A Man, A Bike, And A Piece Of Black Electrical Tape

The only known shot of Jason Boucher riding "BET". Matt Gersib is on the right.

Sixteen years ago on July 16th, 2008, Jason Boucher rode from Waterloo, Iowa down to Hickory Hills park and the gathered riders there saw a bike that few had laid eyes on. A bike that would be the catalyst for a revival of a style of riding now known as "bike packing", which was formerly known as mountain touring, or off-road touring. This bike, and the man who pushed the idea through to get it made were responsible for the catch-phrase "Adventure by Bike" which became a movement and spawned an entire category of bicycles which are still being produced to this day. 

I've written reams of digital pages about this particular moment and the bike itself. It arguably is one of the most popular subjects on this blog with a page dedicated to this particular bike which gets views every week that top any other pages on this blog consistently. I am speaking, of course, about the Salsa Cycles Fargo. The man behind the ideas for this bike and the man who pushed it through to see the light of day is named Jason Boucher.

Jason Boucher in 2024.

I am not going to write a bunch of words today which already have been written here. I'll put some links down at the end of the post to direct you to where I have already opined about the importance of the Fargo. What I want to do here is to pull a quote from a recent Instagram post Jason made which will tell the story from his vantage point. I think that would be a good viewpoint to add to this story here. 

" It was 14 or 15 years ago today that I was riding a prototype bike to @g.ted.productions Death Ride. A bike I drove and helped create. That weekend it got labelled the “black electrical tape” bike. A coworker at the time called it the ugliest bike he had to own. Many said they didn’t need a drop bar mountain touring bike. Others said it’s a cool concept but touring doesn’t sell. "

And the Fargo was very hard for a lot of people to wrap their minds around. Of course, we need to keep in mind a couple of things to gain the correct context here. First off, 29"ers were not a "done deal" at that point in time. Sure, they had gained a toe-hold, but that wheel size was still roundly being criticized and put down as a fad that would fade away by riders and industry folks alike. Some brands were stating publicly that they would never, ever make a 29"er. (Looking at you Specialized, Yeti, and Giant)

Drop bars and fat tires were very odd  in 2008. Only weirdos and alt-bar freaks would put drop bars  on a MTB, much less one with wagon wheels. Drop bars were for road bikes and cyclo cross bikes! (And maybe touring bikes, but no one was doing that anymore!). Then there was the whole touring aspect, as mentioned, which everyone thought was a dead category.

The Fargo I was given by Jason in late 2008 as seen today.

The bike almost did not happen. It was resisted by higher-ups at Jason's place of employment at the time. It was seen as a bit of a losing prospect, as you can read from Jason's quote above. More from Jason:

"We did it anyways. Inspired by many drop bar bikes, touring bikes, and mountain bikes that came before it. It was the product that drove me to rebrand Salsa to Adventure by Bike. In many ways I still believe its the purest execution of the ethos of that tagline (IMHO) and I admit I am a bit biased."

 Of course, the entire bikepacking scene may have happened anyway at some point. Even without the venerable Fargo and its "Adventure by Bike" ethos. But I don't think the reach of that style of riding would have been as deep and far had the Fargo been nixed and never seen the light of day. I know it was a very popular choice for gravel riders, tourists that were looking for a bit more upright position, and it was popular with 29"er fans. 

In my opinion, the Fargo took a while to catch on, but when it did, the model pretty much had its way with the market until the late 2010's when other companies started jumping into the space the Fargo occupied. Now we have several "Fargo-like" choices, and probably the best of those is the Esker Lorax and the Tumbleweed Stargazer models. Ironically, Jason does some work with Tumbleweed these days. 

So, in closing I just wanted to post this to give Jason his flowers and shine a light on the man and the vision that brought the Fargo to life, and arguably was the catalyst for much of what came afterward in the bikepacking category as far as bicycles are concerned. 

Links to previous stories about the "Black Electrical Tape" bike and origin story. 

"The GTDRI Stories: Black Electrical Tape"

"Minus Ten Review - 29"

"The GTDRI Stories: The Fargo Comes Home"

"Fargo Riders Reunion Ride"

Update: Jason Boucher left a comment on this post which maybe won't be seen by many, so I thought I would add it to the post as it pertains to the Fargo and its genesis story. Here it is:

"I need to add a little more detail here. As memories fade it's important to write them down to both remember and document history. I certainly feel directly responsible for both the Fargo and Adventure by Bike. Yet, it isn't those two things that I remember as the most important. It's the people. The Fargo would not have happened without really good & talented people and partners, both inside the organization as well as outside.

Bikepacking.com just posted something on drop bar mountain bike just yesterday and one of the other really important people to this Fargo story is Joe Meiser. I recall one day chatting with Joe about a bike that I would want if I ever did my Alaska to Utah bike trip again (something I did after attending college). Joe was just then setting his sights not the Tour Divide. He wanted something special too. We schemed. One day Joe showed up to work and said "I drew the bike last night". We were both giddy. We looked. I suggested some changes from my personal experience and desire for this product.

Joe and I made changes. Buttoned it up. Ordered frames for us to build & ride. It was a product that was not on any product map or wasn't ever talked about as a product. We just did it. I'm forever grateful that that moment happened. I'm forever grateful of the team of people on our small Salsa team. I'm forever grateful for the people this idea and concept of adventure brought into my life. It changed me forever.

Also a fun fact, Fargo was not the original name. There was a different name that was changed to align with Adventure by Bike. I think only 3-4 people know what that name is........"

Fixing What Ya Broke

Paying for last October's hooliganisms

Last October I went up to Northfield Minnesota and had an awesome time at the Fargo Reunion Ride. Well, I don;t know if I ever mentioned it here, but I done broke something on my Fargo that night. As I endoed off the front of my bike, I clipped the wing units of my Bar Yak System and broke them both in the process. Essentially, I ripped the fastener holes on the corner of both the left side and right side with only one fastener holding each wing on. Obviously, that wasn't going to fly for the ride the next day so I removed those bits and made do without them.

Of course, I had only really ever used the dang things once and that was on my Fat Bike Century Ride earlier in the month of October last year. I was a bit put out after the Fargo Reunion Ride when I let it sink in that the wing units were basically unusable in the state I caused them to be in during my alcohol fueled crashing. A plan of redemption had to be formulated that would not only repair the wing units, but make them better.

Of course,with Winter coming on and everything coming to a head before the air was just to cold to be cruising the gravel on happened, I put the project on the back burner. I had some RidingGravel.com stuff to attend to and more. The holidays came and went, and now I have some time to put a plan of action together to salvage the wing units.

The plan was to fashion some sort of small metal reinforcing plates that would be far more difficult to rip through than the basic foam/carbon layer that the wing units are made of. I guess in one way the "break-away" nature of the wing mounting plates is smart. Had the system been done how I am envisioning it, I may have a bit more bruising than I had. But at any rate, now I had to do something or I'd have nothing. Essentially, there were two 3-4mm holes drilled through the base plate at the corners and you attach those base plates with two 5mm Allen bolts. That screws into your Bar Yak extensions, which are pretty burly aluminum arms. The weakest link is that foam/carbon layer bit that the arm rests are attached to. Laying up some thin aluminum plate on both the top and bottom sides, drilled for the fasteners, should do the trick here.

I thought a while about what I could use when it dawned on me that I had a bit of aluminum license plate material laying around. Once I located that, the project took off. I fashioned two plates just wide enough to cover the needs for the job. I had to trim them up with my Dremel tool and final smoothing up and rounding off of burrs was done using a file. then I roughed up the mating surfaces with some coarse sand paper in preparation for gluing.

I laid on a thin bead of Gorilla Glue and clamped that in my vice for extra pressure. I have a couple pilot holes for the fasteners already drilled, but those will get enlarged to their final size once I have both plates on there and out of the vice. That'll be one side done. Then I have to get the other side going.

If it works- hey! That would be just great, but if it doesn't, well then I guess I will have to pay for another pair of new ones. Lesson learned! Don't break yer stuff!

Fixing What Ya Broke

Paying for last October's hooliganisms

Last October I went up to Northfield Minnesota and had an awesome time at the Fargo Reunion Ride. Well, I don;t know if I ever mentioned it here, but I done broke something on my Fargo that night. As I endoed off the front of my bike, I clipped the wing units of my Bar Yak System and broke them both in the process. Essentially, I ripped the fastener holes on the corner of both the left side and right side with only one fastener holding each wing on. Obviously, that wasn't going to fly for the ride the next day so I removed those bits and made do without them.

Of course, I had only really ever used the dang things once and that was on my Fat Bike Century Ride earlier in the month of October last year. I was a bit put out after the Fargo Reunion Ride when I let it sink in that the wing units were basically unusable in the state I caused them to be in during my alcohol fueled crashing. A plan of redemption had to be formulated that would not only repair the wing units, but make them better.

Of course,with Winter coming on and everything coming to a head before the air was just to cold to be cruising the gravel on happened, I put the project on the back burner. I had some RidingGravel.com stuff to attend to and more. The holidays came and went, and now I have some time to put a plan of action together to salvage the wing units.

The plan was to fashion some sort of small metal reinforcing plates that would be far more difficult to rip through than the basic foam/carbon layer that the wing units are made of. I guess in one way the "break-away" nature of the wing mounting plates is smart. Had the system been done how I am envisioning it, I may have a bit more bruising than I had. But at any rate, now I had to do something or I'd have nothing. Essentially, there were two 3-4mm holes drilled through the base plate at the corners and you attach those base plates with two 5mm Allen bolts. That screws into your Bar Yak extensions, which are pretty burly aluminum arms. The weakest link is that foam/carbon layer bit that the arm rests are attached to. Laying up some thin aluminum plate on both the top and bottom sides, drilled for the fasteners, should do the trick here.

I thought a while about what I could use when it dawned on me that I had a bit of aluminum license plate material laying around. Once I located that, the project took off. I fashioned two plates just wide enough to cover the needs for the job. I had to trim them up with my Dremel tool and final smoothing up and rounding off of burrs was done using a file. then I roughed up the mating surfaces with some coarse sand paper in preparation for gluing.

I laid on a thin bead of Gorilla Glue and clamped that in my vice for extra pressure. I have a couple pilot holes for the fasteners already drilled, but those will get enlarged to their final size once I have both plates on there and out of the vice. That'll be one side done. Then I have to get the other side going.

If it works- hey! That would be just great, but if it doesn't, well then I guess I will have to pay for another pair of new ones. Lesson learned! Don't break yer stuff!

Rear View 2016: Part 4

A dreary day, but we had fun despite the threatening skies.

October started out with a big ride that I wasn't sure I could pull off, but we did it. A Fat Bike Century! I even did it with flat pedals and my street shoes! I used my new 1X 11 set up with a 28T drive ring, which was a bit too low, really. If I had to do something like that all over again I would opt for a double at minimum and have a pretty good sized big ring for hauling the mail down hills and for cruising the flats. As it was, I was coasting a lot more than I would have.

But then again, maybe that was a good thing!

Trans Iowa v13 was introduced in August and registration was ongoing during October. There was lottery implications possible in the Vets class, but that turned out not to be necessary and the whole registration process was almost dull. A far cry from a few years ago when chaos was the order of the day. That was all fun, but honestly, I could do without the drama that came with it.

Then there was a bit of a diversion from all the bicycle stuff, and a bit of a throwback to earlier times in my life when a friend from the shop and a daughter of an old friend got married in Des Moines at a big, fancy mansion. That was a really great weekend. I saw folks I haven't seen in many, many years and had some great conversations.

A tandem was added to the bike stable.

I also got ahold of a tandem with which I have been able to get my daughter out on a few times with good results. She's 16 years old now and not a cyclist, but hopefully this tandem will help to change her mind about that. Thanks Bruce, once again, as this has been a very positive experience so far.

Then another great weekend happened at the end of the month as the Fargo Reunion Ride happened and I got to ride with Jason, Ben, Marty, and MG, plus various other folks from as far away as Kentucky. It was a great way to close out the month of October. In between I got in Trans Iowa recon and a Four County Tour. October was a stellar month of friends, cycling, and good times. Maybe the best month of the year.

Driving some dirt roads looking for the T.I.v13 route.

A great day on the bike for the "Four County Tour".

Jason Boucher's portrait of me from the Fargo Reunion Ride

Then November came and things slowed waaaaaay down! Trans Iowa registration ended, there were no more big events or rides planned, and the weather went to the cooler, browner side for the month. I did get a couple of components that were kind of a big deal for me. A GPS based Lezyne computer and a Carbon Jones Loop H-Bar.

Then the weather got really cold, and Winter came a bit early to Iowa shortly after Thanksgiving. Fat biking was the order of the day, and December was pretty frigid to start out with. Now we've swung back to the warmer side and all of our snow is glazed over with ice and rock hard.

And that brings us up to the present. 2016 was considered by a lot of folks as a sucky, bad year. I won't agree with that at all. It's been a great year. I saw some old friends, connected with new folks, and had successes and failures in my riding that I'll cherish for a lifetime. I have had my share of heartache, to be sure. My Dad, my Grandma, and an Uncle all died this year. My mom got a bad diagnosis, and my inlaws are struggling with their health too. There is always good and bad with every year. But I have been blessed through it all.

Rear View 2016: Part 4

A dreary day, but we had fun despite the threatening skies.

October started out with a big ride that I wasn't sure I could pull off, but we did it. A Fat Bike Century! I even did it with flat pedals and my street shoes! I used my new 1X 11 set up with a 28T drive ring, which was a bit too low, really. If I had to do something like that all over again I would opt for a double at minimum and have a pretty good sized big ring for hauling the mail down hills and for cruising the flats. As it was, I was coasting a lot more than I would have.

But then again, maybe that was a good thing!

Trans Iowa v13 was introduced in August and registration was ongoing during October. There was lottery implications possible in the Vets class, but that turned out not to be necessary and the whole registration process was almost dull. A far cry from a few years ago when chaos was the order of the day. That was all fun, but honestly, I could do without the drama that came with it.

Then there was a bit of a diversion from all the bicycle stuff, and a bit of a throwback to earlier times in my life when a friend from the shop and a daughter of an old friend got married in Des Moines at a big, fancy mansion. That was a really great weekend. I saw folks I haven't seen in many, many years and had some great conversations.

A tandem was added to the bike stable.

I also got ahold of a tandem with which I have been able to get my daughter out on a few times with good results. She's 16 years old now and not a cyclist, but hopefully this tandem will help to change her mind about that. Thanks Bruce, once again, as this has been a very positive experience so far.

Then another great weekend happened at the end of the month as the Fargo Reunion Ride happened and I got to ride with Jason, Ben, Marty, and MG, plus various other folks from as far away as Kentucky. It was a great way to close out the month of October. In between I got in Trans Iowa recon and a Four County Tour. October was a stellar month of friends, cycling, and good times. Maybe the best month of the year.

Driving some dirt roads looking for the T.I.v13 route.

A great day on the bike for the "Four County Tour".

Jason Boucher's portrait of me from the Fargo Reunion Ride

Then November came and things slowed waaaaaay down! Trans Iowa registration ended, there were no more big events or rides planned, and the weather went to the cooler, browner side for the month. I did get a couple of components that were kind of a big deal for me. A GPS based Lezyne computer and a Carbon Jones Loop H-Bar.

Then the weather got really cold, and Winter came a bit early to Iowa shortly after Thanksgiving. Fat biking was the order of the day, and December was pretty frigid to start out with. Now we've swung back to the warmer side and all of our snow is glazed over with ice and rock hard.

And that brings us up to the present. 2016 was considered by a lot of folks as a sucky, bad year. I won't agree with that at all. It's been a great year. I saw some old friends, connected with new folks, and had successes and failures in my riding that I'll cherish for a lifetime. I have had my share of heartache, to be sure. My Dad, my Grandma, and an Uncle all died this year. My mom got a bad diagnosis, and my inlaws are struggling with their health too. There is always good and bad with every year. But I have been blessed through it all.

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!

Fargo Reunion Ride- Part 3

The roads got more familiar real quick as we left the silo stop.

The silo stop was a good regrouping, but I was feeling really well and not at all worried about how I was doing so far. Only the expectation of a possible Shady Lane climb was making me take pause for how I might do. Since there were no cues or data to help me know where the route was headed after the silo stop, I wasn't sure if we would be taking that climb in or not.

I did know that we would definitely be having more head wind sections, and that was an unknown as far as how I might handle that after such a rough evening the night before this ride. Otherwise, I was really okay with the winds. I mean, it seemed as though the first half of this year was so windy that riding with that was now "normal". In fact, the wind was never really anything more than another challenge all year. The same feeling prevailed for me at the Fargo Reunion Ride.

There was a turn into some familiar roads not long after getting going again. I was riding alongside Jason, so I asked if we were heading by the old ruins of the mill I remembered from six years ago. He confirmed that I was going to see that. The bonus that came long with that was that we were out of the wind altogether down in the river valley, which was a nice change for a bit. That and the scenery down there was quite nice as well. I was really enjoying this stretch, but I figured we would have a bit of a climb out at some point.

The old ruins.

There were a few stretches of chip seal that we were obliged to take.

Another charming, well preserved barn.

Sooner or later we were on a chip seal road and I was pretty sure it was the one that led to Shady Lane where the big climb was on the Rawland Route up a badly rutted, very steep Level B Maintenance Road. I was riding along with my friend Tony and I was telling him about it. Sure enough, we came up upon the entrance. I was pretty stoked. I got an image or two on the lower slopes of the climb, but once on the steepest part, it was all business until we reached the top where we all regrouped, rested, and set off again.

Shady Lane. Up around that bend things got downright steep and nasty for a bit.

Making our way against the wind on the way back to Nerstrand.

Once we got going on from the Shady Lane climb we found two more longer, steep climbs, but nothing on the order of the Shady Lane ascent. That was the only time all year I think I used the granny ring on the Fargo! We stopped a couple more times to regroup, and once when a few of us blew a turn. In all, it was slower going due to that and the wind for the last 20 miles or so, but we came in with a good time for the route of 44 miles.

Timothy and Ben chat as we awaited the turn missers.

Getting ready for a staged shot for Jason to take.

Martini photobombing my long shot of a hilly gravel road.

Eventually we rounded a corner and we were coming back in against a stiff Southerly wind which lead us to Nerstrand again. I decided that I would bag a shot of my bicycle in front of the Nerstrand cemetery gates, and Tony offered to take the shot with myself in it as well. So I set myself against the gate with my bike and Tony took this......

One for the album! (Image by Tony McGrane).

Tony's well worn Brooks Cambium

Ben was tuckered out at the end.

So we all made it, our bodies held up, and the wind did not defeat us. Timothy produced a bottle of bourbon which we had a celebratory pull from. Many went round the corner to get an energy drink and something to munch on. After some good fellowship, we all went our separate ways.

The Fargo Reunion Ride actually only had three Fargos on it. MG and my Gen I's and Tony's Gen 4. But as Jason and I mused as we were riding along, almost every single bike on the ride had been influenced by the Fargo. Either directly, as in the Vaya that was on the ride, or as with Jason's brand spanking new Deadwood, or indirectly, as with the All City bike, or as with Timothy's Van Dessel WTF. There was one Trek Boone and Martini's Singular Gryphon which did not get their influences from the Fargo. Obviously, the Gryphon is so like a Fargo one could be excused for thinking it was a copy. So, as with the bikes, all the folks there were somehow connected to the Fargo in some way.

I had a blast on this ride. The scenery is great, and the roads were a lot of fun to ride on. We did not have any mechanicals nor did we have any issues with anything, really, other than the missed turn. I have to get back up there to ride again sooner than I have. I think it has been since 2012 or so that I had ridden in the area.

That wasn't the end of my weekend by any stretch. I and my family did not come home until Sunday afternoon, but the ride itself was over. I am very glad I came.

Thank You: Jason Boucher, Ben, Meg, and Liam Witt. Martini, MG, and Tony. Special shout out to Justin The Younger for taking care of racking up the bikes and driving to a from the ride. The rest of the Fargo Reunion Riders. Thanks to Nerstrand and the Nerstrand Meat Market. And finally, thanks to Salsa Cycles for the Fargo model!

Fargo Reunion Ride- Part 3

The roads got more familiar real quick as we left the silo stop.

The silo stop was a good regrouping, but I was feeling really well and not at all worried about how I was doing so far. Only the expectation of a possible Shady Lane climb was making me take pause for how I might do. Since there were no cues or data to help me know where the route was headed after the silo stop, I wasn't sure if we would be taking that climb in or not.

I did know that we would definitely be having more head wind sections, and that was an unknown as far as how I might handle that after such a rough evening the night before this ride. Otherwise, I was really okay with the winds. I mean, it seemed as though the first half of this year was so windy that riding with that was now "normal". In fact, the wind was never really anything more than another challenge all year. The same feeling prevailed for me at the Fargo Reunion Ride.

There was a turn into some familiar roads not long after getting going again. I was riding alongside Jason, so I asked if we were heading by the old ruins of the mill I remembered from six years ago. He confirmed that I was going to see that. The bonus that came long with that was that we were out of the wind altogether down in the river valley, which was a nice change for a bit. That and the scenery down there was quite nice as well. I was really enjoying this stretch, but I figured we would have a bit of a climb out at some point.

The old ruins.

There were a few stretches of chip seal that we were obliged to take.

Another charming, well preserved barn.

Sooner or later we were on a chip seal road and I was pretty sure it was the one that led to Shady Lane where the big climb was on the Rawland Route up a badly rutted, very steep Level B Maintenance Road. I was riding along with my friend Tony and I was telling him about it. Sure enough, we came up upon the entrance. I was pretty stoked. I got an image or two on the lower slopes of the climb, but once on the steepest part, it was all business until we reached the top where we all regrouped, rested, and set off again.

Shady Lane. Up around that bend things got downright steep and nasty for a bit.

Making our way against the wind on the way back to Nerstrand.

Once we got going on from the Shady Lane climb we found two more longer, steep climbs, but nothing on the order of the Shady Lane ascent. That was the only time all year I think I used the granny ring on the Fargo! We stopped a couple more times to regroup, and once when a few of us blew a turn. In all, it was slower going due to that and the wind for the last 20 miles or so, but we came in with a good time for the route of 44 miles.

Timothy and Ben chat as we awaited the turn missers.

Getting ready for a staged shot for Jason to take.

Martini photobombing my long shot of a hilly gravel road.

Eventually we rounded a corner and we were coming back in against a stiff Southerly wind which lead us to Nerstrand again. I decided that I would bag a shot of my bicycle in front of the Nerstrand cemetery gates, and Tony offered to take the shot with myself in it as well. So I set myself against the gate with my bike and Tony took this......

One for the album! (Image by Tony McGrane).

Tony's well worn Brooks Cambium

Ben was tuckered out at the end.

So we all made it, our bodies held up, and the wind did not defeat us. Timothy produced a bottle of bourbon which we had a celebratory pull from. Many went round the corner to get an energy drink and something to munch on. After some good fellowship, we all went our separate ways.

The Fargo Reunion Ride actually only had three Fargos on it. MG and my Gen I's and Tony's Gen 4. But as Jason and I mused as we were riding along, almost every single bike on the ride had been influenced by the Fargo. Either directly, as in the Vaya that was on the ride, or as with Jason's brand spanking new Deadwood, or indirectly, as with the All City bike, or as with Timothy's Van Dessel WTF. There was one Trek Boone and Martini's Singular Gryphon which did not get their influences from the Fargo. Obviously, the Gryphon is so like a Fargo one could be excused for thinking it was a copy. So, as with the bikes, all the folks there were somehow connected to the Fargo in some way.

I had a blast on this ride. The scenery is great, and the roads were a lot of fun to ride on. We did not have any mechanicals nor did we have any issues with anything, really, other than the missed turn. I have to get back up there to ride again sooner than I have. I think it has been since 2012 or so that I had ridden in the area.

That wasn't the end of my weekend by any stretch. I and my family did not come home until Sunday afternoon, but the ride itself was over. I am very glad I came.

Thank You: Jason Boucher, Ben, Meg, and Liam Witt. Martini, MG, and Tony. Special shout out to Justin The Younger for taking care of racking up the bikes and driving to a from the ride. The rest of the Fargo Reunion Riders. Thanks to Nerstrand and the Nerstrand Meat Market. And finally, thanks to Salsa Cycles for the Fargo model!

Fargo Reunion Ride- Part 2

Riders assembled and getting ready for the Fargo Reunion Ride

Arriving in Nerstrand, finally, I was a bit relieved. The anxiety of making it somewhat on time had passed, but now the worry about how I would ride began. Typically, drinking the evening before a big ride has not gone well for me on the next day. I had pretty much sworn that drinking before a ride thing off after an Odin's Revenge several years ago. However; I hadn't seen Ben or his family in a very long time, and the reunion of friends often times means a bit of celebration, so there ya go. It was what it was. Now I just had to shut up and ride.

Of course, since we arrived a little late, the rest of the crew had gotten wind of the previous night's escapades. Jason was giving us the business, as he should have, and noted that several Guitar Ted Death Rides had started out similarly. Yes......it is true.Well, I had to put on my "big boy pants" and suck it up. I had no one to blame but myself if there was some friendly ribbing or a tough day in store for me.

Besides myself, there were eleven riders there. One, Timothy, from as far away as Kentucky. MG, of course, Martini, Justin The Younger, my friend Tony, and several people I met for the first time. It was a good group. The first order of business after mustering was to head over to the famous Nerstrand Meat Market to load up on meat products.

The Nerstarnd Meat Market is a fifth generation family business.

The Birthday Boy doing what he loves- Riding with friends and taking pictures!

The ride finally got going when we headed out of Nerstrand with a stiff Southerly wind at our backs. Tailwinds to start! Probably a good thing for myself and others who were still a bit iffy at the beginning of this ride. The day was starting off overcast, a bit on the chilly side, and the roads were somewhat wet. Oh! And the roads up there in Southern Minnesota are completely different than what we ride on here in Iowa. It was like a paved road compared to our chunky goodness which is not unlike being rattled by a paint shaker at times. Well.....a lot of the time, to be perfectly honest. Southern Minnesota roads could spoil a person right quick, I'd say. Very smooth gravel up there and barely anything rough.

(L-R) Tony, Timothy, and MG following in the wake of the County Maintainer. You couldn't do that in Iowa!

Good conversations, good views, good roads.

I was cruising along pretty well, and after about an hour into it, I was feeling 100% better. I had my legs and wits about me, and I was going to be just fine. Now it was just time to ride smart, have fun, and enjoy the great day. The wind was relentless and as the route came around we were forced to ride more into cross winds and eventually into head winds. Being smart and staying with the group helped tremendously.

Jason said, "Barns for GT!" as we rode past this farm.

Martini, a photography buff himself, was snapping away all day on the ride.

The level of preservation of some farms and barns was amazing. Here even the garage survives seemingly intact from original. 

We stayed together pretty well throughout the first half of the ride so no stopping to regroup was really necessary or called for. We finally came around to a point where there was some indecision on Jason and Ben's part on which way to go. I recognized the corner as the same as the one that tripped us up back in 2010 on the Rawland Ride. Eventually Jason and Ben were convinced we needed to turn back, so we headed the other direction which turned out to be correct. Eventually we reached a lone ceramic block silo which Jason called for us to stop at.

This way boys!

MG describing the contents of the silo. There was a package of Oreos in there!

Products from the Nerstrand Meat market were being consumed along with some good conversation at the silo stop.

This was approximately the half way stop, so we took our leisure here and relaxed. Some riders answering the call of nature, others were chewing meat sticks and other items brought from the Nerstrand Meat Market. Others were simply hanging out.

MG was a curious soul and stuck his head into the slot of an opening on one side of the silo. He then commenced to give us all a description of the contents of the silo which were well below ground level. Apparently, there was a package of unopened Oreos down there. No one offered to retrieve those, so we began to slowly get along to remounting our bicycles and getting back on to the road to more sights and bigger hills than we had ridden all day.

Of course, this big loop was mostly based off of the old Rawland Route, of which I was very familiar with having ridden it back in 2010. I remembered that there was a big climb on a Level B Maintenance road called "Shady Lane". I wondered if we might be heading there sooner or later. I was wondering if I was up to the task of tackling that hill. I didn't know for sure, but it was such a cool climb on such a beautiful road that I almost didn't care if I wasn't up to it. Roads like that one are hard to come by! With no cue sheets and only Jason's and Ben's directions to go by, I would have to wait to find out.

Tomorrow- The Fargo Reunion Ride- Part 3