And The Rains Came

 Sunday I awoke to a rainy day, just as it had been when I went to sleep on Saturday evening. This was not very conducive to getting any cycling done. 

I heard some faint music and stepped outside to see who might be playing music loud enough on a Sunday morning that I could hear it inside my own home. I went out and caught the sultry sounds of Albert King's "I'll Play The Blues For You". 

Well, it was kinda early for music that loud, but hey! Good taste and a great selection for the dreary, cold, rainy day. I went back inside and watched it rain through the window with a hot cup of coffee in hand. 

Then I got a text that was from our pastor at the church I attend. They had need for a guitar player on short notice, so I decided I'd go and play. And it continued to rain.... 

It didn't stop until late in the afternoon and by then I had other plans in play. I spent time with my family, and with the time change, it was soon to be dark anyway. So, I had a great deal of gratitude that I had gone out and rode on Friday, because Saturday's are pretty much work, then family time, and well, it started raining Saturday anyway. 

Death of an Apple Watch

I've caught myself taking a quick glance at my bare left wrist a lot lately. That's due to my Apple Watch failure last week. You can see the results of a slight blow to the top here.

I'm not the roughest guy on watches, and this thing outlasted those old FitBits I used to get by a long, long time. Oh yeah, time......

I have to tap my phone to see what time it is now. So annoying! I guess I'll have to dig out one of my old analog watches and see if I can't get one going. That or I have to start looking for another electronic device to slap onto my wrist so I can be Dick Tracy again. (Hit the link if you are too young to know about Mr. Tracy)

Maybe I should get a Garmin watch, or a Coros watch. Not sure. Mrs  Guitar Ted is a huge Apple fan, so the most likely thing that will happen is that I end up with another Apple Watch. We will see. In the meantime, I will be caught taking a glance at my bare left wrist several times in the future. 

Old habits and all.....

Brown Season: Crossing Paths

Escape Route: Cedar River Bike Path with new 11th St. Bridge in background

 We went through a BIG weather change this past week. It was 80°F on Monday and Tuesday and Friday it was in the 40's. In between it was massively windy. It also rained a lot, for the first time in a long time, so all those days were not really conducive to getting out into the country. But Friday......oh my!

The winds were mere whispers and the Sun was out. So, I waited until it warmed up a bit, dressed head to toe in Twin Six gear, and hit the bike paths and streets to get over to Foulk Road and hit up those short Level B sections and then do my "Southern Black Hawk County" route off of that. 

The Cedar River at Evansdale

The Cedar Valley Nature Trail is getting repaved.

Of course, with all the winds we had the leaves are mostly off the trees now. Only some random trees here and there are showing colors. And the oaks, which hold their leaves most of the Winter here, they still show off their rusty-brown hue. 

McKellar Road

The Level B section of Weiden Road

So, I wasn't very sure how I'd find things on the dirt roads. We had a LOT of rainfall on Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. Would it be too muddy? I was betting that it would not, since this was the first significant rain we've had since August. I was right in my guess, as only a few big puddles remained. 

But one of those puddles spanned the original tread of the roadway at one point. Vehicular traffic had made a wider spot in the roadway to get around this, but I decided to try and see if I could wade through on the bike. And........I failed!

I didn't fall over, thankfully, but I went in way over my ankles when I dabbed with both feet so I had soaked shoes for the remainder of the ride. Oh well!  But that wasn't the only thing that went haywire at that point. 

I was riding the good ol' Tamland Two. (Shot pre-mud  puddle here)

There were scraping noises big time and I immediately thought it was the brakes, because this was some pretty silty water and I had gone in hub deep. But after trying all my tricks to clear the calipers I was still hearing a random, rotational squawk and I decided to stop at the end of the road to check the Tamland over. 

I found that it was coming from the crank set, which was alarming because it was new. But upon further inspection I found that the Third Eye chain watcher gizmo was the culprit. It must have moved ever so slightly and was juuuuust kissing the inner part of the big chain ring in spots. A few minutes with a multi-tool later and I had that sussed out. I will say that a rubbing chain watcher can make a horrendous noise! I wasn't aware that was possible until Friday!

Foulk Road

After a swing through Washburn, Iowa, I hit Foulk Road just West of there and turned Left. Then I ran into dog trouble. First was at that old lonely house on a hill just South of Washburn Road and on the West side of Foulk. That house was a shambles for years but has recently been renovated and someone is living there now. They have some terrier breed, possibly a Yorkie by the looks of it, that was tenacious! It came at me three separate times. Little ankle-biter! 

The next dog I have had a run-in with before. It's a Labradoodle and it lives on an acreage on the West side of Foulk Road just South of Schrock Road after the farm on the same side. It won't let you by until its owner comes out and drags it away. I'll tell ya, if your dog won't heel when you yell at it, that pretty much tells me you do not have control over it. Not the dog's fault, by any means. 

Looking North up Hess Road

Somehow these trees managed to hold on to their leaves this past week.

The roads were freshly graveled if traveling North/South. The East/West roads seemed to have a finer gauge gravel, and they were mostly covered, but easier to handle. Of course, I don't have a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem on the Tamland out of vanity because it would ruin my red/white/blue color scheme. Silly me.....

I sure could have used that stem though and I was regretting being so fashion conscious a few times on the ride. Especially going the one mile North on Hammond that I rode. That was brutal! 

North on Hammond's super-fresh chunky goodness.

Ansborough looking North.

I almost never meet other gravel riders as I ride around Black Hawk County. Last time I can remember running across someone was back in 2020 when I came across Tom on this same route, coincidentally. But Friday I did see another rider, and it was someone I did not ever expect to see on a gravel ride alone by themselves. It was Cindy, a long-time road rider and a former customer back in my bike shop days. 

She stopped and we chatted for a bit. She was heading out and I was coming back toward town. She did not much like my report on the roads! But she  was determined to ride every gravel road in Black Hawk County, much like what I did in 2020. Looks like I was not the only crazy person running around trying to bag every gravel road in the county! I hope she completes her quest. 

Three hours and twenty minutes time for the loop today including stops. Not bad. I'll take it.

Fully Loaded - Fully Self-Supported

  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!

One of the earliest pages I ever set up on this blog, besides the one you are now reading, was the page I set up for "The Touring Series". This page is a compilation of the stories from two, fully loaded, fully self-supported bicycle tours I was on back in the mid-1990's. 

A rare image from my 1996 tour to the Black Hills. Troy Meyermann (L) is next to me. Image by Ryan Stibal.

I was reminded of these tours when a customer came into the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective, where I work, and mentioned Troy Meyermann's name. Troy, Ryan Stibal, and Steve Thune were the three guys I did these tours with.  It isn't often that I think about those days anymore, so it was a pleasant reminder of a difficult time in my life. (Read the series if you are curious)

The blog served as a host to these tales of these tours in a weekly series dubbed "Touring Tuesdays". The series actually ran twice here as I decided that some newly discovered materials and commentary might enhance the series so I just reran it again on Tuesdays. I figured that at the time I was doing run 2, which would have been about six years ago, I had more readers than I had the first time I ran it, so it was that I posted on the series until 2019 in March when I ran the last post. 

What is also pertinent to this blog is that some of those tales from the touring days were written down immediately afterward or during the touring. That points to my desire to write stories even back then. I'm very glad I did write that stuff down because at that point in time cameras that took a lot of pictures were not an option. Oh.....not digital cameras, film cameras. Digital was some years off at the time we did these tours. 

Ryan Stibal taking a shot of me trudging up a long grade in South Dakota somewhere. Image by Troy Meyermann

 And yeah, no cell phones either. We had to find a land-line if we wanted to call home, and otherwise no one knew where we were! Can you even imagine this in 2024? No GPS, no tracking, nothing. And we didn't think twice about this. It was all we knew. 

I'm not going to get all into what era was "better" or not, but I will say I am really, really grateful I took the chances I did in 1994 and 1995 to do these rides. I am super-grateful I had the desire to write stories about these rides back then. But also, these were really different times. Looking back on these days, it was as if we were from another planet. So much has changed since then. 

And so much is still the same. I love riding bicycles and writing stories. I'm hopeful I get to do that for a long time yet.

Friday News And Views

Welcome To November's First FN&V!

Norpine Valley Fat Bike Classic:

The fat biking season is just around the corner and fat bike racing is right on its heels. The Norpine Fat Bike Classic is an event happening up in Lutsen, Minnesota at the Cascade Lodge. The event will take place on January 10th and 11th, 2025. 

Two course options exist with the "Short Pine Course" being 14 miles and the "Long Pine Course" being 25 miles in length. Registration is open now and cost $110.00 until November 24th when the registration fee will jump to $150.00 until the day of the event. The field is limited to 150 riders, so make sure you hop on this sooner than later if you are interested. Stick around on Sunday after the race and hit up a group ride for more casual fat biking on groomed trails. 

It's all put on by the Superior Cycling Organization. Check it out if you need some real fat bike conditions to race on this Winter.

End Of Year Schedule For Guitar Ted Productions:

As is my tradition on this blog, November will be the month that I close down all my reviewing activities. December will bring on the end of year reviews which I traditionally do here and which take up most of the dates in that month.

I may even start doing some of the end of year stuff after Thanksgiving. That is yet to be determined. But I also want to point out, speaking of Thanksgiving, that I will be asking you readers to join me on the "Virtual Turkey Burn Ride Challenge". This will be the fourth year for the VTBRC and I will be posting a full reminder later in the month. 

If you are interested and want to start making plans now, see this link.  There you will find all the parameters and requirements for this challenge. (Dates will be adjusted to reflect 2024 Thanksgiving) Check it out! 

Finally, N.Y. Roll and I will be recording our final episode of the Guitar Ted Podcast for season 2 soon. If you have any final requests, or anything you'd like to hear us rant about, now is the time to let us know! We will resume podcasting in January to start season number 3. Thanks for checking it out, if you choose to. 

Image courtesy of Shimano

Shimano CUES Q-Shift Auto-shifting Set For 2025 Debut:

Several reports have been floated during this Fall with news that Shimano is going to have an auto-shifting drive train which will be available on several OE bike offerings in 2025. 

Called "Q-Shift", this technology will store data on users performance traits and use this information to allow its self-energized servos to shift a derailleur based drive train up and down an 11 speed cassette. 

I rode an early version of this technology in 2007 when Gary Fisher pulled me aside to try out a bike outfitted with a 27 speed drive train that shifted automatically according to cadence and speed. Another version of this technology was actually produced for consumers in the late 2000's when Shimano introduced the short lived Coaster group. That was an internal 3 speed hub with a front hub generator that energized a servo mounted on the seat tube when the bike was in motion. The servo would switch gears in the hub as you rode based upon speed. 

Shimano hopes that auto-shifting will enable riders to use bicycles without concern for learning how to shift and when to shift, as the automated technology inside the system will do all that for you. This, Shimano hopes, will be a less expensive alternative to eBikes with mid-drive motors, and it should prove to be lighter weight as well. 

Comments: Neat. It will work as advertised, I have no doubt. However; if what I am observing in the average populace here is any indicator of mass appeal, it won't be all that successful as a pedal-platform only offering. Most folks I see want to pedal less, if at all. Just the other day I was passed on the bike path by what amounts to a full-suspension motorcycle powered by a battery and it had no pedals. E-scooters are al the rage amongst the youth here. Pedaling? Really? I don't see it as being something that will attract anyone to cycling with all the alternatives that only require the body to be able to sit or stand upright. 

2025 Trek FX Sport 6 (Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles)

Did Trek Just Release A Flat Bar Gravel Bike?:

Trek is starting to roll out 2025 models this Fall. (They are also using "Generation" numbers in an attempt to leave the model year scheme, but...) Is this Trek FX Sport 6 a flat bar gravel bike? Trek is marketing it as one of this model's uses. 

Of course, you can ride any bicycle on gravel and call it a "gravel bike". Take for instance the Trek 830 steel 1990's era MTB I saw on Facebook Marketplace recently that had gravel tires, a drop bar fitted, and an upgraded drive train with an asking price of 1K. Listed as a "gravel bike", of course. 

So, take the following with a grain of salt. 

My take? Sure! This could be a great flat bar gravel bike, but..... Why did Trek spec it with quick release wheels and their goofy 5mm through bolts? The frame is carbon. It could easily have the now standard through axle sizes of 100 X 12mm and 142mm X 12mm, but noooooo! Then there is the geometry. 

This is a bike aimed at the fitness geek that wants the best fitness bike out there. Why on Earth spec this bike with a 65mm bottom bracket drop? That's insane. The bike would have made so much more sense with a lower bottom bracket which would support stability and ease of getting on/off versus a cyclo cross high bottom bracket. 

But what do I know? By the way, this carbon fiber fitness rocket sells for $2,999.00. That's a lot of cabbage. 

Gravel Grinder News

USAC Announces Junior's Series of Grave Events:

Well, it had to happen at some point, and maybe this is the way USAC gets its mitts on the pulse of the elite racing side of the gravel scene. It was announced recently that USAC has a five gravel event series for junior aged racers which includes SBT GRVL and Unbound Gravel. 

The ultimate goal for USAC is encapsulated in this statement about the series from their website:

"Top-ranked riders from the series will be invited to a USA Cycling Junior Talent Identification Camp in October 2025. This new, invitation-only camp provides young athletes with a dedicated pathway into elite-level road racing and an Olympic discipline. "

Sounds pretty "inclusive" and just what the original organizers of gravel events were thinking of when they started this whole thing in motion. (Sarcasm Alert)

Thankfully there are a ton of gravel events that are not focused on the few. But guess what cycling media wants to tell you? You know the answer to that.....

Meanwhile, in other gravel series news: Gravel Worlds has aligned itself with the Gravel Earth Series, a world-wide gravel series which now will have a "world championship" event in direct competition with the UCI's. This should prove interesting.... Especially since the UCI has no currently announced US based events and this series includes the Grasshopper Adventure Series, Gravel Worlds, The Oregon Trail Gravel event, and CORE 4 in Iowa.  It's a bit confusing, as I'm not sure in what way the Gravel Earth Series is aligned with all these events, but stay tuned as I learn more. 

Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame Noms Open Today: Wednesday the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame announced that nominations for the fourth class of nominees to be inducted into the GCHoF will open today. The format to nominate someone worthy of the hall has been tweaked slightly. Now the GCHoF will require two well written paragraphs on the person being nominated. Anyone submitting a nomination without two paragraphs, (or with lists or what have you) will be thrown out. 

Nominations will close November 30th.

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions. Get out there and ride this weekend!