Bikes Of 2015: "Fat Fargo"

The "Fat Fargo" was the "perfect bike" on a couple of occasions

Here's a bike that, to be quite honest, I used far more than I had ever thought I would when this year began. Back in January it was pretty much an experiment in a possible bikepacking platform, maybe reverting back to the XC-ish, dirt oriented Fargo I figured it always would be ever since I have had this 2012 version of the Fargo. A chance at getting to go to the Dirty Kanza 200 ended up changing my outlook on this bike dramatically.

The Bike: This is a Gen 2 version of the Salsa Cycles Fargo model which has been modified to be a 27.5+/B+ type drop bar hard tail bike. I built it up originally from a frame and fork. I'll detail some of the more interesting bits from the current build:

• Wheels: The hubs are '00 era Chris King ISO Disc hubs laced to Velocity USA Blunt 35 rims with Wheelsmith spokes and alloy nipples. 
• Tires: WTB Trailblazer 2.8's tubeless
• Divetrain is a 3X9 using an '07 LX crank and SRAM 9spd 11-36T cassette
• Shifters are a mixed bag. Rear shifter is a Gevenalle 10 speed GX. (YES- ten speed), and the front shifter is a Shimano bar end. 
• Seat Post: Salsa Cycles Regulator titanium 27.2 x 400mm
• Handlebars: Salsa Cycles Cowchipper 46cm. 

The longest ride I have ever done in terms of mileage and time in the saddle was done on this bike at the DK200 last Spring. I also used it at Odin's Revenge, and in both instances I was told by fellow riders that this was "the perfect bike" for the conditions. In many ways, it perhaps was that. I know that at the DK 200 that I had a distinct advantage over many when it came to the mud and water crossings. At Odin's, the "moon dust", ruts, and dirt were easier with the bigger, cushy tires. I had float too when it mattered. 

Disadvantages maybe were more wheel weight, and a heavier over all bike, but honestly, the planted feel and stability the bike had in the higher speed down hills and technical stuff made up for it. Anyway, I don't foresee any major modifications to this set up and I expect to use it again at some events next season. 

Bikes Of 2015: "Fat Fargo"

The "Fat Fargo" was the "perfect bike" on a couple of occasions

Here's a bike that, to be quite honest, I used far more than I had ever thought I would when this year began. Back in January it was pretty much an experiment in a possible bikepacking platform, maybe reverting back to the XC-ish, dirt oriented Fargo I figured it always would be ever since I have had this 2012 version of the Fargo. A chance at getting to go to the Dirty Kanza 200 ended up changing my outlook on this bike dramatically.

The Bike: This is a Gen 2 version of the Salsa Cycles Fargo model which has been modified to be a 27.5+/B+ type drop bar hard tail bike. I built it up originally from a frame and fork. I'll detail some of the more interesting bits from the current build:

• Wheels: The hubs are '00 era Chris King ISO Disc hubs laced to Velocity USA Blunt 35 rims with Wheelsmith spokes and alloy nipples. 
• Tires: WTB Trailblazer 2.8's tubeless
• Divetrain is a 3X9 using an '07 LX crank and SRAM 9spd 11-36T cassette
• Shifters are a mixed bag. Rear shifter is a Gevenalle 10 speed GX. (YES- ten speed), and the front shifter is a Shimano bar end. 
• Seat Post: Salsa Cycles Regulator titanium 27.2 x 400mm
• Handlebars: Salsa Cycles Cowchipper 46cm. 

The longest ride I have ever done in terms of mileage and time in the saddle was done on this bike at the DK200 last Spring. I also used it at Odin's Revenge, and in both instances I was told by fellow riders that this was "the perfect bike" for the conditions. In many ways, it perhaps was that. I know that at the DK 200 that I had a distinct advantage over many when it came to the mud and water crossings. At Odin's, the "moon dust", ruts, and dirt were easier with the bigger, cushy tires. I had float too when it mattered. 

Disadvantages maybe were more wheel weight, and a heavier over all bike, but honestly, the planted feel and stability the bike had in the higher speed down hills and technical stuff made up for it. Anyway, I don't foresee any major modifications to this set up and I expect to use it again at some events next season. 

Rear View 2015- Part 1

Although I didn't know it at the time, this was to be my main event rig for 2015

 Well, as I forewarned, and as I have done about every year end now, here is my series on a look back over at 2015 before it is gone.  

The time of year for reflection has come once again. Here's to a big 2015. Looking back, I found several highlights and low ebbs. Here's a look at a few for today.....

Sickness: The year started out with several bouts of sickness for the entire Guitar Ted family. That put me off my bikes more than I was on them to get 2015 rolling. January wasn't very snowy to start out with, but it was cold and dreary. I could have been riding, but the seriousness of my illnesses prevented almost anything from getting done. I was a bit anxious due to the fact that I had been extended the opportunity to ride in the Dirty Kanza 200 event on its 10th anniversary.

Miraculously I was okay to attend Frostbike in February once again. There was no Mike's Bikes visit or even a stop in Northfield, which I missed, but I did get to do something pretty crazy anyway. Due to a weird set of circumstances, I made a 12.5 mile walk through the heart of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the snow and temperatures in the teens. This took me from about 2:30am till about 6:30am and caused me to miss the first day of the expo at Quality Bicycle Products. The next day I received no less than a few strange looks and a few stern reminders that I have friends willing to bail me out next time.

An old header from this very blog was brought back in my 10 years of blogging review.

A Decade In Review: 

I also started out with a look back over my ten years of blogging here with some of my past headers and stories of my travels and writing associated with this crazy site. All the way from being a guest blogger on Jeff Kerkove's blog in 2004 till May of 2005 when I turned the lights on here, and then all the craziness that ensued due to the writing here which led me down the path of The Bicycle Hub, The Cyclistsite, Twenty Nine Inches and Gravel Grinder News was detailed.

As I have said many, many times here- thank you very much for reading here and for your past support. Hopefully I will continue to add something positive to your day as you continue to stop by to see what's up here.

The "Tin Cowboy" of Conlen Texas. Just because I like this image!

Website Changes:

As mentioned, I have been doing other web related writing all along, and in 2015 that load got cut down to a large degree, on my terms, and it has worked out rather well. I left Twenty Nine Inches behind and merged Gravel Grinder news in with Ben Welnak's RidingGravel.com. Much less work load and better opportunities to spend time with my family and working on much needed household things was the result. This all took place right out of the gate in January of 2005.

Misc: 

 The Trans Iowa site cannot be forgotten. I was busy doing updates there as the 11th running of that event drew nearer. There was a recon which was done mid-April and cue sheets to print right afterward. T-shirts were designed for the volunteers and a special design came from an image of an old, archaic bicycle tool manufactured right here in Iowa. Otherwise it was a lead up like about any other Trans Iowa of late.

Finally, for this entry anyway, I'll mention that we got back down to El Paso, Texas after missing it for a year to see the in-laws and ride bikes. Unfortunately, I got some bad food poisoning which took out a couple of days, the very ones I had open to ride on, so I drug my fat bike down there and back for nothing. Next time.......

And speaking of "next time", there will be a new post coming which will be a "Rear View" of all the events I did throughout the year. Stay tuned.....

Rear View 2015- Part 1

Although I didn't know it at the time, this was to be my main event rig for 2015

 Well, as I forewarned, and as I have done about every year end now, here is my series on a look back over at 2015 before it is gone.  

The time of year for reflection has come once again. Here's to a big 2015. Looking back, I found several highlights and low ebbs. Here's a look at a few for today.....

Sickness: The year started out with several bouts of sickness for the entire Guitar Ted family. That put me off my bikes more than I was on them to get 2015 rolling. January wasn't very snowy to start out with, but it was cold and dreary. I could have been riding, but the seriousness of my illnesses prevented almost anything from getting done. I was a bit anxious due to the fact that I had been extended the opportunity to ride in the Dirty Kanza 200 event on its 10th anniversary.

Miraculously I was okay to attend Frostbike in February once again. There was no Mike's Bikes visit or even a stop in Northfield, which I missed, but I did get to do something pretty crazy anyway. Due to a weird set of circumstances, I made a 12.5 mile walk through the heart of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the snow and temperatures in the teens. This took me from about 2:30am till about 6:30am and caused me to miss the first day of the expo at Quality Bicycle Products. The next day I received no less than a few strange looks and a few stern reminders that I have friends willing to bail me out next time.

An old header from this very blog was brought back in my 10 years of blogging review.

A Decade In Review: 

I also started out with a look back over my ten years of blogging here with some of my past headers and stories of my travels and writing associated with this crazy site. All the way from being a guest blogger on Jeff Kerkove's blog in 2004 till May of 2005 when I turned the lights on here, and then all the craziness that ensued due to the writing here which led me down the path of The Bicycle Hub, The Cyclistsite, Twenty Nine Inches and Gravel Grinder News was detailed.

As I have said many, many times here- thank you very much for reading here and for your past support. Hopefully I will continue to add something positive to your day as you continue to stop by to see what's up here.

The "Tin Cowboy" of Conlen Texas. Just because I like this image!

Website Changes:

As mentioned, I have been doing other web related writing all along, and in 2015 that load got cut down to a large degree, on my terms, and it has worked out rather well. I left Twenty Nine Inches behind and merged Gravel Grinder news in with Ben Welnak's RidingGravel.com. Much less work load and better opportunities to spend time with my family and working on much needed household things was the result. This all took place right out of the gate in January of 2005.

Misc: 

 The Trans Iowa site cannot be forgotten. I was busy doing updates there as the 11th running of that event drew nearer. There was a recon which was done mid-April and cue sheets to print right afterward. T-shirts were designed for the volunteers and a special design came from an image of an old, archaic bicycle tool manufactured right here in Iowa. Otherwise it was a lead up like about any other Trans Iowa of late.

Finally, for this entry anyway, I'll mention that we got back down to El Paso, Texas after missing it for a year to see the in-laws and ride bikes. Unfortunately, I got some bad food poisoning which took out a couple of days, the very ones I had open to ride on, so I drug my fat bike down there and back for nothing. Next time.......

And speaking of "next time", there will be a new post coming which will be a "Rear View" of all the events I did throughout the year. Stay tuned.....

Bikes Of 2015: Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross

Surprise, surprise! You knew this was coming, didn't you?

When I started this  series on bikes I used during 2015, a lot of you probably thought that this would be showing up sooner or later. It has been in "regular rotation" as a bike I generally use since I purchased the frame and fork four years ago or so. The funny thing about this one is that I get asked a lot about it and what components I have on it. More so than anything else I own.

The Bike: This is a bike from a bike shop with the same name- Black Mountain Cycles- which is located at Point Reyes Station, California. This one is the Monster Cross frame and fork. I call it "Orange Crush", but Black Mountain Cycles founder, Mike Varley, can't do that for obvious reasons. You can get a full build kit from BMC, but I got just the frame set. While I often modify this bike, the basic set up is as follows with this one:

• Crank Set: Older Shimano Non-series five arm 110BCD w/46T/36T rings
• Cassette: SRAM 9 speed 11-34T
• Rear Derailleur: Older Ultegra 9 speed long cage.
• Front Derailleur: 90's vintage top pull Shimano STX
• Shifters/Brake levers: Gevenalle- These are the older non-linear pull type which I mounted Shimano 9spd bar end shifters to. 
• Wheels: Either Velocity USA polished A-23's or HED Ardennes+ with various tires.
• Brakes: Tektro cantilevers
• Stem & Seat Post: Ritchey Classic
• Headset: Origin 8 sealed bearing threadless. 
• Handle Bar: Salsa Cycles 46cm Cowbell
• Saddle: WTB Pure V
• Rack: Velo Orange Pass Hunter
• Bags: Front Rack-  Out of production, sorry!, Frame- Revelate Tangle Bag, Medium, Top Tube Bag- Planet Bike Snack Sack. 
• Fenders: (When Used) Planet Bike Cascadia ALX

Obviously I like this bike a lot. It just plain works and is comfortable. It is by no means perfect from my point of view though. The bottom bracket is too high, and the head angle a bit too steep. This bike gets kinda squirrelly when things get fast and loose, which I am not comfortable with. But mostly it is fun and it can swallow huge tires and have the capability to run fenders all without a truck-like wheel base. Actually, it is a pretty amazing design, and one I often point to when I get feedback from other bike companies saying, "We can't do that.....". Obviously, you could, and the proof is right here in the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross rig. Now if I could only get Mike Varley to design a disc brake version with a lower BB and slightly slacker head angle.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bikes Of 2015: Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross

Surprise, surprise! You knew this was coming, didn't you?

When I started this  series on bikes I used during 2015, a lot of you probably thought that this would be showing up sooner or later. It has been in "regular rotation" as a bike I generally use since I purchased the frame and fork four years ago or so. The funny thing about this one is that I get asked a lot about it and what components I have on it. More so than anything else I own.

The Bike: This is a bike from a bike shop with the same name- Black Mountain Cycles- which is located at Point Reyes Station, California. This one is the Monster Cross frame and fork. I call it "Orange Crush", but Black Mountain Cycles founder, Mike Varley, can't do that for obvious reasons. You can get a full build kit from BMC, but I got just the frame set. While I often modify this bike, the basic set up is as follows with this one:

• Crank Set: Older Shimano Non-series five arm 110BCD w/46T/36T rings
• Cassette: SRAM 9 speed 11-34T
• Rear Derailleur: Older Ultegra 9 speed long cage.
• Front Derailleur: 90's vintage top pull Shimano STX
• Shifters/Brake levers: Gevenalle- These are the older non-linear pull type which I mounted Shimano 9spd bar end shifters to. 
• Wheels: Either Velocity USA polished A-23's or HED Ardennes+ with various tires.
• Brakes: Tektro cantilevers
• Stem & Seat Post: Ritchey Classic
• Headset: Origin 8 sealed bearing threadless. 
• Handle Bar: Salsa Cycles 46cm Cowbell
• Saddle: WTB Pure V
• Rack: Velo Orange Pass Hunter
• Bags: Front Rack-  Out of production, sorry!, Frame- Revelate Tangle Bag, Medium, Top Tube Bag- Planet Bike Snack Sack. 
• Fenders: (When Used) Planet Bike Cascadia ALX

Obviously I like this bike a lot. It just plain works and is comfortable. It is by no means perfect from my point of view though. The bottom bracket is too high, and the head angle a bit too steep. This bike gets kinda squirrelly when things get fast and loose, which I am not comfortable with. But mostly it is fun and it can swallow huge tires and have the capability to run fenders all without a truck-like wheel base. Actually, it is a pretty amazing design, and one I often point to when I get feedback from other bike companies saying, "We can't do that.....". Obviously, you could, and the proof is right here in the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross rig. Now if I could only get Mike Varley to design a disc brake version with a lower BB and slightly slacker head angle.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Hike

The kids scarcely got out of the car and they were taking pictures.

Snowy Christmas? Ha! Highly unlikely given that the weather had been so unusually warm throughout December, yet that's what we got. It started on my commute home from the bike shop Thursday and it snowed heavily all afternoon, giving us just enough cover to make it a truly white Christmas. A Christmas miracle? Perhaps.

Christmas Day here is foggy and with all the fresh, white snow, low winds, and temperatures warm enough for almost any activity, I decided the family needed to do a walk around the lake out by the Green Belt.

It was a perfect time to do the walk, as the snow was on the branches, a slight fog in the air, and not many folks were stirring yet. Probably they were all busy opening gifts, or sleeping in. We had a modest Christmas. There were no gifts. Just time spent with each other, and on the walk, at least, no distractions from the outside world.

It wasn't a bike ride, or a fancy device, or a shiny gift wrapped with a bow, but it was a better Christmas morning than I have had in many a year. Not that doing traditional things is bad, but I feel like stripping things down to what really matters, at least once in a while, is a good thing to do.

I'll share a few images below......

The peaceful scene was punctuated by a few calls from the Canadian Geese and low quacks of Mallards.

Mother and Daughter

The Green Belt trails look to have a lot of standing water on them from the recent flood.

Christmas Hike

The kids scarcely got out of the car and they were taking pictures.

Snowy Christmas? Ha! Highly unlikely given that the weather had been so unusually warm throughout December, yet that's what we got. It started on my commute home from the bike shop Thursday and it snowed heavily all afternoon, giving us just enough cover to make it a truly white Christmas. A Christmas miracle? Perhaps.

Christmas Day here is foggy and with all the fresh, white snow, low winds, and temperatures warm enough for almost any activity, I decided the family needed to do a walk around the lake out by the Green Belt.

It was a perfect time to do the walk, as the snow was on the branches, a slight fog in the air, and not many folks were stirring yet. Probably they were all busy opening gifts, or sleeping in. We had a modest Christmas. There were no gifts. Just time spent with each other, and on the walk, at least, no distractions from the outside world.

It wasn't a bike ride, or a fancy device, or a shiny gift wrapped with a bow, but it was a better Christmas morning than I have had in many a year. Not that doing traditional things is bad, but I feel like stripping things down to what really matters, at least once in a while, is a good thing to do.

I'll share a few images below......

The peaceful scene was punctuated by a few calls from the Canadian Geese and low quacks of Mallards.

Mother and Daughter

The Green Belt trails look to have a lot of standing water on them from the recent flood.

Merry Christmas!

A neighborhood scene from Iowa with love!

Merry Christmas!
From Guitar Ted Productions!

Here's hoping you and your loved ones have a Happy Holiday season. 

Stay safe and thanks for reading, as always!

 

Merry Christmas!

A neighborhood scene from Iowa with love!

Merry Christmas!
From Guitar Ted Productions!

Here's hoping you and your loved ones have a Happy Holiday season. 

Stay safe and thanks for reading, as always!

 

Bikes Of 2015: Raleigh Tamland Two

The 2015 edition of the Tamland Two was a winner.

This is another bike that needs no introduction to long time blog readers here. And yes.......it was the second bike that popped up when I did a random search! This one has been through a few minor modification stages, so I'll list the current state of the bike and highlight what I swapped out.

The Bike: The frame and fork are the same 2014 model edition pieces that I got originally, but I have changed out some drive train bits. The too big 50T Ultegra ring was swapped out quite a while back to an Ultegra 46T one. This year I swapped out the chain and cassette to a SRAM 11-36T 11 speed set up. The lowered gearing was much appreciated! The stem, handle bars, and saddle were all changed out as well. I am not 100% in love with the fizik Aliante saddle, so that may disappear, but the Cowbell and Bontrager stem will remain here. I've used lots of different tires on this rig and currently I have the fenders off of it and it is sporting Bruce Gordon Rock & Road 43mm skin wall tires.

I really like this bike, and as well I should. The basic geometry and many of the features on the bike were direct results of my involvement with the design of this bike. The frame is really a nice riding one and the fork is such a great compliment to it that I can forgive Raleigh for the lack of fender clearance due to the use of a unicrown fork. Anyone know of a good custom fork builder that uses a sloping crown fork? 

Future Changes: The wheels will get changed out sometime in 2016, and as mentioned, the saddle will most likely get swapped out as well. That fizik is close, but.........not quite there. The main thing will be getting the wheels swapped over so I can run tubeless tires on this bike.

Bikes Of 2015: Raleigh Tamland Two

The 2015 edition of the Tamland Two was a winner.

This is another bike that needs no introduction to long time blog readers here. And yes.......it was the second bike that popped up when I did a random search! This one has been through a few minor modification stages, so I'll list the current state of the bike and highlight what I swapped out.

The Bike: The frame and fork are the same 2014 model edition pieces that I got originally, but I have changed out some drive train bits. The too big 50T Ultegra ring was swapped out quite a while back to an Ultegra 46T one. This year I swapped out the chain and cassette to a SRAM 11-36T 11 speed set up. The lowered gearing was much appreciated! The stem, handle bars, and saddle were all changed out as well. I am not 100% in love with the fizik Aliante saddle, so that may disappear, but the Cowbell and Bontrager stem will remain here. I've used lots of different tires on this rig and currently I have the fenders off of it and it is sporting Bruce Gordon Rock & Road 43mm skin wall tires.

I really like this bike, and as well I should. The basic geometry and many of the features on the bike were direct results of my involvement with the design of this bike. The frame is really a nice riding one and the fork is such a great compliment to it that I can forgive Raleigh for the lack of fender clearance due to the use of a unicrown fork. Anyone know of a good custom fork builder that uses a sloping crown fork? 

Future Changes: The wheels will get changed out sometime in 2016, and as mentioned, the saddle will most likely get swapped out as well. That fizik is close, but.........not quite there. The main thing will be getting the wheels swapped over so I can run tubeless tires on this bike.

Bikes Of 2015: Salsa Cycles Blackborow DS

You know it is a good bike if you don't mod it after purchase.

This is my first "Bike of 2015" only because when I picked a random month from this past year it was the first bicycle of mine that popped up. So, this will be a post on the bike and why it is one of my favorites.

The Bike: This is an almost 100% stock size Large 2015 Salsa Cycles Blackborow DS. I changed the grips and added my old Atomic pedals. I accessorized the bike with a Bike Bag Dude rear saddle bag, two Chaff Bags, and of late I have added a J-Paks top tube bag. I have altered the bike in Summer with a Rock Shox Bluto, but currently it is back to the stock fork with the two Salsa Anything Cage HD cages. I also have two water bottle cages on it, and come to think of it, those will come off for the Winter.

I've written scads of words about this bike since I got it just over a year ago. (Here is my year review), so hit the link if you want something more in-depth than I'm sharing here. I will only add that the handling is fun, and the bike accomplishes what I wanted. That being a bike that floats and traverses deep snow better than what I had before. The Lou/Lou front and rear combo of tires is amazing, and rolls well enough for my purposes.

Future Plans: I do have some pretty ambitious plans for this bike. Pieces and parts have been acquired and still need to be acquired to get this where I want it, but I am not quite ready to give up all the details just yet. Long time readers here can probably already guess what I am up to! But the bottom line here is that this seems to be a bike that has struck a nerve with me and I want to keep exploring all of the possibilities I can regarding it. 

So, that was short and sweet! Look for another bike to be featured tomorrow.

Bikes Of 2015: Salsa Cycles Blackborow DS

You know it is a good bike if you don't mod it after purchase.

This is my first "Bike of 2015" only because when I picked a random month from this past year it was the first bicycle of mine that popped up. So, this will be a post on the bike and why it is one of my favorites.

The Bike: This is an almost 100% stock size Large 2015 Salsa Cycles Blackborow DS. I changed the grips and added my old Atomic pedals. I accessorized the bike with a Bike Bag Dude rear saddle bag, two Chaff Bags, and of late I have added a J-Paks top tube bag. I have altered the bike in Summer with a Rock Shox Bluto, but currently it is back to the stock fork with the two Salsa Anything Cage HD cages. I also have two water bottle cages on it, and come to think of it, those will come off for the Winter.

I've written scads of words about this bike since I got it just over a year ago. (Here is my year review), so hit the link if you want something more in-depth than I'm sharing here. I will only add that the handling is fun, and the bike accomplishes what I wanted. That being a bike that floats and traverses deep snow better than what I had before. The Lou/Lou front and rear combo of tires is amazing, and rolls well enough for my purposes.

Future Plans: I do have some pretty ambitious plans for this bike. Pieces and parts have been acquired and still need to be acquired to get this where I want it, but I am not quite ready to give up all the details just yet. Long time readers here can probably already guess what I am up to! But the bottom line here is that this seems to be a bike that has struck a nerve with me and I want to keep exploring all of the possibilities I can regarding it. 

So, that was short and sweet! Look for another bike to be featured tomorrow.

Bikes Of 2015

From that one time in 2015 when we actually had snow!

Over the course of the year I have been using an assortment of bicycles and blogging about them here. They have been old friends and new. I guess, in a way, you could say that these were my favorite bikes that I used in 2015. I have other bikes as well, but for whatever reason, they weren't used much- or at all- all year this year.

I thought it might be kind of fun to do a special post on each one that I found here in the past blog posts for 2015. I won't be doing these in any special order, so if I don't get to one you were wondering about, stay tuned.....

Each post will give you a breakdown of each bike- frame, fork, parts, and why I like those things. If there is some future changes in store, I'll detail those as well. If there is a reason I think each bike could be better, I'll say so.

This will be in addition to my usual "Rear View" posts, which will begin next week. So, if you have any requests, please let them be known in the comments. Otherwise, stay tuned for the first bike to be revealed tomorrow. I'm not even sure how many there will be! So, I cannot say if this will go on the rest of this year or just this week. You'll have to keep checking back to see just what I come up with!

Bikes Of 2015

From that one time in 2015 when we actually had snow!

Over the course of the year I have been using an assortment of bicycles and blogging about them here. They have been old friends and new. I guess, in a way, you could say that these were my favorite bikes that I used in 2015. I have other bikes as well, but for whatever reason, they weren't used much- or at all- all year this year.

I thought it might be kind of fun to do a special post on each one that I found here in the past blog posts for 2015. I won't be doing these in any special order, so if I don't get to one you were wondering about, stay tuned.....

Each post will give you a breakdown of each bike- frame, fork, parts, and why I like those things. If there is some future changes in store, I'll detail those as well. If there is a reason I think each bike could be better, I'll say so.

This will be in addition to my usual "Rear View" posts, which will begin next week. So, if you have any requests, please let them be known in the comments. Otherwise, stay tuned for the first bike to be revealed tomorrow. I'm not even sure how many there will be! So, I cannot say if this will go on the rest of this year or just this week. You'll have to keep checking back to see just what I come up with!

They Get Longer From Here

The wind was stiff coming up from the South

What an incredible Winter so far here in Iowa. Okay......yes, it doesn't officially start till today, but generally we're very cold and have some snow on the ground at this time of the year. We have neither now. While we have had a few days that were cold here and there, for the most part we've held steady in the upper 30's and all the way up to 50 degrees since October ended. That's just plain weird. Really weird!

Last year we had some great days leading up to Christmas too, so it's been two years running with extremely warm, (relatively speaking), late Falls/early Winters with great road conditions in the country for riding. I've been totally taking advantage of that, and Sunday was no exception.

The plan was to swap out wheels on the Black Mountain Cycles rig and use the HED Ardennes+ wheels which were set up with the tubeless Clement MSO 36mm tires. With everything pretty much dialed in, I was ready to ride just after noon and as I was about to leave my daughter advised me that it was "really windy out", and that I should be careful. I saw that the computer showed that it was 20mph out of the South, but as I have found, you can easily add 5mph to that when you get out there and are actually dealing with the wind. It seems it is always worse away from the city.

So, I did the table top flat grind on the Sergent Road bike path South till I was well out of town and could jump on Aker Road, which is my usual route South. Since I was out of sorts a few weeks back, and feeling very weak, I assumed that I had contracted some malady or another, and since then I have been building my way back up to longer rides. The wind was amplifying the difficulty, but what was there to do? I either learn to deal with that and get stronger or I don't ride outside, which isn't an option at all for me. More power to you who can ride indoors on a trainer. That isn't for me at all!

Stopped to pay my respects and remember how blessed I am.

Heading South out in the open country, I felt okay, but it was obvious that I was working hard. Still, I felt I was putting down some steady power and my breathing was steady and not labored. That's good progress so far since a few weeks back. I figured on pushing a few extra miles since I was last out this way a week ago. I don't want to over do it, but I want to go a little longer every time I can get out.

Interestingly, there are scads of cemeteries in Iowa and they can be found all over the countryside. I often see several on my rides around here. Another commonly seen thing are markers on highways where someone has lost their life. Used to be that insurance companies would put markers out to advertise their business and honor the dead, but that stopped back in the 1970's and now individuals will make their own, home made markers. Again, this is very common on paved roadways, since that's where most accidents occur. However; there is a marker on Aker Road, which is curious, since it isn't where you might expect it to be. I have seen these homemade markers on occasion in the country on rural roads, but they are rare. Anyway, I thought to stop and take a picture of the one and only one I have noticed around here on a gravel road. Maybe I've forgotten others? I should check that out........

 So, anyway, I was feeling strong against the wind and at one point I was so optimistic that I was considering a longer ride, but my practical side prevailed. Keep it just a bit longer, build up, and before I know it, the longer rides will be happening. I'd like to get to where I can go down to Traer and use that as a stop, then come back. That will be 60-ish miles or more depending upon the exact route, so not only do I have some work to do to get there, but I need longer days to do it on! With today being the shortest day of the year, I am hoping to start seeing some longer days on the bike in the near future.

Taking a break on Quarry Road.

Of course, that all depends upon when and if Winter decides to rear its frozen head again. I am quite certain that will happen at some point. Then I will shift gears to riding the fat bikes and I will be doing a totally different kind of riding then. Pushing, going slower in snow, and busting my own trail. That will be a more time based activity and miles won't matter as much. I know sometimes I work harder fat biking than I do any other type of cycling!.

Whenever it comes, Winter will certainly put a different spin on things around here, but until then, I will be riding gravel roads as much as I possibly can. The thing is, when Winter does hit, even if I can ride gravel. it is probably going to have to be on fatter tires to deal with the ice and snow. Which isn't all bad, but you never know what the air temperatures will be and add in wind chill and, well....... Staying in the woods and within the city might be the best option then. 

Any way that you slice it, things are going to be looking up. Longer rides, as long as I stay healthy, and longer days are both on the way. It's a great Christmas present, as far as I am concerned, and I am glad that I have the capacity to ride as much as I do at the age that I am. I am pretty blessed, really. So, I'll be taking each warm day as it comes, and keeping in mind that one more warm day now is one less day of "real" Winter. One day closer to Spring.

Sorry if you are a snow lover! I like it just fine, but this is more fun, and I like warmer weather for cycling.