Marco Pantani

Amongst all the festivities I also took time to remember all my gone family members and some of my heroes that are also gone. Pantani, Jimenez and the recent passing of Frank Vandebroucke have been a real sad occasion.

best,

Ari

Commuting and dealing with weather

Ice covered roads this morning

First of all I would like to wish EVERYONE a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! To all my family in Germany, Greece, Argentina and Italy I really miss all of you and I wish I would win a million dollars to have the most incredible family reunion. To all my friends Old and new I alway think of you and wish you the best. A huge hug to my dear wife that puts up with my insane schedule and my crazy training through the night and at weird hours. To all my 5 kids that keep me going and that make me do what I do.

2009 has been a great year at the shop and I have become more and more comfortable. I work with some great people and I think that shop is going to boom for 2010. We are so well organized and we love people. We receive so many positive comments that we are encouraged on a daily basis. We will sell Gunnar , and the incredible Project one bikes and best of all the snow will melt and we will ride our butts off!! I literally cannot wait for all this to happen.

Trans Iowa is just weeks away and I get goosebumps just thinking of it. I am so psyched about it. I really hope to finish. I really hope so.

As for the weather I think the middle of the country is getting pounded with some crazy storm. Some are getting buried in snow while we are covered in heavy ice. Riding to work today was an adventure and I only made it because of my stupidity and my Nokian Tires. They Rock!!

So with a million more things to say but without much more time I send a warm wish that everyone is healthy and that your dreams come true.

thank you for reading and commenting,

yours truly,

Ari

David Pramann

Winner of Tuscobia 2009.

DBD session #3

The chunks of ice that formed between my sweater and the inside of my jacket. Not good.

A delirious Slender Fungus Member

Geneva train station warmup
Triailhead GWT

Hellmut, on the road to inferno

Sunday was a long day with trips to the Zoo and hanging out with the Fam. The typical activities for the month of December. The only bracket left was to leave the house at 10:00 p.m. and ride into the night. On a Sunday night with snow falling and the temps in the low 20's we did not encounter much traffic. We mounted the studded tires and headed out. The trail had a new layer of snow and wherever the sled-mobiles had tracked made for good riding. Once we arrived in Wasco the sled-mobile tracks were gone and it was all full of footprints. My rigid bike with overinflated tires made for a very painful ride. It was a bad choice to wear the rain jackets since they were not breathing enough and offering little to none insulation. We stopped at the Geneva train station and changed gloves, socks and undershirts and attempted to make it home. The return home became more and more difficult and colder and colder. My inside of the jacket became encrusted in ice and I was losing body temperature. Once arrived at Richardsons we turned and took Rte 64 to make it home. I became colder and colder and at some points I just wanted to bag it. Making the last turn and seeing the Sycamore City limit sign gave us a bit of warm blood. We nodded good bye and went home.

I peeled off the frozen clothing and slipped into a sleeping bag. I was also wearing a down jacket in hopes of bringing body temps up.

For the next ride we will dress better. Also will bring other items that will make the ride easier.

55 miles covered on snow and road,

6 hours 30 minutes riding time

Most painful DBD so far. Some mind trickery going on as well.

Some sleep, water, coffee, hot shower, Lemon Ricotta pancakes, and I am planning the next ride already.

out,

Ari

Recovery Ride

Enough Said

Slender Fungus secret food for Training

Fog and a very light drizzle. Temps in low 30´s . Great riding weather!!!!!

Headed out today on an easy ride to loosen up legs and spin a bit more freely than the other night. Rode out to Genoa via Pleasant hill rd and Genoa rd. Came back the same way. Stopped for coffee at Kelley´s Market, the cleanest gas station in the world.
Total for today 30 miles

ari

Slender Fungus Association attempts DBD #2

Only 3 miles from home

Meeting our goal, new day beginning

Returning home, losing concentration a couple of time

Officer David, a friendly officer in St. Charles

Hellmut, cruising rte 63 at 3 a.m.

Studded tires and a rough, sledmobile trail

Old school Nike jacket doing its job

the beginning

Slender Fungus secret meeting place

Time I left the house

We planned on doing a massive ride again to get in shape and get used to time changes and different hours. We rode sat morning from the shop at 730 am and then worked all day. I arrived home at 430 pm and readied myself for the restaurant. We were very busy and I ran around like crazy. Arrived home at 10 pm and then got ready for our 12 midnight ride. It was cold, drizzly and there was black ice all over the place. We changed our original plan and opted to use our mtbs withthe studded tires. We were so right in our choice. We fought the snow and ice all the way to St. Charles and then stopped for hot chocolate and junk food at the gas station. The return home was even harder since we were so tired from sleep and achey all over from yanking on the bars. The I.C trail road was a sheet of ice and it was very nerve wrecking. We alternated, riding, walking and taking a couple of tumbles on my part. We arrived home around 7 am. with a very sore set of legs. A quick nap and now the day resumes and we already have our riding done.

Total ride time

6 hrs 30 minutes 23 seconds

Miles travelled

52

Av speed

8.2 mph.

I hope this qualifies for a DBD ride. We will await aproval from the DBD headquarters in the northern lands.

Out,

Ari

Winter Storm Warning, Dopplar, Winter weather Watch, Catastrophe,

The storm crippled De Kalb county last night and brought vehicles to a crawl. Suvs lined the ditches texting tow trucks for a pull. Miracously the Slender Fungus association was able to escape for a hard winter ride via studded tires provided by Innova and Nokian. After an incredible headwind with skin tearing snow we drank some green tea from a thermos and returned home to thaw. Some members were believed to be eating mass amounts of italian deli meats while others hid under maternal skirts in the footy pijamas. One other member was believed to be handicapped due to extensive texting of the phrase "I love you ".

good times, good times indeed.

Ari

total riding time 2 hours +

Ari

Monday Ride

Set off today with the intention to do a steady 2 hour ride on the 29er singlespeed. I took the GWT to the I.C Trail rd, crossed rte 47 to empire and then to Hanson and then took the trail back. It was cold, with a bit of snow on the Gravel. Feet were a little cold, hands fine. Did 2:30 hrs on the bike and then bonked spectacularly. I had no food and no drink with me. I sucked on some random snowflakes as they fell.

out,
Ari

What a sweet treat!

My good friend Radio Freddy has come back and you all should check out his blog

http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/

When it comes to style, racing, road, there is only one place to spend your valuable riding time!!

Ari

Sunday's Attempt

Hellmut and the new Carboner OCLV

Rivendell Heron Chilling the overheated michelins

The very cold day to go for a ride

Geneva, IL artwork

Stoic Man

Hellmut and I planned out this Sunday to go do a real hard ride and it really happened. I woke up at 5 am on a Sunday, in december and found myself doing loops in front of Hellmuts house around 5:45. We left the Hellmut residence at 5:52 allowing the ride to clasify as a DBD ride. It was frigid cold at that point and we instantly froze. We took the GWT to shelter against the wind that was already blowing from the SE giving us a good headwind all the way to Naperville, IL.

We went through Fermi Lab, where there was no shelter. We often got off our bikes and walked and ran to get circulation back into our feet. We alternately went from freezing hands to freezing feet. We could not figure out how this worked.

IT was nice to make it to Naperville and take the well deserved break at the Starbucks. We finished coffee and headed back to a cuasi sidewind that then shifted to a headwind as winds shifted from Se to S to Sw.

We climbed up Townhall rd then took Beith to Macbeth to 64 to old state to home. Our legs were pretty cooked and we were satisfied with the hard effort.

Only Charlie can tell us if this classifies as a DBD ride.

Total miles 91.79 miles

Max 34.5 mph

time riding 6.23.13 hrs

Av. 14.4 mph



Todays snow will have me doing more base miles on the Great Western Trail. Lots of wool , extra socks and a comfy MP3 player in me ears.

be well and ride them bikes,,

Ari

An announcement to Y'all

Welcome Gunnar Cycles and Waterford

We are proud to announce our dealership with the incredible Waterford Precision Cycles company. They are located up in Waterford Wisconsin and run by no other than Mr. Richard Schwinn. They offer a wide array of amazing frames. Their tig welded bicycles are labeled Gunnar while the lugged frames come under the Waterford name.

Check them out! At the shop we have available for viewing A Gunnar Fastlane, Gunnar Ruffian, Gunnar Crosshairs and a Gunnar Roadie.

WE will be receiving a Gunnar Crosshairs in Quetzal Green right before Christmas.

http://gunnarbikes.com/

Frigid Sat Ride

Jay-B Heading south into the wind

Crew on Waterman Rd

Had a good ride on Saturday morning. We met up at the shop and rode south to waterman. Hit some gravel goodness, stopped at the Caseys for Donuts and then rode home on 23, duffy, Crego then hit the grass trail in Afton, some dirt, some corn and then made it back. The temps were very low but warmed up on the way back.

Good times,

Ari

Wednesday night ride and the funny white stuff

Wednesday was a tough ride with an unusually strong wind out of the N.w. We rode with Arik out past rte 47 and then headed north to empire rd , then to the I.C. Trail rd and then back home. It was really cold and we were happy to not have been enticed by the tailwind that we had at the start. That combined with the daily commute still gave me around 45 miles and I will take that . Thanks to Arik for showing up and sharing in the pain.

Today was my first official commute with snow on the ground. Just a dusting but enough to be cautious out there. The winds have shifted and the nice southern winds that were giving us temps in the 40's are gone. I think Sunday is going to be a tough one.

out,

Ari

Day off riding

Go there for large amounts of pain

The torture track

Campton Hills Rd heading east

So after the singlespeed masochism suffered on Sunday I decided to cheat and get the road bike out. I thought the 700x23 michelins at 110 lbs of pressure would be a good change of pace. I rode down towards campton hills area to do the Brian C. loop which is a 4.2 mile loop with two really good hills. The loop starts at anderson and campton hills rd goes east to town hall then right to Beith rd to anderson and so forth. I would grind up the hills in a 42x25 my lowest gear. Then I went to the forest preserve and did the horse track that also has a couple of steep hills. All this on my road tires. Towards the end of the loop I did not make the steep hill since my heart rate was maxed out. good day of riding

45 miles total with Tar, Gravel, Grass and Hills

Ari

Mind numbness

shoulder riding on the way home. Hey plenty of gravel there

Determined to finish Trans Iowa 2010

Hellmut's favorite slice of Pizza

Amazing carving in Oregon, IL.

Sunday's torture machine

Heading out on Mowers rd. This one is for you Giggles.

So we go serious today and took advantage of the 40 degree weather and the wetness. We decided to go out to Oregon and back on the Singlespeeds. Hellmut was on the crosscheck outfitted with monster 400x40c michelin tires running a 38x16 gear ratio. I was on the Ruffian running a 34x16 gear with 29x 2.1 motoraptors. We had a pseudoheadwind all the way out and then we went across the river and took route 2 heading north towards Byron. Route 2 was pleaseantly resurfaced with a bit of a shoulder. We hung a left on Mudcreek and climbed up the hill then made another left on Limekln and then rode out to rte 64 and took that all the freak way back to Sycamore. Almost 40 miles in a straight line on the single gear bikes. I was so sick of pedaling but I kept thinking of what great excercise we were having and how much oxygen we were breathing.
I arrived home and without missing a beat, washed my bike, showered, got dressed and promptly went grocery shopping. I was a complete zombie in the car and all I could think of was food and a large coca-cola. We went out for Gyros and Hot dogs with my daughter and called it a night

Total for the day 80 miles
Rode from 7:30 a.m to 2:30 pm. Stopped for water and food.
Singlespeeds really kick your ass!

Ari

Post # 401

Hellmut hiding in the trees

Todays sunset, ain't it pretty??

Enjoying the lack of rain

Lloyd road

Surly 1x1 with 29ers, Fixed, No brakes

Gumby's Trail Killer Bike

Slender Fungus Organization

Soaked Riders

Secret Meeting Place @ 9 pm

That's a lot of posting and my english still needs improvement. Thanks to all of you who read and comment once in a while. This week was a hard week of riding.
Sunday: Group ride on gravel and tar total 40 miles
Monday: I was off to Campton in search of more hills
Tuesday Rode in the rain with Hellmut 50 miles total for the day with the commuting
Wednesday: GWT trail ride with Hellmut and Gumby. Rode in the flooded trail
Thursday: A brisk 40 miler to Kirkland, with gravel, tar, grass, singletrack and creek crossings.
Friday: Had the day off and did a good 20 miler solo.

All in all a good week with some hard efforts. Thankful to start having some regular company on these outings. Been really happy with the $7.99 wool gloves with Thinsulate from Farm and Fleet. Also been using long wool socks with the toes cut as leg warmers. Keeping calves warm helps to keep feet warm.

Had a ton of laundry to do and three trashed bikes are awaiting washing and tuning.

Hope you had a chance to get out and once again thanks for your readership!!

Ari