Fall Views: Harvesting Just Beginning

Despite threats of showers, I went on a ride South of town.

The season of Fall officially started, in terms of the solar system, but Fall generally is really already happening by now anyway. Even the corn fields and bean fields are being cleared by this time, which, if that isn't fall, I don't know what is. This year has been quite odd in this regard though.

Due to a cold, wet Spring, fields weren't planted until late, and this has caused the harvest to have only juuuuust started now. Many fields are a long way out from being ready. To give you somewhat of an idea of how wacky this growing season has been, I saw a large local farm's truck selling fresh sweet corn on a street corner yesterday. It's almost October! Usually sweet corn is all done by the time school starts.

Farmers are worried that we will have a killing frost before the corn dries down, and if we do..... Well, let's not think about that. A couple more weeks and most of the corn and beans should be fine. But it is getting down into the 40's at night on occasion already.

Anyway, so it's been kind of a weird Fall so far, with all this green-ish corn and bean fields only now just getting dried out to the point that they can be harvested around here. I saw one or two bean fields that had been cleared on my ride. Speaking of riding, I started riding one of the bikes in the "Guitar Ted Lube-Off" challenge, the Noble Bikes GX5, to be exact, and I decided to run South of town to get away as far as I could from some occasional spitting rain. I decided to ride out of that Lichty Park I mentioned earlier, down in Orange.

Clouds were variable, but it felt a LOT like Fall yesterday.

I came across this County maintainer on Quarry Road.

The wind was pretty stiff out of the West/Northwest. Much like a Fall wind, and while it was not cold, it wasn't warm enough for just a jersey either. I was super glad I had a vest. Just right! 3/4 length Twin Six pants and wool socks made the 60's and the chill in the wind feel okay.

The gravel was chunky South of town and there were no lines for smoother travel until I got about four or five miles out. Then it smoothed up a bit, but last night's rain made much of the road surface soft, and it was even muddy in places. I avoided the mushy bits, but even then, sometimes my wheel would get sucked in and man! What a reminder that soft roads take so much more energy to ride! It didn't help that I wasn't really feeling my best on the bike either. The "I'm dragging an anchor" feeling wasn't helped by those mushy bits of road!

Barns For Jason

Despite the presence of heavy clouds at times during my ride. I only got sprinkled on once for a short time. 

Going South felt...normal, going East felt okay, but I could swear that I was bucking a tiny bit of wind in either direction. Maybe it was my legs, because when I turned back North, there it was! The headwind was definitely a quartering one, but I was now pushing against it, no doubt at all. The bits going West were just brutal! Uggh! New roads to me though, and that made it a bit less of a slog. I just didn't like the one mile of pavement I had to ride to make my loop work. Oh well! Roads bagged. Don't have to ride them again.

Barns For Jason- Part 2

Barns For Jason - Part 3- This is a rare one made of brick and wood.

To get the loop in I actually had to go back South one mile after trying to get North, then over three miles, and back up that mile I went South. Roads are fairly gridded out in Iowa, bit things like creeks, ponds, and other natural things. So, sometimes you have to "go round" and add a mile here and there to get where you want to go.

I'm pretty sure there used to be a barn here. Now all that is left is the silo.

The steed for the day: The Noble Bikes GX5

The rain stayed away, for the ost part. I did get sprinkled on right at the end there, but I got the ride in and no drama with weather. So, that was a good deal. two hours in on one of the three chain lubes now. Next up- one of the other bikes/lubes I will be testing. 

In the meantime, I am hoping to get a chance to ride the C.O.G. 100 course for recon Saturday, weather pending. Stay tuned.....

Fall Views: Harvesting Just Beginning

Despite threats of showers, I went on a ride South of town.

The season of Fall officially started, in terms of the solar system, but Fall generally is really already happening by now anyway. Even the corn fields and bean fields are being cleared by this time, which, if that isn't fall, I don't know what is. This year has been quite odd in this regard though.

Due to a cold, wet Spring, fields weren't planted until late, and this has caused the harvest to have only juuuuust started now. Many fields are a long way out from being ready. To give you somewhat of an idea of how wacky this growing season has been, I saw a large local farm's truck selling fresh sweet corn on a street corner yesterday. It's almost October! Usually sweet corn is all done by the time school starts.

Farmers are worried that we will have a killing frost before the corn dries down, and if we do..... Well, let's not think about that. A couple more weeks and most of the corn and beans should be fine. But it is getting down into the 40's at night on occasion already.

Anyway, so it's been kind of a weird Fall so far, with all this green-ish corn and bean fields only now just getting dried out to the point that they can be harvested around here. I saw one or two bean fields that had been cleared on my ride. Speaking of riding, I started riding one of the bikes in the "Guitar Ted Lube-Off" challenge, the Noble Bikes GX5, to be exact, and I decided to run South of town to get away as far as I could from some occasional spitting rain. I decided to ride out of that Lichty Park I mentioned earlier, down in Orange.

Clouds were variable, but it felt a LOT like Fall yesterday.

I came across this County maintainer on Quarry Road.

The wind was pretty stiff out of the West/Northwest. Much like a Fall wind, and while it was not cold, it wasn't warm enough for just a jersey either. I was super glad I had a vest. Just right! 3/4 length Twin Six pants and wool socks made the 60's and the chill in the wind feel okay.

The gravel was chunky South of town and there were no lines for smoother travel until I got about four or five miles out. Then it smoothed up a bit, but last night's rain made much of the road surface soft, and it was even muddy in places. I avoided the mushy bits, but even then, sometimes my wheel would get sucked in and man! What a reminder that soft roads take so much more energy to ride! It didn't help that I wasn't really feeling my best on the bike either. The "I'm dragging an anchor" feeling wasn't helped by those mushy bits of road!

Barns For Jason

Despite the presence of heavy clouds at times during my ride. I only got sprinkled on once for a short time. 

Going South felt...normal, going East felt okay, but I could swear that I was bucking a tiny bit of wind in either direction. Maybe it was my legs, because when I turned back North, there it was! The headwind was definitely a quartering one, but I was now pushing against it, no doubt at all. The bits going West were just brutal! Uggh! New roads to me though, and that made it a bit less of a slog. I just didn't like the one mile of pavement I had to ride to make my loop work. Oh well! Roads bagged. Don't have to ride them again.

Barns For Jason- Part 2

Barns For Jason - Part 3- This is a rare one made of brick and wood.

To get the loop in I actually had to go back South one mile after trying to get North, then over three miles, and back up that mile I went South. Roads are fairly gridded out in Iowa, bit things like creeks, ponds, and other natural things. So, sometimes you have to "go round" and add a mile here and there to get where you want to go.

I'm pretty sure there used to be a barn here. Now all that is left is the silo.

The steed for the day: The Noble Bikes GX5

The rain stayed away, for the ost part. I did get sprinkled on right at the end there, but I got the ride in and no drama with weather. So, that was a good deal. two hours in on one of the three chain lubes now. Next up- one of the other bikes/lubes I will be testing. 

In the meantime, I am hoping to get a chance to ride the C.O.G. 100 course for recon Saturday, weather pending. Stay tuned.....

PSA: Change Your Drop Bar Tape (More) Often

This is a roll of handle bar tape. You need to get used to seeing this more.

There is a strange undercurrent in the bicycling world where cyclists seem to want to be frugal and not spend money on maintenance when in reality it is in their best interests to do so. I could name several areas of concern, but possibly one of the most concerning is where people insist on making their handle bar tape last, well.......apparently forever. 

This isn't just me saying some cyclists have poor taste, (although one could make that argument here), no- It is much more than that. It is unsanitary, and potentially unsafe from a catastrophic failure standpoint. Let's take a closer look......

When you ride, you sweat. That sweat goes .......somewhere. It either evaporates into the air, gets absorbed by your clothing, or it drips off on to several different places. One of the most common places on a drop bar bike that sweat ingresses is at the hoods/handle bar area. Your bar tape absorbs this sweat, generally, and keeps that sweat trapped against the (usually) aluminum bar where it starts to corrode the bar. This causes what is known as "crevice corrosion" of the aluminum. If left unchecked, this corrosion can cause catastrophic failure of aluminum handle bars. What happens when your handle bar suddenly fails? You don't want to find out. This is especially troublesome with those who use indoor cycling training apps and ride stationary for much of the cooler weather months.

Recently N.Y. Roll had his bike worked on and it required that he have his bars unwrapped. This revealed some nasty corrosion, and in fact, his bar fell in two pieces during this unwrapping! I actually saw the bar and it was about the thickness of a pop can at the point where it had corroded away. N.Y. Roll was lucky, and I bet he will be wrapping his bars more often now.

So, why do people get upset when their handle bar tape doesn't last two years? (Unless they ride only a couple hundred miles a year, then, yeah) I don't get it. Cheapo handle bar tape is actually not too bad these days and you can get a set of rolls to cover your bars for less than three fancy IPA's at a bar. I dunno..... I just don't see the logic in trying to make it over a year on one roll of tape. It just isn't sanitary, (think of wearing the same underwear for a year!), or safe. Why take the risk?

Oh, you say you can't wrap your bars? If you want to learn, it isn't that hard to do. Don't want to bother? Have someone you know that has the skill do it, or, ya know.....your local bike shop could do this. But at any rate, just don't run the same tape for more than a season. It's gross if you do and potentially not safe. Besides, you can change up the look of your bike, use different colors, or, ya know, just be the same-ol-same-ol and use black. Whatever you do, change that bar tape more often!

PSA: Change Your Drop Bar Tape (More) Often

This is a roll of handle bar tape. You need to get used to seeing this more.

There is a strange undercurrent in the bicycling world where cyclists seem to want to be frugal and not spend money on maintenance when in reality it is in their best interests to do so. I could name several areas of concern, but possibly one of the most concerning is where people insist on making their handle bar tape last, well.......apparently forever. 

This isn't just me saying some cyclists have poor taste, (although one could make that argument here), no- It is much more than that. It is unsanitary, and potentially unsafe from a catastrophic failure standpoint. Let's take a closer look......

When you ride, you sweat. That sweat goes .......somewhere. It either evaporates into the air, gets absorbed by your clothing, or it drips off on to several different places. One of the most common places on a drop bar bike that sweat ingresses is at the hoods/handle bar area. Your bar tape absorbs this sweat, generally, and keeps that sweat trapped against the (usually) aluminum bar where it starts to corrode the bar. This causes what is known as "crevice corrosion" of the aluminum. If left unchecked, this corrosion can cause catastrophic failure of aluminum handle bars. What happens when your handle bar suddenly fails? You don't want to find out. This is especially troublesome with those who use indoor cycling training apps and ride stationary for much of the cooler weather months.

Recently N.Y. Roll had his bike worked on and it required that he have his bars unwrapped. This revealed some nasty corrosion, and in fact, his bar fell in two pieces during this unwrapping! I actually saw the bar and it was about the thickness of a pop can at the point where it had corroded away. N.Y. Roll was lucky, and I bet he will be wrapping his bars more often now.

So, why do people get upset when their handle bar tape doesn't last two years? (Unless they ride only a couple hundred miles a year, then, yeah) I don't get it. Cheapo handle bar tape is actually not too bad these days and you can get a set of rolls to cover your bars for less than three fancy IPA's at a bar. I dunno..... I just don't see the logic in trying to make it over a year on one roll of tape. It just isn't sanitary, (think of wearing the same underwear for a year!), or safe. Why take the risk?

Oh, you say you can't wrap your bars? If you want to learn, it isn't that hard to do. Don't want to bother? Have someone you know that has the skill do it, or, ya know.....your local bike shop could do this. But at any rate, just don't run the same tape for more than a season. It's gross if you do and potentially not safe. Besides, you can change up the look of your bike, use different colors, or, ya know, just be the same-ol-same-ol and use black. Whatever you do, change that bar tape more often!

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path: Part 5

Fendered rear Ti Muk 2- Will be doing the front soon.

The modification of parts is something I kind of like doing sometimes. Well, I had wanted a fender on the new-to-me Ti Muk 2. But, with a rack on the bike, it kind of precluded using the clip on fender I've had for a while. So, I had an idea, but I just waited until Monday to get it done. Of course, it required some modding.

I used a Dave Grey's Mud Shovel for the rear mount. One of the things I thought was a little goofy about this rear, seat post mounted fender was that it tapered to a smaller width in the back. That spray from a rear fat bike tire always bypassed the rear edges of the fender and got stuff all over the place regardless of having that fender there. Of course, it was better than not having a fender, but it was silly, I thought.

Well, thinking this deal over, what with a rack on there and the light with the wiring harness and all, I was thinking that there may be some way to get that rear specific piece of Mud Shovel plastic to sit so it protected the dynamo tail light's wiring harness and still gave decent clearance for the rear tire. I took the flat black sheet and held it in various ways and then it dawned on me that I could literally get two benefits in one by orienting the Mud Shovel "backward" under the rack top.

With some consideration given to clearance the rack stays, a bit of guesswork, and a pair of scissors, I managed to fit it underneath the rack. Mounting was accomplished by using a dental tool to poke several holes in strategic places to allow for cable ties to be strung up. These wrapped around various points of the rack, drawn up tight, and clipped to length and were enough to secure the now reverse mounted Mud Shovel into place.

Rear view of the modded fender. Note the cable tie mounts.

So, it's on there and with the reverse mount, the widest part of the fender is now at the tail end where the spray is wider off the rear wheel. I expect better coverage for myself and anything I have onboard the rack top. But I'm not done yet.

First off, I have to do a little edge work to completely encompass the rack stays, which will give the fender a bit more rigidity and eliminate those "saw tooth" edges which are now protruding out and could snag on things, potentially, like weeds, clothing, etc. The plan here is to take some point of sale packaging from tires, (typically a hard, thick plastic material, not unlike the Mud Shovel), and form it into a piece that I can bond to the Mud Shovel. I don't plan on ever taking this "fender" off, so a permanent mount is okay.

Secondly, I want to add a bit in front of the back tire to keep spray from coming off the rear tire forward and mucking up my frame bag. That will likely either be another rear Mud Shovel, or maybe the matching front Mud Shovel, or something I completely fabricate from plastic, to be sourced from, as of now, an unknown source. (Maybe milk jugs?) Anyway, I think at first I will mock up something out of cardboard to get an idea of what to do from that point.

The front will likely be a combination of one of those fork crown mounted "fenders" and a front Mud Shovel mounted very low on the down tube, which I experimented with last year and found that it works well. The low mounted front Mud Shovel, placed juuust right, will protect your chain and chain ring from most of the crap flying back from your front wheel. I did this on my Blackborrow DS last year. Since this bottom bracket is a bit narrower, I may actually have to do some trimming, but we will see.

Once the fender sitch is squared away, I will put the frame bag back on and this rig will be ready for Fall and Winter riding. Bring on the muck and mire!

Ti Muk 2 Upgrade Path: Part 5

Fendered rear Ti Muk 2- Will be doing the front soon.

The modification of parts is something I kind of like doing sometimes. Well, I had wanted a fender on the new-to-me Ti Muk 2. But, with a rack on the bike, it kind of precluded using the clip on fender I've had for a while. So, I had an idea, but I just waited until Monday to get it done. Of course, it required some modding.

I used a Dave Grey's Mud Shovel for the rear mount. One of the things I thought was a little goofy about this rear, seat post mounted fender was that it tapered to a smaller width in the back. That spray from a rear fat bike tire always bypassed the rear edges of the fender and got stuff all over the place regardless of having that fender there. Of course, it was better than not having a fender, but it was silly, I thought.

Well, thinking this deal over, what with a rack on there and the light with the wiring harness and all, I was thinking that there may be some way to get that rear specific piece of Mud Shovel plastic to sit so it protected the dynamo tail light's wiring harness and still gave decent clearance for the rear tire. I took the flat black sheet and held it in various ways and then it dawned on me that I could literally get two benefits in one by orienting the Mud Shovel "backward" under the rack top.

With some consideration given to clearance the rack stays, a bit of guesswork, and a pair of scissors, I managed to fit it underneath the rack. Mounting was accomplished by using a dental tool to poke several holes in strategic places to allow for cable ties to be strung up. These wrapped around various points of the rack, drawn up tight, and clipped to length and were enough to secure the now reverse mounted Mud Shovel into place.

Rear view of the modded fender. Note the cable tie mounts.

So, it's on there and with the reverse mount, the widest part of the fender is now at the tail end where the spray is wider off the rear wheel. I expect better coverage for myself and anything I have onboard the rack top. But I'm not done yet.

First off, I have to do a little edge work to completely encompass the rack stays, which will give the fender a bit more rigidity and eliminate those "saw tooth" edges which are now protruding out and could snag on things, potentially, like weeds, clothing, etc. The plan here is to take some point of sale packaging from tires, (typically a hard, thick plastic material, not unlike the Mud Shovel), and form it into a piece that I can bond to the Mud Shovel. I don't plan on ever taking this "fender" off, so a permanent mount is okay.

Secondly, I want to add a bit in front of the back tire to keep spray from coming off the rear tire forward and mucking up my frame bag. That will likely either be another rear Mud Shovel, or maybe the matching front Mud Shovel, or something I completely fabricate from plastic, to be sourced from, as of now, an unknown source. (Maybe milk jugs?) Anyway, I think at first I will mock up something out of cardboard to get an idea of what to do from that point.

The front will likely be a combination of one of those fork crown mounted "fenders" and a front Mud Shovel mounted very low on the down tube, which I experimented with last year and found that it works well. The low mounted front Mud Shovel, placed juuust right, will protect your chain and chain ring from most of the crap flying back from your front wheel. I did this on my Blackborrow DS last year. Since this bottom bracket is a bit narrower, I may actually have to do some trimming, but we will see.

Once the fender sitch is squared away, I will put the frame bag back on and this rig will be ready for Fall and Winter riding. Bring on the muck and mire!

Guitar Ted Lube-Off: The Contenders (So Far)

Muc-Off "Dry" version of their C3 Ceramic lube. (With UV gizmo)

The weekend was the pits as far as getting any riding in for me. Saturday was sketchy and I had errands. Then on Sunday, it rained a lot of the day and I woke up with a splitting head ache. (No alcohol involved) I have had a mild head cold of late and it kind of kicked into gear Sunday. No matter. It wasn't a great day for riding anyway.

So, in the meantime I dug into maintenance and some projects down in the "Lab" here at Guitar Ted Production's headquarters. One of those tasks was to get the three bikes I had in mind to use for the test set up with the lubes for the new "Guitar Ted Lube-Off" challenge, which I mentioned in the "FN&V" on Friday, of course. So, here we go, the three challengers, the bikes, and news on something that I just became aware of Friday.

Muc Off C3 Ceramic Lube/ Noble Bikes GX5: The new contender, Muc Off, with the C3 Ceramic lube, is on the Noble Bikes GX5 for this test. This bike has a SRAM Force 1X 11 drive train. The chain and the rest of the drive train is in pretty good shape.

Squirt Lube/ Fargo Gen I: The well known Fargo Gen I is the bike I chose to use the Squirt lube on. The drive train on the Fargo Gen I is a 3 X 9 and it is in a pretty worn state, but not out of spec......yet! I am expecting to find that I will need to be upgrading the bike with new parts soon. That said, it has shifted great and I have experienced no issues with it since I began riding this set up this year again.

DuMonde Tech/ Black Mountain Cycles MCD: Finally, the last bike in the test is the BMC MCD, otherwise known as the "Bubblegum Princess". The drive train on this bike is a 2X 11 set up and it has a ton of life left in it yet. This bike started out with DuMonde Tech lubricant and the chain is still the original one I started with last year when the bike was new.

The "Bubblegum Princess", as seen at the Solstice 100 earlier this year.

How The Chains Were Prepared: The BMC MCD was originally set up with DuMonde Tech on a brand new chain by stripping off the stock grease/coating and then applying the DuMonde Tech lube as prescribed by DuMonde Tech. I think I have re-applied a couple of times. DuMonde Tech recommends that when you hear chain noise that you put a drop on each roller and then continue use. So, currently the chain hasn't been lubed in a LONG time but until I hear anymore noises, I am not re-applying lube.

The Muc Off instructions were to strip the chain of any lube and dirt, dry it off, and apply a liberal dosage of the C3 lube to the chain. Muc Off says that it is recommended to let the lube set up for several hours before riding, but I am letting these all sit for a day+ at least, so no worries there. Muc Off also supplies you with what looks like a little key fob/key ring dealie. In reality, this is a tiny UV light emitter. Muc Off advises the end user to use the UV light to see if your lube application got the C3 down into the rollers and pins of your chain.

Muc Off C3 chain lube UV's out to a light blue color, which you can see by using the supplied UV emitter that comes in the box with the lube. 

In the image above you can see how the C3 has penetrated the pin/plate interface somewhat. This is kind of interesting since it seems like 80% of what I put on is......gone. If the UV thing is any indication, that is. Hmmm.... It feels like it has tons of lube on it, but we'll see. I'll get around to talking about the "touch test" in a second......

For the Squirt lube I did a similar clean-dry-lube procedure as I did for the Muc Off. Oh! By the way, I used Muc Off's Bio Chain Degreaser to clean these followed up with a water rinse, according to Muc Off's instructions. Okay, with that out of the way, Squirt recommends one drop of lube per roller, but that it is okay if you go a little bit more liberally than that. I did something toward the "little more liberal" approach. Squirt then recommends that you let the bike sit overnight. I did this.

Touch Test: The "Touch Test" is what I do to see if (a) a chain has any lube on it, and how much, (b) to see the condition of the lube, If it is dirty, and how much "grit" is in it, and (c) to see if the chain is "dry", rusty, or has a lot of friction. So, we can eliminate "c", somewhat, from consideration here, but the other two points are valid to look in to here. The test is performed by taking my index finger tip, "rolling" the rollers of the chain from the side that engages the teeth of the drive train components, and then observing any residue that is left behind on my finger tip. Sometimes I also focus on what the "feel" is, as I roll those rollers, since, as with dry lube, you often don't get any residue off on your finger tip.

Results: Muc Off C3 felt slick, but left no residue on my finger after a day. I did get some after 3 hours. This was a bit of a surprise seeing as how the UV test revealed very little lube there, at least from what I could see. Hmm..... My recommendation would be to let the Muc Off C3 sit overnight after an application. The Squirt Lube felt dry. Like a dry chain, but maybe a bit less friction? No residue to speak of there either. Impressive. Squirt says an application of their standard lube, which is what I am using here, should last up to 6 hours of road riding. (They haven't seen the "roads" I am gonna ride though!) DuMonde Tech generally doesn't feel like anything is on the chain, and after dusting mine off on the BMC, I found this to be true again. No residue after wiping down with a dry cotton cloth.

Okay, Squirt says to go 6 hours before a re-application of their lube, so I think that should make for a good time to check back in on things. That means I have 18 hours of riding to do! Oh! And about that bit of a surprise I mentioned from Friday- I have heard from Grannygear that there is a new lube that someone wants RidingGravel.com to test, so if that comes in time to insert that into this Lube-Off, there will be a fourth contender. Stay tuned......UPDATED 2/4/20: That lube mentioned in this paragraph didn't show up until late December of last year. I have a few hours on it, but it did not make the test. I plan on doing an updated "Lube Off" post in 2020 once I have six hours on that lube. It's Winetr now, so hang on.....


NOTE:  I was not asked to do this test, and I am doing it out of my own curiosity. There is no "prize" for coming out on top. No sponsorship, no personal connection with Squirt, Muc-Off, or DuMonde tech here.  The products used for this "Lube-Off" came from various events, or were sent to me to try at no charge. I am not being bribed, nor paid for this "Lube-Off", and any thoughts and opinions are only my own. Your results may vary.

Guitar Ted Lube-Off: The Contenders (So Far)

Muc-Off "Dry" version of their C3 Ceramic lube. (With UV gizmo)

The weekend was the pits as far as getting any riding in for me. Saturday was sketchy and I had errands. Then on Sunday, it rained a lot of the day and I woke up with a splitting head ache. (No alcohol involved) I have had a mild head cold of late and it kind of kicked into gear Sunday. No matter. It wasn't a great day for riding anyway.

So, in the meantime I dug into maintenance and some projects down in the "Lab" here at Guitar Ted Production's headquarters. One of those tasks was to get the three bikes I had in mind to use for the test set up with the lubes for the new "Guitar Ted Lube-Off" challenge, which I mentioned in the "FN&V" on Friday, of course. So, here we go, the three challengers, the bikes, and news on something that I just became aware of Friday.

Muc Off C3 Ceramic Lube/ Noble Bikes GX5: The new contender, Muc Off, with the C3 Ceramic lube, is on the Noble Bikes GX5 for this test. This bike has a SRAM Force 1X 11 drive train. The chain and the rest of the drive train is in pretty good shape.

Squirt Lube/ Fargo Gen I: The well known Fargo Gen I is the bike I chose to use the Squirt lube on. The drive train on the Fargo Gen I is a 3 X 9 and it is in a pretty worn state, but not out of spec......yet! I am expecting to find that I will need to be upgrading the bike with new parts soon. That said, it has shifted great and I have experienced no issues with it since I began riding this set up this year again.

DuMonde Tech/ Black Mountain Cycles MCD: Finally, the last bike in the test is the BMC MCD, otherwise known as the "Bubblegum Princess". The drive train on this bike is a 2X 11 set up and it has a ton of life left in it yet. This bike started out with DuMonde Tech lubricant and the chain is still the original one I started with last year when the bike was new.

The "Bubblegum Princess", as seen at the Solstice 100 earlier this year.

How The Chains Were Prepared: The BMC MCD was originally set up with DuMonde Tech on a brand new chain by stripping off the stock grease/coating and then applying the DuMonde Tech lube as prescribed by DuMonde Tech. I think I have re-applied a couple of times. DuMonde Tech recommends that when you hear chain noise that you put a drop on each roller and then continue use. So, currently the chain hasn't been lubed in a LONG time but until I hear anymore noises, I am not re-applying lube.

The Muc Off instructions were to strip the chain of any lube and dirt, dry it off, and apply a liberal dosage of the C3 lube to the chain. Muc Off says that it is recommended to let the lube set up for several hours before riding, but I am letting these all sit for a day+ at least, so no worries there. Muc Off also supplies you with what looks like a little key fob/key ring dealie. In reality, this is a tiny UV light emitter. Muc Off advises the end user to use the UV light to see if your lube application got the C3 down into the rollers and pins of your chain.

Muc Off C3 chain lube UV's out to a light blue color, which you can see by using the supplied UV emitter that comes in the box with the lube. 

In the image above you can see how the C3 has penetrated the pin/plate interface somewhat. This is kind of interesting since it seems like 80% of what I put on is......gone. If the UV thing is any indication, that is. Hmmm.... It feels like it has tons of lube on it, but we'll see. I'll get around to talking about the "touch test" in a second......

For the Squirt lube I did a similar clean-dry-lube procedure as I did for the Muc Off. Oh! By the way, I used Muc Off's Bio Chain Degreaser to clean these followed up with a water rinse, according to Muc Off's instructions. Okay, with that out of the way, Squirt recommends one drop of lube per roller, but that it is okay if you go a little bit more liberally than that. I did something toward the "little more liberal" approach. Squirt then recommends that you let the bike sit overnight. I did this.

Touch Test: The "Touch Test" is what I do to see if (a) a chain has any lube on it, and how much, (b) to see the condition of the lube, If it is dirty, and how much "grit" is in it, and (c) to see if the chain is "dry", rusty, or has a lot of friction. So, we can eliminate "c", somewhat, from consideration here, but the other two points are valid to look in to here. The test is performed by taking my index finger tip, "rolling" the rollers of the chain from the side that engages the teeth of the drive train components, and then observing any residue that is left behind on my finger tip. Sometimes I also focus on what the "feel" is, as I roll those rollers, since, as with dry lube, you often don't get any residue off on your finger tip.

Results: Muc Off C3 felt slick, but left no residue on my finger after a day. I did get some after 3 hours. This was a bit of a surprise seeing as how the UV test revealed very little lube there, at least from what I could see. Hmm..... My recommendation would be to let the Muc Off C3 sit overnight after an application. The Squirt Lube felt dry. Like a dry chain, but maybe a bit less friction? No residue to speak of there either. Impressive. Squirt says an application of their standard lube, which is what I am using here, should last up to 6 hours of road riding. (They haven't seen the "roads" I am gonna ride though!) DuMonde Tech generally doesn't feel like anything is on the chain, and after dusting mine off on the BMC, I found this to be true again. No residue after wiping down with a dry cotton cloth.

Okay, Squirt says to go 6 hours before a re-application of their lube, so I think that should make for a good time to check back in on things. That means I have 18 hours of riding to do! Oh! And about that bit of a surprise I mentioned from Friday- I have heard from Grannygear that there is a new lube that someone wants RidingGravel.com to test, so if that comes in time to insert that into this Lube-Off, there will be a fourth contender. Stay tuned......UPDATED 2/4/20: That lube mentioned in this paragraph didn't show up until late December of last year. I have a few hours on it, but it did not make the test. I plan on doing an updated "Lube Off" post in 2020 once I have six hours on that lube. It's Winetr now, so hang on.....


NOTE:  I was not asked to do this test, and I am doing it out of my own curiosity. There is no "prize" for coming out on top. No sponsorship, no personal connection with Squirt, Muc-Off, or DuMonde tech here.  The products used for this "Lube-Off" came from various events, or were sent to me to try at no charge. I am not being bribed, nor paid for this "Lube-Off", and any thoughts and opinions are only my own. Your results may vary.

Trans Iowa Stories: It Was The Third - But It Was The First

An old iron bridge over the Volga River which I reconned for the Trans Iowa v3 route

"Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

 The Trans Iowa v3 story, from my viewpoint, transitioned Trans Iowa as the event it would be until the end. In that sense, T.I.v3 was the first, or maybe a prototype, of what was to come for the next eleven years for the event, and for me.

Since Jeff was obviously leaving- eventually- I was going to be doing everything on my own by 2007. Well, not quite everything. There was one thing I thought I was going to be getting help with, and that was the cue sheet checking and printing. Now, originally, my understanding was that Jeff and I would run the course to double check the cues before the event. I kept hoping that would happen, but as the event drew nearer, it was increasingly clear that Jeff wasn't going to be able to do that. Then I thought he might actually double check the cues against a map, but he didn't, and he simply printed them, left them to me at the shop, and that was his last direct effort in putting on a Trans Iowa. I did ask him in subsequent years to do the graphics for the header on the site. So, in that way Jeff was a part of Trans Iowa up through T.I.v9, after which I took over the designing of the headers.

Anyway, the cues. Well, I had a "last chance" to check the cues the weekend before Trans Iowa. I didn't get very far. Several miles outside of Decorah, in the rambling hills of Northeast Iowa, I became panicked. I pretty much lost it, because the cues were completely off and unusable. Due to an early mistake which compounded itself further into the cues, the mileages were unreliable and several turns were incorrect. I was going to have to scrap this cue set and start completely from scratch with six days to go before Trans Iowa v3.

I had last minute details to attend to besides this. Prizing, number plates, volunteers, organizing the finish line, detailing events for the pre-race event, post race events, and communicating with racers. Top it all off with Zach Dundas' requests, my family's demands on my time, and working at the bike shop, and well...... How I ever got through that week I haven't a clue.

T.I.v3 complete cue set. (Image courtesy of Cale Wenthur)

First, I rushed home with the correct information in hand and a plan. I rewrote the cues immediately after getting home, and then every evening I stayed up late printing the cues for three straight days. I used a home printer that could do maybe 30 sheets at a crack, and ink cartridges were dying at an alarming rate. I had to go out and buy them two times. Paper was another thing I had to purchase. Then they all had to be cut and bagged by hand with scissors and using sandwich baggies.

I would be up until 1-2am doing this, then getting the cues organized took a bunch of time. Finally, on Thursday, I had that all redone and my family, including my six year old daughter and three year old son, stuffed race bags, and placed everything in boxes and tubs for transport the following day.

It was a big relief to have those cues finished, obviously, but I was also worried to death something later into the course might still be off since I had no chances to recon that against the cue sheets. The other thing was that this cue sheet crisis caused me to worry less about the "other stuff". I just didn't have the time to worry about anything else. But the energy expended to get the extra work done on top of being the only mechanic at the shop during a busy Spring made my wife unhappy. She could see what this event was doing to me, and she didn't particularly like it. Keep in mind that the previous two Trans Iowas were half as much worry and work for me. Now it was all on my shoulders.

Also, interestingly enough, we never made any "big announcements" that Jeff wouldn't be there, or that he was no longer helping to put on the event. We never even thought about doing that. It just evolved and next thing ya know, it's a "Guitar Ted" deal. Jeff? Well, it was as if he had slipped out the back door. Even Zach Dundas, in his excellent write up on Trans Iowa in the book, "The Renegade Sportsman", never brought Jeff's involvement in the event into the story. It was portrayed as if I was the only guy behind it. And at the time of the eve of T.I.v3, that was true.

And I didn't even have time to think about that. I just dove straight in, because what else could I have done? I felt like I had just dodged a huge bullet in getting the cue sheet debacle taken care of, and with no time to catch my breath, I was headed to Decorah to do things I had never done before on my own.

Next: The surreal set up and anger at being stiffed.

Trans Iowa Stories: It Was The Third - But It Was The First

An old iron bridge over the Volga River which I reconned for the Trans Iowa v3 route

"Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunday post which helps tell the stories behind the event. You can check out other posts about this subject by going back to earlier Sunday posts on this blog. Thanks and enjoy!

 The Trans Iowa v3 story, from my viewpoint, transitioned Trans Iowa as the event it would be until the end. In that sense, T.I.v3 was the first, or maybe a prototype, of what was to come for the next eleven years for the event, and for me.

Since Jeff was obviously leaving- eventually- I was going to be doing everything on my own by 2007. Well, not quite everything. There was one thing I thought I was going to be getting help with, and that was the cue sheet checking and printing. Now, originally, my understanding was that Jeff and I would run the course to double check the cues before the event. I kept hoping that would happen, but as the event drew nearer, it was increasingly clear that Jeff wasn't going to be able to do that. Then I thought he might actually double check the cues against a map, but he didn't, and he simply printed them, left them to me at the shop, and that was his last direct effort in putting on a Trans Iowa. I did ask him in subsequent years to do the graphics for the header on the site. So, in that way Jeff was a part of Trans Iowa up through T.I.v9, after which I took over the designing of the headers.

Anyway, the cues. Well, I had a "last chance" to check the cues the weekend before Trans Iowa. I didn't get very far. Several miles outside of Decorah, in the rambling hills of Northeast Iowa, I became panicked. I pretty much lost it, because the cues were completely off and unusable. Due to an early mistake which compounded itself further into the cues, the mileages were unreliable and several turns were incorrect. I was going to have to scrap this cue set and start completely from scratch with six days to go before Trans Iowa v3.

I had last minute details to attend to besides this. Prizing, number plates, volunteers, organizing the finish line, detailing events for the pre-race event, post race events, and communicating with racers. Top it all off with Zach Dundas' requests, my family's demands on my time, and working at the bike shop, and well...... How I ever got through that week I haven't a clue.

T.I.v3 complete cue set. (Image courtesy of Cale Wenthur)

First, I rushed home with the correct information in hand and a plan. I rewrote the cues immediately after getting home, and then every evening I stayed up late printing the cues for three straight days. I used a home printer that could do maybe 30 sheets at a crack, and ink cartridges were dying at an alarming rate. I had to go out and buy them two times. Paper was another thing I had to purchase. Then they all had to be cut and bagged by hand with scissors and using sandwich baggies.

I would be up until 1-2am doing this, then getting the cues organized took a bunch of time. Finally, on Thursday, I had that all redone and my family, including my six year old daughter and three year old son, stuffed race bags, and placed everything in boxes and tubs for transport the following day.

It was a big relief to have those cues finished, obviously, but I was also worried to death something later into the course might still be off since I had no chances to recon that against the cue sheets. The other thing was that this cue sheet crisis caused me to worry less about the "other stuff". I just didn't have the time to worry about anything else. But the energy expended to get the extra work done on top of being the only mechanic at the shop during a busy Spring made my wife unhappy. She could see what this event was doing to me, and she didn't particularly like it. Keep in mind that the previous two Trans Iowas were half as much worry and work for me. Now it was all on my shoulders.

Also, interestingly enough, we never made any "big announcements" that Jeff wouldn't be there, or that he was no longer helping to put on the event. We never even thought about doing that. It just evolved and next thing ya know, it's a "Guitar Ted" deal. Jeff? Well, it was as if he had slipped out the back door. Even Zach Dundas, in his excellent write up on Trans Iowa in the book, "The Renegade Sportsman", never brought Jeff's involvement in the event into the story. It was portrayed as if I was the only guy behind it. And at the time of the eve of T.I.v3, that was true.

And I didn't even have time to think about that. I just dove straight in, because what else could I have done? I felt like I had just dodged a huge bullet in getting the cue sheet debacle taken care of, and with no time to catch my breath, I was headed to Decorah to do things I had never done before on my own.

Next: The surreal set up and anger at being stiffed.

Minus Ten Review 2009-38

Dusty kicks in Circus-Circus. I-bike 2009 trip memories.

Ten years ago this week I attended the Interbike trade show again for the fourth year in a row. This time in the company of Grannygear, not with the old "Crooked Cog Network" gang leader. That ship had sailed. Now it was me and Granny, against all odds we were putting out content about 29"ers while the "big league guys" were finally starting to come around to the whole big wheeled way of thinking.

We had some contributions from Germany in the form of articles by "CG", but when I think back on how we were able to carve out the little niche in the media that we did, well..... It's pretty amazing we could even get one reader! I mean, there are so many more popular, more well known, and far better funded sites and publications from those times that for us to even be heard was just unreal to me. I still cannot believe we pulled off the things we did, and trust me, we busted our butts for no monetary gain. It was pretty dumb, financially, but we maximized our resources and did a LOT with a little bit. Take for instance the '09 Interbike show.

I flew out to meet Grannygear on Sunday night. Monday we hit the Outdoor Demo, same thing Tuesday. We went from morning till evening, only taking time to eat before the demo and afterward. Then it was decompress, talk over things, maybe make a few posts, and to bed we went. Wednesday we hit the indoor show hard. That was it. We skipped out on the last two days of the indoor show deeming it all wasted time. We got all the content, no social hanging out, and WAY less spending on room and board. The savings were significant, and I was home by Thursday evening.

Afterward we reflected on our mission. Grannygear and I determined that we didn't miss much by skipping two days of the show. By '09 Interbike already was showing signs of dying, and we could see it. Less vendors, less "new" stuff to report on. Of course, this all was during the Big Recession, so go figure, but socially and media-wise things were on a fast track of change. Interbike never got its feet under itself to keep up.

Eventually brands just took their messages and their goods direct to consumer, bypassing the show, which had lost its relevance as a place to do business for the same reasons. Businesses took their deal making direct to the shops, not waiting for some "show" to sell their wares. Eventually, it became increasingly clear that even by using a meager budget to go to Las Vegas every year, it just wasn't worth it from the standpoint of content generation. By 2013 I was begrudgingly going to the show and after that dismal experience, Grannygear and I decided not to attend it again. I was out of "Twenty Nine Inches" by the end of 2014 and Interbike died in 2018. Now there is no North American trade show, and I doubt those days will ever come back again.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong......

Minus Ten Review 2009-38

Dusty kicks in Circus-Circus. I-bike 2009 trip memories.

Ten years ago this week I attended the Interbike trade show again for the fourth year in a row. This time in the company of Grannygear, not with the old "Crooked Cog Network" gang leader. That ship had sailed. Now it was me and Granny, against all odds we were putting out content about 29"ers while the "big league guys" were finally starting to come around to the whole big wheeled way of thinking.

We had some contributions from Germany in the form of articles by "CG", but when I think back on how we were able to carve out the little niche in the media that we did, well..... It's pretty amazing we could even get one reader! I mean, there are so many more popular, more well known, and far better funded sites and publications from those times that for us to even be heard was just unreal to me. I still cannot believe we pulled off the things we did, and trust me, we busted our butts for no monetary gain. It was pretty dumb, financially, but we maximized our resources and did a LOT with a little bit. Take for instance the '09 Interbike show.

I flew out to meet Grannygear on Sunday night. Monday we hit the Outdoor Demo, same thing Tuesday. We went from morning till evening, only taking time to eat before the demo and afterward. Then it was decompress, talk over things, maybe make a few posts, and to bed we went. Wednesday we hit the indoor show hard. That was it. We skipped out on the last two days of the indoor show deeming it all wasted time. We got all the content, no social hanging out, and WAY less spending on room and board. The savings were significant, and I was home by Thursday evening.

Afterward we reflected on our mission. Grannygear and I determined that we didn't miss much by skipping two days of the show. By '09 Interbike already was showing signs of dying, and we could see it. Less vendors, less "new" stuff to report on. Of course, this all was during the Big Recession, so go figure, but socially and media-wise things were on a fast track of change. Interbike never got its feet under itself to keep up.

Eventually brands just took their messages and their goods direct to consumer, bypassing the show, which had lost its relevance as a place to do business for the same reasons. Businesses took their deal making direct to the shops, not waiting for some "show" to sell their wares. Eventually, it became increasingly clear that even by using a meager budget to go to Las Vegas every year, it just wasn't worth it from the standpoint of content generation. By 2013 I was begrudgingly going to the show and after that dismal experience, Grannygear and I decided not to attend it again. I was out of "Twenty Nine Inches" by the end of 2014 and Interbike died in 2018. Now there is no North American trade show, and I doubt those days will ever come back again.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong......

Friday News And Views

Rain- Lots of it. (Radar image from Thursday morning)

Rain Seeks To Dampen Spirits:

We went a long time in July and most of August without any rain to speak of. The creeks were nearly depleted, and some small ones actually were dried up. The state climatologist was talking about drought conditions just two weeks ago. Now? Ha!

There is a flash flood warning and the rivers are closing in on flood stages again. Feast or famine, it would seem. But the main thing from my perspective is that this raining constantly nonsense is getting on my nerves. I don't like it when I have to drive to work. I don't like it when I have to modify my rides to keep myself from becoming a potential lightning rod.

Today and tomorrow are looking like "more of the same" in terms of thunderstorms, but the good news is that looking ahead it appears that some cooler, drier weather is on tap. Farmers, cyclists, and the general population here will, no doubt, be rejoicing. Well.....maybe the cyclo cross racers will be digging the rain. Hard to say. Otherwise, I am looking forward to some actual Fall weather riding conditions here. Some of my favorite times to ride are in the season of Fall and typically that doesn't last too long.

Cranking up the G-Ted Lube-Off challenge again. These are the contenders.

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off" Challenge Cranks Up Again:

It's been quite some time since I have had a "Lube-Off Challenge" on the blog, but this is going to happen again this Fall here.

"What is a "Lube-Off"", you say? Well, it is where I pit one bicycle chain lube against another and ride them on gravel (mostly) to determine whether they are worth using, actually do the job the lube claims, and ultimately, if I might recommend it. A couple new challengers are in the house currently to see if they measure up, and to see whether either can knock off long time champeen, DuMonde Tech.

To start out here, I have two versions of Muc-Off's C3 Ceramic Chain Lube. A "wet" version and a "dry" version. I'll be starting out with the "dry" version, although, judging from the first subject in today's FN&V, maybe it should be the "wet" lube! Ha! No.......I'll eventually get to the "wet" version when conditions are more favorable for that. Maybe when Winter hits? We'll see.....

The other contender here is Squirt Lube, the wax based chain lube in the water based carrier. I have several sample bottles I need to blow through anyway, so I am throwing this massively popular chain lube into the mix for the Lube-Off as well.

Stay tuned for periodic updates on how this Lube-Off is progressing.

NOTE: Muc-Off sent their lubes to RidingGravel.com for test and review, while Squirt was obtained as a schwag bag items at various versions of Gravel Worlds. I am not being paid, nor bribed to conduct the Lube-Off and any thoughts or opinions are my own. 

The C.O.G. Masters Are Watching You!

C.O.G. 100 Reactions:

Since the C.O.G. 100 announcements earlier this week, (OH! Did you miss THIS? ) , we've heard some folks are saying that they are excited about the second coming of single speed only style gravel grindin'. We're glad that you are excited about the event, although we sometimes worry about your life choices regarding the eschewing of dangly bits. But as long as you are willing to accept the consequences of creaky knees in your elder years, we cannot really say anything other than hurrah! We're happy to see that you are excited about our nutty ideas.

Now that we're all in, N.Y. Roll and I are talking about recon of the new course. Oh......yes! There will be a new course with new hills and challenges. There will be the "token Level B Road", and there will be good times. Maybe we will even cook up something special for this year's event. You never know what will come of our "think tank" sessions. Anyway, recon. Getting back to that now......

N.Y. Roll and I are talking about doing this on our bicycles. Why not? We love riding as much as anybody. Heck, I may even pull out one of my single speed devices to ride this new course on. It will make for good research and we will have a really good idea of what the route will have in store for the C.O.G. 100 posse when it is unleashed upon the gravel come March 28th, 2020. So, tentatively we are looking at doing this in October. Hopefully that works out, since N.Y. Roll is supposedly going out to ride unPaved of the Susquehanna River Valley. I was supposed to be going to that as well, but a situation has arisen which is going to keep me at home. Nothing alarming, but something I need to be around for. Anyway..... I apologize for being cagey on that point. All in due time. Anyway....

Thanks for all the support for our C.O.G. 100 event. N.Y. Roll and I are super stoked and will be coming out with details on the event soon.
 

That's all for this week! get out and ride those bicycles!

Friday News And Views

Rain- Lots of it. (Radar image from Thursday morning)

Rain Seeks To Dampen Spirits:

We went a long time in July and most of August without any rain to speak of. The creeks were nearly depleted, and some small ones actually were dried up. The state climatologist was talking about drought conditions just two weeks ago. Now? Ha!

There is a flash flood warning and the rivers are closing in on flood stages again. Feast or famine, it would seem. But the main thing from my perspective is that this raining constantly nonsense is getting on my nerves. I don't like it when I have to drive to work. I don't like it when I have to modify my rides to keep myself from becoming a potential lightning rod.

Today and tomorrow are looking like "more of the same" in terms of thunderstorms, but the good news is that looking ahead it appears that some cooler, drier weather is on tap. Farmers, cyclists, and the general population here will, no doubt, be rejoicing. Well.....maybe the cyclo cross racers will be digging the rain. Hard to say. Otherwise, I am looking forward to some actual Fall weather riding conditions here. Some of my favorite times to ride are in the season of Fall and typically that doesn't last too long.

Cranking up the G-Ted Lube-Off challenge again. These are the contenders.

Guitar Ted "Lube-Off" Challenge Cranks Up Again:

It's been quite some time since I have had a "Lube-Off Challenge" on the blog, but this is going to happen again this Fall here.

"What is a "Lube-Off"", you say? Well, it is where I pit one bicycle chain lube against another and ride them on gravel (mostly) to determine whether they are worth using, actually do the job the lube claims, and ultimately, if I might recommend it. A couple new challengers are in the house currently to see if they measure up, and to see whether either can knock off long time champeen, DuMonde Tech.

To start out here, I have two versions of Muc-Off's C3 Ceramic Chain Lube. A "wet" version and a "dry" version. I'll be starting out with the "dry" version, although, judging from the first subject in today's FN&V, maybe it should be the "wet" lube! Ha! No.......I'll eventually get to the "wet" version when conditions are more favorable for that. Maybe when Winter hits? We'll see.....

The other contender here is Squirt Lube, the wax based chain lube in the water based carrier. I have several sample bottles I need to blow through anyway, so I am throwing this massively popular chain lube into the mix for the Lube-Off as well.

Stay tuned for periodic updates on how this Lube-Off is progressing.

NOTE: Muc-Off sent their lubes to RidingGravel.com for test and review, while Squirt was obtained as a schwag bag items at various versions of Gravel Worlds. I am not being paid, nor bribed to conduct the Lube-Off and any thoughts or opinions are my own. 

The C.O.G. Masters Are Watching You!

C.O.G. 100 Reactions:

Since the C.O.G. 100 announcements earlier this week, (OH! Did you miss THIS? ) , we've heard some folks are saying that they are excited about the second coming of single speed only style gravel grindin'. We're glad that you are excited about the event, although we sometimes worry about your life choices regarding the eschewing of dangly bits. But as long as you are willing to accept the consequences of creaky knees in your elder years, we cannot really say anything other than hurrah! We're happy to see that you are excited about our nutty ideas.

Now that we're all in, N.Y. Roll and I are talking about recon of the new course. Oh......yes! There will be a new course with new hills and challenges. There will be the "token Level B Road", and there will be good times. Maybe we will even cook up something special for this year's event. You never know what will come of our "think tank" sessions. Anyway, recon. Getting back to that now......

N.Y. Roll and I are talking about doing this on our bicycles. Why not? We love riding as much as anybody. Heck, I may even pull out one of my single speed devices to ride this new course on. It will make for good research and we will have a really good idea of what the route will have in store for the C.O.G. 100 posse when it is unleashed upon the gravel come March 28th, 2020. So, tentatively we are looking at doing this in October. Hopefully that works out, since N.Y. Roll is supposedly going out to ride unPaved of the Susquehanna River Valley. I was supposed to be going to that as well, but a situation has arisen which is going to keep me at home. Nothing alarming, but something I need to be around for. Anyway..... I apologize for being cagey on that point. All in due time. Anyway....

Thanks for all the support for our C.O.G. 100 event. N.Y. Roll and I are super stoked and will be coming out with details on the event soon.
 

That's all for this week! get out and ride those bicycles!