Cycling For The Adventure: Part 2

Can you imagine cycling without one of these?

Yesterday I touched upon how today's version of "adventure" differed from where I came from. But am I just being an "old fart"? Maybe I'm a retrogrouch and I just am out of touch with a better version of cycling that has more people jazzed about getting out there than ever before.

Or, maybe that's just not really what is happening here. Consider that by the very nature of social media, we are, or can be, more aware of who is out there. Think about the Tour Divide, or even better, its predecessor, The Great Divide Race. In the late '90's, John Stamstad rode the route solo. Did anyone follow that dot? Well, of course not. He wasn't wired with a SPOT device. So it was with everyone else that was "out there" previous to SPOT's launch in 2007, social media, Strava, and whatever else you have to "connect" with. In other words, who can really say that folks weren't "out there" in just as big a way then as they are today? What we can say is that in 2017 we are more aware than ever of who is doing this adventuring by bicycle. 

Conversely, it is also easier than ever to be found. Think about it: We used to get on our bicycles to "get away from it all", but are we doing that anymore? Most of the time, we are not. Especially if we are carrying a cell phone. At a moment's notice, we can be drawn right back in to the rat race by a text, a notification, or a phone call. That doesn't even count devices like GPS computers for cycling which can push notifications right to your wrist or handlebars. Heck.....they even have a heads-up display for glasses for cycling now! Talk about life being "in your face"!

Of course, all those devices with GPS can be tracked too, so you can have a significant other or (who knows who) tracking your every move out there. Is that what we signed up for when we went in search of adventure?

So, yeah......to be completely honest, I don't buy in to the whole being connected 24-7 thing. If I leave my cell phone at home I kind of kick myself, but more so because it ticks off Mrs. Guitar Ted. Me? I don't care. After a moment of guilt I am really relieved no one can bother me. If something happens when I'm 20 miles from the house on a gravel road traveling by bicycle, what the heck can I do about anything that happens anyway? By definition I am out of the loop at that point, You'll have to carry on without me, or come and find me out there....

Oh, you may say that I should have my cell phone handy in case of an emergency, but really..... If I can't be self-supported/self-sufficient, should I be riding out in the country at all? Then there might be the super rare time I get myself injured, have a bad mechanical, or whatever, but look...... That's a risk I'm willing to take that wasn't a rarity at all previous to 2007 or so. Stop and think about that for a minute. Everyone that rode a bicycle away from a population center before then was likely doing what I do now when I forget my phone at home. It's a risk I'm willing to take anytime now.

But that said, I know I am in an ever shrinking group of like-minded people. I get pressure all the time from folks wanting routes provided to them, to have Trans Iowa have GPS downloadable course maps, to have on-line registration for that event, and on and on. It's hard to keep "on point" when everyone seems to be going whole hog for being connected and have everything handed to them on a silver platter when it comes to adventure stuff. Gravel roads seem to freak folks out, or they are just to lazy to do some simple research and take a small risk to see what is out there. I don't think I am remarkable in that I just go out and ride and see what I can find, but then again, it seems a lot of people are hamstrung by the idea of just winging it. It really isn't that tough, in my opinion.

Plus, the lessons learned make memories and teach you far more than checking off a list from some internet site and downloading a pre-ridden course on your GPS device. I don't know.......

Maybe I've got it all wrong.......

Cycling For The Adventure: Part 2

Can you imagine cycling without one of these?

Yesterday I touched upon how today's version of "adventure" differed from where I came from. But am I just being an "old fart"? Maybe I'm a retrogrouch and I just am out of touch with a better version of cycling that has more people jazzed about getting out there than ever before.

Or, maybe that's just not really what is happening here. Consider that by the very nature of social media, we are, or can be, more aware of who is out there. Think about the Tour Divide, or even better, its predecessor, The Great Divide Race. In the late '90's, John Stamstad rode the route solo. Did anyone follow that dot? Well, of course not. He wasn't wired with a SPOT device. So it was with everyone else that was "out there" previous to SPOT's launch in 2007, social media, Strava, and whatever else you have to "connect" with. In other words, who can really say that folks weren't "out there" in just as big a way then as they are today? What we can say is that in 2017 we are more aware than ever of who is doing this adventuring by bicycle. 

Conversely, it is also easier than ever to be found. Think about it: We used to get on our bicycles to "get away from it all", but are we doing that anymore? Most of the time, we are not. Especially if we are carrying a cell phone. At a moment's notice, we can be drawn right back in to the rat race by a text, a notification, or a phone call. That doesn't even count devices like GPS computers for cycling which can push notifications right to your wrist or handlebars. Heck.....they even have a heads-up display for glasses for cycling now! Talk about life being "in your face"!

Of course, all those devices with GPS can be tracked too, so you can have a significant other or (who knows who) tracking your every move out there. Is that what we signed up for when we went in search of adventure?

So, yeah......to be completely honest, I don't buy in to the whole being connected 24-7 thing. If I leave my cell phone at home I kind of kick myself, but more so because it ticks off Mrs. Guitar Ted. Me? I don't care. After a moment of guilt I am really relieved no one can bother me. If something happens when I'm 20 miles from the house on a gravel road traveling by bicycle, what the heck can I do about anything that happens anyway? By definition I am out of the loop at that point, You'll have to carry on without me, or come and find me out there....

Oh, you may say that I should have my cell phone handy in case of an emergency, but really..... If I can't be self-supported/self-sufficient, should I be riding out in the country at all? Then there might be the super rare time I get myself injured, have a bad mechanical, or whatever, but look...... That's a risk I'm willing to take that wasn't a rarity at all previous to 2007 or so. Stop and think about that for a minute. Everyone that rode a bicycle away from a population center before then was likely doing what I do now when I forget my phone at home. It's a risk I'm willing to take anytime now.

But that said, I know I am in an ever shrinking group of like-minded people. I get pressure all the time from folks wanting routes provided to them, to have Trans Iowa have GPS downloadable course maps, to have on-line registration for that event, and on and on. It's hard to keep "on point" when everyone seems to be going whole hog for being connected and have everything handed to them on a silver platter when it comes to adventure stuff. Gravel roads seem to freak folks out, or they are just to lazy to do some simple research and take a small risk to see what is out there. I don't think I am remarkable in that I just go out and ride and see what I can find, but then again, it seems a lot of people are hamstrung by the idea of just winging it. It really isn't that tough, in my opinion.

Plus, the lessons learned make memories and teach you far more than checking off a list from some internet site and downloading a pre-ridden course on your GPS device. I don't know.......

Maybe I've got it all wrong.......

Trans Iowa v14: Rookie Lottery Time Announced!

Rookie Lottery Time: 

The Rookie Lottery for Trans Iowa v14 will be held at 5:00pm CST. The Lottery will be broadcast LIVE on Periscope which you can access by going to Twitter and searching for the @guitarted1961 account. The broadcast will take about 15 minutes in which I will draw 50 cards from a pool of 84 received. These cards will have the names of fifty lucky entrants whose names will then be etched on to the roster for T.I.v14. After that, the registration process for T.I.v14 will be complete and the roster closed.

Stay tuned for the lottery at 5:00pm CST tomorrow!

Trans Iowa v14: Rookie Lottery Time Announced!

Rookie Lottery Time: 

The Rookie Lottery for Trans Iowa v14 will be held at 5:00pm CST. The Lottery will be broadcast LIVE on Periscope which you can access by going to Twitter and searching for the @guitarted1961 account. The broadcast will take about 15 minutes in which I will draw 50 cards from a pool of 84 received. These cards will have the names of fifty lucky entrants whose names will then be etched on to the roster for T.I.v14. After that, the registration process for T.I.v14 will be complete and the roster closed.

Stay tuned for the lottery at 5:00pm CST tomorrow!

Cycling For The Adventure

A fuzzy photograph of a friend from 1994 when I went on a cross country, self supported bike tour.

Bicycling was taken up by most of us when we were children. We did it because the bicycle could carry us to places to do things, see people, and, of course, to "get in trouble". That last thing is code for "adventure" when you stop to think about it. That was the main reason I was into cycling. I was in it for the adventure.

Of course, it was a different day and age when I came up. There were no media blitzes going on every second to distract me. We were not bombarded with social media, the world, life...... We set out to discover the "unknown" which may have been the next neighborhood, the next farm down the road, or the next city down the blacktop. If we weren't going to school, visiting friends, or going to Little League practice, we were having an adventure by bicycle, or "getting in trouble", as I mentioned already.

I saw a great story about the days when people, grown up people, would go looking for this so called trouble on purpose. It was called "touring" back then. The story by Peter Flax on Cyclingtips.com can be read HERE. In the story, Mr. Flax recounts his journey in 1992 with a friend across America and parts of Canada by bicycle. It is a story that resonated with my own experiences on tours just a couple of years after the experiences recounted by Mr. Flax. My tours happened in 1994 and 1995. While they were not across the U.S.A tours, they were filled with adventure none the less.

Much of what I do today was informed by my experiences cycling on those early loaded tours.

If you read the linked article, you will note that Mr. Flax equates the loaded cyclo-touring of the 90's with today's craze called "bikepacking". He's right, you know. There is no difference but the name. Well, as far as the basic, simple activity of being self-sufficient on an overland tour goes. The day and age we live in now is completely different, and what we think we "need", or must have, to go on an overland cycling tour nowadays is radically different than it was back in the 90's.

I don't want to judge anyone, but I am glad that I got to experience cyclo-touring pre-social media and before cell phones. There's something about a memory when you are miles from the nearest house or business, out of water, and it is over 100°F and you have absolutely no way to communicate that outside of the two guys along with you on the ride. That changes the playing field.

Mr. Flax wrote about how he and his partner would stop at bars and motels to get a heads up on the world's cycling news, (and news in general, most likely). Can you imagine setting out for a 100 mile day without knowing the weather forecast for the day? We did that back then. I'm not saying we were better for it, but it was sooooo different then and I am saying I am glad I experienced it that way. We were oblivious to so many things that are fretted over in the minutest of detail today. 

Of course, you could recreate the 80's/90's type of touring experience if you dare to. Leave the smart phone at home, stay off the devices, and just keep your head down and ride. But can anyone actually manage to tear themselves away from this culture? Could you ride without GPS, a rear radar detector, or a freaking phalanx of flashing red lights? Could you simply ride off a map and just trust that you will have a most excellent journey? Nowadays it seems that we cannot do that. We have to have "routes". Someone else has to do the discovering for us, and only then will we go out and try to ride the route already mapped out for us. We have to post to social media, we have to have a track of our route to upload to Strava, we have to be connected 24-7.

Maybe I am wrong, but "adventure" seems to be a different flavor these days, and I wish I, and the rest of us, could taste it like it used to be again. But I'm just as guilty as many others.

Maybe it is time turn off, tune out and drop in.........

Cycling For The Adventure

A fuzzy photograph of a friend from 1994 when I went on a cross country, self supported bike tour.

Bicycling was taken up by most of us when we were children. We did it because the bicycle could carry us to places to do things, see people, and, of course, to "get in trouble". That last thing is code for "adventure" when you stop to think about it. That was the main reason I was into cycling. I was in it for the adventure.

Of course, it was a different day and age when I came up. There were no media blitzes going on every second to distract me. We were not bombarded with social media, the world, life...... We set out to discover the "unknown" which may have been the next neighborhood, the next farm down the road, or the next city down the blacktop. If we weren't going to school, visiting friends, or going to Little League practice, we were having an adventure by bicycle, or "getting in trouble", as I mentioned already.

I saw a great story about the days when people, grown up people, would go looking for this so called trouble on purpose. It was called "touring" back then. The story by Peter Flax on Cyclingtips.com can be read HERE. In the story, Mr. Flax recounts his journey in 1992 with a friend across America and parts of Canada by bicycle. It is a story that resonated with my own experiences on tours just a couple of years after the experiences recounted by Mr. Flax. My tours happened in 1994 and 1995. While they were not across the U.S.A tours, they were filled with adventure none the less.

Much of what I do today was informed by my experiences cycling on those early loaded tours.

If you read the linked article, you will note that Mr. Flax equates the loaded cyclo-touring of the 90's with today's craze called "bikepacking". He's right, you know. There is no difference but the name. Well, as far as the basic, simple activity of being self-sufficient on an overland tour goes. The day and age we live in now is completely different, and what we think we "need", or must have, to go on an overland cycling tour nowadays is radically different than it was back in the 90's.

I don't want to judge anyone, but I am glad that I got to experience cyclo-touring pre-social media and before cell phones. There's something about a memory when you are miles from the nearest house or business, out of water, and it is over 100°F and you have absolutely no way to communicate that outside of the two guys along with you on the ride. That changes the playing field.

Mr. Flax wrote about how he and his partner would stop at bars and motels to get a heads up on the world's cycling news, (and news in general, most likely). Can you imagine setting out for a 100 mile day without knowing the weather forecast for the day? We did that back then. I'm not saying we were better for it, but it was sooooo different then and I am saying I am glad I experienced it that way. We were oblivious to so many things that are fretted over in the minutest of detail today. 

Of course, you could recreate the 80's/90's type of touring experience if you dare to. Leave the smart phone at home, stay off the devices, and just keep your head down and ride. But can anyone actually manage to tear themselves away from this culture? Could you ride without GPS, a rear radar detector, or a freaking phalanx of flashing red lights? Could you simply ride off a map and just trust that you will have a most excellent journey? Nowadays it seems that we cannot do that. We have to have "routes". Someone else has to do the discovering for us, and only then will we go out and try to ride the route already mapped out for us. We have to post to social media, we have to have a track of our route to upload to Strava, we have to be connected 24-7.

Maybe I am wrong, but "adventure" seems to be a different flavor these days, and I wish I, and the rest of us, could taste it like it used to be again. But I'm just as guilty as many others.

Maybe it is time turn off, tune out and drop in.........

Trans Iowa v14: Registration Has Closed!

The registration for the next Trans Iowa has ended. There are 84 people vying for 50 spots. There will be a lottery drawing on October 31st and the roster will be completed that evening. 50 names will be uploaded to the Roster Page adding to the 70 already there and we will have our 120 rider limit.

So, what's next? Well, training, training, training! Then at some point some of the riders will get injured, have "life" happen, get sick, get married, change jobs, etc...... Six months is a long time for things to come up. If that happens to anyone on the roster, I ask that they let me know as soon as possible so I do not waste resources on them before the event takes place. It really matters to me that people do this.

Anyway, I do not maintain a waiting list or allow transfers. Obviously, it would be a near miracle for Trans Iowa to end up with 120 folks on the start line in Grinnell in late April. It is more likely that we will end up around 80-ish riders, maybe a few less, maybe a few more. The curious amongst you may wonder what the biggest field ever was and that would be from T.I.v10 when we had 106 starters. That was the most since the roster limit was raised to 120 for T.I.v9 which saw 91 people start. The last two Trans Iowas have seen a precipitous drop off of riders by the event start time. T.I.v12 had 83 riders while T.I.v13 had 75 riders. What will happen for T.I.v14? Who knows.

All I know now is that I have a lottery drawing to do on Tuesday!

Trans Iowa v14: Registration Has Closed!

The registration for the next Trans Iowa has ended. There are 84 people vying for 50 spots. There will be a lottery drawing on October 31st and the roster will be completed that evening. 50 names will be uploaded to the Roster Page adding to the 70 already there and we will have our 120 rider limit.

So, what's next? Well, training, training, training! Then at some point some of the riders will get injured, have "life" happen, get sick, get married, change jobs, etc...... Six months is a long time for things to come up. If that happens to anyone on the roster, I ask that they let me know as soon as possible so I do not waste resources on them before the event takes place. It really matters to me that people do this.

Anyway, I do not maintain a waiting list or allow transfers. Obviously, it would be a near miracle for Trans Iowa to end up with 120 folks on the start line in Grinnell in late April. It is more likely that we will end up around 80-ish riders, maybe a few less, maybe a few more. The curious amongst you may wonder what the biggest field ever was and that would be from T.I.v10 when we had 106 starters. That was the most since the roster limit was raised to 120 for T.I.v9 which saw 91 people start. The last two Trans Iowas have seen a precipitous drop off of riders by the event start time. T.I.v12 had 83 riders while T.I.v13 had 75 riders. What will happen for T.I.v14? Who knows.

All I know now is that I have a lottery drawing to do on Tuesday!

Minus Ten Review- 43

A bad image of a Sunrise in late October near Marengo, Iowa ten years ago.

Ten years ago on the blog I was bantering about a "Trans Iowa Tune Up Ride" that I had planned along with David Pals, my co-director of Trans Iowa back in those days. It was a promotion to Trans Iowa rookies that had just gotten onto the roster for Trans Iowa v4. That would have been the first Trans Iowa I had worked with David Pals on and it would be the last one we would run out of Decorah, Iowa.

Anyway, we planned this long gravel ride out of Marengo, which was David's home at the time, and the ride started in the dark, to kind of mimic the start of Trans Iowa. So, you had to have a light. I cannot emphasize enough how difficult it was to find reasonably priced, powerful, long lasting lighting back then. You either had to spend hundreds of dollars on a system that usually had an external battery or even more on a specialized dynamo hub light system. Lighting up the night back then was not easy. We have it made today. 

The ride didn't go so well for me, as I recall. My body decided it was going to have a low energy day. I cannot remember if it was a bonk, the onset of sickness, or what. I was pretty bummed out, I do recall that much. It was a mostly forgettable experience.

The light thing though. That I do remember. I was using some fancy new Blackburn battery powered unit that barely made the roads visible. Now, for the same money I bought that light for, I could get a 400 Lumen light that blazes the darkness away.

Other things being talked about ten years ago were the SE Racing Stout single speed bike that came in for Twenty Nine Inches testing, The first of many bicycles I would be testing throughout the next seven years. Also, related to the TNI gig, I was brought in as a contributor/editor for The Bike Lab, which was the "everything else mountain bike" besides what we were doing on TNI. Once again, I was promised help and it went away pretty much right out of the gate. So, for the almost two years that the site was up I essentially had my work doubled and with nothing to show for it in the bank. This would have been the time that the TNI gig started to unravel for me. More on that later....

Minus Ten Review- 43

A bad image of a Sunrise in late October near Marengo, Iowa ten years ago.

Ten years ago on the blog I was bantering about a "Trans Iowa Tune Up Ride" that I had planned along with David Pals, my co-director of Trans Iowa back in those days. It was a promotion to Trans Iowa rookies that had just gotten onto the roster for Trans Iowa v4. That would have been the first Trans Iowa I had worked with David Pals on and it would be the last one we would run out of Decorah, Iowa.

Anyway, we planned this long gravel ride out of Marengo, which was David's home at the time, and the ride started in the dark, to kind of mimic the start of Trans Iowa. So, you had to have a light. I cannot emphasize enough how difficult it was to find reasonably priced, powerful, long lasting lighting back then. You either had to spend hundreds of dollars on a system that usually had an external battery or even more on a specialized dynamo hub light system. Lighting up the night back then was not easy. We have it made today. 

The ride didn't go so well for me, as I recall. My body decided it was going to have a low energy day. I cannot remember if it was a bonk, the onset of sickness, or what. I was pretty bummed out, I do recall that much. It was a mostly forgettable experience.

The light thing though. That I do remember. I was using some fancy new Blackburn battery powered unit that barely made the roads visible. Now, for the same money I bought that light for, I could get a 400 Lumen light that blazes the darkness away.

Other things being talked about ten years ago were the SE Racing Stout single speed bike that came in for Twenty Nine Inches testing, The first of many bicycles I would be testing throughout the next seven years. Also, related to the TNI gig, I was brought in as a contributor/editor for The Bike Lab, which was the "everything else mountain bike" besides what we were doing on TNI. Once again, I was promised help and it went away pretty much right out of the gate. So, for the almost two years that the site was up I essentially had my work doubled and with nothing to show for it in the bank. This would have been the time that the TNI gig started to unravel for me. More on that later....

Friday News And Views

T.I.v14 Registration Update:

There is today's mail and tomorrow's mail and then that's it! So far we have a pile of 77 entrants with more sure to come. The lottery drawing will take place on October 31st, because trick-or-treat, ya know?

I plan on hosting a live drawing for the Rookie Class on my Periscope account which you can access from Twitter at @guitarted1961. Just keep checking back for an exact time for that. All Trans Iowa related Tweets are hashtagged #TIv14, so you can search that on Twitter to keep tabs on the goings on with this. I will not be posting the live feed anywhere else, so don't even ask. If you cannot do Twitter, or won't, then you'll have to wait until I upload the roster to the Trans Iowa v14 page later that evening.

New Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast!

Episode #23 of the Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast is up and ready for you to check out. Here is the page you can listen to it on and pretend to be working. (Or whatever.....ya know? )

It's been a while since we've posted a podcast, but my partner, Ben Welnak, has been involved in a big cross-state move for he and his family which caused a lot of disruption on the podcast side for Riding Gravel. Now that things have settled down a bit, we're both hoping that the podcast becomes a bit more "regular".

I know. We've said that before! But we cannot always predict how the changes in life will go and that almost always will be more important than the podcast is. Honestly, I like doing the podcast. I find it to be fun and enjoyable. I missed doing it all Summer long. (Our last podcast previous to #23 was back in May!!) So, if you tuned out over the past several months, I get it, but give it another chance and we will see if we cannot be a bit more regular going forward.

This episode deals with the changes to the Dirty Kanza 200 registration, some Trans Iowa stuff, news about stuff I am reviewing, and more. Check it out, please, and if you do, let me know what you think. Thanks!

Thinking of fixing it for Winter

Fascination With Fixed:

I've had a hankerin' for riding fixed gear again. I don't know quite where that comes from either. It's kind of weird.

Why deny the free coasting fun of "normal" bicycles and hamstring yourself to some 19th Century technology? I know........there are benefits, it's great for your pedal stroke, yada, yada, yada.............

And there are those of you reading, no doubt, that are proficient in the fixed gear ways. I get it. The thing is, I don't understand why I sometimes gravitate toward fixed gear riding. I almost always am a klutz at it. I forget I cannot coast and I about launch myself and tweak my knee. Then I have that anxious few seconds when I approach the curb and I am not in a good part of my pedal stroke to pop that front wheel up. Or how about when I stop and my "chocolate foot" isn't in the prime starting position? (Don't know what "chocolate foot" is? See Hans Rey.... It's old skool trialsin/mtb lingo)

I actually have a rat-rod Raleigh Grand Prix converted into a fixed gear bike in the garage and my 1X1 Surly has a flip-flop hub with a fixed cog on one side. Then I also have that Tomi cog in the picture as well. One of the three is getting some use this Winter, maybe all three. We will see. If we get inundated with snow and it gets super cold, well maybe the fat bike rules. Time will tell.

Have a great weekend and hopefully you get to ride your bicycles!

Friday News And Views

T.I.v14 Registration Update:

There is today's mail and tomorrow's mail and then that's it! So far we have a pile of 77 entrants with more sure to come. The lottery drawing will take place on October 31st, because trick-or-treat, ya know?

I plan on hosting a live drawing for the Rookie Class on my Periscope account which you can access from Twitter at @guitarted1961. Just keep checking back for an exact time for that. All Trans Iowa related Tweets are hashtagged #TIv14, so you can search that on Twitter to keep tabs on the goings on with this. I will not be posting the live feed anywhere else, so don't even ask. If you cannot do Twitter, or won't, then you'll have to wait until I upload the roster to the Trans Iowa v14 page later that evening.

New Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast!

Episode #23 of the Riding Gravel Radio Ranch podcast is up and ready for you to check out. Here is the page you can listen to it on and pretend to be working. (Or whatever.....ya know? )

It's been a while since we've posted a podcast, but my partner, Ben Welnak, has been involved in a big cross-state move for he and his family which caused a lot of disruption on the podcast side for Riding Gravel. Now that things have settled down a bit, we're both hoping that the podcast becomes a bit more "regular".

I know. We've said that before! But we cannot always predict how the changes in life will go and that almost always will be more important than the podcast is. Honestly, I like doing the podcast. I find it to be fun and enjoyable. I missed doing it all Summer long. (Our last podcast previous to #23 was back in May!!) So, if you tuned out over the past several months, I get it, but give it another chance and we will see if we cannot be a bit more regular going forward.

This episode deals with the changes to the Dirty Kanza 200 registration, some Trans Iowa stuff, news about stuff I am reviewing, and more. Check it out, please, and if you do, let me know what you think. Thanks!

Thinking of fixing it for Winter

Fascination With Fixed:

I've had a hankerin' for riding fixed gear again. I don't know quite where that comes from either. It's kind of weird.

Why deny the free coasting fun of "normal" bicycles and hamstring yourself to some 19th Century technology? I know........there are benefits, it's great for your pedal stroke, yada, yada, yada.............

And there are those of you reading, no doubt, that are proficient in the fixed gear ways. I get it. The thing is, I don't understand why I sometimes gravitate toward fixed gear riding. I almost always am a klutz at it. I forget I cannot coast and I about launch myself and tweak my knee. Then I have that anxious few seconds when I approach the curb and I am not in a good part of my pedal stroke to pop that front wheel up. Or how about when I stop and my "chocolate foot" isn't in the prime starting position? (Don't know what "chocolate foot" is? See Hans Rey.... It's old skool trialsin/mtb lingo)

I actually have a rat-rod Raleigh Grand Prix converted into a fixed gear bike in the garage and my 1X1 Surly has a flip-flop hub with a fixed cog on one side. Then I also have that Tomi cog in the picture as well. One of the three is getting some use this Winter, maybe all three. We will see. If we get inundated with snow and it gets super cold, well maybe the fat bike rules. Time will tell.

Have a great weekend and hopefully you get to ride your bicycles!

Country Views: Late Fall

It is getting on in the year and now things have changed from the greens of Summer to the golden hues of Fall with the "brown season" just at the doorstep. I haven't been able to get out in the country lately but Wednesday I did and so I gathered a few images to share.

Freshly harvested fields leave an interesting pattern of lines not unlike corduroy.

 Fallen leaves gather along the road edges and the trees are blushing with golds and rich oranges.

A silent combine with a hopper full of corn sits under the Fall Sun

Barns For Jason: Sheep watch warily as I pass by on my single speed.

There is still a fair amount of corn left to be harvested. All the soybeans have been taken out by now.

A perfectly good car in the ditch. I don't see this often unless it has snowed heavily or unless there is ice. Weird!

The restored Bennington No. 4 School house in the distance to the right here.

Wild asparagus turns a beautiful shade of orangey-gold in Fall.  The shoots in Spring are considered a delicacy in Iowa.

Heading South on Moline Road a couple miles before hitting Waterloo again.

Country Views: Late Fall

It is getting on in the year and now things have changed from the greens of Summer to the golden hues of Fall with the "brown season" just at the doorstep. I haven't been able to get out in the country lately but Wednesday I did and so I gathered a few images to share.

Freshly harvested fields leave an interesting pattern of lines not unlike corduroy.

 Fallen leaves gather along the road edges and the trees are blushing with golds and rich oranges.

A silent combine with a hopper full of corn sits under the Fall Sun

Barns For Jason: Sheep watch warily as I pass by on my single speed.

There is still a fair amount of corn left to be harvested. All the soybeans have been taken out by now.

A perfectly good car in the ditch. I don't see this often unless it has snowed heavily or unless there is ice. Weird!

The restored Bennington No. 4 School house in the distance to the right here.

Wild asparagus turns a beautiful shade of orangey-gold in Fall.  The shoots in Spring are considered a delicacy in Iowa.

Heading South on Moline Road a couple miles before hitting Waterloo again.

Single Speed Century: Training Ride 1

One gear, gravel, and grit.

Wednesday I got out for a training ride on the single speed. After a month of being on the down low, I have to start building back up to a fitness level that will allow me to complete a century on gravel. That means I needed to put in a couple of hours at least on the Pofahl.

It was chilly, but Sunny and the wind was out of the Northwest. That meant I needed to go North. The routes to the North out of town are all mostly uphill, so that would also be good for training purposes. Now getting out of town, well that is something else altogether these days.

There is so much construction now with so many routes cut off that I ended up just riding along HWY 63 North on the bike path. Then I went East over on East Donald Street to catch a route North and I was on my way. Things felt pretty good, and I was chugging along thinking about several things on that bright, glorious morning. One of those things was a curiosity about why my front brake wasn't working well.

The Pofahl's front brake, well both actually, always worked so well. So, it was a curious thing now that all of a sudden I had a very weak front brake. In fact, I was so curious that I purposed to stop when I reached Bennington No. 4 School house and check it out. When I did, I laughed out loud!

Silly me! I didn't check to see what rotor size I was using on the Pofahl and make sure the alternate wheel set I swapped in was set up appropriately. So, I had a caliper set up for a 180mm rotor with a 160mm rotor bolted to the hub. Yeah.......that doesn't work out. So, realizing this I did the rest of the ride with only a rear brake, which was fine, really. But it was a good thing to figure out now instead of well in to a hundy.

And that saddle...... yeah, that's not gonna work either. 

More soon......

Single Speed Century: Training Ride 1

One gear, gravel, and grit.

Wednesday I got out for a training ride on the single speed. After a month of being on the down low, I have to start building back up to a fitness level that will allow me to complete a century on gravel. That means I needed to put in a couple of hours at least on the Pofahl.

It was chilly, but Sunny and the wind was out of the Northwest. That meant I needed to go North. The routes to the North out of town are all mostly uphill, so that would also be good for training purposes. Now getting out of town, well that is something else altogether these days.

There is so much construction now with so many routes cut off that I ended up just riding along HWY 63 North on the bike path. Then I went East over on East Donald Street to catch a route North and I was on my way. Things felt pretty good, and I was chugging along thinking about several things on that bright, glorious morning. One of those things was a curiosity about why my front brake wasn't working well.

The Pofahl's front brake, well both actually, always worked so well. So, it was a curious thing now that all of a sudden I had a very weak front brake. In fact, I was so curious that I purposed to stop when I reached Bennington No. 4 School house and check it out. When I did, I laughed out loud!

Silly me! I didn't check to see what rotor size I was using on the Pofahl and make sure the alternate wheel set I swapped in was set up appropriately. So, I had a caliper set up for a 180mm rotor with a 160mm rotor bolted to the hub. Yeah.......that doesn't work out. So, realizing this I did the rest of the ride with only a rear brake, which was fine, really. But it was a good thing to figure out now instead of well in to a hundy.

And that saddle...... yeah, that's not gonna work either. 

More soon......

When The Simplest Thing Fails

The Raleigh Tamland Two- Highly evolved, not much stock here anymore!

I was doing maintenance on a couple of my gravel rigs yesterday. The first up in the stand was the Twin Six Standard Rando. I wasn't happy with the SRAM cheapo cassette that was on it as it was making a racket whenever I shifted due to the individual cogs not being secured perfectly. I opted for a lower geared cassette, an 11-36T, and in eleven speed, of course. The cogs are mounted on a carrier for the last three, largest cogs, and the others are made more precisely and should not rattle. I have the same model cassette on the Tamland Two which has worked really well.

I thought I might need a chain also, but when I checked it with my tool for wear it was well within spec. Such a waste to pull it off, so I left it on there. I am chalking the longevity up to using DuMonde Tech lube which I have used on that chain for a while and on the Tamland's chain for ever. That chain also checked out good as well. The Tamland just needed a bit of fresh lube on its chain and a refresh on sealant. Then it was out for a bit of a test ride.

I noted a "clunk" which was hard to repeat. Was it the chain not shifting quite right? Hmm.....nope! What about that bottom bracket? I couldn't remember ever replacing it. It could be time for it to go. However; the noise wasn't tied to pedaling. Weird. What was it?

Bad part! Bad part! Go to the bin!

I got off my bike and grabbed the rear wheel and tried to see if the hub bearing maybe had loosened up. To my surprise, I could wiggle the wheel and recreate the clunk. That White Industries hub had a bad bearing already? Well....... I do ride it in severe dusty conditions a lot. It was possible, but I had ridden other wheels more miles on gravel with no ill effect. Maybe the axle was broken? Gah! That would suck!

But once the wheel was pulled I could not find fault with the hub at all. Hmmm...... What about that QR lever? Now, I'd be real surprised if it was that, because the wheel moved a lot when it was clamped in the frame. But whatever..... I had to try it to see if I could eliminate that as a reason for my troubles. I grabbed a good Shimano skewer, they are the best, you know, and slammed the wheel with that Shimano skewer installed into the frame and clamped it up.

No more wiggle, no more noise!

A simple part swapped in and no more issues. Shimano skewers are always a sure bet.

I'm not sure what company made that skewer, but it won't ever get used again after that! It is ironic that Shimano makes such a dead reliable skewer and hardly anyone else can seem to come close. Most skewers that you see are external cam skewers and most of those are junk. Then you have some internal cam skewers which can be relied upon other than Shimano, (Velocity USA's are pretty good), but those are rare. I have a set sold by FSA that were designed like Mavic/Simplex skewers and those are pretty decent, but they are an oddball design.

Obviously, through axles get rid of a lot of this, but they also have their own issues. One being that no one wants to pay SRAM or Shimano/Fox a royalty for their good designs and they come up with their own. Some are good, some are........dumb. Some are so difficult to get to work properly you may as well just use a bolt, and some other through axles are bolts! So don't just say QR's are dumb and everyone should use a through axle, becuase there are some real clunkers in the through axle world too.

The bottom line is that a simple part like a skewer should just work, and when it doesn't, and fails, I find that to be rather amazing. Just quit trying to make it different so you can avoid the fees and make simple parts that actually work!

When The Simplest Thing Fails

The Raleigh Tamland Two- Highly evolved, not much stock here anymore!

I was doing maintenance on a couple of my gravel rigs yesterday. The first up in the stand was the Twin Six Standard Rando. I wasn't happy with the SRAM cheapo cassette that was on it as it was making a racket whenever I shifted due to the individual cogs not being secured perfectly. I opted for a lower geared cassette, an 11-36T, and in eleven speed, of course. The cogs are mounted on a carrier for the last three, largest cogs, and the others are made more precisely and should not rattle. I have the same model cassette on the Tamland Two which has worked really well.

I thought I might need a chain also, but when I checked it with my tool for wear it was well within spec. Such a waste to pull it off, so I left it on there. I am chalking the longevity up to using DuMonde Tech lube which I have used on that chain for a while and on the Tamland's chain for ever. That chain also checked out good as well. The Tamland just needed a bit of fresh lube on its chain and a refresh on sealant. Then it was out for a bit of a test ride.

I noted a "clunk" which was hard to repeat. Was it the chain not shifting quite right? Hmm.....nope! What about that bottom bracket? I couldn't remember ever replacing it. It could be time for it to go. However; the noise wasn't tied to pedaling. Weird. What was it?

Bad part! Bad part! Go to the bin!

I got off my bike and grabbed the rear wheel and tried to see if the hub bearing maybe had loosened up. To my surprise, I could wiggle the wheel and recreate the clunk. That White Industries hub had a bad bearing already? Well....... I do ride it in severe dusty conditions a lot. It was possible, but I had ridden other wheels more miles on gravel with no ill effect. Maybe the axle was broken? Gah! That would suck!

But once the wheel was pulled I could not find fault with the hub at all. Hmmm...... What about that QR lever? Now, I'd be real surprised if it was that, because the wheel moved a lot when it was clamped in the frame. But whatever..... I had to try it to see if I could eliminate that as a reason for my troubles. I grabbed a good Shimano skewer, they are the best, you know, and slammed the wheel with that Shimano skewer installed into the frame and clamped it up.

No more wiggle, no more noise!

A simple part swapped in and no more issues. Shimano skewers are always a sure bet.

I'm not sure what company made that skewer, but it won't ever get used again after that! It is ironic that Shimano makes such a dead reliable skewer and hardly anyone else can seem to come close. Most skewers that you see are external cam skewers and most of those are junk. Then you have some internal cam skewers which can be relied upon other than Shimano, (Velocity USA's are pretty good), but those are rare. I have a set sold by FSA that were designed like Mavic/Simplex skewers and those are pretty decent, but they are an oddball design.

Obviously, through axles get rid of a lot of this, but they also have their own issues. One being that no one wants to pay SRAM or Shimano/Fox a royalty for their good designs and they come up with their own. Some are good, some are........dumb. Some are so difficult to get to work properly you may as well just use a bolt, and some other through axles are bolts! So don't just say QR's are dumb and everyone should use a through axle, becuase there are some real clunkers in the through axle world too.

The bottom line is that a simple part like a skewer should just work, and when it doesn't, and fails, I find that to be rather amazing. Just quit trying to make it different so you can avoid the fees and make simple parts that actually work!

Single Speed Century: The Rig Is Ready

So, now that I have a modicum of a chance to physically do a century again, and now that my rig has proper tires and wheels on it, I am ready to set sail for 100 miles of single speed gravel travel. I thought I would share the details of the rig I am using before I head out on this deal.

The single speed I chose to use is the Pofahl custom bike I had made ten years ago. You long time blog readers need no introduction to this one. It has already been on a century gravel ride before, so I know it will be a comfortable, capable bike for this trip.

I did make a couple of modifications to the usual Pofahl set up here though. The wheels and tires are completely different here. While the wheels are still Industry 9 hubs and spokes, the rims are Bontrager Duster TLR rims. The rear hub is single speed specific one in black ano and a few years newer than the one I have on there usually which is kind of orangey-bronze and was a 2006 model single speed specific hub.

The tires are new Donnelly MSO 50mm with the old Clement hot patch on there. These are tubeless ready versions too, and as such, they are a beefier tire than the Sparwoods or the Cazadero 50mm tires I've tried out. In fact, they weighed a hefty 750 grams each on my Park digital scale of Doom. That's heavy.......or is it? There are "tough" tires and then there are fast, supple tires. You usually do not get both. For instance, the aforementioned Sparwoods are designed to be extra tough, they are heavier, (700-ish grams in 60TPI), and they have a puncture protection belt under the tread (60TPI versions), which makes them ride stiffer too.The Caz's, on the other hand, are light, (530 grams), and paper thin. They do not hold air as well either due to this. Fragile? Yes- likely they are. 

All set and ready to roll now.

I've got a lot more to say about all that, but that's all coming up in a tire review soon, so stay tuned. For now I am just sticking to the changes to the Pofahl. One other change was to add a partial set up of the Bar Yak system on there to hold my cues. I may try turn-by-turn directions with my Lezyne Super GPS if I can figure it out in time. Then there are lights, because, well, Late Fall, that's why!

The Lezyne light and the modified Bar Yak system for cues. I may add an accessory bar.

So, I have this Lezyne light which I mentioned a week ago or so here. It is plenty bright at the middle setting which yields 9-ish hours of light. I won't need that long a run time, but I figure on starting in the dark, at least.

The tail light will just be an ordinary Bontrager cheapo unit. Battery operated. Old school. Out on the gravel it should show up just fine. Again, I doubt that I will be in the dark all that long on this run. Hopefully I also will get done before sundown.

So, that's basically it. It's all set up and all I have to do is to get the map tweaked out to actually be 100 miles. Right now it is a little short. The route will be mostly single speed friendly and I have towns to go get things out there. It won't be the most scenic route, or the toughest, but it will be a gravel century. Hopefully I can get this knocked out yet this month. That's the plan. Then if I am successful I will look at the next century plan, a reprise of the Fat Bike Century.

Single Speed Century: The Rig Is Ready

So, now that I have a modicum of a chance to physically do a century again, and now that my rig has proper tires and wheels on it, I am ready to set sail for 100 miles of single speed gravel travel. I thought I would share the details of the rig I am using before I head out on this deal.

The single speed I chose to use is the Pofahl custom bike I had made ten years ago. You long time blog readers need no introduction to this one. It has already been on a century gravel ride before, so I know it will be a comfortable, capable bike for this trip.

I did make a couple of modifications to the usual Pofahl set up here though. The wheels and tires are completely different here. While the wheels are still Industry 9 hubs and spokes, the rims are Bontrager Duster TLR rims. The rear hub is single speed specific one in black ano and a few years newer than the one I have on there usually which is kind of orangey-bronze and was a 2006 model single speed specific hub.

The tires are new Donnelly MSO 50mm with the old Clement hot patch on there. These are tubeless ready versions too, and as such, they are a beefier tire than the Sparwoods or the Cazadero 50mm tires I've tried out. In fact, they weighed a hefty 750 grams each on my Park digital scale of Doom. That's heavy.......or is it? There are "tough" tires and then there are fast, supple tires. You usually do not get both. For instance, the aforementioned Sparwoods are designed to be extra tough, they are heavier, (700-ish grams in 60TPI), and they have a puncture protection belt under the tread (60TPI versions), which makes them ride stiffer too.The Caz's, on the other hand, are light, (530 grams), and paper thin. They do not hold air as well either due to this. Fragile? Yes- likely they are. 

All set and ready to roll now.

I've got a lot more to say about all that, but that's all coming up in a tire review soon, so stay tuned. For now I am just sticking to the changes to the Pofahl. One other change was to add a partial set up of the Bar Yak system on there to hold my cues. I may try turn-by-turn directions with my Lezyne Super GPS if I can figure it out in time. Then there are lights, because, well, Late Fall, that's why!

The Lezyne light and the modified Bar Yak system for cues. I may add an accessory bar.

So, I have this Lezyne light which I mentioned a week ago or so here. It is plenty bright at the middle setting which yields 9-ish hours of light. I won't need that long a run time, but I figure on starting in the dark, at least.

The tail light will just be an ordinary Bontrager cheapo unit. Battery operated. Old school. Out on the gravel it should show up just fine. Again, I doubt that I will be in the dark all that long on this run. Hopefully I also will get done before sundown.

So, that's basically it. It's all set up and all I have to do is to get the map tweaked out to actually be 100 miles. Right now it is a little short. The route will be mostly single speed friendly and I have towns to go get things out there. It won't be the most scenic route, or the toughest, but it will be a gravel century. Hopefully I can get this knocked out yet this month. That's the plan. Then if I am successful I will look at the next century plan, a reprise of the Fat Bike Century.