Minus Ten Review 2009-33

The last one. The ill-fated 2009 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo poster.

Ten years ago this week on the blog there was a LOT of 29"er news. Gary Fisher Bikes, (remember that brand?) announced their new MTB's for 2010. It would be the last year that Gary Fisher would be a stand alone brand. But, of course, we didn't know that then.

I also had news of a 29" Maverick American bike with one of those Maverick American forks on it. Remember THAT brand?

Weird handle bars were still a big deal back then and several were introduced into the market. What was it about 29"ers and "alt bars"? Gotta say this- 29 inch wheeled bikes really opened up a can-o-worms not just in the wheel size realm, but in several other areas as well.

I also announced the details on the 2009 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. While it didn't all turn out the way I wanted it to, due to a family emergency and weather, this was the version I had in mind from the beginning. No vendors. No hoopla. Just a bunch of yahoos getting together to ride 29"ers. In fact, it was still too tied to media and the industry for my tastes. But whatever..... It was what it was.

Ah! The "what ifs" about this idea still haunt me to this day. Had I not listened to Tim Grahl and just done it my way, ya know? But you cannot re-live the past. Only learn from it. In fact, the failures of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo actually reinforced my desires to do better and to "do it my way" in regard to Trans Iowa. The lessons from this deal finally pushed me out of "Twenty Nine Inches" and into doing something else I really wanted to do. The lessons of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo helped me to end Trans Iowa in the way I wanted to do it.

So, while on the surface of it, the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo may seem like a colossal failure, it was not. It gave me some good lessons in life. It helped me forge friendships and I owe a lot to the event for that. Yes- I have regrets. But had it not gone the way that it did, who knows what my life would be like now.

Not as good, I bet.

Minus Ten Review 2009-33

The last one. The ill-fated 2009 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo poster.

Ten years ago this week on the blog there was a LOT of 29"er news. Gary Fisher Bikes, (remember that brand?) announced their new MTB's for 2010. It would be the last year that Gary Fisher would be a stand alone brand. But, of course, we didn't know that then.

I also had news of a 29" Maverick American bike with one of those Maverick American forks on it. Remember THAT brand?

Weird handle bars were still a big deal back then and several were introduced into the market. What was it about 29"ers and "alt bars"? Gotta say this- 29 inch wheeled bikes really opened up a can-o-worms not just in the wheel size realm, but in several other areas as well.

I also announced the details on the 2009 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. While it didn't all turn out the way I wanted it to, due to a family emergency and weather, this was the version I had in mind from the beginning. No vendors. No hoopla. Just a bunch of yahoos getting together to ride 29"ers. In fact, it was still too tied to media and the industry for my tastes. But whatever..... It was what it was.

Ah! The "what ifs" about this idea still haunt me to this day. Had I not listened to Tim Grahl and just done it my way, ya know? But you cannot re-live the past. Only learn from it. In fact, the failures of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo actually reinforced my desires to do better and to "do it my way" in regard to Trans Iowa. The lessons from this deal finally pushed me out of "Twenty Nine Inches" and into doing something else I really wanted to do. The lessons of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo helped me to end Trans Iowa in the way I wanted to do it.

So, while on the surface of it, the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo may seem like a colossal failure, it was not. It gave me some good lessons in life. It helped me forge friendships and I owe a lot to the event for that. Yes- I have regrets. But had it not gone the way that it did, who knows what my life would be like now.

Not as good, I bet.

Minus Ten Review- 25

Vendor bikes at the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo demo in Decorah, Iowa

Ten years ago this week I was involved in this festival/demo in Decorah Iowa that I wanted to call "The Midwest 29"er Meetup". In fact, I didn't want it to be anything else but an actual meeting of riders. All I wanted to have happen was to have riders have fun and ride bikes.

Instead, I let the guy who owned Twenty Nine Inches at that time talk me in to something else.

Boy, do I ever regret letting that happen. 

Which taught me a lesson: Don't ever let anyone talk you out of your dream or vision of how you see something going if you really believe in it. It will never be a success if you let that happen.

So it was to be with this deal called the "Big Wheeled Ballyhoo". It never really worked out, and I never really felt good about it. We had to cancel it due to weather in 2008 and in 2009 I gave it one more shot with help from good friends, and in an effort to start to turn it back in to the thing I thought it should be. Well, it snowed 8 or 9 inches, or some ridiculous thing, on that one. Plus, it happened that I couldn't even be there due to a member of the family having a health serious issue, which required me to stay home.

In short, The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo was doomed. I just wasn't meant to be, in my opinion.

Brandon, a mechanic for Milltown Cycles, riding Ben Witt's 36"er.

Oh, there were some good things that happened at that first Ballyhoo. We got  to hang out with some great folks. There were some cool bikes to check out including the first ever, (I might be mistaken here), ride by anyone of a G2 geometry Fisher Paragon with the brand new Fox fork for 29"ers. If we weren't the first, we were close to it.

Of course, there were the previously mentioned lessons learned. Invaluable to me going forward in regard to putting on Trans Iowa. At this point ten years ago, Trans Iowa was a dead idea to me, but when it was resurrected not more than a couple of months later, the Ballyhoo experiences were what I leaned on. Those experiences steeled my desire to keep Trans Iowa true to its roots and to not let anybody talk me out of that.

I also learned who some of my friends were and who supported what I believed in and who did not. Character was shown and taken note of. The entirety of the Ballyhoo experience was good in that I made some good friends, learned who I could trust, and left the rest behind. I do not regret ever doing it, but it was not a pleasant experience overall.

Sometimes learning things and growing up is hard.

Minus Ten Review- 25

Vendor bikes at the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo demo in Decorah, Iowa

Ten years ago this week I was involved in this festival/demo in Decorah Iowa that I wanted to call "The Midwest 29"er Meetup". In fact, I didn't want it to be anything else but an actual meeting of riders. All I wanted to have happen was to have riders have fun and ride bikes.

Instead, I let the guy who owned Twenty Nine Inches at that time talk me in to something else.

Boy, do I ever regret letting that happen. 

Which taught me a lesson: Don't ever let anyone talk you out of your dream or vision of how you see something going if you really believe in it. It will never be a success if you let that happen.

So it was to be with this deal called the "Big Wheeled Ballyhoo". It never really worked out, and I never really felt good about it. We had to cancel it due to weather in 2008 and in 2009 I gave it one more shot with help from good friends, and in an effort to start to turn it back in to the thing I thought it should be. Well, it snowed 8 or 9 inches, or some ridiculous thing, on that one. Plus, it happened that I couldn't even be there due to a member of the family having a health serious issue, which required me to stay home.

In short, The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo was doomed. I just wasn't meant to be, in my opinion.

Brandon, a mechanic for Milltown Cycles, riding Ben Witt's 36"er.

Oh, there were some good things that happened at that first Ballyhoo. We got  to hang out with some great folks. There were some cool bikes to check out including the first ever, (I might be mistaken here), ride by anyone of a G2 geometry Fisher Paragon with the brand new Fox fork for 29"ers. If we weren't the first, we were close to it.

Of course, there were the previously mentioned lessons learned. Invaluable to me going forward in regard to putting on Trans Iowa. At this point ten years ago, Trans Iowa was a dead idea to me, but when it was resurrected not more than a couple of months later, the Ballyhoo experiences were what I leaned on. Those experiences steeled my desire to keep Trans Iowa true to its roots and to not let anybody talk me out of that.

I also learned who some of my friends were and who supported what I believed in and who did not. Character was shown and taken note of. The entirety of the Ballyhoo experience was good in that I made some good friends, learned who I could trust, and left the rest behind. I do not regret ever doing it, but it was not a pleasant experience overall.

Sometimes learning things and growing up is hard.

Minus Ten Review- 1

Oh yeah..... Another year of looking back. This time it will be all about what I was up to here in 2007. So, just a few words about the year in general before I kick things off. 2007 was a pivotal year for me and the blog. In '06, things went from local only to national in scale. 2007 brought even more scope and really was the year that kicked me off in the general direction I have been in ever since then. It also was the year that I was kind of "kicked out of the nest", as it were, since Jeff Kerkove left for Ergon, Buchannondale was gone by this time a decade ago, and I had no foils, no riding partners, and certainly, no real encouragement here locally. Most of the folks I would be riding with in '06 and '07 would move on to support the other local shop here and since I worked for the competitor, I was kind of left outside of the loop.

I rode the XXIX+G on a gravel group ride with Jeff Kerkove for the last time ever in January of '07.

That persisted to be the case for a lot of the past decade, which I never really went out of my way to try to change, because it was/is what it is. Besides, I was dedicated to raising my family and I was very busy at times when others had time to do group rides, etc. In fact, it still is that way for me. I'm not complaining, I am just relating that at this time in '07, things changed in that way. One of the things I had going on, which none of the local cyclists here had, was an event of such magnitude that it consumed a lot of my off time. That being Trans Iowa, of course. Then there was the second Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and a plan to do a "festival" type 29"er based event in Decorah, Iowa. So, it wasn't like I didn't have other things going on and was sitting around waiting for an invitation to ride somewhere.

Trans Iowa was in a pivotal year, although I had no idea going in just how big of a deal T.I.v3 would be. All I knew was that the responsibility for the course recon and planning of the event was now all mine to bear. Jeff was off doing things to solidify his intentions to move to Colorado and work for Ergon, who were courting him throughout the Winter of '06.'07. So, this meant that for the first time I was in charge of the meeting venue, the details regarding lodging, the City relations, and prizing/sponsorship. All things Jeff had expertly done for Trans Iowa the first two years in.

The first year I used this bridge over the Volga River in a route was for T.I.v3

In fact, ten years ago Trans Iowa recon was what the blog was all about for the most part. I headed out on my own to see a major portion of the route which came out and back to Decorah for the first time ever.

I was pretty pleased with the route to the North, but bringing it around closer to the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area was a bit of an issue since the terrain was not as demanding as it was up there around Decorah. The route had a couple of iron gabled bridges on it which I was pretty happy to have found. I always throw those in if I see them and they make sense for the course. Sometimes they haven't made sense to use, but I've been lucky to find many of these throughout the years that did work out. Like barns, these bridges are slowly decaying. They are being shut down or replaced with modern, boring cement bridges at a rapid pace. I figure we should use them while we can.

Of course, there was the last gravel group ride I was on with Jeff. He had been doing these for a while in '05 and '06, and this was one of the only ones I had been available for to go along on. I rode the new to me Raleigh XXIX+G with a few modifications. It was........not the greatest bike. I think I touched on this before, but the geometry for forks and the geometry for frames were not yet refined for 29"ers, so that was a bit of a nit I had with that old bike, and I never really was able to resolve it. I tried all sorts of oddball set ups on it with the hope that something would click. But as with the Salsa Dos Niner I had, nothing really settled with me, although there were various tries at getting those bikes "right".

Minus Ten Review- 1

Oh yeah..... Another year of looking back. This time it will be all about what I was up to here in 2007. So, just a few words about the year in general before I kick things off. 2007 was a pivotal year for me and the blog. In '06, things went from local only to national in scale. 2007 brought even more scope and really was the year that kicked me off in the general direction I have been in ever since then. It also was the year that I was kind of "kicked out of the nest", as it were, since Jeff Kerkove left for Ergon, Buchannondale was gone by this time a decade ago, and I had no foils, no riding partners, and certainly, no real encouragement here locally. Most of the folks I would be riding with in '06 and '07 would move on to support the other local shop here and since I worked for the competitor, I was kind of left outside of the loop.

I rode the XXIX+G on a gravel group ride with Jeff Kerkove for the last time ever in January of '07.

That persisted to be the case for a lot of the past decade, which I never really went out of my way to try to change, because it was/is what it is. Besides, I was dedicated to raising my family and I was very busy at times when others had time to do group rides, etc. In fact, it still is that way for me. I'm not complaining, I am just relating that at this time in '07, things changed in that way. One of the things I had going on, which none of the local cyclists here had, was an event of such magnitude that it consumed a lot of my off time. That being Trans Iowa, of course. Then there was the second Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and a plan to do a "festival" type 29"er based event in Decorah, Iowa. So, it wasn't like I didn't have other things going on and was sitting around waiting for an invitation to ride somewhere.

Trans Iowa was in a pivotal year, although I had no idea going in just how big of a deal T.I.v3 would be. All I knew was that the responsibility for the course recon and planning of the event was now all mine to bear. Jeff was off doing things to solidify his intentions to move to Colorado and work for Ergon, who were courting him throughout the Winter of '06.'07. So, this meant that for the first time I was in charge of the meeting venue, the details regarding lodging, the City relations, and prizing/sponsorship. All things Jeff had expertly done for Trans Iowa the first two years in.

The first year I used this bridge over the Volga River in a route was for T.I.v3

In fact, ten years ago Trans Iowa recon was what the blog was all about for the most part. I headed out on my own to see a major portion of the route which came out and back to Decorah for the first time ever.

I was pretty pleased with the route to the North, but bringing it around closer to the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area was a bit of an issue since the terrain was not as demanding as it was up there around Decorah. The route had a couple of iron gabled bridges on it which I was pretty happy to have found. I always throw those in if I see them and they make sense for the course. Sometimes they haven't made sense to use, but I've been lucky to find many of these throughout the years that did work out. Like barns, these bridges are slowly decaying. They are being shut down or replaced with modern, boring cement bridges at a rapid pace. I figure we should use them while we can.

Of course, there was the last gravel group ride I was on with Jeff. He had been doing these for a while in '05 and '06, and this was one of the only ones I had been available for to go along on. I rode the new to me Raleigh XXIX+G with a few modifications. It was........not the greatest bike. I think I touched on this before, but the geometry for forks and the geometry for frames were not yet refined for 29"ers, so that was a bit of a nit I had with that old bike, and I never really was able to resolve it. I tried all sorts of oddball set ups on it with the hope that something would click. But as with the Salsa Dos Niner I had, nothing really settled with me, although there were various tries at getting those bikes "right".

Minus Ten Review- 42

A 2007 Fisher Paragon with an example of the first Fox 29'er fork made

Ten years ago on the blog I made a very simple, honest request and posted the following title to kick it off: "Mid-West 29"er Get Together In '07?"

Ya know how sometimes you look back at how you did some things and wished that you had followed your original intuitions? Or have you ever felt like you didn't stick to your guns and the vision got swooped up by others that didn't "get it" and everything went swirling down the proverbial toilet?

Yeah......

That's what happened to that idea I proposed back in 2006. I let others twist my original ideas, take them, and eventually make it so that the goals were impossible and I didn't put my foot down and say "no". I should have.

In the end, what was supposed to just be a fun, casual get together became a failed marketing ploy and got me into some hot water with some folks. I am as much to blame as anyone, because I let go of the reins and trusted others that shouldn't have been let in. That ended up deep sixing what became known as "The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo". I tried to redeem the thing in '09, but an early Winter storm and a family emergency balled up things.

 I got it. It was not meant to be.

I learned a lot though, and those lessons helped me to keep something else I was involved in on track, and helped me to get out of some things that were not where I wanted to go with grace and my dignity intact. Still, that one blog post in '06 really set a ball of crap rolling down hill that ended up becoming kind of a train wreck. There were good things, for sure. Good times, adventures, and relationships that were made and some maintained right up until today. Some cool 29"er stuff was shown and shared, like the first commercially available Fox 29"er forks. It was fun, but it wasn't what I would have done had I stuck to my guns.  

Minus Ten Review- 42

A 2007 Fisher Paragon with an example of the first Fox 29'er fork made

Ten years ago on the blog I made a very simple, honest request and posted the following title to kick it off: "Mid-West 29"er Get Together In '07?"

Ya know how sometimes you look back at how you did some things and wished that you had followed your original intuitions? Or have you ever felt like you didn't stick to your guns and the vision got swooped up by others that didn't "get it" and everything went swirling down the proverbial toilet?

Yeah......

That's what happened to that idea I proposed back in 2006. I let others twist my original ideas, take them, and eventually make it so that the goals were impossible and I didn't put my foot down and say "no". I should have.

In the end, what was supposed to just be a fun, casual get together became a failed marketing ploy and got me into some hot water with some folks. I am as much to blame as anyone, because I let go of the reins and trusted others that shouldn't have been let in. That ended up deep sixing what became known as "The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo". I tried to redeem the thing in '09, but an early Winter storm and a family emergency balled up things.

 I got it. It was not meant to be.

I learned a lot though, and those lessons helped me to keep something else I was involved in on track, and helped me to get out of some things that were not where I wanted to go with grace and my dignity intact. Still, that one blog post in '06 really set a ball of crap rolling down hill that ended up becoming kind of a train wreck. There were good things, for sure. Good times, adventures, and relationships that were made and some maintained right up until today. Some cool 29"er stuff was shown and shared, like the first commercially available Fox 29"er forks. It was fun, but it wasn't what I would have done had I stuck to my guns.  

Home Again

Well, I bugged outta the Lost Wages morass Thursday in the AM. I had my associate, Grannygear, dump me off at McCarran, as I posted yesterday, and since then, I was up for 38.5 hours. Yep! Pretty much awake the whole time with a couple of plane ride cat naps.

Call it T.I.V6 training. I usually am up about that long on those events too. Speaking of T.I.V6, I got some awesome news at Interbike. I am not at liberty to discuss details right now, but somebody has stepped forward in a huge way to offer sponsorship and logistical help that, if it all works out, will be a huge step up for T.I. in terms of just about everything.

Yeah, it is that good! I am really stoked, and d.p. and I are going to have a meeting with this mysterious person and get some details nailed down. Once we have something solid, look for an announcement. This won't be for about a month, so don't get too excited just yet, but feel free to speculate!

In the interim my attention is going to be full on the Bigwheeled Ballyhoo. That's coming up October 10th-11th, so it isn't far away! (Wasn't it like just August yesterday? Weird!)

Also, I got a kick arse t-shirt in the mail that was supposed to show up before Interbike so I could sport it around the show floor. Dang it! Now that I have seen it, I am super bummed I didn't get it before hand. Awwww.........I'll just have to get it in as many blog posts as I can in the next few months. In fact, I have an idea about this shirt, so Jason, if you are reading this, expect an e-mail when my brain starts functioning correctly again.

In the meantime, go read all my Interbike scribin' at Twenty Nine Inches. Then go ride yer bicycles!

Home Again

Well, I bugged outta the Lost Wages morass Thursday in the AM. I had my associate, Grannygear, dump me off at McCarran, as I posted yesterday, and since then, I was up for 38.5 hours. Yep! Pretty much awake the whole time with a couple of plane ride cat naps.

Call it T.I.V6 training. I usually am up about that long on those events too. Speaking of T.I.V6, I got some awesome news at Interbike. I am not at liberty to discuss details right now, but somebody has stepped forward in a huge way to offer sponsorship and logistical help that, if it all works out, will be a huge step up for T.I. in terms of just about everything.

Yeah, it is that good! I am really stoked, and d.p. and I are going to have a meeting with this mysterious person and get some details nailed down. Once we have something solid, look for an announcement. This won't be for about a month, so don't get too excited just yet, but feel free to speculate!

In the interim my attention is going to be full on the Bigwheeled Ballyhoo. That's coming up October 10th-11th, so it isn't far away! (Wasn't it like just August yesterday? Weird!)

Also, I got a kick arse t-shirt in the mail that was supposed to show up before Interbike so I could sport it around the show floor. Dang it! Now that I have seen it, I am super bummed I didn't get it before hand. Awwww.........I'll just have to get it in as many blog posts as I can in the next few months. In fact, I have an idea about this shirt, so Jason, if you are reading this, expect an e-mail when my brain starts functioning correctly again.

In the meantime, go read all my Interbike scribin' at Twenty Nine Inches. Then go ride yer bicycles!

Big Wheeled Ballyhoo 2009: Update

More News On The Bigwheeled Ballyhoo October 10th-11th:

The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo has a couple of newsy bits so here goes- Sponsorship of the breakfast on Saturday morning is coming from Giant Bikes and Cycle Works, Lincoln Nebraska. Thanks to these fine cycling companies for puttin' up the moolah for some killer grub that we will all need for riding the challenging Potter's Pasture trails.

Secondly, we have learned that a local winery, 5 Trails Winery, to be exact, is going to provide some wine sales and some pizza sales on site during Saturday evening.

This will be in addition to the potluck/BBQ opportunity that evening. (Bring yer own grub for this)

Also, Cycle Sport Bicycle Shop in North Platte is sponsoring the Porta Potties this time around, so thanks!

A Note About Potter's Pasture Camping: This is going to be a "back country" experience folks. No showers, no convenience stores, not much water. (There will be some available) We pack it in, we pack it out. If you can swing hanging out without every modern convenience, then this is for you.


And don't forget! RSVP now and be automatically entered to win this pair of killer, retro, very limited production Oakley Frogskins.

You'll have to be there to win, and you'll have to RSVP through the link above before October 8th, 2009. (No purchase necessary)

Okay, we're still working on some stuff, and the guys at Potter's are still grooming trails and getting it ready for us. Stay tuned for more updates soon.....

Big Wheeled Ballyhoo 2009: Update

More News On The Bigwheeled Ballyhoo October 10th-11th:

The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo has a couple of newsy bits so here goes- Sponsorship of the breakfast on Saturday morning is coming from Giant Bikes and Cycle Works, Lincoln Nebraska. Thanks to these fine cycling companies for puttin' up the moolah for some killer grub that we will all need for riding the challenging Potter's Pasture trails.

Secondly, we have learned that a local winery, 5 Trails Winery, to be exact, is going to provide some wine sales and some pizza sales on site during Saturday evening.

This will be in addition to the potluck/BBQ opportunity that evening. (Bring yer own grub for this)

Also, Cycle Sport Bicycle Shop in North Platte is sponsoring the Porta Potties this time around, so thanks!

A Note About Potter's Pasture Camping: This is going to be a "back country" experience folks. No showers, no convenience stores, not much water. (There will be some available) We pack it in, we pack it out. If you can swing hanging out without every modern convenience, then this is for you.


And don't forget! RSVP now and be automatically entered to win this pair of killer, retro, very limited production Oakley Frogskins.

You'll have to be there to win, and you'll have to RSVP through the link above before October 8th, 2009. (No purchase necessary)

Okay, we're still working on some stuff, and the guys at Potter's are still grooming trails and getting it ready for us. Stay tuned for more updates soon.....

Weekend Report: The Short Version

The Big Weekend is over. Here's a breif report of what went down with much more detail coming after Touring Tuesdays.

Friday: Left the house about 5:30pm with the family in tow. Drove to Bellevue, Nebraska and dropped them off to a friends house where they spent the weekend. I continued on to Lincoln, Nebraska, arriving at MG's pad to pick up a little "thermonuclear protection". After chit-chatting up Kansans Joel Dyke, Joe Fox, and MG, it was off to the "D Street Hotel", where I met up with Cornbread, who thought I was a solicitor. (If you know the neighborhood, you'd understand a bit better) It was about 11:30pm, and I stayed up to talk a bit with some of the folks and then found my spot on a hardwood floor for the very, very short night's sleep.

Saturday: Woke up at 4:30am and had some grub for breakfast. MW and Troy Krause came by to ride with us over to the MOPAC Trail to start the event. The Good Life Gravel Adventure had 42 starters, and great, coolish weather to start out in. The sunrise was beautiful, but I'll save the rest for later. Short story: Body shut down, I pulled out at the last checkpoint in Courtland with 106 miles of 140 scheduled. Afterwards, I headed back to D Street, did a bit of relaxing, and went with MG that night to Potter's Pasture. (Link takes you to some good photos!)

Sunday: Woke up, ride Potter's Pasture. AWESOME!! Scoped out for the Bigwheeled Ballyhoo.(More on that later) Then had to head back from over 600 miles away from home. (Yeah........lotso windshield time yesterday!) Got home just about 10:30pm.

Whacked!!

I"ll post some pics and give out way more details here and elsewhere soon. Stay Tuned!!

Weekend Report: The Short Version

The Big Weekend is over. Here's a breif report of what went down with much more detail coming after Touring Tuesdays.

Friday: Left the house about 5:30pm with the family in tow. Drove to Bellevue, Nebraska and dropped them off to a friends house where they spent the weekend. I continued on to Lincoln, Nebraska, arriving at MG's pad to pick up a little "thermonuclear protection". After chit-chatting up Kansans Joel Dyke, Joe Fox, and MG, it was off to the "D Street Hotel", where I met up with Cornbread, who thought I was a solicitor. (If you know the neighborhood, you'd understand a bit better) It was about 11:30pm, and I stayed up to talk a bit with some of the folks and then found my spot on a hardwood floor for the very, very short night's sleep.

Saturday: Woke up at 4:30am and had some grub for breakfast. MW and Troy Krause came by to ride with us over to the MOPAC Trail to start the event. The Good Life Gravel Adventure had 42 starters, and great, coolish weather to start out in. The sunrise was beautiful, but I'll save the rest for later. Short story: Body shut down, I pulled out at the last checkpoint in Courtland with 106 miles of 140 scheduled. Afterwards, I headed back to D Street, did a bit of relaxing, and went with MG that night to Potter's Pasture. (Link takes you to some good photos!)

Sunday: Woke up, ride Potter's Pasture. AWESOME!! Scoped out for the Bigwheeled Ballyhoo.(More on that later) Then had to head back from over 600 miles away from home. (Yeah........lotso windshield time yesterday!) Got home just about 10:30pm.

Whacked!!

I"ll post some pics and give out way more details here and elsewhere soon. Stay Tuned!!

Friday News And Views

It's Friday, and you know what that means? It's "Friday News And Views" time!



Big Wheeled Ballyhoo News! Okay, I am finally going to the site of the Ballyhoo to check it out as part of my whirlwind tour of Nebraska this weekend. After I get done with the Good Life Gravel Adventure, it is off to a place near Brady, Nebraska to check out Potter's Pasture on Sunday. Then after a brief tour, I'll be coming back to Iowa on Sunday evening. Can you say "windshield time"? Yes......yes you can!



Eurobike: The biggest, baddest cycling show of 'em all starts next week in Germany. Eurobike is all the rage in the industry and even new 29"er stuff gets debuted there before Interbike, and Euros don't even like 29"ers. (Well, at least the Germans don't!) Anyway, things didn't start out so well for Santa Cruz who had there only ride able production Tall Boy example heisted (along with a bunch of other companies stuff) from a U.K. warehouse that was pinpointed by thieves for this robbery opportunity. Little do they know that this is one of one bikes, and if it ever shows up, it will be like sounding a gong in the industry. Hopefully the dirty pinchers get caught out. Read more about it here. Ironically, Euros don't buy 29"ers much, but apparently they will steal them. Good to know if you are travelling in the Old World with your wagon wheeler!


<===Sorry, but I don't get the step backwards here!

You know what? Technology is supposed to make my life easier! Not more complicated. Case in point is this Blackburn Nuero 6.0 computer. It costs msrp at $250.00, and it tells you all kinds of information. Okay, that's cool. I don't have a problem with information. What I have a problem with is that I have to "sync up" the sensors when I set the unit up, which includes me having to put on the heart rate monitor. Then after the fussy set up procedure, I have to "link" all available sensors every time I wake up the computer from sleep mode. Not only that, but if you stop for longer than 12-15 seconds on a ride, the computer returns to sleep mode and will not start again unless manually prompted to do so. Sorry Blackburn, (and all the other digital computer models like this), but I have a msrp $25.00 Cateye that can start itself after going into sleep mode, and I do not lose any precious data when it does. It doesn't have a fussy set up procedure, and I don't have to "link" it to anything when I go for a ride. It just works. I do not have to remember to do anything.

Okay, so when your digital computer can do that, come back and see me. Otherwise all you have here is a big, stinking pile of fail!




<====Made in the U.S.A., but at what cost???

I posted this frame from Foes Racing on Twenty Nine Inches the other day. While having more choices is good and all, and being a U.S.A. made product is cool, this frame is set to MSRP at $3,000.00!! Yup, all those zeros are correct there. 3 grand for what I am sure is a finely crafted rig, but that is a lot of coin for a single pivot, aluminum frame with 3-4 inches of travel. I don't know about this one folks, but I don't see many of these getting sold. Just my opinion.

I'd love to be wrong about that, and I'd love to see this homegrown wagon wheeler take off, but this is a bit steeply priced to get on board with.



Speaking of home grown......

Chris DeStefano of Chris King Precision Components sent me this image of his new single speed big wheeler. (He is way too kind to me, by the way) Anyway, this is kind of a special rig. Not only does it feature a new Chris King Inset head set, but it was made by Chris King's own frame building crew! You see, Mr. King was somewhat of a frame builder way back, but that part of his business didn't take off, because he got distracted by this head set thing along the way. well, now he has revived that part of his talents with Cielo Bikes. So this is an S&S travel connectored, steel 29"er that Chris D had made for himself by his boss. Weird, but cool! (Wish my boss was a frame builder!) At any rate, it is one sweet rig.

Okay, that's it for today. I'm off to the Good Life Gravel Adventure tonight and tomorrow, then Big Wheeled Ballyhoo territory Saturday night and early Sunday, and a long trip eastwards come Sunday afternoon! Reports to follow!

Go ride yer bikes already!

Friday News And Views

It's Friday, and you know what that means? It's "Friday News And Views" time!



Big Wheeled Ballyhoo News! Okay, I am finally going to the site of the Ballyhoo to check it out as part of my whirlwind tour of Nebraska this weekend. After I get done with the Good Life Gravel Adventure, it is off to a place near Brady, Nebraska to check out Potter's Pasture on Sunday. Then after a brief tour, I'll be coming back to Iowa on Sunday evening. Can you say "windshield time"? Yes......yes you can!



Eurobike: The biggest, baddest cycling show of 'em all starts next week in Germany. Eurobike is all the rage in the industry and even new 29"er stuff gets debuted there before Interbike, and Euros don't even like 29"ers. (Well, at least the Germans don't!) Anyway, things didn't start out so well for Santa Cruz who had there only ride able production Tall Boy example heisted (along with a bunch of other companies stuff) from a U.K. warehouse that was pinpointed by thieves for this robbery opportunity. Little do they know that this is one of one bikes, and if it ever shows up, it will be like sounding a gong in the industry. Hopefully the dirty pinchers get caught out. Read more about it here. Ironically, Euros don't buy 29"ers much, but apparently they will steal them. Good to know if you are travelling in the Old World with your wagon wheeler!


<===Sorry, but I don't get the step backwards here!

You know what? Technology is supposed to make my life easier! Not more complicated. Case in point is this Blackburn Nuero 6.0 computer. It costs msrp at $250.00, and it tells you all kinds of information. Okay, that's cool. I don't have a problem with information. What I have a problem with is that I have to "sync up" the sensors when I set the unit up, which includes me having to put on the heart rate monitor. Then after the fussy set up procedure, I have to "link" all available sensors every time I wake up the computer from sleep mode. Not only that, but if you stop for longer than 12-15 seconds on a ride, the computer returns to sleep mode and will not start again unless manually prompted to do so. Sorry Blackburn, (and all the other digital computer models like this), but I have a msrp $25.00 Cateye that can start itself after going into sleep mode, and I do not lose any precious data when it does. It doesn't have a fussy set up procedure, and I don't have to "link" it to anything when I go for a ride. It just works. I do not have to remember to do anything.

Okay, so when your digital computer can do that, come back and see me. Otherwise all you have here is a big, stinking pile of fail!




<====Made in the U.S.A., but at what cost???

I posted this frame from Foes Racing on Twenty Nine Inches the other day. While having more choices is good and all, and being a U.S.A. made product is cool, this frame is set to MSRP at $3,000.00!! Yup, all those zeros are correct there. 3 grand for what I am sure is a finely crafted rig, but that is a lot of coin for a single pivot, aluminum frame with 3-4 inches of travel. I don't know about this one folks, but I don't see many of these getting sold. Just my opinion.

I'd love to be wrong about that, and I'd love to see this homegrown wagon wheeler take off, but this is a bit steeply priced to get on board with.



Speaking of home grown......

Chris DeStefano of Chris King Precision Components sent me this image of his new single speed big wheeler. (He is way too kind to me, by the way) Anyway, this is kind of a special rig. Not only does it feature a new Chris King Inset head set, but it was made by Chris King's own frame building crew! You see, Mr. King was somewhat of a frame builder way back, but that part of his business didn't take off, because he got distracted by this head set thing along the way. well, now he has revived that part of his talents with Cielo Bikes. So this is an S&S travel connectored, steel 29"er that Chris D had made for himself by his boss. Weird, but cool! (Wish my boss was a frame builder!) At any rate, it is one sweet rig.

Okay, that's it for today. I'm off to the Good Life Gravel Adventure tonight and tomorrow, then Big Wheeled Ballyhoo territory Saturday night and early Sunday, and a long trip eastwards come Sunday afternoon! Reports to follow!

Go ride yer bikes already!

Big Wheeled Ballyhoo 2009

It is happening October 10-11th out in Nebraska. You can hook up with other 29"er freaks and camp out, ride, and hang around for the weekend. We'll be having a home brew beer taste contest, and some other tom foolery, I am sure.

A Word About Potter's Pasture: While it is a cool place to ride, it is a very primitive and out of the way place. We'll have some porta potties lined up, but do not expect any electricity, or much for showers, etc. You'll be roughing it for sure!

The closest hotel/motel is like 30 miles away, so be prepared with whatever you think you will need.

Friday will see folks arriving, setting up, and checking in. There will be a winery serving wine and possibly a keg tapped of some micro-brew. Saturday will be the riding, with a campfire in the evening, a band, and the brew tasting. Sunday we'll do some more riding, and then in the afternoon we'll clean it up and head for the shed! Hope ya can be there! For more details, check out www.bigwheeledballyhoo.com

Big Wheeled Ballyhoo 2009

It is happening October 10-11th out in Nebraska. You can hook up with other 29"er freaks and camp out, ride, and hang around for the weekend. We'll be having a home brew beer taste contest, and some other tom foolery, I am sure.

A Word About Potter's Pasture: While it is a cool place to ride, it is a very primitive and out of the way place. We'll have some porta potties lined up, but do not expect any electricity, or much for showers, etc. You'll be roughing it for sure!

The closest hotel/motel is like 30 miles away, so be prepared with whatever you think you will need.

Friday will see folks arriving, setting up, and checking in. There will be a winery serving wine and possibly a keg tapped of some micro-brew. Saturday will be the riding, with a campfire in the evening, a band, and the brew tasting. Sunday we'll do some more riding, and then in the afternoon we'll clean it up and head for the shed! Hope ya can be there! For more details, check out www.bigwheeledballyhoo.com

Monday News And Views

Lots of stuff has been going down since I have been gone vacationing. Here's a recap of some of that and some commentary to boot.

Chris King Does Another Food Gig: From the lovely state of Oregon comes news of Chris King’s plans to host another event involving food. (For those of you that don’t know, Chris King is a food aficionado of the highest order, and a pretty dang good cook to boot!) For the rest of that story hit this link.

Nomination Papers: A while back, I was tabbed by some "wily coyotes" to help craft the skeleton of a nomination submission to induct Mike Curiak into the Mountain Bike Hall Of Fame. You can find the text of the article here. Keep in mind, I basically drew up a template and the other fellows added and subtracted stuff at will, so this should be seen as a collaborative effort, even though my name is attached to it. Only MBHOF members can vote, so if you wanna vote, ya gotta join up. There.....that's all I gotta say about that!

Top 50 Cycling Blog: Some nutter in the U.K. decided to compile a "Top 50 Cycling Blogs" post and in a stroke of pure luck, "Guitar Ted Productions" came in 26th amongst some truly worthy blogs/sites that deserved it more than I do for my work. At any rate, it seems that some obvious omissions were made, which I thought was kind of funny in a way.

Discussions About Fun, Beer, and Bicycles: During the ride in Platte River State Park, on more than one occasion we stopped to discuss the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo and what we were going to do to make it a memorable, fun event. We concluded that just getting bikes, folks, and beer together ought to pretty much take care of that. But to that end we are planning demo rides from potentially six different 29"er purveyors, music, games, a hand made brew down/tasting contest, and some killer rides including a Fargo Gravel Adventure Ride which will give a few lucky folks a taste of what it is like to ride a Fargo in the environment it was designed for. The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo should be a great time and will kick off on October 10th near Brady, Nebraska.

One More Time.... I wanted to underscore the experience in Nebraska I had on the great trails that I got to sample out there. Really, these are killer single track trails not to be missed. It seems from their own descriptions of the parks, especially Swanson and Jewel Parks, that the trails are somewhat "lame". Nothing could be further from the truth. These trails, if they were in Iowa, would be lauded as some of the best in the state. Heck, they have races at Swanson, so you know it isn't a pansy course. It is just that Platte River is so much more. When you gauge these Bellvue parks against that backdrop, well.....maybe you can see why the descriptions are what they are. I just do not agree at all with the way they are presented, and I wanted to put the word out- Go to Nebraska and ride these trails! They are waaay worth your time and effort.

Monday News And Views

Lots of stuff has been going down since I have been gone vacationing. Here's a recap of some of that and some commentary to boot.

Chris King Does Another Food Gig: From the lovely state of Oregon comes news of Chris King’s plans to host another event involving food. (For those of you that don’t know, Chris King is a food aficionado of the highest order, and a pretty dang good cook to boot!) For the rest of that story hit this link.

Nomination Papers: A while back, I was tabbed by some "wily coyotes" to help craft the skeleton of a nomination submission to induct Mike Curiak into the Mountain Bike Hall Of Fame. You can find the text of the article here. Keep in mind, I basically drew up a template and the other fellows added and subtracted stuff at will, so this should be seen as a collaborative effort, even though my name is attached to it. Only MBHOF members can vote, so if you wanna vote, ya gotta join up. There.....that's all I gotta say about that!

Top 50 Cycling Blog: Some nutter in the U.K. decided to compile a "Top 50 Cycling Blogs" post and in a stroke of pure luck, "Guitar Ted Productions" came in 26th amongst some truly worthy blogs/sites that deserved it more than I do for my work. At any rate, it seems that some obvious omissions were made, which I thought was kind of funny in a way.

Discussions About Fun, Beer, and Bicycles: During the ride in Platte River State Park, on more than one occasion we stopped to discuss the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo and what we were going to do to make it a memorable, fun event. We concluded that just getting bikes, folks, and beer together ought to pretty much take care of that. But to that end we are planning demo rides from potentially six different 29"er purveyors, music, games, a hand made brew down/tasting contest, and some killer rides including a Fargo Gravel Adventure Ride which will give a few lucky folks a taste of what it is like to ride a Fargo in the environment it was designed for. The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo should be a great time and will kick off on October 10th near Brady, Nebraska.

One More Time.... I wanted to underscore the experience in Nebraska I had on the great trails that I got to sample out there. Really, these are killer single track trails not to be missed. It seems from their own descriptions of the parks, especially Swanson and Jewel Parks, that the trails are somewhat "lame". Nothing could be further from the truth. These trails, if they were in Iowa, would be lauded as some of the best in the state. Heck, they have races at Swanson, so you know it isn't a pansy course. It is just that Platte River is so much more. When you gauge these Bellvue parks against that backdrop, well.....maybe you can see why the descriptions are what they are. I just do not agree at all with the way they are presented, and I wanted to put the word out- Go to Nebraska and ride these trails! They are waaay worth your time and effort.