Note: Every Tuesday for the following few months I will be recounting my experiences from my loaded touring adventures. I hope you find this entertaining and helpful. Enjoy!
Picking up from where I left off two weeks ago, I was in the process of putting together my first touring rig from an old mountain bike traded in at the shop I started at in the early 90's. The bicycle was a 1984 Mongoose All Mountain Pro. It was in pretty good shape, all the original parts were there, even the snake belly tires were still on it. Looking back, it probably would have been smarter to keep it as it was, since it was a somewhat collectible machine as it sat, but I didn't see it that way at the time. I saw it as a cheap way to get a tour worthy machine and head out on an adventure with some new friends.
The decision to get it and modify it were largely influenced by my co-worker at the time, Troy. He had been wrenching at the shop for a few years ahead of me while he attended college. His advice was to take the chromed beast and do the following modifications: Change out the wheels, handle bar, stem, shifters, brake levers, and fork. He told me that drop bars were the way to go, and that the bikes "bull moose" stem and bar set up had to go. He also thought the plate crown fork looked too spindly and that I should get a uni-crown fork for it. The wheels looked sketchy, and of course, new tires and tubes would be in order as well.
Sheesh! I suppose I must have gotten the bike for a song, because I was making wholesale changes to the bike. I stayed late after work making changes. It proved to be a frustrating and valuable learning experience.
I found out that the Mongoose had a BMX specific head set, owing to Mongoose's BMX roots. That was a bit of a problem since I had to order in a headset special to fit it. Then the fork needed to be compatible, which severely limited my choices. I ended up finding a chrome fork with a uni-crown in the shop's basement. All good except that it was a high tensile steel fork. Not as strong as a Cromoly fork. I don't think I told Troy that it was "hi-ten" since I figured he would disapprove and I'd have to try and find a CroMo one. I doubted that I could do that, so I kept that to myself.
I used a Mongoose branded steel quill stem, seemed the right thing to do there, and a Nitto drop bar with some Campagnolo friction shifters that the shop had. The aero levers were something I think Troy had. I wired those up to the front cantilever brakes and rear SunTour roller cam. I didn't have a clue how to set up that rear brake and for the most part it really wasn't functional. I pretty much did that fist tour with only a front brake!
I think I stole the wheels from off my Klein for this tour. A hand built set of SunTour Grease Guard hubs on Ritchey Vantage Pro rims. Shod those with Avocet tires. The ones with the inverted tread. Otherwise the bike was stock with the Avocet saddle, SunTour "AR" derailleurs, and serviceable bottom bracket with Sugino cranks sporting a 48-38-28 gearing. I had a eight speed 12-32T SunTour cassette out back. (If indeed I used my Klein wheels, which I think I did)
The bike had a triple strut aluminum rack already on it. I scored a set of rear panniers through the shop, and a front set from another co-worker. A few purchases through Campmor rounded out the set up. Inflatable Therma-rest pad, 40 degree bag, and some other small items. I borrowed a tent and a couple of smaller items from friends.
All of this lead to a name for our little trip that hadn't even begun yet. Since my co-worker and the customer that were going along were around for all of this, we jokingly called it the "Beg Borrow and Bastard Tour". I had my bike cobbled together and it worked fairly well. I had my gear lined up. It was decided that we would leave right after RAGBRAI on the first week of August. All we had to do now was wait.
Next, the decision on our goal and the beginning of the tour.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Touring Tuesdays: The Beginning
Note: Every Tuesday for the following few months I will be recounting my experiences from my loaded touring adventures. I hope you find this entertaining and helpful. Enjoy!
Picking up from where I left off two weeks ago, I was in the process of putting together my first touring rig from an old mountain bike traded in at the shop I started at in the early 90's. The bicycle was a 1984 Mongoose All Mountain Pro. It was in pretty good shape, all the original parts were there, even the snake belly tires were still on it. Looking back, it probably would have been smarter to keep it as it was, since it was a somewhat collectible machine as it sat, but I didn't see it that way at the time. I saw it as a cheap way to get a tour worthy machine and head out on an adventure with some new friends.
The decision to get it and modify it were largely influenced by my co-worker at the time, Troy. He had been wrenching at the shop for a few years ahead of me while he attended college. His advice was to take the chromed beast and do the following modifications: Change out the wheels, handle bar, stem, shifters, brake levers, and fork. He told me that drop bars were the way to go, and that the bikes "bull moose" stem and bar set up had to go. He also thought the plate crown fork looked too spindly and that I should get a uni-crown fork for it. The wheels looked sketchy, and of course, new tires and tubes would be in order as well.
Sheesh! I suppose I must have gotten the bike for a song, because I was making wholesale changes to the bike. I stayed late after work making changes. It proved to be a frustrating and valuable learning experience.
I found out that the Mongoose had a BMX specific head set, owing to Mongoose's BMX roots. That was a bit of a problem since I had to order in a headset special to fit it. Then the fork needed to be compatible, which severely limited my choices. I ended up finding a chrome fork with a uni-crown in the shop's basement. All good except that it was a high tensile steel fork. Not as strong as a Cromoly fork. I don't think I told Troy that it was "hi-ten" since I figured he would disapprove and I'd have to try and find a CroMo one. I doubted that I could do that, so I kept that to myself.
I used a Mongoose branded steel quill stem, seemed the right thing to do there, and a Nitto drop bar with some Campagnolo friction shifters that the shop had. The aero levers were something I think Troy had. I wired those up to the front cantilever brakes and rear SunTour roller cam. I didn't have a clue how to set up that rear brake and for the most part it really wasn't functional. I pretty much did that fist tour with only a front brake!
I think I stole the wheels from off my Klein for this tour. A hand built set of SunTour Grease Guard hubs on Ritchey Vantage Pro rims. Shod those with Avocet tires. The ones with the inverted tread. Otherwise the bike was stock with the Avocet saddle, SunTour "AR" derailleurs, and serviceable bottom bracket with Sugino cranks sporting a 48-38-28 gearing. I had a eight speed 12-32T SunTour cassette out back. (If indeed I used my Klein wheels, which I think I did)
The bike had a triple strut aluminum rack already on it. I scored a set of rear panniers through the shop, and a front set from another co-worker. A few purchases through Campmor rounded out the set up. Inflatable Therma-rest pad, 40 degree bag, and some other small items. I borrowed a tent and a couple of smaller items from friends.
All of this lead to a name for our little trip that hadn't even begun yet. Since my co-worker and the customer that were going along were around for all of this, we jokingly called it the "Beg Borrow and Bastard Tour". I had my bike cobbled together and it worked fairly well. I had my gear lined up. It was decided that we would leave right after RAGBRAI on the first week of August. All we had to do now was wait.
Next, the decision on our goal and the beginning of the tour.
Picking up from where I left off two weeks ago, I was in the process of putting together my first touring rig from an old mountain bike traded in at the shop I started at in the early 90's. The bicycle was a 1984 Mongoose All Mountain Pro. It was in pretty good shape, all the original parts were there, even the snake belly tires were still on it. Looking back, it probably would have been smarter to keep it as it was, since it was a somewhat collectible machine as it sat, but I didn't see it that way at the time. I saw it as a cheap way to get a tour worthy machine and head out on an adventure with some new friends.
The decision to get it and modify it were largely influenced by my co-worker at the time, Troy. He had been wrenching at the shop for a few years ahead of me while he attended college. His advice was to take the chromed beast and do the following modifications: Change out the wheels, handle bar, stem, shifters, brake levers, and fork. He told me that drop bars were the way to go, and that the bikes "bull moose" stem and bar set up had to go. He also thought the plate crown fork looked too spindly and that I should get a uni-crown fork for it. The wheels looked sketchy, and of course, new tires and tubes would be in order as well.
Sheesh! I suppose I must have gotten the bike for a song, because I was making wholesale changes to the bike. I stayed late after work making changes. It proved to be a frustrating and valuable learning experience.
I found out that the Mongoose had a BMX specific head set, owing to Mongoose's BMX roots. That was a bit of a problem since I had to order in a headset special to fit it. Then the fork needed to be compatible, which severely limited my choices. I ended up finding a chrome fork with a uni-crown in the shop's basement. All good except that it was a high tensile steel fork. Not as strong as a Cromoly fork. I don't think I told Troy that it was "hi-ten" since I figured he would disapprove and I'd have to try and find a CroMo one. I doubted that I could do that, so I kept that to myself.
I used a Mongoose branded steel quill stem, seemed the right thing to do there, and a Nitto drop bar with some Campagnolo friction shifters that the shop had. The aero levers were something I think Troy had. I wired those up to the front cantilever brakes and rear SunTour roller cam. I didn't have a clue how to set up that rear brake and for the most part it really wasn't functional. I pretty much did that fist tour with only a front brake!
I think I stole the wheels from off my Klein for this tour. A hand built set of SunTour Grease Guard hubs on Ritchey Vantage Pro rims. Shod those with Avocet tires. The ones with the inverted tread. Otherwise the bike was stock with the Avocet saddle, SunTour "AR" derailleurs, and serviceable bottom bracket with Sugino cranks sporting a 48-38-28 gearing. I had a eight speed 12-32T SunTour cassette out back. (If indeed I used my Klein wheels, which I think I did)
The bike had a triple strut aluminum rack already on it. I scored a set of rear panniers through the shop, and a front set from another co-worker. A few purchases through Campmor rounded out the set up. Inflatable Therma-rest pad, 40 degree bag, and some other small items. I borrowed a tent and a couple of smaller items from friends.
All of this lead to a name for our little trip that hadn't even begun yet. Since my co-worker and the customer that were going along were around for all of this, we jokingly called it the "Beg Borrow and Bastard Tour". I had my bike cobbled together and it worked fairly well. I had my gear lined up. It was decided that we would leave right after RAGBRAI on the first week of August. All we had to do now was wait.
Next, the decision on our goal and the beginning of the tour.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Beyond Interbike
<====Yes....I have an I-pod Nano now courtesy of Niner Bikes. (photo credit: Richard Masoner)
Moving on now to the last three months of 2008 I have much work to do. Lots of things will be going on here at Guitar Ted Laboratories and here are some of the things on the agenda.
Trans Iowa: There will be a lot going on here with Trans Iowa V5 in the coming months. I have been getting peppered with e-mails already concerning the registration process as well. read on for the latest.
Registration will not happen until around Thanksgiving! Don't even ask about getting in early. I am not ready yet to take any entries, even though your whole life may be revolving around this event and you say you will shrivel up and die if you do not get in. I appreciate all the interest, but there is a proper and orderly way that this works.
Post cards will be the operative way for you to get into the event. There will be information required of you in a very specific manner. Get the post card wrong and your entry will be thrown out. Secondly, Trans Iowa veterans will be allowed first crack at entry. Just like we did last year, we won't take any entries from folks new to the event until after a period of time goes by that will allow the past participants a chance at getting in. Whatever they do not fill up on the roster will be up for grabs afterwards to new blood.
Okay? More specifics will be announced in November on registration. Look for that then.
Other than that, recon will be undertaken of the whole course soon with any adjustments necessary in the weeks following. We should have a total mileage and time limitations set up before registration takes place in November.
Test Sleds: I should be getting a couple of new test bikes in for Twenty Nine Inches soon. So.....lots of riding will be taking place over the next few months, weather permitting. I sure hope we don't kick things off with an ice storm right off the bat like last year!
Typical Homeowner Stuff: And of course the domestic life means that winter preparations will be on the agenda. I've got some important work to do there to help keep the cold air out of the house and the heat bill somewhat under control. (Hopefully!)
Gravel Grinding?: Finally, I hope to throw down at least a couple long gravel rides before the snow flies. Who knows if the time will be there, but I can dream, can't I? Oh yeah.....before anybody hits the comment section: October 11th-12th, when there are at least two big events going on that I know of, maybe three.....well that's the weekend slated for T.I.V5 recon, so don't bother hitting me up on that. Sorry! But I have to get that done and I won't be putting that off for anything except inclement weather.
So that's my fill schedule in a loose sort of way. I'll be busy, but I knew that going in. Hopefully Fall will be peppered with tons of riding. That would be cool!
Beyond Interbike
<====Yes....I have an I-pod Nano now courtesy of Niner Bikes. (photo credit: Richard Masoner)
Moving on now to the last three months of 2008 I have much work to do. Lots of things will be going on here at Guitar Ted Laboratories and here are some of the things on the agenda.
Trans Iowa: There will be a lot going on here with Trans Iowa V5 in the coming months. I have been getting peppered with e-mails already concerning the registration process as well. read on for the latest.
Registration will not happen until around Thanksgiving! Don't even ask about getting in early. I am not ready yet to take any entries, even though your whole life may be revolving around this event and you say you will shrivel up and die if you do not get in. I appreciate all the interest, but there is a proper and orderly way that this works.
Post cards will be the operative way for you to get into the event. There will be information required of you in a very specific manner. Get the post card wrong and your entry will be thrown out. Secondly, Trans Iowa veterans will be allowed first crack at entry. Just like we did last year, we won't take any entries from folks new to the event until after a period of time goes by that will allow the past participants a chance at getting in. Whatever they do not fill up on the roster will be up for grabs afterwards to new blood.
Okay? More specifics will be announced in November on registration. Look for that then.
Other than that, recon will be undertaken of the whole course soon with any adjustments necessary in the weeks following. We should have a total mileage and time limitations set up before registration takes place in November.
Test Sleds: I should be getting a couple of new test bikes in for Twenty Nine Inches soon. So.....lots of riding will be taking place over the next few months, weather permitting. I sure hope we don't kick things off with an ice storm right off the bat like last year!
Typical Homeowner Stuff: And of course the domestic life means that winter preparations will be on the agenda. I've got some important work to do there to help keep the cold air out of the house and the heat bill somewhat under control. (Hopefully!)
Gravel Grinding?: Finally, I hope to throw down at least a couple long gravel rides before the snow flies. Who knows if the time will be there, but I can dream, can't I? Oh yeah.....before anybody hits the comment section: October 11th-12th, when there are at least two big events going on that I know of, maybe three.....well that's the weekend slated for T.I.V5 recon, so don't bother hitting me up on that. Sorry! But I have to get that done and I won't be putting that off for anything except inclement weather.
So that's my fill schedule in a loose sort of way. I'll be busy, but I knew that going in. Hopefully Fall will be peppered with tons of riding. That would be cool!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Everything Is Training
<====The sun setting on my last day in Lost Wages.
I'm back....safe and sound. 36 hours of being awake left me in recovery mode for Saturday night and Sunday. Circumstances being what they were, I chose to be up that long, but hey! Count it up as training for Trans Iowa. It wasn't all that bad!
So, just what were the highlights of the trip? Here's a short list in no particular order.........
Good Plane Rides: Not being a fan of flight, I really appreciated the smooth flights. Hey......that's just me!
Outdoor Demo: Riding bikes is always on top of the list and riding bikes at Bootleg Canyon is really an unusual kind of place to ride for me. One part dust, one part big chunk, and one part gravely rocks, the terrain out there is challenging in a different way than what I am used to riding here. Of course then there are the bikes themselves. Stuff you don't normally get a chance to swing a leg over. As far as I am concerned,Interbike could be five days of Outdoor Demo and nothing else.
Meet The People: Then there are the people. Lots of cool people. Really cool people. More people than you could have great conversations with in a months time. At least I get to catch up a little bit with these folks.
Adventure On The Strip: Riding bikes in a big group down the Strip to the crit races was a lot of fun. Racing home on a 26 inch wheeled Dahon folder single speed was crazy. Dodging traffic was sketchy, but everyone was pretty cool about it at least.
Meeting The "GF": On the first day of the indoor show I caught up with Gary Fisher for a bit. It's interesting to have a conversation with him that doesn't have anything to do with bicycles. For one thing, I found out he is a bass player, which I thought was pretty cool for obvious reasons. Hey! I ain't Guitar Ted fer nuthin' ya know! Then I met another "GF", as in "girl friend". Sonya is "J-Koves" girl friend, (GASP! Yes....I said it!) and she is a most delightful, smart, and attractive young lady. Definitely a highlight of my trip right there.
Expanding The Responsibilities: I am taking on more responsibilities with Crooked Cog now which will demand more of my time. I'll be doing some adjustments to my daily schedule in the future, so I look forward to that. It'll kind of be weird to be the main guy with the network now, but I look forward to the challenges it will bring.
So there are the highlights I can remember off the top of my head right now. I'm sure there are some things that I missed, but chalk that up to a foggy mind still reeling from being awake too many hours in a row. At least I had a little help staying awake all that time. Niner Bikes put there press kit on a i-pod Nano. So, I downloaded a bunch of tunes to pass the time on the jet, which helped a ton. Thanks Niner! That was awesome!
Now back to my regular scheduled programming...................
Everything Is Training
<====The sun setting on my last day in Lost Wages.
I'm back....safe and sound. 36 hours of being awake left me in recovery mode for Saturday night and Sunday. Circumstances being what they were, I chose to be up that long, but hey! Count it up as training for Trans Iowa. It wasn't all that bad!
So, just what were the highlights of the trip? Here's a short list in no particular order.........
Good Plane Rides: Not being a fan of flight, I really appreciated the smooth flights. Hey......that's just me!
Outdoor Demo: Riding bikes is always on top of the list and riding bikes at Bootleg Canyon is really an unusual kind of place to ride for me. One part dust, one part big chunk, and one part gravely rocks, the terrain out there is challenging in a different way than what I am used to riding here. Of course then there are the bikes themselves. Stuff you don't normally get a chance to swing a leg over. As far as I am concerned,Interbike could be five days of Outdoor Demo and nothing else.
Meet The People: Then there are the people. Lots of cool people. Really cool people. More people than you could have great conversations with in a months time. At least I get to catch up a little bit with these folks.
Adventure On The Strip: Riding bikes in a big group down the Strip to the crit races was a lot of fun. Racing home on a 26 inch wheeled Dahon folder single speed was crazy. Dodging traffic was sketchy, but everyone was pretty cool about it at least.
Meeting The "GF": On the first day of the indoor show I caught up with Gary Fisher for a bit. It's interesting to have a conversation with him that doesn't have anything to do with bicycles. For one thing, I found out he is a bass player, which I thought was pretty cool for obvious reasons. Hey! I ain't Guitar Ted fer nuthin' ya know! Then I met another "GF", as in "girl friend". Sonya is "J-Koves" girl friend, (GASP! Yes....I said it!) and she is a most delightful, smart, and attractive young lady. Definitely a highlight of my trip right there.
Expanding The Responsibilities: I am taking on more responsibilities with Crooked Cog now which will demand more of my time. I'll be doing some adjustments to my daily schedule in the future, so I look forward to that. It'll kind of be weird to be the main guy with the network now, but I look forward to the challenges it will bring.
So there are the highlights I can remember off the top of my head right now. I'm sure there are some things that I missed, but chalk that up to a foggy mind still reeling from being awake too many hours in a row. At least I had a little help staying awake all that time. Niner Bikes put there press kit on a i-pod Nano. So, I downloaded a bunch of tunes to pass the time on the jet, which helped a ton. Thanks Niner! That was awesome!
Now back to my regular scheduled programming...................
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday Night Madness!
<===Mr. 24? J-Kove? SuperKove? Ahh....whatever! He's still the same guy I have ever known. And that's pretty good!Interbike starts to wear at you after awhile, so today I decided to give myself a self imposed break and join up with the Ergon crowd and relax. It was a great time!
The theme was Oktoberfest, so the "booth babes" were all in traditional Barvarian dress, and one of them I got a chance to know just a wee bit. No........not that way! I am a decent guy, no matter how it may appear on the outside.
<===Three guesses as to which person is J-kove's gal friend named Sonya. Your first two guesses don't count!So besides all of the cool people at the Ergon booth, folks like Dave Weins, Namrita and Eddie O'Dea, and D.J. Birtch, I got to meet Sonya finally. Okay, I could say alot, but I won't, because I'd spoil the pleasant surprise ya'all would get. That's all I'm gonna say here. Let's leave things at this: It was a definite highlight of my day. Mmmmkay?
<====Fixie Tricks!Then the show closed and I was supposed to ride to the Mandalay Bay Resort on a Dahon folder from the Sands Convention Expo. It was part of Commute By Bike's sponsorship of the SocialRide. So while we waited, an Alley Kat was going to start from the Sands too, and we were entertained by L.A. Brakeless. Those fixie tricks are pretty cool!
<===Check out the super narrow bars these guys prefer.After that we got out on the Strip and rode about five miles to the Mandalay Bay resort where the crit races were being held. It was pretty funny seeing the peoples faces as we rolled by. Some gave us cheers, and some cars honked in appreciation, but most were flabbergasted that anyone would have the gall to ride down the Strip "en-masse" on bicycles. I'm sure ol' Blue Eyes himself would've sneered through the smoky haze of his heater dangling from his slightly opened lips as we rolled past the Frontier Club.
<====Hey! Anybody see a bike lane here!?We made it out there okay, enjoyed a bit of the racing, and then Fritz, Tim, and I rode back alone. Okay.......Here's the deal folks. I don't condone this sort of thing, nor do I endorse it, but we had a hoot doing it. We rode like the wind down the Strip without helmets, and without lights. I would tell you that you were an idiot for doing it, so yeah, I know! But it is what it is, and it was an epic night for sure.
So tomorrow is it. The Last Day. Then I pack it in, leave for the airport, and fly home early Saturday morning. I can't wait to get home, but I had an adventure here that I won't soon forget either.
I hope ya'all get out and make your own adventures this weekend! Next time you hear from me, I should be home. It'll be good!
Thursday Night Madness!
<===Mr. 24? J-Kove? SuperKove? Ahh....whatever! He's still the same guy I have ever known. And that's pretty good!Interbike starts to wear at you after awhile, so today I decided to give myself a self imposed break and join up with the Ergon crowd and relax. It was a great time!
The theme was Oktoberfest, so the "booth babes" were all in traditional Barvarian dress, and one of them I got a chance to know just a wee bit. No........not that way! I am a decent guy, no matter how it may appear on the outside.
<===Three guesses as to which person is J-kove's gal friend named Sonya. Your first two guesses don't count!So besides all of the cool people at the Ergon booth, folks like Dave Weins, Namrita and Eddie O'Dea, and D.J. Birtch, I got to meet Sonya finally. Okay, I could say alot, but I won't, because I'd spoil the pleasant surprise ya'all would get. That's all I'm gonna say here. Let's leave things at this: It was a definite highlight of my day. Mmmmkay?
<====Fixie Tricks!Then the show closed and I was supposed to ride to the Mandalay Bay Resort on a Dahon folder from the Sands Convention Expo. It was part of Commute By Bike's sponsorship of the SocialRide. So while we waited, an Alley Kat was going to start from the Sands too, and we were entertained by L.A. Brakeless. Those fixie tricks are pretty cool!
<===Check out the super narrow bars these guys prefer.After that we got out on the Strip and rode about five miles to the Mandalay Bay resort where the crit races were being held. It was pretty funny seeing the peoples faces as we rolled by. Some gave us cheers, and some cars honked in appreciation, but most were flabbergasted that anyone would have the gall to ride down the Strip "en-masse" on bicycles. I'm sure ol' Blue Eyes himself would've sneered through the smoky haze of his heater dangling from his slightly opened lips as we rolled past the Frontier Club.
<====Hey! Anybody see a bike lane here!?We made it out there okay, enjoyed a bit of the racing, and then Fritz, Tim, and I rode back alone. Okay.......Here's the deal folks. I don't condone this sort of thing, nor do I endorse it, but we had a hoot doing it. We rode like the wind down the Strip without helmets, and without lights. I would tell you that you were an idiot for doing it, so yeah, I know! But it is what it is, and it was an epic night for sure.
So tomorrow is it. The Last Day. Then I pack it in, leave for the airport, and fly home early Saturday morning. I can't wait to get home, but I had an adventure here that I won't soon forget either.
I hope ya'all get out and make your own adventures this weekend! Next time you hear from me, I should be home. It'll be good!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
More Interbike Madness
<====Bright Lights, Crap City!Okay it's official. Gary Fisher has declared Las Vegas a crap city. I can't say I would be persuaded to say otherwise, at least within a stones throw of the Strip. Actually, the rest of the city reminds me a whole lot of El Paso, Texas.
So, the "Big Press Conference" has happened where everything was announced that has already been leaked. Isn't that great?!! Well, what you won't probably find out is that Greg Le Mond was in the front row and pretty much made a spectacle of himself. Yeah, as in a horse's behind sort of way. Awesome!
So I caught up with the Twin Six guys and saw the new prototype wool jerseys. HOT! The rest of the line up, yeah.......typical high Twin Six quality there for sure. I can't wait to sport the 6 again next year.
Surly has some awesome stuff. An "Eleventh Anniversary Rat Ride" which is a 1 X 1 with 24" Large Marges shod with these huge-ginormous fatties for urban slaying and a great red paint with black decals. Hurry up kiddies! It's a limited edition rig.
Ergon's shindig is later today. Can't wait to meet the "missus". ( wink-wink!)
Okay, so I gotta get back to chicken pickin' here. Later folks!
More Interbike Madness
<====Bright Lights, Crap City!Okay it's official. Gary Fisher has declared Las Vegas a crap city. I can't say I would be persuaded to say otherwise, at least within a stones throw of the Strip. Actually, the rest of the city reminds me a whole lot of El Paso, Texas.
So, the "Big Press Conference" has happened where everything was announced that has already been leaked. Isn't that great?!! Well, what you won't probably find out is that Greg Le Mond was in the front row and pretty much made a spectacle of himself. Yeah, as in a horse's behind sort of way. Awesome!
So I caught up with the Twin Six guys and saw the new prototype wool jerseys. HOT! The rest of the line up, yeah.......typical high Twin Six quality there for sure. I can't wait to sport the 6 again next year.
Surly has some awesome stuff. An "Eleventh Anniversary Rat Ride" which is a 1 X 1 with 24" Large Marges shod with these huge-ginormous fatties for urban slaying and a great red paint with black decals. Hurry up kiddies! It's a limited edition rig.
Ergon's shindig is later today. Can't wait to meet the "missus". ( wink-wink!)
Okay, so I gotta get back to chicken pickin' here. Later folks!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Interbike 2008: Low Blood Sugar
<===Ever wonder what it's like to be me in Vegas? (Photo credit: Richard Masoner)
Typing the screed here in Vegas is getting me nowhere but hungry and cranky. Well, I did meet some pretty cool folks. I met the owner of a factory in Taiwan that said he wasn't afraid of Shimano, (Yeah! Fight the man!), and I met some people that are making some pretty cool new high end bits for bicycles that are behind the scenes in different areas of the bicycling world.
I met the guy who basically is responsible for the term "twenty niner" and the guy responsible for the numerical descriptor, "29"er". Wes Williams is the undisputed "Dude" of the 29"er world. It was pretty much his enthusiasm for the big wheels off road that infected a few important peers and got the 29 inch Nanoraptor into production about ten years ago. Wes was using the "28er" moniker previous to that big tire and when they came along, well....29er was the next logical step in the name game. That eneded up becoming "29"er" when another man, Bob Poor saw that "29er" was a yachting term and wanted to step things away from that. An important thing in the day of the computer.
So, I met those two guys. Big parts of 29"er history.
But yaeh, I was pretty edgy. It's just that I'm so busy, I didn't eat anything between the time the show opened and when it ended. Then I had two slices of pizza and a side of pasta. Ha! Fuel for the show, but that was to be expected.
Well, I suppose I shouldn't have said I was "cranky", just low on blood sugar!
Lance is in town racing a cross bike.Hmm...........what if he doesn't win? Or what if he cracks up on a barrier? Could happen. (Late edit: He's fine. He got whooped by about twenty other dudes.)
Anyway.......I'm thinking strange thoughts. The brain, you know.................not eating right........................no sleep............
See ya tomorrow!
Interbike 2008: Low Blood Sugar
<===Ever wonder what it's like to be me in Vegas? (Photo credit: Richard Masoner)
Typing the screed here in Vegas is getting me nowhere but hungry and cranky. Well, I did meet some pretty cool folks. I met the owner of a factory in Taiwan that said he wasn't afraid of Shimano, (Yeah! Fight the man!), and I met some people that are making some pretty cool new high end bits for bicycles that are behind the scenes in different areas of the bicycling world.
I met the guy who basically is responsible for the term "twenty niner" and the guy responsible for the numerical descriptor, "29"er". Wes Williams is the undisputed "Dude" of the 29"er world. It was pretty much his enthusiasm for the big wheels off road that infected a few important peers and got the 29 inch Nanoraptor into production about ten years ago. Wes was using the "28er" moniker previous to that big tire and when they came along, well....29er was the next logical step in the name game. That eneded up becoming "29"er" when another man, Bob Poor saw that "29er" was a yachting term and wanted to step things away from that. An important thing in the day of the computer.
So, I met those two guys. Big parts of 29"er history.
But yaeh, I was pretty edgy. It's just that I'm so busy, I didn't eat anything between the time the show opened and when it ended. Then I had two slices of pizza and a side of pasta. Ha! Fuel for the show, but that was to be expected.
Well, I suppose I shouldn't have said I was "cranky", just low on blood sugar!
Lance is in town racing a cross bike.Hmm...........what if he doesn't win? Or what if he cracks up on a barrier? Could happen. (Late edit: He's fine. He got whooped by about twenty other dudes.)
Anyway.......I'm thinking strange thoughts. The brain, you know.................not eating right........................no sleep............
See ya tomorrow!
Yes! I Heard About Lance!
Well, the Interbike trade show is in a tizzy over this "Lance" announcement that will happen tomorrow here. The media people here are freaking out,and the Interbike folks are scrambling in preparation for mass chaos when hordes of "media wannabees" come looking for press passes.
Hey, suppose I could sell my press pass for some cool green? Heh heh!
So, yeah........Lance to Team Astana. Was that ever in doubt? Really, the guy is contracted to Trek for life and how many pro teams ride Trek bicycles at the highest level? Yeah........and I suppose he could have started his own "Livestrong" team, but ol' buddy Johan wouldn't have been part of that, soooo............
I guess I wish on one hand that a super star athlete would just go away when they are on top for once, and the other side of me doesn't quite get the whole "Lance" factor. I mean, yeah....from a cycling-centric viewpoint, I get it. However; the media over time has exposed a lot of this man's life that is well,......not so cool.
Anyway, being around this is somewhat amusing. Possibly irritating. Most definitely weird.
More from the "Big Show" later.
Hey, suppose I could sell my press pass for some cool green? Heh heh!
So, yeah........Lance to Team Astana. Was that ever in doubt? Really, the guy is contracted to Trek for life and how many pro teams ride Trek bicycles at the highest level? Yeah........and I suppose he could have started his own "Livestrong" team, but ol' buddy Johan wouldn't have been part of that, soooo............
I guess I wish on one hand that a super star athlete would just go away when they are on top for once, and the other side of me doesn't quite get the whole "Lance" factor. I mean, yeah....from a cycling-centric viewpoint, I get it. However; the media over time has exposed a lot of this man's life that is well,......not so cool.
Anyway, being around this is somewhat amusing. Possibly irritating. Most definitely weird.
More from the "Big Show" later.
Yes! I Heard About Lance!
Well, the Interbike trade show is in a tizzy over this "Lance" announcement that will happen tomorrow here. The media people here are freaking out,and the Interbike folks are scrambling in preparation for mass chaos when hordes of "media wannabees" come looking for press passes.
Hey, suppose I could sell my press pass for some cool green? Heh heh!
So, yeah........Lance to Team Astana. Was that ever in doubt? Really, the guy is contracted to Trek for life and how many pro teams ride Trek bicycles at the highest level? Yeah........and I suppose he could have started his own "Livestrong" team, but ol' buddy Johan wouldn't have been part of that, soooo............
I guess I wish on one hand that a super star athlete would just go away when they are on top for once, and the other side of me doesn't quite get the whole "Lance" factor. I mean, yeah....from a cycling-centric viewpoint, I get it. However; the media over time has exposed a lot of this man's life that is well,......not so cool.
Anyway, being around this is somewhat amusing. Possibly irritating. Most definitely weird.
More from the "Big Show" later.
Hey, suppose I could sell my press pass for some cool green? Heh heh!
So, yeah........Lance to Team Astana. Was that ever in doubt? Really, the guy is contracted to Trek for life and how many pro teams ride Trek bicycles at the highest level? Yeah........and I suppose he could have started his own "Livestrong" team, but ol' buddy Johan wouldn't have been part of that, soooo............
I guess I wish on one hand that a super star athlete would just go away when they are on top for once, and the other side of me doesn't quite get the whole "Lance" factor. I mean, yeah....from a cycling-centric viewpoint, I get it. However; the media over time has exposed a lot of this man's life that is well,......not so cool.
Anyway, being around this is somewhat amusing. Possibly irritating. Most definitely weird.
More from the "Big Show" later.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wow! Another "Real Post" From Interbike
<====My Crooked Cog boss, Tim Grahl, removing an offending terrapin from the trail surface at Bootleg Canyon.
So it is still like brutally hot out here on day two of the Outdoor Demo and we're still having fun riding bikes at Bootleg Canyon.
I took a nasty trip over the bars onto some gnarly lava rock and biffed my elbow up pretty good. It flowed quite a bit of blood, so at least it was showy! The rock escaped unharmed!
Now we're ensconced in the bowels of the Sands Convention Center using the free wifi since the inter-web-sphere at the house pretty much blows. We'll not be using that position for working on the computer anymore!
Okay, so now we're heading to a dinner date with some fellow web-o-sphere nutcases and I'll be headin' fer the shed after that. I guess I'm going to be posted up on a video on the Interbike's blog soon, so when that gets posted, I'll let ya'all know!
Wow! Another "Real Post" From Interbike
<====My Crooked Cog boss, Tim Grahl, removing an offending terrapin from the trail surface at Bootleg Canyon.
So it is still like brutally hot out here on day two of the Outdoor Demo and we're still having fun riding bikes at Bootleg Canyon.
I took a nasty trip over the bars onto some gnarly lava rock and biffed my elbow up pretty good. It flowed quite a bit of blood, so at least it was showy! The rock escaped unharmed!
Now we're ensconced in the bowels of the Sands Convention Center using the free wifi since the inter-web-sphere at the house pretty much blows. We'll not be using that position for working on the computer anymore!
Okay, so now we're heading to a dinner date with some fellow web-o-sphere nutcases and I'll be headin' fer the shed after that. I guess I'm going to be posted up on a video on the Interbike's blog soon, so when that gets posted, I'll let ya'all know!
Interbike 2008: A Real Post
Well, here I am sitting on a bunch of great information and I can't post a lick of it because nothing is working right here. Yeah.......I'm a bit frustrated!
The house we rented has a cable modem that has to be restarted every time you restart a computer, my camera isn't recognized by my laptop, for some weird reason, and everybody that can help has passed out already.
Poor, poor, pitiful me, right? Ha ha! Well, I'll tell ya this much, it's nothing to worry about. I had a great time today. I rode five great mountain bikes that I will post about sooner or later. I met a lot of old friends and made some new ones. I ate barbecue sandwiches made by Chris King, (Yes.....That Chris King), I drank beers, I got some killer schwag, and I got to hang out with SuperKove and some dude that has won Leadville six times or something crazy like that. How bad could it be, right? I mean, I got set up for two of my demo rides by "Demo Ken" Derrico, and it don't get no better than that! (If you've been to a Trek/Fisher Demo lately, and Ken was there, you know what I mean.) Lessee......The Salsa Crew was there throwin' down the goods. The Niner Bikes guys, including D.J. and Fuzzy were there, which reminds me of a great story, then I gotta go to bed!
At the Chris King BBQ party, Mickey of Spooky Bikes was remarking that it seemed all 29"er freaks had this facial hair thing going on. He said that he didn't think he could roll, since maybe he didn't have enough testosterone to grow a chin wig. Then D.J. calmly looked at him and said, "Well, give a 29"er a try for a while and see what you can grow." Priceless! (It helps if you know that D.J. and Fuzzy would put Civil War re-enactment freaks to shame with their chop mops.)
Okay, I feel much better now.........
At least this post worked!
More later from Lost Wages, Nevada, where it was over a hundred degrees today at Outdoor Demo. Yeeeeeaaah............
The house we rented has a cable modem that has to be restarted every time you restart a computer, my camera isn't recognized by my laptop, for some weird reason, and everybody that can help has passed out already.
Poor, poor, pitiful me, right? Ha ha! Well, I'll tell ya this much, it's nothing to worry about. I had a great time today. I rode five great mountain bikes that I will post about sooner or later. I met a lot of old friends and made some new ones. I ate barbecue sandwiches made by Chris King, (Yes.....That Chris King), I drank beers, I got some killer schwag, and I got to hang out with SuperKove and some dude that has won Leadville six times or something crazy like that. How bad could it be, right? I mean, I got set up for two of my demo rides by "Demo Ken" Derrico, and it don't get no better than that! (If you've been to a Trek/Fisher Demo lately, and Ken was there, you know what I mean.) Lessee......The Salsa Crew was there throwin' down the goods. The Niner Bikes guys, including D.J. and Fuzzy were there, which reminds me of a great story, then I gotta go to bed!
At the Chris King BBQ party, Mickey of Spooky Bikes was remarking that it seemed all 29"er freaks had this facial hair thing going on. He said that he didn't think he could roll, since maybe he didn't have enough testosterone to grow a chin wig. Then D.J. calmly looked at him and said, "Well, give a 29"er a try for a while and see what you can grow." Priceless! (It helps if you know that D.J. and Fuzzy would put Civil War re-enactment freaks to shame with their chop mops.)
Okay, I feel much better now.........
At least this post worked!
More later from Lost Wages, Nevada, where it was over a hundred degrees today at Outdoor Demo. Yeeeeeaaah............
Interbike 2008: A Real Post
Well, here I am sitting on a bunch of great information and I can't post a lick of it because nothing is working right here. Yeah.......I'm a bit frustrated!
The house we rented has a cable modem that has to be restarted every time you restart a computer, my camera isn't recognized by my laptop, for some weird reason, and everybody that can help has passed out already.
Poor, poor, pitiful me, right? Ha ha! Well, I'll tell ya this much, it's nothing to worry about. I had a great time today. I rode five great mountain bikes that I will post about sooner or later. I met a lot of old friends and made some new ones. I ate barbecue sandwiches made by Chris King, (Yes.....That Chris King), I drank beers, I got some killer schwag, and I got to hang out with SuperKove and some dude that has won Leadville six times or something crazy like that. How bad could it be, right? I mean, I got set up for two of my demo rides by "Demo Ken" Derrico, and it don't get no better than that! (If you've been to a Trek/Fisher Demo lately, and Ken was there, you know what I mean.) Lessee......The Salsa Crew was there throwin' down the goods. The Niner Bikes guys, including D.J. and Fuzzy were there, which reminds me of a great story, then I gotta go to bed!
At the Chris King BBQ party, Mickey of Spooky Bikes was remarking that it seemed all 29"er freaks had this facial hair thing going on. He said that he didn't think he could roll, since maybe he didn't have enough testosterone to grow a chin wig. Then D.J. calmly looked at him and said, "Well, give a 29"er a try for a while and see what you can grow." Priceless! (It helps if you know that D.J. and Fuzzy would put Civil War re-enactment freaks to shame with their chop mops.)
Okay, I feel much better now.........
At least this post worked!
More later from Lost Wages, Nevada, where it was over a hundred degrees today at Outdoor Demo. Yeeeeeaaah............
The house we rented has a cable modem that has to be restarted every time you restart a computer, my camera isn't recognized by my laptop, for some weird reason, and everybody that can help has passed out already.
Poor, poor, pitiful me, right? Ha ha! Well, I'll tell ya this much, it's nothing to worry about. I had a great time today. I rode five great mountain bikes that I will post about sooner or later. I met a lot of old friends and made some new ones. I ate barbecue sandwiches made by Chris King, (Yes.....That Chris King), I drank beers, I got some killer schwag, and I got to hang out with SuperKove and some dude that has won Leadville six times or something crazy like that. How bad could it be, right? I mean, I got set up for two of my demo rides by "Demo Ken" Derrico, and it don't get no better than that! (If you've been to a Trek/Fisher Demo lately, and Ken was there, you know what I mean.) Lessee......The Salsa Crew was there throwin' down the goods. The Niner Bikes guys, including D.J. and Fuzzy were there, which reminds me of a great story, then I gotta go to bed!
At the Chris King BBQ party, Mickey of Spooky Bikes was remarking that it seemed all 29"er freaks had this facial hair thing going on. He said that he didn't think he could roll, since maybe he didn't have enough testosterone to grow a chin wig. Then D.J. calmly looked at him and said, "Well, give a 29"er a try for a while and see what you can grow." Priceless! (It helps if you know that D.J. and Fuzzy would put Civil War re-enactment freaks to shame with their chop mops.)
Okay, I feel much better now.........
At least this post worked!
More later from Lost Wages, Nevada, where it was over a hundred degrees today at Outdoor Demo. Yeeeeeaaah............
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Interbike 2008: Gettin' Ready To Head Out!
Whelp! It is that time of year again. Interbike 2008 starts Monday with the Outdoor Demo at Bootleg Canyon. That runs through Tuesday, and then it is on to Vegas for the rest of the week at the Sands Convention Center. A week from this Saturday I'll return a very weary man.
I know that a lot of you bicycle freaks would kill for the chance to go to Vegas and see what I'm about to see. It is pretty fun! However; I'm working there, which is a big, big difference from what dealers and shop employees experience at Interbike.
Interbike for me is a week long endurance event. No joke! The two days at Bootleg Canyon are the best days out of the week, because you are outdoors, riding bikes, and you can get away from the crawling hordes if you need to. This is fun, yet taxing as well, because I will be putting in 8 to 10 hours of Bootleg Canyon per day with maybe 5-6 hours of riding in the desert mountains. Add in the limited amounts of fluids available, and the near zero chances for food uptake, and you can see why I bonked on day two of the Outdoor Demo last year at noon! I'll be a bit more aware than last year, so hopefully I can keep a little more gas in the tank for day two!
Nightly- especially for the first three days of the week- I'll be posting up stuff at my nearly snails pace, (You would laugh hysterically if you could see me typing right now!), until the wee hours of the night, and then getting up at the crack of dawn to get back to the action. Then add on top of all of that my gig this year as a television show host. Yes, you read that correctly! I am going to be hosting a half hour segment on Cycling T.V. which is broadcast from the Interbike show floor on Friday afternoon. I will need to be finding a couple of guests to interview about 29"er stuff, so if you are reading this, and are going to be at Interbike on Friday, give me a shout if you want to be on with me. Anyway, I found out about this on Wednesday, so not much time to line up guests!
So, not only will I be running back and forth across Interbikes massive show floor covering all things Big Wheeled, I'll be prepping for a show, and typing out screed at an incredibly slow speed! Time to eat? Ha! Time to drink? Maybe...... Interbike does have nutrition companies showing their wares at the show. Little bite sized morsels on platters for everyone to test taste are out there with maybe a Dixie cup full of energy drink to wash it all down with. I've gotten pretty good at grabbing about five bits and a cup on the run as I pass from one end to the other covering the show. But that's not the most devastating thing.
Just about every afternoon at 4pm, someone, somewhere is tapping a keg of some micro-brew and handing it out for free. Sometimes the locations are known to all. Sometimes only to a few. Usually you can tell by the hordes of beer vultures circling around a booth at 3:59pm where the beer will be flowing from. This would be an indication of a widely known keg tappage. The more discreet ones are the ones to hit, if you can find out about them! They usually do not attract the beer vultures, and as such, you can be assured of actually getting a beer! Since I am there as "Working Media", I usually, but not always, get in on the action. Good for me? well................not so much!
I usually have about what? Ten bite sized bits of Cliff Bar, or equivalent, a Dixie cup or two of fluids, and a roll and coffee right off in the Media Center for seven to eight hours of running the show floor, and that's not counting the two hours I'm up in the morning before we get there. Soooooo.............that beer goes straight to the head! Yeah........then it's about what? An hour to an hour and a half before you get any dinner. Then the long night of typing at a snails pace before turning in at some single digit hour the next morning.
So, yeah..........I've about drained the tank by weeks end! Poor, poor me, right? Well, I ain't lookin' for no sympathy from ya'all, just tellin' ya. I'm actually doing some work out there. Really! I am!
And when I get back there just might be an important announcement concerning my future! Stay tuned! Or not.........maybe you should just ride yer bicycles instead!
On that note, I'll bid ya'all adieu until next week when the excruciatingly slowly typed drivel you've become accustomed to reading here will be erratic and posted at random times. You've been warned!
I know that a lot of you bicycle freaks would kill for the chance to go to Vegas and see what I'm about to see. It is pretty fun! However; I'm working there, which is a big, big difference from what dealers and shop employees experience at Interbike.
Interbike for me is a week long endurance event. No joke! The two days at Bootleg Canyon are the best days out of the week, because you are outdoors, riding bikes, and you can get away from the crawling hordes if you need to. This is fun, yet taxing as well, because I will be putting in 8 to 10 hours of Bootleg Canyon per day with maybe 5-6 hours of riding in the desert mountains. Add in the limited amounts of fluids available, and the near zero chances for food uptake, and you can see why I bonked on day two of the Outdoor Demo last year at noon! I'll be a bit more aware than last year, so hopefully I can keep a little more gas in the tank for day two!
Nightly- especially for the first three days of the week- I'll be posting up stuff at my nearly snails pace, (You would laugh hysterically if you could see me typing right now!), until the wee hours of the night, and then getting up at the crack of dawn to get back to the action. Then add on top of all of that my gig this year as a television show host. Yes, you read that correctly! I am going to be hosting a half hour segment on Cycling T.V. which is broadcast from the Interbike show floor on Friday afternoon. I will need to be finding a couple of guests to interview about 29"er stuff, so if you are reading this, and are going to be at Interbike on Friday, give me a shout if you want to be on with me. Anyway, I found out about this on Wednesday, so not much time to line up guests!
So, not only will I be running back and forth across Interbikes massive show floor covering all things Big Wheeled, I'll be prepping for a show, and typing out screed at an incredibly slow speed! Time to eat? Ha! Time to drink? Maybe...... Interbike does have nutrition companies showing their wares at the show. Little bite sized morsels on platters for everyone to test taste are out there with maybe a Dixie cup full of energy drink to wash it all down with. I've gotten pretty good at grabbing about five bits and a cup on the run as I pass from one end to the other covering the show. But that's not the most devastating thing.
Just about every afternoon at 4pm, someone, somewhere is tapping a keg of some micro-brew and handing it out for free. Sometimes the locations are known to all. Sometimes only to a few. Usually you can tell by the hordes of beer vultures circling around a booth at 3:59pm where the beer will be flowing from. This would be an indication of a widely known keg tappage. The more discreet ones are the ones to hit, if you can find out about them! They usually do not attract the beer vultures, and as such, you can be assured of actually getting a beer! Since I am there as "Working Media", I usually, but not always, get in on the action. Good for me? well................not so much!
I usually have about what? Ten bite sized bits of Cliff Bar, or equivalent, a Dixie cup or two of fluids, and a roll and coffee right off in the Media Center for seven to eight hours of running the show floor, and that's not counting the two hours I'm up in the morning before we get there. Soooooo.............that beer goes straight to the head! Yeah........then it's about what? An hour to an hour and a half before you get any dinner. Then the long night of typing at a snails pace before turning in at some single digit hour the next morning.
So, yeah..........I've about drained the tank by weeks end! Poor, poor me, right? Well, I ain't lookin' for no sympathy from ya'all, just tellin' ya. I'm actually doing some work out there. Really! I am!
And when I get back there just might be an important announcement concerning my future! Stay tuned! Or not.........maybe you should just ride yer bicycles instead!
On that note, I'll bid ya'all adieu until next week when the excruciatingly slowly typed drivel you've become accustomed to reading here will be erratic and posted at random times. You've been warned!
Interbike 2008: Gettin' Ready To Head Out!
Whelp! It is that time of year again. Interbike 2008 starts Monday with the Outdoor Demo at Bootleg Canyon. That runs through Tuesday, and then it is on to Vegas for the rest of the week at the Sands Convention Center. A week from this Saturday I'll return a very weary man.
I know that a lot of you bicycle freaks would kill for the chance to go to Vegas and see what I'm about to see. It is pretty fun! However; I'm working there, which is a big, big difference from what dealers and shop employees experience at Interbike.
Interbike for me is a week long endurance event. No joke! The two days at Bootleg Canyon are the best days out of the week, because you are outdoors, riding bikes, and you can get away from the crawling hordes if you need to. This is fun, yet taxing as well, because I will be putting in 8 to 10 hours of Bootleg Canyon per day with maybe 5-6 hours of riding in the desert mountains. Add in the limited amounts of fluids available, and the near zero chances for food uptake, and you can see why I bonked on day two of the Outdoor Demo last year at noon! I'll be a bit more aware than last year, so hopefully I can keep a little more gas in the tank for day two!
Nightly- especially for the first three days of the week- I'll be posting up stuff at my nearly snails pace, (You would laugh hysterically if you could see me typing right now!), until the wee hours of the night, and then getting up at the crack of dawn to get back to the action. Then add on top of all of that my gig this year as a television show host. Yes, you read that correctly! I am going to be hosting a half hour segment on Cycling T.V. which is broadcast from the Interbike show floor on Friday afternoon. I will need to be finding a couple of guests to interview about 29"er stuff, so if you are reading this, and are going to be at Interbike on Friday, give me a shout if you want to be on with me. Anyway, I found out about this on Wednesday, so not much time to line up guests!
So, not only will I be running back and forth across Interbikes massive show floor covering all things Big Wheeled, I'll be prepping for a show, and typing out screed at an incredibly slow speed! Time to eat? Ha! Time to drink? Maybe...... Interbike does have nutrition companies showing their wares at the show. Little bite sized morsels on platters for everyone to test taste are out there with maybe a Dixie cup full of energy drink to wash it all down with. I've gotten pretty good at grabbing about five bits and a cup on the run as I pass from one end to the other covering the show. But that's not the most devastating thing.
Just about every afternoon at 4pm, someone, somewhere is tapping a keg of some micro-brew and handing it out for free. Sometimes the locations are known to all. Sometimes only to a few. Usually you can tell by the hordes of beer vultures circling around a booth at 3:59pm where the beer will be flowing from. This would be an indication of a widely known keg tappage. The more discreet ones are the ones to hit, if you can find out about them! They usually do not attract the beer vultures, and as such, you can be assured of actually getting a beer! Since I am there as "Working Media", I usually, but not always, get in on the action. Good for me? well................not so much!
I usually have about what? Ten bite sized bits of Cliff Bar, or equivalent, a Dixie cup or two of fluids, and a roll and coffee right off in the Media Center for seven to eight hours of running the show floor, and that's not counting the two hours I'm up in the morning before we get there. Soooooo.............that beer goes straight to the head! Yeah........then it's about what? An hour to an hour and a half before you get any dinner. Then the long night of typing at a snails pace before turning in at some single digit hour the next morning.
So, yeah..........I've about drained the tank by weeks end! Poor, poor me, right? Well, I ain't lookin' for no sympathy from ya'all, just tellin' ya. I'm actually doing some work out there. Really! I am!
And when I get back there just might be an important announcement concerning my future! Stay tuned! Or not.........maybe you should just ride yer bicycles instead!
On that note, I'll bid ya'all adieu until next week when the excruciatingly slowly typed drivel you've become accustomed to reading here will be erratic and posted at random times. You've been warned!
I know that a lot of you bicycle freaks would kill for the chance to go to Vegas and see what I'm about to see. It is pretty fun! However; I'm working there, which is a big, big difference from what dealers and shop employees experience at Interbike.
Interbike for me is a week long endurance event. No joke! The two days at Bootleg Canyon are the best days out of the week, because you are outdoors, riding bikes, and you can get away from the crawling hordes if you need to. This is fun, yet taxing as well, because I will be putting in 8 to 10 hours of Bootleg Canyon per day with maybe 5-6 hours of riding in the desert mountains. Add in the limited amounts of fluids available, and the near zero chances for food uptake, and you can see why I bonked on day two of the Outdoor Demo last year at noon! I'll be a bit more aware than last year, so hopefully I can keep a little more gas in the tank for day two!
Nightly- especially for the first three days of the week- I'll be posting up stuff at my nearly snails pace, (You would laugh hysterically if you could see me typing right now!), until the wee hours of the night, and then getting up at the crack of dawn to get back to the action. Then add on top of all of that my gig this year as a television show host. Yes, you read that correctly! I am going to be hosting a half hour segment on Cycling T.V. which is broadcast from the Interbike show floor on Friday afternoon. I will need to be finding a couple of guests to interview about 29"er stuff, so if you are reading this, and are going to be at Interbike on Friday, give me a shout if you want to be on with me. Anyway, I found out about this on Wednesday, so not much time to line up guests!
So, not only will I be running back and forth across Interbikes massive show floor covering all things Big Wheeled, I'll be prepping for a show, and typing out screed at an incredibly slow speed! Time to eat? Ha! Time to drink? Maybe...... Interbike does have nutrition companies showing their wares at the show. Little bite sized morsels on platters for everyone to test taste are out there with maybe a Dixie cup full of energy drink to wash it all down with. I've gotten pretty good at grabbing about five bits and a cup on the run as I pass from one end to the other covering the show. But that's not the most devastating thing.
Just about every afternoon at 4pm, someone, somewhere is tapping a keg of some micro-brew and handing it out for free. Sometimes the locations are known to all. Sometimes only to a few. Usually you can tell by the hordes of beer vultures circling around a booth at 3:59pm where the beer will be flowing from. This would be an indication of a widely known keg tappage. The more discreet ones are the ones to hit, if you can find out about them! They usually do not attract the beer vultures, and as such, you can be assured of actually getting a beer! Since I am there as "Working Media", I usually, but not always, get in on the action. Good for me? well................not so much!
I usually have about what? Ten bite sized bits of Cliff Bar, or equivalent, a Dixie cup or two of fluids, and a roll and coffee right off in the Media Center for seven to eight hours of running the show floor, and that's not counting the two hours I'm up in the morning before we get there. Soooooo.............that beer goes straight to the head! Yeah........then it's about what? An hour to an hour and a half before you get any dinner. Then the long night of typing at a snails pace before turning in at some single digit hour the next morning.
So, yeah..........I've about drained the tank by weeks end! Poor, poor me, right? Well, I ain't lookin' for no sympathy from ya'all, just tellin' ya. I'm actually doing some work out there. Really! I am!
And when I get back there just might be an important announcement concerning my future! Stay tuned! Or not.........maybe you should just ride yer bicycles instead!
On that note, I'll bid ya'all adieu until next week when the excruciatingly slowly typed drivel you've become accustomed to reading here will be erratic and posted at random times. You've been warned!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wide Rims and Funky Bars
<===Another Wednesday Outing!
I took the Blackbuck out for a whirl on the new Salsa Gordo/Hope Pro II wheels yesterday. I tell you what, those Gordos will make me a believer in wide rims, that's for certain! The wheels allowed me to run pressures with tubes down to 17psi front and 20psi rear. The tires rolled really well at those pressures and out at the Camp I felt faster because of the increased grip. The rear wheel bottomed out against a few roots and I slammed one tree branch that I didn't see coming due to the sun in my eyes, but no pinch flats at all. I probably will bump up the rear pressure just a tad, maybe something like 22-24 psi for protection against pinching and see how that does. The front, well that was fine, but I may experiment with 20psi to see if that gets faster without losing grip.
The soil at the Camp was pretty damp and again, the tires were packing up just a bit. No matter though, as the Gordos spread out that casing and the low pressures gave me great traction. I did two laps of everything and I was going faster than I had in a long time, so that says a lot to me.
<===The Schwalbe Racing Ralph looks ginormous on these rims!
<===That's me on the left, a truck tire track on the right.
So, I think the Gordos are winners so far. They are certainly a stiff rim! I never felt a waggle or any vagueness out of these wheels. Solid!
Finally, I have been using Titec H-Bars on the Blackbuck all summer. While they certainly are one of the most ugly bars I have seen, they are super functional, especially on a single speed bike. I love the way I can climb with them and the hand position works really well. Mind you, these bars are nearly 100 bucks retail now, so they are not cheap. However; I have to laugh at what the "real" Jones H-Bars bring at retail these days. Over $400.00! And now Jeff Jones as some new handlebar designs that are over 5 bills to buy. I don't argue the benefits of his designs, but I tell ya, the price of titanium must be ridiculous, because I just don't see $550.00 worth of work there. I could buy another Blackbuck frame for that kind of scratch, and I know there is a lot more work in my frame than there is in that handlebar. Still, I would love to have one for more "epic" long rides. The way the "Loop" bar is shown with a handlebar bag and lights? Makes total sense.
The H-Bar in aluminum is doing just fine, and for my more "epic" long rides, I think that the Gary Bar, or a Midge Bar will suffice. Actually, they are better in some respects, as the drop bar designs have three "levels" if you will. Lower level, that is in the drops. Upper level, that is on the hoods. Top floor, that is on the bar top, next to the stem. Lots of hand positions, and a handle bar bag works just dandy with those too. I am actually going back to a drop bar set up on my Karate Monkey again soon. I miss that bike with drop bars.
Wide Rims and Funky Bars
<===Another Wednesday Outing!
I took the Blackbuck out for a whirl on the new Salsa Gordo/Hope Pro II wheels yesterday. I tell you what, those Gordos will make me a believer in wide rims, that's for certain! The wheels allowed me to run pressures with tubes down to 17psi front and 20psi rear. The tires rolled really well at those pressures and out at the Camp I felt faster because of the increased grip. The rear wheel bottomed out against a few roots and I slammed one tree branch that I didn't see coming due to the sun in my eyes, but no pinch flats at all. I probably will bump up the rear pressure just a tad, maybe something like 22-24 psi for protection against pinching and see how that does. The front, well that was fine, but I may experiment with 20psi to see if that gets faster without losing grip.
The soil at the Camp was pretty damp and again, the tires were packing up just a bit. No matter though, as the Gordos spread out that casing and the low pressures gave me great traction. I did two laps of everything and I was going faster than I had in a long time, so that says a lot to me.
<===The Schwalbe Racing Ralph looks ginormous on these rims!
<===That's me on the left, a truck tire track on the right.
So, I think the Gordos are winners so far. They are certainly a stiff rim! I never felt a waggle or any vagueness out of these wheels. Solid!
Finally, I have been using Titec H-Bars on the Blackbuck all summer. While they certainly are one of the most ugly bars I have seen, they are super functional, especially on a single speed bike. I love the way I can climb with them and the hand position works really well. Mind you, these bars are nearly 100 bucks retail now, so they are not cheap. However; I have to laugh at what the "real" Jones H-Bars bring at retail these days. Over $400.00! And now Jeff Jones as some new handlebar designs that are over 5 bills to buy. I don't argue the benefits of his designs, but I tell ya, the price of titanium must be ridiculous, because I just don't see $550.00 worth of work there. I could buy another Blackbuck frame for that kind of scratch, and I know there is a lot more work in my frame than there is in that handlebar. Still, I would love to have one for more "epic" long rides. The way the "Loop" bar is shown with a handlebar bag and lights? Makes total sense.
The H-Bar in aluminum is doing just fine, and for my more "epic" long rides, I think that the Gary Bar, or a Midge Bar will suffice. Actually, they are better in some respects, as the drop bar designs have three "levels" if you will. Lower level, that is in the drops. Upper level, that is on the hoods. Top floor, that is on the bar top, next to the stem. Lots of hand positions, and a handle bar bag works just dandy with those too. I am actually going back to a drop bar set up on my Karate Monkey again soon. I miss that bike with drop bars.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Trans Iowa V5: On My Mind: Part II
Some quick notes on Trans Iowa V5 today..........
The Site Is Up: Well........kinda! Something went haywire in the format, but the info is all there and ready for you to look at. Check it out here. I probably screwed something up, so it looks weird, but hey! It works to spread the news for now. Deal with it!
The course recon by car will be taking place after Interbike. We will post some pictures after that with a short report. Once again, we don't reveal the course's exact location, or which towns, (if any) you'll be going through. Past T.I. vets get this, but bear with me, there are newbies out there!
Trans Iowa is an event guided by you, the event participant, by reading cue sheets. The first set of sheets are handed out to racers at the pre-race meet up, which will take place on May 1st, 2009. (May day! May day!..........get it?) Anyway........Your first set of cue sheets will guide you about the first 45 miles or so where you will stop at a check point and pick up a second set of cue sheets that will guide you on to the next checkpoint, and so on. Expect there to be about three checkpoints total. The course length will be in the 320-350 mile neighborhood. You will be required to self navigate, and self support your way on Iowa's gravel roads in a time limit of around 34 hours, give or take an hour or two. (Totals will be set at a later date) On top of that, you will have a time limit to reach each checkpoint before the checkpoint closes. If a checkpoint closes before you reach it, your event is over.
Okay, that's the gist of it for you people that haven't looked into Trans Iowa before. There is a bit more to it than that, but those are the salient details.
Registration?: Yes, there is a registration process. We will model it on last years registration, which was opened up to the past participants only for the first week and then to any others afterwards. There will be only 75 available spots. If you miss out on getting in, I will maintain a waiting list until December 31st, 2008, after which the waiting list will not be maintained and the roster will be locked in. Anyone dropping out after that time will not be replaced on the roster. If we end up with 40 folks, we will go with 40. If we end up with 25 folks, then that's great. If we get 75, (won't happen, but just saying) then we'll have a record field for a Trans Iowa event.
Registration will be by post card again, but don't go and send those in just yet! I'll announce an official address and time soon. Look for that around Thanksgiving time.
By then the course should be locked in, our check points figured out, the pre-race details hopefully will be in place, and we'll be ready to settle in for the long winters wait till spring time '09.
Should be a good one!
The Site Is Up: Well........kinda! Something went haywire in the format, but the info is all there and ready for you to look at. Check it out here. I probably screwed something up, so it looks weird, but hey! It works to spread the news for now. Deal with it!
The course recon by car will be taking place after Interbike. We will post some pictures after that with a short report. Once again, we don't reveal the course's exact location, or which towns, (if any) you'll be going through. Past T.I. vets get this, but bear with me, there are newbies out there!
Trans Iowa is an event guided by you, the event participant, by reading cue sheets. The first set of sheets are handed out to racers at the pre-race meet up, which will take place on May 1st, 2009. (May day! May day!..........get it?) Anyway........Your first set of cue sheets will guide you about the first 45 miles or so where you will stop at a check point and pick up a second set of cue sheets that will guide you on to the next checkpoint, and so on. Expect there to be about three checkpoints total. The course length will be in the 320-350 mile neighborhood. You will be required to self navigate, and self support your way on Iowa's gravel roads in a time limit of around 34 hours, give or take an hour or two. (Totals will be set at a later date) On top of that, you will have a time limit to reach each checkpoint before the checkpoint closes. If a checkpoint closes before you reach it, your event is over.
Okay, that's the gist of it for you people that haven't looked into Trans Iowa before. There is a bit more to it than that, but those are the salient details.
Registration?: Yes, there is a registration process. We will model it on last years registration, which was opened up to the past participants only for the first week and then to any others afterwards. There will be only 75 available spots. If you miss out on getting in, I will maintain a waiting list until December 31st, 2008, after which the waiting list will not be maintained and the roster will be locked in. Anyone dropping out after that time will not be replaced on the roster. If we end up with 40 folks, we will go with 40. If we end up with 25 folks, then that's great. If we get 75, (won't happen, but just saying) then we'll have a record field for a Trans Iowa event.
Registration will be by post card again, but don't go and send those in just yet! I'll announce an official address and time soon. Look for that around Thanksgiving time.
By then the course should be locked in, our check points figured out, the pre-race details hopefully will be in place, and we'll be ready to settle in for the long winters wait till spring time '09.
Should be a good one!
Trans Iowa V5: On My Mind: Part II
Some quick notes on Trans Iowa V5 today..........
The Site Is Up: Well........kinda! Something went haywire in the format, but the info is all there and ready for you to look at. Check it out here. I probably screwed something up, so it looks weird, but hey! It works to spread the news for now. Deal with it!
The course recon by car will be taking place after Interbike. We will post some pictures after that with a short report. Once again, we don't reveal the course's exact location, or which towns, (if any) you'll be going through. Past T.I. vets get this, but bear with me, there are newbies out there!
Trans Iowa is an event guided by you, the event participant, by reading cue sheets. The first set of sheets are handed out to racers at the pre-race meet up, which will take place on May 1st, 2009. (May day! May day!..........get it?) Anyway........Your first set of cue sheets will guide you about the first 45 miles or so where you will stop at a check point and pick up a second set of cue sheets that will guide you on to the next checkpoint, and so on. Expect there to be about three checkpoints total. The course length will be in the 320-350 mile neighborhood. You will be required to self navigate, and self support your way on Iowa's gravel roads in a time limit of around 34 hours, give or take an hour or two. (Totals will be set at a later date) On top of that, you will have a time limit to reach each checkpoint before the checkpoint closes. If a checkpoint closes before you reach it, your event is over.
Okay, that's the gist of it for you people that haven't looked into Trans Iowa before. There is a bit more to it than that, but those are the salient details.
Registration?: Yes, there is a registration process. We will model it on last years registration, which was opened up to the past participants only for the first week and then to any others afterwards. There will be only 75 available spots. If you miss out on getting in, I will maintain a waiting list until December 31st, 2008, after which the waiting list will not be maintained and the roster will be locked in. Anyone dropping out after that time will not be replaced on the roster. If we end up with 40 folks, we will go with 40. If we end up with 25 folks, then that's great. If we get 75, (won't happen, but just saying) then we'll have a record field for a Trans Iowa event.
Registration will be by post card again, but don't go and send those in just yet! I'll announce an official address and time soon. Look for that around Thanksgiving time.
By then the course should be locked in, our check points figured out, the pre-race details hopefully will be in place, and we'll be ready to settle in for the long winters wait till spring time '09.
Should be a good one!
The Site Is Up: Well........kinda! Something went haywire in the format, but the info is all there and ready for you to look at. Check it out here. I probably screwed something up, so it looks weird, but hey! It works to spread the news for now. Deal with it!
The course recon by car will be taking place after Interbike. We will post some pictures after that with a short report. Once again, we don't reveal the course's exact location, or which towns, (if any) you'll be going through. Past T.I. vets get this, but bear with me, there are newbies out there!
Trans Iowa is an event guided by you, the event participant, by reading cue sheets. The first set of sheets are handed out to racers at the pre-race meet up, which will take place on May 1st, 2009. (May day! May day!..........get it?) Anyway........Your first set of cue sheets will guide you about the first 45 miles or so where you will stop at a check point and pick up a second set of cue sheets that will guide you on to the next checkpoint, and so on. Expect there to be about three checkpoints total. The course length will be in the 320-350 mile neighborhood. You will be required to self navigate, and self support your way on Iowa's gravel roads in a time limit of around 34 hours, give or take an hour or two. (Totals will be set at a later date) On top of that, you will have a time limit to reach each checkpoint before the checkpoint closes. If a checkpoint closes before you reach it, your event is over.
Okay, that's the gist of it for you people that haven't looked into Trans Iowa before. There is a bit more to it than that, but those are the salient details.
Registration?: Yes, there is a registration process. We will model it on last years registration, which was opened up to the past participants only for the first week and then to any others afterwards. There will be only 75 available spots. If you miss out on getting in, I will maintain a waiting list until December 31st, 2008, after which the waiting list will not be maintained and the roster will be locked in. Anyone dropping out after that time will not be replaced on the roster. If we end up with 40 folks, we will go with 40. If we end up with 25 folks, then that's great. If we get 75, (won't happen, but just saying) then we'll have a record field for a Trans Iowa event.
Registration will be by post card again, but don't go and send those in just yet! I'll announce an official address and time soon. Look for that around Thanksgiving time.
By then the course should be locked in, our check points figured out, the pre-race details hopefully will be in place, and we'll be ready to settle in for the long winters wait till spring time '09.
Should be a good one!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Touring Tuesdays
Welcome to a new feature on Guitar Ted Productions for the next few months, or however long it takes to tell the story. The story of my loaded, self supported touring adventures. Here's a bit of back round for you all to read up on so you will better understand where this is all coming from.
Inspiration: I would be totally remiss if I did not mention the sole reason I even thought about any of this again in the first place. That reason is the blog started by Jason Boucher who has detailed out his own touring experiences there. The things he spoke of rekindled the memories of my own trips. Let me say, it was hard not to fill his comments section with my own versions of his experiences! Well, here's my opportunity to spout off. Thanks Jason!
Why now?: I feel that there is a new awareness of touring and a thing I like to call "Adventuring". Maybe there will be some things folks can learn from my own trips and experiences, and maybe it'll just be a goofy way to entertain folks. The thing is, I think there just might be something good that will come of this for somebody, and heck.....I like writing stories anyway, so why not?
What to expect: There will be plenty of story telling, and a bit of bicycle tech. My experiences will be gleaned mostly from two major loaded tours I took and several "overnighters" that happened between 1994 and 2003. Some of the stories may seem unbelievable, some maybe a bit mundane, but all will be true, with a bit of foggy remembrance and a dash of embellishment here and there.
So, here's a bit of a brief introduction to where I was at with cycling, life, and the whole idea of touring at the beginning of all of this in 1994.
I was just into my first year of working at a shop after being a bench jeweler/designer/gemologist/salesman for ten years. I really liked bicycles, and I did regular rides, but very short lived mountain bike rides. I didn't race at all. Just rode for the fun of it. My longest ride in one chunk was 35 miles that I did once on gravel in 1991. I thought I had ridden to the moon and back that day!
Now it was three years later, and I was working at the bicycle shop when one of my co-workers and a customer that was hanging out started talking about doing a tour. The talk progressed and suddenly I was invited to tag along. (I think more as an object of curiosity than anything else). Anyway, I hadn't a proper touring bike. The co-worker reminded me of an old mountain bike trade-in the shop had that would turn the trick for me. Well, it was on after that. I was going on my first ever bicycle tour.
Next Tuesday: I'll be at the Interbike Outdoor Demo. I may find some time to embellish this, but if not, look for the next installment in two weeks.
Inspiration: I would be totally remiss if I did not mention the sole reason I even thought about any of this again in the first place. That reason is the blog started by Jason Boucher who has detailed out his own touring experiences there. The things he spoke of rekindled the memories of my own trips. Let me say, it was hard not to fill his comments section with my own versions of his experiences! Well, here's my opportunity to spout off. Thanks Jason!
Why now?: I feel that there is a new awareness of touring and a thing I like to call "Adventuring". Maybe there will be some things folks can learn from my own trips and experiences, and maybe it'll just be a goofy way to entertain folks. The thing is, I think there just might be something good that will come of this for somebody, and heck.....I like writing stories anyway, so why not?
What to expect: There will be plenty of story telling, and a bit of bicycle tech. My experiences will be gleaned mostly from two major loaded tours I took and several "overnighters" that happened between 1994 and 2003. Some of the stories may seem unbelievable, some maybe a bit mundane, but all will be true, with a bit of foggy remembrance and a dash of embellishment here and there.
So, here's a bit of a brief introduction to where I was at with cycling, life, and the whole idea of touring at the beginning of all of this in 1994.
I was just into my first year of working at a shop after being a bench jeweler/designer/gemologist/salesman for ten years. I really liked bicycles, and I did regular rides, but very short lived mountain bike rides. I didn't race at all. Just rode for the fun of it. My longest ride in one chunk was 35 miles that I did once on gravel in 1991. I thought I had ridden to the moon and back that day!
Now it was three years later, and I was working at the bicycle shop when one of my co-workers and a customer that was hanging out started talking about doing a tour. The talk progressed and suddenly I was invited to tag along. (I think more as an object of curiosity than anything else). Anyway, I hadn't a proper touring bike. The co-worker reminded me of an old mountain bike trade-in the shop had that would turn the trick for me. Well, it was on after that. I was going on my first ever bicycle tour.
Next Tuesday: I'll be at the Interbike Outdoor Demo. I may find some time to embellish this, but if not, look for the next installment in two weeks.
Touring Tuesdays
Welcome to a new feature on Guitar Ted Productions for the next few months, or however long it takes to tell the story. The story of my loaded, self supported touring adventures. Here's a bit of back round for you all to read up on so you will better understand where this is all coming from.
Inspiration: I would be totally remiss if I did not mention the sole reason I even thought about any of this again in the first place. That reason is the blog started by Jason Boucher who has detailed out his own touring experiences there. The things he spoke of rekindled the memories of my own trips. Let me say, it was hard not to fill his comments section with my own versions of his experiences! Well, here's my opportunity to spout off. Thanks Jason!
Why now?: I feel that there is a new awareness of touring and a thing I like to call "Adventuring". Maybe there will be some things folks can learn from my own trips and experiences, and maybe it'll just be a goofy way to entertain folks. The thing is, I think there just might be something good that will come of this for somebody, and heck.....I like writing stories anyway, so why not?
What to expect: There will be plenty of story telling, and a bit of bicycle tech. My experiences will be gleaned mostly from two major loaded tours I took and several "overnighters" that happened between 1994 and 2003. Some of the stories may seem unbelievable, some maybe a bit mundane, but all will be true, with a bit of foggy remembrance and a dash of embellishment here and there.
So, here's a bit of a brief introduction to where I was at with cycling, life, and the whole idea of touring at the beginning of all of this in 1994.
I was just into my first year of working at a shop after being a bench jeweler/designer/gemologist/salesman for ten years. I really liked bicycles, and I did regular rides, but very short lived mountain bike rides. I didn't race at all. Just rode for the fun of it. My longest ride in one chunk was 35 miles that I did once on gravel in 1991. I thought I had ridden to the moon and back that day!
Now it was three years later, and I was working at the bicycle shop when one of my co-workers and a customer that was hanging out started talking about doing a tour. The talk progressed and suddenly I was invited to tag along. (I think more as an object of curiosity than anything else). Anyway, I hadn't a proper touring bike. The co-worker reminded me of an old mountain bike trade-in the shop had that would turn the trick for me. Well, it was on after that. I was going on my first ever bicycle tour.
Next Tuesday: I'll be at the Interbike Outdoor Demo. I may find some time to embellish this, but if not, look for the next installment in two weeks.
Inspiration: I would be totally remiss if I did not mention the sole reason I even thought about any of this again in the first place. That reason is the blog started by Jason Boucher who has detailed out his own touring experiences there. The things he spoke of rekindled the memories of my own trips. Let me say, it was hard not to fill his comments section with my own versions of his experiences! Well, here's my opportunity to spout off. Thanks Jason!
Why now?: I feel that there is a new awareness of touring and a thing I like to call "Adventuring". Maybe there will be some things folks can learn from my own trips and experiences, and maybe it'll just be a goofy way to entertain folks. The thing is, I think there just might be something good that will come of this for somebody, and heck.....I like writing stories anyway, so why not?
What to expect: There will be plenty of story telling, and a bit of bicycle tech. My experiences will be gleaned mostly from two major loaded tours I took and several "overnighters" that happened between 1994 and 2003. Some of the stories may seem unbelievable, some maybe a bit mundane, but all will be true, with a bit of foggy remembrance and a dash of embellishment here and there.
So, here's a bit of a brief introduction to where I was at with cycling, life, and the whole idea of touring at the beginning of all of this in 1994.
I was just into my first year of working at a shop after being a bench jeweler/designer/gemologist/salesman for ten years. I really liked bicycles, and I did regular rides, but very short lived mountain bike rides. I didn't race at all. Just rode for the fun of it. My longest ride in one chunk was 35 miles that I did once on gravel in 1991. I thought I had ridden to the moon and back that day!
Now it was three years later, and I was working at the bicycle shop when one of my co-workers and a customer that was hanging out started talking about doing a tour. The talk progressed and suddenly I was invited to tag along. (I think more as an object of curiosity than anything else). Anyway, I hadn't a proper touring bike. The co-worker reminded me of an old mountain bike trade-in the shop had that would turn the trick for me. Well, it was on after that. I was going on my first ever bicycle tour.
Next Tuesday: I'll be at the Interbike Outdoor Demo. I may find some time to embellish this, but if not, look for the next installment in two weeks.
Salsa Cycles Gordo: El Grande Fun!
<====The Salsa Cycles Gordo rims laced up.
I spent the weekend "blog free" but it didn't help with cycling outside much since all the trails were muddy. I did do some wheel building though! I got the Salsa Cycles Gordo rims laced to a set of Hope Pro II's with some Wheelsmith 14/15 double butted spokes and alloy nipples. I used the "Mike Curiak" method of throwing a bunch of different colored nipples in a bowl ( In this case, the colors were green, red, and gold) and blindly fishing them out at random. Whatever color I grabbed I used. It turned out pretty well, I must say! (You can click on the picture to enlarge it. That way you can see the colored nipples easier, if you care to.)
<===The red anodized Hope Pro II's are LOUD!!
The build went really smoothly. The Gordos were straight and I hardly had to make any corrections at all. The tension came up very evenly, especially on the rear wheel. All in all, they were as good if not better than say, a DT Swiss rim, which I have used before. This Gordo and those DT Swiss rims are the best I've ever built with.
The Gordo is decidedly a "trail" rim with its huge width, (35mm) and sturdy weight, (780 grams a rim). That's okay for its intended use. It isn't a cross country, weight weenie rim. I did find that it built up a set that was 100 grams lighter than a WTB rimmed stock wheel set off my Raleigh XXIX+G though! The kicker here is that the inner rim dimension of the Gordo is wider than the outer width of the WTB rim!
You may ask, "Why is the overall rim width such a big deal?". Fair enough. Consider that the wider the rim, the more it supports the tire laterally. It also spreads out the tread surface on the terrain better, offering better grip. These are both good things when traversing demanding off road terrain. Not only that, but wider rims also allow you to run low, low pressures without rolling off the tires, and getting you even more traction.
The tires I mounted onto the Gordos were the tires off those previously mentioned WTB rims. They are a WTB Weir Wolf LT 2.55" tire and a Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4" tire. Each tire measured about 56. 4mm in width on the WTB's. On the Gordos, they each measured 59.7mm in width. Big difference! You can actually see that the tread is "flatter" to the ground as well. This should garner me gobs of traction.
Now, here's the deal on the tubeless situation. Salsa says "no!" They have a sticker right around the valve hole that says, "Do not use with tubeless systems." I used tubes to start with. Let me start out with tire fit here.
The tires I used have been on and in use for almost a year with the Schwalbe, and over a year on the WTB. These tires are stretched out! The fit of them on the Gordos was about what I experience on other tubeless systems with tubeless ready tires. The last four inches of bead that needs mounting is not hard to get over the rims edge, but you have to put a little effort into it. So, nothing unusual, but with a new tire it definitely would have been harder to mount on the Gordo. I'd give the Gordo an above average grade here. Airing up the tire was no problem as the beads sat right up into the "channel" extruded into each side of the inner rim well. Again, if the tires were new, they would have "snapped" in place with an audible sound. The tires I used did do this to a very small extent. Tire mounting: Above average grade here, as well.
In my estimation, judging from how the tires mounted and by the design of the Gordo, I'm going to say that they will probably be an easy and very successful tubeless conversion. In fact, I'm betting you won't even have to do anything but put a Stan's yellow strip in, or maybe go "ghetto" and use some strapping tape. That's it. A tubeless valve stem should seal on this rim with no problems at all. In this regard, I give the Gordo another above average grade. Remember though kiddies: Salsa Cycles says you shouldn't use the Gordo tubeless. So don't go and complain to them if your tire blows off the rim while riding, okay? Okay! That's on you, my friends.
So, I threw these on the OS Bikes Blackbuck for now. Wheel weights were rear: 1160 grams, and front: 1070 grams. That may sound like a lot, but for burly, strong, and wide, you are not going to get lightweight too, unless you go to a carbon fiber rim. (Read: Rob a bank to afford!) The MSRP on the Gordo is $125.00, which again, may open a few eyes up wide, but these rims are top notch quality, technologically designed for 29"ers, (Find another rim that is), are without peer in width, (Unless you count a unicycle rim that's out there) , and are reasonably light. Really, I don't see this as outlandish for the best trail rim made for 29"ers available today.
Stay tuned for further updates on Twenty Nine Inches
Salsa Cycles Gordo: El Grande Fun!
<====The Salsa Cycles Gordo rims laced up.
I spent the weekend "blog free" but it didn't help with cycling outside much since all the trails were muddy. I did do some wheel building though! I got the Salsa Cycles Gordo rims laced to a set of Hope Pro II's with some Wheelsmith 14/15 double butted spokes and alloy nipples. I used the "Mike Curiak" method of throwing a bunch of different colored nipples in a bowl ( In this case, the colors were green, red, and gold) and blindly fishing them out at random. Whatever color I grabbed I used. It turned out pretty well, I must say! (You can click on the picture to enlarge it. That way you can see the colored nipples easier, if you care to.)
<===The red anodized Hope Pro II's are LOUD!!
The build went really smoothly. The Gordos were straight and I hardly had to make any corrections at all. The tension came up very evenly, especially on the rear wheel. All in all, they were as good if not better than say, a DT Swiss rim, which I have used before. This Gordo and those DT Swiss rims are the best I've ever built with.
The Gordo is decidedly a "trail" rim with its huge width, (35mm) and sturdy weight, (780 grams a rim). That's okay for its intended use. It isn't a cross country, weight weenie rim. I did find that it built up a set that was 100 grams lighter than a WTB rimmed stock wheel set off my Raleigh XXIX+G though! The kicker here is that the inner rim dimension of the Gordo is wider than the outer width of the WTB rim!
You may ask, "Why is the overall rim width such a big deal?". Fair enough. Consider that the wider the rim, the more it supports the tire laterally. It also spreads out the tread surface on the terrain better, offering better grip. These are both good things when traversing demanding off road terrain. Not only that, but wider rims also allow you to run low, low pressures without rolling off the tires, and getting you even more traction.
The tires I mounted onto the Gordos were the tires off those previously mentioned WTB rims. They are a WTB Weir Wolf LT 2.55" tire and a Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4" tire. Each tire measured about 56. 4mm in width on the WTB's. On the Gordos, they each measured 59.7mm in width. Big difference! You can actually see that the tread is "flatter" to the ground as well. This should garner me gobs of traction.
Now, here's the deal on the tubeless situation. Salsa says "no!" They have a sticker right around the valve hole that says, "Do not use with tubeless systems." I used tubes to start with. Let me start out with tire fit here.
The tires I used have been on and in use for almost a year with the Schwalbe, and over a year on the WTB. These tires are stretched out! The fit of them on the Gordos was about what I experience on other tubeless systems with tubeless ready tires. The last four inches of bead that needs mounting is not hard to get over the rims edge, but you have to put a little effort into it. So, nothing unusual, but with a new tire it definitely would have been harder to mount on the Gordo. I'd give the Gordo an above average grade here. Airing up the tire was no problem as the beads sat right up into the "channel" extruded into each side of the inner rim well. Again, if the tires were new, they would have "snapped" in place with an audible sound. The tires I used did do this to a very small extent. Tire mounting: Above average grade here, as well.
In my estimation, judging from how the tires mounted and by the design of the Gordo, I'm going to say that they will probably be an easy and very successful tubeless conversion. In fact, I'm betting you won't even have to do anything but put a Stan's yellow strip in, or maybe go "ghetto" and use some strapping tape. That's it. A tubeless valve stem should seal on this rim with no problems at all. In this regard, I give the Gordo another above average grade. Remember though kiddies: Salsa Cycles says you shouldn't use the Gordo tubeless. So don't go and complain to them if your tire blows off the rim while riding, okay? Okay! That's on you, my friends.
So, I threw these on the OS Bikes Blackbuck for now. Wheel weights were rear: 1160 grams, and front: 1070 grams. That may sound like a lot, but for burly, strong, and wide, you are not going to get lightweight too, unless you go to a carbon fiber rim. (Read: Rob a bank to afford!) The MSRP on the Gordo is $125.00, which again, may open a few eyes up wide, but these rims are top notch quality, technologically designed for 29"ers, (Find another rim that is), are without peer in width, (Unless you count a unicycle rim that's out there) , and are reasonably light. Really, I don't see this as outlandish for the best trail rim made for 29"ers available today.
Stay tuned for further updates on Twenty Nine Inches