A Special Tribute To A Ridin' Buddy: Part 2

 In today's post I will cover Jacob's cycling from where he was gifted a Salsa Cycles Mukluk up through to his adulthood. Check out yesterday's post if you missed it for his beginnings in cycling. 

Picking up Jacob's Mukluk frame and fork in October of 2013

With Jacob's struggles with his old 24" wheeled bike becoming more troublesome and with his rapid growth, it became clear Jacob was going to need another upgrade in a bicycle. This time I envisioned a fat bike. More stability and capability in the design and wheels should allow Jacob to go wherever he wanted, or this was the thought, at any rate. 

So, I scraped and borrowed parts off my 2011 Salsa Mukluk, (The Snow Dog), to get this project going. I told Jacob about the bike late in Summer and finally, after the frame and fork arrived, and I was able to pay for it, we went down and picked it up. 

I put it together as best I could and I think it turned out pretty well. 

The first iteration of Jacob's Mukluk

Jacob's first ride on his new bike. 

I remember going to the shop, where I ended up finishing up the bike, and letting Jacob try out his new bike for the first time. He was barely able to stand over it, but it fit great when he mounted and rode it. I was chatting with a coworker as we watched Jacob take the new bike for a spin around the back lot behind the shop. I was too engrossed in the conversation to remember to tell Jacob how careful he needed to be when he dismounted. Unfortunately for Jacob, he jumped off the saddle and right on the ol' family jewels! 

A painful lesson learned!

It didn't take long for Jacob to become accustomed to his new rig. 

From a ride we took to see a cyclo cross race in 2014.

Jacob loved this bike. He continued to ask to go on adventures, night rides, and day trips while he still fit on the Mukluk. I ended up getting a different wheel set for it and eventually he graduated to flat bars as his reach increased with growth. 

He struggled a bit with the concept of a multi-speed crank set and rear cassette, but he began to figure this out. Once this occurred we had a lot more fun riding. 

 

At the Southern end of the Green Belt Trail system. 

The Mukluk opened up a whole new area for Jacob. We could ride off-road and even in the snow. I was really proud of his tenacity and will to go through more difficult terrain and longer distances. There were less tantrums and more fun times during this period. 

Snow was a challenge for Jacob to get through. 

Sub-zero wind chill and LOTS of ice here had us walking more than riding. I caught a LOT of grief for taking him on this ride!

My riding times with Jacob were really special to me, and they will always be a great memory. My daughter doesn't ride a bicycle. She never learned how to, or even wanted to learn. My wife has bad knees and is super busy all the time, so Jacob became my ridin' buddy in the family. I am really happy he wanted to do this with me. 

It could have been very different. Jacob could have hated bicycles and not want anything to do with me. I was blessed it wasn't this way. This is something I am especially grateful for to this day. 

Jacob really took to riding alleys. Guess he got that from me!

 

Jacob wasn't particularly in the mood here. It was hot, and the ride was long. 

Eventually Jacob was outgrowing the Mukluk. It would be time again to get him into something which would accommodate his growth. So, along about 2016, I came across a close-out Origin 8 Scout XLT fat bike frame. Meanwhile, Jacob's old Mukluk had a fork recall. I stuck on an Enabler fork on the bike while the stock fork was taken off. Once the new, carbon replacement fork arrived, I had a complete frame and fork for Jacob's new bike. I transferred over a lot of his old stuff, but I did also get a wheel set off of N.Y. Roll's Beargrease to use on the bike. This wheel set had green anodized Salsa hubs, so the bike was mostly flat black with green accents. It actually came out quite well. 

The Scout XLT right after I finished building it up. 

 

A visit to the Green Belt Lake with the Scout XLT in the foreground. 

By now Jacob was age 13 and growing up quickly. He was starting to find friends and wanting to do things with them. While our rides and adventures continued, they became fewer and further between. 

I recall one ride in the Green Belt when Jacob was about 14 or 15. He was getting bigger and stronger.We were working hard on some grassy stretch when I turned around to see he'd stopped and was fussing around with his bike. I rode back to find he had folded over his 1X chain ring! 

That turned into a long walk out of the woods. It also was one of our last bicycle adventures we went on. After I fixed the Scout, he started riding over to a friends house and spending time riding with another kid who was his age. It was all good. It was time for Jacob to make his own way. 

Those two used to ride quite a bit for a short period of time until his friend started driving. Once they got all turned around and ended up in Cedar Falls. I was actually kind of proud of them for figuring out how to get back home.  

One issue with the Scout XLT was that it was too nice. I would sternly advise Jacob anytime he went out for a ride on it not to allow it to sit unattended. Then when football practice demanded his time at odd hours, we had to find Jacob a bicycle he could use which wouldn't attract the "wrong" attention. Ironically this came in the form of the Sierra from the Xtra-cycle days. I took the Xtra-cycle attachment off, built up a heavy duty rear wheel, and sent Jacob off on that bike. This became his main form of transport and cycling then for several years until he started driving. 

The bike which Jacob ended up using as an adult was the front half of this cargo set up. 

 Once Jacob got into college and was driving he rarely took bicycle rides. Then he got his job as a CNC machinist and life took him in a different direction. Maybe he would have come back to cycling at some point in the future, I don't know. 

Never will know... 

 I do know he still wanted to spend time with me. Instead of riding we'd often go on walks. Spending time chatting and just being quiet together replaced the wind in our ears and pedaling. 

I also do know Jacob was looking for opportunities to get out in nature with me. He asked if we could go fishing a few weeks before he died. I told him if he got a license we'd go.  

It never happened.  

I am still really sad and I will miss Jacob sorely, but I am so blessed we got to be ridin' buddies for as long as we were. I learned a lot from Jacob during those times. How to be amazed at little things. How he saw nature and how he overcame his struggles with riding are all inspirations to this day. 

I miss my ridin' buddy......