Night and Day

Shocker Total for September

Night activity in Kingston,IL.

Slender Fungus Peleton.

Al Capone's Hideout. Home of the 20% hill.

Chocolate flavored nutrition Gel.

Day riding Sucks.

Riverside dr. by Al Capone's

Good rides last night and today. Hope the weather gets colder and wetter.

best,
ari

Photo Sharing

Forest Preserve in Kirkland, IL.

Wifey and Daughter

Some Slender Fungus Hiding in the woods, of course

Somewhere in Chana, IL.

Wifey and very tall 7 year old

Kirkland, IL.

A bike specifically designed for T.J.
Both bike and rider were made for each other.
They are taking Dekalb and its rural vicinities
by storm.

T.J. and his dream machine.

Old school truck. Betcha it could be drivable.

I took some photos on film with my luxurious Contax T-2 then had them processed and put on disc. Some of these were taken while I was on the bike and others not. Minimal adjust on the brightness, contrast and a bit of cropping. Good to shoot film once in a while. Damn good lenses on those old school camera. Not all that shines is gold!!!!!

No riding on Friday, Saturday, worked double then Sunday babysat all day since the wife had 12 hours worth of school work to accomplish. Can't wait for our wednesday night ride.

best,

ari

Slender Fungus riding and Day Riding!

GWT during the day.Weird

Riding home into the wind.

Frankie Doodle

Slender Fungus on a dangerous mission.

Meeting of the minds. Note Gimpy bikes.

Starting on Wednesday night we had a guest appearance by Kitty. It was a real surprise and treat to have him along for the very dangerous Wednesday night ride. We rode out to Virgil than took Empire rd to Burlington then the GWT again to the end where we chilled and laughed for a while. We saddled back up and took some new trail that dumped us back on 64 and then we took Campton Hills rd all the way up to Town Hall rd. Hung a left onto Beith then cooked out to Meredith took it north to the GWT and rode home. We later loitered by the redbox at the Walgreens until 1 am. It was great, and we are glad you missed it. I ended the day with a metric century on the Shocker.
Thursday turned out to be a leg breaker. I took the Cannondale out to visit my old friend Frank in St. Charles. We had some great espresso then rode north to Al Capones hideout to do the loop with the 20 percent hill. Frank is in fantastic shape since he has been riding all summer. Us grease monkeys start to ride when the season winds down. We worked it up to Silver Glen and then I rode home. The winds turned fierce and I barely made it home. Got knocked off the gWT once and finally arrived to find out I was needed at the restaurant. Without missing a beat I showered and went to push noodles.
Thursday was another metric century. Right not I am cooked and sitting on this wood chair is not pleasant,

good night all,

Ari

The Suburbs from Arcade Fire is Amazing!

This video made my brain go crazy.

go to youtube and watch it in full screen
ARi

Photos, riding, Fall

My Delicious Dinotte light. 4xaa rechargeable, up to 7 hrs, super-light-weight. Made in U.S.A. just like Bill West likes it!

My love for riding at night is hard to explain. Quietness, fear, coolness, dampness, noises. Solitude, animals, strange behaviors, and no tanning.

It is great to get out and do the Wednesday night ride. So far it has been a blast.
We both end up very tired on Thursday. I sometimes feel sorry for Gumby since he has to work and I don't. But then he is younger than me.

I find this amazing. I love how the purse is around the cat's neck. The monkey was swinging from the mini-blind rope.

Giugi eating her pasta and telling the world to rock on!

Fall is coming and quick. We had some warm days but they are ending soon. Please be advised to get your bikes ready for lights, fenders and a fall preparation. I usually switch to a wet lubricant, add lights, reflectors on my wheels and I also like to add reflective tape from Jannd to my frame. We have all that stuff ready to go at the shop so don't feel shy. This is a great time to come in and check out cross bikes, moutain bikes, touring bikes. We have Salsa Cycles Vayas and Fargos in stock. We will be receiving Mukluks and Pugsleys. We are not going to stop riding and exercising this winter. We are raging war against winter and the winter blues.

out,

ari

Day off riding, finally!

Gettin tired around mile 40. That wind got me today!

Colors are changing. Soon it will all be harvested and it will look like Beef Gravy Brown Crosscheck.

Took the Bomber-mo-bile to Velazquez Brothers in Dekalb to get the Brakes fixed and a Tune-up done. They are by far the nicest people to deal with if your automobile is down. I had the Screamroller tied to the roof and after dropping the car off I just rode home. No need to bring another car and another driver. Yes, it can be done. I was also able to take Giugi to school with the trailabike and pull up to the lady who always has her SUV idling, with the windows closed and yapping away on her Dumbphone. Free gas? Allergies? Something urgent going on every morning at 8 am ? I guess my ignorant ass will never find out. I try to refrain from giving her dirty looks but I do anyway.

Rode back home and got ready to go burn it out on the screamroller all the way to Kirland, the land of make believe. I tromped on the pedals and fought a stiff wind that finally broke me. I took refuge for a while at Potawatomi forest preserve only to get creeped out for some reason. Back to civilization at the Marathon Gas station in the hunt for some good stories for Erico. I did see a full Gothed-out kid dressed in black with chains and chains and rivets and a very long tailed coat with a very long t shirt with a huge print of David Bowie. Sitting on a tin can..........

Man those were the days.

I also had fun calling the wife from the payphone in Kirkland. I felt so cool, so ghetto, so drug dealer doing it. She called me a nerd, but I was enjoying my 50 cents worth of fun. All in all I got in the 50 miles on fixed gear that I promised Dr. Giggles. I was running a 42x17 and got sick of that gear. I came home and went for the manly 42x15. I want to fly.

Tomorrow its back to work and back to think of more stuff that I got brewing in the old cranium.

Less computer time, more time bleeding on the bike.

best,

Ari

Em-bro-ca-tion

Cy-clo-cross

ba-rriers

frites

beer

cow-bells

jum-ping

hopping

ca-rry-ing

Cy-clo-cross

BEL-GIAN

Cy-clo-cross

Mud

Material Post

Sven

Stybor

Cy-clo-cross

Cy-clo-cross

Fly-overs

Cyclo-cross

PSI

Can-ti-le-ver

Sporza.

Good night.

Shocker News

Dusty trail last night, today a bit of rain to settle the dust

I am going all around in reflectors for that gyroscopic effect.

The weather has definetly turned for the better. The cooler temps, shorter hours and steady winds have made cycling more enjoyable. I have also been able to conquer the weight of the Shocker and I am at ease with it. The latest additions to the shocker have been a Planet Bike Ro-Co-Co rear rack, Jannd Panniers and a slough full of wheel reflectors. I estimate the total weight of the Brown beast has approached 40 lbs. In a world of drilling carbon fibre to lose weight that is a complete atrophy of a bicycle.
Regardless of what Rapha and all the media feeds you I think there is a spot for the Shocker. It has become a fitness bike. A bike you work out the arms, the legs and your mental attitude. When race day comes that is when the "cheater" bike will come out so I can have an "edge" . It has been fun to ride around the whole area with just 5 gears instead of 20, 30, 22 or 33 of them. My total mileage since I started this project is 425 miles. I believe I started on the last wisps of August and we are have way to september. The Gumby is going to unveil the new project he is working on soon. All I can tell you is that it has the word "head" in it.
Today will be a day to spin out the legs on the steamroller. Nice steady pace, burning more and more of that Midwest fat.
More time on the bike, less on the computer. Try it!

best,


Ari

Thanks for the link T,J.T.J.T.J.T.J.

When Dinotte lighting, Nite rider, and other stellar light companies think they are so great out comes some nerdy guy from the middle of nowhere to blast them all away. From what I can make out in Finnish the light shown below in the hyper-link is rated at 1680 lumens. Check it out for yerselves. It is now time to quickly check your light situation as the days get shorter and the roads darkers. We have new lights in the store and it would be wise to "light'm'up".
I run Dinotte mostly on the helmet and then run nite riders on the bars or when the nights get darker I run the crazy light that Dennis built me up in Iowa.

go,

Ari


http://www.kolumbus.fi/hietala2/jukka/teholed/teholed.htm

Sunday Night Riding

Looking out for blown up truck tires.

The nice wide shoulder once you get into Kane County.

Sunday was one of those long days and all the opportunities for a ride were quickly dissapearing. It wasn't until 9 pm that I was done with a ton of stuff that just had to be done. I made the decision to go for a ride at 930 pm no matter what. I had a pile of demons to burn. The weather was right, little wind, couple of sprinkles and the traffic on a Sunday night is pretty low. The sheep are all sleeping to start the next week of labor and suffering. I quickly loaded the Quickbeam , took my trusty helmet light and got on the road. I basically road rte 64 to rte 47 made a left then took empire rd to Burlington road. Headed south til I crossed 64 again and it became La Fox Rd. Took that to Campton Hills rd and romped up the hills on the Singlespeed. Took it all the way to Anderson and then made a left again on 64 all the way home. I was able to punch in 40 miles in 2 hrs and 12 minutes. I was motivated. Got home showered and went into a deep coma til the next morning. I got into nobodys way.

Best,

Ari

Slender Fungus Wednesday Riding and ADHD

GWT trail riding at night. Glad you missed it!



Last night was one of those first night when the temps really dropped. I was really tired from not sleeping well the night before and I knew we were going to be in for a long one. We finally made it to the end of the trail telling each other incessant old stories to make the miles go by. I kept blaming my slowness with the weight of the Shocker and Gumby kept saying that his new Wool jacket was weighing him down. We both had no legs last night and add to that the sudden cold and the millions and millions of pounds of Ragweed pollen and that just did me in. We deviated off the GWT and found some secret single track and decided to explore it some more the next time.
We also agreed that the bicycle industry is suffering from a severe case of ADHD. It is crazy the amount of product that is coming out on a daily basis. New products from all the big companies, new niches, new tires, more and more new lights, new fabrics. All freaking bikes have to transform into a dozen different bikes. Bikes have to be 29er, geared, single, 650B, have multiple positions, etc etc. At this point I am just plain sick of it and the worst part of it all is that crazy Interbike Bicycle Show in Las Vegas has not even occurred yet.
Talk about too much information! Talk about too much visual overload! So for the time being I will not be looking at anything for a couple weeks. I will give my rattled brain a rest and concentrate on one thing: Riding my stupid bike.
I will enjoy the coming fall weather, I will welcome the first couple of freezes that will annihilate all those blood hungry mosquitoes. I will welcome the end of allergy season. Maybe on a rainy night I will check out what is new for next year. Next in order will be to get the winter and rain bikes ready with fenders, racks, bags, and lights.I still hope to get out to the magical state of Iowa do some hill work to remind myself of how fat I am.
We are also planning a field trip out to Cabela's for a Winter wardrobe collection. We's getting ready.

I bid you luck in the coming autumn season. Gumby will be doing a ride out of his house and the Flandria ride will happen in October some time.

Until then,


Ari

TRANS IOWA V7 site is up and running

Trans Iowa Version #7
april 23-24, 2011
race starts on saturday at 4:00 a.m.
Pre-meeting on Friday for race packet

The madness starts. First its to make it on the roster. So some training starts now because if you wait to get on the roster and then start , you have missed the boat. Once on the roster all hell breaks loose. Cross bikes, studded tires, Pugsley all set to go. Lights have been checked, Thermos in stock, Maybe some more wool. The desire is there to conquer the greatest monster of them all

Resting, Thinking

One of the great gravel roads around where I live.

As the air freshens and the leaves turn to brown the thoughts of the mega-monster spring event starts to invade my brain. Trans-Iowa Version #7 will happen April 23-24 of 2011. I will be going into to event with 4 years of experience and by know I hope to have ironed out all the kinks and hiccups that I have encountered. Bike setup, tires and all that stuff will start to become more and more important as the months go by. I will start training a lot sooner and will really work on losing some more weight and staying flu and colds free. Last year was my first year ever (47 years) that I had not become sick with any upper respiratory type illness. Even my mom was shocked. Maybe its because I spent so much time outside in the freezing temps.
I drank a ton of fluids, soup, tea, water, washed my hands a lot and made sure to dress properly. It all worked out just like I wanted it. I had two reliable training partners and that made a huge difference. This year that might be a bit different. I know Iwill be able to count on Gumby and I will be doing a lot of solo riding. I have pre-established routes, and will be doing more loop type training rides where I won't be really far from home when the temps drop very low.
New additions to this year will be The incredible Pugsley. I know I will be riding that beast a lot. It is built and the preliminary rides have been very successful. As for a studded tire bike I might be switching to 29er and not opting for the 26er anymore.
Yesterday I took the day completely off the bike and today I am not sure whether I will ride. I might do a night ride later on today. I hope everyone has a great Labor day celebration and that you keep well.

best,

Ari

Friday Riding

The wind brought some incredible clouds and color.

Vitamin-G for afterwork therapy. BTW photo of Shocker Command Area.

Gumby directing me as to where the rocks should go.

Real busy on my day off with Giugi sick, banking and grocery shopping. I opted to forget the riding and since we close at 5 on Friday to call it a ride. We left the shop with Gumby and rode out in a vicious wind coming out of the west. Temps really dropped since yesterday and it was the cool off that we were waiting for. We made it to the bridge that is out on Keslinger and decided to make our own bridge and cross the rivers. We threw a bunch of rocks and made it across and continued our loop. The ride back home with the 25mph wind was a joke. Ended my day with a happy 35 miles and another 2 hours plus of Shocker Therapy.

Ari

One day of riding the Shocker

Begian invasion.

The greatly feared Great Western Trail

The Shocker. Ari's fitness bike

Decided to keep Giugi off the school bus as much as possible. The reason is that it takes her over 40 minutes to complete a 1.5 mile journey. And she has to do a switch at the high school. So starting this week we have been leaving the house much later and riding the trailabike to school. It takes 10 minutes, she gets some exercise, and she arrives happy to class. I then came home and had time to prepare lunch and get my ass to work. Hopped back on the Shocker and rode to work and back. Worked all day, came home and Giugi was getting ready for bed. She was telling the wife how she rode to school and some girls were asking her about her bike. At 9:00 p.m the Slender Fungus ride took place. BTW we are glad you missed it. Temps were warm and it was muggy. Lots of Corn Moths, Spider webs and Mosquitoes kept us busy. Rode into St. Charlies, Got into town, did a couple hills and took the long way home. I totalled a metric century on the Shocker while Gumby clocked 46 miles for the day. Came home around 12:30 a.m. showered, went to bed and passed out.
Trans Iowa is starting to infiltrate my brain. I am already thinking about bikes, training and so forth. Gumby is talking about coming along for support. April is slowly starting to take shape.

Slender Fungus Wednesday

It's rainy, it's crappy and we will meet at 9 pm tonight to do the 50 mile route out to S. Elgin.
Hope you are not there.
Ari