Project "Old School Gravel"

This year I am going on a bit of a retro-gravel journey. I started by taking my very first dedicated gravel bicycle, my 2003 Karate Monkey, and setting it up with the Good Grief Cycles Nice Bar. I also went with some older tires, the WTB Vulpine, (the original XC 29"er ones - not the current gravel versions) and rim brakes. 

But I am not stopping there. I am going to try to use stuff that is from the 2000's as much as possible. Things like the current tires, disc brakes, bags, racks, or even GPS computers are not going to be considered here. 

So, one of the items that will be employed in this project is an NOS Cat Eye Velo 9 computer. Now this may be an item which cuts across my self-imposed border of 2010, but it's close to what we would have used back in the day, and I don't think anyone will really quibble about this wired computer being representative of the era. 

I happened to come across this when it was donated to the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. I purchased it and will now be attaching it to the Karate Monkey. This will be part of my old school navigation system. The other part will be a cue sheet holder made from an old water bottle and a clip for office files. It's a design I actually used several times before in the past, and was what I used when I completed Gravel Worlds in 2016. 

I'm still weighing my options when it comes to hydration. I could use a hydration pack, and I happen to have an older Osprey pack and a few bladders. They will need serious cleaning though so I do not get sick. Those nasty growing things! 

OR - I may use a half frame bag like my old Revelate Tangle Bag and stuff water bottles in there or again - a hydration bladder with the hose clipped to my stem. OR - I may use clamps and put bottles on the fork, but that is my least favorite option. 

Then it will be on to some adventures on the set up,which should start happening yet this month. I also want to try this set up in Kansas, if that trip pans out. 

Stay tuned....