Somebody Stop Me...

ebay strikes again...More photos when it's built. Braaaap!

More Details on The Slick 50 (w/apologies to Reed...)

[sweet photo:Kelly Mac]
For those of you waiting for "more details to follow, shortly," The Slick 50 Ride went off on St. Patrick's Day. The meeting point was the Triple Rock for some mean breakfast. I had Kahlua pancakes, two fried eggs, a Guinness and a shot of Jameson...

The bike rack was full.

We got started just before noon. In hindsight, this was somewhat of a bad move as it allowed the LRT trails to thaw into a nice peanut butter consistency. Right here though, we're just rolling out on the smooth pavement of the Midtown Greenway. We took this out through Hopkins...

and we're headin' out to the Highway...

Mac in the mud...

maps were consulted when part of the pack got separated coming off of Co. Rd. 19.

Heading back toward the city now on the Luce Line trail, we took a much needed respite. The Luce Line too, was soft and thawed. It felt like we were on a stair master the whole time so we took the pavement back into Wayzata.

McGinty Road en route back to the Minnetonka trail. 20 people started the ride, 20 people finished. Just not the same 20... Thanks to everyone who made it out. Next year I'll get you the info beforehand, Reed... More photos HERE.

Ninety-Sick Shit's Slick...

Had the Paddy Wagon out for an inaugural shake-down today, before this Saturday's SLICK 50 ride. More details to follow, but essentially, it's 50+K on a mix of pave, gravel, dirt, and most likely, mud. Rumour has it the Lunatic will be riding the Parade Bike....

Mpls. Bike Expo

After Thursday evening's snow squall, (and Friday's requisite Snow Day) it was time to ride the Kona Explosif 29'er down to the Minneapolis Bicycle, Travel, & Fitness Expo. Wading thru the throngs of people anticipating for the Greg LeMond vs. The Lunatic cage match was quite exhausting, however, I did manage to check out Bob Brown's new Route 29 Project. Cool stuff, as usual from Lugmaster Brown.

This is Bob's personal bike. He added the S&S couplers just for the show. Bitchin' fork crown, classic appearance. I want one.

This is the single-bolt sliding dropout of Bob Brown's design, featured on the Route 29 bikes. He assured me that the overall clamping surface is sufficient, and just as strong as more common two-bolt designs.

Over at the Penn Cycle/Trek booth, while the handlebar moustache crowd stood in line to have their picture taken with LeMond, I studied the Travis Brown-designed production 69'er. Their take on the sliding dropout is a beefy number with built-in tensioner. The overall bike design is all swaged and formed aluminum. Looks like a fun trail bike.

SNOW DAY

Sorry to Burns, Mark Emery, and anyone else who tried to get their fix this a.m. B-Rose called a Snow Day. Guess his Jeep couldn't make the 6-block pull. But I backed him up on this one. Hell, take a day off you junkies! But B-Rose will be there tomorrow, count on it. Me? I'll be at the Bicycle, Travel, & Fitness Expo" with Gene O. and Greg LeMond. I think Surly is serving beer....