A Trip To See A Long Missed Friend

A barn in Illinois along HWY 20

 "I can't believe you are sitting here in front of me! It's like a dream or something!", exclaimed Ari Andonopoulous as we sat in a local bar eating burgers. His reaction to my presence can be explained because it had been seven years since we'd seen each other. That's a long time! Especially when we were used to seeing each other at least once a year, if not more.  

Trans Iowa was a gravel race. But it was a lot more than that. Trans Iowa was a conduit for making friends. Many riders made connections at Trans Iowa which have lasted until now and likely will for the lifetime of those people. I have known this about others, but it also applies to myself. 

Ari came to Trans Iowa v4 in 2008. This was he and his friend, Michael Roe's, (better known as Dr. Giggles to some) first Trans Iowa. Ari subsequently attended every Trans Iowa up to v13 in 2017. We would spend at least a little time each year catching up, and sometimes a lot of time catching up. I also was able to ride the 2015 "Mud Year" at the Dirty Kanza 200 with Ari, a time I shan't easily forget. 

But Ari had to miss Trans Iowa v14, the last of the series, and since then we just hadn't been able to coordinate a meeting. Of course, Covid had a say in that as well. So, seven years! It was far too long a time. But a chance for me to tag along to Chicago for a concert trip my daughter and a friend were making from here to see a K-Pop group afforded me and Mrs. Guitar Ted that opportunity. I decided to make it happen. 

It isn't every day you see that vehicle!

I left shortly after work on Saturday. Mrs. Guitar Ted did all the driving,as I don't see all that well these days to drive. Not in 80mph city traffic anyway. Plus I hate driving in big cities. So, anyway... 

We got to our motel which was located adjacent to the lovely O'Hare International Airport and right near the All State Arena where the concert was to be held. Not a sight that would offer any hope of interesting, inspiring feelings. However; on this evening, the Oscar Mayer "Wiener-mobile" made an appearance. I can now check that off my list of things to see in Life! 

Throughout this time I had been letting Ari know where I was and when, but there was no real plan to make our meeting happen until Sunday. Things worked out to where I was able to have Mrs. Guitar Ted drop me off at Ari's home and we were able to spend the afternoon and evening together. Mrs. Guitar Ted took Ari's daughter, who was just about my daughter's age, to be with my daughter and her friend so they could geek out on K-Pop idol stuff all afternoon. When the concert time came Mrs. Guitar Ted brought Ari's daughter back and we all had a wonderful meal of local pizza with Ari, his wife, and daughter. 

Ari and I. Image taken by Giuletta Andonopoulous

In between my arrival and departing Ari shared a lunch with me at the aforementioned bar, we had a tour of his bicycles, his garage shop, and a good laugh or three. 

Ari, like myself, has worked as a bicycle mechanic for many years. He has managed to collect one amazing bicycle fleet which I was blown away by. Mostly steel road bikes, but peppered in there were a lot of really interesting bikes that were super-cool. 

And then there is Ari's "garage". You cannot park a car in it. I find that fitting somehow! Anyway, Ari has his tools all perfectly arranged on pegboard and tool boxes full of tools. Plastic storage boxes filled with parts are stored on baker's racks. It really is a bicycle geek paradise. Other folks would likely find his garage wasted space, but I would submit these people just don't get it. 

One thing I am excited about is that Ari and I recorded a conversation about how different early gravel riding was compared to today's scene. I forgot to bring my podcasting machine so I recorded our conversation in Garage Band on my phone.  You can check that out on the "Guitar Ted Podcast", link below. 

Ari's shop

There was a LOT more spoken about things not related to bicycles between us that I cannot share here. I will only say that Ari and I have an ease of conversation and we seem to be able to be pretty transparent with each other. I wish he lived closer to me or vice-versa. Seven years being away meant that there was no way to catch up. Not really. However; we did have a great time, and it was apparent to me that leaving this friendship for that long a time to be dormant is not an option going forward. 

Eventually it got late and we had to leave to pick up my daughter and her friend, and then Monday morning I left the Chicago area for Iowa again. I won't miss Chicago, if I am honest, but I do hope to see Ari again well before seven more years pass by. 

A special shout out to Ari and his family for their tremendous hospitality and kindness to myself and my family. 

Note: You can listen to some audio of some of our conversation from Ari's garage Sunday in the latest Guitar Ted Podcast HERE.

Review: Redshift Sports Short ShockStop Stems

Image courtesy of Redshift Sports

Today Redshift Sports has introduced a new variant of their ShockStop Stem. Many newer gravel bikes are starting to employ a geometry that uses a longer reach/top tube and this requires the use of a shorter than typical for a gravel bike stem. Redshift has a solution for these bikes in their new, "Short" ShockStop Stem offerings. 

To do this Redshift had to come up with a new design internally to allow for the same travel (20m) as their other stem offerings have. This new design allowed Redshift Sports to have new 70mm and 55mm stem offerings which still look like a Redshift stem on the outside, just shorter. 

The new shorter stems join the currently offered range of stems which start now at 55mm, and goes from there to 70mm, 80mm, 90mm, 100mm, 110mm, and 120mm. Currently only the new short stems feature the new internals.

The ShockStop Stem retails for $189.99 USD.

Note the plastic insert as indicated by the blue arrows

What It Is: The new design for the shorter stems relies on a cartridge that holds the elastomers on one side and butts up against the handlebar on the other. This cartridge slides out easily and elastomers are marked clearly for proper insertion. There are extra elastomers provided, as there are with the other design of ShockStop Stems, which can be mixed and matched for different weight riders and ride feel preferences. It should also be noted that these elastomers in the new short design are different and not interchangeable with the previous design elastomers. 

Here you can see the cartridge with the elastomer from the side. There is a second elastomer beside the one you can see here as well.

In this new design elastomer changes are easier as all you have to do is remove the stem faceplate, move the handlebar, extract the cartridge, exchange elastomers, and then reverse the disassembly order to reassemble the stem. No longer do you have the long bolt to deal with as with the earlier design. Remember, this short stem design is only in the 55mm and 70mm options. 

Again, outwardly the new stem looks the same, just stubby! I received the 55mm version and decided to install it on my Singular Cycles Gryphon Mk3. The stem weighed in at 197 grams, so spot on with Redshift's claims. The assembly was easy. No different than any other standard stem, but of course, now I have up to 20mm of vibration eating travel.

The Shock Stop 55mm stem installed.

 First Impressions: I did not quite know what to expect with this new design and that in such a tiny package. What I found out right away was that this stem feels very much like a ShockStop stem. Captain Obvious? Perhaps, but this isn't a typical ShockStop stem either. It just looks like one. 

So Far... So good - for now. We will see after some more riding, but these new shorter options from Redshift Sports seem up to the task and familiar in feel. Honestly, the simplicity of this new version's cartridge-style elastomer carrier would beg the question: "Will the rest of the line see this design carried over?" In my opinion, it is a lot less fussy to deal with and would , perhaps, encourage experimentation with elastomers being that there is much less chance for stripping the long bolt the older design uses. 

Beyond the design though, these newer, short stems should provide more modern geometry gravel bikes and bikepacking rigs that use drop bars the ability to have a vibration damping device in the Short ShockStop Stem.

 Stay tuned for an update to this review coming in a few weeks or so.

I Was A Sponsored "Athlete"

 In celebration of the twentieth year of this blog, I have a few tales to tell. This post is one of them. This series will occur off and on throughout this anniversary year, I hope to illuminate some behind-the-scenes stories and highlights from the blog during this time. Enjoy!

When I started the blog in May of 2005 at the insistence and with the aid of Jeff Kerkove, he was a sponsored athlete doing solo 24 hour long mountain biking events. It was a very unique experience working with Jeff seeing all that went into his relationships with sponsors, how he worked for them, and how he curated an influence for those sponsors via his writing on his blog. 

I will keep on saying this as long as I don't meet someone that can best Jeff in this, but he was the most disciplined person I've ever met. I know that it is popular to bring down the status of "sponsored athletes" in some circles, but I saw first hand what Jeff invested into being the kind of athlete a company would sponsor. And like I have said, I have yet to get to know anyone that spent the time and had the dedication to a singular purpose as Jeff did. He earned every sponsorship he ever received and more. So, I know that most likely a lot of these other sponsored folks are also investing heavily at the expense of relationships, fun, relaxing, doing other work, and on and on. Things you and I take for granted, like having a drink, a snack, or staying up late or sleeping in are not options for these folks. 

A box of goods I received as a sponsorship from T-6 in 2007.

So, when a surprise box arrived for me filled with Twin Six gear in late 2007, I was flabbergasted. There was a letter telling me I was a "sponsored T-6 rider" now, and that they were setting up a page on their site which would have my bio, and all that. 

What?!!

People like Jeff get sponsored, not Guitar Ted, because I was a flabby, linebacker-sized dude that wasn't all that fast and well...... What?!!

But it was true. In fact, I was on the Twin Six racing team for two years until the folks up their in The Cities finally came to their senses. What is funny is that from that sponsorship I still have the water bottles and maybe a pair of socks yet! 

This sponsorship was surely tied to this blog's existence and my growing stature as a 29"er guy, along with my involvement in Trans Iowa. Surely it was not due to my athletic prowess! For a sarcastic take on my getting sponsored, check out my post in response at the time HERE.