TGIF....

The Cedar Falls crew at Pfeiffer....

The crew from Ames....

Kerkove says he's "getting fat"....

Jeremy Bidwell getting ready to ride....

Rolling out 12th Street....

My little party was a 32 mile trip through the blackness, wind, and rain of some Iowa gravel roads tonight. I think that the rest of the group must've put in 50 + miles. I went straight to New Hartford while the rest of the group was planning to go to Parkersburg first, then on to New Hartford. They're just too fast for me! Maybe next time? :)

Peace out, yo!

Lights....



I was a little late getting home from work tonight and needed to run out to Wally World but I was determined to ride so I left for Hudson with the lights on at about 7:15 or so, right after getting back from WW. It was cooler than it seemed and I could have worn tights over my knickers or leg warmers with shorts and I would have been fine. I did wear full fingered gloves tonight, which was the right choice! Sometimes it's hard to tell this time of year. It wasn't uncomfortable, it just could have been a little more comfortable. Oh well.... 48 degrees according to the sign at the bank on Highway 63 on the north side of Hudson and 46 degrees on the 'puter. 23 miles on the bike trail. It's gonna get colder, boys and girls!

Kerkove's gravel grinder tomorrow night. Leaves from Pfeiffer at 6....

That' all for now. Sounds like G-Ted is having a ball at Interbike....

Sleep tite, kiddies....

Peace out, yo!

Coming soon to a venue near you....

Poster courtesy of Kerkove....

Peace out, yo!

Well....

I went out and rode another 21 miles on The Green Bike this evening. Ran into John Adamson and the guys from Bike Tech out on the trail just east of Pfeiffer. They looked to be moving right along! John yelled at me to come along with them but I was going the other direction and was on a misson. Another time, John, but thanks for the offer....

I rode the route that I rode last night but in the opposite direction and then I climbed Lookout Park Hill on my return trip. Yowza! That hill is killer in 34 x 17!!! I'm feeling it in my legs tonight so I think that tomorrow will be a walking day. : )

I wonder who all went on the night time gravel grinder up to the Boy Scout camp tonight? I hope you guys had fun! Another one on Friday!!! I'm sure there will be pics on either Kerkove's or Jackal's blog tomorrow.

That's it for now.

Has anyone seen Eduardo?

Peace out, yo!

KXLMNXOZ.....


21 miles on The Green Bike last night at an average speed of 12.5 mph. I'm getting better at the spin and the average speed is coming up a bit. My goal is 13 to 13.5 mph. I think that's reasonable. For now. The singlespeed is a different beast to ride and I like it!!! Can one ever tame that beast?

Has anyone seen Eduardo?

Peace out, yo!

Bob Seger....

Greatest Hits Volume 1 and Volume 2

Good stuff.

Peace out, yo!

Gravel and Ice....

Brother of Jackal....

Face off....

Game over....

Shaking hands....

Jackal and Kallista....

Holding hands....

Kallista and Landon sharing Fruit Loops.....

Adam, Brother of Jackal, played in an adult league tournament this weekend so we spent some time down at the arena watching that. It was good! His team won 3 of the 4 games they played so he was pretty happy. The boy was worn out! Ha!

Rode 30 miles on the green bike on Saturday and then 40 miles of gravel on Sunday. The garter snakes were out sunning themselves all over the gravel roads yesterday so you kinda had to watch out for them. I hate the Rottweiler that lives at the house on the west side of Leversee Road just south of Gresham Road. Someday, Buddy..... Fortunately, the owners of the dog were outside drilling a new well and called him back before he got to the road. They also have a miniature long haired dachshund that tried to chase but his legs were so short and his hair so long that he could barely move through the grass. It was comical!

A lot of farmers are out harvesting beans now. I wish I'd taken the camera yesterday. Combines everywhere. Oh well. Next time.

I hope everyone has a great week! Ride your bike!

Has anyone seen Eduardo?

Peace out, yo!

Brother of Jackal....

Goon....

I went in to work for 4 hours ths morning wishing I'd been able to go on the gravel grinder last night. Things just didn't work out this time. According to Kerkove's blog, it looks like they had a good time!

Watched Brother of Jackal play hockey this afternoon. He looked just as natural as rain sitting in the box for bad boys because of a pushing match a few minutes earlier in front of the net. One of the Mason City players whacked Adam's goalie a couple of times after the play ended so Adam did the right thing and straightened the guy out. I remember Jackal doing that several times in front of me when we played travel team together. The difference is that Jackal was one of the "beefier" players on our team and his brother is a runt. Oh well, what do they say? It's not the size of the dog in the fight, rather the size of the fight in the dog. I'd love to play again on a team with Carl and Adam. THAT would be fun!!!!!

Waiting for Jackal so we can finish up the brakes on the green bike and then we'll be done! Woohoo! Just need to install the Avid Ti levers and the Flak Jacket cables.

That's it for now.

Has anyone seen Eduardo?

Peace out, yo!

Rain....

It was barely sprinkling when I left for a ride this evening and picked up in intensity almost immediately but I kept riding. Went out around Big Woods Lake and back. I had planned to go out to Black Hawk and back along Cottage Row Road but changed my mind when I started getting really wet. It was still a ride and relatively enjoyable. Ends up just a touch over 13 miles. Whatever. The cycling clothes are in the washer getting the mud and other crap out of them before they have a chance to get stained. If you've been out on any of the trails in the parks lately you know that there are walnuts, walnuts everywhere. They are starting to get soft and yukky now and make a real mess on the back of one's jersey. Rain is forecast for the next couple of days. Will the gravel grinder go on as planned tomorrow night if it's still raining?



Has anyone seen Eduardo?

Peace out, yo!

Wednesday....

BH Park....

Any similarity to Bob Roll is purely coincidental....

Today was the longest day ever at the plant. I can't explain why, it just was. It's good to have Jackal back out there though. I never would have believed it but he actually brings a bit of sanity to the place. Scary, huh?

The tree has been removed from across the trail in GW Park just west of Krieg's and you can get through without dismounting and climbing over it. That was one big tree! Watch out for the sawdust if you ride through there. There is plenty of it on the ground.

I hear Jackal walking around upstairs so it's time to git.

I think I might go out on the night time gravel grinder on Friday with Kerkove and Jackal. I usually ride alone anyway so it shouldn't be a big deal to be dropped someplace on 12th. I think I can find my way back home alone....

Has anyone seen Eduardo?

Peace out, yo!

Lemon/Lime.... 1st ride.....

IRC Mythos XC tires....

Not sure about the yellow cage. It sorta grows on ya!

Timbuk2

Yes, it's a Surly.... Yes, it's green.... Brite green....

Oops! Don't mess with Mother Nature....

I like this bike! Woohoo! It rides like, well, like a rigid steel bike! Oh yeah! Sweet! I've regressed back to my childhood. I've come full circle. Gotta love it!

Thanks to Jackal and Brent.

Peace out, yo!

Wind and Rain and such.....

Ran into the Houlihan family out on the trail last night. They'd just "portaged" their bikes over a fallen tree. Yeah. It was about 3 1/2 feet in diameter and was laying across the trail in GW near Krieg's Crossing. The missus had an MTB, so that shouldn't have been too bad to lift across but Deerslayer, yeah, he had the tandem with the trailer attached. And, naturally, he was smiling about it all! Way to be, Rob! The sad thing is that I usually carry my digital camera with me when I ride and I didn't have it last night. It was definately a "blogworthy" moment. Poop! Should be a lesson learned....

It was a wet, cold, windy ride, but a ride none the less! Better than sitting in front of the tube, for sure. Bib knickers and arm warmers worked pretty well. Full fingered gloves. I could have worn an undershirt and been a bit more comfy. Oh well.

I better be thinking about putting new batteries in my trusty Cateye EL500 one of these days. With my luck, I suspect I'll go to flip it on and there will be nothing. Just what I need when I'm on my way home from Black Hawk Park and it gets dark! Do those things give you any warning when they are dying, or do they just shut off?

That's it for now. Hopefully the new front wheel arrives today! Woohoo!

Peace out, yo!

Project Lemon/Lime....

The build begins in Jackal's living room....

Oh yeah, Chris King goodness....

BB5 mechanical discs....

The "Fly".... Buzz Off....

Heavy duty crankset....

The grips have been changed out for regular Ergons....

Paddy says they're pigs....

Waiting on the front wheel, which should be here Tuesday.

Beau coup thanks to Jackal for the build. I appreciate it. Thanks also to Brent Johnson for all of his help.

The Ergons with bar ends had to go. The finished product will have regular Ergons. I have the same Terry "Fly" saddle on The Yellow Bike and like it a lot. It works well for me.

Surly 1x1 in Lemon/Lime
18" frame
Chris King Headset
Sram singlespeed chain
Terry "Fly" saddle
FSA 120mm stem
FSA 420mm seatpost
FSA riser bars
FSA seatpost
FSA extreme V-Drive crankset with 175mm arms
Salsa 34T chainring
Salsa front skewer
Salsa Delgado wheelset
Surly hubs
IRC MythosXC tires 26X2.10
Avid BB5 mechanical discs
Avid Ti brake levers (to be installed)
Avid Flak Jacket cables (to be installed)
Ergon grips

Rockwerks pedals

Hopefully I'll be riding it by Wednesday! Pics of the finished product should be posted soon!

Peace out, yo!

Pics of the build provided by Jackal

Vinnie....

Vance McCaw

Vinnie is a Prince. What else can I say? Thanks, Vinnie. I guess I owe you a beer....

Peace out, yo!

Lemon-Lime....

The Lemon-Lime project is coming along nicely and will be unveiled soon. Many thanks to all involved!

I had a close call in CF tonight.... I was riding home on the 1st Street bike path from the Island Park area when I got whacked by a young man in a Grand Prix as I was crossing the road that serves as the entrance to the Broom Factory. No injuries to me. Very slightly scratched Trek 850 and the rear wheel was bent slightly. Bent is probably an exaggeration, more like knocked out of true. I thought he saw me and was going to stop as he turned from 1st Street into the Broom Factory parking lot. When I realized that he wasn't, I pedaled my ass off to try to get out of his way and then to minimize any damage when I realized that he was going to hit me. Scared hell out of both of us, though I believe he was in considerably worse shape than I was. His poor girlfriend was hyper-ventilating in the car when I got over to where he had stopped. It did more damage to his car than it did to me or my bike. Sometimes the stars are just aligned perfectly!!! I now truly understand the scientific axiom that states two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time. No shit! Oh well, it's all good. It could have been worse.... he or his girlfriend could have had a heart attack. That would not have been cool!

Oh! The Bobby D. CD. It's awesome! It's actually a 2 CD set that I picked up in St. Cloud last week. 30 songs. Oh yeah!

Ok, that's it for now.

Peace out, yo!

St. Cloud, Minnesota....

Quarry Park....

Quiet....

Peaceful....

Don't fall asleep or you'll get wet....

The Yellow Bike....

Turn right, ride up and over the rocks....

Short rock garden....

Slightly longer singletrack rock garden....

"Deep 7"

Resting....

Judy and I drove up to St. Cloud Wednesday morning to spend a couple of days doing mostly nothing. I took The Yellow Bike and rode for about 3 hours in Quarry Park on Thursday morning. You'll find a little bit of everything in the park, gravel roads, dirt trails, rocks, flats, climbs.... It's a very nice place and not too far from town. I'm thinking about another trip up there later this fall to ride with a couple of friends from our plant up there. Crazy bicycle guys! Anyone interested?

Thursday afternoon found us in Munsinger Park in St. Cloud looking at some beautiful flower gardens. Pictures of that to follow later.

We drove back home on Friday morning and stopped at Lakewood Cemetary in Minneapolis to look for the graves of some of Judy's ancestors. It's another beautiful place to visit.

The local Trek dealer in St. Cloud is now out of business. They had group rides twice a week that regularly attracted 30 or more riders. Rumor here and there has it that Erik's will be opening a Specialized Concept Store up there. The "Thousand Pound Gorilla" down the street is now carrying Trek and Gary Fisher as well as Specialized (for now). (The same gorilla that we have here....) I think that they make it difficult for the small shop to exist, just as they do here. (I will say though that their sales staff is much more knowledgable than the ones here at that one store that sells bikes as well as everything else.) Perhaps Erik's will bring some much needed competition to the area.

I have a new project that should be taking shape here within the next week or so. It's "lemon-lime" green. Pics to follow....

That's it for now. Keep riding....

Peace out, yo!

A Beautiful Day!

The Cedar in the morning....

Nice....

Squirrel....

^^^Say What?^^^
Define "ugly"

A man might promise his friend that he won't let him drink and take home ugly women, but no one would ever expect him to keep a promise like that. C'mon.....

Peace out, yo!

Labor Day....

Dancin' shoes....

Climbing a hill on Ford Road....

Sharing the road with our bovine friends....

I wonder if they know they lost their clothes dryer?

Thanks Marv....

Instructions?

Sounds serious....

I wonder what a "fast" one lane bridge looks like?

I'll be a good boy? Yeah, right!

(click on the pic....)

Waiting out the rain at River Hills School....

40 miles on the single speed today, most of it on gravel. I'm really enjoying it! I've been riding it a lot lately!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend. :) I'm on vacation this week and thinking about spending a couple of days in St. Cloud. I'll take the mountain bikes and ride a little in Quarry Park. Should be fun!

Peace out, yo