It Is "That Week" Here

I have a confession to make. I am not an indoor cyclist. I tried it several times over the years, but....... Nope! Not for me. I understand many can Zwift, spin cycle, or treadmill their way through a cold snap, but this doesn't work for me. 

You might think I am just being stubborn, or maybe that I am not trying the right thing. Yeah.......no. See, my makeup is that of an outdoors exerciser, and being indoors is excruciatingly boring and limiting to my mind. So, I'm going outside even if it is just to go around the block. 

But this is not to say I am fanatical or insane. There are times I won't go outside, because, well.......it is stupid. Like this week. It is that week we usually get every Winter here where it is just not a very good idea to be outdoors exercising. 

Now, today, for instance, it is great at 32° for a forecast high temperature. I will ride today. Today is an outlier and the best day all week to ride.  However; on Thursday through until sometime on Sunday morning, our air temperature will not get above zero for the entire stretch. That is Fahrenheit, by the way, not Celsius. Add to this the winds and well......this equals "stupid". Stupid cold weather. 

This makes writing about cycling a bit challenging some days. I guess I manage to find something to talk about though! But soon things will improve weather-wise. February brings more heat, longer days, and more riding opportunities. This is but one week where, yeah, being outdoors is extremely challenging. 

Except for today. I'll ride today. 

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.

Winter Finally Does Winter Things

The start of Winter things in mid-February?

If there is only one thing you remember about we Mid-Westerners, it should be this: We love to talk about the weather. Okay.....maybe "complain" would be a good substitute for "talk" here, but you get the picture. So, let's talk a bit about the weather, shall we?

This Winter season, which I hold always begins on the first of December, has been very "un-Winter-like". Well.....except that it has been really cold at times. If there is one nit I have about Winters like this is it is when we get the biting cold but there is no snow to make it seem like the cold belongs. It is hard to accept subzero temperatures when it looks like Fall or early Spring outside. Snow covering the ground? Yes. Then subzero temperatures make more sense. 

Yes, we have had dustings of snow since December, but these were mere teasings. Not "real" snow. Just enough to cover the ground for a few days before it either evaporated into the atmosphere or until it got back above freezing and melted. 

This late arrival of undeniable 'real snow' is pretty amazing. We now have around ten inches of the stuff since last Wednesday. However; after a brief dusting, to top it all off this weekend, it looks like this will be all we get. Barring any obscure early Spring snow storm. 

I actually got to ride the Ti Muk 2 in snow on my commute home Wednesday.

The Sun is getting higher in the sky now, and the days are getting longer quickly. Eventually March will show up and I know this snow will be gone in a hurry. So much for dreams of groomed trails and crisp rides on my fat bike in the woods. 

We made it so far into Winter that this snow seems like a slap in the face. Because it will not last long, and doing Winter things will be brief, and then slop-season will begin, and Spring will take over. 

I should not complain. We need the snow, and I am sure this brief snow covering will be very beneficial in several ways. It's just kind of annoying because we are halfway through February looking for Spring now. Oh well! I probably should ride my Blackborow DS so I can justify storing it in my basement for 300+ days out of a year! 

Spring will be here soon enough, and gravel rides will commence soon. This is where I am setting my sights now. Winter is a lost cause, despite this latest dump of snow.

When We Used To Get Snow

 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!

We missed that big snow storm last weekend and since then it has just been really cold. No snow to speak of, certainly not enough to do Winter sports, and too cold to just be outside riding in the country. It is kind of a "worst case scenario" type of thing. Give me 20 more degrees and I don't care. I could ride a lot in cooler weather. But having to bundle up to go out for an hour in sub-zero temperatures? With NO SNOW? It's really hard to handle mentally.

Black Hawk Creek, The Green Belt, 2009.

It wasn't always this way. We used to get "regular" Winters with months of snow that would be great for all sorts of activities. The Winter of 2000-2001 was spectacular. I recall snow shoeing in four to five feet of snow in Hickory Hills park then. 

We would normally get chased off the mountain biking trails after Thanksgiving by a snow storm. It then might have taken a few weeks to build up a base of snow deep enough to cross country ski on, but generally then it would last until March. 

I used to write about XC skiing here fairly often back then. I was never really very good at it, but I found it to be a great way to burn off some steam when Winter was driving me nuts and keeping me off the bicycle. 

There were no fat bikes, no groomers, nothing....

These also were the days before turnkey fat bikes were available. Sure, if you were an ultra-cycling nerd and knew of Winter cycling in Alaska, maybe you knew about fat bikes, but they were an anomaly, extremely expensive, and very difficult to get parts for. (That fat bike specific stuff, that is.) 

I usually had to break my own trail back then too.

A Soul Cycles Dillinger I used as a 'pseudo-fat bike' with 29" X 2.4" tires.

I recall thinking how great it would be to have a bike with those 3.8" Endomorph tires and a frame to fit them. Then Surly showed their fat bike, the Pugsley, and I was smitten. Then, as we all probably know here, Salsa Cycles came out with their Mukluk model and I was on my way. 

With a little help from a bunch of friends, of course. My birthday in 2011 was marked by a birthday present funded by several folks of that Mukluk fat bike. And that unleashed a completely new era in my cycling. 

Ironically the Winter of 2010 -2011 was one of the last good, long, snowy Winters we've had. Since then we've had a month, or even just a week or two, of 'fat bikeable' weather. It's been very strange indeed. And XC Skiing? Ha! I haven't had those boards out for well over ten years. 

Winter sure ain't what it used to be around these parts.

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Ridley Bikes

Ridley Announces New Aero Gravel Racing Bike:

On Tuesday of this past week Ridley announced a new aero gravel bike model to compliment their current Kanzo Adventure and Kanzo Fast bicycles. The new bike will be offered in both carbon frame and fork (Astr RS) and a lower grade carbon frame/carbon fork (Astr) models.

The Astr (Is there a fear of vowels in marketing these days?) is a full-on racing bike for gravel which anticipates the expansion of sanctioned gravel events world-wide. (More on that next up) So the Astr models feature clearance for up to 52mm tires in 1X mode with a limitation of 47mm if set up in 2X configurations. Furthermore, head tube angle is 71.5° while the seat tube angle is a steep 74°. This along with a lower stack height puts the rider in a more forward, aerodynamic position on the bike, perfect for a fit athlete to race as fast as possible. (This is no adventure bike!)

As one might expect, all cables are internally routed starting at the handlebars and those bars are an integrated stem/bar in carbon featuring a narrower stance at the hoods. Again - a nod to aerodynamics. The chain stays were also kept as short as possible to give the rider the feeling of instant acceleration. 

The Astr, the lesser grade carbon counterpart to the Astr RS, is a less expensive option for riders that cannot afford the ultra-aero carbon model. The Astr RS frame, fork, seat post is approximately $5,550.00 USD currently. So, the bike is not inexpensive but the Astr model saves you about 3K from that for a frame/fork.  It's just a little heavier and the seat post is not an aero one. 

Notable: The Astr RS is UCI approved. 

Comments: So, with the UCI ramping its sanctioning of gravel events up (see next bit), we are seeing the ultra-race forms of gravel bicycles appearing which will have the influence of making gravel as much like road racing as possible. Expect to see a LOT of companies jumping onboard with high priced aero carbon gravel bikes with an aim to get those customers who believe that riding bikes "just like the Pros ride" is the pinnacle of cycling. Which it isn't, but belief is 9/10's of the truth in this matter, so whatever.... It's here and we are going to see more of it. 

Image courtesy of Union Cycliste Internatinale

Gravel World Championships & More Events Planned for 2025:

In an article published on the Cycling News website (HERE) concerning this year's Gravel World Championships, sanctioned by the UCI, Edwin Vervecken has foreshadowed what the plan is for Golazo/UCI and gravel racing worldwide. 

The plan is to increase the UCI sanctioned worldwide gravel calendar to 35 events under the auspices of Golazo. (For a primer on how Golazo and the UCI are working together, see my  article posted this past June HERE)

Vervecken goes on to say that there will be a limit to how many events a country can host, which is two, with the exception of the USA, Australia, and Canada, which may have up to three.  Vervecken claims that there will be three in the USA next year and possibly a fourth event. (Wait....isn't the limit three? )

Comments: The UCI is really pushing hard to get their grip on US gravel and making the case for it by dangling the carrot of the rest of the World's acceptance of their formatting for gravel events. Again, this flies in the face of what reality is currently for the small field of Pro gravel riders based in North America. But what about world-wide? Well, Gravel World Championships are this weekend and for a "world-wide" event, supposedly drawing from all over the world, the entire Elite Men's and Women's field is 429 riders. (I checked the official start list to get this number) So we're supposed to "do gravel" like this everywhere because less than 500 Pros worldwide want to, (or think they have to) ride the UCI sanctioned way?

As of now, Life Time Event's "Grand Prix" is the "big time" when it comes to gravel events in the USA. Life Time's purse for the events and overall winner is such that overseas travel to participate in a series which culminates in offering a jersey isn't seen as being worthwhile. (See Lauren De Crescenzo) There is no prestige or history behind the rainbow stripes for an unpaved roads World Champion like there is for the Road or MTB versions of the UCI's racing. 

Add in big prize purses for Gravel Worlds and a jersey that actually has history in gravel racing, (the Lincoln, Nebraska version), the Belgian Waffle rides, and a few other events, and you can see that by sticking to a USA based calendar the Pro athlete can make a privateer or marginally backed program work. (It is reported that the top athletes in North American gravel racing receive a six figure income from racing gravel) To get a "real" Pro roadie-like gravel series going it is going to take Pro road-like sponsored teams and that hasn't happened yet. Besides, the USA hasn't proven itself in being able to sustain a team in the Pro roadie ranks long-term, and I don't see that happening for gravel. Add in the Golazo/UCI formula for what they call a gravel event, (lame) and you can see that this is really not workable for the USA based Pro and semi-Pro gravel racer. 

Finally, the views of how Golazo/UCI see Women's racing versus Men's, in terms of distances, etc, would be brought over to gravel here. That's not going to sit well with many folks, (again, read my post from June for details). Not that the UCI won't get their way, but - This is just exchanging pavement for gravel, otherwise it is the same-ol'-same-ol' Pro roadie crap we already have seen here. If that's your bag, you do you, but it isn't "gravel racing" as it was formatted here from the get-go. 

Image courtesy of 45NRTH

45NRTH Offers New Oland Waterproof Boot:

Yeah, Winter is on the way and cold weather riding, either for commuting or sport, is going to be on the menu for many of us. 45NRTH offers their new Oland boot to tackle this problem and promises warm feet and all-day usage. 

Featuring 100 grams of Primaloft insulation and an environmentally conscientious manufacturing process for the leather uppers, this boot is rated down to 20°F and up to 45°F as far as temperature range goes.  

The Oland also features glass fiber bits embedded into the real rubber soles to enhance traction in slippery situations. The Oland has traditional lace closure and is compatible with two-bolt cleat interfaces for clipless pedal usage or leave the removable plate on and ride flat pedals. 

The Oland is available in whole sizes from 38 to 50 and costs $260.00 USD. 

Comments: This boot is going after the commuter and recreational rider, judging by the marketing and styling of the Oland. I think it is a smart move to "normalize" cycling apparel for everyone, and especially cyclists. I'd be more apt to wear this boot than some of the other cycling footwear I see for Winter on my bike and obviously, the Oland is set for off the bike usage as well. 

However; if this is what 45NRTH is thinking of style-wise and for usage type, then I think you can do a whole lot better with other non-cycling brands that do Winter footwear. As an example, I've been a user of Keen footwear on my Winter biking forays for many years and this boot they offer for quite a bit less than the Oland has similar features and twice the insulation. I'm sure other companies are doing similar hiker style boots at notable savings over the 45NRTH offering. Yes, they are not clipless compatible, but I would counter by saying flat pedals are a lot smarter Winter choice and especially composite pedals which will not transfer heat from your feet like a clipless or metal pedal does. Try them and let me know if I am wrong. I'll be here...... 

Camp Snap Camera Update:

Some of you might recall that I purchased a Camp Snap Camera last Spring and reviewed it on the site HERE. In the review I mentioned my poor experience with image quality, especially with the tendency of the sensor to "blow out" images if there was any intense light source, like the Sun, shining. 

Well, Velo Orange, who sell these (as well as other outlets) announced a v2 of the camera is now available which promises better jpeg processing and a "significantly faster shutter speed". This is probably in response to the problems I, and likely others, were having with v1 of the camera. It still is $65.00USD, so not a bad chance to take on a cheaply made camera for fun. 

Image courtesy of Boone Technologies

Boone Technologies Titanium Goodness: 

Somewhere in the depths of time I came into possession of a Boone Titanium single speed cog and matching spacer kit. I treasured those bits and one of my single speed bikes has that set up, (I think it is on my Pofahl Signature single speed gravel bike)

Anyway, the "big deal" was that Boone had gone back to making jewelry and had dropped the cycling products. But I found out via Mike Curiak's blog that they are back again making not only single speed cogs but chain rings, spiders, and titanium crank sets. 

The website is here if you want to check those out. 

What is cool is that now those cogs can be had in various anodized colors. I grabbed an image of a purple one here but there are a lot more colors available. These bits are not cheap. The cogs are nearly a hundred bucks alone, but they are well made, last a long time and are light. Check out this USA based and manufactured product line if you want to get something cool in titanium for your bike. 

Note: I get nothing for mentioning this, I just think these are good products worth checking in to.

Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions! get out there and ride those bicycles!

Thinking About Winter

Like it or not, there is a season coming soon called "Winter". I put that in quotation marks because what I used to know as 'that season' is not like what I know Winter as now. There has been a change, and maybe what I used to expect can no longer be banked upon going forward.

I'm not going to delve into the whole climate change thing here. You know Winter is not like what it used to be like if you are over the age of 40. Winter used to be a solid four months of snow, ice, and sub-freezing temperatures. Not anymore......

Last year was a typical, for modern times, Winter where we had like four weeks of snow, two "big" snow storms, and the rest of it was "Brown Season". Too cold and windy to do much country riding, but not snowy and cold enough to do any fat biking worth getting the fat bike out for. Yes.....things may have been vastly different where you live, but here in Iowa? Winters mean something completely different than they used to mean in the days of yore. Maybe we'll cycle around back to that sort of Winter and maybe I'll be eating these words in late December. But I bet that won't be the case.

Last December. Cold enough for pogies - No snow to be seen anywhere!

Well, whatever happens, I probably should get on top of things by maintaining my Ti Muk and Blackborow DS just in case. I need to peel off the 26" x 4" Cake Eater tires and clean out the old sealant, refresh the sealant, and then see to changing out the oil in the Rohloff hub. 

The Blackborow DS probably just needs air in the tires. I think I rode that bike once or twice, at most, last Winter. I feel bad about even owning that bike because it doesn't hardly ever get used anymore. I just do not need a fat bike with the capabilities of the Blackborow if Winter is but a whimper again and again. I almost sold the BLackborow in 2021, but you know "almost" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. 

And this is how I feel about Winter. It is an "almost, but not quite" season anymore these days. Why even have fat bikes? I probably could do with a stout 29"er with 2.8" tires all Winter if all we see are flurries and the occasional dump big enough to make a snowman from. 

Ha! Do you suppose I've jinxed myself, perhaps? Nah......I don't believe in such nonsense. If we get a Winter, well then huzzah! If not, well then - Same ol' - same ol'......

Rainy Week Maintenance

 Last week it rained every single day at some point. What a "weather-whiplash"! The week before it was all snowy, sub-zero, windy, and white. This past week it was all gloomy, grey, and gloppy. 

Not at all good for riding. However; I held out hope for a few days that the weather people would be wrong. Yeah..... They were right!

So, I retreated to the Lab and thought about what needed to be done down there. I always have at least one or two things I put off for times like these. This time it was maintenance of the fleet.

Plus I had to clean up that Paul hub/Velocity Blunt SS wheel for that single speed project that, as far as I know, is still all on for now. And that wheel was a mess! So much dust! It was so bad that I could not tell which spokes were silver and which ones were black. See, this wheel was built in my personal 'signature style' which is black spokes on one side with silver nipples and silver spokes on the other side with black nipples. 

I also had to clean a season's worth of dust off the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 as I let that bike accumulate dust and dirt to stress the Enduro Bearing stuff as much as possible for that review. It had a fair amount of dust on it to clean off, but not as much as that single speed wheel had. I didn't realize 2022 was so dusty! (Yes.....I hadn't cleaned it after switching the Standard Rando v2 to gears.)

Airing up tires....

.....and trying to figure out how THIS happened!

I was checking out my Pofahl Signature Custom and when I turned the crank it acted really oddly. Then I saw it. Rust! What the......!!! How'd THAT happen? I have the answer, of course. Water or some chemical oxidized the steel, but how did that happen is the question. I don't know, but nothing else on the bike shows any evidence of rust or staining like the chain does. 

Weird. Anyway, I obviously have to change that out. I also had to crack open the free hub body and get at the pawls because they hadn't ever been cleaned and greased in all the time I have had those wheels. That's been....woo! maybe sixteen years now! So way overdue, however long it's been, at any rate. 

These are the BB-7's you want, but they are rare.

First generation Industry 9 free hub, single speed specific.

The maintenance is still ongoing on the fleet. Lots of bikes to get through here! But once I do all that, then Spring can come at any time and I'll be ready. Heck! Even some late Winter, mild weather riding would be good right about now. Although I am speculating that the gravel roads are a big mess right after all of this rain we've had. N.Y. Roll was to have done a longer ride this weekend to check out things South of here. I'll have to find out how that all went. (Update: It didn't go at all. Too much fog!!)

What a weird Winter! With temperatures forecast to be into the upper 40's this week, who knows if Winter will ever get back to town and freeze me out again. Could certainly happen, but not anytime soon, it would appear!

Ready For This

The "Orange Crush" as of today.

 The snow came and well......it's going. Fast! We are to have above freezing temperatures everyday for two straight weeks with the end of that spell being in the 40's. This snow won't make it through that. Not for fat biking purposes, at any rate. And where I ride, it isn't good already. 

I erroneously thought we had it made with the first round of snow we got, but the second round wasn't great snow, and with massive drifting, the snow pretty much got broken down into bits. So it doesn't hold together well and it is actually pretty awful for fat biking once the temps get above 10 or so above zero. With all that in mind, I needed to pivot my plans.

There is also something percolating behind the scenes which may- or may not- happen that impacts what I am doing right now. That and the Gents Race in April has made me switch to a mode of thinking that I need to start training now.

I cannot, or more correctly, will not, speak about this 'behind the scenes' thing just yet on the blog. A couple of folks are privy to it, but since things aren't 100% solid and a LOT has to happen to make this chance come true, I feel it is best in everyone's interest to stay put for now concerning that. But be that as it may, IF it happens I need to do what I am doing NOW. 

Besides, now that reviewing stuff is not a pressing need this year, I have time to give to my passion for single speed. I think the first part of 2024 is going to be pretty heavy on the One Gear machines here. That gets me round to the ol' Orange Crush machine, and what I am going to do to kick off the 2024 riding season. 

Snow drifts from last week's storms in Mahaska County. (Image courtesy of KCCI social media)

First off, I wanted to use the Orange Crush because it has fenders and I have an extra wheel set for it that I could set up with some 45NRTH Gravdal studded tires. This might come in handy with what I suspect will be some freeze-thaw icing that will certainly occur with all this snow melting over the next two weeks. 

Secondly, those same fenders and the single speed drive train will be awesome for some January/February country "drift searching", which I hope to do soon. I've heard reports of 15ft - 18ft drifts in Iowa and I haven't seen any "big ones" in several years, so I will be searching for some nice big drifts soon. Probably North of Waterloo, because traditionally that is where I've seen the biggest ones in the past around here. 

Of course, I hope to be getting out as soon as possible, but I will be, and have been, doing urban commuting and riding already. In fact, I cannot wait for this snow to clear out as I have had four crashes in the last week and one a pretty hard knock on pavement. I don't want to continue that trend!

The Blizzard of '24

9:00am, Friday January 2024

Last week you might recall that I posted about how Winter finally started acting like Winter when we received 10.5" of snow in one drop. That snow was a beast due to how wet it was and shoveling out from that snow took three days to take care of what with dealing with snow plow remnants. Then right away after that we got another big dump of snow.

Twenty plus inches in the span of a week. I think that's a new record, at least in my reckoning. After wrasslin' with snow for three days and then seeing another huge dump - this time accompanied by high winds and drifting - I am starting to feel this "old school Winter" feeling. 

Big-time snow, winds whipping it around, and now brutal cold. This is a real Winter. A Winter that brings to mind Winters from my childhood. Except those Winters started out in late November and didn't go away until March.

Snow shoveling counts as training, right? My body thinks it is training. Sore muscles, fatigue, and mental drain are here and very real. Some people wish for Winters of old. I am glad we don't get those much anymore. "Cabin fever" is a real thing. I don't wish to experience that again. 

Yeah...I have fat bikes, but this snow will take a bit to get set up and then we'll need to have "grooming" of some sort. The local soft trails folks do their bit of grooming over in the parks where we have MTB trails, so that's nice. However; to get anywhere around where I live I have to wait for cars, people,, or preferably, the slednecks to come out. Snow machine trails are usually pretty good riding for fat bikes.  

The road West of the Isle Casino in Waterloo on Saturday afternoon.

The neighbors snowman

The second storm brought the blizzard and another round of shoveling. Two and 3/4's hours later I had both the side walk cleared and the two parking places out front for our cars. After I was done shoveling I was entertained by the neighbor's snowman making session. The place next door is being rented by the company that is putting in fiber optic cable here. They hired a bunch of Latin American folks to come up and do the work. 

I'm about 100% sure these guys next door are from Central and South America because they are fascinated by these two snowstorms. On one occasion they were outside taking images on their phones of Mrs. Guitar Ted and I sweeping snow off the car. They also built these two uniquely styled snowmen, one in the back yard, one out front. 

It was kind of heartwarming to see this fellow crafting this snowman Saturday. A grown man reveling in the wonder of snow.  We could stand a little more of that 'round these parts.

It Finally Happened! (With WTB Bailiff News)

8:30am, Tuesday, January 8th, 2024

 The warnings were all over the airwaves starting Sunday and into Monday. We were finally going to get a significant snow event. The weather people were saying we'd see anywhere from 5" - 9" of snow. By 7:00am we already had 6+ inches and it was snowing heavily. We ended up with a record one-day snow total of 10.5" for that day.

I'm not complaining. First of all, we need moisture here in Iowa. We are still in a drought and anything we get is welcomed in terms of precipitation. Secondly, fat biking! This amount of snow should pack in and be groom-able. In fact, my testing out of the initial snow layer we got showed great packable snow and a higher moisture content which should show up as a great base layer. 

By the way this snow is acting in the wind, I'd say that it might just prove to be some of the best riding snow we've seen. but time will tell on that front. 

Thirdly - This makes the cold weather worthwhile, in my eyes anyway. Because if it is just too darn cold to ride in the country without snow, it just makes life miserable - for me - and it is not very fun. But add in snow? My attitude changes 180 degrees. 

Plus, all that white snow just makes everything look better. Again, maybe that's just me. But a drab, grey and brown scene is harder to draw any uplifting inspiration from to brighten my day. So, this snow is awesome, and Winter finally looks the part. 

The new WTB Bailiff tire in 27.5 X 4.5" (image courtesy of WTB)

WTB Finally Makes A Fat Bike Tire:

Yesterday news broke concerning a new fat bike tire from WTB. They are offering the new tire as a 4.5" X 27.5" diameter only tire at this time.

The new tire, called the Bailiff, comes in a studded or non-studded versions with studd-able pockets molded in. These accept any Terrene or 45NRTH studs. 

The rubber compound is designed for grip in cold weather conditions, so it is a softer compound. TCS ready means these are tubeless ready tires. Prices are $134.95 for the non-studded and $279.95 for the studded version. (Prices for one tire only)

You can read more about these HERE on WTB's site. 

Comments: Wow! I recall asking about fat bike tires probably ten years ago from my WTB contacts and they weren't real interested in them at that point. Apparently more pressure was brought to bear from some "Canadian bike partners" and so WTB went into development with some testers in Vermont to come up with this tire "after several revisions". 

"Bike partners" means "OEM spec", and so I would be looking for new fat bikes coming out with WTB branded Bailiff tires soon. I suspect that since the "amazing bike partners" were only interested in 27.5" diameter tires that this is why WTB is not offering a 26"er version. 

Question: If I told you this tire was a 45NRTH tire, would you have believed me? I think the design is very derivative of a 45NRTH Wrathlord tire, but maybe I'm not seeing that correctly.... Anyway. Too bad there isn't a 26"er version. I might have tried those on my fat bikes. 

One last note: WTB sells these Bailiff tires saying they are TCS compatible, but their own TCS sealant is not rated for temperatures that fat bikes often see. Kinda weird..... Their is always Orange Seal Sub-Zero.

Preparation Winter '23: Ti Muk 2

The Ti Muk 2 before....

 I mentioned a while back that Winter preparations have begun at G-Ted Headquarters. My first order of business was to look over the Blackborow DS. That didn't take much, but I do need to replace the chain yet. That will wait until I get my hands on a new one.

So i moved on to my Ti Muk 2. This is the bike with the Rohloff Speed Hub. I needed to do some basic cleaning and checking,plus figure out what to do about my rear mud guard. 

I was pretty sure the bike would be needing sealant. So, I hung the bike in my stand, turned the wheels until each valve stem was at the "six o'clock" position, and then I let that sit awhile so to allow the sealant, if any, to pool at the bottom of the tires. Once that set a while I came back and checked to find - you guessed it - nothing. Not a whiff of wet sealant at all. 

Soooo..... WTB sealant went in and then I aired up the tires. Now a little bit of cleaning. then it was time to remove that eyesore of a rear mudguard and see about finding something else that might work. 

.....and after I got done working on it Wednesday.

There are all sorts of solutions out there which range from about 20 bucks to over 300 bucks. I think I'll keep looking, and I also think I can make something myself that is simple. We will see. I do know that I like the look of the bike a lot more without fenders but around here you have to have them for Winter commuting. 

But otherwise I am good to go now with that bike. My next subject is the Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross rig which I am going to "de-Winter-fy" as I am not planning on using that bike for Winter duties at all. But it does have fenders and I want to remove those. More on that soon...

Preparation Winter '23: Ti Muk 2

The Ti Muk 2 before....

 I mentioned a while back that Winter preparations have begun at G-Ted Headquarters. My first order of business was to look over the Blackborow DS. That didn't take much, but I do need to replace the chain yet. That will wait until I get my hands on a new one.

So i moved on to my Ti Muk 2. This is the bike with the Rohloff Speed Hub. I needed to do some basic cleaning and checking,plus figure out what to do about my rear mud guard. 

I was pretty sure the bike would be needing sealant. So, I hung the bike in my stand, turned the wheels until each valve stem was at the "six o'clock" position, and then I let that sit awhile so to allow the sealant, if any, to pool at the bottom of the tires. Once that set a while I came back and checked to find - you guessed it - nothing. Not a whiff of wet sealant at all. 

Soooo..... WTB sealant went in and then I aired up the tires. Now a little bit of cleaning. then it was time to remove that eyesore of a rear mudguard and see about finding something else that might work. 

.....and after I got done working on it Wednesday.

There are all sorts of solutions out there which range from about 20 bucks to over 300 bucks. I think I'll keep looking, and I also think I can make something myself that is simple. We will see. I do know that I like the look of the bike a lot more without fenders but around here you have to have them for Winter commuting. 

But otherwise I am good to go now with that bike. My next subject is the Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross rig which I am going to "de-Winter-fy" as I am not planning on using that bike for Winter duties at all. But it does have fenders and I want to remove those. More on that soon...

Well, Now This

Snowy commute

So, yeah.... When it snows here the whole dynamic of my cycling here changes. The air temperature dives, it gets windy, and that's certainly part of it as well. But snow, that's a whole different thing. 

I certainly will, and I have in the past, cycle in snow on snowy roads out in the country. But I won't if it gets icy, and then you've got that aforementioned wind and weather. It gets where conditions are rare for a safe, fun ride. I'm at a point in life where I've got nothing to prove to anyone. If things get bad out there in the Winter, well, I could go riding, but I don't have to do that. Why? There is no reason to. 

What I did have to do was to make sure my bikes are ready for Winter and that they have the proper set up. I have already detailed the light thing for Ti Mukluk 2. But I have two other fat bikes and those have to be gotten ready to go. 

I decided to roll out the Blackborow DS for sprucing up for this Winter. It didn't need much, to be honest. It's such a simple bike. I almost didn't have it this year to have to spruce it up. 

Last year I was in a place at about this time of the year that I knew I was out of a job. The pandemic pretty much put a stranglehold on the shop at the time and product was hard to come by to sell. That made it so that Andy decided to call it quits. And I was looking at not having any income for the Winter. But I have three fat bikes, so.....

The Blackborow DS is all ready to roll into 2023.

So I thought about selling the Blackborow DS. I almost had it sold, but the guy didn't bite in the end. I was disappointed, but another opportunity came along and I received some unexpected help so everything worked out for the best. But it almost happened.

So, two fat bikes out of the three are set to go, but look- We just got started with Winter here. Maybe things will swing back the other way and I'll be riding the gravel bikes again soon. Hard to say. But it's good to be ready for this- What we have going on right now.

Well, Now This

Snowy commute

So, yeah.... When it snows here the whole dynamic of my cycling here changes. The air temperature dives, it gets windy, and that's certainly part of it as well. But snow, that's a whole different thing. 

I certainly will, and I have in the past, cycle in snow on snowy roads out in the country. But I won't if it gets icy, and then you've got that aforementioned wind and weather. It gets where conditions are rare for a safe, fun ride. I'm at a point in life where I've got nothing to prove to anyone. If things get bad out there in the Winter, well, I could go riding, but I don't have to do that. Why? There is no reason to. 

What I did have to do was to make sure my bikes are ready for Winter and that they have the proper set up. I have already detailed the light thing for Ti Mukluk 2. But I have two other fat bikes and those have to be gotten ready to go. 

I decided to roll out the Blackborow DS for sprucing up for this Winter. It didn't need much, to be honest. It's such a simple bike. I almost didn't have it this year to have to spruce it up. 

Last year I was in a place at about this time of the year that I knew I was out of a job. The pandemic pretty much put a stranglehold on the shop at the time and product was hard to come by to sell. That made it so that Andy decided to call it quits. And I was looking at not having any income for the Winter. But I have three fat bikes, so.....

The Blackborow DS is all ready to roll into 2023.

So I thought about selling the Blackborow DS. I almost had it sold, but the guy didn't bite in the end. I was disappointed, but another opportunity came along and I received some unexpected help so everything worked out for the best. But it almost happened.

So, two fat bikes out of the three are set to go, but look- We just got started with Winter here. Maybe things will swing back the other way and I'll be riding the gravel bikes again soon. Hard to say. But it's good to be ready for this- What we have going on right now.

Hi! It's Me! I'm Winter!

Downtown Waterloo along the Cedar River

 The weather let us know here recently that what we experienced last week was "False Spring". Winter wasn't done with us just yet. We got about 4" of fresh snow overnight Sunday and then it was warm-ish for two days. Then it got cold. 

The one thing about this time of year that is nice is that the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the Sun gives us an advantage now. That more direct Sunlight really can be felt if it is Sunny. It also zaps the snow in short order. It doesn't even have to be above freezing either. Just close to it, and the snow melts like hot butter. 

But Wednesday a cold air mass visited and the familiar bite of Winter's breath could be felt keenly on the wind. I rode to do a few errands and I was very glad I was not out in the country riding. It would have been miserable. At least from my perspective, it would have. Just layering up to be warm is getting old now this late into the season, so I guess maybe I'm just ready to move on. 

The good news is that next week it is supposed to start acting like March again and be in the 50's. That will be nice, and maybe I can forget how cold a 'real feel' of 15°F is like until next Winter. I need to start getting rides out on the gravel on a more consistent basis now as I am scheduled to do the Gent's Ride this coming April 2nd. 

That course is sixty-five-ish miles so I need to bag some longer rides soon. Temperatures in the range that they are in now? Not a good thing for long gravel rides. Winter, you are not welcome here anymore. Go home!

Hi! It's Me! I'm Winter!

Downtown Waterloo along the Cedar River

 The weather let us know here recently that what we experienced last week was "False Spring". Winter wasn't done with us just yet. We got about 4" of fresh snow overnight Sunday and then it was warm-ish for two days. Then it got cold. 

The one thing about this time of year that is nice is that the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the Sun gives us an advantage now. That more direct Sunlight really can be felt if it is Sunny. It also zaps the snow in short order. It doesn't even have to be above freezing either. Just close to it, and the snow melts like hot butter. 

But Wednesday a cold air mass visited and the familiar bite of Winter's breath could be felt keenly on the wind. I rode to do a few errands and I was very glad I was not out in the country riding. It would have been miserable. At least from my perspective, it would have. Just layering up to be warm is getting old now this late into the season, so I guess maybe I'm just ready to move on. 

The good news is that next week it is supposed to start acting like March again and be in the 50's. That will be nice, and maybe I can forget how cold a 'real feel' of 15°F is like until next Winter. I need to start getting rides out on the gravel on a more consistent basis now as I am scheduled to do the Gent's Ride this coming April 2nd. 

That course is sixty-five-ish miles so I need to bag some longer rides soon. Temperatures in the range that they are in now? Not a good thing for long gravel rides. Winter, you are not welcome here anymore. Go home!

So....Is That It?

First tracks in the neighborhood cemetery last week.

Well......It is March 1st. Is Winter over? It sure would seem that way now. With temperatures set to be into the 50's here today, and mid-40's for the foreseeable future, for the most part, I suspect that any intrusions of a Wintry type might have very low chances of occurring from this point onward. 

Typically the onset of March marks the point where we reverse the icy grips of Winter here and move onward to that messy, 'shoulder-season' time where it is too much of a hassle to ride out in the country due to softening roads, mud, and slop. But we're at least two weeks ahead of schedule, by my reckoning here, and I'd wager that Spring starts very quickly now.

A bit of a review on our Winter here then. basically, it sucked for cycling. It was fine until mid-December when we got that first bit of snow and the temperatures dropped through the cellar. Winds, cold, and icy snow make for not much fun. Although our local gravel-madman, "tomcat" who reads this blog, was out all the time throughout Winter on the gravel roads. 

Finally, in mid-January, we got a significant snow. About eight inches, and fat biking was on which was fun, but we had zero supporting snowfalls afterward. Oh sure.....we got a couple of dustings, but nothing to add to the excellent base we got back in January. That meant that cold evaporation, wind, and the ever present Sun whittled away at that base until by last week it was all but gone. Then we got that supportive snow! Of course!

Too little too late. I ran my fat bike one last time around the neighborhood in snow. It was no big deal. Maybe three inches of fluff, and by the end of the weekend it was largely gone already due to warming temps and the rising altitude of the Sun relative to our horizon here. More direct Sun equals hard to maintain snow.
 

Not much of a challenge, but I had to take one last cruise!

So, is that it then? Is Winter gone? I think it is. We may see a dusting, but I am betting if we get precipitation from here on out it will be in the form of rain. And boy! Do we need rain! It is way too dry out in the country.

So, a pause for Winter which didn't amount to much this season. Now it's on to the warmer seasons and gravel travel! I am excited for this to get going now. I have a lot of things to be getting to now that warmer temperatures and longer rides will be possible again.

The Winter commuter will give way to other bikes now.

First of all, I have this new schedule which I have to get stuck into my brain now. Working Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays is very different than what I had been doing for years. My 'long days' will have to fit into that, so I'll be doing bigger rides on odd days compared to many of you who read this blog.

I'll have some Sunday rides, Tuesdays and Thursday rides. Friday rides, but no Saturday rides- at least no big, long ones, and no Saturday gravel events, but for maybe a couple. Maybe....

Because I have to integrate that oddball schedule in with family life I am thinking any big trips I would normally take over a weekend will not be happening. Nor will any big day-trips anywhere. At least not until school is out and my car-less kids can get public transportation figured out for themselves again. We will see about that....

I'll also be swapping over to different commuter bikes for my job and errands now that the weather is straightening out. I'm looking forward to getting rides in on some of my other bikes soon. In the meantime, I hope that the weather is turning back to be nicer wherever you are and that your riding plans all go well and are successful this season!

Good-bye, Winter. Until next time......

So....Is That It?

First tracks in the neighborhood cemetery last week.

Well......It is March 1st. Is Winter over? It sure would seem that way now. With temperatures set to be into the 50's here today, and mid-40's for the foreseeable future, for the most part, I suspect that any intrusions of a Wintry type might have very low chances of occurring from this point onward. 

Typically the onset of March marks the point where we reverse the icy grips of Winter here and move onward to that messy, 'shoulder-season' time where it is too much of a hassle to ride out in the country due to softening roads, mud, and slop. But we're at least two weeks ahead of schedule, by my reckoning here, and I'd wager that Spring starts very quickly now.

A bit of a review on our Winter here then. basically, it sucked for cycling. It was fine until mid-December when we got that first bit of snow and the temperatures dropped through the cellar. Winds, cold, and icy snow make for not much fun. Although our local gravel-madman, "tomcat" who reads this blog, was out all the time throughout Winter on the gravel roads. 

Finally, in mid-January, we got a significant snow. About eight inches, and fat biking was on which was fun, but we had zero supporting snowfalls afterward. Oh sure.....we got a couple of dustings, but nothing to add to the excellent base we got back in January. That meant that cold evaporation, wind, and the ever present Sun whittled away at that base until by last week it was all but gone. Then we got that supportive snow! Of course!

Too little too late. I ran my fat bike one last time around the neighborhood in snow. It was no big deal. Maybe three inches of fluff, and by the end of the weekend it was largely gone already due to warming temps and the rising altitude of the Sun relative to our horizon here. More direct Sun equals hard to maintain snow.
 

Not much of a challenge, but I had to take one last cruise!

So, is that it then? Is Winter gone? I think it is. We may see a dusting, but I am betting if we get precipitation from here on out it will be in the form of rain. And boy! Do we need rain! It is way too dry out in the country.

So, a pause for Winter which didn't amount to much this season. Now it's on to the warmer seasons and gravel travel! I am excited for this to get going now. I have a lot of things to be getting to now that warmer temperatures and longer rides will be possible again.

The Winter commuter will give way to other bikes now.

First of all, I have this new schedule which I have to get stuck into my brain now. Working Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays is very different than what I had been doing for years. My 'long days' will have to fit into that, so I'll be doing bigger rides on odd days compared to many of you who read this blog.

I'll have some Sunday rides, Tuesdays and Thursday rides. Friday rides, but no Saturday rides- at least no big, long ones, and no Saturday gravel events, but for maybe a couple. Maybe....

Because I have to integrate that oddball schedule in with family life I am thinking any big trips I would normally take over a weekend will not be happening. Nor will any big day-trips anywhere. At least not until school is out and my car-less kids can get public transportation figured out for themselves again. We will see about that....

I'll also be swapping over to different commuter bikes for my job and errands now that the weather is straightening out. I'm looking forward to getting rides in on some of my other bikes soon. In the meantime, I hope that the weather is turning back to be nicer wherever you are and that your riding plans all go well and are successful this season!

Good-bye, Winter. Until next time......

Like A Yo-Yo

Say goodbye to good fat biking snow.....for now.

 The last several days have been a bit of a roller coaster from the weather perspective. We were up near freezing, then way below zero, then back up near freezing again. Now we're supposed to have two days straight of 'snow-melting' weather and I think that will about do in the fat biking snow we've had. 

Really, we've had about two shovel-able snows this season, and that's it. The last one was the big one. An eight-incher. But that was back in mid-January and since then we've only had a dusting or three of powdery snow that didn't amount to much. Meanwhile, snow evaporates, gets wind driven, and melts, to the point that our original eight inches is maybe four now in reality. 

This Sun, wind, and higher temperatures are going to zap that leftover, dried up, broken down snow in a big hurry. I suspect that unless we get another good four to five inches of snow before mid-March, well fat biking season could be over early this year. 

That just means that gravel riding is right around the corner now. And my knees are getting tuned up, and that moving gig is over, so I suspect I'll be ready to go when the weather allows it. That means I need to tune-up the fleet here. Get things dialed in, and replace a few parts. I already have a couple things in to review, so I am itching to get going now. 

The Raleigh Tamland Two with something old, something 'borrowed', and something blue.

I have a few things in process, but one of the more interesting - well, to me anyway - things is this Raleigh Tamland Two set up. I have a specific part on here that is getting a review and test, which required that I find an old accessory item I had to use in conjunction with this test. You've probably already guessed it. That old handle bar bag. There is a bit of a story there......

In my stories I wrote for "The Touring Series", I have a story on the "Race Against Death" tour. During that self-supported tour I used a - at that time - new handle bar bag. It was a Cycle Pro bar bag. I really liked that bag for its functionality. I had all sorts of stuff in it and my map case, (remember navigating by paper maps?), snapped to the top of it. It was really a great system. This bag had those 'guy wires' to the front drop-out eyelets and a big, bent metal 'hangar' piece that suspended the bag from an old forged, quill style stem. 

I further accessorized this bag with some 'temple bells' I purchased at a local 'head shop' and draped those over the front of the bag. This was really supposed to be a necklace, and it is all Sterling Silver, by the way. First class here! Anyway, these things tinkle and jingle as you ride down the road. It drove my touring mates nuts back in '95! 

Anyway, I dug that old Cycle Pro bag out and stuck it on there using my review/test product I have there as a base, and strapped it on using some Velcro strips and an old toe strap. It's rock solid! I'll probably be heard for a mile away when I get this out soon!

But I had to do some tuning up on the old Raleigh. New derailleur cables, housings, and a wheel swap was done. The old aluminum Irwin wheels broke a spoke on the rear, so I decided this old Raleigh deserved the carbon Irwin wheels I have, and I swapped those over. However; I have to source a different, lower profile rotor lock ring to clear the carbon fork. Ahh......!! It's always something! So, when that part, and a new chain, come in, I'll have this rig out and about. 

I'm sure the weather will yo-yo a few times before it settles down. I'll have to probably ride another of my bikes when we get this spate of warmer weather here, because I am sure it won't last all that long. The Raleigh will have to wait for a bit, but I'll be looking forward to the old 'jingle-jangle' sound of this old handle bar bag again after so many years.