JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Descending the Burma Trail

The Burma Mountain Bike Trail is a sweet section of Hilso Trails south east of Gallup, NM.  The video below is of a quick ride down the fun section of the trail. I’ve ridden up this trail before and it is a decent workout but very manageable.  Coming down is not like coming down a ski… [Read More]

Quasimoto MTB Ride

I found myself at the Hilso Trailhead on a spectacular Saturday morning wondering what I should do!  I knew exactly! A mountain bike ride on some of the most spectacular trails on which I have ever ridden. I’ve written about this area before.  It is south-east of Gallup, NM in the Cibola National Forest.  The… [Read More]

Committed

I’ve done it.  I’ve registered for a cycling event. Not a race. A ride. I am now telling the world. I know that it is easy to skip doing the things that we keep to ourselves.  Once we admit our goal/intention to others, we suddenly have a much more difficult time in sneaking away from… [Read More]

New Bike: Giant OCR 2

I really enjoy cycling.  I love the time spent on the bike, enjoying the quiet, thinking, feeling my body work, getting away from all of ones concerns, hearing the tires on the road, and lots of conversation with God.  Writers who are cyclists have been attempting to capture this feeling with words for years and… [Read More]

MTB Pedal Update

I’ve been using Shimano M424 pedals for awhile now – about a year. Overall, my review holds true.  Recently, however;  these pedals started “squeaking.”    The noise seemed to be coming from the plastic/phenolic/composite “platform” that circles the actual pedal.  It rotates on the pedal shaft but there are no bearings.  I tried cleaning, lubing, and… [Read More]

MTB Ride: Hilso Trails in Gallup, NM – Part 2

Note: This is the second part of the adventure.  See part one here. Due to the rain last evening, I decided to stick to the more heavily used trails – at least compared to what I was on yesterday.  Mud isn’t the end of the world, even for a guy from the desert southwest, but… [Read More]

MTB Ride: Hilso Trails in Gallup, NM – Part 1

Over the last few months, I have read some very positive things about the mountain bike trails around Gallup, NM.  I found a trail guide for sale online (here -I ordered the first edition but the second edition is not available – kool!), ordered it, and upon review; decided I needed to go try these trails… [Read More]

Smoked a Strava Segment

I was notified this week that I am in fifth place on a Strava segment that I did not even know existed!! The segment is the Camino Del Llano Climb which rises up out of the metropolis of Belen, NM onto the mesa west of town where the Belen airport is located. It is 1.3… [Read More]

Clipless Pedal Maintenance

I seem to learn something every day.  Today it was that not only does pedal maintenance exist for clipless pedals but it is required. I posted here that I went clipless (almost a year ago).  I really like clipless pedals (I’m using these Shimano pedals) and the improved performance is obvious to me (up stroke… [Read More]

San Mateo Mountain Bike Ride

I LOVE the west!! I’ve been itching for a good back country mountain bike ride for awhile but schedule has just not allowed it.  Things opened up for this past weekend and I jumped at the chance.  I decided to give the San Mateo Mountains a shot. The San Mateo Mountains are about 45 miles… [Read More]