End of Month Report. 556 miles

My Beloved Clown Bike

Nuvinci 360 on a new Surly Troll

Nuvinci 360 and 29er Big Apples on a Mary SS

Sunday Road ride to Genoa, IL.

Saturday Road Ride

Friday Commute

My January Calendar 556 miles,
Almost 80 hours of riding time.
Most rides on Pugsley
1 ride on Salsa Fargo
1 ride on Surly Crosscheck
1 ride on new Bike
1 ride on Shocker
7 lbs of weight loss
No colds,
No sore throats
No sickness

Commute tonight on the eve of the Blizzard

Riding home tonight, well it was more like pushing the Pugs night

Accomplished my goal of riding every day of January. It wasn't easy at times but it did help to have the Pugsley, my Moosemitts, my sorel boots and a stubborn head. Had a good Slender Fungus ride on Wednesday, had a good group ride on the new bike on Saturday, Sunday road on the road on the new bike and today fought an incoming Blizzard to get home. Walked almost 4 miles pushing the Pugsley and enter the world of Bonkfest as I arrived home. Wifey was talking to me and all I heard were strange voices. Feeling better after some salad, Two hot dogs and some tea. My friends Jason Buffington and Charlie Farrow are racing (have been since 7am this morning) and will be racing through the night to complete the Arrowhead 135. Friend Charly Tri dropped out due to his Asthma acting up with the dry air. Lance Andre is also in the lead group. Check it out.

Best, and keep riding!

Ari

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Sunday went to the shop and unearthed the Shocker from the Dungeon. Went out and rode around the fields to just find a bunch of much travelled roads covered in ice. It was a small break from the Pugsley but it just didn't feel right. Very cold again, as has been all of January, and my quest for 31 of 31 is still holding true. Commute on Pugs on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, also did the Slender Fungus Bonkfest ride Wednesday Night. As of late been riding with my Patagonia guide shell and alternating between a Cold Gravy Fleece and my crazy Devold wool sweater. Last night was very cold and I made a mistake to take out too much air of the rear tire. Hellmut was in time trial mode and chased him at lung butter producing effort just to ask him for his pump. He made it to RTE 47 a few seconds before me. My rear tire was at 6.3 lbs and with my weight was almost impossible to ride. I pumped it up to 11 lbs and the world was a different place. We wrangled the snow all the way back and fought the beasts on the slow roads. I arrived home with 4 hours of night riding plus my 2 hours of commute. This puts me around 484 miles for the month. Feeling good, just hoping not to catch a bug. Bike is running good, but I fear my chain. I keep thinking it is ready for the explosion. Thermos makes a waterbottle that does not freeze, specifically made for cold drinks. I have been using this bottle and carrying a 1 litre platypus collapsible bottle in my Pannier. Around Virgil I felt my legs wanting to go to Bonkfest, so I stopped , had a gel, hot SFCA liquid, beef jerky and a Tropical Banana and that got me home.
Before bed I had Toast, 1 litre of water, 2 advils (for my splitting headache), and a large salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing with a good amount of sea salt.

best,

Ari

Chasing Hellmut last night

Our friends that groom the trail

Commuting in January

Shocker strikes again. Crego Road, great for speedskating.

What is the Slender Fungus up to?

Amazing Surly Troll. I highly Suggest this machine

The strange moon that brought us below zero temperatures

Arriving to work this morning 10 below zero

Slender Fungus ride all the way to 47and back 11 degrees plus

Hellmut's and Ari's amazing Pugsleys. Note my front fender

Hellmut drinking the secret antifreeze liquid

Pugsleys taking a break at rte 47 warehouse

11 dollar Old Gravy Parka

Day off riding at night with Pugsley

Night at the Cemetary

Cemetary at Night

Cemetary at night

Snowed in trail by my place

The Slender Fungus has been busy riding bikes. So the postings have not been consistent. I have finally hit the 400 mile mark for January and have 100 miles to go to meet my goal of 500 miles for the month. I have spent most of my time on the Incredible Mr. Pugsley. I have added a Bontrager Rack, Arkel trunk bag. I also switched to the awesome Surly Open Bars. My Dinotte Lights are great and resist the cold better. My Sorel Boots are working awesome. Bought a great Parka at Old Gravy for 11 bucks. My father-in-law bought me an expedition Wool Sweater from Devold and It is amazing.
Hellmut and I have learned a lot about winter riding. We have made huge improvements compared to last year's choices in equipment. The Surly Pugsley is fundamental in our existence. Riding on Snow, Ice, over impossible surfaces has been a blast. Tire pressure is critical, So the little Schwalbe Pressure Gauge has been my Pal. I will hopefully make it to ride 31 days of 31 in January.

Not everyone is a racer

We accomodate this type of riding also!

Ari

Civia Cycles brings cool message

Always liked the ideas and bikes from this company. Come on in and check them out



Great bikes for Transportation. I really like the Halsted, their new cargo bike that reminds me of the bikes I rode in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Riding Home

On Saturday I leave the shop at 4 so I can make it to my second job by 5. I got a rare glimpse of the sun on my way home on the Pugsley. Today we also celebrated the wifes birthday thus I skipped the morning ride and also skipped the snowbike race that happened in Kettle Morraine, Wisconsin. Today marks my 15day in a row of riding and besides the soreness from propelling the beast I am feeling fine. I did switch my bars to the new Surly Open Bars and really like them. They let me sit more upright and are easier on my wrists. Tomorrow I will be targeting to make it to Du Page county and hopefully clocking in a 50-60 mile ride on the beast. Start time will be early and I expect single digits.

N-joy it while you can,

Ari

ooooooh-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

It has been a tough going so far. Riding a bit every day. Commuting on the Pugsley , laying tracks everywhere, then went on a monster ride on Wednesday. Commuted to work and back then did the Slender Fungus ride tallying up the day with 5 hours of ride time and 41 miles covered. Gumby showed up with Morehead and we are ready to take Salsa Cycles to the courts to file a suit against them. The thing is that they stole his design and brought out the Salsa Fargo. Don't get me wrong, the Fargo is an amazing bike but Gumby thought of it first. He was ashamed to bring it out but we convinced him.
Riding in the snow is hard, my whole body hurts, but its a good hurt. Have ridden straight 14 days and will ride all days until Trans Iowa.
best,

Ari

Minolta 5000 with 3 year outdated film

Jay and Brian at Cross race in the fall.



Ari




Film Still Rocks!

Saturday Ride and Day OFF ride

Brian and Mike

Brian and His great Fox Wear Jacket

Mike riding the P.K Ripper Fixed gear and Brian on the unbeatable Trucker

Patagonia Micro Puff Hooded Jacket.

Riding Ice on the Fargo with WTB Vulpines. Only one good crash.

Needless to say super-cold. Saturday worse than Monday. Just a dusting of snow. Icey patches for long streches on the GWT. Riding the Salsa Fargo a lot. Pugsley waiting for Snow. Toe warmers, Lake Boots and Ski Boot covers working like Lucky Charms. Dinotte Lights rock. I am in love with a Jacket Called Patagonia Micro Puff. Gets wet= Warm, Windy=Warm, Really cold=Warm, Not that cold=warm. This thing is a winner. Wish I would of bought it in XL instead of XXL.

Shop rides Depart 7:30 a.m. On Saturdays

Slender Fungus Rides
are on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
Departing from either SFCC or
GWT Trailhead

So far I am batting 10 of 10 days. But then who cares?

best,,


Ari

First Day off riding and First Slender Fungus Ride of 2011

On my way to work today. Dangerous Lake to Skate on. Don't do it!

Salsa Fargo at rest last night. What an amazing bike.

My most reliable riding partner: Gumby.

Rode the frozen GWT on Monday. Not do-able

Started the new year off by having a great ride on Saturday morning in the howling wind and cold. It was quite uncomfortable trying to stay warm. Sunday saw a better ride with distance extended all the way to Waterman. Like saturday we did a warm up at Afton. Monday saw me on the GWT with the Fargo trying to ride glare ice with little success. I rode the edges and the dry sections to make it out to Richardson's in over an hour. Arrived home frozen due to poor clothing choices. Today commuted and felt warm and comfortable with my trusty Patagonia Micro Puff hooded jacket. Reused the toewarmers from last night by keeping them tight in a ziploc bag. Rode them home after work, so 3 uses on them. The weeks are starting to tick away and it will be constant work of commuting and doing some longer rides as weather permits.
So far, so Good.

Best,

Ari

New Years Day Ride

After a 14 hour day on New Years Eve I finally made it to bed around 4 am. Lots of work at the restaurant and lots of driving post work. I was up around 730 deciding what to wear on a really cold new years day ride. We met at the back of the shop and only 3 of us showed up. What's your excuse? Rolled out south on 23 then took Gurler to Crego and headed for shelter in Afton. The temps were in the teens and the wind was gusting over 30 mph. We fought the wind and made to the woods to warm up. Jay was riding his brand new Gunnar Crosshairs and it looked stunning.
We got in 2 hours of riding and really froze up. I returned home and went back to bed just to warm up. Been drinking tea and coffee all day. Great ride.

A warm Happy New Year to all my readers and I hope 2011 keeps you safe and healthy.

best,

Ari