Minus Ten Review- 50

Limited edition Rainier Beer CX bike. Single speed, of course.

Ten years ago on the blog I was reporting on a new frame and fork I had just purchased. It was a Rainer Beer themed cyclo cross bike, single speed, of course. I needed it like I needed a hole in my head. But it was super cool and, well........ Anyway. I got it.

It ended up being built, ridden very little, and eventually I got rid of it. So, it was just a curiosity, more than anything. Had I not been diverted off into the whole 29"er mtb thing for several years and been the gravel road riding fiend I always wanted to be, well maybe then. Maybe I'd have ridden that bike more. Hard to say........

Then there was winter. We actually had snow back then, and plenty of it. This always brought up the "Curse Of The Fat Bike'. What's that, you might ask? Well, it was this thing I wrestled with every Winter for five years. Ever since I had seen Dave Gray's prototype Pugsley at Frostbike, I wondered and fretted, and thought and schemed about fat bikes. How could I get one? What could I do with it? Did I really need one? Maybe I was dreaming. Well.........I definitely was dreaming! I definitely was broke at this time of year, and I was definitely not thinking straight. Witness- The Raleigh here........

Of course, when it was 85°F, Sunny, and everything was green, including the paper in my pocket with pictures of dead presidents on them, I never was thinking about fat bikes. Why would I? I had too many irons in the fire with testing bike stuff, Trans Iowa, doing a few gravel events, and just raising a family.

From a December commute to work in 2008.

Then the above would happen. I had to hoof a LOT of my commute route back then. You see, 29"ers don't roll over stuff like that too well. I would be grousing, bummed, and fat bike curious as all get out.

Looking back I should have just done it. A purple Pugsley and then I would have been over it all. I would have been there and done that and I probably wouldn't have three fat bikes of my own and four in the house over all. Or I would have twice as many..... But yeah- I should have just pulled the trigger in 2006.

Minus Ten Review- 50

Limited edition Rainier Beer CX bike. Single speed, of course.

Ten years ago on the blog I was reporting on a new frame and fork I had just purchased. It was a Rainer Beer themed cyclo cross bike, single speed, of course. I needed it like I needed a hole in my head. But it was super cool and, well........ Anyway. I got it.

It ended up being built, ridden very little, and eventually I got rid of it. So, it was just a curiosity, more than anything. Had I not been diverted off into the whole 29"er mtb thing for several years and been the gravel road riding fiend I always wanted to be, well maybe then. Maybe I'd have ridden that bike more. Hard to say........

Then there was winter. We actually had snow back then, and plenty of it. This always brought up the "Curse Of The Fat Bike'. What's that, you might ask? Well, it was this thing I wrestled with every Winter for five years. Ever since I had seen Dave Gray's prototype Pugsley at Frostbike, I wondered and fretted, and thought and schemed about fat bikes. How could I get one? What could I do with it? Did I really need one? Maybe I was dreaming. Well.........I definitely was dreaming! I definitely was broke at this time of year, and I was definitely not thinking straight. Witness- The Raleigh here........

Of course, when it was 85°F, Sunny, and everything was green, including the paper in my pocket with pictures of dead presidents on them, I never was thinking about fat bikes. Why would I? I had too many irons in the fire with testing bike stuff, Trans Iowa, doing a few gravel events, and just raising a family.

From a December commute to work in 2008.

Then the above would happen. I had to hoof a LOT of my commute route back then. You see, 29"ers don't roll over stuff like that too well. I would be grousing, bummed, and fat bike curious as all get out.

Looking back I should have just done it. A purple Pugsley and then I would have been over it all. I would have been there and done that and I probably wouldn't have three fat bikes of my own and four in the house over all. Or I would have twice as many..... But yeah- I should have just pulled the trigger in 2006.

Changing Seasons

Wednesday. My day off. I had much to do in preparation for my trip to Texas this coming weekend. One of the things I needed to do was to run a quickie errand for some milk to get us by for a few more days.

I chose to ride the Raleigh Rainier single speed cyclo-cross rig which I have fitted fenders to. Oddly enough, the Easton fork has eyelets and the rear drop outs on the frame did not! I found some plastic coated clamps hat got the job done though. Now with some 40mm commuter tires I have the perfect "run to the corner store" rig with my messenger bag "man purse" slung over my shuolder. The errand was a peice of cake! The morning was so foggy today that I ended up getting dripping wet from the ultra humid air though.

After getting the DT Swiss wheels set up tubeless on the Stumpjumper Carbon Expert, I decided a shake down cruise was in order. So much snow has melted in the last week that parts of a near by park were clear of snow. I decided to run over there and check out the area by taking a nice, high resistance route through soft mud, grass, and left over snow patches.

While spinning along without really paying attention, I was suddenly aware of a bird hopping along on the edge of my peripheral vision. Not being used to seeing such things of late, I looked up and low and behold! If it wasn't about 30 robins that had just arrived from the south. Well, if that isn't a sign of spring, I don't know what is! I stopped and watched them patroling the grassy field for anything to eat for a bit, and then I spun onward.

Not long afterward, I saw a large bird wheeling around above me in the sky. It was a Bald Eagle! I stopped and came to attention, and almost made myself laugh because it was as if I were in the military and had just seen the General walk by! Ha! At ease rider!

So, it was cool to see all that, the snow melting away in rivulets, and the swelling creek with water filled with chunks of ice flowing away. All signs that point to the change of seasons. Signs that point to more bicycle riding real soon.

I can't wait!

Changing Seasons

Wednesday. My day off. I had much to do in preparation for my trip to Texas this coming weekend. One of the things I needed to do was to run a quickie errand for some milk to get us by for a few more days.

I chose to ride the Raleigh Rainier single speed cyclo-cross rig which I have fitted fenders to. Oddly enough, the Easton fork has eyelets and the rear drop outs on the frame did not! I found some plastic coated clamps hat got the job done though. Now with some 40mm commuter tires I have the perfect "run to the corner store" rig with my messenger bag "man purse" slung over my shuolder. The errand was a peice of cake! The morning was so foggy today that I ended up getting dripping wet from the ultra humid air though.

After getting the DT Swiss wheels set up tubeless on the Stumpjumper Carbon Expert, I decided a shake down cruise was in order. So much snow has melted in the last week that parts of a near by park were clear of snow. I decided to run over there and check out the area by taking a nice, high resistance route through soft mud, grass, and left over snow patches.

While spinning along without really paying attention, I was suddenly aware of a bird hopping along on the edge of my peripheral vision. Not being used to seeing such things of late, I looked up and low and behold! If it wasn't about 30 robins that had just arrived from the south. Well, if that isn't a sign of spring, I don't know what is! I stopped and watched them patroling the grassy field for anything to eat for a bit, and then I spun onward.

Not long afterward, I saw a large bird wheeling around above me in the sky. It was a Bald Eagle! I stopped and came to attention, and almost made myself laugh because it was as if I were in the military and had just seen the General walk by! Ha! At ease rider!

So, it was cool to see all that, the snow melting away in rivulets, and the swelling creek with water filled with chunks of ice flowing away. All signs that point to the change of seasons. Signs that point to more bicycle riding real soon.

I can't wait!

Attention: Raleigh SSCXWC FRAMESETS LIVE TODAY!

I happen to have a limited edition Raleigh Rainier SSCX bike and I get hits here on the site all the time about it. Well, TODAY, you can go here for the details on how to get one of 50 available frame sets. One of these, packed at random, will show up white, while the rest are brown. You get the white one- you win a customized finishing kit for the frame set!

So, remember- THIS IS TODAY ONLY!! The site goes live at 2:00pm PST. Hit this link to find out how to git er done!

Attention: Raleigh SSCXWC FRAMESETS LIVE TODAY!

I happen to have a limited edition Raleigh Rainier SSCX bike and I get hits here on the site all the time about it. Well, TODAY, you can go here for the details on how to get one of 50 available frame sets. One of these, packed at random, will show up white, while the rest are brown. You get the white one- you win a customized finishing kit for the frame set!

So, remember- THIS IS TODAY ONLY!! The site goes live at 2:00pm PST. Hit this link to find out how to git er done!