Two Things

Seen various places on the web: SRAM's new stem/head tube design

 Just Because You Can....

The 32" wheel thing is a bit of a problem for the bicycle industry. Yes - it has created buzz the industry has not seen since before the pandemic. However, it is a platform which excludes too many people based upon height. 

This has resulted in what we see here today- A 'solution' which would allow people to run their handle bars at a more appropriate height for them and still have the head tube length and height necessary to accommodate a 32" wheel and suspension travel.  

Notice how the lower part of the stem in the drawing penetrates the head tube and how the top of the stem barely is above the head tube. I mean....why not? We aren't really needing all that material in the middle of the head tube anyway.  (Actually, this is true)

Besides increasing complexity, I can see several other issues with this design. First and foremost is how steer tubes react to larger inputs from a trail obstacle or big suspension hit. They bend. 

You might think this is impossible, but it is true. The mid-point of a steer tube's length does flex slightly when you ride. The bottom, near the crown race, is a 'fulcrum point' where a lot of stress happens. The top of the steer tube, generally held in check by the top bearings in a head set, could also be a point of movement, but this does not erase the fact the the steer tube can and does flex.  

How a stem, which attaches to the mid-point and top of a steer tube, deals with those sometimes different stresses is a mystery now. But I can almost hear the squeaking and creaking from here.   

Perhaps It Is A Sign:

N.Y. Roll grew up in rural Western New York. He likes to send me Instagram reels about Buffalo N.Y. and Rochester N.Y. anytime he sees something relevant to those two cities. Or anything relating to Western New York, really. Apparently "The Algorithm' hits his feed consistently given the amount of New York related reels I get from him.

The Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective receives a lot of donated bicycles. Sometimes we get bikes with bags on them and then occasionally those bags have stuff in them. I've found bicycle tubes, patch kits, change, and other odds and ends. Recently I found an old combination wrench in a bag. 

I'm a sucker for tools, being a mechanic, so I took it to my bench for further examination. It was a Barco wrench with "Buffalo" stamped on it. Uhhh......Buffalo New York? 

Yes.....Buffalo New York. The Barco company, started in 1896, eventually bought out a tool manufacturer and started making tools in the late 1910's. Their line grew and was quite successful. This wrench would appear to have been from the early 1930's. 

Oh, and this company eventually made furniture you may have heard of like the Barcolounger. Yep! Same outfit. 

Maybe I ought to give this wrench to N.Y. Roll. Maybe it is a sign to me that I will somehow never escape Western New York. Maybe..... Or it is just an old, worn tool. 

Yeah....that's it!

VTBR Report: N.Y. Roll

 Our first report was filed by N.Y. Roll. He actually did his ride BEFORE the stated time stamp, but we'll see what he has to say about this after his report. Here is his day from Western New York. 

I started before dawn, I headed south on NYS RT 19, and passed through Pearl Creek, then as the road went left with a bend in the road, I stayed pedaling west and headed to West Middelbury. 

 

I ascended into the hills. I then descended by the church. Then I spent what felt like a lifetime climbing up 12-15% grade trying to get to Attica. I finally got there after a long descent in to the valley. I was happy to only be passed by 5 cars till that point. 

The next leg of the ride was a lot of untraveled roads. Even though I'd been around here in my youth I do not recall the roads I passed down today. Around mile 27 I came across a covered bridge in Folsomdale. Once I crossed the bridge I knew my general direction of travel would be heading east for the remainder of the ride. 

I came across a few sleet/rain cells. Nothing heavy but enough to be concerned. So I went north across the border to Genesee County in Darien Center. I would be on pavement for the remainder of the day.
I ended the day with 63 miles and 3,200ft of climbing. It was a quiet day on the bike.

 

Following are N.Y. Roll's images:

 

 

Finally, N.Y. Roll offers up the following as his defense for doing the VTBR earlier than Thanksgiving Day: 

 In case anyone wants to complain about me doing outside the window.....

 Weather was a BIG factor in many of the reports I received this year. Stay tuned for more VTBR Reports throughout the week and next week as well. 

Veteran's Day Ride

Escape Route: An invitation from N.Y. Roll

Last weekend N.Y. Roll reached out to me and asked if I would want to join him on a 40-ish mile ride North toward Waverly and back again. I accepted his offer, so the plans were put into place to ride on Tuesday morning at 9:00am. 

I decided I'd ride the Peregrine MK4, of course, and since I was finished with the Schwalbe tires I went and did a wheel swap to get the SOMA Cazadero 700 X 50mm tires on the bike. This entailed swapping cassettes and rotors as well, since I wanted to keep the drive train and brakes the same. 

I got this finished up in time, so the evening before I laid out some gear and got to bed early so I would be as rested as possible. The temperatures were to start out in the mid-30's, but with a stiff Southwesterly breeze, it was feeling chillier than that. 

I ended up wearing the Twin Six Thermal Cargo Bibs with the T-6 base layer and a Smart Wool short-sleeved jersey gifted to me by a Trans Iowa rider. Over this I wore my Voler-made Pirate Cycling League thermal jacket. On my feet I had my 12" Sock Guy wool socks, Northwave winter boots, and that was it. On the noggin I wore a buff from another Trans Iowa rider who lives in Germany and gave me this Berlin Cycling Club branded buff to wear. Then my Circuit Wave Cell helmet went over this. On my hands I wore HandUp Winter gloves. 

As it turned out the only thing I would have done differently would be to have an extra pair of gloves to put on at halfway, and I could have used a plastic shopping bag vapor barrier for the feet. I sweat a lot more than I thought I would on this ride! 

The Veteran's Memorial in Downtown Waterloo

I waited outside for N.Y. Roll and he arrived right at 9:00am. So, the plan, as stated, was to ride North, and as we chatted at the beginning of this ride, N.Y. Roll was realizing we'd be heading straight into a headwind if we used his original route. So, not a half a mile in, he "called an audible", and we decided to roll out towards Evansdale, along the Cedar River, hit the CVNT for a bit, and then see what we felt like. 

It was no big deal to me to change up the route on the fly, and I kind of liked the spontaneity of this decision. Plus, we hadn't gone much over a mile and we rode right by the Waterloo Veteran's Memorial display, replete with someones remote PA set up and microphone just sitting there. We did not see anyone around, which I thought was strange because Waterloo folks have "sticky fingers" and anything left out and about without oversight or strong tethers, well...... Let's just say it would be gone. 

We figured it was too cold for ne're-do-wells and we rolled onward.  

And for the record, we rode past three veteran's memorials on this ride. It was meant to be! 

Trail on the North side of the Cedar River going to Evansdale. 

Approach to the CVNT and another crossing of the Cedar River. 

The wind wasn't fun, so we took this into our calculations as we rode to Evansdale, through the city, and onward to the CVNT. We decided to head up Foulk Road, and yes, into the wind, but then turning left onto McKellar Road, we'd get two Level B Roads in series, and then end up in Washburn, Iowa. From there we'd make another decision. 

The Eastern end of McKellar Road

Weiden Road's Level B Section looking toward Washburn, Iowa. 

There were several wet spots we had to pay attention to on both Level B Roads. It was a tiny bit sketchy, but we made it through just fine. The dirt was a nice change of pace from pavement. However; we'd be getting a big dose of pavement yet coming up. 

We decided to head over to the CVNT from where we popped out at in Washburn. This right turn would take us to LaPorte City, then we'd leave town to the Northeast, cross the Cedar River (again!) and head towards some remote Black Hawk County gravel. 

I like N.Y. Roll, but sometimes he's a little bossy!

 

A remote gravel called Miller Creek Road, which doesn't get a lot of riders on it. 

We were heading into flood plain territory. Very flat, so it was very windy! Heading South on Girsch Road was a chore. Turning East on Miller Creek Road was a big relief. This territory is not common for cyclists as it sits in a pocket between Highway 218 and the Cedar River. It isn't easy to access, and there are better through-routes for recreationalists like the CVNT. But we had stuck our little dirt road sections in, and going "out of our way" through Gilbertville on the CVNT was not what we wanted to do. So, here we were. 

I had not been out on these roads since 2020 when I did "The Quest" to ride all the gravel and dirt roads in Black Hawk County, which I ended up getting done. As I stated back then, there were roads I'd likely never ride again, and these roads were some of them! Guess I was wrong!

We returned to the CVNT, stopped briefly for a "nature break", and rolled on through LaPorte City and exited on the Northeast side. This is a hardtop road called Brandon Road, and it is usually very busy. It wasn't bad on Tuesday, but it wasn't slow in terms of traffic. 

(Looking back the way we came here) Crossing the Cedar.....again!

Another criminally under-ridden road. Ashley Road here looking Northwest

We went North on South Canfield Road, (another busy County hardtop road) and skipped Bryan Road for the diagonally placed Ashley Road. This is a remnant of an ancient footpath of the Native Americans and was an original pioneer trail which became part of the Red Ball Route. Parts of the Red Ball Route are still Highway 218 to this day. Ashley Road is an old segment of the Red Ball Route. 

Barns For Jason

 

More Ashley Road

We ended up essentially following the Cedar River and older paths which reflected how Native Americans, and then the pioneers after them, used the land to traverse from one area to another. It was said that the paths the Native Americans took were so often used the grasses wouldn't grow where they walked and these pathways were easily seen by the later Europeans who came and settled the lands around here. 

Coffee stop. Mile 30

Leaving Gilbertville on old Highway 218

Eventually, after a real estate inspection by N.Y. Roll, we made our way into Gilbertville. We decided we would either stop at a Casey's Convenience store, or at a cafe if we came across one. N.Y. Roll actually found the 1854 Cafe in Gilbertville and we stopped and had a cup of coffee. 

This stop was kind of funny. Here we were, all geared up in our cold weather cycling garb, tromping in with our cycling shoes on, making a scene. It was almost as if it really were 1854 and some rogue band of ruffians had walked in amongst some decent citizens. We were getting side-eyed and look-aways like crazy. Too funny. 

The oak trees were spectacular this Fall. More red than usual. 

N.Y. Roll looking for an open restroom. Did not find anything!

We left Gilbertville on old Highway 218 which is really pretty scenic any time of the year. But it was especially so this Fall since this road has a lot of oak trees around it.The oaks were especially red this year. Usually they are a more rusty-brown color. So, that was a good distraction as I was riding along.

Apparently coffee runs right through N.Y. Roll because by the time we reached Elk Run Heights he needed to find a place to relieve himself. Nothing we went by had any open doors. All the recreational sites had locked up for the season. So, he ended up finding a secluded spot in the woods of a local park to, you know...... take a nature break. 

Then it was just slogging into a quartering headwind to get all the way home again. We did 40 plus miles in less than four hours time, including stops, so this was pretty good, I thought. Especially considering the wind factor. All in all, it was a good training day for the upcoming Virtual Turkey Burn Ride Challenge.  

Are Fat Bikes Dead?

Text from N.Y. Roll

Ten years ago it was fat bike utopia. Everyone had jumped on the fat bike hype-train. Maybe you do not remember those days. I do, and those were heady times in the world of fat bikes. 

Remember these fat bikes? The Raleigh Rumson. Or how about the Fuji Wendigo? No? Well, how about the Heller Bloodhound, or the Jamis Roughneck? Surely you recall the Fat Cad with the Lefty fork and the Coast Bikes full suspension fat bike, don't you? 

Hmm.....all bikes gone by the wayside these days. Fat bikes fell off a cliff in terms of sales by the late twenty-teens, and by the pandemic they were nearly relegated to only the long time brands in the space like Salsa Cycles, Surly, and Fatback Bikes. Most brands who had jumped in around 2014 - 2015 were out of the game by 2020. 

Now fat bikes are pretty much gone from the performance/human powered cycling space. But they are thriving for the brands which attach motors to frames which can handle big, corpulent tires. Since little regard has to be given to weight when motors are involved, these fat bikes are heavy. Since they dominate the market, manufacturers are trending toward making stuff for them. Not so much for the human powered fat bikers. 

Try finding a variety of 26" x 4.0 tires with tubeless ready casings and fast tread design. You'll run into exactly what I mean. Lots of wire bead, heavy, non-tubeless e-bike fare. The market for those 26"er fat bikes that can handle around a 4" tire is getting pretty thin. 

Bring back the Black Floyd!

Only half kidding there. But anyway, fat bikes are not dead as in "not around anymore", but their development is non-existent. I mean, how many seasons has Salsa trotted out the exact same bikes as the year before donned in a different color? Same with Surly. 

In this sense, fat bikes are 'dead'. At least you can still get a 100% human powered one. 

Labor Day Ride

August was a rough month. The last day of it N.Y. Roll asked if I wanted to do a chill ride on the first day of September, which was also Labor Day. I liked the idea, so we planned to meet at N.Y. Roll's home at 8:00am. He insisted I bring a camera. I thought, "Well, of course! I always bring a camera along on most rides!". This seemed a rather odd request, but so be it. 

When I awoke on Monday it was cool, but not too cold to the point of having to wear a vest, arm warmers, or the like. Not yet, but we are hearing we will have to later this week. Fall is coming.... Or at least it is "False Fall". 

Well, when I got over to his house on my Raleigh Tamland Two, I saw why he wanted me to bring a camera. A ten foot high human-like skeleton alongside his ginormous dog skeleton was in his front yard. The dog skeleton was from last year, but the human-like giant skeleton was new. 

Sergeant Road Bike Path

Checking out the aid station at the junction of Sergeant Road Trail and Cedar Prairie Trail

The plan was to take bicycle trails to Cedar Falls and grab some coffee and then ride different trails back to Waterloo. We started by going South on Sergeant Road Trail and we had a bit of an adventure crossing all the main roads. This trail parallels Highway 63 and this road has been under construction all Summer to resurface it. The highway is mostly finished but all the approaches for the bicycle trail are dug up and forms have been placed to pour fresh concrete. This will smooth the transition from trail to road to trail again where the trail crosses three major routes for Waterloo. 

A rather canopied section of the Cedar Prairie Trail

Summiting the hill along HWY 20 on the Cedar Prairie Trail. 

N.Y. Roll was grousing about the unkempt nature of the Cedar Prairie Trail as it is a small section of the Great American Rail Trail. (GART). The cracks, weeds growing through them, and the encroaching plant life on the trail from a Summer's worth of growth were disturbing him. He was feeling it was a bad look for anyone coming through on the GART and he was advocating for more maintenance. 

I could see his point, but also considering the fact that we've had an unprecedented amount of growth this year due to copious rains versus normal, and this seems less alarming. Additionally, the past two years have been so dry nothing grew very much past May, so this year's situation is unusual, in my view.   

I'm certain N.Y. Roll will think I am wrong, so.....

Prairie Lakes Trail

A very large, very kind dog in front of Cup Of Joe in Cedar Falls. 

We went through the HWY 58 madness at Ridgeway Avenue, which is just bonkers, and skirted the edge of the industrial park on a bike path running along Ridgeway's North side. Then we found a spur to the Prairie Lakes Trail and we headed back South. 

Trails along HWY 58, the "Mayor's Bridge" across this highway, and a tunnel under Greenhill Road got us into Cedar Falls proper where we went along the Dry Run Creek on older trails to get in front of Cup Of Joe coffee shop. 

Cup Of Joe has been around since the mid-1990's. It is the first coffee shop I ever had been in and it is largely unchanged from those days inside. They serve up great coffee and if you are ever in Cedar Falls, I recommend them highly.   

Heading into George Wyth State Park

N.Y. Roll LARPing as an Army Corp Engineer.

We had a nice chat in front of Cup Of Joe and some great coffee. Then it was time to hit the trails back towards Waterloo. We chose to go on the "Cedar Valley Lakes Trail" (AKA - George Wyth Bicycle Trail) and we were heading into the more canopied parts of the trail when N.Y. Roll said suddenly, "Hold up, I gotta....) and I lost clear hearing while he slowed suddenly, and he looped back down the way we had come a bit. What?!

Apparently his Army Corp of Engineers super-power abilities were turned on because he saw a drainage issue he thought he could improve upon regarding some backwaters of the Cedar. After his rock scrambling we remounted and continued on our way to Waterloo.  

South Riverside Trail

Shirey Way, 

We saw Super Dave when we crossed the Cedar River to Pfieffer Park where we parted ways with him and rode the South Riverside Trail to Shirey Way. This was an old gravel road between Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa, which I remember when it was still in use as an open road! Now it is a de-facto interurban Level B Road.  This kicked us out into the Greenwood Avenue part of the bike trail through the old Sherwood area. This then goes behind Cattle Congress and then back along the Cedar to downtown Waterloo and the end of our ride. 

It was a fun, relaxing morning ride with a good friend. I needed this and it was a bright spot in a tough weekend for me. So, thank you to N.Y. Roll for taking the time out to ride with me.  

It also is a good example of how we have a great trail system which keeps you, for the most part, off roads and away from traffic. Oddly enough, folks come from all over to ride our trail network. I know this from meeting many people over the years who have told me they were from out of town and specifically came to this area to ride the paved trails.

I ended up with 24 miles on the day, but I could easily double this amount and not ride the same trail twice. It is pretty impressive for an urban area the size of Waterloo and Cedar Falls. I don't talk a lot about these resources we have here much on the blog. But if you want to know more, here is a link to the Cedar Valley Trails Partnership site. 

Weather Changes Plans

Scene from Butler County on Wednesday (Image courtesy of KWWL socials)

Well, darn it! I had plans to do something with N.Y.Roll this weekend but now those plans have been washed away like the Iowa topsoil is washing away right now due to flooding across the region here. 

Scanning some social media posts mid-week, it was easy to see that Iowa was going to be flooded, remain wet, and cause me a lot of problems when it comes to gravel travel in the near future.

Six plus inches of rain in one 24 hour period, plus whatever came last weekend and after Wednesday adds up to swollen creeks, rivers, and waterways. Those cross Iowa gravel roads all over the place. Normally you wouldn't notice this, but when it floods? Then you realize how many places are vulnerable to heavy amounts of precipitation in a short amount of time. 

So, instead of doing some bandit camping somewhere along the Cedar River with N.Y. Roll I am probably looking at piecing together some long gravel ride on something - or some things, I should say - that recently showed up at Guitar Ted Headquarters that I cannot talk about just yet. Pretty exciting stuff, but stay tuned.... The reveal will happen coming up in July. 

Of course, then I have to get ready to leave on Tuesday morning so I can go to the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame induction ceremonies where I will be doing a speech for...... Again, I cannot say just yet. It will be something fun though. Nothing too serious or earth-shattering here. And there will be a report as well once I get back, so don't fret. You'll all get to see what the deal is with my appearance. 

I hope everyone is off to a great weekend!

Randomonium

 New Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast #104:

Just a reminder that I have another Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast up now if you are so inclined to listen in. N.Y. Roll is my co-host and we discuss a wide range of topics concerning the Gravel Cycling Hall of fame, gravel history, and more. Here is the link to the podcast.

I moved the distribution and production aspects of the podcast in order to ensure a timely release of episodes. Unfortunately that meant that I had to start from zero, in terms of access to the podcast, so it really helps out if you not only listen, but share the link as well.

Thanks for checking the podcast out. 

Cold Weather Clinic: 

I am putting my 20+ years of cold weather riding experiences and know-how into an hour long clinic on November 3rd, at 6:30pm at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective in downtown Waterloo. 

While it is obviously impossible to cover everything in an hour or so, I am going to download a significant amount of tips and there is going to be a PDF, (I think) of my clinic available to CVBC members. 

Perhaps I will also pull that and a bit more into a mini-series here on the blog afterward. It might prove useful to you readers out there. At least those who are not busy "zwifting", or whatever it is that you call doing that is. (All I know is that ain't fer me!) 

So, if you have any great cold weather tips you'd like me to pass on, just share them in the comments. I'll take those and what I have, share at the clinic, and then I'll post up a series here on what I have as well later in November. 

Header for the Save RAGBRAI Facebook page.

Is The End Nigh For RAGBRAI?:

This week I found out that there was some drama brewing concerning RAGBRAI again. (Remember all the hullabaloo when "Iowa's Ride" split off?) 

It isn't news to hear that the newspaper business is floundering. No one really reads physical newspapers anymore and digital renderings of newspapers don't seem to attract the advertising revenues that the old print newspapers once did. Large corporate news behemoths, like Gannett, who own the Des Moines Register and the sub-corporation, Ventures Endurance, which runs RAGBRAI now, are experiencing deep financial turmoil. So bad are things looking in from the outside that the former director of RAGBRAI, who just left his post recently, has started a "Save RAGRAI" Facebook page to air his concerns. His perspective could be questioned, seeing as he may have an axe to grind, or he could very well be raising red flags which should be acknowledged. I don't know. 

Comments: Claims of overnight towns from the 2022 route not getting paid, claims that RAGBRAI has not upheld contractual obligations, and claims of non-communication from Venture Endurance don't sound great here, but let's be honest- RAGBRAI isn't going to "die" anytime soon. Here are the facts: With upwards of 20.000 registered riders (claimed by Dieter Drake for 2022 ridership numbers), at $175.00 a pop to register, and considering all the business that can be generated out of those numbers in concessions, souvenirs, etc, the economics of RAGBRAI are just too big to ignore. 

The ride isn't going away but it is looking more and more like it may change. It may change a LOT. Think about the whole "Iowa's Ride" fiasco. Had the pandemic not interfered with that, I can totally imagine how that ride may have eventually taken over the spot in July which RAGBRAI has held. It was certainly apparent that a potential was there, and that potential is still there today.

My belief is that despite what may happen to Gannett, RAGBRAI will survive in some form. And even IF it doesn't, something will arise to take its place on the calendar. There is just too much money and tradition on the table for something like RAGBRAI to just disappear now. In the future? Maybe whatever is left over won't be done in a manner that people find attractive and things will fizzle out. That's an outcome I could see happening also. 

But change seems imminent. There has been a lot of upheaval surrounding RAGBRAI in the past five years and I don't think we've seen what the outcome of those forces on that event will be just yet.

Randomonium

 New Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast #104:

Just a reminder that I have another Riding Gravel Radio Ranch Podcast up now if you are so inclined to listen in. N.Y. Roll is my co-host and we discuss a wide range of topics concerning the Gravel Cycling Hall of fame, gravel history, and more. Here is the link to the podcast.

I moved the distribution and production aspects of the podcast in order to ensure a timely release of episodes. Unfortunately that meant that I had to start from zero, in terms of access to the podcast, so it really helps out if you not only listen, but share the link as well.

Thanks for checking the podcast out. 

Cold Weather Clinic: 

I am putting my 20+ years of cold weather riding experiences and know-how into an hour long clinic on November 3rd, at 6:30pm at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective in downtown Waterloo. 

While it is obviously impossible to cover everything in an hour or so, I am going to download a significant amount of tips and there is going to be a PDF, (I think) of my clinic available to CVBC members. 

Perhaps I will also pull that and a bit more into a mini-series here on the blog afterward. It might prove useful to you readers out there. At least those who are not busy "zwifting", or whatever it is that you call doing that is. (All I know is that ain't fer me!) 

So, if you have any great cold weather tips you'd like me to pass on, just share them in the comments. I'll take those and what I have, share at the clinic, and then I'll post up a series here on what I have as well later in November. 

Header for the Save RAGBRAI Facebook page.

Is The End Nigh For RAGBRAI?:

This week I found out that there was some drama brewing concerning RAGBRAI again. (Remember all the hullabaloo when "Iowa's Ride" split off?) 

It isn't news to hear that the newspaper business is floundering. No one really reads physical newspapers anymore and digital renderings of newspapers don't seem to attract the advertising revenues that the old print newspapers once did. Large corporate news behemoths, like Gannett, who own the Des Moines Register and the sub-corporation, Ventures Endurance, which runs RAGBRAI now, are experiencing deep financial turmoil. So bad are things looking in from the outside that the former director of RAGBRAI, who just left his post recently, has started a "Save RAGRAI" Facebook page to air his concerns. His perspective could be questioned, seeing as he may have an axe to grind, or he could very well be raising red flags which should be acknowledged. I don't know. 

Comments: Claims of overnight towns from the 2022 route not getting paid, claims that RAGBRAI has not upheld contractual obligations, and claims of non-communication from Venture Endurance don't sound great here, but let's be honest- RAGBRAI isn't going to "die" anytime soon. Here are the facts: With upwards of 20.000 registered riders (claimed by Dieter Drake for 2022 ridership numbers), at $175.00 a pop to register, and considering all the business that can be generated out of those numbers in concessions, souvenirs, etc, the economics of RAGBRAI are just too big to ignore. 

The ride isn't going away but it is looking more and more like it may change. It may change a LOT. Think about the whole "Iowa's Ride" fiasco. Had the pandemic not interfered with that, I can totally imagine how that ride may have eventually taken over the spot in July which RAGBRAI has held. It was certainly apparent that a potential was there, and that potential is still there today.

My belief is that despite what may happen to Gannett, RAGBRAI will survive in some form. And even IF it doesn't, something will arise to take its place on the calendar. There is just too much money and tradition on the table for something like RAGBRAI to just disappear now. In the future? Maybe whatever is left over won't be done in a manner that people find attractive and things will fizzle out. That's an outcome I could see happening also. 

But change seems imminent. There has been a lot of upheaval surrounding RAGBRAI in the past five years and I don't think we've seen what the outcome of those forces on that event will be just yet.

Hydration/Nutrition: Embark "Good Energy"

Packets of Embark "Good Energy".

 Here we go again! Another shot at trying to find energy/hydration "nirvana" for Guitar Ted. The last product I tried was a dismal failure for me. (See here) I was reticent to try anything at all after that experiment. However; this past weekend at the CORE4 event, N.Y. Roll received some new brand of energy supplement and thought that I should give it a try. 

It is from a new company from Wisconsin called "Embark" and the product is made from 100% organic ingredients. The main ingredient is maple syrup. Not your run of the mill, supermarket maple syrup for pancakes either. This stuff is raw maple syrup with zero additives other than the elderberry extract in the one and sea salt for electrolyte. Trace minerals are natural like magnesium, potassium, manganese, and zinc. Sugars are natural and there is 80 grams per packet. 

I got the elderberry and salted maple flavors. You can use this in water as a hydration additive, for energy (320 calories per 3 fluid ounce packet), or in recipes for at home use. I chose to mix my first try in water bottles, cutting it in thirds into three 24 ounce bottles. 

My main issues with other products is gas and intense intestinal pain due to that. I usually don't have to wait long to figure it out either, as it generally happens within a couple of hours of riding and using a water/hydration product mix of the types that I have used previously. 

And so how did Embark's "Good Energy" do? So far, no gut issues! Hooray! However, this stuff tastes not-so-great. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that has tried raw maple syrup. It has a very "earthy", taste, I would say somewhat like dirt, in a way. It certainly has no real sweetness to it. And to boot, whatever "elderberry" was used didn't add anything to the taste, but it sure made the liquid a nice deep purple color! 

And as with many hydration additives, it is sticky, makes a gooey mess on your frame if you have a leaky bottle, and you have to wash out your bottles thoroughly and immediately after use unless you like growing "things". 

So far, it's okay. I'll try the next packet and report back Link: https://www.embarkmaple.com

NOTE: The Embark "Good Energy" product was a gift from N.Y. Roll and he got it as a part of the CORE4's schwag bag at that event. Standard Disclaimer applies.

Hydration/Nutrition: Embark "Good Energy"

Packets of Embark "Good Energy".

 Here we go again! Another shot at trying to find energy/hydration "nirvana" for Guitar Ted. The last product I tried was a dismal failure for me. (See here) I was reticent to try anything at all after that experiment. However; this past weekend at the CORE4 event, N.Y. Roll received some new brand of energy supplement and thought that I should give it a try. 

It is from a new company from Wisconsin called "Embark" and the product is made from 100% organic ingredients. The main ingredient is maple syrup. Not your run of the mill, supermarket maple syrup for pancakes either. This stuff is raw maple syrup with zero additives other than the elderberry extract in the one and sea salt for electrolyte. Trace minerals are natural like magnesium, potassium, manganese, and zinc. Sugars are natural and there is 80 grams per packet. 

I got the elderberry and salted maple flavors. You can use this in water as a hydration additive, for energy (320 calories per 3 fluid ounce packet), or in recipes for at home use. I chose to mix my first try in water bottles, cutting it in thirds into three 24 ounce bottles. 

My main issues with other products is gas and intense intestinal pain due to that. I usually don't have to wait long to figure it out either, as it generally happens within a couple of hours of riding and using a water/hydration product mix of the types that I have used previously. 

And so how did Embark's "Good Energy" do? So far, no gut issues! Hooray! However, this stuff tastes not-so-great. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that has tried raw maple syrup. It has a very "earthy", taste, I would say somewhat like dirt, in a way. It certainly has no real sweetness to it. And to boot, whatever "elderberry" was used didn't add anything to the taste, but it sure made the liquid a nice deep purple color! 

And as with many hydration additives, it is sticky, makes a gooey mess on your frame if you have a leaky bottle, and you have to wash out your bottles thoroughly and immediately after use unless you like growing "things". 

So far, it's okay. I'll try the next packet and report back Link: https://www.embarkmaple.com

NOTE: The Embark "Good Energy" product was a gift from N.Y. Roll and he got it as a part of the CORE4's schwag bag at that event. Standard Disclaimer applies.

The Radio Ranch Goes On The Road

 This coming Sunday I am supposed to be in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to do an interview with Dave Pryor of the unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley event. 

Dave has been on the Riding Gravel Radio Ranch as a guest more times than anyone else, and is a great interview. This time I suspect it will be the best one yet. 

That's because Dave will have just come off his attempt at Gravel Worlds and I will be expecting a full race report from him on his race and beyond to his take on the event as a whole and how everything went down. 

Our plan, (N.Y. Roll is driving me down, by the way), is to take bicycles and do a bit of an easy spin, then to retire to Dave's motel room and to conduct the interview there with him. I guess I hadn't thought of this, but we'll be stuck in our chamois the entire time. Hmm.... Well, it's like Jeff Kerkove used to say, "Chamois time is training time!". Ha ha! 

So, anyway, look forward to that coming out in the near future. Maybe next week even, and I'll be sure to link to that here when it does.