Friday Funday with B.Ridge

Go Rebop!

Winter Bike: Def Wish

I like to have an around town bike in the winter that doesn't use clip less pedals, and the past few year's that's been my Def Wish. Because I'm not tricking on it, this year I threw some fat mountain tires on it and have been really enjoying riding it around.

It still rolls plenty fast, and I feel like I can crush anything in my path. I'm still hoping that people who have no interest in tricks realize how rad they can be as all arounders (at least the neg bb ones).






still rocking the Ben's limited edition Holdfasts

Low Road To Sibley Race - Watch Out

While the course as a whole is in awesome condition, there is one little obstacle that I thought any participants should be made aware of.

This little gap that popped up two weeks ago.

Once you start seeing the beaver work on the Sibley side you're getting close. Then there will be a downed log you have to hop, and then the gap. It's easy to clear but if you brake suddenly on approach there's a good chance you'll slide out on the ice.




you have been warned.

Bike Jerks Ad in Urban Velo

The new Urban Velo just got upped online and it contains the very first national ad for Bike Jerks. Check it out.





fucking ruling.

super proud of this one.

PLANET HOPS 2012

You know I can't get enough of these guys and KS YUN's stuff.

Go 2012! from KS Yun on Vimeo.

Skate Spot

Was down by Hidden Falls on Monday and nabbed these shots of the famous roofs and the ledges. I can't believe that with all the riders who have come through in the last few years that we've never taken any of them down here to ride.

It'd be kind of tight on a big bike, but I'm sure it could be worked out.






one part about this spot that I've never understood is that some of it is skate stopped and some ledges have perfect "coping." What's the deal with that? Did the city do that or did skaters? It looks like the city to me because a whole shitload of non skateable stuff has the coping.

Anybody know the deets?

Last Saturday

Went out with the always dapper Hurl Everstone of CRC. I don't even need to tell you where we went, because even I am getting sick of hearing me talk about the river. And I promise to knock it off soon.




Hurl's Soulcraft roadbike


the sweet Soulcraft headbadge, wish I could see the rest of it after "sucka"








hobo chairs, pretty brilliant

Monday

Sean Burns vs. Glenn Hughes

Ever since Sean Burns came to my attention last year after his amazing section in Anthem, it's always bothered me that he looked exactly like someone I've seen before. And it wasn't just the heroin chic, it was an exact match.

Well yesterday I was watching that Evolution of Metal show, and they were talking to one of the guys in Deep Purple (the mark 3 lineup) and boom, it's Glenn Hughes.

Check it.

Sean Burns



Glenn Hughes



Right. Right?



now get back to work.

Some Bruiser Love

Photo By John Watson

Some love from John HERE - more to come I guess. Pretty proud of these bikes if I do say so myself.

On Cyclocross Bikes

As you likely well know, we are experiencing a very odd winter in terms of weather up here in Minneapolis. This is easily the warmest and most snow free December in memory, and I have to chuckle because I keep seeing all of these people riding around town on their shiny new fat bikes wanting so badly to ride them. For the bike to be useful or practical.

Now I'm not saying that fat bikes can't be useful, because certainly they can, especially in sand. Nor am I saying that all bikes have to be practical, because in my opinion all a bike needs to do to justify it's existence is be fun....
Hold up a second, I'm not really getting at what I mean to get at. Let me go at this another way.

I have friends and colleagues who are all up on fat bikes, they swear by them. I meanwhile have a Pug that sits a bit forelornly in my garage, I have one because I live in Minnesota and have the means to acquire one. However I don't love it, and often find myself wondering why I keep it (or why I want a Moonlander).


Photo from Bandit Cross 12/6/10

My bummer-ness on the bike happened last year and I'll give you two specific examples.

1. I organized a Low Road to Sibley race last December. The night before the race we received 5 inches of fresh powder. Treasure and I opted for Pugs. On the train ride out to the race, I see Andy Larson on his messenger bike, a fixed gear with 25c slicks and street gearing. I tell Andy that he's crazy and "going to have a bad time." He says he'll take his chances. There are racers on cross, mountain, fat, and fixed gears. You'd think that hey, the Pugs are going to crush in the snow but instead we get our asses handed to us by Andy.

2. Treasure, Matt, and I ride the same terrain later in the year with packed snow on the trail. We're again on our Pugs and Matt's on his 1X1. We're able to keep up no problem, but it's clear that there's no reason to be pushing around all this extra meat.

These and other events lead me to a conclusion: every time I ride my fat bike there's a different bike that's better suited to the terrain (with the exception of sand, fat bikes rule sand). True no bike may be able to tackle as wide a variety of terrain, but I absolutely hate not having the right tool for the job.

It really boils down to this: I just haven't had that one amazing experience yet where I fall in love with the bike or the genre of bicycle.

I don't tell you all this to bag on fat bikes or people who ride fat bikes, shine on you crazy diamonds. I tell you this to say that I haven't had that one magical ride yet, and thus retain a bit of skepticism, I'm not a believer. Yet.



Until recently (Thanksgiving break and one epic vision quest listening to Darkthrone and getting spazzed out by the water line on the trees) I felt the same way about cyclocross bikes. Sure I liked my Nature Boy, and I've enjoyed throwing the Bandit Cross series. But that was more about the camaraderie and competition than loving the machine.

It wasn't until the last few months that I was able to pinpoint exactly why I own this bike, and it's not because of racing. It's for the multi hour, trail, gravel, sand, and pavement rides that abound here in Minneapolis and make it such a sick place to live and ride.

A typical road bike doesn't have the tire capacity for the sand sections, a mountain bike is too goddamn slow for the pavement and overkill for the dirt, but this cross bike... This beautiful cross bike is the perfect balance of quickness, light weight, and off road capability for the style of riding that I am finding myself so enamored with of late.

It gets me from the city to the woods and back again more efficiently than any other style of bicycle.



It's the perfect tool for the job.

Thursday

There is nothing as badass as a brakeless fixed gear with gigantic rubber.

Bandit Cross This Saturday!

Finally going to get the Low Road To Sibley monkey off my back and do the race up proper. From the start of the gravel till the first person touches the VFW it's on.



This Saturday
Noon

Get in one last hard ride of the year and kick your New Year's celebrations off in style. Meet at Angry Catfish at Noon, we'll group ride to the start of the Low Road and from there it's go time. Feel free come along and see what all the fuss is about, ride it slow or fast. Personally I'm super stoked to crush this thing. It's in prime condition and any cross tires should do.

And just so you know ahead of time, on the Sibley side, near where the beavers are working there is a gap in the road. It's pretty small, like only a foot wide, and I've jumped it every time, but there is totally the potential to stack up big time and wreck your day and bike/wheel. Don't say i didn't warn you.

Beers at the finish, and we'll all be back in town early to get ready for the night to come.

If you've got a single speed make sure to bring it. If you've got gears you have to take a blood oath not to shift.

See you then.

BMX Video Monday

watch up.

Drew Bezanson from Justen Soule on Vimeo.

TCU Exclusive: Drew Bezanson At Dennis' Ramps from www.thecomeupbmx.net on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays

From all of us at Bike Jerks


get out there and ride!

Friday In Austin

Tina and I got together with John and A.J. for one of my favorite types of rides - a half city/half off road adventure like I used to do in MPLS going to the river trails or Lebanon and stuff with all the city terrain to pop off of on the way. John showed us the Green Belt and it ruled hard. A perfect mixture of loamy, tacky trail and an earthquakey lunar laser vision twitchfest.




The tongue acts like a rudder




I should have gotten more pics of the rock gardens but I was having too much fun. Afterwards Tina lamented the fact that it's probably unlikely that we'll have many opportunities to ride off road with a group of folks all on brakeless fixed 29r's - not to mention as part of the largest gathering of Bruiser prototypes ever assembled, but it was far too enjoyable to dwell on.



Afterwards, gourmet sausages were installed, and a food truck island was visited. Threw in a visit to Fast Folks too.






Rounded out the night with a marshmallow roast and a fire at John's.








Super super solid time as per usual when we're in Austin.



Damn straight.

Friday Funday With B. Ridge

Off Roading Near Bastrop, TX

In the middle of a massive road trip from Los Angeles to Milwaukee to Austin to Los Angeles. Picking up some gear back home and visiting Tina's folks in Texas. We got ourselves a beautiful 70 degree day, and since we finally got our fixed off roaders - aka Summoners Of Blackened Vomits - back from Milwaukee we thought it best to go get filthy. Found this ROCKY HILL BIKE RANCH near Smithville (yes the same town you're thinking of where they shot the film Hope Floats with America's Sweetheart and Infector Of Suburban Mom Hairstyles, Sandra Bullock). Just got a bunch of rain so the trails were real wet, and trails had names like "Frontal Lobotomy", "Fat Chuck's Demise", "Hard Boil", and "Omar's Howl". No brakes, holiday snackin' gone wild, trucker butt, and stiff legs made us take it a little easier. Still lots of climbing though, but the views were worth it. Too bad the trailhead bar was closed. Why isn't that the norm for trailheads?