A Small Step Forward

 Since I've been researching the blog for 20th Anniversary posts, ( You'll see another which will go up this weekend), I have noticed a pattern. I usually get sick in January, February, or both months. 

Now over the past few years, since COVID really, I've been much better in terms of staying healthy in Winter. However; my luck sort of ran out this year and I had some sort of weird malaise over the past couple of weeks. 

I say "sort of" because I usually either get really sick, like bedridden sick, or I get annoyingly under the weather, but never really full-on sick, like most people do. The latter was what happened this time. I actually had to ask around to see if other people were getting sick in my locale and see what their symptoms were, so I could know if I had the "crud du jour' which was going around, or if I was imagining things. 

Turns out I wasn't imagining things. I was definitely just in an annoying state of "not well". This all coincided with the worst of Winter weather we've had all season. So, I have not been riding much at all lately. And THAT is the real problem here! 

I finally was able to crack off a 45 minute fat bike ride on Tuesday afternoon in single digit above zero temperatures. At least it was Sunny and I could cut my own trail easily enough due to the consistency of this snow we've received. It was a good ride and I was glad to have gotten out again. 

A small step forward to Spring. Soon riding season will kick into full speed ahead mode. I will be a lot happier then when it finally does happen.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

Okay, you made it into another realm of time known as "2025". You have another chance to ride. Let's go! You know what? You shouldn't wait until New Year's Day to think this is your next chance at doing this-or-that in cycling (or in anything, really) You should have this new feeling every day you wake up. Buuuuuuutttt, that's a whole other story. 

I'll just say that I hope all your dreams, goals, and desires come true in 2025.

Now, let's catch up, shall we? I've been posting so much on things past that what is recent and present has, largely, been ignored here. So, I thought I'd get that taken care of here today. 

The first thing to know about me and any December of the past two decades is that I try to pre-schedule and have written up posts for the entire month of December by the end of the first week or ten days of the month. That way I get some time off to relax from blogging/writing and I get a bit of rest to recharge. 

I'm not sure how this happened, but 2024 was my highest output for blog posts in a single calendar year. I beat the old record by three posts, and the new record is 392. I would guess that the Virtual Turkey Burn Ride Reports are to blame for this new record, so again - Thank You to those who sent in a report last year. 

So, I haven't been doing a lot of planned rides either. December is pretty much a rest month from all of those activities. It makes sense for me since my wife's and my daughter's birthdays are two days apart from each other mid-month and the next week is Christmas followed by my wedding anniversary, which is tomorrow. (26 years! Woo!)

I have tinkered with a few things in the shop. One which I have previously spoken of here in that Roval rear wheel. I had a bit of a hurdle when I came around to replacing nipples on those Aerolite spokes, which like to twist up like a ribbon when you tighten the nipples up. I needed room to get my bladed spoke holder as close to the exposed part of the nipple as possible and yet be able to turn the nipple with a tool to tighten it. 

The modded Shimano spoke wrench

I needed a spoke wrench that looked like a spanner wrench, not a traditional spoke wrench. There are some online, but I made one out of an older Shimano aluminum spoke wrench by filing its bladed spoke holder out to 3.3mm. I managed to get the job done, so that worked out well.

With all the downtime from writing I was noting that a few posts I made in early December were totally going off the hook. Why that was is still a mystery to me. Maybe it has something to do with bots and "AI", or maybe someone linked to a forum and that drew a ton of hits. Anyway, there wasn't really anything especially remarkable about any of the posts that were garnering the big numbers of views versus the ones surrounding them. I'll be keeping an eye out for anomalys like those in 2025.

We had an ice storm around mid-month in December which put the kibosh on any riding for a few days. It also stopped me from working one day as well, which, to be honest, isn't ever ideal since I work so few days a week as it is! 

Then two days before Christmas I got some intestinal bug or something which caused a lot of pain and discomfort. Finally it "passed", (sorry....) and I was on the mend by the 27th. However; the illness and the inclement weather we've had kept me off my bikes and I was going a bit stir crazy there for a bit. 

These types of situations are always cause for concern because I have the time to think. Think about doing this or that with some bicycle I own. Many might remember my Shogun 1000 post here a while back and my saying I missed riding fixed gear. Well, it has been a disease of late as I find myself looking at Surly and Paul disc brake fixed gear hubs to convert a certain bike I have sitting around here. 

Might happen, might not happen, or it may be happening now. Stay tuned .... 

I finally received that handle bar from Good Grief Cycles on the 27th and again - with all the time to think, I decided against putting the bar on my Blackbuck and I am put it on my old Karate Monkey which I want to put back into the rotation of gravel bikes here which I plan to I use in 2025. My idea was to set the bike up as a "throwback" gravel machine. I just need an old Persian rug to make a "top tube snake" out of and then I'd be spot-on. (If you know, you know) 

Okay, that's about it for notable cycling related stuff here. Tomorrow I kick off things again with a "State of the Gravel Scene" post and a surprise announcement. Make sure you check it out!

It Just Keeps Hangin' On

Doing some podcasting at the Stone Castle Estates

One thing I appreciated about the past 2.5 years, and that is that I was not sick or even a little ill. Not even once. Obviously, I am grateful I did not contract COVID that I was ever aware of, but listen- not having a cold or flu for almost three years? Amazing! I got very used to that!

Now, I was extremely sick just before all the COVID madness. Back in January 2020 I got some real heavy-duty flu deal that made everything in my body hurt really badly. Then after that, I was great until now. 

And I hear upper respiratory stuff is kicking a lot of people's butts now, so I don't mean to be a whiner, and many have it worse than I do, but this head cold I have now is going into its forth week. 

It gets better- incrementally - every day. But it is such a drag and to be resting as much as possible for this long is really hard for me to deal with. But it's not like I have a ton of energy anyway! Again- it is getting better all the time. It's just really slowly coming along.

It all started right about the week of Thanksgiving, right as I was making plans to do that Virtual Turkey Burn. Well, that had to be cancelled- for myself, at any rate, and that was really disappointing. Then the next week it got worse. I haven't had a head cold like that in...... Decades? It was the worst on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and then it started to ease up and every day has been juuuuuust a little bit better. I feel like I am on the verge of kicking this thing, but it just seems to keep hanging on.

I made a delivery run last week which has been my longest ride in a while!

At first, when this thing hit me, I could ride down to work at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective which is about a mile, maybe a bit more, and I was dead in the water afterward. Just expended as if I had ridden five hours of gravel. 

Then that got easier. I did some walking too. I have a 3/4's mile circuit I do and I could maybe squeeze in a mile and a half, two miles and that would just exhaust me for a couple of hours. Then that got better. 

I risked a longer ride in fairly cold weather last Thursday when I went to pick up a delivery for the Collective of bicycle parts and then to drop those off at the Collective. That was about a six plus mile ride and it went well. I know.....only six miles. But I felt fine afterward, and that was the biggest "win" I have had in the last month. I'll take it.

And that is why I haven't had any country gravel ride reports lately. I just haven't been able to get out there and do those. But, ya know, I'll recover just in time for it to be too darn cold, icy, and windy to do country rides, if I know anything. It'll be a long while before I can do what I've been longing to do now for many weeks. 

But we'll see. One thing that has been a blessing is that I have all this "End of Year" stuff to do here on the blog anyway, so I am not lacking for content. That's been a bit of a relief, actually. And this sick time has presented a lot of spare time to research and write, which I would have less time to do if I was out gallivanting around the Iowa countryside. So, there's that. 

I sure hope this stupid sickness passes sooner than later though. I've got the feeling that it will. It's just going to take a little bit longer now......

It Just Keeps Hangin' On

Doing some podcasting at the Stone Castle Estates

One thing I appreciated about the past 2.5 years, and that is that I was not sick or even a little ill. Not even once. Obviously, I am grateful I did not contract COVID that I was ever aware of, but listen- not having a cold or flu for almost three years? Amazing! I got very used to that!

Now, I was extremely sick just before all the COVID madness. Back in January 2020 I got some real heavy-duty flu deal that made everything in my body hurt really badly. Then after that, I was great until now. 

And I hear upper respiratory stuff is kicking a lot of people's butts now, so I don't mean to be a whiner, and many have it worse than I do, but this head cold I have now is going into its forth week. 

It gets better- incrementally - every day. But it is such a drag and to be resting as much as possible for this long is really hard for me to deal with. But it's not like I have a ton of energy anyway! Again- it is getting better all the time. It's just really slowly coming along.

It all started right about the week of Thanksgiving, right as I was making plans to do that Virtual Turkey Burn. Well, that had to be cancelled- for myself, at any rate, and that was really disappointing. Then the next week it got worse. I haven't had a head cold like that in...... Decades? It was the worst on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and then it started to ease up and every day has been juuuuuust a little bit better. I feel like I am on the verge of kicking this thing, but it just seems to keep hanging on.

I made a delivery run last week which has been my longest ride in a while!

At first, when this thing hit me, I could ride down to work at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective which is about a mile, maybe a bit more, and I was dead in the water afterward. Just expended as if I had ridden five hours of gravel. 

Then that got easier. I did some walking too. I have a 3/4's mile circuit I do and I could maybe squeeze in a mile and a half, two miles and that would just exhaust me for a couple of hours. Then that got better. 

I risked a longer ride in fairly cold weather last Thursday when I went to pick up a delivery for the Collective of bicycle parts and then to drop those off at the Collective. That was about a six plus mile ride and it went well. I know.....only six miles. But I felt fine afterward, and that was the biggest "win" I have had in the last month. I'll take it.

And that is why I haven't had any country gravel ride reports lately. I just haven't been able to get out there and do those. But, ya know, I'll recover just in time for it to be too darn cold, icy, and windy to do country rides, if I know anything. It'll be a long while before I can do what I've been longing to do now for many weeks. 

But we'll see. One thing that has been a blessing is that I have all this "End of Year" stuff to do here on the blog anyway, so I am not lacking for content. That's been a bit of a relief, actually. And this sick time has presented a lot of spare time to research and write, which I would have less time to do if I was out gallivanting around the Iowa countryside. So, there's that. 

I sure hope this stupid sickness passes sooner than later though. I've got the feeling that it will. It's just going to take a little bit longer now......

No Burn For You!

Somewhere in New York, N.Y. Roll was Turkey Burnin'

 A week and a half ago now I posted regarding the second attempt at a "Virtual Turkey Burn". A poke in the ribs to those who might enjoy a bit of a challenge to get out and ride over this holiday weekend here in the U.S.A. 

Well, as it turned out, a week ago I started feeling a cold coming on. A typical head cold, for sure, and it deepened as the weekend progressed until on Tuesday this week when I felt horrible. I have not had a cold like this for several years. (Are masks to blame? Social distancing?) Anyway, the lingering effects of this are slow to wear off and well, it isn't wise to go out into cold weather and stress your body when it is fighting illness already. 

So, I had to sit and watch this short window of beautiful weather go by and miss getting in a Turkey Burn ride to boot. (sigh!) But at least I know folks like N.Y. Roll are out there trying to get in as many miles as they can over this period of time. 

He was in New York visiting family right after that wicked heavy lake effect snow they had up that way. His native grounds "only" received around two feet of the white stuff. Fortunately for N.Y. Roll the weather cooperated up that way as well and some of that snow has melted off allowing for some road cycling up his way. Today's image is courtesy of N.Y. Roll's Instagram, by the way.

I'm not sure if anyone else is "participating" in this endeavor, I only know that I will not be doing any country riding until I am healthy again. It's getting better every day, but the experts claim that the typical cold takes about 12-14 days to recover from. If that is true, I can expect to start feeling a whole lot more like myself around Wednesday or Thursday of this coming week. 

Just in time for it to be frigid cold again. Of course!

No Burn For You!

Somewhere in New York, N.Y. Roll was Turkey Burnin'

 A week and a half ago now I posted regarding the second attempt at a "Virtual Turkey Burn". A poke in the ribs to those who might enjoy a bit of a challenge to get out and ride over this holiday weekend here in the U.S.A. 

Well, as it turned out, a week ago I started feeling a cold coming on. A typical head cold, for sure, and it deepened as the weekend progressed until on Tuesday this week when I felt horrible. I have not had a cold like this for several years. (Are masks to blame? Social distancing?) Anyway, the lingering effects of this are slow to wear off and well, it isn't wise to go out into cold weather and stress your body when it is fighting illness already. 

So, I had to sit and watch this short window of beautiful weather go by and miss getting in a Turkey Burn ride to boot. (sigh!) But at least I know folks like N.Y. Roll are out there trying to get in as many miles as they can over this period of time. 

He was in New York visiting family right after that wicked heavy lake effect snow they had up that way. His native grounds "only" received around two feet of the white stuff. Fortunately for N.Y. Roll the weather cooperated up that way as well and some of that snow has melted off allowing for some road cycling up his way. Today's image is courtesy of N.Y. Roll's Instagram, by the way.

I'm not sure if anyone else is "participating" in this endeavor, I only know that I will not be doing any country riding until I am healthy again. It's getting better every day, but the experts claim that the typical cold takes about 12-14 days to recover from. If that is true, I can expect to start feeling a whole lot more like myself around Wednesday or Thursday of this coming week. 

Just in time for it to be frigid cold again. Of course!

Forced Weekend Off

A gift from "Captain Steve"

 Well, I can't say that I will ever miss last weekend! Brrr! But then again, maybe I was due. You see, with all the pandemic protocols, we escaped other sicknesses for the last two years. You kind of forget how that- at least that part of the pandemic - had its benefits until it strikes you once again. 

And it sucked. It wasn't just some mild flu or a cold. Nope! It was full-on coming out both ends and pain and well...... That's quite enough of that. 

Some 24 hour deal is still going through the family here. My son had it first. Last Thursday. Then I got it Saturday, Mrs Guitar Ted got in Sunday. So far, my daughter has escaped this somehow. 

I suppose it is possible it was food poisoning, but with my son getting it two days before me? Sounds suspect. Whatever.... All I know is that it was horrible and we will be glad to dismiss that from our lives. I'd like to get back to riding bikes again at some point, if I could! 

The bright spot in this time period was a gift I received. This goes back to the Gents Race weekend when I stayed at Steve's house in Johnston, Iowa, so I wouldn't have to get up super early and drive down on that Saturday. Well, Steve showed me his bicycle collection, and he has some real beauties! Anyway, he casually mentioned that one of his bikes had a 180mm crank set that he was going to move off that bike for another. 

"Wait! Did you just say 180mm crank set?" Yes, Steve said that. So, I told him that I wanted first dibs on that if he ever took them off. Why? I love 180mm cranks on my single speed bikes when I can get that. It just does a little something with the cadence and momentum that I have a feel for. I can tell without even looking if a single speed has a 180mm - or longer- crank set. So, I didn't even give that another thought, but I wanted to throw that out to Steve just in case. 

Well, as I have a propensity toward forgetfulness when it comes to things, it was no surprise that I forgot something when I left Steve's place. I forgot the coat and hat I was wearing when I came because I left in cycling gear for the Gents Race. So, when that was discovered, I was back home already, of course. So, Steve kindly offered to send my stuff back, and along with it..... The gift! 

So, now I have these first generation, 180mm XTR cranks which I am probably going to put on my BMC "Orange Crush" bike as that crank set is suspect as it had a left arm come loose once. Usually that is a death stroke for a square taper crank arm, but somehow that one has been holding on. But in the back of my mind.....I am not confident of this crank arm. The XTR cranks will solve that. 

Now, for some better health and better days ahead, hopefully! Count your blessings if you are a healthy person reading this. It can all go topsy-turvy in a heartbeat.

Forced Weekend Off

A gift from "Captain Steve"

 Well, I can't say that I will ever miss last weekend! Brrr! But then again, maybe I was due. You see, with all the pandemic protocols, we escaped other sicknesses for the last two years. You kind of forget how that- at least that part of the pandemic - had its benefits until it strikes you once again. 

And it sucked. It wasn't just some mild flu or a cold. Nope! It was full-on coming out both ends and pain and well...... That's quite enough of that. 

Some 24 hour deal is still going through the family here. My son had it first. Last Thursday. Then I got it Saturday, Mrs Guitar Ted got in Sunday. So far, my daughter has escaped this somehow. 

I suppose it is possible it was food poisoning, but with my son getting it two days before me? Sounds suspect. Whatever.... All I know is that it was horrible and we will be glad to dismiss that from our lives. I'd like to get back to riding bikes again at some point, if I could! 

The bright spot in this time period was a gift I received. This goes back to the Gents Race weekend when I stayed at Steve's house in Johnston, Iowa, so I wouldn't have to get up super early and drive down on that Saturday. Well, Steve showed me his bicycle collection, and he has some real beauties! Anyway, he casually mentioned that one of his bikes had a 180mm crank set that he was going to move off that bike for another. 

"Wait! Did you just say 180mm crank set?" Yes, Steve said that. So, I told him that I wanted first dibs on that if he ever took them off. Why? I love 180mm cranks on my single speed bikes when I can get that. It just does a little something with the cadence and momentum that I have a feel for. I can tell without even looking if a single speed has a 180mm - or longer- crank set. So, I didn't even give that another thought, but I wanted to throw that out to Steve just in case. 

Well, as I have a propensity toward forgetfulness when it comes to things, it was no surprise that I forgot something when I left Steve's place. I forgot the coat and hat I was wearing when I came because I left in cycling gear for the Gents Race. So, when that was discovered, I was back home already, of course. So, Steve kindly offered to send my stuff back, and along with it..... The gift! 

So, now I have these first generation, 180mm XTR cranks which I am probably going to put on my BMC "Orange Crush" bike as that crank set is suspect as it had a left arm come loose once. Usually that is a death stroke for a square taper crank arm, but somehow that one has been holding on. But in the back of my mind.....I am not confident of this crank arm. The XTR cranks will solve that. 

Now, for some better health and better days ahead, hopefully! Count your blessings if you are a healthy person reading this. It can all go topsy-turvy in a heartbeat.

The Elephant In The Room

Avoid large gatherings, they are telling us. Hmm..... what about....?

Okay, it's time to talk turkey about this COVID-19 thing and events. Specifically, gravel events. Should the big ones be postponed, or cancelled? Sound nutty? Well, consider the following.....

• Here in Iowa the big three universities, Iowa, Iowa State, and UNI, are closing up shop for two weeks after spring break. Total of three weeks. 
• Grinnell College is sending all their students home when spring break starts and conducting classes via on-line for the remainder of the semester. 
• Waterloo Iowa cancelled the annual Irish Fest which takes place the first week of August. 

And I could go on, but the point is, obvious large gatherings of people are being frowned upon as officials try to manage the spread of this virus. Therefore it is not a far fetched idea that, say, a city like Emporia, Kansas might advise that the Dirty Kanza modify its practices, postpone the event, or even cancel it altogether.

I'm not going to take sides here on the veracity of the reasons for all of this, but all I do know is that there are actions being taken to reduce large gatherings of people, and some big gravel events have just that. I also know that ideas from colleges holding basketball games with no audiences, having auto and moto racing events postponed and cancelled, and that reduced media contact with athletes are all real things or considered for reality. The NBA suspended the remainder of the 2020 season just last night. Heck, even Sea Otter, the cycling festival, got pushed off until October. But I'm not hearing or seeing anything about the big gravel events. This seems......odd. 

These are strange times folks. I have no answers, but I think its high time we start looking at what might be best practice for something like a gravel event where people from all over the U.S. and abroad are gathering in one place within close proximity of each other. Is it a problem, or are we just overreacting?

Whichever way it is, I think the conversation needs to be started.

The Elephant In The Room

Avoid large gatherings, they are telling us. Hmm..... what about....?

Okay, it's time to talk turkey about this COVID-19 thing and events. Specifically, gravel events. Should the big ones be postponed, or cancelled? Sound nutty? Well, consider the following.....

• Here in Iowa the big three universities, Iowa, Iowa State, and UNI, are closing up shop for two weeks after spring break. Total of three weeks. 
• Grinnell College is sending all their students home when spring break starts and conducting classes via on-line for the remainder of the semester. 
• Waterloo Iowa cancelled the annual Irish Fest which takes place the first week of August. 

And I could go on, but the point is, obvious large gatherings of people are being frowned upon as officials try to manage the spread of this virus. Therefore it is not a far fetched idea that, say, a city like Emporia, Kansas might advise that the Dirty Kanza modify its practices, postpone the event, or even cancel it altogether.

I'm not going to take sides here on the veracity of the reasons for all of this, but all I do know is that there are actions being taken to reduce large gatherings of people, and some big gravel events have just that. I also know that ideas from colleges holding basketball games with no audiences, having auto and moto racing events postponed and cancelled, and that reduced media contact with athletes are all real things or considered for reality. The NBA suspended the remainder of the 2020 season just last night. Heck, even Sea Otter, the cycling festival, got pushed off until October. But I'm not hearing or seeing anything about the big gravel events. This seems......odd. 

These are strange times folks. I have no answers, but I think its high time we start looking at what might be best practice for something like a gravel event where people from all over the U.S. and abroad are gathering in one place within close proximity of each other. Is it a problem, or are we just overreacting?

Whichever way it is, I think the conversation needs to be started.

Not Quite Right

Preparing for Winter

Saturday morning rolled around and I tried rolling out of bed. unnnnh! oooh! OW! 

Something was not quite right. You know the feeling. When the joints ache, the head feels like someone is trying to crack it open from the inside, and are you dead tired, despite getting plenty of sleep. Yep! I was sick. Something.....whatever it was, was trying to bring me down. So, I knew I was out as far as riding a bicycle went.

I did get some work done that I'd been neglecting over the last few weeks. Can redemption, grocery shopping with Mrs. Guitar Ted, and some other little things. I took it pretty easy though, and I drank water throughout the day. I still felt "not quite right" when I went to bed though. It continued on into Sunday as well. So, the rain on Sunday was not a big deal to me.

Instead, I decided to get some Winter preparation work done. On bicycles, that is. I had thought about those studded tires, the 45NRTH Gravdals, and I found a spare set of wheels that weren't going anywhere soon, and slapped those together. These could go on the pink BMC MCD whenever I needed grip on ice. Of course, this level of preparation guarantees that I will not need them the rest of the Winter. (I hope) We'll see......

Then I decided to refresh the 650B Irwin Cycles wheels shod with the WTB Venture tires. This combination worked last March in a surprising way on some icy, snowy bike trails. I already know it works well on softer, wet gravel too. These are the sort of conditions we get in Winter on gravel roads, unless it goes all ice, or it gets so cold it becomes impossible to stay warm for longer than an hour. Then I will retreat into the woods and ride a fat bike.

Now, my body being not quite right isn't the only thing lately which hasn't been "quite right" and this has also been an issue for me. It has to do with my job at the bike shop. Things are in upheaval, and in the coming weeks, there could be some major changes. Well........there will be. Just what will happen has me, and the rest of my co-workers, in a state of stress which is not a lot of fun to be going through, as you might imagine. And I have to believe this has something to do with what happened with me this weekend as well.

I don't have a lot to complain about in life, and really, I have it pretty good. So, don't go and think my life is going down the toilet, or that things are super-bad here with me. There are folks with a LOT worse things going on than myself, and I realize that. But that said, I won't be looking back on 2019 with a ton of fondness. Especially on the professional side. Still, I am blessed, and that's what I'm focusing on.

Not Quite Right

Preparing for Winter

Saturday morning rolled around and I tried rolling out of bed. unnnnh! oooh! OW! 

Something was not quite right. You know the feeling. When the joints ache, the head feels like someone is trying to crack it open from the inside, and are you dead tired, despite getting plenty of sleep. Yep! I was sick. Something.....whatever it was, was trying to bring me down. So, I knew I was out as far as riding a bicycle went.

I did get some work done that I'd been neglecting over the last few weeks. Can redemption, grocery shopping with Mrs. Guitar Ted, and some other little things. I took it pretty easy though, and I drank water throughout the day. I still felt "not quite right" when I went to bed though. It continued on into Sunday as well. So, the rain on Sunday was not a big deal to me.

Instead, I decided to get some Winter preparation work done. On bicycles, that is. I had thought about those studded tires, the 45NRTH Gravdals, and I found a spare set of wheels that weren't going anywhere soon, and slapped those together. These could go on the pink BMC MCD whenever I needed grip on ice. Of course, this level of preparation guarantees that I will not need them the rest of the Winter. (I hope) We'll see......

Then I decided to refresh the 650B Irwin Cycles wheels shod with the WTB Venture tires. This combination worked last March in a surprising way on some icy, snowy bike trails. I already know it works well on softer, wet gravel too. These are the sort of conditions we get in Winter on gravel roads, unless it goes all ice, or it gets so cold it becomes impossible to stay warm for longer than an hour. Then I will retreat into the woods and ride a fat bike.

Now, my body being not quite right isn't the only thing lately which hasn't been "quite right" and this has also been an issue for me. It has to do with my job at the bike shop. Things are in upheaval, and in the coming weeks, there could be some major changes. Well........there will be. Just what will happen has me, and the rest of my co-workers, in a state of stress which is not a lot of fun to be going through, as you might imagine. And I have to believe this has something to do with what happened with me this weekend as well.

I don't have a lot to complain about in life, and really, I have it pretty good. So, don't go and think my life is going down the toilet, or that things are super-bad here with me. There are folks with a LOT worse things going on than myself, and I realize that. But that said, I won't be looking back on 2019 with a ton of fondness. Especially on the professional side. Still, I am blessed, and that's what I'm focusing on.

Minus Ten Review 2009-22

The Gen 1 Fargo as it was when I rode it at the DK200 in 2009

Ten Years ago this week on this here ol' blog I was yakkin' about the Dirty Kanza and, well........ There wasn't much content. 

Kind of like this past week, I had no way to post a story easily, or back then, at all. Here's a dirty little secret about blogging- They are called "Scheduled Posts". That's right! You can write up a ton of content and schedule it to post up whenever you want to in the future.

Wish I had figured that out ten years ago, but as I keep drilling into you here, I was a techno-rookie. I had pretty much no real expertise on the web other than henpecking at a keyboard and loading up images. Of course, by this time ten years ago I was getting a trial by fire, and I learned a ton in 2009-2010.

But anyway..... Back to the Dirty Kanza!

So, this soiree was still a small deal back in '09. I looked back and see I figured there were less than 100 people that showed up to ride that year. I also see that it was one of those "blow-torch" days on the bike down there when the temperatures reached into the upper 90's and the wind blew at a strong gale. Typical for the earlier DK's, actually. I made it to CP#1 and called it a day.

I had a bad head cold, as I recall, and I knew I was in for a weird ride. I was dizzy, then I'd be fine, then dizzy, and in the end, I got too dehydrated anyway. This was the year my family made the trip down with me and we ended up going to Council Grove and hanging out for the better part of the day. It was a memorable day with the family. 

Minus Ten Review 2009-22

The Gen 1 Fargo as it was when I rode it at the DK200 in 2009

Ten Years ago this week on this here ol' blog I was yakkin' about the Dirty Kanza and, well........ There wasn't much content. 

Kind of like this past week, I had no way to post a story easily, or back then, at all. Here's a dirty little secret about blogging- They are called "Scheduled Posts". That's right! You can write up a ton of content and schedule it to post up whenever you want to in the future.

Wish I had figured that out ten years ago, but as I keep drilling into you here, I was a techno-rookie. I had pretty much no real expertise on the web other than henpecking at a keyboard and loading up images. Of course, by this time ten years ago I was getting a trial by fire, and I learned a ton in 2009-2010.

But anyway..... Back to the Dirty Kanza!

So, this soiree was still a small deal back in '09. I looked back and see I figured there were less than 100 people that showed up to ride that year. I also see that it was one of those "blow-torch" days on the bike down there when the temperatures reached into the upper 90's and the wind blew at a strong gale. Typical for the earlier DK's, actually. I made it to CP#1 and called it a day.

I had a bad head cold, as I recall, and I knew I was in for a weird ride. I was dizzy, then I'd be fine, then dizzy, and in the end, I got too dehydrated anyway. This was the year my family made the trip down with me and we ended up going to Council Grove and hanging out for the better part of the day. It was a memorable day with the family. 

What's Up, GT?

A new fork on the Raleigh....

The end of the year business and the "State Of The Gravel Scene" posts have gobbled up all my space for recounting the day-to-day stuff around here. So, without further adieu, here's what has been happening since, or, around Christmas time.....

• Hours cut waaaay back at work. The business climate in bicycle retail has, well.......it sucks. Not just where I work either. But suffice it to say that the purse strings were tightened and Christmas time was a frugal one at the G-Ted household.
• 24hrs of Cumming entry: Sam, my co-conspirator in the 24hrs of Cumming last August started sending me some messages that were......cryptic. Then at the end I get a confirmation that I was in the 24hrs of Cumming and a "Merry Christmas" from Sam. This all a day ahead of registration opening, which.......I don't know how that worked. Point is, I am in with Sam. This time we will be known as "Team Snack Sabbath". 
• 20th Anniversary: Mrs. G-Ted and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary January 2nd. Again- a frugal affair, so no big deal, but it didn't matter because our family was together.  
• Sickness: Yep. Regular readers know I usually get sick around this time of year. Had a 24hr bug, recovered in a few days. 
• Renegade Gents Race 9.0: April 6th. The Careless Whispers are in for their 9th time. Lets see if we can get EVERY team member to the finish on the regulation course! 
• C.O.G. 100 Registration: Opened January 2nd. Sold out two thirds of the field within four hours and we only had a handful of spots left by the end of day one of the registration process. Sold all 75 spots in three days. Added 25 additional spots over the weekend. Pretty surprised by that, I won't lie. I figured finding 75 single speed freaks would be tougher than that.

Then this retro single speed stuff showed up.

Speaking Of Single Speed..........

I got a message between Christmas and New Years from Grannygear. He asked me if I might be interested in some single speed hubs he had, some old White Industries ENO hubs. I said yeah, and he said, no problem. Okay, so filed away for some other time.

Then on the day of my 20th wedding anniversary, I got a heavy box of pretty decent size. What? I opened it, and besides the vintage hubs, there were two Shimano square taper cranks with rings, a White Industries free wheel, two saddles from WTB, and to top it all off- the White Industries ENO freewheel tool!

Thank you, Grannygear! Wow! This is so cool. One of the cranksets is even a 180mm length! That one, a 9000 series crank, has a rare 34T Onza Buzzsaw chain ring too. The stuff needs cleaning and a touch of TLC, but hey! I ain't complainin'! First thing to do after a bit of polishing up will be to get a new set of bearings in the rear hub. Then I'll build up a wheel set for my Blackbuck rig with some rims from Velocity of some sort. Probably some Velocity Blunt SS rims. Anyway, these wheels are gonna be sweet.

That White Industries free wheel will probably end up on the Blackbuck at some point. It's a 21T or 22T job, too low for any gravel travel. The cranks...... Dunno yet. I probably will put one set on the Blackbuck and retire the ano-green Suginos I've run on there for the last ten plus years. One of the saddles is a Pure V, my favorite, so I'll have no trouble finding a home for that. The other is a well worn, possibly an OG from the 90's, WTB SST saddle. I have one and have broken my other. Good time to replace that.

So, there ya go. Some catching up, housecleaning, and whatnot from late last year till the present. Back to "regularly scheduled" postings tomorrow.

What's Up, GT?

A new fork on the Raleigh....

The end of the year business and the "State Of The Gravel Scene" posts have gobbled up all my space for recounting the day-to-day stuff around here. So, without further adieu, here's what has been happening since, or, around Christmas time.....

• Hours cut waaaay back at work. The business climate in bicycle retail has, well.......it sucks. Not just where I work either. But suffice it to say that the purse strings were tightened and Christmas time was a frugal one at the G-Ted household.
• 24hrs of Cumming entry: Sam, my co-conspirator in the 24hrs of Cumming last August started sending me some messages that were......cryptic. Then at the end I get a confirmation that I was in the 24hrs of Cumming and a "Merry Christmas" from Sam. This all a day ahead of registration opening, which.......I don't know how that worked. Point is, I am in with Sam. This time we will be known as "Team Snack Sabbath". 
• 20th Anniversary: Mrs. G-Ted and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary January 2nd. Again- a frugal affair, so no big deal, but it didn't matter because our family was together.  
• Sickness: Yep. Regular readers know I usually get sick around this time of year. Had a 24hr bug, recovered in a few days. 
• Renegade Gents Race 9.0: April 6th. The Careless Whispers are in for their 9th time. Lets see if we can get EVERY team member to the finish on the regulation course! 
• C.O.G. 100 Registration: Opened January 2nd. Sold out two thirds of the field within four hours and we only had a handful of spots left by the end of day one of the registration process. Sold all 75 spots in three days. Added 25 additional spots over the weekend. Pretty surprised by that, I won't lie. I figured finding 75 single speed freaks would be tougher than that.

Then this retro single speed stuff showed up.

Speaking Of Single Speed..........

I got a message between Christmas and New Years from Grannygear. He asked me if I might be interested in some single speed hubs he had, some old White Industries ENO hubs. I said yeah, and he said, no problem. Okay, so filed away for some other time.

Then on the day of my 20th wedding anniversary, I got a heavy box of pretty decent size. What? I opened it, and besides the vintage hubs, there were two Shimano square taper cranks with rings, a White Industries free wheel, two saddles from WTB, and to top it all off- the White Industries ENO freewheel tool!

Thank you, Grannygear! Wow! This is so cool. One of the cranksets is even a 180mm length! That one, a 9000 series crank, has a rare 34T Onza Buzzsaw chain ring too. The stuff needs cleaning and a touch of TLC, but hey! I ain't complainin'! First thing to do after a bit of polishing up will be to get a new set of bearings in the rear hub. Then I'll build up a wheel set for my Blackbuck rig with some rims from Velocity of some sort. Probably some Velocity Blunt SS rims. Anyway, these wheels are gonna be sweet.

That White Industries free wheel will probably end up on the Blackbuck at some point. It's a 21T or 22T job, too low for any gravel travel. The cranks...... Dunno yet. I probably will put one set on the Blackbuck and retire the ano-green Suginos I've run on there for the last ten plus years. One of the saddles is a Pure V, my favorite, so I'll have no trouble finding a home for that. The other is a well worn, possibly an OG from the 90's, WTB SST saddle. I have one and have broken my other. Good time to replace that.

So, there ya go. Some catching up, housecleaning, and whatnot from late last year till the present. Back to "regularly scheduled" postings tomorrow.

Dirty Kanza Report: Getting There

On the road somewhere in Kansas

So with the end of May came another trip to Kansas. Not the usual, bike riding, exploration type of deal of the last two years. Not a ride in the event. Nope. This time I didn't even bring stuff to ride in. Packing was a lot simpler!

Anyway, the master plan ended up involving a hook up with MG. He had been invited to ride in the inaugural DKXL, the 350 mile, self-supported race which was by invitation only and basically being beta-tested by DK Promotions to see how they would, or even if they would, change things up for a possible opening up to the public. Matt said it would be cool for me to run over to Lincoln and then we'd drive down there to Emporia together.

My trip started at around 5:30am and I got to Lincoln by 10:45am. Then we finally got going around an hour or so later. On the way out of Lincoln, MG decided to pick up a bacon cheeseburger and fries from Culver's. Remember this. It  comes up later.........

The trip down seemed to go faster with MG talking to me and both of us having fun. We made a pit stop at a convenience store near Manhattan where I finally got a sandwich. Then it was a short hop down to Emporia. We hooked up with our host, Joe, whom I stayed with a few years ago for my last "Official" ride in the DK200. He had gotten a new dog since then, ironically named Ted.

Dinner was had at Radius Brewing downtown and the we repaired back to Joe's place for some excellent "Old Fashioned" cocktails and great conversation. Then, it was off to bed with the promise of a great breakfast in the neighborhood put on by Rick of Mulready's Tap.

Now, let's get back to that bacon cheeseburger here for a minute. It's weird how such an innocuous thing can wreak havoc on one's day. However; this particular gut bomb had somehow gone bad, and MG's body went into "fight mode" at about 3:00am and he was wrenching, puking, and well.........you know. Everything was coming up and it certainly wasn't roses.

Now I've had food poisoning before, and I know it can be a knockout punch. I was seriously bummed for MG.

Next- The Rally

Dirty Kanza Report: Getting There

On the road somewhere in Kansas

So with the end of May came another trip to Kansas. Not the usual, bike riding, exploration type of deal of the last two years. Not a ride in the event. Nope. This time I didn't even bring stuff to ride in. Packing was a lot simpler!

Anyway, the master plan ended up involving a hook up with MG. He had been invited to ride in the inaugural DKXL, the 350 mile, self-supported race which was by invitation only and basically being beta-tested by DK Promotions to see how they would, or even if they would, change things up for a possible opening up to the public. Matt said it would be cool for me to run over to Lincoln and then we'd drive down there to Emporia together.

My trip started at around 5:30am and I got to Lincoln by 10:45am. Then we finally got going around an hour or so later. On the way out of Lincoln, MG decided to pick up a bacon cheeseburger and fries from Culver's. Remember this. It  comes up later.........

The trip down seemed to go faster with MG talking to me and both of us having fun. We made a pit stop at a convenience store near Manhattan where I finally got a sandwich. Then it was a short hop down to Emporia. We hooked up with our host, Joe, whom I stayed with a few years ago for my last "Official" ride in the DK200. He had gotten a new dog since then, ironically named Ted.

Dinner was had at Radius Brewing downtown and the we repaired back to Joe's place for some excellent "Old Fashioned" cocktails and great conversation. Then, it was off to bed with the promise of a great breakfast in the neighborhood put on by Rick of Mulready's Tap.

Now, let's get back to that bacon cheeseburger here for a minute. It's weird how such an innocuous thing can wreak havoc on one's day. However; this particular gut bomb had somehow gone bad, and MG's body went into "fight mode" at about 3:00am and he was wrenching, puking, and well.........you know. Everything was coming up and it certainly wasn't roses.

Now I've had food poisoning before, and I know it can be a knockout punch. I was seriously bummed for MG.

Next- The Rally

The Two Off-Seasons

New tires for a gravel tire review. Temperature well below freezing. Hmm....

Since about 2007 I have experienced several things every Winter. There are three of these things which are pretty consistent in their appearance though. One would be an "off-season" of sorts from whatever my primary form of riding has been previous to Winter. Lately that has been an absence from the gravel roads. When things get windy, real air temperatures dip below 20°F, and the roads are frozen solid as rock with ice and/or snow, I am not going to be doing anything effective out there. Even survival is questionable many days.

The second thing which I hate, but has been a regular visitor every Winter for years, is that I get sick. Really sick. Every late December or early January. I get pretty tired of that one! Next Winter it would be really good if I got an off season from that! 

The third thing is my off season from reviewing. December's approach generally sets off alarms here at Guitar Ted Laboratories where I can have three or four things going on at once in terms of reviews. Marketing companies seem to like to send out review things which should be used in hotter weather in the late Fall and early Winter. I never have quite understood this, but for over a decade now that has been a notable occurrence.

So, I generally am scrambling every day to do something which can further me towards the end of a review by late November. Once in awhile I get bonus December riding, as I did in late 2015. However; I generally am shut down sometime early in December and everything gets put on hold then until later into Winter or early Spring. Meanwhile I am in limbo, waiting, wanting to clear the slate, but that first 40° day and thawing roads is a bit a ways down the road yet.

Waiting to ride out there again too weighs on my mind. Sickness puts off even the odd commute and fat biking I can actually have fun doing right now. This off-season stuff is for the birds. I'm not a fan, but then again, I probably need the rest. Time off makes the time I can ride mean more to me.

The Two Off-Seasons

New tires for a gravel tire review. Temperature well below freezing. Hmm....

Since about 2007 I have experienced several things every Winter. There are three of these things which are pretty consistent in their appearance though. One would be an "off-season" of sorts from whatever my primary form of riding has been previous to Winter. Lately that has been an absence from the gravel roads. When things get windy, real air temperatures dip below 20°F, and the roads are frozen solid as rock with ice and/or snow, I am not going to be doing anything effective out there. Even survival is questionable many days.

The second thing which I hate, but has been a regular visitor every Winter for years, is that I get sick. Really sick. Every late December or early January. I get pretty tired of that one! Next Winter it would be really good if I got an off season from that! 

The third thing is my off season from reviewing. December's approach generally sets off alarms here at Guitar Ted Laboratories where I can have three or four things going on at once in terms of reviews. Marketing companies seem to like to send out review things which should be used in hotter weather in the late Fall and early Winter. I never have quite understood this, but for over a decade now that has been a notable occurrence.

So, I generally am scrambling every day to do something which can further me towards the end of a review by late November. Once in awhile I get bonus December riding, as I did in late 2015. However; I generally am shut down sometime early in December and everything gets put on hold then until later into Winter or early Spring. Meanwhile I am in limbo, waiting, wanting to clear the slate, but that first 40° day and thawing roads is a bit a ways down the road yet.

Waiting to ride out there again too weighs on my mind. Sickness puts off even the odd commute and fat biking I can actually have fun doing right now. This off-season stuff is for the birds. I'm not a fan, but then again, I probably need the rest. Time off makes the time I can ride mean more to me.