Feeling Cranky

Image courtesy of MRCC social media

Feeling cranky and you live in the Mid-West? Maybe you haven't ridden enough in the last two months. Gee.....I wonder why? 

Well, this map I saw the other day from the Midwest Regional Climate Center may help you understand why. In the last 134 years in the time period between August 1st and September 23rd, Iowa has had the 7th most rainy precipitation ranking. 

Which translates into a lot of cloudy, rainy days which you probably did not ride. Lightning is not listed in this data, but yeah.... A lot of those days were filled with lightning as well. 

This also does not list the days it was brutally hot and humid with "feels like" temperatures over 100°. Those are days I do not ride as well since I am prone to heat related issues. 

So, as I sat here the other day watching it rain (again!), I was somewhat consoled by the fact that I wasn't crazy. It hasn't been the greatest end to Summer or beginning of Fall here. 

Two months of hit or miss riding opportunities has hurt in many ways, I certainly am hoping October pans out a bit differently, because, well.....After that, it's going to be Winter, and getting any meaningful rides in the country in November and December is never a good bet. 

Wouldn't Ya Know It

Saturday morning radar

 I was kind of excited to go ride on Saturday. First of all, I rarely get Saturdays off. The Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective is open all Saturday morning and I have to be there. Ever since 2022, Saturdays have been difficult for riding. 

I usually get one, maybe two chances at a Saturday morning ride now. So you probably can feel me when I say it was extremely disappointing when I woke up to see it was going to rain.  

Bah! And lightning was on the table too. Saturday afternoon  was likely out of the question as well because I generally go shopping with Mrs. Guitar Ted on Saturday afternoons. It was raining off and on all day anyway, so it didn't matter. (Although I think N.Y. Roll managed to squeeze in a ride) 

Sunday? Rained again..... No love here. August has been an odd for wet weather instead of the usual dry, hot weather we typically get. 

So, it is a bitter pill to swallow as that will be the last chance I have at riding on a Saturday, most likely, until next year. Of course, Labor Day is coming up, so I'll have a Monday open for a ride. 

Unless it rains. sigh...... 

Programming Note: Tomorrows post will be delayed until 7:00am CST due to an embargo.  

CORE-Wet

Today CORE4 is supposedly happening. (Note- I wrote this post up before Saturday, so if it was postponed/cancelled, I didn't know about it yet)

Rain has plagued Iowa, and especially the center section of the state from East to West, all week long with flash flood emergencies being issued by the National Weather Service. Rain came down hard on the course Friday morning and overnight as well. 

I spoke with N.Y. Roll on Friday 'fore-noon' and he mentioned the courses for wet weather were all in effect except the Pro 120. Furthermore, parking at the venue is now banned and has been moved approximately three miles away to a paved lot area. There will be shuttles available for volunteers, spectators, and runners, but cyclists will have to ride that three-ish miles to the start and back again to the lot. I'm going to assume Pros will have rides provided by team members or sponsors. 

It promises to be chaotic, stressful, and possibly quite the adventure. As a former event promoter, I know all to well about last minute weather intrusions and having to adjust accordingly. I have also ridden in events which were modified by weather. So, I've experienced both sides. 

My hope is the attendees have some grace with the promoters. Getting the event in some way is going to be their top priority balanced with rider safety. It is NOT an easy thing to do. It IS easy to get on your digital soapbox afterward and complain bitterly about how "this or that" sucked and should have been done in a different way. (Although most folks never offer any real, applicable solutions)

Well, we shall see what happens soon enough. Maybe N.Y. Roll with have an eyewitness report if he decides to go take this event on after all. 

Two Things

Graphic courtesy of Max Velocity YouTube channel

 Wet Weather, Dumb Decisions Hinder Riding:

I've been wanting to get back on the bike and do some chain lube testing, but the weather isn't having any of that. And neither has my gut, but that part is my fault. I'll explain. 

We've been getting rained on at times when I could go out, and when I have had dry periods, it's been so humid that I just don't have the gumption to pedal through it. Not when the heat index is near or at 100°F. That's not good for me. 

And then I did something dumb last Friday and ate a big bowl of ice cream at a friends ice cream shop he was proud to show me. And on an empty stomach. This caused big intestinal issues over the weekend. (Perhaps I'm more lactose intolerant than I thought), and I suffered like a dog until Monday. So, yeah....

Good times. 

Moving forward, I will have to get in rides whenever I can. Today is sketch. Friday we get more rain, and so on and on...

The good news is this won't last, but this certainly hasn't been a very productive time. 

The Last Chapter

Well, this week I finally got my BRAN 44 jersey. To be fair, I did not order it in time for the ride. Also, it came right when it was expected to. No disappointments there. 

But it is the final line in the BRAN 44 story for me. It's kind of funny now, but I was not really knowing what to expect out of this ride when I left Waterloo, Iowa on June 5th. 

It could have been a real slog. I wasn't trained up as good as I would have liked to have been, but then again, I had about a month's notice, so..... 

It could have been a bad experience. But thankfully, it was far from that. In fact, it was more than I could have imagined it to be. Which isn't usually the expectation for an event. 

But BRAN lived up to the reputation I had heard about it from others and even they did not convey the experience I actually had, but then again, who could have predicted I'd randomly meet Jacquie Phelan on this ride? 

Well, the answer is no one could have. And that wasn't all.  

My family thinks the jersey looks nice. It is pretty cool. 

I did not have to get it. I have more jerseys than I really need. But as I told the family, I may never get out to ride that ride again, so...why not? It's a good souvenir, at the least, and a decent jersey which is unlike anything else in my collection. So, it works for me. 

I met some very nice people on this ride. I think it is one of the benefits of any sort of travel. You leave behind the masks of socialization, the ability to hide behind a keyboard, and deal with people face to face on common ground. It's something more of us should be doing. 

Yeah.....I suppose for younger people it could be scary. But maybe us older folks are just putting limitations on them with our views of screen-raised younginz. I think this kind of backdrop to looking at society is not exactly how it works out in the field. There, in rural Nebraska, I was riding with a teenager. He got along with us just fine. It didn't mater that I was his grandfather's age, and I didn't care that he was a bit of a whippersnapper. We communicated just fine. 

But more to the point - we had different world views. Many of us did. But.....it doesn't really matter when you are together encouraging each other up steep hills. We are more the same than we think. 

That's what this jersey will remind me of when I wear it.  

Is The Drought Over Yet?

Image courtesy of Channel 7 News Waterloo.

Remember all the writing I've done over the past two years here talking about how dry we have been? Well, I think it is safe to say we are out of the woods in that regard now! 

It has rained a LOT this May and especially in the last few days here. We received around five inches of rain over Monday and Tuesday alone. In fact, the thunderstorms have been so persistent that I haven't had good nights of sleep many times in the past ten days. It's "BOOM!" and lightning flashes, and wind, and..... Keeps a guy awake at night, it does! At least this guy!

On Tuesday the flash flood and "areal flood warnings" were popping off all around us. The road I typically run into town on from the South, Hoff Road, was under water. Prescott Creek must be out of its banks down there. I suppose that road is all torn up. It also got Orange Road where it crosses Prescott Creek as well. That section is closed too. 

I know the farmers hate it when the rains come so heavy right after planting as that can wash out seedlings easily. Hopefully all this new no-till practice where farmers plant straight through last year's trash will help with that. (Right Mr. Dave Pryor?)

At any rate, I think it is safe to say that we are over the worst of the drought of 2022/2023. This mass infusion of moisture should tide us over for quite some time now, or one would hope that would be the case.

Friday News And Views

PBO spokes on the Spinergy GX wheels are.......different.

Non-Metallic Wonders:

Many times we assume certain things are always going to be a certain way. The Sun is coming up tomorrow, you will pay taxes, and some day you will die. Pretty sure bets. But sometimes we think things are going to always be a certain way......until they aren't. 

Such were my thoughts about spokes early into my mechanic career. Steel is what spokes are made of. Why wouldn't they be? They are about perfect for the job at hand, and if things are designed and assembled correctly, they can last the lifetime of a bicycle. Then someone made spokes out of titanium. Hmm.......that wasn't as good. Then someone made spokes out of carbon fiber. Yeah...... Not so much. Then someone made spokes out of aluminum, and you know what? That works, but they are odd and not common. Then I saw PBO spokes in the late 90's. What the what? Yep- fiber based spokes. Okay, well Tioga did that tension disc thingie, maybe there is something to this too.....

So, anyway, I have these wheels from Spinergy with the PBO spokes to review for RidingGravel.com and I have to say that yes- there is something to this. But anytime you are going up against a widely accepted and proven technology, the question that begs to be asked is "why go a different direction?" It's a fair question to ask about the PBO spokes too. I will have to ride these quite a bit more to answer that question, but to my mind it's going to take a pretty substantial benefit to beat steel spokes. We'll see.......

Colored treads......again.

Panaracer Does Colored Treads And New Sealant:

I remember colored rubber tires when I was a kid. Then that disappeared and came back again in the late 70's/early 80's with BMX. Then it kind of went away again until the 1990's when colors popped up on Michelin MTB tires, some other barnds too, and then it went away again. Urban fixie riding had a dalliance with colored tires. Schwalbe kind of dabbled in it for a while. Then nothing again....Until now.....

Panaracer has revived colored rubber tires in its Gravel King series, (what else would it be!) and they just announced three more limited edition tires. I maybe can see myself riding the Ivory colored tires, but the other two colors are.....not for me. I actually really like Gravel King SK's and recommend them often to those who ask me. But the colored ones, not so much. That said, there is a Gravel King SK tire I have my eyes on, but it isn't a skinny one!

Panaracer sealant, yada,yada,yada....Look at the tire!

In an image sent to me in a press release about Panaracer's new sealant with Walnut shell chunks in it, (really!), I saw a tire I am interested in. The 700 X 50mm Gravel King SK skin wall tire. Yes! I like that idea a lot.

See, it is about time to switch up tires on the old Fargo, and I've been wanting something 50-ish wide and the Gravel King SK 700 X 50mm tire seems about right for the job. That it could be skin wall is even better. Maybe I might even try that new fangled walnut shell infused sealant of Panaracer's as well. We'll see, because I make my own sealant which has never been a problem for me, and there are other killer sealants on the market also. (I recommend Orange Seal and the Muc Off sealant) So, Panaracer has some high hurdles in the sealant game to leap over before I would be impressed. But they do make a good tire, and the Gravel King is about as good as there is for gravel travel out there. So, this 50mm one has my eye. Stay tuned.....

The press release said something about a more puncture resistant Gravel King and that 650B sizes were available. I could see a 650B X 50mm tire on a couple of my rigs at times. I'll have to look into that as well. I know Donnelly does a 650B X 50mm MSO, but it is black wall. I know........picky, picky, picky! 

Saturday snow in late April? Yep.

 Just When You Thought Winter Was Gone:

Well, that's a slap in the face! Last weekend it got up into the high 80's both days. Sure, it was windy as all get out, but it was so warm. Not at all humid either. Just glorious. Now a week later, the bill comes due.

 That bill is in the form of much colder weather, snow in some places, and rain everywhere else. Temperatures for highs Saturday will hover around the 40's in most places in the state. 50's if you are lucky. Then Saturday night/Sunday morning it is going to freeze. Like really freeze!

But I gotta be honest, this freeze is not at all unusual. I think for at least the last few Trans Iowas, and I know many of them, it has been under 32° at some point during the night Saturday or early Sunday morning. So, a sub-freezing night at this time of year is nothing new. But snow is odd, and rainy weather plus sub-freezing temperatures makes for a bone chilling weather pattern. Break out the thermal tights! (Where did I put those again?)

That is a wrap for this week. Hope that you get out and ride some. I'm going to try to get out at some point.

Friday News And Views

PBO spokes on the Spinergy GX wheels are.......different.

Non-Metallic Wonders:

Many times we assume certain things are always going to be a certain way. The Sun is coming up tomorrow, you will pay taxes, and some day you will die. Pretty sure bets. But sometimes we think things are going to always be a certain way......until they aren't. 

Such were my thoughts about spokes early into my mechanic career. Steel is what spokes are made of. Why wouldn't they be? They are about perfect for the job at hand, and if things are designed and assembled correctly, they can last the lifetime of a bicycle. Then someone made spokes out of titanium. Hmm.......that wasn't as good. Then someone made spokes out of carbon fiber. Yeah...... Not so much. Then someone made spokes out of aluminum, and you know what? That works, but they are odd and not common. Then I saw PBO spokes in the late 90's. What the what? Yep- fiber based spokes. Okay, well Tioga did that tension disc thingie, maybe there is something to this too.....

So, anyway, I have these wheels from Spinergy with the PBO spokes to review for RidingGravel.com and I have to say that yes- there is something to this. But anytime you are going up against a widely accepted and proven technology, the question that begs to be asked is "why go a different direction?" It's a fair question to ask about the PBO spokes too. I will have to ride these quite a bit more to answer that question, but to my mind it's going to take a pretty substantial benefit to beat steel spokes. We'll see.......

Colored treads......again.

Panaracer Does Colored Treads And New Sealant:

I remember colored rubber tires when I was a kid. Then that disappeared and came back again in the late 70's/early 80's with BMX. Then it kind of went away again until the 1990's when colors popped up on Michelin MTB tires, some other barnds too, and then it went away again. Urban fixie riding had a dalliance with colored tires. Schwalbe kind of dabbled in it for a while. Then nothing again....Until now.....

Panaracer has revived colored rubber tires in its Gravel King series, (what else would it be!) and they just announced three more limited edition tires. I maybe can see myself riding the Ivory colored tires, but the other two colors are.....not for me. I actually really like Gravel King SK's and recommend them often to those who ask me. But the colored ones, not so much. That said, there is a Gravel King SK tire I have my eyes on, but it isn't a skinny one!

Panaracer sealant, yada,yada,yada....Look at the tire!

In an image sent to me in a press release about Panaracer's new sealant with Walnut shell chunks in it, (really!), I saw a tire I am interested in. The 700 X 50mm Gravel King SK skin wall tire. Yes! I like that idea a lot.

See, it is about time to switch up tires on the old Fargo, and I've been wanting something 50-ish wide and the Gravel King SK 700 X 50mm tire seems about right for the job. That it could be skin wall is even better. Maybe I might even try that new fangled walnut shell infused sealant of Panaracer's as well. We'll see, because I make my own sealant which has never been a problem for me, and there are other killer sealants on the market also. (I recommend Orange Seal and the Muc Off sealant) So, Panaracer has some high hurdles in the sealant game to leap over before I would be impressed. But they do make a good tire, and the Gravel King is about as good as there is for gravel travel out there. So, this 50mm one has my eye. Stay tuned.....

The press release said something about a more puncture resistant Gravel King and that 650B sizes were available. I could see a 650B X 50mm tire on a couple of my rigs at times. I'll have to look into that as well. I know Donnelly does a 650B X 50mm MSO, but it is black wall. I know........picky, picky, picky! 

Saturday snow in late April? Yep.

 Just When You Thought Winter Was Gone:

Well, that's a slap in the face! Last weekend it got up into the high 80's both days. Sure, it was windy as all get out, but it was so warm. Not at all humid either. Just glorious. Now a week later, the bill comes due.

 That bill is in the form of much colder weather, snow in some places, and rain everywhere else. Temperatures for highs Saturday will hover around the 40's in most places in the state. 50's if you are lucky. Then Saturday night/Sunday morning it is going to freeze. Like really freeze!

But I gotta be honest, this freeze is not at all unusual. I think for at least the last few Trans Iowas, and I know many of them, it has been under 32° at some point during the night Saturday or early Sunday morning. So, a sub-freezing night at this time of year is nothing new. But snow is odd, and rainy weather plus sub-freezing temperatures makes for a bone chilling weather pattern. Break out the thermal tights! (Where did I put those again?)

That is a wrap for this week. Hope that you get out and ride some. I'm going to try to get out at some point.

Minus Ten Review- 15

The first ride with MG was pretty much like every ride with him since, fun and fast!

Ten years ago on the blog here I was yakking a lot about three things, mainly- The upcoming Trans Iowa, Sea Otter, and bad weather. Well, ten years later it seems that we are experiencing deja vu.

Today the weather is pretty "craptastic". Here's an excerpt from ten years ago about the weather:

"Well, we're stuck in this seeming holding pattern of crap-tastic weather lately. I wake up this morning to the sound of rain and see that the temperature is a balmy 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Great!"

Sound familiar? 

Then there is the Trans Iowa bit. Another excerpt from ten years ago:

" Besides the field work on T.I.V4 I have some organizational work concerning volunteers, photographers, and equipment necessary to put on the event."

Still the same ol' bag ten years down the road! Well, besides the "field work", which was already accomplished last week, thanks to Tony, one of my volunteers. Then there is Sea Otter. Did you know I almost went this year? Almost. Next year I probably will be on duty for RidingGravel.com there. But this year I was spared the trip and my partner Ben is going to be there.  

Another momentous occasion happened ten years ago, and that was the chance I got to ride with my (now) good friend, MG. I didn't know him all that well ten years ago, but this ride was a good way to get to know him, and I owe the pleasure all to MG, who went out of his way to make this ride happen on a really crappy day. Thanks MG! 

Minus Ten Review- 15

The first ride with MG was pretty much like every ride with him since, fun and fast!

Ten years ago on the blog here I was yakking a lot about three things, mainly- The upcoming Trans Iowa, Sea Otter, and bad weather. Well, ten years later it seems that we are experiencing deja vu.

Today the weather is pretty "craptastic". Here's an excerpt from ten years ago about the weather:

"Well, we're stuck in this seeming holding pattern of crap-tastic weather lately. I wake up this morning to the sound of rain and see that the temperature is a balmy 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Great!"

Sound familiar? 

Then there is the Trans Iowa bit. Another excerpt from ten years ago:

" Besides the field work on T.I.V4 I have some organizational work concerning volunteers, photographers, and equipment necessary to put on the event."

Still the same ol' bag ten years down the road! Well, besides the "field work", which was already accomplished last week, thanks to Tony, one of my volunteers. Then there is Sea Otter. Did you know I almost went this year? Almost. Next year I probably will be on duty for RidingGravel.com there. But this year I was spared the trip and my partner Ben is going to be there.  

Another momentous occasion happened ten years ago, and that was the chance I got to ride with my (now) good friend, MG. I didn't know him all that well ten years ago, but this ride was a good way to get to know him, and I owe the pleasure all to MG, who went out of his way to make this ride happen on a really crappy day. Thanks MG! 

Monsoon Season?

Ready For The Slop

2013 has been the polar opposite of 2012 so far. Where we were wondering "when will it rain?" last year, this year we are left to wonder "when will it ever dry out?". I do not see an end to this wet cycle yet in the forecasts, and it is pretty exasperating.

The "endless Winter" turned into "monsoon season" with the single exception of the weekend of Trans Iowa V9, which was somehow exempted from wet, cold, nasty weather. In my opinion, that weekend remains the best weather weekend we've had yet all year long. In fact, it was warmer that weekend than it was yesterday here, and that was late April.

So, I've resigned myself to off roading in muck, mire, and wetness when I do go. It will soon be joined by wet weeds and mosquitoes by the millions, I'm sure. We certainly have enough standing water to propagate the nasties in record numbers this year. Just hope that you do not flat in the woods, or you will be relegated to running out with your bike in hand, cyclocross style, to escape the blood sucking critters. It's a good reason to have a tubeless set up.

Speaking of flats, I had one the other day. The tube in the tire just failed. No puncture. Bah! Is it just me, or are tubes getting thinner and smaller? Well, anyway.....

Hope you get in some dry rides, wherever you are!

Monsoon Season?

Ready For The Slop

2013 has been the polar opposite of 2012 so far. Where we were wondering "when will it rain?" last year, this year we are left to wonder "when will it ever dry out?". I do not see an end to this wet cycle yet in the forecasts, and it is pretty exasperating.

The "endless Winter" turned into "monsoon season" with the single exception of the weekend of Trans Iowa V9, which was somehow exempted from wet, cold, nasty weather. In my opinion, that weekend remains the best weather weekend we've had yet all year long. In fact, it was warmer that weekend than it was yesterday here, and that was late April.

So, I've resigned myself to off roading in muck, mire, and wetness when I do go. It will soon be joined by wet weeds and mosquitoes by the millions, I'm sure. We certainly have enough standing water to propagate the nasties in record numbers this year. Just hope that you do not flat in the woods, or you will be relegated to running out with your bike in hand, cyclocross style, to escape the blood sucking critters. It's a good reason to have a tubeless set up.

Speaking of flats, I had one the other day. The tube in the tire just failed. No puncture. Bah! Is it just me, or are tubes getting thinner and smaller? Well, anyway.....

Hope you get in some dry rides, wherever you are!

Wednesday News And Views

Image courtesy of Salsa's website

Yesterday, I did an in depth look at the new Salsa Cycles Cowbell drop bar, but that isn't the only new bar in the range now. They also have the "Bend 2" bar for mountain bikes out as well.

This was the un-named bar they showed us at Frostbike earlier in the year. It will be available in 17 and 23 degree bends with a forward wiggle that should allow users to keep their original stem, instead of necessitating getting a longer one, which was a criticism of the older 17 degree bend flat bar. This joins bars like On One's Mary Bar and Fleegle Bar, Ragley's Carnegie's Bar, Bontrager's Crivitz Bar, and others in the "W" shaped/wing shaped mountain bar selection. I hope to be ordering one of these for myself soon. 31.8mm clamp diameter only on these, by the way.

Niner Bikes' JET 9 RDO frame

Carbon fiber......yeah.... More carbon fiber. Niner Bikes does it now with their organic, swoopy looking JET 9 "Race Day Optimized" frame. I admit that Niner seems to explore ways to exploit the way forms can be made differently in carbon than say, aluminum or other metals. It is somewhat polarizing though, since when you start deviating from the norm of straight tubing, you are going to make a shape that will turn some on, and some off.

Niner gets the first blow in as far as the "arty FS" bike goes, but I am waiting for Ibis to play their hand. Because when their FS 29"er design comes out, I am betting it will be much like their 26"er, which I think looks better than the Niner here does. My personal opinion there.

Yeah, yeah.....it's all about how they work when you ride them. I get that, but when you are throwing down the coin it takes to buy one of these carbon fiber bikes, looks play a big role, and Ibis wins that game, in my opinion. Maybe their bike will not look great in big wheeled guise, but I am betting against that myself. We'll know soon enough, as Ibis plans a reveal at Eurobike in September.

That said, I am sure the Niner JET 9 RDO is a killer trail bike and it isn't ugly by any stretch. Plus- you can buy it now. Can't say that about the unseen, untested Ibis. So, there ya go!

Wet, wet, and moar wet: Rain has soaked things on a fairly regular basis around these parts of late. So different than where I was the last two weeks, which was super dry. Can we make a trade? Anyway, it looks like I'll have to hit the Cedar Bend area for kicks today and see how my recovering knee likes climbing! If that doesn't work, I've got a yard that needs mowed, and several bikes to work on in the Lab. We'll see how it goes.

Wednesday News And Views

Image courtesy of Salsa's website

Yesterday, I did an in depth look at the new Salsa Cycles Cowbell drop bar, but that isn't the only new bar in the range now. They also have the "Bend 2" bar for mountain bikes out as well.

This was the un-named bar they showed us at Frostbike earlier in the year. It will be available in 17 and 23 degree bends with a forward wiggle that should allow users to keep their original stem, instead of necessitating getting a longer one, which was a criticism of the older 17 degree bend flat bar. This joins bars like On One's Mary Bar and Fleegle Bar, Ragley's Carnegie's Bar, Bontrager's Crivitz Bar, and others in the "W" shaped/wing shaped mountain bar selection. I hope to be ordering one of these for myself soon. 31.8mm clamp diameter only on these, by the way.

Niner Bikes' JET 9 RDO frame

Carbon fiber......yeah.... More carbon fiber. Niner Bikes does it now with their organic, swoopy looking JET 9 "Race Day Optimized" frame. I admit that Niner seems to explore ways to exploit the way forms can be made differently in carbon than say, aluminum or other metals. It is somewhat polarizing though, since when you start deviating from the norm of straight tubing, you are going to make a shape that will turn some on, and some off.

Niner gets the first blow in as far as the "arty FS" bike goes, but I am waiting for Ibis to play their hand. Because when their FS 29"er design comes out, I am betting it will be much like their 26"er, which I think looks better than the Niner here does. My personal opinion there.

Yeah, yeah.....it's all about how they work when you ride them. I get that, but when you are throwing down the coin it takes to buy one of these carbon fiber bikes, looks play a big role, and Ibis wins that game, in my opinion. Maybe their bike will not look great in big wheeled guise, but I am betting against that myself. We'll know soon enough, as Ibis plans a reveal at Eurobike in September.

That said, I am sure the Niner JET 9 RDO is a killer trail bike and it isn't ugly by any stretch. Plus- you can buy it now. Can't say that about the unseen, untested Ibis. So, there ya go!

Wet, wet, and moar wet: Rain has soaked things on a fairly regular basis around these parts of late. So different than where I was the last two weeks, which was super dry. Can we make a trade? Anyway, it looks like I'll have to hit the Cedar Bend area for kicks today and see how my recovering knee likes climbing! If that doesn't work, I've got a yard that needs mowed, and several bikes to work on in the Lab. We'll see how it goes.