Since I've got these big rides that I previously told you about coming up this season, I figured its high time for me to get out and actually ride my bike. For some reason, this winter has found me riding less, and committing to more.
Weird.
So last week, Wayne and I started the season a bit early, and will be doing the Saturday Wake Up Rides from here on in. This morning was a brisk -4 according to Waynes truck. A full ten degrees cooler than my house gauge read. hrm...well we're here, lets ride!
Sure, it was cold, but cold enough that the snow was in awesome condition. It was cold enough that the snow had that squeaky crunch to it. The kind of snow that feels almost like dirt when you ride on it. It was great being able to ride all the way up the hills with out spinning out. Of course, the fresh 4" of snow we got, along with the groomer certainly helped, but it was a nice ride. Short, but nice.
And at 0 degrees, short is fine with me. Miles is miles at this point. There's time later for more.
Have a good weekend, and hey, we might see you at the bike swap at the Blain Sports Center this Sunday!
Listening to: Silence. Except for that annoying tinnitus hum. But silence no less. Its good.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The training has begun...
This, my 37th year of existence here on Earth is going to be one of, if not the most challenging years I've had. Nothing personal or business mind you. My marriage is as strong as it ever has been, and the shop is doing well enough to keep me happy.
No, this is all about physical tests this year. It started innocently enough. Eric talked me into travelling down to Austin TX in March. Fun! I think, warm weather, pleasant trails. Maybe a beer or three. Then Eric tells me that racing is on the agenda. But I'm not in shape enough to race I protest. Big deal he says. Its not like anyone knows us down there(do you?). So if you're from the Austin area, and will be going to the Storm XC race weekend near Comfort, TX, look for the boys in Singular gear. Stop by and say hey, sweet talk me enough, and we'll probably let you out on a demo ride(we'll be bringing down a few bikes to let folks try out).
So that was the start. An innocent trip to race bikes in Texas. Then this one popped up on my radar. I've heard many great things about it, from course to organizers to general vibe of the event. I got up early to register for it as well. I figured I had enough time to get one 100 miler in this year. The Lumberjack 100 will certainly be a test of my will, if not my endurance. I can't wait! Adam and few guys from Iowa City will also be going over to contest it too.
I was happy there. The plan was to also do a selection of WORS, ICORR, and MNSCS races. Certainly should have been enough to keep the summer full.
Then I caught wind of a nice little event being put on by some friends up in the Chequamegon National Forest. The Chequamegon 100 was simply too iresistable to NOT do. So I signed up for it too. This will actually work out quite well. I'll use it as a shake down for the Lumberjack on nutrition, as well as fitness. Should be fun!
In real shop news, I have two Singular Peregrines in the store I'd like to sell. Both are brand new, but have some cosmetic issues from shipping. Number 1 has about a centimeter square chip on the lower headtube lug, right out front. I'm selling it for $675 instead of the normal $750. The other one has two scratches. One on the chainstay, about an inch long, and the other on the seat stay. I'm selling it for $625. Both are sized Medium. Both are prepped and ready ship. Ask for pictures, I've got some if you want to see the spots.
I also have some fresh new Gryphon's and Peregrines coming into port as I type. With any luck, I'll be able to have them in the store, ready to get prepped by this weekend!
Speaking of this weekend, on Sunday, there's a nice bike swap happening at the Velodrome in Blaine MN. Bike love at its best! I'll be sharing tables with Sean from Rawland. Stop by and check some frames out! I'll certainly have a few up with me to sell. I'll be having a swap special of $500 going. If you're from the Cities, and have been pining after a Singular Swift, Gryphon or Hummingbird, swing by!
Listening to: Sidra, the 5 year old reading a book to me as I type. Its amazing what the Kindegardners are doing now! Oh, and Johnny Cash, FTMFW.
No, this is all about physical tests this year. It started innocently enough. Eric talked me into travelling down to Austin TX in March. Fun! I think, warm weather, pleasant trails. Maybe a beer or three. Then Eric tells me that racing is on the agenda. But I'm not in shape enough to race I protest. Big deal he says. Its not like anyone knows us down there(do you?). So if you're from the Austin area, and will be going to the Storm XC race weekend near Comfort, TX, look for the boys in Singular gear. Stop by and say hey, sweet talk me enough, and we'll probably let you out on a demo ride(we'll be bringing down a few bikes to let folks try out).
So that was the start. An innocent trip to race bikes in Texas. Then this one popped up on my radar. I've heard many great things about it, from course to organizers to general vibe of the event. I got up early to register for it as well. I figured I had enough time to get one 100 miler in this year. The Lumberjack 100 will certainly be a test of my will, if not my endurance. I can't wait! Adam and few guys from Iowa City will also be going over to contest it too.
I was happy there. The plan was to also do a selection of WORS, ICORR, and MNSCS races. Certainly should have been enough to keep the summer full.
Then I caught wind of a nice little event being put on by some friends up in the Chequamegon National Forest. The Chequamegon 100 was simply too iresistable to NOT do. So I signed up for it too. This will actually work out quite well. I'll use it as a shake down for the Lumberjack on nutrition, as well as fitness. Should be fun!
In real shop news, I have two Singular Peregrines in the store I'd like to sell. Both are brand new, but have some cosmetic issues from shipping. Number 1 has about a centimeter square chip on the lower headtube lug, right out front. I'm selling it for $675 instead of the normal $750. The other one has two scratches. One on the chainstay, about an inch long, and the other on the seat stay. I'm selling it for $625. Both are sized Medium. Both are prepped and ready ship. Ask for pictures, I've got some if you want to see the spots.
I also have some fresh new Gryphon's and Peregrines coming into port as I type. With any luck, I'll be able to have them in the store, ready to get prepped by this weekend!
Speaking of this weekend, on Sunday, there's a nice bike swap happening at the Velodrome in Blaine MN. Bike love at its best! I'll be sharing tables with Sean from Rawland. Stop by and check some frames out! I'll certainly have a few up with me to sell. I'll be having a swap special of $500 going. If you're from the Cities, and have been pining after a Singular Swift, Gryphon or Hummingbird, swing by!
Listening to: Sidra, the 5 year old reading a book to me as I type. Its amazing what the Kindegardners are doing now! Oh, and Johnny Cash, FTMFW.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
A little bit of a diversion.
Today's post is going to be a bit different. I have a guest blogger here that just did something that I think deserves attention. Colin is a local to Prairie here. Grew up here, and is one of those talented individuals that many of us secretly fear. They're just too damned good. See, there's a race near here called the Triple D. It starts in Dubuque IA, and goes to Dyersville and back, following the Heritage trail. Total distance? About 60 miles. Sure. Not long you say. Add in snow and subfreezing temps. We'll see how YOU do. Colin not only finished on his first attempt, he was one of 9 finishers out of 31 starters. Not bad. This is a bit long, but the read is well worth it.
Alrighty, so yesterday I took part in the Triple D race, which is a race of about 60 miles that starts in Dubuque and runs on the Heritage Trail through Durango to Dyersville and back to Dubuque. I chose to do it on a bike, but there are running and CC skiing categories as well.
It was a beautiful sunny morning. I came a little over-packed with extra clothes, but I figure I would rather haul around an extra couple pounds than sag out because I got cold. I was getting myself situated for the briefing, and I see a guy dressed to race, in shorts, drinking a Sparks. I started to make guesses on how long I thought he would last.
At 10 AM, we rolled out along downtown Dubuque. Marty Larson kindly let me borrow the Prairie Peddler demonstration Pugsley, a photograph of which can be found at the bottom of the page. Its good on snow, but lousy on concrete. There were about 32 bikers I think, everyone riding around on some unique set-up. I'll see if I can dig up some photos, cuz I thought it looked pretty cool at least.
We reach the mouth of the heritage trail and endured a mile of untouched snow. I was able to ride through some of it and nailed down a spot in the middle of the pack. Lots of pushing the bike around, but we finally reached the snowmobile-packed section of the trail and we were off! It was nice and smooth, and I was able to cruise much faster than I originally anticipated. The snow was just hard enough that I found myself wishing I had used my mountain bike, which would have been a bit lighter and faster, but the conditions were still ideal. I ended up riding behind "Sparks-drinking shorts guy" for a little while to take a little bit of the drag off myself.
I was so excited! We were cruising at around 12mph, and I thought that I would be able to put this one in the bag by sundown. We were going strong for about maybe 1.5 hrs, when I look up and see a large machine coming towards us. It was the trail groomer. I pulled off and let it pass, and my heart sank as I began to ride again. The groomer took our wonderful high speed trail and crapped all over it. It was like riding through thick mashed potatoes it seemed. I spent the rest of the trip out to Dyersville slipping around and trying to find chunks of packed snow. Average speed slowed to 7 mph. I let a ton of air out of my big tires, which helped a bit with the sliding around.
I still wanted to make good time at this point. I was starving so I snarfed down a couple mini snickers and a clif bar while I rode. I was wearing my camelbak under my jacket to keep it from freezing, yet when I reached for that long-awaited refreshing blast of water, I realized that water had frozen in the tube. I tucked it under my arm and waited a while for it to thaw, slightly frustrated at the lingering taste of black cherry almond clif bar that remained the entire time.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the trail was incredibly scenic, but by about 1 PM I was starting to get pretty worn out, and I had no idea how much longer I had to go to Dyersville. It was a never-ending uphill journey for the next 2 hours, but I managed to drag myself into Dyersville around 3 PM. I checked in at the BP halfway point and darted to purchase the strawberry soda I had been CRAVING for the last several hours. Never before has a strawberry Crush tasted so good:) I ate a muffin and shot the poo with a couple other riders who were taking a breather. After a nice 20 minutes of warmth, I switched out my soaked wick-away base shirt, filled my camelbak, threw on the toe warmers and the ski mask and hit the road. I had sweat through my jacket and it now weighed a ton, but I was still pretty warm and I had no other weather-resistant top layer. Plus, a bunch of guys sagged out at the BP in Dyersville----including "shorts Sparks guy", who made it farther than I thought he would----so my plan was to try to enjoy a little bit of a downhill ride on the way back and call it quits at a good point. I got back on the bipolar Heritage trail and rode for about 15 minutes.
The groomer was back. Coming right at me. I wish someone had a picture of my face at that point, it would have been a winner I'm sure. I just stood there and stared as it turned off. I wanted to quit. There was no way I was gonna argue with crazy uneven snow, in the dark, for 25 miles. Tyler, a rider I talked with at the BP, decided he was gonna give it a shot, so I reluctantly went along. The sun was just starting to set, so at least I would have something to look at. Plus I wanted to see if the downhill would be as pleasant as it was hyped up to be. It was, and I found my pace around maybe 8-10 mph until the sun disappeared. I tried to save my headlight, but I needed to see the grooves in the snow to have some point of reference, so I turned it on a little after 6.
It was crystal clear night sky, and there was a sense of serenity for a while. I found it pretty enjoyable, even though my ski mask was frozen to my face and my goggles were beginning to fog. At about 7:30 my hands began to burn, so I stopped for about 5 minutes. I shut off my lights, enjoyed the night scenery, ate, watered, bathroomed, chewed some instant coffee, warmed up some hot-hands, and put on my last-resort mittens. Much better:) I flipped on my light and continued on. 2 minutes later, my light died. I shouted at it. I now wanted to quit again. I got to a road and called in my Sag, but changed my mind when I was told I only had about 8-10 miles to go. I dug out my little princeton tec headlamp and ran it on low, and talked to myself all the way to Durango. I had to forfeit my goggles, so I found my eyelashes beginning to freeze to my ski mask from time to time. My jacket had begun to freeze as well, but my base-layer was still plenty warm, so I pressed on.
I rode past a fully-lit Sundown Mountain, and it was magnificent in many ways. I knew I was getting close, and I had something cool to look at besides snow. In the dark, I found my light playing tricks on me. I kept seeing things, and therefore every sound started to set me on edge. I began to imagine how I would react if i spotted one of those cave-crawler things from "The Descent". I was growing bored, so I was willing to entertain any thought at this point.
I finally reached Durango! Wait, Durango? Are you kidding me? I thought I had passed the Durango entrance already for some reason. I thought Sundown Mountain was my welcome mat for Dubuque. Its 9 pm now, but the folks at base camp tell me I only have 45 minutes to go. Why not finish it out?
I was humping along, and my legs were beginning to lock. My jacket sounded like brown packing paper every time I moved. My base layer was still surprisingly warm considering I could see my jacket turning white. I went for about 30 minutes, and I saw a fork that looked just like the one we took to enter the trail almost 11 hours ago, so I took the turn.
I was imagining the excitement I would feel when I would get to the road crossing.
I was dreaming about sitting in the conference room stuffing my face with pizza and getting a massage.
I was making a mental list of every delicious item of food I would buy at various fast food restaurants.
I soon realized that I was not where I thought I was. I had gotten lost. I called in, and I think there was a miscommunication somewhere. Perhaps they thought I was at another point. I wanted to get to the final crossing. I was told to ride a half a mile and jump back on the trail with the blue reflectors. Half a mile turned into 2 miles uphill, on concrete, on a slow, low-pressure Pugsley. I was getting more confused and more lost. Now, I discovered today that there had been stolen and moved course markings. That sucks that someone would go out of there way to take an orange arrow and put it somewhere else, or whatever. I don't know how that's funny. At 10:15 pm, I somehow ended up in Sageville, with a big dumb sign taunting me, shouting at me: "Dubuque - 5 miles". Did I backtrack or something? How did I possibly end up there? I reluctantly called in for a ride. I had been riding for over 12 hours, and 5 miles on concrete sounded like a nightmare. I couldn't feel my feet anymore, and my fingers kept going numb from the handlebars and the constant vibration and bad circulation.
I was covered in frost. It was fascinating.
I got to the hotel, and I stumbled upstairs to the conference room. I could almost taste the pizza. I had to wait for my ski mask to thaw out before I could take it off without removing my beard. I was greeted with so many levels of warmth, and I received a medal, some cash, and I won the "Frozen Seat" award for being out the longest! I was told that I technically came in 8th place, being the last biker out there.
The pizza was gone.
The pizza was gone!
There was no more pizza to be eaten!
And the masseuse had left as well!
That's ok, I decided priority 1 was to get into some dry clothes. I went and changed and came back and began to drink whatever soda I could find. Oh the sweet sugar, it was perfect. The carbonation was attacking my nose, but I needed that sugar like it was the anti-venom that would save my life. Then I started to shiver. I couldn't stop.
This is the kicker.
This very kind and talkative inebriated girl saw me shivering and said I needed to get into some hot water somehow. She asked if I was staying at the hotel.
Once I managed to control my clicking teeth, I told her I was planning on driving all the way back to PdC.
She walked out and came back with a room key. She had bought me my own room! From what I understand, she worked for Budweiser, and she found a way to put it on the company card. I didn't even get her name, so I have no way to send her a formal note of thanks, but that room was a life-saver. I immediately ordered 3 mediums from Dominos and kicked back with some Chris Rock and talked with Kristin for a while, and once the food arrived I was immediately flown to cloud nine. It felt pretty cool having the Pugsley in the room. It looked like such a workhorse, and I couldn't believe that I just spent the whole day on that bicycle. I took a nice hot bath, and hit the hay. It was a perfect end to an interesting day:)
Thanks to:
Marty for lending me the bike and misc gear, the cool job, and the good advice
Kristin for the last-resort mittens and support
Kate for giving me the Princeton tec headlamp last year
Kayla for putting me up the night before
Talkative Inebriated Girl for being so kind to get me a bed
Lance and all the volunteers who put this on and hooked me up with the tight schwag and prizes
Now, to get the feeling back into my fingers.....
Listening to: Sweet golden sounds of Silence.
Alrighty, so yesterday I took part in the Triple D race, which is a race of about 60 miles that starts in Dubuque and runs on the Heritage Trail through Durango to Dyersville and back to Dubuque. I chose to do it on a bike, but there are running and CC skiing categories as well.
It was a beautiful sunny morning. I came a little over-packed with extra clothes, but I figure I would rather haul around an extra couple pounds than sag out because I got cold. I was getting myself situated for the briefing, and I see a guy dressed to race, in shorts, drinking a Sparks. I started to make guesses on how long I thought he would last.
At 10 AM, we rolled out along downtown Dubuque. Marty Larson kindly let me borrow the Prairie Peddler demonstration Pugsley, a photograph of which can be found at the bottom of the page. Its good on snow, but lousy on concrete. There were about 32 bikers I think, everyone riding around on some unique set-up. I'll see if I can dig up some photos, cuz I thought it looked pretty cool at least.
We reach the mouth of the heritage trail and endured a mile of untouched snow. I was able to ride through some of it and nailed down a spot in the middle of the pack. Lots of pushing the bike around, but we finally reached the snowmobile-packed section of the trail and we were off! It was nice and smooth, and I was able to cruise much faster than I originally anticipated. The snow was just hard enough that I found myself wishing I had used my mountain bike, which would have been a bit lighter and faster, but the conditions were still ideal. I ended up riding behind "Sparks-drinking shorts guy" for a little while to take a little bit of the drag off myself.
I was so excited! We were cruising at around 12mph, and I thought that I would be able to put this one in the bag by sundown. We were going strong for about maybe 1.5 hrs, when I look up and see a large machine coming towards us. It was the trail groomer. I pulled off and let it pass, and my heart sank as I began to ride again. The groomer took our wonderful high speed trail and crapped all over it. It was like riding through thick mashed potatoes it seemed. I spent the rest of the trip out to Dyersville slipping around and trying to find chunks of packed snow. Average speed slowed to 7 mph. I let a ton of air out of my big tires, which helped a bit with the sliding around.
I still wanted to make good time at this point. I was starving so I snarfed down a couple mini snickers and a clif bar while I rode. I was wearing my camelbak under my jacket to keep it from freezing, yet when I reached for that long-awaited refreshing blast of water, I realized that water had frozen in the tube. I tucked it under my arm and waited a while for it to thaw, slightly frustrated at the lingering taste of black cherry almond clif bar that remained the entire time.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and the trail was incredibly scenic, but by about 1 PM I was starting to get pretty worn out, and I had no idea how much longer I had to go to Dyersville. It was a never-ending uphill journey for the next 2 hours, but I managed to drag myself into Dyersville around 3 PM. I checked in at the BP halfway point and darted to purchase the strawberry soda I had been CRAVING for the last several hours. Never before has a strawberry Crush tasted so good:) I ate a muffin and shot the poo with a couple other riders who were taking a breather. After a nice 20 minutes of warmth, I switched out my soaked wick-away base shirt, filled my camelbak, threw on the toe warmers and the ski mask and hit the road. I had sweat through my jacket and it now weighed a ton, but I was still pretty warm and I had no other weather-resistant top layer. Plus, a bunch of guys sagged out at the BP in Dyersville----including "shorts Sparks guy", who made it farther than I thought he would----so my plan was to try to enjoy a little bit of a downhill ride on the way back and call it quits at a good point. I got back on the bipolar Heritage trail and rode for about 15 minutes.
The groomer was back. Coming right at me. I wish someone had a picture of my face at that point, it would have been a winner I'm sure. I just stood there and stared as it turned off. I wanted to quit. There was no way I was gonna argue with crazy uneven snow, in the dark, for 25 miles. Tyler, a rider I talked with at the BP, decided he was gonna give it a shot, so I reluctantly went along. The sun was just starting to set, so at least I would have something to look at. Plus I wanted to see if the downhill would be as pleasant as it was hyped up to be. It was, and I found my pace around maybe 8-10 mph until the sun disappeared. I tried to save my headlight, but I needed to see the grooves in the snow to have some point of reference, so I turned it on a little after 6.
It was crystal clear night sky, and there was a sense of serenity for a while. I found it pretty enjoyable, even though my ski mask was frozen to my face and my goggles were beginning to fog. At about 7:30 my hands began to burn, so I stopped for about 5 minutes. I shut off my lights, enjoyed the night scenery, ate, watered, bathroomed, chewed some instant coffee, warmed up some hot-hands, and put on my last-resort mittens. Much better:) I flipped on my light and continued on. 2 minutes later, my light died. I shouted at it. I now wanted to quit again. I got to a road and called in my Sag, but changed my mind when I was told I only had about 8-10 miles to go. I dug out my little princeton tec headlamp and ran it on low, and talked to myself all the way to Durango. I had to forfeit my goggles, so I found my eyelashes beginning to freeze to my ski mask from time to time. My jacket had begun to freeze as well, but my base-layer was still plenty warm, so I pressed on.
I rode past a fully-lit Sundown Mountain, and it was magnificent in many ways. I knew I was getting close, and I had something cool to look at besides snow. In the dark, I found my light playing tricks on me. I kept seeing things, and therefore every sound started to set me on edge. I began to imagine how I would react if i spotted one of those cave-crawler things from "The Descent". I was growing bored, so I was willing to entertain any thought at this point.
I finally reached Durango! Wait, Durango? Are you kidding me? I thought I had passed the Durango entrance already for some reason. I thought Sundown Mountain was my welcome mat for Dubuque. Its 9 pm now, but the folks at base camp tell me I only have 45 minutes to go. Why not finish it out?
I was humping along, and my legs were beginning to lock. My jacket sounded like brown packing paper every time I moved. My base layer was still surprisingly warm considering I could see my jacket turning white. I went for about 30 minutes, and I saw a fork that looked just like the one we took to enter the trail almost 11 hours ago, so I took the turn.
I was imagining the excitement I would feel when I would get to the road crossing.
I was dreaming about sitting in the conference room stuffing my face with pizza and getting a massage.
I was making a mental list of every delicious item of food I would buy at various fast food restaurants.
I soon realized that I was not where I thought I was. I had gotten lost. I called in, and I think there was a miscommunication somewhere. Perhaps they thought I was at another point. I wanted to get to the final crossing. I was told to ride a half a mile and jump back on the trail with the blue reflectors. Half a mile turned into 2 miles uphill, on concrete, on a slow, low-pressure Pugsley. I was getting more confused and more lost. Now, I discovered today that there had been stolen and moved course markings. That sucks that someone would go out of there way to take an orange arrow and put it somewhere else, or whatever. I don't know how that's funny. At 10:15 pm, I somehow ended up in Sageville, with a big dumb sign taunting me, shouting at me: "Dubuque - 5 miles". Did I backtrack or something? How did I possibly end up there? I reluctantly called in for a ride. I had been riding for over 12 hours, and 5 miles on concrete sounded like a nightmare. I couldn't feel my feet anymore, and my fingers kept going numb from the handlebars and the constant vibration and bad circulation.
I was covered in frost. It was fascinating.
I got to the hotel, and I stumbled upstairs to the conference room. I could almost taste the pizza. I had to wait for my ski mask to thaw out before I could take it off without removing my beard. I was greeted with so many levels of warmth, and I received a medal, some cash, and I won the "Frozen Seat" award for being out the longest! I was told that I technically came in 8th place, being the last biker out there.
The pizza was gone.
The pizza was gone!
There was no more pizza to be eaten!
And the masseuse had left as well!
That's ok, I decided priority 1 was to get into some dry clothes. I went and changed and came back and began to drink whatever soda I could find. Oh the sweet sugar, it was perfect. The carbonation was attacking my nose, but I needed that sugar like it was the anti-venom that would save my life. Then I started to shiver. I couldn't stop.
This is the kicker.
This very kind and talkative inebriated girl saw me shivering and said I needed to get into some hot water somehow. She asked if I was staying at the hotel.
Once I managed to control my clicking teeth, I told her I was planning on driving all the way back to PdC.
She walked out and came back with a room key. She had bought me my own room! From what I understand, she worked for Budweiser, and she found a way to put it on the company card. I didn't even get her name, so I have no way to send her a formal note of thanks, but that room was a life-saver. I immediately ordered 3 mediums from Dominos and kicked back with some Chris Rock and talked with Kristin for a while, and once the food arrived I was immediately flown to cloud nine. It felt pretty cool having the Pugsley in the room. It looked like such a workhorse, and I couldn't believe that I just spent the whole day on that bicycle. I took a nice hot bath, and hit the hay. It was a perfect end to an interesting day:)
Thanks to:
Marty for lending me the bike and misc gear, the cool job, and the good advice
Kristin for the last-resort mittens and support
Kate for giving me the Princeton tec headlamp last year
Kayla for putting me up the night before
Talkative Inebriated Girl for being so kind to get me a bed
Lance and all the volunteers who put this on and hooked me up with the tight schwag and prizes
Now, to get the feeling back into my fingers.....
Listening to: Sweet golden sounds of Silence.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Team Singular? And other news....
Hey there world. I have a question for you. If you come here, there's a pretty dang good chance that you like bicycles. Heck, you probably ride them quite a bit. Some of you may even *gasp!* race your bicycles!
Well this post is aimed directly at the latter. See, Singular likes racing. We like the crowd that hangs at mountain bike races. Y'all are good folk. You talk about bikes enthusiastically, so much so that probably have a blog that talks about them too. Kinda like Charlie here.
To that end, Singular is looking for a few ambassadors. Looking for a few riders that race and are willing to fly the flag proudly. We like riders that are happy to be what they're doing. Results are important, but not #1. We want riders that are respected in the field. Maybe even liked! We are a small, very small company, so we can't offer much, but a discount on the frame, and a jersey should go a long ways.
Do you think you have what it takes? Send an application [creativity counts!] to Sam and I, and we'll get something rolling. Copy us both on the application: theprairiepeddler@gmail.com and sam@singularcycles.com good luck!
In the news department, I am expecting some Gryphons here any day nowAs of this moment, they're in Miwaukee waiting on paperwork to come through. Got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to go over and pick them up soon!
I'm also expecting a few Peregrines to come through in the next week or two as well. If you've got a deposit on either of these, expect to get an email from me soon so we can set up delivery of your new toys!
I've been out doing a little bit of riding lately too. Its hard to get out when the daylight savings hit, so riding is limited to weekend hours now. That or early mornings after I drop the kids off at school. A few weeks back, Ben up at Milltown invited a bunch of friends up/over for a nice gravel tour around his neck of the woods. It ended up being a perfectly glorious autumn day. You can see all the photos here, but here's a snapshot of the day:
On Sunday last, Eric and I went up to an old haunt: the Human Power Trails in La Crosse WI. This is a whole network of very well built, super fun trails. I always enjoy my rides up there. If you're ever close, you owe it to yourself to get a lap or two in.
Anyways. Get out and ride! Next week is the WI CX state finals in Hales Corners. Look for the Singular Kite to show!
Listening to: The Currect. Drinking: Coffee of course!
Well this post is aimed directly at the latter. See, Singular likes racing. We like the crowd that hangs at mountain bike races. Y'all are good folk. You talk about bikes enthusiastically, so much so that probably have a blog that talks about them too. Kinda like Charlie here.
To that end, Singular is looking for a few ambassadors. Looking for a few riders that race and are willing to fly the flag proudly. We like riders that are happy to be what they're doing. Results are important, but not #1. We want riders that are respected in the field. Maybe even liked! We are a small, very small company, so we can't offer much, but a discount on the frame, and a jersey should go a long ways.
Do you think you have what it takes? Send an application [creativity counts!] to Sam and I, and we'll get something rolling. Copy us both on the application: theprairiepeddler@gmail.com and sam@singularcycles.com good luck!
In the news department, I am expecting some Gryphons here any day nowAs of this moment, they're in Miwaukee waiting on paperwork to come through. Got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to go over and pick them up soon!
I'm also expecting a few Peregrines to come through in the next week or two as well. If you've got a deposit on either of these, expect to get an email from me soon so we can set up delivery of your new toys!
I've been out doing a little bit of riding lately too. Its hard to get out when the daylight savings hit, so riding is limited to weekend hours now. That or early mornings after I drop the kids off at school. A few weeks back, Ben up at Milltown invited a bunch of friends up/over for a nice gravel tour around his neck of the woods. It ended up being a perfectly glorious autumn day. You can see all the photos here, but here's a snapshot of the day:
On Sunday last, Eric and I went up to an old haunt: the Human Power Trails in La Crosse WI. This is a whole network of very well built, super fun trails. I always enjoy my rides up there. If you're ever close, you owe it to yourself to get a lap or two in.
Anyways. Get out and ride! Next week is the WI CX state finals in Hales Corners. Look for the Singular Kite to show!
Listening to: The Currect. Drinking: Coffee of course!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Too good not to share.
I mean really. This is awesome. If you're trying to get bike paths installed in your city, this video should prove to be an absolutely invaluable tool. I can't wait to bombard PdC with this. Its 13 minutes, but it is well worth the watch.
I know. Two posts in one day. Weirder things have happened. I think.
Listening to: A babbling three year old torture her sister.
Boulder Bike Story from Bikes Belong on Vimeo.
I know. Two posts in one day. Weirder things have happened. I think.
Listening to: A babbling three year old torture her sister.
A Kite flying teaser, and new reads.
First things first:
daaaamn! Singular Cycles Kite cyclocross prototype.
Reynolds 853 main tubes, 4130 stays. Investment cast Henry James style drop outs. Center mount brake posts. Its got all the right things going for it. This is a 60cm version, and built up as you see, its all of 21lbs. Lightest bike I own. I took it out for a spin this morning at La Riviere. You'd think that there wouldn't be all that much of a difference between two high end steel bikes, but there sure is between the Kelly, which I've owned now for......5 years I think, and this new Singular.
Thing is, there was. Its not that the Kelly felt dead on the last ride, its just that this Singular felt sprightly on this ride. I rode the same wheels on both bikes, so it sure wasn't them, it had to be the frame materials. The Kite was an easy, eager climber. It got up to 'sprint' readily. Changing direction was a simple matter of thought and movement. I've got high hopes for this bike on Sunday at CamRock. Look out 4's! Sam has got another hit on his hands here.
And since I know I"ll be getting the question; I don't know when, and I don't know how much. But its likely next season as my best guess. If you have questions, keep and eye out for the Singular kit at the WI races this fall. Hey, I may even make a MN race or two as well.
On the reading part, I was directed to a new blog by my friend Jason. He has thsi cool blog focusing on two of my favorite passions, bikes and photography. He's been getting awesomer at image making, and finding neat blogs out there in the web-o-sphere, including the Adventure Monkey. I've been reading it this morning and am quite impressed with his photographic style, and his choice of riding. Gravel is good! I look forward to keeping up with him, and maybe take some inspiration from him too.
The other is EcoVelo. Its kind hard to tell you what its all about with sounding like a cheesy rip off of their about me page. So I'll just quote 'em:
Lisenting to: The Current, Minnesota Public Radio. Drinking; rich dark coffee and feeling good.
daaaamn! Singular Cycles Kite cyclocross prototype.
Reynolds 853 main tubes, 4130 stays. Investment cast Henry James style drop outs. Center mount brake posts. Its got all the right things going for it. This is a 60cm version, and built up as you see, its all of 21lbs. Lightest bike I own. I took it out for a spin this morning at La Riviere. You'd think that there wouldn't be all that much of a difference between two high end steel bikes, but there sure is between the Kelly, which I've owned now for......5 years I think, and this new Singular.
Thing is, there was. Its not that the Kelly felt dead on the last ride, its just that this Singular felt sprightly on this ride. I rode the same wheels on both bikes, so it sure wasn't them, it had to be the frame materials. The Kite was an easy, eager climber. It got up to 'sprint' readily. Changing direction was a simple matter of thought and movement. I've got high hopes for this bike on Sunday at CamRock. Look out 4's! Sam has got another hit on his hands here.
And since I know I"ll be getting the question; I don't know when, and I don't know how much. But its likely next season as my best guess. If you have questions, keep and eye out for the Singular kit at the WI races this fall. Hey, I may even make a MN race or two as well.
On the reading part, I was directed to a new blog by my friend Jason. He has thsi cool blog focusing on two of my favorite passions, bikes and photography. He's been getting awesomer at image making, and finding neat blogs out there in the web-o-sphere, including the Adventure Monkey. I've been reading it this morning and am quite impressed with his photographic style, and his choice of riding. Gravel is good! I look forward to keeping up with him, and maybe take some inspiration from him too.
The other is EcoVelo. Its kind hard to tell you what its all about with sounding like a cheesy rip off of their about me page. So I'll just quote 'em:
Welcome to EcoVelo. This site is the public expression of our personal commitment to reduce our impact on the environment by employing bicycles as our primary mode of transport. By sharing what we learn from this endeavor, while also providing an aesthetically pleasing experience that celebrates the beauty of the bicycle and the joys of everyday bike riding, we hope to inspire others to make a similar commitment.Its a well laid out page, with what is becoming a common thing here, beautiful photos. This will be interesting to follow their adventures too.
Lisenting to: The Current, Minnesota Public Radio. Drinking; rich dark coffee and feeling good.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Fall Sale! There's stuff here I don't want , you NEED!
Stuff that no matter how cool it is, I just don't really want in the store any more!
Item #1:
Bontrager Rhythm Elite wheels. 29" of course, offest spokebed, tubeless ready. These are brand spankin' new! Includes skewers and rim tape.
$375, shipped.
Item #2:
Easton XC-1 SS 29" wheels. Super nice, highend wheels for your SS 29er. Incredibly smooth bearings, surprisingly stiff straight pull spokes. These are great for an XC race weapon. Again, these are brand new, in the box. I have three sets.
$650, shipped.
Item #3:
Surly Mr. Whirly crank set + Race Face bb. Both items are used, though not heavily. Cranks are 185mm long. Yeah. one hundred and eighty five millemeters! They're huge. If you're tall[like, really tall], or want tons of leverage on your SS, these are what you want. There is a bit of heal rub, though nothing bad. Ring pattern is 104mm, 4 bolt.
$200, shipped.
Items #4, #5:
White Industries ENO cranks. One Polished, one black. Both 180mm, both have a 32t ring. Both just unwrapped from shipping.
$180 each, shipped
Item #6:
Thomson Seat post, 32.4x367. Yeah, 32.4mm. Black in hue. Talk about a weird size. No picture on this one. Its a Thomson post, y'all know what it looks like.
$60, shipped. I know, really. $60 is a killer deal. If you or a loved one needs it, let me know.
Welp, that's about it. weather here has turned to rainy, wet crap, we're losing light quick, and I'm not getting out enough to ride. I gotta change that. May be time to shift hours around.
Take care.
Listening to: Explosions in the Sky radio on Last.fm. And watching a three year old ride her strider OVER boxes saying "Sweet jumps!"
Item #1:
Bontrager Rhythm Elite wheels. 29" of course, offest spokebed, tubeless ready. These are brand spankin' new! Includes skewers and rim tape.
 |
| From store |
$375, shipped.
Item #2:
Easton XC-1 SS 29" wheels. Super nice, highend wheels for your SS 29er. Incredibly smooth bearings, surprisingly stiff straight pull spokes. These are great for an XC race weapon. Again, these are brand new, in the box. I have three sets.
 |
| From store |
$650, shipped.
Item #3:
Surly Mr. Whirly crank set + Race Face bb. Both items are used, though not heavily. Cranks are 185mm long. Yeah. one hundred and eighty five millemeters! They're huge. If you're tall[like, really tall], or want tons of leverage on your SS, these are what you want. There is a bit of heal rub, though nothing bad. Ring pattern is 104mm, 4 bolt.
 |
| From store |
$200, shipped.
Items #4, #5:
White Industries ENO cranks. One Polished, one black. Both 180mm, both have a 32t ring. Both just unwrapped from shipping.
 |
| From store |
 |
| From store |
$180 each, shipped
Item #6:
Thomson Seat post, 32.4x367. Yeah, 32.4mm. Black in hue. Talk about a weird size. No picture on this one. Its a Thomson post, y'all know what it looks like.
$60, shipped. I know, really. $60 is a killer deal. If you or a loved one needs it, let me know.
Welp, that's about it. weather here has turned to rainy, wet crap, we're losing light quick, and I'm not getting out enough to ride. I gotta change that. May be time to shift hours around.
Take care.
Listening to: Explosions in the Sky radio on Last.fm. And watching a three year old ride her strider OVER boxes saying "Sweet jumps!"
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