Meeting In The Middle?

Less "fat"- more "mtb".

As I look at what is going on with off road bicycles, I see a lot of things being tried. It is almost as crazy as it was in the early to mid 90's when so many small manufacturers were putting out dual suspension ideas and components were being turned out of small machine shops at rates none of us could keep up with at the time.

This is almost the case again, only now it isn't about which suspension design is going to end up being "best", but what wheel size, and even more than that, how wide and voluminous a tire are we going to end up with. 

Fat bikes are part of this, but so are the 29+ and the 27.5+ bikes. Big, voluminous tires on wider rims are all the rage now. Regular 2.4" tires, which were considered huge only 5-6 years ago, are now seen as "ho-hum" skinnies. Even I have caught myself looking at 3.8"-4.0" fat bike tires and thinking they were "small". Then I remember when I built up the Snow Dog in 2011 and thought those 3.8" Larrys were humongous!

So, what the heck is going on here? Do we really need these monster truck tires? I've been having several interesting conversations with folks in different parts of the cycling world that have given me a lot to think about. Here's where I think all this is coming from and going to......

29+: Fat and TALL!!

First of all, choices in what you can have in tires, widths of those tires, and in the rims you can mount them to have never been better. You had one choice in the 90's that was wide enough to get you by for mountain biking, and nobody thought twice about it. The reason? No choices. It was simply ludicrous to entertain thoughts of differing wheel sizes and widths of tires when there simply was zero chances you'd ever see it in your lifetime. Or so we thought......

If there was one thing that 29"ers existence did for mountain biking, it was to show the mtb tribes that there might be better alternative wheel and tire sizes to consider. Several years later, the 27.5er size was floated, then fat bikes rose to prominence, and it was on from that point. Surly has been a rabble rouser in the alt tire size scene with its 27.5 sized 26 inch based tires and of course, the 29+ tires which debuted on the Krampus.

Things in the mtb world tend to be cyclical with regard to vast choices. It seems you see tons of innovations and then a weeding out process. For instance, has anyone seen any Allsop stems or Boulder Defiants lately? I rest my case...... well, not really! 

This just to point out the folowing: Expect the tire sizes to weed out to something "in the middle". Fat bikes and 29+ are on the extremes. XC sized rubber in 27.5"er and 29"er sizes is on the conservative end. Somewhere in between I feel things will settle out, and that "somewhere", in my opinion, is 27.5+. 

Vee Tire Trax Fatty 27.5 X 3"

Already we are seeing fat bikes being pushed as "mountain bikes", which they can be. However; do you really need a huge, 3.8" tire that requires a special frame, and what is more, a really wide bottom bracket?

What if you could get some of those "fat bike benefits" in a slightly lighter, more traditional bike dimension friendly package? Fat tires have inherently attractive qualities for the off roader. Volume means lower air pressures which gain you comfort, traction for days, and stability which bodes for more confident, faster railing of terrain. However; fat bike tires, rims, and their dimensions push the weight limits and biomechanic boundaries a bit too far for some folks. Not to mention the special designs for frames and suspension bits.

29+ showed us that going slightly skinnier was a great idea to cut down on the "fat" and super wide bottom brackets. However; the huge diameter of these wheels, (something over 31" in most cases), is ponderous and just too big for a lot of people to have a bicycle designed around them. Enter B+/27.5+ tires and wheels.

Understanding that 29"er wheels have already had every conceivable type of mtb designed around their diameter, the 29-ish diameter size of the 27.5+ wheel is an easier thing to accommodate for. It would fit a wider slice of the mtb populace than 29+, and it can be had in 2.8"-3.0" widths already. Many current 29"er hardtails already exist which would work with the wheel size and full suspension designs could be executed without too much trouble going forward.

Plus sized benefits with fat bike tire traits in a package that is already somewhat familiar to current mountain bikers? Sounds like a plan to me.

Meeting In The Middle?

Less "fat"- more "mtb".

As I look at what is going on with off road bicycles, I see a lot of things being tried. It is almost as crazy as it was in the early to mid 90's when so many small manufacturers were putting out dual suspension ideas and components were being turned out of small machine shops at rates none of us could keep up with at the time.

This is almost the case again, only now it isn't about which suspension design is going to end up being "best", but what wheel size, and even more than that, how wide and voluminous a tire are we going to end up with. 

Fat bikes are part of this, but so are the 29+ and the 27.5+ bikes. Big, voluminous tires on wider rims are all the rage now. Regular 2.4" tires, which were considered huge only 5-6 years ago, are now seen as "ho-hum" skinnies. Even I have caught myself looking at 3.8"-4.0" fat bike tires and thinking they were "small". Then I remember when I built up the Snow Dog in 2011 and thought those 3.8" Larrys were humongous!

So, what the heck is going on here? Do we really need these monster truck tires? I've been having several interesting conversations with folks in different parts of the cycling world that have given me a lot to think about. Here's where I think all this is coming from and going to......

29+: Fat and TALL!!

First of all, choices in what you can have in tires, widths of those tires, and in the rims you can mount them to have never been better. You had one choice in the 90's that was wide enough to get you by for mountain biking, and nobody thought twice about it. The reason? No choices. It was simply ludicrous to entertain thoughts of differing wheel sizes and widths of tires when there simply was zero chances you'd ever see it in your lifetime. Or so we thought......

If there was one thing that 29"ers existence did for mountain biking, it was to show the mtb tribes that there might be better alternative wheel and tire sizes to consider. Several years later, the 27.5er size was floated, then fat bikes rose to prominence, and it was on from that point. Surly has been a rabble rouser in the alt tire size scene with its 27.5 sized 26 inch based tires and of course, the 29+ tires which debuted on the Krampus.

Things in the mtb world tend to be cyclical with regard to vast choices. It seems you see tons of innovations and then a weeding out process. For instance, has anyone seen any Allsop stems or Boulder Defiants lately? I rest my case...... well, not really! 

This just to point out the folowing: Expect the tire sizes to weed out to something "in the middle". Fat bikes and 29+ are on the extremes. XC sized rubber in 27.5"er and 29"er sizes is on the conservative end. Somewhere in between I feel things will settle out, and that "somewhere", in my opinion, is 27.5+. 

Vee Tire Trax Fatty 27.5 X 3"

Already we are seeing fat bikes being pushed as "mountain bikes", which they can be. However; do you really need a huge, 3.8" tire that requires a special frame, and what is more, a really wide bottom bracket?

What if you could get some of those "fat bike benefits" in a slightly lighter, more traditional bike dimension friendly package? Fat tires have inherently attractive qualities for the off roader. Volume means lower air pressures which gain you comfort, traction for days, and stability which bodes for more confident, faster railing of terrain. However; fat bike tires, rims, and their dimensions push the weight limits and biomechanic boundaries a bit too far for some folks. Not to mention the special designs for frames and suspension bits.

29+ showed us that going slightly skinnier was a great idea to cut down on the "fat" and super wide bottom brackets. However; the huge diameter of these wheels, (something over 31" in most cases), is ponderous and just too big for a lot of people to have a bicycle designed around them. Enter B+/27.5+ tires and wheels.

Understanding that 29"er wheels have already had every conceivable type of mtb designed around their diameter, the 29-ish diameter size of the 27.5+ wheel is an easier thing to accommodate for. It would fit a wider slice of the mtb populace than 29+, and it can be had in 2.8"-3.0" widths already. Many current 29"er hardtails already exist which would work with the wheel size and full suspension designs could be executed without too much trouble going forward.

Plus sized benefits with fat bike tire traits in a package that is already somewhat familiar to current mountain bikers? Sounds like a plan to me.

The Snow Dog Lives!

The band is gettin' back together......

With the son's new fat bike build last Fall I had to strip down the old Mukluk and hang it from a peg for a while. But now it is back up and running! Here are the details of the build and my thoughts following after not having ridden this bike for a few months or so.

• Wheels: I used the idle wheel set from the titanium Mukluk. I put the old Larry 3,8's with Bontrager 29"er tubes in there as well. Basically this is the wheel set from the original titanium Mukluk build. 
• Bottom Bracket/Crankset: New FSA DH 100mm ISIS bottom bracket with some old take-off Bontrager ISIS cranks. I decided since I did not have the front derailleur for this to go 1X9. I used the purple e13 Guide Ring in 32T size from the original titanium Mukluk build. Pedals are some old pinned flats I had lying about. 
• Cassette, Rear Derailleur: I had a 11 X 34 cassette and an old SRAM X-9 derailleur from the parts bin. 
• Saddle/Seat post: Right off the original titanium Muk build as well- FSA SLK post and WTB SST saddle. The post is shy of being long enough, so it will get replaced with something else soon. 
• Brakes: Magura hydraulics that were the brakes on this bike when I stripped it down. I did have to replace the rear rotor with an Avid and the front stayed with the Ashima that was on there, so the rotors are not the matches for the brakes. At some point I will get those rotors back to the originals. 
• Controls: I used a 9 speed X-9 shifter, the Magura levers, (obviously), and Ergon grips which are no longer in production, but are like the new enduro grips they have coming soon, only those will be smaller and better!

 Ride Notes: 

In no particular order, these are some thoughts I had while riding the Snow dog yesterday....

• This geometry is stellar for going through deeper, softer terrain. I was feeling that I didn't have to make much for weight shifts. Although the titanium Mukluk is supposed to be the same,  it doesn't handle in the the same way as this bike. It never has, actually. New Mukluks are not the same either. That's why I'll likely keep this one up and running for a long time. 
• Surly Tires work far better in deep, drifted snow. The verdict will really be served today, as I am using the Sterlings to ride to work, but the Larrys are noticeably better at "float" than the Vee Rubber tires are. Self steer is unheard of, and with the ridiculously low pressures, the tires don't feel like boat anchors to pedal on harder terrain or pavement. The Sterlings have far better forward bite though, and can be set up tubeless, which makes them really good, but more like "regular mountain bike tires" than "fat bike tires". 
• I need a longer seat post!
• 1X set ups are okay, but I really need at least a 2X for serious, longer distance fat biking. That or one of them fancy 42T add on cogs for my cassette! 

So, there it is! Back up and running for awhile. I will definitely be tweaking this out as I go along, but it was sure mighty fun having the Snow Dog back underneath me again on a Winter day's ride! 

The Snow Dog Lives!

The band is gettin' back together......

With the son's new fat bike build last Fall I had to strip down the old Mukluk and hang it from a peg for a while. But now it is back up and running! Here are the details of the build and my thoughts following after not having ridden this bike for a few months or so.

• Wheels: I used the idle wheel set from the titanium Mukluk. I put the old Larry 3,8's with Bontrager 29"er tubes in there as well. Basically this is the wheel set from the original titanium Mukluk build. 
• Bottom Bracket/Crankset: New FSA DH 100mm ISIS bottom bracket with some old take-off Bontrager ISIS cranks. I decided since I did not have the front derailleur for this to go 1X9. I used the purple e13 Guide Ring in 32T size from the original titanium Mukluk build. Pedals are some old pinned flats I had lying about. 
• Cassette, Rear Derailleur: I had a 11 X 34 cassette and an old SRAM X-9 derailleur from the parts bin. 
• Saddle/Seat post: Right off the original titanium Muk build as well- FSA SLK post and WTB SST saddle. The post is shy of being long enough, so it will get replaced with something else soon. 
• Brakes: Magura hydraulics that were the brakes on this bike when I stripped it down. I did have to replace the rear rotor with an Avid and the front stayed with the Ashima that was on there, so the rotors are not the matches for the brakes. At some point I will get those rotors back to the originals. 
• Controls: I used a 9 speed X-9 shifter, the Magura levers, (obviously), and Ergon grips which are no longer in production, but are like the new enduro grips they have coming soon, only those will be smaller and better!

 Ride Notes: 

In no particular order, these are some thoughts I had while riding the Snow dog yesterday....

• This geometry is stellar for going through deeper, softer terrain. I was feeling that I didn't have to make much for weight shifts. Although the titanium Mukluk is supposed to be the same,  it doesn't handle in the the same way as this bike. It never has, actually. New Mukluks are not the same either. That's why I'll likely keep this one up and running for a long time. 
• Surly Tires work far better in deep, drifted snow. The verdict will really be served today, as I am using the Sterlings to ride to work, but the Larrys are noticeably better at "float" than the Vee Rubber tires are. Self steer is unheard of, and with the ridiculously low pressures, the tires don't feel like boat anchors to pedal on harder terrain or pavement. The Sterlings have far better forward bite though, and can be set up tubeless, which makes them really good, but more like "regular mountain bike tires" than "fat bike tires". 
• I need a longer seat post!
• 1X set ups are okay, but I really need at least a 2X for serious, longer distance fat biking. That or one of them fancy 42T add on cogs for my cassette! 

So, there it is! Back up and running for awhile. I will definitely be tweaking this out as I go along, but it was sure mighty fun having the Snow Dog back underneath me again on a Winter day's ride! 

Bigger Must Be Better, Right?

My Perfect Combo" BFL frt, Knard rear on 82's

There used to be one fat bike tire- the venerable, (and discontinued), Endomorph 3.7"er. Lots of things got done with that tire, and many people's complaint was that it was too squarish, causing "self steering" traits.

Then came "Larry". In the 3.8" size, people about went ga-ga when it hit the scene. It was sooooo much better than the Endo, that folks wondered if anymore Endo's would ever be sold. Funny isn't it? Now with the Bud, Lou, Big Fat Larry, and the soon to be released 3.8" Knard, no one talks about 3.8" Larrys anymore! 

I think that is telling, because in terms of this fat biking scene, Surly has whipped up a veritable frenzy over the next bigger, badder fat bike tire. And hey, maybe you need that huge, gnarly chunk-o-rubber. But ya know what? I bet most folks don't. Not even close.

We didn't have a winter like we did in 2010/'11 last winter, but that was the winter I got my first fat bike, and it came with 3.8" Larrys. You know what? I thought I didn't really need bigger tires. I thought I needed wider rims. I was riding some deep, compacted snow on those 3.8'ers, and I was doing really well. I probably would have done even better if I knew what I know now for technique, but I didn't think I needed bigger tires.

3.8" Larrys, floating...

 Then a series of events occurred that led to my acquiring some Big Fat Larrys. I put those on the Snow Dog, and my need for wider rims went away. Yes, they are bigger tires, so you could say I "needed" them, but one way or the other, rims or tires, the deal was that I needed just a wee bit more float, and I was good. Still am too.

I am still curious about what I would get with 100mm wide rims, but ya know- I ride a fat bike all year. I use it as an "all terrain bike", so I kind of think that with the tires that I have, bigger rims won't be better, just heavier. Maybe less adept at mountain biking too.

Then there are those monstrosities called Bud, Lou, and Nate. I have to say that I have not ever thought my Larry was deficient for traction here. Maybe if I lived somewhere else, I'd be singing a different tune, but a lighter weight, less blocky treaded tire is always better here, no matter if it is a 29"er, fat bike, or for 26"er bikes.  So again, bigger isn't better, just heavier and slower.

Right now, my thoughts are to just keep running BFL's on 82's for winter, and get a BFL/Knard 3.8"er combo for the other bike, and run that all year long. Until then, I'll just be pretty satisfied running the Larry 3.8"ers and I'll let you others scramble for those crazy, heavy, super knobby fat bike tires.
 

Bigger Must Be Better, Right?

My Perfect Combo" BFL frt, Knard rear on 82's

There used to be one fat bike tire- the venerable, (and discontinued), Endomorph 3.7"er. Lots of things got done with that tire, and many people's complaint was that it was too squarish, causing "self steering" traits.

Then came "Larry". In the 3.8" size, people about went ga-ga when it hit the scene. It was sooooo much better than the Endo, that folks wondered if anymore Endo's would ever be sold. Funny isn't it? Now with the Bud, Lou, Big Fat Larry, and the soon to be released 3.8" Knard, no one talks about 3.8" Larrys anymore! 

I think that is telling, because in terms of this fat biking scene, Surly has whipped up a veritable frenzy over the next bigger, badder fat bike tire. And hey, maybe you need that huge, gnarly chunk-o-rubber. But ya know what? I bet most folks don't. Not even close.

We didn't have a winter like we did in 2010/'11 last winter, but that was the winter I got my first fat bike, and it came with 3.8" Larrys. You know what? I thought I didn't really need bigger tires. I thought I needed wider rims. I was riding some deep, compacted snow on those 3.8'ers, and I was doing really well. I probably would have done even better if I knew what I know now for technique, but I didn't think I needed bigger tires.

3.8" Larrys, floating...

 Then a series of events occurred that led to my acquiring some Big Fat Larrys. I put those on the Snow Dog, and my need for wider rims went away. Yes, they are bigger tires, so you could say I "needed" them, but one way or the other, rims or tires, the deal was that I needed just a wee bit more float, and I was good. Still am too.

I am still curious about what I would get with 100mm wide rims, but ya know- I ride a fat bike all year. I use it as an "all terrain bike", so I kind of think that with the tires that I have, bigger rims won't be better, just heavier. Maybe less adept at mountain biking too.

Then there are those monstrosities called Bud, Lou, and Nate. I have to say that I have not ever thought my Larry was deficient for traction here. Maybe if I lived somewhere else, I'd be singing a different tune, but a lighter weight, less blocky treaded tire is always better here, no matter if it is a 29"er, fat bike, or for 26"er bikes.  So again, bigger isn't better, just heavier and slower.

Right now, my thoughts are to just keep running BFL's on 82's for winter, and get a BFL/Knard 3.8"er combo for the other bike, and run that all year long. Until then, I'll just be pretty satisfied running the Larry 3.8"ers and I'll let you others scramble for those crazy, heavy, super knobby fat bike tires.
 

Randomonium

Okay folks, get ready for a disjointed jumble of thoughts! I have no real direction for this boat today, so let's drift.....

Beard = Bike Knowledge?

Monday's With Mark: Yesterday the classes at the shop for consumers started up again, after a six year hiatus!  I had no idea it had been that long ago, but a search of this very blog showed me that the last time the courses were offered was March 2006. This blog was not even a year old yet! Ancient days.....

So, I didn't quite know what to expect for attendance.I do recall that the classes generally were not all that big back then, but last night blew me away as 25 folks came by to hear me yak about this, that, and the other thing.

I even garnered some compliments on my presentation. Cool! Must be the beard, ya know. Yeah......I've seen this thing on the social networks lately that shows a bicycle mechanics knowledge is proportional to the length of his beard. While I can not verify that this is entirely true, (because, ya know- there are some pretty smart, capable female bicycle mechanics that do not have beards- at least I hope not!), but it works for me!

So, it was a success last night, anyway, and we'll see how the next two Mondays go. We may have to jettison the ski tuner and make some more room back there if we keep drawing a crowd the size of this past Monday. Next week; Trail side bike repair! There should be some info with times and what not on the shop's website if you happen to be reading this and are local to me.

Big Fat Larry is good, but...

What I Want To See In Fat: Okay, I've had enough time on Big Fat Larrys to know that I want......nay- need more lateral traction than these tires have. I'm not sure how to get there, but maybe lower the center tread blocks and raise the outer ones? Kind of like the old Dart SC tires.

I'm definitely not a tire designer, but I know that getting these BFL's to not do the slippy-slide sideways sometimes is annoying. And no.....don't even say "Nate". Too much knob on that one. I'm not looking for extreme lugs like that, just a little help here with the Larry. Something in between the Nate and Larry perhaps? I pretty much really like where the Big Fat Larry, (and Larry, for that matter), are taking me, but they don't grip laterally all that well in looser, softer stuff. That's where the Larry shines otherwise.

Other than that, I can't really think of much, but I'm sure that Surly and 45NRTH are way ahead of me in terms of tires for fat bikes. Maybe we'll see something come this weekend.

Salsa Cycles Vaya from Frostbike 2011

Speaking Of This Weekend....

It is Frostbike weekend again coming up, and at least I shouldn't get snowed out of town, if I can believe the forecast for the weekend's weather.  Last year I got chased out of town on Saturday night by an oncoming blizzard that had folks socked into Minneapolis for a couple days.

This time should be a bit more exciting, I think. Last year was a bit "ho-hum" as far as new stuff was concerned. Now I think we'll see more new stuff with the economy not looking quite so dreadful. I know some new tires and some new components should be popping up at Frostbike, and I bet some new bikes will too.

Of course, the whole deal will start with going up to Mike's Bikes again, which is always a good time. That will be Friday evening. Look for some updates to pop up all throughout the weekend on the goings on.

Happy Valentine's Day, ya'all!

Randomonium

Okay folks, get ready for a disjointed jumble of thoughts! I have no real direction for this boat today, so let's drift.....

Beard = Bike Knowledge?

Monday's With Mark: Yesterday the classes at the shop for consumers started up again, after a six year hiatus!  I had no idea it had been that long ago, but a search of this very blog showed me that the last time the courses were offered was March 2006. This blog was not even a year old yet! Ancient days.....

So, I didn't quite know what to expect for attendance.I do recall that the classes generally were not all that big back then, but last night blew me away as 25 folks came by to hear me yak about this, that, and the other thing.

I even garnered some compliments on my presentation. Cool! Must be the beard, ya know. Yeah......I've seen this thing on the social networks lately that shows a bicycle mechanics knowledge is proportional to the length of his beard. While I can not verify that this is entirely true, (because, ya know- there are some pretty smart, capable female bicycle mechanics that do not have beards- at least I hope not!), but it works for me!

So, it was a success last night, anyway, and we'll see how the next two Mondays go. We may have to jettison the ski tuner and make some more room back there if we keep drawing a crowd the size of this past Monday. Next week; Trail side bike repair! There should be some info with times and what not on the shop's website if you happen to be reading this and are local to me.

Big Fat Larry is good, but...

What I Want To See In Fat: Okay, I've had enough time on Big Fat Larrys to know that I want......nay- need more lateral traction than these tires have. I'm not sure how to get there, but maybe lower the center tread blocks and raise the outer ones? Kind of like the old Dart SC tires.

I'm definitely not a tire designer, but I know that getting these BFL's to not do the slippy-slide sideways sometimes is annoying. And no.....don't even say "Nate". Too much knob on that one. I'm not looking for extreme lugs like that, just a little help here with the Larry. Something in between the Nate and Larry perhaps? I pretty much really like where the Big Fat Larry, (and Larry, for that matter), are taking me, but they don't grip laterally all that well in looser, softer stuff. That's where the Larry shines otherwise.

Other than that, I can't really think of much, but I'm sure that Surly and 45NRTH are way ahead of me in terms of tires for fat bikes. Maybe we'll see something come this weekend.

Salsa Cycles Vaya from Frostbike 2011

Speaking Of This Weekend....

It is Frostbike weekend again coming up, and at least I shouldn't get snowed out of town, if I can believe the forecast for the weekend's weather.  Last year I got chased out of town on Saturday night by an oncoming blizzard that had folks socked into Minneapolis for a couple days.

This time should be a bit more exciting, I think. Last year was a bit "ho-hum" as far as new stuff was concerned. Now I think we'll see more new stuff with the economy not looking quite so dreadful. I know some new tires and some new components should be popping up at Frostbike, and I bet some new bikes will too.

Of course, the whole deal will start with going up to Mike's Bikes again, which is always a good time. That will be Friday evening. Look for some updates to pop up all throughout the weekend on the goings on.

Happy Valentine's Day, ya'all!

Digging It

Get a good look at this image. Wonderfully white winter wackiness. Okay, so that's what it looks like now. My weekend was dominated by dealing with this stuff.

It all started on Thursday night when it started to snow again. (I'd also ridden on Tuesday last week in the snow). Friday I woke up and saw about 5-6 inches already on the ground with flakes still falling. Time to arm myself with a shovel and hit the street.

Yes- I said, "hit the street." I have to clear out the snow from around our cars out front. We do not have a snow emergency plan here. My alleyway never gets plowed out, so fah-gedda-boud parking in the garage. It's the street for us, and we need to shovel out about 10 yards from the curb.

Of course, our neighbors do not do a thing. Now- this is an optional thing I do, but in order to preserve a spot for our vehicles, I shovel the street in front of each neighbors house on either side of me. Yeah......lots of shoveling.

That ended up becoming 4 hours of shoveling which was very physically demanding work. But hey! I can park my car now, and I burned up a lot of calories.

Now, it would be nice to have my "Other Bike Project" here to ride now, (Salsa Mukluk), but it isn't here, and now I'm hearing that by the end of the week, it is supposed to get real messy and weird out there. Yeah.......and if it does, I bet the Mukluk shows up. Oh well! I knew it would go this way. Primo snow conditions and the Mukluk just were not meant to happen at the same time for me.

But that doesn't mean that I have not been messing around with what I do have. I mounted up a Larry tire on a Rolling Darryl with some red ribbon just for the fun of it.

Nice table center piece, eh? I was going to get more creative with the rim strip, but the red matches our Cinnamon scented candle better and well, truth be known, I got the ribbon for free! Works great too.

Mukluk's are blue, so the red accent deal should work okay and I have plenty of ribbon, so it looks as though this will work for now. I may even look at adding a few more red bits here and there.

And that fat Phil Wood hub? I have spun the free hub so many times I think it is well worn in by now!

Ah well. If and when I see the Mukluk I will be riding it come snow, wind, or rain, so what if this week end's weather wipes out our great snow cover? Right? I just hope it all doesn't turn into one gigantic sheet of ice and stays that way till March, that's all.

Digging It

Get a good look at this image. Wonderfully white winter wackiness. Okay, so that's what it looks like now. My weekend was dominated by dealing with this stuff.

It all started on Thursday night when it started to snow again. (I'd also ridden on Tuesday last week in the snow). Friday I woke up and saw about 5-6 inches already on the ground with flakes still falling. Time to arm myself with a shovel and hit the street.

Yes- I said, "hit the street." I have to clear out the snow from around our cars out front. We do not have a snow emergency plan here. My alleyway never gets plowed out, so fah-gedda-boud parking in the garage. It's the street for us, and we need to shovel out about 10 yards from the curb.

Of course, our neighbors do not do a thing. Now- this is an optional thing I do, but in order to preserve a spot for our vehicles, I shovel the street in front of each neighbors house on either side of me. Yeah......lots of shoveling.

That ended up becoming 4 hours of shoveling which was very physically demanding work. But hey! I can park my car now, and I burned up a lot of calories.

Now, it would be nice to have my "Other Bike Project" here to ride now, (Salsa Mukluk), but it isn't here, and now I'm hearing that by the end of the week, it is supposed to get real messy and weird out there. Yeah.......and if it does, I bet the Mukluk shows up. Oh well! I knew it would go this way. Primo snow conditions and the Mukluk just were not meant to happen at the same time for me.

But that doesn't mean that I have not been messing around with what I do have. I mounted up a Larry tire on a Rolling Darryl with some red ribbon just for the fun of it.

Nice table center piece, eh? I was going to get more creative with the rim strip, but the red matches our Cinnamon scented candle better and well, truth be known, I got the ribbon for free! Works great too.

Mukluk's are blue, so the red accent deal should work okay and I have plenty of ribbon, so it looks as though this will work for now. I may even look at adding a few more red bits here and there.

And that fat Phil Wood hub? I have spun the free hub so many times I think it is well worn in by now!

Ah well. If and when I see the Mukluk I will be riding it come snow, wind, or rain, so what if this week end's weather wipes out our great snow cover? Right? I just hope it all doesn't turn into one gigantic sheet of ice and stays that way till March, that's all.