Friday News And Views

 Gravel Riding Clinics To Be Held In Grinnell:

Several years ago I started up an idea to hold a clinic to help those wondering about Trans Iowa, and gravel riding in general. We held it in Des Moines, and at that time, there was an outcry for information to the extent that I was being asked to YouTube the event for consumption after the event was over. I just did not have the resources or emotional energy for such a project on top of everything else I had going on back in 2013.

I have helped with a gravel clinic series here in Waterloo which we called the Iowa Gravel Expo and Bike Party. N.Y. Roll and I put these series of events on locally from 2018-2020. Again, judging from attendance from all corners of the state I knew that this was a viable idea for the gravel-curious. 

So, it comes as no surprise to me that Grinnell's Prairie Burn 100 event directors and Imagine Grinnell have teamed up to put on the "Burner Gravel Clinics". (Note-Link takes you to the Prairie Burn 100's Face Book page) 

You can see all the pertinent info in my image here, but if you want to know more you can contact Imagine Grinnell through there website here, or head to Prairie Burn 100's Face Book page linked above. 

WTB Debuts The Vulpine 700 X 36mm Tire:

This past Tuesday WTB announced the newest tire for gravel in their range, the Vulpine. I was a bit surprised that this tire was only offered in the one size to start out with, (Hoping that wider sizes come out later), but hey! I am happy too, because I had been pushing for a gravel Vulpine in TCS (tubeless ready) for years. 

So, way back when the Fargo Gen I was introduced, it came with Vulpine 29" X 2.1" tires. The Vulpine back then was not a tubeless tire. It also had a LOT lower tread pattern down the middle as it was a semi-slick XC racing tire to begin with. Those types of tires were falling out of favor in 2008 after about ten years or so of prominence. 

Anyway, I ended up loving the Vulpine on gravel. At the time, tubeless tires were just getting a footing in the MTB market and anything coming out after 2010 for MTB was generally also released as a tubeless ready tire. But WTB was phasing out the older designs they had then, and the Vulpine was shelved. 

So, when WTB introduced the Nano 40 in TCS around 2016, I was on the warpath with WTB to get the Vulpine out again in the TCS format for gravel usage. Their former brand manager, Will Ritchie, knew all too well what I would say anytime talk of new gravel tires came up. "Make the Vulpine again!", I would say, and he'd always graciously reply that he was putting in my requests, but that was all he could really do to make it happen. Ultimately it was up to higher powers at WTB to pull that lever that would release a new Vulpine to the masses. 

Will even sent me the very last Vulpine 29"er tire WTB had in its warehouse. A survivor that had escaped notice until it surfaced one day and Will grabbed it and sent it off to me as a way to say that he had not let my requests fall upon deaf ears. I really and truly appreciated that gesture, and I still do to this day. 

For more on the new Vulpine read my RidingGravel.com post here.

Cannondale's Scalpel HT. Image courtesy of Cannondale.

Cannondale Debuts New Scapel HT XC Racing Bike:

It isn't often that I write about mountain bikes anymore. That is because most mountain bike news these days has been centered around "Enduro" or motorized bikes, or both things together. None of which is relevant to me at all. 

So, when something gets announced that I could see myself riding, I get my ears pricked up. Such was the case Tuesday of this week when Cannondale announced its new, range-topping hard tail XC racing bike, the Scalpel HT. 

It features a pretty slack head angle of 66.5° which is fairly radical when I think back ten years ago or more in terms of hard tail mountain bikes. I remember when anything slacker than 71° for a 29"er was considered "a wheel barrow" in terms of handling. But now? Pfft! Par for the course to have a choppered out front end on a hard tail. 

And seat angles have steepened up to 74° or so on several bikes. That's just super-weird to me, but hey! The kidz love it. What do I know? Maybe this Scalpel would rule on Iowa single track? Maybe...

I've ridden MTB's with pretty slack head angles on our single track and I found that you kind of have to steer them off the back wheel. Older, steeper bikes you could pin the front wheel down on and rail a corner, maybe even drifting the rear end around. It's just a very different way of doing things now with these slacker head angled bikes, in my opinion. One way isn't necessarily better than another. But maybe when it comes to short, steep climbs? Maybe there I prefer the older geometry which doesn't have all that wandering front wheel flop thing going on. Anyway....

An interesting twist to the traditional XC racing hard tail at least. 

A Guitar Ted Blast From The Past:

I was reminded the other day of an interview I did with "CX Mag" concerning the state of all things gravel. This was conducted in 2018, right at the end of my run with Trans Iowa, so I couldn't let on at the time that 2018's version of the event was my last. Anyway...

Here's the link.

From time to time I think I'll share old stories and tales from other sources where I was interviewed or that I had something to do with. I sometimes forget my own history with all things bicycle related and it maybe would be good for me to remind y'all of those things. Plus, you'll probably enjoy these looks back anyway if you read this blog. 

Okay, so that's a wrap on this week! Got snow coming? It's just around the corner, I think. Get out and ride if you can and have a great weekend.

Friday News And Views

 Gravel Riding Clinics To Be Held In Grinnell:

Several years ago I started up an idea to hold a clinic to help those wondering about Trans Iowa, and gravel riding in general. We held it in Des Moines, and at that time, there was an outcry for information to the extent that I was being asked to YouTube the event for consumption after the event was over. I just did not have the resources or emotional energy for such a project on top of everything else I had going on back in 2013.

I have helped with a gravel clinic series here in Waterloo which we called the Iowa Gravel Expo and Bike Party. N.Y. Roll and I put these series of events on locally from 2018-2020. Again, judging from attendance from all corners of the state I knew that this was a viable idea for the gravel-curious. 

So, it comes as no surprise to me that Grinnell's Prairie Burn 100 event directors and Imagine Grinnell have teamed up to put on the "Burner Gravel Clinics". (Note-Link takes you to the Prairie Burn 100's Face Book page) 

You can see all the pertinent info in my image here, but if you want to know more you can contact Imagine Grinnell through there website here, or head to Prairie Burn 100's Face Book page linked above. 

WTB Debuts The Vulpine 700 X 36mm Tire:

This past Tuesday WTB announced the newest tire for gravel in their range, the Vulpine. I was a bit surprised that this tire was only offered in the one size to start out with, (Hoping that wider sizes come out later), but hey! I am happy too, because I had been pushing for a gravel Vulpine in TCS (tubeless ready) for years. 

So, way back when the Fargo Gen I was introduced, it came with Vulpine 29" X 2.1" tires. The Vulpine back then was not a tubeless tire. It also had a LOT lower tread pattern down the middle as it was a semi-slick XC racing tire to begin with. Those types of tires were falling out of favor in 2008 after about ten years or so of prominence. 

Anyway, I ended up loving the Vulpine on gravel. At the time, tubeless tires were just getting a footing in the MTB market and anything coming out after 2010 for MTB was generally also released as a tubeless ready tire. But WTB was phasing out the older designs they had then, and the Vulpine was shelved. 

So, when WTB introduced the Nano 40 in TCS around 2016, I was on the warpath with WTB to get the Vulpine out again in the TCS format for gravel usage. Their former brand manager, Will Ritchie, knew all too well what I would say anytime talk of new gravel tires came up. "Make the Vulpine again!", I would say, and he'd always graciously reply that he was putting in my requests, but that was all he could really do to make it happen. Ultimately it was up to higher powers at WTB to pull that lever that would release a new Vulpine to the masses. 

Will even sent me the very last Vulpine 29"er tire WTB had in its warehouse. A survivor that had escaped notice until it surfaced one day and Will grabbed it and sent it off to me as a way to say that he had not let my requests fall upon deaf ears. I really and truly appreciated that gesture, and I still do to this day. 

For more on the new Vulpine read my RidingGravel.com post here.

Cannondale's Scalpel HT. Image courtesy of Cannondale.

Cannondale Debuts New Scapel HT XC Racing Bike:

It isn't often that I write about mountain bikes anymore. That is because most mountain bike news these days has been centered around "Enduro" or motorized bikes, or both things together. None of which is relevant to me at all. 

So, when something gets announced that I could see myself riding, I get my ears pricked up. Such was the case Tuesday of this week when Cannondale announced its new, range-topping hard tail XC racing bike, the Scalpel HT. 

It features a pretty slack head angle of 66.5° which is fairly radical when I think back ten years ago or more in terms of hard tail mountain bikes. I remember when anything slacker than 71° for a 29"er was considered "a wheel barrow" in terms of handling. But now? Pfft! Par for the course to have a choppered out front end on a hard tail. 

And seat angles have steepened up to 74° or so on several bikes. That's just super-weird to me, but hey! The kidz love it. What do I know? Maybe this Scalpel would rule on Iowa single track? Maybe...

I've ridden MTB's with pretty slack head angles on our single track and I found that you kind of have to steer them off the back wheel. Older, steeper bikes you could pin the front wheel down on and rail a corner, maybe even drifting the rear end around. It's just a very different way of doing things now with these slacker head angled bikes, in my opinion. One way isn't necessarily better than another. But maybe when it comes to short, steep climbs? Maybe there I prefer the older geometry which doesn't have all that wandering front wheel flop thing going on. Anyway....

An interesting twist to the traditional XC racing hard tail at least. 

A Guitar Ted Blast From The Past:

I was reminded the other day of an interview I did with "CX Mag" concerning the state of all things gravel. This was conducted in 2018, right at the end of my run with Trans Iowa, so I couldn't let on at the time that 2018's version of the event was my last. Anyway...

Here's the link.

From time to time I think I'll share old stories and tales from other sources where I was interviewed or that I had something to do with. I sometimes forget my own history with all things bicycle related and it maybe would be good for me to remind y'all of those things. Plus, you'll probably enjoy these looks back anyway if you read this blog. 

Okay, so that's a wrap on this week! Got snow coming? It's just around the corner, I think. Get out and ride if you can and have a great weekend.

Friday News And Views

The Snow Dog with the Milhouse Bar.

 The Snow Dog Modified:

Recently I told you about the upcoming tenth year anniversary of my getting my first fat bike, a Salsa Cycles Mukluk. I also added that I had thought about adding the Whisky Parts Co.  Milhouse Bar to this bike. Well, as you can plainly see, I have done just that. I basically just swapped bars between this bike and the On One Inbred.

This match is a much better pairing. The On One/Milhouse pairing just didn't work for me. Not sure why, but mostly I think it was an aesthetic issue. It just looked like a "gangly teenager" set up. On the Snow Dog it looks a bit more 'moto'. So, there is that. However; it also feels better on the Snow Dog and that big, wide bar helps overcome the inertia a fat bike wheel has when you want to turn. 

I also did a couple of other swaps while I was at it. The first was the swap of the pedals. I had a set of some clunky, but light and very grippy flat pedals on there. Those I took off and replaced with these Fyxation Mesa MP Subzero pedals. The Fyxations are a lot slimmer and I have really liked their performance in the past. 

The next swap was of the seat post and saddle. I had a Cane Creek Thudbuster on it with a WTB Pure saddle. This was replaced by the Redshift Sports ShockStop seat post and a WTB Volt saddle. The Thudbuster is a decent post, but it gets loose in the pivots on me in short order, which then starts a clunk, and yeah...... Plus it is an elastomeric sprung system which doesn't play well with colder temperatures. The Redshift post has a coil spring which is not temperature sensitive and the pivots are bomber on this post. Super-solid, no worries. 

I still may be moving over the Archer Components D1x system to this bike. Stay tuned for that......

New Family Member At G-Ted Productions HQ:

Hey everyone, meet Minka. We just adopted her from the local animal shelter this past week. The story of her arrival here is a long one and has to do with a few odd things. None of that matters now, but the tipping point for getting a cat was a mouse problem we had been battling. All it took was for my daughter and I to find out that the mere presence of a cat was a good deterrent against mice coming  in to our abode. 

The surprise is that we have found out in a few short days that all our lives have been enhanced by the addition of Minka to the household. Mice prevention or no, we're all really happy to have her here. She's full of the berries, as she's only about five months and a little more in age. Still has to grow out of being a kitten, but that's okay. I grew up with cats, so I have a bit of experience with them, and it has been a quick refresher course with Minka running riot around the house here. 

I guess we shouldn't have waited so long to get a pet, but whatever. Now is the time and we have a cat now. Life will certainly be a bit different but we are all in on this and we will make it work. Got any cat tips to share? Go ahead and send them to me if you feel so inclined. 

The new Ritchey Ultra MTB frame

It's The Nostalgia Factor:

Every so often Ritchey Design produces one of their mountain bike frames in the iconic red/white/blue fade paint job. Every time I see it, I want it. Why? It's the "nostalgia factor". I remember those early 90's days looking at MTB mags and seeing these being raced, tested, and in the advertising. They were one of the most sophisticated, high performance, lightweight steel frames one could buy back then. Those final days of 'fully rigid' mountain biking were quite the innovative days. 

Ritchey Design has done it again with the Ultra, a 29" or 27.5+ machine with the conservative take on the 'modern trail geometry', so probably not a bad design for most single track here. I looked at this, and looked......and looked. But really? C'mon! When do I mountain bike anymore? I'm always out on the gravel and mountain bikes are a side show for me these days. I like mountain biking, but I can get on a gravel road, do some Level B Maintenance stuff, and get all my mountain biking vibes in that I ever could on what we have for single track around here. In fact, I would wager that many Level B's in Iowa are better than mountain biking anywhere in the state. 

That's a bold statement, but those that know- well they know. So, I really am not in the market for a bike like this Ritchey, but I really like the way it looks and the history it represents. Bad reasons to get a frame, right? And besides, look at that fat bike up there. That's a mountain bike too. I feel like that fat bike is actually a more versatile bike around here than a straight up mountain bike is. My opinion, your mileage may vary.

And that's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and get in some riding if you can.....outdoors!

Friday News And Views

The Snow Dog with the Milhouse Bar.

 The Snow Dog Modified:

Recently I told you about the upcoming tenth year anniversary of my getting my first fat bike, a Salsa Cycles Mukluk. I also added that I had thought about adding the Whisky Parts Co.  Milhouse Bar to this bike. Well, as you can plainly see, I have done just that. I basically just swapped bars between this bike and the On One Inbred.

This match is a much better pairing. The On One/Milhouse pairing just didn't work for me. Not sure why, but mostly I think it was an aesthetic issue. It just looked like a "gangly teenager" set up. On the Snow Dog it looks a bit more 'moto'. So, there is that. However; it also feels better on the Snow Dog and that big, wide bar helps overcome the inertia a fat bike wheel has when you want to turn. 

I also did a couple of other swaps while I was at it. The first was the swap of the pedals. I had a set of some clunky, but light and very grippy flat pedals on there. Those I took off and replaced with these Fyxation Mesa MP Subzero pedals. The Fyxations are a lot slimmer and I have really liked their performance in the past. 

The next swap was of the seat post and saddle. I had a Cane Creek Thudbuster on it with a WTB Pure saddle. This was replaced by the Redshift Sports ShockStop seat post and a WTB Volt saddle. The Thudbuster is a decent post, but it gets loose in the pivots on me in short order, which then starts a clunk, and yeah...... Plus it is an elastomeric sprung system which doesn't play well with colder temperatures. The Redshift post has a coil spring which is not temperature sensitive and the pivots are bomber on this post. Super-solid, no worries. 

I still may be moving over the Archer Components D1x system to this bike. Stay tuned for that......

New Family Member At G-Ted Productions HQ:

Hey everyone, meet Minka. We just adopted her from the local animal shelter this past week. The story of her arrival here is a long one and has to do with a few odd things. None of that matters now, but the tipping point for getting a cat was a mouse problem we had been battling. All it took was for my daughter and I to find out that the mere presence of a cat was a good deterrent against mice coming  in to our abode. 

The surprise is that we have found out in a few short days that all our lives have been enhanced by the addition of Minka to the household. Mice prevention or no, we're all really happy to have her here. She's full of the berries, as she's only about five months and a little more in age. Still has to grow out of being a kitten, but that's okay. I grew up with cats, so I have a bit of experience with them, and it has been a quick refresher course with Minka running riot around the house here. 

I guess we shouldn't have waited so long to get a pet, but whatever. Now is the time and we have a cat now. Life will certainly be a bit different but we are all in on this and we will make it work. Got any cat tips to share? Go ahead and send them to me if you feel so inclined. 

The new Ritchey Ultra MTB frame

It's The Nostalgia Factor:

Every so often Ritchey Design produces one of their mountain bike frames in the iconic red/white/blue fade paint job. Every time I see it, I want it. Why? It's the "nostalgia factor". I remember those early 90's days looking at MTB mags and seeing these being raced, tested, and in the advertising. They were one of the most sophisticated, high performance, lightweight steel frames one could buy back then. Those final days of 'fully rigid' mountain biking were quite the innovative days. 

Ritchey Design has done it again with the Ultra, a 29" or 27.5+ machine with the conservative take on the 'modern trail geometry', so probably not a bad design for most single track here. I looked at this, and looked......and looked. But really? C'mon! When do I mountain bike anymore? I'm always out on the gravel and mountain bikes are a side show for me these days. I like mountain biking, but I can get on a gravel road, do some Level B Maintenance stuff, and get all my mountain biking vibes in that I ever could on what we have for single track around here. In fact, I would wager that many Level B's in Iowa are better than mountain biking anywhere in the state. 

That's a bold statement, but those that know- well they know. So, I really am not in the market for a bike like this Ritchey, but I really like the way it looks and the history it represents. Bad reasons to get a frame, right? And besides, look at that fat bike up there. That's a mountain bike too. I feel like that fat bike is actually a more versatile bike around here than a straight up mountain bike is. My opinion, your mileage may vary.

And that's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and get in some riding if you can.....outdoors!

Friday News And Views

Paul Thumbies- New! (But not really) Image courtesy of Paul Components

You Should Totally E-Bay Those!

Wednesday I'm cruising my Twitter feed when I scroll up on some newsy bits from a couple of sources saying that Paul Components has released a SRAM TT shifter compatible mount that turns these bar end shifters into old school thumb shifters. Now normally, I would just scroll right on by something like that. However; I was immediately struck by the fact that someone, (actually it was Tweeted by three different accounts I follow), thought these were "new". "They are not new!", I thought to myself.  Heck, I could walk down into my Lab and grab a pair I've had kicking around for years now. New? I don't think so. I went down, within two minutes had them in hand, and shot an image, then tweeted it out asking if my circa 2011 Paul Thumbies could be "new".

A couple of the accounts I "@'ed" (code for adding an account to a Tweet which then directs said Tweet "at" the account.- Pronounced "at-ed") responded with a social media equivalent of a shrug, and they in turn "@'ed" Paul Components account for a definitive answer.

The answer I got from Paul Components on Twitter

So, I had jumped on getting those at the right time, apparently, because back then, I had no clue they were a very limited edition sort of product. I actually got them for my Ti Mukluk, which I used the right shifter by itself at first since I ran 1 X 10 SRAM to start out with. That didn't last long, the shifter came off, and the pair of mounts has been basically sitting on my bench in my little box of bar end shifter parts ever since. I just don't do much with geared, flat bar bikes these days. Anyway, I thanked Paul Components and figured that was that.

Then one of the accounts that was part of the thread snaps back with "hangs up, dials e-bay......" I replied back that this was a well played comment, but I wasn't looking to make a buck from my newfound knowledge dumped on me by Paul Components. Then another follower of mine on Twitter basically answered that and said "take the money and run!"

Social media. Weird. Sometimes it's a fun, knowledge builder. Other times.....well. 

Ingrid's 12 sped rear derailleur Courtesy of Ingrid's Instagram feed

 They Said It Would Last Forever:

Back on the 1990's heyday of CNC craziness, I purchased a "Made In The USA", CNC'ed, lightweight rear derailleur by a company called ProShift. It was "totally rebuild-able" and theoretically would last "forever" since you would be able to purchase any piece or part of that derailleur and rebuild it. It was VERY EXPENSIVE. I bolted it to my 1992 Klein Attitude and started riding.

Well, one day, under no extraordinary circumstances, I heard a "ker-CHUNK!", felt a tug on the chain, and then no power. I looked down and what was left of that derailleur was dangling from a very slack chain. In fact, the only part that survived was a jockey wheel! Every other part was ripped, twisted, or bent beyond recognition. I boxed up all the bits I could find, shipped it to ProShift, and they sent me another under warranty. That derailleur suffered the same fate exactly two weeks later. Again- the only part that survived was the lower jockey wheel.

Well, I had had enough. I got a "real" rear derailleur, went on my merry way, and ProShift quickly became a thing of mountain bike legend. I was reminded of that story again when I read about an Italian based company called "INGRID".

They have, what looks like CNC'ed metal, in the form of a rear derailleur and are saying "it will last forever because it is rebuild-able". Yeah.......

Once bitten, twice shy.

Flat pedal shoes from Giant Bicycles.

 Shoes To Get The Fargo Ready:

Yes, you read that right. I've got some shoes and that is motivating me to get the Fargo up and running. Why? Because the Fargo has flat pedals on it now. The idea is that I am going off to do some longer gravel rides on flats. To test the shoes. The shoes I have on test for RidingGravel.com. Those shoes.....

Anyway, I think it is high time for some new treads for the Fargo as well. I've got me eye on the new Vittoria Terreno Cross Country tires. They have the Graphene compound and I've had experience with this in their Terreno Dry 40mm tire. Those Graphene infused tires have "something" going on and that is something good. It is an uncanny tire in that it shouldn't grip as well as it does, nor roll as fast as it does, but it does. I've also heard it wears like iron. Too good to be true? Maybe, but I am convinced there is a lot more good to these tires than bad.

So, once the tires are on, I am shooting to do some longer rides on flats and hopefully get ready for the Prairie Burn 100 and the Solstice 100, both events coming up really soon! I need to get some miles in my legs and fast.

That's all for this cold, wet week. Let's hope the weather turns around and warmer weather comes. Oh.....and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!

Friday News And Views

Paul Thumbies- New! (But not really) Image courtesy of Paul Components

You Should Totally E-Bay Those!

Wednesday I'm cruising my Twitter feed when I scroll up on some newsy bits from a couple of sources saying that Paul Components has released a SRAM TT shifter compatible mount that turns these bar end shifters into old school thumb shifters. Now normally, I would just scroll right on by something like that. However; I was immediately struck by the fact that someone, (actually it was Tweeted by three different accounts I follow), thought these were "new". "They are not new!", I thought to myself.  Heck, I could walk down into my Lab and grab a pair I've had kicking around for years now. New? I don't think so. I went down, within two minutes had them in hand, and shot an image, then tweeted it out asking if my circa 2011 Paul Thumbies could be "new".

A couple of the accounts I "@'ed" (code for adding an account to a Tweet which then directs said Tweet "at" the account.- Pronounced "at-ed") responded with a social media equivalent of a shrug, and they in turn "@'ed" Paul Components account for a definitive answer.

The answer I got from Paul Components on Twitter

So, I had jumped on getting those at the right time, apparently, because back then, I had no clue they were a very limited edition sort of product. I actually got them for my Ti Mukluk, which I used the right shifter by itself at first since I ran 1 X 10 SRAM to start out with. That didn't last long, the shifter came off, and the pair of mounts has been basically sitting on my bench in my little box of bar end shifter parts ever since. I just don't do much with geared, flat bar bikes these days. Anyway, I thanked Paul Components and figured that was that.

Then one of the accounts that was part of the thread snaps back with "hangs up, dials e-bay......" I replied back that this was a well played comment, but I wasn't looking to make a buck from my newfound knowledge dumped on me by Paul Components. Then another follower of mine on Twitter basically answered that and said "take the money and run!"

Social media. Weird. Sometimes it's a fun, knowledge builder. Other times.....well. 

Ingrid's 12 sped rear derailleur Courtesy of Ingrid's Instagram feed

 They Said It Would Last Forever:

Back on the 1990's heyday of CNC craziness, I purchased a "Made In The USA", CNC'ed, lightweight rear derailleur by a company called ProShift. It was "totally rebuild-able" and theoretically would last "forever" since you would be able to purchase any piece or part of that derailleur and rebuild it. It was VERY EXPENSIVE. I bolted it to my 1992 Klein Attitude and started riding.

Well, one day, under no extraordinary circumstances, I heard a "ker-CHUNK!", felt a tug on the chain, and then no power. I looked down and what was left of that derailleur was dangling from a very slack chain. In fact, the only part that survived was a jockey wheel! Every other part was ripped, twisted, or bent beyond recognition. I boxed up all the bits I could find, shipped it to ProShift, and they sent me another under warranty. That derailleur suffered the same fate exactly two weeks later. Again- the only part that survived was the lower jockey wheel.

Well, I had had enough. I got a "real" rear derailleur, went on my merry way, and ProShift quickly became a thing of mountain bike legend. I was reminded of that story again when I read about an Italian based company called "INGRID".

They have, what looks like CNC'ed metal, in the form of a rear derailleur and are saying "it will last forever because it is rebuild-able". Yeah.......

Once bitten, twice shy.

Flat pedal shoes from Giant Bicycles.

 Shoes To Get The Fargo Ready:

Yes, you read that right. I've got some shoes and that is motivating me to get the Fargo up and running. Why? Because the Fargo has flat pedals on it now. The idea is that I am going off to do some longer gravel rides on flats. To test the shoes. The shoes I have on test for RidingGravel.com. Those shoes.....

Anyway, I think it is high time for some new treads for the Fargo as well. I've got me eye on the new Vittoria Terreno Cross Country tires. They have the Graphene compound and I've had experience with this in their Terreno Dry 40mm tire. Those Graphene infused tires have "something" going on and that is something good. It is an uncanny tire in that it shouldn't grip as well as it does, nor roll as fast as it does, but it does. I've also heard it wears like iron. Too good to be true? Maybe, but I am convinced there is a lot more good to these tires than bad.

So, once the tires are on, I am shooting to do some longer rides on flats and hopefully get ready for the Prairie Burn 100 and the Solstice 100, both events coming up really soon! I need to get some miles in my legs and fast.

That's all for this cold, wet week. Let's hope the weather turns around and warmer weather comes. Oh.....and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!