Snow Commuter Fun

<==The View: Lots of blindingly white terrain on the commute lately. This is just outside the back door of the shop.

The commute to work has been totally transformed of late. The weekend ice got rained on, then snowed on effectively laying down a crust so strong and tacky that it's like running your bike on a nicely groomed trail. Well........it's almost like that!

There still are the streets, the parking lots, and the patches of open glare ice that are a bit sketchy. I just aired down the tires and went for it. I really, really try to avoid the studded tires at all costs because they roll so terribly slow. I just can not bring my self to mount those pigs up.

Notice the light. It is the Blackburn Voyager 4. Gotta have it on now after work if it is overcast. It gets really dark at 4:00pm now if the sun is obscured from view.




<== The analog air temperature reading device on board the Pofahl single speed reading a sub 20 degree temperature.

Yes, the commutes have been chilly of late too. This is waaaaay too early for the really cold stuff to come. We get close to 30 degrees in the afternoons, so at least the ride home is better.

I just hope it either stays this cold or that it warms up enough to melt this crap off. In between will ruin the nice crust and make the ride even slower. I can traverse the snow plowed piles right now as if I'm going up over rocks. This is very unusual since your generally have to dismount and walk over that type of frozen snow. It usually is the consistency of thick mud. Not ride able. I like it this way far better!





<===The "melt area" inside the shop where we leave our commuters to shed the days grime, grit, and frozen crap.

The tires I'm riding now are perfect for the conditions. The Schwalbe Racing Ralph is so compliant that it follows irregularities in the icy surface like foot prints and ruts giving me Velcro like traction in the rear. Up front the proven WTB WeirWolf LT is very grippy too. The casing is a bit stiffer though. The Ralph is bouncy and a bit squirmy at 25psi. I think off road low pressure for this tire and my weight is going to be closer to 30psi. In contrast I can comfortably run a WeirWolf at the low 20's in the rear and slightly below 20 psi in front. After riding this Ralph I wouldn't dream of going lower in back and I think 25psi front will be the bottom end for this tire off road.

It'll be awhile before that happens though. It looks as if more snow is coming, so off road riding will probably be replaced by XC skiing, if the predictions com true for us. We'll see. For now I'll have one more day of fun snow commuting at least. I better enjoy it!

Just Ride

I think it must be the off season or something, but I have noticed that a lot of folks are on line trying to figure stuff out. You know, like geometry of bikes, how to train for things, and how to ride in the cold. I've got a suggestion: Go for a ride.

Here is the thing, there is this innerweb that provides us with a portal to information. Now it takes what........three seconds and you are neck deep in information on whatever subject your heart desires. Lets keep it on bikes here though! So, you get sucked in, and before you know it, you are probably more confused than when you started and you've wasted several minutes, ( maybe even hours!) when you could have been doing something else. I would wager that you could have figured out a clothing system in that time, gotten it on, and been headed out the door for a ride. Or maybe you could have started a long overdue clean up of that bike of yours. Perhaps you could have gone down to the bike shop and test ridden that bike that you are asking about online and found out what you think of its geometry! (Novel ideas, I'm sure) Maybe you could have even been.........training! Whatever it is, it is better than sitting in front of this screen you are staring at.

I am as guilty as anybody. I suppose I should take my own medicine. Maybe I should just be quiet and hope you stay glued to this because I get paid for that part of my time here. But the thing is, in the long run I know you and I will be better off not sitting in front of this black hole. That much I am sure of. So, I'm riding as much as I can this winter. If I can't ride, I'm going to work on projects in The Lab, and if it snows a bunch, I'll XC ski. Whatever, I am not going to spend a bunch of my time here though looking at gobble-de-gook information and driving myself nuts. Nope! Not me!

Special T.I.V4 Related Notes: Due to the poor conditions of most of the states gravel roads, (ice skating rinks) the Trans Iowa Tune Up Ride that was to take place over in the Gilbert, Iowa area has been cancelled. Also, T.I.V4 recon that was to take place Thursday has been postponed to a later date. I'll post an update when something has been decided about the recon or on any upcoming training rides.

Just Ride

I think it must be the off season or something, but I have noticed that a lot of folks are on line trying to figure stuff out. You know, like geometry of bikes, how to train for things, and how to ride in the cold. I've got a suggestion: Go for a ride.

Here is the thing, there is this innerweb that provides us with a portal to information. Now it takes what........three seconds and you are neck deep in information on whatever subject your heart desires. Lets keep it on bikes here though! So, you get sucked in, and before you know it, you are probably more confused than when you started and you've wasted several minutes, ( maybe even hours!) when you could have been doing something else. I would wager that you could have figured out a clothing system in that time, gotten it on, and been headed out the door for a ride. Or maybe you could have started a long overdue clean up of that bike of yours. Perhaps you could have gone down to the bike shop and test ridden that bike that you are asking about online and found out what you think of its geometry! (Novel ideas, I'm sure) Maybe you could have even been.........training! Whatever it is, it is better than sitting in front of this screen you are staring at.

I am as guilty as anybody. I suppose I should take my own medicine. Maybe I should just be quiet and hope you stay glued to this because I get paid for that part of my time here. But the thing is, in the long run I know you and I will be better off not sitting in front of this black hole. That much I am sure of. So, I'm riding as much as I can this winter. If I can't ride, I'm going to work on projects in The Lab, and if it snows a bunch, I'll XC ski. Whatever, I am not going to spend a bunch of my time here though looking at gobble-de-gook information and driving myself nuts. Nope! Not me!

Special T.I.V4 Related Notes: Due to the poor conditions of most of the states gravel roads, (ice skating rinks) the Trans Iowa Tune Up Ride that was to take place over in the Gilbert, Iowa area has been cancelled. Also, T.I.V4 recon that was to take place Thursday has been postponed to a later date. I'll post an update when something has been decided about the recon or on any upcoming training rides.

Guitar Ted Productions 2007 Rearview: Part III

Time again to move forward with the rearward view! Part three of my year end retrospective on what has been happening here at Guitar Ted Productions is here. Check out Part I and Part II if you missed them.

Post Trans Iowa V3 was spent getting settled back into a groove at work. Mr 24 who had been my co-worker for nearly five years and co-conspirator on all the Trans Iowas was moving on to Ergon to pimp the green. He never really indicated that he would not be working with me anymore at that time, but I knew we had worked side by side for the last time. I hated to see him go because I have never had so much fun working with someone before in my life. On the other hand, it was fantastic to see him get what he had worked so hard to achieve and I am not the only one that thinks so. In the end I am very happy for him. No one deserves it more than he.

So, with the shop down to effectively one mechanic going into the busiest time of the season, I had to buckle down and everyday was a slog. Top that with getting ready for the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo and I wasn't getting a whole lot of riding done. The Ballyhoo was an idea concocted on the fly. It all started with a suggestion that we hold a 29"er meet-up here in the Mid-West. I based the idea off of George Wissel's "Meat Up" that he held in Vermont. I was thinking low key. Just hangin' out with maybe 20 other guys and riding. Drinking and eating, just like George's idea.

Well, one thing led to another quickly. Before I knew it, I had companies wanting in and my Crooked Cog Network leader wanting to make it a part of Twenty Nine Inches. I had been steadily writing for that site since the beginning of the year and things were taking off on that end too. More stuff was hitting Guitar Ted Productions door for testing, so I was having that to do as well.

At any rate, the Ballyhoo wasn't really officially "on" until March and we were going for a June date! Added to this the fact that Tim Grahl and I were the point men and we had absolutely zero experience in putting on any festival and you can see the lunacy in this plan.



Well, as the days approached for the festival we were sweating details and wondering about the turnout. Weather was a concern and it rained heavily before the event. The sun only was forecast to be out in fitful bursts throughout the weekend. It was what it was, and we went forwards anyway.

As it turned out, we were sorely disappointed in the turnout. We didn't get anywhere near what we had hoped for in terms of numbers. Tim and I felt like we had let a lot of people down. We did get some encouraging words from the manufacturers present that were showing bikes. We got some raves from those that did show up. We all had a pretty good time, I think. Well, good enough that we decided to get this up and running again for 2008. We are shooting for June 21st and 22nd as the dates this time. We'll see if we can put together a better promotional package and get more folks out this time. But this isn't about the future! Back to the "rearview"!

I must say that through all of that experience Tim and I were so blown away by the people involved behind the scenes. People like Rich Gosen, Jeff O'Gara, All the Decorah Parks and Recreation folks, T-Bocks Bar and Grill, Decorah Bicycles guys, all the guys and gals at Salsa Cycles, Gary Fisher Bikes, Raleigh Bicycles, Niner Bikes, Titus Bikes , SlingShot Bikes , and all the other companies that showed bicycles. We were surprised that anybody like this wanted to be a part of the Ballyhoo. Thanks!

That takes us up through June. If the first part of the year sounded busy, you ain't seen nothin' yet! I had the Guitar Ted Death Ride yet to do, Interbike, and a whole bunch o repairs for RAGBRAI. Stay tuned for part IV !

Guitar Ted Productions 2007 Rearview: Part III

Time again to move forward with the rearward view! Part three of my year end retrospective on what has been happening here at Guitar Ted Productions is here. Check out Part I and Part II if you missed them.

Post Trans Iowa V3 was spent getting settled back into a groove at work. Mr 24 who had been my co-worker for nearly five years and co-conspirator on all the Trans Iowas was moving on to Ergon to pimp the green. He never really indicated that he would not be working with me anymore at that time, but I knew we had worked side by side for the last time. I hated to see him go because I have never had so much fun working with someone before in my life. On the other hand, it was fantastic to see him get what he had worked so hard to achieve and I am not the only one that thinks so. In the end I am very happy for him. No one deserves it more than he.

So, with the shop down to effectively one mechanic going into the busiest time of the season, I had to buckle down and everyday was a slog. Top that with getting ready for the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo and I wasn't getting a whole lot of riding done. The Ballyhoo was an idea concocted on the fly. It all started with a suggestion that we hold a 29"er meet-up here in the Mid-West. I based the idea off of George Wissel's "Meat Up" that he held in Vermont. I was thinking low key. Just hangin' out with maybe 20 other guys and riding. Drinking and eating, just like George's idea.

Well, one thing led to another quickly. Before I knew it, I had companies wanting in and my Crooked Cog Network leader wanting to make it a part of Twenty Nine Inches. I had been steadily writing for that site since the beginning of the year and things were taking off on that end too. More stuff was hitting Guitar Ted Productions door for testing, so I was having that to do as well.

At any rate, the Ballyhoo wasn't really officially "on" until March and we were going for a June date! Added to this the fact that Tim Grahl and I were the point men and we had absolutely zero experience in putting on any festival and you can see the lunacy in this plan.



Well, as the days approached for the festival we were sweating details and wondering about the turnout. Weather was a concern and it rained heavily before the event. The sun only was forecast to be out in fitful bursts throughout the weekend. It was what it was, and we went forwards anyway.

As it turned out, we were sorely disappointed in the turnout. We didn't get anywhere near what we had hoped for in terms of numbers. Tim and I felt like we had let a lot of people down. We did get some encouraging words from the manufacturers present that were showing bikes. We got some raves from those that did show up. We all had a pretty good time, I think. Well, good enough that we decided to get this up and running again for 2008. We are shooting for June 21st and 22nd as the dates this time. We'll see if we can put together a better promotional package and get more folks out this time. But this isn't about the future! Back to the "rearview"!

I must say that through all of that experience Tim and I were so blown away by the people involved behind the scenes. People like Rich Gosen, Jeff O'Gara, All the Decorah Parks and Recreation folks, T-Bocks Bar and Grill, Decorah Bicycles guys, all the guys and gals at Salsa Cycles, Gary Fisher Bikes, Raleigh Bicycles, Niner Bikes, Titus Bikes , SlingShot Bikes , and all the other companies that showed bicycles. We were surprised that anybody like this wanted to be a part of the Ballyhoo. Thanks!

That takes us up through June. If the first part of the year sounded busy, you ain't seen nothin' yet! I had the Guitar Ted Death Ride yet to do, Interbike, and a whole bunch o repairs for RAGBRAI. Stay tuned for part IV !

Oh Yeah........It's Icy!!

In case you were wondering, my "sandy" sleet melded into a sheet of ice overnight. The first step is a doozy, as they say, and I went for a doozy of a fall down my front steps. First thing out the door on Sunday too. I landed right on my right forearm and slid all the way down to the sidewalk. Ouch!

Thought I might have landed hard enough to do some damage but I'm just banged up. I'm missing a little piece off the top layer of my skin there, that's all. That was through three layers of clothing!

So, my plans to do a little ride were put off until later to see if I was all right or not. Then, we had quite a squall around 11:00am. So, I put it off until after lunch. Well, by this time my wife was having none of me going out on the ice, so I didn't push the issue.

I see that ol' Blue is still running about though, and while reading about his exploits I saw a mention of his desire to put on a little fun winter time cyclo-cross race on ice and snow. I hope he does it, because I spent some of Sunday throwing together a bike for it! Studded tires and all. Well, no pressure on him. If he doesn't do this I'll still get out and ride this old rig any way, just for the fun of it. I'd like to swap out the handle bar and stem yet, so I'm not quite there, but soon!

Maybe what I really need is one of these steeds so if I get lost out in Hartman Reserve I can start my own campfire! I still can't get over a bike that carries white gas in its frame tubes. Crazy stuff! The right tool for that job though, I suppose.

If we have all of this ice, snow, and freezing temperatures already, this may turn out to be a long, dreary winter. I have some nice new trails to consider for next year though. I know a guy over in Prarie Du Chein that has uncovered a bunch of sweet single track right in his own backyard. He also has some killer gravel loops out that way. I guess I'm going to have to swing over there next year sometime for a taste. Looks fantastic.

Okay, it's looking like another day without the bike! Schools delayed two hours, sub 10 degree temps, and ice all over the streets. It's all conspiring against my demented plan to ride my bicycle! Well, there is always tomorrow, but then again......I see another storm taking aim at us! Ahhhh!!!! When will I get to ride again!

Heck, maybe it'll snow enough for XC skis and I won't have to worry about the bike for awhile!

Oh Yeah........It's Icy!!

In case you were wondering, my "sandy" sleet melded into a sheet of ice overnight. The first step is a doozy, as they say, and I went for a doozy of a fall down my front steps. First thing out the door on Sunday too. I landed right on my right forearm and slid all the way down to the sidewalk. Ouch!

Thought I might have landed hard enough to do some damage but I'm just banged up. I'm missing a little piece off the top layer of my skin there, that's all. That was through three layers of clothing!

So, my plans to do a little ride were put off until later to see if I was all right or not. Then, we had quite a squall around 11:00am. So, I put it off until after lunch. Well, by this time my wife was having none of me going out on the ice, so I didn't push the issue.

I see that ol' Blue is still running about though, and while reading about his exploits I saw a mention of his desire to put on a little fun winter time cyclo-cross race on ice and snow. I hope he does it, because I spent some of Sunday throwing together a bike for it! Studded tires and all. Well, no pressure on him. If he doesn't do this I'll still get out and ride this old rig any way, just for the fun of it. I'd like to swap out the handle bar and stem yet, so I'm not quite there, but soon!

Maybe what I really need is one of these steeds so if I get lost out in Hartman Reserve I can start my own campfire! I still can't get over a bike that carries white gas in its frame tubes. Crazy stuff! The right tool for that job though, I suppose.

If we have all of this ice, snow, and freezing temperatures already, this may turn out to be a long, dreary winter. I have some nice new trails to consider for next year though. I know a guy over in Prarie Du Chein that has uncovered a bunch of sweet single track right in his own backyard. He also has some killer gravel loops out that way. I guess I'm going to have to swing over there next year sometime for a taste. Looks fantastic.

Okay, it's looking like another day without the bike! Schools delayed two hours, sub 10 degree temps, and ice all over the streets. It's all conspiring against my demented plan to ride my bicycle! Well, there is always tomorrow, but then again......I see another storm taking aim at us! Ahhhh!!!! When will I get to ride again!

Heck, maybe it'll snow enough for XC skis and I won't have to worry about the bike for awhile!

Messy Weather

<==Something new this way rolls. The Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29"er is here.


It's sort of like sand on my sidewalk. Cold, slippery, white sand. I suppose you could call it sleet, but whatever it is it sucks for riding. Although I know some guys that did go out today.





I wasn't one of them. I stayed indoors today and tackled a few chores. Some things I needed to give attention to. The thing is, a Saturday with out riding is not natural for me, so I felt confined and restless all day. I did take some time out to play guitar at insanely loud volumes while the family was out to a movie, so that was a little fun during an otherwise dreary day.





Well, Captain Bob at least had some fun. He got to test out the new Schwalbe Racing Ralph today. I'll be posting more on it later, but there seems to be an issue with the width of it. Not as wide as we expected. Hmm........

Tomorrow is supposed to be wicked windy and I suppose this crap on the trails will be turning to a sheet of ice within the next few days. That'll put the kabosh on any testing for awhile. Maybe we'll get some warmer temps and it will clear up soon, who knows.

In the meantime be carefull out there folks.

Messy Weather

<==Something new this way rolls. The Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29"er is here.


It's sort of like sand on my sidewalk. Cold, slippery, white sand. I suppose you could call it sleet, but whatever it is it sucks for riding. Although I know some guys that did go out today.





I wasn't one of them. I stayed indoors today and tackled a few chores. Some things I needed to give attention to. The thing is, a Saturday with out riding is not natural for me, so I felt confined and restless all day. I did take some time out to play guitar at insanely loud volumes while the family was out to a movie, so that was a little fun during an otherwise dreary day.





Well, Captain Bob at least had some fun. He got to test out the new Schwalbe Racing Ralph today. I'll be posting more on it later, but there seems to be an issue with the width of it. Not as wide as we expected. Hmm........

Tomorrow is supposed to be wicked windy and I suppose this crap on the trails will be turning to a sheet of ice within the next few days. That'll put the kabosh on any testing for awhile. Maybe we'll get some warmer temps and it will clear up soon, who knows.

In the meantime be carefull out there folks.

Friday News and Views

East Coast Outdoor Demo? There is a possibility that an outdoor demo the likes of what Interbike has will be put on out on the East Coast next year. This is being reported this morning on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News website. What is more, the proposal being scrutinized by East Coast retailers now calls for one of the days of the demo to be open to consumers. This would be perhaps something similar to Sea Otter in that consumers would be not only able to see the merch up close, but also be able to ride it.

So far the plan is tentitively scheduled for October and would be held in Rhode Island to help draw from the major metropolitan areas on the Eastern Seaboard.

I thinl it's a great idea, coming right after Interbike, and gives the East coasters something to look forward to. The only thing I wonder is if it will draw off attendance to Interbike proper by retailers out there. Whatever......consumers should be stoked!

Upcoming Attractions: I have mentioned this earlier, but I will be posting some updates on the Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er soon. My feelings about this trail bike are really posistive, just so you know! I also will be working up some updates on the three sets of WTB tires with the help of Captain Bob soon. Finally, the Schwalbe Racing Ralphs should be here next week. All of this will be appearing on Twenty Nine Inches, so look over there for these updates and new arrivals.

Thread-a-licious! Disclaimer: I am a Twin Six Team member, (Why I have no idea, but they invited me.........really!) I was checking out all the new 2008 stuff from Twin Six and I am constantly blown away by these guys creativity and output. This is nuts! Please, do yourself a huge favor and check out the goods. They've even got a t-shirt designed by Jesse LaLonde, so how cool is that! The guys at Twin Six are even down with big wheels and work with some heavy hitters in the 29"er world, so they have The Guitar Ted Stamp Of Approval. Which means that Twin Six is totally safe to use while riding your 29"er and has been thoroughly tested here at the Guitar Ted Labratories for your peace of mind.

Allright, there's your Christmas gift suggestions right there! No need to go out and beat yerself up at the malls, this stuff is what you need to make your cycling folks smile 24-7/365. Getcher self sum!

Ifn' ya ain't afeard of the cold and snow, have yerself a merry little bike ride this weekend. Otherwise, good luck on your ride to nowhere indoors!

Friday News and Views

East Coast Outdoor Demo? There is a possibility that an outdoor demo the likes of what Interbike has will be put on out on the East Coast next year. This is being reported this morning on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News website. What is more, the proposal being scrutinized by East Coast retailers now calls for one of the days of the demo to be open to consumers. This would be perhaps something similar to Sea Otter in that consumers would be not only able to see the merch up close, but also be able to ride it.

So far the plan is tentitively scheduled for October and would be held in Rhode Island to help draw from the major metropolitan areas on the Eastern Seaboard.

I thinl it's a great idea, coming right after Interbike, and gives the East coasters something to look forward to. The only thing I wonder is if it will draw off attendance to Interbike proper by retailers out there. Whatever......consumers should be stoked!

Upcoming Attractions: I have mentioned this earlier, but I will be posting some updates on the Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er soon. My feelings about this trail bike are really posistive, just so you know! I also will be working up some updates on the three sets of WTB tires with the help of Captain Bob soon. Finally, the Schwalbe Racing Ralphs should be here next week. All of this will be appearing on Twenty Nine Inches, so look over there for these updates and new arrivals.

Thread-a-licious! Disclaimer: I am a Twin Six Team member, (Why I have no idea, but they invited me.........really!) I was checking out all the new 2008 stuff from Twin Six and I am constantly blown away by these guys creativity and output. This is nuts! Please, do yourself a huge favor and check out the goods. They've even got a t-shirt designed by Jesse LaLonde, so how cool is that! The guys at Twin Six are even down with big wheels and work with some heavy hitters in the 29"er world, so they have The Guitar Ted Stamp Of Approval. Which means that Twin Six is totally safe to use while riding your 29"er and has been thoroughly tested here at the Guitar Ted Labratories for your peace of mind.

Allright, there's your Christmas gift suggestions right there! No need to go out and beat yerself up at the malls, this stuff is what you need to make your cycling folks smile 24-7/365. Getcher self sum!

Ifn' ya ain't afeard of the cold and snow, have yerself a merry little bike ride this weekend. Otherwise, good luck on your ride to nowhere indoors!

Thursday News And Views

Trans Iowa Registration Update: As you all probably know by now, the T.I.V4 roster is complete. What you may not know is that the waiting list has swollen to over 30! Well over 30 in fact. The crazy thing is, most of those people stand a reasonable shot of getting in. By faith for sure, but still- if you are willing to train over the winter you might just get the call up around February or March. Then again, I could be entirely off base this time and everyone will hold their spot and show up to race...........not!

Who's First and a Retraction: The funny thing about we humans is that we like stories about history and who was first to do such-and-such. Some of us like those things so much we'll put ourselves in the story and make ourselves first. Something like this happened when Dirt Rag published a story by Don Cook about where 29"ers came from a couple of issues ago. Funny thing about that story is that it left out key elements regarding Wes Williams of Willits bikes and some other sundry bits that were highly important to the modern 29"er movement. So, enough folks complained that Dirt Rag published a "retraction" of sorts. They really didn't say they were wrong, but they did say there is "another version" of the story. Hrummph! What ever happened to investigative journalism? And another thing about retractions and corrections in print media: Ever notice how those sorts of things are buried in some unnoticeable corner with no headline? Hmm........

Big Fat Tires Are Cool! I like big fat tires and Captain Bob and I should be sporting some Schwalbe Racing Ralphs in a few days here. Looking beyond Schwalbes goofy model names, we have a 2.4" tire that is said to be so big and voluuminous that it may not fit into the back of many frames in existence now. With that in mind we have some 2.2" versions of the same model coming as well. This promises to be a great tire for our Mid-Western trails and a fantastic roller by all accounts. I am specifically going to look forward to slapping one on the front of my single speed device!

Snow, Ice, or Rain? The weather prognosticators are predicting a winter storm for our area this weekend and my locality is on the borderline between wet or frozen precipitation. I suppose if I had a choice I would vote for the snow. Ice ruins our riding around here. It would certainly put the riding season into a screeching halt until warmer weather melted the ice. I suppose I could hope for rain, but we are on the doorstep of December here, so I'm trying to be realistic about this!

Vote Your Preferances! There are a couple places asking for opinions that I think the industry will take note of, so I wanted to point out your opportunity to be heard. The first is at Salsa Cycles Amigos Blog where the question is, "Would you buy a high end mechanical disc brake?" Click over and leave a comment if you would. The other place is at Twenty Nine Inches where you can leave your comment regarding what you think a cool 29"er product intro would be. Let the industry hear your voice! Do the democratic, American thing.......Vote Today!

Thursday News And Views

Trans Iowa Registration Update: As you all probably know by now, the T.I.V4 roster is complete. What you may not know is that the waiting list has swollen to over 30! Well over 30 in fact. The crazy thing is, most of those people stand a reasonable shot of getting in. By faith for sure, but still- if you are willing to train over the winter you might just get the call up around February or March. Then again, I could be entirely off base this time and everyone will hold their spot and show up to race...........not!

Who's First and a Retraction: The funny thing about we humans is that we like stories about history and who was first to do such-and-such. Some of us like those things so much we'll put ourselves in the story and make ourselves first. Something like this happened when Dirt Rag published a story by Don Cook about where 29"ers came from a couple of issues ago. Funny thing about that story is that it left out key elements regarding Wes Williams of Willits bikes and some other sundry bits that were highly important to the modern 29"er movement. So, enough folks complained that Dirt Rag published a "retraction" of sorts. They really didn't say they were wrong, but they did say there is "another version" of the story. Hrummph! What ever happened to investigative journalism? And another thing about retractions and corrections in print media: Ever notice how those sorts of things are buried in some unnoticeable corner with no headline? Hmm........

Big Fat Tires Are Cool! I like big fat tires and Captain Bob and I should be sporting some Schwalbe Racing Ralphs in a few days here. Looking beyond Schwalbes goofy model names, we have a 2.4" tire that is said to be so big and voluuminous that it may not fit into the back of many frames in existence now. With that in mind we have some 2.2" versions of the same model coming as well. This promises to be a great tire for our Mid-Western trails and a fantastic roller by all accounts. I am specifically going to look forward to slapping one on the front of my single speed device!

Snow, Ice, or Rain? The weather prognosticators are predicting a winter storm for our area this weekend and my locality is on the borderline between wet or frozen precipitation. I suppose if I had a choice I would vote for the snow. Ice ruins our riding around here. It would certainly put the riding season into a screeching halt until warmer weather melted the ice. I suppose I could hope for rain, but we are on the doorstep of December here, so I'm trying to be realistic about this!

Vote Your Preferances! There are a couple places asking for opinions that I think the industry will take note of, so I wanted to point out your opportunity to be heard. The first is at Salsa Cycles Amigos Blog where the question is, "Would you buy a high end mechanical disc brake?" Click over and leave a comment if you would. The other place is at Twenty Nine Inches where you can leave your comment regarding what you think a cool 29"er product intro would be. Let the industry hear your voice! Do the democratic, American thing.......Vote Today!

Guitar Ted Productions 2007 Rearview: Part II

Continuing on with the story here........ If you missed the first part, check it out here.

Sea Otter 2007 will go down as the show where 29"ers crossed over from weird niche to legitimate mountain bikes, on par with 26"ers. Companies like Mavic, Fox, and Specialized showed their 29"er wares first here or at the Trek/Fisher Press Camp just days before. In my mind this was a huge deal for 29"ers and I was honored to be a tiny bystander when it happened.

Sea Otter was also cool from the "hanging out" standpoint. Industry people seemed a lot less rushed and were motivated to just chill out with unknown media scribes such as myself. I think I bought three meals the entire week I was there! Anyway, if you are reading this and you were one of those peeps that hung out with me, I say "Thanks!" It meant a lot to me and made the trip far better than I could ever imagined it.

After the goings on out in California I didn't get any rest. I had an event to put on called Trans Iowa! Version three was on tap and due to my partner in crime's recent hiring by some company fond of neon green, I had to do most of the pre-race prep myself. Stress reached critical levels when it was discovered that my cue sheets were incorrectly done due to some proof reading errors. I had to redo 100 sets of cue sheets by my self in three days! My whole family got involved at one point with my six year old daughter and then three year old son helping stuff race bags. Crazy stuff!



<===An unidentified Trans Iowa rider crossing a portion of flooded gravel on Day 2 of Trans Iowa V3.

The event itself was a mix of highs and lows for me. I was brought pretty low by the 30 plus no-shows and by the fact that some of the roads were flooded and I didn't know about it. The cue sheets, even after my last minute efforts to clean them up, were still off and confusing in spots. The fact that I had to slog it out for up to 40 hours without sleep was a big downer too. I'm sure I took a few years off my life there! But finally, there was one person who shall remain nameless that really soured me after the event and almost killed any passion I had for doing it again. Fortunately, that didn't happen!

There were a lot of great things about Trans Iowa this year though that helped to overshadow the negative bits. Great weather brought out the best in the field and we had a record number of finishers. Lots of pats on the back and thank yous made the efforts seem worthwhile. The smiles and laughter at the finish line were like gold to me. Team Polska brought a smile to a lot of peoples faces. Running around with author Zach Dundas was a life saver! (Thanks Zach!) And of course the people involved were a big plus. Especially my small volunteer crew which made everything possible. To you I can not repay what you have done!

After the Trans Iowa endurance event was put to bed, I had another big task: The first Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. That'll figure into the next "rearview" post Stay Tuned!

Guitar Ted Productions 2007 Rearview: Part II

Continuing on with the story here........ If you missed the first part, check it out here.

Sea Otter 2007 will go down as the show where 29"ers crossed over from weird niche to legitimate mountain bikes, on par with 26"ers. Companies like Mavic, Fox, and Specialized showed their 29"er wares first here or at the Trek/Fisher Press Camp just days before. In my mind this was a huge deal for 29"ers and I was honored to be a tiny bystander when it happened.

Sea Otter was also cool from the "hanging out" standpoint. Industry people seemed a lot less rushed and were motivated to just chill out with unknown media scribes such as myself. I think I bought three meals the entire week I was there! Anyway, if you are reading this and you were one of those peeps that hung out with me, I say "Thanks!" It meant a lot to me and made the trip far better than I could ever imagined it.

After the goings on out in California I didn't get any rest. I had an event to put on called Trans Iowa! Version three was on tap and due to my partner in crime's recent hiring by some company fond of neon green, I had to do most of the pre-race prep myself. Stress reached critical levels when it was discovered that my cue sheets were incorrectly done due to some proof reading errors. I had to redo 100 sets of cue sheets by my self in three days! My whole family got involved at one point with my six year old daughter and then three year old son helping stuff race bags. Crazy stuff!



<===An unidentified Trans Iowa rider crossing a portion of flooded gravel on Day 2 of Trans Iowa V3.

The event itself was a mix of highs and lows for me. I was brought pretty low by the 30 plus no-shows and by the fact that some of the roads were flooded and I didn't know about it. The cue sheets, even after my last minute efforts to clean them up, were still off and confusing in spots. The fact that I had to slog it out for up to 40 hours without sleep was a big downer too. I'm sure I took a few years off my life there! But finally, there was one person who shall remain nameless that really soured me after the event and almost killed any passion I had for doing it again. Fortunately, that didn't happen!

There were a lot of great things about Trans Iowa this year though that helped to overshadow the negative bits. Great weather brought out the best in the field and we had a record number of finishers. Lots of pats on the back and thank yous made the efforts seem worthwhile. The smiles and laughter at the finish line were like gold to me. Team Polska brought a smile to a lot of peoples faces. Running around with author Zach Dundas was a life saver! (Thanks Zach!) And of course the people involved were a big plus. Especially my small volunteer crew which made everything possible. To you I can not repay what you have done!

After the Trans Iowa endurance event was put to bed, I had another big task: The first Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. That'll figure into the next "rearview" post Stay Tuned!

UST, Tubeless, Tubeless Ready......Help!

<===Geax is said to be getting their tubeless ready version of the Saguaro tested for UST approval. Look for it to be available soon.

Used to be that when you said "UST" that you were talking about a 26"er tire that you could mount on a UST rim and air up with no sealant. That's it, just like a car tire. Now things are a bit more complicated thanks to the advent of tubeless systems for 29"ers.

At the time of this writing their are no tires that are designed to hold air without sealant or a tube available in 29"er sizes. (Although I have gotten a Bontrager Tubeless Ready Dry X to do just this for a 24 hour period) Why is that? It is because of how a UST tire designed to work without sealant is made.



<===Bontrager Dry X Tubeless Ready Tires sans the AR casing reinforcement weigh below 600 grams a piece. Way below 600 grams!

A tubeless tire designed to work without sealant needs an extra layer of butyl rubber over the inner casing to prevent leakdown after inflation. This adds a lot of weight to a tire. In a 29"er size, a tubeless tire with this extra layer would weigh in at a mark not acceptable to most riders plus it would cost more. This is probably the best reason why you will see the majority, if not all, the 29"er tubeless tires being marketed as "tubeless ready" tires needing sealant to make them work.

Hutchinson was just recently awarded UST status for their tubeless ready concept Python 29"er tire, a tire needing sealant to work. How can it be UST, you ask? Well, many folks may not realize this, but UST has a lot more to do with the standards of rim hook/tire bead interfaces than it does with whether or not you would need sealant to make the tire hold air. Basically it is a standard that indicates the tire with UST approval and a rim with UST approval are safe to use sans tube. How the tire holds air can be accomplished in two ways: with a butyl rubber layer or sealant. Thus you will start seeing Hutchinson Python 29"er tubeless ready tires being marketed as UST.



<==Continental supposedly will release the Mountain King and Mud Queen tires in 29"er sizes in both standard and tubeless ready versions. Hmm......we wonders why, yesss my precious, we wonders!

It would seem to me then that any 29"er tire released from this point on should be tubeless ready. Why not? Get the bead interface to work as a tubeless tire would and use a standard casing. If sealant is used with the proper rim, then you could have a tubeless tire too. Tubed or not tubed, both in one tire. In fact, Geax is pursuing this very thing and calling it "TnT". (Tube no Tube) Brilliant!

I'd go so far as to say that the industry should drop wire beaded tires all together, with the possible exception of OEM tires. Why not? Get all the features anybody could generally want in one format and be done with it. Tires are going to become much more expensive due to high oil prices, so one tire that could go both ways will be seen as a smart buy by consumers too. It won't have to weigh anymore than current tires either. A win/win situation if I ever saw one.

So, look for your tubeless ready tires in 29"er sizes soon. Some will say "UST" and some won't. If you get confused, don't worry, you can always use a tube!

UST, Tubeless, Tubeless Ready......Help!

<===Geax is said to be getting their tubeless ready version of the Saguaro tested for UST approval. Look for it to be available soon.

Used to be that when you said "UST" that you were talking about a 26"er tire that you could mount on a UST rim and air up with no sealant. That's it, just like a car tire. Now things are a bit more complicated thanks to the advent of tubeless systems for 29"ers.

At the time of this writing their are no tires that are designed to hold air without sealant or a tube available in 29"er sizes. (Although I have gotten a Bontrager Tubeless Ready Dry X to do just this for a 24 hour period) Why is that? It is because of how a UST tire designed to work without sealant is made.



<===Bontrager Dry X Tubeless Ready Tires sans the AR casing reinforcement weigh below 600 grams a piece. Way below 600 grams!

A tubeless tire designed to work without sealant needs an extra layer of butyl rubber over the inner casing to prevent leakdown after inflation. This adds a lot of weight to a tire. In a 29"er size, a tubeless tire with this extra layer would weigh in at a mark not acceptable to most riders plus it would cost more. This is probably the best reason why you will see the majority, if not all, the 29"er tubeless tires being marketed as "tubeless ready" tires needing sealant to make them work.

Hutchinson was just recently awarded UST status for their tubeless ready concept Python 29"er tire, a tire needing sealant to work. How can it be UST, you ask? Well, many folks may not realize this, but UST has a lot more to do with the standards of rim hook/tire bead interfaces than it does with whether or not you would need sealant to make the tire hold air. Basically it is a standard that indicates the tire with UST approval and a rim with UST approval are safe to use sans tube. How the tire holds air can be accomplished in two ways: with a butyl rubber layer or sealant. Thus you will start seeing Hutchinson Python 29"er tubeless ready tires being marketed as UST.



<==Continental supposedly will release the Mountain King and Mud Queen tires in 29"er sizes in both standard and tubeless ready versions. Hmm......we wonders why, yesss my precious, we wonders!

It would seem to me then that any 29"er tire released from this point on should be tubeless ready. Why not? Get the bead interface to work as a tubeless tire would and use a standard casing. If sealant is used with the proper rim, then you could have a tubeless tire too. Tubed or not tubed, both in one tire. In fact, Geax is pursuing this very thing and calling it "TnT". (Tube no Tube) Brilliant!

I'd go so far as to say that the industry should drop wire beaded tires all together, with the possible exception of OEM tires. Why not? Get all the features anybody could generally want in one format and be done with it. Tires are going to become much more expensive due to high oil prices, so one tire that could go both ways will be seen as a smart buy by consumers too. It won't have to weigh anymore than current tires either. A win/win situation if I ever saw one.

So, look for your tubeless ready tires in 29"er sizes soon. Some will say "UST" and some won't. If you get confused, don't worry, you can always use a tube!

Guitar Ted Productions 2007 Rearview: Part I

Well, it is time for the annual look back over the shoulder at what was and how we got here. (How did we get here anyway?) Hmm.......and so fast!

Regardless of the speedy passage of time, here is the deal. I am going to post up a retrospective of where Guitar Ted Productions has been and where it is going throughout the month of December. (Wait! It's not even December yet!) Yeah, yeah.........I know! I figured I'd just get a head start on it, for cryin' out loud.

The year started out with a bit of uncertainty. I was coming into a fundamental change in my role as a blogger and Internet poster/time waster. Gee........things were so much simpler when I was just a plain ol' time wastin' internet troll........sigh! Uhhh..........anyway! Yeah, I was now at a point where my gig with Twenty Nine Inches was going to be stepping up to the plate and throwin' down some cabbage for my efforts. I was wondering where it would lead to and how it might affect this blog. Things have changed mightily, I might add!

The first significant event of the year was Frostbike. That annual dealer only show up at Quality Bicycle Products warehouse in the 'burbs of the Twin Cities. Of course, I got to see some good friends of mine from Salsa Cycles and Twin Six. (Twin Six World Domination Headquarters actually housed my carcass overnight! Thanks Brent!) Probably the highlight of that weekend though was the riding of the 36 inch wheeled bicycle belonging to Ben Witt of Milltown Cyclery. Since that first 36"er was built two more have come into existence. Pretty cool idea and the best smile inducing cycling product of 2007 by miles!

As a side note, I picked up my first set of Industry 9 hoops that weekend too. They were to go on a Secret Project bike which I announced on my blog about this time as well. Later on, another Secret Project bike was added to the hopper and the madness would continue on right up to this point.

The next big gig of 2007: Sea Otter. Yep! Plane trips, lost luggage, and hotel livin' for a week. Sounded kind of like a slog through a week of bicycle stuff, but it turned out to be anything but that. Trek/Fisher/Bontrager had a Press Camp up at Santa Cruz for two days prior to Sea Otter and what a blast! Besides getting the scoop on all the new products in the pipeline, I got to see Gary Fisher himself, and ride his prototype automatic shifting 27 speed commuter bike. I got to eat at Keith Bontragers house and scarf a meal made by Keith himself. I got to get lost with Trek and Bontrager product managers in a rental van in Santa Cruz. I got to get up on two wheels with new hire Michael Browne (late of Dirt Rag fame) in another rental van. I had my test bike wrenched on by SSWC and Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Travis Brown. Plus I poached some sweet trail at Nisene Marks on some cool Trek and Fisher mountain bikes. I could have quit the year right there, went home and had stories to last me until now. The thing is, it wasn't even the halfway point yet!

That's it for today. I'll continue on with the Sea Otter saga in another post. Look for that in a few days. I won't make ya'all suffer through my "rearview" everday!

Guitar Ted Productions 2007 Rearview: Part I

Well, it is time for the annual look back over the shoulder at what was and how we got here. (How did we get here anyway?) Hmm.......and so fast!

Regardless of the speedy passage of time, here is the deal. I am going to post up a retrospective of where Guitar Ted Productions has been and where it is going throughout the month of December. (Wait! It's not even December yet!) Yeah, yeah.........I know! I figured I'd just get a head start on it, for cryin' out loud.

The year started out with a bit of uncertainty. I was coming into a fundamental change in my role as a blogger and Internet poster/time waster. Gee........things were so much simpler when I was just a plain ol' time wastin' internet troll........sigh! Uhhh..........anyway! Yeah, I was now at a point where my gig with Twenty Nine Inches was going to be stepping up to the plate and throwin' down some cabbage for my efforts. I was wondering where it would lead to and how it might affect this blog. Things have changed mightily, I might add!

The first significant event of the year was Frostbike. That annual dealer only show up at Quality Bicycle Products warehouse in the 'burbs of the Twin Cities. Of course, I got to see some good friends of mine from Salsa Cycles and Twin Six. (Twin Six World Domination Headquarters actually housed my carcass overnight! Thanks Brent!) Probably the highlight of that weekend though was the riding of the 36 inch wheeled bicycle belonging to Ben Witt of Milltown Cyclery. Since that first 36"er was built two more have come into existence. Pretty cool idea and the best smile inducing cycling product of 2007 by miles!

As a side note, I picked up my first set of Industry 9 hoops that weekend too. They were to go on a Secret Project bike which I announced on my blog about this time as well. Later on, another Secret Project bike was added to the hopper and the madness would continue on right up to this point.

The next big gig of 2007: Sea Otter. Yep! Plane trips, lost luggage, and hotel livin' for a week. Sounded kind of like a slog through a week of bicycle stuff, but it turned out to be anything but that. Trek/Fisher/Bontrager had a Press Camp up at Santa Cruz for two days prior to Sea Otter and what a blast! Besides getting the scoop on all the new products in the pipeline, I got to see Gary Fisher himself, and ride his prototype automatic shifting 27 speed commuter bike. I got to eat at Keith Bontragers house and scarf a meal made by Keith himself. I got to get lost with Trek and Bontrager product managers in a rental van in Santa Cruz. I got to get up on two wheels with new hire Michael Browne (late of Dirt Rag fame) in another rental van. I had my test bike wrenched on by SSWC and Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Travis Brown. Plus I poached some sweet trail at Nisene Marks on some cool Trek and Fisher mountain bikes. I could have quit the year right there, went home and had stories to last me until now. The thing is, it wasn't even the halfway point yet!

That's it for today. I'll continue on with the Sea Otter saga in another post. Look for that in a few days. I won't make ya'all suffer through my "rearview" everday!

Taking It Easy

<==Some onlookers at the Camp seemed a bit interested in what I was up to on Saturday.

Had a couple of photos from yesterday, but only a couple. I wasn't too interested in digging through the pack, taking off the mitts, and shooting photos yesterday. Besides, I was too busy just trying to keep up. Seems like there may have been a good reason for feeling so flat yesterday.

Cold and flu season is here and, well........I think most of our family has the flu! Just to be clear, the flu isn't vomiting and diarrhea, although those can be symptoms of the flu. No, normally you are talking about headaches, body aches, lack of energy, and just generally feeling rotten, which is what three out of the four of us here are feeling today. Well, that explains alot for me, anyway, about yesterdays performance.




So today I just casually spun around the block with my son a few times and am resting up.

<===The HiFi Deluxe in the wild.

Hopefully I can get recovered enough to go at it again next weekend for a bit. I need to keep the riding time going as long as the weather holds back from being really nasty, windy, and frigid.

This week isn't looking like there will be much going on, which is good. Next week I have T.I.V4 recon scheduled for the 6th of December. d.p. and I will be slinking around the gravel corridors of North East Iowa to verify my course of doom for 100 lucky folks next April. Well, I'm sure that number will dwindle somewhat, but we have 100 now.

Until then, lots of fluids and rest..........................

Taking It Easy

<==Some onlookers at the Camp seemed a bit interested in what I was up to on Saturday.

Had a couple of photos from yesterday, but only a couple. I wasn't too interested in digging through the pack, taking off the mitts, and shooting photos yesterday. Besides, I was too busy just trying to keep up. Seems like there may have been a good reason for feeling so flat yesterday.

Cold and flu season is here and, well........I think most of our family has the flu! Just to be clear, the flu isn't vomiting and diarrhea, although those can be symptoms of the flu. No, normally you are talking about headaches, body aches, lack of energy, and just generally feeling rotten, which is what three out of the four of us here are feeling today. Well, that explains alot for me, anyway, about yesterdays performance.




So today I just casually spun around the block with my son a few times and am resting up.

<===The HiFi Deluxe in the wild.

Hopefully I can get recovered enough to go at it again next weekend for a bit. I need to keep the riding time going as long as the weather holds back from being really nasty, windy, and frigid.

This week isn't looking like there will be much going on, which is good. Next week I have T.I.V4 recon scheduled for the 6th of December. d.p. and I will be slinking around the gravel corridors of North East Iowa to verify my course of doom for 100 lucky folks next April. Well, I'm sure that number will dwindle somewhat, but we have 100 now.

Until then, lots of fluids and rest..........................

Turkey Burnin'

<==Alien Technology Revealed! The Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er.

Today was the Turkey Burn up at Camp Ingawanis. I met up with Captain Bob, Casey, Paul, and Jeremy for some fun on the frozen tundra of the Camp's trail system.

I was sportin' the new '08 Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er and I let everybody ride it. Really! If'n ya wasn't there, then ya missed out! I'll be posting my thoughts on the bike on Twenty Nine Inches, (where I've already got a bunch of images and info up already on this beast), but let me just say that all that rode it gave it a big thumbs up. That was kind of nice to see the reactions from the other guys. It validates my feelings about the G2 geometry and how Fisher '08 bikes are really dialed. I've always said that you can write thousands of words about a bicycle but you can't often understand it until you ride it. Some of the guys picked up on it immediately. Pretty cool!

Anyway, the ride was good. I got lost from the main group pretty much immediately since I was futzing with my booties which weren't allowing my clean entry into my clipless pedals. More knife work will be necessary, but not today. I ended up ditching the booties and risked freezing my toes, but at least I could ride. I finally got reunited with the group, but I wasn't riding all that well. Seems to be a common thing this fall. I haven't felt "on" with a group for months. I have had flashes of great sensations on the bike, even recently while riding to work, but today I was really flat.

Still, the HiFi was making riding easier and I had a lot of fun on it. However; I had to do a test run on the SE Racing Stout too. So, I switched out and took off up the service road climb. The Stout is a single speed and I was dreading the climbs, but I was feeling a bit more spunk in the legs now and kept up just fine. I got into the first section of trail and ate it hard on a leaf strewn corner heading downhill. I heard something snap. The ground was really hard. I stopped, rolled over and stood up. I could raise my arm over my head, so I was okay. Whew! It didn't sound good, but I was okay.

Captain Bob and I were both on single speeds and we decided that it was time to head home after hitting the flats for awhile. the rest of the guys decided to head back too to start trail work . The final service road climbs were tough, but I made them all without killing myself and having to stop to rest. I was riding better and I was on a single speed. Go figure.

The trails were great, fast, hard, and sketchy with deep leafy cover in some spots. This made some spots treacherous, but still doable. Frost flew up off our tires as we sped along the trails. It was a great early winter ride. Mission accomplished, I headed home with Captain Bob's Mamasita in tow to repair her brakes. (Done, by the way!) The good Capitan will be testing the SE Racing Stout for a bit now, so he took that rig home. It's all good.

Spent the rest of the day with my kids and wife. Hope your weekend goes great! Get out and ride.

Turkey Burnin'

<==Alien Technology Revealed! The Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er.

Today was the Turkey Burn up at Camp Ingawanis. I met up with Captain Bob, Casey, Paul, and Jeremy for some fun on the frozen tundra of the Camp's trail system.

I was sportin' the new '08 Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er and I let everybody ride it. Really! If'n ya wasn't there, then ya missed out! I'll be posting my thoughts on the bike on Twenty Nine Inches, (where I've already got a bunch of images and info up already on this beast), but let me just say that all that rode it gave it a big thumbs up. That was kind of nice to see the reactions from the other guys. It validates my feelings about the G2 geometry and how Fisher '08 bikes are really dialed. I've always said that you can write thousands of words about a bicycle but you can't often understand it until you ride it. Some of the guys picked up on it immediately. Pretty cool!

Anyway, the ride was good. I got lost from the main group pretty much immediately since I was futzing with my booties which weren't allowing my clean entry into my clipless pedals. More knife work will be necessary, but not today. I ended up ditching the booties and risked freezing my toes, but at least I could ride. I finally got reunited with the group, but I wasn't riding all that well. Seems to be a common thing this fall. I haven't felt "on" with a group for months. I have had flashes of great sensations on the bike, even recently while riding to work, but today I was really flat.

Still, the HiFi was making riding easier and I had a lot of fun on it. However; I had to do a test run on the SE Racing Stout too. So, I switched out and took off up the service road climb. The Stout is a single speed and I was dreading the climbs, but I was feeling a bit more spunk in the legs now and kept up just fine. I got into the first section of trail and ate it hard on a leaf strewn corner heading downhill. I heard something snap. The ground was really hard. I stopped, rolled over and stood up. I could raise my arm over my head, so I was okay. Whew! It didn't sound good, but I was okay.

Captain Bob and I were both on single speeds and we decided that it was time to head home after hitting the flats for awhile. the rest of the guys decided to head back too to start trail work . The final service road climbs were tough, but I made them all without killing myself and having to stop to rest. I was riding better and I was on a single speed. Go figure.

The trails were great, fast, hard, and sketchy with deep leafy cover in some spots. This made some spots treacherous, but still doable. Frost flew up off our tires as we sped along the trails. It was a great early winter ride. Mission accomplished, I headed home with Captain Bob's Mamasita in tow to repair her brakes. (Done, by the way!) The good Capitan will be testing the SE Racing Stout for a bit now, so he took that rig home. It's all good.

Spent the rest of the day with my kids and wife. Hope your weekend goes great! Get out and ride.

Black Friday? What?

Disclaimer: I am not a "shopper" in the typical sense of the word and therefore you can take this post with a grain of salt...........

So this day, the day after Thanksgiving, is now known as "Black Friday", huh? This is just another example of mindless consumerism and how many of us become "sheeple" and fall in line with the grinding wheels of marketing. The only thing "black" about today is the skies at the stores opening time.

Well, at least the news outlets will have plenty to talk about. If you care, they will be standing outside of the malls and shopping centers documenting the carnage which will be more chaotic than a LeMans run at Moab. Headlines will predict the fall or rise of modern civilization based upon the amount of dollars transacted over the course of today and this weekend. Weary soldiers laden with bags, boxes, and baggage will scuffle home nearly destroyed by trying to find that "perfect" gift. Well, they can find solace in the knowledge that they collectively kept several media folks jobs secure and greased the wheels of commerce for a short while. Me? I've got something better in mind.

Call me "un-American", but I'm not getting anywhere close to those dens of capitalism. I am spending time with my family and riding my bicycle in the woods tomorrow with like minded friends. I won't get covered in the news, I won't help further our great economy, and I won't be bringing home any shiny gadgets to sling under a tree. I will be smiling. I will be getting sweaty and breathing in some cool crisp air. I'll be riding my bike out in a natural setting and destressing. I'll be coming home to my family and laughing and having a great time. Well, that's the plan anyway.

They can have their plan, I'll take mine above theirs anyday, Black Friday or not!

Black Friday? What?

Disclaimer: I am not a "shopper" in the typical sense of the word and therefore you can take this post with a grain of salt...........

So this day, the day after Thanksgiving, is now known as "Black Friday", huh? This is just another example of mindless consumerism and how many of us become "sheeple" and fall in line with the grinding wheels of marketing. The only thing "black" about today is the skies at the stores opening time.

Well, at least the news outlets will have plenty to talk about. If you care, they will be standing outside of the malls and shopping centers documenting the carnage which will be more chaotic than a LeMans run at Moab. Headlines will predict the fall or rise of modern civilization based upon the amount of dollars transacted over the course of today and this weekend. Weary soldiers laden with bags, boxes, and baggage will scuffle home nearly destroyed by trying to find that "perfect" gift. Well, they can find solace in the knowledge that they collectively kept several media folks jobs secure and greased the wheels of commerce for a short while. Me? I've got something better in mind.

Call me "un-American", but I'm not getting anywhere close to those dens of capitalism. I am spending time with my family and riding my bicycle in the woods tomorrow with like minded friends. I won't get covered in the news, I won't help further our great economy, and I won't be bringing home any shiny gadgets to sling under a tree. I will be smiling. I will be getting sweaty and breathing in some cool crisp air. I'll be riding my bike out in a natural setting and destressing. I'll be coming home to my family and laughing and having a great time. Well, that's the plan anyway.

They can have their plan, I'll take mine above theirs anyday, Black Friday or not!

Happy Thanksgiving!

<==While you were traveling somewhere to eat yer self silly, I had to deal with this!

My package arrived and I couldn't wait. I tore into the cardboard and wrapping like an expectant boy at Christmas time opening a present. I lifted out the contents and may I say, I was pleased.

This should be a fun trip.

Look for more later................

In the meantime we got up to 100 folks entered in for some limestone goodness today. Two folks didn't make the cut and I'm sure a few more entries will show up late on Friday and Saturday. If they really want in, they should consider themselves in, since I'm quite sure more than a few will be dropping out come February and March. It happens every year. In fact, I'm predicting a sub 75 rider field by the start time on April 26th. That's money if you are the betting type. Me? Just being realistic.

The Turkey Burn is coming up Saturday. The weather is going to be decent and some good folks should be turning up for some post holiday riding shenanigans and trail work. Mark it down as a must do and join in the fun. I'll be there too. It's good for you and Iowa mountain biking. How can you lose? (Well.......I suppose you could smash yer digit, like Mr. 24 did!)

Okay, so have yourself a great holiday and don't eat yourself silly! Ride your bike instead!

Happy Thanksgiving!

<==While you were traveling somewhere to eat yer self silly, I had to deal with this!

My package arrived and I couldn't wait. I tore into the cardboard and wrapping like an expectant boy at Christmas time opening a present. I lifted out the contents and may I say, I was pleased.

This should be a fun trip.

Look for more later................

In the meantime we got up to 100 folks entered in for some limestone goodness today. Two folks didn't make the cut and I'm sure a few more entries will show up late on Friday and Saturday. If they really want in, they should consider themselves in, since I'm quite sure more than a few will be dropping out come February and March. It happens every year. In fact, I'm predicting a sub 75 rider field by the start time on April 26th. That's money if you are the betting type. Me? Just being realistic.

The Turkey Burn is coming up Saturday. The weather is going to be decent and some good folks should be turning up for some post holiday riding shenanigans and trail work. Mark it down as a must do and join in the fun. I'll be there too. It's good for you and Iowa mountain biking. How can you lose? (Well.......I suppose you could smash yer digit, like Mr. 24 did!)

Okay, so have yourself a great holiday and don't eat yourself silly! Ride your bike instead!

The Winter Commuter: 29"er Style

<==The '03 Karate Monkey pulls through it's fourth winter of duty.

This is my winter commuter, well.....actually it was my do everything bike! Now it's primary funtion will be winter commuting. Anyway, I have to get on the stick here and fix her up because the snow is on the way and the Monkey is in pieces.

Four winters and I thought, "Ya know, I probably should tear into this and take a look at how things are going." Well, it was about time, I'll tell ya that much! The bottom bracket is still seized up in the frame. No worries really. It's a UN-53 cartridge style BB and is smooth and knock free yet. However; I'd still like to break it free! The Cooks Brothers cranks need a new chainwheel, and that hidden chainring bolt is giving me fits. I'll have to take the spider off, but......you guessed it...the spider fixing bolt is stuck! Well, I've got a plan for that. I just have not gotten around to it yet.

So, a tear down, inspect the insides of the tubes on the frame, new headset, new cogs, and a new chain. Oh yeah! Did I mention that I robbed the brakes off of this for another project. No? Umm.......yeah........I'll be needing those too! Anyway, They will be disc units. Also, the Paul Word hubs/Alex TD-17 wheelset went to Captain Bob for a single speed project he has going on. I gave them to him since the bearings were feeling less than smooth in the hubs.



<==The "Chocolate Chip" wheel set

These are what I'm replacing the old wheel set with. Surly "Jim Brown" hubs laced to a custom powder coated Velocity Deep V pair of rims. The Deep V rims shouldn't collect a ton of snow in deeper drifts and I can run skinnys or fatties on them. 45mm studded tires or 2.1"s for slop. I'll still be going single speed, obviously.

I'll still have the drop bar set up too. Can't get away from my years of tweaking my posistion on this bike! I might even get a rack for the back of this one too. It would be nice to ditch the bags on my back everyday for a change. That's about it for the set up. Now I just have to get it completed!

I just realized that with these wheels and the Karate Monkey's Campstove Green paint it will sort of look like woodland camo. Hmm...........maybe I'll have to play off of that a bit with my components and accesories.

I'll be posting pictures of the completed rig hopefully soon. It's up on the front burner now!

The Winter Commuter: 29"er Style

<==The '03 Karate Monkey pulls through it's fourth winter of duty.

This is my winter commuter, well.....actually it was my do everything bike! Now it's primary funtion will be winter commuting. Anyway, I have to get on the stick here and fix her up because the snow is on the way and the Monkey is in pieces.

Four winters and I thought, "Ya know, I probably should tear into this and take a look at how things are going." Well, it was about time, I'll tell ya that much! The bottom bracket is still seized up in the frame. No worries really. It's a UN-53 cartridge style BB and is smooth and knock free yet. However; I'd still like to break it free! The Cooks Brothers cranks need a new chainwheel, and that hidden chainring bolt is giving me fits. I'll have to take the spider off, but......you guessed it...the spider fixing bolt is stuck! Well, I've got a plan for that. I just have not gotten around to it yet.

So, a tear down, inspect the insides of the tubes on the frame, new headset, new cogs, and a new chain. Oh yeah! Did I mention that I robbed the brakes off of this for another project. No? Umm.......yeah........I'll be needing those too! Anyway, They will be disc units. Also, the Paul Word hubs/Alex TD-17 wheelset went to Captain Bob for a single speed project he has going on. I gave them to him since the bearings were feeling less than smooth in the hubs.



<==The "Chocolate Chip" wheel set

These are what I'm replacing the old wheel set with. Surly "Jim Brown" hubs laced to a custom powder coated Velocity Deep V pair of rims. The Deep V rims shouldn't collect a ton of snow in deeper drifts and I can run skinnys or fatties on them. 45mm studded tires or 2.1"s for slop. I'll still be going single speed, obviously.

I'll still have the drop bar set up too. Can't get away from my years of tweaking my posistion on this bike! I might even get a rack for the back of this one too. It would be nice to ditch the bags on my back everyday for a change. That's about it for the set up. Now I just have to get it completed!

I just realized that with these wheels and the Karate Monkey's Campstove Green paint it will sort of look like woodland camo. Hmm...........maybe I'll have to play off of that a bit with my components and accesories.

I'll be posting pictures of the completed rig hopefully soon. It's up on the front burner now!