Winter

The snow is all gone, but it's finally cold out and it finally feels like winter.




Gotta love it

Eurosection

Just another reason to subscribe to Dutch Transit Tiger Beat magazines.

Out of the office Pt.94

 

I also found myself in west America and everywhere in between.  

 

It's good to be back.

Out of the office Pt.93

 

I spent a lot of time in Iowa this summer. 

Out of the office Pt.92

 In the past 6 months or so I've moved, been across the country, started a new job, and made some pretty big changes/commitments.  Everything is super fucking good. Been away from computers, blogs, word processors, cameras, etc. unfortunately have been away from my bike a bit too.  Here's to hoping to change that.

Friday

Sabbath, bikes, and fire, what's not to love.

naysayer

I know I run the risk of just sounding like I'm perpetually sour and pissy about everything, and while there is a hair of truth to that I think a more accurate assessment is that I'm just skeptical and a bit of a luddite. Latest case in point:  "Volvo has announced it is releasing a cyclist detection facility which should prevent fatal accidents."

Great! I don't need to worry about those pesky cyclists anymore because my car will do all of the work for me! It's amazing that I have to take less responsibility on the road now!  Yes, I get it.  Any innovation that pushes for safer roads is good. Less people getting hit by cars is a good thing.  And even the most attentive driver and the most attentive responsible pedestrian can still get in an accident that this system could maybe avoid.  Super, whatever, we can agree on that.

However, I think it's insane that this is what someone sat down and saw as the most logical step to preventing accidents and fatalities.  Volvo knows that the best way to avoid hitting a cyclist is simply to encourage drivers to drive less and when you do drive be responsible, courteous, and careful.  But driving less and being responsible are not sexy and they do not sell cars.  Computers in every nook and cranny of a cars cockpit is sexy.  It means you can be footloose and fancy free when you are behind the wheel of a Volvo because, hell, even if you aren't paying attention your car will do the work for you.

The idea that the average motorist needs to be more disconnected from the road and their environment is deranged.  But stepping back and saying "Hey Volvo developer people, maybe instead of investing a ton of R&D on some spaceage car driving shit we should just, you know, like encourage people to drive less and be safer about it when they do drive."  Setting a precedent for increased driver negligence is just a total bummer.   I was glad to see that people in Britain are just as fussy about the thing as I am, but alas I fear that those pleas fall on deaf ears.  Ride safe, ride smart, cars are robots that are no longer liable for hitting you.
Happy Friday!

Ritchey's the man

I'm pretty much lifting this entirely from AHTBM but it's worth the watch.  It's encouraging to hear big names in the industry talk intelligently about making stuff that doesn't suck.  Hat's off.

indicia

It's hard to believe that it's to the point in the year when you have to start planning spring bike stuff.  While this causes an undo amount of stress trying to figure out exactly what I will be doing on any given weekend months in advance it’s also nice to think that maybe winter is actually coming to an end and in a few short months I will be sleeping outside and riding my bike without a shirt on. So what’s on the docket? 

A million long gravel grinders- I've mentioned in the past that I was admittedly very skeptical of the idea of gravel road rides as just another over-hyped excuse for people to buy another bike and show off what a hard ass they are.  My opinion has changed dramatically though.  And this year I’m pretty stoked to be partaking in a few events and proving exactly how much of a wimp ass can show up to these things.

SSUSA- I no longer ride a SS mountain bike and I’m going to be gone during this event anyway, but it looks fun, and a lot of people seem to have a pretty big hard-on for this event so it’s worth mentioning.  This will probably be full by the time you read this anyway.

Bikepacking and camping every weekend possible- Last year we went bike camping in mid-March when it was something like 70 degrees for a week.  Now I doubt this will be happening this year (for good reason, it’s not supposed to.) I’m in the process of putting together a new bike and I’m excited for taking off in a different direction every weekend possible.    

Whoa, that's a big block of text. Let's break it up with a picture of the newest offering from Fyxation "The Quiver."

I'm a big fan bikes like this coming into vogue.  Highly versatile steel frames that are simply designed and don't cost a ton of money.  It always blows me away that this is the same thing that was made for decades and then cast aside for so long before demand for this type of frame came back.  While I think that name "Quiver" is horrendous it's neat none the less. Read more here.

And lastly on the topic of silly names and simplicity Jeff from All-City recently made a blog post about why All-City doesn't put model names on their bikes. While I think flashy paint jobs can look alright on some bikes they have never graced my rides and probably never will for many of the reasons highlighted.  Well said. 

And with that chapter written I am out of here, I got stuff to do. 

weekend

 Beer, bikes, big breakfasts.  Not pictured, hikes, hang time, and headaches

Spacebook

My brand manager told me all the kids on the street are all about facebook and if I ever want to make it to the big leagues I had better nut up and join. I couldn't resist that face so I did and now you can like this crap on facebook here.  First 100 likes get a subtle but comforting head nod meant just for them. Go forth and prosper.

Strada Fango

Last spring I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural Strada Fango 100k gravel grinder up Bloomer way. Derek and I showed up on a tandem and our ability to finish the grueling course was immediately called into question. We finished, we suffered, we had fun.  It was an amazing gravel/sand sufferfest and I can't wait to do it again this year.  Apparently the fine folks at Ellis were also party to the event and built a very cool monstercross bike with the Strada's namesake.  

The fork on this thing is one of the best looking front ends I've seen in a long time. Absolutely love it and the fact that it was inspired by a local event and is being shown at NAHBS warms my heart a bit. Check out more info at Ellis Cycles.

The Return

 

Wow, well hey there. Didn't know if I'd ever see you again. Too bad for you huh? HA, now you know I'm just kidding, it's good to be back.  So what's the deal? Where have I been? Where are all the big changes I was talking about?  Here's the skinny.  After many years of running this blog I began to seriously question whether I wanted to keep on with it.  Maintaining a cyber presence that is as "with it" as this one takes a little bit of work.  Between distilling hand sanitizer, the winter blues, and a general sense of not knowing what the fuck I'm doing with my life at any given point I decided to take some much needed me time.  I saw the world, shot up some trucks, and taped some pizza to my bike. But the whole time in the back of my head I the idea that I would really like to get this thing up and running remained.  It's 

 

 Despite being a bit of a recluse their is a strain in me that likes to create stuff that tries to share my life experiences and the way I see shit going down. I used to want to be in a band, then I realized I have no talent.  Then I started writing zines, then I got lazy and gave that up.  And I miss it, so I would hate to see the same thing happen here. So yea, I'm back at it. 

 As for "big changes" well that stuff is still in the works.  I'd like to do a bit more work promoting this corner of the internet for whatever reason so hopefully soon enough you will see stickers and spacebooking going on so keep an eye out okay?  Now in the meantime I realize I've missed a lot of great fodder in the past couple of months. Lance got high on network tv, important cyclocrossing happened in Madison, Stuporbowl and a bunch of other cool stuff went down.  The masochistic side of me wants to go touch upon those important events and offer up my opinion but to be frank I don't think either of us really want that. Anyway I have a strong feeling that would dump a lot of feelings of obligation and burn out on me pretty damn quick, not a fan.  February is almost done, the weather is warming up slowly, I'm seeing more bikes out and about on the daily, let's do this thing.   

Hiatus

I know what you're thinking. "Where in the hell has that handsome bastard been with all of his brilliant insights, hilarious commentary, and stunning action shots?!" Well here's the deal.  I've been a busy dude as of late and my ability to generate content has kind of been in the dumps.  Partnering that with the fact that my work involves me sitting in front of a computer all day so the idea of electing to continue that at home during these short cold days has been as appealing as scarfing down a thumbtack sandwich.  So yea, I've been away for a while.  Upon returning I find myself reaching an impasse with Blogger as after X amount of years of taking up their valuable server space with garbage like this they have finally gotten sick of my freeloading and decided it's about time I throw some money at them if I ever want to post another photo again.  Trust me I'm as shocked as you are that blogger expects me to have my game together enough to pay them when by all accounts they should be paying me for my tremendous contribution to high end bicycle journalism.   Last and not least there are still a mighty handful of other projects I want to undertake that I have been putting off for years and a proper hiatus may be just what I need to get them done.

Don't fret though.  I am slowly piecing together the parts I need to move onward and upward in the interblogosphere and hopefully will be back in action come the new year.  Until then I will see you nerds out on the road, in the bar, and at the rock and roll show. Have a happy and safe December Holiday season!

after it

I've been out of town visiting family and friends up round Eau Claire. Now I'm back for a bit before I jump around some more. Going to EC reminded me to check back on the NO10 blog where I was greeted with this little edit from a new Ramp Local and Andreas.  Dude's shred.  Get out and ride before the snow flies.

lights

Lately there's been a big stink about putting in street lights along a stretch of the southwest commuter path to help make the path a little safer.  I commute on this path every day and completely understand both sides of the argument.  Some nights a nice dark quiet ride home is perfect, other nights I almost get hit by half a dozen bikes. But while I find the anti-light faction in this argument profoundly annoying and self righteous (Seriously you guys, tone it down. You're really starting to make me want to go out and cut those damn owls out of their homes myself.)  The whole idea of spending $250,000 to install some lights that don't really need to be there just seems like a total waste. You could give the first 2000 people on the trail at dusk $125 voucher for lights at a local bike shop and not only would it improve safety on the path, it would improve safety everywhere, invest in the local economy, and the idiots who whine and put up signs about light pollution while living IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY stay happy.  My beef isn't about encroachment on the environment (again you live in a city, kind of hard to turn the clock back on that one) or about any of the other stupid arguments made that just upset and alienate people like myself that are pro-cycling and pro-environment, it's just about the fact that it is a very poorly thought out solution to a relatively simple problem.  When it come's down to do nothing and have people be pissy and get into a few accidents and not spend anything vs. spend a ton of cash, piss off a ton of people, and still not nessearily cut down on accidents the choice seems pretty clear.

 

aside

 After being incapacitated by a stupid head cold all week I finally felt good enough to emerge from total seclusion this week and actually get out of the house. I've done nothing all week except bike to and from work, so by the time Friday night rolled around and I felt good enough to actually enjoy riding I milked every trip and after catching a show I took my time on the long route home.  Then after sleeping in absurdly late on Saturday I headed out to the New Glarus Tunnel.

 While I don't generally like trail riding because I think it's usually super flat and boring the trail out to NG is actually a lot of fun, especially yesterday with the majority of the ride being wet gravel.

Got to the tunnel, ate a granola bar, chilled for a minute and then a gaggle of loud teenagers smoking cigarettes and drinking cheap beer that they probably stole from their parents fridges showed up and kind of harshed my mellow so I headed back home with the sun at my back and a tailwind the whole way.  

I love riding my bike.

illmatic

I had a lot of fun this weekend. Then what started out as a little lingering sickness turned itself into a full blown 1100lb turd sandwich of a cold so I don't have the energy or capacity to talk about bike stuff.

So look at how talented these cats are instead.

 



 And with that I'm out for the count.

 Edit: Blogger switched up a bunch of doo hickeys and rewired a bunch of switchy wammers so posting videos and stuff has been really hit or miss. That cat video is up now though. You can breathe a sigh of relief and finally see what I'm talking about. Now excuse me, I've got some phlegm to cough up.

homes

Last weekend when I headed to Ghettocross I went up to my dads house and spent the first night I've spent there in years.  I walked around with the camera and took a few photos of stuff.  Wisco country living at its finest.