Iowa trip #2

Sunday, September 17th, 2012

 

 

 

The Slender Fungus makes the hike out to the magic state of Iowa in an attempt to get in a good ride on the singlespeeds. We met up in my old neighborhood and then carpooled out to Iowa. We saddled up and in no time we were in the hurt going up the hills. We saw wonderful sights and discovered a B road or two. The day was spent turning the pedals over and over again and just doing the work. I was on a 34x18 and Cookie was turning a 34x17.

I must say that there is no replacement for riding out in Iowa and we will try to head out that way again soon. Below are some pictures .

 

Ari 

T.J.''''S All City Space-Whore is a Go-Go

Couple of announcements

 

First of all T.J.s All City Space-Whore is a go and last night we took a cruise out to Hinsdale to check out the position and it was spot on. The bike turned out wonderful and it is amazing how much clearance it has around the fork, chainstays and seatstays. I know for a fact that T.J. is going to ride the crap out of this bike. I like the fact that the frame is E.D. Coated to prevent rusting from the inside out. All components were sensible and I think the orangey B-17 is a winner. The silly goats are a sign that you are following a Slender Fungus rider.

 

I have placed the Clement tire order. I will soon have in Stock the Las, Pdx,Mso and Ush.

The Las is a smooth center tires great for gravel trails and comes in a 700x33. The Pdx is named after whacked out Portland cross scene.This is a mean, racing mud tire. The MSO is a Iowa gravel tire that comes in a 700x40. Not all bikes will fit it. If your bike fits this get it. Bikes that I know will fit. Surly Crosscheck, Black Mountain Cycles Cross, All City Spacehorse, Salsa Fargo, Salsa Vaya. If I missed some let me know. The Ush is also a gravel tire in a 700x35.

 

 

 

 

On other news the Slender Fungus is going on Mission #2 to Iowa for some intense Trans Iowa training. We are going to ride long and long. If you are interested in riding with us please feel to contact me or cookie. We will be on Singlespeed 29ers but you can bring your Murray Scorcher if you like.

 

That is all for now folks,

 

 

Make it nice and be happy that the days are getting shorter, the temps are dropping and it is getting wet. Think that soon temps will be freezing and we will not have to share the roads with those Tri guys that like to snub Farrow.

 

 

Wifey hitting some gravel near the house. The Space-whore with kenda happy mediums is a great weapon for gravel



T.J.s Space-whore. This bike is comfortable,nimble and smooth.



Mandarin B-17 with mandatory Slender Fungus Goats.



Check out that whacked out clearance.

This bike looks fantastic. Good luck with it T.J.

Ari 

T.J.'''''S All City Space-Whore

 

 

 

Below are some pictures of

 

 

 

T.J.'s

 

 

 

All City Space-Whore

 

 

 

 

It is a work in progress so pardon the dust and the whacky looking stuff.

It will all get cleaned up and it will look awesome.

He will be riding the Ion in some races and this I assume will be his primary road and gravel bike when the quads are not ready for the beast known as the mr. Pugsley.

Stay tuned for the finished product as soon as we figure out how many spacers the man needs, color for housing, bar tape and spacers for the headset.

That fantastic saddle on there is a All City Gonzo.

It rides like butter and after 235 miles of Dirty Kanza I was able to dismount my bike and feel no pain. That there is a good saddle. Retail on them is about 60 bucks and they are kinda similar to an Aliante.

 

 

over and out,

 

 

 

Two Legends: Charlie Hartley and right Ken Hartley.
Charlie started the shop we all work in about 60 years ago and now Ken is running the store. We are great friends and have shared many a laughs together.



Riding today in Water fall Glenn. Wifey aboard her All City Space-Whore



Changed the bars to some Kore and also did Deore levers and V brakes. That is an old Brooks b-17 Narrow..



T.J.'s  All City Space-Whore



H Son wheels on 105 hubs, 105 Derailleur, droopy Cable.



105 cranks in compact. SPD pedals.



Bontrager  seatpost   All City  Gonzo



Cane  Creek Headset  40



105 shifters



h-son   rims



Tektro  Canti's 



All City  Head Badge



All  City

Nice detail 



All City Dropout



Thread fender mount. Rack Mounts, Mid Fork mount. Buy this bike and ride the crap out of it.



No fishing the damn cable. Just lube it and jam it all the way through. Thank you  All City.

Ari 

When all you need is a Bike

So the weather is changing and with it the feeling that the miles must commence to pile up for the beast of spring. I am getting my fleet ready and I have finally had the time to give my Surly Crosscheck another morphing. I wanted a bike I can hop on and go for a long ride. I decided to go the singlespeed route for simplicity and to force me to jam up any hill I could find. I am on plan to start my "official" season on October 1st and with that I will also be announcing some rides and outings organized by the Slender Fungus Cycling Association. The road season is quickly vanishing and up comes the gravel, dirt and snow.
This morning woke up to a brisk 50 degree with fresh wind. Time to start digging out the warmers, vests and some woolies.
On another note the Cyclocross season in Chicagoland will start with Jackson Park, Chicago as the first race. We will be attending a few of the closer races to cheer on and hang out with friends.
At the shop we are preparing for Mountain bikes, Cross bikes and have already sold a half dozen Moonlanders. We are still getting repairs in since many people did not ride during July because of the excessive heat. I hope y'all have a great weekend and as always thanks for checking in. It is much appreciated. Send a comment if you are interested in riding on Sunday.

make it nice,


Ari



singlespeed crosscheck 42x18 gearing. Square taper bb with ultegra cranks. Rav-x seat. This is a long-hauler.



Cane Creek 110 headset, Thomson stem, riser bars



Surly singleator kit, Surly Cog, Rohloff chain, XTR hubs on Mavi A719 rims



Old school Marinovativ v-brakes later switched out to Deore



Lots o' clearance on the crosscheck despite the Speedmaxs in 700x40mm

Ari

Just some silly stuff

Boy my vision has gone to crap. I can't wait for the smart T.V.s to get cheaper so I don't have to type with a magnifier glass in one hand. The Shop where I work has been gangbusters for a long time. Even when it is rainy we are busy. So I am very happy to have the fridge and the espresso machine handy at all times. I truly want to start increasing my mileage and I think when it cools off that will start to happen. Early Sunday morning rides will be the norm and I will start keeping mileage charts starting September 15th.
The Slender Fungus will be preparing some kind of ride in October and I will post it here and no where else. I have in mind a hard ride with little fanfare and no room for posers. There will be plenty of food to buy at gas stations and cue sheets will be primitive, maybe even analog.
That is what is brewing in the headquarters. Cookie, Dr. Giggles and I will start preparing for the She Devil known as Trans Iowa. The event will take place on the last weekend of April of next year.
As always, the Slender Fungus will attend, race and support the greatest one day classic offered in America. There is no harder race than this and if you think you are a toughie come on over with your shiny gravel racer bike and partake.
On a gentler subject. I think that fatter cross tires have to come out. I have been toying with the 40mm family and I think maybe because of my largeness they are a better option. I expect more of such mutant tires to come out. My Black Mountain Cycles frame has tons of clearance with the 35s.
If you have any ideas or rides in mind let me know. I need to ride with T.J, Gumby and B.B.
Where the heck are you guys????

All material trademark of the Slender Fungus Cycling Association.




BK built this bike for me so I can go really fast on Gravel. I crashed twice trying to get the bottles out.



This Slender Fungus member is lost somewhere between N.Y and Vermont. The stupid grin says it all.

Prototype Salsa Cycles Warbird in get this::::  STEEL. Wow! How does it ride? Like Steel. Is it heavy? No, it is lighter than carbon. Is it flexy? No, it is stiff as hell so it can break your behind. Is is available? No, already sold out and you will never be able to purchase one.

The Erie canal in N.Y. I reall liked riding on the mind numbing straightness.

When my daughter becomes a rockstar she will use this picture for her album cover. This photos is what the Slender Fungus is all about.

Buy local, and boycott the big box stores. There still is hope. While you are at it also support your Local Bike Shop.
 

That's all I had to say tonight.

 

 

Bye-Bye.

 

Ari

 

 

 

 

B.K I really miss you.



Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, Sunday September 2nd 2012, Iowa mission #1

 the wife aboard her brand new Spacehorse

 The Bonk King aboard his Salsa Cycles

Cookie picked up a pooch to pace him up the hill 

 This type of riding opens your mind and soul

 Taking breaks on hot days is a cool idea.

The gravel was extra dry with sandy bowls everywhere. 

Check out the wispy stuff growing on the right of the photo. I love those hills.

sizing the spacehorse is a nightmare. go by toptube length. In the wife's case she is on a 46cm. It comes with a 52 top tube. Bike built with gold fusion rims, xtr front, 105 rear hub. 8spd dura ace sti. spooky brakes, compact crank with 34x46. no name post, saddle, hbar and stem. Cane creek headset. Spd pedals. First ride on bike did 100kms.

 Space horse resting. Nice bike, rode great with the Kenda Happy Mediums in 700x40

Thanks to all of you guys for coming out. It was a great day on the bike. Iowa Rocks!!

Well deserved nap on Labor day.



This is the reason the Slender Fungus loves to travel to the remote parts of Iowa. check out that beautiful ribbon of Gravel just following the contour of the earth. We feel fortunate to traverse that road on our delicate machines and experience that land. We roll up and down in a never ending curiosity of what is coming next. I feel like we could have ridden forever.

This past sunday the Slender Fungus got together in a undisclosed area of Iowa and had a fantastic ride. Cookie and Bonk-King drove from Huntley and the wife and I drove from the westmont area. We met up at 10 am sharp in a secret park under some cottonwood trees. We assemble ourselves and we rode off with no maps, an I-phone with no coverage and just a good sense of direction and also knowing that the winde was howling straight out of the east. We started to discover beautiful gravel roads with fantastic vistas and amazing rolling hills. For a moment Cookie and I thought we were in Trans Iowa. We quickly realized the month was september and the hot sun would be an anomaly in T.I. Jay was running his wisconsin made Gunnar while the Bonk-king rode the mustard Salsa Casseroll, I was on the Black mountain cycles and wifey was aboard a never before ridden Spacehorse or is it Space Whore??? The morning clouds and remnants of the tropical storm brought inmense amounts of humid air and as the day went by the clouds opened, the scorching sun came out and we baked, yes we baked like bacon. The riding was beyond belief and we were happy to have rolled together covering 100kms or otherwise known a Metric. We quietly changed clothing and found a rocking pizzeria were we quenched our dry throats with beer and some delicious Pizza. We talked and listened to music while we drove Cookie home and the roads out in the country were all ours. It was a fantastic day and I hope next time we go you can join us. We also had the pleasure to meet up with one of the founding father of the Slender Fungus as in Hellmutt. He was in from our satellite operations base of Naples Florida. Lots of photos I hope you enjoy.




make it nice, Ari