Guitar Ted Productions Rear View 2011: Part IV

Continuing on with the remembrances from the last year that impressed me, we move on to the end of 2011...

Northfield Trip #2: Labor Day weekend was another time I had a blast up in Northfield, Minnesota with Ben Witt and his lovely wife. Mrs. Guitar Ted and Ben's wife like to shop, which left Ben, Curtis, and I all day to goof off on fat bikes, and we literally did take the whole day to do just that.

In the morning I built up my new Salsa Cycles hubs to my Rolling Darryls, replacing the bad hubs I had before. It didn't take me long to find out that the Salsa hubs were vastly superior, since we were doing stunts over rocks, down cement stair cases, and up and over twisty single track right outta the box.

We did urban stuff, we did single track in the woods, we did gravel roads, and bicycle paths. We ended the day by cruising a cemetery and a few dark, dim single track trails before it was just too dark to see. It was the perfect cap off to a sultry, hot summer of riding.

I learned a few things about fat bikes that day as well. I learned that they can do a lot more than you think, (snow), and are grin inducing, fun machines. In fact, it is largely due to this experience that I now cringe when I hear people refer to these bikes as "snow bikes".  That's selling them way too short.

Weird. Rain at Interbike.

Interbike: Of course, I went out to Interbike again. Last year I thought it would be my last time in Las Vegas, since Interbike had planned to move to Anaheim, California, but noooooo!

So, we found ourselves in the desert where.....it rained! That was a new experience, and the weather seemed to have the same subdued feel to the desert that the lack of attendance at Interbike had on the show.

There was a weird, almost lackadaisical feel to the show, which was totally different from the near hyper-activity level I normally experience here. I was completely okay with this, but it definitely wasn't the same as in years past. People had more time to talk, to actually relate to you. It was a nice change, but I don't think the folks running the show could have been very happy with the overall attendance numbers.

Interbike also marked the end of Summer for Iowa. By the time I got back, I could feel Fall had settled over the land, and I was going to be super busy doing testing for Twenty Nine Inches.

Trans Iowa V8: So, along with all the bicycle riding I was doing, I had to get Trans Iowa up and chugging along again. The Registration happened, and the roster filled up, while in the meantime, I was lining up stuff in Grinnell.

I also had to get the route planned, and to actually lay eyes to it. This will be the first time in a long time that I will be the one laying eyes to the entire course. I haven't had to do that for awhile.

So, fall progressed into what should have been winter, and no snow, with above average temperatures. Trying to get ready for riding next year hasn't been an issue, and Trans Iowa preparations have not been hindered. Trouble is, in December I always have the big birthdays, Christmas, and then my anniversary right after New Years. Added to that is all the other social gatherings, and Holiday time isn't the best for recon. But then again.....who would have guessed that I could do recon at all now?!.

So there are my highlights from 2011. It has been quite a year full of goings on, great people, and some bummers along the way. But for the most part, it was a great year. Awesome really. I hope yours was just as fun filled and action packed.

And now on to "next year". I'll go over some goals and thoughts about 2012 tomorrow. Stay tuned.........

Guitar Ted Productions Rear View 2011: Part IV

Continuing on with the remembrances from the last year that impressed me, we move on to the end of 2011...

Northfield Trip #2: Labor Day weekend was another time I had a blast up in Northfield, Minnesota with Ben Witt and his lovely wife. Mrs. Guitar Ted and Ben's wife like to shop, which left Ben, Curtis, and I all day to goof off on fat bikes, and we literally did take the whole day to do just that.

In the morning I built up my new Salsa Cycles hubs to my Rolling Darryls, replacing the bad hubs I had before. It didn't take me long to find out that the Salsa hubs were vastly superior, since we were doing stunts over rocks, down cement stair cases, and up and over twisty single track right outta the box.

We did urban stuff, we did single track in the woods, we did gravel roads, and bicycle paths. We ended the day by cruising a cemetery and a few dark, dim single track trails before it was just too dark to see. It was the perfect cap off to a sultry, hot summer of riding.

I learned a few things about fat bikes that day as well. I learned that they can do a lot more than you think, (snow), and are grin inducing, fun machines. In fact, it is largely due to this experience that I now cringe when I hear people refer to these bikes as "snow bikes".  That's selling them way too short.

Weird. Rain at Interbike.

Interbike: Of course, I went out to Interbike again. Last year I thought it would be my last time in Las Vegas, since Interbike had planned to move to Anaheim, California, but noooooo!

So, we found ourselves in the desert where.....it rained! That was a new experience, and the weather seemed to have the same subdued feel to the desert that the lack of attendance at Interbike had on the show.

There was a weird, almost lackadaisical feel to the show, which was totally different from the near hyper-activity level I normally experience here. I was completely okay with this, but it definitely wasn't the same as in years past. People had more time to talk, to actually relate to you. It was a nice change, but I don't think the folks running the show could have been very happy with the overall attendance numbers.

Interbike also marked the end of Summer for Iowa. By the time I got back, I could feel Fall had settled over the land, and I was going to be super busy doing testing for Twenty Nine Inches.

Trans Iowa V8: So, along with all the bicycle riding I was doing, I had to get Trans Iowa up and chugging along again. The Registration happened, and the roster filled up, while in the meantime, I was lining up stuff in Grinnell.

I also had to get the route planned, and to actually lay eyes to it. This will be the first time in a long time that I will be the one laying eyes to the entire course. I haven't had to do that for awhile.

So, fall progressed into what should have been winter, and no snow, with above average temperatures. Trying to get ready for riding next year hasn't been an issue, and Trans Iowa preparations have not been hindered. Trouble is, in December I always have the big birthdays, Christmas, and then my anniversary right after New Years. Added to that is all the other social gatherings, and Holiday time isn't the best for recon. But then again.....who would have guessed that I could do recon at all now?!.

So there are my highlights from 2011. It has been quite a year full of goings on, great people, and some bummers along the way. But for the most part, it was a great year. Awesome really. I hope yours was just as fun filled and action packed.

And now on to "next year". I'll go over some goals and thoughts about 2012 tomorrow. Stay tuned.........

Guitar Ted Productions Rear View 2011: Part II

CIRREM: Ice Beard. Fun.

Moving on with the look back at 2011 and what I thought were some of the highlights....This time focusing on the events I was in.

CIRREM 2011: For those that are not familiar, CIRREM, (or "Central Iowa Rock Road Endurance Metric"), is a gravel road race/ social gathering on bikes in late February. It's as likely to be muddy and wet as it is cold and snowy. You just never know. Sometimes it is all of those wrapped up in one big, wet, nasty mess.

Well, coming off a disappointing 2010 where I failed to finish most every ride I attempted, the finishing of CIRREM on a cold, snowy, frozen course was imminently satisfying. (Even though I about froze my feet off that day!) I even rode the old Badger I have, squealing brakes and all, and it was fun. Lots of fun.

The event, (which is probably at its field limit for 2012 by the time you are reading this), is based out of Cumming Tap, a prototypical Iowa bar in a small town. The event has that fun, loose feel that doesn't take itself too seriously. I like that. Besides, it takes in some crazy hilly, beautiful Iowa countryside. This kind of event is right up my alley, as far as "races" go, and the people are fun and friendly. I may not get to go again in 2012, but if I do, I will enjoy the ride.

Renegade "Gentleman"

Renegade Gents Race: Not long after CIRREM, I found out about the "Renegade Gents Race", a five man team style event. Five folks had to start together, get through a checkpoint together, and finish together. In between, you could do as you liked, but it was encouraged to stick together as a team.

This was a fun set up, but more than that, I only had ever met one of my "team mates" before toeing the line! That's right- I got to know three new folks by riding in a race with them. For 60 plus miles.

Well, it could have been a complete disaster, but it turned out to become one of the best rides I'd been on in a long time. I made some new acquaintances and our team finished the event together well, albeit not as high up the rankings as we would have liked. Still, I think it was an undeniable fact that we all had a great day out on the bikes with some fantastic people. What more is there than that? (Well, other than drinking a Bud, some Four Loko, and eating a killer chicken Caesar wrap with Sam at the checkpoint). 

This event may happen again for me in 2012. Keeping that option open, and growing my beard in anticipation of this event!

David Pals speaking with Eric Brunt at T.I.V7

Trans Iowa V7: And of course, I can not leave without a mention of the seventh running of Trans Iowa. We had 18 finishers, and the weather was pretty decent this time. Can't really complain there.

We had the biggest roll out of Rookies ever, we had a nice turn out, with 76 riders total, (the biggest field to take the start in T.I. history),and we finally had a Women's Open finisher in Janna Vavre.

We had the event filmed, which should come out in early 2012, as "300 Miles of Gravel", by Jeff Frings, and Steve Fuller took some awesome images for the event which have been published in "Dirt Rag" and "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News".  Grinnell was an awesome host city again, and overall, the event was seen to be a success.

It wasn't without stress and some turmoil, but that seems to be par for the course most years I have been involved with Trans Iowa. In the end, it was a bit of a bittersweet event, looking back, as it was the last with my co-director, David Pals on board.

Okay, there are more events to talk about, so hang on for more reminiscing tomorrow as I continue the "Rear View of 2011" . 

Guitar Ted Productions Rear View 2011: Part II

CIRREM: Ice Beard. Fun.

Moving on with the look back at 2011 and what I thought were some of the highlights....This time focusing on the events I was in.

CIRREM 2011: For those that are not familiar, CIRREM, (or "Central Iowa Rock Road Endurance Metric"), is a gravel road race/ social gathering on bikes in late February. It's as likely to be muddy and wet as it is cold and snowy. You just never know. Sometimes it is all of those wrapped up in one big, wet, nasty mess.

Well, coming off a disappointing 2010 where I failed to finish most every ride I attempted, the finishing of CIRREM on a cold, snowy, frozen course was imminently satisfying. (Even though I about froze my feet off that day!) I even rode the old Badger I have, squealing brakes and all, and it was fun. Lots of fun.

The event, (which is probably at its field limit for 2012 by the time you are reading this), is based out of Cumming Tap, a prototypical Iowa bar in a small town. The event has that fun, loose feel that doesn't take itself too seriously. I like that. Besides, it takes in some crazy hilly, beautiful Iowa countryside. This kind of event is right up my alley, as far as "races" go, and the people are fun and friendly. I may not get to go again in 2012, but if I do, I will enjoy the ride.

Renegade "Gentleman"

Renegade Gents Race: Not long after CIRREM, I found out about the "Renegade Gents Race", a five man team style event. Five folks had to start together, get through a checkpoint together, and finish together. In between, you could do as you liked, but it was encouraged to stick together as a team.

This was a fun set up, but more than that, I only had ever met one of my "team mates" before toeing the line! That's right- I got to know three new folks by riding in a race with them. For 60 plus miles.

Well, it could have been a complete disaster, but it turned out to become one of the best rides I'd been on in a long time. I made some new acquaintances and our team finished the event together well, albeit not as high up the rankings as we would have liked. Still, I think it was an undeniable fact that we all had a great day out on the bikes with some fantastic people. What more is there than that? (Well, other than drinking a Bud, some Four Loko, and eating a killer chicken Caesar wrap with Sam at the checkpoint). 

This event may happen again for me in 2012. Keeping that option open, and growing my beard in anticipation of this event!

David Pals speaking with Eric Brunt at T.I.V7

Trans Iowa V7: And of course, I can not leave without a mention of the seventh running of Trans Iowa. We had 18 finishers, and the weather was pretty decent this time. Can't really complain there.

We had the biggest roll out of Rookies ever, we had a nice turn out, with 76 riders total, (the biggest field to take the start in T.I. history),and we finally had a Women's Open finisher in Janna Vavre.

We had the event filmed, which should come out in early 2012, as "300 Miles of Gravel", by Jeff Frings, and Steve Fuller took some awesome images for the event which have been published in "Dirt Rag" and "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News".  Grinnell was an awesome host city again, and overall, the event was seen to be a success.

It wasn't without stress and some turmoil, but that seems to be par for the course most years I have been involved with Trans Iowa. In the end, it was a bit of a bittersweet event, looking back, as it was the last with my co-director, David Pals on board.

Okay, there are more events to talk about, so hang on for more reminiscing tomorrow as I continue the "Rear View of 2011" . 

Guitar Ted Productions Rear View 2011

Yes.......the dreaded, self examination at years end!  Oh the horror! Well, this year I am going to just muse on a few things that I felt were significant to me that others might possibly be able to relate to.

That's right- no month-by-month recounting of crap you don't care about! 

Today, I am going to spout off about fat bikes. The whole fat bike thing has always intrigued me and while I thought they would be fun, I never knew how fun they really would/could be until I finally got mine last January.

I was riding in weather I never would have rode in before, and I was loving every minute of it. Fat bikes made winter fun again. Then there was that dratted Phil Wood hub.......meh! That squandered a lot of my potential riding in winter. Thanks to Ben Witt,  I got a lot more rides in on snow than I would have otherwise.

Finally though, I had to give his wheel back, and I was snow-bike-less until August. Then the whole Phil thing fell apart and I went with Salsa Cycles hubs, which have been great, and I found out fat bikes do great on lots of things besides snow. It has been a ton of fun, and to let you know how much fun it has been, I went all in on another fat bike, (the titanium Mukluk), and I hope to ride fat bikes a whole lot more in 2012.

And as long as I am talking about bicycles.....let's not forget the other one I got this past year that has been just awesome for me- The Black Mountain Cycles "Monstercross", (but I call mine "Orange Crush") which was used extensively throughout the year.

This one got me home on the Renegade Gents Race, the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and countless gravel adventures and commutes.

In fact, this coming year, I plan on using this bike more, and it will get a few upgrades along the way. I will get a new Chris King head set and bottom bracket in this. Maybe a couple more finer details, like TRP brakes, then it should be done.

I do have to say that I may not be the biggest fan of compact doubles though. Not on gravel, anyway. I think I need a cyclocross ring set up, and that may happen here soon.

So, these two bikes were a big, big deal for me this year. I had a ton of fun on both of them, and I am still stoked that both of these are still in my stable. There are other bikes I got that are awesome as well. Like the new Fargo Gen II, but not any others that have stoked the ride fire like the Mukluk and the Orange Crush.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more Guitar Ted Productions Rear View.

Guitar Ted Productions Rear View 2011

Yes.......the dreaded, self examination at years end!  Oh the horror! Well, this year I am going to just muse on a few things that I felt were significant to me that others might possibly be able to relate to.

That's right- no month-by-month recounting of crap you don't care about! 

Today, I am going to spout off about fat bikes. The whole fat bike thing has always intrigued me and while I thought they would be fun, I never knew how fun they really would/could be until I finally got mine last January.

I was riding in weather I never would have rode in before, and I was loving every minute of it. Fat bikes made winter fun again. Then there was that dratted Phil Wood hub.......meh! That squandered a lot of my potential riding in winter. Thanks to Ben Witt,  I got a lot more rides in on snow than I would have otherwise.

Finally though, I had to give his wheel back, and I was snow-bike-less until August. Then the whole Phil thing fell apart and I went with Salsa Cycles hubs, which have been great, and I found out fat bikes do great on lots of things besides snow. It has been a ton of fun, and to let you know how much fun it has been, I went all in on another fat bike, (the titanium Mukluk), and I hope to ride fat bikes a whole lot more in 2012.

And as long as I am talking about bicycles.....let's not forget the other one I got this past year that has been just awesome for me- The Black Mountain Cycles "Monstercross", (but I call mine "Orange Crush") which was used extensively throughout the year.

This one got me home on the Renegade Gents Race, the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational, and countless gravel adventures and commutes.

In fact, this coming year, I plan on using this bike more, and it will get a few upgrades along the way. I will get a new Chris King head set and bottom bracket in this. Maybe a couple more finer details, like TRP brakes, then it should be done.

I do have to say that I may not be the biggest fan of compact doubles though. Not on gravel, anyway. I think I need a cyclocross ring set up, and that may happen here soon.

So, these two bikes were a big, big deal for me this year. I had a ton of fun on both of them, and I am still stoked that both of these are still in my stable. There are other bikes I got that are awesome as well. Like the new Fargo Gen II, but not any others that have stoked the ride fire like the Mukluk and the Orange Crush.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more Guitar Ted Productions Rear View.

Friday News And Views

With Trans Iowa V8 Registration coming to a close Saturday, here is where things stand at the moment.

Finishers registration closed last week, and the Rookies filled their class last Monday. Since then, six lonely entry spots for Veterans have been dangling out there, waiting to be picked off.

As far as I know, one of those is going to get nipped by a T.I.V7 vet today. (Promised overnight letter I was alerted to should show up today) That would leave 5 entries. If those go unclaimed by Vets, then at midnight Saturday night, the first five names on my Waiting List will appear on the roster to fill them. Of course, those will all be Rookies.

That will leave at least 15 names on the Waiting List for T.I.V8. If I get anyone on the Roster that can't make it to T.I.V8 , and they let me know before January 31st, 2012, the Waiting List #1 position would get first crack at a chance to claim the spot, and so on. If your name doesn't appear on the Roster this weekend, you are on the Waiting List. Stay tuned....

Short Stay Syndrome: I got a few great comments on the post this week about short chain stay "all mountain" hard tails. Now I want to share a few more thoughts on the subject in terms of full suspension bikes.

DeVinci Atlas 29 FS: 16.9" chain stays

I saw a great example of what happens when designers try to cram a front derailleur, suspension linkage, and all with super-short chain stays into a design with 29 inch wheels at Interbike this past September.

It isn't that you can't have short chain stays, but you will have difficulties with regards to front derailleur overlap, and any decent tire clearances.

The Atlas 29 was sporting really short, (for a full suspension device), chain stays at sub 17 inches. However clever the seat tube and linkages may be, the tire clearance was limited to sub-2.3" tires, (at best), and a triple chain ring set up would probably only barely work with XC-ish tires on board. The bike was shown with a 2X set up at the show, and narrow, XC type race tires.

And the Atlas was not the only bike showing the compromises made by designers. The much lauded Yeti SB 95 with its short-ish chain stays, barely had much more room than the shown Racing Ralph 2.1"ers were taking up. On the other end of the scale, the new Salsa Cycles Horsethief, with plenty of tire clearance, room for a triple crank with ease, had almost 18" chain stays.

It's easy to see that other bikes with shrinking chain stay measurements are also making similar compromises. (Kona Satori, Rocky Mountain Element 29) So, the limitations of design seem to indicate that, (as of now), there is no easy answer for riders looking for the shortest chain stays and a full suspension design. (By the way, the same limitations exist in hard tails as well.)

About Three More Weeks: That's how long it is until 2012 and there will be some big changes coming for some things I am involved with. I can not let all the details loose right now, but I am excited to see how a project I and a colleague have been working on behind the scenes will come out. So far.......so good! I am hoping everything else goes smoothly so this can come to a fruitful ending and I think many of you will appreciate the new things coming as well.

In other news of end-o-the-year happenings, I made a goal at the end of April this past spring to set a personal record for blog posts on this site this year. You know.....just to see if I could do it. Well, I am smashing the old record to bits, and it is likely I will never post as much as I have this year again. Maybe. I don't know....maybe I will.   It isn't like I am going to shut this down, but I may return to "normal" levels for 2012. What is happening on some other fronts may affect that.

Well, that's probably not very interesting stuff to a lot of you, but thanks for reading! I appreciate it.

And get outside this weekend! Stay out of the malls, big box stores, and shop local, ya'all. Take some pics, and go on an adventure.

Friday News And Views

With Trans Iowa V8 Registration coming to a close Saturday, here is where things stand at the moment.

Finishers registration closed last week, and the Rookies filled their class last Monday. Since then, six lonely entry spots for Veterans have been dangling out there, waiting to be picked off.

As far as I know, one of those is going to get nipped by a T.I.V7 vet today. (Promised overnight letter I was alerted to should show up today) That would leave 5 entries. If those go unclaimed by Vets, then at midnight Saturday night, the first five names on my Waiting List will appear on the roster to fill them. Of course, those will all be Rookies.

That will leave at least 15 names on the Waiting List for T.I.V8. If I get anyone on the Roster that can't make it to T.I.V8 , and they let me know before January 31st, 2012, the Waiting List #1 position would get first crack at a chance to claim the spot, and so on. If your name doesn't appear on the Roster this weekend, you are on the Waiting List. Stay tuned....

Short Stay Syndrome: I got a few great comments on the post this week about short chain stay "all mountain" hard tails. Now I want to share a few more thoughts on the subject in terms of full suspension bikes.

DeVinci Atlas 29 FS: 16.9" chain stays

I saw a great example of what happens when designers try to cram a front derailleur, suspension linkage, and all with super-short chain stays into a design with 29 inch wheels at Interbike this past September.

It isn't that you can't have short chain stays, but you will have difficulties with regards to front derailleur overlap, and any decent tire clearances.

The Atlas 29 was sporting really short, (for a full suspension device), chain stays at sub 17 inches. However clever the seat tube and linkages may be, the tire clearance was limited to sub-2.3" tires, (at best), and a triple chain ring set up would probably only barely work with XC-ish tires on board. The bike was shown with a 2X set up at the show, and narrow, XC type race tires.

And the Atlas was not the only bike showing the compromises made by designers. The much lauded Yeti SB 95 with its short-ish chain stays, barely had much more room than the shown Racing Ralph 2.1"ers were taking up. On the other end of the scale, the new Salsa Cycles Horsethief, with plenty of tire clearance, room for a triple crank with ease, had almost 18" chain stays.

It's easy to see that other bikes with shrinking chain stay measurements are also making similar compromises. (Kona Satori, Rocky Mountain Element 29) So, the limitations of design seem to indicate that, (as of now), there is no easy answer for riders looking for the shortest chain stays and a full suspension design. (By the way, the same limitations exist in hard tails as well.)

About Three More Weeks: That's how long it is until 2012 and there will be some big changes coming for some things I am involved with. I can not let all the details loose right now, but I am excited to see how a project I and a colleague have been working on behind the scenes will come out. So far.......so good! I am hoping everything else goes smoothly so this can come to a fruitful ending and I think many of you will appreciate the new things coming as well.

In other news of end-o-the-year happenings, I made a goal at the end of April this past spring to set a personal record for blog posts on this site this year. You know.....just to see if I could do it. Well, I am smashing the old record to bits, and it is likely I will never post as much as I have this year again. Maybe. I don't know....maybe I will.   It isn't like I am going to shut this down, but I may return to "normal" levels for 2012. What is happening on some other fronts may affect that.

Well, that's probably not very interesting stuff to a lot of you, but thanks for reading! I appreciate it.

And get outside this weekend! Stay out of the malls, big box stores, and shop local, ya'all. Take some pics, and go on an adventure.