Fall Views: Harvest In High Gear

Wednesday..... Time to bag more roads on "The Quest". I had a few miles of Southern Hammond Avenue and Kimball Avenue to cover in my attempt to ride every mile of Black Hawk County gravel. So, with some time to spare on Wednesday morning, I broke out the "Gravel Bus" and headed out to Prairie Grove Park to head on down South. 

We've had weird skies of late. At first it was from the wild fires out West, but now I think it is just dust from harvesting. The machines are out all over now and kicking up a mighty mess of dirt into the skies. The air has been really dry again, so how that plays into this atmospheric weirdness, I am not really sure, but it does make for very dusty conditions on the roads and in the fields. 

The other thing contributing to the dusty conditions is the fact that Black Hawk County has made some hefty contributions to the gravel levels on the roads lately. It was super-chunky and made a big cloudy, dusty mess when cars or trucks went by. It was pretty rough going with a few notable exceptions. I rode a lot on the very margins of the gravel and grassy ditches.
 

Some post-harvest fertilizing going on here. Note the chunky gravel.

 

Big semi-tractor rigs and Ag machinery was everywhere.

There wasn't a whole lot of wind, which was nice. The forecast said eventually it would be from the South, but I really don't know that this ever happened while I was out. There was juuuust enough breeze to take the dust off the road if I met a truck or car, but really, it was calm. I had the single speed cranking the rollers and besides the chunk, it was a nice ride. 

Barns For Jason #1: My camera battery bit the dust at this point in the ride.

For some reason, the iPhone has a heck of a time getting the Gravel Bus' color right.

I really didn't have a lot of issues getting all the way down Hammond Avenue's gravel section. This is a street that starts in Waterloo and turns into gravel well South of town. So, it's maybe just about half paved, half gravel. Anyway, I've ridden the length of it now. I ended up having to go all the way down a mile and a half into Tama County to get to a connector gravel road which would transport me over to the gravel section of Kimball Avenue. Kimball has a LOT less gravel than Hammond, but it needed to be ridden. 

A car passed where I stopped to rest. You can see how much dust got kicked up.

Barns For Jason #2: Can you spot the horse?

My route turned West at the point where I was just on the Northern border of Hickory Hills Park, which is a geological feature in the area called a paha. In fact, it is really called 'Casey's Paha', but no one around here calls it that. It is a land feature, pretty much unique to Iowa, that you can see for miles away, and it rises above the level of what already is pretty rolling terrain to form even steeper, taller hills. The area is also tree covered and this also makes it easier to spot amongst the landscape. You can see a hint of it behind the barn image above to the right. 

 Barns For Jason #3

 Geneseo Church. Can you spot the caretaker?

Once I traversed the mile West it was back North on a mile and a half of Tama County V Avenue and then on to Kimball. Here I saw damage from the August 10th derecho which had flattened a lot of corn. The beans looked okay, but I'd say 80% of a couple of corn fields I saw were toast. I just saw a tiny sliver of what damage there is out there, most of which is a lot further South of me than Northern Tama County. 

The only standing corn here is light colored. The rest is laying flat due to the August 10th derecho.

Barns For Jason #4

Kimball Avenue gravel doesn't last too long. After a few miles I had that nicked off the list and I was in Eagle Center, a small crossroads with a few buildings and homes there. From here I went one mile West on the pavement, (cheating!), and then turned back South on Ansborough and then back to Prairie Grove Park and the truck. I got in just shy of 30 miles in under three hours, so I was moving pretty well on the G-Bus. 

Barns For Jason #5- This one isn't long for the world either.

A combine harvester kicks up a cloud of dust while harvesting soybeans South of Waterloo, Iowa.

This bit of road-bagging now clears up most of Southern Black Hawk County leaving only the far Southeastern corner for me to get around to. I have a bit to clear up around LaPorte City, and then the far Northeastern corner of the County has some buggers to get around to with no good way to do it other than a bunch of out and backs. I also have one more 'big-loop' ride left to do which will bag Nesbit Road for me and some odds and ends around Dunkerton. 

Once I get those major pieces done there are like 'tiny bits' left here and there. Crumbs of roads, really. I should get all this mopped up yet this year. That's the goal anyway. Stay tuned........

Fall Views: Harvest In High Gear

Wednesday..... Time to bag more roads on "The Quest". I had a few miles of Southern Hammond Avenue and Kimball Avenue to cover in my attempt to ride every mile of Black Hawk County gravel. So, with some time to spare on Wednesday morning, I broke out the "Gravel Bus" and headed out to Prairie Grove Park to head on down South. 

We've had weird skies of late. At first it was from the wild fires out West, but now I think it is just dust from harvesting. The machines are out all over now and kicking up a mighty mess of dirt into the skies. The air has been really dry again, so how that plays into this atmospheric weirdness, I am not really sure, but it does make for very dusty conditions on the roads and in the fields. 

The other thing contributing to the dusty conditions is the fact that Black Hawk County has made some hefty contributions to the gravel levels on the roads lately. It was super-chunky and made a big cloudy, dusty mess when cars or trucks went by. It was pretty rough going with a few notable exceptions. I rode a lot on the very margins of the gravel and grassy ditches.
 

Some post-harvest fertilizing going on here. Note the chunky gravel.

 

Big semi-tractor rigs and Ag machinery was everywhere.

There wasn't a whole lot of wind, which was nice. The forecast said eventually it would be from the South, but I really don't know that this ever happened while I was out. There was juuuust enough breeze to take the dust off the road if I met a truck or car, but really, it was calm. I had the single speed cranking the rollers and besides the chunk, it was a nice ride. 

Barns For Jason #1: My camera battery bit the dust at this point in the ride.

For some reason, the iPhone has a heck of a time getting the Gravel Bus' color right.

I really didn't have a lot of issues getting all the way down Hammond Avenue's gravel section. This is a street that starts in Waterloo and turns into gravel well South of town. So, it's maybe just about half paved, half gravel. Anyway, I've ridden the length of it now. I ended up having to go all the way down a mile and a half into Tama County to get to a connector gravel road which would transport me over to the gravel section of Kimball Avenue. Kimball has a LOT less gravel than Hammond, but it needed to be ridden. 

A car passed where I stopped to rest. You can see how much dust got kicked up.

Barns For Jason #2: Can you spot the horse?

My route turned West at the point where I was just on the Northern border of Hickory Hills Park, which is a geological feature in the area called a paha. In fact, it is really called 'Casey's Paha', but no one around here calls it that. It is a land feature, pretty much unique to Iowa, that you can see for miles away, and it rises above the level of what already is pretty rolling terrain to form even steeper, taller hills. The area is also tree covered and this also makes it easier to spot amongst the landscape. You can see a hint of it behind the barn image above to the right. 

 Barns For Jason #3

 Geneseo Church. Can you spot the caretaker?

Once I traversed the mile West it was back North on a mile and a half of Tama County V Avenue and then on to Kimball. Here I saw damage from the August 10th derecho which had flattened a lot of corn. The beans looked okay, but I'd say 80% of a couple of corn fields I saw were toast. I just saw a tiny sliver of what damage there is out there, most of which is a lot further South of me than Northern Tama County. 

The only standing corn here is light colored. The rest is laying flat due to the August 10th derecho.

Barns For Jason #4

Kimball Avenue gravel doesn't last too long. After a few miles I had that nicked off the list and I was in Eagle Center, a small crossroads with a few buildings and homes there. From here I went one mile West on the pavement, (cheating!), and then turned back South on Ansborough and then back to Prairie Grove Park and the truck. I got in just shy of 30 miles in under three hours, so I was moving pretty well on the G-Bus. 

Barns For Jason #5- This one isn't long for the world either.

A combine harvester kicks up a cloud of dust while harvesting soybeans South of Waterloo, Iowa.

This bit of road-bagging now clears up most of Southern Black Hawk County leaving only the far Southeastern corner for me to get around to. I have a bit to clear up around LaPorte City, and then the far Northeastern corner of the County has some buggers to get around to with no good way to do it other than a bunch of out and backs. I also have one more 'big-loop' ride left to do which will bag Nesbit Road for me and some odds and ends around Dunkerton. 

Once I get those major pieces done there are like 'tiny bits' left here and there. Crumbs of roads, really. I should get all this mopped up yet this year. That's the goal anyway. Stay tuned........

Thoughts On Future Projects

 

With Fall and Winter on the way, I am collaborating with Andy of Andy's Bike Shop on ideas for the future of Riding Gravel and beyond. I thought I'd float out a few of my ideas and let you in on the inside of what's up here. Remember- these are just ideas we're considering. We aren't announcing anything unless it is specifically specified as an announcement. 

So, first up, an announcement! Ha! Yes, we are already into setting up a You Tube Channel for Riding Gravel. We will be posting some stuff to compliment our written reviews and show the products we are working with in a bit more detail. We think this will enhance our reader's experiences and give those that want to send in stuff for review another reason to get their products in front of folks. 

This may also end up being a forum where we can have some video of our podcasts. Especially if we have guests. In fact, we're very close to having our first in-studio guest, so stay tuned for that. It should be a pretty fun interview. Anyway, yeah......You Tube. Can you believe it? Crazy. But, we feel it is something worth trying, so we are trying it. 

Speaking of podcasts we have been recording a bunch and there are several episodes 'in the can' waiting to get posted by my partner in RG who is on vacation hunting, I guess. So for those of you that have been asking me what's up- that's what's up. The podcast will forge on and I think we are going to start to try to get some more guests in-studio and on the horn as well in the future. If you have any ideas on who we should be talking to, hit me up. 

It's been a few years since we did the Riding Gravel jerseys. I am thinking about cranking up a new design and seeing what the interest would be in getting them done for sale. T-shirts are another thing I'm considering, and we are already doing up a batch of stickers. Any suggestions for merch you would buy, let me know. This stuff would go on Andy's Bike Shop's online store and also would be available in-store as well, for the locals. 

So, I'll be busy thinking, designing, recording, video making, writing, and riding into the near future. I hope that it hits some marks, and I hope that Andy and I can get these things accomplished in a timely manner. 

Stay tuned......

Thoughts On Future Projects

 

With Fall and Winter on the way, I am collaborating with Andy of Andy's Bike Shop on ideas for the future of Riding Gravel and beyond. I thought I'd float out a few of my ideas and let you in on the inside of what's up here. Remember- these are just ideas we're considering. We aren't announcing anything unless it is specifically specified as an announcement. 

So, first up, an announcement! Ha! Yes, we are already into setting up a You Tube Channel for Riding Gravel. We will be posting some stuff to compliment our written reviews and show the products we are working with in a bit more detail. We think this will enhance our reader's experiences and give those that want to send in stuff for review another reason to get their products in front of folks. 

This may also end up being a forum where we can have some video of our podcasts. Especially if we have guests. In fact, we're very close to having our first in-studio guest, so stay tuned for that. It should be a pretty fun interview. Anyway, yeah......You Tube. Can you believe it? Crazy. But, we feel it is something worth trying, so we are trying it. 

Speaking of podcasts we have been recording a bunch and there are several episodes 'in the can' waiting to get posted by my partner in RG who is on vacation hunting, I guess. So for those of you that have been asking me what's up- that's what's up. The podcast will forge on and I think we are going to start to try to get some more guests in-studio and on the horn as well in the future. If you have any ideas on who we should be talking to, hit me up. 

It's been a few years since we did the Riding Gravel jerseys. I am thinking about cranking up a new design and seeing what the interest would be in getting them done for sale. T-shirts are another thing I'm considering, and we are already doing up a batch of stickers. Any suggestions for merch you would buy, let me know. This stuff would go on Andy's Bike Shop's online store and also would be available in-store as well, for the locals. 

So, I'll be busy thinking, designing, recording, video making, writing, and riding into the near future. I hope that it hits some marks, and I hope that Andy and I can get these things accomplished in a timely manner. 

Stay tuned......

Fall Views: Field Serviced

At least it was a win!

This past weekend was an odd one due to my son's football game being an away game and in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This threw off my entire biological clock, I tell ya. I was way out of whack until later on Sunday. All that nonsense I used to do in my youth never helped me now, I know that much! Anyway, after eating very late Friday, then getting to  sleep on what amounted to early Saturday morning, I was pretty much out of commission in terms of getting anything significant done on Saturday proper. 

But I did ride a bicycle. I just kept it in town and ran a bunch of side streets and recreational trail. Something to break up the constant diet of gravel road riding. Plus I needed exercise and to clear out the cobwebs from my brain from Friday's goofy schedule. It worked. The plan then was to do a bunch of new-to-me roads on Sunday. 

Of course, well made plans sometimes get derailed and my Sunday plans were no different. I woke up to a day of pretty brutal Southeasterly winds and my right knee felt tweaked a bit, for some odd reason. So, I wasn't real set on my plan going into it, and especially so since I was using the opportunity to test some WTB tires I had on the Black Mountain Cycles Orange Crush rig. See, big wind + single speed = not a long ride. Maybe. I would see what I could pull off. 

Due to the direction of the winds, and my reconsideration of what I maybe should be trying, I nixed the plans to bag more roads on my quest and just did a nice out-and-back. I just wanted to get several miles into the wind, then turn around and get the benefits of my labor. The starting point was Prairie Grove Park, since I didn't want to burn half my matches in just the getting to gravel. 

A horse pauses from its grazing to consider this strange humanoid/machine apparition.

The sky still looks odd here due to the Western fires.

The first pedal strokes from the car park were a reminder that the left pedal needs attention on the Orange Crush. I thought the pedal was worn out because it felt like my foot was slipping backward and forward as the crank arm rotated and I could discern a stopping point. It was as if the cleat was slightly too small for the clipping mechanism or, more likely, that mechanism was very worn. I mean, I don't think I've purchased new clipless pedals in over 20 years. 

See, as a bicycle mechanic, you end up with extra sets of pedals. People swap out to newer stuff, higher end stuff, or they go back to flat pedals. Many do not want the old pedals and they give them to you. This has happened to me enough times that I have every bike that I want set up with clipless pedals set up with them, and I have pedals to spare. But don't get too envious. These are not anything great, They are base level pedals from Shimano, for the most part, and are beat to hell and back.Thus my suspicions about the left pedal on this bike. It was entirely possible it was shot. 

There is a small flock of birds in flight in this image.

Filling the bins.

Well, as I got going I was super annoyed by this loose feeling pedal, or so I thought it was my pedal. I looked down at just the right time and I thought I saw the crank arm move! What?! Not good here! So, I immediately stopped to more closely inspect things. 

Well, it was bad news. My left crank arm wasn't just a little loose, it was really loose! Had I ruined the square taper? Dang it! My initial thought was to just roll back gently to the truck and bail on the whole ride, but....... Wait a minute. I had tools. Did I have an 8mm hex key? I dug out my tool roll. There was a good chance that I would have the tool, because this bike is pretty much my "Survive The Apocalypse Bike™". I had stocked it with more stuff than I would normally have on board some of my other bikes. I dug a bit and score! An old Trek multi-tool had the correct socket to convert a 6mm hex key to an 8mm one. Not much leverage, but........what the hey! 

 

There were miles and miles of fresh gravel out there.

Well, I had nothing to lose here. Either the square taper was toast and my efforts would be shown to be fruitless, in which case I'd be heading home sooner than later, or I would get in some kind of ride. Maybe. The cases of loose left crank arms being tightened and staying tight after having been ridden loose are few. I had not much hope, but why not give it a try? 

I torqued it on as well as I could, took off, and checked on the tightness about every two miles. I figured that with the high effort required to go against the 26mph headwinds, I would either find a loose crank arm real soon or be okay. The first check? Passed. The next? Passed again. I continued onward, but I was amazed that the crank arm had not come even a little bit loose with all the high torque I was putting into it. Checked again, passed. So, I figured on getting to Quarry Road, stopping at the bridge there, and doing one final check using the wrench and then coming home with the wind at my back. After turning around, I figured the crank force would be reduced greatly and I'd make it home no problem.

At the turnaround point. Crank checked out okay.

I reached the turn around point, broke out the tools to double check the crank bolt, and I discovered a combination 5mm/6mm hex key that would work to allow me to get even more leverage than I could with the multi-tool. So I fitted the 8mm adapter and reefed on the wrench and turned it a little bit more. So, it never got looser than I had it, but I was able to tighten it some more. Awesome! That never happens with a loose crank arm that's been ridden. Of course, it still could be bad, but at least I got my ride in. 

A farmer making wind rows the old fashioned way. 

 

The wind at my back was amazing on the ride back. I was flying! Even though the gravel was deep and chunky, the ol' bike was rolling pretty well. I made it back to the truck with no further incident. It ended up that trying to tighten the crank arm and to try to get a ride in was the correct decision, this time. But I am still amazed that I got that crank arm to stick with all the hard pedaling I had to do. 

Now I'll pull that arm, inspect it, and if it looks alright, I'll torque it on with a proper torque wrench and see how it goes. Worst case scenario I have to go to another crank set. I think I'll live through this!

Fall Views: Field Serviced

At least it was a win!

This past weekend was an odd one due to my son's football game being an away game and in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This threw off my entire biological clock, I tell ya. I was way out of whack until later on Sunday. All that nonsense I used to do in my youth never helped me now, I know that much! Anyway, after eating very late Friday, then getting to  sleep on what amounted to early Saturday morning, I was pretty much out of commission in terms of getting anything significant done on Saturday proper. 

But I did ride a bicycle. I just kept it in town and ran a bunch of side streets and recreational trail. Something to break up the constant diet of gravel road riding. Plus I needed exercise and to clear out the cobwebs from my brain from Friday's goofy schedule. It worked. The plan then was to do a bunch of new-to-me roads on Sunday. 

Of course, well made plans sometimes get derailed and my Sunday plans were no different. I woke up to a day of pretty brutal Southeasterly winds and my right knee felt tweaked a bit, for some odd reason. So, I wasn't real set on my plan going into it, and especially so since I was using the opportunity to test some WTB tires I had on the Black Mountain Cycles Orange Crush rig. See, big wind + single speed = not a long ride. Maybe. I would see what I could pull off. 

Due to the direction of the winds, and my reconsideration of what I maybe should be trying, I nixed the plans to bag more roads on my quest and just did a nice out-and-back. I just wanted to get several miles into the wind, then turn around and get the benefits of my labor. The starting point was Prairie Grove Park, since I didn't want to burn half my matches in just the getting to gravel. 

A horse pauses from its grazing to consider this strange humanoid/machine apparition.

The sky still looks odd here due to the Western fires.

The first pedal strokes from the car park were a reminder that the left pedal needs attention on the Orange Crush. I thought the pedal was worn out because it felt like my foot was slipping backward and forward as the crank arm rotated and I could discern a stopping point. It was as if the cleat was slightly too small for the clipping mechanism or, more likely, that mechanism was very worn. I mean, I don't think I've purchased new clipless pedals in over 20 years. 

See, as a bicycle mechanic, you end up with extra sets of pedals. People swap out to newer stuff, higher end stuff, or they go back to flat pedals. Many do not want the old pedals and they give them to you. This has happened to me enough times that I have every bike that I want set up with clipless pedals set up with them, and I have pedals to spare. But don't get too envious. These are not anything great, They are base level pedals from Shimano, for the most part, and are beat to hell and back.Thus my suspicions about the left pedal on this bike. It was entirely possible it was shot. 

There is a small flock of birds in flight in this image.

Filling the bins.

Well, as I got going I was super annoyed by this loose feeling pedal, or so I thought it was my pedal. I looked down at just the right time and I thought I saw the crank arm move! What?! Not good here! So, I immediately stopped to more closely inspect things. 

Well, it was bad news. My left crank arm wasn't just a little loose, it was really loose! Had I ruined the square taper? Dang it! My initial thought was to just roll back gently to the truck and bail on the whole ride, but....... Wait a minute. I had tools. Did I have an 8mm hex key? I dug out my tool roll. There was a good chance that I would have the tool, because this bike is pretty much my "Survive The Apocalypse Bike™". I had stocked it with more stuff than I would normally have on board some of my other bikes. I dug a bit and score! An old Trek multi-tool had the correct socket to convert a 6mm hex key to an 8mm one. Not much leverage, but........what the hey! 

 

There were miles and miles of fresh gravel out there.

Well, I had nothing to lose here. Either the square taper was toast and my efforts would be shown to be fruitless, in which case I'd be heading home sooner than later, or I would get in some kind of ride. Maybe. The cases of loose left crank arms being tightened and staying tight after having been ridden loose are few. I had not much hope, but why not give it a try? 

I torqued it on as well as I could, took off, and checked on the tightness about every two miles. I figured that with the high effort required to go against the 26mph headwinds, I would either find a loose crank arm real soon or be okay. The first check? Passed. The next? Passed again. I continued onward, but I was amazed that the crank arm had not come even a little bit loose with all the high torque I was putting into it. Checked again, passed. So, I figured on getting to Quarry Road, stopping at the bridge there, and doing one final check using the wrench and then coming home with the wind at my back. After turning around, I figured the crank force would be reduced greatly and I'd make it home no problem.

At the turnaround point. Crank checked out okay.

I reached the turn around point, broke out the tools to double check the crank bolt, and I discovered a combination 5mm/6mm hex key that would work to allow me to get even more leverage than I could with the multi-tool. So I fitted the 8mm adapter and reefed on the wrench and turned it a little bit more. So, it never got looser than I had it, but I was able to tighten it some more. Awesome! That never happens with a loose crank arm that's been ridden. Of course, it still could be bad, but at least I got my ride in. 

A farmer making wind rows the old fashioned way. 

 

The wind at my back was amazing on the ride back. I was flying! Even though the gravel was deep and chunky, the ol' bike was rolling pretty well. I made it back to the truck with no further incident. It ended up that trying to tighten the crank arm and to try to get a ride in was the correct decision, this time. But I am still amazed that I got that crank arm to stick with all the hard pedaling I had to do. 

Now I'll pull that arm, inspect it, and if it looks alright, I'll torque it on with a proper torque wrench and see how it goes. Worst case scenario I have to go to another crank set. I think I'll live through this!