ragbrai overnights announced

The Des Moines Register published the overnights in the Sunday paper: Souix City, Cherokee, Lakeview, Webster City, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, Anamosa & Clinton will host the rolling circus this year. The total length of the route is 471.1 miles, with 16,125ft of climbing. If you want more info:   ragbrai.com

Return of the kickstand!!!!!

Just got the latest Bicycle Times the highlight of course being the return of Yahuda Moon, love this comic and so should everyone....... :0)

Warm weather..........?

Both the KCCI weather beacon & and the The Weather Channel confirm it, we can expect warm-ish weather the rest of the week......GETA RIDE IN BEFORE THE BIG FREEZE!!!!

Ps----watched a decent documentary called "Ride the Divide", check it out of your into the uber endurance racing thing....or at least like me and into watching other people do it

Pss---Love the iphone screen shot function, as you can see Sprint is my carrier and i have a fully charged battery :0)

Chain Art

Found this in the Bicycle Times web page the other day and thought I'd share it.....by the way, Bicycle Times is a great magazine for people who commute or love the current state of bike culture

Snow Day=Snow Ride

 Woke up this morning to discover winter is upon us, and surprisingly I wanted to ride...? So after some much needed gaming time and a bowl of ramen with two fried eggs, I put on everything wool I own and went out onto the tundra.....made my way from Sherman hill to Water Works/Ashworth Park, Then downtown for lunch, and straight up the hill back to my place:

looking out the back deck

Ride Route

cruising down Kingman Blvd

Itsa Snow Day

trail map at Ashworth Pool

Bridge just west of Greys Lake

Stupid Shit My Girlfriend Found On Etsy........

this item was described in the ad as:

 Sexy Red Periodic Table Elements Wine Gift Bag

It can be purchased for 15.00USD by following this link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/65640861/sexy-red-periodic-table-elements-wine?ref=tre-1834039900-3

WTF?????

New Issue Gt Performer 26inch

So kids, its here....available maybe, but GT is showing it on there website as a bike they're producing

2012 GT Performer 26"



Relive your days of BMX on a bike that wont make you feel like a bear riding a tricycle.....I have a 26"BMX bike in my stable and love it. they are snappy handling and make tired trails feel fun again.
This is the second time around for GT with the 26" Performer, here's an image of the 80's version of this fun factory:

vintage GT 26" found on vintagebmx.com

truthfully the older version has better parts than its newer counter part.....of course to have the equivalent parts the new performer would cost thousands of dollars, and its a harder sell for what would not be a daily rider. of course there are other companies make super high end versions of the 26" BMX

Companies That High-End 26" BMX bikes

Texas Fireman's Cruiser ---simple frames, that come in a variety of colors and wheelsizes



Sycip ---one model handcrafted in sonoma, ca
Black Sheep Bikes ----custom titanium love, built in fort collins, co (can you say chaaaChing?)
Cook Bros. Racing ----old school bmx company making a comeback
DMR---for the hardcore-ish, burly bikes from across the pond

send me a portrait of you and you bike

been kicking around the idea of compiling a gallery of people and there bike(s)........my initial inclination was to roam the streets of des moines, camera in tow, badgering cyclist to take there photograph. then I realized that the interweb is actually meant to connect people and assist in the gathering of information.....sooo, send me a picture of you and your bike or bikes to the following email address and you'll more than likely see it posted a few days later.

dragonflybikes@gmail.com

hope to see you and your bike soon

RiDE FrEE

curtis' show @ Mars Cafe'

Friend and follow reluctant cyclist, Curtis Poortinga just hung his show at Mars Cafe......opening night is Friday, Jan 13th from 7-9pm

New-ish Danny MacAskill Video

Was sitting at the coffee shop the other day and my buddy/riding partner/barista looked up in his not-so-enthused way, and proclaimed "have you seen the new MacAskill?"...."No?" I replied. after a quick search of  youtube it was mine for the watching....Its really good,no, really its good. sound track is great, riding off the chain, and backdrops beautiful....check it out:

keep up on what danny is doing at: www.dannymacaskill.co.uk

if you wanna a little more here's another one....this one is a bit shorter

On a way less cool note, realized ive put about 500 or so miles on the current configuration of the casseroll and havent really updated what it currently looks/ rides like:

 So whats different? Threw on some 'cross tires (Ritchey SpeedMax Comp, be exact), FSA Metropolis Handlebar, and a 110mm -9degree stem....for me this is a magic combination...slightly upright, yet quick handling. adding length to the stem allows for the aggressive back sweep of the bars: so i get a comfy hand position that handles really well. The SpeedMax tires roll great, and hook up when pushed onto the sidewalls, perfect for the dirty trails of my commute...thats all for now, thanks and enjoy

Origami?

completely not bike related other than its what my son chose to do other than ride his bike

BRR ride time & Date



Got my mail from the old house today and in it was a nice little note from the Perry, Ia Chamber of Commerce.....The 35th annual BRR ride will be held on Feb. 4th, with a start time of 10am. The start location will be the same as every year, downtown, 2nd & Willis to be exact......think this year is gonna be a haul the booze trailer kinda year......cya there

ps....just looked and specailized website and found this gem for the ongoing "i cant beleive bikes cost more than cars" thing ive been posting the last couple days

The new S-works Venge......$18,000 Really? this bike cost more than my Honda Fit, appearently the recession is NOT effecting everyone





First ride inna while......

the full map can be found at the des moines bike collective website

soooo.....a few days after my last post, a workmate approached me about meeting up friday morning to commute to work. Its a meandering ride over 13miles of wooded, paved trail that follows the des moines river. on any given day you'll be treated to an assortment of wildlife....in the past six months i've seen muskrat, snapping turtle, raccoon, deer, an assortment of small birds, and one or twice a  clutch bald eagles the live in an ancient cottonwood has graced me with a visit. Just before the entrance to cottonwood campground, our group will turn off onto the ankeny extention, just finished this year-ish....and follow that to a nice little climb up to oralabor rd., we've named it simply "ankeny hill", and use it as a measuring stick of how we are feeling that day versus others and what our overall fitness/hungoverness is as a group. in antispation of "the hill", i thought it best to at least throw a leg over the bike prior to our 5am start the following day and make sure i was at least fit enough to pedal the thing the complete distance....i desided a short coffee run was the best berometer of my lack of fitness  and with that in mind set off for my destination, a short three quarter mile juant from my apartment. while i still have no idea how things will pan out over the longer distance of my commute, let me tell you it sooooo good being back on the bike!!!!! i rode most of the way no-handed, slicing my way through traffic, coasting instead of breaking, and even making a short not-so-steep climb over a freeway bridge, before arriving at Mars Cafe with a ridiculiously sized permagrin plastered to my face. left a map of the neal smith which details the section from urbandale to ankeny, the map hasnt been updated since the completion of the ankeny extention.....but, never fear its there, you can now ride to the DMACC ankeny campus almost entirely on paved dedicated bike/pedestrian paths