Ride Plans Taking Shape

Some riding plans are emerging out of the fog for 2023

I've been thinking about riding gravel roads again, and this year I want my riding to be about consistency. No huge plans and no grabbing big miles without having a consistent base of rides to build off of. With that all in mind, here are my thoughts going into the year.

Renegade Gents Race: I've been assured that I still have my place on my team and that a lodging plan is available. (Thank you Capn' Steve!) So, that event, which falls on April 1st this year, will be my first "official ride" date for 2023. 

Leading in to that date I want to have put in several consistent rides and off-bike work-out type training efforts to be ready to do this event. Since the Gents Race is about 70 miles or less, I think if I can have a base of several 3-4 hour rides by April 1st I'd feel pretty good about that. Maybe 3-4 of those and several shorter rides as well. That means I have to get going here pretty quick.

Off-bike efforts will include some special stretching and moving exercises I've got planned for myself. Nothing huge, but again - I just want consistency. 

The route for the "Tour of Black Hawk County" might form the basis of another big ride in May

ToBHC/GTDRI? Then I have had a request from a local rider named Josh to ride with me on a big ride sometime this year. This fits in with my desire to bag a century ride at least once this year. Josh and I spoke about the idea this past weekend and I suggested that perhaps the Tour of Black Hawk County route might be a good one to make use of for this ride. 

If I so chose, I need to reroute a bit of the Western edge of the loop. The stupid county had part of the border between Grundy and Black Hawk County paved! Bah! So, to avoid about six to seven miles of madness, I will have to make a big revision to the route. 

And IF I do that, my plan is to run the loop in reverse, so the big miles without resupply are on the front end, and the shorter distances between stops can help get us to the finish in better condition than what I experienced when I did the loop in 2021. 

Double IF: Let's say I find a date in May that you think would work for you to join us. Well......okay then. I am going to allow anyone that can come to join in. It's not necessarily a "Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational", but it pretty much would be. Interested? Drop me a line...... If I get enough interest I may make this "officially official". Or something.....

From the Single Speed Century in 2020

Single Speed Century: So..... Let's say "IF" I get this far into the year and all goes well. Okay, then I am thinking I need to stick in a single speed century ride. I have a couple routes to choose from including this gnarly edition I did back in 2020 with Jeremy Fry which about did me in. I'm thinking this is a Summertime ride and that I would do this whenever it seemed right during June, July, or August.

This may be the bike and set-up, or.....it may not!

The Closure Tour: Sharp readers here might remember this idea I had for a late Summer "over-nighter" tour that I was prepping for. It didn't happen due to circumstances beyond my control, but I have not let this idea go. I feel this needs to happen and for pretty personal reasons which go beyond a bicycle ride. Thus the name of the ride. 

I've got everything I need to do this, I have the bicycles, the route is done, and anytime I have a window to do this, I feel as though I need to just go and get it done. This is high on the list of goals for 2023. I hope that it all works out.

Fat Bike Century: I've done this before, like seven years ago! I have threatened to get back out and do another for years and especially so now that I own the Ti Muk 2. 

As far as a route goes, I have two other completely different routes in mind which I would not use for the other ride ideas here. One would pretty much reprise the 2016 Fat Bike Century while the other one would be an expansion on my Turkey Burn Ride of 2021. 

I like the idea of the latter, but either would tickle my long ride bones and I would have fun either way. The latter idea of the two would require some more route planning and stuff since it is a route that doesn't exist in the mileage I would need, but it wouldn't be any big deal these days to pull something together. Not with the resources at hand today. 

Which reminds me..... Putting together a gravel route in 2005 was a LOT harder! But I digress....

Anywho! These are all huge, gigantic, BIG if's and will not happen unless I start doing the things today to get ready. So, that is the immediate plan. I will show up every day to do the stuff and we'll talk again come the end of March and see where I am at pre-Gent's madness. 

Stay tuned....

Ride Plans Taking Shape

Some riding plans are emerging out of the fog for 2023

I've been thinking about riding gravel roads again, and this year I want my riding to be about consistency. No huge plans and no grabbing big miles without having a consistent base of rides to build off of. With that all in mind, here are my thoughts going into the year.

Renegade Gents Race: I've been assured that I still have my place on my team and that a lodging plan is available. (Thank you Capn' Steve!) So, that event, which falls on April 1st this year, will be my first "official ride" date for 2023. 

Leading in to that date I want to have put in several consistent rides and off-bike work-out type training efforts to be ready to do this event. Since the Gents Race is about 70 miles or less, I think if I can have a base of several 3-4 hour rides by April 1st I'd feel pretty good about that. Maybe 3-4 of those and several shorter rides as well. That means I have to get going here pretty quick.

Off-bike efforts will include some special stretching and moving exercises I've got planned for myself. Nothing huge, but again - I just want consistency. 

The route for the "Tour of Black Hawk County" might form the basis of another big ride in May

ToBHC/GTDRI? Then I have had a request from a local rider named Josh to ride with me on a big ride sometime this year. This fits in with my desire to bag a century ride at least once this year. Josh and I spoke about the idea this past weekend and I suggested that perhaps the Tour of Black Hawk County route might be a good one to make use of for this ride. 

If I so chose, I need to reroute a bit of the Western edge of the loop. The stupid county had part of the border between Grundy and Black Hawk County paved! Bah! So, to avoid about six to seven miles of madness, I will have to make a big revision to the route. 

And IF I do that, my plan is to run the loop in reverse, so the big miles without resupply are on the front end, and the shorter distances between stops can help get us to the finish in better condition than what I experienced when I did the loop in 2021. 

Double IF: Let's say I find a date in May that you think would work for you to join us. Well......okay then. I am going to allow anyone that can come to join in. It's not necessarily a "Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational", but it pretty much would be. Interested? Drop me a line...... If I get enough interest I may make this "officially official". Or something.....

From the Single Speed Century in 2020

Single Speed Century: So..... Let's say "IF" I get this far into the year and all goes well. Okay, then I am thinking I need to stick in a single speed century ride. I have a couple routes to choose from including this gnarly edition I did back in 2020 with Jeremy Fry which about did me in. I'm thinking this is a Summertime ride and that I would do this whenever it seemed right during June, July, or August.

This may be the bike and set-up, or.....it may not!

The Closure Tour: Sharp readers here might remember this idea I had for a late Summer "over-nighter" tour that I was prepping for. It didn't happen due to circumstances beyond my control, but I have not let this idea go. I feel this needs to happen and for pretty personal reasons which go beyond a bicycle ride. Thus the name of the ride. 

I've got everything I need to do this, I have the bicycles, the route is done, and anytime I have a window to do this, I feel as though I need to just go and get it done. This is high on the list of goals for 2023. I hope that it all works out.

Fat Bike Century: I've done this before, like seven years ago! I have threatened to get back out and do another for years and especially so now that I own the Ti Muk 2. 

As far as a route goes, I have two other completely different routes in mind which I would not use for the other ride ideas here. One would pretty much reprise the 2016 Fat Bike Century while the other one would be an expansion on my Turkey Burn Ride of 2021. 

I like the idea of the latter, but either would tickle my long ride bones and I would have fun either way. The latter idea of the two would require some more route planning and stuff since it is a route that doesn't exist in the mileage I would need, but it wouldn't be any big deal these days to pull something together. Not with the resources at hand today. 

Which reminds me..... Putting together a gravel route in 2005 was a LOT harder! But I digress....

Anywho! These are all huge, gigantic, BIG if's and will not happen unless I start doing the things today to get ready. So, that is the immediate plan. I will show up every day to do the stuff and we'll talk again come the end of March and see where I am at pre-Gent's madness. 

Stay tuned....

Looking Ahead At 2018

Heading toward my 14th complete year of blogging in 2018.

Well, another stellar year of posting ends today for this blog. I am amazed that anyone still cares enough to actually read this blog at all, but you do. To all of you, a hearty "thank you!" and may you all have a Happy and Joyous New Year!

As for me, I have plans! (Insert evil laugh) Many of you will be surprised by at least one of the plans I have in store. Some of you will be nodding in agreement and understanding. Some of you won't give a rip. Some will deride me and say derogatory things. Nothing new about any of that!

Things concerning the blog will stay stable as long as I am around to punch keyboards out here. So, don't expect any big changes there. The blog should live on. That's my intention for now, at any rate.

Personally I am taking a different approach to my events. In the past I had a mix of competitive and "fun" riding. This coming year I am going to cut back on the competitive bits. I will be doing the Renegade Gent's race, but for all intents and purposes that is a fun ride. So, I am not counting that event as competition. There may be an excursion in Minnesota I will be on. That isn't set in stone just yet. Trans Iowa will take up the rest of my Spring's efforts along with just riding around here for fun.

June will be left completely wide open. There was some talk about riding three days in Odin's territory, but that is not solid as of now. It could happen though. Then the GTDRI will happen again probably the last weekend in July. Somewhere in the Spring I may still do a Geezer Ride. That will happen as part of a local, "get folks out on gravel" thing.

Summer won't have any other scheduled riding other than the Gravel Worlds, which is one I won't miss. Then that's it. Nothing else competitive at all is on my radar. Everything else I am leaving wide open to interpretation. I may want to go ride in Jackson County, Iowa, as an example, or along the Mississippi River somewhere, or out in the Loess Hills. I probably will go to the Northfield area, Des Moines area, and maybe some other places where I have friends to ride next year.

So yeah, the Renegade Gent's Race, GTDRI, and Gravel Worlds. That's all I am planning on for sure. The rest will be filled in with riding for fun, with friends, hopefully, and in some different places. I hope to get my 100 mile rides in on my single speed, gravel bikes, and maybe even a fat bike century too.

I look forward to this coming year. Less stress, less "big deals", and more fun with friends. That's my outlook right now.

Goodbye 2017......

Looking Ahead At 2018

Heading toward my 14th complete year of blogging in 2018.

Well, another stellar year of posting ends today for this blog. I am amazed that anyone still cares enough to actually read this blog at all, but you do. To all of you, a hearty "thank you!" and may you all have a Happy and Joyous New Year!

As for me, I have plans! (Insert evil laugh) Many of you will be surprised by at least one of the plans I have in store. Some of you will be nodding in agreement and understanding. Some of you won't give a rip. Some will deride me and say derogatory things. Nothing new about any of that!

Things concerning the blog will stay stable as long as I am around to punch keyboards out here. So, don't expect any big changes there. The blog should live on. That's my intention for now, at any rate.

Personally I am taking a different approach to my events. In the past I had a mix of competitive and "fun" riding. This coming year I am going to cut back on the competitive bits. I will be doing the Renegade Gent's race, but for all intents and purposes that is a fun ride. So, I am not counting that event as competition. There may be an excursion in Minnesota I will be on. That isn't set in stone just yet. Trans Iowa will take up the rest of my Spring's efforts along with just riding around here for fun.

June will be left completely wide open. There was some talk about riding three days in Odin's territory, but that is not solid as of now. It could happen though. Then the GTDRI will happen again probably the last weekend in July. Somewhere in the Spring I may still do a Geezer Ride. That will happen as part of a local, "get folks out on gravel" thing.

Summer won't have any other scheduled riding other than the Gravel Worlds, which is one I won't miss. Then that's it. Nothing else competitive at all is on my radar. Everything else I am leaving wide open to interpretation. I may want to go ride in Jackson County, Iowa, as an example, or along the Mississippi River somewhere, or out in the Loess Hills. I probably will go to the Northfield area, Des Moines area, and maybe some other places where I have friends to ride next year.

So yeah, the Renegade Gent's Race, GTDRI, and Gravel Worlds. That's all I am planning on for sure. The rest will be filled in with riding for fun, with friends, hopefully, and in some different places. I hope to get my 100 mile rides in on my single speed, gravel bikes, and maybe even a fat bike century too.

I look forward to this coming year. Less stress, less "big deals", and more fun with friends. That's my outlook right now.

Goodbye 2017......

Friday News And Views

Back scratcher out of desperation...

It rained here on Tuesday. The rain was steady, fine, and soaking. It started after I went to work, and of course- I didn't bring any rain pants. 

I had ridden my OS Bikes Blackbuck with my new set of Geax Saguaro white wall tires on it. Tubeless- of course! They are the first wire beaded tires I have set up that way, but they were a snap to get tubeless.

But I digress- I was in desperation mode with 15 minutes on the clock before I had to leave work to come up with a solution for rear wheel spray protection. I found two seat post mounted racks that had been discarded at the shop, but both were missing critical hardware to mount them. With time running out, I moved on to look through the discarded fender pile.

I found a plastic front fender that with a rack strap might do something. I quickly moved to fitting it to the bike. I fortunately have the auxiliary seat post mounts for a water bottle cage on this bike's seat post, and that made for a perfect place to mount the fender from. A few minutes later and I was done.

It worked great. My backside stayed dry, my saddle stayed dry, and the fender was secure over curb hops, bumps, and what not. Wish I could have kept my shins as dry!

Okay- so now for a bit on the tires. They are new. Wire bead, as stated. 2.0 width. Heavy, but Saguaros wear like iron and with the tubeless set up, I saved the weight of a tube. I''m okay with them. They ride super-smooth tubeless. Crazy smooth. I do not know if they are available yet. More to come.....

On One tires? Yes. They are good too.

Smorgasbord: 

Yep- On One tires!  I purchased these from the U.K., and they have been quite impressive so far. A true 2.25"er, these set up marvelously tubeless, and have held air better than almost any tubeless set up I have done so far.

But the thing I like is their all around goodness for this area. Someone asked me recently about all around tires for the Mid-West and specifically this area. Well.....add these to the list!

Maxxis makes these, so the quality is there. On the Stan's Flow rims they can be run sub-20psi and that floats my boat around here. I might bump that up for rockier terrain. I have run them upwards of 30psi and they seem less supple, but still work great. Anyway, I know the guy that designed these, (Shiggy), and he knows a thing or two about mountain bike tires. I think that shows through on this design. Well done!

Just wanted to point these tires out, as I think they are deserving of closer inspection, and they are way under the radar for sure!

Making Plans To Go: Update- 

I had said after Interbike I would get out on a S24O to test the whole bikepacking set up. But there is more to life than cycling, and it is raising it's pointy little head here in a few ways.

Mrs. Guitar Ted has been under the weather to the point that I have been doing double duty as a parent and house keeper lately. That's put a lot of stuff on the back-burner of late and one of those things is the S24O and anything related to it.

Until she recovers fully, (and that doesn't look to be soon), I have to stick close to home and do what needs to be done. That said, as soon as I can get out, this will happen. Everything is in order, so it won't be delayed any longer but for this illness.

Related to this, I am returning the Titanium Muk to fat wheels. Winter, (hopefully), won't be far off, and I want to be ready for that when and if it decides to snow. In the mean time, I think the Fargo Gen II will be getting the On One tires from this fat bike wheel set. The bikepacking set up could go onto either bike then.

On The Radio:

I was a guest a while back on Mountain Bike Radio and the host, Ben Welnak, asked if I might pop on from time to time to discuss stuff. I said, "sure". It's easy- I just call in and talk. I'm a talker, really. If ya get to know me, you know that.  Well, anyway- Ben went and named the time slot "The Guitar Ted Show". So if ya'all want to hear what I have to say about fat bikes and land access/advocacy issues, and a tiny bit about all this Lance/Doping scandal stuff, click the link there and check it out. I think the show runs about 45 minutes or so. (It was supposed to be a half an hour, but I talk a lot, like I said, so.....)

3GR: Okay- this will be a "game time decision", but for right now, the weather looks to be holding off until the afternoon now. If that's the case, I'll be riding at 8:30am from Gateway Park. If it looks iffy, (as in there are a lot of green blobs headed our way on radar), I may cancel at the last second. You know you are responsible for you. I will trust you will make the correct call on this one!

And that's a wrap! Stay safe. Stay dry. And have a great weekend ya'all!

Friday News And Views

Back scratcher out of desperation...

It rained here on Tuesday. The rain was steady, fine, and soaking. It started after I went to work, and of course- I didn't bring any rain pants. 

I had ridden my OS Bikes Blackbuck with my new set of Geax Saguaro white wall tires on it. Tubeless- of course! They are the first wire beaded tires I have set up that way, but they were a snap to get tubeless.

But I digress- I was in desperation mode with 15 minutes on the clock before I had to leave work to come up with a solution for rear wheel spray protection. I found two seat post mounted racks that had been discarded at the shop, but both were missing critical hardware to mount them. With time running out, I moved on to look through the discarded fender pile.

I found a plastic front fender that with a rack strap might do something. I quickly moved to fitting it to the bike. I fortunately have the auxiliary seat post mounts for a water bottle cage on this bike's seat post, and that made for a perfect place to mount the fender from. A few minutes later and I was done.

It worked great. My backside stayed dry, my saddle stayed dry, and the fender was secure over curb hops, bumps, and what not. Wish I could have kept my shins as dry!

Okay- so now for a bit on the tires. They are new. Wire bead, as stated. 2.0 width. Heavy, but Saguaros wear like iron and with the tubeless set up, I saved the weight of a tube. I''m okay with them. They ride super-smooth tubeless. Crazy smooth. I do not know if they are available yet. More to come.....

On One tires? Yes. They are good too.

Smorgasbord: 

Yep- On One tires!  I purchased these from the U.K., and they have been quite impressive so far. A true 2.25"er, these set up marvelously tubeless, and have held air better than almost any tubeless set up I have done so far.

But the thing I like is their all around goodness for this area. Someone asked me recently about all around tires for the Mid-West and specifically this area. Well.....add these to the list!

Maxxis makes these, so the quality is there. On the Stan's Flow rims they can be run sub-20psi and that floats my boat around here. I might bump that up for rockier terrain. I have run them upwards of 30psi and they seem less supple, but still work great. Anyway, I know the guy that designed these, (Shiggy), and he knows a thing or two about mountain bike tires. I think that shows through on this design. Well done!

Just wanted to point these tires out, as I think they are deserving of closer inspection, and they are way under the radar for sure!

Making Plans To Go: Update- 

I had said after Interbike I would get out on a S24O to test the whole bikepacking set up. But there is more to life than cycling, and it is raising it's pointy little head here in a few ways.

Mrs. Guitar Ted has been under the weather to the point that I have been doing double duty as a parent and house keeper lately. That's put a lot of stuff on the back-burner of late and one of those things is the S24O and anything related to it.

Until she recovers fully, (and that doesn't look to be soon), I have to stick close to home and do what needs to be done. That said, as soon as I can get out, this will happen. Everything is in order, so it won't be delayed any longer but for this illness.

Related to this, I am returning the Titanium Muk to fat wheels. Winter, (hopefully), won't be far off, and I want to be ready for that when and if it decides to snow. In the mean time, I think the Fargo Gen II will be getting the On One tires from this fat bike wheel set. The bikepacking set up could go onto either bike then.

On The Radio:

I was a guest a while back on Mountain Bike Radio and the host, Ben Welnak, asked if I might pop on from time to time to discuss stuff. I said, "sure". It's easy- I just call in and talk. I'm a talker, really. If ya get to know me, you know that.  Well, anyway- Ben went and named the time slot "The Guitar Ted Show". So if ya'all want to hear what I have to say about fat bikes and land access/advocacy issues, and a tiny bit about all this Lance/Doping scandal stuff, click the link there and check it out. I think the show runs about 45 minutes or so. (It was supposed to be a half an hour, but I talk a lot, like I said, so.....)

3GR: Okay- this will be a "game time decision", but for right now, the weather looks to be holding off until the afternoon now. If that's the case, I'll be riding at 8:30am from Gateway Park. If it looks iffy, (as in there are a lot of green blobs headed our way on radar), I may cancel at the last second. You know you are responsible for you. I will trust you will make the correct call on this one!

And that's a wrap! Stay safe. Stay dry. And have a great weekend ya'all!

Making Plans To Go: Part V

More updates on the S24O situation today....

Stove Mod V3

Yesterday, after getting a couple of bikes shipped off, I had some time to start getting ready for Interbike. Well, in that process I stumbled into my long lost stainless steel cook set I'd been wondering about of late. The set was originally purchased to go on a self supported tour to New Orleans that never materialized in 1996.

This cook set was still in its box that I got it in and I knew I had it, but where? Well, the point is, I found it finally. It isn't light, it isn't cutting edge, but I own it. So I got it out and discovered that I would need to make some plan for a new pot stand addition to the current stove/pot stand that I posted about recently here.

Well, an idea came  upon me and I got busy modifying my original stainless steel spoke design to hold my pot above the bean can pot stand so the fire wouldn't go out when I set the pot on the stove.

Well, with some deft bending action and a test fitting, I was ready for a quick test firing of the set up outside. Fueled up the stove, lit it, slammed the penny over the fueling hole, set the pot on, and.......waited. 

This was about the same amount of water I used before, maybe a tad more. With no lid on the pot, it didn't get to the roiling boil I had before, but it did boil the water. It was very breezy out, and the stove stayed lit, the water got hot, and nothing tipped  over or went awry with this test. Okay- good. Now about some other fine details.

Sweet! It all fits.

Details like the pot, which if grabbed by the handle like to dump its contents out. It took a very deft hand to not spill my boiling hot water when I took it off. I think I will pack a pair of bent nosed Vice Grips, just because, when I finally go on this trip .

Then I had to figure out how to pack this hybrid set up. Fortunately, it all fits into the original format for the cook set, minus the cook set's plastic drinking cup and fork, knife, and spoon. That's cool. I'll figure out my own cup, and the utensils can go elsewhere. Besides, I have to use my titanium Salsa Cycles spork, right? 

Now this gets my cooking situation dialed pretty well. Next is to pack that on the bike, along with whatever else I think I may need for a S24O, and pick a date and actually go do this now. It's been over a month in the making since I purposed to get going on this project, so to finally get to a place where I feel comfortable about actually trying this is good.

Of course, Interbike will eat up an entire two weeks of my time here soon what with going there, coming back, and clearing up the aftermath. So this S24O won't happen for a bit. Having made this detail a check on the list is big progress for me though, so I am happy about that part.

Making Plans To Go: Part V

More updates on the S24O situation today....

Stove Mod V3

Yesterday, after getting a couple of bikes shipped off, I had some time to start getting ready for Interbike. Well, in that process I stumbled into my long lost stainless steel cook set I'd been wondering about of late. The set was originally purchased to go on a self supported tour to New Orleans that never materialized in 1996.

This cook set was still in its box that I got it in and I knew I had it, but where? Well, the point is, I found it finally. It isn't light, it isn't cutting edge, but I own it. So I got it out and discovered that I would need to make some plan for a new pot stand addition to the current stove/pot stand that I posted about recently here.

Well, an idea came  upon me and I got busy modifying my original stainless steel spoke design to hold my pot above the bean can pot stand so the fire wouldn't go out when I set the pot on the stove.

Well, with some deft bending action and a test fitting, I was ready for a quick test firing of the set up outside. Fueled up the stove, lit it, slammed the penny over the fueling hole, set the pot on, and.......waited. 

This was about the same amount of water I used before, maybe a tad more. With no lid on the pot, it didn't get to the roiling boil I had before, but it did boil the water. It was very breezy out, and the stove stayed lit, the water got hot, and nothing tipped  over or went awry with this test. Okay- good. Now about some other fine details.

Sweet! It all fits.

Details like the pot, which if grabbed by the handle like to dump its contents out. It took a very deft hand to not spill my boiling hot water when I took it off. I think I will pack a pair of bent nosed Vice Grips, just because, when I finally go on this trip .

Then I had to figure out how to pack this hybrid set up. Fortunately, it all fits into the original format for the cook set, minus the cook set's plastic drinking cup and fork, knife, and spoon. That's cool. I'll figure out my own cup, and the utensils can go elsewhere. Besides, I have to use my titanium Salsa Cycles spork, right? 

Now this gets my cooking situation dialed pretty well. Next is to pack that on the bike, along with whatever else I think I may need for a S24O, and pick a date and actually go do this now. It's been over a month in the making since I purposed to get going on this project, so to finally get to a place where I feel comfortable about actually trying this is good.

Of course, Interbike will eat up an entire two weeks of my time here soon what with going there, coming back, and clearing up the aftermath. So this S24O won't happen for a bit. Having made this detail a check on the list is big progress for me though, so I am happy about that part.

Making Plans To Go: Part IV- Fire!

Moments before a near catastrophe occurred!

Okay, things are starting to come to a head here with regard to making a stab at a sub-24 over-nighter. I had the Guinness last weekend, (it was merely okay, there are much better stouts out there), and along with a Diet Coke can, I had the stove done in amazingly little time.

The parts fit together as if they were meant to be used as a stove. I modified the plan a touch by leaving the top in the base, which makes the unit a bit more rigid and gives it more mass to absorb heat. The end product is pretty solid and you could bash it around a bit and I think it would be none the worse for wear. Quite unlike my first stove attempt, by the way, which was really fragile, in my opinion.

So, you guys that are "fire bugs" will enjoy this- it was time to fire this dog up and see just what it would do. I researched fuels a bit, and Heet in the yellow container was a recommended fuel, so I grabbed a container at the convenience store. A scrap of the first stove attempt made for a perfect wind screen. I fabbed a very quick and rather shoddy pot stand out of stainless steel spokes and went outside to try it all out.

I had a stainless steel container meant for mixing martinis and filled it a third of the way with water. I filled the stove with Heet and lit that candle. Holy cow! The heat generated was instantaneous and immediately warped the wind screen. I thought it was going to actually melt there for a second. The heat was intense, I could feel wafts of it as the afternoon was quite windy out.

In my fervor to play with fire, I took a big chance using zip ties to bind the pot stand together. It held weight just fine, that wasn't where I failed. It was the intensity of the heat which I hadn't figured on that did me in. Moments after this image was shot the stainless steel canister fell over because the pot stand zip ties were melting. Duh! I know.....but I was in an excited hurry, and I figured it wasn't going to work this well! 

In fact, this stove is amazing. It went on burning for well over a half an hour. I easily could have made a dinner with the thing. So- now that I have that behind me, I just need to get a decent pot stand together using wire, and I'm set.  I do have some concerns though.

The major one is that the flames from the stove are completely invisible. I couldn't see them in daylight, at any rate. I have a remedy for that though, and I will report on that after I have revisited some old knowledge I have.

Okay, so that's the stove! One more bit checked off the list. Oh yeah.....still have not found that cook set. Ya know- the minute I buy another one, I'll find the original. Oh well.......

Note: Here is the link for the stove plans I used, if anyone is interested. Thanks Jonathan!

Making Plans To Go: Part IV- Fire!

Moments before a near catastrophe occurred!

Okay, things are starting to come to a head here with regard to making a stab at a sub-24 over-nighter. I had the Guinness last weekend, (it was merely okay, there are much better stouts out there), and along with a Diet Coke can, I had the stove done in amazingly little time.

The parts fit together as if they were meant to be used as a stove. I modified the plan a touch by leaving the top in the base, which makes the unit a bit more rigid and gives it more mass to absorb heat. The end product is pretty solid and you could bash it around a bit and I think it would be none the worse for wear. Quite unlike my first stove attempt, by the way, which was really fragile, in my opinion.

So, you guys that are "fire bugs" will enjoy this- it was time to fire this dog up and see just what it would do. I researched fuels a bit, and Heet in the yellow container was a recommended fuel, so I grabbed a container at the convenience store. A scrap of the first stove attempt made for a perfect wind screen. I fabbed a very quick and rather shoddy pot stand out of stainless steel spokes and went outside to try it all out.

I had a stainless steel container meant for mixing martinis and filled it a third of the way with water. I filled the stove with Heet and lit that candle. Holy cow! The heat generated was instantaneous and immediately warped the wind screen. I thought it was going to actually melt there for a second. The heat was intense, I could feel wafts of it as the afternoon was quite windy out.

In my fervor to play with fire, I took a big chance using zip ties to bind the pot stand together. It held weight just fine, that wasn't where I failed. It was the intensity of the heat which I hadn't figured on that did me in. Moments after this image was shot the stainless steel canister fell over because the pot stand zip ties were melting. Duh! I know.....but I was in an excited hurry, and I figured it wasn't going to work this well! 

In fact, this stove is amazing. It went on burning for well over a half an hour. I easily could have made a dinner with the thing. So- now that I have that behind me, I just need to get a decent pot stand together using wire, and I'm set.  I do have some concerns though.

The major one is that the flames from the stove are completely invisible. I couldn't see them in daylight, at any rate. I have a remedy for that though, and I will report on that after I have revisited some old knowledge I have.

Okay, so that's the stove! One more bit checked off the list. Oh yeah.....still have not found that cook set. Ya know- the minute I buy another one, I'll find the original. Oh well.......

Note: Here is the link for the stove plans I used, if anyone is interested. Thanks Jonathan!

Making Plans To Go: Part III

Okay, so it looks like this is becoming a mini-series here. Look here for my last update.

Somewhere out here looks pretty good to me...

Last time I showed you By-Tor the Titanium Mukluk with my crude set up for bikepacking on it. Since then I have done the following to get prepared for the S24O I have planned.

• I got a chunk of Tyvek for a tent groundcloth from a co-worker. Obviously it is a vapor barrier and it packs up nice and small. 
• With an eye to lightweight minimalism, I tried the rain fly from my Eureka 6 man dome tent as a tarp tent substitute. It doesn't really work, so I abandoned that idea. 
• For now the Topeak ByKamper is going to be the tent. Bonus- it has its own stuff sack with straps that goes right on the Anything Cage. Negative, it weighs a freakin' metric ton. 
• I broke down and ordered some Outdoor Research dry bags. If this is going to "take", I figured I had better ante up and get these.
• I found the place where I want to test this all out. The route we used last weekend for the Fatbike 3GR went over some really rough, rocky spots, which will test the bike set up with gear loaded, and there are several spots to discretely camp out there. 
• I started a penny stove. (Project was arrested in development when the drill battery died.)  I will make a pot stand from stainless steel spokes, and with my cooking gear, I should be set there.

And so far, that's where my project is at. I should have the final peices to the puzzle put together real soon. Stay tuned.....

Making Plans To Go: Part III

Okay, so it looks like this is becoming a mini-series here. Look here for my last update.

Somewhere out here looks pretty good to me...

Last time I showed you By-Tor the Titanium Mukluk with my crude set up for bikepacking on it. Since then I have done the following to get prepared for the S24O I have planned.

• I got a chunk of Tyvek for a tent groundcloth from a co-worker. Obviously it is a vapor barrier and it packs up nice and small. 
• With an eye to lightweight minimalism, I tried the rain fly from my Eureka 6 man dome tent as a tarp tent substitute. It doesn't really work, so I abandoned that idea. 
• For now the Topeak ByKamper is going to be the tent. Bonus- it has its own stuff sack with straps that goes right on the Anything Cage. Negative, it weighs a freakin' metric ton. 
• I broke down and ordered some Outdoor Research dry bags. If this is going to "take", I figured I had better ante up and get these.
• I found the place where I want to test this all out. The route we used last weekend for the Fatbike 3GR went over some really rough, rocky spots, which will test the bike set up with gear loaded, and there are several spots to discretely camp out there. 
• I started a penny stove. (Project was arrested in development when the drill battery died.)  I will make a pot stand from stainless steel spokes, and with my cooking gear, I should be set there.

And so far, that's where my project is at. I should have the final peices to the puzzle put together real soon. Stay tuned.....

Making Plans To Go: Part II

I made a veiled reference awhile ago to getting my titanium Mukluk readied for something. Well here is how things have progressed so far.

I will now set out a few parameters for my goal here so you all will maybe understand a bit better how I am approaching this.

• Low Budget: Everything I am trying to throw together here is mostly stuff I already have. I needed two Salsa Cycles Anything Cages though, so those were the "components" I referenced in my introduction to this. I very well may have to purchase a couple of other small items, but for the most part, I have to keep the budget low. Really low!
• Practice: I am getting to a point where soon I will begin "practices". This will entail the setting up and taking down of my gear in my back yard to familiarize myself with the processes and to refine my gear while I don't have to rely on its performances yet. I already see some things I want to refine just from setting up the gear for this photo! 
• Once I refine my gear choices and am familiar with my set up/tear down/packing process, I will need to do some field testing in the form of some "S24O" attempts. (Sub 24 Hour Over nighters)

I have a few questions to answer in terms of gear that I know will get cleared up by doing the practices. I have a shelter option I may use, and I need to get a penny stove constructed and set up for use to cook with. Finally, I am going to get a fuel storage bottle of some sort, (again, likely something I already have), to put fuel for the stove into. Lights will also be a thing I need to work out. I may be doing a bit of travel in darkness.

If these plans gel as I hope, there is a bigger goal in mind. I hope to share it with you at some point, but now isn't the time. If there are any suggestions for my budget bikepacking set up, I am all ears. Please leave a comment.....

Making Plans To Go: Part II

I made a veiled reference awhile ago to getting my titanium Mukluk readied for something. Well here is how things have progressed so far.

I will now set out a few parameters for my goal here so you all will maybe understand a bit better how I am approaching this.

• Low Budget: Everything I am trying to throw together here is mostly stuff I already have. I needed two Salsa Cycles Anything Cages though, so those were the "components" I referenced in my introduction to this. I very well may have to purchase a couple of other small items, but for the most part, I have to keep the budget low. Really low!
• Practice: I am getting to a point where soon I will begin "practices". This will entail the setting up and taking down of my gear in my back yard to familiarize myself with the processes and to refine my gear while I don't have to rely on its performances yet. I already see some things I want to refine just from setting up the gear for this photo! 
• Once I refine my gear choices and am familiar with my set up/tear down/packing process, I will need to do some field testing in the form of some "S24O" attempts. (Sub 24 Hour Over nighters)

I have a few questions to answer in terms of gear that I know will get cleared up by doing the practices. I have a shelter option I may use, and I need to get a penny stove constructed and set up for use to cook with. Finally, I am going to get a fuel storage bottle of some sort, (again, likely something I already have), to put fuel for the stove into. Lights will also be a thing I need to work out. I may be doing a bit of travel in darkness.

If these plans gel as I hope, there is a bigger goal in mind. I hope to share it with you at some point, but now isn't the time. If there are any suggestions for my budget bikepacking set up, I am all ears. Please leave a comment.....