On Being A Mover & Changing Times

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

The last post in this series touched upon a time that was a bit of a tough stretch for me personally. This post will also have a bit of that as well, but this time I am going to cover a few things that have really stretched me and have totally affected my riding and writing here on the blog as well.

Image of Guitar Ted on Quarry Road by Ben Morris

The biggest change to my cycling life which happened recently was when Andy's Bike Shop went out of business at the end on 2021. I got a call from Andy letting me know what was happening in December that year. 

Of course, I had no idea what would come next for me as far as work would go. The bike shop opportunities in Waterloo/Cedar Falls are few and far between due to the paucity of shops here. Add in the fact that I had strong feelings against working in two of those shops and a third needed no one, and you can see that I was looking at opportunities outside of cycling for work.

I knew that whatever happened it would likely mean an end to the nearly twenty years of my being able to take a day and 'just ride' wherever and whenever I wanted to. 

Adding into this was the fact my son was using my truck as his vehicle to get back and forth to a job he had, and to go to college, and I was not only looking at big change in vocation, but in my riding time and schedule. 

"Felix The Cat", decided that I was 'his person', further complicating things.

When we decided to add another rescue cat from the local shelter in December of 2021 we ended up with a male black cat I named "Felix The Cat". (The older amongst you readers may understand why I chose that name) 

Well, Felix decided I was to be 'his person', which, if you are a pet owner and have experienced a pet 'attaching' to you, I think you'll understand how this was yet another big change for me. It affected my riding time. If you haven't experienced this effect, it may be harder for you to understand,but one just does not leave for extended periods of time if a pet seems to hang on to your existence for its "reason to be". 

Felix The Cat in 2024. The big goof weighs 14+ lbs now!

Another thing I did not talk much about at the time was my experience filling in at a moving company which started right before Christmas of 2021 and lasted until mid-January of 2022. 

This was a professional company that used big box van trucks and has government contracts to move military families and the whole nine yards. So this was quite the experience! 

I'd never experienced 20ft high wooden moving crates, packing a moving truck for travel, or the various ways that one can contort their bodies while trying to hold on to a sectional couch while navigating a steep stairwell all the while trying not to scratch the paint off the walls! 

Mover folk are a whole sub-culture of society which I had no knowledge of prior to this experience. Let me tell ya- It was eye-opening. They all smoked, a LOT, they were young men, and I was almost 60 years old at the time, and there is a music genre that is hard-core rap country music melded together with nasty lyrics. Yeah...... Wow! 

I did this gig for just shy of a month and this time was all it took for me to understand my body was not going to hold up doing moving at the level we were doing it. With all the heavy lifting, awkward body positioning, and what that does to knees and joints, I was degrading my fitness and cycling capabilities in a hurry. I made it through the month and more than held up my end of things (no pun intended), but was I ever glad that something else came through to get me out of doing moving for some pocket change. 

John Deere volunteers working a tear-down day at the Collective.

That something was the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. While it was only a three-day a week commitment, the times I had to be there radically changed my cycling life. Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings were when I was expected to work at first. Both Saturday mornings and Wednesdays were my prime riding times and now I would be relegated to only getting in rides on an early part of Wednesday due to the job and "cat duties". 

So, as a new job and new stewardship responsibilities kicked in, my riding times changed and my opportunities to go to other places were restricted. In turn, this also affected what I was writing about here. Most of all, I was limited in being able to do one of my favorite things: Long distance, all-day gravel rides. Anything like a long all-day ride just is really, really hard to find the time for these days. So, if you've noted a lack of bigger rides here, now you might understand why. 

I'm still struggling with the shorter ride times and at the time of this posting, I still do not have a vehicle. This is probably how things are going to be until another 'big" change hits. When that will be, who knows?

Friday News And Views

Will Holidays Prop Up Bicycle Industry's Season?

Sluggish sales in many categories have plagued the cycling industry all of 2024. So-called "Black Friday" sales offers and discounts have been piling up in this writer's inbox the entire month of November. I've even seen discounts on already discounted bikes! Deep discounts are tempting, but many seem to be reticent to let go of those funds in their accounts. 

Further muddying the waters are the results of the recent national election which many fear will increase costs to consumers of cycling goods by way of proposed tariffs. Seeing as how most of the stuff cyclists want and consume come from foreign manufacturers, this seems to be a reasonable fear for the cycling consumer. 

Since many consumers are already saying prices are too high, it would seem that any actions taken by the government which would end up increasing the costs of foreign made goods would only further erode consumer's motivations to buy in 2025. Of course, nothing has happened yet, and it may not happen, in regard to the proposed government actions on tariffs. So, we will just have to wait until 2025 and see what really happens. 

In the meantime, are you considering buying now instead of later due to this fear of tariff action? Respond in the comments if you care to sound off.

Trek Lime ...Or Is It Lemon?:

In the late 2000's Shimano introduced a three speed internal geared hub which was shifted by a control box electronically. The power to make this work was from a generator hub in the front wheel. The rider only had to pedal and when certain speeds were met the shifter control box would make a gearing change by way of a servo motor than pulled a short length of cable to work the hub gears. 

The system had one of Shimano's roller brakes for stopping power. The design also incorporated several visual cues, the most obvious being big, shiny spherical covers over the axles. Shimano marketed it as a group for everyday cycling and for fun. They called it "Coasting". While several companies may have bought into this idea, I only ever saw Treks and Raleighs that were outfitted with the group. 

Recently a Trek Lime with this Coasting set up was donated to the Collective. I noted that it was not shifting. So, as a guitar player I am thinking, "Check all the electronic connections first!", because it is something which can easily be addressed and usually is the issue. Okay, the front generator connector was simple to check. But not so for the shifting mechanism. The shifter box has a cover which has two small Phillips type fasteners, one on each side. Trek put the shifter box under the bike and slightly behind the bottom bracket. They also designed a chain case for this model. The chain case is held on by the flange of the bottom bracket cartridge, and guess what I had to do to access that inner screw on the control box.....

My finger is pointing to where the screw is under the chain case. Had Trek designers just given a bit of access to allow for removal of the shifter box cover, "all I would have had to do" was remove the outer part of the chain case and the crank arm, but noooooo! You have to take the bottom bracket and left crank arm off as well. 

Dumb! 

By the way, the connection was fine. It turns out that the shift point adjustment screw can be adjusted so the bike will not shift. 

Also dumb.

I won't mention the absolutely fantastic rear wheel retention system which utilizes eight fasteners you must remove to get the wheel out to fix a flat tire. Yeah..... This isn't a Lime, it is a lemon! But it works now, so.....

Unbound Announces Qualifying Events :

Last week Unbound sent out a press release showing the qualifying events for a spot in Unbound Gravel events in 2025, 2026, and 2027. Those events that will be a part of the qualifying for Unbound Gravel are as follows:

- April 11, 2025: Life Time Sea Otter Classic Gravel (90 mile) in Monterey, California
- July 12, 2025: Life Time Crusher in the Tushar (70 mile) in Beaver, Utah
- August 10, 2025: Heathland Gravel (100 mile) in Lindburg, Belgium
- September 27, 2025: Life Time Rad Dirt Fest (70 mile and 110 mile) in Trinidad,
Colorado
- October 18, 2025: Life Time Big Sugar Gravel (100 mile) in Bentonville, Arkansas

How it works: Each event will have 50 spots up for grabs. Half of those will go to the top finishers in each category of the event in question. Then the other half of available entries will go to winners of a random draw from a pool of the race's competitors. Winners of entries will be guaranteed a spot on the roster of the Unbound Gravel event that follows the event in question on the calendar. So, as an example, if you won an entry in the 2025 Heathland Gravel event you would be getting a guaranteed entry to the 2026 Unbound Gravel event. 

According to my source at Unbound Gravel this system will carry through at least until the 2026 qualifier events have been held. So the 2027 Unbound Gravel event would be the final event that would carry on with winners of these qualifiers in this format unless things get renewed/changed. 

Comments: This is not "Earth shattering" news by any stretch, but the time stamp for the format is an interesting tidbit. Without saying so, this would indicate to me that Unbound Gravel has no plans currently to become a UCI affiliated gravel event. And from what we already know, it could not carry on as the event is currently formatted if it were a UCI sanctioned event for many reasons, not the least of which is that Unbound's premier distance is about 75 miles too long for the UCI's tastes. 

With the prestige which Unbound holds in gravel cycling's professional ranks, and the allure which it has for the under-classes, the current formatting of Unbound seems prudent to continue. It would appear that will be the case for at least a few years.

Image by Ben Witt

New Teravail MTB Tire Soon?:

Ben Witt of Heath Creek Cycles showed off his new Sklar mountain bike recently on social media. It was noted that the tires are Teravail "Prototype" tires. When a commenter asked Ben about these his reply was that there would be more information coming soon. 

Comments: There are not a lot of "new" 29"er tires coming out anymore because we've had a solid 20 years of development in the size and most "good" tread designs have already been done and copied several times by this point. 

So, it will be interesting to read about what will set this aggressive appearing 29"er tire apart from the crowded MTB tire market. I'm sure there are some interesting details, but from what I can see of the tread design, it doesn't seem that radical or innovative. 

Cropped from an image by Ben Witt

I will say that these Sklar bikes look really cool. Ben is selling them through his Heath Creek Cycles shop and you can check out this bike you see there at Heat Creek Cycles. 

The danger for me would be that I happen to know that Ben sets his bikes up almost to the gnat's eyebrow to how I would, so this bike you see would most definitely fit me as it sits. But don't dismay if you are not a size Large person because Ben has some other Sklars in the shop as well as his being able to order you one if you'd like. 

Interesting note: The 'tall bike' Ben had at Mid-South was built by Sklar but is not a "Sklar Bikes" frame. I know.....weird. But it seemed pretty dialed in and it looked great, so I can only imagine how well these real Sklars are to behold and ride. 

PSA: The Blog Is About To Go Chaotic!

Next week will be double posted almost everyday. This will be due to the addition of the Virtual Turkey Burn Ride Reports, some breaking news on Tuesday, and regular end-of-year stuff I have to squeeze in as well.

This means you probably will need to scroll down the page to make sure that you do not miss anything. You may need two cups of coffee and toast to get through it all. You may roll your eyes and click off to go to another site. 

I don't know, but this message is to let you know one last time that there will be a LOT of content from here on out. So hold on and get comfortable, because things are about to go nuts here!

That's all for this "black Friday" edition of the FN&V. Get out there and burn off a few calories by riding a bicycle this weekend. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you celebrate the day, I hope that you have a wonderful time remembering all the things you have been blessed by in 2024. If you do not celebrate the day where you live, I hope you take some time out today to be thankful for all the things you have been blessed by this year as well. 

On another note, today is the day that the Virtual Turkey Burn Challenge starts. It ends on Sunday, so if you are partaking in this endeavor, I hope that you have a safe and enjoyable ride, or rides.

Bikes Of 2024: Blackborow DS (Special Ten Year Review!)

 It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Blackborow DS right after I built it up in 2014

 Special Ten Year Review:

Today marks the day that ten years ago I rode the first time on the Blackborow DS fat bike I have. It was right after I was able to pay off the shop where I purchased it from on my way home from work that day. 

This bike isn't used a whole lot these days, mostly due to climate issues which render our Winters here as very dry, warmer than they should be, and with little snow. There are excpetions, of course, but if last year is any indication, we only had one major snow event and very little time to actually enjoy the snow we did get. 

Thanksgiving Day morning, 2014

But we have had some pretty good years, mostly early on in the decade since I purchased this bike, and I am happy I got the thing. The idea, at least initially, was to get this bike as a solution for Winter commutes on city streets covered in snow and whatever chemical concoction the City decides to spray on the streets for ice melting. Whatever the stuff is, it eats drive train parts up, and I was tired of the sacrifice to the whims of Winter. 

The Blackborow DS has a "dinglespeed" drive train, which is a parallel single speed set up which has cogs that can use the same length chain but offer two distinct ratios. There is a "cruising" speed and a "crawling" speed. That's it. Oh! And you have to manually change the gears by dropping the rear wheel, moving the chain by hand, and reinstalling the rear wheel. Kind of a pain, but once you get the hang of it, it goes smoothly enough. 

From the very first ride in 2014

The other reason I wanted this bike was because, at the time I bought it, the Blackborow had the widest rims and tires you could get. This meant that it had the best possible flotation, and that is what I found lacking in my Mukluks. 

I was pleased with how things went when I got the bike. It handled very well. The tires did indeed float and I was able to cut trail in snow as deep as 8". Slightly packed trail was all I needed to make a go of things. So, for the ungroomed trails I was used to, this bike was the cat's pajamas. 

I experimented with a front suspension fork for one Summer

The Blackborow DS was tried with a front suspension fork, and while that was fun, it was kind of a needless device because it was going to just be dead weight for much of the sort of riding I would end up doing with this bike. That was due to our area being mostly flat, often muddy, and sandy in Summer. Winter was snowy, sometimes, and so a front suspension fork wasn't ideal. 

Circumnavigating small lakes is fun on the Blackborow DS. Image by Jacob Stevenson.

While trying to find places to ride where a bike like this is an advantage is sometimes tough to do, the Blackborow DS does come in handy at times. I really enjoy circumnavigating lakes and ponds around here with it. However; the bottom line is snow for this bike, and that is where the whole design of the Blackborow DS comes alive, at least for me it does. 

Post-holed and bumpy trail is no match for the Blackborow DS.

Cold streets and alleys are fun when it is snowy. A January pose over the Cedar River here.

The bike has had a few changes, but very few. There was the dalliance with suspension, but most of the changes have been with the handle bar. I ran the stock Salsa bar for a while, sometimes with a pair of bar ends. Then I got a Jones Carbon H Bar. That's been on the bike ever since. 

Somewhere along the way I came upon a Thomson aluminum post and swapped that out for the stock one, and the saddle was changed to a Silverado. But that is all that I have done on this bike. Even the original drive train is still intact! 

Tracks I laid in about 8" of snow in Exchange Park in Waterloo, Iowa with the Blackborow DS

The Blackborow DS was awesome, but with the little bit that I rode it, I was starting to feel like I did not need it. Then I got the Ti Muk 2 which was an even better match for Waterloo's messy streets with its 14 speed Rohloff internal geared hub. I often only really needed 4" tires with the way things have been with our weather. So, in 2021, I was actively trying to sell the bike.

I had a couple of suitors and I came -this- close to selling it, but the potential buyer backed out at the last minute, leaving me with the bike. Then I ended up riding it that Winter and regretted trying to sell it. So, I took it off the market and well..... 

This bike is really good  at what it was designed to do. But what it was designed to do is something I don't come across often enough to even wear out the drive train. So, it sits a lot of the time until Winter comes and it makes a ton of sense for what? Two weeks? Maybe, if we are lucky, that's the sort of Winter we get. Now, that all may change this Winter, but I am not holding my breath.

And if I needed a bike with lots of flotation? Well, there are bikes I could get now that have more than I'd ever need, but why bother when I've got all I need? It is a conundrum and so the Blackborow DS sits most of the year until those days when it snows a lot and trails get groomed. Then the bike makes a ton of sense and I have a blast on it. It does the thing and it does it well. I really don't need to look anywhere else.

People Of 2024: Rob Evans

  In my travels and life during the year, I have been blessed to be supported, befriended, and on occasion visited by some pretty awesome folks. Sometimes I visited them. (Hopefully they were equally blessed!) I wanted to take some extra space to recognize and celebrate these people at the end of the year. I hope you gain some insight and appreciation for what these people mean to me this year and beyond. 

Rob Evans (R) and I at Mid-South in March of 2024

First of all, I know this one will come as somewhat of a shock to Rob because he is a regular reader here. (Don't spit out yer coffee, Rob!) 

Anyway, as I stated, Rob is a regular reader here, and I am super grateful for that. However; Rob has been a big supporter of rides I have put on in the past. He was, and is always, very welcoming to me wherever he runs across me. Like at Mid-South, above, Rob grabbed me for an image.  I think he shouted me out several more times, basically whenever he saw me, which was really nice of him.

Mass chaos at Mid-South's oasis. Rob Evans saved my bacon here!

In fact, had it not been for Rob, and the group he was with, Mid-South would have been a lot more miserable than it was. Not that Mid-South was miserable, just that it would have been without Rob's help. Since I had to throw everything for that trip together in a frenzy, I really did not do my due diligence in regard to researching the necessary tactics to complete the event's half distance. So, when I arrived at a mid-course oasis, I had no resupply waiting, or planned.

In steps Rob, who spied me in the throng of cyclists, waved me over, and offered me the opportunity to take from their spread of goodies. I'll tell ya what, those cookies hit the spot and likely saved the day for me. Had this been all Rob had done for me in 2024, it would have been enough to land him here on this list, but there was more. 

Rob taking a picture of the frying pan in Brandon, Iowa during the Victory Ride in June.

Another person who will be showing up in this series, Warren Weibe, set up a ride in June for me to enjoy called the Victory Ride. I did not know who might show up. I figured maybe a few local riders would enjoin in the festivities. I was correct to think this would be true, but what I did not count on was Rob showing up from Nebraska and him bringing his friends with him. This is a several hours long trip, by the way, just to show up for a group ride.

So, not only did I get to see Rob again, ride with him again, but I met some new folks in the process and gained new friends. This was unexpected and awesome. So, a bonus for me and a definite improvement on 2024 was being able to have Rob be a big part of my cycling life. Thank you, Rob!

Bikes Of 2024: Karate Monkey

It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  

As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Karate Monkey I've had since 2003

This bike is a survivor, a bike that was an example of a trend that was destined to take over mountain biking, and a bike that is dear to me for several reasons. The 2003 Karate Monkey in Campstove Green. Now a commuter bike, for the most part, it is still one of my favorite bikes. 

The bike is a "survivor" because I almost had to retire it permanently at one point. Before it became my main gravel bike in 2004/2005, the Karate Monkey was at first my main mountain bike, then it went into commuter duty for several years. This meant it was ridden through Winter for several Winter's worth of salt, grime, and precipitation. This ended in a situation where my bottom bracket went bad and I needed to replace it, but it was frozen into the steel frame. 

The Karate Monkey was my first gravel grinder. Here seen in 2006

I was busy, I was doing a LOT of review work on 29" bicycles and products, so the Karate Monkey ended up being pushed to the darkest corners of the shop for several years. Then, around 2013, I decided to start working on the bike again. It took quite the effort, but the bottom bracket was extracted, and the Karate Monkey lived again to ride another day about eight or nine years ago now.

Last year I converted the Karate Monkey back to a flat bar bike for the first time in about 20 years! I did ride it flat bar at first, but not for very long. Now it is not only back to a flat bar, but I installed cantilever brakes last year for the first time on this bike.  

The set up hasn't changed for this year, but I did install a WTB TPU tube in the back tire for testing which has been awesome so far. I commuted on this bike for much of the year, but recently that duty has fallen to a couple of other bikes which you will see here soon in this series. 

As far as any future changes go I may return this bike to a drop bar set up with disc brake wheels and brakes if I should decide to start doing some more gravel riding on it again. But I am waffling on that point. I do think new tires are in order, at least for commuting duty. We will see. One thing is for certain though and that is that this bike is not getting retired anytime soon!

People Of 2024: "The Northfield Crew"

 In my travels and life during the year, I have been blessed to be supported, befriended, and on occasion visited by some pretty awesome folks. Sometimes I visited them. (Hopefully they were equally blessed!) I wanted to take some extra space to recognize and celebrate these people at the end of the year. I hope you gain some insight and appreciation for what these people mean to me this year and beyond. 

The "Northfield Crew" that took me in and made my trip to Stillwater Oklahoma a reality on their way out to ride Mid-South

Last I left off with this series I mentioned that Erik Mathy was largely responsible for the whole bike/Mid-South idea. Well, if Erik could be called the instigator, then the fellows from Northfield, Minnesota were the enablers of this idea. At least partially. There was a bicycle welded up by King Fabrications that figured heavily into all of this as well. 

But even with a bicycle made, I was not getting any closer to going to Mid-South without these fine fellows from Northfield. I call them "The Northfield Crew", but they consisted of long time friends Ben Witt, Marty Larson, Justin Michaels, and new acquaintance Michael Lemkuhl. These guys went waaaaaay outta there way to accommodate me, take me in as if I were one of them, and they made me feel wanted there with them. This is especially cool when you realize that this little group had been taking in Mid-South on their own for a few years before this trip. I was a definite "outsider", but trust me - I was never made to feel that way.

Ben Witt (R) and Michael Lemkuhl in the Heywood Ride booth. Image by M Larson.

Again, I spent a lot of time with these guys. Traveling, eating, sleeping, hanging out, and riding as well. There were plenty of opportunities for friction, but that never raised its head, if it were there at all, and that is a testament to these guy's characters. I am forever in their debt!

And as well, I was able to meet with a lot of friends that these guys had made in previous visits to Mid-South, so that was another thing they brought to me. It was an enriching and satisfying experience all around because of this. 

So, shout out to the Northfield Crew! Thank you again, and know that I appreciate you all very much. 2024 would not have been the same without you all!

Twenty-Nineteen

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

I was digging through the archives and realized that it has been five years since I walked out of Europa Cycle and Ski for the last time. Well.......not exactly five years. That'll happen on December 20th, but close enough for rock and roll, right? 

So, there's a story that I haven't told that really affected things here. That was how I was on pins and needles all year of 2019 figuring out my "exit strategy" for my job at the time. I'd been there for seventeen years, so it was both gut-wrenching, anxiety inducing, and exciting all at the same time. I had to plan when I would be taking things home, like spare tools. I had some Trans Iowa artwork there that I had to go in and take down, which I tried to do when the old owner wasn't there to avoid any discourse about "what I was up to" with him. He didn't need to know anyway as he was essentially being forced to quit due to poor financial status. (I do know this as the owner foolishly told us remaining employees these things.) We knew we were going out of business at some point by the end of 2018. So, that is why this was drug out so long.

I guess it was better than thinking everything was hunky-dory and coming in and having the ax fall. Although I've experienced it that way back in 1993 as well. That's another story....

Plus, it would mark the second year in a row that I would be stepping away from something that was a mainstay in my life for well over a decade. The other thing was ending Trans Iowa in 2018. So, this two year stretch had a fair amount of "suck" going on in the background. 

2019 also marked the first and only C.O.G. 100 event. The last I ever put on.

What a lot of you don't know is that in November of 2019, just five years ago, I saw my mother for the last time. She was suffering from Alzheimer's and was in the tail end of that. She was brought into the shop by chance one of the rare days I was scheduled to work that month. I think I may have worked three days in November. Anyway, because she lived an hour away from me, it was a minor miracle that I even got to see her, although she did not know who I was. 

Then COVID hit and in 2021 she dies. So, due to that and other complications, I never got to see her again after the visit in November of 2019. It was a big blow to me, obviously, and it is why from 2019, into 2020, and afterward, you may have noted a change in tone on the blog here. Well, if you did, the experiences of 2019 had a big influence on me. Losing a job, a vocation, and your mother will do that. 

On the bright side, I was promised a bicycle mechanic job at a new shop which was to kick in on March 1st of the following year. 

And of course, we all know what happened in March of 2020.

Yeah, that was a brutal stretch. Certainly, keeping up the blog throughout all of that was not easy. I kind of hate to even report any of these previous things, but it isn't as though these things did not happen and that they did not affect me and this blog. They did. Hopefully you didn't notice......

Friday News And Views

Virtual Turkey Burn Challenge Update:

Well, this time next week it will be on! The Virtual Turkey Burn Challenge will be happening all over the place. I'm excited to see where reports will be coming from, but I have had some off-line confirmations and comments elsewhere that lead me to believe that this could be the biggest turnout to date!

Riders living in Tennessee, Nebraska, Kansas, Washington, (the state) and even Spain have indicated to me that they will be taking part in this challenge. 

Wow! Even if these rides don't happen I am really honored and humbled that people are taking this seriously. And I'm sure these folks are 100% in for the challenge, I'm just saying that the mere thought that folks are excited about this is very meaningful to me. Thank you all! 

I'm watching the weather very carefully and trying to get my best shot in. I know weather can be tricky here in the Mid-West this time of the year, and darkness is a thing to contend with as well. So, we will see how it all falls out in a week and some days. 

Meanwhile, if all these folks and some surprise additions come in, I will have to take stock and jam in a lot of reports in a schedule jam-packed with stuff I have to get through for the end-of-year here. It'll be ......interesting! 

Gravel Worlds News:

Gravel Worlds announced last week that they are bringing back the 1000 Women of Gravel initiative where the Gravel Worlds team will try to raise up 1000 female participants across all categories of the event including the new Gravel Triathlon and Duathlon events, both of which are USA Cycling national championship events. 

Gravel Worlds also announced HED Cycling as their official wheel partner for the event as well. Finally, the organization claimed their original web address, "gravelworlds.com" again, which they had lost for several years. 

A Gentle Reminder: 

You've probably noticed that the "end-of-year" posts have kicked in already, but in case you haven't, I just wanted to take a quick minute to remind you all that this past week is pretty much what the rest of the year will look like here. 

I will be reviewing people, bikes, and my experiences throughout 2024. This will be in addition to the 20th anniversary of the blog reviews that are happening about weekly now also. 

Fridays will still be like this, and I will interject news and ride reports where they need to be as they happen. So, if this isn't your cup of tea, I will be back on a "regular schedule" in January. If you are up for the end-of-year stuff, hang on! I've got plenty to cover in the next several weeks! 

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!

DT Swiss, Shutter Precision Collaborate On New Dynamo Gravel Wheelset:

News popped up on Wednesday of this week regarding a new DT Swiss offering in conjunction with dynamo hub producer, Shutter Precision. 

The new DT Swiss hub has Shuuter Precision's internals to provide light on demand for any gravel/adventure rider. The hub will be offered on its own as well as a part of two different 350 hub based gravel wheel sets with aluminum rims. 

According to this report I read, the hubs and wheels are beginning to be available now, although for some areas of the world it may take until the end of this year for hubs and wheels to show up in consumer's hands. 

Comments: This should be a great deal, especially the pre-built 1600 and 1800 level wheel sets, for gravel riders. The only downside is that you will need to configure a wiring route suitable for your bike, install it, and buy a head lamp suitable for the dynamo hub. It is initially an expensive proposition, and it is tempting to think a self-contained LED based torch is easier. However; I have both systems and I never fail to be satisfied with my dynamo set up due to its ease of use and care-free nature regarding the need to maintain battery power, as you will have to do with a self-contained LED set up. 

However; you are tethered to THAT one wheel and bike set up. So, if you have multiple bikes you want to use, a self-contained LED set-up will be more efficient and less expensive overall. Plus if that hub goes down, you are without a bike and a light system. While Shutter Precision lights enjoy a reasonably good reputation, my research turned up some issues regarding these hubs and Winter riding in specific. Now DT Swiss' version uses straight-up Shutter Precision guts, but the hub shell and bearings are perhaps a better quality than the original. Hard to say at this point. 

New Episode Dropped!

N.Y. Roll and I had shiggy back on again to talk about tubeless tire stuff. You can check out the new episode HERE. 

We get into some - perhaps long forgotten - tubeless history. Then we talk about tires a bit, rim design, air pressures, and how we mount tires. There are a lot of tips and tricks shared here. 

Then we get into sealants and which work, which do not work, and I even give out MG's Secret Tubeless Formula so you can make your own sauce if you want to. 

Next up we may do a recap of Cold Weather Riding Tips with some updates to that. If you have any questions about the tubeless episode which we did not touch upon, or new questions about cold weather riding, let me know. 

I'm thinking we may squeeze in two more episodes before our Winter break. The last episode will be a recap of 2024 and the gravel scene, most likely. I expect our last episodes to drop in the beginning of December. That will close out Season #2 and we plan on Season #3 to start sometime in mid to late January. 

As always, thanks for reading and get out there and ride those bicycles!

Bikes Of 2024: Surly Big Dummy

 It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  

As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up. 

The Big Dummy at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective loaded with supplies.

This bike has been around for a while now and this year I think I used it more than I ever have. Working at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective has brought a new angle to owning this bike. I use it to haul supplies the last three-plus miles from the UPS Store to the shop. I also do a recycling run once a week with this bike as well. 

The ride from the UPS Store has been a hoot for me. I get really side-eyed and gawked at when folks see me lacing these big boxes to the rack with my bungee cords! The UPS folks know who I am since they figured out "I'm that bike guy" and now their amazement at how I take the packages away has subsided a bit, but they were pretty weirded out in the beginning. 

Of all the bikes I ride, the Big Dummy gets the most compliments. It is a pretty snazzy looking bike, if I do say so myself. 

As far as any changes go, I am probably going to have to service this bike which will entail a new suite of drivetrain parts, a bottom bracket, and brake service. It's been far too long. But as far as anything major goes? No, there are no modifications to be had on the horizon. I will only add that last year's decision to purchase that double-legged kickstand has paid dividends. I'd do that again in a heartbeat if I had to set up another cargo bike and it did not have a dual-leg kickstand.

Gravel Grinder News: Mondraker Introduces Arid Carbon Gravel Bike Range

Note: The information and images in this article were provided by Mondraker Bikes. "Comments" are the opinions of Guitar Ted and may not reflect the views of anyone else.

The new Mondraker Bikes Arid Carbon is their first non-assisted gravel bike.

 Mondraker Bikes is probably not a brand that you have either heard of or seen much of if you live in the USA. (There are a little over a dozen shops that carry the brand in North America) However; the brand is an innovator and probably better known in Europe. With the category of "gravel" being the hottest in non-assisted cycling world wide, and with North America being the "home" of gravel, this model is something that deserves attention, because Mondraker is aiming to make inroads into the USA scene. 

With that in mind, Mondraker says that they realize the term "gravel" can mean different things to different people. So, they set out to design the Arid Carbon "to be able to adapt to just about anyone". This is a bold statement, so it demands we look at what this bike actually is designed to be. 

Design & Frame Construction:

The Arid Carbon uses Mondraker's "Stealth Air Carbon" technique which is an optimization of lay-up technique, design cues, and all with an eye to durability. Mondraker tests the Arid Carbon frames to meet ISO mountain bike standards to ensure the rider that this model can take the rough stuff. 

Obviously, the eye is drawn to the unique seat stay junction at the seat tube. Mondraker claims this is a structural element that will allow for a smoother ride for the rider while remaining strong. 

Further design elements are common to many top-range gravel bikes which include fully hidden cabling, (with internal guides), down tube storage for tools or supplies, UDH rear derailleur hangar, and a threaded bottom bracket shell, (T-47). Clearance for tires in the frame and fork are claimed to be "50mm with room to spare", so this is also up to date. 

There are six water bottle mounts on the bike as well, adding to the versatility. Double ring crank users will be disappointed to learn that the Arid Carbon is 1X only. 

Geometry:

The Arid Carbon range comes in five sizes and features a "M/L" size which is kind of an odd mix of a traditional 56cm and 58cm frame sizing using really a short seat tube length (48cm) with a 58cm top tube length and a 591mm stack height. 

Beyond sizing, the Arid Carbon comes in with a 70° head tube angle across the board with a 75mm bottom bracket drop mated with an aggressive 425mm chain stay length. Seat tube angles are 73° across the range. 

Spec:

There are four models with three being SRAM - Rival, Force AXS, Red AXS - and one Shimano GR610 offering.  Prices range from about $4,700.00 to $9,800.00 USD for the top of the line model. Check with your Mondraker dealer for details. 

One interesting tidbit is the flared drop bar and stem system is not one piece. This will come as a relief to bike fitters and should allow for some rider customization. 

Comments: 

Generally speaking, this is a pretty good looking bike from a design and spec standpoint. I think Mondraker nailed the important numbers which I look for in a good gravel bike for all-around riding purposes. These include the bottom bracket drop, head tube angle, and tire clearances. Mondraker said they wanted to design this bike to adapt to almost anyone, and the geometry shows they were not kidding around there. I question the short seat tube lengths a bit, but seeing many bikes in the field which have saddle to bar height ratios which are tilted toward the bars being higher than the saddle, I can see maybe where Mondraker is thinking this short seat tube would appeal to those folks. As for me, it would require a 400mm length seat post set at almost maximum height. 

The lack of any variability across the size range to the geometry in terms of the seat tube and head tube angles is a bit out of the ordinary for such a high-end bike. 

It is interesting to note that any mention of aero is missing in their press release, along with any mention of racing gravel. Rather, Mondraker sells the idea for this bike being a commuter, an exploration machine, showing it with bikepacking bags, and as just a "fun bike to ride". This was a refreshing change of pace from the normal race oriented pressers featuring such high end bicycles. 

The seat stay thing? Well, it certainly sets the Arid Carbon apart from the crowd, I would say. I have no idea how it actually will work in the field, but if every bike has to have some feature which separates it from the rest, and as long as Mondraker have done their homework and the bike holds up? I have to say, I don't mind the look, to be honest. 

 Mondraker said they wanted to make a gravel bike "to be able to adapt to just about everyone". I guess that with prices starting at almost 5K and up that they did not mean that pricing was one of those adaptations. Maybe entry level customers were not within their target customer range? Maybe something in aluminum would get that range extended downward toward those on tighter budgets? However; for now, if you don't have that sort of budget, then this means you are probably looking to go elsewhere for your gravel bike fix.

Interesting bikes for certain. I wouldn't mind trying one out. What about you? Have you ridden a Mondraker bicycle? Let me know in the comments. 

Bikes Of 2024: Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3

  It's another late November/December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  

As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.  

The Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3. Pre-Redshift stem.

The Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3 was new to me last year. I had big plans for this bike but it only got out on gravel a few times and ended up being mostly a commuter rig in 2024. I still have a big ride in mind for this bike that I just did not get around to in 2024. 

Changes included adding a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem in the 55mm length and going back to the originally spec'ed Ragley Luxy Bar. I kind of miss that silver stem, but Redshift only does black, so......

I might strip the racks off, but then when I do that a window will open up for my long-planned two-day tour. You know that's how it will go....

Brown Season: Elemental

Escape Route: Alleyways

 This time of the year the chances to ride come less often, at least as far as being out in the country here. This is in part due to temperatures, winds, and snow, of course. So, when a day like Friday comes around, and if you have the time, it is wise to spend that time riding. Because you never know if that might be the last time you get out there for a while or not. 

The morning was cold and fraught with danger due to dense fog. I don't need to be out there when the chances of not being seen and hit by a passing motorist is a lot higher. So, I waited until after lunch. The thing is, now with the Sun so low in the horizon, you are only going to get a handful of good riding hours while the Sun still gives her light. That and when it approaches Sunset, the angle of that light is blinding. Not just to me, but to anyone driving a car or truck as well. 

All things to consider when trying to fit a ride in during November, December, or January. With all those things being factors, I was happy to get two and a half hours of riding in. I did this ride on the Fargo Gen I which I have proposed to ride for the Virtual Turkey Burn Challenge. 

Freshly shaved fields

A pile of glacial stones recently dislodged via field drainage tile installation.

The wind was out of the Southeast, so I had a long slog planned which would drive into this wind and then, considering the time, I planned on stopping at Quarry Road and starting my way back. 

The Sergeant Road bike path was actually pretty busy with bicycle and pedestrian traffic. I guess I wasn't the only one with the thought that I should seize the day. Usually this amount of traffic is only seen if I am riding just before RAGBRAI. Strange to see this in mid-November, but it was encouraging! 

Oh-oh! Road work? No....it was just utility work.

As reported by Tomcat, a reader here, the barns are gone on this corner. Just a big black splotch on the ground remains.

Once out on the gravel I found that the recent wet weather has started to put the roads into "Winter mode". This is when the road surface gets smoothed out due to the crushed rock being pushed down into the base of the road. I'd say that about 80% of the road was smooth and the other bits had a scree of looser gravel. This would change later, but for heading up into a wind, this was mostly ideal. 

Just a passing shadow

Not the kind of John Deere I usually see out here.

I was happy to turn East and get mostly out of that wind. The road was a bit more loose gravel out this way, but the Fargo with those big 2.5" Extraterrestrials was just eating that right up. When you get such a big, poofy tire out there that can work over those loose stones it really is eye-opening. But then again, so is the weight of those tires! Going up is a chore. 

The first couple of miles North on Ansborough were on full-chunky goodness.

It's an interesting time of the year to ride. The crops are gone, the birds are mostly gone, and the sights are dominated by the most elemental things. Earth, Sky, Gravel. The simple landscape is only broken up by the occasional farm, grove of trees, or utility poles. 

It's easier to feel the dominance of this simple looking land and the atmosphere that washes over it can, at times, be deadly. I try to imagine these vistas covered in tall prairie grasses and I think about how difficult it must have been to navigate this sea of ever-waving grasses with barely a landmark to be found. 

The rare bit of color can still be found out here.

The bike is going to be fine. I think I can pull off at least a metric century on it. Despite the big, heavy tires and wheels. This might change only if the weather demands it to change. Wintry weather is a possibility here in the long range forecast for Thanksgiving. Of course, that will change a handful of times until late next week when things begin to gain some clarity. 

Stay tuned on that front.....