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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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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,... -
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... -
Back in the Saddle
Posted on December 31, 2008 | 3 CommentsWhen I hurt my shoulder on December 7th, I figured my year was done for, and I’d finish up just short of 6000 miles for the year. Not so fast there. The shoulder’s getting better. I have good range of movement, and it doesn’t hurt much at all, except for... -
Dirt Bumbler
Posted on December 9, 2008 | No CommentsLooks like my cycling season has reached a premature end. Sunday afternoon I drove to Lawrence, KS to ride the Clinton Lake Trails with 9Toes. Neither of us had ridden these trails, so we didn’t really know our way around. I lead out, and right away we hit some rather... -
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...