Maybe You Need A Mustache (Bar)

The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar

Got an old 29"er sitting around? Maybe you are thinking about getting one of those "gravel bikes" you've been hearing so much about. Well, you already have a gravel bike! It just needs a little love, maybe a few parts swaps, and BOOM! Gravel travel will be easy-pasy.

Now you may be thinking,"Sure, Guitar Ted! Easy for you to say, but what about swapping out the bars, and then I'll need different controls, and what about a riser stem, and......" HOLD ON THERE!

Maybe all you need is a mustache bar! Let me explain.......

Years ago this guy came in where I was working and said he had a special handle bar I might want to try. It was, at that time, a rare handle bar. It was a mustache bar that accepted mountain bike controls. He lent me the bar and it was a revelation. I LOVED it! But, he wouldn't sell it to me then and I forgot all about that until recently.

You see, most mustache bars are for road bike controls. The mountain bike controls on a 29"er are of a smaller clamp diameter, 25.4mm to be exact. So, when this idea of doing up my old Fisher HiFi as a gravel bike project came up recently, I was trying to configure in my mind this project with drop bars and road controls. Maybe a Gevenalle set up..... I'd need a stem, and maybe some other bits to make it work. This was not going to be an easy project.

Then I saw an image of a bikepacker with a pretty cool set up. The image was head-on, and it was clear he was using a mustache bar. As the character "Gru" from "Despicable Me" would say, "LIGHT BULB!!" Of course! If only I could find a mustache bar that fits mountain bike controls. A simple Google search later turned up a few good prospects. The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar looks to be the best solution here.

Getting an mtb control compatible mustache bar means life gets waaaaay simpler. I can use the controls the bike came with- hydraulic levers, grips, and shifters. I do not need to get a different, weird riser stem, although I may need to play with the length. In return, I get all the hand positions, including a forward, aero position to cut through the wind. Downsides? Well, you won't find a super-wide bar, but the Soma 3-Speed Mustache Bar is claimed to be 540mm wide, which should be pretty good. You also won't get any straight-on accessory mount points for lights and such except right next to the stem.

But spending around $60.00 or less, (depending on your on-line source), you can pretty much count on an almost straight over swap of your components. You might have to lengthen the brake lines depending on how you like the levers. Pointing the levers pretty much straight down will require less length and probably will be close to optimal. Flared out is good in some cases, but will require more housing length.  Your stem length will also come into play. Shorter will require less cable housing length, longer and taller the opposite. You could probably get away with the stem you currently are using. If anything, you can go a bit shorter.

Another cool thing about mustache bars is that you can flip them for rise, or use them traditionally for a bit of drop. But the big thing is the varied hand positions. I'll let you discover this, but trust me, it's rad. So, stay tuned. I'm going to get these in and start the project after the New Year.

Maybe You Need A Mustache (Bar)

The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar

Got an old 29"er sitting around? Maybe you are thinking about getting one of those "gravel bikes" you've been hearing so much about. Well, you already have a gravel bike! It just needs a little love, maybe a few parts swaps, and BOOM! Gravel travel will be easy-pasy.

Now you may be thinking,"Sure, Guitar Ted! Easy for you to say, but what about swapping out the bars, and then I'll need different controls, and what about a riser stem, and......" HOLD ON THERE!

Maybe all you need is a mustache bar! Let me explain.......

Years ago this guy came in where I was working and said he had a special handle bar I might want to try. It was, at that time, a rare handle bar. It was a mustache bar that accepted mountain bike controls. He lent me the bar and it was a revelation. I LOVED it! But, he wouldn't sell it to me then and I forgot all about that until recently.

You see, most mustache bars are for road bike controls. The mountain bike controls on a 29"er are of a smaller clamp diameter, 25.4mm to be exact. So, when this idea of doing up my old Fisher HiFi as a gravel bike project came up recently, I was trying to configure in my mind this project with drop bars and road controls. Maybe a Gevenalle set up..... I'd need a stem, and maybe some other bits to make it work. This was not going to be an easy project.

Then I saw an image of a bikepacker with a pretty cool set up. The image was head-on, and it was clear he was using a mustache bar. As the character "Gru" from "Despicable Me" would say, "LIGHT BULB!!" Of course! If only I could find a mustache bar that fits mountain bike controls. A simple Google search later turned up a few good prospects. The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar looks to be the best solution here.

Getting an mtb control compatible mustache bar means life gets waaaaay simpler. I can use the controls the bike came with- hydraulic levers, grips, and shifters. I do not need to get a different, weird riser stem, although I may need to play with the length. In return, I get all the hand positions, including a forward, aero position to cut through the wind. Downsides? Well, you won't find a super-wide bar, but the Soma 3-Speed Mustache Bar is claimed to be 540mm wide, which should be pretty good. You also won't get any straight-on accessory mount points for lights and such except right next to the stem.

But spending around $60.00 or less, (depending on your on-line source), you can pretty much count on an almost straight over swap of your components. You might have to lengthen the brake lines depending on how you like the levers. Pointing the levers pretty much straight down will require less length and probably will be close to optimal. Flared out is good in some cases, but will require more housing length.  Your stem length will also come into play. Shorter will require less cable housing length, longer and taller the opposite. You could probably get away with the stem you currently are using. If anything, you can go a bit shorter.

Another cool thing about mustache bars is that you can flip them for rise, or use them traditionally for a bit of drop. But the big thing is the varied hand positions. I'll let you discover this, but trust me, it's rad. So, stay tuned. I'm going to get these in and start the project after the New Year.

Minus Ten Review 2009-31

I still have the frame and fork. I should throw this back together again!

Ten years ago this week I was out riding the South Side of Camp Ingawanis, now known as Ingawanis Woodland, or simply by "Ingie" as the locals know it now. Back a decade ago you could count how many people rode out there in a month on one hand.

There was a white board you were supposed to sign in on, and back then weeks would go by before it had to be erased because there were so many names it was full. I bet that would happen in a single day on a nice weekend now. But back then, the locals didn't want anything to do with driving ten miles to get to good single track. Too much bother!

Now it is no biggie, apparently. Times change and all......

Used to be a race out there too. The first one was ten years ago, and I helped volunteer for it. I keep getting reminded of this by my son. This race is a chief memory for him and he recalls being at "that race in the woods" that we counted bikers at. Keep in mind that he was all of six years old, and barely that. I mean, what can you recall vividly from being six years old? I know I cannot remember much. (But what's new, right? Ha!)

I know it was a big deal to him as he will bring up this memory at random times. I guess it was welded into his consciousness as a "big adventure" with his Dad. I don't know, but here's a piece of advice for any Dads out there that may be reading this that have youginz- You never know what will impact your child and be of importance to them in later years. Be wise- Be good. Keep your promises. Never dismiss a memory your child has even if you think it was no big deal. 

Nuff said.

Minus Ten Review 2009-31

I still have the frame and fork. I should throw this back together again!

Ten years ago this week I was out riding the South Side of Camp Ingawanis, now known as Ingawanis Woodland, or simply by "Ingie" as the locals know it now. Back a decade ago you could count how many people rode out there in a month on one hand.

There was a white board you were supposed to sign in on, and back then weeks would go by before it had to be erased because there were so many names it was full. I bet that would happen in a single day on a nice weekend now. But back then, the locals didn't want anything to do with driving ten miles to get to good single track. Too much bother!

Now it is no biggie, apparently. Times change and all......

Used to be a race out there too. The first one was ten years ago, and I helped volunteer for it. I keep getting reminded of this by my son. This race is a chief memory for him and he recalls being at "that race in the woods" that we counted bikers at. Keep in mind that he was all of six years old, and barely that. I mean, what can you recall vividly from being six years old? I know I cannot remember much. (But what's new, right? Ha!)

I know it was a big deal to him as he will bring up this memory at random times. I guess it was welded into his consciousness as a "big adventure" with his Dad. I don't know, but here's a piece of advice for any Dads out there that may be reading this that have youginz- You never know what will impact your child and be of importance to them in later years. Be wise- Be good. Keep your promises. Never dismiss a memory your child has even if you think it was no big deal. 

Nuff said.

Minus Ten Review - 12

No dirt here folks. A trail in Franklin State Park near El Paso, Texas

Ten years ago this week I was in El Paso, Texas to visit my relatives and ride in the desert. This would have been the second time I had ridden down there.

It's hard to impart just how difficult it is to ride through these trails. Everything is a rock that you are riding on. They vary in size and shape, being loose, hard, bedrock, or deep gravel depending upon where you are. Since it typically is so rough, loose, and rocky, the going is very slow. I once rode about 15 miles, I think it was, and it took over 3 hours. I was just crawling, but then again, on that trip I had a hard tail.

The trip ten years ago was to test two rigs I had for Twenty Nine Inches. One was a rare Siren Song soft tail single speed. It was over-geared for the terrain but a nice bike. The Hi-Fi was a better match there but unfortunately I have no good recollection of that ride anymore. Not that particular one, anyway.

So, what I do know is that I liked riding there. While, as I say, it was tough going, it was very different than anything I've done before then or since. I enjoy it every time I get the chance to ride down there. Unfortunately, it has been several years since I've been able to. The last time I was there my father in law was in hospital, so we spent the main portion of the stay with him there, and then I got sick at the end and.......well, I'd rather forget that!

Here's a couple more shots of the trails down there for reference......

That's the Hi-Fi in the image there. 

I remember thinking this looked like a brick building had been razed here and someone made a path through the middle.

Minus Ten Review - 12

No dirt here folks. A trail in Franklin State Park near El Paso, Texas

Ten years ago this week I was in El Paso, Texas to visit my relatives and ride in the desert. This would have been the second time I had ridden down there.

It's hard to impart just how difficult it is to ride through these trails. Everything is a rock that you are riding on. They vary in size and shape, being loose, hard, bedrock, or deep gravel depending upon where you are. Since it typically is so rough, loose, and rocky, the going is very slow. I once rode about 15 miles, I think it was, and it took over 3 hours. I was just crawling, but then again, on that trip I had a hard tail.

The trip ten years ago was to test two rigs I had for Twenty Nine Inches. One was a rare Siren Song soft tail single speed. It was over-geared for the terrain but a nice bike. The Hi-Fi was a better match there but unfortunately I have no good recollection of that ride anymore. Not that particular one, anyway.

So, what I do know is that I liked riding there. While, as I say, it was tough going, it was very different than anything I've done before then or since. I enjoy it every time I get the chance to ride down there. Unfortunately, it has been several years since I've been able to. The last time I was there my father in law was in hospital, so we spent the main portion of the stay with him there, and then I got sick at the end and.......well, I'd rather forget that!

Here's a couple more shots of the trails down there for reference......

That's the Hi-Fi in the image there. 

I remember thinking this looked like a brick building had been razed here and someone made a path through the middle.

Minus Ten Review- 47

The KM got me through four winter's worth of commutes.

Ten years ago I was writing about the end of T.I.v4 registration. There was some relief in having that part of the thing over with. Then I moved on to bicycle stuff. One of the subjects was my 2003 Karate Monkey. I wrote the following about it:

" The bottom bracket is still seized up in the frame."

So, apparently that had happened previously to that post. It was certainly stuck and it ended up causing this bike to get mothballed until last year when I finally was able to break the bottom bracket and saw/pry/grind the bits out of the bottom bracket shell. Four Winter's worth of abuse will do that. Especially snowy, wet Winters. 

I also had just gotten a Velocity Aero Heat wheel set built up for this bike, and if you know how skinny that rim is, you can understand how that was a mistake. I should have gotten Blunts! Oh well. I can still use those wheels on something else someday. I'm thinking along the lines of a single speed gravel rig. But that may not happen. I could always lace those hubs up to my old Salsa Cycles Gordo rims. Those are wiiide! I always liked how tires set up on those rims, if they were wider, mountain bike oriented treads.

A pretty Fisher HiFi

I also took possession of a 2008 Gary Fisher HiFi this week ten years ago. This was for test/review on "Twenty Nine Inches". The good folks at Fisher ended up not wanting it back, so I actually still have it. Well, most of it, anyway. The bike actually got parted out and most of the stuff is spread across other bikes now.

The HiFi, and the G2 Fishers ushered in a new way of looking at 29"er geometry. After the slightly slackened, longer offset front ends appeared, the next bit was to bring the rear length in check. Once that happened the things about the first wave of 29"er geometry quickly melted away as bikes got slacker, shorter in the rear/center, and longer front centered. Stems shrank in accordance as wider handle bars also became the norm. Now even this HiFi looks weird. Not "new" as it did ten years ago, but "archaic" in terms of what is popular today.

I could get this bike back together again pretty easily. I have most everything I'd need to do that, but then again, why? Until I can answer that, it stays on the peg in the dungeon. I do like that it is one of the last true Gary Fisher mountain bike models made. So, I am hanging on to it because of that, but if I rebuilt it, I wouldn't build it as stock. Also, many of these bikes ended up breaking swing arms. This one never fell to that fate, but.......

Minus Ten Review- 47

The KM got me through four winter's worth of commutes.

Ten years ago I was writing about the end of T.I.v4 registration. There was some relief in having that part of the thing over with. Then I moved on to bicycle stuff. One of the subjects was my 2003 Karate Monkey. I wrote the following about it:

" The bottom bracket is still seized up in the frame."

So, apparently that had happened previously to that post. It was certainly stuck and it ended up causing this bike to get mothballed until last year when I finally was able to break the bottom bracket and saw/pry/grind the bits out of the bottom bracket shell. Four Winter's worth of abuse will do that. Especially snowy, wet Winters. 

I also had just gotten a Velocity Aero Heat wheel set built up for this bike, and if you know how skinny that rim is, you can understand how that was a mistake. I should have gotten Blunts! Oh well. I can still use those wheels on something else someday. I'm thinking along the lines of a single speed gravel rig. But that may not happen. I could always lace those hubs up to my old Salsa Cycles Gordo rims. Those are wiiide! I always liked how tires set up on those rims, if they were wider, mountain bike oriented treads.

A pretty Fisher HiFi

I also took possession of a 2008 Gary Fisher HiFi this week ten years ago. This was for test/review on "Twenty Nine Inches". The good folks at Fisher ended up not wanting it back, so I actually still have it. Well, most of it, anyway. The bike actually got parted out and most of the stuff is spread across other bikes now.

The HiFi, and the G2 Fishers ushered in a new way of looking at 29"er geometry. After the slightly slackened, longer offset front ends appeared, the next bit was to bring the rear length in check. Once that happened the things about the first wave of 29"er geometry quickly melted away as bikes got slacker, shorter in the rear/center, and longer front centered. Stems shrank in accordance as wider handle bars also became the norm. Now even this HiFi looks weird. Not "new" as it did ten years ago, but "archaic" in terms of what is popular today.

I could get this bike back together again pretty easily. I have most everything I'd need to do that, but then again, why? Until I can answer that, it stays on the peg in the dungeon. I do like that it is one of the last true Gary Fisher mountain bike models made. So, I am hanging on to it because of that, but if I rebuilt it, I wouldn't build it as stock. Also, many of these bikes ended up breaking swing arms. This one never fell to that fate, but.......

Minus Ten Review- 8

The Fisher Bikes Super Cal 29 FS which never made it to production

On the blog ten years ago I went back into a swing of talking about 29"er stuff. Single speeds, why no one else other than Fisher Bikes was pushing the envelope, and also I was probing the peculiar "69"er", or as John Castellano said of them at the time, "50-50 Bikes". They were said to be the "best of both worlds", (26" and 29"), but obviously, in the end they were neither.

The "best of both worlds" angle was trotted again a year later when 27.5 bikes were introduced. Well, as we have also found out, the 27.5" wheel ended up being a way to make 26 inch bikes obsolete and forcing a re-upping by those who liked smaller wheels to buy new bikes. Now we're seeing another thing that is going to do a similar thing to both 29"ers and 27.5"ers- No, not another wheel size, although you could blame this on the "plus" sized rubber that's abundant these days. The new nemesis of old bikes will be Boost technology, which is going to widen out the wheel spacing, and that will put all older bikes out to pasture within the next few years. Progress, or conspiracy. You choose.

I also featured a "sneak peek" of a new 29"er that was in development by Fisher Bikes. Remember, there were two 29"er sites at the time that barely anyone knew about, so bloggers like me got a few bones thrown their way back in the day. The Supercal 29 FS never made it to production, however, and we had to wait a year or so longer to see the HiFi line introduced, which actually looks similar to this proto, come to think of it.

Speaking of cycling sites, at the end of February 2006 I announced that I would be a contributing writer to "The Biking Hub" site, out of Canada, and a site that was quite well respected in down hill/gravity mtb scenes. It went defunct about a year later, but it was the catalyst that pushed me into becoming the writer and cycling persona I have become today, if I can be so bold as to suggest that I have any notoriety.

Minus Ten Review- 8

The Fisher Bikes Super Cal 29 FS which never made it to production

On the blog ten years ago I went back into a swing of talking about 29"er stuff. Single speeds, why no one else other than Fisher Bikes was pushing the envelope, and also I was probing the peculiar "69"er", or as John Castellano said of them at the time, "50-50 Bikes". They were said to be the "best of both worlds", (26" and 29"), but obviously, in the end they were neither.

The "best of both worlds" angle was trotted again a year later when 27.5 bikes were introduced. Well, as we have also found out, the 27.5" wheel ended up being a way to make 26 inch bikes obsolete and forcing a re-upping by those who liked smaller wheels to buy new bikes. Now we're seeing another thing that is going to do a similar thing to both 29"ers and 27.5"ers- No, not another wheel size, although you could blame this on the "plus" sized rubber that's abundant these days. The new nemesis of old bikes will be Boost technology, which is going to widen out the wheel spacing, and that will put all older bikes out to pasture within the next few years. Progress, or conspiracy. You choose.

I also featured a "sneak peek" of a new 29"er that was in development by Fisher Bikes. Remember, there were two 29"er sites at the time that barely anyone knew about, so bloggers like me got a few bones thrown their way back in the day. The Supercal 29 FS never made it to production, however, and we had to wait a year or so longer to see the HiFi line introduced, which actually looks similar to this proto, come to think of it.

Speaking of cycling sites, at the end of February 2006 I announced that I would be a contributing writer to "The Biking Hub" site, out of Canada, and a site that was quite well respected in down hill/gravity mtb scenes. It went defunct about a year later, but it was the catalyst that pushed me into becoming the writer and cycling persona I have become today, if I can be so bold as to suggest that I have any notoriety.

Maintenance Time

I had a great weekend, but never rode a bicycle! How can that be, you might ask? Well, I took some time for maintenance. It really worked out for the best anyway.

Friday was taken up with work, then a quick meal before heading out to get to a band rehearsal for a wedding I played guitar in. Saturday was almost all wedding and then playing guitar in the church service that evening.

Sunday was Father's day. So, with two little ones that are not going to be little much longer, you know.....ya gotta be there when it's happening. Bicycle rides are great, but my kids are not going to be here forever. Priorities.

So as things were progressing through the day, the kids decided to watch some movies, which was my cue to hit the Lab. I did a bit of re-organizing, then hit some of the rigs with some tweaks that I had to make. Add a link to a chain, straighten a chain line, lube some chains, air up some tires, and started the "HiFi Rebuild Project". Some plans were laid, and I made some progress on cleaning too.

Back out of the Lab to re-join the family for the remainder of the day. It sure was good to just relax and hang out with everyone.

Hope you Father's Day was great too.

Maintenance Time

I had a great weekend, but never rode a bicycle! How can that be, you might ask? Well, I took some time for maintenance. It really worked out for the best anyway.

Friday was taken up with work, then a quick meal before heading out to get to a band rehearsal for a wedding I played guitar in. Saturday was almost all wedding and then playing guitar in the church service that evening.

Sunday was Father's day. So, with two little ones that are not going to be little much longer, you know.....ya gotta be there when it's happening. Bicycle rides are great, but my kids are not going to be here forever. Priorities.

So as things were progressing through the day, the kids decided to watch some movies, which was my cue to hit the Lab. I did a bit of re-organizing, then hit some of the rigs with some tweaks that I had to make. Add a link to a chain, straighten a chain line, lube some chains, air up some tires, and started the "HiFi Rebuild Project". Some plans were laid, and I made some progress on cleaning too.

Back out of the Lab to re-join the family for the remainder of the day. It sure was good to just relax and hang out with everyone.

Hope you Father's Day was great too.

Was That The Last Day Of Summer?

<====This has nothing to do with my ride, I just thought it was cool! Seen in my back yard.

Wednesday was as about a perfect day as you could ask for. Sunny, puffy clouds floating by, and cool enough to wear a wool short sleeved jersey. I was off work, and I had tire testing to do for Twenty Nine Inches. Does it get any better than this?

I don't think so.

So, I headed out to The Camp , (Check out the Flat Tire Fest flyer at the site) and unloaded the HiFi Deluxe for some north side exploration.


<====The HiFi says, "Hey! Hurry up already!"

Over the past weekend the Camp's north unit was host to a horse show and trail ride. That meant that most of the trails they used had been "fluffed up". Lots of dust, the consistency of flour, and packed in dirt. Great stuff to ride on, you just had to be able to deftly dodge the road apples along the way!

Another bonus, the horses cleared a huge path through the previously spider web choked trails. Yeah! No web face this time.

So I charged off to make some sort of loop out of the many trail choices out on the North side. I managed to do just that, including the Ridge trail, The Pines, and back past the turn off to the Expert loop and down to the service road out leading back to the swimming pool. But instead of merely riding out on that road, I took a right at the bottom of the hill and did single track out to just behind the Service shed. Perfect! More dirt equals more fun!



<====A steep up on The Ridge trail. The horses and wet weather in the spring have made these climbs far more technical and challenging then they used to be.

I hate to admit it, but the same wild grape vine that shredded my arm a month ago got me again Wednesday! This time I stopped and cleared it out to avoid somebody else getting shredded. Obviously no one else had been back there since I had. Evidence of my tire tracks could still be found from that ride on my El Mariachi. So I knew that it was likely I was right, and no one else had ridden The Pines since then.



<=== Sun dappled single track, woods, and a mountain bike. Priceless!

I finished out another lap, with each taking close to an hour to complete, and packed up to head for home. I had a lot of writing to do, research, and family matters to attend to, but at least I got out to enjoy what most likely was the last day of summer-like weather we'll have this year.

The following day remnants of Hurricane Gustav made it to Iowa. The temperature had dropped by about 15 degrees and today it feels even crisper. Ahh! Fall is in the air, and lots more mountain biking is yet to be had. However, I will soon miss those days like last Wednesday and I am thankful that I have gotten so much riding in over the past three months. It's been a great summer for riding.

Was That The Last Day Of Summer?

<====This has nothing to do with my ride, I just thought it was cool! Seen in my back yard.

Wednesday was as about a perfect day as you could ask for. Sunny, puffy clouds floating by, and cool enough to wear a wool short sleeved jersey. I was off work, and I had tire testing to do for Twenty Nine Inches. Does it get any better than this?

I don't think so.

So, I headed out to The Camp , (Check out the Flat Tire Fest flyer at the site) and unloaded the HiFi Deluxe for some north side exploration.


<====The HiFi says, "Hey! Hurry up already!"

Over the past weekend the Camp's north unit was host to a horse show and trail ride. That meant that most of the trails they used had been "fluffed up". Lots of dust, the consistency of flour, and packed in dirt. Great stuff to ride on, you just had to be able to deftly dodge the road apples along the way!

Another bonus, the horses cleared a huge path through the previously spider web choked trails. Yeah! No web face this time.

So I charged off to make some sort of loop out of the many trail choices out on the North side. I managed to do just that, including the Ridge trail, The Pines, and back past the turn off to the Expert loop and down to the service road out leading back to the swimming pool. But instead of merely riding out on that road, I took a right at the bottom of the hill and did single track out to just behind the Service shed. Perfect! More dirt equals more fun!



<====A steep up on The Ridge trail. The horses and wet weather in the spring have made these climbs far more technical and challenging then they used to be.

I hate to admit it, but the same wild grape vine that shredded my arm a month ago got me again Wednesday! This time I stopped and cleared it out to avoid somebody else getting shredded. Obviously no one else had been back there since I had. Evidence of my tire tracks could still be found from that ride on my El Mariachi. So I knew that it was likely I was right, and no one else had ridden The Pines since then.



<=== Sun dappled single track, woods, and a mountain bike. Priceless!

I finished out another lap, with each taking close to an hour to complete, and packed up to head for home. I had a lot of writing to do, research, and family matters to attend to, but at least I got out to enjoy what most likely was the last day of summer-like weather we'll have this year.

The following day remnants of Hurricane Gustav made it to Iowa. The temperature had dropped by about 15 degrees and today it feels even crisper. Ahh! Fall is in the air, and lots more mountain biking is yet to be had. However, I will soon miss those days like last Wednesday and I am thankful that I have gotten so much riding in over the past three months. It's been a great summer for riding.

Taking It Easy

<==Some onlookers at the Camp seemed a bit interested in what I was up to on Saturday.

Had a couple of photos from yesterday, but only a couple. I wasn't too interested in digging through the pack, taking off the mitts, and shooting photos yesterday. Besides, I was too busy just trying to keep up. Seems like there may have been a good reason for feeling so flat yesterday.

Cold and flu season is here and, well........I think most of our family has the flu! Just to be clear, the flu isn't vomiting and diarrhea, although those can be symptoms of the flu. No, normally you are talking about headaches, body aches, lack of energy, and just generally feeling rotten, which is what three out of the four of us here are feeling today. Well, that explains alot for me, anyway, about yesterdays performance.




So today I just casually spun around the block with my son a few times and am resting up.

<===The HiFi Deluxe in the wild.

Hopefully I can get recovered enough to go at it again next weekend for a bit. I need to keep the riding time going as long as the weather holds back from being really nasty, windy, and frigid.

This week isn't looking like there will be much going on, which is good. Next week I have T.I.V4 recon scheduled for the 6th of December. d.p. and I will be slinking around the gravel corridors of North East Iowa to verify my course of doom for 100 lucky folks next April. Well, I'm sure that number will dwindle somewhat, but we have 100 now.

Until then, lots of fluids and rest..........................

Taking It Easy

<==Some onlookers at the Camp seemed a bit interested in what I was up to on Saturday.

Had a couple of photos from yesterday, but only a couple. I wasn't too interested in digging through the pack, taking off the mitts, and shooting photos yesterday. Besides, I was too busy just trying to keep up. Seems like there may have been a good reason for feeling so flat yesterday.

Cold and flu season is here and, well........I think most of our family has the flu! Just to be clear, the flu isn't vomiting and diarrhea, although those can be symptoms of the flu. No, normally you are talking about headaches, body aches, lack of energy, and just generally feeling rotten, which is what three out of the four of us here are feeling today. Well, that explains alot for me, anyway, about yesterdays performance.




So today I just casually spun around the block with my son a few times and am resting up.

<===The HiFi Deluxe in the wild.

Hopefully I can get recovered enough to go at it again next weekend for a bit. I need to keep the riding time going as long as the weather holds back from being really nasty, windy, and frigid.

This week isn't looking like there will be much going on, which is good. Next week I have T.I.V4 recon scheduled for the 6th of December. d.p. and I will be slinking around the gravel corridors of North East Iowa to verify my course of doom for 100 lucky folks next April. Well, I'm sure that number will dwindle somewhat, but we have 100 now.

Until then, lots of fluids and rest..........................

Turkey Burnin'

<==Alien Technology Revealed! The Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er.

Today was the Turkey Burn up at Camp Ingawanis. I met up with Captain Bob, Casey, Paul, and Jeremy for some fun on the frozen tundra of the Camp's trail system.

I was sportin' the new '08 Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er and I let everybody ride it. Really! If'n ya wasn't there, then ya missed out! I'll be posting my thoughts on the bike on Twenty Nine Inches, (where I've already got a bunch of images and info up already on this beast), but let me just say that all that rode it gave it a big thumbs up. That was kind of nice to see the reactions from the other guys. It validates my feelings about the G2 geometry and how Fisher '08 bikes are really dialed. I've always said that you can write thousands of words about a bicycle but you can't often understand it until you ride it. Some of the guys picked up on it immediately. Pretty cool!

Anyway, the ride was good. I got lost from the main group pretty much immediately since I was futzing with my booties which weren't allowing my clean entry into my clipless pedals. More knife work will be necessary, but not today. I ended up ditching the booties and risked freezing my toes, but at least I could ride. I finally got reunited with the group, but I wasn't riding all that well. Seems to be a common thing this fall. I haven't felt "on" with a group for months. I have had flashes of great sensations on the bike, even recently while riding to work, but today I was really flat.

Still, the HiFi was making riding easier and I had a lot of fun on it. However; I had to do a test run on the SE Racing Stout too. So, I switched out and took off up the service road climb. The Stout is a single speed and I was dreading the climbs, but I was feeling a bit more spunk in the legs now and kept up just fine. I got into the first section of trail and ate it hard on a leaf strewn corner heading downhill. I heard something snap. The ground was really hard. I stopped, rolled over and stood up. I could raise my arm over my head, so I was okay. Whew! It didn't sound good, but I was okay.

Captain Bob and I were both on single speeds and we decided that it was time to head home after hitting the flats for awhile. the rest of the guys decided to head back too to start trail work . The final service road climbs were tough, but I made them all without killing myself and having to stop to rest. I was riding better and I was on a single speed. Go figure.

The trails were great, fast, hard, and sketchy with deep leafy cover in some spots. This made some spots treacherous, but still doable. Frost flew up off our tires as we sped along the trails. It was a great early winter ride. Mission accomplished, I headed home with Captain Bob's Mamasita in tow to repair her brakes. (Done, by the way!) The good Capitan will be testing the SE Racing Stout for a bit now, so he took that rig home. It's all good.

Spent the rest of the day with my kids and wife. Hope your weekend goes great! Get out and ride.

Turkey Burnin'

<==Alien Technology Revealed! The Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er.

Today was the Turkey Burn up at Camp Ingawanis. I met up with Captain Bob, Casey, Paul, and Jeremy for some fun on the frozen tundra of the Camp's trail system.

I was sportin' the new '08 Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er and I let everybody ride it. Really! If'n ya wasn't there, then ya missed out! I'll be posting my thoughts on the bike on Twenty Nine Inches, (where I've already got a bunch of images and info up already on this beast), but let me just say that all that rode it gave it a big thumbs up. That was kind of nice to see the reactions from the other guys. It validates my feelings about the G2 geometry and how Fisher '08 bikes are really dialed. I've always said that you can write thousands of words about a bicycle but you can't often understand it until you ride it. Some of the guys picked up on it immediately. Pretty cool!

Anyway, the ride was good. I got lost from the main group pretty much immediately since I was futzing with my booties which weren't allowing my clean entry into my clipless pedals. More knife work will be necessary, but not today. I ended up ditching the booties and risked freezing my toes, but at least I could ride. I finally got reunited with the group, but I wasn't riding all that well. Seems to be a common thing this fall. I haven't felt "on" with a group for months. I have had flashes of great sensations on the bike, even recently while riding to work, but today I was really flat.

Still, the HiFi was making riding easier and I had a lot of fun on it. However; I had to do a test run on the SE Racing Stout too. So, I switched out and took off up the service road climb. The Stout is a single speed and I was dreading the climbs, but I was feeling a bit more spunk in the legs now and kept up just fine. I got into the first section of trail and ate it hard on a leaf strewn corner heading downhill. I heard something snap. The ground was really hard. I stopped, rolled over and stood up. I could raise my arm over my head, so I was okay. Whew! It didn't sound good, but I was okay.

Captain Bob and I were both on single speeds and we decided that it was time to head home after hitting the flats for awhile. the rest of the guys decided to head back too to start trail work . The final service road climbs were tough, but I made them all without killing myself and having to stop to rest. I was riding better and I was on a single speed. Go figure.

The trails were great, fast, hard, and sketchy with deep leafy cover in some spots. This made some spots treacherous, but still doable. Frost flew up off our tires as we sped along the trails. It was a great early winter ride. Mission accomplished, I headed home with Captain Bob's Mamasita in tow to repair her brakes. (Done, by the way!) The good Capitan will be testing the SE Racing Stout for a bit now, so he took that rig home. It's all good.

Spent the rest of the day with my kids and wife. Hope your weekend goes great! Get out and ride.