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| The ultimate low impact machine |
Back in 1975 a bunch of folks grabbed their 1 speed bikes and rode Thanksgiving Day to amp up their appetite for dinner that day. Or something along those lines.
You can read the history of that ride here.
So, I decided I would have my own, solo, "Appetite Seminar" ride on Thanksgiving Day this year. I decided to run the Blackborow DS and go the length of the Green Belt and back. That should work up a good appetite for what Mrs. Guitar Ted was cooking up. We don't run on a "regular schedule" around here, so my ride began just before noon.
I was blessed to ride under Sunny skies with little to no wind. It was, for a Thanksgiving Day, perfect. Typically we have pretty gloomy weather around this time of year with more clouds than Sun. But yesterday was an exception and it was also a bit warmer than usual as well. The Green Belt was primo. Dry-ish with a bit of wetness due to frost coming up. So, no excuses. I rode the entire length of the Green Belt plus some of the "spurs" to the main trails.
On the way over I switched from "high" range to "low" on the Dinglespeed transmission. I figured that for most of what I would be riding that low range would be unnecessary, but for the few parts of the trail that it was, I wouldn't have to get off and walk.
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| I rode a few sand bars where I could. This is actually Black Hawk Creeks river bed. |
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| The paved bike trail goes over the trail here. This was an old rail road line's bridge. |
The area is pretty dry again. This isn't good long term for us, but it does provide for some unique riding opportunities. Sand bars, parts of the Black Hawk Creek river bed, and the lake/pond shore line over by Highway 63 all become rideable areas. It is perfect for a fat bike as most of this is fine, packed in sand. Fat bikes were made for such a surface.
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| The turn around at Shaulis Road. |
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| The pond off Marky-Mark shows a little icing over. |
The ride went well, I cleaned all the obstacles due to the use of the "low" range, and I made it home in time for the big feast. The "Appetite Seminar" was a success. I made a big appetite for myself. Mrs. Guitar Ted made a great meal, and the family was satisfied.
Hopefully all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.
3 comments:
Gah...I'm such a consumer! Now I want a single speed, fat bike!
Thanks!
Greetings GT, is that 2speed/dinglecog threaded like freewheel? Will rear hub also accept gears??
@Skidmark- The rear wheel has a typical Shimano free hub body for a cassette. What Salsa did was to place two Surly Single Speed cogs side by side in the appropriate tooth counts and then used a Surly spacer kit to finish it off. So, yes- I could gear this bike up, and many DS owners have done just that. I would have to source a driveside Alternator drop out plate with the derailleur hangar as the DS was sold with a single speed specific plate.
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