It must be Almanzo weekend

Today we were supposed to do a dad’s ride at 8 am. The wind is blowing strong out of the NE and there is a bone chilling mist in the air. Our ride was cancelled since most of the guys do not have any foul weather gear. This is another Almanzo weekend were the weather turns to that nasty stuff were only the brave brave. Better have you woolies on, your rain jacket and some fenders. Oh, you better be ready to completely overhaul your

bike when done.
I will get dressed, wait for the temps to climb amnother 2 measly degrees, and hide in the woods with my SS 29er.  I don’t know but 2018 is kicking my butt so far. Way,way behind on the whole mileage thing for sure. I guess one can only play with cards that one is dealt with. Nobody really wants to get out in this crap. I guess the mp3 player will be my friend today.
To all those riders that got out to race this weekend I applaud you. To the Alexander riders I hope you stay warm and dry.
Now it’s time to dig out that cold weather stuff one more time.
Ari

Cheater bikes are not bad if that's all you got

I love riding gravel but when all you got is road that's what you got. 

Had a good showing this morning with the Ricanator, Hank, Joey and Trapper. Got in some good little hills by Fullersberg area with some hill repeats. After a few miles the legs started to warm up and that felt really good. 

More coming soon as the rides get longer 

Ari 

Bellevue, Iowa. A land of magic.

 Relaxing at Kalmes in St. Donatus, Iowa

  Kalmes Restaurant. St Donatus, Iowa

 View of Bellevue, Iowa. 

 Bellevue, Iowa

 The mighty Miss. river

 B&B in Bellevue, Iowa

 Great barbecue here in Bellevue

 Now that's a view

That moon was in full force.  

 Parlour in B&B

 Dining room 

 Living room 

 View from our room at night. 

 My good friend and local Vet Chris. Check out his new Fargo. 

 My favorite road. 110th st. in Clinton county. 

 Wifey and I. Can you tell I am a bike nerd?

MY favorite hill. I made it up once, single speed. 

Thank you for checking out my blog. I hope to post a lot more. 

Check out Iowa sometime. You will be amazed you have not gone there before. 

Ari 

5+++++++++++++++9

Nice thunderstorms to start the morning. I just to write about how we have waited 6 months for the nice weather. And then it just crawls in. That’s when the bike shop gets super-busy. That’s when it’s impossible to take days off,when riders come in telling one how beautiful it is outside. “Hey, you should be riding”,they tell me. I just end up pissing my family off because if I take days off then I get buried in work. Get the picture? Being a bike mechanic isn’t that glorious. Never mind what you see on instagram. 
So, the only way to survive is to get in there early and keep 5he cue at bay. But wait, don’t forget to keep you overtime at bay. When you come in to the bike shop be patient. You had 6 months of winter to get your bike ready. Throw a couple bucks in for coffee. Bring a donut. Be thankful your mechanic is ther to install you online purchase.
Just saying,
Ari

5/////////////////8/////////18

Greetings and salutations. Today we gathered up with Joey,Ricanator, Hank and self for a cheater bike ride. We all had carbon bikes with shifters on the brake levers. Weird. Perfect day for a ride as the temps were already in the 70's and dry. Plenty of sun. Made me think that in other parts of the country and world this is a daily occurrence. 
So this left hip thing happened last year. It has been plaguing me for a long time. Many trip to the Chiro and I am finally seeing some progress. There was a lot of traffic on this road we were on. I was 120 miles into this ride on my Cross bike. We detour for 1/2 a block onto a sidewalk and Bam! down I went. We went around this little bend and bush was in the way. A green, hidden rope was wrapped around the bush to contain it. It caught my right brake lever and just took me down. I landed on my hip and was for sure certain it was cracked. Broken helmet, shredded, brand new camelbak and torn clothing. I finally got up and started to walk. Soreness but no weird pain. 
It got better within a couple of weeks but what I did is unconsciously start to favor my right leg instead. So after many months of doing this my right knee started to hurt. Things are on the mend these days. Warming up those old bones feels good. I am ready to increase mileage, get back where I was before. 
I am really thankful to Dr. Allen for getting me straight again. 
thanks for reading, 
Ari  

And suddenly.........................it's summer...........almost

Thanks for stopping by all you old school readers. I really appreciate it. This year was the longest winter I have experienced in a long time. I missed many weekends of riding when the weather was so impossible. 
Now those days are gone but believe me not forgotten. Legs are starting to turn again and the hope of some fitness is hopeful. I have some ideas for some rides in the near future. I hope to get out and do some long ones soon. I have contacted some old friends and hope that our busy schedules line up for once. Around the area where I live we mostly ride on the road. 
I would prefer to be on the gravel but sometimes you have to work with what you have. Road bike it is and that is good. Send in a comment if you are interested in doing some rides. I have Iowa always on my mind. Also heading west of IL is always a good alternative. Many roads to explore out there. I drove around there a couple of weeks ago and it is amazing to see no change. 
Thanks for reading and until the next post, 
Ari 

Clinton County, Iowa

Was not able to make Trans Iowa V14 but that is another story in itself. However, I managed to cross the mity Miss. river despite the bridge over Sabula. If you need to cross it you either have to go over towards Galena or Fulton and corss over to Clinton. Anyway, I got a chance to hang out for a day. Good times. Had a chance to visit with Chris in Bellevue and hopefully I will be able to meet him for some gravel soon.