Fooling With Fueling

In the comments section from the recent "Ride To Indy" post, I had a couple folks make suggestions regarding fueling and my seemingly inconsistent ability to finish rides.

Believe you me, It's something that has vexed me for well over ten years.

And I've tried lots of things. Sometimes I hit upon something that works, but that same strategy might fail me in another instance. It's maddening. rather than muse on what might work, let's see what I know definitely does not work for me. And let's be clear: THIS IS ONLY MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. Your experiences are yours. We all react differently and are uniquely made. What you do may be great, but it may be the worst thing for me and vice versa. Okay, on with it then........

• Gels: Nope! Don't work after a couple hours. They turn my gut and I won't ever consider them for long rides.
  
• Processed foods with a lot of sugar/corn syrup, etc. Same. Works maybe up to two hours, but as soon as I have something like this after a few hours, its the end.
  
• Powdered stuff: Cannot be bothered to mix up stuff in water during a ride. Although it may work for some folks, it seems like a hassle whenever I've tried it in the past. Many times it doesn't have a good effect, or it doesn't have what I need to keep going.
  

Now, I have has success and some good rides with some other products.

• Protein-rich foods like Epic brand bars, jerky, Almond butter packets, etc.
  
• Small, prepackaged packets of olives.
• Nuts
• Potato chips, but nothing weirdly flavored.
  
• Flattened bananas from Trader Joes. Basically dried bananas.
  
• An occasional full-bore Coca Cola (Typically wakes me up if I get drowsy on the bike)
• Caffeine

Another look at that Level B road from my "Ride To Indy"

And I've been practicing eating on intervals during rides for a long, long time. Someone suggested that I try that. Well, I do this, and have done it regularly since 2015. Now, yes- sometimes I get off-schedule. But I try not to, and last Saturday I was on point but for my missed opportunity at the Vinton Casey's. Had I eaten there? Who knows......

Someone mentioned that I may have gone out too fast. I won't argue that. But also- you don't know if you don't try. We used to have a saying back in the early 90's in regard to mountain biking: "If you don't crash, you aren't riding hard enough". Part of these 'events' I've set up for myself is to test myself out.

I barely finished the Single Speed Century earlier this year. I suffered like a dog the last 30 miles. But that course was flat coming home and despite toasted legs, I was able to hobble home. My guts didn't rise up against me on that ride, but I also did get to eat something a bit more substantial at the last convenience store stop that day. That was why I finished, mostly. Missing eating at Vinton was really what killed last Saturday's ride, from the standpoint of finishing my planned route.

And that's on me. I have a hard time dancing the same steps more than three times, so staying on a very disciplined nutrition strategy is mentally tough for me. Believe it or not, it is very draining on me to keep up with a schedule like that while riding. Probably one of the hardest things I try to do. Religious repetition is not in my DNA. I find that eating regularly, and drinking regularly is challenging for me. Again- you might laugh, but we are all different.

So, there ya go. I keep experimenting. I keep pushing, and as my friend Ari says, "I keep getting out there and throwing punches." I'm a lot better at this than I used to be. Part of that has to do with some big changes in diet I made late in the Winter. I'm more fit now. Things are better that way than ever. But I am not getting any younger either, and my body is changing. What worked ten years ago is not going to work now. So I feel this is an ever changing game. I'm going to keep after it though.

No Turning Back: Part 2

C.O.G. 100 in 2019. Image by Jon Duke

Last Saturday I wrote about what the immediate and short term look for gravel events is likely to be. Today I am going to be talking about what I think I am going to be looking at next Spring in terms of the C.O.G.100 event, which we rescheduled tentatively for the end of March, 2021.

I'm looking around, talking to lots of people, reading as much as I can, and trying to navigate my own feelings in the mix. It is hard to make a decision now, obviously it is many months off, but sooner or later we're going to have to start dealing with this, as March 2021 is only seven months from now.
Seven short months. Think about that.......

Five months ago we all were hoping, and many were pretty sure that, we'd be having events again in September. Ah........no. At least nothing major, and I'd also say that we'd best be careful about what we do actually have going on. Why? Because this pandemic, as of now, is flaring up in many Mid-Western and Eastern cities. The government officials are asking for less contact and to avoid grouping together. So, many events are cancelling, or being held without fans, and whether or not gravel riders can be socially distanced or not is tough to control, and almost next to impossible to guarantee. Traveling riders to other areas to attend races/rides is asking for a clear path to spread the virus back home.

These are the things weighing on my mind. And then there is flu season, which will be kicking into gear here in about a month or two.

Bicycle riders and gravel riding are good things and the people engaging in those activities are probably doing themselves a good favor by increasing their immunity system's strength and by keeping healthy. I've got no problems with that part of putting on any event now. It's the gathering of people from various places, mingling with the unhealthy, not safe practicing folks, that is my concern. And then you have to ask the question: "What is the point of having an event if we cannot gather together in a group?"

Well, to my mind, that is the point. If that is being discouraged now, with no end in sight to this pandemic for the near future, I'm thinking there will be no C.O.G. 100 in 2021. But that's not an "official announcement", or anything. It's just where I am at with regard to the current situation.

It used to be that August, actually right around now, was the time I'd announce another Trans Iowa. Remember those days? There was no question about it going off in the following year in April, remember? What a world we live in now!

Gravel Bus Update

A while back I told you all about the noise I tracked down on the Gravel Bus, but I haven't gotten into what I think about the bike. I was going to wait to get around to that when I got a 'Quick Review" of the Standard Rando v2 up on RidingGravel.com, but with the way this year has been going, I have had to keep pushing that back to allow for other stories to go up.

And it may be a while before I get around to posting about this bike there, by the looks of things.

So, I'll go head and share some of my views on the ride and what I think of the bike now that I've had it for about a month now. My initial build spec and more is found here. This won't touch upon any of the specs and whatnot, so click there to find out about the build and gearing.

The ride of the Standard Rando v2 is pretty darn nice, really. I can see why it was I wanted to buy the first one I reviewed. There is just something about a more traditional frame tubing layout. That 'almost-level' top-tube and full length seat tube do something sweet to the ride. Is this bike lighter than the old one? It definitely is lighter, mostly due to the obvious. That carbon fork does shave a fair amount of weight off the Standard Rando v2, that's for sure. However; I often wonder if this version's steel tube spec is a bit lighter as well. There is definitely a bit more tire clearance, but sadly, not enough for these new-crop 700 X 45-48mm tires coming out now. Not that this bike needs that. The Salsa Cycles Stormchaser, which I reviewed for Riding Gravel, definitely needed those big meats to ride smoothly, in my opinion.

Again, that low bottom bracket lends so much stability without resorting to a slack head angle, like the Stormchaser has, so it avoids the tendencies the Stormchaser had to be a bit of a wanderer when ridden slowly up a climb, for instance. In the area of handling, I am happy with the Standard Rando v2.

I've been itching to get this into the test rotation for Riding Gravel, but I have to clear out the tire reviews I have ongoing and maybe then I can slip this one into a wheel review or something else. Barring that, I have been wanting to slap on some fork mounted cages and go for a good, long ride on the Gravel Bus. Soon.......

Country Views: Ride To Indy

Not a super early start, but early enough....

Saturday was forecast to be pretty darn pleasant. Upper 80's but minimal wind and no chances for rain until late into the evening. So, I earmarked the day about the middle of last week as a day to attempt a long ride. I had cues made for the ride- but not the kind of cues I would normally make. Just some handwritten notes I dashed off in a hurry. (This will come back to bite me later, stay tuned...)

I had my clothing laid out the night before, and I went to bed really early, (for me), so I did not set an alarm. I was pretty sure I'd wake up early enough to get a big ride in for the day. So, at about 5:30am, I crawled out of the sack, ate a little something, had a cuppa, and slipped out the door by 6:40am to ply the gravel roads of Southern Black Hawk County and beyond.

The first 30-ish miles I had committed to memory, but it wasn't too hard. The opening bits I've ridden, maybe hundreds of times by now? Maybe. At any rate, once I had escaped the city, I only had to make two turns to get out of the county and into Benton County. By the way, this is kind of an odd thing, but there are five counties here in this area that all have names that start with a "B". Weird..... Anyway.....

Another odd thing I noted was that there were huge flocks of Red Winged Blackbirds South of town. One had, at my guesstimate, about a 1000 individuals. They just kept coming out of the ditches with seemingly no end in sight. Smaller flocks numbering around two dozen individuals were also seen in several places early on into my ride. The only thing that broke up this parade of Red Winged Blackbirds was a hen pheasant and a fledgling chick that flew across the road in front of me.

One of the larger flocks, but not the largest, of Red Winged Blackbirds I saw.

Time for a 'nature break' along Quarry Road.

I eventually had to make a big Eastward push on Quarry Road where I came across some pretty fresh gravel tire tracks. N.Y. Roll? Tomcat? One of them, I bet. They seemed to keep going past where I ended up turning South at on Foulk Road, so I didn't see anything of bicycle tire tracks after that for a while.

Barns For Jason #1

Barns For Jason #2 A rare ceramic brick round barn.

Getting into Benton County, I started coming into an area I had never been in before. So, of course, I saw a few new-to-me barns. In one case it was a historic barn that is listed on the Iowa Culture app which you can download onto your phone. (Thanks to the reader here who suggested this to me recently) This round barn is one of three "McQuilken Round barns" sold by James McQuilken in his role as a representative of the Johnson Brother's Clay Works and was originally used as a cattle barn.

Barns For Jason #3

Pleasant View Cemetery

I came across an ancient cemetery, and by the looks of it I'd say there was once a church there as the gravestones were all pushed back along the fence lines. But I could certainly be wrong about that. Then shortly afterward I made another discovery.....

There was something familiar about this view......

I considered a jig-a-jog in the road ahead and memories started creeping back. As I rounded the sweeping right to left hander, I suddenly remembered. We had been on this road a couple years ago for a Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational! It was where we had seen a C Maintenance road we thought looked great. Anyway, I knew where I was for about a mile or so before that old route went back West and I kept truckin' Southward.

The only Level B road I was on Saturday. 

However; you might say that the Old Creamery Trail is essentially a one-lane Level B Road!

I reached the junction of the road I was traveling South on and the Old Creamery Trail which runs from Dysart, Iowa Southeast to Garrison, Iowa and then back Northeastward to Vinton, Iowa. I joined the trail about a mile East of Dysart where the trail starts. I ran it all the way to Vinton.

Someone left a mostly burned up heater here on the ledge. I did not take it.

Barns For Jason #4

In Vinton I had to stop at a Casey's General Store, (natch!), to resupply on water and I was going to contemplate getting something to eat too, but I was interrupted mid-pour by a man who stopped with his wife to admire my dirty bike. He then took note of me and realized he knew me. "Hey! Are you Guitar Ted?" It turned out that Tim is a reader of the blog here and he and his wife Carla (sp?) were there on a day trip to escape their home near Ames. Tim told me he rides gravel too and has a nice loop around his area. Well, we chatted for a bit, I then excused myself, and after I had filled the bottles I felt the urge to get going as I had over-stayed my time there, in my mind, so I high-tailed it up the road. Yep.....I forgot to get anything to eat. (This would be item #2 that would come back to bite me.)

Barns For Jason #5

So, I was nearing 50 miles into this ride just after I left Vinton. I had been burning up the road too. The course wasn't particularly hilly, and the rail trail kept climbing down to a minimum. Although I pedaled WAY more than I prefer to. At least on hills you get to coast. Anyway, even with the extended break in Vinton I was still only at about 4 hrs on the ride. MUCH faster than I typically go!

Add in the lack of a substantial food upload, the building heat, and having to climb out of the Cedar River Valley, I now was feeling a bit of leg fatigue. Then I made a wrong decision based on my incomplete cues. (Remember that from above earlier?) Then I started to get a mild head ache. Okay.... I stopped and ate some stuff I had, but it was not enough and too late.

Crossing I-380

Rest stop at Mile 64.

I managed to get back on route, despite my cussing myself out and dealing with a mile of busy county blacktop to get back on track. Okay, I settled in, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that I was going into a bonk. Bad! I decided to get at least a metric century in and then find a decent spot out of the Sun to rest a bit off the bike. All this time I had not been off my bike long and I had not sat down at any time to rest. And I was still waaaaay ahead of schedule even though I was slowing down purposefully so as not to do more damage.

This is the third time I've seen a crew baling 'square bales' this year. Weird!

I left the first rest stop, still getting in way over 60 miles before noon, and I was just shell-shocked. I was sore, tired out, and had a mild head ache going. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. I figured I had better stop again, only about five miles up the road, and eat more. I had some almond butter and dried fruit, so I ate that, then I made a bad decision and went a mile off course.

That also was accompanied by a nauseous feeling from my gut. Okay. That was all I needed to know right then and there. I was not clear headed, was feeling ill, and was very fatigued. Time to call in the rescue squad. I was about five miles from Independence, Iowa, so I called Mrs Guitar Ted and made arrangements to have her pick me up at, what else? A Casey's, of course!

This herd of Holstein-Friesians was smarter than I. At least they knew enough to get out of the hot Sun! 

Dirty!

Well, I was just shy of 75 miles in the end. Not a bad day on the bike. Not what I had envisioned, but a good day. I learned a few things (again) and I will decide better next time out. Now I have a big cleaning job ahead of me, so I better be rested up for that!

Trans Iowa Stories: The Volunteers

We had two volunteers for T.I.v1 which were located at the only checkpoint.

 "Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

Trans Iowa was a huge undertaking that never would have worked without the selfless service given by some of the best people I've ever had the chance to work with. They were the Volunteers.

The history of the volunteer crews for Trans Iowa was one of ever changing ideas and implementations until T.I.v7 where we pretty much had the system down which lasted for the remainder of Trans Iowa's historic run.

We started off humbly and too simply with Jeff Kerkove's parents as our only volunteers at the only checkpoint. Dave and Linda Kerkove were staunch supporters of Jeff and were some of the nicest folks you'd ever want to meet. They not only volunteered for the first two Trans Iowa events, but they put this stranger up twice during recons at their home in Algona, fed me, and regaled me with stories about Jeff's childhood, much to Jeff's embarrassment. I almost felt as though I were one of the family. To this day I still recall their kindness with a fondness in my heart and a sharp remembrance of Linda's Scotcheroos.

From there we had several people come and go through the years, but instead of trying to list them all, or give you any stories about individuals here, I will speak in more general terms. Besides, I would invariably forget someone and rather than risk offense, I will stick to stories concerning how volunteers were organized, instructed, and deployed. Individual stories that are important to Trans Iowa events have, and will be, added as the series unfolds. Note: That said, here is an earlier post from the blog after v10 which has a short rundown about the volunteers year by year up to that point.

One thing a lot of people don't know about Trans Iowa v2 is that we had a secret observer ready to watch riders pass by about 50 miles from the finish line in Decorah. Obviously, I called that individual off as the event participants never even reached the mid-course checkpoint. But due to the mysterious ending to Trans Iowa v1, and the chastisement from Deke Gosen regarding our lax tracking of riders, I was determined to address that for v2. By the way, Jeff and I would have been the ones at the finish line had the event gone all the way through to the end that year.

A couple volunteers look on at T.I.v8's Secret Checkpoint as riders service themselves.

With more checkpoints, I needed more folks, and how they came to help was almost never, that I can remember, an issue. Most of the time I never had to ask for anyone to help more than once, and most times I never had to put out a call at all, because so many folks wanted to help. In fact, almost every year of Trans Iowa's run I actually turned away people who wanted to volunteer. This always amazed me. Of all the issues I had with regard to this event, getting quality volunteers was never one of them.

I learned early on that I needed more people at the first checkpoint, and maybe only a couple at subsequent checkpoints since the riders would get strung out so far that two people could handle things with ease. However; that first checkpoint was often times a scrum of activity, especially so when we went to the "short" first leg in v5.

In organizing that crew, I almost always left everything in the hands of whomever wanted to take the reins and be the crew leader. Different folks ended up becoming standouts in this role over the years. Most times I just handed off the supplies, made a few suggestions and a request or two, strictly told the leader that the cut-off for time was not to be compromised, and otherwise left things to those folks to figure out. I never was a micro-manager of affairs, and my volunteers NEVER let me down. In fact, they went WAY above and beyond the call of duty MANY times.

I don't know exactly why it was, but many of my volunteers would be past veterans of the event itself. This started up during Trans Iowa v4 and went on throughout the rest of the event's lifetime. People would ride the event and then tell me, almost right after riding in a Trans Iowa, that they should be marked down as a volunteer for the following year. I also had a suggestion made to me that volunteers should get a "free pass" to enter the following year's Trans Iowa, so may riders came from that end of things- being a volunteer first, then getting to ride in Trans Iowa. I finally cut that offer out when I had one guy get all bent out of shape because I wouldn't let him ride after he had volunteered a couple of years prior.  See, that wasn't the deal. You had to take your chance immediately the following year. You couldn't "bank an entry" for the future. So, instead of having that headache pop up again, I just binned the idea. That was really the only headache I ever had with a volunteer.

Making sure each rider got their T.I.v12 cues, Mike Baggio, a perennial volunteer for T.I.

The bottom line for any event in the eyes of its participants is how their experience was for them. If they had troubles, well, then the event was poor to some degree. Processes and logistics certainly play into this, but 'the face of the event' while it is happening is usually born by the volunteers. If those people are inept, not encouraging, slow, mean spirited, lazy, etc.- well then that trumps anything else having to do with rider experience and your event will suffer. Like I said, I put a LOT of trust in the volunteers hands, and I NEVER was let down. This was reflected every year in the comments I received about how my volunteers were so great and encouraging. How they were competent and caring.

I always felt very uncomfortable receiving these comments because they did not really belong to me. They belonged, and still belong, with each individual volunteer from any Trans Iowa. I am deeply indebted to each individual who came to help me and this event out. It may be a cliche', but this would not have been the kind of event it turned out to be without all the volunteers throughout the years.

Some of you reading these words were there and volunteered. This is for you. Some of you reading these words know someone or two that volunteered at Trans Iowa- please thank them for me. Some of the old volunteers of past Trans Iowas have gone on to help other events. They bring a lot of worth with them. They were, and are, some really great people.

Thank you Volunteers from the bottom of my heart! 

Next: An encouraging word from an unlikely source.

No Turning Back

Local coffee club yakking with Trans Iowa riders. From T.I.v8

We just posted up another Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast, Episode #55, in which Andy, of Andy's Bike Shop, and I discuss what the future of gravel events might look like.

Let me tell, ya: It ain't gonna be like it used to be for a long, long time. 

My partner, Ben Welnak, in Riding Gravel, messaged me and gave me his thoughts on this subject. He thinks there will be no big, organized gravel rides in 2021. Ya know.......he might be on to something there. 

Big league sports are dancing with the devil now, trying to get something going by having protocols in place and, of course, no fans. They are not without some missteps already. Plus, there are no fans. It's kind of like having the church choir sing with no one in the building. It's just not the same, but I digress.......

The point is, we have no idea if what they are doing will work. Will the athletes remain safe? How long can we play games like this? Plus, we have no immunity to COVID 19 in the sense of what it would take to make this 'go away', (hint- it isn't), and we have no vaccine. The US has approximately 331 million folks and as of Thursday, (when I wrote this), we have had 4,426,982 total COVID cases in this country.

I'm not much at math, but this seems like a no-brainer when you look at the numbers. We've got a long way (possibly) to go before this thing is going to allow anything even close to 'normal', in terms of gravel events, like pre-March 2020, to happen. In fact, I am betting we'll never see those kinds of days again. We are changing. Things are in the midst of a big gear shift, and gravel events are not going to be anything like they once were. Not to mention what the rest of our lives will be looking like.

That isn't to say we should be scared, or that the future will be bad. It will just be very different. I have no idea what it will be like now, but we can figure it out. I'm sure of that. But for anyone who thinks we are going to "be glad when this is over and we can get back to our lives", well, let me tell ya- there's no turning back now.

Friday News And Views

Pirate Cycling League Announces Virtual Gravel Worlds:

Donate. Ride. Submit.

That's what ya gotta do to participate in this new virtual challenge which the PCL has set up in lieu of holding Gravel Worlds this year, which has been cancelled due to the pandemic. let's see what this deal is about.....

Donate: From the Gravel Worlds website: "In order to participate in Gravel Worlds Virtual, you must donate at least $10 to the Randy Gibson Fund at the Lincoln Parks Foundation. The Lincoln Parks Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit; therefore, the donation will be tax deductible. Our event promotion team will not receive any of the money that is donated. All donations go directly to the non-profit, Lincoln Parks Foundation."

The Randy Gibson Fund is something set up to help pay for a special rest stop on a recreational trail in the Lincoln area to honor Randy Gibson, a very influential local cyclist, and a volunteer/graphic designer for many of the Gravel Worlds events in the past. It's a worthy cause and the outcome will honor the life and influence of Randy Gibson, who is dearly missed by many in the Lincoln cycling scene, not to mention his family. 

Ride: The PCL has several courses set up in the Lincoln area to use for the challenge. Riders are encouraged to do 150 mile, 75 mile, or 50K distances to be a part of this. From the website again: "After the donation, the participants have three distance options to choose from: 150 miles, 75 miles or the 50 km. Speed isn’t essential to participate. You just need to be able to complete the distance(s). Any course anywhere in the World will work. It doesn’t need to be on gravel. Just get out and ride! Create your own route and ride in your City!"

The PCL is offering this challenge through the month of August. Anyone anywhere in the World can participate. The only stipulations being that you must donate and you must complete the distance you choose. Riders can also do all three challenge distances, but each ride must be accompanied by a separate donation, so if you did all three rides, you must donate three different times at the 10 dollar minimum. Now you are two thirds of the way there! Finally.......


Submit: No.....this isn't about some weird dictatorship or oddball sexual practices. This only refers to getting your ride into the hopper at Gravel Worlds so you can be documented and be a part of a random raffle to win one of many prizes that the generous sponsors of Gravel Worlds has offered to be given away.

You must fill out the form showing you donated. Then, you can upload them a gpx file, you can take an image of your device showing the mileage completed, you can send the PCL a photo documentary of your challenge ride. You could maybe even send the PCL a handwritten manuscript including images of your journey. A pirate map? Why not! Just submit your ride details to the PCL via their website instructions.

I'll be joining in the fun, since Gravel Worlds was on my calendar of things to do in 2020. Stay tuned for my attempt to be documented here.

The Mason Cycles "In Search Of" model is very much like a Fargo.

Interesting Fargo Alternative From The UK:

There are not too many alternatives to a Salsa Cycles Fargo out there. Some bikes come close, (as we examined earlier here and here), but most aren't quite 'there' in one way or another. I have noted the company Mason Cycles in the past as an interesting company focused upon adventure, challenge, and fun. They use aluminum a lot, but steel is also in their vocabulary there, as well as titanium, at times. Their model dubbed the "In Search Of" looks very interesting if you are in mind to have a bike like a Fargo, but different than most would choose.

First off, the frame is top notch and made from Reynolds 853 steel. Sounds good already! They custom form it, (note the bend in the down tube, as an example) and top that off with their own 100mm suspension corrected carbon fiber fork with the requisite "adventure warts", of course. It also features those mounting points you'd expect to find on such an adventure bike as well. Multiple bottle mounts, and it is upgrade-able to a special dynamo lighting package Mason Cycles offers.

The obvious 'bendy downtube' is only one of the unique aesthetic features of the ISO. It also has a kind of splash guard/rack thing-a-ma-bob over the front wheel that Mason is rather proud of. They say it can carry up to 2kg of cargo. Cute...... Not sure it is of much use, but its there if you like it.

I'll say that, if you can get by the odd-duck looks, this is a pretty close alternative to a Fargo. It doesn't have any way to bail you out if you should experience a derailleur failure. (Yes- that really can happen. I've had to push a fellow Fargo rider that was on a pre-Alternator Fargo out of the woods on one occasion) That omission kind of seems like an oversight to me, but otherwise, this might be a cool rig. You don't hear much about these 'over here', so I thought I'd share what I've seen is a good choice in "Fargo-like" adventure bikes.

If you want to cosplay at a gravel event as The Joker, well then....Image courtesy of Shimano

 Shimano Shows New Color For The RX8 Gravel Shoe: 

Sometimes when I get a press release I say, "Wow!", and at other times I also say, "Wow!", followed by some 'other thoughts'.

I opened a recent Shimano press release and the 'wow' came out followed by, "are you kidding me?" Yeah.....those are some fancy, flashy slippers for cycling right there! And those colors! 

Now listen people- I like green and purple. A LOT! My favorite two colors ever right there. But on my shoes? Ah.........sheesh! I'm not so sure about that. Maybe if they were all one color or the other? Yes. Then I would be down with that. All purple or all green. But this mix?

Supposedly this is inspired by the Southwest's deserts and the blossoms on prickly pear cactus. Thus the name of the color, "Cactus Berry. I dunno..... They look more like The Joker's footwear to me, but I could be way off there. I'm thinking the 60's era, made for T.V., Cesar Romero Joker. Anyway....

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend and keep on keepin' on!