Hammerhead Karoo 2: Final Word

I did get the Karoo 2 to function 100%- for a little bit!

Hammerhead Karoo 2 Review Short Version: Not a good GPS unit. Read on for the longer take, if you want to know more.

Longer Version: Last week I got two bits of help after posting my "Part 3" of the Hammerhead review. Apparently, you cannot work an upload from a PC computer to the Karoo 2 head unit. You have to do it by your WiFi connected phone, or phone-like device of choice. 

One would think that would be front and center in the set up for the Karro 2, but neither my wife, nor I, saw this. We had to find out via other people who had gone through this. That's not right. This is not how you sell a device and have it be used by a consumer. Not such an expensive device as the Karoo 2. THAT should have been communicated during the set-up procedure. Had I known that, one of the several strikes I have against this device would have been mitigated. But I still would have nixed this in my review as being a bad product. At least the example that was purchased by my wife for me. 

Second strike? That I had to back out of a turn-by-turn ride to keep the unit from randomly shutting down while riding. In other words, if you choose a saved ride and want turn-by-turn directions, you choose it from your "Collections", and the Karoo 2 says it is preparing the ride for you. Then the screen pops up with the map and icons ready for a ride. You roll off, and everything seems okay. You get a prompt to turn, and the map is showing your progress and the data is compiling. All good, right?

 

I got this message repeatedly until I bailed out and started up the unit again.

Nope! I kept getting the above message and despite restarting the app, I had to completely back out, by using the power off button, refire the unit, and then it would behave. But only then. Does that seem right? Is there anywhere in the instructions that details this? No. there is not....

And then to top it all off, I got everything working Friday on my ride, but the map froze, so the tracking was stopped at a couple miles into my ride. I was still getting correct and punctual audible and readable turn-by-turn prompts, but nothing on the map was moving. Oh,. and time, speed, and whatever else was fine as well. 

On a stop I rebooted again, and then the evil message prompts came back, and well, I had had it by this time. 

Final Words: When one buys a device, one should not have to hop through hoops and have to spend hours to "figure it out" to get it to work. That is simply not an acceptable way to have consumers deal with any electronic device. There is no reason a device shouldn't be intuitive, easy to figure out, and run smoothly. For instance, Hammerhead touts the "smart phone" power that the Karoo 2 has. The "app" style navigation with a swipe is supposedly intuitive and makes for a great user experience. I say that is simply not the case at all with regard to this unit I have had. 

I recently had to learn a new smart phone for work. A Motorola phone. I use an iPhone and have for years, yet it took all of about 15 minutes for me to figure out how to operate the Motorola phone. Now that's intuitive. Additionally the Motorola phone doesn't randomly shut off, require me to visit a website to "research my problems", because, well, there aren't any. Furthermore, there is no need to dig through hundreds of queries from other dissatisfied users on the company website to see if your question has been asked before. Contrast that to the literal hours I have spent online, in Hammerhead's FAQ, on their user forum, and dinking around with the unit itself, and I still do not have a clue as to how it works. 

My contention is that this is not tenable. I shouldn't have to be running around trying to find out how this unit works after all the hours I have tried to interface with it. The company should have a cleaner, easier to understand interface, and their FAQ is literally useless. The user forum is fine, but if this unit is all that and a bag of chips, why are there literally thousands of queries- many with no answers? 

Speaking of no answers, I sent in a question to Hammerhead and still haven't seen an answer. Nice customer service there....

 Yes, I am upset, and I am frustrated, and this unit has been shipped back to Hammerhead with a note. We'll see what happens...... Frankly, at this point, I don't care if I ever see one again, but we'll see. 

I suppose it goes without saying, but this was not a sponsored product and it was bought by my wife as a gift to me. 

Hammerhead Karoo 2: Final Word

I did get the Karoo 2 to function 100%- for a little bit!

Hammerhead Karoo 2 Review Short Version: Not a good GPS unit. Read on for the longer take, if you want to know more.

Longer Version: Last week I got two bits of help after posting my "Part 3" of the Hammerhead review. Apparently, you cannot work an upload from a PC computer to the Karoo 2 head unit. You have to do it by your WiFi connected phone, or phone-like device of choice. 

One would think that would be front and center in the set up for the Karro 2, but neither my wife, nor I, saw this. We had to find out via other people who had gone through this. That's not right. This is not how you sell a device and have it be used by a consumer. Not such an expensive device as the Karoo 2. THAT should have been communicated during the set-up procedure. Had I known that, one of the several strikes I have against this device would have been mitigated. But I still would have nixed this in my review as being a bad product. At least the example that was purchased by my wife for me. 

Second strike? That I had to back out of a turn-by-turn ride to keep the unit from randomly shutting down while riding. In other words, if you choose a saved ride and want turn-by-turn directions, you choose it from your "Collections", and the Karoo 2 says it is preparing the ride for you. Then the screen pops up with the map and icons ready for a ride. You roll off, and everything seems okay. You get a prompt to turn, and the map is showing your progress and the data is compiling. All good, right?

 

I got this message repeatedly until I bailed out and started up the unit again.

Nope! I kept getting the above message and despite restarting the app, I had to completely back out, by using the power off button, refire the unit, and then it would behave. But only then. Does that seem right? Is there anywhere in the instructions that details this? No. there is not....

And then to top it all off, I got everything working Friday on my ride, but the map froze, so the tracking was stopped at a couple miles into my ride. I was still getting correct and punctual audible and readable turn-by-turn prompts, but nothing on the map was moving. Oh,. and time, speed, and whatever else was fine as well. 

On a stop I rebooted again, and then the evil message prompts came back, and well, I had had it by this time. 

Final Words: When one buys a device, one should not have to hop through hoops and have to spend hours to "figure it out" to get it to work. That is simply not an acceptable way to have consumers deal with any electronic device. There is no reason a device shouldn't be intuitive, easy to figure out, and run smoothly. For instance, Hammerhead touts the "smart phone" power that the Karoo 2 has. The "app" style navigation with a swipe is supposedly intuitive and makes for a great user experience. I say that is simply not the case at all with regard to this unit I have had. 

I recently had to learn a new smart phone for work. A Motorola phone. I use an iPhone and have for years, yet it took all of about 15 minutes for me to figure out how to operate the Motorola phone. Now that's intuitive. Additionally the Motorola phone doesn't randomly shut off, require me to visit a website to "research my problems", because, well, there aren't any. Furthermore, there is no need to dig through hundreds of queries from other dissatisfied users on the company website to see if your question has been asked before. Contrast that to the literal hours I have spent online, in Hammerhead's FAQ, on their user forum, and dinking around with the unit itself, and I still do not have a clue as to how it works. 

My contention is that this is not tenable. I shouldn't have to be running around trying to find out how this unit works after all the hours I have tried to interface with it. The company should have a cleaner, easier to understand interface, and their FAQ is literally useless. The user forum is fine, but if this unit is all that and a bag of chips, why are there literally thousands of queries- many with no answers? 

Speaking of no answers, I sent in a question to Hammerhead and still haven't seen an answer. Nice customer service there....

 Yes, I am upset, and I am frustrated, and this unit has been shipped back to Hammerhead with a note. We'll see what happens...... Frankly, at this point, I don't care if I ever see one again, but we'll see. 

I suppose it goes without saying, but this was not a sponsored product and it was bought by my wife as a gift to me. 

Gravel Grinder News: Gravel Worlds Achieves 1000 Women of Gravel Worlds Goal.

 Today it was announced that Gravel Worlds, whose presenting sponsor is Garmin, achieved a goal of signing up 1000 women to their event in August. This commendable effort was done in a certain way to be free from calls of "sponsored riders" or from any other untoward motives that might be laid up against the Gravel Worlds team. 

Instead of using the leverage of sponsors, media, or advertising, Gravel Worlds used their social media platforms to spread the word and - as organically as is possible these days- raised awareness to the point that the achieved the goal set for themselves. 

And furthermore; it wasn't like Gravel Worlds didn't already have a higher number of female identifying participants anyway. Check this quote out from the press release:

 "According to Garmin Gravel Worlds co-promoter, Jason Strohbehn, the movement started from conversations with sponsors, who said 28% women’s participation at Gravel Worlds 2021 was nearly double the industry average. 

“Initially, we were embarrassed by our women’s participation numbers, and it then became embarrassing to learn that it was double the industry average,” Strohbehn said. “We quickly set a monumental goal to triple the number of women we’ve ever had at Gravel Worlds and obtain more than 35% women. We wanted a goal that was not only going to push ourselves, but also be big enough to encourage an entire industry."

Comments: Well, I think Gravel Worlds has set a pretty high bar for other events to follow and they did it in a way which, in my opinion, was harder to do, but also- believable. In this day and age where riders appear who are "comped" in, and sponsorship dollars and company marketing can be leveraged, (Think what Garmin could have done to help this happen), and it becomes apparent that Gravel Worlds wants to keep things as grassroots as they can, yet be "big" as well. That may seem like two things which are at odds with each other, and in my opinion, it does cause Gravel Worlds some issues with how they put on their event. But this achievement should be seen as monumental in the gravel going niche. (Is gravel riding still a "niche"?) 

So, yeah- If you run a gravel event, and you want more women participating? Here's your example of not only how to do it, but that it is possible to do it. And when I think about gravel events and gravel riding in general, that's been one of the core elements of this sport- "You can do it!". Gravel Worlds is showing us another way that can be interpreted.

Gravel Grinder News: Gravel Worlds Achieves 1000 Women of Gravel Worlds Goal.

 Today it was announced that Gravel Worlds, whose presenting sponsor is Garmin, achieved a goal of signing up 1000 women to their event in August. This commendable effort was done in a certain way to be free from calls of "sponsored riders" or from any other untoward motives that might be laid up against the Gravel Worlds team. 

Instead of using the leverage of sponsors, media, or advertising, Gravel Worlds used their social media platforms to spread the word and - as organically as is possible these days- raised awareness to the point that the achieved the goal set for themselves. 

And furthermore; it wasn't like Gravel Worlds didn't already have a higher number of female identifying participants anyway. Check this quote out from the press release:

 "According to Garmin Gravel Worlds co-promoter, Jason Strohbehn, the movement started from conversations with sponsors, who said 28% women’s participation at Gravel Worlds 2021 was nearly double the industry average. 

“Initially, we were embarrassed by our women’s participation numbers, and it then became embarrassing to learn that it was double the industry average,” Strohbehn said. “We quickly set a monumental goal to triple the number of women we’ve ever had at Gravel Worlds and obtain more than 35% women. We wanted a goal that was not only going to push ourselves, but also be big enough to encourage an entire industry."

Comments: Well, I think Gravel Worlds has set a pretty high bar for other events to follow and they did it in a way which, in my opinion, was harder to do, but also- believable. In this day and age where riders appear who are "comped" in, and sponsorship dollars and company marketing can be leveraged, (Think what Garmin could have done to help this happen), and it becomes apparent that Gravel Worlds wants to keep things as grassroots as they can, yet be "big" as well. That may seem like two things which are at odds with each other, and in my opinion, it does cause Gravel Worlds some issues with how they put on their event. But this achievement should be seen as monumental in the gravel going niche. (Is gravel riding still a "niche"?) 

So, yeah- If you run a gravel event, and you want more women participating? Here's your example of not only how to do it, but that it is possible to do it. And when I think about gravel events and gravel riding in general, that's been one of the core elements of this sport- "You can do it!". Gravel Worlds is showing us another way that can be interpreted.

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off": EcoSheep Lube - Final Thoughts

  NOTE: The Guitar Ted "Lube-Off" is an occasional series here on the blog where I pit chain lubrication products against each other to see what- if any- chain lubrication products are good for riding on gravel. These reviews are my opinions only and are not meant to be taken as the final word on any of these products. 

Okay, I finally got the EcoSheep oil lube out on some dusty gravel and finished up this test. I probably actually have far more than six hours on this lubricant, but the chances to use the bike it is on for a dry, dusty ride hadn't presented itself until last week. So, anyway, here we go with a final look at this unique, 100% natural lubricant. 

One thing before I get to my final thoughts here. I don't know for sure if this is a wet or a dry lubricant, or none of the above! EcoSheep does offer a "road version" of this and a "MTB" version, (tested) and I assume that should be interpreted as 'road = dry', and 'MTB = wet'. 

That said, I assume I have wet lube here and that's how I am judging the EcoSheep "for mountain bikes" product.

So, typically you would never want to use a "wet" lube on dry gravel roads. it is a recipe for a bad result. Gunky build-up, gritty, grinding noises, and accelerated wear as a result are what you'd most often have happen. but I think EcoSheep will surprise you a little bit here.

So, as you can see, there is a fine coating of dust on the chain. However; you can still read what is embossed on the side plates of the chain, and the rollers look okay. No "gunky build-up" here. 

The "Touch-Test", where I roll the chain rollers on my index finger to see what, if anything, comes off, showed little but some dust and maybe a bit of dark residue. Interesting! 

The chain shifted great, by the way, and it wasn't noisy at all. Not anything above a typical chain noise that I would consider 'normal' for a derailleur based drive train. I do think it is high-time for a reloading of the EcoSheep, but I have to say, this stuff wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! 

The cassette is about the same as the chain.

So, is the EcoSheep good stuff? I would put it this way- If you ride a lot of places where stream crossings are common, or if you live where it rains a fair amount, this might be a great all-around lubricant choice. For me? No. It is not good enough compared to DuMonde Tech, SILCA Super-Secret Lube, Muc-Off C3 ceramic dry lube, or even some others I've tried. However; I'm keeping this stuff around for our sometimes wet Springs and I want to test this on my Winter bikes. 

Conditions on my last, 2+ hour ride were horrendously dry and dusty, so if this lube can come through that and not totally fail, well, I think that is impressive enough. But it is 100% natural, won't harm the environment, and it is a byproduct of sheep shearing, so it is a renewable lubricant. Add that all up and I think it is definitely a player in the Wet lube category.

Again- EcoSheep did not sponsor this review. I bought and paid for the EcoSheep with my own money. See the "Standard Disclaimer Page" for further explanation.

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off": EcoSheep Lube - Final Thoughts

  NOTE: The Guitar Ted "Lube-Off" is an occasional series here on the blog where I pit chain lubrication products against each other to see what- if any- chain lubrication products are good for riding on gravel. These reviews are my opinions only and are not meant to be taken as the final word on any of these products. 

Okay, I finally got the EcoSheep oil lube out on some dusty gravel and finished up this test. I probably actually have far more than six hours on this lubricant, but the chances to use the bike it is on for a dry, dusty ride hadn't presented itself until last week. So, anyway, here we go with a final look at this unique, 100% natural lubricant. 

One thing before I get to my final thoughts here. I don't know for sure if this is a wet or a dry lubricant, or none of the above! EcoSheep does offer a "road version" of this and a "MTB" version, (tested) and I assume that should be interpreted as 'road = dry', and 'MTB = wet'. 

That said, I assume I have wet lube here and that's how I am judging the EcoSheep "for mountain bikes" product.

So, typically you would never want to use a "wet" lube on dry gravel roads. it is a recipe for a bad result. Gunky build-up, gritty, grinding noises, and accelerated wear as a result are what you'd most often have happen. but I think EcoSheep will surprise you a little bit here.

So, as you can see, there is a fine coating of dust on the chain. However; you can still read what is embossed on the side plates of the chain, and the rollers look okay. No "gunky build-up" here. 

The "Touch-Test", where I roll the chain rollers on my index finger to see what, if anything, comes off, showed little but some dust and maybe a bit of dark residue. Interesting! 

The chain shifted great, by the way, and it wasn't noisy at all. Not anything above a typical chain noise that I would consider 'normal' for a derailleur based drive train. I do think it is high-time for a reloading of the EcoSheep, but I have to say, this stuff wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! 

The cassette is about the same as the chain.

So, is the EcoSheep good stuff? I would put it this way- If you ride a lot of places where stream crossings are common, or if you live where it rains a fair amount, this might be a great all-around lubricant choice. For me? No. It is not good enough compared to DuMonde Tech, SILCA Super-Secret Lube, Muc-Off C3 ceramic dry lube, or even some others I've tried. However; I'm keeping this stuff around for our sometimes wet Springs and I want to test this on my Winter bikes. 

Conditions on my last, 2+ hour ride were horrendously dry and dusty, so if this lube can come through that and not totally fail, well, I think that is impressive enough. But it is 100% natural, won't harm the environment, and it is a byproduct of sheep shearing, so it is a renewable lubricant. Add that all up and I think it is definitely a player in the Wet lube category.

Again- EcoSheep did not sponsor this review. I bought and paid for the EcoSheep with my own money. See the "Standard Disclaimer Page" for further explanation.

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off": Update On Super-Secret Lube

 NOTE: The Guitar Ted "Lube-Off" is an occasional series here on the blog where I pit chain lubrication products against each other to see what- if any- chain lubrication products are good for riding on gravel. These reviews are my opinions only and are not meant to be taken as the final word on any of these products. 

I know I just gave my final thoughts on this SILCA Super-Secret Lube not long ago (HERE), but I have a bit more to add to the story now that I think is interesting. So, read that link and then consider this post an addendum to that one. 

Last weekend's "Hall of Fame Ride" saw me use the Black Mountain Cycles MCD I used for the Lube-Off test featuring Super-Secret lube. After the initial test period, I felt like I probably should reapply some lubricant as the chain felt not-so-slick anymore. It wasn't noisy, per se', but the chain wasn't as quiet as I'd have liked either. 

So, I wiped that chain down really well, until I was hardly getting any residue off of it, and I liberally applied Super-Secret to the chain rollers, manually turning them with the tip of my index finger to help pull the lubricant into the chain pins. then I wiped off the excess and let it sit for a day. 

When I came back, I could not see any evidence of the Super-Secret Lube on the chain, but I could feel it, and the chain was quieter. So, I took it on the Hall of Fame Ride last weekend which was approximately 44 miles and change of mostly very dusty gravel. Following you will see the chain and results from the "Touch-Test" of the chain afterward with no modification to the chain whatsoever, no cleaning, nothing. This is what it looked like right after the ride.

The odd dark marks are where the chain is worn and the gold treatment is gone.

Mostly dust here!

Okay, so as you can see plainly, the chain was mostly just dusty. The "Touch-Test" brought out a lot of dust from the chain. Most of this will wipe away with a soft, micro-fiber cloth and the chain will be fine. 

Here's another view showing where that dust is hiding and what the cassette looks like.

Yeah, pretty impressive! Considering the fact that the cassette and chain are just about toast, as far as wear, this looks really good here. I have to admit that Super-Secret Lube is as good as the DuMonde Tech at this point. I know I'll be using it all up, (I got a special "double your order deal" when I ordered mine), and that will take a while. 

The thing is, I think this is better from the standpoint of reapplication where it works exactly like it did on the first application. DuMonde Tech is a bit finicky in that regard. However; my initial reaction is that I will have to reapply this Super-Secret Lube more often than I do with DuMonde Tech. So, a give and take, which to my mind equals the two out a bit. Nothing I can think of makes either stand out as  "better" than the other yet. 

So, Super-Secret Lube from SILCA is a worthy one for you dust-eatin', gravel-grindin' fiends out there. I'll report back if I have any further observations, but I just wanted to give my latest experience to you for your consideration.

Again- SILCA did not sponsor this review. I bought and paid for the Super-Secret Lube with my own money. See the "Standard Disclaimer Page" for further explanation.

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off": Update On Super-Secret Lube

 NOTE: The Guitar Ted "Lube-Off" is an occasional series here on the blog where I pit chain lubrication products against each other to see what- if any- chain lubrication products are good for riding on gravel. These reviews are my opinions only and are not meant to be taken as the final word on any of these products. 

I know I just gave my final thoughts on this SILCA Super-Secret Lube not long ago (HERE), but I have a bit more to add to the story now that I think is interesting. So, read that link and then consider this post an addendum to that one. 

Last weekend's "Hall of Fame Ride" saw me use the Black Mountain Cycles MCD I used for the Lube-Off test featuring Super-Secret lube. After the initial test period, I felt like I probably should reapply some lubricant as the chain felt not-so-slick anymore. It wasn't noisy, per se', but the chain wasn't as quiet as I'd have liked either. 

So, I wiped that chain down really well, until I was hardly getting any residue off of it, and I liberally applied Super-Secret to the chain rollers, manually turning them with the tip of my index finger to help pull the lubricant into the chain pins. then I wiped off the excess and let it sit for a day. 

When I came back, I could not see any evidence of the Super-Secret Lube on the chain, but I could feel it, and the chain was quieter. So, I took it on the Hall of Fame Ride last weekend which was approximately 44 miles and change of mostly very dusty gravel. Following you will see the chain and results from the "Touch-Test" of the chain afterward with no modification to the chain whatsoever, no cleaning, nothing. This is what it looked like right after the ride.

The odd dark marks are where the chain is worn and the gold treatment is gone.

Mostly dust here!

Okay, so as you can see plainly, the chain was mostly just dusty. The "Touch-Test" brought out a lot of dust from the chain. Most of this will wipe away with a soft, micro-fiber cloth and the chain will be fine. 

Here's another view showing where that dust is hiding and what the cassette looks like.

Yeah, pretty impressive! Considering the fact that the cassette and chain are just about toast, as far as wear, this looks really good here. I have to admit that Super-Secret Lube is as good as the DuMonde Tech at this point. I know I'll be using it all up, (I got a special "double your order deal" when I ordered mine), and that will take a while. 

The thing is, I think this is better from the standpoint of reapplication where it works exactly like it did on the first application. DuMonde Tech is a bit finicky in that regard. However; my initial reaction is that I will have to reapply this Super-Secret Lube more often than I do with DuMonde Tech. So, a give and take, which to my mind equals the two out a bit. Nothing I can think of makes either stand out as  "better" than the other yet. 

So, Super-Secret Lube from SILCA is a worthy one for you dust-eatin', gravel-grindin' fiends out there. I'll report back if I have any further observations, but I just wanted to give my latest experience to you for your consideration.

Again- SILCA did not sponsor this review. I bought and paid for the Super-Secret Lube with my own money. See the "Standard Disclaimer Page" for further explanation.

Country Views: Focusing On The Good & Not The Bad

Escape Route: West 5th >> West 6th>> Bike paths.

 It was a ride that started Thursday and got interrupted and finished Friday. That was just part of the many frustrating things about the ride, but I'm getting ahead of myself here. So, let's just get back to what happened on Thursday. 

There was a little bit of excitement as I got ready to ride on Thursday. I did not have to ferry anyone anywhere, (both my children have no drivers license yet), and I had a beautiful, Sunny day to ride as much as I wanted. That doesn't happen much this year, so I was stoked about that. 

There was also the fact that I thought maybe I had the Hammerhead thing figured out. (Stay tuned for the complete details of that saga) So, I had made a route and was hoping to follow the prompts on the device and see how that was to use. 

I got the Raleigh Tamland Two out so I could do a bit of testing on some tires, but also to finish up this round of the Guitar Ted Lube-Off testing, (look for that later this week). It was all coming together, and I was out of the door by 2:00pm and figured on not being back until 5:00pm. Then things kind of went downhill

I'll spare the details on the computer bit for a dedicated post, but yeah, it didn't work.....again. Then I was about to make the right turn on the riverfront bike path and the phone rang. It was Mrs. Guitar Ted. She forgot to tell me we all had dental appointments and that Jacob and I had to be there by three. It was about ten after two at this point. So.......

I didn't get here until Friday morning

The Cedar River from the CVNT bridge. Looked like it might rain, but I was going for it!

So, I made that appointment, by the way, after a bit of an outburst of frustration on the ride back home! But I had a window to get it done the next day, Friday, so I made a plan to get out and to try the testing again. Things weren't as nice weather-wise as Thursday, though, as thunderstorms were forecast to hit by late morning into noon. 

Finally! Gravel headed South on Foulk Road

This is not one of the biggest sprayers out there, but I still gave way to the extreme right side!

So, the computer was working, well, until part of it wasn't, but I decided that I wanted to ride, not futz around with a GPS device, and it was still giving turn-by-turn navigation. So, I pushed onward down Foulk Road into a pretty stiff wind. 

I like this farm on Miller Creek Road. It is pretty unique as far as outbuildings go.

That climb ahead on Cotter Road is one of N.Y. Roll's favorites in the immediate area

I had a chance to take a mile East on Miller Creek Road which broke up a long slog South into the wind. I was glad I put that into the route. Plus I got to see one of my favorite farms in Black Hawk County. Then it was South again, but only for four more miles. Then I was hoping that the Westward stint on my route would provide some relief from this wind I was bucking up against. 

A semi-tractor trailer rig leaves what looks like a jet contrail of dust behind it as it traveled North.

A stop on Quarry Road at Miller Creek to attend to a few things.

So, I turned West, and I could tell that yes- the wind would be less of an issue, but Quarry Road was full of deep, fresh gravel, and it went all across the road. There were no beaten in tracks yet, so bumping along on that was a slog continued. Now it wasn't the wind, it was the gravel. No relief! 

I was feeling something rattling that shouldn't be rattling. So, I figured a brief stop to check over the bike and futz with the GPS was in order since I was approximately half way through my 33 mile loop. What I found, I found by accident, actually. I had checked over a bunch of things and when I couldn't find what I thought I was hearing, I chalked it up to the slightly sloppy lever pivots on the TRP brakes. So, I grabbed the bike by the bars and the saddle to yank it off the bridge railing and....

What?! A loose saddle! The Salsa Ti Regulator has two 6mm bolts that clamp from the sides and both had backed off enough that the saddle could slide back and forth on the clamp easily. Wow! I was glad I found that, because had a bolt backed out all the way, well, you just cannot get that bolt anywhere. 

The sky continued to look iffy all the way back on Quarry Road.

That wasn't all. I decided I wanted the tracking to work on the GPS, and that maybe I knew how to get it going, since it was frozen. But once I got the thing going it would stop everything completely at random, and I'd have to go back and push buttons until it went back again, and the vicious circle continued for about four revolutions before I got frustrated and just shut the dang thing off. 

Then my free hub started slipping. Gah! And the gravel was still super deep and loose, my saddle wasn't right, and my GPS wasn't working, and this ride was going to........

I stopped myself right there.

This corn was pretty lush and dark green.

Another one of my favorite farms to ride by in the county.

Yes, I had a lot of legitimate things to be bummed about. But instead of focusing on all of those things, which were undeniably there, I also decided I needed to find the things that were going right, and there were a lot more of those things than there were things that weren't right. 

Whew! That actually made things a lot more tolerable, and you know what? I started to enjoy this ride I was on, for the first time the whole ride! The free hub hiccuped a few more times, but then it stopped and didn't do it again for the rest of the ride. I thought it was going to fail, it was so bad there for a while, and of course, it still needs looking after.

The gravel got better once I turned North on Ansborough. A lot better. And I had a tailwind. I didn't really need a GPS, and my saddle wasn't perfect, but it was okay. Better than okay, actually. I just was getting too caught up in my pity party. 

That oncoming truck was kicking up a lot of dust. Also- No GPS- No Problems!

Oh! And I never did get rained on, despite the darkened skies.

So, I ended up coming home well under three hours for 33 miles, and that was with stops. So my riding was above average for me, despite the wind and the deep gravel. I was pleased with that too. But then our washing machine and dryer went on the blink.

It never ends! But we'll be okay. there are a lot more things going right that I can look to and the things going bad are usually not that big of a deal.

Country Views: Focusing On The Good & Not The Bad

Escape Route: West 5th >> West 6th>> Bike paths.

 It was a ride that started Thursday and got interrupted and finished Friday. That was just part of the many frustrating things about the ride, but I'm getting ahead of myself here. So, let's just get back to what happened on Thursday. 

There was a little bit of excitement as I got ready to ride on Thursday. I did not have to ferry anyone anywhere, (both my children have no drivers license yet), and I had a beautiful, Sunny day to ride as much as I wanted. That doesn't happen much this year, so I was stoked about that. 

There was also the fact that I thought maybe I had the Hammerhead thing figured out. (Stay tuned for the complete details of that saga) So, I had made a route and was hoping to follow the prompts on the device and see how that was to use. 

I got the Raleigh Tamland Two out so I could do a bit of testing on some tires, but also to finish up this round of the Guitar Ted Lube-Off testing, (look for that later this week). It was all coming together, and I was out of the door by 2:00pm and figured on not being back until 5:00pm. Then things kind of went downhill

I'll spare the details on the computer bit for a dedicated post, but yeah, it didn't work.....again. Then I was about to make the right turn on the riverfront bike path and the phone rang. It was Mrs. Guitar Ted. She forgot to tell me we all had dental appointments and that Jacob and I had to be there by three. It was about ten after two at this point. So.......

I didn't get here until Friday morning

The Cedar River from the CVNT bridge. Looked like it might rain, but I was going for it!

So, I made that appointment, by the way, after a bit of an outburst of frustration on the ride back home! But I had a window to get it done the next day, Friday, so I made a plan to get out and to try the testing again. Things weren't as nice weather-wise as Thursday, though, as thunderstorms were forecast to hit by late morning into noon. 

Finally! Gravel headed South on Foulk Road

This is not one of the biggest sprayers out there, but I still gave way to the extreme right side!

So, the computer was working, well, until part of it wasn't, but I decided that I wanted to ride, not futz around with a GPS device, and it was still giving turn-by-turn navigation. So, I pushed onward down Foulk Road into a pretty stiff wind. 

I like this farm on Miller Creek Road. It is pretty unique as far as outbuildings go.

That climb ahead on Cotter Road is one of N.Y. Roll's favorites in the immediate area

I had a chance to take a mile East on Miller Creek Road which broke up a long slog South into the wind. I was glad I put that into the route. Plus I got to see one of my favorite farms in Black Hawk County. Then it was South again, but only for four more miles. Then I was hoping that the Westward stint on my route would provide some relief from this wind I was bucking up against. 

A semi-tractor trailer rig leaves what looks like a jet contrail of dust behind it as it traveled North.

A stop on Quarry Road at Miller Creek to attend to a few things.

So, I turned West, and I could tell that yes- the wind would be less of an issue, but Quarry Road was full of deep, fresh gravel, and it went all across the road. There were no beaten in tracks yet, so bumping along on that was a slog continued. Now it wasn't the wind, it was the gravel. No relief! 

I was feeling something rattling that shouldn't be rattling. So, I figured a brief stop to check over the bike and futz with the GPS was in order since I was approximately half way through my 33 mile loop. What I found, I found by accident, actually. I had checked over a bunch of things and when I couldn't find what I thought I was hearing, I chalked it up to the slightly sloppy lever pivots on the TRP brakes. So, I grabbed the bike by the bars and the saddle to yank it off the bridge railing and....

What?! A loose saddle! The Salsa Ti Regulator has two 6mm bolts that clamp from the sides and both had backed off enough that the saddle could slide back and forth on the clamp easily. Wow! I was glad I found that, because had a bolt backed out all the way, well, you just cannot get that bolt anywhere. 

The sky continued to look iffy all the way back on Quarry Road.

That wasn't all. I decided I wanted the tracking to work on the GPS, and that maybe I knew how to get it going, since it was frozen. But once I got the thing going it would stop everything completely at random, and I'd have to go back and push buttons until it went back again, and the vicious circle continued for about four revolutions before I got frustrated and just shut the dang thing off. 

Then my free hub started slipping. Gah! And the gravel was still super deep and loose, my saddle wasn't right, and my GPS wasn't working, and this ride was going to........

I stopped myself right there.

This corn was pretty lush and dark green.

Another one of my favorite farms to ride by in the county.

Yes, I had a lot of legitimate things to be bummed about. But instead of focusing on all of those things, which were undeniably there, I also decided I needed to find the things that were going right, and there were a lot more of those things than there were things that weren't right. 

Whew! That actually made things a lot more tolerable, and you know what? I started to enjoy this ride I was on, for the first time the whole ride! The free hub hiccuped a few more times, but then it stopped and didn't do it again for the rest of the ride. I thought it was going to fail, it was so bad there for a while, and of course, it still needs looking after.

The gravel got better once I turned North on Ansborough. A lot better. And I had a tailwind. I didn't really need a GPS, and my saddle wasn't perfect, but it was okay. Better than okay, actually. I just was getting too caught up in my pity party. 

That oncoming truck was kicking up a lot of dust. Also- No GPS- No Problems!

Oh! And I never did get rained on, despite the darkened skies.

So, I ended up coming home well under three hours for 33 miles, and that was with stops. So my riding was above average for me, despite the wind and the deep gravel. I was pleased with that too. But then our washing machine and dryer went on the blink.

It never ends! But we'll be okay. there are a lot more things going right that I can look to and the things going bad are usually not that big of a deal.