Laid Back

"Umbrella Packing". Yes, you'll need a new bike for this! Ha!

The weekend just ahead of the 4th of July promised to be a hectic, crazy, action packed weekend for many folks. But not for me. I took the laid back route. No crazy stuff going on over here.

It all started when I got off work Friday and had to ferry my wife's umbrella home which had been left behind at a co-worker's home where we had visited the night before. Then a nice relaxing evening and on in to Saturday. I helped with some household chores, and also with grocery shopping. Yes, it isn't cycling, but as a home owner, husband, and father, there are times that you have responsibilities that are not bicycle related. It is just how it is. Or......how it should be! 

I did do some organizing in the dungeon I refer to as my "Lab" on Saturday. That is an ongoing project, but it continuously is improving down there, which is a good thing. The trouble is that I keep getting stuff donated to me by acquaintances because I am a "bike guy" and I suppose people think that I "can use the stuff". Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised by this, and other times, I am not, but I always try to either make use of the stuff or pass it on to others who can.

Saturday night I awaited the "big bang", which I was sure would come since fireworks, recently legalized in Iowa, were being popped off at an alarming rate several hours ahead of nightfall. The whole 4th of July deal last year was a spectacular, chaotic display of gun powered laced light shows across my neighborhood. I suspected this year would be similar. Friday night was pretty good, but I had pegged Saturday evening to be the zenith of it all since folks would be working Monday, which would make Sunday not so great. Well, there had been far more fireworks lit in the daylight than at night. It was a huge letdown. By 10:00pm it was about as quiet as normal with only a few bangs here and there. Actually, Sunday night was a bit more active. Weird!

Barns For Jason

Sunday we went to church and then came home for a bit before we had to go to a family reunion. Before we left I had changed out the flat tube in the Snow Dog in hopes of coming home later for a ride. The family reunion went well, and since it wasn't far away, I arrived home in the late afternoon with time to get out on the Snow Dog for the first time in months. It was a good time.

A few fallen trees from last week's high winds were seen on my ride.

I'll have another post coming which was inspired by the ride on the Snow Dog. I'm not sure which direction it will take, just yet, but I think I have a good idea where this will go.

Anyway..... The Snow Dog was riding great. The aluminum frame on this bike is definitely stiffer than my Ti Mukluk's is. I know I have said it before, but the Ti Muk is just a smoother bike overall. You'd better believe that there is something to that smooth titanium ride you hear about so often when speaking about titanium bikes. It is a real thing. The Snow Dog has a Thudbuster ST on it, which helps, but that front end has almost no give at all. I had less than 10psi in the Larry 3.8"er and it still rattled my teeth on a few hits.

Oddly enough, I think the Snow Dog is going to become my main Summer/dry weather fat bike. The tire clearances just aren't enough on that bike to get me where I want to go in Winter, but in drier, sandier, rocky terrain, that bike is great. I have it set up as a 1X9 now, but that will eventually be about 3 gears more soon.

Laid Back

"Umbrella Packing". Yes, you'll need a new bike for this! Ha!

The weekend just ahead of the 4th of July promised to be a hectic, crazy, action packed weekend for many folks. But not for me. I took the laid back route. No crazy stuff going on over here.

It all started when I got off work Friday and had to ferry my wife's umbrella home which had been left behind at a co-worker's home where we had visited the night before. Then a nice relaxing evening and on in to Saturday. I helped with some household chores, and also with grocery shopping. Yes, it isn't cycling, but as a home owner, husband, and father, there are times that you have responsibilities that are not bicycle related. It is just how it is. Or......how it should be! 

I did do some organizing in the dungeon I refer to as my "Lab" on Saturday. That is an ongoing project, but it continuously is improving down there, which is a good thing. The trouble is that I keep getting stuff donated to me by acquaintances because I am a "bike guy" and I suppose people think that I "can use the stuff". Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised by this, and other times, I am not, but I always try to either make use of the stuff or pass it on to others who can.

Saturday night I awaited the "big bang", which I was sure would come since fireworks, recently legalized in Iowa, were being popped off at an alarming rate several hours ahead of nightfall. The whole 4th of July deal last year was a spectacular, chaotic display of gun powered laced light shows across my neighborhood. I suspected this year would be similar. Friday night was pretty good, but I had pegged Saturday evening to be the zenith of it all since folks would be working Monday, which would make Sunday not so great. Well, there had been far more fireworks lit in the daylight than at night. It was a huge letdown. By 10:00pm it was about as quiet as normal with only a few bangs here and there. Actually, Sunday night was a bit more active. Weird!

Barns For Jason

Sunday we went to church and then came home for a bit before we had to go to a family reunion. Before we left I had changed out the flat tube in the Snow Dog in hopes of coming home later for a ride. The family reunion went well, and since it wasn't far away, I arrived home in the late afternoon with time to get out on the Snow Dog for the first time in months. It was a good time.

A few fallen trees from last week's high winds were seen on my ride.

I'll have another post coming which was inspired by the ride on the Snow Dog. I'm not sure which direction it will take, just yet, but I think I have a good idea where this will go.

Anyway..... The Snow Dog was riding great. The aluminum frame on this bike is definitely stiffer than my Ti Mukluk's is. I know I have said it before, but the Ti Muk is just a smoother bike overall. You'd better believe that there is something to that smooth titanium ride you hear about so often when speaking about titanium bikes. It is a real thing. The Snow Dog has a Thudbuster ST on it, which helps, but that front end has almost no give at all. I had less than 10psi in the Larry 3.8"er and it still rattled my teeth on a few hits.

Oddly enough, I think the Snow Dog is going to become my main Summer/dry weather fat bike. The tire clearances just aren't enough on that bike to get me where I want to go in Winter, but in drier, sandier, rocky terrain, that bike is great. I have it set up as a 1X9 now, but that will eventually be about 3 gears more soon.

Sub-Zero Commuting Fun

Breaking trail

It looked like about 4 inches when I was shoveling it, but the weatherman says we got about 4.8" of fresh, fluffy snow on Monday evening. Time to bust out the snow Dog v2 and try out those Lou tires on 100mm rims. I had shoveled late Monday evening so I wouldn't be all tuckered out from doing that Tuesday morning. That worked out well, and everything was a go, although it was about -11°F when I left the house. That called for pogies, layers, the goggles, and patience when it came to being a bit restricted in movement.

I started out with the Blackborow DS in "high" range, which was okay at first. However; when I had to break my own trail. I was shown that the low range would probably save my heart rate from going sky high. I figured it was about time to practice my "sub-zero gear change" anyway. What better time than the present? I dismounted and all went rather well until my rear brake caliper kept fouling on the rotor. An extra minute or so there sorting that out, but otherwise a successful change and even with heavy mittens on! Now on to a long stretch of snow covered bike trail.

The Blackborow DS with the big, wide tires and rims is a completely different experience than the Mukluks I have had are. Where the Mukluks seemed to be a chore to keep the front wheel underneath you and tracking straight, the Blackie just meanders a bit maybe, but mostly tracks true and the front tire sticks better as well. I have to really foul up in a turn or with body "english" to have the front tire wash out.

Big ATV pogies look like floppy elephant ears!

Another area that showed me something new and pleasing was on the climb through deeper snow by the water tower on University Avenue. The rear tire was just digging! That Lou has an amazing amount of traction. Coupled with the very stable front end, you are only limited by what your legs and lungs can do. And let me tell you what! My "max heart rate" was achieved there. I had to stop just to get it back together at the top of the hill. So even though I cleaned the tough part, my motor was tapped out at the end of that section!

The final thing that impressed me was the way the Blackborow DS went up, over, and through snow piles. Urban snow hi-jinx will be much more fun on the Blackborow. That short wheel base allows for an easily popped up front, and it also lets you make subtle weight shifts which needed to be much more dramatic on the Mukluks. The end result is that along with the front end, traction, and stability, this bike is a big advancement on what I was running before. I will say that I haven't been beaten yet by the limited gearing, unless you count the water tower hill climb, but that could rear its ugly head at some point. Maybe the big tires with their flotation and the Lou's massive traction will get me out of trouble that way. Hard to tell at this point. I do know that if things tilt upward for too long I'm going to feel the limitations of the stock "low range" gear set up. Then again- maybe I should just "sack up" and get stronger! There is that to consider as well.

Another plus on the sheet for the Blackborow DS. I'll be putting this through more snow rides, hopefully, and after that I will write up my final verdict on this bike.

Sub-Zero Commuting Fun

Breaking trail

It looked like about 4 inches when I was shoveling it, but the weatherman says we got about 4.8" of fresh, fluffy snow on Monday evening. Time to bust out the snow Dog v2 and try out those Lou tires on 100mm rims. I had shoveled late Monday evening so I wouldn't be all tuckered out from doing that Tuesday morning. That worked out well, and everything was a go, although it was about -11°F when I left the house. That called for pogies, layers, the goggles, and patience when it came to being a bit restricted in movement.

I started out with the Blackborow DS in "high" range, which was okay at first. However; when I had to break my own trail. I was shown that the low range would probably save my heart rate from going sky high. I figured it was about time to practice my "sub-zero gear change" anyway. What better time than the present? I dismounted and all went rather well until my rear brake caliper kept fouling on the rotor. An extra minute or so there sorting that out, but otherwise a successful change and even with heavy mittens on! Now on to a long stretch of snow covered bike trail.

The Blackborow DS with the big, wide tires and rims is a completely different experience than the Mukluks I have had are. Where the Mukluks seemed to be a chore to keep the front wheel underneath you and tracking straight, the Blackie just meanders a bit maybe, but mostly tracks true and the front tire sticks better as well. I have to really foul up in a turn or with body "english" to have the front tire wash out.

Big ATV pogies look like floppy elephant ears!

Another area that showed me something new and pleasing was on the climb through deeper snow by the water tower on University Avenue. The rear tire was just digging! That Lou has an amazing amount of traction. Coupled with the very stable front end, you are only limited by what your legs and lungs can do. And let me tell you what! My "max heart rate" was achieved there. I had to stop just to get it back together at the top of the hill. So even though I cleaned the tough part, my motor was tapped out at the end of that section!

The final thing that impressed me was the way the Blackborow DS went up, over, and through snow piles. Urban snow hi-jinx will be much more fun on the Blackborow. That short wheel base allows for an easily popped up front, and it also lets you make subtle weight shifts which needed to be much more dramatic on the Mukluks. The end result is that along with the front end, traction, and stability, this bike is a big advancement on what I was running before. I will say that I haven't been beaten yet by the limited gearing, unless you count the water tower hill climb, but that could rear its ugly head at some point. Maybe the big tires with their flotation and the Lou's massive traction will get me out of trouble that way. Hard to tell at this point. I do know that if things tilt upward for too long I'm going to feel the limitations of the stock "low range" gear set up. Then again- maybe I should just "sack up" and get stronger! There is that to consider as well.

Another plus on the sheet for the Blackborow DS. I'll be putting this through more snow rides, hopefully, and after that I will write up my final verdict on this bike.

Speeding To The Sunset

Not too late!

I had been not feeling so great for a while but Sunday dawned and I felt a lot better. Not 100%, but a lot better. No headache, no leg pain, and I seemed to be a lot more "normal" than not. I noticed it snowed a couple inches over night, and driving to the church gig was a bit sketchy due to the fresh powder on the roadways. However; you can accomplish amazing things in a two wheel drive truck by using judicious throttle control, at least I have found that to be the case!

I thought it might be fun to hit up some Green Belt snow when I got back and after I had eaten some lunch, but several things kind of got in the way of that before my "window of opportunity" opened up. When it did, I noticed that the Sun was lowering in the Western sky and I could possibly get to the lake and grab a good Sunset image if I hurried. Boots, layers, inner liners, hats, coat, lights, and what not make getting out the door quickly an interesting proposition, so I did not know if I would have enough time to get there before the good light was gone.

I think I did okay. 

The crunch of the Lou tires was an uncommonly heard note this Winter, but I welcomed it all the same. Interestingly, it is very apparent that the Lou gives you lots of traction at the expense of rolling resistance. Those lugs really dig in! I was still in the "high range" and riding the Snow Dog v2, so it made for some good work for the legs and lungs. I motored up the dike and stood on the pedals. It felt good, so I kept on the gas all the way out to the lake.

That was a good decision as far as staying warm as well, since the air temperature was something close to 0°F and the wind was blowing right at me, making it even colder. I dove down into the woods off the dike and got out of the direct line of the wind and that helped keep me from getting too frozen. Obviously, I made it to where I wanted to be before Sunset. I snapped a few images, then sped off toward home.

I felt pretty good afterward, so maybe the sickness is gone? Let's hope so! We're supposed to get a bunch of snow late today into tomorrow. Bitter cold temperatures too, but that'll maybe just make slogging through the snow that much more fun.

Speeding To The Sunset

Not too late!

I had been not feeling so great for a while but Sunday dawned and I felt a lot better. Not 100%, but a lot better. No headache, no leg pain, and I seemed to be a lot more "normal" than not. I noticed it snowed a couple inches over night, and driving to the church gig was a bit sketchy due to the fresh powder on the roadways. However; you can accomplish amazing things in a two wheel drive truck by using judicious throttle control, at least I have found that to be the case!

I thought it might be fun to hit up some Green Belt snow when I got back and after I had eaten some lunch, but several things kind of got in the way of that before my "window of opportunity" opened up. When it did, I noticed that the Sun was lowering in the Western sky and I could possibly get to the lake and grab a good Sunset image if I hurried. Boots, layers, inner liners, hats, coat, lights, and what not make getting out the door quickly an interesting proposition, so I did not know if I would have enough time to get there before the good light was gone.

I think I did okay. 

The crunch of the Lou tires was an uncommonly heard note this Winter, but I welcomed it all the same. Interestingly, it is very apparent that the Lou gives you lots of traction at the expense of rolling resistance. Those lugs really dig in! I was still in the "high range" and riding the Snow Dog v2, so it made for some good work for the legs and lungs. I motored up the dike and stood on the pedals. It felt good, so I kept on the gas all the way out to the lake.

That was a good decision as far as staying warm as well, since the air temperature was something close to 0°F and the wind was blowing right at me, making it even colder. I dove down into the woods off the dike and got out of the direct line of the wind and that helped keep me from getting too frozen. Obviously, I made it to where I wanted to be before Sunset. I snapped a few images, then sped off toward home.

I felt pretty good afterward, so maybe the sickness is gone? Let's hope so! We're supposed to get a bunch of snow late today into tomorrow. Bitter cold temperatures too, but that'll maybe just make slogging through the snow that much more fun.

An Odd One So Far

Never thought I'd be using this bike for commuting in January!

Back around Thanksgiving time in November I thought, "Well, here we go with another long, freezing, snowy Winter!". Last Winter was a record tough one here. It got cold and snowy early and it stayed that way until well into March. I like Winter, but that was so harsh that I wasn't sad to see it go away, and I wasn't too keen on having a repeat performance! Mrs Guitar Ted was advising me to take it easy- that there wasn't anything I could do about it anyway, and wasn't I from Iowa?!! As in- "You should know what to expect this time of year, Fool!" Yes.....she was right. I was overreacting, and then it got warm!

December was unprecedented. So says the local newspaper, which told a story of how this past December tied a record for the least amount of snow recorded for the month. The temperatures on Christmas Day were in the 40's, and I was able to bag a few longer rides on the Tamland. That bike I figured I would squirrel away until Spring was about to unfold was still being ridden in what should have been the dead of Winter! 

A friend asked what I thought of the Blackborow DS I got, and I was thinking that by this time I would have figured out the handling in snow and frozen tracks, but no dice! Besides the very first ride I had on it in November, I haven't been in any snow of significant enough depth to tell you anything about the way it rides in the white stuff. Sure.......I go get what I figure will be my ultimate snow bicycle and it quits snowing! Hold on though.....all is not lost.

I recall that in 2012 I did a beautiful day of driving on completely snow free roads at the end of the first week of January, then Winter showed up! It still could be a brutal, snowy Winter and it could start out any day. In fact, we may get some snow and we are supposed to get really cold again for a few days here soon. Stay tuned......this Winter could straighten out yet!

An Odd One So Far

Never thought I'd be using this bike for commuting in January!

Back around Thanksgiving time in November I thought, "Well, here we go with another long, freezing, snowy Winter!". Last Winter was a record tough one here. It got cold and snowy early and it stayed that way until well into March. I like Winter, but that was so harsh that I wasn't sad to see it go away, and I wasn't too keen on having a repeat performance! Mrs Guitar Ted was advising me to take it easy- that there wasn't anything I could do about it anyway, and wasn't I from Iowa?!! As in- "You should know what to expect this time of year, Fool!" Yes.....she was right. I was overreacting, and then it got warm!

December was unprecedented. So says the local newspaper, which told a story of how this past December tied a record for the least amount of snow recorded for the month. The temperatures on Christmas Day were in the 40's, and I was able to bag a few longer rides on the Tamland. That bike I figured I would squirrel away until Spring was about to unfold was still being ridden in what should have been the dead of Winter! 

A friend asked what I thought of the Blackborow DS I got, and I was thinking that by this time I would have figured out the handling in snow and frozen tracks, but no dice! Besides the very first ride I had on it in November, I haven't been in any snow of significant enough depth to tell you anything about the way it rides in the white stuff. Sure.......I go get what I figure will be my ultimate snow bicycle and it quits snowing! Hold on though.....all is not lost.

I recall that in 2012 I did a beautiful day of driving on completely snow free roads at the end of the first week of January, then Winter showed up! It still could be a brutal, snowy Winter and it could start out any day. In fact, we may get some snow and we are supposed to get really cold again for a few days here soon. Stay tuned......this Winter could straighten out yet!

The No "DS" Ride

New bike "mojo" token was found.

You know, as long as I have been a "bike nerd" it has been kind of an unwritten rule that you (a) ride on News Year's Eve or (b) ride on New Year's Day. I didn't get out of the house at all on Wednesday, since we were all feeling under the weather here. However; I did manage to grind out a ride on New Year's Day, to uphold "traditions". This will keep me in good stead with the "Unwritten Rules Of Engagement For Bike Nerds". (There is no such thing, but you'd think so by following us "bike nerds" around.)

So, I stayed up pretty late on New Year's Eve doing the family deal. The children are old enough now where staying up until midnight is considered "novel" but they can actually hold out that long and stay awake these days. We watched the "Apple Dumpling Gang" and the Wallace & Gromit short, "A Grand Day Out". Then I stayed up a bit longer and toodled around before hitting the hay. That meant a very late start on Thursday- 11:00am or so, actually, and I took my normal lengthy time to get going. I wasn't out on the bike until well into the afternoon.

We're enjoying a brief respite from bitter cold so the temperatures weren't all that bad out for a New Year's Day ride. I have seen temperatures into the 50's on New Year's Day, but more often than not it is bitterly cold. Yesterday it was right around freezing with a stiff Westerly wind. Not bad, but considering the time of year, above average weather for sure.

I decided the theme of the ride would be an easy, steady pace. To spice it up a bit, I decided to ride the Blackborow DS, (or Snow Dog v2), and to not use the lower range gearing. I would keep it in the high range and truly single speed it- a "no DS ride". That really shouldn't be all that hard to do around here, but there were a few observations along the way where I felt dropping into the lower range would have been a good thing. We'll get to that in a bit.....

Not 20 feet from my front door I found a colorful bracelet on the sidewalk. A remnant from the previous evening's festivities, perhaps? Who knew? I took it as a token that my Snow Dog v2 needed a "mojo", and I laced it initially around the right side of the handlebar. What? You've never heard of a handlebar mojo before? Well, it goes way back to the early days of mountain biking when folks would affix all sorts of "talismans" to their handlebars for fun, good luck, or some other superstitious reason. Most commonly dubbed "mojos", the practice seemed to fall out of favor sometime in the 90's. I never really got into it all that much, although over time I have had such things as a silver strand of "temple bells", a plastic rose, and maybe some other oddments on my bars throughout the years. I wouldn't say I was superstitious by any stretch, but I maybe am a bit sentimental and I like doing the odd thing from time to time. The bracelet deal seemed appropriate, seeing as how it was the first found item on a bike ride in 2015, and me without a handlebar mojo on the Snow Dog v2 and all. So there it is.

Cruising around the backwaters of the Cedar River

I decided to not do the Green Belt again. That is an easy route to use, since it is so close to my home, but others are not much further away and I decided to visit a bit of a different stretch along the Cedar River instead. I made my way via city streets and alley ways to Lower Hartman Reserve and the new trails over that way. After a bit, I moved further West and hit the old trail I helped put in back in '97 or so. It was dubbed "John's Trail" back in the day, although I doubt many remember that John Adamson put that in there over what was mostly a deer trail. I helped him out with marking it and added a bit of an "optional" curve down off a ridge and back up again. That being the only noticeable contribution I made to that trail. I always dub that tiny diversion "Mark's Option". But again, nobody cares or even remembers that old stuff. To most, it's just one of the Lower Hartman trails. Which is fine by me, by the way. I just point that out for historical purposes, if anyone would care to know locally.

You can see the rut I put in on that sandy tongue out into the back water here.

Another trail that probably no one realizes the history of is the one that parallels the old Shirey Way closer to the West entrance to Lower Hartman on the North side. It eventually rides up on a ridge that has a bit of exposure to the back water pond before it dumps out onto the old Shirey access road that goes back into the woods. That wasn't rideable until the mid-90's when some of us started clearing out a pretty significant deer trail that the current trail follows the line of. I remember bushwhacking my way through there on an old 26"er before we had it cleared out for use. By 1996 it was fairly well established. For a deer trail, it ain't all that bad.

The old "pond hockey" area and the Lower Hartman observation tower in the distance.

The "no DS ride" went well, actually. I had to time some whoop-de-doos and obstacles a bit more carefully, but I only dabbed twice during the entire ride. I had to make some fancy moves in a couple of spots, but I think given more time to get more fittness on the bike, the old Snow Dog v2 will be fine as a straight up single speed rig around here. I was looking longingly at a few beach cruise opportunities, but I really would have needed the crawling gear for those, so I limited my self to sticking with the plan. I can always come back and crawl those nice looking stretches of sand again later.

The ride was great. The day was a clear, blue bird sky day, and although the winds were stiff, I was out of the main blast down in the woods for the most part. A good ride to kick off the new year on. Now let's see if the ball can be kept rolling.....

The No "DS" Ride

New bike "mojo" token was found.

You know, as long as I have been a "bike nerd" it has been kind of an unwritten rule that you (a) ride on News Year's Eve or (b) ride on New Year's Day. I didn't get out of the house at all on Wednesday, since we were all feeling under the weather here. However; I did manage to grind out a ride on New Year's Day, to uphold "traditions". This will keep me in good stead with the "Unwritten Rules Of Engagement For Bike Nerds". (There is no such thing, but you'd think so by following us "bike nerds" around.)

So, I stayed up pretty late on New Year's Eve doing the family deal. The children are old enough now where staying up until midnight is considered "novel" but they can actually hold out that long and stay awake these days. We watched the "Apple Dumpling Gang" and the Wallace & Gromit short, "A Grand Day Out". Then I stayed up a bit longer and toodled around before hitting the hay. That meant a very late start on Thursday- 11:00am or so, actually, and I took my normal lengthy time to get going. I wasn't out on the bike until well into the afternoon.

We're enjoying a brief respite from bitter cold so the temperatures weren't all that bad out for a New Year's Day ride. I have seen temperatures into the 50's on New Year's Day, but more often than not it is bitterly cold. Yesterday it was right around freezing with a stiff Westerly wind. Not bad, but considering the time of year, above average weather for sure.

I decided the theme of the ride would be an easy, steady pace. To spice it up a bit, I decided to ride the Blackborow DS, (or Snow Dog v2), and to not use the lower range gearing. I would keep it in the high range and truly single speed it- a "no DS ride". That really shouldn't be all that hard to do around here, but there were a few observations along the way where I felt dropping into the lower range would have been a good thing. We'll get to that in a bit.....

Not 20 feet from my front door I found a colorful bracelet on the sidewalk. A remnant from the previous evening's festivities, perhaps? Who knew? I took it as a token that my Snow Dog v2 needed a "mojo", and I laced it initially around the right side of the handlebar. What? You've never heard of a handlebar mojo before? Well, it goes way back to the early days of mountain biking when folks would affix all sorts of "talismans" to their handlebars for fun, good luck, or some other superstitious reason. Most commonly dubbed "mojos", the practice seemed to fall out of favor sometime in the 90's. I never really got into it all that much, although over time I have had such things as a silver strand of "temple bells", a plastic rose, and maybe some other oddments on my bars throughout the years. I wouldn't say I was superstitious by any stretch, but I maybe am a bit sentimental and I like doing the odd thing from time to time. The bracelet deal seemed appropriate, seeing as how it was the first found item on a bike ride in 2015, and me without a handlebar mojo on the Snow Dog v2 and all. So there it is.

Cruising around the backwaters of the Cedar River

I decided to not do the Green Belt again. That is an easy route to use, since it is so close to my home, but others are not much further away and I decided to visit a bit of a different stretch along the Cedar River instead. I made my way via city streets and alley ways to Lower Hartman Reserve and the new trails over that way. After a bit, I moved further West and hit the old trail I helped put in back in '97 or so. It was dubbed "John's Trail" back in the day, although I doubt many remember that John Adamson put that in there over what was mostly a deer trail. I helped him out with marking it and added a bit of an "optional" curve down off a ridge and back up again. That being the only noticeable contribution I made to that trail. I always dub that tiny diversion "Mark's Option". But again, nobody cares or even remembers that old stuff. To most, it's just one of the Lower Hartman trails. Which is fine by me, by the way. I just point that out for historical purposes, if anyone would care to know locally.

You can see the rut I put in on that sandy tongue out into the back water here.

Another trail that probably no one realizes the history of is the one that parallels the old Shirey Way closer to the West entrance to Lower Hartman on the North side. It eventually rides up on a ridge that has a bit of exposure to the back water pond before it dumps out onto the old Shirey access road that goes back into the woods. That wasn't rideable until the mid-90's when some of us started clearing out a pretty significant deer trail that the current trail follows the line of. I remember bushwhacking my way through there on an old 26"er before we had it cleared out for use. By 1996 it was fairly well established. For a deer trail, it ain't all that bad.

The old "pond hockey" area and the Lower Hartman observation tower in the distance.

The "no DS ride" went well, actually. I had to time some whoop-de-doos and obstacles a bit more carefully, but I only dabbed twice during the entire ride. I had to make some fancy moves in a couple of spots, but I think given more time to get more fittness on the bike, the old Snow Dog v2 will be fine as a straight up single speed rig around here. I was looking longingly at a few beach cruise opportunities, but I really would have needed the crawling gear for those, so I limited my self to sticking with the plan. I can always come back and crawl those nice looking stretches of sand again later.

The ride was great. The day was a clear, blue bird sky day, and although the winds were stiff, I was out of the main blast down in the woods for the most part. A good ride to kick off the new year on. Now let's see if the ball can be kept rolling.....

Salsa Cycles Anything Cage HD: A Review

NOTE: I was provided these samples of the Anything Cage HD by Salsa Cycles at no charge for review. I was not paid nor bribed for this post and all of the thoughts and comments are mine alone. 

The Anything Cage HD and what you get in the package.

 Salsa Cycles has been one of the only, (if not the only), company really pushing for riders to go beyond the "normal" limits of cycling. In that vein, they have not only made bicycles useful for these varied "out of the boundaries"  cycling pursuits, but they have tried their hand at various unusual ways to accessorize these bikes. One of those has been the "Anything Cage", which originally was meant to be mounted on the "Three Pack Bosses" of forks like those found on the Fargo, Mukluk, and now the Blackborow.

Background: Original Anything Cages were made from tubing and  had a reputation for being less than successful at staying in one piece for some folks. That was back in 2010. Since then Salsa Cycles has responded by introducing a redesigned Anything Cage which became available earlier this year. However; unbeknownst to us, they were working on a new design. A heavy duty version of the Anything Cage which has become public knowledge only just today. Dubbed the "Anything Cage HD", it is obviously quite different and I was forwarded a couple samples to try out about two weeks ago.

Technical Info: The Anything Cage HD is made from injection molded impact resistant nylon. It features a new shape but still does the old job of carrying your roundish shaped objects like water bottles, Nalgene jars, dry sacks, or what have you. Basically anything that will sit well on the cage and weighs 6.6lbs or less. The new Anything Cage HD still mounts to the Three Pack Bosses found on many Salsa Cycles forks or down tubes. Each cage comes with longer bolts, three washers, and two Salsa Cycles webbing straps to lash cargo to the Anything Cage HD. Each Anything Cage HD will cost $35.00USD and the two samples sent to me weighed in on the scale at 160 grams with hardware. For comparison, the original Anything Cage, which I own, weighs 100 grams.

An original Anything Cage (L) next to the new Anything Cage HD

The Anything Cage HD mounted to my Blackborow DS and loaded with a tent and dry bag

In Use: The mounting of the Anything Cage HD is straight forward if you own a Salsa Cycles product with the Three Pack Bosses. I followed the simple instructions and they went on easily. Now to mount up some suitable dummy loads and ride! I chose a Topeak By-Camper tent, which is a heavy-ish one man tent that comes in its own dry bag, and an Outdoor Research dry bag stuffed with various items such as extra warm clothing, tubes, an air pump, and on occasion, a flask with coffee and extra water bottles. The loads in the dry bag varied, but the tent stayed on during the entire review period. NOTE: It is important to lace the webbing straps as Salsa indicates in the instructions for the Anything Cage HD for proper load bearing and cinching up of those straps.

I used the Blackborow DS with two Anything Cage HD's on rides that varied from commutes to work to single track to some bushwhacking and beach rides. I cannot go on with this review without making mention of how well the Blackborow DS rides with two loaded Anything Cage HD's on board. That was a nice surprise. You'd almost think those wily Salsa engineers thought of that ahead of time, eh? (<==HA!)

Anyway, the dry bag side was unloaded almost everyday for the two week review period to reflect how one might use this in a bikepacking set up. I changed the load occasionally as well. As Salsa Cycles indicates, using "roundish" objects will work best, and my tent was a testament to that, never getting loose or hardly shifting around in the Anything Cage HD at all. The other side featured those "not so roundish" loads, and with a bit of care and a touch of extra attention, even those stayed put. I had to wrench on the straps pretty severely, but the Anything Cage HD stood up to the task and I felt that these racks performed flawlessly at carrying loads.

With the Anything Cage's past in mind, I tried everything I could, within reason, to put the loaded racks to the test. This included ramming curbs at speed, bounding through rough, frozen, tussocky grass, riding frozen dirt churned up by heavy construction equipment, and doing the whoop-de-doos on local single track to put all sorts of forces into these cages. Nothing shook them loose, nor did they break or show any signs of doing so. I think these "Heavy Duty" cages have earned the moniker and that they should do well in the long run.

Verdict: With a solid two weeks of bouncing around fully loaded and using several various loads on the one side, I have to say that these cages are the real deal so far. They are easy to use and make any Salsa Cycles rig with the Three Pack Bosses into a mule capable of hauling around more than you could without them.

On a negative note, I will only say that they are an unlovely beast of a component. Unloaded on the bike, they look like some sort of freakish radar/ microwave receptors. It is a sure bet that the new Anything Cage HD will not win any beauty contests. Well, that is unless you decide to rely on them to pack your tent and sleep system on some long outing. Then they may be the most beautiful things you've ever seen. It's all in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Of course, you can still buy the Anything Cage in its tube constructed version if the HD is just too much for you to handle visually.

The Anything Cage HD is a worthy compliment to any Salsa fork or down tube where you may want to pack on some cargo. This rack certainly fits into the "Adventure by Bike" ethos and the new design should provide many miles of faithful service to those who decide to employ it. The ease of use and versatility make the Anything Cage HD something you could use for touring or everyday use. I'll be looking for more ways to use these in the future and I'll be back with a long term use update later on.

As noted above, these Anything Cage HD's came from Salsa Cycles at no charge and I will strive to use my honest thoughts and opinions about these products here and in the future.

Salsa Cycles Anything Cage HD: A Review

NOTE: I was provided these samples of the Anything Cage HD by Salsa Cycles at no charge for review. I was not paid nor bribed for this post and all of the thoughts and comments are mine alone. 

The Anything Cage HD and what you get in the package.

 Salsa Cycles has been one of the only, (if not the only), company really pushing for riders to go beyond the "normal" limits of cycling. In that vein, they have not only made bicycles useful for these varied "out of the boundaries"  cycling pursuits, but they have tried their hand at various unusual ways to accessorize these bikes. One of those has been the "Anything Cage", which originally was meant to be mounted on the "Three Pack Bosses" of forks like those found on the Fargo, Mukluk, and now the Blackborow.

Background: Original Anything Cages were made from tubing and  had a reputation for being less than successful at staying in one piece for some folks. That was back in 2010. Since then Salsa Cycles has responded by introducing a redesigned Anything Cage which became available earlier this year. However; unbeknownst to us, they were working on a new design. A heavy duty version of the Anything Cage which has become public knowledge only just today. Dubbed the "Anything Cage HD", it is obviously quite different and I was forwarded a couple samples to try out about two weeks ago.

Technical Info: The Anything Cage HD is made from injection molded impact resistant nylon. It features a new shape but still does the old job of carrying your roundish shaped objects like water bottles, Nalgene jars, dry sacks, or what have you. Basically anything that will sit well on the cage and weighs 6.6lbs or less. The new Anything Cage HD still mounts to the Three Pack Bosses found on many Salsa Cycles forks or down tubes. Each cage comes with longer bolts, three washers, and two Salsa Cycles webbing straps to lash cargo to the Anything Cage HD. Each Anything Cage HD will cost $35.00USD and the two samples sent to me weighed in on the scale at 160 grams with hardware. For comparison, the original Anything Cage, which I own, weighs 100 grams.

An original Anything Cage (L) next to the new Anything Cage HD

The Anything Cage HD mounted to my Blackborow DS and loaded with a tent and dry bag

In Use: The mounting of the Anything Cage HD is straight forward if you own a Salsa Cycles product with the Three Pack Bosses. I followed the simple instructions and they went on easily. Now to mount up some suitable dummy loads and ride! I chose a Topeak By-Camper tent, which is a heavy-ish one man tent that comes in its own dry bag, and an Outdoor Research dry bag stuffed with various items such as extra warm clothing, tubes, an air pump, and on occasion, a flask with coffee and extra water bottles. The loads in the dry bag varied, but the tent stayed on during the entire review period. NOTE: It is important to lace the webbing straps as Salsa indicates in the instructions for the Anything Cage HD for proper load bearing and cinching up of those straps.

I used the Blackborow DS with two Anything Cage HD's on rides that varied from commutes to work to single track to some bushwhacking and beach rides. I cannot go on with this review without making mention of how well the Blackborow DS rides with two loaded Anything Cage HD's on board. That was a nice surprise. You'd almost think those wily Salsa engineers thought of that ahead of time, eh? (<==HA!)

Anyway, the dry bag side was unloaded almost everyday for the two week review period to reflect how one might use this in a bikepacking set up. I changed the load occasionally as well. As Salsa Cycles indicates, using "roundish" objects will work best, and my tent was a testament to that, never getting loose or hardly shifting around in the Anything Cage HD at all. The other side featured those "not so roundish" loads, and with a bit of care and a touch of extra attention, even those stayed put. I had to wrench on the straps pretty severely, but the Anything Cage HD stood up to the task and I felt that these racks performed flawlessly at carrying loads.

With the Anything Cage's past in mind, I tried everything I could, within reason, to put the loaded racks to the test. This included ramming curbs at speed, bounding through rough, frozen, tussocky grass, riding frozen dirt churned up by heavy construction equipment, and doing the whoop-de-doos on local single track to put all sorts of forces into these cages. Nothing shook them loose, nor did they break or show any signs of doing so. I think these "Heavy Duty" cages have earned the moniker and that they should do well in the long run.

Verdict: With a solid two weeks of bouncing around fully loaded and using several various loads on the one side, I have to say that these cages are the real deal so far. They are easy to use and make any Salsa Cycles rig with the Three Pack Bosses into a mule capable of hauling around more than you could without them.

On a negative note, I will only say that they are an unlovely beast of a component. Unloaded on the bike, they look like some sort of freakish radar/ microwave receptors. It is a sure bet that the new Anything Cage HD will not win any beauty contests. Well, that is unless you decide to rely on them to pack your tent and sleep system on some long outing. Then they may be the most beautiful things you've ever seen. It's all in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Of course, you can still buy the Anything Cage in its tube constructed version if the HD is just too much for you to handle visually.

The Anything Cage HD is a worthy compliment to any Salsa fork or down tube where you may want to pack on some cargo. This rack certainly fits into the "Adventure by Bike" ethos and the new design should provide many miles of faithful service to those who decide to employ it. The ease of use and versatility make the Anything Cage HD something you could use for touring or everyday use. I'll be looking for more ways to use these in the future and I'll be back with a long term use update later on.

As noted above, these Anything Cage HD's came from Salsa Cycles at no charge and I will strive to use my honest thoughts and opinions about these products here and in the future.

Friday News And Views

We'll be saying goodbye to James, seen on the right here, today.

Change is a big part of being in a typical bicycle shop. Turnover rates are typically pretty high. I often wonder how many folks I've worked with over the years. Today another ending happens. We're losing our other mechanic, James.

James came to us via Skunk River Cycles and was single when he got here. Then he got married, and then he got an internship in Idaho. So, now he's packing up his stuff and heading out the door here one last time.

I don't write about many of our past employees, but I like James and wish him well. He's the best second mechanic I've worked with since Jeff Kerkove, and that was quite a while ago now. Gonna miss that tall fella after he leaves today.

But we'll be seeing him off right proper on Monday when we all get together for a going away gathering, much like we did not long ago for Brian. It should be a good time.

From when we had snow

 Blackborow Update:

Okay folks, here's the thing- I like the Blackborow enough that I decided to permanently retire The Snow Dog. That's right, the Blackborow is that good. I said it before, and I'll say it again- this is the best fat bike Salsa has made so far for things I use a fat bike for. It just blows the old Mukluk platform away, as far as I can tell.

I haven't ridden a newer Mukluk, since Salsa added the Alternators and changed the geometry some in 2013. So, that is an outlier for me. However; the Blackborow is nimble, has bigger meats, and a shorter wheel base than the Muk does now. I think the Muk has its place, but I am super pleased with this bike and I am dubbing it "The Snow Dog V2". It will be the "out of bounds" fat bike going forward.

29+ is interesting to me, but fixing those huge wheels into Mukluks and this bike will raise an already high bottom bracket appreciably. I found that the Ti Muk was unwieldy and I wasn't as enamored of the big wagon wheels as I had been when I tried the Borealis Echo. The Echo worked really well with 29+, but the MukTruk was not so great, in my mind. I feel that B+ is a better fit for the Mukluks and Blackborows, or a 29"er set up is okay as well. 29+ is just not quite right in there. A good 29+ set up would have a lower bottom bracket for sure.

Gooey Gravel Travel?

This weekend could be good for a gravel ride. It's possible that it could get dicey with the moisture that may be hitting us though. Saturday sounds "misty" while Sunday is looking like spotty rain showers. The thing is, Sunday will be over 50°F here, and Saturday will be slightly cooler than that.

Saturdays always work best for me, but I'll have to make a "game time call" on what I am doing this weekend due to something happening today that may influence what I do or do not get to do this weekend. Whatever happens, I think with the warmer temperatures, and possible moisture, fenders or mud guards would be a good call.

Nothing like getting a wet backside and suffering the resulting "heat sucking" results as you try to pedal harder to stay warm. If you find yourself out there, be careful!

Have a great weekend and stay active!

Friday News And Views

We'll be saying goodbye to James, seen on the right here, today.

Change is a big part of being in a typical bicycle shop. Turnover rates are typically pretty high. I often wonder how many folks I've worked with over the years. Today another ending happens. We're losing our other mechanic, James.

James came to us via Skunk River Cycles and was single when he got here. Then he got married, and then he got an internship in Idaho. So, now he's packing up his stuff and heading out the door here one last time.

I don't write about many of our past employees, but I like James and wish him well. He's the best second mechanic I've worked with since Jeff Kerkove, and that was quite a while ago now. Gonna miss that tall fella after he leaves today.

But we'll be seeing him off right proper on Monday when we all get together for a going away gathering, much like we did not long ago for Brian. It should be a good time.

From when we had snow

 Blackborow Update:

Okay folks, here's the thing- I like the Blackborow enough that I decided to permanently retire The Snow Dog. That's right, the Blackborow is that good. I said it before, and I'll say it again- this is the best fat bike Salsa has made so far for things I use a fat bike for. It just blows the old Mukluk platform away, as far as I can tell.

I haven't ridden a newer Mukluk, since Salsa added the Alternators and changed the geometry some in 2013. So, that is an outlier for me. However; the Blackborow is nimble, has bigger meats, and a shorter wheel base than the Muk does now. I think the Muk has its place, but I am super pleased with this bike and I am dubbing it "The Snow Dog V2". It will be the "out of bounds" fat bike going forward.

29+ is interesting to me, but fixing those huge wheels into Mukluks and this bike will raise an already high bottom bracket appreciably. I found that the Ti Muk was unwieldy and I wasn't as enamored of the big wagon wheels as I had been when I tried the Borealis Echo. The Echo worked really well with 29+, but the MukTruk was not so great, in my mind. I feel that B+ is a better fit for the Mukluks and Blackborows, or a 29"er set up is okay as well. 29+ is just not quite right in there. A good 29+ set up would have a lower bottom bracket for sure.

Gooey Gravel Travel?

This weekend could be good for a gravel ride. It's possible that it could get dicey with the moisture that may be hitting us though. Saturday sounds "misty" while Sunday is looking like spotty rain showers. The thing is, Sunday will be over 50°F here, and Saturday will be slightly cooler than that.

Saturdays always work best for me, but I'll have to make a "game time call" on what I am doing this weekend due to something happening today that may influence what I do or do not get to do this weekend. Whatever happens, I think with the warmer temperatures, and possible moisture, fenders or mud guards would be a good call.

Nothing like getting a wet backside and suffering the resulting "heat sucking" results as you try to pedal harder to stay warm. If you find yourself out there, be careful!

Have a great weekend and stay active!

Blackborow DS: First Ride

I was finally able to scratch up enough cabbage to get the Blackborow out of hock from the bike shop. The maiden voyage included many icy city streets, a large portion of single track, and some grassy traverses. We got a nice crunchy coverlet of fresh snow Sunday night/Monday morning, and it was snowing during my ride.

The Blackborow DS is a parallel single speed drive train package with a "high" ratio of 30T X 18T and a "low" ratio of 26T X 22T. I ran my first ride in the "low" range, just to see if I could tolerate it on a longer flat ride. Well.....mostly flat. 

 We'd been tooling around on this bike at the shop ever since it came in. James and Todd both seemed to really think it was something special, but I wasn't going to give it my stamp of approval until I could get it off road and into some slippery, technical stuff. Fortunately, that's exactly what the conditions were. Slippery streets were met with a solid, confident feel. Of course, I wasn't tossing it into turns and manhandling it, because while it was stable, it doesn't have studded tires. Ice must be respected! But the grip level seemed pretty good so far.

The initial section of the new trail in Sherwood Park is pretty twisty, undulating, and has a few technical moves over rock piles and what not to negotiate. The Blackborow felt like it was Velcro'ed to the surface and I had no problem at all going through here. Further on, I had to make the short, steep climb out of the area to the bike path, and also up the hill at Northland Oil, (Both maybe 20-25ft high at 15% or so with snow on the trail), and both were cleaned with no issues. The ratio was fine for trail riding, and "okay" for spinning down the streets, but I probably will opt for the "high" ratio on days when the streets are clearer.

Initial impressions are that this bike is indeed maneuverable, and it feels more nimble than a Mukluk with 3.8"ers. The ride quality is somewhere between my Titanium and aluminum Mukluks. Not too harsh at all. Smoother than I expected. Tires grip like mad. Interestingly, this bike coasts and rolls freer than any of the other fat bikes I have had.

Modifications and component swaps will be minimal. I will swap to Ergon grips, and at some point a titanium post is going on here. Another Salsa Regulator. But for now, this'll do juuuuust fine! More on this bike later.....

Blackborow DS: First Ride

I was finally able to scratch up enough cabbage to get the Blackborow out of hock from the bike shop. The maiden voyage included many icy city streets, a large portion of single track, and some grassy traverses. We got a nice crunchy coverlet of fresh snow Sunday night/Monday morning, and it was snowing during my ride.

The Blackborow DS is a parallel single speed drive train package with a "high" ratio of 30T X 18T and a "low" ratio of 26T X 22T. I ran my first ride in the "low" range, just to see if I could tolerate it on a longer flat ride. Well.....mostly flat. 

 We'd been tooling around on this bike at the shop ever since it came in. James and Todd both seemed to really think it was something special, but I wasn't going to give it my stamp of approval until I could get it off road and into some slippery, technical stuff. Fortunately, that's exactly what the conditions were. Slippery streets were met with a solid, confident feel. Of course, I wasn't tossing it into turns and manhandling it, because while it was stable, it doesn't have studded tires. Ice must be respected! But the grip level seemed pretty good so far.

The initial section of the new trail in Sherwood Park is pretty twisty, undulating, and has a few technical moves over rock piles and what not to negotiate. The Blackborow felt like it was Velcro'ed to the surface and I had no problem at all going through here. Further on, I had to make the short, steep climb out of the area to the bike path, and also up the hill at Northland Oil, (Both maybe 20-25ft high at 15% or so with snow on the trail), and both were cleaned with no issues. The ratio was fine for trail riding, and "okay" for spinning down the streets, but I probably will opt for the "high" ratio on days when the streets are clearer.

Initial impressions are that this bike is indeed maneuverable, and it feels more nimble than a Mukluk with 3.8"ers. The ride quality is somewhere between my Titanium and aluminum Mukluks. Not too harsh at all. Smoother than I expected. Tires grip like mad. Interestingly, this bike coasts and rolls freer than any of the other fat bikes I have had.

Modifications and component swaps will be minimal. I will swap to Ergon grips, and at some point a titanium post is going on here. Another Salsa Regulator. But for now, this'll do juuuuust fine! More on this bike later.....