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Trail of Death RambleSometimes you stumble across the coolest places when you're rambling ... I've been seeing signs marking the "Trail of Death", but I didn't know what it was all ...
Franklin County Rough Roads TourSoutheastern Franklin County, Kansas boasts a good number of minimum-maintenance roads. I've ridden them all before, but never all on the same ride. It's been a...
Tour of Rural FencesA "Tour of Rural Fences" seemed like a fun theme for a bike ride -- fences are easy to overlook, but it turns out that a lot of people take great pride in their...
ShakedownIn preparation for my upcoming mini-tour (Flint Hills Bike Tour On Tap) I wanted to get in a good test ride, fully loaded, just to make sure there weren't any m...
Wiener Dog Rescue ServiceOn Labor Day, I hooked up with Bill Poindexter (carfree American) for a ride on the Flint Hills Nature Trail. We started the ride off in Osawatomie, at John Bro...
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Archive for January, 2009
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LHT: Impressions After 200 Miles
Posted on January 24, 2009 | 2 CommentsI’ve now ridden just over 200 miles on my Surly Long Haul Trucker. It’s still too early to render a full verdict, but I can lay down some initial impressions: Though I’d read some poor reviews of the WTB Slickasaurus tires, they haven’t been a problem so far. No flats,... -
Miami County Gravel
Posted on January 22, 2009 | 2 CommentsI love exploring the back roads of Miami County, KS. To some degree, that’s because most of the roads are unfamiliar to me, but mostly it’s because there’s a lot of natural beauty there, even on a mid-winter day when all the trees are barren, all the fields are fallow,... -
Climbin’ and Ramblin’
Posted on January 10, 2009 | No CommentsThere are two hills on 135th Street in Olathe, that are known locally as the “Twisted Sisters”. It’s hard to say exactly how they stack up in comparison to other hills in the region, but as my friend Reed says, “They’re all there.” Here’s a picture looking east towards the... -
Long Haul Trucker Additions
Posted on January 7, 2009 | No CommentsThe new Surly Long Haul Trucker is basically stock, except for a few little additions I’ve made: Rear Rack: The rear rack is a Planet Bike Eco Rack, a basic but functional rack that came with my EZ-Sport. There are fancier and more rugged racks, but this should do for... -
My New Long Haul Trucker
Posted on January 7, 2009 | 8 CommentsWelcome, if you would, a new member of the DirtBum bicycle family, a Surly Long Haul Trucker (follow the link for detailed specifications): I got this on January 3rd, and have had it out for two rides so far, a 9-mile gravel grind on its maiden voyage, and a 17-mile... -
My Favorite Rides of 2008
Posted on January 3, 2009 | No CommentsThinking back on the year, it’s rather hard to pick out just a few favorites. With over 200 rides, there were certainly a lot to choose from. I can’t say that any were bad ride (OK, maybe this one, but at least it was memorable), but a few stand out...