Fat Bike Century Challenge

Starting to work on my set up

My fiend Tony asked me the other day to do a fat bike century with him. Challenge accepted. Hmm......now what?

I certainly am not doing this on my Blackborow DS, that's for sure! Way too low a gear and one speed. Nope. Not gonna do it. So, my only other choice right now is the Ti Muk. That's a great choice, but for one detail, and that has to do with gearing also. I changed it to 1X just recently.

That small 28T chain ring is going to get a work out! The SRAM NX cassette is as well. I tooled around a bit yesterday to try and get a feel for speed on this beast, and I think it will be okay, really. The thing is, I suspect I'll be in the highest three cogs, maybe four, all day. Yep. It can work, but ya know, bigger gears are more efficient than smaller ones are. 

So, you say, "Just change out the crank set ring!"  Ah! But the OD crank as an oddball BCD. Well......nowadays it is oddball. It didn't use to be that way. Anyway, getting a bigger "narrow-wide" chain ring for that is going to be tough or maybe impossible in less than two weeks. I'll just run what I have. It will work, but I may wear it out! We'll see.

Bar Yak cockpit set up.

There are greater concerns to be dealt with anyway. Like water. I have to not carry that on my back, so I think that light, supple On One carbon fork is coming off and the Enabler is going back on for now. That will solve the water issue. Two cages on the fork and two on the bike should suffice for this deal. The lowest, third cage on the frame will be for repair bits and tools in a bottle.

While I am at it I probably will go to a Big Fat Larry up front and a Larry out back. Lighter rubber will be a good thing and the Larry tread pattern rolls fast. Heck, I may go regular Larrys all the way around. I'll have to see what I have available to me to throw on there.

I transferred over the Bar Yak system to the Ti Muk for now as well. This will be its first big outing when we attempt this, so I will be interested to see how things work out during the ride. I tooled around a bit on the extensions to get a feel for that positioning and I like it so far. Getting down out of the wind will likely be a valuable thing at some point during the ride. I may have to spring for a GPS unit to track everything with and get mileage off of before we head out.  It would be a lot better than a wired computer! That's for sure!

Okay, so that's the plan of attack so far. I will be doing some experimenting and modifications yet that I want to try. Then I'll load up with Epic bars and Justin's Almond butter packets, throw in some flattened bananas,and head out for 100 miles of gravel on a fat bike. Stay tuned.....

Fat Bike Century Challenge

Starting to work on my set up

My fiend Tony asked me the other day to do a fat bike century with him. Challenge accepted. Hmm......now what?

I certainly am not doing this on my Blackborow DS, that's for sure! Way too low a gear and one speed. Nope. Not gonna do it. So, my only other choice right now is the Ti Muk. That's a great choice, but for one detail, and that has to do with gearing also. I changed it to 1X just recently.

That small 28T chain ring is going to get a work out! The SRAM NX cassette is as well. I tooled around a bit yesterday to try and get a feel for speed on this beast, and I think it will be okay, really. The thing is, I suspect I'll be in the highest three cogs, maybe four, all day. Yep. It can work, but ya know, bigger gears are more efficient than smaller ones are. 

So, you say, "Just change out the crank set ring!"  Ah! But the OD crank as an oddball BCD. Well......nowadays it is oddball. It didn't use to be that way. Anyway, getting a bigger "narrow-wide" chain ring for that is going to be tough or maybe impossible in less than two weeks. I'll just run what I have. It will work, but I may wear it out! We'll see.

Bar Yak cockpit set up.

There are greater concerns to be dealt with anyway. Like water. I have to not carry that on my back, so I think that light, supple On One carbon fork is coming off and the Enabler is going back on for now. That will solve the water issue. Two cages on the fork and two on the bike should suffice for this deal. The lowest, third cage on the frame will be for repair bits and tools in a bottle.

While I am at it I probably will go to a Big Fat Larry up front and a Larry out back. Lighter rubber will be a good thing and the Larry tread pattern rolls fast. Heck, I may go regular Larrys all the way around. I'll have to see what I have available to me to throw on there.

I transferred over the Bar Yak system to the Ti Muk for now as well. This will be its first big outing when we attempt this, so I will be interested to see how things work out during the ride. I tooled around a bit on the extensions to get a feel for that positioning and I like it so far. Getting down out of the wind will likely be a valuable thing at some point during the ride. I may have to spring for a GPS unit to track everything with and get mileage off of before we head out.  It would be a lot better than a wired computer! That's for sure!

Okay, so that's the plan of attack so far. I will be doing some experimenting and modifications yet that I want to try. Then I'll load up with Epic bars and Justin's Almond butter packets, throw in some flattened bananas,and head out for 100 miles of gravel on a fat bike. Stay tuned.....

Velo Orange Cigne Stem Overview

The Velo Orange "Cigne" stem is an "LD" type stem for drop bar mtb's

Background: In the weird world of off road drop bars, one of the main issues is getting the drops up in the air high enough that the drop position becomes your primary hand position. Let's face it, there are not many hard tail mountain bikes that were ever designed around such an idea, so typically you will find yourself retrofitting drops to a flat bar hard tail mtb. When you try to do this, you will find yourself fighting against two big hurdles that are hard to clear.

The first of these two hurdles is that the reach, or in old mountain biker's parlance, the effective top tube length, is going to be a bit too long for a drop bar. Why? because unlike flat bars, a drop bar adds to the overall reach of the cockpit. The "reach" of the drops adds to the effective top tube length, so stem length is critical to a successful drop bar conversion on an old mountain bike. The stem reach needs to be very short, typically.

The second hurdle is that the head tube lengths on most mountain bikes are relatively short compared to those bikes designed for drop bars. Why? Because drop bars have depth while flat bars are on a single plane. To make the drop section useful in almost every case, you need a stem with a steep rise. Those are typically very hard to find in short reach dimensions. It's either that or you get a frame designed around drop bars which will typically have a longer head tube to alleviate that issue. See the Salsa Fargo and El Mariachi models for a perfect example of what I mean here.

Back in the 1980's, builders of mountain bikes used a stem design that was most often associated with Potts, Ibis, and Cunningham bikes to get around the two hurdles I mention above. Known as the "LD" type stem by many, it is a simple and elegant way to get around the longer top tubes and shorter head tubes of mountain bikes when drop bars are desired. The trouble was that these custom builders either became something else, died out, or stopped producing these types of stems over the ensuing years till now. The only way to get such a stem was to contract a custom builder that was amenable to the idea of making stems to make you one, which is obviously very expensive. So, most riders just "make do" with whatever stems they can get.

My Karate Monkey with a Dimension riser stem in the shortest reach and highest rise available. 

Above you can see what I mean about "making do". This is my '03 Karate Monkey with a Origin 8 "Gary Ergo Sweep OS Bar" (Velo Orange has the identical bar as the Daija Far Bar) and I am using the Dimension stem in the highest rise and shortest reach possible. Without adding a stack-o-spacers on a longer steer tube, (which is impossible since I cut that fork in '03), this is the best possible set up I could get. Well, other than a custom stem. Anyway, the drop section is a bit too low for my liking, and as you can see, the tops are about at the same level as the saddle. I also wasn't keen on the reach, which was a bit too long for my tastes.

A quick mock up using the Cigne stem. Now that is a big difference!

Above here you can see my quick mock up using the Velo Orange Grand Cru Cigne Stem. Sheesh folks! Do we really need such long names?!! Maybe we could have called it the "Tom" stem, or the "Nancy" stem and made it simpler. Anyway......

Fancy pants long name aside, this stem radicalizes my set up. Check out the reach, which is 70mm for the stem. You can get an 80mm reach Cigne stem too, but I went for the shortest option here. Obviously, the height is there as well. Check out how much higher the drop section is. Totally usable now as opposed to marginally usable before.

You can check out all the technical mumbo-jumbo here if you want to, but the bottom line is that now one can get a tested, well designed, good looking stem for converting a mtb to drop bar use. This stem will make many more set ups far more versatile and workable than before at a reasonable cost. You could also probably use this stem to raise a road bike's handle bar to more comfortable levels as well, ala Grant Petersen's preferred handle bar height and other sundry rules.

I will do a more ride performance oriented review of sorts after I get this set up squared away with longer cables and housings. Until then, this should give you a better idea how a good, proper drop stem can make drop bars work better on a hard tail mtb designed around flat bars. The Cigne stem comes in black as shown, silver, or a special nickle finish. You can get Velo Orange components from your local bike shop.

NOTE- I bought the Velo Orange Cigne stem with my own damn money and was not paid nor bribed for this review. All statements are my own and may not reflect the opinions of Grant Petersen, Velo Orange, or anybody else on this planet. So there.

Velo Orange Cigne Stem Overview

The Velo Orange "Cigne" stem is an "LD" type stem for drop bar mtb's

Background: In the weird world of off road drop bars, one of the main issues is getting the drops up in the air high enough that the drop position becomes your primary hand position. Let's face it, there are not many hard tail mountain bikes that were ever designed around such an idea, so typically you will find yourself retrofitting drops to a flat bar hard tail mtb. When you try to do this, you will find yourself fighting against two big hurdles that are hard to clear.

The first of these two hurdles is that the reach, or in old mountain biker's parlance, the effective top tube length, is going to be a bit too long for a drop bar. Why? because unlike flat bars, a drop bar adds to the overall reach of the cockpit. The "reach" of the drops adds to the effective top tube length, so stem length is critical to a successful drop bar conversion on an old mountain bike. The stem reach needs to be very short, typically.

The second hurdle is that the head tube lengths on most mountain bikes are relatively short compared to those bikes designed for drop bars. Why? Because drop bars have depth while flat bars are on a single plane. To make the drop section useful in almost every case, you need a stem with a steep rise. Those are typically very hard to find in short reach dimensions. It's either that or you get a frame designed around drop bars which will typically have a longer head tube to alleviate that issue. See the Salsa Fargo and El Mariachi models for a perfect example of what I mean here.

Back in the 1980's, builders of mountain bikes used a stem design that was most often associated with Potts, Ibis, and Cunningham bikes to get around the two hurdles I mention above. Known as the "LD" type stem by many, it is a simple and elegant way to get around the longer top tubes and shorter head tubes of mountain bikes when drop bars are desired. The trouble was that these custom builders either became something else, died out, or stopped producing these types of stems over the ensuing years till now. The only way to get such a stem was to contract a custom builder that was amenable to the idea of making stems to make you one, which is obviously very expensive. So, most riders just "make do" with whatever stems they can get.

My Karate Monkey with a Dimension riser stem in the shortest reach and highest rise available. 

Above you can see what I mean about "making do". This is my '03 Karate Monkey with a Origin 8 "Gary Ergo Sweep OS Bar" (Velo Orange has the identical bar as the Daija Far Bar) and I am using the Dimension stem in the highest rise and shortest reach possible. Without adding a stack-o-spacers on a longer steer tube, (which is impossible since I cut that fork in '03), this is the best possible set up I could get. Well, other than a custom stem. Anyway, the drop section is a bit too low for my liking, and as you can see, the tops are about at the same level as the saddle. I also wasn't keen on the reach, which was a bit too long for my tastes.

A quick mock up using the Cigne stem. Now that is a big difference!

Above here you can see my quick mock up using the Velo Orange Grand Cru Cigne Stem. Sheesh folks! Do we really need such long names?!! Maybe we could have called it the "Tom" stem, or the "Nancy" stem and made it simpler. Anyway......

Fancy pants long name aside, this stem radicalizes my set up. Check out the reach, which is 70mm for the stem. You can get an 80mm reach Cigne stem too, but I went for the shortest option here. Obviously, the height is there as well. Check out how much higher the drop section is. Totally usable now as opposed to marginally usable before.

You can check out all the technical mumbo-jumbo here if you want to, but the bottom line is that now one can get a tested, well designed, good looking stem for converting a mtb to drop bar use. This stem will make many more set ups far more versatile and workable than before at a reasonable cost. You could also probably use this stem to raise a road bike's handle bar to more comfortable levels as well, ala Grant Petersen's preferred handle bar height and other sundry rules.

I will do a more ride performance oriented review of sorts after I get this set up squared away with longer cables and housings. Until then, this should give you a better idea how a good, proper drop stem can make drop bars work better on a hard tail mtb designed around flat bars. The Cigne stem comes in black as shown, silver, or a special nickle finish. You can get Velo Orange components from your local bike shop.

NOTE- I bought the Velo Orange Cigne stem with my own damn money and was not paid nor bribed for this review. All statements are my own and may not reflect the opinions of Grant Petersen, Velo Orange, or anybody else on this planet. So there.

Trans Iowa v13: Registration Tweaks Update

A little over ten days ago I listed some ideas that I had planned to implement for the Registration for Trans Iowa v13 and I asked for feedback or you'd get stuck with my plans. Well, I didn't get much feedback, so guess what? You can't complain now. The train has left the station......

So, if I get any complaints now, or in the future, I will take them under advisement, as far as you know, but I will not address or answer any questions going forward about how registration works and why I am doing it this way. Going forward, this is the plan, so make notes. I'm only posting this once.

Okay, so there is now a "Trans Iowa Inactive List". As I stated almost two weeks ago, there are just too many folks on the Veterans and Finishers lists now to allow just anyone in via postcard. I am instituting the Lottery to help with this. That said, there are a LOT of folks that have not tried getting into Trans Iowa for several years. I put these folks on the Inactive List. It doesn't mean that these people cannot get into Trans Iowa ever again. It simply means that I am weeding out seemingly uninterested folks from the Veterans Lottery so those who really want in have a better chance at it. (Because the numbers in that lottery will be lower, so the chances are better that your card will be drawn.) The Inactives can send in a post card, but it will go into the Rookie Lottery batch. That is if anyone on the list actually bothers to try. Which, obviously, hasn't been the case for several years. So, this will, in all probability, be a moot point except in rare instances.

There is also a new "Trans Iowa "Plus Six" and Active Winners List". There are 25 folks on that list currently, and these folks are the only ones that will simply be allowed to enter by post card now. The reason for this is that they have been regular attenders and riders in Trans Iowa with their most recent ride being post T.I.v7. These riders also have to have at least six or more Trans Iowa attempts. The remaining names here are the most recent winners- T.I.v7 to the present- and of these none have done six Trans Iowas, but they have won in recent years, and have ridden in T.I.v8 or later.

So, it is simple. If you are one of the 25 on the Trans Iowa "Plus Six" and Active Winners List, you will have the opportunity to get in via a post card, with info I ask for on it and sent to a specific address. That leaves, at least, 95 spots left open.

Of those 95, there will be a Lottery for Rookies for 40 spots. Rookies are folks that have never been in a Trans Iowa before. The Rookies will have to send in a post card for the lottery. The details of how and when to send those in will be released soon. There is a possibility that a few Trans Iowa Inactive List riders will be in the batch for these 40 spots. This will leave 55 spots left open for Trans Iowa v13.

The remaining 55 spots will be for Veterans of past Trans Iowas that do not have their names on any of the above lists. There will be a lottery for the remaining 55 spots only if I get more than 55 entrants via post cards, the details of how and when to send those in will be released soon.

This is the layout if I get all 25 names on the Plus Six and Active Winners List to enter. If less than 25 enter, there will be more spots available for Veterans. If I do not, for some bizarre reason, fill out the Vet spots, then I will move those down to the Lottery for the Rookie and Inactive list folks.

Got it? Good!

Details on Registration will be announced this weekend. Stay tuned!

Trans Iowa v13: Registration Tweaks Update

A little over ten days ago I listed some ideas that I had planned to implement for the Registration for Trans Iowa v13 and I asked for feedback or you'd get stuck with my plans. Well, I didn't get much feedback, so guess what? You can't complain now. The train has left the station......

So, if I get any complaints now, or in the future, I will take them under advisement, as far as you know, but I will not address or answer any questions going forward about how registration works and why I am doing it this way. Going forward, this is the plan, so make notes. I'm only posting this once.

Okay, so there is now a "Trans Iowa Inactive List". As I stated almost two weeks ago, there are just too many folks on the Veterans and Finishers lists now to allow just anyone in via postcard. I am instituting the Lottery to help with this. That said, there are a LOT of folks that have not tried getting into Trans Iowa for several years. I put these folks on the Inactive List. It doesn't mean that these people cannot get into Trans Iowa ever again. It simply means that I am weeding out seemingly uninterested folks from the Veterans Lottery so those who really want in have a better chance at it. (Because the numbers in that lottery will be lower, so the chances are better that your card will be drawn.) The Inactives can send in a post card, but it will go into the Rookie Lottery batch. That is if anyone on the list actually bothers to try. Which, obviously, hasn't been the case for several years. So, this will, in all probability, be a moot point except in rare instances.

There is also a new "Trans Iowa "Plus Six" and Active Winners List". There are 25 folks on that list currently, and these folks are the only ones that will simply be allowed to enter by post card now. The reason for this is that they have been regular attenders and riders in Trans Iowa with their most recent ride being post T.I.v7. These riders also have to have at least six or more Trans Iowa attempts. The remaining names here are the most recent winners- T.I.v7 to the present- and of these none have done six Trans Iowas, but they have won in recent years, and have ridden in T.I.v8 or later.

So, it is simple. If you are one of the 25 on the Trans Iowa "Plus Six" and Active Winners List, you will have the opportunity to get in via a post card, with info I ask for on it and sent to a specific address. That leaves, at least, 95 spots left open.

Of those 95, there will be a Lottery for Rookies for 40 spots. Rookies are folks that have never been in a Trans Iowa before. The Rookies will have to send in a post card for the lottery. The details of how and when to send those in will be released soon. There is a possibility that a few Trans Iowa Inactive List riders will be in the batch for these 40 spots. This will leave 55 spots left open for Trans Iowa v13.

The remaining 55 spots will be for Veterans of past Trans Iowas that do not have their names on any of the above lists. There will be a lottery for the remaining 55 spots only if I get more than 55 entrants via post cards, the details of how and when to send those in will be released soon.

This is the layout if I get all 25 names on the Plus Six and Active Winners List to enter. If less than 25 enter, there will be more spots available for Veterans. If I do not, for some bizarre reason, fill out the Vet spots, then I will move those down to the Lottery for the Rookie and Inactive list folks.

Got it? Good!

Details on Registration will be announced this weekend. Stay tuned!

Geezer Ride- Fall '16 Report

Just getting started- Dennis and Eric positively glow in the morning Sun.

The Geezer Ride for Fall is in the books and was an unqualified success, as far as I am concerned. What a perfect day, for starters, and the group we assembled this time was another very good, amiable bunch of folks. Seven of us in all, and that helped us put in maybe the fastest Geezer Ride ever.

So, I woke up at 5:30am and started to get ready. I had to run over to the convenience store to pick up some goodies for the mid-ride oasis stop and then get into my garb for the day. I decided to ride over to the start which adds about 15 miles to the total for the day's riding for me. I was riding the Pofahl single speed, of course, and I never did get the duist cleaned off it from last year. Oh well!

I arrived about ten minutes before the start, and a few folks were there milling about. I saw Dennis from Grinnell, Eric, who is a local, and Tony's truck was there but he was off talking to Ross, a first timer, and they were over under the shelter house. I went to use the public restroom and when I came out, I saw Robert, a regular on the 3GR rides, come in right at 8:00am. I said we'd start at "8:00-ish", and so we would. I was a bit puzzled that Lauren hadn't shown up. She is a co-worker of mine who was rather excited to try out gravel riding. She even took the day off work to be there, but by about 8:10, I hadn't seen her, so we set off. Six riders spun off towards the Sun-splashed horizon.

The bike path around Big Woods Lake is a really nice one. This made up the beginning and end of the route. 

Barns for Jason

We were doing fine on the opening miles of gravel. Everyone seemed composed and the pace wasn't outrageous. I rode back with Dennis, Eric, and Ross while Robert and Tony, regular gravel riders those two, went on ahead. We turned North on Ford Road and the day was just fantastic. Clear blue skies, bright Sun, and the gravel was actually really good. Tony remarked that it was "about as good as it gets in Iowa", and I would not disagree with him on that point.

So, we reached our first church and turned East on Bennington Road. I went on ahead here, and when I looked back after about a quarter mile, I noted that we were missing two riders! I stopped and turned around to see two figures on bicycles back at the intersection waiting. Maybe there was a flat tire? We pulled alongside the road and waited to see what the matter was.

(L-R) Lauren, Robert, and Dennis. Now we were seven!

After several minutes, I saw two....no wait! THREE riders coming down the hill! What the.....!!? I waited in anticipation and when I could discern the riders well enough I saw that one of them was Lauren! Her husband was to drop her off and they were a bit later than we waited for. Lauren decided that they should try to track us down as far as Ford Road and if they did not catch us she would abandon the ride. Fortunately, we were still near the intersection with Bennington when they caught sight of us. So we were seven!

Tony heading East on Gresham Road.

Detail of St. Johns Church at the corner of Burton Avenue and Gresham Road.

Taking a quick break.

I got a chance to ride with Lauren a bit through the next section as the ride turned Northward and then back East on Gresham Road. Here the flatness we had before turned into long, gentle rollers. The wind was a quartering tailwind at this point, but it wasn't too strong, so things remained pretty tranquil. Finally, we saw the steeple of the St. Johns church on the horizon and when we reached the top of the hill, we all pulled over for our first extended break of the day.

The plan I had was that about at this point into the ride I would call Mrs. Guitar Ted to come out and meet us at the ride's halfway point with water and some goodies. I placed the call, no answer, then to the house phone, no answer, and so I left a text. Bummer! I was hoping that everyone had enough to get by on, because I was pretty sure we weren't going to get our resupply as I had hoped. Just when I was trying to figure out how to break the news, I got a text message. It was Mrs. Guitar Ted. We were back in business!

With that bit of good news, we headed off North a mile to see the old East Janesville Church and then we went East again on Marquis Road to our meeting spot three miles east of Highway 63. I kept looking over my shoulder to hopefully get a glimpse of the Highlander with Mrs. Guitar Ted driving, but I didn't. We reached the corner, with Robert, Ross, Tony, and Eric way ahead of the rest of us, and they kept going straight! Dennis took off to flag them down, and Lauren and I waited at the corner. Pretty soon, I saw the Highlander coming. Everything worked out just right after all!

(L-R) Lauren, Mrs. Guitar Ted, and Eric enjoy the morning Sun at our oasis stop.

"Hero Gravel" on Crane Creek Road

We had bananas, water, and chocolate chip cookies. We chatted and laughed a bit. Then we headed off South  and Mrs. Guitar Ted headed back home. The weather had turned warm, maybe a tic to the hot side, but the early morning humidity had given way to a dry, Northwesterly and it was tailwind time as we went South on Schenk Road to Bennington Road where we turned East and were flying along. I barely had to pedal and I was doing 20mph!

We reached Crane Creek Road and by this time I was noticing the puffy white clouds starting to stack up in the sky. The wind was brisk now and as we were on our most Easterly bit, I knew it would be soon time to "pay the piper", as it were. I made mention of this to my riding companions, but I tempered it with the fact we would be making a couple more stops and that would break things up nicely.

We passed this fine looking pumpkin patch just off of the corner of Crane Creek Road and Mt. Vernon Road.

The next church, St. Johns Lutheran, was just ahead on the left here.

Robert Fry takes in the historical plaque placed outside the Bennington Schoolhouse.

We pushed along against the wind and as a group, I was rather impressed that we all stayed together for the most part. In fact, at no time did we have to wait on slower riders for any length of time. No one complained and everyone seemed to be in great spirits despite pushing against that wind.

The Hope United Methodist Church on the corner of Sage Road and Mt. Vernon Road was another brief respite, then we went on another mile to visit the Bennington Schoolhouse, a restored Iowa one room schoolhouse dating from the early 20th Century. It saw its last students during the 1954-1955 school year, and then was decommissioned. Then began a slow fall into disrepair and at one point, it became a storehouse for a local farmers hay! In 1997 locals took up the challenge of restoring it to its former state and it is well kept right up to this very day. We could see evidence of fresh paint. That's a nice thing to have as a reminder of the Iowa education system as it once was back in the day.

We lingered here for quite a while and several of us made good use of the corn fields behind the schoolhouse. Then we made our way toward Moline Road on Bennington Road again, then South to Mt. Vernon, and our final push to the finish. We had one more rest stop at Mt. Vernon Cemetery, then up some long, grinder hills toward Strymon Road.

Barns for Jason

Eric, Lauren, and Dennis cresting the hill at Streeter Road on Mt. Vernon Road. Ross is just out of the frame here.

Ross cresting the last big hill of the day

It was a pretty remarkable ride from the standpoint of having three rookie gravel riders on the ride. They did absolutely great, and the entire group was brilliant in that we were able to get the 42 mile ride completed by 1:30pm which was about two hours sooner than I had expected that we would be done by.

Once back in Cedar Falls, most of us went to Single Speed Brewery and had some locally brewed beers to celebrate the day. Everyone reported having a good time and I was quite chuffed by that and the fact that the three rookies all said that they would be looking to do more gravel rides in the future. Not racing, not ultra-endurance craziness, but just riding on gravel for the fun of it. That's the goal with the Geezer Ride- to get folks interested in gravel riding. So, to have three new fans is really quite a good thing from the standpoint of this format, which is pretty under the radar.

As far as the Geezer Ride format goes, that's it for 2016. I'll probably do a Spring and Fall ride next year, so keep an eye out for that if you are at all interested. I generally like to move this around some, so if anyone out there in Iowa, or somewhere reasonable for me to get to, wants me to come out and help put on one of these, let me know.

Geezer Ride- Fall '16 Report

Just getting started- Dennis and Eric positively glow in the morning Sun.

The Geezer Ride for Fall is in the books and was an unqualified success, as far as I am concerned. What a perfect day, for starters, and the group we assembled this time was another very good, amiable bunch of folks. Seven of us in all, and that helped us put in maybe the fastest Geezer Ride ever.

So, I woke up at 5:30am and started to get ready. I had to run over to the convenience store to pick up some goodies for the mid-ride oasis stop and then get into my garb for the day. I decided to ride over to the start which adds about 15 miles to the total for the day's riding for me. I was riding the Pofahl single speed, of course, and I never did get the duist cleaned off it from last year. Oh well!

I arrived about ten minutes before the start, and a few folks were there milling about. I saw Dennis from Grinnell, Eric, who is a local, and Tony's truck was there but he was off talking to Ross, a first timer, and they were over under the shelter house. I went to use the public restroom and when I came out, I saw Robert, a regular on the 3GR rides, come in right at 8:00am. I said we'd start at "8:00-ish", and so we would. I was a bit puzzled that Lauren hadn't shown up. She is a co-worker of mine who was rather excited to try out gravel riding. She even took the day off work to be there, but by about 8:10, I hadn't seen her, so we set off. Six riders spun off towards the Sun-splashed horizon.

The bike path around Big Woods Lake is a really nice one. This made up the beginning and end of the route. 

Barns for Jason

We were doing fine on the opening miles of gravel. Everyone seemed composed and the pace wasn't outrageous. I rode back with Dennis, Eric, and Ross while Robert and Tony, regular gravel riders those two, went on ahead. We turned North on Ford Road and the day was just fantastic. Clear blue skies, bright Sun, and the gravel was actually really good. Tony remarked that it was "about as good as it gets in Iowa", and I would not disagree with him on that point.

So, we reached our first church and turned East on Bennington Road. I went on ahead here, and when I looked back after about a quarter mile, I noted that we were missing two riders! I stopped and turned around to see two figures on bicycles back at the intersection waiting. Maybe there was a flat tire? We pulled alongside the road and waited to see what the matter was.

(L-R) Lauren, Robert, and Dennis. Now we were seven!

After several minutes, I saw two....no wait! THREE riders coming down the hill! What the.....!!? I waited in anticipation and when I could discern the riders well enough I saw that one of them was Lauren! Her husband was to drop her off and they were a bit later than we waited for. Lauren decided that they should try to track us down as far as Ford Road and if they did not catch us she would abandon the ride. Fortunately, we were still near the intersection with Bennington when they caught sight of us. So we were seven!

Tony heading East on Gresham Road.

Detail of St. Johns Church at the corner of Burton Avenue and Gresham Road.

Taking a quick break.

I got a chance to ride with Lauren a bit through the next section as the ride turned Northward and then back East on Gresham Road. Here the flatness we had before turned into long, gentle rollers. The wind was a quartering tailwind at this point, but it wasn't too strong, so things remained pretty tranquil. Finally, we saw the steeple of the St. Johns church on the horizon and when we reached the top of the hill, we all pulled over for our first extended break of the day.

The plan I had was that about at this point into the ride I would call Mrs. Guitar Ted to come out and meet us at the ride's halfway point with water and some goodies. I placed the call, no answer, then to the house phone, no answer, and so I left a text. Bummer! I was hoping that everyone had enough to get by on, because I was pretty sure we weren't going to get our resupply as I had hoped. Just when I was trying to figure out how to break the news, I got a text message. It was Mrs. Guitar Ted. We were back in business!

With that bit of good news, we headed off North a mile to see the old East Janesville Church and then we went East again on Marquis Road to our meeting spot three miles east of Highway 63. I kept looking over my shoulder to hopefully get a glimpse of the Highlander with Mrs. Guitar Ted driving, but I didn't. We reached the corner, with Robert, Ross, Tony, and Eric way ahead of the rest of us, and they kept going straight! Dennis took off to flag them down, and Lauren and I waited at the corner. Pretty soon, I saw the Highlander coming. Everything worked out just right after all!

(L-R) Lauren, Mrs. Guitar Ted, and Eric enjoy the morning Sun at our oasis stop.

"Hero Gravel" on Crane Creek Road

We had bananas, water, and chocolate chip cookies. We chatted and laughed a bit. Then we headed off South  and Mrs. Guitar Ted headed back home. The weather had turned warm, maybe a tic to the hot side, but the early morning humidity had given way to a dry, Northwesterly and it was tailwind time as we went South on Schenk Road to Bennington Road where we turned East and were flying along. I barely had to pedal and I was doing 20mph!

We reached Crane Creek Road and by this time I was noticing the puffy white clouds starting to stack up in the sky. The wind was brisk now and as we were on our most Easterly bit, I knew it would be soon time to "pay the piper", as it were. I made mention of this to my riding companions, but I tempered it with the fact we would be making a couple more stops and that would break things up nicely.

We passed this fine looking pumpkin patch just off of the corner of Crane Creek Road and Mt. Vernon Road.

The next church, St. Johns Lutheran, was just ahead on the left here.

Robert Fry takes in the historical plaque placed outside the Bennington Schoolhouse.

We pushed along against the wind and as a group, I was rather impressed that we all stayed together for the most part. In fact, at no time did we have to wait on slower riders for any length of time. No one complained and everyone seemed to be in great spirits despite pushing against that wind.

The Hope United Methodist Church on the corner of Sage Road and Mt. Vernon Road was another brief respite, then we went on another mile to visit the Bennington Schoolhouse, a restored Iowa one room schoolhouse dating from the early 20th Century. It saw its last students during the 1954-1955 school year, and then was decommissioned. Then began a slow fall into disrepair and at one point, it became a storehouse for a local farmers hay! In 1997 locals took up the challenge of restoring it to its former state and it is well kept right up to this very day. We could see evidence of fresh paint. That's a nice thing to have as a reminder of the Iowa education system as it once was back in the day.

We lingered here for quite a while and several of us made good use of the corn fields behind the schoolhouse. Then we made our way toward Moline Road on Bennington Road again, then South to Mt. Vernon, and our final push to the finish. We had one more rest stop at Mt. Vernon Cemetery, then up some long, grinder hills toward Strymon Road.

Barns for Jason

Eric, Lauren, and Dennis cresting the hill at Streeter Road on Mt. Vernon Road. Ross is just out of the frame here.

Ross cresting the last big hill of the day

It was a pretty remarkable ride from the standpoint of having three rookie gravel riders on the ride. They did absolutely great, and the entire group was brilliant in that we were able to get the 42 mile ride completed by 1:30pm which was about two hours sooner than I had expected that we would be done by.

Once back in Cedar Falls, most of us went to Single Speed Brewery and had some locally brewed beers to celebrate the day. Everyone reported having a good time and I was quite chuffed by that and the fact that the three rookies all said that they would be looking to do more gravel rides in the future. Not racing, not ultra-endurance craziness, but just riding on gravel for the fun of it. That's the goal with the Geezer Ride- to get folks interested in gravel riding. So, to have three new fans is really quite a good thing from the standpoint of this format, which is pretty under the radar.

As far as the Geezer Ride format goes, that's it for 2016. I'll probably do a Spring and Fall ride next year, so keep an eye out for that if you are at all interested. I generally like to move this around some, so if anyone out there in Iowa, or somewhere reasonable for me to get to, wants me to come out and help put on one of these, let me know.

How To Choose Your First Fat Bike: Or Something Else!

Depending upon your situation, a "plus bike" might prove better than a fat bike.

When considering fat bikes, it might be wise to figure out if something else would be better. Fat bikes, while capable of things that many other type bikes are not, just might be overkill. In some other cases, if your riding never calls out for the capabilities of a fat bike at all, you probably shouldn't even be buying one.

The Case For The "Plus Bike": 

The introduction of tires in the "plus category"- those tires measuring 2.8- 3.0"- has really upended the apple cart, in terms of what might work for those who might have gone with a fat bike. These "mid-fat" platforms in 26". 27.5", and 29" sizes might have enough of the traits of a fat bike without the weight and nimbleness penalties that you may want to get a plus bike instead.

Plus bikes exhibit a modicum of float, have a bit of the stability of fat bikes, yet they tend to keep some of the playful, nimble characteristics of their "regular" tire sized mountain biking siblings. Let's say that you commute in Winter in an area that gets "some" Winter, but isn't socked in with snow all the time. Or let's say that you might be doing a lot of off roading in looser terrain, but a fat bike seems too ponderous. Perhaps you are one of many folks that are sensitive to how far apart your pedals are and fat bikes just hurt you. Then a "plus" bike might actually be a better choice.

Maybe a "regular mtb" will get you where you want to go.

The Case For The "Regular Mountain Bike":

Then there might be a lot of great reasons not to buy a fat bike at all. many times a 29"er or a good 27.5"er hard tail will do 90% of what you want and have other good applications that a fat bike doesn't have. They can be really light in comparison to a fat bike at many price points. Wheels can be far lighter and this may be a great reason to stick with a regular mtb. The aforementioned "Q" factor issues that fat bikes have are non-issues with regular mtb's, plus a mtb can usually adapt to road and gravel uses better than a fat bike can.

Prices for tires? That is a huge advantage with regular mtb's and choices are far greater in that realm as well. Fenders, racks, and other accessory items are often easier to get and fit to regular mtb's also. When it comes to suspension, regular mtb's have fat bikes beat hands down. That isn't even a question.

Now of course, you could get a fat bike anyway, and add it to your quiver of bikes, but for the person for whom a fat bike is maybe an iffy proposition, these alternatives might prove to be better choices in the end.
 

How To Choose Your First Fat Bike: Or Something Else!

Depending upon your situation, a "plus bike" might prove better than a fat bike.

When considering fat bikes, it might be wise to figure out if something else would be better. Fat bikes, while capable of things that many other type bikes are not, just might be overkill. In some other cases, if your riding never calls out for the capabilities of a fat bike at all, you probably shouldn't even be buying one.

The Case For The "Plus Bike": 

The introduction of tires in the "plus category"- those tires measuring 2.8- 3.0"- has really upended the apple cart, in terms of what might work for those who might have gone with a fat bike. These "mid-fat" platforms in 26". 27.5", and 29" sizes might have enough of the traits of a fat bike without the weight and nimbleness penalties that you may want to get a plus bike instead.

Plus bikes exhibit a modicum of float, have a bit of the stability of fat bikes, yet they tend to keep some of the playful, nimble characteristics of their "regular" tire sized mountain biking siblings. Let's say that you commute in Winter in an area that gets "some" Winter, but isn't socked in with snow all the time. Or let's say that you might be doing a lot of off roading in looser terrain, but a fat bike seems too ponderous. Perhaps you are one of many folks that are sensitive to how far apart your pedals are and fat bikes just hurt you. Then a "plus" bike might actually be a better choice.

Maybe a "regular mtb" will get you where you want to go.

The Case For The "Regular Mountain Bike":

Then there might be a lot of great reasons not to buy a fat bike at all. many times a 29"er or a good 27.5"er hard tail will do 90% of what you want and have other good applications that a fat bike doesn't have. They can be really light in comparison to a fat bike at many price points. Wheels can be far lighter and this may be a great reason to stick with a regular mtb. The aforementioned "Q" factor issues that fat bikes have are non-issues with regular mtb's, plus a mtb can usually adapt to road and gravel uses better than a fat bike can.

Prices for tires? That is a huge advantage with regular mtb's and choices are far greater in that realm as well. Fenders, racks, and other accessory items are often easier to get and fit to regular mtb's also. When it comes to suspension, regular mtb's have fat bikes beat hands down. That isn't even a question.

Now of course, you could get a fat bike anyway, and add it to your quiver of bikes, but for the person for whom a fat bike is maybe an iffy proposition, these alternatives might prove to be better choices in the end.
 

Minus Ten Review- 37

It sure was a purty bicycle!

Ten years ago on the blog here I was ranting about the short seat tube lengths of some 29"ers, especially my brand spankin' new 29"er from Raleigh. The thing was, there wasn't any good basis from which to draw on to figure out a  29"ers geometry yet. It was still being figured out back then.

Head tube angles were in flux yet, fork rake was about to be opened up for choices, and geometry wasn't completely understood yet in 2006. It was as if 29"ers were going through the same growing pains that 26"ers were going through in 1985.

So, it is no wonder then that brands and engineers at those brands did not understand 29"ers or how they were supposed to work. Think that's crazy? Well, consider that a 29"er with a 70° head angle in 2006 would have been considered to have ultra-slack geometry. Going back from 72° on the head angle back then was considered risky. Raleigh actually used the same frame from their XXIX rigid, non-suspended front fork model to build the XXIX+G bike which had a suspension fork. That bike had a "slack" head tube angle and wasn't a big hit when it came out since the rest of the bike did not really compliment what the longer suspension fork was bringing to the table.

I think 29"er geometry has really just come into its own. Consider head tube angles in the 65°- 68° range, which is pretty standard fare for trail bikes with 29" wheels these days. Even the mere suggestion of a sub-70° head angle in 2006 would have gotten you labelled as a loony bin worthy subject. There was no way that was ever going to happen! So, the bikes with 29"er wheels we have to choose from today are pretty incredible, I think.

Minus Ten Review- 37

It sure was a purty bicycle!

Ten years ago on the blog here I was ranting about the short seat tube lengths of some 29"ers, especially my brand spankin' new 29"er from Raleigh. The thing was, there wasn't any good basis from which to draw on to figure out a  29"ers geometry yet. It was still being figured out back then.

Head tube angles were in flux yet, fork rake was about to be opened up for choices, and geometry wasn't completely understood yet in 2006. It was as if 29"ers were going through the same growing pains that 26"ers were going through in 1985.

So, it is no wonder then that brands and engineers at those brands did not understand 29"ers or how they were supposed to work. Think that's crazy? Well, consider that a 29"er with a 70° head angle in 2006 would have been considered to have ultra-slack geometry. Going back from 72° on the head angle back then was considered risky. Raleigh actually used the same frame from their XXIX rigid, non-suspended front fork model to build the XXIX+G bike which had a suspension fork. That bike had a "slack" head tube angle and wasn't a big hit when it came out since the rest of the bike did not really compliment what the longer suspension fork was bringing to the table.

I think 29"er geometry has really just come into its own. Consider head tube angles in the 65°- 68° range, which is pretty standard fare for trail bikes with 29" wheels these days. Even the mere suggestion of a sub-70° head angle in 2006 would have gotten you labelled as a loony bin worthy subject. There was no way that was ever going to happen! So, the bikes with 29"er wheels we have to choose from today are pretty incredible, I think.

Friday News And Views

Dusting the ol' girl off for the Geezer Ride. Literally dusting it off!

The Ride For The Geezer Ride:

Well, I decided to roll a single speed again for this years Geezer Ride, and I chose the same one I used last year on the Geezer Ride. The thing is, I haven't ridden the ol' girl since the last Geezer Ride! It was in a serious need of dusting off. Yes.....the dust from last year's Geezer Ride! 

Meh!

I have so much going on with bicycles that a mere dusting off is not high on the priority list. I mean, it is a single speed and all. The brakes are fully sealed, with full run housings, and a little dust isn't going to faze this bike. But yeah........I had kind of forgotten all about this bike for far too long. Oh well, it is a good thing the Geezer Ride came around again then!

I took it out for a spin on Wednesday to check on the mechanical soundness of this rig. I ended up flatting. A split in the rear tube. Yes tubes! There is no way I'd ever stay on top of a tubeless set up on this bike. The ride was like an old friend, as it should be. I set this up to mimic the old set up on my '03 Karate Monkey, which until I got the Gen I Fargo in late 2008, was the best fitting and feeling bike I had ever had. So, I was basically out to replicate that with this frame design I did and with the parts set up the way it is. By the way, this is a fillet brazed frame and fork by Mike Pofahl. He does some great stuff.

Bar Yak complete!

BarYak Peregrine Arm Rests:

Well, the system is complete now. I told y'all about this BarYak system here. Well, I couldn't get the Peregrine 4 Arm Rests with that back then since the stuff was out of stock, but I just received them yesterday. I'll have to get those things mounted up and show them off here soon.

I think they will make me a bit more confident in riding all "aero-like" on gravel than I thought I might be. I tried riding with the set up as it is just on pavement and I wasn't too sure of myself. Granted, I need practice and I need to use my head. City riding probably isn't the best thing to be doing on aero type bars! I do look forward to trying these out though. I see others using things like this and I know it is a great way to get free speed and give your body a break from the usual positioning.

So, after I fiddle around with the fitting of this set up I will be back with my overview of how I think it can work for me and my needs. I have already made plans for this to go on the fat bike this Winter too. Hopefully I can make it work there as well.

Garage Sale:

Maybe you've noticed the Garage Sale page here. (The link is under the picture on top there.) I stick things on that page I don't need anymore. Well, I haven't heard from anyone regarding that stuff lately and I thought I'd point it out, 'cause, ya know, I have a Big Dummy to pay for. 

Plus I have a couple of other items that are going on there soon,but I'm giving everyone a head's up here first. I have a pair of black anodized Velocity Duallys laced to green anodized Borealis/Turnagain hubs. These would be perfect on a through axle fat bike set up that takes a 150mm front/197mm rear. These have never been on a bike. Brand spankin' new wheels. I also have brand new, in the package Bontrager 29 X 3" Chupacabra tires to go with it. I haven't set a price yet, but feel free to make an offer.  A reasonable offer. 

Okay, that's it for today. Have a great weekend and get outside and pedal!