Change Of Pace

Long time readers of the blog here probably will recall my "pilgrimage" to the Green Belt every Fall. The ride I generally do to see Fall colors and celebrate my beginnings in cycling in the Cedar Valley. I wasn't always a "gravel guy"!

Sometimes I do this ride on a fat bike, sometimes on a mountain bike. This year I pulled The OS Bikes Blackbuck off the peg, aired up the tires, and went seeking leaf-peeping opportunities on a Summer-like day in mid-October. 

So, before I get on with the story, I probably should explain this OS Bikes thing. Every time I post a picture of this bike I get questions about it, so please bear with me if you already are aware of the history. 

OS (Of Spirit) Bikes was a side project of WTB's Mark Slate. Around 2007 he designed a single speed 29"er frame and fork, had 500 units made at Maxway in Taiwan, and bought some components to sell completes and some frame sets. These became available late in 2007. I bought mine in January of 2008. 

Unfortunately for Mark, he spec'ed original Rock Shox Rebas on the completes, which by 2008 were superseded by Fox's new 51mm offset 29"er fork. It also coincided with a less favorable view of single speed 29"ers and an uptick in geared offerings. Finally, the Blackbuck was only available in a single size. The OS Bikes Blackbuck subsequently wasn't in high demand. 

Mark made a second version of the Blackbuck, made at a different factory, with three sizes available, in 2010. These are easily identified by their white "darts" paint job, where the original Blackbuck was almost all black save for a silver colored dart on each seat stay and chain stay. I've no idea how many v2 Blackbucks were made. And no....you cannot buy one new. Unless there are some NOS ones around, which I am unaware of. 

So, there ya go..... 

The OS Bikes Blackbuck as it sits now in 2025.

Now on with the ride....

I decided to head out after lunch for a quick look at the meadow where I usually go to see the Fall colors. I started from the house and took the alleys and side streets over to the dog park and then went up and over the dike to enter the Green Belt. N.Y. Roll reported the Green Belt had received its annual Fall mowing, so I knew it would be fairly clean with little debris to deal with. 

The Fall colors are a bit behind this year. Usually by the 17th we are either done, or right at peak Fall color.. With the extension of Summer into early October, I think the colors were put off until around the latter part of last week. Then I noted a big change in the neighborhood, which was the prompt for me to go check the Green Belt. 

However; once I got out there, it was pretty obvious we are not quite at the zenith of Fall colors. I'd guess it will be next weekend when we reach the peak of leaf peeping here. Barring any stupidly windy days which may strip the trees before the colors come in.

Hopefully this will coincide with the C.O.G. 40. That would be awesome to have a bit of that Fall color happening for the ride, but it would be quite late in the season for the peak. Maybe.... We'll see.

I was scheduled to meet with N.Y. Roll around 3:30pm, so I didn't have a ton of time to explore the Green Belt for more color, but the meadow did not disappoint, despite it being on the early side for colors. I stayed a while in the meadow and contemplated a few things before I set off to come back home again. 

I've had these old Kenda XC tires on this bike for ages now. They are big, voluminous, and have fast tread. They don't work great in anything other than hardpack, which is what I generally encounter if and when I ride off-road. However, with recent rains the Green Belt had some greasy spots and standing water which made the bike a bit tail happy. I could definitely feel the tires slipping a bit in some corners! 

 It was a short, but good Fall ride. It wasn't peak color, but it was a great balance of the greens of Summer with splashes of Fall color. The trails had some leaves, but it wasn't swimming in them. All in all, it was a great change of pace from the gravel I normally am out on.