Creatures Of Gravel 40: Update

NOTE: Make sure to familiarize yourself with the announcement post which you can read HERE. 

The route file indicates three and 3/4's miles of Level B road which all occur within the first quarter of the course. With weather being the proverbial "wild card", N.Y. Roll was concerned there may be trouble. Trouble if it rains, that is. 

Looking at the State DOT maps, we have a "wet weather" option which will eliminate the dirt roads. This wiill add no extra miles, but it would take us through the village of Lincoln, Iowa, and it would add a bit of extra pavement. 

This route would only go into effect if we get any significant rain the day before or during the ride. This will be only on my written cues, and it will not be on the "official route gps file", so please note this and be aware you will have to rely on my cues for navigation. That is, IF we have to use the wet weather route. 

Right now, this doesn't look like it will be a worry, but we are far enough out the forecasts could change. Please keep an eye on the weather and monitor the blog here for updates. 

One never knows how many folks might show up to this sort of a ride. If the weather cooperates, there will be more people showing up. If it looks, or if it is, sketchy, hardly anyone will show up. With this in mind, I have a few things to share. 

One: Parking on Broad Street - If we get a ton of interest we will start to ask people to move their cars to a park located on the Southwest corner of Reinbeck just off  Park Street near the Reinbeck Aquatic Center. There are baseball diamonds adjacent to this parking lot as well. We do not want to overtake downtown Reinbeck. I do not expect this will be an issue, but......just in case. Bonus: This park is adjacent to where the gps file starts and stops the route. 

Two: N.Y. Roll is facilitating the rest stop pierogies feed. He wouldn't mind a companion/helper. So, if you are coming along, but decide last minute not to ride, or if you weren't going to ride, but are coming with someone who is, please let me know. I can hook you up and get you with N.Y. Roll to help out with things and hang with him. Not necessary for our success, but this is an idea for anyone who may not be in it for the riding part.

Three: I have no idea how many folks will be there. I have heard from a couple of folks about their intentions, but as with anything like this, last minute decisions typically are what determines attendance. (Based on weather, for one thing, no doubt!) But if you would be so kind, it would be nice for Mr. Roll if we had a rough idea of who is coming. Leave a comment here or email me at g.ted.productions@gtmail.com. Thanks! 

Four: Geared bikes are welcome! Yes, the theme of the ride is single speed, but we do not want this to be a barrier to participation. Please come if you want to with your geared bike. Just make sure it is in good condition, capable on gravel, and have repair items along with you in case of a flat tire. That is all you need.  

Five: THIS IS NOT A RACE!!  A local rider here approached N.Y. Roll with a comment to the effect saying he was glad we were putting on the race again. Despite my very clearly saying in the announcement IT IS NOT A RACE, I guess we have to be very vigilant and say it loud and clear that THIS IS NOT A RACE. 

Did you catch that this time? I hope so....  

Stay tuned and don't e shy about asking questions or leaving comments!(And don't be a smarty and ask if this is a race. Okay?) 
 

My Bike For The C.O.G. 40 & More

 Thursday I posted the information for the C.O.G. 40, so if you missed the announcement, click teh hyperlink there and go check it all out. 

I teased this event on Facebook as well ahead of the announcement. It was plain to see several folks thought this was going to be a race, because they were posting comments which gave this vibe. However; it is merely a group ride for fun. I said I was done organizing such events, and I meant what I said. 

Plus, I am not doing all the legwork for this either. I'm "promoting it", sure, but N.Y. Roll is the one doing the route, the logistics, etc. I merely am showing up to ride a bicycle and hang with friends. That's all. 

Well, with this said, I am going to also give a shout out to those who live far away who have indicated they are considering coming to this ride. This means a lot to me. I do not take it lightly that several who live multiple hours away from Reinbeck want to share a ride with me.  Your consideration and possible commitment to drive this far for a 40 mile gravel ride with me is amazing, even if you do not show up. I marked your comments, and I am very thankful. 

Now, since this is a single speed event, (but if you don't have a single speed, and want to ride, you can!), I am not riding the Peregrine Mk4. I know several of you would have liked to have seen the bike with your own two eyes, but it is geared, so no.  I'll be riding this bike instead, (of course!)......

The Honeman Flyer. Now with zero offset seat post. (Again!) 

Yes, it is the Honeman Flyer! I will be riding this one and it is all set to go for this little adventure. For the SS gear nerds out there, I am running a 42T/20T set up. This gets me a bit slower gear than many single speed gravel riders use, but it eases the climbing efforts and is fast enough on the flats. At least for my type of riding, it is. 

I rode this same gearing on the Victory Ride last year and that course had some pretty big hills. This course won't be as bad for hills, although it will have a fair amount of rollers. So, I feel pretty confident in my ability to roll this around Tama County for 40 miles. 

My tires are Ritchey SpeedMax 700 x 40's which are 43+ wide on my Velocity Blunt SS wheel set. These are severely underrated tires which I feel more people should be looking into. They are fast, light, comfortable, and grippy. They have performed flawlessly as tubeless tires, holding air quite well, and never weeping sealant. 

The Redshift ShockStop stem is there to take the edge off the stiff Salsa Cycles Waxwing fork. (Purchased post recall, by the way). The newest seat post, of which there have been several in this bike, is the Thompson silver anodized zero offset post. This may last a while until the silver bugs me enough to get a black zero offset post! 

So, that's the rig for the ride on the 26th. If you have any questions or comments about the C.O.G. 40, let me know in the comments section or email me @g.ted.productions@gmail.com. 
 

Announcing The Creatures Of Gravel 40

C.O.G. 40

Reinbeck, Iowa

9;00am Start  Broad Street between HWY 175 and Main Street..

Okay, here are the details for the fun, non-competitive, free  group ride out of Reinbeck, Iowa on Sunday, October 26th. 

What: A casual single speed* gravel ride of 40 miles to celebrate the end of the riding season. NOT a competitive event!!

Why: For fun. To see friends, To get rid of old C.O.G. 100 merch. To eat pierogies.  To ride single speed bicycles on gravel*. 

Where: Out of Reinbeck we will go South, skirt the North side of Lincoln, Iowa, pass by Gladbrook (convenience store at Mile 15) and stop halfway at the Union Grove State Park. Then on back to Reinbeck. Total of 40 miles and three Level B Roads.  

When: Sunday, October 26th because this is the next Sunday I have off from playing in my church's band. I also work on Saturday mornings, so Saturdays are not good for me. Starting at 9:00am because this should get us to our halfway stop in time for a lunch, (I think) of pierogies from N.Y. Roll. (Subject to change) 

Details: READ CAREFULLY! NO COST TO RIDE. No registration. Just show up or do not show up. Ride starts PROMPTLY at 9:00am Park on Broad Street and prepare to ride from the 100 block of Broad Street. In between the start and stop look for rolling hills and gravel. N.Y. Roll prepared THIS ROUTE which you can download into your GPS units.  (NOTE: N.Y. Roll has already changed the route three times so double check the file before you leave to come to this ride. Who knows how many times he'll tweak the route!)

The pace will be CASUAL. No one left behind. This is NOT a competitive event. ALL rules of the road are in effect. This is an OPEN ROUTE TO CARS AND AG TRAFFIC. Riders MUST CREST HILLS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD!! All traffic signs MUST be obeyed. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU! Be prepared with water, food, and gear to fix a flat tire or a minor mechanical. THERE IS NO SAG, NO SUPPORT!! If you show up to ride, you assume all responsibilities, consequences, and outcomes of YOUR DECISIONS OR RANDOM, CHANCE HAPPENINGS. 

N.Y. Roll is planning to have pierogies at the halfway stop where there will be restrooms available, (we think)  

 Merch: Old C.O.G. 100 hats, jerseys, and maybe a few tidbits of other stuff will be offered FOR FREE to anyone who shows up. Must be present to get anything offered and all will be given away, first come first served - NO HOLDS. I have 20 C.O.G 100 hats, maybe a half dozen jerseys, and I will bring down whatever else I need to off-load. ONE HAT PER RIDER, please! 

Merch will be offered at the ride's start.  

Weather: We cannot control the weather and neither can you!  If things look to be too rainy, or stormy, we will cancel this ride and maybe do it next year. If it is cold, windy, or warm and Sunny, be prepared for it, and keep astride of the latest forecasts so you do not get caught out under or over dressed

*Note: We are strongly suggesting single speed bikes, but if you want to ride this route and do not own a single speed you are still welcome to do so.  

One That Got Away

  In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

Public Service Announcement: I am entering the final weeks of this series of posts. May 11th, 2025 will mark the start of my 20th year of blogging here on "Guitar Ted Productions". There will be a special post for this upcoming, but for now, please enjoy another look back at this topic from the days gone by on G-Ted Productions. 

Salsa Cycles Stormchaser in its debut color and configuration

I'm sure that if you are a seasoned cyclist there is probably a bicycle in your past which was "one that got away". A bicycle which, for whatever reasons, was one you sold, had stolen, or lost for a reason which you wish you had back again.

Now, you may be romanticizing this old memory, and in reality, maybe that bicycle is not "all that", but maybe it was great. I don't know your story, but for me "that bike" is the original Salsa Cycles Stormchaser which, ironically, was never "mine". It was a review bicycle for RidingGravel.com.

Of course, this was during the early, dark days of the pandemic, and I admit, this may have had something to do with my feelings toward the bike. The Stormchaser was my companion for many lonely gravel grinders that Spring. Rides where I was contemplating all the madness and trying to find peace for my mind and soul. The quiet Black Hawk County countryside helped with this. The Stormchaser was the vehicle which transported me there.

Of course, the Stormchaser was not perfect. Its brutal front fork gave no quarter. The aluminum frame was not the steel feel I prefer in a ride. I probably would have modded the thing to death had Salsa Cycles let me keep the bike. But that shiny, new-penny hue, the simple lines of the bike, and its single-speed purpose were very fetching. I liked the way the bike looked a lot.

I did end up stuffing 50mm tires into the frame and this helped the front end be smoother and not so unforgiving. I likely would have kept the big tires on this bike with a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem and had been just fine.

But......it wasn't meant to be. Salsa Cycles wanted the bike back, and at the time, I could easily see why. Bicycles were in super-short supply. The shop I was working at couldn't get anymore new bikes, and even bicycle staples like tubes and bar tape were non-existent in warehouses all across the country. I imagine the Stormchaser I tested ended up under some customer who had ordered one which Salsa couldn't get from overseas from its supplier. So, yeah....

And it isn't as though I don't have cool, fun to ride bicycles anyway. But in another world, where there was not a pandemic induced shortage, maybe the Stormchaser would have been available to me to keep. I don't know. If this were the case, it is very likely  that I would have not purchased the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 or had the Honeman Flyer built. So, maybe things worked out the way they should have anyway.

And in the end, I have memories and stories on this blog from a time I don't think we want to repeat, ever. But memories of the Stormchaser and my contemplative, peaceful 2020 rides will always bring a smile to my face. I think this is okay, and thanks to Salsa Cycles for even giving me the chance to try this out at a time when they really did not have any reason to allow me to enjoy such a bike. So again, thanks Salsa Cycles! I still am very appreciative of that opportunity.

And that's "the one that got away" story for me. What is yours?

Honeman Flyer: Parts

Image courtesy of Erik Mathy

I thought Friday would be the day I got my mitts on my King Fabrications Honeman Flyer, but that was delayed until today. In fact, it was tracked in town on Saturday, at the UPS distribution center, but it won't show up at the delivery spot until this afternoon. (Maybe by the time that you read this.) 

So, while I thought I might be sharing images of the completed build today, I instead will be building it today. The bike, that is, and until that finishes up, I thought I'd share some of the parts that are going into this. 

My personal build procession goes something like this: Fit the seat collar, insert the seat post, hang the frame by the post in the work stand. Then I fit the head set and put the fork on with a stand-in set of spacers and a stem. 

Next is getting the threads chased in the bottom bracket shell, (if needed), and then fitting the bottom bracket and crankset. On a single speed I would then fit the wheels, brake calipers, and turn my attention to the cockpit with a lot of measuring and finally cutting down of the steer tube. Then I would fit the saddle, the final stem, handle bar, brake levers, and set up the brakes. I then would wrap the bars. I don't know why, but the chain is almost always the last thing I put on a bike I build. 

Weird, but maybe that's just me. 

I chose a Cane Creek head set for this build. I think black anodized parts work best to highlight this wild paint job on the bike. I just so happened to have had a Cane Creek 40 head set for a 44mm head tube on hand that was new. 

Honestly, the brand of head set doesn't matter that much to me. Cane Creek is good. Wolf Tooth is great, especially if you want color. Chris King is bling, but again, only if you want anodized colors. Black? Heck..... At that point a Cane Creek is hard to beat. So, I think it will likely stay in there as long as I have this bike, and I doubt I'll ever have to service it or do anything but clean the outside once in a while. 

The Honeman Flyer was built to accept a 27.2mm seat post by King Fabrications. That's the "standard" size for gravel these days, and there are a TON of choices I could have gone with. 

My conundrum with the Honeman Flyer was with the design. It's based on a 1930's track bike design, which back in those days used a seat post with a brazed forward extension and a very slack seat tube angle. This set up had the appearance of a stem for a handle bar. The extension would be fitted with a clamp. That clamp could slide fore and aft to allow for different positions for different riders. During my research on 1900's to mid-century track bikes, I learned that these forward extended seat posts and stems were done because many times racing bicycles were so expensive that sometimes several riders would use the same machine. The sliding saddle and handle bar set ups allowed for the precise fitment of different riders. 

Okay, so back to 2024. The Honeman Flyer has a slack, 70° seat tube. Generally I ride 73° seat tube angled bikes and a fair amount of saddle set-back using set-back seat posts. To get in approximately the same position on the Honeman Flyer as I would on my other gravel bikes, I would necessarily need a 0 degree set back post to have any chance of getting the angle right. 

That led me to an old friend in the parts bin. A carbon fiber Tamer seat post from the late 1990's/early 00's. When I last used this, oh....maybe 12 -15 years ago, I remember it being pretty flexy and comfortable. The Honeman Flyer will have less exposed seat post than almost any bike I have other than maybe the Twin Six Standard Rando v2, so this Tamer post should do the trick for me. 

Wolf Tooth is represented on the build by their Morse Cages and rear through axle. I love Wolf Tooth's B-Rad rails that allow me to move water bottle mounting points around on my various bikes, but the Morse Cage also allows for several mounting options as well. 

I've never used the stainless steel Morse Cages so I am curious to see how they will handle the rigors of gravel riding. They look pretty well thought out and the construction looks top-notch. I'll be reviewing them in the future so stay tuned for my thoughts on them coming in the following weeks and months. 

The rear through axle should work well, as long as I picked the right length one! I had to take a stab in the dark since I don't have the frame in front of me to measure things and King Fab didn't give me those precise dimensions when I asked either. So......we will see. 

Wheels Manufacturing got the nod for the SRAM compatible bottom bracket. (Not DUB! yecch!) This particular version they sell has Enduro bearings, (GOOD!), and a double-row bearing on the drive side cup. Plus these are angular contact bearings, which should be better for the rigors that a bottom bracket will see. 

It was spendy but I think it will be worth it. Yes......it is not black! That wasn't an option, and anyway - who looks at bottom brackets? They are hidden behind crank sets and covered in dust. It'll be fine. Don't worry about it!

I'll be inserting my SRAM Rival crank with a 40T ring on it, so this is why I chose this particular bottom bracket. I gave some thought to doing a full-on Enduro Max-Hit bottom bracket, but those are even more expensive and maybe when this wears out, well, we will see.... I suspect this one will last quite some time. 

How could I not include these sleek, black levers I received from "Charlie", a blog reader here, who gifted these like-new levers for the build. (Maybe they are new? Don't know)

The TRP design is the very same that I was thinking of using anyway, and these fit the design manifesto like a hand in glove. All black and shiny!

These will be pulling cable in Jagwire black housing which in turn will work against the flat mount TRP Spyre calipers, so it all makes for a fitting system. 

Rotors will be six bolt SRAM affairs due to the WORD Disc not having Center Lock capabilities. Otherwise I might have used TRP rotors here as well. 

Okay, that's a big part of the build right there and hopefully by tomorrow I should have some build images to share. I was afeard that this all would come down to a short time span before Mid-South, and this is about as minimal, in terms of time, as I would feel comfortable with. I sure hope it all falls into place as planned, because if it doesn't, I think it will be time to push the panic button. Especially if I have to order in more parts. 

Stay tuned......

Gravel Mutt v3: Return Of The Gravel Mutt

Well, it is finished up. The third "gravel mutt" from Guitar Ted Productions! (HA!) The bike is a Schwinn, but this seems to be an outlier in Schwinn's catalog at that time, and because of that, it is a very interesting "throwback" to an earlier time. Let's dig into the foundations of this bike and why I feel it is representative of a timeline that goes from the early 20th century to the modern day gravel bike. 

As I mentioned on Saturday in "Two Things", this bike stood out to me immediately due to its odd geometry. Odd for the time it was built, that is. To understand this, one needs to understand what the geometry of American road bikes was leaning towards in the late 1980's/early 1990's.

By this time road bikes were starting to evolve into the American version of a racing bicycle, namely a criterium bike. Criterium racing was the predominant form of road bicycle racing by this time and was definitely more popular than road stage racing. Roads were hard to close down for a safe cycling event, and it was easier to manage a closed circuit, gain attendance for spectating, and sponsors loved the idea more than open road racing. 

This drove geometry to become more adept at the style of riding criterium racing demanded. A high bottom bracket was preferred for high-lean angle cornering and pedaling. A shorter wheelbase was preferred for it's stiffness and agility, as was a steeper head tube angle than what had been dominant in the bicycle world previously. 

Head angles crept steeper and most landed on a 73° head angle, but some more extreme geometries went to 74°. Bottom bracket drop was less than 70mm on most criterium based geometries, but commercially, 70mm was a pretty common bottom bracket drop. Seat tube angles steepened as well since sprinting out of corners was a demand of criterium racing, so weight distribution on many late 80's early 90's road bikes was more forward, over the bars than laid back into the saddle. 

1988 Trek 1000 from ebay.

Okay, so that was the lay of the land for road bikes. Now lets get to why this particular Schwinn model stands out from that crowd. I noticed it as soon as I laid my eyes on the bike. The head angle was waaaay slacker than this era of bike would normally have. Hold on here! 

Moreover, the bike, which was fitted with 27" X 1 1/4" tires, had tons of clearance to the frame. Hmm.... And the bottom bracket drop was noticeable. I had to investigate further. I grabbed my iPhone which has an angle finder app on it. A quick measurement of the head tube yielded a 71° degree measurement. I was surprised, so I measured again, and once more, just because I couldn't believe that a 1980's era Schwinn would have such a slack head angle. But it looked to be what my phone kept telling me. 

So, I decided to do a quick and dirty bottom bracket drop measurement. I strung a piece of masking tape from the rear drop-out to the front for drop-out and measured from that horizontal line to the center of the bottom bracket. It looked to be more than 70mm, maybe close to 75mm. Again, this was just to get an idea, it wasn't a precise method to obtain this information. I just wanted to understand if this would be a worthwhile project before I made a third mistake in trying to come up with another Gravel Mutt. 

1989 Schwinn World Sport, 58cm (ctr - top), set up as a single speed.

So, here it is, all finished up. I traded out all the components with the exception of the head set and brakes for stuff I had. 700c wheels I had built which use Dura Ace thread-on freewheel hubs. Salsa Delgado Cross rims shod with 37mm Panaracer tires. A BB-90 Shimano cartridge bottom bracket with a Shimano 105 crank and a 38T chain ring turning a Shimano 20T freewheel. A SOMA threadless adapter is clamped in a Ritchey Classic stem with a Salsa Cowbell bar and Tektro brake levers. I used a longer 26.6mm seat post, (the original one was super-short), and topped it off with an older Ergon SM-3 saddle in white. Some pink bar tape to give it that late 80's vibe finished off the look and a set of old Shimano SPD's will allow me to pedal this beast along. 

I ended up using a Surly Singulator to tension the chain, but if I wanted to, the drop-outs could be machined and made into semi-horizontal type which could help with chain tensioning. But this set up will do for the time being. 

I could probably Dremel out that drop out but this will do for now.

Single speed, of course! Simple and it keeps me focused on how the bike rides and performs. That will be my aim going forward because as I learned, the geometry is even weirder than I first thought. First off, I found a scan of Schwinn catalogs from the 1980's online and I searched them until I ascertained that this bike is a 1989 World Sport. The World Sport was nearly the bottom of the range Schwinn road bike at that time, and it was, probably, the entry level road bike. Only the Schwinn Voyager is shown below it in the specs, but that was a touring bike, of course. 

The catalog showed the basic geometry measurements of head tube angle and seat tube angle only, and that for the 23" frames. Weird. But since this example just happens to be a 23" frame, it can be assumed that the data in the catalog is taken from this size in the range, or can it?

The head tube and seat tube angles listed for most of Schwinn's road bike line up go from 72.5 (Voyager) to 73° for nearly everything else. But the World Sport lists a 72° head angle, the slackest of the entire road bike range for 1989 Schwinns. But hold on! My on-the-shop-floor measurement with a gravity gauge and my iPhone say this bike has parallel 70° seat/head tube angles! And compared to my gravel bikes, you can see it. 

Just enough clearance for these 37mm tires.

Why is the Schwinn World Sport, and this example in particular, so odd compared to everything else Schwinn was doing and what most road bike companies were doing at the time? That's hard to say. My guess is that since this was meant to be an "every-man's road bike" that the geometry needn't be like a racer's. The spec could be off because this bike was made, most likely, in Japan or Taiwan and since that was the case, QC may have been a bit lax. Maybe this single unit is an outlier to the entire range? That could also be the case. 

Whatever the case may be, this will be a fun and interesting gravel mutt experience. Now as for the timeline of geometry and this bike, I feel that this bike and its geometry are really pretty close to what we were looking at with the Honeman track bike from the 1930's, and which was the dominant rough-road geometry for bikes from the early 20th century that best translates to what modern gravel bikes need and are.  

So, the questions are will this be anything like a modern gravel bike experience? Will this bike actually point to something that even more closely defines what geometry will be best for gravel bikes? Or, will this be a revelation in how this geometry isn't quite right?

That and more is to come. Stay tuned.....

Country Views: It's All Downhill From Here.

Escape Route: Sergeant Road bike path.

 Another great day, another windy day! This time the wind was out of the Southwest at 20-25mph. Nice. So, that meant I was going South. Again.....

I don't know, but coming back with the tailwind seems better to my mind than the other way around. You might not agree. You do you. 

So, this was a test day. If you read the last post before this one, you know that I made some changes to the Pofahl Signature SS bike. That was what I tested. More on that in a minute....

I also slapped the Wahoo Elemnt ROAM GPS on to see if it would work on a bike without a speed sensor as well as it does with one. And if it didn't, what was the difference. I'll save the results of that test for another Wahoo update. 

I had a few hours to spare, so this wasn't some epic ride day, but it served the purposes I had and well, I had fun, so there is a bit of foreshadowing on how the changes to the bike went. It was pretty hot out, so I made sure I had plenty of water and I set out to find the gravel. 

I shot this over my shoulder. A horse checks me out as I ride away from it.

The Red Wing Blackbirds are teaching their offspring how to fly now. It won't be long before they are gone for the year.

Summer is on he wane now. You can tell by the shorter days, the crops are maturing, hay is being gathered. The Red Wing Blackbirds are teaching their young how to fly. Soon the country will become a much quieter place. When those birds leave the silence can be deafening out there. 

This brought a song to mind and I rolled it over and over in my mind as I rode Southward. Pink Floyd's "Learning To Fly". The lyrics that I could remember made my smile, as they seemed to be fitting at the time:

"Toungue-tied and twisted

Just an Earth-bound misfit I"

This freshly cut alfalfa field smelled strongly as I rode by.

 

The Pofahl was great.

The changes made to the Pofahl were good. The jury is still out on the saddle, but it isn't terrible. I won't be able to say anything definitive until after I've ridden on it for at least 3+ hours. But for the 25 miles I put in on this day, it was fine. 

The Redshift ShockStop Stem (provided to me at no charge by Redshift Sports, by the way), is a no-brainer. It was perfect on this bike and that's usually what I would think of that stem on any bike. Those stems just work. 

Some Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) in the ditch here.

My Grandma Stevenson used to tell me that when the wind blew the tree's leaves up so you could see the underside that it meant rain was coming. 

I finally made it around my loop to where the wind was at my back. Of course, things went a lot easier then. I had a chance to look at the elevation readout on the Wahoo. It was becoming apparent that I was going to end up having more descending than climbing. It truly was all ( well mostly) downhill from there! 

This road section was sprayed with soybean oil to reduce dust for the adjacent farm. It smelled bad!

 

The recent rains have revived the Day Lillies.

Just like we are on the backside of Summer, I was on the backside of my loop, and before you knew it, I was closing in on Waterloo again. I know I am privileged to have such access to these roads, but I wish I didn't have to ride so much in the city to get to and from the gravel. 

Spoiled, I am. I know it. But I don't like dealing with traffic. 

I don't find bicycle tubes very often, but I did on this ride.

So, I saw a bicycle tube and as I slowed to turn around to pick it up off the road, I spied a bit of a Velcro strip, the type of which you'd find a cyclist using. Maybe a tube jumped ship because the Velcro gave way? I wasn't sure. All I know is that the tube was for something like a 700c X 40mm tire and that it had been in a tire that had sealant in it. Perhaps it was an emergency spare tube someone was carrying and it slipped off the bike where it was Velcroed on? The tube seemed to hold air, so I've no idea what was going on, but I picked it up nonetheless. 

It was a good ride. Single speed is a different animal than geared riding and so I was a bit more tuckered out at the end of it all. It's good for me. I need to work a bit and I figured this ride did the trick. Plus, with a busy schedule for the week ahead, this might be my only chance to get out. 

Gotta grab these rides when I can. Summer will be over soon....

Country Views: It's All Downhill From Here.

Escape Route: Sergeant Road bike path.

 Another great day, another windy day! This time the wind was out of the Southwest at 20-25mph. Nice. So, that meant I was going South. Again.....

I don't know, but coming back with the tailwind seems better to my mind than the other way around. You might not agree. You do you. 

So, this was a test day. If you read the last post before this one, you know that I made some changes to the Pofahl Signature SS bike. That was what I tested. More on that in a minute....

I also slapped the Wahoo Elemnt ROAM GPS on to see if it would work on a bike without a speed sensor as well as it does with one. And if it didn't, what was the difference. I'll save the results of that test for another Wahoo update. 

I had a few hours to spare, so this wasn't some epic ride day, but it served the purposes I had and well, I had fun, so there is a bit of foreshadowing on how the changes to the bike went. It was pretty hot out, so I made sure I had plenty of water and I set out to find the gravel. 

I shot this over my shoulder. A horse checks me out as I ride away from it.

The Red Wing Blackbirds are teaching their offspring how to fly now. It won't be long before they are gone for the year.

Summer is on he wane now. You can tell by the shorter days, the crops are maturing, hay is being gathered. The Red Wing Blackbirds are teaching their young how to fly. Soon the country will become a much quieter place. When those birds leave the silence can be deafening out there. 

This brought a song to mind and I rolled it over and over in my mind as I rode Southward. Pink Floyd's "Learning To Fly". The lyrics that I could remember made my smile, as they seemed to be fitting at the time:

"Toungue-tied and twisted

Just an Earth-bound misfit I"

This freshly cut alfalfa field smelled strongly as I rode by.

 

The Pofahl was great.

The changes made to the Pofahl were good. The jury is still out on the saddle, but it isn't terrible. I won't be able to say anything definitive until after I've ridden on it for at least 3+ hours. But for the 25 miles I put in on this day, it was fine. 

The Redshift ShockStop Stem (provided to me at no charge by Redshift Sports, by the way), is a no-brainer. It was perfect on this bike and that's usually what I would think of that stem on any bike. Those stems just work. 

Some Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) in the ditch here.

My Grandma Stevenson used to tell me that when the wind blew the tree's leaves up so you could see the underside that it meant rain was coming. 

I finally made it around my loop to where the wind was at my back. Of course, things went a lot easier then. I had a chance to look at the elevation readout on the Wahoo. It was becoming apparent that I was going to end up having more descending than climbing. It truly was all ( well mostly) downhill from there! 

This road section was sprayed with soybean oil to reduce dust for the adjacent farm. It smelled bad!

 

The recent rains have revived the Day Lillies.

Just like we are on the backside of Summer, I was on the backside of my loop, and before you knew it, I was closing in on Waterloo again. I know I am privileged to have such access to these roads, but I wish I didn't have to ride so much in the city to get to and from the gravel. 

Spoiled, I am. I know it. But I don't like dealing with traffic. 

I don't find bicycle tubes very often, but I did on this ride.

So, I saw a bicycle tube and as I slowed to turn around to pick it up off the road, I spied a bit of a Velcro strip, the type of which you'd find a cyclist using. Maybe a tube jumped ship because the Velcro gave way? I wasn't sure. All I know is that the tube was for something like a 700c X 40mm tire and that it had been in a tire that had sealant in it. Perhaps it was an emergency spare tube someone was carrying and it slipped off the bike where it was Velcroed on? The tube seemed to hold air, so I've no idea what was going on, but I picked it up nonetheless. 

It was a good ride. Single speed is a different animal than geared riding and so I was a bit more tuckered out at the end of it all. It's good for me. I need to work a bit and I figured this ride did the trick. Plus, with a busy schedule for the week ahead, this might be my only chance to get out. 

Gotta grab these rides when I can. Summer will be over soon....

Bikes Of 2022: Pofahl Custom Signature

  It's the end of the year and time to review what's up with the bikes I used over the course of 2022. You'll get a brief overview, any changes made, and what the future has in store for each bike listed. Enjoy!

The Pofahl Custom Signature single speed I have had since 2007 was a strange idea I had for a 29"er based off my Karate Monkey single speed. It never would have seen the light of day had it not been for Ben Witt who pretty much put me and Mike Pofahl together to get this project done. 

The bike was always going to be a single speed, so there are no provisions for a rear or a front derailleur. There is only a full run housing stop circuit for the rear brake. 

In recent times this has become a favorite for longer single speed gravel travels. I wish I would have had the foresight to have had Mike put on fork mounted bottle cage bosses, but I have managed to get by with a seat post mounted bottle and Chaff Bags from Bike Bag Dude used as bottle holders as well. I've been running a set of Industry 9 tubeless compatible wheels on this for several years now and other than that, not much has been swapped out on this bike. 

I did score a 27.0mm USE seat post for this bike since it has that oddball size. I don't ever expect my original 1990's era Syncros to give up the ghost on me, but you never know, and 27.00mm posts are hard to come by in anything that doesn't weigh a ton and that is not a cheap replacement grade. 

And the only thing I can add about this bike is that I really love to ride it. I am glad I got it out in the country the few times that I have this past year. Hopefully that continues in 2023.

Bikes Of 2022: Pofahl Custom Signature

  It's the end of the year and time to review what's up with the bikes I used over the course of 2022. You'll get a brief overview, any changes made, and what the future has in store for each bike listed. Enjoy!

The Pofahl Custom Signature single speed I have had since 2007 was a strange idea I had for a 29"er based off my Karate Monkey single speed. It never would have seen the light of day had it not been for Ben Witt who pretty much put me and Mike Pofahl together to get this project done. 

The bike was always going to be a single speed, so there are no provisions for a rear or a front derailleur. There is only a full run housing stop circuit for the rear brake. 

In recent times this has become a favorite for longer single speed gravel travels. I wish I would have had the foresight to have had Mike put on fork mounted bottle cage bosses, but I have managed to get by with a seat post mounted bottle and Chaff Bags from Bike Bag Dude used as bottle holders as well. I've been running a set of Industry 9 tubeless compatible wheels on this for several years now and other than that, not much has been swapped out on this bike. 

I did score a 27.0mm USE seat post for this bike since it has that oddball size. I don't ever expect my original 1990's era Syncros to give up the ghost on me, but you never know, and 27.00mm posts are hard to come by in anything that doesn't weigh a ton and that is not a cheap replacement grade. 

And the only thing I can add about this bike is that I really love to ride it. I am glad I got it out in the country the few times that I have this past year. Hopefully that continues in 2023.

Country Views: Local Gravel

 This past weekend I got back on the horse again, but it was a different ride than I thought it would be. See, N.Y. Roll had a ride route plan and I was to meet he and Tom again for about 50 miles of Grundy and Black Hawk County gravel. The time was set for the meeting at 6:00am at the corner of Shaulis Road and HWY 63. That would mean that I'd need to leave the house no later than 5:30 am and that I'd have to be out of bed no later than 5:00 am. 

So, I set everything out the night before and got into bed around 9:30pm to make sure I was well rested. About 4:45am I was awakened by lightning and thunder. Hmm......it wasn't supposed to rain. I grabbed my phone and saw that we were in for rain until at least after 7:00am. N.Y. Roll texted then and pushed the meeting time back, but the weather did not relent until almost 9:00am and the ride was off the table for me. I had to be done by 10:00-11;00 am so I could do some things with Mrs Guitar Ted. 

So, the ride I did I did solo and I didn't get out until mid-afternoon. By this time it was hot, humid, and there was little wind to speak of to start out with. I grabbed the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 single speed and rode from the house to points East and North. While it was up around 90°F, and the humidity made it worse than that, I figured I shouldn't let all that heat training I did for Gravel Worlds go to waste. 

Looking East up Newell Avenue.

Looking East up Barclay Road. The corn is drying down fast out here.

The country seems devoid of birds now. I only saw a couple of doves. Sounds of birds singing and chirping have been replaced by the constant drone of 'neek-breek!-neek-breek!-neek-breek!' of crickets and grasshoppers with the occasional louder 'bzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzzzztt!....zzztt!...zzt!' of cicadas. It gives the country a lonesome, melancholy feel, at least I think so.

A week ago I was working up the giant waves in Nebraska on sandier gravel. Here, in Iowa where I live, the gravel is completely different. We've got that 'white rock' chunky-goodness. It rattles and knocks and makes your bike less stable. We've also got hills, but around here, these just don't compare to what I just rode in Nebraska. 

I worked really hard last weekend and I think it gained me some fitness because even though I was on the single speed I felt like this route was easy. I was carrying a lot more speed, and it was okay, even though I am sure I am not yet 100% recovered just yet from Gravel Worlds. 

It is almost like when you were young and that hill you had to walk up seemed so intimidating. Then you leave and climb some mountains and come back one day to that hill. It seems all wrong. Where did that big hill go? I know it was right here but all I see is this little rise in the road. Huh!? 

And coming back to ride the local gravel now is kind of like that for me. Those hills were a pain earlier this year, but now? Pffft! Not a problem! Not even on a single speed. I felt good, but I know that I had to work at it to get to this point. And I am very glad I did that work. It made the two hour ride in brutal heat and humidity not so bad after all.