Sunday Metric

Been riding the Surlys all winter....Steamroller and Pugsley



Molly's Mariachi....looking forward to building mine up and doing some racing/riding. This is the year of the fat tires!!!



Molly's awesome garage with built in training studio including a climbing wall....its no big deal



My curly mullet is sticking out of my hat

Was able to meet up with the Naughtons (Mike and Molly) for a great metric century on Sunday. The weather was absolutely wonderful, roads were minimally traveled and we enjoyed a great ride on our cross bikes. I was on the beloved steamroller, Mike was on the custom seven SS belt drive, and Molly was on her Chili 1x10. We met up with a lone rider around mile 30 and he was glad to have us as a shield into the wind on the way back to Crystal Lake. We stopped at Molly's secret training garage and then I continued back to the Woody for some more miles. I crossed the 1000 mile mark on this ride and roughly have 600 miles on the pugsley, and 400 on the steamroller. Surlys rule!!! Get off of that pancake and ride your two wheeler

- JB

Advice From A Legend

When ultra endurance and RAAM legend Lon Haldeman stopped by the shop the other day I thought Id ask him for a piece of advice on Trans Iowa. This was the first time that I had ever met Lon, but knew a lot about him since he was sponsored by the first bike shop that I worked at when I was 16, RRB cycles.

I asked him about staying awake for longer than 24 hours and any tricks that he had. He responded with "How long is Trans Iowa"....I said "the record time is 25 hours, but I'd like to do it in 30 hours". Lon then said..."30 hours....you should be able to stay awake for 30 hours!"

HAHA, thanks for the advice....not all of us are cycling legends!!!

Lon was super cool and it was cool to see him in the store. Bob, my boss was his RAAM mechanic for 3 Race Across Americas, and is still his go to guy. Lon mentioned to have a good light and in his experience he would take the extra weight in batteries for a good light in order to stay awake....

All things to consider

- JB

Week in Recap

Very cold weather hit northern Illinois this week. Was able to log 190 miles for the week with some very frigid commutes in the single digit to negative temps with the windchill and 20-40 mph winds on somedays. After riding home it feels like a great accomplishment everytime even to only have ridden 12 miles one way. It is great to be a part of nature....the good, the bad, and the ugly. Of course I might be cursing it one second...but reflecting on my time spent on the bike makes me smile and happy to have the miles under my legs. Had a great 35 mile ride with some nice hills today. The sun was out and even though it was only 30 degrees I had a fantastic ride and was able to let go of any thought and just tune into the ride.... Get out there!

- JB

Jeff Williams

A HUGGGGEEEEEE Congrats to my very talented friend Jeff Williams for making it into Bicycle Times! Jeff has been painting forever and his love of cycling has pushed him into making some beautiful artwork. He has recently been traveling to different cycling related shows selling prints and finally was noticed by some very well known folks. I have some of his prints that are waiting to be framed and are going to be displayed in the new shop, with a possible visit from Jeff at the upcoming Art of the Bike night including art, bikes, music, and drinks at the Wheel Werks.

To see Jeff's art up close is unreal. The colors used immediately grab your attention and draw you into the subject matter of the painting as if you were almost there. The paint is thick and has a great texture as well. I love the vintage subject matter such as the epic duel between Coppi and Bobet at the Giro (look up the original photo and then look at Jeff's version....awesome), steel bikes, quill stems, down tube shifters, metal water bottles....a part of cycling which has been outdated but not forgotten!! My love of the traditional side of cycling is perfectly captured in Jeff's artwork.

He is selling canvas prints of his work (not limited to what I have shown) for a very reasonable price. If you are interested let me know and I can get you in touch with him to get some art!!!

Again, Congrats Jeff!

- JB

Monday Solo Fixed

Today was a solo 57 mile fixed gear ride. The temp called for a high of 48 with sun....and again I was let down by the weather man. The temps were very cold and the 20mph winds from the west made it feel even colder out. I forgot my balaclava or neck gaitor and my face froze the entire way. Got a snack to eat in McHenry at Taco Bell and warm up for a second. Was glad to get out despite the cold weather and put in some more miles...

- JB

Lake Geneva Fixed

Got on the road with Mike, Molly, and Ray (all fantastic mountain bikers) for a ride up to Lake Geneva, WI. We were all on different bikes...I was on the surly fixed gear (44x14...was too low for some hills in Bull Valley), Mike was on his custom seven belt drive single speed, Molly was riding the 1x10 Salsa Chili, and Ray was on his 19lb rigid Scott 29'er. We had a headwind out of the north on the way up and I got to ride some new roads and with some new friends. The temperature was a nice 42 degrees and the sun kept peeking in and out of some cloud cover. Got in 53 miles and the legs were tired from riding all week on the pugsley and the hills burned me up on the fixie. Was able to log 220 miles this week and will continue to bump up the mileage this month. Looking forward to another long ride tomorrow with temps close to 50 degrees. Also, I found my new commuting route through bull valley with 3 massive hills over 18% grade and a ton of rollers....should be great to train on for trans iowa. Hope you are out riding!

- JB

Arrowhead 135

Congrats to Charlie Farrow and Jason Buffington who won the running division and set a new record!!! And to all those that braved the cold and snow in the Arrowhead 135. There are some great photos including this one on Jeremy Kershaw's blog. Thinking that maybe this would be a very cool race to participate in. Bravo men.

- JB