Today I went for my first ride on the new bike here in Sweden. Matt and I did a lap around “NICKspåret” in the forest near Ursvik.

My bike was terrific. The tires could be better at handling mud, but otherwise I have no complaints.

It was very wet and muddy on the trail. I had to stop periodically to shake the mud off the bike.

The brown colored linkage below the rear shock has a tendency to collect mud and debris. I'm not really sure how to avoid this. At the end of the ride, I was covered in mud too. I think I'll get a set of fenders for the bike soon.

The ride was great. I'm really getting accustomed to the bike now, and I'm getting more confident as I lean what the bike can do. Just one example: there's a steep root-covered rock near the end of the trail that I'd never been able to climb completely. Today I got it on the fourth attempt. Yay!

Mountain biking in St. Edward's Park off Spicewood Springs Road, earlier today.

On the way home, illuminated by the setting sun.

Here are a few more views of my new bike.

A nice view of the bike from behind.

The rear suspension and brake. The rear shock has a little red knob on the front end that controls the speed of the rebound after the shock is compressed.

The back end of the rear shock and the linkage to the seat stays and pierced seat tube.

The rear hub and associated hardware, including disc brake and the inertia shock control thingy Specialized refers to as the "Brain."

A close-up of the Brain and the rear brake. I didn't notice this until I had already bought the bike, but the bracket that holds the Brain is made of carbon fiber.

The rear derailleur.

There's a bit more carbon fiber on this bike in the headset, but the rest of the bike is mostly aluminum and steel.

The right shifter. I'm not accustomed to the shifters yet; I had just gotten accustomed to the low-normal ("rapid rise") Shimano XT shifter that I installed on my Gary Fisher this past summer when I bought this bike and had to re-learn again.

Left brake lever.

The brakes are hydraulic disc brakes. They provide more stopping power than v-brakes; this comes in handy on long descents or when one needs to stop quickly.

The front fork is also quite nice. The amount of travel can be adjusted using this lever on the left side.

On the ride side, there are two adjustments that one can make. The speed of the rebound can be adjusted with the red knob, and the fork can be locked using the blue lever so that it does not compress.