Finally, a smart fortune cookie

So true! My surprise birthday present was a plane ticket to Oregon. Now I can't think about anything else, and it's two months away! Until then, shorter weekend trips will have to do. This weekend, it's the family cabin in Wisconsin. Two weeks later, it's an Iowa City weekend with the guys, maybe involving some Sugar Bottom action. Two weeks after that, it's the Big-Wheeled Ballyhoo in Decorah. Then, one more month in the cubicle before the Oregon trip, then another month in the hole before backpacking in the Rockies. This has been the most long-awaited summer I can remember, and I plan on taking full advantage of it.

Took the afternoon off today

Went for a ride out to Peterson's Park. First time the 1x1 has seen single track. The trails were mostly in good shape, with some wet spots, some sandy spots, and some road apples. There was even a little waterfall, where the west pit was overflowing into the Skunk river.

As I promised Cory & Paul, I got the new bike filthy muddy.

Awesome Sunday!

It started as a plan for a bike ride. I got the official clearance to leave the family for a few hours and ride out to McFarland park and back. But the day turned out so nice that I thought it would be a crime to spend the day without my family. So the idea evolved into this: I would ride out to McFarland park on a less than direct route to increase the miles, fun, and amount of manure I would get to smell on the way out there. Then, a few hours later, the fam would drive out and join me for a picnic in the park. Gina stopped for a five........five dollar.........five dollar foot looooooooooong. Also packed up a small cooler with apples, oranges, raisins, and animal crackers for the ankle biters. I took a book to read while waiting for them at the park. Except for a little wind, which is becoming the norm in Iowa lately, the weather was near perfect. This was also my first ride of any length worthy to speak of on the new single speed. I'm sold on SS'ing, but I must admit I didn't ride much for hills. I've been commuting it for a while now, but you can hardly call my trip to work a commute. Google maps says it's about 0.62 miles.

We didn't even know it, but there was about to be a festival starting at McFarland. The annual spring time Partners Festival...whatever that means. There was free lemonade, cookies, popcorn, crafts for the kids, and musicians. That all started at 2:00, so we had a nice quiet lunch followed by a few hundred people joining in for the fun later on.

After getting sunburned, and playing in the grass all afternoon I was spent and the wind was coming strongly from the south. And since the family had driven out to the park, I had the option of wimping out and stuffing the bike in the car for an easier way home. Glad I did, because then later we went to Brookside. 2 parks in one day!

How much better can a day be? Awesome weather, bike ride, reading by a lake, rolling in the grass, hiking in the woods, lemonade, cookies, music in the park....oh yeah, and topped off the night with a New Belgium in one hand and flippin' burgers on the grill with the other.

Oh yeah, I finished...? the bike

Ok, so it will always be work in progress. But here it is in its current state. Actually, I've switched to a riser bar since this pic was snapped. Currently rollin' 32x16, soon to be 17.




What I love about it:
-the simplicity of single speed
-it looks super sexy (to me)
-the avid BB7s are ultra smooth and quiet

What I don't love so much:
-the harsh, non-ergon grips (they will be replaced very soon)
-not enough time to ride it

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

Bench stand makes a good holder for cutting handlebars.

But it doesn't clamp down far enough to hold the bar, so wrapping a tube around it did the trick.

And I've heard of using 2 hose clamps to make a straigt cut, but I didn't have any, so these two old bar ends came in handy.

An inch and a half off starboard and port....ahhh....much better.

Remember this?

90%

Just needs some brakes, a freewheel/cog, and a few planned upgrades here and there. I did a little scooting around on it by foot, á la Fred Flintstone today, but with no chain or brakes, I didn't get very far.

I know this is a super slow build, especially compared to other blogs I read where builds are documented in a day or week. But I'm learning each step for the first time and it's on a budget, so piece by piece it will go, until someday arrives.

3 Fat Tires

One was made for rockin' and two were made for rollin'. The one you can't see is the one I drank while mounting the other two.

Rubbah!