Now that I was established in the shop, I was assigned to Advantage Cycles sister store..........

After Tom had me up to speed on assemblies, I was assigned a new task. One of my c0-workers, Troy, had been heading up the sister store on the UNI "College Hill" area called "Campus Cycles" and he was tired of being "stuck" there. So, during the boring off season time, I got the task of being the baby sitter of Campus Cycles.

Tom had taught me all the ways of assembly very thoroughly. How to use leverage to my advantage, how to adjust bearings properly, and all the details on how to make a bicycle present itself in the best manner on the show floor. He was satisfied that I had "got it" and was willing to turn me loose on my own. Sooooo.......I was all alone assembling bikes on the College Hill location five days a week.

There wasn't much customer activity. Actually, in the couple of months that I was stuck down their, I maybe helped a handful of people. Most of the time was spent assembling bikes until close, then I had to lock up and head back to Advantage with the key. Sometimes a truck would show up and we'd blast those bikes outta that truck as fast as possible, me and the truck driver, piling them up right on the sidewalk out front. There was no loading dock, no way for the trucks to get to the back. So, they had no choice but to block busy College Street which meant we had to bust tail getting the rigs unloaded.

Then, of course, the truck driver would peel outta there leaving me with 60 boxes of bikes to get inside, and into the basement storage area. This would take a fair amount of time and that also meant that I had to handle each box a minimum of three times: Once off the truck, once to get into the door, and once more down to the basement. It was pretty tiring.

At first, I was driving down in the Advantage van, or my own rig, but eventually there were time I was riding a bike to work, and Tom or one of the others would drop me off down on "The Hill". Then I had no means of getting back to the shop downtown. Tom often would claim he'd be down to get me, but I soon figured out that might take hours. Literally hours. So, I usually would build a bike my size last, and ride it back to Advantage Cyclery. Tom or one of the others would take it back the following day.

Soon though the snow started melting and on one of my rides back to the main shop I could feel it. Spring was here. With the turning of the seasons, I was summoned back to the Advantage Mothership and that's where I stayed.

Campus Cycles didn't last much longer. Business wasn't good, and it was decided to scuttle the project later that year. I didn't even notice because we were super busy at Advantage. Too busy to notice the signs that might have tipped me off to what would happen later. Oh well, for the time being, I was having a blast.

Building bikes, becoming a mechanic: Next week on Bike Shop Tales.........

Labels: Bike Shop Tales

Labels: expensive

Dirty Kanza 200: Just got an e-mail about this. Here's the skinny!

To all Dirty Kanza 200 Friends... Greetings from Jim and Joel, your Co-Promoters for The Dirty Kanza 200. We have been hard at work on next year's event, and we are confident that 2010 will prove to be a banner year for The Dirty Kanza 200. Numerous "tweaks" and "refinements" are in the works, designed to bring you a truly life-enriching cycling experience. Our Vision... that The Dirty Kanza 200 will become North America's premier annual ultra-endurance gravel road cycling challenge. Exciting things are happening. Keep reading... we share the "Huge News" at the end of this email. Emails and phone calls have been pouring into the illustrious DK office, asking when registration will open. So we thought we would throw together a few details that should help you in your planning for the 2010 running of The Dirty Kanza 200. Here you go... Race Date: Saturday, June 5th, 2010(Sign-In and Packet Pick-Up, Friday, June 4th, 2010.) Registration: Will open Sunday, January 10, 2010, and will once again be conducted online at BikeReg.com Field Limit: We will expand our field limit this year to 150 participants.Note... Last year's limit of 100 participants was filled in just four days of registration. Mark you calendars now for January 10th. You won't want to wait too long, if you plan to race in 2010. (We will send you a reminder right after the first of the year.)

Classes: Open MenOpen WomenSingle SpeedMasters Men (50+) This class is new for 2010. "Auxilary Events":We are woking with The Emporia (KS) Convention and Visitors Bureau to create numerous activities for your support crew members and family members to enjoy throughout the weekend. So bring your spouse, significant other, kids, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends. More information on these activities will be coming in the next few weeks and months. Dirty Kanza Blog:Joel and his lovely wife Michelle are hard at work making significant upgrades to our blog site. It is a little "rough" right now. However, in the next week (or so) you should see huge changes. Go ahead and bookmark it now.

(www.dirtykanza200.wordpress.com) Check it regularly. And please provide your comments and suggestions on how we can continue to improve the site. Dirty Kanza 200 Video:For those of you who have not yet seen the Dirty Kanza 200 video, there is a link on our blog site. The video was produced by the folks at IM Design Group, in Emporia, Kansas. We think they did a fantastic job.

And now for the Huge News... drum roll please...Salsa Cycles has come on board and will be the "Premier Sponsor" for the 2010 running of The Dirty Kanza 200. Joel and I are both absolutely giddy with excitement over this development. When we very first began discussing plans for 2010, one of our primary objectives was to identify a company within the cycling industry with which we could create a long-term partnership. Salsa Cycles was the first company we thought of, and throughout all of our planning discussions remaind at the top of a very short list of candidates. Due to their company philosophy, their fantastic products and their great people, Salsa Cycles is the PERFECT sponsor for The Dirty Kanza 200. Salsa has stepped up to the plate in a major way. The winner of each of our four classes (Open Men, Open Women, Single-Speed and Masters Men) will receive a complete 3-piece "Salsa Upgrade Kit", which will include that rider's choice of a Salsa Stem, Salsa Handlebar and Salsa Skewer Set. In addition, one lucky participant will go home with a brand new Salsa Fargo Frameset. Salsa's support of The Dirty Kanza 200 goes even further, including water bottles, hats and T-Shirts. You can check out all of their great products here... www.salsacycles.com While you are there, drop them an email and let them know how much you appreciate their support of The Dirty Kanza 200. That's it for now. More details will follow soon. Until then, stay safe, train hard... and Get Your Gravel On. We look forward to seeing each of you in Emporia, Kansas the first weekend in June.

Gravel Grovel: Over the recent Thanksgiving weekend a new gravel grinder event in southern Indiana took place called the Gravel Grovel. From the sounds of it, it was a very challenging, fun, and well attended event. You can check out a couple good race reports here and here. It sounds like there will be a Gravel Grovel next year at about the same time, so stay tuned........

Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational: Well, over the past two years we have done camp outs and then we have done the ride. Thing is, we imbibe a bit too much the night before causing much suffering the day after on the ride. This time we vow to get it right. So, on July 16th, 2010 we will gather and we will go to bed early! Then we will get up a bit earlier than usual, ride, and then come back for barbeque, beer, and a camp fire. We will plan to be there overnight again, so traveling home could be done right away, or you could stay, hang out, and go home the next day. (Sunday) These dates would be July 16th, 17th (ride day), and 18th.

The same venue and course will be ridden again. That being Echo Valley Park and the loop from there that included just six feet shy of 10,000 ft elevation gain in 118 miles. (Remember- the first 25 miles after the first five are flat and not hilly) The decision to do the same course was due to the fact that it is so challenging and so cool. The views are tremendous. Flowers should be in full force, and it probably will be hotter than Hades, making this a tortuous test of riders stamina. Plus- I already have cues for it! (See last summers ride report here)

Ragnorok 105: Well, if you didn't get in on this, it's too late. Registration opened and it has filled up already. Go here and scroll down a bit to see who will be toeing the line there. (Pretty stout roster!) Looking forward to reading the reports from the 2010 version of this lil' event.

Almanzo 100: Looks like registration will open for this dirty century on January 1st via post card. (Check out the site) The event itself will be on May 14-16th. (Ride occurs on the 15th) It is part of the "AGRS" which has become a series of these gravel events that includes the aforementioned Ragnorok 105, CIRREM, The Gentleman's Ride, and The Heck Of The North, but may include others at some point. Unique in that it offers points for finishing first through tenth on top of 30 points for anyone that finishes. So, if you finish, you get a minimum of 30 points, but top ten finishes are rewarded higher points per placing over and above the 30. Real cups are apparently going to be handed out to the top male and female riders of the series. Sounds cool.

More Nebraska Goodness?: Cruising the Almanzo site, I came across this which is an event planned to take place just north of Omaha on a planned 100 mile course. The event is called the "North O Rock Road Jackrabbit" and is slated for October 10th, 2010.

Trans Iowa V6: The registration closed and the Waiting List has been established. Remember- if you want to drop off either the Roster list or the Waiting List, please inform me via e-mail. Next big hurdle will be getting the recon done. Expect a lodging announcement soon as well.

That's it for this edition of Gravel Grinder News!

Ride, train, and be well!

Labels: Gravel Grinder News

As the seasons change and the year comes to a close, there are several things that I am reflecting on in regards to 2010. The past year has been amazing. However; it's time to start looking ahead at next year and what I need to do now to make some changes.

One of the things I want to start on now is getting a winter ride/training/discipline thing going on so that when it gets nice in the spring I won't be such an out of shape rider. And there are some "carrots" in the form of some rides that might possibly go down that are motivating that. (Notice I didn't say they were races)

Some of the things I have done I won't do anymore, and that to simplify my life. I admit that I have been sticking my fingers in too many things. I will still be involved in some major stuff, like T.I.V6, of course. But there are some things I've done that are big time energy sucking things that are going to get cut loose next year. (And in fact- some have already been cut loose)

Mainly I just want to ride more than I have and do it better. Will there be a race? Maybe. I don't much care if there isn't though. I just want to do this cycling thing better than I have, and certainly- there is room for improvement. I have to be balanced in life as well, with the family, being a husband, and working. It won't be easy.

But nothing good or worth pursuing ever is.

Labels: 2010, Trans Iowa V6

Labels: carbon fiber

Last week I got into a little back round with my job situation pre-bike shop days. Now I was going to be working at a real bike shop......


Well, it was time. Tom, the owner of Advantage Cyclery, asked me to come in one evening to meet some of the staff and to learn what it was he wanted me to do. As he took me around the shop, he stopped me short and told me about one of the mechanics there that was working on his mountain bike. It was Duane. He was intently bowing over a polished American mountain bike. (American- that's a brand name, by the way!)


Tom said that Duane was a bit "tense" and that I should be careful. I said, "Oh yeah?", and an idea came into my head as we walked over to meet him. Tom introduced me, and Duane never even looked up.


I reached over and squeezed the brake lever that was connected to the canti he was adjusting and said, "You know, you really should tighten this brake up. It feels pretty mushy." Well, Duane's blood pressure went through the roof, and he sputtered a few half sentences before he shouted, "Do you know that I am a black belt?!! I could kick your ass right now!!" To which I calmly replied, "Well, go ahead. What are you waiting for?"


Duane sputtered, stood aghast, and stormed away. Tom giggled like a school boy. He thought it was brilliant. He couldn't believe I did it, but I think it endeared me to him from that point onward. The rest of the introductions went on and I left after I was told what my duties would be. I went home that night feeling apprehensive and unsure of myself. I suppose that was natural, but it didn't take long for me to get settled in.

The first few days were spent kind of standing around and observing. I helped customers a bit. The shop was an amazing place with all the brands and cool bikes that I got to hang out around everyday. Bianchi, GT, Fisher, and Diamondback, just to name a few. Tom also had quite a selection of road framesets there to buy as well. Then I started out assembling bikes at Advantage and still was helping customers for awhile, but a time period came up where things changed for a little bit. Tom had a satellite store with another guy, and I was going to become part of that operation for a bit.



Next Week: Working On The Campus

Labels: Bike Shop Tales

Thing Number One: Turkey Burn Report: Saturday was the annual Turkey Burn ride at Camp Ingawanis. You just never know what you are going to get for weather on this ride being that it is so late in the season. A few times it has marked the last ride on dirt for the year. So, it is the kind of a ride I don't like to miss out on.

Well, my wife was on call for the weekend, but our close family friend saved the day and came to hang out with my kids for the morning allowing me to get to the Camp. While I was a bit late, at least I got there. The word was that the group would head out for a short lap and then rendezvous with me back at the lot when I arrived. Well, when I got there the place was deserted. Oh sure, the cars were there, but no sign of riders.

So I took my time setting up and when I was ready to ride, there was still no sign of them. I decided to head out on my own. I got a short lap in, came back and still no one. I headed out for another trail, and halfway up the climb, I ran into them finally. So, they were headed back to the cars for a break and I went with them.

Now the frost was super heavy and the ground was frozen hard. So much so that my tires were sliding across frost covered leaves. Bare ground was crunchy. It's always kind of neat to ride on bare frozen ground. However; I knew that once the sun got up, that would change in a hurry.

I found that out on the beginning of the second lap, (well, third time for me), and I went down in a greasy switchback. I got up to walk my bike a few feet to more level ground and my feet slipped out from underneath me and I went down hard again! The rest of that lap was spent riding alone and very gingerly! The grease, now turning to a layer of mud, was treacherous, but if you take it slow and steady, it can be accomplished without further drama. I figured I'd be the first back to the lot, (Not due to speed, but due to getting lost and truncating the loop), and as it turned out, I was last!

We had chili, hung out, talked, Redgie gave us free Cranksgiving t-shirts, (Thanks Redg!) and we had a great time. Thanks to Captain Bob and MTBidwell for the efforts. Oh yeah, and MoJoe even put on a sweet unicycle show by hopping and dropping off a picnic table while we cheered him on.

Thing Number Two: I am a subscriber to Dirt Rag. I've liked that magazine and have been a fairly regular reader since the mid 90's. Obviously The Rag has changed with the times, but recently I noticed something. Something less. I was missing something but couldn't put my finger on it. Well, I have a stash of Dirt Rags going back quite a ways, so I reached down into the stack and yanked out an issue from 2006, as it turned out. Well, I was immediately aware of why I was feeling that empty feeling with the newer version of The Rag. Yup! 30 less pages will do that, I suppose. Kinda funny, but I suppose they have been hit by the hard times just like the rest of us have. Let's hope that changes and Dirt Rag girths up again. (Well, if you are a fan of actually holding something you read in your hands. If not, I suppose Dirt Rag online will do for you.)

Thing Number Three: Trans Iowa V6 registration ends today. It has been pretty amazing. Over 45 people didn't get their cards in on time. Some of them past T.I. participants too. Well, as much as I'd like to let all of them in, I can't. That said, the e-mails will start going out over the next few days with all the names and their places in the line for getting in on T.I.V6 if anyone drops out that is on the roster before 1/31/10. If you are on the Waiting List, your number that I e-mail you will indicate what place in line you are. I will go through the list when needed to find replacements for drop outs by numerical order. If someone passes on an offer to get in on the roster, they are off the Waiting List. Again, this madness will only go on until 1/31/10. After that, no more transfers or replacements will be considered.

Thanks to all who considered T.I.V6 as something worth giving a shot. I am humbled by all the attention that the event gets. While it would be great to get all of you folks here to ride the event, it just isn't logistically possible for our host city, nor am I set up for that sort of riding horde. To be honest, if all 75 folks showed up that are on the roster, it would test the limits of the infrastructure I have in place. (Highly doubtful that all the roster will show up.) But again.......thank you for your efforts to get in on T.I.V6.

Labels: dirt rag, Trans Iowa V6, Turkey Burn