Friday News And Views

Video Killed The Radio Star: In another story on how technology affects our lives, it seems that our instant messaging, always connected lives has affected RAGBRAI of all things. We had several folks in the shop where I work yesterday that had stopped riding RAGBRAI on Wednesday. Why? Because they had access to the latest forecasts by way of their techno-gizmos and saw that there was a high probability of thunderstorms on the route Thursday. So, they bailed.

Now back ten years ago, this never would have happened. All of these folks would have gotten up on Thursday and ridden like lemmings right into the deluge. RAGBRAI would have kept its numbers up for the entire week regardless. Now the weather is affecting the event even more than in years past because of technology. Maybe RAGBRAI will ban personal electronic devices in the future and make them ride old skool. ha ha!

Camp Ingawanis News: Okay......I still have not ridden out there in 2008! I can't believe this, but it is what it is. Anyway, this isn't about me. The Camp has always been a divided land mass with the creek running through it. The plan was to have it connected by some sort of bridgework, which hasn't come to fruition......yet. So, I have only ridden the south side once. That may change very soon as word comes that the south side has been expertly cleared and groomed for mountain bikes. I'll be checking it out real soon and I will report after I do.

Another Sign: I got a comment on my carbon fiber post from the other day that stated essentially that the mere fact that investments into carbon fiber 29"er frames are being seen tells us that the industry believes in the concept and that 29"ers are doing well. Well enough to spend the big bucks on tooling and manufacturing costs. Another sign that 29"ers are no longer a "fad", niche, or going away anytime soon. Not that I needed anymore signs. I just find it interesting that about three years ago, this wasn't the case at all.

And if that isn't enough.... Wait until Interbike, a mere two months away, and you will see even more solid signs that 29"ers are being heavily invested in. Not just "carpet fibre" either, but in many other ways. Some of them may surprise you! Sorry, I can't say more right now, but hold on......

Okay, that's all I am going to let on to today, so have a great weekend and ride your bikes!

Friday News And Views

Video Killed The Radio Star: In another story on how technology affects our lives, it seems that our instant messaging, always connected lives has affected RAGBRAI of all things. We had several folks in the shop where I work yesterday that had stopped riding RAGBRAI on Wednesday. Why? Because they had access to the latest forecasts by way of their techno-gizmos and saw that there was a high probability of thunderstorms on the route Thursday. So, they bailed.

Now back ten years ago, this never would have happened. All of these folks would have gotten up on Thursday and ridden like lemmings right into the deluge. RAGBRAI would have kept its numbers up for the entire week regardless. Now the weather is affecting the event even more than in years past because of technology. Maybe RAGBRAI will ban personal electronic devices in the future and make them ride old skool. ha ha!

Camp Ingawanis News: Okay......I still have not ridden out there in 2008! I can't believe this, but it is what it is. Anyway, this isn't about me. The Camp has always been a divided land mass with the creek running through it. The plan was to have it connected by some sort of bridgework, which hasn't come to fruition......yet. So, I have only ridden the south side once. That may change very soon as word comes that the south side has been expertly cleared and groomed for mountain bikes. I'll be checking it out real soon and I will report after I do.

Another Sign: I got a comment on my carbon fiber post from the other day that stated essentially that the mere fact that investments into carbon fiber 29"er frames are being seen tells us that the industry believes in the concept and that 29"ers are doing well. Well enough to spend the big bucks on tooling and manufacturing costs. Another sign that 29"ers are no longer a "fad", niche, or going away anytime soon. Not that I needed anymore signs. I just find it interesting that about three years ago, this wasn't the case at all.

And if that isn't enough.... Wait until Interbike, a mere two months away, and you will see even more solid signs that 29"ers are being heavily invested in. Not just "carpet fibre" either, but in many other ways. Some of them may surprise you! Sorry, I can't say more right now, but hold on......

Okay, that's all I am going to let on to today, so have a great weekend and ride your bikes!

WTB SST: It's Back!

It is being reported on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News site today that WTB is going to re-introduce the long gone but highly cherished SST saddle. Why should the introduction of a saddle that has been out of production for years be such a big deal?

Well, there are many folks out there that could tell you a million reasons why this saddle is soooo good. I will just tell you what I think. The WTB SST saddle was so spot on for mountain biking, and here's why..........

First off, if you ever saw one, you'd know it by it's nose. Much like the former film and comedy star Jimmy Durante. In fact, they could call the WTB SST "The Durante", and it would totally befit that saddles unique nose. The dropped and padded nose was a stroke of genius for mountain bikers. Especially those who had long grunts for climbs.

Then you had the nice "bucket" in the middle. The slight depression that allowed you to settle into a comfortable position at the rear of that area and not smash your bits, so to speak. The slight kick up at the rear was a great place to push against when using seated power strokes and still allowed you to slip off the back with ease for descending.

WTB promises some "modern updates" to this saddle, but hopefully the nice amount of padding and the original shape are preserved. I suspect that many of these will fly out of retailers stores once they are released. I know I'll be one of those looking to get one for sure.

I got one of the first ones back in 1996. I still have it and won't use it much for fear of trashing it and losing one of the best mountain bike saddles ever made. Now I can get a new one, (soon I hope) and see if it compares well to the old classic and maybe get it out and finally use it up. We'll see!

WTB SST: It's Back!

It is being reported on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News site today that WTB is going to re-introduce the long gone but highly cherished SST saddle. Why should the introduction of a saddle that has been out of production for years be such a big deal?

Well, there are many folks out there that could tell you a million reasons why this saddle is soooo good. I will just tell you what I think. The WTB SST saddle was so spot on for mountain biking, and here's why..........

First off, if you ever saw one, you'd know it by it's nose. Much like the former film and comedy star Jimmy Durante. In fact, they could call the WTB SST "The Durante", and it would totally befit that saddles unique nose. The dropped and padded nose was a stroke of genius for mountain bikers. Especially those who had long grunts for climbs.

Then you had the nice "bucket" in the middle. The slight depression that allowed you to settle into a comfortable position at the rear of that area and not smash your bits, so to speak. The slight kick up at the rear was a great place to push against when using seated power strokes and still allowed you to slip off the back with ease for descending.

WTB promises some "modern updates" to this saddle, but hopefully the nice amount of padding and the original shape are preserved. I suspect that many of these will fly out of retailers stores once they are released. I know I'll be one of those looking to get one for sure.

I got one of the first ones back in 1996. I still have it and won't use it much for fear of trashing it and losing one of the best mountain bike saddles ever made. Now I can get a new one, (soon I hope) and see if it compares well to the old classic and maybe get it out and finally use it up. We'll see!

Carbon Fiber Everything

It was bound to happen, and mountain bikers have resisted until now, but carbon fiber is taking over the mountain bike world. Yep! And I mean in every way!

The latest component to fall to fall under the spell of the black composite cloud is wheels. I have been aware of 29"er wheels in carbon fiber before this, but with Edge Composites and Bontrager Wheel Works coming out with 29"er hoops in carbon, you know it is getting to be serious.

Frames? Well, Orbea has had the Alma in 29"er size for nearly three years now and, of course you have the Fisher Superfly. I expect even more to show up real soon. Even full suspension trail bikes have gone carbon fiber. I had the chance to ride the Hi Fi Pro 26"er last year at a Trek/Fisher product launch and had a gret time riding the bike. Five inches of travel at just over 23lbs? Yeah, it was amazing!

Besides frames and wheels, of course you have the various forks in rigid form and now even in suspended form. Most notably DT Swiss and Magura. Cranks, stems, handle bars, parts of derailleurs, and even saddles can be had in the black material. It's almost a metal free possibility!

While all this is going on though, you still have the steel and titanium bikes flourishing as well. It seems that not everyone is up for the exotic, man made materials on their rigs. Various reasons for that, I suppose. The thing is though, this carbon fiber stuff isn't going away and it is making what was once impossible for mountain bikes possible, and available. Pretty crazy stuff that is fun to check out.

Carbon Fiber Everything

It was bound to happen, and mountain bikers have resisted until now, but carbon fiber is taking over the mountain bike world. Yep! And I mean in every way!

The latest component to fall to fall under the spell of the black composite cloud is wheels. I have been aware of 29"er wheels in carbon fiber before this, but with Edge Composites and Bontrager Wheel Works coming out with 29"er hoops in carbon, you know it is getting to be serious.

Frames? Well, Orbea has had the Alma in 29"er size for nearly three years now and, of course you have the Fisher Superfly. I expect even more to show up real soon. Even full suspension trail bikes have gone carbon fiber. I had the chance to ride the Hi Fi Pro 26"er last year at a Trek/Fisher product launch and had a gret time riding the bike. Five inches of travel at just over 23lbs? Yeah, it was amazing!

Besides frames and wheels, of course you have the various forks in rigid form and now even in suspended form. Most notably DT Swiss and Magura. Cranks, stems, handle bars, parts of derailleurs, and even saddles can be had in the black material. It's almost a metal free possibility!

While all this is going on though, you still have the steel and titanium bikes flourishing as well. It seems that not everyone is up for the exotic, man made materials on their rigs. Various reasons for that, I suppose. The thing is though, this carbon fiber stuff isn't going away and it is making what was once impossible for mountain bikes possible, and available. Pretty crazy stuff that is fun to check out.

GTDRI 2008: The Photo Blog: Part III

<=== Matt Wills rollin' his beautiful Soulcraft with Michael Beck, rockin' the BKB kit, coming in behind.












<=== The Tiger Lillies were out in full force all along the course this year.














<=== The ever smiling David Pals shows his grit and determination aboard his single speed Casseroll.













<=== Cresting the last section of muddy B road.












As we rolled towards Garwin, and a planned rest stop at the Pronto convenience store, my previous nights beer and lack of sleep kicked in and I was starting to hurt. The hamstrings were getting twitchy, so I had to back off the pace and spin more. They never locked up on me, but if you've had those "on the edge of cramping" twitches, you know what that does to your mental game. I dealt with that the rest of the ride.

Then there was Garwin. Ahhh.......the humanity! Seven cyclists roll into town like a circus sideshow and mix that up with some.....ah, shall we say.....veeeery interesting locals, and you get some high entertainment factors. I don't have the time or space to go into details, but I'll leave you with this image: An elderly lady- probably 70 plus- in a Guns n Roses t shirt. Wow!

Moving on from there we hit up our last B Road which was pretty muddy. Then it was on back towards the north to Ridge Road and the brutal climb to the water tower. I recorded a temperature of 100 degrees there on my computer. Accurate? Meh.......probably not, but it was very hot here. This necessitated a regrouping and rest for a bit at the top. For me, it caused more problems down the road.

Traer saw another round of convenience store weirdness, (a lady talking to her car for one) and then we went on for the finish. Just a few miles west of hickory Hills I got the chills. I mean I felt like I was freezing. Not good! I stopped and immediately poured water on my head and down my back and front inside my jersey. I got my temperature under control and just waited for my breathing to come back to normal. David Pals was stopped just about a tenth of a mile behind me here too. Finally, he rolled up and then Matt Wills came back looking for us. Good on Matt! He got us rolling again and we finally caught up with the rest of the group a few miles up the road where they were waiting.

It was decided that we were going to cut back to Hickory Hills on V-37 to save time. This would still get us our 100 miles and would get Jason back to meet his family who was at the campsite already waiting for him. MG and Jason shot off into the wind at breakneck speed. The rest of us got in a pace line and set off. I was in second wheel behind Matt Wills and we started off at about 18 miles an hour into the wind. the ol' drafting skills came right back and I felt comfortable, almost back to normal here for the final push. I took a pull on the downhill side of the road, and then Jeff got out and pulled some. I looked behind and we had shed off Michael and David. It was just us three and we rolled into the campsite right at six o'clock.

We sat around, drank a beer, said our goodbyes, tore down our tents, packed up, and then it started to get ugly. Rain and lightning were getting intense as we pulled out of Hickory Hills. I went to La Porte with MG, Wills, and Bonsall for pizza. Then we all went our separate ways. Another Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational in the books.

Thanks to each one of you that attended and helped make this the best GTDRI ever, in my mind. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.

Fun that hurts, that is! I still am not recovered from that ride!

GTDRI 2008: The Photo Blog: Part III

<=== Matt Wills rollin' his beautiful Soulcraft with Michael Beck, rockin' the BKB kit, coming in behind.












<=== The Tiger Lillies were out in full force all along the course this year.














<=== The ever smiling David Pals shows his grit and determination aboard his single speed Casseroll.













<=== Cresting the last section of muddy B road.












As we rolled towards Garwin, and a planned rest stop at the Pronto convenience store, my previous nights beer and lack of sleep kicked in and I was starting to hurt. The hamstrings were getting twitchy, so I had to back off the pace and spin more. They never locked up on me, but if you've had those "on the edge of cramping" twitches, you know what that does to your mental game. I dealt with that the rest of the ride.

Then there was Garwin. Ahhh.......the humanity! Seven cyclists roll into town like a circus sideshow and mix that up with some.....ah, shall we say.....veeeery interesting locals, and you get some high entertainment factors. I don't have the time or space to go into details, but I'll leave you with this image: An elderly lady- probably 70 plus- in a Guns n Roses t shirt. Wow!

Moving on from there we hit up our last B Road which was pretty muddy. Then it was on back towards the north to Ridge Road and the brutal climb to the water tower. I recorded a temperature of 100 degrees there on my computer. Accurate? Meh.......probably not, but it was very hot here. This necessitated a regrouping and rest for a bit at the top. For me, it caused more problems down the road.

Traer saw another round of convenience store weirdness, (a lady talking to her car for one) and then we went on for the finish. Just a few miles west of hickory Hills I got the chills. I mean I felt like I was freezing. Not good! I stopped and immediately poured water on my head and down my back and front inside my jersey. I got my temperature under control and just waited for my breathing to come back to normal. David Pals was stopped just about a tenth of a mile behind me here too. Finally, he rolled up and then Matt Wills came back looking for us. Good on Matt! He got us rolling again and we finally caught up with the rest of the group a few miles up the road where they were waiting.

It was decided that we were going to cut back to Hickory Hills on V-37 to save time. This would still get us our 100 miles and would get Jason back to meet his family who was at the campsite already waiting for him. MG and Jason shot off into the wind at breakneck speed. The rest of us got in a pace line and set off. I was in second wheel behind Matt Wills and we started off at about 18 miles an hour into the wind. the ol' drafting skills came right back and I felt comfortable, almost back to normal here for the final push. I took a pull on the downhill side of the road, and then Jeff got out and pulled some. I looked behind and we had shed off Michael and David. It was just us three and we rolled into the campsite right at six o'clock.

We sat around, drank a beer, said our goodbyes, tore down our tents, packed up, and then it started to get ugly. Rain and lightning were getting intense as we pulled out of Hickory Hills. I went to La Porte with MG, Wills, and Bonsall for pizza. Then we all went our separate ways. Another Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational in the books.

Thanks to each one of you that attended and helped make this the best GTDRI ever, in my mind. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.

Fun that hurts, that is! I still am not recovered from that ride!

GTDRI 2008: The Photo Blog: Part II

<==== Was it foggy, or was it me? A little of both to be sure. Just a bit humid in the AM, I'd say!















<=== Matt Wills gives me the high sign after coming off the first B Maintenance section. Jeff Bonsall is to the right here with Michael Beck following.










<=== Shoot out at the O.K. Corral?

















<=== The roads got increasingly hillier as the day wore on.












<=== On a flat section going into Traer for the first time. A familiar sight for the rest of us that ate Jason and MG's dust all day! Those guys are animals!









The day dawned foggy and humid. We slowly got things together, enjoyed some bits to eat, and got dressed to go. I slid on over to the park gate to see if anyone had been there to join us. Nope! Nobody there, so I rolled back and started hinting that we should go soon. About then, Michael Beck rolled up all ready to go on a fantastic green Interloc Racing cross bike. He was over here in Iowa to visit relatives and drove over from Marshalltown for the fun. Plus one made seven and we were off by about 7:45am.

The pace was perhaps a bit quick right out of the gate, but excitement, nervousness, and the prospects of a long, fun day on a bicycle might be to blame for that. Anyway, we were rolling along real well and then we met our first B Maintenance road about ten miles in.

David, Mike, and Jeff were rolling skinnies. However; David had the only caliper brake bike, a Salsa Casseroll, and the mud didn't take to his bike too well. He had to hoof it a piece. The rest of us waited for him at the end of the B road. This is where Jason got his shot of a deer leg. It's also where the "It's all about death" thing got started, but there's more to that later.

Well, we all got back on track and rolled the hills down into Traer for our bit of detour. I hadn't planned on stopping at Traer, but since we all felt we needed caffeine, or eats, it was decided to pull off route for stop. Here we heard the first of 64,000 "Are you guys getting ready for RAGBRAI?" questions. That would be a common theme at all of our public stops. When we would say that we were on our own ride of a 100 miles of gravel, folks would usually become dumbfounded. Pretty awesome stuff!

As we left Traer, we went south a fair number of miles feeling alternate cool and hot patches of air. It was almost as if we were going in and out of an air conditioned building. Weird! The hills got hillier, and the day got hotter as we pressed on into south western Tama County. We saw the Mesquakie Reservations water towers and turned north towards Garwin.

Stay tuned for the next installment on the ride tomorrow.

GTDRI 2008: The Photo Blog: Part II

<==== Was it foggy, or was it me? A little of both to be sure. Just a bit humid in the AM, I'd say!















<=== Matt Wills gives me the high sign after coming off the first B Maintenance section. Jeff Bonsall is to the right here with Michael Beck following.










<=== Shoot out at the O.K. Corral?

















<=== The roads got increasingly hillier as the day wore on.












<=== On a flat section going into Traer for the first time. A familiar sight for the rest of us that ate Jason and MG's dust all day! Those guys are animals!









The day dawned foggy and humid. We slowly got things together, enjoyed some bits to eat, and got dressed to go. I slid on over to the park gate to see if anyone had been there to join us. Nope! Nobody there, so I rolled back and started hinting that we should go soon. About then, Michael Beck rolled up all ready to go on a fantastic green Interloc Racing cross bike. He was over here in Iowa to visit relatives and drove over from Marshalltown for the fun. Plus one made seven and we were off by about 7:45am.

The pace was perhaps a bit quick right out of the gate, but excitement, nervousness, and the prospects of a long, fun day on a bicycle might be to blame for that. Anyway, we were rolling along real well and then we met our first B Maintenance road about ten miles in.

David, Mike, and Jeff were rolling skinnies. However; David had the only caliper brake bike, a Salsa Casseroll, and the mud didn't take to his bike too well. He had to hoof it a piece. The rest of us waited for him at the end of the B road. This is where Jason got his shot of a deer leg. It's also where the "It's all about death" thing got started, but there's more to that later.

Well, we all got back on track and rolled the hills down into Traer for our bit of detour. I hadn't planned on stopping at Traer, but since we all felt we needed caffeine, or eats, it was decided to pull off route for stop. Here we heard the first of 64,000 "Are you guys getting ready for RAGBRAI?" questions. That would be a common theme at all of our public stops. When we would say that we were on our own ride of a 100 miles of gravel, folks would usually become dumbfounded. Pretty awesome stuff!

As we left Traer, we went south a fair number of miles feeling alternate cool and hot patches of air. It was almost as if we were going in and out of an air conditioned building. Weird! The hills got hillier, and the day got hotter as we pressed on into south western Tama County. We saw the Mesquakie Reservations water towers and turned north towards Garwin.

Stay tuned for the next installment on the ride tomorrow.

GTDRI 2008: The Photo Blog

<=== The pre-ride, night before festivities were attended by Matt Wills, Matt Gersib, Jason Boucher, Jeff Bonsall, David Pals, and myself. I think it's safe to say we all enjoyed ourselves............maybe a bit too much!










<==== The skies cleared and we were treated to a beautiful sunset and comfortable temperatures.













<=== Fire courtesy of Jason Boucher and Matt Gersib. they worked really hard to get this wet wood to light up. Thanks guys!














<=== A few empties here. Some of us had vision about as blurry as this pic before we all turned in a little after midnight.













<=== Nature's own night light was on full power.











Six campers joined together for some great conversations and good times on Friday night down Hickory Hills way. It all started out a little bit on the down side though for me.

I was a bit harried after work, trying to get my stuff loaded into the "Dirty Blue Box" and I was running a bit late as well. This isn't a good combination for me, as I tend to get a bit tense about things, but I managed to keep it together. I finally rolled out about 6:15pm to make a last minute stop at the gas station for some petrol.

I decided while I was at it to grab a couple slices of pizza, since I wasn't planning on eating at the campsite. Well, the ol' car decided to be a bit ornery and not start. So, here I am, sweating the fact that I may have folks wondering where I was, and that my car may not even make it there. Good thing I had some pizza to munch on in the meantime. "Hey! How's it goin'? Yeah....my car won't start, you'll have to pull around me. Sorry!" Not a very flattering position to find one's self in!

Well, it finally fired up, and I got to the campground thinking I was late to find........nobody there!
I guess all that worry was for naught! I got signed in,paid my fee, and was setting up camp when David Pals rolled in. We broke out some beers and started talking just when Matt and Jeff pulled in from Lincoln. They said MG was wandering around looking for us in his Scooby Doo wagon, but couldn't find us. Well, it wasn't long before a cell phone conversation fixed that. (Did I mention my cell phone died the instant I got down there? No?)

Not long after I saw Jason roll up on, ..........('scuse me. I'm not allowed to say what he rolled up on other than it was a bicycle)...... and he set up his tent and joined in on the conversation. We talked.......and talked........and talked till the wee hours when someone motioned that we adjourn the meeting and retire to the respective sleeping chambers.

Well, I know MG and I maybe slept a few hours, but it wasn't much. The others I can't vouch for, but we all rolled out of the sack about 6:30am to prep for the days riding. And what a ride it was.

Stay tuned for more pics and stories soon.

GTDRI 2008: The Photo Blog

<=== The pre-ride, night before festivities were attended by Matt Wills, Matt Gersib, Jason Boucher, Jeff Bonsall, David Pals, and myself. I think it's safe to say we all enjoyed ourselves............maybe a bit too much!










<==== The skies cleared and we were treated to a beautiful sunset and comfortable temperatures.













<=== Fire courtesy of Jason Boucher and Matt Gersib. they worked really hard to get this wet wood to light up. Thanks guys!














<=== A few empties here. Some of us had vision about as blurry as this pic before we all turned in a little after midnight.













<=== Nature's own night light was on full power.











Six campers joined together for some great conversations and good times on Friday night down Hickory Hills way. It all started out a little bit on the down side though for me.

I was a bit harried after work, trying to get my stuff loaded into the "Dirty Blue Box" and I was running a bit late as well. This isn't a good combination for me, as I tend to get a bit tense about things, but I managed to keep it together. I finally rolled out about 6:15pm to make a last minute stop at the gas station for some petrol.

I decided while I was at it to grab a couple slices of pizza, since I wasn't planning on eating at the campsite. Well, the ol' car decided to be a bit ornery and not start. So, here I am, sweating the fact that I may have folks wondering where I was, and that my car may not even make it there. Good thing I had some pizza to munch on in the meantime. "Hey! How's it goin'? Yeah....my car won't start, you'll have to pull around me. Sorry!" Not a very flattering position to find one's self in!

Well, it finally fired up, and I got to the campground thinking I was late to find........nobody there!
I guess all that worry was for naught! I got signed in,paid my fee, and was setting up camp when David Pals rolled in. We broke out some beers and started talking just when Matt and Jeff pulled in from Lincoln. They said MG was wandering around looking for us in his Scooby Doo wagon, but couldn't find us. Well, it wasn't long before a cell phone conversation fixed that. (Did I mention my cell phone died the instant I got down there? No?)

Not long after I saw Jason roll up on, ..........('scuse me. I'm not allowed to say what he rolled up on other than it was a bicycle)...... and he set up his tent and joined in on the conversation. We talked.......and talked........and talked till the wee hours when someone motioned that we adjourn the meeting and retire to the respective sleeping chambers.

Well, I know MG and I maybe slept a few hours, but it wasn't much. The others I can't vouch for, but we all rolled out of the sack about 6:30am to prep for the days riding. And what a ride it was.

Stay tuned for more pics and stories soon.

"It's All About Death"

Today's title? An oft quoted phrase from the ride, I'll explain later.

The good news: No crank arm failures! Seven riders and all finished the 100 miles. No rain. No mechanicals.

The bad news? You have to wait for the pics and stories until later!

I've got a little birthday celebration to attend to today for my son first!

Stay tuned...............

"It's All About Death"

Today's title? An oft quoted phrase from the ride, I'll explain later.

The good news: No crank arm failures! Seven riders and all finished the 100 miles. No rain. No mechanicals.

The bad news? You have to wait for the pics and stories until later!

I've got a little birthday celebration to attend to today for my son first!

Stay tuned...............

The Time Is Nigh.....

<==== Will this scene from last year's GTDRI play itself out again?

It's no secret, this has been a very wet year. We got pounded by another round of soaking thunderstorms again last night. I can honestly say that I don't ever care to hear thunder again this summer. We've had quite enough of that, thank you!

So, we may have a wet ride at some point. It's forecast that we will see an occasional thunderstorm this weekend. Humidity will be quite high as well. Ahh!! Another steamy day on a bike in Iowa! It should be interesting, to say the least!

As I will be "out of the office" after this until Sunday night, this will be the final post for the weekend. Look for a re-cap of the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational next week. I'll have plenty of pictures and surely a story or two to tell. Stay tuned............

Until then, have a great weekend and have fun riding your bike!

The Time Is Nigh.....

<==== Will this scene from last year's GTDRI play itself out again?

It's no secret, this has been a very wet year. We got pounded by another round of soaking thunderstorms again last night. I can honestly say that I don't ever care to hear thunder again this summer. We've had quite enough of that, thank you!

So, we may have a wet ride at some point. It's forecast that we will see an occasional thunderstorm this weekend. Humidity will be quite high as well. Ahh!! Another steamy day on a bike in Iowa! It should be interesting, to say the least!

As I will be "out of the office" after this until Sunday night, this will be the final post for the weekend. Look for a re-cap of the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational next week. I'll have plenty of pictures and surely a story or two to tell. Stay tuned............

Until then, have a great weekend and have fun riding your bike!

Thursday News And Views

<=== It's all about skulls and cross bones, ya know?

Hickory Hills ride: I went down and did some Twenty Nine Inches test ride work yesterday at Hickory Hills. Doubled that up with some recon of the camping area and general exploration of Hickory Hills. You know, it's quite a resource. I think it's way better than Geo. Wyth State Park by a long shot. It's just not parked next door to 90,000 people. Too bad, cause this place is pretty cool. I guess that just means I get it all to myself every time I go down there.

Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational 2008: The ride is cued and we're ready to drop the needle on this Long Play piece for 2008. I posted some bits on the start time and camping on the site that you need to check out if you are coming. Pop up thunderstorm possibilities may make this another epic ride, much like last years.

I decided that I'm riding the Badger, crank arms be damned! (I'll have an 8mm Allen key and a small something-or-other for leverage just in case!) I'll ride this to work today and tomorrow. If it holds, then I'm going with it. The bike was purchased with this sort of thing in mind, so it seems a waste if I don't use it this weekend.

If it fails on me again before Friday night, I'll pull out the Dos Niner. Gotta keep things orange and geared this year. I just don't seem to have my single speed gravel grindin' legs yet.

And Now For Some Manufacturer News: According to an article posted on the Bicycling Retail and Industry News site, Marin Bikes is adding two new 29"er models to its line for 2009. The Nail Trail, which will retail for $1965.00 and the Palisades, which will retail for $1395.00. This will bring the total of 29"ers in their line up to four models. If you include the urban models in the line that can handle 29"er rubber, they actually have six 29"ers in the line.

I'll be looking forward to checking out these at Interbike in the fall. Speaking of which, you can expect an Interbike chock full of 29"er goodness. The things I already know about are huge and in and of themselves would make this years show a standout. I'm sure there are things I don't already know that will surprise me and really blow the show up big. I can't wait!

Here We Go Again!: http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/tour08/news/?id=/news/2008/jul08/jul17news4

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=ap-tourdefrance&prov=ap&type=lgns

Thursday News And Views

<=== It's all about skulls and cross bones, ya know?

Hickory Hills ride: I went down and did some Twenty Nine Inches test ride work yesterday at Hickory Hills. Doubled that up with some recon of the camping area and general exploration of Hickory Hills. You know, it's quite a resource. I think it's way better than Geo. Wyth State Park by a long shot. It's just not parked next door to 90,000 people. Too bad, cause this place is pretty cool. I guess that just means I get it all to myself every time I go down there.

Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational 2008: The ride is cued and we're ready to drop the needle on this Long Play piece for 2008. I posted some bits on the start time and camping on the site that you need to check out if you are coming. Pop up thunderstorm possibilities may make this another epic ride, much like last years.

I decided that I'm riding the Badger, crank arms be damned! (I'll have an 8mm Allen key and a small something-or-other for leverage just in case!) I'll ride this to work today and tomorrow. If it holds, then I'm going with it. The bike was purchased with this sort of thing in mind, so it seems a waste if I don't use it this weekend.

If it fails on me again before Friday night, I'll pull out the Dos Niner. Gotta keep things orange and geared this year. I just don't seem to have my single speed gravel grindin' legs yet.

And Now For Some Manufacturer News: According to an article posted on the Bicycling Retail and Industry News site, Marin Bikes is adding two new 29"er models to its line for 2009. The Nail Trail, which will retail for $1965.00 and the Palisades, which will retail for $1395.00. This will bring the total of 29"ers in their line up to four models. If you include the urban models in the line that can handle 29"er rubber, they actually have six 29"ers in the line.

I'll be looking forward to checking out these at Interbike in the fall. Speaking of which, you can expect an Interbike chock full of 29"er goodness. The things I already know about are huge and in and of themselves would make this years show a standout. I'm sure there are things I don't already know that will surprise me and really blow the show up big. I can't wait!

Here We Go Again!: http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/tour08/news/?id=/news/2008/jul08/jul17news4

http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=ap-tourdefrance&prov=ap&type=lgns

Making A Last Minute Call

<===Will the Badger make the cut, or will it be.......???

Today is decision day. I have to make a call on which rig I'm riding for this weekends Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. It's a dilemma that is kind of half a pain and half "a nice problem to have" sort of deal.

The thing is, I have done the "repair" on the Badger, but I haven't had time to throw down a multi-hour ride on it. Well, until today, that is. There is the looming specter of a crank arm that has failed once that may come off again. I don't like that thought and being several miles from Guitar Ted Laboratories with no bail out plan isn't a thought I like to entertain today. The options?

I could take a swing at the ride this weekend on my Pofahl. Honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea. It's set up for this specific purpose- gravel grinding- it has , count 'em.....one, two, three, four, FIVE water bottle cages on it, meaning I wouldn't have to carry a back pack. The thing is, it's got four more water bottle cages than gears. This is an extremely hilly ride, and last time I tried the Pofahl, I about died on a less hilly route. Of course, that's what the ride is all about now, isn't it?

I had thoughts of riding my sweet El Mariachi, but it too ran aground with a crank arm issue. I fixed that, but again......same deal as the Badger. So, that option has fallen out of favor too. I do have last years veteran of the GTDRI on hand to ride. No issues with that rig. There is a strong possibility that this one might be the bike, but I'll defer to the Badger if things go well today. If they don't, or I just can't mentally shake the thoughts of crank arms falling off in the Tama County hills, I'll be riding this other rig. We'll see.

Like I said, nice problem to have, eh?



<=== The last bit of road the Badger saw in Tama County before the parts started to fly!

Whichever bike I choose, I think this ride will be pretty fun. I've been looking forward to this for awhile now and I will say that it comes at perfect time. I could stand a little vacation from the routine. Especially from the shop side of things, what with that other big ride about to start. That ride always bottlenecks the shop up at this time of the year.

Stay tuned! I'll have some sort of ride report for ya'all tomorrow concerning the choice of bike for this crazy ride of mine. Maybe even a picture or two.

Update: More info has been posted on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational this afternoon. Click the link to see the latest!

Making A Last Minute Call

<===Will the Badger make the cut, or will it be.......???

Today is decision day. I have to make a call on which rig I'm riding for this weekends Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational. It's a dilemma that is kind of half a pain and half "a nice problem to have" sort of deal.

The thing is, I have done the "repair" on the Badger, but I haven't had time to throw down a multi-hour ride on it. Well, until today, that is. There is the looming specter of a crank arm that has failed once that may come off again. I don't like that thought and being several miles from Guitar Ted Laboratories with no bail out plan isn't a thought I like to entertain today. The options?

I could take a swing at the ride this weekend on my Pofahl. Honestly, it wouldn't be a bad idea. It's set up for this specific purpose- gravel grinding- it has , count 'em.....one, two, three, four, FIVE water bottle cages on it, meaning I wouldn't have to carry a back pack. The thing is, it's got four more water bottle cages than gears. This is an extremely hilly ride, and last time I tried the Pofahl, I about died on a less hilly route. Of course, that's what the ride is all about now, isn't it?

I had thoughts of riding my sweet El Mariachi, but it too ran aground with a crank arm issue. I fixed that, but again......same deal as the Badger. So, that option has fallen out of favor too. I do have last years veteran of the GTDRI on hand to ride. No issues with that rig. There is a strong possibility that this one might be the bike, but I'll defer to the Badger if things go well today. If they don't, or I just can't mentally shake the thoughts of crank arms falling off in the Tama County hills, I'll be riding this other rig. We'll see.

Like I said, nice problem to have, eh?



<=== The last bit of road the Badger saw in Tama County before the parts started to fly!

Whichever bike I choose, I think this ride will be pretty fun. I've been looking forward to this for awhile now and I will say that it comes at perfect time. I could stand a little vacation from the routine. Especially from the shop side of things, what with that other big ride about to start. That ride always bottlenecks the shop up at this time of the year.

Stay tuned! I'll have some sort of ride report for ya'all tomorrow concerning the choice of bike for this crazy ride of mine. Maybe even a picture or two.

Update: More info has been posted on the Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational this afternoon. Click the link to see the latest!