on the shoes I'm currently wearing, the Shimano SH-M075 MTB shoes.

They're an entry level shoe, and are the first pair I've worn, so my basis for review is not a comparison, but just how they feel.

I bought them at Soul Cycles with a very thoughtful and generous gift certificate from Mom and Dad and Adam and Pamella.

Dave Merten installed the cleats on the shoes for me, which I appreciated.

I went with the entry level model both for price reasons and because I was not sure I would be sold on going clipless. I'd heard some horror stories, and had my own concerns about how often I crash already, and how being attached to the bike would affect me in any future crashes. But I had also heard that clipless increases pedaling efficiency, particularly when climbing, so I wanted to give it a shot.

Dave recommended the Sidis, but I was not ready to drop that kind of coin on shoes, particularly because I wasn't sure that I would like riding with clips. So nay on those, at least for now.

The Shimanos I bought are relatively stiff, though there is still a degree of flex in the sole that I feel when I'm pedaling particularly hard. Its also a little tough to get them as tight as I want with just the three velcro straps.

The shoes are pretty durable, and I've gotten them soaking wet several times without any lingering adverse effects. They're starting to show some wear after 7 months despite taking pretty good care of them and riding about once or twice a week over that span. I figure with regular use at that pace they'll last a year or two before they start to come apart, which is decent for an entry level shoe, but I'd prefer ones that last a little longer and resist wear better.

They're also not particularly light. I bought them knowing they weren't carbon soled or anything, and its not like they're bricks, but they're on the high end of the weight scale. I don't really think that effects my riding much, however, considering the average distance I ride is about 10-12 miles per ride, and a few ounces of shoe weight isn't going to be much of a factor.
I do have a difficult time clipping in to my pedals with these shoes fairly often, which may be more the fault of the pedal than the shoe. However the design of the cleat at the bottom of the shoe seems to pick up and hold mud and debris very easily, which is not ideal. I don't have a basis for comparison, but when I decide to shop for new shoes, I'll be looking for ones that won't retain debris as easily.

Didn't buy them here, but seems to be one of the better deals online.