Product Review

I know some of you will shake your head in disgust when I tell you I commute to work and back wearing earbuds. My phone, amongst many other things, is a MP3 player. I recently purchased some earbuds such that I could listen to music while getting to and from work and also during roadie type rides.

The ones I purchased are the Bose MIE2 set. Mine has the little button, microphone thing on it. If a call comes in, I just click the button and can speak to and hear whoever.

These earbuds have a nice shape to them. They stay put very well. The sound quality is excellent. However, they don’t block out all other sounds. Rest assured, I can still hear road noise. But, I can’t hear people speaking – as evidence coming into work yesterday. Someone said, “Hi” several times before I realized they were speaking to me. So, if you see me riding, you holler and I don’t respond, (as far as you know) it is because I couldn’t hear you (and not just ignoring you – I wouldn’t do that, would I?).

These are spendy little bastards. I think they were about one-hundred-twenty-five dollars ($125). But, you get what you pay for. I like the fit and the sound quality. To me, money well spent.

Ride On.

Sometimes

Sometimes a person knows what he must do. Sometimes a person does what he must do. Sometimes both the knowing and the doing are not easy. The pain is real and constant. But you do it anyway. You do it because it is right and because it benefits someone else greatly. Someone you care deeply about.

But, you are left with the hollow, empty aftermath that you’ve become.



Sometimes you must disguise the darkness with your outward appearance and demeanor. These are hard times for dreamers.

Ride On.

Decision By Default

I think it was yesterday I’d alluded to riding my touring bike to commute to and from work a few days. By default, sort of, that’s exactly what happened.

Monday I stayed late at work to get some stuff off my desk. When I went outside the weather was fricking gorgeous! Scenic route from work to home, here I come!

I made my way to the paved bike path via the new junior football fields recently constructed near where I work. From there I ventured north on the trail. I made my way around until I found the new spur heading toward the east in the proximity of the State Pen and Morrell’s. I took it as far as it would go (not far).

I headed downtown and noticed the back end felt a little squishy. A flat - crap. I was within a few blocks of home so I hike-a-biked it. Feeling lazy from a very early morning to wake thing, I opted to let it sit and air up the tires on the Long Haul Trucker.

Tuesday I put the Long Haul Trucker into service as my replacement commuter. The Long Haul Trucker is heavier than the single speed Cross Check. It has gears. It has racks fore and aft. They both sport Brooks saddles. Riding the Long Haul Trucker was as smooth as BUTTAH!!!!

Monday evening, as I was contemplating removing the Long Haul Trucker from my in-house rack and prepping it, I though, “You know, I have enough bikes I could ride a different one (1) every workday to work and still have one (1) left over.” For the mathematically challenged, I have six (6). Four reside in my apartment and two (2) reside out in the hallway.

The only issue with riding a different bike to work each day is hauling my crap. Three (3) of the six (6) have racks or bags. The others do not. I’d have to resort back to a larger backpack to haul my clothes, lunch, and handful of tools (including flat tire remedy). I’ve opted to not ride the backpack intensive bikes to work.

Ride On.

Dusting Off

I’ve an unusually low-key week this week. I shall use some of this time to spend some extra time at the paying job. There’s MUCH work to be done. I do like being super busy there. The days fly by.

I’ll spend parts of evenings this week dusting off the Long Haul Trucker touring bike. I’m pretty sure I know where all my camping gear is. I’m also pretty sure I have some fire starter bricks. The evenings will be cool. A campfire coupled with a red wine should be just the ticket.

My tentative plan is to depart Sioux Falls on Wednesday October 12th later in the afternoon. I’ll make my way east and a bit north to Palisades State Park. Thursday I’d journey west to Lake Herman State Park very near Madison. Friday I’d travel to Lake Vermillion State Park near Montrose. And, Saturday I’d make my last overnight State Park visit at Newton Hills. Sunday October 16th I’d roll back home to Sioux Falls.

There’d be no huge mileage days. The routes should be fairly flat with maybe a few rollers here and there. There will be plenty of pass-through towns in case I needed something. My game plan would be to take all my food and just get water or other liquids as needed.

Double G Gregg has expressed interest in at least a portion. I’ve bike camped with him before. Great guy, knows his gear. He recently acquired a Long Haul Trucker as well. My guess is he’s looking for an excuse to get it on the road.

I may even roll the touring bike to work and back a few days. It rides like a dream and it will be nice to be back on it.

Speaking of bike commuting, I’m now back at it. With the park project winding down I have little need to run to meetings or to get materials over lunch. The park project had many secondary sacrifices. Bike commuting was one (1).

Ride On.

Bridged The Gap

The short version is Saturday the new bridge at the Leaders Park singletrack project was full installed. We began at 9 AM and I was the last to leave just before 4 PM.

The trusses were bolted together, hefted across the span, bolted in place, and the deck with handrails completely installed. I'll get some random park pictures, including the new bridge, next weekend.

Somehow I've ended up with a rather large bruise on the back of my left hand. I have multiple cuts and scrapes. I must have acquired these during the heat of the battle with the bridge. I don't recall them, though.

Saturday night was Beervana on Monk's. The proverbial cat was let fully out of the proverbial bag. I suspect this was mere confirmation of an assumption. Never the less, I sometimes put myself on a slippery slope.

Ride on.

Bike Camping

I’ve alluded I plan on a shorter bike camping vacation in October. The dates are not set yet. I do know it will be a Wednesday afternoon departure and a Sunday afternoon return.

My first (1st) overnight stop will either be Palisades State Park or Newton Hills State Park. Those are the closest ones. From there it will be biking to a different State Park each day and an overnight there. For the math challenged, four (4) overnights, four (4) different parks.

If you’ve got some time and the inclination and would like to join in the foray, let me know. Perhaps we can work out a mutually beneficial time frame. My guess is the first (1st) two (2) weekends in October will not work. That leaves three (3) to choose from.

Indicate interest in the comments section or shoot me an email. The email address can be found on the profile page. I’m not looking for commitments, just expressions of interests. I’ll try to nail down travel dates as soon as I can.

Ride On.

Dig, Dag, Doug!

Attendance to the Tuesday night rough-neck’s dig session approached bitchin’ quantities. In other words, not only were there a lot of volunteers there, a lot of shit got done.

As in, we are now finished digging trail where the trail is going to go. If you’re saying, “Huh?” to that last sentence, you’re probably in the majority. I’ll attempt to explain.

We are done digging where we intended the trail to go. However, there are places where the trail is just a wee bit off camber, is not quite wide enough, or needs just a little bit of tweaking. We’ll handle these minor issues over the next few weeks.

There were enough hombres available Tuesday evening to not only finish the digging proper, but also install some tight, twisty, downhill, cornering, rock gardens. I’ll try to get some pictures and post them. I’ve not ridden them – yet. They look, well, difficult. They turn, drop, and are over rocks on three (3) consecutive corners. If they prove to be too poorly installed or too challenging, we’ll yank them out, and try again. We do have plenty of rocks.

Saturday we have everything we need, so, we will be installing a bridge. We’ll have the truck loaded the night before with the trusses and wood. We’ll arrive on site, bolt up the trusses, sling them into place, and slap down some deck. Hopefully, and if all goes as planned, within two (2) – three (3) hour work sessions. Our local Dominoes Pizza dude is providing pizza lunch and our local Coke distributor is providing the liquids to wash it down.

Separately, it looks like it will be October for my bike camping excursion. My initial thought is to leave from work on a Wednesday later in the afternoon, arrive at a nearby State Park, and then leap-frog to a new State Park arriving back home on Sunday afternoon. I have not yet decided if I’ll invite anyone along or not. There’s something to be said about solitude. But, then again, sometimes it’s fun to have others along. We’ll see. The actual dates are yet to be set.

Ride On.

Weirdness

A little weirdness to enhance your day and demeanor.

Ride on.

Eureka!

I have determined what would be a GREAT shorter, mind clearing, vacation. When this dawned on me I thought, “Duh!”

Since it is post Labor Day the usual crowds at our State Parks are gone. To me, fall is the perfect camping season. I think I’ll go on a loop tour of some close by State Parks.

Throw a bunch of shit in the car and go? No way! Load the touring bike and hit the road! I’ll figure out the particulars later.

At first (1st) thought, there’s Palisades, Oakwood, Lake Herman, Lake Vermillion, Union Grove, Newton Hills – all fairly close. If I opt for a shorter vacation, I won’t be able to hit them all. But, I know I can come up with a pretty sweet loop to hit some.

Ride On.

Wondering

As per my usual, this past weekend was spent in the park digging and directing trail digging. I thought we’d get done digging this past weekend but didn’t quite achieve that goal. We have only a few feet left to dig.

Saturday morning, before I headed to the park, I was sitting in Michelle’s Coffee sipping hot coffee and patiently waiting for my B’s and G’s (biscuits and gravy). As I sat there I was thinking the singletrack project is drawing to a close. What I am I going to do?

Yes, I will finish up the U.S. Bike Routes stuff. However, that will only take a little work here and there. Perhaps a few fall excursions to finalize routes. But, not too much work, really.

So – now what?

I say that with just a tinge of nervous dread. I do not do well with nothing to do. The major undertaking I anticipate for next year can’t start just yet (more on this at a later date). I have this span of time that I’ll need to find something to occupy my thoughts and actions.

One (1) thing is for sure – I need a vacation. It doesn’t have to be long and it doesn’t have to be far. But, it needs to be away and minimalist in nature. My batteries are long overdue for a recharge. Maybe figuring out the logistics of this will keep me occupied for a while.

Ride On.

Advice To Self

Take some risks and explore the possibilities.

Ride On.

Tuesday Night Session

I used Tuesday evening to spray even another can of bug bomb into the two (2) wasp nests hampering digging. One (1) showed no activity as I emptied the can. The other had two (2) of the little bastards hanging around. At least they used to be hanging around.

More trail was dug almost as far north as it is going to go before it heads down the slope and to the bridge that is not quite there yet. Several volunteers showed up and much was done before it became too dark to dig.

If volunteers show this weekend, this will have been the last Tuesday night dig. I am thinking we’ll be done with the digging by the end of this coming weekend. Then, all that is left is some minor tree removal or trimming, some slight trail tweaking, placing the trail markers, and putting up the trailhead sign.

Bridge install weekend is not this coming but one (1) after that. We should be able to sling the steel and install the deck in one weekend. A very happy local resident, who just happens to run all the Dominoes Pizza places in town, has graciously offered some of their finest as lunch for the workers. An added bonus to having the satisfaction of creating singletrack is the strong sense of community as this project has progressed.

Ride On.

As Seen On The Internets

"Thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now."

Ride on.

Weekend Recap

There was another outstanding weekend of trail digging in Leaders Park. The middle loop was completed and some access trail was “erased.” The digs were not completely uneventful.

I was able to locate one (1) wasp nest with complete accuracy and emptied a can of wasp bomb into it. I’ll check it later today to see if this did the trick. The other nest appeared to mysteriously gone.

Yesterday the group and I were clearing corridor and digging trail along the west side and to the north. I was surveying the area where the second (2nd) nest was supposed to be. No action. I figured they left for undisturbed pastures.

Later in the dig session we decided to connect up where we were digging with where we left off – in the vicinity of the wasp nest. The supposedly mysteriously vanished wasp nest was very accurately located and the wasps became pissed. Two (2) dudes took a few hits. I ventured close to access the situation and get a read on the nest. The location was not clear, as there were leaves and twigs obscuring the exact location.

I gave the area a quick scrape with a McLeod. This stirred them up more and I stepped back to try to determine where the nest was located. Two (2) wasps located me and indicated as much on my forearm and in the face. Ouch.

It was getting close to the end of the dig session so we decided to vacate the area. We picked the tools, gave the nest area plenty of room, and made our way out of there. I plan to go back this evening and unload another wasp bomb into the nest. It is time for these critters to be gone.

Ride On.

Dakota Five-O Recap -or- Sonofabitch!

I took off last Friday for Spearfish. I didn’t get out of work quite as early as I’d wanted. I was aiming to get to Rapid City with enough time to do some riding on M Hill. As I was approaching town the sun was leaving town. I decided to forego M Hill and continued on to Spearfish.

Once in town I unpacked and tried to determine who’s in town. I ran into Buckshot downtown and we made our way to the City campgrounds. A few more dudes I know began to show up about then. Pleasantries were exchanged, beers consumed.

Saturday morning Chris from Brookings called. We made our way to the Tinton Trail trailhead and a short ride. We made our way up the trail about four (4) miles and then back down. Post ride, we made our way back to town for some food, supplies, and to meet up with others.

Rapid City Ross made it up and so did the Blomberg’s. We drove to where the crowds were not and rode the race section away from where fuel station three (3) was to be toward where fuel station two (2) was to be. When we topped out at a climb near a trail marker sign, we turned around and rode back.

Back in town we cleaned up and rode to the Chop House Whiskey Bar for food and drink. The food was great and the beer was cold. We rode back to the campground for a few more beers and a fire. I did not stay out late as the next day was race day and I wanted to rest up.

Sunday I was up at 5:30 AM to prep for the 7:30 AM race start. I puttsed around and then rolled to Common Grounds for food and caffeine. The other Sioux Falls crew was there. We dined and then made our way to final preps and the park for the start.

Sunday morning was a brisk forty-one (41) degrees. The wool jersey served me well. I opted for the second (2nd) wave of riders start and we were out of the gate at 7:30 PM. After a long-ish climb on gravel we were right after it on the singletrack.

As the one (1) or two (2) of you who read this know, this entire summer has been spent digging trail and not riding trail. In other words, my goal for the day was to not die. It was evident almost immediately my lack of conditioning was going to make for a long day.

In true to form Dakota Five-O fashion, the trails were in outstanding condition, the fuel stops well stocked, and the experience wonderful. It wasn’t long and I’d settled in to riding with rollers going at my pace. One (1) of which was Sioux Falls singletrack volunteer Steve. When we weren’t huffing and puffing or screaming down a downhill, we were able to chat.

For those who’ve never rolled the Dakota Five-O, the course has about every kind of mountain bike riding imaginable. It has climbs, technical and otherwise. It has open flatter sections. It has fast downhill runs, technical and otherwise. And, it has a PBR / bacon station.

I’ll say that I did finish slower than I thought I was going to. Slow enough to disappoint myself and make me feel a bit embarrassed. Then I think, “Well, what did you expect for not training at all?” Then I think, “Excuses are like assholes, everyone’s got one and everyone’s stinks.”

Here are the numbers while on course – finished in just under eight (8) hours, five (5) strips of bacon consumed, two (2) PBR’s gulped, two (2) minor crashes, and one (1) spin-out tip over.

The first (1st) crash was an act of stupidity. I’d been following this dude down a downhill section. I was feathering the brakes to not run up his ass. As we came to a wider corner, I tried to take him on an inside line. The tires washed out and I was on the ground saying to myself, “You dumb-ass!”

The second (2nd) crash was similarly stupid. I was bombing down this somewhat technical rock section. It was the same rock section I’d pre-rode the day before. I was thinking and looking past this section to upcoming places I could pick up some speed when my front tire hit a big rock and I was being flipped up and to the left. The bike stopped abruptly. My left foot unclipped but the right did not. That is why I cart-wheeled with my bike instead of me going over the bars. I landed on my left side, right foot clipped in, and bike lying on top of me. Again, “You dumb-ass!”

I made my way through the rest of the course and into town. Rapid City Ross met me at the finish line with a beer. Thank you, Ross! As I lay on the grass in the park I was thinking how I’ll be back next year for sure. And, I’ll be back having actually trained for this race. I know I can do a TON better.

This past year riding was sacrificed for digging. Not next year. I intend to get my ass in the gym over the winter and begin training for the 2012 version of the Dakota Five-O at this time as well. Though this is a great race and I had a great time, the end result seems bitter-sweet. I’ve much to prove to myself. And, having this to focus on will make these next months go by quickly. There are changes in the wind.

Ride On.

Good Press

I'm back from the Dakota Five-O. I've not had a chance to write up a recap. Perhaps I'll have that for tomorrow. In the meantime, here's some newspaper goodness regard the single track project.

Ride on.

Locked And Loaded

The carrrrr is gassed up, loaded up, and I’m ready to roll. I’ll be escaping work a bit early today to venture west toward the Black Hills. I’ve my book on CD and I’ll bring along some liquid refreshment for the journey.

It’s been a few years since my previous Dakota Five-O. I’m not sure what to expect. I’m a better mountain biker than the last time but have had little opportunity to train. I’m not in a position to predict a finishing time. Age group podium? No way.

I’ll try to keep the crashes to a single digit number. I’ll also try to not bonk. Regardless of my performance, I’m going to do everything I can to have a good time. I know the course will not disappoint. I cannot express in words how thankful I am to be getting, number one (1) – out of town, and number two (2) doing some riding on these trails.

Ride On.

Travelin’ Materials

Wednesday evening I found myself in the public library. I was in search of a book on CD to accompany me on my trip to the Black Hills on Friday afternoon.

I searched the coffers and found a suitable option. After I’d perused the books on CD I strolled by the “new non fiction” book section. A title caught my eye so I sat down to sample it.

It is not my norm to dig into books in the non-winter months. However, I left the premises with a book on CD for the trip and a print book to while away the down time. It is an easy yet very interesting read. Maybe more on both of my selections later.

In addition to the books, in various formats I'd picked up at the library, a new National Geographic arrived. Life is good!

Ride On.