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