Where Once There Were None

Curve Cycles' Walmer Bar- Just an example of our drop bar rich times.

 As I researched my blog to make updates to the 'Archived Drop Bar Articles' page, I realized that in the last ten years the choices in drop bars for off-pavement riding have become so numerous it would be impossible to name all of them. What a big change from when I first started using off-road drop bars! 

Back when I started riding off-road, it was shortly after the 'drop bar craze' in MTB in the mid to late 80's. There were a few well known choices then. You could get maybe three, maybe four different bars, all based around the customized Cinnelli bars that Charlie Cunningham was making for his own custom bike line. Eventually, WTB, the comapny Charlie helped found, made a version of his bars, Specialized used something Nitto made, I believe, and there may be something I'm not remembering, but the off-road drop bar was a rare bar even then. 

WTB continued to produce their off-road drop bar well into the 1990's. I recall putting a few on one particular guy's bike back then. He got a new WTB Dirt Drop every year. Had I known then what I know now I would have hoarded all his take-offs! It wasn't maybe five years later, after WTB ceased production of the Dirt Drop, that the prices for used ones were around $150.00! This, in turn, prompted On One of the U.K. to collaborate with a few riders to develop the On One Midge Bar, a design with its roots in the WTB Dirt Drop and those older, 1980's dirt drop designs. 

Now by this time I had gotten on the internet and read up on all the old mountain bike stuff I could find. I was aware of the old dirt drop craze as I was heavily into mountain biking magazines back then. So, I sought out more information on folks like Charlie Cunningham, John Tomac, the Specialized Dirt Drop, Ibis, Salsa Cycles, and any other brands involved in the off-road drop bar craze. What I found and read up on changed my mind about using drop bars for off-roading. 

My Karate Monkey, circa 2006, with On One Midge Bars

I then took my Karate Monkey 29"er, which had flat bars originally, and I set it up with an On One Midge Bar. This would have been around 2005 or so. I was hooked, and with Trans Iowa sparking a love for gravel riding, the idea stuck with me as I found myself doing more gravel riding  every year. My love of the off-road drop bar deepened then, and I was trying every new flared drop bar I could. There weren't many either. 

There was the original Gary Bar from Origin 8, a fairly close rendition of the Midge, but with even more flare! There were maybe a couple of other odd-ball ones early on in the late 00's, but there wasn't a lot of traction behind the idea until late in the decade. This all started with a very influential bike model introduction.

Around 2006-2007, some in the gravel/MTB community were asking for something with big volume tires and a flared drop bar. Now, I was getting a ton of questions about my Karate Monkey set up with drop bars. I decided that I needed a 'real off-road drop bar bike', so in 2007, I decided to have not one- but two custom bikes made! Each would address issues I had with drop bars on a MTB-able bike. Well, as it turns out, I wasn't the only one thinking along these lines. 

You may have guessed it, but when Salsa Cycles came out with the Fargo, it was this bike that forced Salsa to design their own take on the flared off-road drop bar. At first, they had the old cyclo cross design called the Bell Lap Bar on the Fargo, but within two years the Woodchipper debuted and the race to develop bars with flare and sweep was on. Shortly thereafter, the Ragely Luxy Bar, the Origin 8 Gary II Bar, and the Salsa Cycles Cowbell appeared. Gravel cyclists gravitated to these bars and subsequently, any bike claiming to be a 'gravel bike' had to have a flared drop bar. It was one of the identifying characteristics of a gravel bike. 

The scene, and the bikes to support it, blossomed wildly in the late teens until we reached a point several years ago that there were so many new flared drop bars at every price point that it became bewildering. You can get cheapo, heavy aluminum dirt drops all the way up to high-zoot, ultra-light carbon flared drops. Widths between 40mm and 60mm are out there too. heck when I started out with these flared drop bars there was one width and we liked it! (HA!)

Oh! And those two custom bikes? One was my Badger and the other is my Pofahl, both of which I still own. Both have Luxy Bars too, which is pretty oddball. But anyway, I find it amazing that in 2021 we have all these choices. It truly is the golden age of flared drop bars.

Where Once There Were None

Curve Cycles' Walmer Bar- Just an example of our drop bar rich times.

 As I researched my blog to make updates to the 'Archived Drop Bar Articles' page, I realized that in the last ten years the choices in drop bars for off-pavement riding have become so numerous it would be impossible to name all of them. What a big change from when I first started using off-road drop bars! 

Back when I started riding off-road, it was shortly after the 'drop bar craze' in MTB in the mid to late 80's. There were a few well known choices then. You could get maybe three, maybe four different bars, all based around the customized Cinnelli bars that Charlie Cunningham was making for his own custom bike line. Eventually, WTB, the comapny Charlie helped found, made a version of his bars, Specialized used something Nitto made, I believe, and there may be something I'm not remembering, but the off-road drop bar was a rare bar even then. 

WTB continued to produce their off-road drop bar well into the 1990's. I recall putting a few on one particular guy's bike back then. He got a new WTB Dirt Drop every year. Had I known then what I know now I would have hoarded all his take-offs! It wasn't maybe five years later, after WTB ceased production of the Dirt Drop, that the prices for used ones were around $150.00! This, in turn, prompted On One of the U.K. to collaborate with a few riders to develop the On One Midge Bar, a design with its roots in the WTB Dirt Drop and those older, 1980's dirt drop designs. 

Now by this time I had gotten on the internet and read up on all the old mountain bike stuff I could find. I was aware of the old dirt drop craze as I was heavily into mountain biking magazines back then. So, I sought out more information on folks like Charlie Cunningham, John Tomac, the Specialized Dirt Drop, Ibis, Salsa Cycles, and any other brands involved in the off-road drop bar craze. What I found and read up on changed my mind about using drop bars for off-roading. 

My Karate Monkey, circa 2006, with On One Midge Bars

I then took my Karate Monkey 29"er, which had flat bars originally, and I set it up with an On One Midge Bar. This would have been around 2005 or so. I was hooked, and with Trans Iowa sparking a love for gravel riding, the idea stuck with me as I found myself doing more gravel riding  every year. My love of the off-road drop bar deepened then, and I was trying every new flared drop bar I could. There weren't many either. 

There was the original Gary Bar from Origin 8, a fairly close rendition of the Midge, but with even more flare! There were maybe a couple of other odd-ball ones early on in the late 00's, but there wasn't a lot of traction behind the idea until late in the decade. This all started with a very influential bike model introduction.

Around 2006-2007, some in the gravel/MTB community were asking for something with big volume tires and a flared drop bar. Now, I was getting a ton of questions about my Karate Monkey set up with drop bars. I decided that I needed a 'real off-road drop bar bike', so in 2007, I decided to have not one- but two custom bikes made! Each would address issues I had with drop bars on a MTB-able bike. Well, as it turns out, I wasn't the only one thinking along these lines. 

You may have guessed it, but when Salsa Cycles came out with the Fargo, it was this bike that forced Salsa to design their own take on the flared off-road drop bar. At first, they had the old cyclo cross design called the Bell Lap Bar on the Fargo, but within two years the Woodchipper debuted and the race to develop bars with flare and sweep was on. Shortly thereafter, the Ragely Luxy Bar, the Origin 8 Gary II Bar, and the Salsa Cycles Cowbell appeared. Gravel cyclists gravitated to these bars and subsequently, any bike claiming to be a 'gravel bike' had to have a flared drop bar. It was one of the identifying characteristics of a gravel bike. 

The scene, and the bikes to support it, blossomed wildly in the late teens until we reached a point several years ago that there were so many new flared drop bars at every price point that it became bewildering. You can get cheapo, heavy aluminum dirt drops all the way up to high-zoot, ultra-light carbon flared drops. Widths between 40mm and 60mm are out there too. heck when I started out with these flared drop bars there was one width and we liked it! (HA!)

Oh! And those two custom bikes? One was my Badger and the other is my Pofahl, both of which I still own. Both have Luxy Bars too, which is pretty oddball. But anyway, I find it amazing that in 2021 we have all these choices. It truly is the golden age of flared drop bars.

Minus Ten Review 2009-36

One of six ever made. Someday I have to get this back up and running again.

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was writing about spiders on the trails, more news on the ill-fated Big Wheeled Ballyhoo, and about some recent riding I had been doing. One thing I was reticent to discuss was the acquisition of a baby blue hard tailed single speed device that has sort of a rough story behind it.

It is a frame I have hanging on a peg these days and was fillet brazed by Badger Cycles for Milltown Cycles, at the time, owned by Ben Witt, a good friend of mine. It was supposed to have been a deal which would have been cool, had it worked out for Ben, but due to "issues" with the builder...... nuff said. 

Anyway, this particular bike was purchased by another friend of Ben's as new from Ben. The whole deal blew up then with these Dorothy bikes and after a while of riding this bike, this fellow, notorious for flipping his rigs after a while, decided to part ways with it. I got a contact from the seller who told me that Ben had informed him I was the the only guy that could purchase the bike from him.

Yeah, weird AND awkward. 

So, anyway, I negotiated a price and the bike came to me. Now there were, (maybe still are) a LOT of bad vibes surrounding this builder, and I used to get e-mails from upset folks every time I posted images of this bike or of my other Badger I have, as if there were anything I could do about their issues. I never did understand why folks felt compelled to regale me with their tales of venomous feelings and what not. (So, just don't, ya know?)

Anyway, the other thing that struck me about this time in my life was how busy I was! Holy cow! No wonder I was feeling the urge to bail out of some things I was doing back then in 2010 and subsequent years. It took me until 2014 to cut ties with a lot of this nonsense, but eventually, I did get out from under some of this pile I was under in 2009. That whole Big Wheeled Ballyhoo deal being a great example right there.

Minus Ten Review 2009-36

One of six ever made. Someday I have to get this back up and running again.

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was writing about spiders on the trails, more news on the ill-fated Big Wheeled Ballyhoo, and about some recent riding I had been doing. One thing I was reticent to discuss was the acquisition of a baby blue hard tailed single speed device that has sort of a rough story behind it.

It is a frame I have hanging on a peg these days and was fillet brazed by Badger Cycles for Milltown Cycles, at the time, owned by Ben Witt, a good friend of mine. It was supposed to have been a deal which would have been cool, had it worked out for Ben, but due to "issues" with the builder...... nuff said. 

Anyway, this particular bike was purchased by another friend of Ben's as new from Ben. The whole deal blew up then with these Dorothy bikes and after a while of riding this bike, this fellow, notorious for flipping his rigs after a while, decided to part ways with it. I got a contact from the seller who told me that Ben had informed him I was the the only guy that could purchase the bike from him.

Yeah, weird AND awkward. 

So, anyway, I negotiated a price and the bike came to me. Now there were, (maybe still are) a LOT of bad vibes surrounding this builder, and I used to get e-mails from upset folks every time I posted images of this bike or of my other Badger I have, as if there were anything I could do about their issues. I never did understand why folks felt compelled to regale me with their tales of venomous feelings and what not. (So, just don't, ya know?)

Anyway, the other thing that struck me about this time in my life was how busy I was! Holy cow! No wonder I was feeling the urge to bail out of some things I was doing back then in 2010 and subsequent years. It took me until 2014 to cut ties with a lot of this nonsense, but eventually, I did get out from under some of this pile I was under in 2009. That whole Big Wheeled Ballyhoo deal being a great example right there.

Minus Ten Review 2009-25

The Badger Dorothy. Not many of these around, and it is a sad tale.

Ten years ago on the blog it was Summer in full swing. Green was everywhere, and so were the skeeters. Hmm....2019 seems about the same, ya know?

But there was this one thing I had going on back then that I didn't say a whole lot about at the time. Probably still won't. It has to do with this baby blue beauty pictured here. It's a Badger Dorothy. One of six ever built.

And I got to ride two of the six. The first one I tested for the old "Twenty Nine Inches" site was a hard tail with verticle drop outs. That was a magical handling bike. Man! That thing could slice and dice Mid-West single track like nothing else. Then that had to go back, and well, that was that, or so I thought, until I got a strange e-mail one day in 2009.

The current owner of the rig wanted to sell it, and supposedly, the only person he could sell it to was me. Stipulation of the original owner of the Dorothy brand. apparently, and so, I was quite puzzled by this. Of course, remembering the previous ride of the Dorothy, I did want the bike. It was set up as a single speed and had Paragon sliding drop outs, a blinged up spec, and one bad thing- It had a dent about the size of a half dollar on the underside of the downtube. I maybe posted about this bike a few times, then I dropped it. The story was just too volatile and personal at the time.

Well, the price was negotiated and I ended up getting it. I rode it maybe three times, but the ding in the downtube weighed upon my mind, and I ended up stripping it, using the parts on other bikes, and hanging the rare bird from a peg in the Lab. "Someday", I thought, "I'll get that fixed."

Well, "someday" still hasn't come. I need to get that taken care of, but yeah. It's a pretty bike. I love sky/Robin's Egg, powder blue colors and the combination of that and the sparkly panels in deep blue. To die for. Plus, no one makes anything like this anymore. This is a hand made, fillet brazed frame and it does ride really sweetly. I should get it back together again, but..... Too many projects!

Minus Ten Review 2009-25

The Badger Dorothy. Not many of these around, and it is a sad tale.

Ten years ago on the blog it was Summer in full swing. Green was everywhere, and so were the skeeters. Hmm....2019 seems about the same, ya know?

But there was this one thing I had going on back then that I didn't say a whole lot about at the time. Probably still won't. It has to do with this baby blue beauty pictured here. It's a Badger Dorothy. One of six ever built.

And I got to ride two of the six. The first one I tested for the old "Twenty Nine Inches" site was a hard tail with verticle drop outs. That was a magical handling bike. Man! That thing could slice and dice Mid-West single track like nothing else. Then that had to go back, and well, that was that, or so I thought, until I got a strange e-mail one day in 2009.

The current owner of the rig wanted to sell it, and supposedly, the only person he could sell it to was me. Stipulation of the original owner of the Dorothy brand. apparently, and so, I was quite puzzled by this. Of course, remembering the previous ride of the Dorothy, I did want the bike. It was set up as a single speed and had Paragon sliding drop outs, a blinged up spec, and one bad thing- It had a dent about the size of a half dollar on the underside of the downtube. I maybe posted about this bike a few times, then I dropped it. The story was just too volatile and personal at the time.

Well, the price was negotiated and I ended up getting it. I rode it maybe three times, but the ding in the downtube weighed upon my mind, and I ended up stripping it, using the parts on other bikes, and hanging the rare bird from a peg in the Lab. "Someday", I thought, "I'll get that fixed."

Well, "someday" still hasn't come. I need to get that taken care of, but yeah. It's a pretty bike. I love sky/Robin's Egg, powder blue colors and the combination of that and the sparkly panels in deep blue. To die for. Plus, no one makes anything like this anymore. This is a hand made, fillet brazed frame and it does ride really sweetly. I should get it back together again, but..... Too many projects!

Minus Ten Review - 11

Siren "Song" 29"er

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was talking about many varied subjects. First notable thing was commuting by bicycle. Gas was approaching $4.00/gallon and many folks were thinking commuting by bicycle was in the imminent future.

Well, we all know how that turned out! Istill cannot believe gas prices haven't been anywhere near that level now for almost a decade.

The other thing I was gabbing about was the planning for the next Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. I had gone up to Decorah, Iowa to meet with the trail group there to discuss ideas for the event. It was fun.......then. Several months later it was not so much fun, but that pivotal story will have to wait for later.

There was a lot of tubeless tire converting going on in advance of my trip to Texas to see my in laws and ride at Franklin Mountain State Park. This would be my second trip with bicycles to this area. I set up my first set of tires with the now famous "MG's Secret Sauce" tubeless goo and another wheelset with Stan's.

I also was taking the fetching Siren Song single speed soft tail mountain bike along for the ride. I was pretty stoked to try this rig and I was honored to once again ride a small builder's bike. But not all was well in the custom bike builder's world and at about this time Badger Cycles was imploding and since I had one of their bikes it was making me a target for some nasty comments. It is one of the reasons I put the bike away for many years, with only brief encounters with the outside world.

Minus Ten Review - 11

Siren "Song" 29"er

Ten years ago this week on the blog I was talking about many varied subjects. First notable thing was commuting by bicycle. Gas was approaching $4.00/gallon and many folks were thinking commuting by bicycle was in the imminent future.

Well, we all know how that turned out! Istill cannot believe gas prices haven't been anywhere near that level now for almost a decade.

The other thing I was gabbing about was the planning for the next Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. I had gone up to Decorah, Iowa to meet with the trail group there to discuss ideas for the event. It was fun.......then. Several months later it was not so much fun, but that pivotal story will have to wait for later.

There was a lot of tubeless tire converting going on in advance of my trip to Texas to see my in laws and ride at Franklin Mountain State Park. This would be my second trip with bicycles to this area. I set up my first set of tires with the now famous "MG's Secret Sauce" tubeless goo and another wheelset with Stan's.

I also was taking the fetching Siren Song single speed soft tail mountain bike along for the ride. I was pretty stoked to try this rig and I was honored to once again ride a small builder's bike. But not all was well in the custom bike builder's world and at about this time Badger Cycles was imploding and since I had one of their bikes it was making me a target for some nasty comments. It is one of the reasons I put the bike away for many years, with only brief encounters with the outside world.

Minus Ten Review- 5

The night I finished it it was too cold to take it outside for its debut image.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about a few things. One was how it feels to drop out of a longer event. Back then this was a new phenomenon to me. I had dropped out at the halfway point of the first DK200 due to a dizzy spell. I had also watched as Trans Iowa riders dealt with the aftermath of their decision to "pull the plug" on their attempt.

Of course, this is a big topic. I could ruminate upon it for a few posts, most likely, but it also must be balanced with knowing when to pull the plug. I feel this balance- wanting to push on, knowing when not to, and dealing with the decision afterward is one of the most fascinating things about ultra-distance, endurance, and (probably)  any tougher challenge one engages in. I've been in that place plenty throughout my riding in gravel events. I have a pretty long list of DNF's and not many finishes. But I keep on trying.....

That aside, I also was yakking about something which, since a decade ago, I haven't seen anyone talk about here since. It has to do with why folks don't commute by bicycle here. While I don't think this is the only reason people don't commute by bicycle, I do think it is an unspoken aspect of commuting that isn't often, if ever, addressed anymore. Here's the quote from back then:

"A couple of years ago, I talked to the German owner of an American bike company who mentioned that one of the reasons he sees why Americans don’t ride to work is they are afraid of sweating and getting dirty. American culture has deemed it that thou shalt not stink and that you shalt have a sweet perfumey aire about them. There’s nothing wrong with a little human smell. "

Then I had just gotten a bicycle built as well. The 2007 project that finally was put together about six months later, the custom Badger drop bar hard tail. In fact, the image of that bike shared again here today was the only image on the blog all week ten years ago! 

Minus Ten Review- 5

The night I finished it it was too cold to take it outside for its debut image.

Ten years ago on the blog I was talking about a few things. One was how it feels to drop out of a longer event. Back then this was a new phenomenon to me. I had dropped out at the halfway point of the first DK200 due to a dizzy spell. I had also watched as Trans Iowa riders dealt with the aftermath of their decision to "pull the plug" on their attempt.

Of course, this is a big topic. I could ruminate upon it for a few posts, most likely, but it also must be balanced with knowing when to pull the plug. I feel this balance- wanting to push on, knowing when not to, and dealing with the decision afterward is one of the most fascinating things about ultra-distance, endurance, and (probably)  any tougher challenge one engages in. I've been in that place plenty throughout my riding in gravel events. I have a pretty long list of DNF's and not many finishes. But I keep on trying.....

That aside, I also was yakking about something which, since a decade ago, I haven't seen anyone talk about here since. It has to do with why folks don't commute by bicycle here. While I don't think this is the only reason people don't commute by bicycle, I do think it is an unspoken aspect of commuting that isn't often, if ever, addressed anymore. Here's the quote from back then:

"A couple of years ago, I talked to the German owner of an American bike company who mentioned that one of the reasons he sees why Americans don’t ride to work is they are afraid of sweating and getting dirty. American culture has deemed it that thou shalt not stink and that you shalt have a sweet perfumey aire about them. There’s nothing wrong with a little human smell. "

Then I had just gotten a bicycle built as well. The 2007 project that finally was put together about six months later, the custom Badger drop bar hard tail. In fact, the image of that bike shared again here today was the only image on the blog all week ten years ago! 

Minus Ten Review- 1

The only images I posted the first week of 2008 were of my Badger.

Ten years ago on the blog I wasn't doing any reporting on riding because, well........Winter! Typically it wasn't warm enough, there was ice on the roads, and we did not have fat bikes yet.

I did show off some parts I installed on my Badger. That bike just took forever to get going on due to financial constraints and the over all vibe I was getting for even having one of these bikes. (The story has been told before, I am not going to re-hash it again here.)

Anyway, both things were downers and caused me to really draw out the finishing of this rig. In other news I noted a Planet Bike presser that stated they had switched over to solar power. I also noted Jeff Kerkove was now bitching about wind in Colorado. He was doing a lot of gravel riding out there at the time. I thought it rather ironic that he was complaining about the wind since he was famous for saying , "The wind is our mountains.", when he lived out here in Iowa.

Finally I was talking about doing my own gravel travel soon back then. I was pretty much hooked on doing gravel back in '07 and I wanted to just ride miles and miles of the stuff if I could. The trouble was that I was then hooked into doing this 29"er site and product reviewing at that time which ended up keeping me away from gravel riding for the most part. That lasted another six years. Ooof!

Glad that is over now! 

Minus Ten Review- 1

The only images I posted the first week of 2008 were of my Badger.

Ten years ago on the blog I wasn't doing any reporting on riding because, well........Winter! Typically it wasn't warm enough, there was ice on the roads, and we did not have fat bikes yet.

I did show off some parts I installed on my Badger. That bike just took forever to get going on due to financial constraints and the over all vibe I was getting for even having one of these bikes. (The story has been told before, I am not going to re-hash it again here.)

Anyway, both things were downers and caused me to really draw out the finishing of this rig. In other news I noted a Planet Bike presser that stated they had switched over to solar power. I also noted Jeff Kerkove was now bitching about wind in Colorado. He was doing a lot of gravel riding out there at the time. I thought it rather ironic that he was complaining about the wind since he was famous for saying , "The wind is our mountains.", when he lived out here in Iowa.

Finally I was talking about doing my own gravel travel soon back then. I was pretty much hooked on doing gravel back in '07 and I wanted to just ride miles and miles of the stuff if I could. The trouble was that I was then hooked into doing this 29"er site and product reviewing at that time which ended up keeping me away from gravel riding for the most part. That lasted another six years. Ooof!

Glad that is over now! 

Minus Ten Review- 46

The Badger as it appears now in 2017

Ten years ago on the blog I didn't have much up for images, but there were a few of my bare framed Badger. I had not gotten it built up yet then as I was not very flush with cash. You know, as a bike shop employee in the Mid-West, not much has changed in that regard since that time!

This year I did get the Badger built back up in much the same way as I had envisioned it being back in 2007. Mostly silver components and nice wheels and tires. But it just wasn't to be back in 2007/2008. Things were taking off with the "Twenty Nine Inches" gig and time was short. Any extra money and time I could generate was funneled toward making TNI, and the couple of other website ventures I had going on then, work at least in a minimally effective capacity. Personal build projects like the Badger or my long running efforts to bring back my Karate Monkey to life were put on the back burner. Like, for years. 

The Trans Iowa v4 registration was still ongoing at this time ten years ago. This would have marked the first year that staged registration was used. Previously anyone and everyone's cards or online registration was accepted through a pre-set time period. But for v4 and beyond, the registration was done in a manner reflecting the "Winners/Finishers first, everybody else second" method. It was our way to honor those who had accomplished the feat of Trans Iowa, which at that time was less than 34 people.

My co-director, David Pals, and I were still working out just when we both could get together to do a recon. Unfortunately it wasn't until after we had a lot of snow and the temperatures were brutal on the day we tried to make it work. It was a small baby step as far as what needed to get accomplished, but it was something, at least.

Other than those things I was just looking forward to Thanksgiving and taking a bit of time off from the bustle of Trans Iowa and testing product.

Minus Ten Review- 46

The Badger as it appears now in 2017

Ten years ago on the blog I didn't have much up for images, but there were a few of my bare framed Badger. I had not gotten it built up yet then as I was not very flush with cash. You know, as a bike shop employee in the Mid-West, not much has changed in that regard since that time!

This year I did get the Badger built back up in much the same way as I had envisioned it being back in 2007. Mostly silver components and nice wheels and tires. But it just wasn't to be back in 2007/2008. Things were taking off with the "Twenty Nine Inches" gig and time was short. Any extra money and time I could generate was funneled toward making TNI, and the couple of other website ventures I had going on then, work at least in a minimally effective capacity. Personal build projects like the Badger or my long running efforts to bring back my Karate Monkey to life were put on the back burner. Like, for years. 

The Trans Iowa v4 registration was still ongoing at this time ten years ago. This would have marked the first year that staged registration was used. Previously anyone and everyone's cards or online registration was accepted through a pre-set time period. But for v4 and beyond, the registration was done in a manner reflecting the "Winners/Finishers first, everybody else second" method. It was our way to honor those who had accomplished the feat of Trans Iowa, which at that time was less than 34 people.

My co-director, David Pals, and I were still working out just when we both could get together to do a recon. Unfortunately it wasn't until after we had a lot of snow and the temperatures were brutal on the day we tried to make it work. It was a small baby step as far as what needed to get accomplished, but it was something, at least.

Other than those things I was just looking forward to Thanksgiving and taking a bit of time off from the bustle of Trans Iowa and testing product.

Country Views: August Gold

These yellow flowers remind me of my Grandpa.

August is closing down, Summer is shot, but there was still one last decent August ride day to be enjoyed. Wednesday it was darn near perfect out for a bicycle ride.

August has been really tame this year when you think about it. We have had very few "dog days" of high humidity, heat, and barely any wind. Typically we get about two to three weeks straight of that, and Summer wears me out. I'm ready for Fall, and clearer, drier air with that crisp, fresh snap to it.

But this August has been so tolerable, nay- so awesome, that I don't want it to end. Perfect levels of, well......everything, have made this August the best one for riding that I can remember. At least here in Iowa, that has been the case. Obviously, it has been quite different elsewhere.

One of the things that I have taken note of since August 2013 are these yellow, leggy flowers that pop up in mid-August and are at their zenith by the end of the month. The irony is that previous to 2013 I never noted them. I know the reason why, and it is because my childhood hero, my "Grandpa", died on August 27th, 2013. I was asked to be a pall bearer at his funeral. There weren't many folks there that day in Lime Springs, mostly because my Grandpa outlived all his contemporaries. You probably don't have a lot of friends and acquaintances left when you are 102 years old. I know that most of the oldest folks at that ceremony were almost 30 years younger or more.

Anyway, when I left that service that sunny day in 2013, I saw all these yellow flowers in the ditches on the way home. They seemed to be connected to what happened somehow, so now I call them "Grandpa Flowers". There were a lot of them out there Wednesday once again.

Light winds, puffy clouds, and Sunshine. It doesn't get much better than this.

Silos for Rob- Rob from Lincoln told me he was fascinated by silos on the GTDRI ride. Well, here ya go, Brother!

The "wooly-bullies" are creeping across the roads now.

I didn't have all day to ride, and I wouldn't have if I did. I am still not 100% over Gravel Worlds. I have had some soreness, especially in the hamstrings, after the ride I put in. Wednesday I was stretching out the legs on the bike the entire ride. I felt slightly tight and sore, but other than that, I felt strong and I actually rode quite well, I thought. All that despite the soreness and my right calf muscle which was freaking out when I started.

Sage Road near the intersection with Gresham Road.

There was a lot of fresh gravel. It was pretty deep and in spots it hadn't been graded yet. That made for some rough going most of the way. I was running Soma Cazadero 50mm tires which were doing pretty well considering the  tough conditions. Interestingly, I think that they rarely "ping" rocks like many tires are wont to do. It was a rare ride which didn't feature rocks zooming off to the side or pinging off the frame and crank arms.

"Cheater Path"- On the bike trail East of HWY 63 near Denver, Iowa. Lots of "Grandpa Flowers" along the trail.

I took the bike trail from East of HWY 63 to just West of that 4 lane monstrosity and I must say, even though it isn't gravel, it is one of the most beautiful stretches of trail you can find. Too bad many folks don't see it. It is just too far removed from Waterloo for many to bother with finding out about it. That's a shame. This path stretches from Readlyn, Iowa all the way to Waverly. Check it out sometime if you are in the area.

Barns For Jason: A ceramic brick barn with a steel roof. Working dairy farms are now rare in this part of Iowa.

The smell of fresh cut alfalfa was strong here.

It's mostly all down hill from the Bremer County line to Waterloo on Burton Avenue. This view is actually from Bremer County!

Turning South I headed straight back to Waterloo on Kildeer and that turns in to Burton Avenue in Black Hawk County. The elevation in Bremer County is higher, so it is a mostly down hill run for almost ten miles from the bike path. Fun times! Lots of rollers in the North of that run too.

Rest stop on the way home.

I had a wonderful ride on another, final August day for 2017. I felt pretty good despite the soreness, and I think that the ride actually did me some good. The gravel was challenging all afternoon on the ride, but I didn't care. I was so glad to be able to be outside riding my bicycle.

Fall is here, basically, despite what the calendar says. September hopefully will be another stellar cycling month so I can get prepared for the Spotted Horse on October 7th, I believe it is. Anyway- lots to do before I get there.

Country Views: August Gold

These yellow flowers remind me of my Grandpa.

August is closing down, Summer is shot, but there was still one last decent August ride day to be enjoyed. Wednesday it was darn near perfect out for a bicycle ride.

August has been really tame this year when you think about it. We have had very few "dog days" of high humidity, heat, and barely any wind. Typically we get about two to three weeks straight of that, and Summer wears me out. I'm ready for Fall, and clearer, drier air with that crisp, fresh snap to it.

But this August has been so tolerable, nay- so awesome, that I don't want it to end. Perfect levels of, well......everything, have made this August the best one for riding that I can remember. At least here in Iowa, that has been the case. Obviously, it has been quite different elsewhere.

One of the things that I have taken note of since August 2013 are these yellow, leggy flowers that pop up in mid-August and are at their zenith by the end of the month. The irony is that previous to 2013 I never noted them. I know the reason why, and it is because my childhood hero, my "Grandpa", died on August 27th, 2013. I was asked to be a pall bearer at his funeral. There weren't many folks there that day in Lime Springs, mostly because my Grandpa outlived all his contemporaries. You probably don't have a lot of friends and acquaintances left when you are 102 years old. I know that most of the oldest folks at that ceremony were almost 30 years younger or more.

Anyway, when I left that service that sunny day in 2013, I saw all these yellow flowers in the ditches on the way home. They seemed to be connected to what happened somehow, so now I call them "Grandpa Flowers". There were a lot of them out there Wednesday once again.

Light winds, puffy clouds, and Sunshine. It doesn't get much better than this.

Silos for Rob- Rob from Lincoln told me he was fascinated by silos on the GTDRI ride. Well, here ya go, Brother!

The "wooly-bullies" are creeping across the roads now.

I didn't have all day to ride, and I wouldn't have if I did. I am still not 100% over Gravel Worlds. I have had some soreness, especially in the hamstrings, after the ride I put in. Wednesday I was stretching out the legs on the bike the entire ride. I felt slightly tight and sore, but other than that, I felt strong and I actually rode quite well, I thought. All that despite the soreness and my right calf muscle which was freaking out when I started.

Sage Road near the intersection with Gresham Road.

There was a lot of fresh gravel. It was pretty deep and in spots it hadn't been graded yet. That made for some rough going most of the way. I was running Soma Cazadero 50mm tires which were doing pretty well considering the  tough conditions. Interestingly, I think that they rarely "ping" rocks like many tires are wont to do. It was a rare ride which didn't feature rocks zooming off to the side or pinging off the frame and crank arms.

"Cheater Path"- On the bike trail East of HWY 63 near Denver, Iowa. Lots of "Grandpa Flowers" along the trail.

I took the bike trail from East of HWY 63 to just West of that 4 lane monstrosity and I must say, even though it isn't gravel, it is one of the most beautiful stretches of trail you can find. Too bad many folks don't see it. It is just too far removed from Waterloo for many to bother with finding out about it. That's a shame. This path stretches from Readlyn, Iowa all the way to Waverly. Check it out sometime if you are in the area.

Barns For Jason: A ceramic brick barn with a steel roof. Working dairy farms are now rare in this part of Iowa.

The smell of fresh cut alfalfa was strong here.

It's mostly all down hill from the Bremer County line to Waterloo on Burton Avenue. This view is actually from Bremer County!

Turning South I headed straight back to Waterloo on Kildeer and that turns in to Burton Avenue in Black Hawk County. The elevation in Bremer County is higher, so it is a mostly down hill run for almost ten miles from the bike path. Fun times! Lots of rollers in the North of that run too.

Rest stop on the way home.

I had a wonderful ride on another, final August day for 2017. I felt pretty good despite the soreness, and I think that the ride actually did me some good. The gravel was challenging all afternoon on the ride, but I didn't care. I was so glad to be able to be outside riding my bicycle.

Fall is here, basically, despite what the calendar says. September hopefully will be another stellar cycling month so I can get prepared for the Spotted Horse on October 7th, I believe it is. Anyway- lots to do before I get there.

Minus Ten Review- 31

Ten years ago this week I got the Badger out of its box.

Ten years ago here on the blog I was yakking about the potential pluses and minuses of the "new" 650B platform for mountain biking.

Essentially, what the advocates of this 650B size were saying was that the size would embody the "best of 26" and 29" wheels. Obviously, that is not possible. What it was in the end was a way for the industry to market a "new" thing and obsolete 26" mtb wheels, thus making sure folks would be looking at a "new" bike rather than continuing to upgrade an old one. It took about 4-5 more years to get there, by the way. Had the industry decided as a group not to do this, it is my belief that 650B mtb would be akin to fixed gear bikes today. It would have been a "thing" for a while, but it wouldn't have lasted.

Then I mentioned my condolences for the tragedy which occurred ten years ago when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed.

The Badger frame and fork landed at the shop, so I had that to look forward to building up. Unfortunately, at that time, money was tight. I had already splurged on the Pofahl frame and fork as well. It would take ten years for me to get this bike built finally in the way that I had envisioned. Not affected in no small way by perceptions shortly after I received the frame about Badger as a company. That made me a bit reluctant to even ride the thing. But that is all behind me now.....

Walking a muddy B Road in a thunderstorm during the GTDRI #2

I just finished up the 12th GTDRI yesterday. Oddly enough, ten years ago the second one happened. This particular version was the master mind of David Pals, who was my co-director in Trans Iowa at the time.

It turned out to be a pretty epic afair. We got caught out in a thunderstorm, had to take refuge in a shelter house at a County Preserve, were caked in mud, and we finished up with a big headwind and heat and humidity that was stifling. Afterward we had a bit of a pizza party in David's kitchen in Marengo. It was a lot of fun, that's for sure.

It was a ride that included Paul Meyerman. He was the guy who worked tirelessly at making sure the Boy Scout Camp trails at Camp Ingawanis were always clear and open. You could find him up there on any given Summer day, covered in vegetation wielding his weed whacker, or chain sawing up dead falls, or manicuring a new section of trail. It was Paul who put in what is known as "The Bottoms" at Ingawanis Woodland.

I made a suggestion after Paul's death that the folks that were in charge of the naming of trails change "The Bottoms" to "Paul's Trail", but although I was told it was a good idea, nothing ever came of it. I find it a shame and tragic that any memory of a man's passionate work on those trails has been swept away, especially in light of the fact that another section of trail is named for its maker, who is another deserving individual.

Anyway.......maybe its just me.

Minus Ten Review- 31

Ten years ago this week I got the Badger out of its box.

Ten years ago here on the blog I was yakking about the potential pluses and minuses of the "new" 650B platform for mountain biking.

Essentially, what the advocates of this 650B size were saying was that the size would embody the "best of 26" and 29" wheels. Obviously, that is not possible. What it was in the end was a way for the industry to market a "new" thing and obsolete 26" mtb wheels, thus making sure folks would be looking at a "new" bike rather than continuing to upgrade an old one. It took about 4-5 more years to get there, by the way. Had the industry decided as a group not to do this, it is my belief that 650B mtb would be akin to fixed gear bikes today. It would have been a "thing" for a while, but it wouldn't have lasted.

Then I mentioned my condolences for the tragedy which occurred ten years ago when the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed.

The Badger frame and fork landed at the shop, so I had that to look forward to building up. Unfortunately, at that time, money was tight. I had already splurged on the Pofahl frame and fork as well. It would take ten years for me to get this bike built finally in the way that I had envisioned. Not affected in no small way by perceptions shortly after I received the frame about Badger as a company. That made me a bit reluctant to even ride the thing. But that is all behind me now.....

Walking a muddy B Road in a thunderstorm during the GTDRI #2

I just finished up the 12th GTDRI yesterday. Oddly enough, ten years ago the second one happened. This particular version was the master mind of David Pals, who was my co-director in Trans Iowa at the time.

It turned out to be a pretty epic afair. We got caught out in a thunderstorm, had to take refuge in a shelter house at a County Preserve, were caked in mud, and we finished up with a big headwind and heat and humidity that was stifling. Afterward we had a bit of a pizza party in David's kitchen in Marengo. It was a lot of fun, that's for sure.

It was a ride that included Paul Meyerman. He was the guy who worked tirelessly at making sure the Boy Scout Camp trails at Camp Ingawanis were always clear and open. You could find him up there on any given Summer day, covered in vegetation wielding his weed whacker, or chain sawing up dead falls, or manicuring a new section of trail. It was Paul who put in what is known as "The Bottoms" at Ingawanis Woodland.

I made a suggestion after Paul's death that the folks that were in charge of the naming of trails change "The Bottoms" to "Paul's Trail", but although I was told it was a good idea, nothing ever came of it. I find it a shame and tragic that any memory of a man's passionate work on those trails has been swept away, especially in light of the fact that another section of trail is named for its maker, who is another deserving individual.

Anyway.......maybe its just me.

Badger Update

The new Cazaderos on the Badger

Friday I mentioned the new tires on the Badger were in and so here it is. I had already seen these treads on my friend's Ti Fargo. They aren't real wide, but the tires should be fine for gravel. The surprising things were the tire's weight and how hard they were to mount.  

As for the weight, they came in at 530 grams a piece. That's pretty crazy light when you consider that many gravel tires in the 40-42mm range weigh this much  So, there isn't much to go around for material on a bigger casing. I won't be expecting these to be very tough tires. 

They also fit my rims, which are a Stan's designed rims, super tight!  I haven't worked that hard to mount tire's in a long time! As a side note, the Teravail Sparwood's I removed came off far easier than they went on these rims, which was almost as difficult to do as these Cazaderos were to do.  I suspect that the Cazaderos will stretch quite a bit as well. Especially after I rode these new tires. They are very supple!  

In fact, they require a bit more air pressure than I would normally consider for this large a tire. I had about 40psi in the back and that was about 5 psi too low, I think. I need to do a lot more experimenting with air pressures to figure out this tire. At least it looks good,

Badger Update

The new Cazaderos on the Badger

Friday I mentioned the new tires on the Badger were in and so here it is. I had already seen these treads on my friend's Ti Fargo. They aren't real wide, but the tires should be fine for gravel. The surprising things were the tire's weight and how hard they were to mount.  

As for the weight, they came in at 530 grams a piece. That's pretty crazy light when you consider that many gravel tires in the 40-42mm range weigh this much  So, there isn't much to go around for material on a bigger casing. I won't be expecting these to be very tough tires. 

They also fit my rims, which are a Stan's designed rims, super tight!  I haven't worked that hard to mount tire's in a long time! As a side note, the Teravail Sparwood's I removed came off far easier than they went on these rims, which was almost as difficult to do as these Cazaderos were to do.  I suspect that the Cazaderos will stretch quite a bit as well. Especially after I rode these new tires. They are very supple!  

In fact, they require a bit more air pressure than I would normally consider for this large a tire. I had about 40psi in the back and that was about 5 psi too low, I think. I need to do a lot more experimenting with air pressures to figure out this tire. At least it looks good,