The Summer was a contrast of high and low. The high started out in July with the recapping of the Tree In The Road Ride. The trip to Atlantic was a memorable one and a chance to reconnect with dear friends.
Then I had a pretty nice 4th of July ride with a decently long course. I was able to get out one other time after this in about three weeks though because the weather pattern went hot, windy, and rainy. The bad days seemed to always fall on days I could ride, so I was a bit on the frustrated side during the latter half of the month. So much so I posted about being happy July was going away. Man..... Hindsight is 20 - 20, they say. I'd take that post back in a heartbeat today.
During July I started a project which used my old Singular Cycles Buzzard hard tail trail bike. I replaced the front wheel to a rear single speed hub and used my old Ti Muk 1's steel Salsa Enabler fork to make an odd wheel-swappable bike for bike packing.
It turned out really well, but like every other year, I never actually went anywhere to use it. I know it sounds like a broken record to you long-time blog readers, but I have that route ready for a two-day gravel bikepacking outing, and I still intend on doing it.
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| The last image I took of my son. 7/25/25 |
I could say a lot of things here, and I have already said a lot of things here on these digital pages. I am torn as to how much I should write here about the death of Jacob and how it has affected me. What I am not hesitant to write about and share here is how several people have come through and supported me through this time.
Many of you dear readers are amongst this number of people who have done over and above anything I could have imagined. Kind words, gestures, and more have been consistently received here since August's tragedy in my life. I appreciate each and every thought, prayer, kind words,shared, and more.
I guess there are a few folks out there having a hard time "reading me" and how I am actually doing here. I just want to address this by saying there are days of tears..still. There are days of being just "okay". I laugh. I enjoy riding bicycles. I cherish friends and family maybe a bit more these days. I lean on my Faith, I pray a lot more. There is a lot of heartache and pain, but there also have been plenty of amazing experiences right alongside of those painful emotions and memories. It's weird, and I don't know how to fully express what I feel and am going through.
So, that is how I am doing.
In honor of my son, I did a ride in late August I dubbed "The Ride For Jacob". I usually go for one long ride in the Summer which I had always called "The Death Ride" because I would ride until I was about dead. In light of what had recently happened this name did not seem right. So, I renamed it "Ride For Jacob" and this will be how I name this ride going forward.
Anyway, it turned out to be the longest ride I will get done in 2025. A metric century. A healing ride. A way to honor my son and the man he turned out to be.
I used the old Gen I Fargo for this ride. I also had 180mm long cranks on it! I made it through with no issues, really, but I did learn I prefer shorter cranks than 180mm.
Otherwise the Fargo was stellar, Even with that heavy wheel set and thick Surly Extraterrestrial 29 x 2.5" tires. I won't lie, I was cooked after the effort, and a lighter wheel set with lighter tires probably would have been better, but I was fine and the tires did soak up a lot of gravel vibrations. This will be the bike for the upcoming L.O.G. Ride in April next year, and I may have to build that lighter wheel set before I take off for the Flint Hills where there will be a LOT more elevation!
Next up in the Rear View will be the months of September and October. Look for the next Rear View 2025 in a week from now. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions.
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