Not riding, Not doing all that well

on the heels of my last post, which was shotty at best, i left out some crucial information......I havent really been riding at ALL. In the past few months life has been throwing knuckle ball after knuckle ball my way. Unlike most people, i tend to ride only when there is a degree of stablity in my life.....rough waters are not a recipe for extended rides to "release life stress"....riding under deress only makes things worse.idle saddle time means my mind spins over stressful situations in concert with each pedal stoke.  after 20yrs of mountain biking in over a dozen states, riding in iowa has become an excercise in pedaling futility. After memorizing every trail feature of my favorite trail; riding it day, night, sunny, snowy, cold, hot, single speed, geared, cyclocross, vintage cruiser, alone, with freinds....i can say without a doubt, Im over it. i need new locales, new trails, new challenges.....new bikes? who knows, seems that posting a big fail in life on a tempory basis, means i fail on the bike. my riding is a mirror of my life, not a way to cope with it, rather the coping mechanisms that seem to appeal to me are mind altering in nature. WTF? this isnt the picture a long time cyclist is supposed to paint of his beloved passtime. Sometimes though, a bike is a bike and i just dont feel like getting on the m*&herf@"ker!!!!  Anywhoo, guess this entry is meant to create some comments related to how cycling really fits into your life.....lemme know

ps---no editing or rephrasing on this one, you got it in realtime

Big Boy Bike

Howdy....here's a post that started about two months ago:

This weekend I embarked on  the most holy of all missions to a cyclist....teaching my son to ride his bike without training wheels. As a kid, riding a bike was a symbol of freedom....I could now go further in less time and without adult assistance (assistance and oversight are interchangeable terms here)....for me it was the first step of what has become a life long passion ....now I'm not going to bore you with a lavishly embellished tale of riding my bmx bike on the trails of my rural neighborhood, but I could, Oh I could. Let's just leave it with the understanding that I really want the kid to learn to ride.....And "the kid"?....not so much. We are now in our third day of "learning"....."the kid" is up for three to six attempts a day, then its time to play with anything other than the bike. Thats not entirely true, he wants to play with the bike just not ride it. Performing a suedo repair on a perfectly functioning bicycle has a become part of the ritual of cycling for my son. Of course, i do the same thing, switching this handlebar for that, because one has 2 degrees more backsweep than the other....unfortunately it represents the bulk of our bike time together. Never fear friends, patience and perseverance will prevail.

The last line of this partial post is the reason I added the excerpt.....Patience and Perseverance DID NOT pay off. My son has become increasingly disinterested in riding, in no small part because of the what i thought at the time was an awesome idea....get him a super rad RC car for his birthday.

the death of toddler cycling (traxxas.com)

It turns out that my son does indeed have my genetic code, particularly the parts that are enamored with hobbies that require no effort on his part to participate in.

Well, on to other matters....with the onset of foul weather comes a marked decrease in my ride time. Night mountain bike rides are replaced with beer runs, and early morning commutes by late morning drives with coffee and a smoke. Some would say that whats needed here is to add a couple hundred bucks of overpriced "winter" cycling gear.....and i would not be one of them. Riding cold is LAME!now dont me wrong, i have all that stuff and will use it on occasion, but I will not force myself to ride if i dont want to......period. And you shouldnt either, this is after all supposed to be a fun escape from lifes stresses right? I will traditionally, during this time of year list, plan, and connive the method i will use to drop thousands of dollars on gear in the upcoming season. Which, conveniently brings me to a down and dirty review the newest addition to the stable

Salsa El Mariachi (2010)

Manufacturer: Salsa Cycles (distributed by QBP)
Country of Origin: Taiwan
MSRP: 2k-ish 

So I got this thing a couple of months ago, and and it rode super great right up to the point i bent the derailleur hanger and trashed the rear derailleur hosing......wah, wah, waaahhhh!!!!! I understand the idea that replaceable hangers are and should be made of material that is softer than the frame material to ensure that the hanger fails before the frame, but this version, which salsa calls the Alternator Drop Out (click the link for a technical drawing) is butter soft. so much so that its nigh impossible to bend it back into alignment. The handlebars are aircraft carrier wide, which when on a trail that is more than 710mm wide is perfect, handling is stable and predictable. When things get tight however, a fair amount of body english is required to navigate the random branch or vine encroaching on the trail. Brakes and drivetrain work great and only require minimal adjust after the standard break-in time. WTB saddles & tires are my personal favs, so for me the were perfect. the Reba29er fork was easy to set up, and actuated butter smooth right off the bat. Being a clydesdale sized rider, fork flex is always an issue, especially when pushing hard into burmed turns. Not so much with this fork, the Maxle through-axle is uber-stiff and easy to use and adjust. One of the nice details of buying a Salsa is that while some bike companys use components like seatpost collar, stem, and seatpost to shave some cheddar off the bottomline, Salsa uses their components; which in my opinion are some of the best in the business.......With the option of running single speed or geared this bike is a great all around, medium travel hardtail and well worth the asking price......

Yahuda Moon Calls it quits



For those of us who are fans of Mr. Moon, Joe, Thistle, The Bike Ninja, and the host of other quirky characters that lived in this strip, its the end of an era.......rick has decided to call it quits on the comic, siting the need to feed his family and not be institionalized. While I'm sad to see the comic go, its also kinda enraging.....Appearently there has been a ton of well wishing, and support emails concerning the end of comic, though theres a not-so-subtle implication that the strip has ended partailly because of lack of financial support......ShaME On US!!!!! for not ponying up a couple of bucks to support this great comic that casts a humorous and satirical light on the sport we love. That being said, we all have a chance for redemption, collected works are available in three volumes at: http://www.yehudamoon.com ......Frickin support this stuff, its the only way to keep seeing it!!!!

 



think thats all i got for the moment.....as its the day after ill take this oppertunity to wish everyone a merry holiday season and a safe and prosperous new year

RAGBRAI Confessional & The silver Lining

hey all, so here's the report on how my RAGBRAI went......

Day 1.....our small but determined group met at Grounds for Celebration in Beaverdale at about 10:30a Tuesday morning. we grabbed a cup'o'joe and loosely laid out a plan for joining the tour across the state en route. the ride had started on Saturday in glenwood, Iowa and by that time had come nearly halfway across the state to boone, which for those who you not acquainted with Midwest geography is damn near smack dab in the middle of the state. Our plan was to leave des moines ride up the neal smith trail, sticking close to the cover of the des moines river and then saylorville lake to polk city, west to madrid, then north to boone.....THIS WAS AN AMAZING RIDE!!!!!! the neal smith is a scenic roller coaster ride through some of the lushest terrain central iowa has to offer.....even with a fully loaded (and by that i mean overloaded for my not-so-fitness level) trailer, the miles seemed to just happily tick away.  in no time at all we arrived at the saylorville marina and cruised into Polk City just as the heat of the day started to peak.....and i could go on for another thousand words, in witty detail about how each hour of the trip went, but I won't. The reality is that i wasn't in shape enough to finish the planned 3hundred-ish/4 day trip........BUMMER!!

From this catastrophe rose a singular realization....I need to ride more, alot more. Being bike geek, does not, as it turns out make you a better rider. so to that end a new personal mantra was born: ride as much as my body and schedule would allow. Following RAGBRAI, I started riding to work 3 to 4 days a week, running errands on the bike, and trail riding as much as I could....to date I've logged over a 1,000 on and off road miles and lost alittle of my middle aged gut....with this increased level of activity has also come the realization that I'd lost a measure of my personal identity and had apathetically compromised some of my core values both professionally and personally........yet another bummer!!!! so, as I'm writing this post I find myself in the middle of mid-life crisis.....not the i wanna buy a Ferrari and date a 19yr-old super model from the eastern block kind, but rather, the what the f*#k are you doing with your life kind.....at 38yrs I found myself working a corporate job devoid of any creative expression, not traveling at all, not creating any art of my own, and until recently riding the least I've ridden in the past decade.......are these the values i want to demonstrate to my son.....ABSOLUTELY NOT. so....I'm slowly turning the tide, one pedal stroke at a time....keep ya posted

RiDe FrEE!!!!!

Fathers Day @ Banner Lakes & Buddahs Rebuild Trucker

For Fathers day I decided to treat myself to a long mountain bike ride...typically my favorite local spot is close enough to home that I can ride over to the trail head, so after years of hauling the bike and usually a buddy or two an hour plus to hit the dirt, the last three years I am happy to report that until a couple of weeks ago i hadn't had the mountain bike in the car (ditched the roof rack about the 5yrs ago after ripping a bike off the top going into a parking garage....arrgh). But, seeing how it was Daddy Day and wifey had given me the free pass to "ride until i didn't want to ride anymore" .....I tossed the Monocog into the back of the Honda and was off. It seems that after years of riding anything and everything that even resembles a dirt trail I've come to realize that I like riding familiar trails. Its become fun to focus on subtle trail features that might go unnoticed on a first run....a tree root that I can loft over to set up a turn, or a new chainring scar on a fallen log crossing the trail. The beauty of riding the same trail year round is that it gives us the opportunity to watch nature creep through its life cycle.

Anyhoo, back to Banner Lakes.....it had rained the week before, but referencing my normal ride, in my mind the trail should have been plenty dry and just moist enough to provide the perfect riding surface for my over sized small knob treads......WR0NG!!! to say it was a soupy mess would be an understatement boarding on the obscene. here's a picture of what my bike looked like after the ride.....

This was a good 'ol fashion mud fest....but not really inna good way. It reminded me of the enthusiasm I had for mountain biking in my twenties, then it was about conquering the trail.....now its about coexisting with it. It was a fun ride...more because riding is like pizza and sex, it might not always be great, but if we're really honest with ourselves its very rarely bad......the plan is to provide a more formal trail review in the future with useful bits of info like mileage, a trail map, skill level, and some nifty photos of trail markers. However,  with the trails conditions being what they were, I opted to start that process another day.


As it says in the title line....my good friend Buddha scored a Surly Long Haul Trucker from a friend (thanks Billy).....and we built it up this week. The bike will ultimately be used as a commuter, but its maiden voyage will be on RAGBRAI (this is a tour across Iowa for the outta towners tuning in).......thought I'd post a picture of it in case anyone is looking for inspiration for their own build:

We built it up as a 1x9 with mavic aksyium wheels, truvativ cranks, Avid cantis and levers, a recycled brooks saddle, and a smattering of other parts poached from the shop. well, that's all I got for the day.....RIDE FREE!

PS----here's a random shot I found of an all wood bike i found on line....kinda weird, but cool...I'd link the website, but its all over the bike  :0)

PSS----I'm starting a new feature: everytime I get a bike mag, I'm going to post the average price of the bikes reviewed. this weeks mag: BIKE ; average price of reviewed bikes:  $ 4952.50 !!!  R U F*#king Kidding ME??!!!!

Des Moines by Bike

As the title line suggests today i rode a mini tour of des moines......in a time when all the bike mags (mountain bike mags in particular) are singing the praises of  $7000 bikes and sweet riding in outer mongolia....i think we often neglect what is right outside our front door and what's sitting right in our garage. simple bikes ridden in places that you don't need to get on a plane to enjoy, what a concept. here is a little photo journal of destinations that are within 20miles of my house (would love to see some of yours):
 
Drake Campus: if your spinning on university ave, zip through drake....the side walks are smooth as glass and if your feeling randy, there's a few interesting concrete structures to throw yourself off of.

like i said....simple bikes and places right out the door. i rode my single speed road bike all day and even hit a couple miles of denmans (or is it dedmans? who knows) trail in water works/ashworth park. in dry weather the singletrack is like concrete. hint: just because its called a road bike, its doesn't mean it always has to be on the road. a touring bike with semi meaty tires can easily handle light trail riding. not to mention its a nice way to add some variation to your ride and hone bike handling skills. you can find detailed trail info @:
http://www.centraliowatrails.org

Neal Smith Trail: this trail system connects grays lake to west des moines locally....it has a couple of mini tressels (like the one pictured here) and its relatively flat. the des moines bike collective has an online, downloadable trail map of  the paved trails in central iowa. for you adventurous types there are tons of little side trails along the route.

Grays Lake Park/Water Works Park:
there is a small arboretum at the far east entrance to water works park....just across from grays lake. its a great place to people watch at catch your breath in the shade

4th & Court...if your thing is vintage architecture, coffee and good beer (love'um all) then this is your spot. home to the "original" des moines coffee house and roaster Java Joes is the spot for java downtown. conveniently, the royal mile next door has a wide selection great beers and a lunch menu that's a carb loaders delight


 Downtown Sculpture Garden....... from downtown i road west on walnut, through the cobbled bus depot (side note: bus drivers DO NOT  like it when you split bus traffic on the center line) and cut across 12th St to check out des moines' most expensive public space, i'm very vocal about what i consider a gross misuse of  what is a prime piece of downtown green space...yet i'm strangely attracted to the ever growing sea of over priced art work that lives there.        

  Woodland Cemetery: from downtown i was up to ingersoll to MLK for a quick stop off  a couple laps of  the cemetery....its a brick road roller coaster, lined with old growth trees and grave sites dating back to the 1700s....found this headstone and thought it ironically poetic. after expending what little juice i had left on the

 ups and downs of woodland it was time to head home....as previously mentioned i don't have an odometer on my bike (nor do i want one)...but all in all i think i rode about 30miles....and had an amazing afternoon...................RIDE FREE!








 

i really need to update more often

well since last i wrote.....i was laid off and then recalled to work, built a couple of bikes (with a couple more in the works), got the crosscheck finished and got to riding on a more consistent basis........first pictures of bikes:

built this for a good friend who has since moved to iowa city.....its an old Raleigh turned into a single speed road bike, note: i said single speed and NOT fixed gear.

for those of you who are looking to do a 27 1/4 to 700c conversion, a word of advise: measure and then remeasure the brake reach you need to make the smaller 700c (yes, a 700c is smaller than a 27.25") wheel work.....i'd love to say that the reason the brake is mounted to the interior of the frame is that is looks cool, but its also the only way i could get the brake i had on hand to hit the rim right.

specialized makes this really cool vintage looking bar wrap that looks like perforated leather, but is in fact synthetic cork. also, i was able to use an old set of schwinn drop bars that had a 22.2mm grip diameter...this means mountain levers will fit.









i've finally got some miles on the cross check and started the long and slow process of changing up some of the parts....here's a photo update:

 i just added a few upgrades... brooks saddle, changed the bars to surly open bar (the update on the overall length....cut .75in. off each end and reduced the total with from 26.2in. to a smidgen under 25in.), oury grips, avid levers, paul thumbie bar end converter, and a paul chain tensioner. the plan is to have a bike that will

sorta do it all...light off road, self supported touring, and the occasional road ride....ill update as this change on the bike..as far as installing all the parts, the paul components went on with out a hitch and have been operating flawlessly. i will mention however, take your patient pills prior to putting on the chain tensioner as it takes a little time to get it lined up just right. another note is that if you want to run just one thumbie you have to order it from paul, but pairs are available through your local QBP dealer.


TRAIL UPDATE:
all trails in Ashworth/Greenwood Park are on the semi-dry/mostly ride-able side....i rode there a couple times last week and had a blast.










finally ill leave you with a shot of my son as spider-man....happy trails :0)

Sycamore Trail

today brought to an end another week of toiling away in the mines.....being on the night shift i've developed two rituals of note:

1) the beer bath---this is a steaming hot bath (of the bubbly variety) accompanied by a six pack of my favorite overpriced, thick as mud microbrew

2) the friday morning exhaustion ride---working nights means monday starts on sunday night, thus friday ends on friday morning. so being the idiot that i am i have a developed a "unique system", whereby, i get off work in the morning, go home and get some much needed family time, see wifey and son of to work/school and after being awake for 20hrs, go for a ride.......

which brings me to the title line of todays entry.

after a quick visit with my friends  at ironheart tattoo i zipped east on urbandale ave, picking up the trestle to trestle trail for a mile or so, then crossed douglas ave at MLK and dropped onto the sycamore trail. once on sycamore there is a paved trail that parallels the des moines river that stretches from MLK to morningstar dr.....there is also a double track trail the runs between the paved trail and the river.feeling a little adventurous i opted for the double track. i cruised along the slightly damp dirt path for a bit, noting that with each pedal stroke more and more of the world famous iowa clay was collecting at the pitch points on the crosscheck. after a half mile or so i happened along what appeared to be minor stream crossing. it was NOT a minor stream crossing. so after fording the knee deep frozen steam i pressed on only to be reward with an awe inspiring display of wildlife (none of which i was able to capture a picture of ) , i was shadowed by a pair of bald eagles, badgered by a group of canadian geese, buzzed by suicidal squirrels, and spooked by a pair of white tail rocketing across the trail. The animal show inspired me to press on  though the soup and three other stream crossings till i reached a clear cut makeshift trail the followed some power lines running from east

just before crossing the stream in the background

to west...by this time my feet were quazi-frostbitten and my bike was completely covered in muck. with a strict 3:15pm retrieval time for my son, i decided to follow the power lines to some blacktop. a half a mile later the trail intersected the Neal Smith which after a short ride, delivered me to the intersection at nw beaver ave. i grabbed a quick drink snapped a picture at the trail head on the west side of beaver and spun off on what i thought was the neal smith toward saylorville dam. my actual destination was urbandale via johnston by way of an as yet unidentified paved trail. upon arrival in ubandale i happened on a cookie cutter housing development ripe full of mini-vans, this served to remind me that i need to fetch the boy from school. so half frozen and super stoked about the urban adventure i'd had i sprinted back to beaver ave and then home. this was an killer ride....adventure just out of my doorstep, i'm now completely sold on the merits of owning a cyclocross bike. trails that i would normally pass by on my mountain bike are now viable options, it was a welcome lesson in line section as with a 35mm tire small ruts dramatically affect steering. i cant wait for spring!!!! GRAVEL, HERE I COME!!!