The slow but sure transition into fall

Another summer slowly starting to fade away as the days get shorter and I notice a tree in the backyard turning a bit yellow. Soon it will be time to dust off the wool, charge up the lights and think about fenders and commuting in the dark. The shop was super-busy this year and we got a lot of people on bikes. I hope they get hooked on riding and find enjoyment in their new machines. 
The announcement for Trans Iowa 11 has been made. It surprised me to see this happen as I thought 10 was the magic number. I am excited to hear the news. I am excited to perhaps be part of it all. If anything it will keep me outdoors all winter long. I must build a fat bike. 
Hope to see you out on the road sometime!
Ari 

lots of flowers in Iowa

This will go from Green to White 

An open horizon that lets you breath



I hope you all have a great end of summer season and a good slide into Fall. 









 

Iowa August 2014

Got a chance to get out and take a break in Iowa a few days ago. It was a great time to be there. The weather was cool and the riding great. Now it's time to get back to work. School starts soon for the little ones and the days are getting shorter. Did some great riding on the gravel and on the singletrack.
Ari

Sunday ride in Jackson County, Iowa.

There is not much I can say about how amazing it was to escape to Iowa for a few hours. Bonk King, Jakey and I met in Sycamore and carpooled out there. Rode for 3 hours solid and came back to IL. It was an amazing day. The gravel was amazing, the tailwind that brought us back was amazing. I loved every minute of it. 

I hope this happens again. I really do. 

Thanks, 

Ari 

Sunday July 20th, 2014

Rode 150 miles on the Salsa La Cruz. Made it all the way out to Rochelle, IL and back. Met up with Gumby, Bonk King, Kurt and Steve in Dekalb. Then I rode home for another 4 hours solo. Got pretty tired since I rode hard on the MTB on Saturday. I totalled 200 miles for the weekend. Today will for sure be an easy day and tomorrow I will be at it again. Hope all is well with you guys.
best,
Ari

A long distance Sunday.

Saturday night I got called in to work at the Bistro. It was Bastille Day weekend and being a french place we were going to be packed. WE were super-busy and luckily everything went well. I arrived home around 12:30 a.m. and could not fall asleep until 2:00 a.m. I kept reminding myself that  I should get all my stuff ready for the long ride I had planned for Sunday. I wanted to leave by 5 am. but I ended up leaving at 5:30 instead. I had promised the Bonk King that I would meet him at the Silo at 7:30 and I soon hated myself for having to time-trail there. Riding a Cross bike with touring wheels and 37mm tires was not a fast going. I did make it in time and covered the 35 miles in 2 hours 5 minutes. 
We quickly left the parking lot since the skeeters were already sucking our blood out. We headed west on the Great western trail with Bonk King and his friend Lee. We made it to Dekalb and picked up Jakey La Cruz. BK and Lee ended up heading East while Jakey and I headed out to Kirkland. By then I had ridden 75 miles into a headwind and was ready for a change. 
Coming back was easier since the winds had changed and I was cruising a tailwind in the big chaingring. Jakey split off to head home as I had about 50 miles to go. It progressively got hotter and the heat was starting to bug me. At mile 120 the saddle started to bother me too since I had never ridden it before. I stopped at walgreens for a tube of vaseline to quiet down the area. I finally arrived home at 4 pm really dehydrated, tired and glad to sit down on the soft couch. I ended the day with 140 miles on the cross bike. 
Thanks to Bonk King, Lee and Jakey la Cruz for riding with me. It was great to see all of you. 
best, Ari 

Fermi Lab was deserted and the clouds made me think NO More
Water!

Gremlin Hot rod in Sycamore, IL. this car was so cool. 

Lee and the Bonk King. 

Jakey La Cruz and I rode some Gravel 

My favorite Site

On the way back when it got hot it was great to hide in the trees. 

Out in the open it got hot