Slender Fungus East coast members spotted on the road somewhere in New York

So this past weekend a couple of the Slender Fungus guys met up around the Syracuse, NY area to go on a ride. It seems like the weather was absolutely perfect for a beautiful ride. Dr. Giggles was aboard his trusty Lynskey and Special K was on old Eddy Steel. I wish I would have been able to join them for this special occasion and shared some miles with my brothers. It's in these times that we need to stay in contact with family and friends and also trying to see each other is not the end of the world. I thank both of them for the great photos and the smiles. Get out and ride your bikes.

thank you for reading, 

Ari 

Special K. 

Dr. Giggles and Special K. 

Special K. 

Dr. Giggles 

Dr. Giggles. 

 

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Hope everyone is doing well that reads this little blog. As of late I have finally gotten to get back on the bike. As I may have said in another post I was going full steam towards the end of 2019 and then things happened. I lost all the wind in my sails and it brought me to an abrupt stop. I tried in vain but nothing was able to make me cross that line. 

Then one day I sent a message to a friend. I was looking for solutions and thought of him. He inmediately called me on messenger and showed me where he was. He was in the middle of nowhere. The sun was shining, I could hear the birds, his bike resting on a tree. He had a big smile on. We talked for a while and I thought about what he said for a long time. 

That very night I decided to start commuting to work again. 

You see when you lose it all the stuff gets out of order. First I got a bike ready, the right bags, shoes, clothing, repair kit, inhaler, keys, wallet. All organized on kitchen table. When you stop riding for a while all that stuff gets blended in with the rest of the stuff and creates a barrier to be able to ride. 

The next morning I mounted the bike and rolled. After having ridden nearly 400k miles in my life it felt foreign. Wait, why does my butt hurt so much? My legs felt week. It started to rain. First a sprinkle, then full on rain. My first 4 days of coming back it rained solid going to work and coming back. I sheltered a couple times with the lightning being a stark reminder of a Trans Iowa many moons ago. 

The rain did not affect me at all. It was mother nature welcoming me back. It washed my dark cloud, made me feel well again. I am back on the bike and I hope to stay on. 

Things for sure have been weird. We are learning, coping, trying to understand. The bike gives us time to think, to clear the mind, to escape the fear, the monotony. I missed riding my bike but it was worth being off and taking care of things. 

So if you are stuck in a weird spot, call a friend. Talk to somebody about what is happening. Call me. Text someone. I'm sure help is out there waiting for you. You might just need that tiny,little push to get you rolling again. 

Thank for reading,

Ari 

Trans Iowa weekend

After a finish all Special K wanted was Ice. 

Bonk King Volunteering. Rock Solid. 

Special K and Ari 

Thank you for stopping by here. Last couple of weeks have been hectic as one can imagine so I was glad to hit this keyboard for a little while. 
Yesterday, as every year at the last weekend of April, I awoke naturally at dark thirty. I went outside and smelled a cold breeze and frigid drizzle that was quietly falling. I thought to myself that in years past I would be lining up soon. How is that possible? I years past I would be making last minute preparations to take the short ride into town to line up at Bikes To You in Grinell for another attempt at the Trans Iowa. 
Instead I stood in the dark, outside on my deck in the most complete silence I could ever imagine. Nothing was moving, no birds awake yet. The hum of the nearby expressway completely silent. The nearby train tracks silent and cold. 
I saw my breath and started to feel my  bare feet go numb. That was nothing compared to what we had experienced in years past. I have learned a lot from Trans Iowa. I have learned to be patient, to wait, to keep pushing despite severe adversity. I have learned how important people are, how important family is. 
I feel blessed and am thankful to have been part of that era. I am thankful for the lifelong memories, the changes in perpective. There is a lot more that words and my poor writing skills cannot get out right now. I want to thank Trans Iowa for all you have done. Your memory will live forever. 
thanks for reading, 
Ari 

Dr. Giggles 

Start of Trans Iowa 

Constantine Peters. A fellow Greek Gravel racer. 

TIv6, l-r Pizza Dan, Ari , Hellmutt, dr. Giggles 

cleaning bikes afeter B road

Cookie and Bald Eagle. 

Dr. Giggles with Fargo Gen 1 

Dr Giggle, Ari , Cookie, Gumby

Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross 

Cold blustery day . 

G.T. Ari and Charlie Farrow. 

Cookie and Jeremy Kershaw finishing TI

Ari Cookie TJ Gumby Giggles 

Grinnell Steakhouse. 

Gunnar Crosshairs, my first Trans Iowa bike V4 

Dr. Giggles and Bonk King. 

Sunday 4/5/2020

I spent a greater part of yesterday reading books, magazines and old brochures. I then gravitated towards some old blog postings that were amazing. I came to realize that a lot of that has been lost in todays quicker, faster platforms. 
I was on a good roll in 2019 as I stated here before. I was aware somehow to take advantage of some free time and weather. I got up early, a lot last year. I was playing around with number 5 for a while. I explored a lot, went to different places but mostly rode by myself with a few exceptions. I got a lot of my bikes out. Somedays I would ride the fat bike, others the carboner, others the fixed gear, others the track bike. I rifled thru all of my bikes and it was good. 
Then in January the bottom fell out. Between Jan-Feb-March we lost 3 fathers. Three pillars to our family. That's all I want to say about this right now. I feel like everything crumbled. I completely lost interest in riding. I also lost interest in sleeping thru the night. Everything got disrupted. Then the "crisis" came and the rest is history. 
I had a friends frame hanging in the garage for months, months. He had asked me to install a headset and chase the threads. Yesterday, out of the blue, I went into the garage, put the lights on and started working on it. 
It was weird to touch the tools, almost on control remote with 30 years of experience. I finished the frame, then I moved on to my sons cross bike. I had promised him gravel tires and a fresher cassette. I got that done, adding some WTB nanos in 40mm. A fresh cassette, der adjust and that was done. Then I finally installed the ortlieb saddle bag on the Troll I finished building a while back. 
I cleaned up the area, turned the light off and felt some satisfaction. Some satisfaction in that there is a light on the end of each tunnel, no matter how long it is. 
I went upstairs and read more entries on Charlie Farrow's blog. I laughed, I cried as  Charlie is a wiz with the words. I copied and pasted a paragraph to Cookie. I fell asleep thinking of those days, together with some of the best people. 
I miss the Dads that we lost. I will soon commence to ride in their honor. Thank you for all you have shown me. We truly miss you guys. 
thanks for reading, 
Ari 

Bonk King and I riding. Slender Fungus Strong. 

Winter Riding with the Slender Fungus founder Hellmut Kost

My Winter riding/Trans Iowa training partner Hellmut. He gave us our name. Slender Fungus. 

Many a miles of bad weather logged with Hellmut

We froze, a lot and would take breaks to drink whiskey and get feeling in our limbs. 

Before Fat bikes we rode 26ers with Studded Nokian Tires. 

Gumby would join us on our excursions. His trusty Scwhinn always there. 

We rode late into the night. Custom made light by Dennis Grelk. 

Here we rode from 10 pm until sunrise the next morning. Jamie greeted us at 8 am with Pizza and beer. Hellmut looks exhausted. We rode 105 miles thru the night. My new Salsa La Cruz 

Probably the only person I would have build my bike. Jay Barre building my new La Cruz. He now owns You Bet ! bike shop. 

On our thru the night ride we chatted with this nice officer in St Charles, IL. at the 7/11

Hellmut on his trusty Gary Fisher 26er. With studded tires.

As I have so much time I have been cleaning and finding some gems for images. I have just been taking a lot of photos for many years and promised myself I was going to organize them when I would retire. Well, not retired but this stay at home thingy is pretty much a trailer for what is coming in the future. 

I spent a lot of time with Hellmut. His real name is Russell Stewart. He told us how he had visited his grandfather a very long time ago and used to play with a helmet that his grandpa had brought over from Nazi germany. That's where Russ's name changed to Hellmut with a double LL, and he took over his grandpa's last name Kost. Hellmut Kost.  

That dude never spoke a word. We would ride for 5-6-7-12 hours together and he never said a word. He would just tolerate hour after hour of Ari Monologue and keep riding. Sometimes I would get really frustrated with him and say: "Hey Hellmut" ""What?"" "Fuck You" ""Fuck you Ari"" would be his response. Then we would continue to ride in silence. We eventually found out about Mp3 players. 

We both got them and listened to music while we rode and ignored eachother even more. 

Hellmut is also responsible for naming our group Slender Fungus. He blurted that out in the middle of the night in a very rare tone of voice. "We should be the Slender Fungus", he said. Nothing more. 

We needed eachothers company. It was the only way to stay safe out in the middle of nowhere,in the middle of the night. A lot of the rides started from my house after we had a hearty pasta dinner and a couple of Bells Expedition Stouts. Jamie would feed us and send us on our way. We typically came back around 1-2 am and always made it to work by 10 am. There are so many stories with Hellmut. 

As we sit here and wonder a lot of things it is nice to have the time and peace to recount some past events. I cherish those moments and have no regrets. It is hard for me to put them down in words since English is not my first language. Lots of small details that are valuable but would take up so much time. Thanks for reading and my hat off to you Hellmut. 

Ari 

Keeping the guard up

Open space , sun and calmness. Soon 

Iowa is on my mind. 

Last night I had a hard time falling asleep. I guess just waaaay too much to be able to just lay there and count pretty little sheep. As I labored to a hard sleep I started to dream of Iowa. The simple things like driving down rte 64 and cross the bridge in Savanna over to Sabula. Taking that rte 52 north and hanging out in Bellevue for a while. Going up the Scenic outlook and looking at the mighty Mississippi river. Packing a picknic or going to Potters Mill for some barbeque. 
The simple things in life that have become so impossible for the time being. It makes me wonder why it all happened. Is this a reset? Is this another sign to change our ways? I cannot help but have those thoughts in my head. The streets are dead, people are walking and riding bikes. I have never seen them before but I am pretty sure they are my neighbors. 
The highways are empty, at rush hour, with blocks of space between cars. Were we going hog wild and needed to stop? Needed to re-evaluate what we are doing? Did earth need a dramatic drop in pollution to catch it's breath before we punish it again. 
I'm sure this will pass and our memories will fog up and forget. Same as when 9/11 happened. It was all flags back then but those flags have worn,falling and never been replaced. 
This all has me thinking a lot since I have the time. Our home will have changes for sure and I hope that more people have had time to think. It's time to slow the rat race. It's time to give back, volunteer and in our case the dollar is not the bottom line. 
This weekend, if safe I will venture out on bike. I have been walking a bit for now. Trying to get 10k steps a day. Seems to feel good. Eating well, taking vitamins, eating fruits and vegetables, staying away from meats. Lots of water and hot tea. 
I hope to see you soon and share a ride with you. 
It's been a while, 
Ari 

A new Monday , A new week

Woke up this morning to a full blanket of fresh, spring snow. It is spring y'know. I will be going to work today and keep myself busy. This past, first weekend of stay at home was actually pretty good. I made one quick run to store to get vitamins and Garlic. Married to an Italian gal means Garlic and Olive Oil can never be out of stock.

We did a lot of cooking, reading and organizing of photographs. I found a couple of gems that I will post in the near future. The new header photograph above is the Gypsy Caravan ride that we did a while back. We all rode our Mountain Bikes, cargo bikes, fat bikes. We brought food and bevys and rode about 60 miles that felt like nothing. Wifey hauled around a fully stocked Surly Big Dummy with food and beer. 

That was perhaps the funnest ride of all time. WE laughed so much, we enjoyed the gravel, the music, Bonk Kings tamborine. WE still talk about it. Seeing that photo brought back a lot of good memories. It made me realize that we need to get back to that. We need to make time for friends and family. We need to put the screen down. It sucks our time away where we could be calling a pal to chat. 

These are the thoughts that came to mind this morning. I hope you all have a great day, great week. Keep your guard up and be vigilant. Together we can succeed. 

Let's ride Soon, 

Ari 

Slender Fungus Cycling Association

3/23/20 Snowing on my daughter's birthday. 

A surprise appearance by Gravel Jesus and Carrie

fixed gear 40x19

The roads of Oklahoma

Riders navigating a soupy course

Carrie

So I got a little note stating there was going to be a rare sighting of my friend Jay, Gravel Jesus, and his wife Carrie in the Midwest. Stillwater is 11 hours from Chicago but that doesn's matter. He was going to be in the midwest and there was a good feeling about that. 
It seems like he moved away to California decades ago. But in reality it has only been a few years. Jay was my riding partners and a member of the Slender Fungus. We shared many a miles together in all kinds of conditions. 
Jay was never afraid of the weather, the rain, the mud, the cold. I don't ever remember riding with him when it wasn't shitty outside. 
He flew in to Stillwater and met up with his friends from District Cycles. Also friends of the Great Divide, which he also completed on a Single Speed Salsa El Mariachi. Jay and Carrie's bikes were mailed to Ok but never made it in time. Fortunately two bikes were sorted out and they were able to ride. 
As it seems The MidSouth will be the only big gravel race this spring. 
Jay and Carrie finished their rides, cleaned up, flew back and are settling into you know What. It was good to have them in the midwest. It brought me some comfort, something familiar, something good. I hope to see those two closer and for longer. 
Now back to washing my hands,
Ari 

LtR Blue Demon, Giugi, Self, Giaco, Gravel Jesus



Sometimes you are just lucky enough to have some people to ride with. In my case I am super-lucky to have the crew that I have. We are a tight knit group and we help each-other out all the time. Oh,we also ride bikes and hang out. So, now that my injury is coming along better I am very glad to be turning the pedals once again.
We hope to see you out there at some point. Summer don't hang out too long so don't let you meat loaf.
Fixed gear for the month of June to get back in shape. I just drop my gearing for more spin to a 42x16. I also added L.P's old cowbells, cane creek levers and the bike feels amazing.
Lots more to come and as always,
thank you for reading and being there.
Ari 

More night Riding with the Slender Fungus

Was able to get out last night and chase the blue demon around while he rode the wife's big Dummy. L. Perfecto joined us on the fixed gear. It was a wonderful, warm night. Just taking advantage of this weather for all the winter nights we were couped up. Get out while you can.
Ari D 

Blue Demon on the Surly Big Dummy Burning it up.

 

L.Perfecto and I chased with no hope of catching the Robot.