Fat is where it's at.

Left to right: Salsa Fargo, Pugsley, GT29er, Pugsley,Pugsley,Big Dummy Cargo




The road season was short lived for the Slender Fungus. We mostly end up on uneven terrain thus always needing some extra rubber below us. Our favorite bikes to ride are 29ers, Cyclocross bikes, Fatbikes (Also kwown as Snowbikes and Flotation Bikes). We also love to ride Fixed Gear bikes as the Otter can witness to that. So for the time being the skinny bikes will be stored away somewhere to gather dust once again. Now we are free to concentrate on Fat without any interruptions from the "Speed" department.
Load up those backpacks with food, thermos', a flask or two and plug in those lights and get out there and make a Caravan. Have some fun, stop and look at the stars. Listen to the Coyotes. Take some creepy photos. Dark and Fat is where it's at.
Best,
Ari

Trans Iowa, the Movie

The Slender Fungus is still excited in anticipation of the Trans Iowa Movie that is coming out towards the end of the year.
Here is the trailer.
Ari

300 Miles of Gravel Trailer from Jeff Frings Photography on Vimeo.

Fall is coming and the Goulash is starting to cook!!!

A great thing about being outside is seeing this live.

My friend Ricardo's beautiful Colnago (Yes it is steel)

Another beautiful photo with great colors.

My Fantastic Ira Ryan. It is so good I can't put it in words.

Make love, not War.

Wifey styling her incredible Pegoretti Marcelo. That bike fits her like a glove.

Pucca is my daughther's favorite cartoon now. I kinda like it too.

Wifey and I hanging out in Madison, Wisconsin. What a great town!

Fall is fast approaching. One of my fav pictures.

So today it rang in the Fall season and with that the changes that always come. It is time to start pulling out the winter clothes, the lights, the thermos and the flask. It is my time of the year to relax after a long, long summer season with no break. I will also prepare a bike or two with fenders for those rainy days that will for sure come our way. I am looking foward to the training and sleep deprivation for Trans Iowa. I am relaxed, feel like an old veteran, and have all the logistics figured out. Luck= no rain, no flats, no broken chains, no broken derailleurs, no broken spirit and hopefully not lost beyond belief.
So with that I hope to get in some good rides in October. Gumby and I have made the first contact for "The Criterion" that the Slender Fungus is going to have.
I would also like to mention that the Slender Fungus Cycling Association has purchased the Url Slender-Fungus.com

As we get Savy with websiting we will direct you that way. For the time being the Flandria Website remains a favorite for our readers. Cookie will be heading up to Heck of the North to meet up with endurance Icons Charlie Farrow, Tim Ek,Jason Buffington, Jeremy Kershaw and many others. I am trying to work out my schedule to share in the driving and the gas.
Would be nice if it worked out for me.

On comes the wool, soups, chilis, and a whole lot of Gypsy Music.

Ride your bikes that you bought,
Ari

Turbo Tuesdays are again on the happening.

Gumby, T.J,B.B, Jakey La Cruz, Jellyboy

T.J loves his Pugsley so much we started calling him "Uncle Fester"

Member of the Slender Fungus

"Joe's" coffee house in St. Charles, IL.

B.B streching his Male Groin Area. Note Surly long socks, Rapha Jacket and his distaste for cheap clothing. What a snob!

Turbo Tuesday have fallen back on the routine rack since the days are getting shorter and the temps are dropping. We have had a good showing of more than a handful and the rides have been quite fun. Our newest member includes Jakey La Cruz. He was gentleman enough to carry a whole bottle of Port wine which we quenched our thirst with last night. He was also gentleman enough to carry the empty bottle for the remainder of his ride. The River Otter and Jakey kept riding so they could complete the metric they had in mind. Jelly Boy, B.B. and I called it a night around 1:30 a.m. while dose other guys kept riding. The otter was aboard his trusted Crosscheck and rode the metric turning a fixed wheel with no brakes. The night was wonderful, there was little wind and the pause at the 7/11 offered time to get some food and take a break. We will continue with these rides as far as possible.
I am also planning on a underground gravel race to take place in October. We are in planning stages so far but it will have a "Criterion" format with probably 10 laps of miserable gravel to deal with . Location, time and so forth will be discussed soon. No prizes, maybe no numbers (or make your own) and the course will not be closed to traffic,so if you have a boner to win, watch out for cars!.
The Slender Fungus Cycling association continues to grow so I wanted to update the list for now:
Ari President,Idea management.
Hellmut Board Member,Currently resides in mansion in Florida
Gumby Vice-President
B.B Secretary, idea management and I.T. specialist
T.J. Puglsey instigator and Knife specialist.
River Ottter. Provider of culture, Caravan Music and worldliness. He currently is cha-mois-less
Dr. Giggles East coast correspondent, Trans Iowa Vet, Mood Advisor.
Cookie Prime Minister, Model and style instigator.
Bald Eagle Teacher of Self Reliance and Slow Pace Setter
Bonk King Always there, always ready to ride into the ground


There will be more as I review the members for the fall. In the meantime keep riding to make this world a better place.

Love,

Ari

just in case you are bored or depressed here is a little pick me up music. N-joy

Danny Hart almost kills anouncers with his riding

Talk about balance, tenacity and just nailing those tires to the ground.

Well done Danny!!

ari

Gypsy Caravan, the greatest ride on Earth!

Surly Big Dummy, the perfect Picnic bicycle.

My good pals T.J. and the River Otter

Gumby, Slender Fungus Vice President

Our favorite traffic sign

Group riding on gravel, awesomeness and soul purifying

Shoe collection for the ride. Clockwise: Crocs, Chaco,Chaco, Specialized MTB, Skully Vans

Group riding at night. Note Werewolf's aerodynamic position.

Jakey La Cruz and B.B got warm and went topless.

Some of the muddy sections on the dirt road

Riding into the sunset. At this poitn T.J. is sporting a western hat.

B.B on G.T 29er with long socks, Mission Workshop Rucksack and no shirt

Our most photogenic mechanic

First break to work on the Llama's bike, and have some refreshments

Wifey, B.B. and T.J.

Wifey and I truly believe that Cars r Coffins

The llama, riding into a sunset of golden alfalfa fields.

B.B, Jakey la Cruz and the Otter, setting tempo

Our V.I.P. guest: The Werewolf

The llama, sporting Daisy Dukes and the new Anything cages

Start of the ride

Jakey La Cruz, leading the way on the Surly Big Dummy. He said: " I love this bike"

As you can read on Transit Interface, the Gypsy Caravan was a huge success and will be remembered for a long time. Ten of us gathered: Wifey, meself, BB, Bonk-king, T.J., River Otter, Jakey la Cruz, Dino, JellyBoy and the incredible presence of the Werewolf. We headed south aboard our trusty Bicycles. Here is a list of the riders and what they road:



Wifey: 16" Surly Big Dummy
Meself 22" Surly PUgsley
B.B 18" G.T. Single speed 29er
Bonking 20" Surly Pugsley
T.J. 18" Surly Pugsley
River Otter 18" Surly pugsley
Jakey La Cruz 18" Big Dummy
Dino Gary Fisher Rumblefish
Jelly Boy 22" Salsa Fargo
Werewolf Limited Edition, all original Surly Rat Ride
La Lllama 17.5 Salsa Cycles Mukluk, custom built


So to say the least everyone was on a NCC approved machine of mass destruction. We packed food, drink and wore comfortable, casual clothing. We rode down rte 23 and unfortunately distracted the locals until we hit the gravel roads and dissapeared into the sunset. Once we made it to the dirt we set camp and had dinner with the stars. There were sandwiches, homemade tamales, Pheasant, salads, guacamole, chips and many more tasty things. Plenty of quality brews were shared and a little container of jack vanished when the Bonk king got a hold of it. Gumby, our injured Associate, followed us with his 4x4 pickup offering sag, and his friendship. Soon enough it became dark and nobody seemed to mind. We bolted on lights and started the long journey home. We laughed and laughed some more while listening to some great Punk rock off the werewolf's stereo. We had the greatest time and I will never forget this ride. Wifey ended the day with 50 miles on a fully loaded Big Dummy.

Thanks to all of you for toeing the line and being in such a great mood. We hope to do another fun ride soon as the days are getting shorter and the temps are starting to dim.

Ari
Slender Fungus Cycling Association

Photos will be added soon as I go through them.


Check out Transit Interface Recap of the Ride:


http://transitinterface.blogspot.com/