Banders and Bruises

Winter 2011 last gasps

2011-03-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

I put 2.35" rubber on the mountain bike for winter riding, and then rode very little over the winter... the occasional Tuesday Jam night ride, and this afternoon ride up a sloppy Turkey Stan. I'll tell you, being out of riding shape and pushing big rubber is a BAD combination.

Bar Mitts and cheap booties.

2011-01-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Whee! Winter rides.

Snow biking 2011

2011-01-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

No photos as my phone battery was dead, but got in a daylight snowmobile trails ride with and awesome view of Decorah looking northward, and then a bitterly cold night ride to Southy and back by myself because everyone else wussed out. Loved it, and my legs feel good even though I am out of shape due to lack of riding because of work/illness. Bring on the New Year!

a few greasy trails

2010-11-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

Took a little ride to catch the end of IPTV's filming of some trail riding, but was late... so I hopped on the far end of the Rock Garden and rode it back partway

and then jumped up on the road and rode up to Lee's Loop in Palisades (which is a lot more my speed)

and then I rode the blacktop back down and hopped on the River Trail

and by this time my tires were pretty mud-packed so I chose to go up to the road and head back to T-Bock's the long way for some beers.

The plan is to go back out there today after my haircut at 1pm.

Lincoln "Highway" V-pipe

2010-11-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

It was too damn nice to work, so I jumped on the bike and rode out to South Bear knowing I could find a riding partner. This here is a view north from the Bear... the "man space" is the garage on the left.

We headed out for Town Line and over to Middle Calmar, and turned south to climb up to Lincoln Highway and took a left just to do the "V"-pipe. It is exhilarating! Fun, too.

Then it's a left on Middle Ossian and back to Middle Calmar, north, and right to head to the Hatchery trail entrance. Here's the retaining wall on the underpass below Middle Calmar.

and, of course, an obligatory photo of the work on the old Happy Hollow Bridge that will forevermore be known as simply "The Beer Bridge."

Night Race 2010

2010-11-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

So, about forty six crazy sons a guns showed up and raced Decorah singletrack mountain trails (about seven and one half miles worth) in the dang dark. Luckily, there was a fire and beer in Death Valley, so some of us just rode in and drank and watched these devoted mountain bikers fly on by, twice.

Now, I've ridden most of these trails. Not well, and not often, but at least I had the advantage of daylight. Easier to climb out of the brush after a wreck. These dudes were FLYING. Pretty impressive.

Here's a nice Pugsley build...

Geometry? On Saturday??

2010-11-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

These two guys walk into a bar... the third one ducks.

So, Gunnar told me the old Happy Hollow bridge was built as a parallelogram, not a rectangle. I've been on that bridge more than a few times and was willing to wager a beer. So we rode out to it's new location by Middle Calmar and Trout Run, and

I lost. I should have stuck with the old "a quadrilateral is a quadrilateral" defense. Here's another view.

I bought myself a beer, too, so he wouldn't have to drink alone.

Then we couldn't go straight back, so we went a bit out of our way to climb Haugen Hill, the closest climb you can get to off-road singletrack mountain biking without worrying about obstacles...

This is about halfway up (crest of the steepest part) looking back down. No way this photo can give you an idea of how steep that is...
and we went on to bomb down Stone Hill and make T-Bock's by midway thru the 1st quarter of the Iowa Hawkeyes destruction of Spartie.

Shovel Ready!

2010-10-23T17:24:00.001-07:00

It was a windy Friday, a cold wind blowing, as we started out for another south loop... had to pause below the entry to the newly gravelled switchbacks that will climb to the rocky cut above Hwy 52 from the end of Dug Road. The camera doesn't show the statement this climb will make...

and this view caught a bit much sunglare, but it is looking up to the cut again.

That little notch is where the path crests the bluff.
We climbed Twin Springs to nine, past Southy again, and over the Town Line and back to check out the location of the old Happy Hollow bridge, which will go RIGHT THERE

and complete the loop back to the hatchery... project nearing completion. Well done so far!

Late, hard Tuesday ride.

2010-10-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

My daughter stayed home from school after a bad cough all during the night, so I stayed home, too... and the weekly long ride didn't get started 'til 4pm or so. I chose Turkey Stan, across Madison, up to Hwy 9 and down past South Bear

and that photo is looking over the top from just south of the Bear across to the Skate Park on the east side of 52. Phone cameras are simply not the right tool for the panorama, which is why I tend to stay away from these type of pics, but there's one.

We stopped to check out this weird long semi-crushed culvert under Town Line Road, and

Gunnar decided to "run to the light." :-)

but light was beginning to fade so we hammered until we stopped above the trail underpass work on Middle Calmar Road and snapped a couple photos

with this one looking southeast towards the switchback hill, and this one looking northwest:

and from here it's just back into town, so we snaked around and caught the trail behind Minowa Heights, kinda, that dumped us out below the overpass above Hwy 9 and went in past the cemetery to T-Bock's.

I was whupped having charged some hills. Good ride.

Five rides in six days!

2010-10-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

That's more like it. Nice ten mile loop north from my house, up the unimproved, back down Old 52 to Meadowlark and home. Great October day, again.

Check out the trail construction.

2010-10-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Trail to the hatchery,

look at the tunnel under Middle Calmar,

flip back and go down the switchbacks and up and over hatchery hill .

Suppertime.

2010-10-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Heading home from the office... six-twenty in October, N.E. Iowa.

Ridgeway Route

2010-10-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

Twin Springs to Southy for a beer stop, then Town Line to the Prairie Farmer Trail

to shoot up to the Fireman Inn

for some hydration before racing to the Madison Church

and on back into town. About a 25 mile loop.

Malanaphy Springs

2010-10-10T11:21:00.001-07:00

Nice hat, goober.

Brrr, that falling spring water is COLD.

Downriver into the setting sun.

It's time to hike back to the bikes.

Time for the short ride home!

Frankville loop via Glenville

2010-10-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Took off out the Old Stage Road to get those two hard-surface climbs in. I must tell you how much more pleasant it is to climb with my 1.6's on... it's akin to taking performance enhancers (I presume) and instantly becoming a better rider. :-)

On the way up, we saw some cattle taking full advantage of a spring waterfall east of Moe Park.

Then took a right at the Glenville church.

Glenville road to the south is a rolling gravel ride, and it takes you all the way to Frankville. This is a view from the bar & grill side of the Frankville road looking at the old bank which is now occupied by a musician of regional fame.

We cut back to the west to take a north on Centennial, but on the way we stopped at this old Norwegian Pioneer Cemetery, and at one time, school. Pretty cool. Nice bike, eh?

Nordness, a southern route.

2010-10-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Beautiful fall day led to a good "southern" (south of town) loop. Here's a view of the trout stream off Trout Run Road and the paved trail.

Further down the gravel we saw old railroad trestle remnants in the stream, and crossed to get a good view.

This old stone building with a shiny new metal roof sits in Nordness.

Then it was over the rollers and back down Stone Hill to town...

Hop Harvest

2010-10-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Beer and biking go hand-in-hand, and you can't have good beer without hops. This is one day in early September when Lowell came over to help harvest.

I've got three types going; Chinook, Northern Brewer, and Willamette. Just started a Fuggle rhizome, no results yet. Willamette is finally producing well in year three.

Brutal Bluffton Ride

2010-09-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

I maybe ride once a week right now. Sucks, but that's the way life is doling it out at the present. So today, I wanted a workout. Started up the blacktop climb on Bluffton Road from my house, then took a looey on the bottoms and made the long climb to 310th... this was somewhere in there:

and we continued to pound it out until we could fly down West Ravine into the "backside" of Bluffton and get some of their famous fries:

but it was quickly time to go and hit the gravel back the other way (Deliverance) but I stopped for a quick photo of the northern facing palisade out of Bluffton.

Of course, there was time for one "TOGO BEER STOP" on the way back to the ranch, and it was near this spring coming down the western-facing slope on it's way to the Oneota River behind us:

Six pound

2010-09-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

Medical Leave

2010-07-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

Got in a gravel ride to Bluffton recently with the usual suspects. Didn't take any pictures, too busy trying to keep up after chasing them down the first couple miles as they took a head start while I was helping move the trampoline... bastids.

I did not know at the time it would be my last ride for a while. I had a brutal four day stretch of work 7/22 through 7/25 with a 36-hole medal play golf tournament on the weekend afternoons. Finished in the money in my flight (first flight) even though I played very average golf...

then Monday morning I could not stand or walk without extreme pain. Lying down barely alleviated it. I went to the doc, got shot up with anti-inflammatory and morphine (!) which relieved the pain. Filled my scrips for pain pills and anti-inflammatories, and waited for the MRI on Tuesday.

You can see herniated disc material impinging on the nerve root, causing pain down my left leg. Good stuff. Now I'm also on steroids and anti-siezure drugs as well as the anti-inflammatories and pain pills. Wheeee!

Keep riding.

Cascades

2010-07-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

Wanted to get a ride in Wednesday due to heavy weekend work schedule, and stopped at the Cascades on the way to Turkey Stan. This time, they were flowing and quite therapeutic.

On our way out, I spotted a bar of soap awaiting it's owner for a quick shower under the falls... can you see it?

Turns out that soap and trickling falls would have come in handy after the ride. It was mid-90's with high humidity!

Budweg welcome back pararde ride!

2010-07-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

Met Ward and Jackie for their 1106th day of their around-the-world on bicycle tour. Some 46 countries touching all continents! The final day was a short 52 mile trek from Marquette to Decorah.

Obligatory photo of the famous Pink Elephant:

We started the long climb out of Marquette on our way to Volney, where a short picnic and a few brews out of the sag wagon were welcome:

From there it was a short jaunt to Rossville for a bite and brew at Josh' Old Rossville Store:

and then on to Waukon for stops at Harv's City Club and Jason's Goodfellas! Lots of pool was shot, and we even had several in the party convinced that the young lady behind the bar was Amish and on her "sabbatical." Ask Jayme or me how that happened. :-)) No picture. Sorry.

Jackie and Ward "ride the pony,"

and some bar humor you never heard your mother say:

and from there we headed for Decorah with another hydration stop in Moe Park before the last big climb.

At this point, much of the group was going to make another stop in Freeport before heading to T-Bock's, and while that would have been fun, I had family at home and it was nearing suppertime so I split from the group and called it a day.

All in all, 52 miles is my second longest ride in one stretch and I did it on the Fisher with Slickasauras rubber, my version of a "road bike" and it was surprisingly easy.

Fun day, and welcome back Jackie and Ward!

Happy Hollow

2010-06-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Got in a twenty mile loop before the rain... out Dug Road, thru the campground, up Madison with a quick stop at the Cascades:

and they are surprisingly dry-ish, given that it has rained EVERY DAY IN JUNE.

From there, we continued on to Happy Hollow, and the bridge shows no sign of being fixed any time soon:

You can still cross it on a bike, though!

Then we rode down the Pole Line and stopped at my house for two beers and half a sandwich, then on to Wagon, Meadowlark, Middle Hesper, Locust and down the Vennehjem trail,

before finishing up at T-Bock's for post-ride hydration.

Spring rides, more work, less riding.

2010-06-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't been taking pictures on recent rides, nor have I been posting after each ride. I have taken on a third part-time job as a full-time opportunity didn't work out... no fault of my own.

I have logged two rides to Fort Atkinson (18 miles one-way) and a few other local rides, usually on Tuesdays and usually with the Gun-man. I have also ridden back and forth to Springwater (I have an office there) a few times and even jumped on Dana's Trails during Sports Day (Memorial Day) for a short trail ride, the only time I've been on trails this year.

Anyhoo, the stamina is hugely improved thanks to a daily regimen of Singulair and I can even stand and pound up hills I used to have to just gear down and survive. It's fun being able to ride hard and push the pace a bit.

I'll check back in with photos of the next ride, which could be as early as today if the weather cooperates. Keep pedaling!

spur of the moment snowmobile trails

2010-02-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

We were out for a short ride up Quarry Hill but had to stop and wonder who got to the bricks first... the ones remaining are currently out of reach. :-)

Near the top of Quarry Hill road a snowmobile trail snaked east and south so we jumped on it and road it to see where it took us.

It turned out to be one of the most fun trails we had ridden this winter, and after a screaming downhill through a ravine it dumped us on Whitetail Road.

Singulair

2010-02-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

I've not posted here in a long time. I've still been riding. It's just that nothing REALLY NEW AND COOL has happened on the bike... same routes, same photos, just different seasons. This:

Instead of this:

Still, one thing is pretty new. I've been on Singulair once daily for over a month now, and the difference is amazing. If any of you are ex-smokers, or asthmatic, or deal with bronchitis and the like, check it out. It's a life-changing type deal.

Cheers!

I set a new damn record!

2009-07-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday. Jam Night.

Clouds. No moon to speak of.

New gravel.

Drunk.

SLOWEST DESCENT EVER on Turkey Stan.

G'night.

Birthday buggy ride...

2009-07-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Did the Monday morning ritual with my daughter and loaded up the trash and took it to the dumpster in Bluffton. Then, we loaded up the bike and the buggy and headed to South Bear for some playtime. While the kids played Gunnar and I lost some discs playing frisbee golf, and then pulled the girls back into town in the buggies. It amazes me how much harder a ride becomes when you've got sixty two pounds hitched onto the rear... but it is a training aid. The heat certainly had an impact as my baseball cap was soaked through with sweat when I got home. No pictures, again.

Today I need to ride out and retrieve the Jeep, but it looks like rain. Maybe I can beat it.

Rainsoaked Riders

2009-07-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

I looked at the radar, and knew the ride out would be dry, but a big cell was headed our way for a midnight 'til morning rainsoak...

We arrived dry, jammed a bit, then tried to wait out the rain over a 'game of skill'

"The faster you go, the wetter you get." Tuesday night rides have been wet more often than not this year. Here's to getting really wet!!

So, Wednesday was a real kick in the shorts; had to drop off one to babysit way too early, take another to the doc, and then found time for a brief "sprint" up Pali to the lookout.

There's even a new part of the Trout Run Trail or whatever graded in... can't really see it, though, my cameraphone is just that.

Bluffton One-Way Ticket

2009-07-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

Scottie dumped his bike at my house, drove up and kayaked back to the bridge right down the road. I joined him for the bike ride back to his car by gravel, and he was in a bit of a hurry so we pushed a good pace. We loaded up the bikes and he dropped me at home. No pix, but a good short ride.

I have seen the GLORY!

2009-07-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Bunch of freaks decided to light a fire and drink some beer up at the Glory Hole off the Mother's Day trail. It's a spot where the subterranean caveology of the region kicks some serious cold air out it's blowhole from the limestone karst topology dating back to the Pleistocene Epoch.

Here's a picture of Ryerson trying to ride 10 feet straight the heck up. No, he didn't make it. I wouldn't even try.

That same guy is one tree-hopping frog-like first responder dude. In typical fashion, I thought I'd barrel-roll down the hillside just for fun on my first attempt to leave, and he was seriously below me trying to catch my ass before I stopped falling. I'm not even stretching the truth all that much. I wish I had video, but I was too busy avoiding a punctured lung.

So, we had to go back to the fire and drink some more beers.

So, today I've been putting this bad mamajama through it's paces...

Some concern about the tranny, specifically second gear and the fluid in general, and a slight hydraulic leak, but I've been MOVING ROCK baby!

Time for some new goals.

2009-07-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

The journal format has pretty much run its' course. I meant for this to be a way to keep track, roughly, of my miles. It turned into more of a photo journal, which is better than "...got in 14 miles today..." every post. Still, I can't get on here and post new bits about every dang ride, can I? For example, I haven't mentioned word one about last Friday's totally righteous blistering hot eight mile ride with Scottie out Madison and down Turkey Stan to the ranch for margaritas, and who wants another post about the same old jam night ride to Southy each Tuesday... (20 miles round trip for me)...

But until some sort of inspiration comes along, I'll just keep doing the photo-journal. I would like to up my mileage and get some more 100 kilometer gravel rides under my belt. I would also like to ride more trails. I need a plan.

First, let's finish ripping off this piece of crap and finish up the wiring in the new kitchen so I can celebrate with a long ride!

Spring Grove Water Puke

2009-06-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

Howlin' Wind out of the North/Northwest made a challenging ride to Highlandville

and then Spring Grove Aquatic Center...

Our families met us there and it was great fun until someone puked in the deep end and we all had to leave.

Sorry there aren't more pictures, but we were riding nuts. It was 25 miles from my house. Folkey put in near thirty.

There is this one, though.

Sorry I can't show my face, 'cuz I have a real job working with people. Ha Ha.

Dirt Burger! (click)

2009-06-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Man, oh man. Good event.

But I must back way the F up. I have been having internet issues nearly a week, and have entered about six posts that never made it to the blogoshpere, so I am trying again. I meant for this blog to primarily be a journal of my bike rides, and it still is intended as such, but when I'm unable to post I stop taking photos, and I know damn well this blog is more fun to look at than read. So suffer!

I'll start with last, um, Thursday. I got schooled in tennis, melted down in the heat, and then rode to town and back (in the dark) after a shower. Friday brought the opportunity to ride to Waukon but I opted for "easy and cheezy" to Bluffton. The only thing missing is a "YOU ARE HERE" arrow:

You know how some redneck, shotgun-toting, pickup-driving, NASCAR-watching dumb arses keep vandalizing the "Share the Road" signs????? Well, here's some litter from one of them dumb shites.

At least bikers (for the most part) pack out what we pack in. Don't litter. This world is for our children, from our parents. Stop screwing it up.

Then the devastating news that Schmidt will no longer be available... it's time to design black armbands in mourning of the passing of an era; the ONE DOLLAR PINT.

Then comes Dirt Burger. It looked a bit like a tent city under the bridge on the far side of the river, and the fire was ablaze, much like some of the participants. Wifey and I hung out in the dark with Eric a bit as we had a babysitter for a while, and I tried (again) some chaw. Pretty sure I know why I liked smoking tobacco better than chewing it back in the day, and very sure I won't start either nasty habit again in the near future.

Saturday meant checking out the Dirt Burger group again, and it is then that Sov was wielding the banjo as some girls tried to get their tubes up and out of the fast and dirty river at the River Trail landing... think "Deliverance." I still chuckle at the thought, but I got no photo. Dammit.

I did take a photo of this bike, though. Look closely. The chain links are each a different color of the rainbow... and believe me, most folks around there had single-speeds. Yeah, well, I'm pushing FIFTY. I like gears.

Did a short trail ride; hot as the first freaking day of summer can be. I rode a personal best stretch measured by obstacles cleared, no stops for air, etc., which suggests I can see improvement of endurance based on the hundreds, if not thousands (more likely thousands), of miles I have logged since the SNATCH became my ride. Time Trials was wet as shit and this ride was fairly dry, so I'm not exactly etching my name on the "finishers" list as opposed to DNF'ers for next year just yet. Progress feels good, though.

That takes us up to Sankt Hans Aften. This is a Danish celebration of the summer solstice, and I must say this is done up right by the hosts.

I plan on taking the following Sunday off next year so that I can stay the night and see the sunrise as tradition requires. Great beer on tap, good band, way way way too good Akavit.

Here's a critter that probably didn't think the party was all that great:

That led to being seven minutes late to work, viewing of the rain-delayed U.S. Open golf, a game of croquet or two, five minutes of Ultimate, and a slight crash due to my own stupidity.

And that takes us up to today, the second day of summer. I watched the finish of a surprising U.S. Open which placed Tiger in the top ten even though he never really challenged for a victory, Lefty in a tie for second after being co-leader with a few holes left as his wife watched from a hospital room, and David Duval nearly pulling out a miracle after a decade of irrelevance.

I pulled Boo out to Springwater in the buggy in 90 degree heat, got some work done, and visited the ever-gracious Jacksons before taking time to finally bring this blog up to date.

Hip, Hip, Hurra! Skitse.

100 km ain't as easy as it looks...

2009-06-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Set out Tuesday at noon with the intention of getting 100 kilometers in on gravel by the time the day was out. I had to get some admin stuff done at the office, and here is a picture of it in all it's glory:

Yeah, I know most folks don't get to work in pristine environs with such a view as this, but the rent is righteous and it's only a few hundred yards to the trailhead of Dana's trails. It's okay, take your time, eat your heart out. I'll wait.

I left the office back down Springwater in a light rain, then turned north on Locust and took a right on Salem Lane. By the time I got to Middle Sattre, I knew why they named it that. Salem Lane is a real witch.

I drank a beer, took off rain gear, and headed for the Sattre store.

Bought three $1 Old Styles and a bag of chips. Drank one, ate the chips and headed for Lower Dam. Took the obligatory photo and had one more beer. Then I headed for the 500 block of Montgomery and gave the last to Marc. I needed to eat, so I headed to T-Bock's and did just that. By this time, it had started to rain hard enough that I scrapped plans for 100 km and had to be satisfied with the ride I had put in. Later, it was out to Jam night and home over the rollers on 235th and down Turkey Stan.

It was a forty-five mile day, and good fun. It taught me it takes a more determined rider than I to plug on through whatever weather comes your way during the course of a ride. My next attempt at 100km must be in a more determined mindset.

This morning, took the little one to the Fish Hatchery, and after feeding the fish we checked out the new sign.

Five Bridges Ride

2009-06-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

Nice thirty mile ride up Wagon, across Meadowlark, down Manawa Trail (right past the site of Saturday's Guinea Gallop) and up a killer hill on 155th to Middle Sattre, a bit on Spring Creek, down Pleasant View, Nordic Hills and River road back to town through Freeport. It was a five (new) bridge ride, but I only took pix at four (and failed to save one) thinking the fifth we had been across before after coming down Drake Hill, but alas, that was the sixth bridge we crossed that day...

Somehow I can't find the other pix, but here's a bountiful radish harvest out of my garden Sunday, and I saved $73.95 over shopping at the Co-op. :-)

Ruby Tuesday

2009-06-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

No idea why I called this post that, but I did. Some 37 miles including a round of frisbee golf with bikes as golf carts, plus jam night and a witness of total face plant by an un-named drunk on water street. Way to slow with the camera phone for that one, but oh, my!

Buggy, Jam Night, Yellow River

2009-06-04T07:54:00.001-07:00

It's been a good week so far. My little one has been begging for a buggy ride, so I put the hitch on the Fisher with the slicks and went to town and back Monday. She loves just looking around... and I shot this photo underhand.

Here's the end of the ride.

Then, Tuesday night is, of course, Jam Night. The boys were all in T-Bock's for a session, and the front had quite an array of bikes against the wall.

Then, Wednesday came along and Marc had organized a ride to Yellow River Forest where he had his van dropped off by Tom Sr., just waiting for us. I took the Fisher again and we hit Old Stage to Waukon. Here's the "draft line" up top:

We stopped in Waukon at Jason Fish's bar, once Jacobi's Clothing and more recently Brenda's. It is kinda cool, with a back area opened up to the sky, and the smokers go out there. Anyway, I had looked at the map the day before and knew there was a diagonal gravel route to Waterville from Elon just out of town, but had forgotten the road names. Jason was able to tell us to take Sherman Ridge to Paint Creek, and we agreed to go that route so we could get off the death trap known as Elon Road as soon as possible. Turned out to be an awesome route almost all downhill. Here's somewhere on Paint Creek road:

It was a fast pace to Waterville, where we grabbed a 12 pack and headed down towards Yellow River Forest with a beer stop by the creek:

and once we got to the van, it was time for the loadout and road trip back:

It was an awesome route and awesome ride.

Two-State Solution

2009-06-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm a bit of political dork, but this has nothing to do with Israel and the mythical Palestine... it's about a ride from Mabel, MN back to Decorah last evening! With the deconstruction project at the house, work weekend mornings, putting in a garden-like thingy, and tons and tons of mowing, it's been tough to get out for a weekend ride lately. Well, the rider blew a belt, a muffler fell off one push mower, and the air filter needs to be replaced on the other. I finished putting in as much of the garden as I think I can almost keep up with, and deconstruction can wait, so...

I text Folkey "Ridgeway?" as the wind is whipping out of the southwest and he responds "Meet in Mabel at 5:30pm." Hmmm... ingenious! Let's ride right into the teeth of it.

Turns out they had been in La Crosse for soccer and got dropped off. I arrived at the bar in Mabel to meet Marc, Jaime, and Russ for a few brews. The timing was great as the wind died down to almost nothing while we lubed up.

A quick pit stop on the way back: Here's Jayme ready to take some hydration in

and here's Marc making room for more:

This was a cool little bridge over a little stream that had an ancient rusted bicycle lying in ruins below. We had two more beer stops on the way back. It felt good to get back on the bike on a perfect night for it. I arrived home right at dusk.

rain rain rain rain rain

2009-05-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Jam Night meant twenty soggy miles in the dark. Good stuff.

Memorail Day Weekend and Dana's Trails

2009-05-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Let's take a moment and give thanks to all those that have gone before us and enabled us to live the free lives we enjoy and all to often take for granted, especially those that have given their lives in the armed services and duty to our country. The freedoms we enjoy would not be possible without them and the sacrifices they have made. I know, it's Memorial Day and not Veteran's Day, but they tend to mean much the same to me. I'm making a specific mention of my Dad, a Korean War era veteran that has passed on four years ago now... Love you and miss you.

Meanwhile, I missed out on the better part of a ride to Bluffton with Folkey and Eric, but Folkey and Freidhof stopped by my place for a beer or two at the "bar" in my new kitchen on their way back. Having done my mowing, I was able to join them for the quick jaunt into town, and here is a blurry photo of the post-ride hydration ceremony. You can see Folkey's hand, Jeff, Captain, Ryerson and his date, a waitress, and that's about it. Not pictured would be Eric, Russ and another guy whose name I forget already, and of course, myself. Hey, blurry photos are better than none at all.

I rode back home, fixed a printer issue so Shanky could work on her school project, and then Marilyn and I went out for a night ride. It was fun!

Today, Gunny and I are headed to Springwater and back for some Memorial Day sports activities at the "Field of Dweebs." We fought the wind on the way out there, and then Dave joined us for a short loop around Dana's Trails. We went up from Jackson's, across the new field route to the Pines, down U.V. (my first time down that super fun trail) and around to old Locust and out to the field. The trails are in good shape! Much better flow than nearly anything in the Decorah trail system.

Then it was time to watch some horseshoes, throw the frisbee a little bit, and begin a long game of whiffle ball. Yep, old guys (us) versus the young guys. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and had to leave in the eighth inning to sprint home (wind was with me this time), shower, and head off to work. Great day!

Dirty 100k gravel ride all frickin' day and half the night!

2009-05-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

It started out innocently enough; our first truly warm day of the spring and I called Gunnar. "What's our route?" He chuckled, and said he was still at Southy. I was finishing off the second breakfast pint at T-Bock's, and with the bike already aboard, got in the Jeep and drove out.

We headed west/southwest to 245th Avenue and headed north over some good rollers to Madison and then across Happy Hollow, which is still closed to vehicles and may remain so forever... this is looking back across the bridge at the bottom:

A bit of blacktop and then we stopped at my house for a cold one and headed to T-Bock's from there, unfortunately mostly blacktop. Now, I needed to get back to the Jeep so I could get a bit of work done, so I set off for Southy up Twin Springs. Once I loaded up the bike I had over twenty-three miles in. I needed to get to Springwater to at least print an invoice and return a repaired unit, and figured I could ride there, too. I parked the Jeep at home, unloaded the bike and put another fourteen on, round trip, all gravel. My test station needs some spring cleaning:

At this point I began to think about the real possibility of doing 100k, but still needed to finish some business, so I loaded up the bike once again and took the repair, invoice enclosed, to UPS for shipment. I parked in the 48 hour lot and unloaded the bike for the last time and pedaled to T-Bock's for a side salad. It was good! Now I had some time to kill before the boys gathered for the ride out to Jam Night, and I did a short loop up Quarry Hill and Whitetail

before returning to T-Bock's once again via Freeport and the shoulder to keep it "dirty,"

and then a cup of soup to keep the spirits up. The Gun Man and Scottie sauntered in, and I told them what I was doing, and they were game enough to add some miles to the route out to Southy for Jam Night, although I had to ride the shoulder near all the way to Town Line, and it was pretty narrow for a bit on Middle Calmar... but the earlier loop and the long route to Jam added another seventeen, and I could nearly smell it. We had to drink a few beers and play a few tunes:

but I wasn't done. I figured I needed more than the eight home across the rollers and down Turkey Stan, and I also knew those eight were harder than the 10+ I could get by going back to town, seeing T-Bock's one more time, and out the Pole Line on the shoulder. So the decision was made. Here's Dolce Vita in the dark, but the photo doesn't do it justice.

Scottie was right behind me, and walked into T-Bock's for a nightcap just after I was greeted by this:

I had been chatting with Travis at the bar when someone came up behind me and lifted me over his head. Gee, wonder who that could have been? Jess and the guys had been working on the trails, or at least had a trail meeting to discuss working on the trails. :-) I knew I needed a few miles more to get it done for sure. Out the Pole Line and home on the shoulder in the dark with rubber legs. That was interesting. I'm glad I live on a gravel road, so the last bit was a jog past my property and back for insurance. Map My Ride tells me I did 64.5 miles, plus the last bit. Yeah, it took TWELVE HOURS but every stop had a purpose!

Rain, wet, fog, mush

2009-05-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if anyone around Decorah has noticed, but it's been primarily cool and wet. Well, I'm sure the morel hunters have noticed. Grays were out but tough to find, and then the morels said "shit! it's time!"

as for bicycling, I've been doing very little. Jam night (Tuesday) was a wet ride out and and wetter and sloppier ride home over the rollers from Highway 9, down Turkey Stan and home on the Pole Line. Shoes, rain gear, bike all gravel goo.

On the plus side, the kitchen relocation/renovation is coming along well. Just a couple outlets yet to be wired, the microwave hung, and some tiling put on the wall and we're there! Cheers.

First ride since Time Trials

2009-05-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

My bike sat, all muddy and not yet attended to, for nine days. I guess I transferred my disappointment from sucking on the muddy trails to it, and waited for my back to come around before cleaning it up. Tons of anti-inflammatories and finally a therapeutic round of 3-man best shot golf on a familiar course helped me regain confidence that I could ride again. Seriously. After riding a bunch all winter and feeling ready to just _finish_ Time Trials my inability to ride the slick mud trails rocked me harder than I let on. So when the G-man said "let's do Drake Hill," I said wtf.

Over nineteen miles later, I was home and working on electrical stuff on the demolition job. I tried taking some photos from the top of Drake Hill and bottom while still pedaling, and they didn't work out so well. But the obligatory bridge shot is viewable: I am told (if I remember the early morning convo over that one too many frosty Schmidt pints) that this is the "McMaster's bridge" looking westerly towards Decorah...

Obstacle course

2009-04-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, well, not really, but she can at least stay on _her_ bike. :-))

Time Trials

2009-04-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Five inches plus of rain didn't stop the good riders, but it did stop me. I was on 800mg of ibuprofen for my sketchy back, and did okay until the off-camber stuff on Dust Bowl claimed me repeatedly in the slick stuff. An exit at Van Peenen and a DNF makes me a two-time "alphabet" rider, but it may have saved additional pain. I was on my hands and knees Monday morning, and quite tender right now as I type.

I am not sure what I learned, other than I need mucho work on my trails 'skills' and since riding when the trails are muddy is frowned upon, I'm not sure how I'm gonna learn to stay up in those conditions.

The post-ride awards deal was enjoyable, after an additional 800mg of ibuprofen and several beers kicked in... and I got a door-prize hat for my efforts.

Another chiropractic visit is in order, and if that and exercises don't improve my situation, feel free to donate towards the MRI that would determine if surgery is required. :-) Out.

Windy and warm, and very dry...

2009-04-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

The wind is whipping out of the south/southeast but needed to spin the legs a little bit. Turkey Stan seemed to be the perfect short easy recovery ride after days of getting beat up by the trails. The creek at the bottom is still flowing,

but the "cascades" off Madison are dry as a bone:

Later that night, it was a spring program to see my girl sing with the other kids, and then a night out with Switchback at the market. Good stuff.

A little hike with my daughter

2009-04-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

My girl was a bit chilly before she headed up the wooden staircase to the top of the springs, so she fashioned this blanket over her sweater:

Then we hiked up to the top of Dunning's and looked out over Decorah.

R.B. and the Gun man then headed off for the trails. I was a little jealous but one glance at my daughter fixed that--- off we went for some fruit to eat after our adventure.

Woot woot woot! Mother's Day's a hoot!

2009-04-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, at least for now (this could all change again) it seems we will be riding upper Mother's Day during Time Trials and not the shitty parts. I guess that is a good thing... we rode the last parts first, then headed over to Rocky Road and Little Bighorn, where I biffed on a log. I'm getting pretty good at rolling off my bike on the way to the dirt. Lane said he wished he had some video rolling. I kinda wish he did, too. I'd like to laugh at how absolutely horrible my "skills" are out there.

Hey, I was able to arrange to go into work early Sunday so that I can make Time Trials... some bastard has to be last and I guess I'm the man for the job.

This photo was snapped somewhere between Dunning's and the top of Vold's. That's right, I said VOLD'S, not Wold's. Don't know who bastardized the name given, but it's Vold's.

I figure it'll take me near two hours to cover the nine mile course. Bring some extra cash while you wait at the bar for me. Cheers!

This shit is for kids.

2009-04-18T16:10:00.001-07:00

This kinda stuff is like gay porn: You know it's out there, you have no problem with other people doing it, but you'd rather not see it and most certainly don't want to participate in it...

On the other hand, I heard through the grapevine that the "Mother's Day Trail" was built, in part, so that the singlespeeders didn't have to climb Boa. I helped work on some of the ravine crossings on "Mother's Day" last week, and today I rode some of it. I can tell you this: it's stupid hard and makes Boa look like a picnic. There's (I'm guessing) near 500 feet of climb up along the ravine that dwarfs Boa. So, my information was wrong, apparently. I did stop and pick up a beer can some dummy left out there. Hamm's. Decent beer, but don't litter. Probably a smoker; I was guilty of litter the entire time I smoked. At the end I started crushing my butts and sticking them in my pocket. I got tired of that, but when I drink beer I pack out what I pack in.

Finally, here's a photo (not a good one) of Reverend Bino cleaning Boa.

Time Trials is gonna be a frickin' hoot. I'm hoping I ride more than I walk.

Trails, back pain, and ibuprofen

2009-04-18T01:58:00.000-07:00

The last six days have been filled with back pain, plumbing, de-construction, and no bike riding (not even jam night!) until earlier today! Well, yesterday, to be exact. I met Lane-bob and the Gun Man on the North Forty as they had already been out on the trails and I drove over the top to the Van Peenen entrance. North Forty is a difficult trail, something I call a "two-percenter." See, the X-games generation comes out and builds these trails for themselves, mostly, since mere mortals like myself think about surviving to put my daughter through school rather than ride shit like this:

I have to give them credit, though, they always have a "cheater" trail around this crap for us humans to ride and shake our head at the fools that risk life and limb for whatever the rush is they get from it. I did notice that the overhanging limb that claimed Jayme's face has been cut back and moved off the trail, police tape still wrapped around it. Good on somebody, since no one will admit to it.

Well, I rode/hiked-a-bike through North Forty, met Gunnar and Lane, and up "Gunnar" and "Julia" we went to the prairie, did both "Pines" and down "Fred." Fred is an awesome trail, just super fun to ride. One direction, anyway. Given that they had been out an hour or so longer than I, Lane was ready to head to the hydration location and since this was my first outing since tearing up my back, I figured I'd had enough for one day. I still had to go to work, anyway. So, we crossed "Death Valley" and stopped at the bottom of the two "Randy's." Gunnar wanted to climb "New Randy's" so I snapped a photo of him on the way up:

Everybody that has taken photos of trails knows the picture never does it justice. Gunnar looked at this photo and said "that trail looks flat but I'm sure I recall it being a steep hill!" He buzzed back down and we went out "Roller-Coaster" or "The Luge" or whatever they call trail #2 these days, and on to T-Bock's for a cold one.

Then Lane and Gunnar paid a visit to the old haunting ground of a friend that has moved on up in Burr Oak, and I rode back through the trail system to my Jeep parked on Quarry Hill and went to work so I could send my product to Yale.

I didn't go to school there, but the Tele-Q does!

Well, it's 4:30 a.m. here at the ranch, the thermometer says thirty seven degrees, the coffee is calling me for a second cup, and I have to be at work in ninety minutes. I guess I'll get my gear on and ride!! Out.

Trails...

2009-04-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Rode to work at 5:20 a.m. then met Gunnar at Lowell's house and set out for the trails. Rode up the top part of Rock Garden, then up some of Pali to the top where we 'think' Time Trials will start. Rode down Pali, down upper Rock Garden, onto River Trail under the bridge and up and out to Ice Cave road, up last year's finish, under the power pole, across backside and down the roller-coaster and around to Rocky Road. Near the top of Rocky Road, I stopped to take off my outer shirt while Gunnar tried to make the hairpin up onto Little Bighorn. I knew from watching him I will not even bother trying to climb that little bit.

Here's where it gets stupid. I had set my bike down was about to take off my outer shirt when I took a wrong step with my left foot and my back went out!! This is a chronic deal with me, and three years ago I had a similar thing occur on my upper lot after working on my internet tower, and spent three days on my back and knees before chiropractic adjustments got me back on my feet. Luckily, my daughter was not yet crawling at the time.

Gunnar took off to ride Little Bighorn, and I was able to ride up and over to the Van Peenen entrance and down Quarry Hill to T-Bock's for some Pale Ale therapy. By cranking my back against the bar stool, I was able to pop it back into place, kinda. Gunnar met me after he did the rest of the trails and we had a couple more.

Then, I gathered my backpack and coat from Lowell's and met Folkey at the bottom of Boa for some trail work. Got about an hour and a half in not deducting for beer breaks and then Gunnar called to tell me Lowell had re-tapped the home brews he made with my hops, so off I went to drink a couple more.

It is Easter morning right now, and my back is as tight as can be. I can't bend over to pick things up, and could barely get my socks on. My goal _had_ been to simply _finish_ Time Trials. At this point, my goal is to be able to START Time Trials.

Fireman's in Ridgeway; Free Beer Tomorrow!

2009-04-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

Left from breakfast at T-Bock's to meet Gunnar and ride gravels southward to an unimproved road leading to Conover. The first sign said "Unimproved Road," and the second sign said "Enter at your own risk" more or less...

We were fortunate it was not muddy, as the ruts suggested this thing can be more than ankle deep mud in certain conditions. As it turned out, riding it was a blast on this day!

Then we went through Conover and onto the Prairie Farmer Trail, a flat black-topped multi-use trail heading towards Ridgeway. By this time, the wooded areas on each side of the trail made it seem like a wind tunnel, adding to the workout on what would be relatively easy with no wind.

Fireman's Inn provided a few malted beverages, then we were off again across a few gravels and over to the Madison Road just west of the church. The wind has shifted to the north and east/northeast, so it was across us and into us pretty much all the way back to Decorah. Back to T-Bock's where I devoured chicken fajitas in record time. The entire route was just a hair under thirty miles.

Super Tuesday

2009-04-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

Now that the major April snowstorm has passed (guffaw) and everybody can finally put their xc skis away, it was time for another ride in the dark to jam night. T-Bock's is the pre-ride meeting place, and a few dollar pints were had. Four of us set out in the full(ish) moon up the Dug Road and out into the glorious countryside.

Twenty miles were behind me by the time I pulled into the front yard about 1:30 a.m.

Bluffton and Vandalism

2009-04-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

Got a couple first-time-of-the-year riders on a Bluffton ride, gravel out and blacktop back. The road from the old bridge to the intersection is being worked on with heavy equipment, so we even got some dirt-riding in while giving wide berth to the big yellow earth-mover. Never piss off a steamroller!

The route back was interesting; Lane-bob took off with a huge lead as we stayed for a couple more barley pops at Randy's, and then Mike B. and I opened a big gap on Gunny as he stopped to relieve himself... our dumb idea was to make Gunnar work a little bit to catch us. He got us at the second climb. Then he continued on to try and catch his brother. As Mike and I turned onto the Pole Line, we were greeted with this:

Apparently, the vandal is escalating his/her crime. Bullies generally pick on those smaller than they, so while slow-moving farm equipment is likely safe, bikers, walkers, joggers and schoolchildren should watch their back or they will look like this:

One windy ride

2009-04-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

It was Jam Night again, and I hadn't been on the bike since last Thursday, so a ride was mandatory. The wind was whipping out of the south/southwest at about thirty, so we rode pretty much into it all the way to South Bear and the wood-heated way too hot man-space for a fun jam. Then, after one a.m., it was back into town with the wind at our backs, just flying down Twin Springs past Dolce Vita and splitting up at the campground. It felt good to be back on the bike.

What's the Value of a Biker's Life?

2009-03-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

The state of Iowa put it at about $83.30 in FY2006. Yeah, I'm being tounge-in-cheek here, a little bit, as I half-chuckle and half-fume over the half-wit that covered "road" with "cost" on the new signage on Pole Line and Bluffton road...

I have to assume the vandals message was along the lines of "bikers don't pay for the roads, so they shouldn't be on them!" (haven't I heard something like that just recently?)

I'd like to note that The Iowa Road Use Tax Fund gets it's monies from vehicle registration fees including a one-time registration fee when vehicles are bought or leased, excise taxes on fuel, rentals, and trailers to name a few. In FY2006 the Iowa DOT estimated that to be $83.30 per capita.

I don't know of a cyclist that doesn't also own one or more vehicles (although I am sure there are some but they would be the exception), pretty much in line with the rest of our society. So, they pay their fair share of the taxes.

To imply vehicle drivers needn't share the road with cyclists also implies vehicles shouldn't share the road with walkers, or someone crossing the road to get their mail, or schoolchildren being dropped off by a bus or even crossing a downtown street. In my opinion it's a lame argument.

NCAA hoops and all that

2009-03-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

This has nothing (and everything) to do with biking but I didn't bike today and it's my journal and I still have an opinion, eh?

The Missouri Tigers hung a HUNDEY on the Memphis Tigers (final score 102-91) and some people wanna complain no defense was played. They don't get it.

I do.

Get on your bike and ride, and hope the people that ride with you are near as damn kind as those that ride with me when you are SUCKING WIND. Sometimes it's easier and less dangerous to say "what the F*%# ever!" but as time goes on I am more willing and able to at least accept the challenge. The guys I ride with, I think, find it more fun, too, when I keep a decent pace and not make them babysit me AGAIN this ride... and they look forward to some day when I might pull a little bit and not always get pulled. Point is...

These athletes have worked their asses off since they were able to dribble a basketball and finally get to a match-up where both the teams, to a player, AND COACHES say "Let's do this. It's time. This is the one you've waited for!"

Memphis got dropped on a few hills, dragged their ass back to the pack, only to get shown again that they weren't as good. This time. It's weird, I'm a Mizzou fan, but this time it's Memphis' effort in a losing cause that I can maybe start to relate to.

Bluffton via Chimney Rock road

2009-03-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Headed west out the Pole Line into the wind for several miles and then up and over on Chimney Rock road and the back door to Bluffton from the north side past the Peregrine overlook... the bridge in the photo is where you put in for the short scenic canoe trip to Bluffton along the palisades. I went back home; the G-man continued on into town. My route was 22.5 miles, his was 17 or 18 miles longer since he met me on Pole Line after coming across from Southy. That's six out and near eight across, plus the extra four and a half back to town... Good ride. They're all good, though, aren't they?

Thank the Lord for Jam Night!

2009-03-25T01:10:00.000-07:00

A few friends, a few beers, a bit of home-brewed music, and a sloppy bike ride to get back to what's real.

I was educated by Deke!

2009-03-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

While watching Missouri escape a dangerous Marquette team at T-Bock's, I was honored by Deke's presence, and learned some things:

1. The new asphalt plant will reduce truck traffic by Van Peenen by over eighty percent.
2. Horses are allowed on Van Peenen property, just not on "Deke's" trails.
3. If you have never worked on "Deke's" trails, you most definitely should not be allowed to ride them.
4. If you disagree with Deke or have any opinion other than that held by Deke, he will quickly resort to name-calling. I don't mind being called ignorant, uninformed, or stupid, but think it is classless from a bike shop owner that claims to promote the trail system.

Nordness

2009-03-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hey, my phone has a camera! I'm such a dork. Anyway, it doesn't have a telephoto lens, and it is hard to see in the SPRING SUNSHINE. Shorts and a shortsleeve shirt, jacket tied around the waist like a bad '80's sitcom... the photo is _supposed_ to be Washington Prairie church steeple from the top of Stone Hill, but I can't find it. Can you?

Good ride. Back to the hatchery and up and over "Hatchery Hill" for post-ride hydration and T-Bock's. 14.5 miles or some such.

NCAA HOOPS and a little DIRT

2009-03-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

Friend o' mine stopped by (on his mountain bike traveling gravels) for a bit of NCAA Hoops viewing early in the day as I was building Q's with one eye on the games... and then we rode to town (mountain bikes on asphalt) for some more Hoops viewing and a few beers, and THEN we rode the River Trail west to east (with a picnic stop) and then I went home for eats, more Q construction, and more hoops.

Looks like the Pseudo Roadie was right... the River Trail is passable.

Dirt on 3/18, this old man will take it.

Springwater in SHORTS!

2009-03-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

It was Tuesday. The forecast was for high sixties, and Gunnar asked "What's our route?" I really needed to get some work done, but the seed had been planted. I figured why not do both? So I replied. "Springwater. I need to grind and wet-sand some enclosures." "Great, I can visit with Dana while you work" Gunnar said.

Off we went. The wind had been southerly, but as we crossed 52 on Meadowlark, it felt to be at our back. I was in the big ring and coasting UP rollers that I've always had to pedal. North on Middle Hesper, down the big hill and coasting all the way across the bridge to Canoe Valley. We were there in a flash. I did six enclosures, went over to Dana's and sucked down two beers quick, and we were off again. Now we're more or less into the wind, and I'm emming effing sprinting up Middle Hesper trying to stay on Gunnar's back tire of his $10 Depot cross bike. The guy has mad skills. We hang a left and cross Locust to Clay Hill. I check my clock and it's 1:41 p.m. We peek up trail #1 at the bottom of Quarry Hill and I check again. It's now 1:49 p.m. That's a quick downhill and beers are but a few minutes away.

I go home after a couple and spend four hours working, finishing the six Q's to put in enclosures tomorrow, and off again to town, South Bear for jam night, and home by 2 am...

32 miles. Great day for a bike ride. Night, too.

Half Moon, Baby!

2009-03-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Got on the bike at 5:30am and rode to work. Misty moonlight, twenties, facemask felt good. Breakfast at the bar after work, then ride out to Southy and help Gunnar unload a ton of clay in fifty pound boxes. Of course, the good folks there insisted I eat again as well as the dozen or so others that had gathered, and a feast was had by all. Then Kirk and Marc showed up, a quick tour of "basement pottery" and off again on the bikes across the southern route on an absolutely incredible day to the bar for some more beers, and finally home via the dike and some "dirt," kind of.

Twenty eight miles. Roughly.

New Rubber!

2009-03-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Put the WTB Vulpine on the front end. Jonesin' to try it out... looks like Turkey Stan to the cookout in town later this afternoon. I like new toys.

Happy Birthday FOLKEY!

2009-03-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

Managed a quick route from the house up Wagon, across Meadowlark to Locust and across to Spruce Hill and then Clay Hill, down through Freeport ... back to the 'bike' trail and Montgomery.

Yep, two days to circumvent Decorah. Good stuff.

Then, birthday drinks at Roscoe's for Folkey. I'm betting it's still going on as I type this.
The circle of life is all around us and usually we don't think about it much, but as we celebrating Marc's 41st, I couldn't help but think that it was also four years to the day that my father passed away... reason to hoist just one more, in remembrance. Cheers!

What's the name of that Turkey?

2009-03-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

"Turkey Stan." The locals recognize the name, and immediately picture the hill in their minds at the mention of the phrase. Gunny and I left the ranch and the thermometer read ten degrees. Double digits. Good enough. The wind was bitter, though, and the facemasks were welcome. We did the short jaunt down Pole Line and took the left to start up Turkey Stan.

Then the rollers to Highway 9 and Southy, where I got the rare treat of watching two halves of a huge clay pot being put together. Pretty cool stuff. Then out Town Line (we saw a coyote loping across an open field... no camera... I suck at remembering that), Middle Calmar, Hatchery, Trout Run Trail, Montgomery, Cemetery Hill, Depot, and T-Bocks for post-ride hydration. There I met Leeper who had ridden in to town, and we took a quick ride down the dike, through the campground and up Twin Springs to McCaffrey's 'Dolce Vita' for one beer, back through the campground, left to Hwy 52, out Pole Line, and home. It approached thirty degrees at one point, pretty nice compared to the winter blast we just came through.

Twenty five miles.

Or so.

Leave it to the PROS!

2009-03-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post, but I have been riding. I had been chasing a problem; my bike wouldn't shift well from high gear to low gears in middle ring. Back on the last day of January on the long ride, I developed chain suck. I cleaned and lubed the drivetrain and it went away. But since then I noticed poor shifting --- I would click the shifter to go from a higher gear to lower (from a small rear sprocket to a larger one) and the chain wouldn't move for a while, or not at all. Then I'd have to shift up two and back down one to get the gear I wanted. This is bothersome at best, and downright problematic in a group ride if I'm trying to stay with the group. :-)

I cleaned and lubed, to no avail. I asked and got advice from other riders. The problem persisted. I wisely (for once) resisted the temptation to adjust the derailleur and/or cable barrel adjustments, and finally cleaned it as well as my bike has been cleaned since last fall, and took it in to Travis. I also had him rotate rubber back to front as I had taken quite a bit of tread off the rear tire. He worked and worked on finding the shifting problem, and finally found that the dreailleur hanger/replaceable dropout was out of shape, or bent, or whatever. (The photo doesn't quite show the culprit; I took it after the major cleaning just to remember what it looked like without grime and grit all over it) He bent it back and I said I'd give it a try. I haven't had a problem since!!

Moral of the story: Leave it to the pros, unless you are one yourself!

Don't get me wrong, many riders are capable of doing their own maintenance, and many do. More power to them. I can honestly say, though, that I would have done many things that would probably just made it worse, or at the least cost me money and done nothing to improve it: new chain (it hadn't stretched), clean/replace cable (it's fine), adjust derailleur/barrel (probably make it worse). I would NEVER have figured out the $20 piece of aluminum in the dropout was the problem. Travis charged me NOTHING as the bike is just under a year old and I bought it there, so I bought some more chain lube and a water bottle. Thirteen bucks and a half hour later, I was a happy camper.

Leave it to the pros, boys and girls. :-))

Bluffton by Shuttle

2009-02-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

It's Wednesday, the wind was howling out of the NNW and Marc called to say he had a ride to Bluffton for us and we could ride back. I jumped at the chance and got work done so we could leave at 4pm. The red pickup that took us out there had the best heater in the known universe and the driver was proud of it; the cab must've been ninety degrees... but minutes later I was cooling off at Randy's a couple beers. Finishing the second, Marc says "I'd like to be back by 5:45." I look at the clock and it's 5:05. Yikes. On the blacktop we go, and while Marc didn't quite make it on time it was very close. I stopped at T-Bock's after watching him ride away from me for forty-five minutes.

Now it's Thursday morning and after dropping off my little one at 'school' I stopped for 'coffee' and to read the paper at T-Bock's. Pretty soon the plan is for Lane Bob to drop Gunnar and me off at Randy's and we'd ride some gravels back. The wind is about the same, but it's colder; wind chills checking in at minus one. No time restraints this time, but the ride was just as hard or harder. We went north/west out of Randy's, across the bridge, up the gravel past the quarry on West Ravine, 310th to 253rd for some rough rollers, and then down Scenic River Road all the way to Wagon Road and home. GOOD ride of 10.2 miles.

So much for not getting to ride much. I didn't have the camera along but my wife and step-daughter had taken a photo of the ice migration, and we saw several large slabs of ice up on the bank at Bluffton. Pretty amazing, and the photo doesn't do it justice.

February in Iowa

2009-02-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

Well, between a bit of a cold (do you starve it or feed it? I never remember, so I try to drown it) and that pesky crap called work, it's been a full week since my last ride. That has to stop.

Along comes Tuesday night, otherwise known as Jam Night or more rightly, Guy's Night. That includes the ride to South Bear and the "Man Space." After an excellent meal at home of T-Bone and baked potato with a home brewed hoppy ale, I hop on the bike for the jaunt into town on the Pole Line. It's raining, it's dark, and I'm wearing glasses. Not a big deal until you meet oncoming traffic. The lights in your face with rain drops on the spectacles make for an interesting moment of "crap I can't see" right about when you meet the vehicle. I learned to peer over the top of my lenses very quickly. It might be fuzzy, but at least you can see the ton or so of metal that is about to end your life.

With rain gear dripping, I settle in for a Schmidt whilst waiting for the rest of our group to arrive. After a few pints, four of us head out in near perfect conditions for the cruise out 5th Ave, through the campground, and up Twin Springs. Below McCaffrey's the two in front call out something about ice or slick conditions but they were basically crying wolf as I pick up the pace and pass them. Yep, it was baloney as they match my pace immediately and re-take the lead. So much for the "ice." However, the near perfect conditions yield to more drizzle and Stinky Chicken reminds you why it is called that as we pass it and start the climb up Highway Hill. Wet blacktop on Highway 9 gives way to mushy "gravel" on Dry Run, and we finish in two inch deep MUD between the Southy driveway and the "Man Space." I biffed it halfway down, and my rain pants are covered in mud. Ice my ass. Mud sucks.

A couple hours of music and merriment, and then Lowell has to leave just after midnight. I happily join him, thinking I can make T-Bock's for a nightcap. Now there is a dense fog surrounding us and the rain is now sleet. This time it's downhill at McCaffrey's and my tires do a little dance on the "ice" they must have referred to on the way out. I mention Dug Road, but we decide that might not be much fun, and I didn't want to walk at this point. On Water Street I bid Lowell adieu and Pony serves me up a pint. Scotty walks in at ten til two, and we rehash the "jam" for a few minutes. Homeward bound, and not a policeman to shake a stick at. The difference a week makes...

Tuesday Jam Night

2009-02-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

Another Tuesday, another ride to Southy out 5th Avenue, through the campground, up Twin Springs past Stinky Chicken, and the climb up Highway Hill to massive, sickening highway traffic. Sheesh, it's a nice day, so people evidently think to themselves "let's get out and DRIVE AROUND IN OUR CAR."

Rode back the same way, except Lowell and I decided to try out the Dug Road. It was quite bumpy and varied between hardpack snow/ice and areas of slush. I don't remember it being quite that long, and could only think "dang, I'm glad we're going down it and not up." I need to remember to pack the camera. Photos would be good.

A nightcap at T-Bock's, which was surprisingly populated. There was a bike in front, and I recognized it immediately... one of Spinner's stable. Then, at bar time, I started the trek home, and counted FOUR police cars between Water Street and the 5th Avenue intersection. One had pulled over a car right in front of me by the post office. Gee, let's get out and DRIVE AROUND IN OUR CAR.

Saturday and Sunday Bluffton rides

2009-02-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

We bought this old farmhouse and small acreage for a couple of reasons, the biggest being location. It's close to town, but far enough in the country I can pee outside, shoot my guns, etcetera. Little did I know at the time it is also smack dab on one of the local cycling community's favorite rides: Bluffton.

Saturday, Marc and KJ came by and I joined in for a sloppy ride out and blacktops back. KJ was on his Colnago cross bike, and mentioned an "enjoyable" pace for this ride. Apparently, Marc didn't get the memo, or the joke was on me as they "enjoyed" dropping me on climbs and watching as I got gutmunch trying to keep them in site for the last three miles. Such is the life of a novice rider trying to keep up with the big boys. Their leisurely little ride is a major workout for me.

Shockstar, Scotty, Jesse, Bill and a guy I don't know came into Randy's a beer or so after us. They left as soon as they got there, nearly, for one of those pesky work deadlines that get in the way. Shockstar has pictures on his blog of the ride in that group.

Sunday, similar conditions, but this time it was Jesse, Marc, Jaime and Eric out and five others back as KJ met us at Randy's. Once again, I battled to stay with the group and did fairly well until those last pesky couple miles. It helped that spinner had to stop and dry heave a bit after the climb just before "Deliverance," as I could pass him there. Still, after mentioning that he was "hurting" he had no problem standing and pulling away to join the lead group. After a few beers, the four ounce Doctor's was enjoyed by everyone except spinner as he was still battling those demons from five liters of Schmidt the night before. He got 'er done, though.

The way back was better, as I was up to chasing Eric and KJ after the first climb only to get left behind on the second climb. I sucked it up and stood up for a bit before the second downhill to reach the beer stop at Malanaphy Springs entrance in fourth out of six. I never let on to spot five and six that I was racing them there. :-) Two rides in two days, both with episodes of gut munch. I might flatten this beer belly a bit yet. Nah.

Tom Sr. was there guarding the 12-pak we asked him to stash for us as there was a white truck parked in the entrance. He was paid well for the effort.

Snowmobile trails

2009-02-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

Got in a noon-ish ride trying to stay upright on some snowmobile trails south of town. No camera, nothin. With the warm weather headed this way, it is likely the only time this year I'll experience this type of ride. It is most definitely a work-out. You can't really explain it, or at least I can't, but those of you that have done it know what I'm talking about. It highlighted the fact that I'm a big scaredy-cat of crashing, and I learned how loudly my disc brakes can squeal on some downhills through the woods. I need to get over it and have some dang fun already. You gotta climb, why not enjoy the effort as the front tire drops off?

January 31st was a Good Day

2009-02-02T08:53:00.000-08:00

Got this crazy idea to try a metric century a month thanks to Shockstar and his mention of the Cup O' Dirt. Problem was I stumbled onto it Friday, January 30th. Oh, well, that left one day in January, right? So I texted a message to a biking friend from work Saturday morning and he met me at my house about 11:30 am and off we went towards Bluffton by gravel. I had not yet eaten, so a stop at Randy's Bluffton Store was mandatory. Problem is, it took an hour and my "friend" poured a huge shot of schnapps down my throat against my will. :-)

Anyhoo, off again at nearly 1:15pm already knowing I probably wouldn't complete the metric this day, but a ride is a ride. North a bit and then due east for two hours, and I found myself at the Highlandville General Store changing my socks... my feet were cold from sweat! This was the thirty mile mark, and the grim realization that finishing would mean riding in the darkness set in. I grabbed two cans of Hamm's and opened my map. The wind was stronger than at any point in the day, and it was out of the west/southwest. I had hoped it would diminish as the day went on, but now realized that was unlikely. I decided to change my route and head more directly back to Decorah so that I could avoid darkness. The metric century would have to wait for another day, and one would not be done by me in January.

I was flying down Quarry Hill right at dusk just as two vehicles were leaving Van Peenen Park after skiing. The first went by but the second pulled up alongside and rolled down the window. It was The Captain! He offered a beer at T-Bock's, and I went directly there. Forty six miles after I started, my first attempt at the metric century was aborted. But I learned some things and hope to apply them to the next attempt.