Contrasts

Saturday was beautiful. Messy, but beautiful.

This past weekend was a great example of what the Winter has been like so far. It got quite warm Saturday, and then Sunday it plunged back to quite chilly and freezing temperatures.

I had a bit of a test to complete with the titanium Mukluk, so I headed out in the afternoon after we did a bunch of house cleaning and got into the mucky-muck. It was quite the mixture of slushy snow, ice, mud, water, and sand. It was perfect for what I was wanting to achieve with my testing, (which I cannot get into publicly here), so I was rather pleased with that fact. I was also having some fun as well.

I made a loop that took in a spur trail to the lake, around the lake after messing about on the beaches, and then a pass through Marky-Mark, back to the lake and back down the spur trail and out of the Green Belt back home. The entire time I was dealing with constantly changing trail surfaces and conditions, which made the ride doubly interesting for me. Not that this loop is bad, but part of the fun is how sloppy the Green Belt can get and having to deal with that. I used to go out here after rains on my old 26"ers until I found out that just served to tear up the equipment. Fat bikes and modern technology have overcome a lot of those former issues I used to have to deal with. However; you still have to clean up the bike afterward!

It almost seemed like Spring in places where the Sun's light hits directly for longer periods of time.

You don't need to go to Alaska to ride beaches!

I'm a little concerned about water levels. Black Hawk Creek normally covers up that sandy beach there.

New components- New position.

Sunday the weather was changing rapidly. A strong push of Arctic air had entered the region and the Spring-like warmth was replaced by the bite of the North winds. I still wanted to get out and I decided that it would be a great idea to swap out handle bar, stem, and grips on my son's Mukluk. He had been complaining of sore wrists and I thought he looked a little cramped now that his saddle height has come up to keep up with growth. I scrounged up an old Easton stem and an old, but nearly unused standard bar. I also found a pair of modified Ergon grips for Grip Shift that I used on my old Snow Dog build. A few minutes of twisting Allen keys and I was done with the transformation.

Up from the Lab and with his bicycle in hand we tried out the new position. He seemed pleased by the grips, but never noticed the bar and stem until I pointed those out to him. Funny!

Well, we had to test it out, so we bundled up and headed out for however long he could stand the weather. I needed to tighten a few things a bit more after we figured out his preferences, but within two blocks he was crowing about how much better he liked his bicycle than before. Okay, so now let's pay attention to where you are going! He was checking out the new stuff and not looking when he nearly KO'ed a fence! I think the new, upright position suits him well and his wrists shouldn't pester him any more. That was a good thing.

The cold, on the other hand, was not a good thing. It was one of those North winds with teeth in it. Our faces were numb and my fingers weren't too happy in my gloves. Should have brought out the lobster mittens. The air temperature was hovering at 20°F, but it felt a whole lot colder than that! We ended up making a short loop of the neighborhood and heading back after 40 minutes. Not a very long ride, but now the boy is stoked on his bike again since it doesn't hurt to ride it as it did before. That bodes well for future longer rides. I'm calling it a success.

Contrasts

Saturday was beautiful. Messy, but beautiful.

This past weekend was a great example of what the Winter has been like so far. It got quite warm Saturday, and then Sunday it plunged back to quite chilly and freezing temperatures.

I had a bit of a test to complete with the titanium Mukluk, so I headed out in the afternoon after we did a bunch of house cleaning and got into the mucky-muck. It was quite the mixture of slushy snow, ice, mud, water, and sand. It was perfect for what I was wanting to achieve with my testing, (which I cannot get into publicly here), so I was rather pleased with that fact. I was also having some fun as well.

I made a loop that took in a spur trail to the lake, around the lake after messing about on the beaches, and then a pass through Marky-Mark, back to the lake and back down the spur trail and out of the Green Belt back home. The entire time I was dealing with constantly changing trail surfaces and conditions, which made the ride doubly interesting for me. Not that this loop is bad, but part of the fun is how sloppy the Green Belt can get and having to deal with that. I used to go out here after rains on my old 26"ers until I found out that just served to tear up the equipment. Fat bikes and modern technology have overcome a lot of those former issues I used to have to deal with. However; you still have to clean up the bike afterward!

It almost seemed like Spring in places where the Sun's light hits directly for longer periods of time.

You don't need to go to Alaska to ride beaches!

I'm a little concerned about water levels. Black Hawk Creek normally covers up that sandy beach there.

New components- New position.

Sunday the weather was changing rapidly. A strong push of Arctic air had entered the region and the Spring-like warmth was replaced by the bite of the North winds. I still wanted to get out and I decided that it would be a great idea to swap out handle bar, stem, and grips on my son's Mukluk. He had been complaining of sore wrists and I thought he looked a little cramped now that his saddle height has come up to keep up with growth. I scrounged up an old Easton stem and an old, but nearly unused standard bar. I also found a pair of modified Ergon grips for Grip Shift that I used on my old Snow Dog build. A few minutes of twisting Allen keys and I was done with the transformation.

Up from the Lab and with his bicycle in hand we tried out the new position. He seemed pleased by the grips, but never noticed the bar and stem until I pointed those out to him. Funny!

Well, we had to test it out, so we bundled up and headed out for however long he could stand the weather. I needed to tighten a few things a bit more after we figured out his preferences, but within two blocks he was crowing about how much better he liked his bicycle than before. Okay, so now let's pay attention to where you are going! He was checking out the new stuff and not looking when he nearly KO'ed a fence! I think the new, upright position suits him well and his wrists shouldn't pester him any more. That was a good thing.

The cold, on the other hand, was not a good thing. It was one of those North winds with teeth in it. Our faces were numb and my fingers weren't too happy in my gloves. Should have brought out the lobster mittens. The air temperature was hovering at 20°F, but it felt a whole lot colder than that! We ended up making a short loop of the neighborhood and heading back after 40 minutes. Not a very long ride, but now the boy is stoked on his bike again since it doesn't hurt to ride it as it did before. That bodes well for future longer rides. I'm calling it a success.

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 12

Jeremy Fry riding off into the night of T.I.V7 (Image by W. Kilburg)

Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".

Last week we took a look at a couple of common sense traffic rules and conduct deals.  This week I'll briefly discuss the rule dealing with the night time portions of Trans Iowa, Rule #13, seen here in its entirety:

13: All racers must use and carry with them a flashing red taillight and front light, and a back-up light source, i.e. headlamp. A cell phone is also a good/great idea.

Obviously, you need to see at night to ride effectively, or at all. Besides this, it is an obvious safety issue. However; we were advised to put this rule into the event by Mike Curiak because he said to us at the time that people would actually try riding at night without lights. I know, crazy, right?

However; Mike was so adamant that folks would try to do this stupid human trick that he advised us- strongly advised us- to start the event at night so it would force people to use their lights out of the gate. Plus we would be able to detect "stupid" more easily. Of course, we didn't listen the first year. The first Trans Iowa started at 8:00am in the morning. Imagine that, current Trans Iowa vets and finishers! Imagine the sleep you could miss!

Trans Iowa's starts have become rather spectacular. Image of T.I.V9's start by H Wince

The first night time start to a Trans Iowa was during T.Iv2. It was drizzling rain, and slightly breezy, but the lights of the 50 or so riders were spectacular to behold. It was at this point that I decided I liked the night time start just because it was so cool to see all these bicycles and riders lit up like Christmas trees, if for no other reason. However; there were other reasons.

The biggest thing was being able to cut off the event at 2:00pm on Sunday afternoon to allow for travelers to get home and be with families, at jobs, or back in schools by Monday. We both, (at first Jeff and I, then David, then all the volunteers...), needed to be at work on Monday too. So, it was mostly out of a need to adapt the start to allow for some modicum of rest and allow for travel times so folks could be back integrated into the "real world" without missing a beat. In fact, I haven't missed a Monday at work after a Trans Iowa until I started taking Monday off after Trans Iowa V9's completion.

When things break- Who ya gonna call? Image from T.I.V7

The second part of this rule deals with cell phones and our urging riders to carry them. We were concerned that as riders became stretched out over the 300 plus miles of the Trans Iowa course, some would not make it due to physical issues, mechanical breakdown, or both. Our intentions were that riders should call for a ride to be extricated from the course in the event of something happening which would prevent further progress.

Back in 2005, not everyone was down with cell phones, and even today, there are a few holdouts. We still get some folks that don't have any support and have had to ride themselves out of a Trans Iowa that didn't go well for them. It is an issue that should be considered very carefully by anyone attempting a Trans Iowa event.

So far, we've only had a couple of issues with knowing where everyone is at the end of an event. It has been several years ago now, but on one occasion I had a gentleman who shall remain nameless call me from the comfort of his home on a Monday after Trans Iowa to let me know he had dropped out. So, just getting folks to call in a timely manner, much less convince them to carry a cell phone, has been a challenge for me in the past!

An interesting anecdote: I have used my personal cell phone number as the "DNF Line" for years now. It has always been the same number. Maybe that has helped over the years to get folks to call in, since- if they have done Trans Iowa before, they likely have my number already! At any rate, the call ins have been used by riders when they drop out to a high degree so that now it is super rare for me to know who is and who isn't out of a Trans Iowa. Granted- things get fuzzy with my memory after 3am Sunday morning, but the system seems to work great nowadays.

Next Week: Navigation!

Trans Iowa V11: A Look At The Rules Part 12

Jeremy Fry riding off into the night of T.I.V7 (Image by W. Kilburg)

Last year I did a historical overview of each Trans Iowa up to T.I.V9. This year I am going to revisit something that I feel many folks have overlooked for a long time; The "Race Rules".

Last week we took a look at a couple of common sense traffic rules and conduct deals.  This week I'll briefly discuss the rule dealing with the night time portions of Trans Iowa, Rule #13, seen here in its entirety:

13: All racers must use and carry with them a flashing red taillight and front light, and a back-up light source, i.e. headlamp. A cell phone is also a good/great idea.

Obviously, you need to see at night to ride effectively, or at all. Besides this, it is an obvious safety issue. However; we were advised to put this rule into the event by Mike Curiak because he said to us at the time that people would actually try riding at night without lights. I know, crazy, right?

However; Mike was so adamant that folks would try to do this stupid human trick that he advised us- strongly advised us- to start the event at night so it would force people to use their lights out of the gate. Plus we would be able to detect "stupid" more easily. Of course, we didn't listen the first year. The first Trans Iowa started at 8:00am in the morning. Imagine that, current Trans Iowa vets and finishers! Imagine the sleep you could miss!

Trans Iowa's starts have become rather spectacular. Image of T.I.V9's start by H Wince

The first night time start to a Trans Iowa was during T.Iv2. It was drizzling rain, and slightly breezy, but the lights of the 50 or so riders were spectacular to behold. It was at this point that I decided I liked the night time start just because it was so cool to see all these bicycles and riders lit up like Christmas trees, if for no other reason. However; there were other reasons.

The biggest thing was being able to cut off the event at 2:00pm on Sunday afternoon to allow for travelers to get home and be with families, at jobs, or back in schools by Monday. We both, (at first Jeff and I, then David, then all the volunteers...), needed to be at work on Monday too. So, it was mostly out of a need to adapt the start to allow for some modicum of rest and allow for travel times so folks could be back integrated into the "real world" without missing a beat. In fact, I haven't missed a Monday at work after a Trans Iowa until I started taking Monday off after Trans Iowa V9's completion.

When things break- Who ya gonna call? Image from T.I.V7

The second part of this rule deals with cell phones and our urging riders to carry them. We were concerned that as riders became stretched out over the 300 plus miles of the Trans Iowa course, some would not make it due to physical issues, mechanical breakdown, or both. Our intentions were that riders should call for a ride to be extricated from the course in the event of something happening which would prevent further progress.

Back in 2005, not everyone was down with cell phones, and even today, there are a few holdouts. We still get some folks that don't have any support and have had to ride themselves out of a Trans Iowa that didn't go well for them. It is an issue that should be considered very carefully by anyone attempting a Trans Iowa event.

So far, we've only had a couple of issues with knowing where everyone is at the end of an event. It has been several years ago now, but on one occasion I had a gentleman who shall remain nameless call me from the comfort of his home on a Monday after Trans Iowa to let me know he had dropped out. So, just getting folks to call in a timely manner, much less convince them to carry a cell phone, has been a challenge for me in the past!

An interesting anecdote: I have used my personal cell phone number as the "DNF Line" for years now. It has always been the same number. Maybe that has helped over the years to get folks to call in, since- if they have done Trans Iowa before, they likely have my number already! At any rate, the call ins have been used by riders when they drop out to a high degree so that now it is super rare for me to know who is and who isn't out of a Trans Iowa. Granted- things get fuzzy with my memory after 3am Sunday morning, but the system seems to work great nowadays.

Next Week: Navigation!

Trans Iowa V11: On Volunteers Part 2

Trans Iowa's first volunteers were Dave & Linda Kerkove. That's Dave on the right.

Last weekend I wrote on the situation this year concerning the volunteers for Trans Iowa V11. The aftermath of that was mostly positive, but I also received several responses from the volunteers I have who- for the sake of brevity- "get it". You know who you are and what I mean by "getting it". Anyway, I wanted to publicly thank you all, first off, and say that last week's rant on the use of volunteering as a gateway to riding a Trans Iowa, (and not really just to volunteer in a genuine sense), was not at all aimed at you folks. I think maybe some of the responses I was getting were, in part, defenses of those particular individuals intentions, and I wasn't intending that anyone should feel compelled to do that. I apologize for anything that smacked of that.

Now I want to do a bit of bragging on my past volunteers. I know lots of events have great volunteers, but Trans Iowa seems to gather some of the most selfless, kind, considerate, encouraging, and intelligent volunteers I have known of or seen at any event. This has only been getting better every year that Trans Iowa has been in existence. From the very get-go, when our only volunteers were Dave and Linda Kerkove, we have had great success with our volunteer corps. Some memories that jump out at me concerning volunteers.....

Checkpoint volunteers for T.I.V3

• T.I.V3: The first time I had a "corp" of volunteers was for T.I.V3. These guys were so good and in a way, they helped calm me down, relax, and let go of one of my main worries going into that first time "solo" production of a Trans Iowa. I just remember being so amazed and impressed with this group. 
• T.I.V4: Some of the previous year's members were on this group, but we had another checkpoint as well that year, so I was a bit concerned. Once again though, my worries were unfounded. Of particular note here was Steve Fuller showing up with a lap top and running results on a spread sheet program, (I think), which was kind of shocking to me! 
• T.I.V5: Now we had three checkpoints! I remember going to CP#2 in Traer, and not seeing anyone there yet. Being a bit overly concerned, I called the two fellas that were supposed to be there and they cheerfully informed me that they were down at the pizza joint and would be there promptly. I saw them arrive on bicycles and of course, they did an awesome job. Scott Ronken and....cannot recall right now. (Was it Ken?) Somebody help me out here. Also- this was the T.I. where Matt Maxwell rode over from Ames Iowa to LeGrand Iowa just to volunteer and then afterward turned his bike Westward and rode back home!
• T.I.V6: The ill-fated, rain shortened event was run well again by volunteers. I remember especially the hoops we jumped through going back and forth on the phone with Paul Jacobson. (Thanks for your patience, Paul!) But what many do not know is that CP#3 was manned by Paul Buchanan and his wife, I believe, and of course, no one got there. We called Paul and he graciously came to the arranged ending at the North English Malt Shoppe and not only that, he drove some of the wet riders back to Grinnell, then drove in the torrential rain all the way back to Waterloo. Talk about yer selfless volunteers!
• T.I.V7: The volunteers impress again, and even on Easter weekend! The thing I am most grateful for here is the selfless volunteering I saw done by Craig Cooper of Bikes To You, Rob Versteegh, and other riders that had dropped out but stuck around to assist after the fact. None of these folks were prearranged for and they just jumped in where needed to give an assist. It wasn't the last time this type of thing would happen. 
• T.I.V8: Remember the almost luxurious CP#2 set up by Wally & George? The main memory for me here is the work that Jeremy Fry and Matt Gersib did to run the "secret checkpoint" that year. MG's way-beyond-the-call-of-duty looking for an errant Charlie Farrow was a true lifesaver from my standpoint. I'll never forget that, Brother!
• T.I.V9: This was another "lifesaver", but this time it was Bent Irish who, when finding out that we may be short of cues, arranged to have some of the other volunteers fan out in the small village of Ira to see if we could get copies made. Mind you- this was early on a Saturday morning in a village of maybe 100 people! I believe Chad Quigley was involved in this as well, but we did get copies and we had no issues. Just a great example of how the volunteers for T.I. are self-starters and can think on the ground for the event's best interest. 
• T.I.V10: How about Jeremy Fry, his friend Matt, and Scott Redd hanging out in gale force winds all afternoon in the middle of nowhere? Or consider the Slender Fungus, who sent up a crew to man the unexpected re-route in an unbelievable lightning storm with sideways rain. No riders got crossed up, and they manned that post until 4am for me. 

--------------------

Let's not forget the barn, Trans Iowa's finish line the last couple years. RV brings a crew to assist with that. That's him in the red coat. (Image by Wally Kilburg)

So, I hope you can see that Trans Iowa lives or dies by its volunteers. Without them, the event doesn't get run. Many times- really folks, I cannot stress this enough- the help comes undirected at all by me. I know a lot of you think I am all on top of everything, but face the facts folks- the Trans Iowa volunteer corps over the years has been mostly undirected and uncontrolled by me. I give them a minimal set of tools and instructions and these smart folks just rise above my short comings and essentially make the event what it is.

So, I thank them, of course, but I sincerely hope that you all do the same. Profusely. Without ending.

Thanks!

Trans Iowa V11: On Volunteers Part 2

Trans Iowa's first volunteers were Dave & Linda Kerkove. That's Dave on the right.

Last weekend I wrote on the situation this year concerning the volunteers for Trans Iowa V11. The aftermath of that was mostly positive, but I also received several responses from the volunteers I have who- for the sake of brevity- "get it". You know who you are and what I mean by "getting it". Anyway, I wanted to publicly thank you all, first off, and say that last week's rant on the use of volunteering as a gateway to riding a Trans Iowa, (and not really just to volunteer in a genuine sense), was not at all aimed at you folks. I think maybe some of the responses I was getting were, in part, defenses of those particular individuals intentions, and I wasn't intending that anyone should feel compelled to do that. I apologize for anything that smacked of that.

Now I want to do a bit of bragging on my past volunteers. I know lots of events have great volunteers, but Trans Iowa seems to gather some of the most selfless, kind, considerate, encouraging, and intelligent volunteers I have known of or seen at any event. This has only been getting better every year that Trans Iowa has been in existence. From the very get-go, when our only volunteers were Dave and Linda Kerkove, we have had great success with our volunteer corps. Some memories that jump out at me concerning volunteers.....

Checkpoint volunteers for T.I.V3

• T.I.V3: The first time I had a "corp" of volunteers was for T.I.V3. These guys were so good and in a way, they helped calm me down, relax, and let go of one of my main worries going into that first time "solo" production of a Trans Iowa. I just remember being so amazed and impressed with this group. 
• T.I.V4: Some of the previous year's members were on this group, but we had another checkpoint as well that year, so I was a bit concerned. Once again though, my worries were unfounded. Of particular note here was Steve Fuller showing up with a lap top and running results on a spread sheet program, (I think), which was kind of shocking to me! 
• T.I.V5: Now we had three checkpoints! I remember going to CP#2 in Traer, and not seeing anyone there yet. Being a bit overly concerned, I called the two fellas that were supposed to be there and they cheerfully informed me that they were down at the pizza joint and would be there promptly. I saw them arrive on bicycles and of course, they did an awesome job. Scott Ronken and....cannot recall right now. (Was it Ken?) Somebody help me out here. Also- this was the T.I. where Matt Maxwell rode over from Ames Iowa to LeGrand Iowa just to volunteer and then afterward turned his bike Westward and rode back home!
• T.I.V6: The ill-fated, rain shortened event was run well again by volunteers. I remember especially the hoops we jumped through going back and forth on the phone with Paul Jacobson. (Thanks for your patience, Paul!) But what many do not know is that CP#3 was manned by Paul Buchanan and his wife, I believe, and of course, no one got there. We called Paul and he graciously came to the arranged ending at the North English Malt Shoppe and not only that, he drove some of the wet riders back to Grinnell, then drove in the torrential rain all the way back to Waterloo. Talk about yer selfless volunteers!
• T.I.V7: The volunteers impress again, and even on Easter weekend! The thing I am most grateful for here is the selfless volunteering I saw done by Craig Cooper of Bikes To You, Rob Versteegh, and other riders that had dropped out but stuck around to assist after the fact. None of these folks were prearranged for and they just jumped in where needed to give an assist. It wasn't the last time this type of thing would happen. 
• T.I.V8: Remember the almost luxurious CP#2 set up by Wally & George? The main memory for me here is the work that Jeremy Fry and Matt Gersib did to run the "secret checkpoint" that year. MG's way-beyond-the-call-of-duty looking for an errant Charlie Farrow was a true lifesaver from my standpoint. I'll never forget that, Brother!
• T.I.V9: This was another "lifesaver", but this time it was Bent Irish who, when finding out that we may be short of cues, arranged to have some of the other volunteers fan out in the small village of Ira to see if we could get copies made. Mind you- this was early on a Saturday morning in a village of maybe 100 people! I believe Chad Quigley was involved in this as well, but we did get copies and we had no issues. Just a great example of how the volunteers for T.I. are self-starters and can think on the ground for the event's best interest. 
• T.I.V10: How about Jeremy Fry, his friend Matt, and Scott Redd hanging out in gale force winds all afternoon in the middle of nowhere? Or consider the Slender Fungus, who sent up a crew to man the unexpected re-route in an unbelievable lightning storm with sideways rain. No riders got crossed up, and they manned that post until 4am for me. 

--------------------

Let's not forget the barn, Trans Iowa's finish line the last couple years. RV brings a crew to assist with that. That's him in the red coat. (Image by Wally Kilburg)

So, I hope you can see that Trans Iowa lives or dies by its volunteers. Without them, the event doesn't get run. Many times- really folks, I cannot stress this enough- the help comes undirected at all by me. I know a lot of you think I am all on top of everything, but face the facts folks- the Trans Iowa volunteer corps over the years has been mostly undirected and uncontrolled by me. I give them a minimal set of tools and instructions and these smart folks just rise above my short comings and essentially make the event what it is.

So, I thank them, of course, but I sincerely hope that you all do the same. Profusely. Without ending.

Thanks!

Friday News And Views

Thanksgiving morning. Marky-Mark Trail. Unfiltered

My morning started rather early yesterday when I awoke at 5:11am to get up and kit out for an early morning ride before we had to leave as a family for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents place.

The snow we got was barely enough to cover the ground again after most of what we had melted in the previous day's heat. However; now it was down into the single digits and there was a slight Northerly in the air which had a tremendous bite to it this time. I had all my wool stuff down to launder since it has been worn several times and I was left with synthetic stuff. I layered as best I could, but let me tell ya.... Wool is where it is at folks. While I didn't get uncomfortably cold, I never was warm, and I was not going to stop for anything short of total mechanical failure (or a quick pic!), because lingering and "smelling the roses" on this ride would have left me freezing to death.

Of course, I rode the Blackborow. Low range this time. It was just fine too. I climbed the dike and I had to get out of the saddle, but the big ol' Lou tires clawed at the surface and never slipped out. All I had to do was to keep the pedals turning. I swapped out the stock grips for some Ergon GE1 grips, but I think I am going to swap out to the GP2's that I have because I really feel that the paddle shape and the stubby bar end are more conducive to Winter type riding than the GE1's are. I like the GE1's a lot, but those are for faster, more technical moves. Not so much for Winter slogging, long spins on the flats, and slower speed stuff. Other than that, everything has been great so far.

Surly 1X1 Update:

I have been tinkering with the "family bike", the shop tradition Surly 1X1 that I was bequeathed recently by its last owner, Brian. I'm kind of shooting for a classic "silver and black" look with the parts. So far I have an old silver Bontrager seat post, a chromed Mountain Goat "bull moose" bar/stem combo, and three out of four old Deore cantilever brakes have been dug up. I need to scrounge the Lab for the fourth and final piece of that puzzle!

Wheels are generously being donated to the cause by the Slender Fungus. (Thanks!) I traded for a set of old, silver, 110BCD LX square taper cranks, and that will be set up with a Surly stainless steel 38T ring and a 20T rear Surly cog that I have laying around. I'd rather go with a 16T, or maybe a 17T, but all I can find is the 20. Oh well.....

I still am thinking I will be putting on a sprung Brooks saddle on this, but I just picked up a black Ergon SM3 that I stuck on there. I think the Ergon would definitely work, but I like the idea of the sprung Brooks and will likely go for that at some point.

Trans Iowa Clinic:

Next Saturday on Dcember 6th the Trans Iowa Clinic is happening at the Krunkwich Ramen House, (the first Tacopocalypse location, and the same place we were at last year), which is at 621 Des Moines Street in Des Moines, Iowa.

If you cannot access the Facebook event page I linked above, just leave a comment here that you will be attending and we'll make sure we have a chair for you to sit on. Here is a short list of what you can expect.

• An Expo: We'll have bicycles set up as if they were going to be used in a Trans Iowa attempt and we will also have a tire display on hand which you can peruse of options we have found to work well at Trans Iowa.
• Women's Perspective: We'll have two top gravel racers who happen to be women at the event to answer any questions you may have as a women rider that wants to attempt or learn about gravel riding.
• Expert Panel: Besides Andrea Cohen and Sarah Cooper, we'll have an expert panel of Trans Iowa veterans who have finished and failed to finish the event in past years. Their expertise and knowledge base in gravel riding will be available for you as a participant to draw upon. 

While the event is aimed at Trans Iowa rookies, anyone is invited to show up and we'll be glad to have you. The event is free of charge and all I need is confirmation that you will be coming so we can make chairs avialble for everyone to sit on. Please leave a comment here today so I can add you to the list.

That's it for today. Stay warm and get outside and burn off some of that turkey!

Friday News And Views

Thanksgiving morning. Marky-Mark Trail. Unfiltered

My morning started rather early yesterday when I awoke at 5:11am to get up and kit out for an early morning ride before we had to leave as a family for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents place.

The snow we got was barely enough to cover the ground again after most of what we had melted in the previous day's heat. However; now it was down into the single digits and there was a slight Northerly in the air which had a tremendous bite to it this time. I had all my wool stuff down to launder since it has been worn several times and I was left with synthetic stuff. I layered as best I could, but let me tell ya.... Wool is where it is at folks. While I didn't get uncomfortably cold, I never was warm, and I was not going to stop for anything short of total mechanical failure (or a quick pic!), because lingering and "smelling the roses" on this ride would have left me freezing to death.

Of course, I rode the Blackborow. Low range this time. It was just fine too. I climbed the dike and I had to get out of the saddle, but the big ol' Lou tires clawed at the surface and never slipped out. All I had to do was to keep the pedals turning. I swapped out the stock grips for some Ergon GE1 grips, but I think I am going to swap out to the GP2's that I have because I really feel that the paddle shape and the stubby bar end are more conducive to Winter type riding than the GE1's are. I like the GE1's a lot, but those are for faster, more technical moves. Not so much for Winter slogging, long spins on the flats, and slower speed stuff. Other than that, everything has been great so far.

Surly 1X1 Update:

I have been tinkering with the "family bike", the shop tradition Surly 1X1 that I was bequeathed recently by its last owner, Brian. I'm kind of shooting for a classic "silver and black" look with the parts. So far I have an old silver Bontrager seat post, a chromed Mountain Goat "bull moose" bar/stem combo, and three out of four old Deore cantilever brakes have been dug up. I need to scrounge the Lab for the fourth and final piece of that puzzle!

Wheels are generously being donated to the cause by the Slender Fungus. (Thanks!) I traded for a set of old, silver, 110BCD LX square taper cranks, and that will be set up with a Surly stainless steel 38T ring and a 20T rear Surly cog that I have laying around. I'd rather go with a 16T, or maybe a 17T, but all I can find is the 20. Oh well.....

I still am thinking I will be putting on a sprung Brooks saddle on this, but I just picked up a black Ergon SM3 that I stuck on there. I think the Ergon would definitely work, but I like the idea of the sprung Brooks and will likely go for that at some point.

Trans Iowa Clinic:

Next Saturday on Dcember 6th the Trans Iowa Clinic is happening at the Krunkwich Ramen House, (the first Tacopocalypse location, and the same place we were at last year), which is at 621 Des Moines Street in Des Moines, Iowa.

If you cannot access the Facebook event page I linked above, just leave a comment here that you will be attending and we'll make sure we have a chair for you to sit on. Here is a short list of what you can expect.

• An Expo: We'll have bicycles set up as if they were going to be used in a Trans Iowa attempt and we will also have a tire display on hand which you can peruse of options we have found to work well at Trans Iowa.
• Women's Perspective: We'll have two top gravel racers who happen to be women at the event to answer any questions you may have as a women rider that wants to attempt or learn about gravel riding.
• Expert Panel: Besides Andrea Cohen and Sarah Cooper, we'll have an expert panel of Trans Iowa veterans who have finished and failed to finish the event in past years. Their expertise and knowledge base in gravel riding will be available for you as a participant to draw upon. 

While the event is aimed at Trans Iowa rookies, anyone is invited to show up and we'll be glad to have you. The event is free of charge and all I need is confirmation that you will be coming so we can make chairs avialble for everyone to sit on. Please leave a comment here today so I can add you to the list.

That's it for today. Stay warm and get outside and burn off some of that turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dawn Patrol on the Blackborow DS

Happy Thanksgiving from Guitar Ted Productions!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dawn Patrol on the Blackborow DS

Happy Thanksgiving from Guitar Ted Productions!

Thanks Steve!

Steve Hed discussing his Adventure rig with Byron of Bike Hugger at I'bike '13

Las Vegas, Nevada 2013: I am wandering around the Mandaly's convention floor in a snarl of nearly unnavigable booths when I am stopped by someone who asked me if I had seen the bike in the HED Wheels booth. Now I had heard of HED Wheels, of course. If you are a cycling geek worth your salt at all, you knew of HED Wheels. "All about aero" HED Wheels. Tour de France winning wheels. Triathlete wheels, time trials, aero road, yada,yada,yada.....

Okay, so what? HED has a bike in their booth. Not my monkeys, not my circus. I am about mountain bikes and gravel road stuff at this show. Not triathlon. Not time trial geekery. But this person insists that I should check it out and that Steve Hed wants to meet me. (!!!) Uhh......okay, I guess. So I didn't make much of that and went about my way trying to navigate through and find something exciting. This show was a big let down for me, until the moment I actually found the HED Wheels booth and saw the bike. But that wasn't the biggest surprise for me.

Now I should add that I knew HED was getting into the gravel bike scene. Heck, I had already been riding some HED Ardennes+ wheels, which I had reviewed for Gravel Grinder News. That wasn't anything new, really, and maybe Steve Hed just wanted to say "thanks", and maybe they had something else up their sleeve for gravel road riding. You know, it was kind of a "thing" at Interbike that year. Lots of new "gravel specific innovations" were being introduced. I wasn't too expectant of anything "big".

Beautiful fork crown as done by Eric Noren of Peacock Groove for Steve Hed's adventure bike.

 That was until I saw the bike. It was by far and away the coolest bicycle at Interbike '13. Nothing else even came close. A fully customized rig torched up for Steve Hed by Peacock Groove's own Eric Noren. Then a man with a long mane of silver-ish hair with glasses approached me. He was smiling, and his name tag read "Steve Hed". He introduced himself, and what followed during the next 45 minutes or so pretty much blew me away and became the highlight of my Interbike trip.

The sticker on Steve Hed's bike says it all.

You know, I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to preconceived notions. I was found most heinously guilty of this when I met Steve Hed. I figured he was all "aero this- drag coefficient that", but what I learned during our spirited conversation couldn't have been further from that notion. Steve Hed certainly changed the world of aerodynamics when it comes to bicycles, and his contributions are numerous, but his heart for cycling was not to be found there. No, he was a true wanderlust. A guy that totally understood what the gravel riding scene that has risen up was all about. He understood that even better than I do.

There will be stories written in the coming days of Steve Hed's innumerable contributions to cycling and lamentations will be given for his untimely death. It is a very sad thing, certainly, and my condolences go out to his family. That said, I won't be surprised if there are no mentions of his love of riding gravel roads and how Steve Hed wanted to help push gravel racing and riding along. Steve was very active in helping Minnesota based gravel road events get going and stay going. HED Wheels supported the Almanzo 100 and attendant events, the Filthy 50, and were supporters of Trans Iowa and Gravel Grinder News as well.

I will never forget Steve Hed and his passion for the back roads of Minnesota and elsewhere. He surprised me with his stories of his rural upbringing and riding dusty roads. His view of the triathlon scene, the fixie fashions, and all the Pro road racing stuff was eye opening for me. He was a strong advocate for the gravel road rider and his influence will be felt going forward as a passion that will be carried over by those he influenced.

Rest In Peace , Steve. Today, I give thanks for having gotten the chance to meet you.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all the readers out there. I hope that you all have a blessed and safe day.

Thanks Steve!

Steve Hed discussing his Adventure rig with Byron of Bike Hugger at I'bike '13

Las Vegas, Nevada 2013: I am wandering around the Mandaly's convention floor in a snarl of nearly unnavigable booths when I am stopped by someone who asked me if I had seen the bike in the HED Wheels booth. Now I had heard of HED Wheels, of course. If you are a cycling geek worth your salt at all, you knew of HED Wheels. "All about aero" HED Wheels. Tour de France winning wheels. Triathlete wheels, time trials, aero road, yada,yada,yada.....

Okay, so what? HED has a bike in their booth. Not my monkeys, not my circus. I am about mountain bikes and gravel road stuff at this show. Not triathlon. Not time trial geekery. But this person insists that I should check it out and that Steve Hed wants to meet me. (!!!) Uhh......okay, I guess. So I didn't make much of that and went about my way trying to navigate through and find something exciting. This show was a big let down for me, until the moment I actually found the HED Wheels booth and saw the bike. But that wasn't the biggest surprise for me.

Now I should add that I knew HED was getting into the gravel bike scene. Heck, I had already been riding some HED Ardennes+ wheels, which I had reviewed for Gravel Grinder News. That wasn't anything new, really, and maybe Steve Hed just wanted to say "thanks", and maybe they had something else up their sleeve for gravel road riding. You know, it was kind of a "thing" at Interbike that year. Lots of new "gravel specific innovations" were being introduced. I wasn't too expectant of anything "big".

Beautiful fork crown as done by Eric Noren of Peacock Groove for Steve Hed's adventure bike.

 That was until I saw the bike. It was by far and away the coolest bicycle at Interbike '13. Nothing else even came close. A fully customized rig torched up for Steve Hed by Peacock Groove's own Eric Noren. Then a man with a long mane of silver-ish hair with glasses approached me. He was smiling, and his name tag read "Steve Hed". He introduced himself, and what followed during the next 45 minutes or so pretty much blew me away and became the highlight of my Interbike trip.

The sticker on Steve Hed's bike says it all.

You know, I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to preconceived notions. I was found most heinously guilty of this when I met Steve Hed. I figured he was all "aero this- drag coefficient that", but what I learned during our spirited conversation couldn't have been further from that notion. Steve Hed certainly changed the world of aerodynamics when it comes to bicycles, and his contributions are numerous, but his heart for cycling was not to be found there. No, he was a true wanderlust. A guy that totally understood what the gravel riding scene that has risen up was all about. He understood that even better than I do.

There will be stories written in the coming days of Steve Hed's innumerable contributions to cycling and lamentations will be given for his untimely death. It is a very sad thing, certainly, and my condolences go out to his family. That said, I won't be surprised if there are no mentions of his love of riding gravel roads and how Steve Hed wanted to help push gravel racing and riding along. Steve was very active in helping Minnesota based gravel road events get going and stay going. HED Wheels supported the Almanzo 100 and attendant events, the Filthy 50, and were supporters of Trans Iowa and Gravel Grinder News as well.

I will never forget Steve Hed and his passion for the back roads of Minnesota and elsewhere. He surprised me with his stories of his rural upbringing and riding dusty roads. His view of the triathlon scene, the fixie fashions, and all the Pro road racing stuff was eye opening for me. He was a strong advocate for the gravel road rider and his influence will be felt going forward as a passion that will be carried over by those he influenced.

Rest In Peace , Steve. Today, I give thanks for having gotten the chance to meet you.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all the readers out there. I hope that you all have a blessed and safe day.

Blackborow DS: How To Change Gears & More

My new Blackborow DS size Large.

Today I wanted to answer a question I received yesterday concerning how one changes gears on a Blackborow DS. Obviously, there are no shifters and it must be done manually. I will show how it's done in some images and with words. Then I'll have a bit more to say about my impressions concerning the bike.

The Blackborow DS was ridden in the "high" ratio set of gears today, so I will demonstrate here a switch to "low range". It takes all of about three to four minutes to accomplish a gear change. You do not need any special tools and I would recommend a rag to clean your hands since the chain will likely be greasy when you do this, although mine is pretty good looking yet since it is so new!

By the way, you shouldn't, (and cannot), cross chain the bike. I also will add that the rear hub has a full range free hub body, so if you should decide after getting a DS that you have to have gears, all you need are the parts plus a through axle, driveside, derailleur compatible Alternator plate. The cable stops are all there to run the cable to the rear derailleur should you decide to add that dangly bit. Okay, enough about all of that. Now I will get into how to change the gears here.

A closer look at the cogs and drop out. This is the side the axle screws in to. 

Here's the Maxle lever which you flip open like a normal QR, but then you use it like a wing nut and unscrew it.....

....until you can start to pull the axle clear of the wheel/hub. Leave the bike on the ground at this point. 

Then lift the rear of the bike straight up. This allows for some chain slack. See below for further instructions.

• Once the rear of the bike is up and you have created some chain slack, reach down with your hand and starting with the rear cog, grab the chain at the top of the cog, lift and move it over to the next cog. In my case, the inner one.
• This next step is crucial to an easy, smooth gear change. Reach down to the bottom run of the chain near the crank set and guide the chain onto the chain ring of choice, (in my case, the inner one), and push the chain "backwards", as if back pedaling, since the crank and cogs will free wheel backward while the wheels remain static. Make sure the pedals are free to rotate! Guide the chain carefully from the bottom up around to the top until it is on the chain ring. Oh.....you're still holding the bike up, by the way. 
• Once the chain is on the set of gears you want, gently lower the rear of the bike, making sure the rotor passes between the pads in the caliper. Line up the hub and the inner drop out "hoods" and then set the weight of the bike on the hub end caps. Replace the Maxle, screwing it into the drive side drop out snugly, but don't reef on it! Then close the lever. That's it!

The gears swapped and the wheel sitting on the hub end caps before reinstalling the Maxle. 

More Impressions: 

The Blackborow DS was ridden to work in "high" range and that makes a speed sufficient for brisk travel. It can be a chore in fluffy, slushy snow though, and going up longer inclines can get a bit wearisome. I'd say anyone used to a stout gear for mtb should be okay with it. My commute, about 4 miles or so, is mostly uphill and if there is any amount of fresh snow or a stiff wind, I'll probably be dumping it back into the low range. The high range was a chore yesterday, but it should make me stronger if I can get used to it. 

The wheel base feels shorter, but I'll have to confirm that. I feel that it is the reason it is really easy to pop a wheelie or loft the front end of this bike. Stand over is definitely what Salsa says, "the best of any" of their fat bikes. That's by at least an inch over the Beargrease and Mukluk. (Large vs Large sizes)

This is my first time on Clown Shoe rims with any of the bigger tires. I noted that this combination is "flatter" crowned than what I have seen with Surly tires. My titanium Mukluk has a Bud on a Rolling Darryl and is noticeably rounder in profile. This flatter profile manifests itself in a bit of self-steer at lower pressures and at similar pressures to the Bud/RD combo, the Clown Shoe/Lou combo is always a bit more prone to the self-steering feel. I'm okay with that with this bike since I got it for the maximum flotation of its tires and rims. It is also worth noting that the barely 4 inch wide Sterlings (made by Vee Tire) have far worse self-steer feelings at these same pressures than do the Clown Shoe/Lou combo. So, it isn't bad with the Blackborow DS, but it is there.

More on this bike later.....

Blackborow DS: How To Change Gears & More

My new Blackborow DS size Large.

Today I wanted to answer a question I received yesterday concerning how one changes gears on a Blackborow DS. Obviously, there are no shifters and it must be done manually. I will show how it's done in some images and with words. Then I'll have a bit more to say about my impressions concerning the bike.

The Blackborow DS was ridden in the "high" ratio set of gears today, so I will demonstrate here a switch to "low range". It takes all of about three to four minutes to accomplish a gear change. You do not need any special tools and I would recommend a rag to clean your hands since the chain will likely be greasy when you do this, although mine is pretty good looking yet since it is so new!

By the way, you shouldn't, (and cannot), cross chain the bike. I also will add that the rear hub has a full range free hub body, so if you should decide after getting a DS that you have to have gears, all you need are the parts plus a through axle, driveside, derailleur compatible Alternator plate. The cable stops are all there to run the cable to the rear derailleur should you decide to add that dangly bit. Okay, enough about all of that. Now I will get into how to change the gears here.

A closer look at the cogs and drop out. This is the side the axle screws in to. 

Here's the Maxle lever which you flip open like a normal QR, but then you use it like a wing nut and unscrew it.....

....until you can start to pull the axle clear of the wheel/hub. Leave the bike on the ground at this point. 

Then lift the rear of the bike straight up. This allows for some chain slack. See below for further instructions.

• Once the rear of the bike is up and you have created some chain slack, reach down with your hand and starting with the rear cog, grab the chain at the top of the cog, lift and move it over to the next cog. In my case, the inner one.
• This next step is crucial to an easy, smooth gear change. Reach down to the bottom run of the chain near the crank set and guide the chain onto the chain ring of choice, (in my case, the inner one), and push the chain "backwards", as if back pedaling, since the crank and cogs will free wheel backward while the wheels remain static. Make sure the pedals are free to rotate! Guide the chain carefully from the bottom up around to the top until it is on the chain ring. Oh.....you're still holding the bike up, by the way. 
• Once the chain is on the set of gears you want, gently lower the rear of the bike, making sure the rotor passes between the pads in the caliper. Line up the hub and the inner drop out "hoods" and then set the weight of the bike on the hub end caps. Replace the Maxle, screwing it into the drive side drop out snugly, but don't reef on it! Then close the lever. That's it!

The gears swapped and the wheel sitting on the hub end caps before reinstalling the Maxle. 

More Impressions: 

The Blackborow DS was ridden to work in "high" range and that makes a speed sufficient for brisk travel. It can be a chore in fluffy, slushy snow though, and going up longer inclines can get a bit wearisome. I'd say anyone used to a stout gear for mtb should be okay with it. My commute, about 4 miles or so, is mostly uphill and if there is any amount of fresh snow or a stiff wind, I'll probably be dumping it back into the low range. The high range was a chore yesterday, but it should make me stronger if I can get used to it. 

The wheel base feels shorter, but I'll have to confirm that. I feel that it is the reason it is really easy to pop a wheelie or loft the front end of this bike. Stand over is definitely what Salsa says, "the best of any" of their fat bikes. That's by at least an inch over the Beargrease and Mukluk. (Large vs Large sizes)

This is my first time on Clown Shoe rims with any of the bigger tires. I noted that this combination is "flatter" crowned than what I have seen with Surly tires. My titanium Mukluk has a Bud on a Rolling Darryl and is noticeably rounder in profile. This flatter profile manifests itself in a bit of self-steer at lower pressures and at similar pressures to the Bud/RD combo, the Clown Shoe/Lou combo is always a bit more prone to the self-steering feel. I'm okay with that with this bike since I got it for the maximum flotation of its tires and rims. It is also worth noting that the barely 4 inch wide Sterlings (made by Vee Tire) have far worse self-steer feelings at these same pressures than do the Clown Shoe/Lou combo. So, it isn't bad with the Blackborow DS, but it is there.

More on this bike later.....

Blackborow DS: First Ride

I was finally able to scratch up enough cabbage to get the Blackborow out of hock from the bike shop. The maiden voyage included many icy city streets, a large portion of single track, and some grassy traverses. We got a nice crunchy coverlet of fresh snow Sunday night/Monday morning, and it was snowing during my ride.

The Blackborow DS is a parallel single speed drive train package with a "high" ratio of 30T X 18T and a "low" ratio of 26T X 22T. I ran my first ride in the "low" range, just to see if I could tolerate it on a longer flat ride. Well.....mostly flat. 

 We'd been tooling around on this bike at the shop ever since it came in. James and Todd both seemed to really think it was something special, but I wasn't going to give it my stamp of approval until I could get it off road and into some slippery, technical stuff. Fortunately, that's exactly what the conditions were. Slippery streets were met with a solid, confident feel. Of course, I wasn't tossing it into turns and manhandling it, because while it was stable, it doesn't have studded tires. Ice must be respected! But the grip level seemed pretty good so far.

The initial section of the new trail in Sherwood Park is pretty twisty, undulating, and has a few technical moves over rock piles and what not to negotiate. The Blackborow felt like it was Velcro'ed to the surface and I had no problem at all going through here. Further on, I had to make the short, steep climb out of the area to the bike path, and also up the hill at Northland Oil, (Both maybe 20-25ft high at 15% or so with snow on the trail), and both were cleaned with no issues. The ratio was fine for trail riding, and "okay" for spinning down the streets, but I probably will opt for the "high" ratio on days when the streets are clearer.

Initial impressions are that this bike is indeed maneuverable, and it feels more nimble than a Mukluk with 3.8"ers. The ride quality is somewhere between my Titanium and aluminum Mukluks. Not too harsh at all. Smoother than I expected. Tires grip like mad. Interestingly, this bike coasts and rolls freer than any of the other fat bikes I have had.

Modifications and component swaps will be minimal. I will swap to Ergon grips, and at some point a titanium post is going on here. Another Salsa Regulator. But for now, this'll do juuuuust fine! More on this bike later.....