Chilly Grinding

Photo-bombed by Joel's shadow!

Friday afternoon I did the regular "Dirt Home From Work" route on my titanium Mukluk. It wasn't anything spectacular except for the new BodyFloat seat post, which is amazing, and while it isn't the antidote for a full suspension bike, I think I have narrowed down where it can fit in with riding for me, at least. More on that some other day. This post will focus on my Saturday ride.

I had a request from my coworker, Joel, to go out on a gravel road ride. This was highly unusual, as Joel is a dyed-in-the-wool roadie and typically doesn't wander far off the tarmac. I met up with him on Saturday Morning at the shop, but not before an excruciatingly painful trip from the house.

Remember that ride I mentioned Friday on my Ti Muk? Well, I also had been riding that bike on previous days back and forth to work, and really pushing it. My legs were hurting on Friday evening, and that in combination with my coming down with a cold made the ride over on Saturday a "survival mode" ride. I barely could top out at 10mph since I had nothing in the tank, or so it seemed. Of course, it didn't help either that it was only 24°F when I left! I wasn't used to the cold, yet, and I was also bundled up against the chill, which is always a bit constricting as well. I suppose all of those things in combination were conspiring against me and I felt like I had no business doing a ride that day, but a promise is a promise, so I showed up and waited for Joel to arrive.

Something must have happened in the ensuing half hour, since I felt okay when we left. In fact, Joel was hoofing it down the city streets on our way out and I was surprised I had enough snap in the legs to keep up!

The fields are mostly bare now. It was still a beautiful day for a ride, despite the chill and wind. 

Apparently, the warm up ride which consisted of that painful trek to the shop and our subsequent roll out to the gravel woke up the legs enough that I was able to push into the Westerly wind with some force. I chose the route, and due to my feelings of doubt, I chose the flattest route possible to start out. The wind wasn't going to make it easy though, and I may as well have chosen a route with rollers, since punching a hole into the breeze was just as tough for me on that morning.

Joel seemed to be just fine with the pace and so I felt okay with the route and our speeds. I took us up the back way to Janesville where we stopped so Joel could refuel, and then we headed East and South back to our start. Along the way we spied a Turkey Vulture, a Red Tailed Hawk, some llamas, and lots of "leaf shadows" under maple trees. When we get a sudden freeze, it generally bites the leaves right off the maples, and if there is little to no wind, those leaves drop straight down off the trees and form colorful "leaf shadows" under the tree limbs.

Then, as we rolled closer to town, we spied a behemoth on a raod construction site we just had to go check out......

Joel checking out the big machine.

There are eight counter weights on the backend here each weighing in excess of 11.000lbs according to their tags.

Interestingly, the boom sections were all held together with huge pins with hasps over them. 

The thing was a huge crane which was brought in to help build an overpass for the county highway to go over the four lane U.S. highway 218/27 instead of the at grade crossing which has proven to be quite dangerous. Actually, there are two huge cranes there, but this one was closest to our gravel route. It seems to be rather new, and was so wide, it took up two entire lanes of the roadway, which is all broken up and probably has been removed in preparation for the bridge build.

It is a rather simplistic machine in that the component parts are held together with bolts and pins, for the most part, only they are on a gigantic scale. Weight is something that we noted, since several individual parts of the crane were tagged with brass plates indicating their individual weight. For instance, each of the eight counter weights on the back end had a tag indicating each weight was in excess of 11,000lbs and the base which the weights were placed on had a tag which indicated it weighed in excess of 33,000lbs! Heavy machine indeed!

After we were through marveling at this mechanical wonder, we made the rest of the loop and returned back to the shop where I picked up the Trans Iowa post cards and then went on home. With almost 37 miles in, I think it was a rousing success of a ride after thinking upon how it started out. I almost bailed out I felt so bad! I am glad I stuck it out and it was fun to get to ride with Joel out on the gravel roads.

Chilly Grinding

Photo-bombed by Joel's shadow!

Friday afternoon I did the regular "Dirt Home From Work" route on my titanium Mukluk. It wasn't anything spectacular except for the new BodyFloat seat post, which is amazing, and while it isn't the antidote for a full suspension bike, I think I have narrowed down where it can fit in with riding for me, at least. More on that some other day. This post will focus on my Saturday ride.

I had a request from my coworker, Joel, to go out on a gravel road ride. This was highly unusual, as Joel is a dyed-in-the-wool roadie and typically doesn't wander far off the tarmac. I met up with him on Saturday Morning at the shop, but not before an excruciatingly painful trip from the house.

Remember that ride I mentioned Friday on my Ti Muk? Well, I also had been riding that bike on previous days back and forth to work, and really pushing it. My legs were hurting on Friday evening, and that in combination with my coming down with a cold made the ride over on Saturday a "survival mode" ride. I barely could top out at 10mph since I had nothing in the tank, or so it seemed. Of course, it didn't help either that it was only 24°F when I left! I wasn't used to the cold, yet, and I was also bundled up against the chill, which is always a bit constricting as well. I suppose all of those things in combination were conspiring against me and I felt like I had no business doing a ride that day, but a promise is a promise, so I showed up and waited for Joel to arrive.

Something must have happened in the ensuing half hour, since I felt okay when we left. In fact, Joel was hoofing it down the city streets on our way out and I was surprised I had enough snap in the legs to keep up!

The fields are mostly bare now. It was still a beautiful day for a ride, despite the chill and wind. 

Apparently, the warm up ride which consisted of that painful trek to the shop and our subsequent roll out to the gravel woke up the legs enough that I was able to push into the Westerly wind with some force. I chose the route, and due to my feelings of doubt, I chose the flattest route possible to start out. The wind wasn't going to make it easy though, and I may as well have chosen a route with rollers, since punching a hole into the breeze was just as tough for me on that morning.

Joel seemed to be just fine with the pace and so I felt okay with the route and our speeds. I took us up the back way to Janesville where we stopped so Joel could refuel, and then we headed East and South back to our start. Along the way we spied a Turkey Vulture, a Red Tailed Hawk, some llamas, and lots of "leaf shadows" under maple trees. When we get a sudden freeze, it generally bites the leaves right off the maples, and if there is little to no wind, those leaves drop straight down off the trees and form colorful "leaf shadows" under the tree limbs.

Then, as we rolled closer to town, we spied a behemoth on a raod construction site we just had to go check out......

Joel checking out the big machine.

There are eight counter weights on the backend here each weighing in excess of 11.000lbs according to their tags.

Interestingly, the boom sections were all held together with huge pins with hasps over them. 

The thing was a huge crane which was brought in to help build an overpass for the county highway to go over the four lane U.S. highway 218/27 instead of the at grade crossing which has proven to be quite dangerous. Actually, there are two huge cranes there, but this one was closest to our gravel route. It seems to be rather new, and was so wide, it took up two entire lanes of the roadway, which is all broken up and probably has been removed in preparation for the bridge build.

It is a rather simplistic machine in that the component parts are held together with bolts and pins, for the most part, only they are on a gigantic scale. Weight is something that we noted, since several individual parts of the crane were tagged with brass plates indicating their individual weight. For instance, each of the eight counter weights on the back end had a tag indicating each weight was in excess of 11,000lbs and the base which the weights were placed on had a tag which indicated it weighed in excess of 33,000lbs! Heavy machine indeed!

After we were through marveling at this mechanical wonder, we made the rest of the loop and returned back to the shop where I picked up the Trans Iowa post cards and then went on home. With almost 37 miles in, I think it was a rousing success of a ride after thinking upon how it started out. I almost bailed out I felt so bad! I am glad I stuck it out and it was fun to get to ride with Joel out on the gravel roads.

Empty Surprise

The harvest continues. Now they are gleaning the corn from the firlds.

I have this new Grava Bikes rig I am testing/reviewing for RidingGravel.com right now. You can check out the intro, if you want to, here. So, anyway, it needs to get ridden, obviously, and yesterday was an opportune time to get some riding in, since I had the day off from work at the shop. I stuck around the house until very late in the morning, or "fore noon", as my older relatives used to say, due to it being quite chilly yet. At least the winds had died down to reasonable levels. The two previous days were ridiculous in that the winds were blowing up to 40mph at times.

I finally clipped in a little before high noon, and set out to do the 3GR route, initially. On the way out, I was feeling okay, but as soon as I hit Moline Road, I felt like I was dragging an anchor. It could have been me. I did eat an early lunch before I left. Typically I fire off better on an empty stomach. So there was that. However; there was also a pretty steady Northwesterly breeze, and it could have something to do with that. Then the bike was alien to me as well. I had to find out "how it liked to dance", so to speak, and I wasn't quite settled in as far as fit goes and as far as the bike's quirks too. Likely it was a bit of all of those things, but I wasn't having the best time out of the gate. A stop to adjust the saddle height made a big difference, and then I was feeling a bit more sprightly. The meal began to digest better, which also helped things along. The bike's quirks? Still not quite there yet. All I'll say now is, "Holy saddle to bar drop, Bat Man!". This is definitely a "racy" set up!

Fall colors are a bit "dusky" this year. Not really popping like in some years. 

 Well, I'll get back to this bike some other day and tell ya'all about that, but for now, I'll just concentrate on the ride story. See, I had it all planned out for the 3GR route. I put on two old Profile plastic bottle cages, and slammed in two big bottles under the medium sized Tangle Bag, which barely fit, and slipped a couple gel packets in there, just in case. I started out with a pair of gloves, but I got too warm and ditched those in the Tangle Bag. This time of year it is hard to judge what you need as the temperatures vary wildly within the span of even an hour in some cases. One minute you are fine with a windbreaker, for instance, then the next it is sweltering. Good thing I attached the Tangle Bag!

The dry wind also reminded me that I had attached the two cages and put two bottles on there. I grabbed one and it felt strangely light. Oh oh! I forgot to fill them! Bah! Oh well......so much for cracking out 40 miles. I wasn't in the mood for cramps and a major bonk. So, I cut the route short and headed for the shed. It was the right decision, as I need to bond with this bike a bit yet. The tires are even something I haven't been on till now- Specialized Trigger Pro tires- and they are a different beast, which I need to dial in with air pressure yet. So, I got in about half of what I was expecting, and then I had a bunch of water!

I topped off, hopped on the Titanium Mukluk, and made the round trip to the shop to grab the day's mail for Trans Iowa. One card! That was a surprise. If I see a trickle till the end of the week next week, it may be that almost everyone that sent a card in will get in. Fine by me. I wasn't expecting to see just one card though. Who knows, that may change in a hurry soon.

Empty Surprise

The harvest continues. Now they are gleaning the corn from the firlds.

I have this new Grava Bikes rig I am testing/reviewing for RidingGravel.com right now. You can check out the intro, if you want to, here. So, anyway, it needs to get ridden, obviously, and yesterday was an opportune time to get some riding in, since I had the day off from work at the shop. I stuck around the house until very late in the morning, or "fore noon", as my older relatives used to say, due to it being quite chilly yet. At least the winds had died down to reasonable levels. The two previous days were ridiculous in that the winds were blowing up to 40mph at times.

I finally clipped in a little before high noon, and set out to do the 3GR route, initially. On the way out, I was feeling okay, but as soon as I hit Moline Road, I felt like I was dragging an anchor. It could have been me. I did eat an early lunch before I left. Typically I fire off better on an empty stomach. So there was that. However; there was also a pretty steady Northwesterly breeze, and it could have something to do with that. Then the bike was alien to me as well. I had to find out "how it liked to dance", so to speak, and I wasn't quite settled in as far as fit goes and as far as the bike's quirks too. Likely it was a bit of all of those things, but I wasn't having the best time out of the gate. A stop to adjust the saddle height made a big difference, and then I was feeling a bit more sprightly. The meal began to digest better, which also helped things along. The bike's quirks? Still not quite there yet. All I'll say now is, "Holy saddle to bar drop, Bat Man!". This is definitely a "racy" set up!

Fall colors are a bit "dusky" this year. Not really popping like in some years. 

 Well, I'll get back to this bike some other day and tell ya'all about that, but for now, I'll just concentrate on the ride story. See, I had it all planned out for the 3GR route. I put on two old Profile plastic bottle cages, and slammed in two big bottles under the medium sized Tangle Bag, which barely fit, and slipped a couple gel packets in there, just in case. I started out with a pair of gloves, but I got too warm and ditched those in the Tangle Bag. This time of year it is hard to judge what you need as the temperatures vary wildly within the span of even an hour in some cases. One minute you are fine with a windbreaker, for instance, then the next it is sweltering. Good thing I attached the Tangle Bag!

The dry wind also reminded me that I had attached the two cages and put two bottles on there. I grabbed one and it felt strangely light. Oh oh! I forgot to fill them! Bah! Oh well......so much for cracking out 40 miles. I wasn't in the mood for cramps and a major bonk. So, I cut the route short and headed for the shed. It was the right decision, as I need to bond with this bike a bit yet. The tires are even something I haven't been on till now- Specialized Trigger Pro tires- and they are a different beast, which I need to dial in with air pressure yet. So, I got in about half of what I was expecting, and then I had a bunch of water!

I topped off, hopped on the Titanium Mukluk, and made the round trip to the shop to grab the day's mail for Trans Iowa. One card! That was a surprise. If I see a trickle till the end of the week next week, it may be that almost everyone that sent a card in will get in. Fine by me. I wasn't expecting to see just one card though. Who knows, that may change in a hurry soon.

A Different Kind Of Boing!

What's up with that seat post?

A little over a year ago I was able to try out a component that I was a bit leery of, but my buddy MG was pretty adamant that it was "the real deal". So, trusting him, he sent it to me to try out, and I was pretty dang impressed. (You can see the post I did concerning the component here) It is a suspension seat post. Yeah.....I know, usually you think of some lame telescopic, heavy boat anchor of a seat post that has bad swivel and breaks easily. Or maybe you think of those elastomer sprung parallelogram posts that have pivots that squeak and get loosened up within a short period of time. Well.....that's kind of where I was a year ago. Not so much these days.

You see, Cirrus Cycles Body Float seat post is a different beast. It isn't a telescopic seat post, so it doesn't have the twisty-turny issues that those types of suspension posts can have. It isn't a parallelogram arranged in the way that others have done, so your body doesn't move fore and aft as the post moves through its travel. You go up and down, and if you set the preload properly, you won't even notice it after a awhile. You'll just be fresher and less fatigued by road chatter, especially that which you find on gravel roads.

It is not sprung by an elastomer, but rather by coil steel springs which are not affected by weather and will not degrade in harsh environments. It comes in three shaft material choices, and unlike many suspension seatposts before it, it is fine tuneable for anyone up to 300 lbs. Oh......I won't hide it, and you've probably already guessed it, this thing is expensive. 

By swapping coil springs and using the preload, you can fine tune this post for almost anyone.

The question that comes immediately afterword is easy. Is the benefit you gain worth the price of admission? Now I had a good "test ride" on this model last year at Odin's Revenge. It was rough, brutal, and I could not find fault with the post. The preload screw on that one did back out a bit, but that has been addressed in this latest version of the post, and that did not adversely affect my experience with the post last year. In fact, I didn't even notice it until after I was done for the day.

I had made a decision last year that I wanted one of these for myself, and I sent back the first one I tried, as it was a review model. So, I finally made good on that and my new Body Float post arrived in the mail yesterday. As I mentioned above, the shaft of the post can be had in aluminum, carbon fiber, or titanium. I opted for the titanium shaft, which, as you can imagine, is the most expensive option. It isn't the lightest option, but the carbon one is barely lighter. The MSRP on the post I have is $415.00. Aluminum shafted posts run $275.00. Like I say- not cheap. 

So, again- Is it worth it? Well, I think if the durability and longevity is there, the answer is yes. I don't know how long I'll be able to go, but we will see how long it lasts. The thing is really well made, the fit and finish is top notch, and this thing has been field tested and evolved in design to a fine state. What it does for the ride is, well.....hard to explain in words. However; it does as advertised and, I believe it has something else. It definitely changes how the bike handles for the better.

I'll be messing with this post on my fat bike and later, on my gravel rigs. Along the way, I'll occasionally make a few observations here. Stay tuned.......

Note: This post was purchased with my own damn money and I am not being paid nor bribed for this post.

A Different Kind Of Boing!

What's up with that seat post?

A little over a year ago I was able to try out a component that I was a bit leery of, but my buddy MG was pretty adamant that it was "the real deal". So, trusting him, he sent it to me to try out, and I was pretty dang impressed. (You can see the post I did concerning the component here) It is a suspension seat post. Yeah.....I know, usually you think of some lame telescopic, heavy boat anchor of a seat post that has bad swivel and breaks easily. Or maybe you think of those elastomer sprung parallelogram posts that have pivots that squeak and get loosened up within a short period of time. Well.....that's kind of where I was a year ago. Not so much these days.

You see, Cirrus Cycles Body Float seat post is a different beast. It isn't a telescopic seat post, so it doesn't have the twisty-turny issues that those types of suspension posts can have. It isn't a parallelogram arranged in the way that others have done, so your body doesn't move fore and aft as the post moves through its travel. You go up and down, and if you set the preload properly, you won't even notice it after a awhile. You'll just be fresher and less fatigued by road chatter, especially that which you find on gravel roads.

It is not sprung by an elastomer, but rather by coil steel springs which are not affected by weather and will not degrade in harsh environments. It comes in three shaft material choices, and unlike many suspension seatposts before it, it is fine tuneable for anyone up to 300 lbs. Oh......I won't hide it, and you've probably already guessed it, this thing is expensive. 

By swapping coil springs and using the preload, you can fine tune this post for almost anyone.

The question that comes immediately afterword is easy. Is the benefit you gain worth the price of admission? Now I had a good "test ride" on this model last year at Odin's Revenge. It was rough, brutal, and I could not find fault with the post. The preload screw on that one did back out a bit, but that has been addressed in this latest version of the post, and that did not adversely affect my experience with the post last year. In fact, I didn't even notice it until after I was done for the day.

I had made a decision last year that I wanted one of these for myself, and I sent back the first one I tried, as it was a review model. So, I finally made good on that and my new Body Float post arrived in the mail yesterday. As I mentioned above, the shaft of the post can be had in aluminum, carbon fiber, or titanium. I opted for the titanium shaft, which, as you can imagine, is the most expensive option. It isn't the lightest option, but the carbon one is barely lighter. The MSRP on the post I have is $415.00. Aluminum shafted posts run $275.00. Like I say- not cheap. 

So, again- Is it worth it? Well, I think if the durability and longevity is there, the answer is yes. I don't know how long I'll be able to go, but we will see how long it lasts. The thing is really well made, the fit and finish is top notch, and this thing has been field tested and evolved in design to a fine state. What it does for the ride is, well.....hard to explain in words. However; it does as advertised and, I believe it has something else. It definitely changes how the bike handles for the better.

I'll be messing with this post on my fat bike and later, on my gravel rigs. Along the way, I'll occasionally make a few observations here. Stay tuned.......

Note: This post was purchased with my own damn money and I am not being paid nor bribed for this post.

Strange Daze

At least I got this cleaned up this weekend

I have to admit that the last few weeks have been pretty packed with activity. I really shouldn't have expected such a high level of sensory input again this weekend, nor was that probably a good thing anyway. "Rest as hard as you train", was something ol' Jeff used to tell me way back when. I guess I had it coming.....

Saturday was odd. I think that is the best way to put things. I was supposed to go and attend a a funeral, and got some vague information on where to go. Drove over an hour, searched, and didn't find anyone around, so I drove back home. There are extenuating circumstances surrounding this that I won't delve into here, but I only bring it up as it set the tone for a very "off kilter" day.

 Basically, the only thing I got done all day was driving for two and a half hours through the beautiful Iowa countryside, cleaning one of my fat bikes up, and plotting the opening 53 miles for the next Trans Iowa event. That and no bicycle ride, with the exception of tooling around on the titanium Mukluk to make sure it is a go when the weather turns later on. Oh yeah, I swapped out the seat post, handle bars, and stem. Both the bars and stem are carbon, and the stem is pretty much a wash, just different. A lighter set up, and eventually I would like to tackle the wheels. Getting those tubeless and lighter will just about hone this rig to its highest potential.

Sunday I just felt in a funk. So I ended up taking a nap for a bit and just hanging out with the family, grocery shopping with Mrs. Guitar Ted, and sitting with the kids a bit on their last day of Summer vacation. So, yeah......a pretty ho-hum weekend in terms of adventure! 

Gaffer's Tape to the rescue!

 Update On The Camera:

After I posted my disappointments regarding the Olympus Tough TG-3 I have, (seen HERE), I had a nice e-mail exchange with my pro camera buddy, Wally. He informed me that the wear issues were par for the course. He also stated that camera companies are making some concessions to "fashion" over function, so a truly armored casing, which is deemed "ugly", I guess, isn't going to cut it in the marketplace at this price point. I think that's probably truth, but I also think that it is lame. I don't blame the  camera companies, but more so our culture, that fashion trumps function in the case of a "tough" camera. Anyway..... It isn't just in terms of cameras. Just look at mountain bikes. We could go on and on......

So, anywho..... Wally suggested I use a "pro tip" and order up some gaffer's tape and put it on the highest wear spots, just like the pro photographers do. I checked in to the tape, and it is super cheap. I got two rolls, and I'll likely never go through it all, but hey! I got gaffer's tape and I can reapply it whenever I need to on the camera. You can see how I used it in the image to the left here.

So far it has worked great. I have bounced the camera around in my bags and it isn't peeling off the tape or causing any issues yet. Bonus- I taped shut the media door, which was the one most likely to pop open on its own, so that issue is gone as well.

The new view is that with gaffer's tape, which weighs next to nothing, I can protect my camera from most of the issues I was having and it now is back in my good graces. I still think it is super lame that a camera like this isn't a bit more functional and less fashionable, but so be it. Obviously, I chose a most obnoxious color to tape it up with in protest, so there! Take that you camera fashionistas!

 

Strange Daze

At least I got this cleaned up this weekend

I have to admit that the last few weeks have been pretty packed with activity. I really shouldn't have expected such a high level of sensory input again this weekend, nor was that probably a good thing anyway. "Rest as hard as you train", was something ol' Jeff used to tell me way back when. I guess I had it coming.....

Saturday was odd. I think that is the best way to put things. I was supposed to go and attend a a funeral, and got some vague information on where to go. Drove over an hour, searched, and didn't find anyone around, so I drove back home. There are extenuating circumstances surrounding this that I won't delve into here, but I only bring it up as it set the tone for a very "off kilter" day.

 Basically, the only thing I got done all day was driving for two and a half hours through the beautiful Iowa countryside, cleaning one of my fat bikes up, and plotting the opening 53 miles for the next Trans Iowa event. That and no bicycle ride, with the exception of tooling around on the titanium Mukluk to make sure it is a go when the weather turns later on. Oh yeah, I swapped out the seat post, handle bars, and stem. Both the bars and stem are carbon, and the stem is pretty much a wash, just different. A lighter set up, and eventually I would like to tackle the wheels. Getting those tubeless and lighter will just about hone this rig to its highest potential.

Sunday I just felt in a funk. So I ended up taking a nap for a bit and just hanging out with the family, grocery shopping with Mrs. Guitar Ted, and sitting with the kids a bit on their last day of Summer vacation. So, yeah......a pretty ho-hum weekend in terms of adventure! 

Gaffer's Tape to the rescue!

 Update On The Camera:

After I posted my disappointments regarding the Olympus Tough TG-3 I have, (seen HERE), I had a nice e-mail exchange with my pro camera buddy, Wally. He informed me that the wear issues were par for the course. He also stated that camera companies are making some concessions to "fashion" over function, so a truly armored casing, which is deemed "ugly", I guess, isn't going to cut it in the marketplace at this price point. I think that's probably truth, but I also think that it is lame. I don't blame the  camera companies, but more so our culture, that fashion trumps function in the case of a "tough" camera. Anyway..... It isn't just in terms of cameras. Just look at mountain bikes. We could go on and on......

So, anywho..... Wally suggested I use a "pro tip" and order up some gaffer's tape and put it on the highest wear spots, just like the pro photographers do. I checked in to the tape, and it is super cheap. I got two rolls, and I'll likely never go through it all, but hey! I got gaffer's tape and I can reapply it whenever I need to on the camera. You can see how I used it in the image to the left here.

So far it has worked great. I have bounced the camera around in my bags and it isn't peeling off the tape or causing any issues yet. Bonus- I taped shut the media door, which was the one most likely to pop open on its own, so that issue is gone as well.

The new view is that with gaffer's tape, which weighs next to nothing, I can protect my camera from most of the issues I was having and it now is back in my good graces. I still think it is super lame that a camera like this isn't a bit more functional and less fashionable, but so be it. Obviously, I chose a most obnoxious color to tape it up with in protest, so there! Take that you camera fashionistas!

 

Friday News And Views

A map of the 2015 Gravel Worlds course

Ahoy! Gravel Mateys!

Today I'll be on my way to Lincoln, Nebraska to join my like minded gravel riding nut-jobs to take part in the Pirate Cycling League's 2015 version of Gravel Worlds . It's an almost 150 mile route through the hilly, (YES- Nebraska is HILLY), terrain circumnavigating Lincoln.

I will try to keep up on social media when I can, so if you do Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, I will post a few updates throughout the day Saturday. Don't count on a blow-by-blow covering of Gravel Worlds though. I'll just be posting so some folks that care will know I'm still sailing around the gravelly seas of Nebraska and not in Davey Jone's Locker.

This event used to be known as "The Good Life Gravel Adventure" back in '08 and '09. I was convinced to check out the second GLGA event by David Pals, at that time my co-director of Trans Iowa. It was a shoestring adventure and on a single speed, no less. I was hooked then and came back another time to enjoy the scene there. The second time it was co-named the "GLGA-Gravel Worlds", and again, I rode a single speed. I thought I had made it down one other time on a geared bike, but I cannot find any evidence of that, and so I guess it was twice, and I haven't been back in....gulp!, five years! Well, things have changed a bit since those early days!

The first time I rode down there the GLGA had under 50 participants. I think the first Gravel Worlds had 110 or so. Well, this one will have nearly 300! That's a big, big difference right there. I expect there will be other, "big" differences as well, so stay tuned for my thoughts on the Gravel Worlds and a ride report beginning next week.

Lou on the Left, Vee Tire Snowshoe 2XL on right

King Of Fat:

It used to be that a Surly Bud or Lou on a 100mm rim was the fattest tire you could get. Not anymore....

The new "King Of Fat", (which is what this tire should have been called, I think), is the Vee Tire "Snowshoe 2XL". For all the gory details on this beast, see Fat-Bike.com's story here.  (The image to the left is from their story as well.)

My take is that this will be the ultimate flotation tire. In other words, if you find you are going to go out and bust your own trails, go where no one else is going, and you need to be "on top" of the terrain as much as possible, then this is your tire. Translation: If you run groomed trails, dry terrain that is the realm of mountain biking, or are running on loose, drier stuff that isn't sand, these tires won't do you one bit of good. They will just be heavier, harder to handle, and stroke your "I have the biggest tires" ego. Well......they also probably will not fit your current bike. At over 5" in width on 100 mm rims, there are only a few production bikes in existence that these will fit on. I'm not sure they would fit on my Blackborow, for instance, but I've heard these tires will "barely" clear the frame.

I won't say I would never get a pair of these, as they would slot into my usual Winter hi-jinx. I like bushwhacking powder and mud, and so flotation makes sense to me. However; I haven't reached the limits of the Lou/Clown Shoe set up I have, so I just don't see the need to jump on these right now. That said, it's a nice option to be able to go to if I do ever go beyond the limits of the set up I have now.

Blackborow and the Bluto

Looking Forward To Winter:

 Speaking of fat bikes, I haven't ever gotten my plan to convert the Blackborow to......well, you'll have to wait for that. Anyway, part of the plan was the Bluto fork, and I have been on it more since my first impressions of it a while back. I still really like having suspension on this bike for "Summer duties", but it does add weight. Weight is a bad deal in Winter, and so I'll be going back to the original equipment fork, and my Anything Cage HD racks along with that, for the colder months.

I still have my Titanium Mukluk, and for that rig I may be looking to a 1 X 11 group, which will allow bigger rear tires and no chain to tire rub in the lowest gears. With its antiquated 1 1/8th steer tube, I have stuck an On One Carbon Fatty fork on there which lightens up the bike and still gives a great ride feel. I think my direction with that bike will be to use it as a "fast" Winter set up. So, I will be getting it all set for "slop" conditions, groomed stuff, and general riding around.

I still have the Snow Dog as well, but currently it has been relegated to the back wall in the basement as I don't have wheels for it at present. That may change soon though, so I may have a new plan for this old girl soon.

There may be some parts tweakage on all three rigs coming along as the months crawl on by toward 2016. Stay tuned....

And that's a wrap for now. Have a great weekend and I'll be back Monday with the start of my Gravel Worlds report......

Friday News And Views

A map of the 2015 Gravel Worlds course

Ahoy! Gravel Mateys!

Today I'll be on my way to Lincoln, Nebraska to join my like minded gravel riding nut-jobs to take part in the Pirate Cycling League's 2015 version of Gravel Worlds . It's an almost 150 mile route through the hilly, (YES- Nebraska is HILLY), terrain circumnavigating Lincoln.

I will try to keep up on social media when I can, so if you do Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, I will post a few updates throughout the day Saturday. Don't count on a blow-by-blow covering of Gravel Worlds though. I'll just be posting so some folks that care will know I'm still sailing around the gravelly seas of Nebraska and not in Davey Jone's Locker.

This event used to be known as "The Good Life Gravel Adventure" back in '08 and '09. I was convinced to check out the second GLGA event by David Pals, at that time my co-director of Trans Iowa. It was a shoestring adventure and on a single speed, no less. I was hooked then and came back another time to enjoy the scene there. The second time it was co-named the "GLGA-Gravel Worlds", and again, I rode a single speed. I thought I had made it down one other time on a geared bike, but I cannot find any evidence of that, and so I guess it was twice, and I haven't been back in....gulp!, five years! Well, things have changed a bit since those early days!

The first time I rode down there the GLGA had under 50 participants. I think the first Gravel Worlds had 110 or so. Well, this one will have nearly 300! That's a big, big difference right there. I expect there will be other, "big" differences as well, so stay tuned for my thoughts on the Gravel Worlds and a ride report beginning next week.

Lou on the Left, Vee Tire Snowshoe 2XL on right

King Of Fat:

It used to be that a Surly Bud or Lou on a 100mm rim was the fattest tire you could get. Not anymore....

The new "King Of Fat", (which is what this tire should have been called, I think), is the Vee Tire "Snowshoe 2XL". For all the gory details on this beast, see Fat-Bike.com's story here.  (The image to the left is from their story as well.)

My take is that this will be the ultimate flotation tire. In other words, if you find you are going to go out and bust your own trails, go where no one else is going, and you need to be "on top" of the terrain as much as possible, then this is your tire. Translation: If you run groomed trails, dry terrain that is the realm of mountain biking, or are running on loose, drier stuff that isn't sand, these tires won't do you one bit of good. They will just be heavier, harder to handle, and stroke your "I have the biggest tires" ego. Well......they also probably will not fit your current bike. At over 5" in width on 100 mm rims, there are only a few production bikes in existence that these will fit on. I'm not sure they would fit on my Blackborow, for instance, but I've heard these tires will "barely" clear the frame.

I won't say I would never get a pair of these, as they would slot into my usual Winter hi-jinx. I like bushwhacking powder and mud, and so flotation makes sense to me. However; I haven't reached the limits of the Lou/Clown Shoe set up I have, so I just don't see the need to jump on these right now. That said, it's a nice option to be able to go to if I do ever go beyond the limits of the set up I have now.

Blackborow and the Bluto

Looking Forward To Winter:

 Speaking of fat bikes, I haven't ever gotten my plan to convert the Blackborow to......well, you'll have to wait for that. Anyway, part of the plan was the Bluto fork, and I have been on it more since my first impressions of it a while back. I still really like having suspension on this bike for "Summer duties", but it does add weight. Weight is a bad deal in Winter, and so I'll be going back to the original equipment fork, and my Anything Cage HD racks along with that, for the colder months.

I still have my Titanium Mukluk, and for that rig I may be looking to a 1 X 11 group, which will allow bigger rear tires and no chain to tire rub in the lowest gears. With its antiquated 1 1/8th steer tube, I have stuck an On One Carbon Fatty fork on there which lightens up the bike and still gives a great ride feel. I think my direction with that bike will be to use it as a "fast" Winter set up. So, I will be getting it all set for "slop" conditions, groomed stuff, and general riding around.

I still have the Snow Dog as well, but currently it has been relegated to the back wall in the basement as I don't have wheels for it at present. That may change soon though, so I may have a new plan for this old girl soon.

There may be some parts tweakage on all three rigs coming along as the months crawl on by toward 2016. Stay tuned....

And that's a wrap for now. Have a great weekend and I'll be back Monday with the start of my Gravel Worlds report......

White Is The New Dirt

On the "Marky-Mark" trail.

Saturday we got our first good dosage of snow. It didn't come until well into the afternoon, but I was not able to get away until then due to dog-sitting duties and other situations. Once I got freed up, I set out to go make some tracks.

Of course, having big, voluminous tires with crazy tread makes even this two inches or so of white fluff pretty much nothing. It isn't any different than riding on dirt. Kinda like "white dirt"! It wasn't until I went up the steep incline of the dike that I even noticed the tires working hard at all. Up until that point I could disregard that this was snow I was riding on. It was simply not challenging at all.

That isn't to say that I was not having fun, because I was. Ripping through the corners as fast as I wanted to go despite the conditions was cool. Hidden sand and branches don't affect the big tires either, so while I may have been upended on a skinnier tired bike, this seemed almost like cheating. If we get to a point where we have a deeper base and it has been walked upon, skied upon, and what not, that is where these behemoth tires will earn their keep. There and on the deeper snowed in trails and snowmobile tracks.

Black Hawk Creek is just starting to ice over.

I hadn't been out to "Marky-Mark" for a while, but I see someone with a chain saw came through and cleared it up. It doesn't have any logs to test your bunny hopping skills on anymore nor is it closed in upon you in that section between the ponds. Gee.......its almost as if it were a legit trail now. Next thing ya know the City will run that stupid end loader through there, straighten out all the corners, and turn it into a path for the elderly.

Anyway, for now it seems okay, and obviously, it is easily found and you can clear it without fuss. I don't mean to come off as "unthankful", because it was a good deed, but ya never know where that might lead if ya don't know who has taken on the job of trail custodian. If it is the City, well....... I'm not confident things will stay as fun as they are now. Let's just leave it at that.

It isn't like I own that trail or anything. It is Public land, after all, and I have no say. Just like I stated a while back when speaking of this trail- I truly am amazed any of it is still there after all these years.  In fact, there used to be an extension of Marky-Mark that went Eastward past the original trail and came out by the lake. It was a much longer trail and in the middle it was susceptible to flooding. I had a laugh Saturday when I came out of Marky-Mark because you cannot even make anything out of that former trail now, whereas Marky-Mark thrives in comparison.

It was snowing pretty good by the time I got home and had the lights on. The trails will be beaten in by traffic by now, but it was fun to be out while it was snowing when the single track looked like a white line instead of like dirt. That doesn't happen often around here. It may not last either, as not only the traffic but warmer weather is supposed to arrive in about a week. We'll see........ For now it is going to feel like a walk in freezer out there!

White Is The New Dirt

On the "Marky-Mark" trail.

Saturday we got our first good dosage of snow. It didn't come until well into the afternoon, but I was not able to get away until then due to dog-sitting duties and other situations. Once I got freed up, I set out to go make some tracks.

Of course, having big, voluminous tires with crazy tread makes even this two inches or so of white fluff pretty much nothing. It isn't any different than riding on dirt. Kinda like "white dirt"! It wasn't until I went up the steep incline of the dike that I even noticed the tires working hard at all. Up until that point I could disregard that this was snow I was riding on. It was simply not challenging at all.

That isn't to say that I was not having fun, because I was. Ripping through the corners as fast as I wanted to go despite the conditions was cool. Hidden sand and branches don't affect the big tires either, so while I may have been upended on a skinnier tired bike, this seemed almost like cheating. If we get to a point where we have a deeper base and it has been walked upon, skied upon, and what not, that is where these behemoth tires will earn their keep. There and on the deeper snowed in trails and snowmobile tracks.

Black Hawk Creek is just starting to ice over.

I hadn't been out to "Marky-Mark" for a while, but I see someone with a chain saw came through and cleared it up. It doesn't have any logs to test your bunny hopping skills on anymore nor is it closed in upon you in that section between the ponds. Gee.......its almost as if it were a legit trail now. Next thing ya know the City will run that stupid end loader through there, straighten out all the corners, and turn it into a path for the elderly.

Anyway, for now it seems okay, and obviously, it is easily found and you can clear it without fuss. I don't mean to come off as "unthankful", because it was a good deed, but ya never know where that might lead if ya don't know who has taken on the job of trail custodian. If it is the City, well....... I'm not confident things will stay as fun as they are now. Let's just leave it at that.

It isn't like I own that trail or anything. It is Public land, after all, and I have no say. Just like I stated a while back when speaking of this trail- I truly am amazed any of it is still there after all these years.  In fact, there used to be an extension of Marky-Mark that went Eastward past the original trail and came out by the lake. It was a much longer trail and in the middle it was susceptible to flooding. I had a laugh Saturday when I came out of Marky-Mark because you cannot even make anything out of that former trail now, whereas Marky-Mark thrives in comparison.

It was snowing pretty good by the time I got home and had the lights on. The trails will be beaten in by traffic by now, but it was fun to be out while it was snowing when the single track looked like a white line instead of like dirt. That doesn't happen often around here. It may not last either, as not only the traffic but warmer weather is supposed to arrive in about a week. We'll see........ For now it is going to feel like a walk in freezer out there!

The Night That Fall Ended

That's one massive Cottonwood tree my Mukluk is leaning on

Monday was warm, maybe in the 60's here, but the door on the warm air was about to close and a rushing wind was predicted for Monday night. Monday nights are my regular night ride night. So, I was wondering how this would go. Strong winds and our rag-tag woods generally will result in breaking branches and what not falling down. Possibly on me.

I weighed the options as I took off into the teeth of a strong Northwest wind. The trees were free from leaves, since Fall has advanced so far, and by the sounds of things, Winter was kissing my cheeks with a cold welcome. I decided to roll over toward George Wyth State Park and try the wider, more open trails which maybe would not be so dangerous. I reached the far side of the park and hit up a section where the trees were younger and less likely to throw off dead and weak wood. As I twisted and turned into the trail, I started to see something in my lights. The winds were dropping the temperatures and it was maybe already 30 degrees colder than it was in the afternoon. White looking, swirling bits in the head lights. Snow?

By the time I reached the house after an hour and a half I was pretty damp from the precipitation that was falling. As I came into the house, I was pretty sure that I was going to go to bed and wake up to Winter.

As it turned out, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still really cold and the wind was straight at me outta the Northwest. Standard Winter fare for the commute to work, which on this day featured a wind chill into the single digits. Hello Winter, I suppose you'll be sticking around a while, won't you?

The Night That Fall Ended

That's one massive Cottonwood tree my Mukluk is leaning on

Monday was warm, maybe in the 60's here, but the door on the warm air was about to close and a rushing wind was predicted for Monday night. Monday nights are my regular night ride night. So, I was wondering how this would go. Strong winds and our rag-tag woods generally will result in breaking branches and what not falling down. Possibly on me.

I weighed the options as I took off into the teeth of a strong Northwest wind. The trees were free from leaves, since Fall has advanced so far, and by the sounds of things, Winter was kissing my cheeks with a cold welcome. I decided to roll over toward George Wyth State Park and try the wider, more open trails which maybe would not be so dangerous. I reached the far side of the park and hit up a section where the trees were younger and less likely to throw off dead and weak wood. As I twisted and turned into the trail, I started to see something in my lights. The winds were dropping the temperatures and it was maybe already 30 degrees colder than it was in the afternoon. White looking, swirling bits in the head lights. Snow?

By the time I reached the house after an hour and a half I was pretty damp from the precipitation that was falling. As I came into the house, I was pretty sure that I was going to go to bed and wake up to Winter.

As it turned out, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still really cold and the wind was straight at me outta the Northwest. Standard Winter fare for the commute to work, which on this day featured a wind chill into the single digits. Hello Winter, I suppose you'll be sticking around a while, won't you?

In Other News.....

Singular Gryphon in SS gravel mode

Of course, most folks hitting the blog here today will probably be Trans Iowa hopefuls or curious on lookers. It would seem that my entire life has been Trans Iowa centered by the looks of this blog of late. However; that couldn't be further from the truth.

I've been busy, for sure, but I've been doing some other stuff that is bicycle related besides Trans Iowa. One of the things I've been up to of late is getting things arranged for Winter and lining up the Winter time projects. One of those thing has been taking care of some rigs that have been long neglected and that I hope will see some Winter time duties.

The first out of project phase and back in order is the Singular Cycles Gryphon. Tires re-juiced, and basically patched up for Winter time gravel duty. Now sporting the rare and lovely Ragley Luxy Bar, I am reminded how much I really like this bike. This is a "steel" bike ride feel bicycle if there ever was one. Smooth does not quite describe the feel here. I may swap to a silver stem again and go back to green bar tape. The red/black combo doesn't do anything for me, but that aside, this is a good bike to bring out again. It's been too long since I've used it regularly.

Another bicycle I haven't ridden since.......well it probably has been well over ten years! It is the only road bike I own. Well.......if you don't count gravel bikes I have as road bikes. This one is going to be the trainer mule for the time being.

Early 80's Colnago Super

The old Colnago Super was my last serious road racing style bicycle. It has a lot of Campagnolo Record stuff on it, but as you might be able to tell by the silvery looks of the drive train, it is older 9 speed stuff. The wheels I built on some impossibly thin, spindly, flexy Sun Mistral rims and honestly, I don't quite know how it was that I was able to make them last as long as I did. The handle bars and stem......I hate. I know, strong words, but they really stink on this bike and they should get replaced with some silvery bits later in the Winter. At some point, I'll likely have to re-lace those Record hubs to some real rims. Likely some silver Velocity A-23's.

But none of those things prevents me from using the bike as a trainer mule, and that is just what the old Colnago will be doing. I have a trainer and will be commencing "rides to nowhere" soon. Maybe after the Winter I will find the time to re-lace the hubs and get some new bars, stem, and re-wrap the bars. New tires will definitely be needed by then as well.

He huffed, and he puffed......

Then there has been some riding going on as well. I have been on a couple rides with my son on the fat bikes. He's growing more, (had to raise the saddle yet again), and he has gotten to the point where a new handle bar is probably going on there as well to make this more comfortable for him.

Speaking of handle bars, I am going to a wider bar and a different stem, (maybe), on the titanium fat bike. Sharp eyes will note that the crank looks different. It is a new Surly OD crank. I have been eyeballing these cranks since a year ago, and now I have finally gotten them on there. Honestly, I cannot tell that big of a change, or even that there is a change, in terms of stiffness, but I can tell that this crank has a 36T big ring versus the 32T I had grown accustomed to. The main thing though is that now I can clear every gear combination without chain to tire contact but one. That would be in the lowest gear combination, but it barely "tics" the sidewall of the tire, so really, not a big deal. Before the swap, I was contacting the tire with the chain in four out of the nine cogs in the cassette in the granny gear. So, a big improvement there, and I can honestly say that with these big, grippy tires and with this crankset combination, I have gotten the most capable Winter time set up I've had so far. I cannot wait to get into the snow with this! Well.........maybe I could wait a little while longer. However; it may be that in a day or two we'll have the white stuff on the ground again. Ah well........

So, I know Trans Iowa is taking up a lot of bandwidth here of late, but today the registration will close, (more than likely before noon), and then it will be back to the regularly scheduled programming here. Thanks for putting up with all this!

In Other News.....

Singular Gryphon in SS gravel mode

Of course, most folks hitting the blog here today will probably be Trans Iowa hopefuls or curious on lookers. It would seem that my entire life has been Trans Iowa centered by the looks of this blog of late. However; that couldn't be further from the truth.

I've been busy, for sure, but I've been doing some other stuff that is bicycle related besides Trans Iowa. One of the things I've been up to of late is getting things arranged for Winter and lining up the Winter time projects. One of those thing has been taking care of some rigs that have been long neglected and that I hope will see some Winter time duties.

The first out of project phase and back in order is the Singular Cycles Gryphon. Tires re-juiced, and basically patched up for Winter time gravel duty. Now sporting the rare and lovely Ragley Luxy Bar, I am reminded how much I really like this bike. This is a "steel" bike ride feel bicycle if there ever was one. Smooth does not quite describe the feel here. I may swap to a silver stem again and go back to green bar tape. The red/black combo doesn't do anything for me, but that aside, this is a good bike to bring out again. It's been too long since I've used it regularly.

Another bicycle I haven't ridden since.......well it probably has been well over ten years! It is the only road bike I own. Well.......if you don't count gravel bikes I have as road bikes. This one is going to be the trainer mule for the time being.

Early 80's Colnago Super

The old Colnago Super was my last serious road racing style bicycle. It has a lot of Campagnolo Record stuff on it, but as you might be able to tell by the silvery looks of the drive train, it is older 9 speed stuff. The wheels I built on some impossibly thin, spindly, flexy Sun Mistral rims and honestly, I don't quite know how it was that I was able to make them last as long as I did. The handle bars and stem......I hate. I know, strong words, but they really stink on this bike and they should get replaced with some silvery bits later in the Winter. At some point, I'll likely have to re-lace those Record hubs to some real rims. Likely some silver Velocity A-23's.

But none of those things prevents me from using the bike as a trainer mule, and that is just what the old Colnago will be doing. I have a trainer and will be commencing "rides to nowhere" soon. Maybe after the Winter I will find the time to re-lace the hubs and get some new bars, stem, and re-wrap the bars. New tires will definitely be needed by then as well.

He huffed, and he puffed......

Then there has been some riding going on as well. I have been on a couple rides with my son on the fat bikes. He's growing more, (had to raise the saddle yet again), and he has gotten to the point where a new handle bar is probably going on there as well to make this more comfortable for him.

Speaking of handle bars, I am going to a wider bar and a different stem, (maybe), on the titanium fat bike. Sharp eyes will note that the crank looks different. It is a new Surly OD crank. I have been eyeballing these cranks since a year ago, and now I have finally gotten them on there. Honestly, I cannot tell that big of a change, or even that there is a change, in terms of stiffness, but I can tell that this crank has a 36T big ring versus the 32T I had grown accustomed to. The main thing though is that now I can clear every gear combination without chain to tire contact but one. That would be in the lowest gear combination, but it barely "tics" the sidewall of the tire, so really, not a big deal. Before the swap, I was contacting the tire with the chain in four out of the nine cogs in the cassette in the granny gear. So, a big improvement there, and I can honestly say that with these big, grippy tires and with this crankset combination, I have gotten the most capable Winter time set up I've had so far. I cannot wait to get into the snow with this! Well.........maybe I could wait a little while longer. However; it may be that in a day or two we'll have the white stuff on the ground again. Ah well........

So, I know Trans Iowa is taking up a lot of bandwidth here of late, but today the registration will close, (more than likely before noon), and then it will be back to the regularly scheduled programming here. Thanks for putting up with all this!

Friday News And Views

The new route was done to keep this road in the final T.I.V11 course

Reroute:

Back when we did the first big Trans Iowa recon at the end of September, I mentioned afterword that I was contemplating a reroute and that we still had about 80 miles at the end to look at as well. I did end up doing that reroute and it came out to almost the same mileage as before. Tentatively it is 1.7 miles shorter. We have to check that out, but that will likely be about right.

The main reason I did the reroute was to get a convenience store in at about the Checkpoint #2 area, so riders going into the night on Saturday would have a chance to resupply. This reroute should take care of that issue. Secondarily, I didn't like the bits of pavement we were being forced into using, and this reroute erases a lot of that. It does add in some more dirt road though. Oh well......

Look for a full recon report Monday and along with that a bit of an outlook on the Veteran's registration opening up next week. I know that the registration this week wasn't all that exciting, but I have a feeling that next week we will see the category filled in two days or less. In fact, I wouldn't at all be surprised to find that the category fills up in a day. It is going to be nuts, I think. I just have seen a lot of cards posted to Facebook over the week, and while I didn't keep track, I bet I saw at least a dozen cards shown. That is one third of the allotment right there!

Fattening Up: Update

Okay, the brake upgrade was well worth the effort. Oh my! The difference between the Avid Elixir 9's and these "entry level" Maguras is night and day. The Maguras have twice the stopping power- maybe more, with waaaay less effort at the lever. Did I mention that they are quiet? Yes. Really. Very. Quiet.

I ordered up the Surly OD crankset, so when that gets in, all I have to do is get a new chain, and I am pretty sure the cassette is still okay, but yeah.... I am going against what I would recommend here, but I am going to try to run the old cassette. I think I can make it work. If not, I'll know pretty quickly, I think! The bottom line is that after measuring up the crank I have now, the OD will give me just about every gear combination without tire rub, and maybe all of them. It'll be very close.

The old crank and bottom bracket will go into the parts bin awaiting the rebuild of the Snow Dog. I am almost certain that will be a triple crank set up. I originally had a triple set up on the Snow Dog and I remember really liking it. More updates later......

Steel Upgrade:

I also ordered up a new steel free hub body for the Fargo Gen 1 which should get that rig back on the trails here soon. The minimal amount of weight gained by going with a steel free hub body will be easily off set by allowing me to use any cassette with single cogs and avoid the dreaded "digging in" that occurs with the aluminum free hub body. Convenience, and ease of maintenance. Win-win, as they say. I suspect the ol' Hope hub will be happily "clackety-clacking" along again. Those Hope hubs are definitely not quiet! 

Besides the hub upgrade/repair, I have to inject a bit of sealant into the tires for Winter, and then see if I can fit the Cascadia fenders back over those big Kenda Honey Badger tires. I may have to resort to a clip on arrangement for keeping things clean over the Winter, but at any rate, I feel like this Winter I may actually have a significant amount of miles on this rig. We're not supposed to be so snowy they say, so fat biking to work may not be always a necessity, or desirable. We'll see.  

Okay, it's cold, windy, and getting more like Winter, but there is no bad weather for cycling, only poor clothing choices! Get out there!