Featured Posts
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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Gear Archive
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Looking for Gloves for Bitter Cold
Posted on January 4, 2010 | 8 CommentsI'm having trouble finding gloves that work for me in single-digit temperatures. It's no fun freezing your fintertips off... -
The Long Haul Trucker as a Mountain Bike
Posted on March 8, 2009 | 2 CommentsMy Surly Long Haul Trucker had its first taste of singletrack, and found it rather tasty. The LHT is not exactly a mountain bike, but it performed admirably on the trails at Dornwood Park and MacLennan Park in Topeka. These trails are more fast-and-flowy than technical, but there were still... -
Double Knobbies
Posted on February 11, 2009 | No CommentsI loaded up my new wheelset — Mavic XC717 rims, Shimano Deore XT hubs (thanks, 9Toes!) — with a pair of Nashbar Multi-Purpose MTB Tires I’d picked up cheap last year, and headed off on a gravel ramble. This was the first time I’d ridden dual mountain bike tires on... -
Helmet Cracked, Head Intact
Posted on February 7, 2009 | No CommentsI wrecked my mountain bike two months ago, began riding again about 3 weeks after the accident, and have been riding it regularly ever since. In all that time, I never once took a good look at the helmet I’d been wearing the day of the wreck. It appeared intact,... -
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,... -
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... -
First Snow
Posted on November 30, 2008 | No CommentsAwoke to snow in the ground for the first time this season, and decided to go out and play in it a bit. I stayed close to home, heading up the road a couple miles to Lone Elm Park, where I hit the gravel and grass trails for a few... -
Chiba GelPro Gloves
Posted on October 17, 2008 | 1 CommentPerhaps I’m just easily impressed, but I think this is rather brilliant. I bought a pair of Chiba on eBay. Haven’t ridden with them yet, so I can’t comment on their ride qualities, but they have one feature that just kicks butt. Between the first and second fingers, and between... -
Crawdad Salute
Posted on September 14, 2008 | 1 CommentWith the weekend century plans kaput due to relentless rain (hoping to reschedule for next weekend), I took off for an afternoon ride in the rain, if for nothing else than to test some new gear. First, I wanted to check out the new rain jacket I bought (a Specialized...