Well, my 100 miles to nowhere race is on. Check THIS LINK to see what it’s all about. This is taking on a life of it’s own and is turning into a huge fundraiser. I am looking to recruit a team of cyclists that can handle 8 hours or so of misery with me to raise money for the fight against cancer. All donations will go to the Livestrong foundation. We will hopefully all have Adventure Monkey jerseys, and anyone raising or donating $100 or more will get a first edition Adventure Monkey T-shirt. How am I gonna pull this off? I have no idea, but I have two of the best party planners on the job. Not a party you say – I think not. A party it will be. I hope to video this and let you all see how fun misery can be if done with friends. If you are in or near E-town, stop by, make fun of us and drop some money in the bucket. I don’t own a trainer and will ride on rollers, so there’s a good chance I could fall and hurt myself – more incentive to check it out. I’d like to figure out how to have a donate now button here on the site so you can give to fighting cancer. I will take any advice or help on that. (EDIT – figured it out, link soon to come!)
So Friday was going to be a windy day. It seems like it’s always windy here, but they were calling for 20-30 mph sustained winds on the weather, so I was guaranteed a good workout. It was a south wind, so I would head out south against it and ride home like a champion with it at my back. We may not have mountains, but the wind more than makes up for it. Lelan was in from New York and was going to join me for a ride. Lelan’s fame is known across the land as being a strong cyclist (He’s a Dirty Kanza finisher), but mainly for his story in the Adventure Monkey magazine.
Lelan's magazine article
But first, it was time to put the new Woodchipper bar on the Fargo. Bobby was kind enough to meet me at High Gear early to get me taken care of. By the way, if you haven’t stopped by the new improved High Gear, you are missing out. I knew it was going to be cool, but wow, I was blown away when I first walked in. It is a sweet, roomy bike shop with a hip bike shop feeling that doesn’t resemble the usual small town feeling of Emporia. Matt and Stephanie have really brought something great into our little town, so go check it out!
I needed a new stem to fit the Woodchippers on the bike. Matt let me in on a great deal on a carbon fiber stem. I may have lost a few ounces, so surely I will be faster now. It is a little shocking to see a non-Salsa component on the Fargo, but my objections to that went away as soon as I felt the shock absorbing quality of carbon on the gravel roads. It plus the woodchipper made a huge difference. I will show and tell more of the Woodchipper later, but after riding them for about 135 miles, I don’t know why Fargo’s are available without them. It seems like a perfect bar for the Fargo. Here’s a few shots of the Woodchipper being installed. There’s a little of the new bike shop in the background and a couple shots of Bobby Wintle for the ladies.
Bontrager carbon stem on the Fargo, looks like an alligator. I hated to put a non-Salsa component on the bike, but I got a great deal on this stem and the vibration dampening of the carbon was quite noticeable.
Bobby doing a little thinking about all those spacers
taping the cables on the Woodchipper
Lelan and I set of into the wind. Originally I was thinking of a 70 mile ride, but the Woodchipping and hanging out at the shop took longer than I expected. The really great thing is that now people are picking up my bike to see how heavy it is and saying things like, “Holy crap man, why would you want to ride 70 miles on this thing?” Wimps. The Fargo isn’t that heavy, but with my rear rack and bag it is a heavy beast. That’s what it’s made for. I am still hoping when I strip it down and install the tires for the DK, I will feel like Superman. I looked into lighter wheels and found some for the price of two Fargos. Too much for me, but if someone wants to let me borrow some for the DK, who am I to turn you down?
So come to find out, Lelan ate a nutritious breakfast of a bowl of sugar cereal. Take into account the strong winds and later start, he was quite hungry by the time we made it to a convenience store to refuel. Don’t do what Lelan did kids, I could have shredded him, but thought I’d go easy and let him feel good about himself. Yeah, just kidding, but he could have eaten just about anything at that point. My secret weapon of eggs and oatmeal, keeps me fueled for quite awhile.
It was a nice ride although the wind was so strong, that a conversation was impossible the whole way out. I’d have to scream at the top of my lungs for Lelan to hear anything. Instead, I took some pictures of Lelan riding up some Kansas hills. That’s when I realized that taking the heavy Nikon would be death to my DK finish this year. It is heavy, yes, but I have to stop, use two hands to compose and shoot. Take into account my slowness and that adds up to a DK disqualification. I am thinking of maybe video and/or a small camera, but as you all probably feel, money is tight so I am undecided as to what to do and only have two months to figure it out.
Riding home was sweet. With the wind at our backs, it was warmer and fast.
Feed Your Monkey!
-Eric
Lelan doing a little Kansas cycling again
Into the wind
Climbing the Flint Hills
Wide open climb in the Flint Hills
Making it to the top
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