January 24th, 2007 Another one bites the dust.

The Gitane track bike that I have been hauling around since about 1995 is finally gone. I finally rounded up the courage and posted the thing to Ebay and got paid for my suffering. It was a bike I rarely rode since the romantic idea of going to the track never happened. I sold the Gitane and some other parts and bits and rounded up all I had and ordered the Rivendell Quickbeam. It has all what I want. Long horizontal fork ends, Slanted so you don't have to mess with the brakes, Cantilevers, english bb, one inch quill headset, extended head lug. A damn, long ass top tube, 60cm. 27.2 normal size post, a flat crown fork, a freakin' pump peg for us idiots that like to carry a full size pump for chump riding partners that flat and have 25Cent bubble gum machine Micro-mini-minute-nano-nano-look -how-cute-small-cutey-small my pump is that does not work, ever. My bars are not bent. They are Nitto Noodles in a 48cm ctc handlebars. Most comfy bars ever!
I can also run 700x40c tires on my bike. Can you? Sorry, forgot to mention rear AND front rack capabilities, oh also fender mounts.
I like my new bike. It weighs about.....25 freakin' pounds and I like it that way.
The orange is a rusty orange, it has a real headbadge, not a sticker and the bike was built in Japan, by the old Panasonic company. YEs it has lugs, steel pipes and the whole enchilada is kept together by melted rods of brass.
Now the next topic that I wanted to touch upon is how dead the shop is. I am so, so, so bored. Some people are coming in to ask about custom bikes, I give them all the info and they run to their computers, with wagging tails, and purchase all their crap online.
Can bike shops charge for Custom Bicycle Consultation?? Your opinion counts and I would like to hear it. I have been commuting to work and back and doing the occasional ride here and there. My last serious ride was done last week at Waterfall Glenn with buddy Michael. I rode the Ruffian 29er and we had 1 1/2 hours of fun in the snow. The trails were awesome and we rode, got in Michaels truck and before you know it ther whole thing was over.
Tomorrow is my day off and will try to get out and do some miles. Weather is not too bad lately but i just don't want any injuries.
I am supporting my bud Jason since he is the rep for sigma. Have attached Sigma wireless to the quickbeam and also for the first time in my life will try a Heart rate monitor. I want to learn how they work and all so I don't look lame when a customer asks about them.
All I know is that I am fat and that the poundage has to go.
Peace and love to all,
Ari

January 17th, 2007

Finally I get a chance to sit and write down some stuff. I thought I was on a roll with the weather but as we all know that came to a brutal halt. Sorry if you thought that was going to last all the way until it was really supposed to be warm. I did take advantage of it but I did not break any January mileage records. January 5th was my b-day and I turned 44 years young. I had a quiet dinner at home and had myself a nice steak. On January 15th the wife hit the big 30 and we had a really nice day. Went to dinner, had cake and finally, after an agonizing 6 months gave her the frame. I saved, ebayed and saved and was able to locate a Pegoretti Marcelo with the "faces" paint job.
We really surprised her and all along she thought she was getting a food processor. Who needs a food processor when you can chop your onions with a Marcelo??
Also this week I received the Rivendell Quickbeam from California. I had been contemplating this bike for a while. Once I have it built I wil do full report on it. The marcelo will get its report too. That one is going to take longer to build since it is not being built with Ari's chop house parts.
I have been feeling really stiff lately and my legs and knees are sore. I guess it is the cold weather and lack of streching. Been pulling out my old Cyclocross book and following some of the streches there. Tiger balm also helps a lot and feels warm. Tomorrow is my day off and hope to get out on the bike for some miles. I have Ergon on my ruffian and I also received the ergons without the barends and have those on the Voodoo singlespeed.
I am still driving the oldsmobile and will continue to look and save until we cann afford a decent car. 3k does not buy a lot of car these days.
My buddy MIchael ordered a Gunnar Ruffian and we will be receiving it second week of february. Can't wait to start building it. We are talking of building up King singlespeed hubs, headset, thomson etc. Will be a good project.
I hope to get out tomorrow and bring some report. Until then everyone keep warm and safe. Buddy Jason is sending me a Sigma heart rate monitor. I want to learn how to use those devices so I don't look dumb in the shop. Maybe lose some pizza dough while I am at it.
Peace,
Ari
Above photo is of my beloved Legnano. Italian steel SLX, lugged construction, Aero tubing, Yes.....Cinelli turbo Bottom bracket shell.
Parts are Campy 8spd ergo, campy chorus 10spd cranks, old chorus brakes, Arionne saddle, Tubulars, spd pedals until I got the sidi road converted to Shimano dura ace look style .
Bike rides fabulous, climbs like a goat and turns like a ferrari. Same brand Gino Bartali rode back in the day.

january 8th, 2007

Hi to all and hope 07 is treating you well so far. My mac keyboard took a full bath of apple juice courtesy of my 3 year old. Once the sugar started to stiffen up the thing went haywire. I washed the damn thing and after a couple of days of drying it seems to be working fine. Damn those cheap reliable mac products. Been doing a lot of riding and two of them we got pretty soaked with the wife.
Blue I did receive the ergon grips and i am really happy with them. I have been moving them around a bit and my hands love them. I will probably never go back to normal round grips again.
I rode the ruffian quite a bit lately and have been trying to log some miles on it. Still working on the position and all. Last night rode to pick up the wife from the 'bucks and we had a pleasant night ride until it started to snow, then rain, then thunder and lightning and then strong 40mph windgusts. OH.......typical illinois weather. We were both glad to be home and for sure we were the only two nutjobs out on bikes.
I have also been experimenting with hamner nutrition Recoverite and the stuff keeps me from bonking after my rides. Two scoops in 160z of water, shake, shake, dont bake just drink.
My streetdog has gone back to dropbar duty and now the ruffian is the snow patrol bike with the moosemitts.
Have been pondering about a rivendell quickbeam for front and back racks, fixed gear, wide tires, high handlebar position, 1"threaded headsets, quill stems.
Any comment on this bike is truly welcome.
Blue congrats on the baptism of your little granddaughter Rhea.
keep on truckin'
ari

January 3rd, 2007

Hi to all and thanks for the comments. Bill is getting better and hopes to be on the bike soon. Today I rigged up my Gunnar Ruffian 29er to start riding it so I can get some good miles on it. I will be doing Trans Iowa and I am not settled on a bike yet. My streetdog is and awesome bike but with the 700x35s it does not leave much clearance for mud and wet gravel. The 29er I think is the way to go. Blue, I did order some Ergon grips from Quality and will receive them soon. I ordered the ones with the short barends on them. I have been checking my hand position and I can see where the ERgons would fill the void. I generally end up with sore rides after 30 mile rides. I am currently running WTB nanoraptors 700x44 on the Ruffian and they are not too bad on the road. I also need to give my knees a break from the fixed gear. Riding home tonight on the freewheel seemed like cheating but it was cool.
Another product I tested and loved was some windbloc boxers from Craft. Chicago tends to be always windy and with these boxers you can get away without wearing windtights if it is not terribly cold. Going frosty downthere is not an option.
Øur weather here has been incredible and it has been really cool to get on the bike everyday. My rollers are still folded in the shop and I hope they stay that way for a while. I know some people can handle indoor training but It drives me completely crazy. I did the rollers cause they make you focus. I have the kreitlers with the fan and that helps out a lot with overheating.
Hope you guys are having a good week for the start of 07.
Peace,
Ari
Pictured above is my old Bridgestone MB-5 which in its hey day I rode the hell out of.
Sugino cranks, rx00 short cage derailleur, diacompe cantis and levers, xt thumbies, salsa stem, ritchey bars, concor saddle, xt wheels,
This puppy weighed 30lbs before I found out that it was better to ride light bikes. Lots of fun, lots of memories. Sold in on ebay to fund the Ruffian project.

Jan 2nd, 20000007 First post of the year.

Well, I hope everybody survived the Holidays and that you all met your goals for 2006.
I will begin my post today with the events of last Thursday the 28th. I went for a ride with good pal Billabong. We decided to ride fixed and took an easy ride down to the I+M canal. We did the loop which is 10 miles and enjoyed the fresh morning, the lack of rollerbladers and timetrialists, that somehow seem to dissapear when it gets below 72 degrees. There was a weird vibe in the air and I just could not grasp what was up. Bill's litespeed was running like a charm as he methodically churned his 42x15, I was running my wreck Gunnar also on the same gear. I thought about a lot of stuff on the ride and at times I wondererd while looking at the dirty water in the canal. I mainly thought about how fast 06 went by and how time just slipped by again. I also thought about how my finances keep dwindling while my expenses keep escalating. At times I felt guilty about riding but I thought that otherwise I would lose my mind. I did get rid of a bunch of bikes, I did ride to work all the time, I did take lunch to work. I don't smoke, don't engage in drugs, I am hooker-free. So the guilt feeling went away.
I also thought about how much I like to ride fixed and how the 10 spd drivetrains are slowly becoming a faint lust of mine.
I thanked somebody, somewhere for my kids, my beautiful wife and my good pals.
And then......Fuck..........I almost lost Bill.
We were heading back home and took the sidewalk to avoid the morning commuters. We had crested the bridge and I was ahead, I saw some mud and at last moment realized it was a raised manhole cover covered in mud and debris, I think I went over, around it somehow, while the cars are whizzing by me. I hear a noise and turn to see Bill on the ground holding his head........his bike 20 ft away from him. I run to see what is up and he can't speak to me. He saw the manhole, panicked and grabbed his only lever and locked the front wheel. He endoed and landed on top of his head, exploded his helmet and then landed on his back at full speed on the concrete sidewalk. It was the worst moment of riding ever.
I flagged down a driver and asked for help. Seconds later 10 vehicles were there.
Bill, being the Vietnam vet that he is refused to go to the hospital. Dazed, bruised and sore, he remounted his fixed and we gingerely rode home.
Billabong is resting home,after been taken to the hospital, with a compressed vertabrae, hyperextension of the neck muscles and soreness that keeps him up at night.
I hope we never go thru that kind of a situation again. When you are out there be safe, ride within your limits and be prepared for an emergency.
I hope my pal recovers soon. I really got messed up with this one.
Happy New Year,
Ari