Dripping Grey

Green is starting to slowly take over the Browns

Wedneday was supposed to be "warmer" and maybe partly Sunny. Ooops! There the weather guys go again! It certainly wasn't close to what the predictions were a few days ago, or even on Tuesday. Instead we got drippy, grey skies and mist, with some fog thrown in for good measure.

Oh yeah.........and the temperatures were only into the low 40°'s, not the upper 60°'s as predicted. 

I had royally screwed up a podcasting opportunity Wednesday by not having a 1/8th inch jack 100% inserted into the podcasting microphone. That made whomever was speaking to me come through as if the volume was on "1" when in fact I had the levels maxed out. I couldn't figure it out until we postponed everything and I had gotten off-line. I mean within seconds of getting off-line, I figured it out. Bah! How embarrassing!

So I decided I needed to get out and pedal or I was going to drive myself nutso with thinking about that too much. I got ready and grabbed the Fuji Tread 1.3 which is on test for RidingGravel.com, and headed outside. I didn't have a lot of time, so I headed out the South way.

The Rock & Roads really class up a ride like this Fuji Tread

The day was getting grayer, if that was possible, and there was a stiff wind out of the Southeast. Not as bad as it was the last time I was out this way, but I could feel it. My legs were still achey after the beat down at the Gent's Race last Saturday, and although there was pain, there wasn't weakness, which is good, I suppose.  Anyway, I decided that I needed to get some errands done yet, and that meant I couldn't be out as long as I was the last time down this way.

The gravel was getting packed down more with the rains we've had, but I could see where the ground was soaking it all up, and there was still looser dirt under the rock which I assumed used to be dust before it rained. Now it was like flour with oil in it, if that makes any sense. The Bruce Gordon tires just rolled right over it and the Fuji Tread was actually pretty composed and stable despite some washboarding and rougher loose patches of gravel.

I stopped to grab a few images for the next update and remounted heading South yet. I decided I would turn East at Petrie Road and come back on Ansborough. As I left my photo stop site, I seemed to start feeling moisture. Rain? No......not really. Just a weird situation where the air was so saturated, cool enough, and I was creating enough heat that all that moisture was condensing on me. It may as well have been raining, since I was getting so wet!

Riding into the clouds on Petrie Road heading East.

Going down Petrie Road it got worse and it was to the point that drips were condensing on my helmet and glasses and then "raining" off me to the ground. Like riding in very foggy conditions, only it was only slightly foggy. The gravel was wet in spots to the point of having some standing water and muddy patches in some instances but that was the exception.

We need the moisture, so I am not really complaining. That said, I have ridden in some really cold and very humid air this year more often than not. Saturday's Gent's Race was an exception there, which was good. Of course, Trans Iowa, which happens in a little over two weeks from now, is on my mind, and I was thinking this could very well be just the type of weather we'll have......or not. Things will change nineteen times with the forecast and then it won't be totally spot on. Never really is.

Well, I made it back home and by the time I did, I was dripping wet. Just as if I had ridden in the rain, but I hadn't. The pavement was dry. Weird! It was a good hour and a half blast and my head was cleared from the issues pre-ride, so mission accomplished. Plus, I got to loosen up the legs a bit. That's always good.

Dripping Grey

Green is starting to slowly take over the Browns

Wedneday was supposed to be "warmer" and maybe partly Sunny. Ooops! There the weather guys go again! It certainly wasn't close to what the predictions were a few days ago, or even on Tuesday. Instead we got drippy, grey skies and mist, with some fog thrown in for good measure.

Oh yeah.........and the temperatures were only into the low 40°'s, not the upper 60°'s as predicted. 

I had royally screwed up a podcasting opportunity Wednesday by not having a 1/8th inch jack 100% inserted into the podcasting microphone. That made whomever was speaking to me come through as if the volume was on "1" when in fact I had the levels maxed out. I couldn't figure it out until we postponed everything and I had gotten off-line. I mean within seconds of getting off-line, I figured it out. Bah! How embarrassing!

So I decided I needed to get out and pedal or I was going to drive myself nutso with thinking about that too much. I got ready and grabbed the Fuji Tread 1.3 which is on test for RidingGravel.com, and headed outside. I didn't have a lot of time, so I headed out the South way.

The Rock & Roads really class up a ride like this Fuji Tread

The day was getting grayer, if that was possible, and there was a stiff wind out of the Southeast. Not as bad as it was the last time I was out this way, but I could feel it. My legs were still achey after the beat down at the Gent's Race last Saturday, and although there was pain, there wasn't weakness, which is good, I suppose.  Anyway, I decided that I needed to get some errands done yet, and that meant I couldn't be out as long as I was the last time down this way.

The gravel was getting packed down more with the rains we've had, but I could see where the ground was soaking it all up, and there was still looser dirt under the rock which I assumed used to be dust before it rained. Now it was like flour with oil in it, if that makes any sense. The Bruce Gordon tires just rolled right over it and the Fuji Tread was actually pretty composed and stable despite some washboarding and rougher loose patches of gravel.

I stopped to grab a few images for the next update and remounted heading South yet. I decided I would turn East at Petrie Road and come back on Ansborough. As I left my photo stop site, I seemed to start feeling moisture. Rain? No......not really. Just a weird situation where the air was so saturated, cool enough, and I was creating enough heat that all that moisture was condensing on me. It may as well have been raining, since I was getting so wet!

Riding into the clouds on Petrie Road heading East.

Going down Petrie Road it got worse and it was to the point that drips were condensing on my helmet and glasses and then "raining" off me to the ground. Like riding in very foggy conditions, only it was only slightly foggy. The gravel was wet in spots to the point of having some standing water and muddy patches in some instances but that was the exception.

We need the moisture, so I am not really complaining. That said, I have ridden in some really cold and very humid air this year more often than not. Saturday's Gent's Race was an exception there, which was good. Of course, Trans Iowa, which happens in a little over two weeks from now, is on my mind, and I was thinking this could very well be just the type of weather we'll have......or not. Things will change nineteen times with the forecast and then it won't be totally spot on. Never really is.

Well, I made it back home and by the time I did, I was dripping wet. Just as if I had ridden in the rain, but I hadn't. The pavement was dry. Weird! It was a good hour and a half blast and my head was cleared from the issues pre-ride, so mission accomplished. Plus, I got to loosen up the legs a bit. That's always good.

Back To Riding A Bicycle Again

The last few days of giving my opinions on the latest from Saddledrive has spurred a lot of interest on the blog here. But today I am giving you a run down of a ride I did instead. Hey......I can't be Mr. Entertainment every day, ya know? Suffice it to say that I'll be making more observations once I learn more, (and hopefully ride), some of the latest hardware from Salsa and Surly.

Yeah...we got yer roots and rocks.

Of course, I rode up at The Camp again. It is hard not to when it has so much that is good so close to home. There are other great places to ride in Iowa, but they would be 6 hour round trips for the most part, and the Camp maybe eats up an hour of travel time max. A no brainer when gas prices are as high as they've been lately.

I also bugged out at about 9:30am to beat the increasing heat. It was forecast to be brutal Wednesday, and I wasn't up for being zapped by the heat. It was in the 80's as it was, and the South wind was promising a heater of a day ahead.

The sled on deck today was the Fuji SLM LTD carbon hard tail 29"er. Say what you will about carbon fiber, but there is something to all the hoopla surrounding the use of this for frames and components.  It's stiff where it needs to be, (assuming it is designed correctly and all), and that translates to a definite "scoot forward feel" when you stomp on the pedals. The material can also be shaped in weird ways that metal can not be. (Hydro-forming comes close) This really helps in the torsional area, where 29"ers often feel like the front and rear wheels are tracking independently of one another. The carbon Fuji just rockets forward.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that this rig is decked out in XTR parts. Oddly enough, they picked the trail version of XTR for the braking duties. Finned pads and all.

The wild paint scheme almost acts as camo in the woods.

The neatest thing about the components on this bike is the Shadow Plus rear mech. If you haven't heard, this rear derailleur has a clutch mechanism making the cage more stationary during riding which cuts way down on, if not completely eliminates, chain slap on the frame.

This feature renders the Fuji as quiet as a single speed in most riding. Sure, I got the derailleur to move on some bigger hits, but the major clatter is gone. Besides, I probably could tune out all the noise by adjusting the clutch torque on the cage.

Now back to the ride. Here's a story illustrating how speed is your friend. I got out there yesterday to find another car in the grassy lot. I recognized it as being the rig of Eric, a guy I had just loaned the Milwaukee Bicycle Company single speed rig to for a test ride. Oooo! A "carrot" to chase!

I didn't know how long he'd been there, so I blasted off to chase. The loop comes back close enough after the initial few loops to see the lot again. When I looked, his car was still there. I committed to the chase. Further on I verified he was there by the Michelin Wild Race'R prints I saw. No one else around has these tires that I am aware of, so it had to be Eric on my loaner rig.

Fuji bike captured by a Fuji camera. Weird.

I went pretty fast throughout the loop. I was a bit conservative in the corners. I had the WTB Bronson on up front, and the trails were a bit blasted out. Many corners were pretty much covered in a fine, hour glass grade sand. Makes for really sketchy cornering.  That and those flexy knobbed Bronsons are not a good match. I did a preemptive strike though. I aired down the Bronson to about 18psi. This helped tremendously.

To keep the momentum high, I tried not to ditch off into the inner ring of the 2X10 crank. I was just fine with that too, motoring right up the climbs and steeps out there. I think I may have jumped to the inner ring once going out of the bottoms, but that was it. This let me go about as fast as I've ever gone on the South Camp loop.

Once I started getting past the flowy section, and Karmen's addition, I could see the parking lot again. The car was still there! One loop over to Eagle Lodge and maybe I'd catch him. But by the time I got to the trail head, his car was gone. Drat! Must have just missed him. That was okay though, as the speedy loop left me feeling really good about my riding and fitness so far.

So I rested a bit, downed a bottle of water, and headed out for a more leisurely lap. Took some images, (which you see here), and did a lazy loop. At one point, I decided to kick it in up a longer grade and while it wasn't near as fast as earlier, the result wasn't pleasant. I pinged a tree with my left side of the handle bar, which ricocheted me off to the right. I thought I could save it, then I dead headed a big ol' tree instead, which stopped me cold in my tracks. No harm, no foul, but it ticked me off. My lack of speed and concentration made me crash. Going real fast, and being "up on the wheel" made it so this section wasn't even memorable. 

As they say- "speed is your friend", especially when you are mountain biking!

Back To Riding A Bicycle Again

The last few days of giving my opinions on the latest from Saddledrive has spurred a lot of interest on the blog here. But today I am giving you a run down of a ride I did instead. Hey......I can't be Mr. Entertainment every day, ya know? Suffice it to say that I'll be making more observations once I learn more, (and hopefully ride), some of the latest hardware from Salsa and Surly.

Yeah...we got yer roots and rocks.

Of course, I rode up at The Camp again. It is hard not to when it has so much that is good so close to home. There are other great places to ride in Iowa, but they would be 6 hour round trips for the most part, and the Camp maybe eats up an hour of travel time max. A no brainer when gas prices are as high as they've been lately.

I also bugged out at about 9:30am to beat the increasing heat. It was forecast to be brutal Wednesday, and I wasn't up for being zapped by the heat. It was in the 80's as it was, and the South wind was promising a heater of a day ahead.

The sled on deck today was the Fuji SLM LTD carbon hard tail 29"er. Say what you will about carbon fiber, but there is something to all the hoopla surrounding the use of this for frames and components.  It's stiff where it needs to be, (assuming it is designed correctly and all), and that translates to a definite "scoot forward feel" when you stomp on the pedals. The material can also be shaped in weird ways that metal can not be. (Hydro-forming comes close) This really helps in the torsional area, where 29"ers often feel like the front and rear wheels are tracking independently of one another. The carbon Fuji just rockets forward.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that this rig is decked out in XTR parts. Oddly enough, they picked the trail version of XTR for the braking duties. Finned pads and all.

The wild paint scheme almost acts as camo in the woods.

The neatest thing about the components on this bike is the Shadow Plus rear mech. If you haven't heard, this rear derailleur has a clutch mechanism making the cage more stationary during riding which cuts way down on, if not completely eliminates, chain slap on the frame.

This feature renders the Fuji as quiet as a single speed in most riding. Sure, I got the derailleur to move on some bigger hits, but the major clatter is gone. Besides, I probably could tune out all the noise by adjusting the clutch torque on the cage.

Now back to the ride. Here's a story illustrating how speed is your friend. I got out there yesterday to find another car in the grassy lot. I recognized it as being the rig of Eric, a guy I had just loaned the Milwaukee Bicycle Company single speed rig to for a test ride. Oooo! A "carrot" to chase!

I didn't know how long he'd been there, so I blasted off to chase. The loop comes back close enough after the initial few loops to see the lot again. When I looked, his car was still there. I committed to the chase. Further on I verified he was there by the Michelin Wild Race'R prints I saw. No one else around has these tires that I am aware of, so it had to be Eric on my loaner rig.

Fuji bike captured by a Fuji camera. Weird.

I went pretty fast throughout the loop. I was a bit conservative in the corners. I had the WTB Bronson on up front, and the trails were a bit blasted out. Many corners were pretty much covered in a fine, hour glass grade sand. Makes for really sketchy cornering.  That and those flexy knobbed Bronsons are not a good match. I did a preemptive strike though. I aired down the Bronson to about 18psi. This helped tremendously.

To keep the momentum high, I tried not to ditch off into the inner ring of the 2X10 crank. I was just fine with that too, motoring right up the climbs and steeps out there. I think I may have jumped to the inner ring once going out of the bottoms, but that was it. This let me go about as fast as I've ever gone on the South Camp loop.

Once I started getting past the flowy section, and Karmen's addition, I could see the parking lot again. The car was still there! One loop over to Eagle Lodge and maybe I'd catch him. But by the time I got to the trail head, his car was gone. Drat! Must have just missed him. That was okay though, as the speedy loop left me feeling really good about my riding and fitness so far.

So I rested a bit, downed a bottle of water, and headed out for a more leisurely lap. Took some images, (which you see here), and did a lazy loop. At one point, I decided to kick it in up a longer grade and while it wasn't near as fast as earlier, the result wasn't pleasant. I pinged a tree with my left side of the handle bar, which ricocheted me off to the right. I thought I could save it, then I dead headed a big ol' tree instead, which stopped me cold in my tracks. No harm, no foul, but it ticked me off. My lack of speed and concentration made me crash. Going real fast, and being "up on the wheel" made it so this section wasn't even memorable. 

As they say- "speed is your friend", especially when you are mountain biking!

Relief From Heat @ 85 Degrees? Yes!

South Side Camp Ingawanis single track

By the time I had gotten through with church, eaten, and had settled down from all of that, it was mid-afternoon. The temperature was "only" 85 degrees. I figured, despite my bout of heat related stress the day before, I might be okay to take a quick spin in the woods.

I know 85 degrees Fahrenheit sounds warm, maybe even hot to many, but that high temperature was almost 20 degrees cooler than most of last week. Having been acclimated to those brutal temps, 85 was, well......not cool, but it felt "normal". At least I wasn't sweating up a storm just from loading up the truck.

I got out to the Camp and I knew from a Facebook post that Captain Bob had been around the circuit with his fat bike. Sure enough, even though the trails are rock hard and dry, I saw evidence of his Larry's passing. Bonus: Captain Bob was the web-sweep, so I knew I wouldn't have issues with webs of any sort. Thanks Capn'!

Carbon fiber kick stand!

I spent more time dialing in the Fuji Outland 1.0. It has proven to be a decent enough machine, albeit not all that easy to find the sweet spot with, in terms of suspension set up. I'm gettin close. Real close now.

The other weird deal with this bike is the brake system. It has Tektro Auriga Pro brakes. The front is just fine, but the rear has chattered and lacked power from the get-go. I put a grind on the rotor using some aggressive sandpaper thinking maybe the pads were glazed and this might help. Sure enough, it has greatly reduced chatter and increased power. Pads are probably glazed or contaminated somehow. I think I'll pull them and have a look-see.

Well, at least I got the rear brake to actually do something, which was a big improvement over the last ride. Another big improvement was the air temperature. It was almost cool-ish in the woods, and it took me quite awhile to break into the full on sweat that was occurring within minutes days before. Compared to the day before, I felt fantastic. But.....

Saw the usual compliment of wildlife again...

I knew I shouldn't get over zealous either. Even though I felt great yesterday, the day before I had felt like a zombie, so I knew I shouldn't push things too far. I decided one fast lap was it. But I saw some cool stuff while I was out there.

Nothing unusual about seeing deer at the Camp, ( which I did see), but I did see a couple of flying animals that I normally do not see in there.

First one was, (I think), a Turkey Vulture. It was obviously huge, and lacked coloration, but it had a big fanned out tail, so not sure here. It could have also been an immature Bald Eagle, as there is a mating pair with a nest nearby. Didn't get a good look at the head, so I can not say for sure.

The second one was easy. It was a big Barn Owl. It was sitting in a tree near to the trail, and I wouldn't have ever known it was there, but it got spooked and took flight. Noiseless, huge flapping wings of wonderment. Very cool to have spotted that one.

I guess you know you live in the Mid-West when 85 degrees feels "cool" after a heat wave and when you are taking off your coats in March when it finally gets to the mid-40's again after a long, cold winter. I can't imagine how much I'd be freezing right now if it were in the 50's!

Relief From Heat @ 85 Degrees? Yes!

South Side Camp Ingawanis single track

By the time I had gotten through with church, eaten, and had settled down from all of that, it was mid-afternoon. The temperature was "only" 85 degrees. I figured, despite my bout of heat related stress the day before, I might be okay to take a quick spin in the woods.

I know 85 degrees Fahrenheit sounds warm, maybe even hot to many, but that high temperature was almost 20 degrees cooler than most of last week. Having been acclimated to those brutal temps, 85 was, well......not cool, but it felt "normal". At least I wasn't sweating up a storm just from loading up the truck.

I got out to the Camp and I knew from a Facebook post that Captain Bob had been around the circuit with his fat bike. Sure enough, even though the trails are rock hard and dry, I saw evidence of his Larry's passing. Bonus: Captain Bob was the web-sweep, so I knew I wouldn't have issues with webs of any sort. Thanks Capn'!

Carbon fiber kick stand!

I spent more time dialing in the Fuji Outland 1.0. It has proven to be a decent enough machine, albeit not all that easy to find the sweet spot with, in terms of suspension set up. I'm gettin close. Real close now.

The other weird deal with this bike is the brake system. It has Tektro Auriga Pro brakes. The front is just fine, but the rear has chattered and lacked power from the get-go. I put a grind on the rotor using some aggressive sandpaper thinking maybe the pads were glazed and this might help. Sure enough, it has greatly reduced chatter and increased power. Pads are probably glazed or contaminated somehow. I think I'll pull them and have a look-see.

Well, at least I got the rear brake to actually do something, which was a big improvement over the last ride. Another big improvement was the air temperature. It was almost cool-ish in the woods, and it took me quite awhile to break into the full on sweat that was occurring within minutes days before. Compared to the day before, I felt fantastic. But.....

Saw the usual compliment of wildlife again...

I knew I shouldn't get over zealous either. Even though I felt great yesterday, the day before I had felt like a zombie, so I knew I shouldn't push things too far. I decided one fast lap was it. But I saw some cool stuff while I was out there.

Nothing unusual about seeing deer at the Camp, ( which I did see), but I did see a couple of flying animals that I normally do not see in there.

First one was, (I think), a Turkey Vulture. It was obviously huge, and lacked coloration, but it had a big fanned out tail, so not sure here. It could have also been an immature Bald Eagle, as there is a mating pair with a nest nearby. Didn't get a good look at the head, so I can not say for sure.

The second one was easy. It was a big Barn Owl. It was sitting in a tree near to the trail, and I wouldn't have ever known it was there, but it got spooked and took flight. Noiseless, huge flapping wings of wonderment. Very cool to have spotted that one.

I guess you know you live in the Mid-West when 85 degrees feels "cool" after a heat wave and when you are taking off your coats in March when it finally gets to the mid-40's again after a long, cold winter. I can't imagine how much I'd be freezing right now if it were in the 50's!

Nature's Repair Stand

Wednesday and another test ride day. This time I decided to roll on up to Cedar Bend Park north and west of Waverly to see how the trails were. Last time I tried to check the place out the county road access to the park was being repaved, so I was thwarted in my attempt to ride that day.

As I got ready to ride I noticed the temperature was pretty hot already. Southwesterly winds were going to bring the heat even more, that much was clear. Hopefully I wouldn't wilt. Generally heat and I don't get along all that well when I am cycling.

As it turned out, I spent a fair bit of time fiddling with adjustments on the new-ish rig. Seems that derailleur hangars sometimes bend when you try bashing them with broken limbs. Who knew? So, I found an appropriate branch to use as a makeshift repair stand, applied an "equal and opposite force", and re-tuned the cable to get back to a crisp interchange of gears once more.

Then a badly behaving brake made for more fettling, although there wasn't a whole lot one can do with a hydraulic set up in the field. Meh.... I ended up eating into a big chunk of my ride time allotment with all this mechanical grubbing, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

At least I got sum skilz at mechanickin'!

Nature's Repair Stand

Wednesday and another test ride day. This time I decided to roll on up to Cedar Bend Park north and west of Waverly to see how the trails were. Last time I tried to check the place out the county road access to the park was being repaved, so I was thwarted in my attempt to ride that day.

As I got ready to ride I noticed the temperature was pretty hot already. Southwesterly winds were going to bring the heat even more, that much was clear. Hopefully I wouldn't wilt. Generally heat and I don't get along all that well when I am cycling.

As it turned out, I spent a fair bit of time fiddling with adjustments on the new-ish rig. Seems that derailleur hangars sometimes bend when you try bashing them with broken limbs. Who knew? So, I found an appropriate branch to use as a makeshift repair stand, applied an "equal and opposite force", and re-tuned the cable to get back to a crisp interchange of gears once more.

Then a badly behaving brake made for more fettling, although there wasn't a whole lot one can do with a hydraulic set up in the field. Meh.... I ended up eating into a big chunk of my ride time allotment with all this mechanical grubbing, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

At least I got sum skilz at mechanickin'!

Some Riding Happened

Well I got in a couple of good rides over the weekend despite having plenty of goings on with regards to social events. One wedding to attend with reception and, of course, Father's Day. Getting two great rides in was unexpected and I consider it a bonus for the two days.

Twas a threesome for the 3GR

3GR Report: I moved the time for the 3GR to Saturday morning due to my children coming home from their grandparents house Friday evening. I set the time for the Saturday running of the event at 8:30am.

I arrived at the same place we've been meeting at to find a bit of a surprise. Craig Irving had driven up from Mt. Vernon to ride with us! That was a humbling thing, and I was hoping that he wouldn't be the only person to have come over to ride. Thankfully, he wasn't, as Robert Fry also showed up just before we were to leave.

Having these two experienced gravel/randonnuer riders was a treat, and it meant that we weren't going to go very slow! The route was a slightly modified version of last week's route. We did not go up Symons Road this time, but rather, we took Big Woods from the Big Woods Lake to Mt. Vernon Road, then East across Highway 218/27 and then we had to zig-zag over to Leversee, up to Bennington, and back West to Big Woods to go north. (Big Woods is truncated by the 4 lane HWY 218/27 as it bisects the gravels on its way Northeastwards.) This actually added a bit of mileage to the route.

Oh yeah.....that was on top of my mileage riding over to the ride!

Skies looked threatening.

We carried on at a brisk, (but not too hard),  pace all the way North to Camp Ingawanis' South Side, skirted the woods up there, and then we went back South on Ivory/Streeter Roads. Once back into the open, it was a headwind and the rollers on Streeter Road which took us all the way back to our turn at Mt Vernon Road.

Everyone's bikes and bodies held up well. It was a unique ride for me since I wasn't the only one with Clement X'Plor MSO tires on the ride, or RetroShift shift levers. Craig was sporting both on his well used Surly Cross Check. He was pretty complimentary towards both products, having just had success with using them down at the Dirty Kanza 200, which he completed.

After we rolled into Cedar Falls again, we stood and chatted some 20 minutes until I had to beg leave to attend to my growling stomach. Then I went to Cup Of Joe, had an organic muffin, 8oz of Joe, and then hit the trail back home.

I'm strongly considering moving the 3GR rides to Saturday mornings, which work a bit better for me. Yay or Nay? Say so in the comments if ya have an opinion on the matter.

Pretty dry out there again.

Father's Day:

Like I mentioned above, I actually got out to ride on Father's Day as well. I went to the South side of Camp Ingawanis, of course. A few things to make note of from my point of view were as follows:

• It is crazy dry out there! I stopped to make some small adjustments to the Fuji test bike and looked about me. What I saw was a bit disconcerting. In a "normal" year, the underbrush would be at its maximum growth by now. Trails would be overgrown, weeds would be towering, and green would be the dominant color in the woodlands. That isn't the case at all. In fact, things are wilting, turning yellow and brown. Green stuff that would be flourishing is stunted, or dead. Not good!
• It's amazing how good suspension bikes are getting for 29 inch wheels nowadays. The geometry is pretty dialed on a lot of them, and the "monkey-motion" is controlled, stiff where it needs to be, and reliable. I think the days of wonky feeling suspension bikes, with noodly frames and poor performance are pretty much gone now. Refinements will be the name of the game from here on out. Take that Fuji Outland 29 1.0 pictured there as an example. Besides making some nit-picky comments, there isn't much not to like there.
• The tree dwelling inchworms and there webs have finally disappeared. In their place are thousands of black and orange winged butterflies. (Maybe the same, metamorphosed creatures?) I don't know, but the butterflies are far more pleasant to deal with. Interestingly, when you come around a corner, they all seem to be on the ground. Then they take flight, helter-skelter all around you. It's like a black and orange confetti parade. 

Hope your past weekend was a good one!

Some Riding Happened

Well I got in a couple of good rides over the weekend despite having plenty of goings on with regards to social events. One wedding to attend with reception and, of course, Father's Day. Getting two great rides in was unexpected and I consider it a bonus for the two days.

Twas a threesome for the 3GR

3GR Report: I moved the time for the 3GR to Saturday morning due to my children coming home from their grandparents house Friday evening. I set the time for the Saturday running of the event at 8:30am.

I arrived at the same place we've been meeting at to find a bit of a surprise. Craig Irving had driven up from Mt. Vernon to ride with us! That was a humbling thing, and I was hoping that he wouldn't be the only person to have come over to ride. Thankfully, he wasn't, as Robert Fry also showed up just before we were to leave.

Having these two experienced gravel/randonnuer riders was a treat, and it meant that we weren't going to go very slow! The route was a slightly modified version of last week's route. We did not go up Symons Road this time, but rather, we took Big Woods from the Big Woods Lake to Mt. Vernon Road, then East across Highway 218/27 and then we had to zig-zag over to Leversee, up to Bennington, and back West to Big Woods to go north. (Big Woods is truncated by the 4 lane HWY 218/27 as it bisects the gravels on its way Northeastwards.) This actually added a bit of mileage to the route.

Oh yeah.....that was on top of my mileage riding over to the ride!

Skies looked threatening.

We carried on at a brisk, (but not too hard),  pace all the way North to Camp Ingawanis' South Side, skirted the woods up there, and then we went back South on Ivory/Streeter Roads. Once back into the open, it was a headwind and the rollers on Streeter Road which took us all the way back to our turn at Mt Vernon Road.

Everyone's bikes and bodies held up well. It was a unique ride for me since I wasn't the only one with Clement X'Plor MSO tires on the ride, or RetroShift shift levers. Craig was sporting both on his well used Surly Cross Check. He was pretty complimentary towards both products, having just had success with using them down at the Dirty Kanza 200, which he completed.

After we rolled into Cedar Falls again, we stood and chatted some 20 minutes until I had to beg leave to attend to my growling stomach. Then I went to Cup Of Joe, had an organic muffin, 8oz of Joe, and then hit the trail back home.

I'm strongly considering moving the 3GR rides to Saturday mornings, which work a bit better for me. Yay or Nay? Say so in the comments if ya have an opinion on the matter.

Pretty dry out there again.

Father's Day:

Like I mentioned above, I actually got out to ride on Father's Day as well. I went to the South side of Camp Ingawanis, of course. A few things to make note of from my point of view were as follows:

• It is crazy dry out there! I stopped to make some small adjustments to the Fuji test bike and looked about me. What I saw was a bit disconcerting. In a "normal" year, the underbrush would be at its maximum growth by now. Trails would be overgrown, weeds would be towering, and green would be the dominant color in the woodlands. That isn't the case at all. In fact, things are wilting, turning yellow and brown. Green stuff that would be flourishing is stunted, or dead. Not good!
• It's amazing how good suspension bikes are getting for 29 inch wheels nowadays. The geometry is pretty dialed on a lot of them, and the "monkey-motion" is controlled, stiff where it needs to be, and reliable. I think the days of wonky feeling suspension bikes, with noodly frames and poor performance are pretty much gone now. Refinements will be the name of the game from here on out. Take that Fuji Outland 29 1.0 pictured there as an example. Besides making some nit-picky comments, there isn't much not to like there.
• The tree dwelling inchworms and there webs have finally disappeared. In their place are thousands of black and orange winged butterflies. (Maybe the same, metamorphosed creatures?) I don't know, but the butterflies are far more pleasant to deal with. Interestingly, when you come around a corner, they all seem to be on the ground. Then they take flight, helter-skelter all around you. It's like a black and orange confetti parade. 

Hope your past weekend was a good one!