Friday News And Views

Recycling cycling.

Big Dummy-

I figured I'd share a few things about the Big Dummy here. It's been a great addition to the fleet. I usually use it for recycling duties, but I have also done the odd errand and hauled things back from the farmers market and whatnot.

I tried using it for commuting but my route is not "Big Dummy friendly". The thing doesn't like curbs and going over them, or even off them, is a jarringly unpleasant experience. I have to cross five or six curbs, (not sure, but at least that many), on my way to work. Loaded, the Big Dummy really sucks on curbs. That front wheel, due to the bike's geometry, is really pinned to the ground and the back end is waaaaaaaay out there, so getting the bike to rotate back on its haunches is nigh unto impossible. So, subsequently I decided to quit using it for commutes unless it was absolutely necessary.

So, I kind of panned the new Blackborow here a few weeks ago when it was announced, and while some of my criticisms were confirmed by a friend and others by Salsa's own "loading instructions" technical page. , I now have a new perspective on the rig. That was a result of speaking with a very good friend of mine, (aforementioned), who happens to be "on the inside" and was able to ride one of these for an extended period of time and has used it for lots of things and with lots of different loads. The main thing I took away was that it is possible to loft the front end of this bike, and that it could perhaps even be easier to do that depending on how it is loaded.

Therefore; I have taken a new interest in the new Blackborow. It would be something I think would fit in with how I use a bike like this, although Salsa is denying it is a "cargo bike", yet they allow for loads to be carried by bags on the rack. I guess it all depends upon your definition of "cargo".

Tubeless......again.......finally!

Pofahl Gets Tubeless......Again!

I was reminiscing about what it took to get a tubeless set up on a 29"er circa 2007. I was curious as to how I could make my 2006 Industry 9 wheel set tubeless with the DT Swiss TK series rims the wheels were spec'ed with. Of course, you had to do it "ghetto-tubeless" because other than the somewhat hard to get your hands on Stan's tape, there wasn't any other options and tires were hard to find that had a tight fit.

It wasn't impossible, but to get these rims to be tubeless with the original set up, with the "not for tubeless use" Vulpines, I had to go to extraordinary lengths. I started with two runs of strapping tape. That was covered by 3M mounting tape which I had to cut to width. Then over that went two runs of black electrical tape. Only then could I get the tires to set up. Of course, it wasn't easy even then. I remember it was quite the struggle. Anyway, things are, thankfully, much different ten years down the road.

After stripping out all the layers I put in ten years ago I added two runs of Velocity "blue" tubeless tape, added two Bontrager road TLR tubeless valve stems, added the "MG's Secret Sauce" (again- don't ask ) tubeless goop, and they aired up with a small compressor I have. Oh......and I used a brand new set of WTB TCS Nano's in the 2.1" size. 

There was one, minor disconcerting fact that I noted while doing this. The tires never made a peep setting up. I did not get that satisfying loud "snap!" of the bead setting in its seat on the rim. That's likely because the TK series of rims that DT Swiss used to make has a pretty aggressive hook bead whereas newer tubeless ready designs do not. The newer, tubeless ready rims generally have a squared off seat which has a slightly larger diameter for the tire bead to "lock" in to. Now, I am not going to be running low pressures or smashing into trail obstacles with this set up, but I have no doubt that if I did the tires would easily burp. So, while I am good to go for gravel, I still want to look into getting "real" tubeless ready rims.

Single Speed Century

So, the next deal I want to get going on is to try out the Pofahl on the planned century ride I have mapped out. I haven't done a century on a single speed in a long time, so I am overdue.

I kind of wanted to do this in September, but, obviously, I am running a bit short on time for this! Well, Saturday is my last chance and I think I am going for it unless I still feel like I am run down.

Yeah......I've been not feeling the best lately. I relapsed in terms of my cold right after the trip I was on last week. Feeling run down, congested, and well........crappy. We'll see how this whole single speed century thing goes.

But, I will give it my best. I have a pretty "single speed friendly" course designed so it isn't anything too radical in terms of elevation gain. I'm hoping that I can get up early on Saturday morning when it is still dark out and get going on that.

Then the next deal will be the second Fat Bike Century. That should happen in October sometime. We actually did that a year ago this weekend, myself and Tony, and Tony wants another go at that as well. So, if I can pull off those two century rides I'll have done five century rides and will need only one more for my own version of a cup o dirt.

Have a great weekend and I hope that you have a good bicycling time!

Friday News And Views

Recycling cycling.

Big Dummy-

I figured I'd share a few things about the Big Dummy here. It's been a great addition to the fleet. I usually use it for recycling duties, but I have also done the odd errand and hauled things back from the farmers market and whatnot.

I tried using it for commuting but my route is not "Big Dummy friendly". The thing doesn't like curbs and going over them, or even off them, is a jarringly unpleasant experience. I have to cross five or six curbs, (not sure, but at least that many), on my way to work. Loaded, the Big Dummy really sucks on curbs. That front wheel, due to the bike's geometry, is really pinned to the ground and the back end is waaaaaaaay out there, so getting the bike to rotate back on its haunches is nigh unto impossible. So, subsequently I decided to quit using it for commutes unless it was absolutely necessary.

So, I kind of panned the new Blackborow here a few weeks ago when it was announced, and while some of my criticisms were confirmed by a friend and others by Salsa's own "loading instructions" technical page. , I now have a new perspective on the rig. That was a result of speaking with a very good friend of mine, (aforementioned), who happens to be "on the inside" and was able to ride one of these for an extended period of time and has used it for lots of things and with lots of different loads. The main thing I took away was that it is possible to loft the front end of this bike, and that it could perhaps even be easier to do that depending on how it is loaded.

Therefore; I have taken a new interest in the new Blackborow. It would be something I think would fit in with how I use a bike like this, although Salsa is denying it is a "cargo bike", yet they allow for loads to be carried by bags on the rack. I guess it all depends upon your definition of "cargo".

Tubeless......again.......finally!

Pofahl Gets Tubeless......Again!

I was reminiscing about what it took to get a tubeless set up on a 29"er circa 2007. I was curious as to how I could make my 2006 Industry 9 wheel set tubeless with the DT Swiss TK series rims the wheels were spec'ed with. Of course, you had to do it "ghetto-tubeless" because other than the somewhat hard to get your hands on Stan's tape, there wasn't any other options and tires were hard to find that had a tight fit.

It wasn't impossible, but to get these rims to be tubeless with the original set up, with the "not for tubeless use" Vulpines, I had to go to extraordinary lengths. I started with two runs of strapping tape. That was covered by 3M mounting tape which I had to cut to width. Then over that went two runs of black electrical tape. Only then could I get the tires to set up. Of course, it wasn't easy even then. I remember it was quite the struggle. Anyway, things are, thankfully, much different ten years down the road.

After stripping out all the layers I put in ten years ago I added two runs of Velocity "blue" tubeless tape, added two Bontrager road TLR tubeless valve stems, added the "MG's Secret Sauce" (again- don't ask ) tubeless goop, and they aired up with a small compressor I have. Oh......and I used a brand new set of WTB TCS Nano's in the 2.1" size. 

There was one, minor disconcerting fact that I noted while doing this. The tires never made a peep setting up. I did not get that satisfying loud "snap!" of the bead setting in its seat on the rim. That's likely because the TK series of rims that DT Swiss used to make has a pretty aggressive hook bead whereas newer tubeless ready designs do not. The newer, tubeless ready rims generally have a squared off seat which has a slightly larger diameter for the tire bead to "lock" in to. Now, I am not going to be running low pressures or smashing into trail obstacles with this set up, but I have no doubt that if I did the tires would easily burp. So, while I am good to go for gravel, I still want to look into getting "real" tubeless ready rims.

Single Speed Century

So, the next deal I want to get going on is to try out the Pofahl on the planned century ride I have mapped out. I haven't done a century on a single speed in a long time, so I am overdue.

I kind of wanted to do this in September, but, obviously, I am running a bit short on time for this! Well, Saturday is my last chance and I think I am going for it unless I still feel like I am run down.

Yeah......I've been not feeling the best lately. I relapsed in terms of my cold right after the trip I was on last week. Feeling run down, congested, and well........crappy. We'll see how this whole single speed century thing goes.

But, I will give it my best. I have a pretty "single speed friendly" course designed so it isn't anything too radical in terms of elevation gain. I'm hoping that I can get up early on Saturday morning when it is still dark out and get going on that.

Then the next deal will be the second Fat Bike Century. That should happen in October sometime. We actually did that a year ago this weekend, myself and Tony, and Tony wants another go at that as well. So, if I can pull off those two century rides I'll have done five century rides and will need only one more for my own version of a cup o dirt.

Have a great weekend and I hope that you have a good bicycling time!

Friday News And Views

From last week's Fargo Reunion Ride

Turn The Clocks Back:

This Saturady night we "fall back" an hour to Standard Time from Daylight Savings Time. Don't forget to set those clocks back an hour.

In terms of the season, the time is running short to get things in this year. The Fargo Reunion Ride a week ago now was my last big, planned ride of the season. Now I just have to figure out where I stand in regard to my Cup-O-Dirt standings and see what it is I have to do to get that taken care of. I can make it work by doing three more 100 mile each rides. That wouldn't be tough to do but for finding the time, as each would be a day shot just riding bikes and recovering. I have several "metric" centuries, but I need 12 of those and I think I would need to do six more to get it done that way. I'm thinking three centuries are an easier goal at this point!

Anyway, there are no "planned" rides anymore this season/year. Everything from here on out will be mostly just for the fun of it or a stab at the Cup-O-Dirt deal. I'll likely have a review of my "season", such as it was, coming up in December when I do my 2016 Rear View series, like I do every year on the blog. 

I'm probably bringing this up to show. Or maybe I'll bring........something else!!

Bikepacking/Endurance Seminar at Ingawanis Woodlands:

Before you go and set those clocks back, check out the Bikepacking/Endurance Seminar which will be held at Ingawanis Woodlands at the Eagle Lodge  at 4:00pm until about 7:00pm on Saturday afternoon/evening. Camping is encouraged, and I will be there along with a few others that will be yakking about set ups and techniques you can use to get better experiences while pursuing gravel events, bikepacking adventures, or for your own touring or cycling fun.

No entry fee, and all we are asking is that you bring some clean, 5 cent deposit empty cans to help bring some revenue for Bremer County Conservation. Make sure those are in bags, by the way. There will be chili and vittles. There will be a campfire and some talk. Check it out.

I probably will bring something more gravel oriented to talk about, but I haven't settled on what that will be 100% just yet.

Kitty-kitty!

 Country Views:

The occasional posts I was doing throughout the Summer dubbed "Country Views" was well received. As we get on into "Brown" season and then into "White" season, the interesting views will be fewer and further in between.

However; that doesn't mean that I don't- or won't- be seeing cool, interesting, or odd stuff. So, I think since it is getting so that entire posts of "Country Views" will be hard to do, I will save interesting bits and put them here in "Friday News And Views".

In that vein here is something that I had happen to me this past week. I was out on a gravel road ride when I came upon two cats in the road. Cats are a commonly seen animal out here, but they typically are shy and wary. They don't typically saunter down the middle of the road, as these two were doing. Initially I passed the pair by, and they seemed to not mind my prescence but were content to wander in the opposite direction. I stopped not long after seeing them to scrape some Levl B Road mud from my bike. The wheels were tossing bits of dirt off like an old time manure spreader.

Well, as I was busying myself with that, I heard the faint "meow" of a cat and then again, getting closer by the sounds of it. I turned my head in the general direction of the sound and here are the same two cats coming back to have a look-see. They didn't get real close, but within about ten feet, and then they sat down and watched me.

I am sure I was as unusual to them as they were to me. Cats just never have approached me on the gravel roads. Dogs? All day every day. Cats? They run the other direction, typically. So, that was another first for me, and my "Country View" for this post.

Have a great weekend and get out and ride those bicycles!

Friday News And Views

From last week's Fargo Reunion Ride

Turn The Clocks Back:

This Saturady night we "fall back" an hour to Standard Time from Daylight Savings Time. Don't forget to set those clocks back an hour.

In terms of the season, the time is running short to get things in this year. The Fargo Reunion Ride a week ago now was my last big, planned ride of the season. Now I just have to figure out where I stand in regard to my Cup-O-Dirt standings and see what it is I have to do to get that taken care of. I can make it work by doing three more 100 mile each rides. That wouldn't be tough to do but for finding the time, as each would be a day shot just riding bikes and recovering. I have several "metric" centuries, but I need 12 of those and I think I would need to do six more to get it done that way. I'm thinking three centuries are an easier goal at this point!

Anyway, there are no "planned" rides anymore this season/year. Everything from here on out will be mostly just for the fun of it or a stab at the Cup-O-Dirt deal. I'll likely have a review of my "season", such as it was, coming up in December when I do my 2016 Rear View series, like I do every year on the blog. 

I'm probably bringing this up to show. Or maybe I'll bring........something else!!

Bikepacking/Endurance Seminar at Ingawanis Woodlands:

Before you go and set those clocks back, check out the Bikepacking/Endurance Seminar which will be held at Ingawanis Woodlands at the Eagle Lodge  at 4:00pm until about 7:00pm on Saturday afternoon/evening. Camping is encouraged, and I will be there along with a few others that will be yakking about set ups and techniques you can use to get better experiences while pursuing gravel events, bikepacking adventures, or for your own touring or cycling fun.

No entry fee, and all we are asking is that you bring some clean, 5 cent deposit empty cans to help bring some revenue for Bremer County Conservation. Make sure those are in bags, by the way. There will be chili and vittles. There will be a campfire and some talk. Check it out.

I probably will bring something more gravel oriented to talk about, but I haven't settled on what that will be 100% just yet.

Kitty-kitty!

 Country Views:

The occasional posts I was doing throughout the Summer dubbed "Country Views" was well received. As we get on into "Brown" season and then into "White" season, the interesting views will be fewer and further in between.

However; that doesn't mean that I don't- or won't- be seeing cool, interesting, or odd stuff. So, I think since it is getting so that entire posts of "Country Views" will be hard to do, I will save interesting bits and put them here in "Friday News And Views".

In that vein here is something that I had happen to me this past week. I was out on a gravel road ride when I came upon two cats in the road. Cats are a commonly seen animal out here, but they typically are shy and wary. They don't typically saunter down the middle of the road, as these two were doing. Initially I passed the pair by, and they seemed to not mind my prescence but were content to wander in the opposite direction. I stopped not long after seeing them to scrape some Levl B Road mud from my bike. The wheels were tossing bits of dirt off like an old time manure spreader.

Well, as I was busying myself with that, I heard the faint "meow" of a cat and then again, getting closer by the sounds of it. I turned my head in the general direction of the sound and here are the same two cats coming back to have a look-see. They didn't get real close, but within about ten feet, and then they sat down and watched me.

I am sure I was as unusual to them as they were to me. Cats just never have approached me on the gravel roads. Dogs? All day every day. Cats? They run the other direction, typically. So, that was another first for me, and my "Country View" for this post.

Have a great weekend and get out and ride those bicycles!

A Sense Of Urgency

New tires to test with time running out.....

Yesterday it kind of struck me, somewhat like a cold slap in the face, because....well, it was! Cold that is. Thirty degrees colder than the day before with cold rain in the forenoon and gusty winds out of the Northwest all day. So, why all the urgency?

Because Fall is halfway over with, and Winter isn't far off. Consider that Thanksgiving is only six weeks away. Generally speaking, in a "normal" year, that's about the end of clear roads and trails, since snow usually comes to clog things up around then. So, the way I figure it, I've got six weeks to get a lot of stuff squared away for the year.

Maybe the weather will be sort of kind, like last year when I rode right up to Christmas time on the gravel roads, but I ain't bettin' on that. Nope. No way. I have to get a few reviews done, and if I am real lucky, I'll squeeze out that Cup-O-Dirt challenge requirement before the weather shuts me down. Trouble is, I have other duties to consider that also demand my time.....right now. Mainly they all are related to Trans Iowa. I have the recon Saturday, the lottery drawing Sunday, (if I get a bunch more cards, which looks less likely now), and then the last registration for the Rookies to keep track of and have a lottery for, (possibly), by the end of this month.

Yesterday I spent four hours locking down the first two thirds of the course for Trans Iowa and I still have to write mock cues and do the tail end of the route before Saturday. So, that all means that all of this riding stuff gets pushed aside to make way to get more of that done as well. Oh yeah.....did I mention that there may be a big ride at the end of the month? No? Well, things seem up in the air concerning that but I've been assured that is happening. When I know more than that, I can say something, but that's all I know. Vague, yes, but it is what it is.

Anyway, suffice it to say that I feel my feet over the fire and I've got a lot to get crackin' on before the hourglass drains the last grain of sand to the bottom.

A Sense Of Urgency

New tires to test with time running out.....

Yesterday it kind of struck me, somewhat like a cold slap in the face, because....well, it was! Cold that is. Thirty degrees colder than the day before with cold rain in the forenoon and gusty winds out of the Northwest all day. So, why all the urgency?

Because Fall is halfway over with, and Winter isn't far off. Consider that Thanksgiving is only six weeks away. Generally speaking, in a "normal" year, that's about the end of clear roads and trails, since snow usually comes to clog things up around then. So, the way I figure it, I've got six weeks to get a lot of stuff squared away for the year.

Maybe the weather will be sort of kind, like last year when I rode right up to Christmas time on the gravel roads, but I ain't bettin' on that. Nope. No way. I have to get a few reviews done, and if I am real lucky, I'll squeeze out that Cup-O-Dirt challenge requirement before the weather shuts me down. Trouble is, I have other duties to consider that also demand my time.....right now. Mainly they all are related to Trans Iowa. I have the recon Saturday, the lottery drawing Sunday, (if I get a bunch more cards, which looks less likely now), and then the last registration for the Rookies to keep track of and have a lottery for, (possibly), by the end of this month.

Yesterday I spent four hours locking down the first two thirds of the course for Trans Iowa and I still have to write mock cues and do the tail end of the route before Saturday. So, that all means that all of this riding stuff gets pushed aside to make way to get more of that done as well. Oh yeah.....did I mention that there may be a big ride at the end of the month? No? Well, things seem up in the air concerning that but I've been assured that is happening. When I know more than that, I can say something, but that's all I know. Vague, yes, but it is what it is.

Anyway, suffice it to say that I feel my feet over the fire and I've got a lot to get crackin' on before the hourglass drains the last grain of sand to the bottom.

Back On It

Fresh blue skies and lots of wind.

The Fat Bike Century kind of knocked me for a doozy this week so far until Wednesday when I finally felt "okay". I didn't want to get out of bed Wednesday morning, and I was still kind of in a funk till about noon, but it passed and I finally felt like I could maybe take a nice, easy ride out in the country.

Monday my legs were still toasted, Tuesday I felt better, but both days I was fatigued and by evening time I was falling out of my chair. Of course, I was still commuting by bicycle. The Big Dummy may have been a bit much, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! That's my transportation to work and back for the time being.

At any rate, the plan yesterday was to just do a nice, easy ride out on the gravel, nothing too crazy. I took out the Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" rig because it has these Arisun tires on it that I am testing out. I like that bike a lot anyway, so that was okay by me. The trouble is that my left shoulder isn't digging the traditionally shaped drops or even the slightly flared Cowbells, like the Orange Crush has on it now. That dang injury from last Winter hangs on, but it seems to get better bit by bit. It is just taking a very long time to come around. So, maybe I need to think about different bars on that bike and on  a few others. We'll see........

In the meantime, I wasn't planning on some multi-hour, all day ride, so the Cowbells should be fine, but I would see about that later. The Fat Bike Century actually did put the hurt on that shoulder, (despite it having flat bars), so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. Otherwise it was a splendid day, with maybe a stiff wind, but otherwise perfect. Wind isn't that big of a deal anymore since I have that almost every ride anyway. It has just become part of the whole experience. The wind has to get pretty bad for me to start complaining about it now.

Petrie Road looking East.

The Sun was out, and the roads were in great shape at first. Not too much gravel, and with the rain we had overnight, not too dusty either. I was feeling pretty good, actually. The legs had a bit of snap in them after all. So, the "easy" ride started turning into......something a bit more than that. I ended up dialing it back a bit, but it felt good to be able to go fast, even if just for a bit. I think it was that fat bike and riding it 100 miles. The Orange Crush was lighter, easier to move with skinnier tires. It was almost like when my friend Ari rides his road bike and he refers to it as his "cheater bike". Because it is easier. Yeah......it was easier!

Giving my "cheater bike", and myself, a quick break.

I ended the ride after about 20 or so miles, which I figured was a good reintroduction to gravel after the Fat Bike Century ride. I didn't want to over do it and get really tired afterward or worse, sick. I think that felt about right anyway. The ride was pleasant, despite the wind, and it was a great day to be outside. I was really glad I got out there and back on it again.

Now my next, and last scheduled ride for the year, is coming up at the end of this month. I want to be ready for that, so I am going to work on getting some good rides in before then. Hopefully the weather holds up for that ride. Hint: I will be using my Gen I Fargo for this particular ride. 

Besides that, I want to sneak in some bigger rides before the year is out. I have to finagle a way to finish up my Cup-O-Dirt challenge and my last scheduled ride could be part of that. Otherwise I have to knock out three really big rides in less than three months and who knows what the weather will be like coming up in November and December. It seems weird to be thinking about those months, and yet here we are. The end of the 2016 calendar is coming fast.

The fields are being emptied, the leaves are changing quickly, and my cycling mode is going to be switching to the Winter selection soon. My fat bikes are ready, that's for sure. But until that time comes I will be riding my gravel rigs and maybe the odd single speed mtb rig throughout the Fall season. I have to do at least one fall mtb ride!

Back On It

Fresh blue skies and lots of wind.

The Fat Bike Century kind of knocked me for a doozy this week so far until Wednesday when I finally felt "okay". I didn't want to get out of bed Wednesday morning, and I was still kind of in a funk till about noon, but it passed and I finally felt like I could maybe take a nice, easy ride out in the country.

Monday my legs were still toasted, Tuesday I felt better, but both days I was fatigued and by evening time I was falling out of my chair. Of course, I was still commuting by bicycle. The Big Dummy may have been a bit much, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! That's my transportation to work and back for the time being.

At any rate, the plan yesterday was to just do a nice, easy ride out on the gravel, nothing too crazy. I took out the Black Mountain Cycles "Orange Crush" rig because it has these Arisun tires on it that I am testing out. I like that bike a lot anyway, so that was okay by me. The trouble is that my left shoulder isn't digging the traditionally shaped drops or even the slightly flared Cowbells, like the Orange Crush has on it now. That dang injury from last Winter hangs on, but it seems to get better bit by bit. It is just taking a very long time to come around. So, maybe I need to think about different bars on that bike and on  a few others. We'll see........

In the meantime, I wasn't planning on some multi-hour, all day ride, so the Cowbells should be fine, but I would see about that later. The Fat Bike Century actually did put the hurt on that shoulder, (despite it having flat bars), so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. Otherwise it was a splendid day, with maybe a stiff wind, but otherwise perfect. Wind isn't that big of a deal anymore since I have that almost every ride anyway. It has just become part of the whole experience. The wind has to get pretty bad for me to start complaining about it now.

Petrie Road looking East.

The Sun was out, and the roads were in great shape at first. Not too much gravel, and with the rain we had overnight, not too dusty either. I was feeling pretty good, actually. The legs had a bit of snap in them after all. So, the "easy" ride started turning into......something a bit more than that. I ended up dialing it back a bit, but it felt good to be able to go fast, even if just for a bit. I think it was that fat bike and riding it 100 miles. The Orange Crush was lighter, easier to move with skinnier tires. It was almost like when my friend Ari rides his road bike and he refers to it as his "cheater bike". Because it is easier. Yeah......it was easier!

Giving my "cheater bike", and myself, a quick break.

I ended the ride after about 20 or so miles, which I figured was a good reintroduction to gravel after the Fat Bike Century ride. I didn't want to over do it and get really tired afterward or worse, sick. I think that felt about right anyway. The ride was pleasant, despite the wind, and it was a great day to be outside. I was really glad I got out there and back on it again.

Now my next, and last scheduled ride for the year, is coming up at the end of this month. I want to be ready for that, so I am going to work on getting some good rides in before then. Hopefully the weather holds up for that ride. Hint: I will be using my Gen I Fargo for this particular ride. 

Besides that, I want to sneak in some bigger rides before the year is out. I have to finagle a way to finish up my Cup-O-Dirt challenge and my last scheduled ride could be part of that. Otherwise I have to knock out three really big rides in less than three months and who knows what the weather will be like coming up in November and December. It seems weird to be thinking about those months, and yet here we are. The end of the 2016 calendar is coming fast.

The fields are being emptied, the leaves are changing quickly, and my cycling mode is going to be switching to the Winter selection soon. My fat bikes are ready, that's for sure. But until that time comes I will be riding my gravel rigs and maybe the odd single speed mtb rig throughout the Fall season. I have to do at least one fall mtb ride!

Looking For A New Bridge

Leaving Prairie Grove Park we were watched over by a large Red Tailed Hawk on the line.

That dratted bridge was out and that cost me. Well, it wasn't too bad, in the end, but when I found out the bridge over the Wolf Creek on J Avenue was out during the running of Trans Iowa v10, it put me into a panic. So, yeah.....it cost me a lot of unwanted stress, but after all this time, it is kind of a laugh now.

I never went back after that Saturday night to see if it ever was replaced. I figured that there was really no other choice for the county but to replace it, but then again, in these times, weirder things have happened. So, it was always a plan in the back of my mind. The idea to go search for the new bridge, if it was there. I went on that quest early this Spring but was thwarted by a muddy B Level road or two. This past Saturday was "take two" on the quest.

I was planning for a while to make this a combination of recon for the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and the quest for the bridge, so I had two motivations to get out there. A third motivation to get out on this long ride presented itself when I was texted by Marty, who asked if I was going on a gravel ride and if I was, could he join me? Of course, I said yes. So, we planned on leaving from the starting point of the upcoming GTDRI, Prairie Grove Park, and set a time of 8:00am to get started on the long day's riding.

Looking at the old Geneseo School as we went on our way to Traer. 

I got out of the house a bit late, so I had to "time trial" it down to the meeting place, which was 5.85 miles from my front door. Most of that being bike path, so it went by quickly and I ended up being 1 minute late. (Sorry Marty!) I hate being late, but now I know I have to budget a little more time when I leave the house in a couple of weeks to do the GTDRI. Lesson learned!

The day could not have been more perfect. It was in the lower 60's when we left with a light Southeasterly headwind. The day was drier, with low humidity. Really, a picture perfect day if ever there was one for riding on gravel roads. We headed out on the original GTDRI route which starts down Aker Road, but then it turns East to get over to Ansborough via Orange Road. The route then went all the way into Tama County before we turned East for one more mile to catch V Avenue South and then to a right on D-65 where that bridge was out for this year's Trans Iowa. That bridge is all in and complete, boding well for our quest to find the bridge intact over the Wolf Creek later on.

Barns For Jason: Some rural decorative choices are a bit hard to understand, but.......oh well!

Marty with his snack at our first convenience store stop in Traer.

We reached Traer by 10:00am, so we made decent time, but we weren't burning up the road either, since that was about 25 or so miles in. We checked out the convenience store there. The same one I've been visiting now for a decade or more by bicycle. Every time I stop here I see the place fall more and more into decay. It makes me a bit sad, I guess. Lots of memories here for sure......

Anyway, after a brief stop and a chance to freak out the locals, we moved on. South out of town on P Avenue, where we would hit up one of my favorite B Level Maintenance roads. You can read about that and see an image in the post previous to this, so I won't get into the details of that visit.

The corn is REALLY tall, and the gravel was REALLY fresh and deep in Tama County.

We hit up this super fast and smooth B Level Maintenance road just before getting to J Avenue.

We finally departed the GTDRI course at P Avenue and 220th Street where we went West and headed over to K Avenue where we would come back North a bit before jogging Westward again a couple of miles to set us up to be on J Avenue. Heading North, I saw no signs that would lead me to believe there was no bridge. I figured as much.

The new bridge over Wolf Creek looking back South. The old bridge is forever immortalized in the film documentary, "300 Miles Of Gravel"

 

While we had turned out of the now steady wind coming out of the Southeast, we faced deep, fresh gravel at every turn unless we were riding dirt for a spell. The road coming to and crossing the new bridge was strewn with chunky goodness, making the road a real challenge to traverse. It didn't help that we had the infamous "Wolf Creek Wall" to climb!

Leaving the Wolf Creek valley can leave a mark on your soul! That's only the first of a series of steeps that goes on for a mile and a half.

The Wolf Creek Wall, again, immortalized as the cover shot for the documentary "300 Miles of Gravel", is only the opening shot in a mile and a half, or more, as was in our case, of painful steeps. We'd had it pretty easy up to this point on our ride, but if we were thinking we were in good shape, this section brought the truth home to roost! We both were really humbled by this section and I know I will need more of that pain to get ready for Gravel Worlds in a little over a month from now.

Marty and I then climbed up K Avenue to Ridge Road and we cruised straight into the wind, as Ridge Road runs Southeast/Northwest, till we returned to Traer again. We could have gone North before getting back to Traer, but Marty said we should take the "prettiest option". That was Ridge Road all the way to Traer without question, so we went through the town again.

You can see for many miles in any direction from Ridge Road.

Marty was taking in the views on Ridge Road from his trusty Fargo.

We stopped again at the convenience store for a refueling and refilling. Then we left Traer the way we had come in, but at T.F. Clark Park we went West for a mile then straight North. After a few miles we came across a lady on a riding lawn mower that was spinning her wheels, as if she was stuck. Marty motioned that we should stop and lend a hand, to which I agreed. We asked the elderly lady if she'd like us to push her, but before I could get the sentence out of my mouth she leapt up, got behind the mower, shoved it with a mighty heave, and sat herself back in the seat. Then she declared to us that she was used to getting herself out of her own messes. Now that's a true country gal! We were kind of befuddled, but she shut the mower off and we had a pleasant, short conversation before we bade her farewell and moved on down the road.

Now, that was maybe enough oddness to expect for one gravel ride, but we came upon an even odder sight after we had taken a good long rest stop under a tree's shade on the road because my stomach was fighting me a bit. I had eaten a bit too much and my body was shunting energy to digestion and my mind was falling asleep!

Anyway, I saw a blinking light bar up ahead, which is odd enough out in the middle of nowhere, but this was a accompanied by a string of about eight school buses parked on one side of a crossing road and up along our path. As we passed, we could see that this was a convoy of corn detasslers and a few vehicles ferrying the porta-jons they have to have to accommodate the youngsters who are hired to do this task. Apparently one bus had run into the back end of another, causing some significant damage. The kids were all restrained to sitting in the buses, and as we passed they hung their hands out the windows, waving at us vigorously. It was all a bit surreal, actually. Hope everyone was okay there!

Finishing up a long day out on the gravel roads of Black Hawk and Tama Counties.

And that's another for the Cup-O-Dirt tally!

The ride ended up well, and I got home by 4:30pm, 8 and a half hours after the start. Well, actually a bit longer than that, since I had left the house before 8:00am. Anyway, a good, long day in the saddle with some interesting things to see. A bridge confirmed, hills climbed, and rocky roads conquered. Plus we got to see an odd situation with the detassling crew's bus accident. I am pretty certain I won't ever see such a thing again in my lifetime, nor do I want to, really.

I was a bit surprised by the mileage total when I got back and checked it out. I was suspecting I had about 70 plus, but to have eclipsed the 80 mile mark was very surprising and satisfying. That will go on the Cup-O-Dirt Challenge totals for the year, and it will be a good base to build off of going into Gravel Worlds and the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. 

Speaking of which, this ride was also a test, again, of how my dinged up shoulder will react to a bigger ride and that on the Gen I Fargo. I have determined that for now, the big rides will all have to be done on that bike, with that Luxy Bar, because my shoulder still isn't 100%. I can tell right away when I ride one of my other bikes and the left shoulder starts aching badly after about an hour into a ride. Not always, but many times yet, that is the case. This ride wasn't easy, by the way, and I fought the shoulder pain for most of it, but it didn't feel like I was really doing more damage. Just an annoying pain at different times during the ride. Being able to take advantage of all the different positions on the Luxy Bar rotates that left shoulder joint in different ways so I can keep from having it get hammered by the gravel vibrations. Otherwise I am not able to really get away from it on a more standard type bar.

Thanks to Marty for the great companionship and I hope to get out this way again sooner. It had been far too long since I've ridden that way.

Looking For A New Bridge

Leaving Prairie Grove Park we were watched over by a large Red Tailed Hawk on the line.

That dratted bridge was out and that cost me. Well, it wasn't too bad, in the end, but when I found out the bridge over the Wolf Creek on J Avenue was out during the running of Trans Iowa v10, it put me into a panic. So, yeah.....it cost me a lot of unwanted stress, but after all this time, it is kind of a laugh now.

I never went back after that Saturday night to see if it ever was replaced. I figured that there was really no other choice for the county but to replace it, but then again, in these times, weirder things have happened. So, it was always a plan in the back of my mind. The idea to go search for the new bridge, if it was there. I went on that quest early this Spring but was thwarted by a muddy B Level road or two. This past Saturday was "take two" on the quest.

I was planning for a while to make this a combination of recon for the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and the quest for the bridge, so I had two motivations to get out there. A third motivation to get out on this long ride presented itself when I was texted by Marty, who asked if I was going on a gravel ride and if I was, could he join me? Of course, I said yes. So, we planned on leaving from the starting point of the upcoming GTDRI, Prairie Grove Park, and set a time of 8:00am to get started on the long day's riding.

Looking at the old Geneseo School as we went on our way to Traer. 

I got out of the house a bit late, so I had to "time trial" it down to the meeting place, which was 5.85 miles from my front door. Most of that being bike path, so it went by quickly and I ended up being 1 minute late. (Sorry Marty!) I hate being late, but now I know I have to budget a little more time when I leave the house in a couple of weeks to do the GTDRI. Lesson learned!

The day could not have been more perfect. It was in the lower 60's when we left with a light Southeasterly headwind. The day was drier, with low humidity. Really, a picture perfect day if ever there was one for riding on gravel roads. We headed out on the original GTDRI route which starts down Aker Road, but then it turns East to get over to Ansborough via Orange Road. The route then went all the way into Tama County before we turned East for one more mile to catch V Avenue South and then to a right on D-65 where that bridge was out for this year's Trans Iowa. That bridge is all in and complete, boding well for our quest to find the bridge intact over the Wolf Creek later on.

Barns For Jason: Some rural decorative choices are a bit hard to understand, but.......oh well!

Marty with his snack at our first convenience store stop in Traer.

We reached Traer by 10:00am, so we made decent time, but we weren't burning up the road either, since that was about 25 or so miles in. We checked out the convenience store there. The same one I've been visiting now for a decade or more by bicycle. Every time I stop here I see the place fall more and more into decay. It makes me a bit sad, I guess. Lots of memories here for sure......

Anyway, after a brief stop and a chance to freak out the locals, we moved on. South out of town on P Avenue, where we would hit up one of my favorite B Level Maintenance roads. You can read about that and see an image in the post previous to this, so I won't get into the details of that visit.

The corn is REALLY tall, and the gravel was REALLY fresh and deep in Tama County.

We hit up this super fast and smooth B Level Maintenance road just before getting to J Avenue.

We finally departed the GTDRI course at P Avenue and 220th Street where we went West and headed over to K Avenue where we would come back North a bit before jogging Westward again a couple of miles to set us up to be on J Avenue. Heading North, I saw no signs that would lead me to believe there was no bridge. I figured as much.

The new bridge over Wolf Creek looking back South. The old bridge is forever immortalized in the film documentary, "300 Miles Of Gravel"

 

While we had turned out of the now steady wind coming out of the Southeast, we faced deep, fresh gravel at every turn unless we were riding dirt for a spell. The road coming to and crossing the new bridge was strewn with chunky goodness, making the road a real challenge to traverse. It didn't help that we had the infamous "Wolf Creek Wall" to climb!

Leaving the Wolf Creek valley can leave a mark on your soul! That's only the first of a series of steeps that goes on for a mile and a half.

The Wolf Creek Wall, again, immortalized as the cover shot for the documentary "300 Miles of Gravel", is only the opening shot in a mile and a half, or more, as was in our case, of painful steeps. We'd had it pretty easy up to this point on our ride, but if we were thinking we were in good shape, this section brought the truth home to roost! We both were really humbled by this section and I know I will need more of that pain to get ready for Gravel Worlds in a little over a month from now.

Marty and I then climbed up K Avenue to Ridge Road and we cruised straight into the wind, as Ridge Road runs Southeast/Northwest, till we returned to Traer again. We could have gone North before getting back to Traer, but Marty said we should take the "prettiest option". That was Ridge Road all the way to Traer without question, so we went through the town again.

You can see for many miles in any direction from Ridge Road.

Marty was taking in the views on Ridge Road from his trusty Fargo.

We stopped again at the convenience store for a refueling and refilling. Then we left Traer the way we had come in, but at T.F. Clark Park we went West for a mile then straight North. After a few miles we came across a lady on a riding lawn mower that was spinning her wheels, as if she was stuck. Marty motioned that we should stop and lend a hand, to which I agreed. We asked the elderly lady if she'd like us to push her, but before I could get the sentence out of my mouth she leapt up, got behind the mower, shoved it with a mighty heave, and sat herself back in the seat. Then she declared to us that she was used to getting herself out of her own messes. Now that's a true country gal! We were kind of befuddled, but she shut the mower off and we had a pleasant, short conversation before we bade her farewell and moved on down the road.

Now, that was maybe enough oddness to expect for one gravel ride, but we came upon an even odder sight after we had taken a good long rest stop under a tree's shade on the road because my stomach was fighting me a bit. I had eaten a bit too much and my body was shunting energy to digestion and my mind was falling asleep!

Anyway, I saw a blinking light bar up ahead, which is odd enough out in the middle of nowhere, but this was a accompanied by a string of about eight school buses parked on one side of a crossing road and up along our path. As we passed, we could see that this was a convoy of corn detasslers and a few vehicles ferrying the porta-jons they have to have to accommodate the youngsters who are hired to do this task. Apparently one bus had run into the back end of another, causing some significant damage. The kids were all restrained to sitting in the buses, and as we passed they hung their hands out the windows, waving at us vigorously. It was all a bit surreal, actually. Hope everyone was okay there!

Finishing up a long day out on the gravel roads of Black Hawk and Tama Counties.

And that's another for the Cup-O-Dirt tally!

The ride ended up well, and I got home by 4:30pm, 8 and a half hours after the start. Well, actually a bit longer than that, since I had left the house before 8:00am. Anyway, a good, long day in the saddle with some interesting things to see. A bridge confirmed, hills climbed, and rocky roads conquered. Plus we got to see an odd situation with the detassling crew's bus accident. I am pretty certain I won't ever see such a thing again in my lifetime, nor do I want to, really.

I was a bit surprised by the mileage total when I got back and checked it out. I was suspecting I had about 70 plus, but to have eclipsed the 80 mile mark was very surprising and satisfying. That will go on the Cup-O-Dirt Challenge totals for the year, and it will be a good base to build off of going into Gravel Worlds and the upcoming Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. 

Speaking of which, this ride was also a test, again, of how my dinged up shoulder will react to a bigger ride and that on the Gen I Fargo. I have determined that for now, the big rides will all have to be done on that bike, with that Luxy Bar, because my shoulder still isn't 100%. I can tell right away when I ride one of my other bikes and the left shoulder starts aching badly after about an hour into a ride. Not always, but many times yet, that is the case. This ride wasn't easy, by the way, and I fought the shoulder pain for most of it, but it didn't feel like I was really doing more damage. Just an annoying pain at different times during the ride. Being able to take advantage of all the different positions on the Luxy Bar rotates that left shoulder joint in different ways so I can keep from having it get hammered by the gravel vibrations. Otherwise I am not able to really get away from it on a more standard type bar.

Thanks to Marty for the great companionship and I hope to get out this way again sooner. It had been far too long since I've ridden that way.

Riding Free

What a great day to ride!

I rode yesterday. It wasn't some epic race day. It wasn't a century ride with some adventure and obstacles thrown in. It wasn't even worth mentioning, really, other than the fact that I got to do the ride. 

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and maybe if you have a minute to pause and think during this hectic holiday weekend, maybe you could think about how nice it is to be able to do whatever it is that you are doing. Freely.

This country is screwed up, for sure, and I don't think anyone will argue that things could be better. However; considering that we don't have to walk five miles to get a pail of water for the day, that we have plentiful food and choices beyond measure, and that we can move around, mostly freely as we will, I think we'd have to admit that we have it really good. Really, really good. 

So, I felt very blessed to have gotten out for as long as I was able to Saturday. Sure, I could have ridden with friends I haven't ridden with or seen in a long time. I could have had an all day adventure, gotten another ride in for the Cup-O-Dirt challenge, or have been on some awesome race course somewhere. I didn't, and I'm not going to complain, grouse about it, nor be bitter in any way. Nope.

I'm glad I can ride a bike at all wherever I want to within reason.

Have a Happy 4th of July.

Riding Free

What a great day to ride!

I rode yesterday. It wasn't some epic race day. It wasn't a century ride with some adventure and obstacles thrown in. It wasn't even worth mentioning, really, other than the fact that I got to do the ride. 

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and maybe if you have a minute to pause and think during this hectic holiday weekend, maybe you could think about how nice it is to be able to do whatever it is that you are doing. Freely.

This country is screwed up, for sure, and I don't think anyone will argue that things could be better. However; considering that we don't have to walk five miles to get a pail of water for the day, that we have plentiful food and choices beyond measure, and that we can move around, mostly freely as we will, I think we'd have to admit that we have it really good. Really, really good. 

So, I felt very blessed to have gotten out for as long as I was able to Saturday. Sure, I could have ridden with friends I haven't ridden with or seen in a long time. I could have had an all day adventure, gotten another ride in for the Cup-O-Dirt challenge, or have been on some awesome race course somewhere. I didn't, and I'm not going to complain, grouse about it, nor be bitter in any way. Nope.

I'm glad I can ride a bike at all wherever I want to within reason.

Have a Happy 4th of July.

Goin' South

This bike on that truck.

Today I'm heading South with Tony, who is competing in the Dirty Kanza 200 this year. I am not riding in the Dirty Kanza 200. I am going along as a traveling companion, to see old friends, pass out a few stickers, and then go do my own ride on Saturday while all the DK200 mayhem is going on.

I'll be taking along the Fargo Gen I as a test sled for a possible rig for Odin's Revenge. My shoulder that I injured in a fall on ice last Winter is giving me fits sometimes on my "regular" drop bar bikes. I have found that by slightly turning my hands inward or outward, the pain is relieved. So, maybe a Luxy Bar with its extreme sweep may be the answer. Maybe it won't be, but there is only one way to find out, right?

I used this same bike on the Geezer Ride and I do not recall being in serious agony with the shoulder, so it may be that I have to go with a handle bar like this for Odin's. If it doesn't pan out, I am going to have to swap to one of my flat bar bikes, I guess.

Anyway, I was poking around on the KDOT site and found the county maps I need to plot out my own course. Since this year's DK is totally South of Emporia, I am going to venture Northward. I figure on at least a metric century so I can add it to my Cup-O-Dirt Challenge totals.

Okay, I am out of town till Sunday. If you see me in Emporia, hit me up for a RidingGravel.com sticker and say hello. Otherwise, I'm outta here. I have a couple of posts in the can for tomorrow and Saturday, so take care and I'll see y'all Monday, hopefully, with a full accounting of the trip.

Goin' South

This bike on that truck.

Today I'm heading South with Tony, who is competing in the Dirty Kanza 200 this year. I am not riding in the Dirty Kanza 200. I am going along as a traveling companion, to see old friends, pass out a few stickers, and then go do my own ride on Saturday while all the DK200 mayhem is going on.

I'll be taking along the Fargo Gen I as a test sled for a possible rig for Odin's Revenge. My shoulder that I injured in a fall on ice last Winter is giving me fits sometimes on my "regular" drop bar bikes. I have found that by slightly turning my hands inward or outward, the pain is relieved. So, maybe a Luxy Bar with its extreme sweep may be the answer. Maybe it won't be, but there is only one way to find out, right?

I used this same bike on the Geezer Ride and I do not recall being in serious agony with the shoulder, so it may be that I have to go with a handle bar like this for Odin's. If it doesn't pan out, I am going to have to swap to one of my flat bar bikes, I guess.

Anyway, I was poking around on the KDOT site and found the county maps I need to plot out my own course. Since this year's DK is totally South of Emporia, I am going to venture Northward. I figure on at least a metric century so I can add it to my Cup-O-Dirt Challenge totals.

Okay, I am out of town till Sunday. If you see me in Emporia, hit me up for a RidingGravel.com sticker and say hello. Otherwise, I'm outta here. I have a couple of posts in the can for tomorrow and Saturday, so take care and I'll see y'all Monday, hopefully, with a full accounting of the trip.