Things and Stuff

April has been amazing, and I've been getting some riding in.

Rode to the post office with Little to mail a birthday present to my brother in-law.

I had to hit up 3 different LBSs to find an AK shop t-shirt for a birthday present, but I was really pleased with what I eventually found.

Noticed this sign while I was locking up to the bike rack.

I'm pretty sure it's entrapment to install a bike rack where bicycling is forbidden.

Vic inspired me to experiment with some hose clamp, stem mounted water bottle.  Little saw what I was doing and requested on for his trike.  He and I were both pleased with the results.

LoL came by this weekend with a sweet new fork for his Moonlander.  It's amazing how light this hunk of plastic is.  

 

Fortunately I have an irrational fear of crabon that keeps me from investing large sums of money in shiny plastic bits.

Ocean Air Cycles had their t-shirts on sale for cheap.  Nice looking shirts, funky, small US bike company, how could I resist.  I was even happier when the package arrived with more than just a t-shirt.  A few stickers and some beautiful postcards were just above and beyond.

Like I said the April riding has been amazing. Blue sky, warm (above freezing) day time temps and smooth snowy trails are hard to beat.

Neither this guy, nor myself were in too much of a hurry this afternoon, so we spent a while checking each other out and sharing the trail before we both went peacefully on our respective ways.

The trails were holding up pretty well, even as the temps approached 50deg F.  Nice to be out riding in a short sleeved jersey and shants.

 

Things were a little punchy and deep if you had to dab off the packed trail, but there are worse problems to have.

 

Stumbled across this old run down cabin in the woods.  Less than two miles from our house, but on a little used trail that I had never explored before.  Would have been a pretty sweet place to live back in its day.

  

I persuaded Little to help me slap the Big Apples back on the Dummy and ride to the park with me.  He did an awesome job hanging on to the back of the Big Donkey.  I still plan to build a proper seat for him or something, so that he and I can both relax a little bit while he's back there.  As it was I was rolling slowly and constantly seeking conservation that he was still hanging on with both hands (most of the time he was).

 It's really fun to have him out of the trailer and to be able to maintain a conversation while we roll along.  4 fun miles together this evening.  His only complaint was that he hurt his bottom when we practiced riding off a curb at low speed.  I'll set him up with a magic carpet or something similar soon.
I'm really excited for this next chapter of family riding.

The Freaks Come Out At Night

Tonight I manged to get out and join the LBS ride that was in the neighborhood.

I have been fortunate enough to have yet another Fatback come my way.  That's 3 in 3 weeks.

This pink steed was offered to me for an extended test ride with the option to buy at a very fair price.

Gypsy Nicholas told me what I should have know already, that I ought to thin out my stable in order to add a fatbike.  If you are looking for a quality used bike give me a shout, I've got a few that I'm looking to part with.

The ride tonight was great.  A dozen fine folks came together to roll through the woods on fatbikes.  Conversations were pleasant and effortless and a few eye catching bike bits came out of the woodwork.

First was a pair of powder coated Surly Rabbit Hole/Knard wheels.   These bits were not on a Krampus, but rather on a Pugsley (NeckRomancer if I'm not mistaken). Looked like a fun set of wheels to have for a fat bike, might have to do something like this some time  if I should choose to acquire the pink Fatback.

The other thing I spotted on the ride was these wheels on a Salsa Mukluk:

 

I  didn't get a chance to chat with the owner, but I did do some serious gawking.

Good gosh, look at the size of those cutouts!

100mm rims with Bud and Lou mounted up. 

This ride was ready for business

There was a pair of spokes, parallel to each other between each set of cut outs.

I love the creative thinking and the willingness to just go ahead and do it, the wheels seemed to be working just fine this evening.

 Trails were in great shape and it was really nice to get out and cruise around in the woods with a bunch of other bike appreciating folks.

Sometimes

Sometimes you bite the bullet and pay too much at the LBS (local bike shop).

I needed a new kickstand. The nice double legged stand I've been using has been on loan from Allman. He bought himself a Big Dummy, so now he's got a use for the kickstand.

I figured I'd throw a cheap kickstand on for the time being and see if it was adequate. I'd seen made in the U.S.A. Greenfield kickstands at Ace Hardware before for about $5 and figured no big deal, I'll go snag one from the LBS.

I appreciate my LBS, I want to support my LBS. I knew it might cost me a couple bucks more there, but not a big deal on such a small purchase.
I walked in with little wrider, told them what I needed and they hooked me up. Only thing is it cost three times what I'd seen at the hardware store.

At this price I could be well on my way to a fancy two-legged stand from Velo Orange, but I'm in the shop, I told them what I needed and they had it for me. So I bought it.

Like I said I want to support my LBS, I know it costs more to get stuff up to Alaska, I don't want to buy from the bigger chain store, and I'm willing to pay a bit more for that. But 200-300% more is a tough pill to swallow.

But I know that down the road the folks in there are going to take care of me, either with a quick repair on the cheap as I'm on my out of town for a week or riding, or a backdoor bargain that might not be available to the general public. Maybe it will just be consistent, friendly service for years to come, but I know that ultimately the extra price of that kickstand will be well worth it.

Although I'd rather have paid less and brought a 6-pack in for the shop, oh well.

LBS Love

Swung by my favorite Local Bike Shop (LBS) this evening. I've had a persistent canti brake squeal and I was hoping to find some shims/washers to eliminate some brake arm vibration that I think might be contributing to the noise.

I explained what I was looking for to shop mechanic. He pulled out three trays of washers and put them on the counter for me to dig through while he helped another customer.

After I found what I was looking for I asked him to write up a ticket for the washers so I could pay for them at the front counter. My most recent (other) shop experiences were having me pay a dollar or so as a token gesture. Mr. Mechanic just said "don't worry about it , you buy enough stuff here."

I thought to myself: "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been out of town for almost 2 years, and all I've purchased since I've been back is one blinky light." Granted I have been in there a number of times with my little dude looking at all the shiny stuff. So I took the washers, picked up a new brake cable to replace one that's fraying and went on with my evening.

All that to say, I appreciate it, and its good to feel the love. That's the kind of stuff that brings me back again and again to support a good LBS.

To all the excellent LBS's out there, a big THank You.

I Know You're Supposed to Support Your LBS

Don't get me wrong, I'll be one of the first to encourage you to support your Local Bike Shop. I love bike shops, I have since I was a little kid. I had the good fortune around 10 or 11 years old to have a LBS that I could ride my bike to and the shop employees would pleasantly tolerate my loitering and gawking. I've squandered innumerable hours since hanging out in bike shops.

There have been some fantastic shops I've had the privilege of patronizing, and in my experience the more grass roots and local the more I like the shop. My all time favorite was a one man show, directly above a local coffee shop just a short distance from my one room cabin in AK. The man was as passionate about bikes as anyone I've ever met and what he wanted more than anything was to make riding more enjoyable for everyone that walked into his shop.

My favorites are easy to rattle off and I am happy to point anyone who'll listen in the direction of a good LBS. My current situation continues to frustrate me, and for the first time in my life I've passed on the opportunity to drop into a shop just for the sake of dropping into a bike shop. I'll spare you the details of my frustration, venting wouldn't likely be constructive for anyone. Instead I'll simply share my lament.

Here is a shop with a lot of potential, good location, good hearted people working there, and some nice bikes. Unfortunately this shop fails to live up to its potential and as a result experiences a failure to thrive.

It is too bad because I'd really love to support my local bike shop.