Friday News And Views

Yo! Wheel change here!

Leadville 100 Announces Riders To Get More Support:

There's a newsy bit out the other day saying that Mavic will have its famously yellow vehicles out on course supporting Leadville 100 riders. So, if you win the lottery to get into that event, maybe you can lighten your load now and not have to carry stuff to fix a flat tire anymore.

However that might work out for riders in reality, it was a certain comment about the proposal that I found very interesting. It came from a well respected mountain bike magazine's Twitter feed, and stated that this would send up Leadville's status to "a real race" level. Okay, that's a comment from a mountain bike magazine. Really?

I remember when mountain biking and self-sufficiency went hand in hand. Heck.....I can remember when all mtb events were accomplished on one bike! Boy.....we've come a long way away from that ideal! I'm cool with the different tools to get the different jobs done, but all the creeping in of things to make racing easier is really sucking the spirit of the sport out, in my opinion. Especially when it comes to mountain biking. Yep, it would not at all surprise me to see Mavic getting the nod to do neutral support at a gravel road racing event sometime in the future either. Maybe they already do here in the US. (No.....Strada Bianca doesn't count.)

Well, there's that.......

The idea of a variable speed crank isn't a new one

Wave Transmission: A New Bicycle Drive Train For The Future?

Bicycle innovation has been ongoing for well over 100 years now, and since there are many old ideas that weren't possible to produce due to manufacturing and materials technology limitations, we sometimes see things resurface. The idea for a variable speed crank without using multiple, fixed chain rings, isn't new, but it wasn't really possible to manufacture back a century ago. 

As an example, I got this e-mail the other day concerning a "new" transmission for cycling. It's a "proof of concept" exercise at this stage, so you'll have to look past the crude, industrial, "works" nature of the component, but click the video here and watch what this does. It is pretty crazy.

Some of you might remember the Browning Automatic, or as it is known now, SmartShift. This isn't like that, although they both claim some similar benefits. The Wave Transmission does its thing by an expanding sprocket. I cannot comment on exactly how the system works, because the fellow behind this is trying to sell the idea to a bigger company to have it produced. He's guarding his secrets until that time.

I gotta say that it is pretty cool, but I am not sure it has an application for much of the cycling I do. I also have to say that my first inclination was that something maybe not quite as "wide ranging" could be used in tandem with an internal gear hub or gear box set up. Changing the initial drive ratio slightly in tandem with 14 to 18 internal gears might become something interesting for several applications, like cargo bikes, ultimate touring fat bikes, and the like. 

Chris Holloway, a student at London's Brunel University, developed this variable ratio crankset in 2010

 Again, the above is not anything new, not as far as the concept goes. A bit of  "innergoogle" searching turned up another prototype by a student engineer from the UK. How long will it be before we see a variable ratio crank set without multiple chain rings? Well, we already have. 

Think about the Hammerschmidt, the Patterson crank, or the Schlumpf Speed Drive. All attempts at putting a variable ratio on a crank/bottom bracket without multiple chain wheels. Then you could even throw in the Pinion gear box system into this conversation, although it doesn't necessarily have to be a bottom bracket/crank mounted system. 

Will anything like these examples supplant the traditional multiple chain wheel/front derailleur set ups prevalent today? Will materials technologies and manufacturing processes become advanced enough that these alternative ways of driving a bicycle will become competitive in terms of efficiencies and weight?  

Well, that's the thing, innit? The derailleur drive train surely has the fewest moving parts, lightest weight, and highest efficiency of any of the alternatives. Maybe someday we'll see a takeover, but there is a pretty solid reason we've seen the drive trains the way they have been for so many decades, and it has nothing at all to do with marketing.

Gizmo alert! A Bell Super with a 360° camera?

Bell Introduces A New Integrated Camera/Helmet Concept: 360 FLY

You can't get it until Fall of this year, and no one knows exactly what it will cost, ("Expensive" would be a good guess), but this new helmet/camera product should be the wave of the future for active sports video capture fans. No more funky looking "box on the head" craziness. Or so it is hoped.

Okay, as a concept, I like this idea. It's streamlined, looks great, and makes a lot more sense than what passes for helmets and cameras these days. But the technology that this set up promises is radical. By the way, Bell is doing this on a MX motorcycle helmet, a road motorcycle helmet, a snow sports helemet, and this mountain biking version. I can't imagine that at some point a road cycling helmet option wouldn't be offered, but that isn't in the cards for now. Anyway, check out the list of what it is claimed to do:

• 360° perspective video capture
• Shoots video at 2880 X 2880 @ 30FPS
• Also Shoots Conventional 16 X 9 Video
• Developed In Conjunction With 360fly
• Uses 360fly's Mobile Ap To Stream Live Video To Social Media
• Built In GPS Sensor, Barometer, Altimeter, Accelerometer  
• WiFi and Bluetooth Enabled
• 2hrs Battery Life
• AutoPilot action tracking – Allows users to track and follow the main subjects in their videos, making it easy to create dynamic edits with the rider at the center of it all.
•  Collision Avoidance Alert – Senses and automatically notifies the rider of potential oncoming dangers that are outside the rider’s natural field of vision
•  Live Streaming -- For professional, commercial or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, the integrated camera pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream 

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. (<===HA!) No....I'll probably not be getting one of these, but I think you can expect to see the lowly bicycle helmet become a device sooner than later. In fact, just this week Garmin announced a HUD display unit that can be used with any eyewear you might have. Oh, and did you see that Nikon sports camera? Yeah......cyclists could end up looking like a rolling Robocop sooner than you think!

Now.......where did I leave that USB cord? I have to plug my helmet in for the night!

That's all for this week folks! Stay warm and roll those wheels when and where ya can!

Friday News And Views

Yo! Wheel change here!

Leadville 100 Announces Riders To Get More Support:

There's a newsy bit out the other day saying that Mavic will have its famously yellow vehicles out on course supporting Leadville 100 riders. So, if you win the lottery to get into that event, maybe you can lighten your load now and not have to carry stuff to fix a flat tire anymore.

However that might work out for riders in reality, it was a certain comment about the proposal that I found very interesting. It came from a well respected mountain bike magazine's Twitter feed, and stated that this would send up Leadville's status to "a real race" level. Okay, that's a comment from a mountain bike magazine. Really?

I remember when mountain biking and self-sufficiency went hand in hand. Heck.....I can remember when all mtb events were accomplished on one bike! Boy.....we've come a long way away from that ideal! I'm cool with the different tools to get the different jobs done, but all the creeping in of things to make racing easier is really sucking the spirit of the sport out, in my opinion. Especially when it comes to mountain biking. Yep, it would not at all surprise me to see Mavic getting the nod to do neutral support at a gravel road racing event sometime in the future either. Maybe they already do here in the US. (No.....Strada Bianca doesn't count.)

Well, there's that.......

The idea of a variable speed crank isn't a new one

Wave Transmission: A New Bicycle Drive Train For The Future?

Bicycle innovation has been ongoing for well over 100 years now, and since there are many old ideas that weren't possible to produce due to manufacturing and materials technology limitations, we sometimes see things resurface. The idea for a variable speed crank without using multiple, fixed chain rings, isn't new, but it wasn't really possible to manufacture back a century ago. 

As an example, I got this e-mail the other day concerning a "new" transmission for cycling. It's a "proof of concept" exercise at this stage, so you'll have to look past the crude, industrial, "works" nature of the component, but click the video here and watch what this does. It is pretty crazy.

Some of you might remember the Browning Automatic, or as it is known now, SmartShift. This isn't like that, although they both claim some similar benefits. The Wave Transmission does its thing by an expanding sprocket. I cannot comment on exactly how the system works, because the fellow behind this is trying to sell the idea to a bigger company to have it produced. He's guarding his secrets until that time.

I gotta say that it is pretty cool, but I am not sure it has an application for much of the cycling I do. I also have to say that my first inclination was that something maybe not quite as "wide ranging" could be used in tandem with an internal gear hub or gear box set up. Changing the initial drive ratio slightly in tandem with 14 to 18 internal gears might become something interesting for several applications, like cargo bikes, ultimate touring fat bikes, and the like. 

Chris Holloway, a student at London's Brunel University, developed this variable ratio crankset in 2010

 Again, the above is not anything new, not as far as the concept goes. A bit of  "innergoogle" searching turned up another prototype by a student engineer from the UK. How long will it be before we see a variable ratio crank set without multiple chain rings? Well, we already have. 

Think about the Hammerschmidt, the Patterson crank, or the Schlumpf Speed Drive. All attempts at putting a variable ratio on a crank/bottom bracket without multiple chain wheels. Then you could even throw in the Pinion gear box system into this conversation, although it doesn't necessarily have to be a bottom bracket/crank mounted system. 

Will anything like these examples supplant the traditional multiple chain wheel/front derailleur set ups prevalent today? Will materials technologies and manufacturing processes become advanced enough that these alternative ways of driving a bicycle will become competitive in terms of efficiencies and weight?  

Well, that's the thing, innit? The derailleur drive train surely has the fewest moving parts, lightest weight, and highest efficiency of any of the alternatives. Maybe someday we'll see a takeover, but there is a pretty solid reason we've seen the drive trains the way they have been for so many decades, and it has nothing at all to do with marketing.

Gizmo alert! A Bell Super with a 360° camera?

Bell Introduces A New Integrated Camera/Helmet Concept: 360 FLY

You can't get it until Fall of this year, and no one knows exactly what it will cost, ("Expensive" would be a good guess), but this new helmet/camera product should be the wave of the future for active sports video capture fans. No more funky looking "box on the head" craziness. Or so it is hoped.

Okay, as a concept, I like this idea. It's streamlined, looks great, and makes a lot more sense than what passes for helmets and cameras these days. But the technology that this set up promises is radical. By the way, Bell is doing this on a MX motorcycle helmet, a road motorcycle helmet, a snow sports helemet, and this mountain biking version. I can't imagine that at some point a road cycling helmet option wouldn't be offered, but that isn't in the cards for now. Anyway, check out the list of what it is claimed to do:

• 360° perspective video capture
• Shoots video at 2880 X 2880 @ 30FPS
• Also Shoots Conventional 16 X 9 Video
• Developed In Conjunction With 360fly
• Uses 360fly's Mobile Ap To Stream Live Video To Social Media
• Built In GPS Sensor, Barometer, Altimeter, Accelerometer  
• WiFi and Bluetooth Enabled
• 2hrs Battery Life
• AutoPilot action tracking – Allows users to track and follow the main subjects in their videos, making it easy to create dynamic edits with the rider at the center of it all.
•  Collision Avoidance Alert – Senses and automatically notifies the rider of potential oncoming dangers that are outside the rider’s natural field of vision
•  Live Streaming -- For professional, commercial or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, the integrated camera pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream 

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. (<===HA!) No....I'll probably not be getting one of these, but I think you can expect to see the lowly bicycle helmet become a device sooner than later. In fact, just this week Garmin announced a HUD display unit that can be used with any eyewear you might have. Oh, and did you see that Nikon sports camera? Yeah......cyclists could end up looking like a rolling Robocop sooner than you think!

Now.......where did I leave that USB cord? I have to plug my helmet in for the night!

That's all for this week folks! Stay warm and roll those wheels when and where ya can!

Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational 2016 Details

The road to the 2016 GTDRI leads backwards....

I was checking into some stuff on a mapping program I use and I stumbled across the original route plans for the very first Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational back in 2006. I tucked that away for later planning for this ride. Now I am going to bring out the finer details on what to expect for this coming July. It seems to be the time of the year to plan our calendars, so this is why I am getting into this now. Just in case you may want to join in the festivities.

Oh yeah..........this isn't an exclusive ride. Anyone that feels like they are up to the challenge can make the trip over and ride with whomever shows up. The day the ride will be on is July 30th, which is a Saturday. The ride will start and end in Waterloo, Iowa at a bit different spot than the original ride did, (I'll get into that in a bit), and due to the length of the ride, you may want to make provisions for staying overnight on Saturday. Why? Because this ride will end up being about 150 miles in length. Not like the one a few years ago though! I'll explain........

A few years back the GTDRI was run in Jackson County, near the Eastern border of Iowa, and it is super hilly out that way. That 150-ish mile day was super brutal and took riders into far into darkness that evening. This edition will not be anywhere near as hilly, and when we did it the first time, we took it into darkness, but we sat at a few places waaaay longer than we should have, so I think this route is doable in a reasonable amount of time, but whatever. I'm doing it, and you can too, if you want to.

There will be a lot more  roads that look like this on the 2016 GTDRI.

The Route:

The original route started and ended in Pfieffer Park in Cedar Falls, Iowa in 2006, due to concerns for people camping in George Wyth State Park. The ride was supposed to start South of Waterloo, and I am going to do that, only I am moving the start from its original spot to a park where cars can be left for the day. This park is at the corner of West 4th Street and Shaulis Road. The gravel is very close to this park, so we won't have much pavement to deal with.

Once out on the gravel, the route will take us over gentle rollers South to Traer, Iowa, where our first stop will be after about 25 miles of riding. Here we'll have our "breakfast" stop. After re-supply, we will head South further into Tama County and across to the West. This section will be quite hilly and challenging with a couple Level B Roads sprinkled in. After we reach our Southernmost point just North of the Meskwakie Casino, we will head back due North to Gladbrook, and there will be another stop for "lunch" and re-supply. That's about 60-ish miles into it, as I recall.

Leaving Gladbrook to the North, the roads get less hilly eventually, and our route will then enter Grundy County where things will turn East at a Level B and flatten out significantly. A long stretch West and then North along the Iowa River Valley leads us into the deep valley where we will find Steamboat Rock, and if we're lucky, another re-supply place, but I need to double check on that since the original convenience store we used has closed up. Anyway, we'll leave Northward, and meander around and cross the Iowa River a couple of times before heading back due East on 150th straight out of Hardin County and back across Grundy County until we get close to Cedar Falls. Here I will deviate from the original course and go back South, and eventually through Hudson, Iowa, where you could make one last stop, or ride the last five miles or so back to your cars and call it a day.

More Soon....

I did the original ride on a single speed 29"er, so it isn't all that hard. I'll have more fine details as the day approaches, but if you have a hankering to do a long gravel road ride and see some nice Iowa countryside, plan on coming along. Questions? Ask away......

Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational 2016 Details

The road to the 2016 GTDRI leads backwards....

I was checking into some stuff on a mapping program I use and I stumbled across the original route plans for the very first Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational back in 2006. I tucked that away for later planning for this ride. Now I am going to bring out the finer details on what to expect for this coming July. It seems to be the time of the year to plan our calendars, so this is why I am getting into this now. Just in case you may want to join in the festivities.

Oh yeah..........this isn't an exclusive ride. Anyone that feels like they are up to the challenge can make the trip over and ride with whomever shows up. The day the ride will be on is July 30th, which is a Saturday. The ride will start and end in Waterloo, Iowa at a bit different spot than the original ride did, (I'll get into that in a bit), and due to the length of the ride, you may want to make provisions for staying overnight on Saturday. Why? Because this ride will end up being about 150 miles in length. Not like the one a few years ago though! I'll explain........

A few years back the GTDRI was run in Jackson County, near the Eastern border of Iowa, and it is super hilly out that way. That 150-ish mile day was super brutal and took riders into far into darkness that evening. This edition will not be anywhere near as hilly, and when we did it the first time, we took it into darkness, but we sat at a few places waaaay longer than we should have, so I think this route is doable in a reasonable amount of time, but whatever. I'm doing it, and you can too, if you want to.

There will be a lot more  roads that look like this on the 2016 GTDRI.

The Route:

The original route started and ended in Pfieffer Park in Cedar Falls, Iowa in 2006, due to concerns for people camping in George Wyth State Park. The ride was supposed to start South of Waterloo, and I am going to do that, only I am moving the start from its original spot to a park where cars can be left for the day. This park is at the corner of West 4th Street and Shaulis Road. The gravel is very close to this park, so we won't have much pavement to deal with.

Once out on the gravel, the route will take us over gentle rollers South to Traer, Iowa, where our first stop will be after about 25 miles of riding. Here we'll have our "breakfast" stop. After re-supply, we will head South further into Tama County and across to the West. This section will be quite hilly and challenging with a couple Level B Roads sprinkled in. After we reach our Southernmost point just North of the Meskwakie Casino, we will head back due North to Gladbrook, and there will be another stop for "lunch" and re-supply. That's about 60-ish miles into it, as I recall.

Leaving Gladbrook to the North, the roads get less hilly eventually, and our route will then enter Grundy County where things will turn East at a Level B and flatten out significantly. A long stretch West and then North along the Iowa River Valley leads us into the deep valley where we will find Steamboat Rock, and if we're lucky, another re-supply place, but I need to double check on that since the original convenience store we used has closed up. Anyway, we'll leave Northward, and meander around and cross the Iowa River a couple of times before heading back due East on 150th straight out of Hardin County and back across Grundy County until we get close to Cedar Falls. Here I will deviate from the original course and go back South, and eventually through Hudson, Iowa, where you could make one last stop, or ride the last five miles or so back to your cars and call it a day.

More Soon....

I did the original ride on a single speed 29"er, so it isn't all that hard. I'll have more fine details as the day approaches, but if you have a hankering to do a long gravel road ride and see some nice Iowa countryside, plan on coming along. Questions? Ask away......

Front Derailleurs: Should We Really Lose Them?

Not all front derailleurs are weak, ineffective, or a hassle to use.

There is a move afoot by a certain purveyor of cycling hardware to rid the world of that pesky protuberance on the seat tube known as the "front derailleur". It's a pox, if you believe the hype, and should be gone so you can have a cleaner, more streamlined drive train.

I'm not going to go where you think with this rant, by the way. Nope. Gear range is a conversation for another day. What concerns me is something I've not seen mentioned by anyone until very recently. There was a review on an all-road bike posted recently on the "Bike Radar" site, and in the review on this particular bike equipped with a "one-by" drive train, you can find this gem:

Shifting across the wide 11-32t cassette is no different to any other SRAM DoubleTap groupset, with just a little extra noise in the biggest cog, where the chain is at its most extreme angle.

Did you catch that? The bit about the "extra noise" when the chain is in the "most extreme angle"? Think about that for just a minute......

What is it that you've heard preached about when using a multiple geared drive train? Long ago, Keith Bontrager had an article in "Dirt Rag" which covered the four cardinal rules of shifting. In that piece he described how one of the principle rules of multiple speed drive trains was to keep the chain line as straight as possible. Why? Because a straighter chain is more efficient. A chain that angles from one cog in the rear to another chain ring on the front becomes less efficient as the angle increases. This accelerates wear as well. In order to maintain a straighter chain line, the rider should shift the drive train into an appropriate chain ring up front. Then use the rear cogs on the back the more closely approximate a straighter chain. This keeps efficiency high and reduces wear to a minimum.

With only one front ring, there is no way to correct for extreme chain lines.

While it is true that materials technology has taken a huge leap since the 90's when Keith Bontrager penned that article, it doesn't erase the fact that we're still functioning in the same relative spaces when it comes to bicycle drive trains and that with narrower chains and slimmer cogs and chain rings. It would seem then that wear and efficiency would be even more important to pay attention to, yet for some strange reason, the front derailleur and multiple front chain rings have been targeted as being out of fashion. Why?

In my opinion it is because the appeal to riders is that it makes understanding the drive train easier. To a lesser degree, it also helps you to get a slightly lighter drive train. Finally, for mountain bikers it clears up enough real estate on the handle bar so that a dropper post remote has a place on the bar without being affixed in a strange, poor ergonomic position. However; it would seem nigh unto impossible to show that it is actually more efficient unless you spend the majority of your time in the middle of your cassette, in which case the higher gears and lower gears are essentially dead weight.

This also doesn't even touch how shorter cage rear derailleurs shift more quickly, and are lighter, or how you don't need enormous rear cogs which rear derailleurs aren't the most efficient at shifting into or out of. It doesn't begin to tell how that big cog/front ring chain line is actually more severe than a typical 2X set up. Nor does it touch on how some front derailleurs are actually quite easy to shift and these don't have to be electronic either. Finally, multiple front chain rings distribute wear across more material/teeth, and a single front ring is going to wear out faster.

While a "one-by" chain ring set up might seem really cool for your bike, it has its drawbacks and compromises. Something to think about before you "make the leap".

Front Derailleurs: Should We Really Lose Them?

Not all front derailleurs are weak, ineffective, or a hassle to use.

There is a move afoot by a certain purveyor of cycling hardware to rid the world of that pesky protuberance on the seat tube known as the "front derailleur". It's a pox, if you believe the hype, and should be gone so you can have a cleaner, more streamlined drive train.

I'm not going to go where you think with this rant, by the way. Nope. Gear range is a conversation for another day. What concerns me is something I've not seen mentioned by anyone until very recently. There was a review on an all-road bike posted recently on the "Bike Radar" site, and in the review on this particular bike equipped with a "one-by" drive train, you can find this gem:

Shifting across the wide 11-32t cassette is no different to any other SRAM DoubleTap groupset, with just a little extra noise in the biggest cog, where the chain is at its most extreme angle.

Did you catch that? The bit about the "extra noise" when the chain is in the "most extreme angle"? Think about that for just a minute......

What is it that you've heard preached about when using a multiple geared drive train? Long ago, Keith Bontrager had an article in "Dirt Rag" which covered the four cardinal rules of shifting. In that piece he described how one of the principle rules of multiple speed drive trains was to keep the chain line as straight as possible. Why? Because a straighter chain is more efficient. A chain that angles from one cog in the rear to another chain ring on the front becomes less efficient as the angle increases. This accelerates wear as well. In order to maintain a straighter chain line, the rider should shift the drive train into an appropriate chain ring up front. Then use the rear cogs on the back the more closely approximate a straighter chain. This keeps efficiency high and reduces wear to a minimum.

With only one front ring, there is no way to correct for extreme chain lines.

While it is true that materials technology has taken a huge leap since the 90's when Keith Bontrager penned that article, it doesn't erase the fact that we're still functioning in the same relative spaces when it comes to bicycle drive trains and that with narrower chains and slimmer cogs and chain rings. It would seem then that wear and efficiency would be even more important to pay attention to, yet for some strange reason, the front derailleur and multiple front chain rings have been targeted as being out of fashion. Why?

In my opinion it is because the appeal to riders is that it makes understanding the drive train easier. To a lesser degree, it also helps you to get a slightly lighter drive train. Finally, for mountain bikers it clears up enough real estate on the handle bar so that a dropper post remote has a place on the bar without being affixed in a strange, poor ergonomic position. However; it would seem nigh unto impossible to show that it is actually more efficient unless you spend the majority of your time in the middle of your cassette, in which case the higher gears and lower gears are essentially dead weight.

This also doesn't even touch how shorter cage rear derailleurs shift more quickly, and are lighter, or how you don't need enormous rear cogs which rear derailleurs aren't the most efficient at shifting into or out of. It doesn't begin to tell how that big cog/front ring chain line is actually more severe than a typical 2X set up. Nor does it touch on how some front derailleurs are actually quite easy to shift and these don't have to be electronic either. Finally, multiple front chain rings distribute wear across more material/teeth, and a single front ring is going to wear out faster.

While a "one-by" chain ring set up might seem really cool for your bike, it has its drawbacks and compromises. Something to think about before you "make the leap".

Better Than I Expected

Hike-a-bike section on the bike trail.

I heard some local fellows had gotten out on New Year's Day to snow shoe in some trail in the Green Belt, so Saturday I decided to get out before lunch to check it out. It was pretty chilly, with temperatures starting out in the teens, but it was Sunny, and the skies were bright and blue. A really spectacular day for early January, actually.

The wind was blowing pretty stiffly though, so I wasn't going to venture out into the wide open spaces, unless I had to traverse a bit of that to get back into the woods. The Green Belt ride on a fat bike would be challenging enough, I figured, and who knew how good the trail would actually be anyway?

I started out by going down my little bit of beaten in trail that I will be using for commuting, and then veered left at the bike path to get me over to the dog park where the trail was supposed to have been started at for us fat bikers. In between I had a fair amount of hike-a-bike, as the deep snow on the bike path was taking just too much effort to ride. I figured I walked about 3/4's of a mile. Good for the soul, I suppose. Then it was over on a city street to where the dog park was and I easily found the beaten in path going steeply up the flood control dike. I powered up and over. Then I was on my way down a narrow, solidly packed in trail leading back into the woods with a XC ski track running alongside of this.

The trail was excellently packed in by a few intrepid fat bikers using snow shoes the day before my ride. 

Flooding just before the New Year has left a few "barriers" to cross over.

The water is still high enough in the backwaters, that drainage is still running out to Black Hawk Creek in some spots.

I had a few stops along the way to hop over tangled messes of downed trees, or to gingerly tip-toe across water drainages still running water out of the flooded areas to Black Hawk Creek, Fortunately I didn't get wet! At one point, I had to use my bike as a crutch of sorts to allow me to steady myself on some stepping stones placed across a narrow drainage that was bottom bracket deep. Great care was necessary to avoid having to deal with water-logged clothing, which could have become a big problem.

The Black Hawk Creeks is running swiftly and there is no ice due to the high water levels now.

The message I saw concerning the trail for fat biking indicated that it was "good from the dog park to Ridgeway", so I went all the way out to Ridgeway on the East spur, then crossed on Marky-Mark Westward. Marky-Mark had one snow shoe track through it, maybe two, but it wasn't packed in enough to really ride it. I ended up pushing 80% of the distance of that trail, which is all good.

When I reached the West lot on Ridgeway, I found the trail so post-holed it was nigh unto impossible to ride it, but I managed to make it without dabbing. I did run into three females XC skiing earlier, and then two more in this West leg of the trail. The last two were thinking I was "workig too hard". Hrrrumph! Really? I was covering far more ground in the same amount of time as they were with far less effort. You know bicycles are the most eficient machine ever invented, right? Actually, I didn't say anything to them but that I was enjoying "good exercise", to which they heartily agreed.

The trail around the lake was absolutely fantastic. Perfectly packed and fast.

 Once I had sped on past the two XC skiers, I rejoined the main trail at the water crossing and then found that the post-holing was pretty minimal. I decided to take the lake loop in, so I peeled off the Green Belt Trail at the appropriate place to find excellently packed in trail which was fast and grippy. I was really quite surprised this loop wasn't post-holed to high heaven, as it is a popular hiking trail. Oh well! I guess I hit the jack-pot Saturday. I'll take that any day. It was the best Winter conditions for fat biking I'd ever seen around that lake.

So, all in all, this crap-snow we got actually did firm up into something of a really fine fat biking opportunity. I hadn't expected that to be the case at all, but it was, and is yet. I'll be squeezing in as much as I can get while the gettin' is good!

Better Than I Expected

Hike-a-bike section on the bike trail.

I heard some local fellows had gotten out on New Year's Day to snow shoe in some trail in the Green Belt, so Saturday I decided to get out before lunch to check it out. It was pretty chilly, with temperatures starting out in the teens, but it was Sunny, and the skies were bright and blue. A really spectacular day for early January, actually.

The wind was blowing pretty stiffly though, so I wasn't going to venture out into the wide open spaces, unless I had to traverse a bit of that to get back into the woods. The Green Belt ride on a fat bike would be challenging enough, I figured, and who knew how good the trail would actually be anyway?

I started out by going down my little bit of beaten in trail that I will be using for commuting, and then veered left at the bike path to get me over to the dog park where the trail was supposed to have been started at for us fat bikers. In between I had a fair amount of hike-a-bike, as the deep snow on the bike path was taking just too much effort to ride. I figured I walked about 3/4's of a mile. Good for the soul, I suppose. Then it was over on a city street to where the dog park was and I easily found the beaten in path going steeply up the flood control dike. I powered up and over. Then I was on my way down a narrow, solidly packed in trail leading back into the woods with a XC ski track running alongside of this.

The trail was excellently packed in by a few intrepid fat bikers using snow shoes the day before my ride. 

Flooding just before the New Year has left a few "barriers" to cross over.

The water is still high enough in the backwaters, that drainage is still running out to Black Hawk Creek in some spots.

I had a few stops along the way to hop over tangled messes of downed trees, or to gingerly tip-toe across water drainages still running water out of the flooded areas to Black Hawk Creek, Fortunately I didn't get wet! At one point, I had to use my bike as a crutch of sorts to allow me to steady myself on some stepping stones placed across a narrow drainage that was bottom bracket deep. Great care was necessary to avoid having to deal with water-logged clothing, which could have become a big problem.

The Black Hawk Creeks is running swiftly and there is no ice due to the high water levels now.

The message I saw concerning the trail for fat biking indicated that it was "good from the dog park to Ridgeway", so I went all the way out to Ridgeway on the East spur, then crossed on Marky-Mark Westward. Marky-Mark had one snow shoe track through it, maybe two, but it wasn't packed in enough to really ride it. I ended up pushing 80% of the distance of that trail, which is all good.

When I reached the West lot on Ridgeway, I found the trail so post-holed it was nigh unto impossible to ride it, but I managed to make it without dabbing. I did run into three females XC skiing earlier, and then two more in this West leg of the trail. The last two were thinking I was "workig too hard". Hrrrumph! Really? I was covering far more ground in the same amount of time as they were with far less effort. You know bicycles are the most eficient machine ever invented, right? Actually, I didn't say anything to them but that I was enjoying "good exercise", to which they heartily agreed.

The trail around the lake was absolutely fantastic. Perfectly packed and fast.

 Once I had sped on past the two XC skiers, I rejoined the main trail at the water crossing and then found that the post-holing was pretty minimal. I decided to take the lake loop in, so I peeled off the Green Belt Trail at the appropriate place to find excellently packed in trail which was fast and grippy. I was really quite surprised this loop wasn't post-holed to high heaven, as it is a popular hiking trail. Oh well! I guess I hit the jack-pot Saturday. I'll take that any day. It was the best Winter conditions for fat biking I'd ever seen around that lake.

So, all in all, this crap-snow we got actually did firm up into something of a really fine fat biking opportunity. I hadn't expected that to be the case at all, but it was, and is yet. I'll be squeezing in as much as I can get while the gettin' is good!

Trans Iowa: The Paved Version You Never Heard About

  A challenge to ride across Iowa in a day caused a media sensation in 1980

Trans Iowa is known today, (by some folks, at any rate), as a long distance, mostly gravel road event for cyclists that is around 330-340 miles long. It has a reputation as a tough, sometimes unfinishable, ultra-endurance test of mind and body. However; what you may not know is that "Trans Iowa" was originally an altogether different idea. An idea that is responsible for the creation of the idea of a gravel road ride across the state that has become what many of us know today. The catalyst, as it were, for what has become the notion of racing on gravel roads which has swept the nation.

The idea was concocted by four road cyclists who, in turn, got their inspiration for this feat from RAGBRAI, the annual crossing of Iowa by cyclists which takes place during the final full week in July every year. That event takes a full seven days to amble its way across Iowa. Using overnight towns, bicycle shop support, and various roadside food and drink vendors which hopscotch the route during the event, RAGBRAI is often seen as something of a feat in itself for many people. True, it can be quite the challenge, but for dyed in the wool, committed cyclists, RAGBRAI isn't all that difficult. If you spend days and months training to be a racer of bicycles, maybe something like this late July ramble is tantamount to an easy training day. For cyclists like these, RAGBRAI isn't seen as the pinnacle of cycling prowess like it is by many of that event's devotees. So it was for the four protagonists that undertook what became the first "trans Iowa"cycling event.

The second bit showing the route used by the first Trans Iowans.

What these four men proposed was a road bike crossing of the state of Iowa in less than 24 hours, showing that, if you really want to talk tough, doing a ride across Iowa looks like this. Four men, four bikes, a couple of follow cars, a support crew, and a lot of intestinal fortitude with a healthy dose of luck mixed in for good measure. Dubbed "FBRAIIOD"  (First Bike Ride Across Iowa In One Day), a nod to what RAGBRAI was originally known as, (The Great Six-Day Bicycle Ride), the four men were going to start in Sioux City, Iowa and end up in Dubuque, Iowa, roughly following U.S. Highway 20's route across the state. The four men, Carl Randall, Dan Warrington, Harry Rublack, and Russ Clarke, hoped that the record setting ride would only take about 18 hours. In August of 1980, they set out from Sioux City at 2:06AM.

Of course, not all bicycle rides go according to plan, and neither did this attempt. Carl Randall suffered cramps early in the ride which forced him off the bike, but he did re-join his comrades after 46 miles. Headwinds, which picked up in central Iowa, put the riders seriously off pace, and threatened to end the attempt. Some tension with drivers East of Waterloo, Iowa also was an issue. All that aside, their attempt was successful, and just before midnight, after 21 hours, 42 minutes, and 26 seconds, the first "trans Iowa" attempt was chiseled into the record books.

(L-R) Russ Clarke, Danny Warrington, Carl Randall. The riders take a quick break during the their attempt at riding across Iowa in a day in August of 1980.

Their feat was celebrated in the papers and news of the day, but over time, it became something of a hidden anecdote in Iowa cycling history. RAGBRAI went on to sear its imprint upon the consciousness of the casual cycling public to the point where, if you are seen on a bicycle in this state, observers will ask you "Are ya gettin' ready for the RAGBY?", or some other similar statement. It is as if there is no other reason to be out in the country on a bicycle. In that sense, the feat of the four fellows who wanted to make a point about cycling across Iowa in a day was mostly lost on everyone.

Click image to enlarge.

In fact, had Jeff Kerkove and myself not been working together in the bicycle shop that Russ Clarke owns to this day, I would not be involved in Trans Iowa at all. I wouldn't have heard about "FBRAIIOD" and Jeff wouldn't have suggested we do something similar with mountain bikes instead. Maybe gravel road racing would look completely different had these four gentleman not tried to do what they did on that hot August day in 1980.

Yep, you just never know how things might have been had this ride not happened. But it did, and look what happened because of it...... You just never know how what you do today will influence the future. Funny how that works, isn't it?

For more on this story and Trans Iowa's history, Click Here.
To read the article posted here simply click on the image to enlarge it. 

Note: Articles scans from the Des Moines Register. Images from Rick Rickman. Scans provided by John and Celeste Mathias. Back ground information provided by Carl Randall and Russ Clarke.

Trans Iowa: The Paved Version You Never Heard About

  A challenge to ride across Iowa in a day caused a media sensation in 1980

Trans Iowa is known today, (by some folks, at any rate), as a long distance, mostly gravel road event for cyclists that is around 330-340 miles long. It has a reputation as a tough, sometimes unfinishable, ultra-endurance test of mind and body. However; what you may not know is that "Trans Iowa" was originally an altogether different idea. An idea that is responsible for the creation of the idea of a gravel road ride across the state that has become what many of us know today. The catalyst, as it were, for what has become the notion of racing on gravel roads which has swept the nation.

The idea was concocted by four road cyclists who, in turn, got their inspiration for this feat from RAGBRAI, the annual crossing of Iowa by cyclists which takes place during the final full week in July every year. That event takes a full seven days to amble its way across Iowa. Using overnight towns, bicycle shop support, and various roadside food and drink vendors which hopscotch the route during the event, RAGBRAI is often seen as something of a feat in itself for many people. True, it can be quite the challenge, but for dyed in the wool, committed cyclists, RAGBRAI isn't all that difficult. If you spend days and months training to be a racer of bicycles, maybe something like this late July ramble is tantamount to an easy training day. For cyclists like these, RAGBRAI isn't seen as the pinnacle of cycling prowess like it is by many of that event's devotees. So it was for the four protagonists that undertook what became the first "trans Iowa"cycling event.

The second bit showing the route used by the first Trans Iowans.

What these four men proposed was a road bike crossing of the state of Iowa in less than 24 hours, showing that, if you really want to talk tough, doing a ride across Iowa looks like this. Four men, four bikes, a couple of follow cars, a support crew, and a lot of intestinal fortitude with a healthy dose of luck mixed in for good measure. Dubbed "FBRAIIOD"  (First Bike Ride Across Iowa In One Day), a nod to what RAGBRAI was originally known as, (The Great Six-Day Bicycle Ride), the four men were going to start in Sioux City, Iowa and end up in Dubuque, Iowa, roughly following U.S. Highway 20's route across the state. The four men, Carl Randall, Dan Warrington, Harry Rublack, and Russ Clarke, hoped that the record setting ride would only take about 18 hours. In August of 1980, they set out from Sioux City at 2:06AM.

Of course, not all bicycle rides go according to plan, and neither did this attempt. Carl Randall suffered cramps early in the ride which forced him off the bike, but he did re-join his comrades after 46 miles. Headwinds, which picked up in central Iowa, put the riders seriously off pace, and threatened to end the attempt. Some tension with drivers East of Waterloo, Iowa also was an issue. All that aside, their attempt was successful, and just before midnight, after 21 hours, 42 minutes, and 26 seconds, the first "trans Iowa" attempt was chiseled into the record books.

(L-R) Russ Clarke, Danny Warrington, Carl Randall. The riders take a quick break during the their attempt at riding across Iowa in a day in August of 1980.

Their feat was celebrated in the papers and news of the day, but over time, it became something of a hidden anecdote in Iowa cycling history. RAGBRAI went on to sear its imprint upon the consciousness of the casual cycling public to the point where, if you are seen on a bicycle in this state, observers will ask you "Are ya gettin' ready for the RAGBY?", or some other similar statement. It is as if there is no other reason to be out in the country on a bicycle. In that sense, the feat of the four fellows who wanted to make a point about cycling across Iowa in a day was mostly lost on everyone.

Click image to enlarge.

In fact, had Jeff Kerkove and myself not been working together in the bicycle shop that Russ Clarke owns to this day, I would not be involved in Trans Iowa at all. I wouldn't have heard about "FBRAIIOD" and Jeff wouldn't have suggested we do something similar with mountain bikes instead. Maybe gravel road racing would look completely different had these four gentleman not tried to do what they did on that hot August day in 1980.

Yep, you just never know how things might have been had this ride not happened. But it did, and look what happened because of it...... You just never know how what you do today will influence the future. Funny how that works, isn't it?

For more on this story and Trans Iowa's history, Click Here.
To read the article posted here simply click on the image to enlarge it. 

Note: Articles scans from the Des Moines Register. Images from Rick Rickman. Scans provided by John and Celeste Mathias. Back ground information provided by Carl Randall and Russ Clarke.

Fatter Tires To Start Out With

As I have been going over my bikes used in 2015 and reminiscing about the past year here on the blog, the weather flip-flopped to becoming much more normal here. We've actually got snow that looks to stay around a while this time. It is much colder now, with wind chill indices well below zero on windy days. The gravel roads are snowy and icy in spots. That makes it rough on skinnier, gravel road type tires around these parts, and it makes staying safe and warm a real challenge.

So, I have broken out the fat bikes- My titanium Mukluk and my Blackborow DS. The snow we got is............meh! Just like we've been getting in years past here. Sand-like, sugary, and doesn't like being packed down. In fact it is more like mashed potatoes when it is packed down than anything else. This favors the Blackborow DS with the wider rims and tires, so I've gravitated to bringing that bike out more of late.

The titanium Mukluk may see some commuting duties once the routes settle in, or if it gets nice enough to where I can go out on gravel roads a bit to explore. I'm not real big on getting out in the wide open when the wind chills are below zero. It just gets too weird with trying to keep warm and should I have a mechanical things could get pear shaped real fast. I'm not saying I won't go out in the country at all, but I do realize that the consequences for "not getting it right" when it comes to layering, managing sweat, and with regard to any failures with equipment are a lot higher. Dangerous? Yeah.......it could be. Real dangerous. So having a healthy respect for that is, I think, prudent. If I don't have to put my self at risk, and I could ride in the woods, let's say, where the wind isn't as much a factor, then why go out into the open? Plus, staying closer to home and the urban area maybe is a better choice in regards to risk management.

On a recent "commute route management" excursion.

Sorry about that "mini-rant" there! I just wanted to make it clear why I don't venture out from the city a lot in Winter here. Fat bikes give me a great opportunity to get out, away from it all in the woods here in the city, and still have that ability to maintain fitness when the weather is less than friendly. One thing is for certain- I'm not going to ride a trainer. Not at all interested in doing that. Especially now when there is no need to, with the advent of fat bikes several years ago now.

Riding into 2016 on fat bikes.......to start out with, anyway.

My choice then is to ride into 2016 on fat bikes, and maybe at some point the weather will moderate this Winter where I can start venturing out into the country, but with the chill of Winter combined with the wind, I am sticking around town for now. I don't see a whole lot of change coming down the pike, when I look at what the weathermen are saying, so I expect you'll see a lot of fat tires here to get the year rolling.

Fatter Tires To Start Out With

As I have been going over my bikes used in 2015 and reminiscing about the past year here on the blog, the weather flip-flopped to becoming much more normal here. We've actually got snow that looks to stay around a while this time. It is much colder now, with wind chill indices well below zero on windy days. The gravel roads are snowy and icy in spots. That makes it rough on skinnier, gravel road type tires around these parts, and it makes staying safe and warm a real challenge.

So, I have broken out the fat bikes- My titanium Mukluk and my Blackborow DS. The snow we got is............meh! Just like we've been getting in years past here. Sand-like, sugary, and doesn't like being packed down. In fact it is more like mashed potatoes when it is packed down than anything else. This favors the Blackborow DS with the wider rims and tires, so I've gravitated to bringing that bike out more of late.

The titanium Mukluk may see some commuting duties once the routes settle in, or if it gets nice enough to where I can go out on gravel roads a bit to explore. I'm not real big on getting out in the wide open when the wind chills are below zero. It just gets too weird with trying to keep warm and should I have a mechanical things could get pear shaped real fast. I'm not saying I won't go out in the country at all, but I do realize that the consequences for "not getting it right" when it comes to layering, managing sweat, and with regard to any failures with equipment are a lot higher. Dangerous? Yeah.......it could be. Real dangerous. So having a healthy respect for that is, I think, prudent. If I don't have to put my self at risk, and I could ride in the woods, let's say, where the wind isn't as much a factor, then why go out into the open? Plus, staying closer to home and the urban area maybe is a better choice in regards to risk management.

On a recent "commute route management" excursion.

Sorry about that "mini-rant" there! I just wanted to make it clear why I don't venture out from the city a lot in Winter here. Fat bikes give me a great opportunity to get out, away from it all in the woods here in the city, and still have that ability to maintain fitness when the weather is less than friendly. One thing is for certain- I'm not going to ride a trainer. Not at all interested in doing that. Especially now when there is no need to, with the advent of fat bikes several years ago now.

Riding into 2016 on fat bikes.......to start out with, anyway.

My choice then is to ride into 2016 on fat bikes, and maybe at some point the weather will moderate this Winter where I can start venturing out into the country, but with the chill of Winter combined with the wind, I am sticking around town for now. I don't see a whole lot of change coming down the pike, when I look at what the weathermen are saying, so I expect you'll see a lot of fat tires here to get the year rolling.

Geezer Ride 4: News

Announcing some details on the fourth Geezer Ride

Geezer Ride 4: May 7th, 2016

The next Geezer Ride will happen May 7th out of North English, Iowa. Time and specific location for parking/ride start will come later, but this post will detail the ride as far as I know about things.

A while back, a Geezer Ride veteran and gravel road riding aficionado, Martin Bunge, approached me with the idea of running the next Geezer Ride in his neck of the woods. He even asked me if he could come up with the route! I agreed that this would be cool, and just the other day he let me in on his ideas.

So, as I have stated above, finer details will be forthcoming, but Martin has shared with me that he would like the route to start and end in North English, Iowa. North English has a history with Trans Iowa, and many memorable scenes were created when the route passed through there. Most recently that would have been in Trans Iowa v10, where a lot of riders bailed out due to the crazy head winds that day. Trans Iowa v5 saw a pivotal break of three riders start their 200+ mile break away at the Casey's in North English. The next year, during the weather shortened T.I.v6, the event had its makeshift finish line at the Malt Shoppe in North English. So, some big memories for me and many others have been sprouted in North English.

This Geezer Ride may well add to my North English memories, as Martin suggests we start there and end the day at the Malt Shoppe. In between we should roll through Keswick, Iowa, where we will have a possible convenience store stop and water refill opportunity. Martin also says we'll have some cool Level B roads and perhaps we will see some Amish territory in there somewhere as well.

I've been in the territory of this ride many a time, so you can expect some big hills, but our route will also have tamer terrain as the East-West part of the route won't run across the ridges as much as the North-South roads do. It is beautiful country, with many wooded areas, and the remoteness of the countryside will definitely give you the feeling that you've gotten "off-the-grid". Oh......and cell phone reception will be sketchy in places. Yeah, it's definitely rural!

So, that's all I have now, but if you want to come to this one, feel free. 'Cause.......ya know......the Geezer Rides are free! For more information on just what a Geezer Ride is and to keep up with the finer details on Geezer Ride 4, hit this link!

Geezer Ride 4: News

Announcing some details on the fourth Geezer Ride

Geezer Ride 4: May 7th, 2016

The next Geezer Ride will happen May 7th out of North English, Iowa. Time and specific location for parking/ride start will come later, but this post will detail the ride as far as I know about things.

A while back, a Geezer Ride veteran and gravel road riding aficionado, Martin Bunge, approached me with the idea of running the next Geezer Ride in his neck of the woods. He even asked me if he could come up with the route! I agreed that this would be cool, and just the other day he let me in on his ideas.

So, as I have stated above, finer details will be forthcoming, but Martin has shared with me that he would like the route to start and end in North English, Iowa. North English has a history with Trans Iowa, and many memorable scenes were created when the route passed through there. Most recently that would have been in Trans Iowa v10, where a lot of riders bailed out due to the crazy head winds that day. Trans Iowa v5 saw a pivotal break of three riders start their 200+ mile break away at the Casey's in North English. The next year, during the weather shortened T.I.v6, the event had its makeshift finish line at the Malt Shoppe in North English. So, some big memories for me and many others have been sprouted in North English.

This Geezer Ride may well add to my North English memories, as Martin suggests we start there and end the day at the Malt Shoppe. In between we should roll through Keswick, Iowa, where we will have a possible convenience store stop and water refill opportunity. Martin also says we'll have some cool Level B roads and perhaps we will see some Amish territory in there somewhere as well.

I've been in the territory of this ride many a time, so you can expect some big hills, but our route will also have tamer terrain as the East-West part of the route won't run across the ridges as much as the North-South roads do. It is beautiful country, with many wooded areas, and the remoteness of the countryside will definitely give you the feeling that you've gotten "off-the-grid". Oh......and cell phone reception will be sketchy in places. Yeah, it's definitely rural!

So, that's all I have now, but if you want to come to this one, feel free. 'Cause.......ya know......the Geezer Rides are free! For more information on just what a Geezer Ride is and to keep up with the finer details on Geezer Ride 4, hit this link!

See you out on the gravel somewhere......

Happy New Year!
From Guitar Ted Productions

Here's hoping that 2016 is Peaceful, Healthy, Enjoyable, and Exciting.

Stay tuned for more opinions, reviews, and daily gobble-d-gook from the addled mind of Guitar Ted. Plans for the year include, but are not limited to, gravel road riding, competing in a few events here and there, and general hobnobbing and mischievous deeds. 

Once again, I thank you all for stopping by at this little nook in the "inner-googles" and taking the time to read and/or comment. I appreciate that you do this very much. I will strive to continue to make this a place where you want to come everyday, as many of you have told me that you do, and I pledge to be faithful in posting here, unless Adventure or Chance takes me away. 

Raising a toast to the New Year.......

Onward through the fog! 

See you out on the gravel somewhere......

Happy New Year!
From Guitar Ted Productions

Here's hoping that 2016 is Peaceful, Healthy, Enjoyable, and Exciting.

Stay tuned for more opinions, reviews, and daily gobble-d-gook from the addled mind of Guitar Ted. Plans for the year include, but are not limited to, gravel road riding, competing in a few events here and there, and general hobnobbing and mischievous deeds. 

Once again, I thank you all for stopping by at this little nook in the "inner-googles" and taking the time to read and/or comment. I appreciate that you do this very much. I will strive to continue to make this a place where you want to come everyday, as many of you have told me that you do, and I pledge to be faithful in posting here, unless Adventure or Chance takes me away. 

Raising a toast to the New Year.......

Onward through the fog!