Heading to San Diego in the morning to guest coach at the San Diego Canoe/Kayak Team's Sunburn Camp. I'm looking forward to this opportunity. In the first place, skiing in Minnesota really stinks right now. It's been 35-45 for the past 2 weeks, so real snow no longer exists, and even the manmade snow is ice balls and dirt. It's been too damp to enjoy riding, so it's really time to head to the Left Coast.
In the second place, I get to work with (and learn from) some of my favorite coaches. The chance to learn team boats (2 and 4 person sprint kayak) from Olympic Coach Jerzy Dziadkowiec is simply awesome (in the true meaning of this overused word.)
Rolling into town as a junior invited coach will be interesting too. Beyond the daily schedule, I've little idea of responsibilities, but whatever I do will be just fine. The reason for holding the camp is to give elite junior paddlers another opportunity to gain experience, practice starts, and paddle with athletes not on their own team.
So I'll try to take pictures and maybe a post or two from the road.
Enjoy the holidays! Be safe in whatever you may do.
~marsh
Coach
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Recruiting volunteers for events - Event Management 101
I volunteered to be a corner marshal for the first time in 1981. It was a low key 10K, and I mostly stood on a corner and clapped as the athletes went by. In 1993, I volunteered for the US Cycling Team Trials sponsored by Self Magazine. I worked corners, stopped traffic, collected traffic cones, and generally spent a handful of days working the event. Over the next couple of years, I did more events with Northwest Classics, as corner marshal, crew boss, and tactical race director. There were a number of really great volunteers that made this group work - volunteer coordinators, construction managers, hospitality and catering managers, and others who just liked to be involved. These formed the core of a group that expanded to dozens or hundreds depending on the event. And in being part of this group, I learned a few keys that I've relied on ever since to run successful events.Core cadre - No promoter can do it all on their own. And while part of being a promoter is that since it's all on your shoulders, you want to maintain control, the reality is that to do so means you are spread too thin. Details get missed, jobs are left undone, and snap decisions replace critical thinking.
A good event relies on a core crew of trusted decision makers who can handle most of the routine, *consulting* when needed, and engaging the promoter when necessary. This core cadre should be there for a couple of reasons - loyal to you as friends or colleagues, and engaged because they want to contribute to the event(s) for some altruistic reason.
Identifying and developing these key individuals, and nurturing them is key to long term success. Having these key managers build their own teams of volunteers that *they* trust is equally important.
Recruit lots of volunteers - Every event promoter who has done more than one event has a list of people who volunteered the first time (and you keep growing the list). One of the hardest things to do is to get those 'professional volunteers' who just love to work events and are always up for another one. MOST people aren't that dedicated or willing. It's important to offer the opportunity to everyone, but not *ask* the same folks to do the same thing every time. After a while, those ready volunteers will start avoiding your phone call and looking for reasons to be 'out of town' on event day. The secret is to over-recruit, even if you can't use them all at the current event.
Don't over staff - The contradiction to the above is that too many volunteers is almost as bad as not enough. People who give their time want to be valued. If they take the time to show up, they generally want to be doing something useful - even if it's standing on a corner at the far end of civilization. Having 5 people on a corner that doesn't need but two means that those 5 are less likely to come back next time. It's OK to say 'next time' - and if you do it right, they'll look forward to your call.
Rotate jobs - Keep track of what people do at your events. If they were corner marshals one time, *ask* them if they'd like to work construction the next. Or if it's really all corner marshals, offer returning volunteers their choice of corners first. You may be surprised where they'd like to work, and they will almost certainly be glad you asked.
Identify and promote leaders - key volunteers burn out too! One of the secrets to maintaining the core cadre is to have them constantly watching for and training their replacements. It doesn't matter the position, everyone is replaceable, and often seem to disappear at the least opportune moment. One of my trusted core decided to move to Montana 3 weeks before a big event. Unforeseen, but since their lieutenant was on board, it was relatively easy to transfer their tasks to a new person.
Thank volunteers - Above all else, make sure your volunteers are appreciated. Just giving them a t-shirt isn't enough. Personal thanks, a thank you email, something to tell them that they are appreciated. For big events, build in a volunteer meal - that opportunity to share war stories, hear how the event went, and see the 'big picture' will do wonders for the volunteer's engagement "next time".
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Road Foods of RAGBRAI
Continuing comments from the world that is RAGBRAI.
Over the years, we've developed a list of the regular food vendors you see year in and year out. Some are good, some are great, and some are things you just can't do every day. While the big vendors aren't actually a formal part of the organization, they are a part of RAGBRAI life on the road. I'm still not sure whether the 'regular' vendors get 'tipped' by the organizers about the route, or if they just hit the road as soon as the route is announced to secure their spots in pass-through or overnight towns, and along the route each day. These tents, grills and trucks pack it up every day, reload their provisions and move 50-75 miles down the road to do it again. No 'chains', no pre-packaged, no mixes. It's fresh, real, and fairly priced.
Some of our favorites, listed here somewhat in the order that they appear along the route each day.
Farm Boys - usually within the first 5-10 miles of the day. Breakfast burritos, coffee, pancakes - basically a full service breakfast. The food is good, but the lines are generally 100 deep (or more) at 6:30 in the morning. I can't imagine what they are like at 8:00. This is *the* place to get a cure for the hangover you earned the night before.
Service club breakfast - in the first town or two along the route there is almost always a Rotary, Lions, VFW, or fire hall that's serving breakfast. Usually a much shorter line than Farm Boys, just without the name.
Almost every town will have numerous vendors, both local and part of the 'traveling circus' doing everything from pop and water to full service meals. Most bars will have a special, gas stations and groceries overstock, and Hy-Vee runs specials, brings in *pallets* of ice, beer, water, tons of bananas, dinner specials, lunch specials, special specials. We love Hy-Vee.
Mr. Pork Chop - I've honestly never stopped for Mr Pork Chop. The idea of having a 10 or 12 ounce pork chop sit on my stomach at 10:00 in the morning has never even remotely appealed to me. I'll rely on friends with good taste in pork, and more of a cast iron stomach to tell me he does a really good job - cooked right, not undercooked, juicy and tender. According to my taster friend, 'a helluva lot better than porkchop on a stick at the State Fair'. Mr Pork Chop can usually be found somewhere around the halfway point of the ride, plus or minus about 20 miles. Easy to spot - they'll put out signs at 5 miles and 1 mile out, and there is always a smoke cloud coming off the grill. Real fire, real food.
Tender Tom's Turkey - Another one that I can't honestly evaluate. Tender Tom's Turkey legs are a staple, always a line, and well regarded by a couple of carnivores that I call friends. Mind you they think beer is PBR or Grain Belt, and haven't really discovered craft brewing as a lifestyle.
Church lady pie - word spreads through town about who has the best pie, best cinnamon rolls, and best sloppy joes (or Maid Rites). I'll often have pie for a mid-ride stop, or if it's really hot, maybe a smoothie.
Smoothies - the hardest choice is deciding between vendors. There is almost always a smoothie vendor, maybe 3 in any town along the route. It's just a matter of walking past, figuring out who is using a mixture of fruit you like. Mostly, it's going to be bananas, OJ, frozen strawberries, and pineapple (fresh or frozen) and maybe some berries of some kind. And if it's warm, there will be a line.
Pastafaria - (retired, gone, not forgotten, dammit) - Our favorite stop along the route. I would plan lunch on the longer days for Pastafaria. They had two choices, penne with pesto, or penne with arrabbiatta (spicy red). A full paper boat of their stuff would get you home. I keep hope that someone will fill this void - good food for riding, Flying Spaghetti Monsters
Farm stands - all along the route, there are dozens of farm kids out selling gatorade, powerade, water, bananas, homemade cookes, powerbars - basically anything that might sell. Pick the right location and product mix, and an enterprising 4H'er can pull in a thousand bucks or more. Pick the wrong one, and it can be a looooong day. The best stands are just at the crest of the hill, and toward the end of a long section in between towns. The ones you feel the most sorry for are the ones halfway down a hill, or just before/after a town. Have a nice lawn? Shade? Chairs? A petting zoo? Friendly Golden Retrievers? Antique farm machinery? People will come, Ray. People will come.
And then there's Beekman's. What bike ride would be complete without ice cream. And what could possibly be better than ice cream that's made in churns powered by a STEAM ENGINE??? And it's really, really good ice cream. I can't do (or afford) Beekman's every day, but on the longer days, when the wind is blowing in your face and the road isn't smooth, it's a real treat.
Over the years, we've developed a list of the regular food vendors you see year in and year out. Some are good, some are great, and some are things you just can't do every day. While the big vendors aren't actually a formal part of the organization, they are a part of RAGBRAI life on the road. I'm still not sure whether the 'regular' vendors get 'tipped' by the organizers about the route, or if they just hit the road as soon as the route is announced to secure their spots in pass-through or overnight towns, and along the route each day. These tents, grills and trucks pack it up every day, reload their provisions and move 50-75 miles down the road to do it again. No 'chains', no pre-packaged, no mixes. It's fresh, real, and fairly priced.
Some of our favorites, listed here somewhat in the order that they appear along the route each day.
Farm Boys - usually within the first 5-10 miles of the day. Breakfast burritos, coffee, pancakes - basically a full service breakfast. The food is good, but the lines are generally 100 deep (or more) at 6:30 in the morning. I can't imagine what they are like at 8:00. This is *the* place to get a cure for the hangover you earned the night before.
Service club breakfast - in the first town or two along the route there is almost always a Rotary, Lions, VFW, or fire hall that's serving breakfast. Usually a much shorter line than Farm Boys, just without the name.
Almost every town will have numerous vendors, both local and part of the 'traveling circus' doing everything from pop and water to full service meals. Most bars will have a special, gas stations and groceries overstock, and Hy-Vee runs specials, brings in *pallets* of ice, beer, water, tons of bananas, dinner specials, lunch specials, special specials. We love Hy-Vee.
Mr. Pork Chop - I've honestly never stopped for Mr Pork Chop. The idea of having a 10 or 12 ounce pork chop sit on my stomach at 10:00 in the morning has never even remotely appealed to me. I'll rely on friends with good taste in pork, and more of a cast iron stomach to tell me he does a really good job - cooked right, not undercooked, juicy and tender. According to my taster friend, 'a helluva lot better than porkchop on a stick at the State Fair'. Mr Pork Chop can usually be found somewhere around the halfway point of the ride, plus or minus about 20 miles. Easy to spot - they'll put out signs at 5 miles and 1 mile out, and there is always a smoke cloud coming off the grill. Real fire, real food.
Tender Tom's Turkey - Another one that I can't honestly evaluate. Tender Tom's Turkey legs are a staple, always a line, and well regarded by a couple of carnivores that I call friends. Mind you they think beer is PBR or Grain Belt, and haven't really discovered craft brewing as a lifestyle.
Church lady pie - word spreads through town about who has the best pie, best cinnamon rolls, and best sloppy joes (or Maid Rites). I'll often have pie for a mid-ride stop, or if it's really hot, maybe a smoothie.
Smoothies - the hardest choice is deciding between vendors. There is almost always a smoothie vendor, maybe 3 in any town along the route. It's just a matter of walking past, figuring out who is using a mixture of fruit you like. Mostly, it's going to be bananas, OJ, frozen strawberries, and pineapple (fresh or frozen) and maybe some berries of some kind. And if it's warm, there will be a line.
Pastafaria - (retired, gone, not forgotten, dammit) - Our favorite stop along the route. I would plan lunch on the longer days for Pastafaria. They had two choices, penne with pesto, or penne with arrabbiatta (spicy red). A full paper boat of their stuff would get you home. I keep hope that someone will fill this void - good food for riding, Flying Spaghetti MonstersFarm stands - all along the route, there are dozens of farm kids out selling gatorade, powerade, water, bananas, homemade cookes, powerbars - basically anything that might sell. Pick the right location and product mix, and an enterprising 4H'er can pull in a thousand bucks or more. Pick the wrong one, and it can be a looooong day. The best stands are just at the crest of the hill, and toward the end of a long section in between towns. The ones you feel the most sorry for are the ones halfway down a hill, or just before/after a town. Have a nice lawn? Shade? Chairs? A petting zoo? Friendly Golden Retrievers? Antique farm machinery? People will come, Ray. People will come.
And then there's Beekman's. What bike ride would be complete without ice cream. And what could possibly be better than ice cream that's made in churns powered by a STEAM ENGINE??? And it's really, really good ice cream. I can't do (or afford) Beekman's every day, but on the longer days, when the wind is blowing in your face and the road isn't smooth, it's a real treat.
 |
| Such a creative anachronism. Note the solar panel mounted on the engine. |
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Great Rides - RAGBRAI
Volumes have been written about RAGBRAI - the Register Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, so I'll omit most of the hyperbole about the event. In short, it's an experience, not a ride. There are only a couple of one day rides in the country (or the world for that matter) with anything approaching 10,000 riders on the road for 50mi/80k. Doing this for 7 straight days? Only one place in the world - Iowa. RAGBRAI is a week long series of one-day rides starting on the western border of Iowa (tradition is to dip your tire in the Missouri river) and finishes on the eastern border with a tire dip in the Mississippi. In between, the ride passes through numerous small towns a day, overnighting at stops that typically are 40-70 miles apart. Riding the road with that many people deserves another separate article, and I'll take that on in an upcoming post.
I often refer to RAGBRAI as going on a week-long ride with 15,000 of my closest personal friends. Other phrases I've heard: "spring break for adults", "went to a party and a bike ride broke out", and lots of others. RAGBRAI acquired a certain reputation for rowdy, drunken, naked partying in the early days, when beer and other enticements were plentiful, and the overnight campgrounds were something out of Woodstock. Things have calmed down over time - probably partially due to some of the participants growing up, or growing into middle age.
I don't know that RAGBRAI could happen in any other state in America. A large part of what makes the entire week work is that there is a town of some description every 5-10 miles on every route, every year. This is the likely the only place in the country that has enough small towns and smaller highways to make it work. A large part of the charm of the week is the ride through these small towns.
So what does a town of 250-500 people need to do to get ready for RAGBRAI? Apparently quite a bit. The organizers have meetings for the local government, the business people, volunteers, the church ladies, and particularly food and beverage people. Even in Iowa there are rules about what 'homemade' means when you are serving 10-15,000. In nearly every town, not only will smart local restaurants figure out something to bring out to the street for 'quick food', but the churches, civic clubs, scouts, choirs, 4H - just about anyone who can will sell pop, pie, burgers, breakfast, ice cream... And in every town, the bars will have some kind of entertainment - and definitely a 'happy hour'. Most RAGBRAI riders spend 50 bucks a day or more on food, drinks and entertainment, and while most of this is in the overnight towns, the waypoint towns do well too.
The overnight towns are nothing short of amazing. Take a town of 5,000 and add 20,000 overnight 'guests' into the city limits. Figure out where to put up tent cities for 15,000 of these. And find volunteers who are willing to let around 5,000 stay in their backyards and basements. Organize the churches and VFWs to put on dinner for a few thousand, find a place for the traveling food circus (think state fair food vendors on wheels) to set up each day. And make sure every establishment that serves food is prepared to be inundated. The smart restaurants will create a RAGBRAI special menu serving a pasta buffet, sloppy joes, or something else that they can do in volume and keep the prices reasonable (and make a much better profit than on their average night). Make sure they have extra staff on call, and maybe even use paper plates and plastic silverware instead of their normal china. Pizza Ranch, a popular chain in Iowa, keeps their buffet line running full tilt. Local Subways bring in extra staff. And for the true mom&pop places, they make a calculated decision to play or take the day off. (Mostly they play).
We've had some great meals at RAGBRAI, and some epic waits. Rule 1: Eat early. If you can't eat early, leave town. The wait will be shorter in a town somewhere nearby. The longest wait was the day we didn't head out to eat until nearly 5:00. Bad move. The lines were already long, and the best looking place was a Mexican joint that looked big enough to handle the traffic. We_were_wrong...
5:00 - queue up in line
6:00 - finally make it to the point we could give our name for a table
7:00 - get table
7:15 - snag bus bucket and bar rag, bus our own table
7:30 - realize there are about 1/4 the number of staff needed to support. Snag menus, figure out order, snag waiter. Promises he'll come get our order.
8:00 - Still no waiter. Grab 'Mom' - owner's somewhat older mother - who took our order.
8:45 - More wait/bus staff arrive. Called in family from out of town who came to help after they finished their shift
9:15 - food arrives. Absolutely starving. Food was good. Chips were good. Looking for anything left over. Eat someone's leftover tortilla and more chips.
9:50 - Everyone is done, pay tab, leave good tip. head back to campsite. Line is still out door. Mama looks happy but exhausted. Owner looks shell shocked.
Another meal in a smaller town:
4:00 - queue up for dinner
4:30 - wait staff already looks fried
5:00 - realize they are not prepared for RAGBRAI. Empty tables, not seating until they are clean, nobody to clean tables. Waiter taking orders, dishwasher coming out to clear tables. Owner cooking by himself.
6:00 - finally get table. Owner comes out to wipe half the menu off board (the best half, at that). Too late to change plans.
6:30 - food comes out. Most orders wrong. Decide to make do.
7:30 - finally get bill. Owner is closing up. Out of food. Bill is wrong. Sort out and leave. Cheezy tip. Feel bad for owner. Wish he'd planned better.
The difference - the Mexican place had planned for food, but understaffed. They managed to regroup and ad-lib. The 'family' spot didn't plan, didn't staff, and had obviously never seen their tables turn over with all tables full. And ran out of food. They'll probably go on a holiday if RAGBRAI ever returns there as an overnight.
And finally, all that food creates a sanitation issue. Even if there were enough toilets available, 20,000 people added to a 5,000 person town would overwhelm even the most optimistically designed waste water treatment system. So they bring in portable toilets. I could do a whole article on branding these ubiquitous green, grey and olive boxes. So every morning, approximately 1/2 of the hundreds of Kybos are emptied, loaded on flatbed semis, and moved to the next day's waypoints and overnight towns. Note - semis. Many semis. Hundreds of kybos scattered around the campgrounds, near the food circus, near the stage area. Hundreds of them.
Only in Iowa. Can't wait to do it again this year!
I often refer to RAGBRAI as going on a week-long ride with 15,000 of my closest personal friends. Other phrases I've heard: "spring break for adults", "went to a party and a bike ride broke out", and lots of others. RAGBRAI acquired a certain reputation for rowdy, drunken, naked partying in the early days, when beer and other enticements were plentiful, and the overnight campgrounds were something out of Woodstock. Things have calmed down over time - probably partially due to some of the participants growing up, or growing into middle age.
I don't know that RAGBRAI could happen in any other state in America. A large part of what makes the entire week work is that there is a town of some description every 5-10 miles on every route, every year. This is the likely the only place in the country that has enough small towns and smaller highways to make it work. A large part of the charm of the week is the ride through these small towns.
So what does a town of 250-500 people need to do to get ready for RAGBRAI? Apparently quite a bit. The organizers have meetings for the local government, the business people, volunteers, the church ladies, and particularly food and beverage people. Even in Iowa there are rules about what 'homemade' means when you are serving 10-15,000. In nearly every town, not only will smart local restaurants figure out something to bring out to the street for 'quick food', but the churches, civic clubs, scouts, choirs, 4H - just about anyone who can will sell pop, pie, burgers, breakfast, ice cream... And in every town, the bars will have some kind of entertainment - and definitely a 'happy hour'. Most RAGBRAI riders spend 50 bucks a day or more on food, drinks and entertainment, and while most of this is in the overnight towns, the waypoint towns do well too.
The overnight towns are nothing short of amazing. Take a town of 5,000 and add 20,000 overnight 'guests' into the city limits. Figure out where to put up tent cities for 15,000 of these. And find volunteers who are willing to let around 5,000 stay in their backyards and basements. Organize the churches and VFWs to put on dinner for a few thousand, find a place for the traveling food circus (think state fair food vendors on wheels) to set up each day. And make sure every establishment that serves food is prepared to be inundated. The smart restaurants will create a RAGBRAI special menu serving a pasta buffet, sloppy joes, or something else that they can do in volume and keep the prices reasonable (and make a much better profit than on their average night). Make sure they have extra staff on call, and maybe even use paper plates and plastic silverware instead of their normal china. Pizza Ranch, a popular chain in Iowa, keeps their buffet line running full tilt. Local Subways bring in extra staff. And for the true mom&pop places, they make a calculated decision to play or take the day off. (Mostly they play). We've had some great meals at RAGBRAI, and some epic waits. Rule 1: Eat early. If you can't eat early, leave town. The wait will be shorter in a town somewhere nearby. The longest wait was the day we didn't head out to eat until nearly 5:00. Bad move. The lines were already long, and the best looking place was a Mexican joint that looked big enough to handle the traffic. We_were_wrong...
5:00 - queue up in line
6:00 - finally make it to the point we could give our name for a table
7:00 - get table
7:15 - snag bus bucket and bar rag, bus our own table
7:30 - realize there are about 1/4 the number of staff needed to support. Snag menus, figure out order, snag waiter. Promises he'll come get our order.
8:00 - Still no waiter. Grab 'Mom' - owner's somewhat older mother - who took our order.
8:45 - More wait/bus staff arrive. Called in family from out of town who came to help after they finished their shift
9:15 - food arrives. Absolutely starving. Food was good. Chips were good. Looking for anything left over. Eat someone's leftover tortilla and more chips.
9:50 - Everyone is done, pay tab, leave good tip. head back to campsite. Line is still out door. Mama looks happy but exhausted. Owner looks shell shocked.
Another meal in a smaller town:
4:00 - queue up for dinner
4:30 - wait staff already looks fried
5:00 - realize they are not prepared for RAGBRAI. Empty tables, not seating until they are clean, nobody to clean tables. Waiter taking orders, dishwasher coming out to clear tables. Owner cooking by himself.
6:00 - finally get table. Owner comes out to wipe half the menu off board (the best half, at that). Too late to change plans.
6:30 - food comes out. Most orders wrong. Decide to make do.
7:30 - finally get bill. Owner is closing up. Out of food. Bill is wrong. Sort out and leave. Cheezy tip. Feel bad for owner. Wish he'd planned better.
The difference - the Mexican place had planned for food, but understaffed. They managed to regroup and ad-lib. The 'family' spot didn't plan, didn't staff, and had obviously never seen their tables turn over with all tables full. And ran out of food. They'll probably go on a holiday if RAGBRAI ever returns there as an overnight.
And finally, all that food creates a sanitation issue. Even if there were enough toilets available, 20,000 people added to a 5,000 person town would overwhelm even the most optimistically designed waste water treatment system. So they bring in portable toilets. I could do a whole article on branding these ubiquitous green, grey and olive boxes. So every morning, approximately 1/2 of the hundreds of Kybos are emptied, loaded on flatbed semis, and moved to the next day's waypoints and overnight towns. Note - semis. Many semis. Hundreds of kybos scattered around the campgrounds, near the food circus, near the stage area. Hundreds of them.
Only in Iowa. Can't wait to do it again this year!
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Favorite rides - NIMROD
This is the first of a series of my favorite rides.
Unfortunately, there are no pictures for most of the rides. Most took place in the 1980s or 1990s, before the advent of digital photography - and I didn't pack a 35mm camera along for them. The good news is that they all still exist, the pavement is still good, and the traffic light. But - unless you are in the west, they do require a bit of driving.
At least in the 80s, Cascade Bike Club (I think) sponsored - and that may be overstating the case - a ride called RAMROD. RAMROD stood for "Ride Around Mt Rainier One Day. It's an epic ride, a true beat down covering roughly 195 miles and around 13,000 feet of climbing. Only the truly dedicated will attempt this one, and not nearly everyone finishes. Weather can be a real decider in this event, and the saving grace is that sundown in Seattle in June is nearly 10:00 pm.
And then there was my club. Most of our members were more seasoned business type people - I was one of the young ones at 29 or thereabouts. We decided to do the same route, but called it NIMROD (Not Interested...). The goal was to ride from Enumclaw to Paradise Lodge, overnight there and finish out the next day with the extra climb up to the Sunrise visitor's center and back to Enumclaw. (204 mi, 16,000 vertical)
Truly an epic trip. We started around 7:00 AM, working our way south and east along the park roads. Light traffic, few log trucks on the weekend, and our ever so wonderful support driver in her station wagon with food and water every few miles. The scenery through the Douglas Fir, hemlock and cedar trees is breathtaking. Beautiful glacial fed streams, and an occasional glimpse of the glaciers themselves. It's interesting to note that once you get close to the mountain, you can't actually *see* the mountain. At somewhere around 65 miles in, the group stopped for 'pie'. Not being the brightest bulb on the string that day, I decided to grab a bar and press on up the road. Which was beautiful, and the day was beautiful, and I was riding well and easy and, and well hello there, Mr. Bonk... I've bonked before and since - it happens, but this was ugly. I was 30 minutes or so in front of the group, and absolutely no food. I polished off the last of my water, and continued to crawl up the road. And about a mile later, a family was sitting at a roadside table enjoying a WATERMELON!!! With absolutely no shame, I asked if I could possibly bum a slice of their melon. And thankfully they realized I was harmless and not only gave me all the melon I wanted, but refilled my water bottle and sent me on my way. Awesome people. Tastiest watermelon I've ever eaten!
A few miles further along, I made it to the Paradise parking lot, and only a couple of minutes after that was joined by the lead riders in our group. We had a total of about 30 riders along for the trip, so we continued to trickle in for a while. While waiting, we had a chance to make friends with the world's best fed marmots who hang out around the parking lot cadging handouts from the tourists. They aren't quite tame, but will definitely eat out of your hand.
Paradise Lodge is one of the wonderful National Park lodges built by the WPA in the 1930s, and it's held up pretty well. Low on creature comforts, small bedrooms, shared baths (at least at the time) but well maintained. And the dinner service was anything but ski resort fast food. At this point, I couldn't even begin to tell you what I had, but it was certainly good. Servers in traditional black pants, white shirts and ties. Linen and china, wine poured at the table. Special for a bunch of bikers in shorts and polo shirts, to be sure.
After a beer and a good night's sleep, we got up early enough to watch the sunrise, which is amazing, by the way. A good breakfast (not a buffet) and it was time to put on arm warmers, tuck in a newspaper, say goodbye to Paradise Lodge and head down the mountain.
Descending off Paradise gives you a pretty good feeling for some of the tamer descents in the Alps. Long straight roads at 8-12% grade, tight switchbacks, and really nice pavement. The road is closed all winter, so the normal freeze-thaw-beatdown cycle doesn't occur. The road stays snow covered until it's warm enough to melt and stay melted, so the pavement is, well, pristine. On a couple of stretches, I was able to glance down at the computer and see 60+, and later confirm 64 as a max speed. Faster than I've ever gone on a bike, before or since. The weather was beautiful for a second day in the row and after a very rapid descent, we had a long climb back up to Chinook Pass.
Chinook Pass is home to a group of the most agressive, gregarious and notorious Camp Robber Jays. As we shared a snack, the birds would land on your hands, head, bike or anywhere that might enable them to steal a bite of your food. Utterly fearless, and just so darn cute.
A quick descent of Chinook Pass, followed by another long (14mi, 3000' vertical) climb to the 6200' high point of the trip at Sunrise visitor's center for lunch. About a mile from the summit, I heard that horrid phttt, phttt, phttt sound coming from my front wheel. A flat... I changed the tire (sewup) and finished the climb. I'll have to admit that on the way back, I really, really watched my speed and the corners on the descent back down! Back on Highway 410, and a long hard ride for the last 40 back to Enumclaw and a much looked forward to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.
If you go, be prepared to bail if the weather doesn't look good. There are lots of rides in Western Washington that can be done in the rain, but Paradise is not one to recommend. Hypothermia is a real danger, and snow is not out of the question. Plus, 100 miles in the rain is just plain miserable.
If you can, divert to Cle Elum or Yakima and ride on the 'dry side'. I love the ride from Yakima up to Cle Elum via the Yakima River canyon. Only 90 miles east of Seattle across the summit of the Cascades, and the weather is totally different on the 'dry side'.
Bring a light jacket or arm warmers (and maybe knee warmers) for early morning. Any good road bike will do, but make sure your brakes and tires are in good shape. You'll be at 40+ for extended periods of time regardless of route. There are/were several small cafes along the route, but be sure to bring enough food to carry you 50+ miles if one is closed. There is really no support of any kind out there in the wild.
I rode this on a steel framed Trek 770 with a 42x25 as the low gear.
Unfortunately, there are no pictures for most of the rides. Most took place in the 1980s or 1990s, before the advent of digital photography - and I didn't pack a 35mm camera along for them. The good news is that they all still exist, the pavement is still good, and the traffic light. But - unless you are in the west, they do require a bit of driving.
At least in the 80s, Cascade Bike Club (I think) sponsored - and that may be overstating the case - a ride called RAMROD. RAMROD stood for "Ride Around Mt Rainier One Day. It's an epic ride, a true beat down covering roughly 195 miles and around 13,000 feet of climbing. Only the truly dedicated will attempt this one, and not nearly everyone finishes. Weather can be a real decider in this event, and the saving grace is that sundown in Seattle in June is nearly 10:00 pm.
And then there was my club. Most of our members were more seasoned business type people - I was one of the young ones at 29 or thereabouts. We decided to do the same route, but called it NIMROD (Not Interested...). The goal was to ride from Enumclaw to Paradise Lodge, overnight there and finish out the next day with the extra climb up to the Sunrise visitor's center and back to Enumclaw. (204 mi, 16,000 vertical)
Truly an epic trip. We started around 7:00 AM, working our way south and east along the park roads. Light traffic, few log trucks on the weekend, and our ever so wonderful support driver in her station wagon with food and water every few miles. The scenery through the Douglas Fir, hemlock and cedar trees is breathtaking. Beautiful glacial fed streams, and an occasional glimpse of the glaciers themselves. It's interesting to note that once you get close to the mountain, you can't actually *see* the mountain. At somewhere around 65 miles in, the group stopped for 'pie'. Not being the brightest bulb on the string that day, I decided to grab a bar and press on up the road. Which was beautiful, and the day was beautiful, and I was riding well and easy and, and well hello there, Mr. Bonk... I've bonked before and since - it happens, but this was ugly. I was 30 minutes or so in front of the group, and absolutely no food. I polished off the last of my water, and continued to crawl up the road. And about a mile later, a family was sitting at a roadside table enjoying a WATERMELON!!! With absolutely no shame, I asked if I could possibly bum a slice of their melon. And thankfully they realized I was harmless and not only gave me all the melon I wanted, but refilled my water bottle and sent me on my way. Awesome people. Tastiest watermelon I've ever eaten!
A few miles further along, I made it to the Paradise parking lot, and only a couple of minutes after that was joined by the lead riders in our group. We had a total of about 30 riders along for the trip, so we continued to trickle in for a while. While waiting, we had a chance to make friends with the world's best fed marmots who hang out around the parking lot cadging handouts from the tourists. They aren't quite tame, but will definitely eat out of your hand.
Paradise Lodge is one of the wonderful National Park lodges built by the WPA in the 1930s, and it's held up pretty well. Low on creature comforts, small bedrooms, shared baths (at least at the time) but well maintained. And the dinner service was anything but ski resort fast food. At this point, I couldn't even begin to tell you what I had, but it was certainly good. Servers in traditional black pants, white shirts and ties. Linen and china, wine poured at the table. Special for a bunch of bikers in shorts and polo shirts, to be sure.
After a beer and a good night's sleep, we got up early enough to watch the sunrise, which is amazing, by the way. A good breakfast (not a buffet) and it was time to put on arm warmers, tuck in a newspaper, say goodbye to Paradise Lodge and head down the mountain.
Descending off Paradise gives you a pretty good feeling for some of the tamer descents in the Alps. Long straight roads at 8-12% grade, tight switchbacks, and really nice pavement. The road is closed all winter, so the normal freeze-thaw-beatdown cycle doesn't occur. The road stays snow covered until it's warm enough to melt and stay melted, so the pavement is, well, pristine. On a couple of stretches, I was able to glance down at the computer and see 60+, and later confirm 64 as a max speed. Faster than I've ever gone on a bike, before or since. The weather was beautiful for a second day in the row and after a very rapid descent, we had a long climb back up to Chinook Pass.
Chinook Pass is home to a group of the most agressive, gregarious and notorious Camp Robber Jays. As we shared a snack, the birds would land on your hands, head, bike or anywhere that might enable them to steal a bite of your food. Utterly fearless, and just so darn cute.
A quick descent of Chinook Pass, followed by another long (14mi, 3000' vertical) climb to the 6200' high point of the trip at Sunrise visitor's center for lunch. About a mile from the summit, I heard that horrid phttt, phttt, phttt sound coming from my front wheel. A flat... I changed the tire (sewup) and finished the climb. I'll have to admit that on the way back, I really, really watched my speed and the corners on the descent back down! Back on Highway 410, and a long hard ride for the last 40 back to Enumclaw and a much looked forward to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.
If you go, be prepared to bail if the weather doesn't look good. There are lots of rides in Western Washington that can be done in the rain, but Paradise is not one to recommend. Hypothermia is a real danger, and snow is not out of the question. Plus, 100 miles in the rain is just plain miserable.
If you can, divert to Cle Elum or Yakima and ride on the 'dry side'. I love the ride from Yakima up to Cle Elum via the Yakima River canyon. Only 90 miles east of Seattle across the summit of the Cascades, and the weather is totally different on the 'dry side'.
Bring a light jacket or arm warmers (and maybe knee warmers) for early morning. Any good road bike will do, but make sure your brakes and tires are in good shape. You'll be at 40+ for extended periods of time regardless of route. There are/were several small cafes along the route, but be sure to bring enough food to carry you 50+ miles if one is closed. There is really no support of any kind out there in the wild.
I rode this on a steel framed Trek 770 with a 42x25 as the low gear.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Leaving the pavement behind
If you grew up riding a bike on unpaved country roads, riding BMX or mountain bikes, then you are probably confused by all the fuss about gravel. After all, it's not nearly as gnarly as hitting a triple jump on a pump track. And if the only way to get to Jimmy's farm two sections over was to get on your bike and ride - what's the fuss?
Shockingly, a lot of the folks interested in trying gravel have never ridden the stuff! And so for those pavement only riders, gravel riding can seem something mysterious, and perhaps a little forbidden or even dangerous. Hopefully we'll take a little of the mystery out, and help you get ready for your first few rides.
Just like pavement, there are all sorts of gravel roads, from freshly dumped beds of 1/2-1" size granite (usually reserved for underlayment before pavement) down to limestone or granite dust that packs down hard and smooth. We rode a recently repaired section of the Minnesota Valley Trail that was smoother and harder than any pavement in town. Probably won't stay that way, but it was smooooth.
'Gravel' also encompasses all manner of dirt roads, roads that the state no longer paves, farm "B-roads" (barely a road?) that are only used at planting and harvest time, 'two track' forest roads, and a whole lot of well maintained gravel that is left unpaved but heavily traveled by cars, tractors, pig haulers, turkey trucks and harvesters. Rounding a corner in farm country and coming face to face with a combine that is 10' wider than the road is always entertaining! A good gravel bike can take you places that you'd really rather not ride a full suspension mountain bike, too. Long headwind rides get pretty numbing on an upright position - which is why we have drop bars and hoods as an option!
Actually learning to ride gravel isn't hard, it's just a matter of progression. For your first rides, find a packet limestone path (like many of the state trails in Wisconsin and a few in Minnesota). You can ride your road bike, hybrid bike, mountain bike or whatever. Get used to how the bike feels. Learn to focus on what's coming in 50 feet and 50 yards ahead, not right in front of your wheel. what you see in front of your wheel will already be under your tire by the time you react. On bumpy roads - like washboard, the best technique is to 'float' slightly off the seat (transfer your weight to your feet as you pedal so you push your butt slightly off the seat) as you see even small bumps. You'll find even this slight bit of suspension will make your ride much more pleasant and cut down on pinch flats.
Next, find a dirt parking lot or baseball diamond at the local park. Practice riding turns on this. Make up slalom games, practice sudden stops and some 'fast' turns. Get used to the feel. Learn to corner with your bike in different angles, and positions. Practice really slow riding. Ride on the grass. Note- in certain regions, be careful with grass. I was in Oklahoma last fall, and learned the hard way about the burrs in a lot of the municipal grass! Two flats, and absolutely ruined a set of tires. Darn goatheads.
Riding gravel takes a bit more energy than an equivalent road ride. Rolling resistance from the surface and knobbier tires, and loose gravel contribute to this energy consumption. I also find that I'm better off dropping my cadence a bit and pedaling in a slightly harder gear. This makes it much easier to float off the seat as mentioned above, and unless all out top speed is needed, is a little easier on energy consumption.. Also, I'm constantly looking at the road for the firmest/smoothest line. Don't be afraid to move back and forth across the road (with an eye on other riders and any traffic). Use common sense, but look for the harder packed surfaces.
One safety note - cars and trucks DO NOT expect riders to be out on 'their' roads. I've rarely had an issue on this, but the place you do not want to be is on the wrong side of the road nearing the crest of a hill or in a blind turn. If you can't see the road, the cars can't see you!
Weight distribution is also important, especially when climbing, braking and cornering. Again, try to look out in front of you, being at least peripherally aware of everything around you.
When climbing, if you find your back wheel slipping, you'll need to scoot back on the seat a bit. This is especially true when climbing out of the saddle.
Cornering, you may want to ride with your bike a bit more upright than you would on the road, which means your weight needs to move inside a bit. Stand on the outside pedal (it's down, of course) with your butt off the saddle, and move your nose over the inside brake lever.
And when descending, make sure your weight stays back and on your pedals, not your butt. This will ensure the bike stays 'sprung' and in contact with the road, not bouncing up and down. It's easy to overthink this, but in terms of function, "the front brake is for stopping, the back brake is for steering." Put another way, the rear brake will lock up easiest, and a sliding back end is not exactly what you want to deal with in most cases.
The bottom line - start out on easy surfaces, fun trails and work your way up to the more challenging unsupported rides and routes. Have a great ride!
~mj
Shockingly, a lot of the folks interested in trying gravel have never ridden the stuff! And so for those pavement only riders, gravel riding can seem something mysterious, and perhaps a little forbidden or even dangerous. Hopefully we'll take a little of the mystery out, and help you get ready for your first few rides.
Just like pavement, there are all sorts of gravel roads, from freshly dumped beds of 1/2-1" size granite (usually reserved for underlayment before pavement) down to limestone or granite dust that packs down hard and smooth. We rode a recently repaired section of the Minnesota Valley Trail that was smoother and harder than any pavement in town. Probably won't stay that way, but it was smooooth.
'Gravel' also encompasses all manner of dirt roads, roads that the state no longer paves, farm "B-roads" (barely a road?) that are only used at planting and harvest time, 'two track' forest roads, and a whole lot of well maintained gravel that is left unpaved but heavily traveled by cars, tractors, pig haulers, turkey trucks and harvesters. Rounding a corner in farm country and coming face to face with a combine that is 10' wider than the road is always entertaining! A good gravel bike can take you places that you'd really rather not ride a full suspension mountain bike, too. Long headwind rides get pretty numbing on an upright position - which is why we have drop bars and hoods as an option!
Actually learning to ride gravel isn't hard, it's just a matter of progression. For your first rides, find a packet limestone path (like many of the state trails in Wisconsin and a few in Minnesota). You can ride your road bike, hybrid bike, mountain bike or whatever. Get used to how the bike feels. Learn to focus on what's coming in 50 feet and 50 yards ahead, not right in front of your wheel. what you see in front of your wheel will already be under your tire by the time you react. On bumpy roads - like washboard, the best technique is to 'float' slightly off the seat (transfer your weight to your feet as you pedal so you push your butt slightly off the seat) as you see even small bumps. You'll find even this slight bit of suspension will make your ride much more pleasant and cut down on pinch flats.
Next, find a dirt parking lot or baseball diamond at the local park. Practice riding turns on this. Make up slalom games, practice sudden stops and some 'fast' turns. Get used to the feel. Learn to corner with your bike in different angles, and positions. Practice really slow riding. Ride on the grass. Note- in certain regions, be careful with grass. I was in Oklahoma last fall, and learned the hard way about the burrs in a lot of the municipal grass! Two flats, and absolutely ruined a set of tires. Darn goatheads.
Riding gravel takes a bit more energy than an equivalent road ride. Rolling resistance from the surface and knobbier tires, and loose gravel contribute to this energy consumption. I also find that I'm better off dropping my cadence a bit and pedaling in a slightly harder gear. This makes it much easier to float off the seat as mentioned above, and unless all out top speed is needed, is a little easier on energy consumption.. Also, I'm constantly looking at the road for the firmest/smoothest line. Don't be afraid to move back and forth across the road (with an eye on other riders and any traffic). Use common sense, but look for the harder packed surfaces.
One safety note - cars and trucks DO NOT expect riders to be out on 'their' roads. I've rarely had an issue on this, but the place you do not want to be is on the wrong side of the road nearing the crest of a hill or in a blind turn. If you can't see the road, the cars can't see you!
Weight distribution is also important, especially when climbing, braking and cornering. Again, try to look out in front of you, being at least peripherally aware of everything around you.
When climbing, if you find your back wheel slipping, you'll need to scoot back on the seat a bit. This is especially true when climbing out of the saddle.
Cornering, you may want to ride with your bike a bit more upright than you would on the road, which means your weight needs to move inside a bit. Stand on the outside pedal (it's down, of course) with your butt off the saddle, and move your nose over the inside brake lever.
And when descending, make sure your weight stays back and on your pedals, not your butt. This will ensure the bike stays 'sprung' and in contact with the road, not bouncing up and down. It's easy to overthink this, but in terms of function, "the front brake is for stopping, the back brake is for steering." Put another way, the rear brake will lock up easiest, and a sliding back end is not exactly what you want to deal with in most cases.
The bottom line - start out on easy surfaces, fun trails and work your way up to the more challenging unsupported rides and routes. Have a great ride!
~mj
Friday, December 5, 2014
Test driving gravel bikes
This is sort of a 'part 2' of yesterday's post.
What makes a good gravel bike? Opinions vary, but I'll try to give a few thoughts on what makes one good to me.
Note - even if you fall in love with the very first bike you ride, you owe it to yourself to ride several more. This is a major purchase - you may like every one you ride, but to be sure - one will talk to you.
First and foremost, it's got to fit you. My preference is to have it sized just a little more upright than my 'best fit' for a road bike. Most gravel bikes will be set up with a slightly wider bar which makes the position feel 'right'. You want to make sure you don't have an overlap between your toes and front wheel (toeclip overlap). While this isn't a big deal on the road, I think it's a lot more of an issue on gravel. You are a lot more likely to encounter 'awkward positions' that entail very low speed turns like going up a steep hill and tacking back & forth.
How does the saddle feel? Start out with it dead flat, and adjusted to 1/4" less than your road saddle height (you did bring your own shoes and pedals, right?). Why the difference? Most people find they push back a little bit more, and the extra reach gives better leverage at lower cadence. You may find it better at the same height. I have the same length cranks on both road and gravel, and set my seat about 1/8" lower than road. My bars are about 1/2" closer at the flats, and almost an inch closer at the hoods (different bar).
Run up and down through the gears. How does it shift? Does it feel right to you? If not, ask the shop guys to check it and make sure everything is adjusted well. And do the brakes work without squealing or shuddering? Be careful how hard you grab disc brakes until you get used to them. It's very easy to lock up the brakes even on dry, clean pavement. This will take a bit to get used to the action.
When you test ride, make sure the tires are pumped up to something like 60 psi. I did a test ride, and the very diligent shop guy pumped the tires up to the rated 90 psi and sent me out. I got all the way around the corner before I dropped the pressure to around 50 psi for the rest of the ride. When I got back, the other shop guy apologized for sending me out on such low pressure. I spent a few minutes educating the guys on 'good' gravel riding pressure and why it wasn't the sidewall pressure.
Try to find a sidewalk or some rough, crappy pavement that you'd ordinarily avoid and ride that. You still can't bang into lips, breaks and potholes, but normal breaks in the sidewalk are perfect. You should get a feel for how the bike handles rougher stuff. If you need a reminder, borrow a road bike with properly pumped road tires and ride that first. You'll get the idea.
Next, take it around a few corners, progressively faster. Not criterium fast (if you've ever ridden crits), but see how it feels. Make sure it doesn't 'push' (want to keep going straight) when you corner. This is often where bikes will emit a very Zen-like 'Ommmm.' The right bike will 'flow' around the turn.
And now climb. Climb in the saddle, climb out of the saddle. It's a sad thing, but most bike shops are located on the flats, and away from hills. Try to find *something* to climb. You should feel connected to the bike - not flopping around when you climb, and without a bunch of flex in the bottom bracket. Hint - if you hear the front derailleur rub when you climb, the bottom bracket is flexing.
Finally, try some fast riding. If you can go downhill, make sure it feels OK. Any twitchy feeling? If so, it will feel more pronounced at full speed on gravel. Make *sure* it feels right to *you*. Most things can be fixed. A noodle-ey, twitchy bike on a long downhill is one thing you can't fix. A good bike should feel solid, not bouncing around, and not require tons of steering input to hold it on line.
Make sure you can reach the water bottle without difficulty, that 2 bottles fit, and that you understand how to take off the front wheel, the rear wheel and more importantly put them back on!
Now go ride your new bike!
~mj
What makes a good gravel bike? Opinions vary, but I'll try to give a few thoughts on what makes one good to me.
Note - even if you fall in love with the very first bike you ride, you owe it to yourself to ride several more. This is a major purchase - you may like every one you ride, but to be sure - one will talk to you.
First and foremost, it's got to fit you. My preference is to have it sized just a little more upright than my 'best fit' for a road bike. Most gravel bikes will be set up with a slightly wider bar which makes the position feel 'right'. You want to make sure you don't have an overlap between your toes and front wheel (toeclip overlap). While this isn't a big deal on the road, I think it's a lot more of an issue on gravel. You are a lot more likely to encounter 'awkward positions' that entail very low speed turns like going up a steep hill and tacking back & forth.
How does the saddle feel? Start out with it dead flat, and adjusted to 1/4" less than your road saddle height (you did bring your own shoes and pedals, right?). Why the difference? Most people find they push back a little bit more, and the extra reach gives better leverage at lower cadence. You may find it better at the same height. I have the same length cranks on both road and gravel, and set my seat about 1/8" lower than road. My bars are about 1/2" closer at the flats, and almost an inch closer at the hoods (different bar).
Run up and down through the gears. How does it shift? Does it feel right to you? If not, ask the shop guys to check it and make sure everything is adjusted well. And do the brakes work without squealing or shuddering? Be careful how hard you grab disc brakes until you get used to them. It's very easy to lock up the brakes even on dry, clean pavement. This will take a bit to get used to the action.
Try to find a sidewalk or some rough, crappy pavement that you'd ordinarily avoid and ride that. You still can't bang into lips, breaks and potholes, but normal breaks in the sidewalk are perfect. You should get a feel for how the bike handles rougher stuff. If you need a reminder, borrow a road bike with properly pumped road tires and ride that first. You'll get the idea.
Next, take it around a few corners, progressively faster. Not criterium fast (if you've ever ridden crits), but see how it feels. Make sure it doesn't 'push' (want to keep going straight) when you corner. This is often where bikes will emit a very Zen-like 'Ommmm.' The right bike will 'flow' around the turn.
And now climb. Climb in the saddle, climb out of the saddle. It's a sad thing, but most bike shops are located on the flats, and away from hills. Try to find *something* to climb. You should feel connected to the bike - not flopping around when you climb, and without a bunch of flex in the bottom bracket. Hint - if you hear the front derailleur rub when you climb, the bottom bracket is flexing.
Finally, try some fast riding. If you can go downhill, make sure it feels OK. Any twitchy feeling? If so, it will feel more pronounced at full speed on gravel. Make *sure* it feels right to *you*. Most things can be fixed. A noodle-ey, twitchy bike on a long downhill is one thing you can't fix. A good bike should feel solid, not bouncing around, and not require tons of steering input to hold it on line.
Make sure you can reach the water bottle without difficulty, that 2 bottles fit, and that you understand how to take off the front wheel, the rear wheel and more importantly put them back on!
Now go ride your new bike!
~mj
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Picking out and equipping a new gravel bike
I love my gravel bike. I built it pretty much like I wanted it, but I know not everyone has the time, expertise or desire to build up their own bike. Like every IT project, every bike purchase needs to start with a set of requirements. These can be a little fuzzy, but you do need to have some. And it's OK to recognize that you may not get it perfect. If you haven't ridden a lot of gravel already, I'll almost guarantee that you'll wind up with bike lust again after a year or so simply because you'll know more, skills will have improved, and you'll have a better idea of the type of riding you want to do. It's OK - it's just a tool, you aren't married to the bike. Just get a different one.
I'm a big believer in "just a bike". Too many people go for a bike that has unique handling characteristics, a really cool custom paint job, super relaxed (or twitchy) geometry, or an unusual design (like the Cannondale lefty fork). Unless you are a builder or manufacturer, gravel bikes are TOOLS to be ridden hard, occasionally put a way damp, and a fancy paint job is going to get trashed - or you aren't riding hard enough! Just a bike.
Any old cyclocross bike will do quite well, but most have limits on tire width, have a tall bottom bracket (for clearance, rim brakes and the kind of handling CX requires), and few brazeons.
Picking out your requirements (in order of priority):
The big thing is to go ride at least a handful of bikes. You probably won't be able to ride gravel, but you can often sneak off onto into a park and onto a soccer field or baseball diamond to at least get a feel for 'off pavement'. Ride the bike, ride another bike, ride another bike. One of them will sing to you. PAY ATTENTION!!!
Granted, this is *my* priority list. Your choices may be in a different order or have different criteria. These will give you an idea of what to think about. I am working from the assumption that most people will be on road bikes now. If all you've ever ridden is mountain, the information is still about right, but I'd steer you toward a 29er with 35-38mm tires, flat bars and no suspension.
Where are you going to ride?
If your plan is to just ride on the Wisconsin 'gravel' state trails, you will approach several of these choices differently. On the other hand, if you have dreams of the Dirty Kanza, Land Rush 100, or Rebecca's Private Idaho, you'll want to select on the 'beefier' side of things.
Price point.
Start out by figuring out what you can afford to spend. This is probably the most important criteria, since it will set out components choices, frame materials and other choices. Within a given price point (like $1000, $1500, etc), most bikes will have a very similar group of components. The brands may change, but the quality and weight are very similar. It'll be the minor details that help with your choices.
Brakes
Price point is really going to drive your frame material choice, but within a range, you'll probably have the option of disc or rim brakes. After riding both rim brakes and disc brakes this season, often on back-back days, my jury is in. I have bought my last rim brake bike. Disc stops better, allows more rim choice, better modulation of power, and they stop better.
Tires
Pick your tires based on where you ride. Maybe you'll even want a couple of sets. I have 28mm tires for the road only, and 38mm tires for gravel, plus a set or two in between. If you are spending 1500 and up for a bike, you can afford an extra set of tires for smooth cinder trails and the road if it matters. Otherwise, go with as wide as you can cleanly fit in your frame, and look for something moderately smooth in the middle with knobs out on the edge. Something like a Clement MSO or Challenge Gravel Grinder. And if you can afford them, I'm very partial to Challenge Latex inner tubes. Thinner, lighter, and more puncture resistant.
Wheels
The late Steve Hed designed possibly the ultimate gravel rim - the HED Belgium C2+. The wide rim gives you extra volume, a better ride, lower rolling resistance, and probably folds your laundry while you sleep. In any case, I firmly believe they'll improve the ride, comfort and handling of any bike.
Frame material
Everybody seems to have a preference. I've heard all the 'steel is real', 'buzzy aluminum' and 'harsh carbon' comments, Bah. Steel rusts, aluminum is inexpensive and can be formed to make laterally stiff, vertically compliant frames, and carbon can be tuned to perfection. At lower price points, steel or aluminum dominate, at the upper reaches, expect carbon or titanium. Ti is a great material, but is difficult to form, and expensive. Any buzz from aluminum can be dampened out with good bar tape. A purpose designed 'gravel' frame will have a longer stay and more relaxed fork, which will also smooth out the ride. And yes, I'm in love with my Foundry Auger, and highly recommend it, but there are plenty of other good rides out there.
Drivetrain
At a given price point, you'll get what you get, and unless your price point is <$500, you'll get pretty good. BUT - look for, or talk to your LBS about getting 'cyclocross gearing' or even more custom. 36x46 or 34x44 front rings will give you plenty of top end gears and still allow for a low-low without resorting to that hideous combo known as a triple. In fact, it is possible to set up Shimano Ultegra 10 with an older Shimano XTR 9 speed derailleur and use an 11-36 rear cluster, which will give you a 1:1 ratio on steep climbs. I've only walked once this year, and have climbed numerous 14%+ grades.
Cockpit
Stay with Aluminum stems and bars. Period. Carbon bars are a lot better than they used to be, but they still should be regarded as 'one bounce', and may snap at the worst possible moment after that. I'm really partial to Ritchey WCS stems, tape, and Salsa Cowbell bars. There are any number of other good brands on the market, this happens to be my preference.
Accessories
Bags - start with a seat bag. Banjo Brothers and Revelator both make great bags that expand and provide some level of waterproofing. Add a frame bag for really long rides, and maybe a Bento box if you really want to. For rides under 100 miles, I find that I can fit everything in my tail pack, jersey pockets. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Cages - you want something secure. I'm sold on the Arundel Sport cages. Cheap, light, idiotproof.
Lights - lots of good choices out there. I'm picking up a set of Seca 1700 Enduro. Bright, long life, and easy to mount. Did I mention bright?
And that's a short list of picking out your own gravel bike. See you next spring at the Miesville 56 or maybe the ride formerly known as Almanzo.
~mj
Saturday, November 29, 2014
2000 mile review - Foundry Auger +
If you've read my initial thoughts on the Foundry Auger "Plus", I fairly gushed about my intents and early thoughts on how it rode. Now that I've got a couple of thousand miles of road, gravel and
everything in between, I thought I'd share a few more thoughts at the end of a season's riding.
First, I'm still in love with this bike. I've had a number of bikes over the years, and my riding style/goals have certainly changed as I've aged. Bikes that felt good 20-30 years ago now are overly twitchy. What felt just right for crits is not much fun to bump along on backroads. And frankly, I don't care. I'm not riding crits, time trials or road races. The occasional road gran fondo can be ridden just fine on a responsive cyclocross bike (with decent brakes, of course).
One of my original changes was to go with the thru-axle fork, and I've been very (very, very) pleased with the choice. I like the total lack of ambiguity in steering, and I don't notice any bad habits with jarring or buzz from the stiffer front end. The overall configuration of the Auger helps here too - good vertical compliance, but rock solid lateral stiffness at the bottom bracket. I've noticed no click/creak in the BB30 either. A couple of people have asked why I use the heavier, cheaper Gossamer crankset instead of one of the more svelte carbon ones. The answer is pretty simple - it's bulletproof. Not that much heavier, 1/3 the price, no flex, no bad habits. Understate, overperform.
A couple of changes I've made since the original configuration. I think I'm swapping the saddle back over to my old favorite Selle Italia Flite '91 instead of the more current Flite, complete with center relief. This thing has just never felt quite right, although it's a pretty comfy saddle most of the time.
Also, I have changed tires. I still think the Challenge Almanzos are one of the best tires I've ridden, I've had no problems with them, and no complaints about the way they ride or durability. But then I got on a pair of Challenge Gravel Grinders, 38mm and in basic black. Whoa... what a feeling. These tires are marked '3 bar' for racing on the sidewall, which seems just about perfect for mixed surface use. I've ridden road paceline at 23-25mph, paved descents at 45+, and gravel drops at over 40. They fly. With latex tubes, they don't have a bouncy 'ping' to larger rocks, and really smooth out pavement cracks, rough roads and track through loose gravel amazingly well. Yeah, these are a keeper. The only downside is that the tread life may not be super great, which isn't really surprising since they weren't intended for a lot of road use. I've got to rotate front to back to balance wear. I'd love a set of 35-38mm road tires with the characteristics, but a harder compound and more of a road profile. Maybe name them IARBGARs or something.
To date, the only adjusting I've had to do was to the brakes. I *did* find that the bosses for the Whisky 9 match up to a 140mm rotor (options?, don't know), so I added the bar to move it to 160mm. After a couple of rides, I noticed an occasional clicking, which I finally traced to an slight interference between the edge of the rotor and the caliper. Huh? What? So I started to look at moving washers under the caliper - and realized that the bar could be turned around and then it lined up perfectly. Again, who knew? I'll rack that up to unfamiliarity with proper adjustment...
I've got my bike for the next few years. Anybody want a really nice Ridley Noah?
Future tweaks and enhancements.
- 1000 lumen headlight set. Night riding on commuter lights isn't bad if you are in town and there's lots of ambient light. Pretty sketchy on gravel though.
- Different rotors. The stock TRP rotors have a tendency to 'sing', and growl/grind under braking. I'll put on some kind of 2 piece rotor to see if that improves things.
- 2nd set of wheels, configured more for road. Fewer spokes, smaller freewheel (like an 11-26 instead of 11-36).
Foundry pushes the 'workman' status of their bikes, and I agree. Not the lightest, not the sexiest, but it tops the 'just a bike' list, And that's a high compliment in my mind. No bad habits, nothing to snark about, just a bike. Again, understate and overperform. Chapeau, Foundry.
First, I'm still in love with this bike. I've had a number of bikes over the years, and my riding style/goals have certainly changed as I've aged. Bikes that felt good 20-30 years ago now are overly twitchy. What felt just right for crits is not much fun to bump along on backroads. And frankly, I don't care. I'm not riding crits, time trials or road races. The occasional road gran fondo can be ridden just fine on a responsive cyclocross bike (with decent brakes, of course).
One of my original changes was to go with the thru-axle fork, and I've been very (very, very) pleased with the choice. I like the total lack of ambiguity in steering, and I don't notice any bad habits with jarring or buzz from the stiffer front end. The overall configuration of the Auger helps here too - good vertical compliance, but rock solid lateral stiffness at the bottom bracket. I've noticed no click/creak in the BB30 either. A couple of people have asked why I use the heavier, cheaper Gossamer crankset instead of one of the more svelte carbon ones. The answer is pretty simple - it's bulletproof. Not that much heavier, 1/3 the price, no flex, no bad habits. Understate, overperform.
A couple of changes I've made since the original configuration. I think I'm swapping the saddle back over to my old favorite Selle Italia Flite '91 instead of the more current Flite, complete with center relief. This thing has just never felt quite right, although it's a pretty comfy saddle most of the time.
 |
| 15% pavement descent on LaCrosse Gravel race |
To date, the only adjusting I've had to do was to the brakes. I *did* find that the bosses for the Whisky 9 match up to a 140mm rotor (options?, don't know), so I added the bar to move it to 160mm. After a couple of rides, I noticed an occasional clicking, which I finally traced to an slight interference between the edge of the rotor and the caliper. Huh? What? So I started to look at moving washers under the caliper - and realized that the bar could be turned around and then it lined up perfectly. Again, who knew? I'll rack that up to unfamiliarity with proper adjustment...
I've got my bike for the next few years. Anybody want a really nice Ridley Noah?
Future tweaks and enhancements.
- 1000 lumen headlight set. Night riding on commuter lights isn't bad if you are in town and there's lots of ambient light. Pretty sketchy on gravel though.
- Different rotors. The stock TRP rotors have a tendency to 'sing', and growl/grind under braking. I'll put on some kind of 2 piece rotor to see if that improves things.
- 2nd set of wheels, configured more for road. Fewer spokes, smaller freewheel (like an 11-26 instead of 11-36).
Foundry pushes the 'workman' status of their bikes, and I agree. Not the lightest, not the sexiest, but it tops the 'just a bike' list, And that's a high compliment in my mind. No bad habits, nothing to snark about, just a bike. Again, understate and overperform. Chapeau, Foundry.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Southern Rock playlist
I grew up in Alabama. Never listened to country, never listened to much rock. Mostly it was top 40, American Bandstand type stuff. In high school, it was more Elton John, Eagles, Who, and other groups of the early 70s. Somewhere along the line in the mid 70s, I started acquiring these 'tastes' for things like country, folk and 'Southern Rock'. Yep, it's its own genre with a fairly identifiable sound (to me, at least) usually featuring a virtuoso lead electric guitar and often a fiddle or pedal steel harmony. Here's at least a pretty good representation, in no particular order.
- Can't you see - Marshall Tucker Band. Great vocals, Long haired country boys, and a flute. It's hard to pick just one MTB song. 'What that woman, Lord, she been doin' to me"
- Blue Sky - Dickie Betts and Great South. Great guitar riffs. I originally heard him do this in concert - awesome jam band. Blue Sky is probably better known as an Allman Bros tune, but they often played the same shows. "Walk along the river. Sweet lullaby"
- Trudy - Charlie Daniels Band. Daniels is known now as being sort of a country boy, but in his prime, he had one heck of a Southern rock sound. "Took half the cops in Dallas County, just to put one Coon Ass boy in jail." Still saws a mean fiddle.
- Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band. Like most of the Southern Rock bands, the Allman Brothers had a strong blues influence. Unlike most bands, they had Duane Allman on lead. Screw the lyrics, listen to Duane.
- Hurry Sundown - The Outlaws. "They were waiting on the ghost of an outlaw, Sundown was his name..." Storytelling, shades of Texas, 1876.
- Doraville - Atlanta Rhythm Section. A suburb of Atlanta - I don't think it's the same today, but in the 70s, it was the home of recording studios, bands, and parties.
- Keep on Smilin' - Wet Willie. More laid back than the hard driving guitar leads of many bands. "Well they say you've got the blues..."
- Third Rate Romance - Amazing Rhythm Aces. A little more country blues. Really solid harmonies. "Third rate romance, low rent rendezvous"
- Heard it in a love song - Marshall Tucker Band. Vocally and musically about as far from "Can't you see" and "Fire on the Mountain" as you can get. Still big with the flute, but much more fluid, softer style. "I never had a damn thing, but what I had, had to leave it behind. You're the hardest thing I ever tried to get off my mind"
- Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd. Possibly the song most likely to be requested by barroom drunks regardless of venue. And one of the most recognizable anthems for *any* rock genre. "I'm as free as a bird, man. And this bird you cannot change, whoa oh oh,"
Enjoy. Comments always welcome.
Monday, November 17, 2014
What am I listening to now?
It's winter out there. Winter elicits thoughts of bar music, warm nights in front of the fire, maybe a concert or two. At the moment, I'm leaning toward the classics with a little bit of newer stuff.
As with most of my playlists, this is pretty athematic. But, I tend to listen to things I find interesting - not necessarily current.
As with most of my playlists, this is pretty athematic. But, I tend to listen to things I find interesting - not necessarily current.
- Rosalita - Bruce Springsteen. It's got a great energy and typical interesting lyrics. Nobody - nobody works harder at a concert than The Boss.
- Crazy on you. Heart. Saw them on TV not long ago. The Wilson sisters look sort of like suburban ladies of a certain age, but they Still sound great.
- Smuggler's Blues - Glen Frey(Eagles). Shades of Miami and Don Johnson, 1985.
- Sweet Child o' Mine - Sheryl Crow. I love the GnR version too.
- Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne. ... was I unwise, to keep them open for so long???
- Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix. What more can be said?
- Wonder - Natalie Merchant. I think this was her first hit after 10,000 Maniacs. Great lyrics.
- Don't look back - Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger. All sorts of stories about Jagger being smashed, crashing the recording session. Who knows if it's true or not?
- Can't find my way home - Blind Faith. Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton - two of the best artists from any decade. Winwood has a haunting quality to his voice.
- Teenage Wasteland - The Who. One of the best, from one of the very best rock groups ever.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
And suddenly we're skiing
Wow. That was unexpected.
On Monday of this week, we got hit with anywhere from an inch to about 15 inches in the Twin Cities metro area. It is November, and it certainly has been known to snow early and heavy (the infamous Halloween Blizzard of 1991, Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940), but we really weren't expecting it until late last week. Novak Weather started predicting a change in the storm track, and it kept adjusting from 100 miles south of the metro to about 50mi north.
Anyway, we now have enough snow in the Minneapolis area to make riding very difficult without a fat bike (next year's project), running less fun than it normally is, and paddling out of the question. So even on fairly thin snow cover, ski season starts on Saturday. It should be a great day to get out, use some muscle groups that have been completely ignored, try out some wax and get a few kilometers in. With luck, a few pictures after.
On Monday of this week, we got hit with anywhere from an inch to about 15 inches in the Twin Cities metro area. It is November, and it certainly has been known to snow early and heavy (the infamous Halloween Blizzard of 1991, Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940), but we really weren't expecting it until late last week. Novak Weather started predicting a change in the storm track, and it kept adjusting from 100 miles south of the metro to about 50mi north.
Anyway, we now have enough snow in the Minneapolis area to make riding very difficult without a fat bike (next year's project), running less fun than it normally is, and paddling out of the question. So even on fairly thin snow cover, ski season starts on Saturday. It should be a great day to get out, use some muscle groups that have been completely ignored, try out some wax and get a few kilometers in. With luck, a few pictures after.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Identifying and recruiting talented athletes to sprint kayaking
Give us your tired, your broken of body, yearning to do something other than the sport their parents have been dragging them to since they were four...
Or words to that effect anyway.
I coach Olympic style sprint kayaking. I love doing it. I love working with some of the best young athletes around. But it's a pretty limited pool around Minnesota. For one thing, the water's a little hard to paddle on about 5 months of the year since it's frozen 3 feet thick. For another, a lot of people have this obsession with hockey in this state, and a firm conviction in parent's minds that if little Jane or Johnny doesn't make the traveling team by six, it's going to be so hard to keep up and be on that State Championship team when they are juniors, so that they can take their senior year to try for the National team and... and...
I'm starting to think I need to steal a page from the ambulance chasing lawyers and start hanging out at the ortho clinics. "Hey buddy, sorry to hear you blew out your ACL, MCL and patella. Why don't you come out and try paddling? With your power, I bet you can make the National team in 2 years" and "It's OK Mom, it's cheaper than a season's ice time" (not to mention a lot easier on the medical insurance co-pays).
All kidding aside, I am starting to talk to ortho friends and am working with one of the clinics to get a talk scheduled on 'competition alternatives' for their clients. A couple of target sports are football and hockey, gymnastics, and basketball. You might not think about basketballers, but anybody who can post up and drive the key has awesome physical attributes.
We've got 2 K-4s -- 35 feet long, 20" wide and tippy beyond belief until you get enough core strength to paddle them. My goal is to find enough athletes to paddle them well that we can take podiums at Nationals this year.
Give me your strong of heart, burning still with desire to compete. We just might have a seat for you.
Or words to that effect anyway.
I coach Olympic style sprint kayaking. I love doing it. I love working with some of the best young athletes around. But it's a pretty limited pool around Minnesota. For one thing, the water's a little hard to paddle on about 5 months of the year since it's frozen 3 feet thick. For another, a lot of people have this obsession with hockey in this state, and a firm conviction in parent's minds that if little Jane or Johnny doesn't make the traveling team by six, it's going to be so hard to keep up and be on that State Championship team when they are juniors, so that they can take their senior year to try for the National team and... and...
I'm starting to think I need to steal a page from the ambulance chasing lawyers and start hanging out at the ortho clinics. "Hey buddy, sorry to hear you blew out your ACL, MCL and patella. Why don't you come out and try paddling? With your power, I bet you can make the National team in 2 years" and "It's OK Mom, it's cheaper than a season's ice time" (not to mention a lot easier on the medical insurance co-pays).
All kidding aside, I am starting to talk to ortho friends and am working with one of the clinics to get a talk scheduled on 'competition alternatives' for their clients. A couple of target sports are football and hockey, gymnastics, and basketball. You might not think about basketballers, but anybody who can post up and drive the key has awesome physical attributes.
We've got 2 K-4s -- 35 feet long, 20" wide and tippy beyond belief until you get enough core strength to paddle them. My goal is to find enough athletes to paddle them well that we can take podiums at Nationals this year.
Give me your strong of heart, burning still with desire to compete. We just might have a seat for you.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Plus one more
Earlier this year I did a post called "Plus One". Not a meaningful post, more a riff on how garages tend to fill up with bikes, boats, skis, golf clubs or whatever "because they do".
Nature abhors a vacuum, and since I am not coaching high school Nordic, I seem to have time on my hands to look at some other opportunities. More to come on a couple of those later, but I'm also busily dreaming my way into another bike. It has to be a 'plus zero' this time - sell one (or two) before building a new one. I've decided to build a fat bike next year. I'm still not sure what it will be - single speed, 1x11, internal or just what, but that's part of the fun of doing a build. All I can say at this point is it won't be some pipe steel clunker with 42 bottle mounts. I know there are lots of folks who love steel bikes, but I'm not one of them. I don't miss the BB flex, don't miss the noodle-like response, and don't miss the weight.
To pay for this little exercise, I need to sell a couple of bikes that just aren't getting used. My favorite road bike, 2nd favorite of all time behind my 1985 Raleigh 531 (long gone), is my Ridley Noah. Actually, it's not my favorite any more. My single speed OPAAT CX bike and my Auger Plus have both surpassed it in terms of utility, miles ridden, and likelihood of being pulled out for a club ride. It's a great bike - fast, non-twitchy, climbs and sprints like a dream, but it's not a bike my well-seasoned butt wants to be on for a long day. Time to move it along to some young buck who wants a screaming fast ride. Seriously for sale, make realistic offer!
So follow along over the winter as I agonize over hubs, rims, components, frames and such. My bike lust can be your opportunity for a little schadenfreude, and in the end we might all learn something.
In any case, it'll be fun.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and since I am not coaching high school Nordic, I seem to have time on my hands to look at some other opportunities. More to come on a couple of those later, but I'm also busily dreaming my way into another bike. It has to be a 'plus zero' this time - sell one (or two) before building a new one. I've decided to build a fat bike next year. I'm still not sure what it will be - single speed, 1x11, internal or just what, but that's part of the fun of doing a build. All I can say at this point is it won't be some pipe steel clunker with 42 bottle mounts. I know there are lots of folks who love steel bikes, but I'm not one of them. I don't miss the BB flex, don't miss the noodle-like response, and don't miss the weight.
To pay for this little exercise, I need to sell a couple of bikes that just aren't getting used. My favorite road bike, 2nd favorite of all time behind my 1985 Raleigh 531 (long gone), is my Ridley Noah. Actually, it's not my favorite any more. My single speed OPAAT CX bike and my Auger Plus have both surpassed it in terms of utility, miles ridden, and likelihood of being pulled out for a club ride. It's a great bike - fast, non-twitchy, climbs and sprints like a dream, but it's not a bike my well-seasoned butt wants to be on for a long day. Time to move it along to some young buck who wants a screaming fast ride. Seriously for sale, make realistic offer!
So follow along over the winter as I agonize over hubs, rims, components, frames and such. My bike lust can be your opportunity for a little schadenfreude, and in the end we might all learn something.
In any case, it'll be fun.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Carolina Rain
We had to forego our trip to the Carolinas this year - too many other things on the burner, and something had to give.
I'm in love with the 'mountain sound' - not quite bluegrass, definitely not 'trucks, babes and beer' of Nashville. When it's just right, it sounds like you are sitting around the general store stove, or hanging out in someone's barn listening to a group that's playing for a meal, maybe some gas money and a place to stay for the night.
There are some incredible musicians working out of North Carolina and other points these days. This post is about some groups that I think help define a 'sound' you are likely to hear from Asheville, High Point or Chapel Hill. The common points to me are good melodies, tight vocals and harmonies, and great instrumental breaks. A great base line helps. In any case, the sound is as old as the hills, but somehow very fresh.
A really good example of this is the bottle rocket group "The Biscuit Burners". I never fell in love with their later albums, vastly preferring their very first. The vocals were pure mountains, and from another era - probably more like another century. Listen to Mountain Lily:
"Oh wild red, mountain lily. Set on my bedside tonight. Wild red, mountain lily, remind me of my true lover's hand".
Drop most of the hard consonants "wil' red, moun'n lily, 'min' me of my true lover's han'" and sing it with a beautiful Carolina drawl, and you've got it.
Unfortunately, I think the group is on permanent "hiatus", but their first album "Fiery Mountain Music" still goes down as one of my all time favorites. "Mountain Lily", "Once upon a time", "Moonshine Whiskey" and probably my favorite - "Mono County Jail". It took me months to figure out the lyrics to that one.
Some others that are creeping into my regular playlists now:
Deep Chatham - "Carolina Rain" - Banjo, mando and bass. And solid vocals.
Mandolin Orange - "One more down" - great vocals, understated mandolin lead. Too often, mando players think they have to be Sam Bush or Chris Theile. This is so clean, simple sounding and just fits perfectly.
Playing on the Planet - "Waltz of the Thirteen Moons" and "Thirteen Moons" Big plug for my buddy Lisa's band - more varied than some of the groups, but the sound comes straight from the mountains. Listen to the two songs in order - you can feel the sadness and ghosts in the waltz.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - "Alabama Pines" - more country or Phil Phillips, but I still like it a lot
I'm in love with the 'mountain sound' - not quite bluegrass, definitely not 'trucks, babes and beer' of Nashville. When it's just right, it sounds like you are sitting around the general store stove, or hanging out in someone's barn listening to a group that's playing for a meal, maybe some gas money and a place to stay for the night.
There are some incredible musicians working out of North Carolina and other points these days. This post is about some groups that I think help define a 'sound' you are likely to hear from Asheville, High Point or Chapel Hill. The common points to me are good melodies, tight vocals and harmonies, and great instrumental breaks. A great base line helps. In any case, the sound is as old as the hills, but somehow very fresh.
A really good example of this is the bottle rocket group "The Biscuit Burners". I never fell in love with their later albums, vastly preferring their very first. The vocals were pure mountains, and from another era - probably more like another century. Listen to Mountain Lily:
"Oh wild red, mountain lily. Set on my bedside tonight. Wild red, mountain lily, remind me of my true lover's hand".
Drop most of the hard consonants "wil' red, moun'n lily, 'min' me of my true lover's han'" and sing it with a beautiful Carolina drawl, and you've got it.
Unfortunately, I think the group is on permanent "hiatus", but their first album "Fiery Mountain Music" still goes down as one of my all time favorites. "Mountain Lily", "Once upon a time", "Moonshine Whiskey" and probably my favorite - "Mono County Jail". It took me months to figure out the lyrics to that one.
Some others that are creeping into my regular playlists now:
Deep Chatham - "Carolina Rain" - Banjo, mando and bass. And solid vocals.
Mandolin Orange - "One more down" - great vocals, understated mandolin lead. Too often, mando players think they have to be Sam Bush or Chris Theile. This is so clean, simple sounding and just fits perfectly.
Playing on the Planet - "Waltz of the Thirteen Moons" and "Thirteen Moons" Big plug for my buddy Lisa's band - more varied than some of the groups, but the sound comes straight from the mountains. Listen to the two songs in order - you can feel the sadness and ghosts in the waltz.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - "Alabama Pines" - more country or Phil Phillips, but I still like it a lot
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Fall Riding
Fall is a great time of year to get out on bikes for a few last rides. It's difficult to pass up days when the air is getting crisper, leaves are brilliantly colored, and there are far fewer people on the trails in the metro. This morning was such a day - 45 degrees, with the expectation that it would warm to 65 or so. Doug and I started out at Hopkins on the Minnesota River Bluffs trail, and with the exception of a couple of missed turns (like where the map shows the trail going under the road, but the trail actually goes up and across the 4 lane on an overpass), we had a great ride. Easy "slow-roll" pace, good conversation, nice scenery - the perfect way to spend an October Sunday morning.
Riding the hard packed limestone trails of Minneapolis doesn't really require any sort of special tires. You could do it just fine on 23mm road tires, but I can tell you without question that the wider tires like Clement MSOs, or [my favorite] Challenge Gravel Grinders are the cat's pajamas. The Challenge GGs are great at 45-48psi(3bar) - I had them pumped too high on my last ride, and they didn't feel nearly as smooth. At 3bar, they absolutely float over gravel and bumps.
Fall riding is a time for easy distance, conversational speed, maybe a nice cup of coffee along the way. It's too cold to paddle, too warm to ski, and too noisy to hike. It's a great time of the year.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Fall Playlist
I've been varying my playlists, adding artists new and old. For this list, most of the artists have 'been around a while', but the music still speaks to me - particularly compared to the current "lake, truck, beer, butts' model of songwriting. (Is there a program that just spits this stuff out?)
Criteria for the list was simple - I heard it/saw it on youtube or already had it on my library and it seemed to fit..
"The road goes on forever" - Robert Earl Keen - It's probably his signature song, but it's still good, rowdy fun.
Tecumseh Valley" - Townes Van Zandt - another great ballad from TVZ.
"Dead Flowers" - Caitlin Rose - Written by the Stones, covered by TVZ, but she still does a great job.
"Out among the stars" - Darrell Scott - Adam Mitchell wrote it, Merle Haggard performed it first, but I'd put this as one of the best covers.
"Jesse with the long hair" - Robert Earl Keen - OK, it's a little like Dylan's Jack of Hearts. And it's a song with a mystery - did Jesse fire the shot, or did the sheriff? Listen closely...
"Arizona Star" - Guy Clark - When you're cool - the sun shines all the time.
"I hear them all" - Old Crow Medicine Show - one of my favorite OCMS songs.
"Shades of Grey" - Robert Earl Keen - written about the immediate aftermath of the Murrow Federal Building bombing.
"Snake Farm" - Ray Wylie Hubbard - I started following RWH on that Face thing. He's articulate, entertaining and a helluva fun writer/musician.
"Charlie Dunn" - Jerry Jeff Walker - a whole song about boots? Why not.
"Little Bird" - Jerry Jeff Walker - I think one of Jerry's best.
Criteria for the list was simple - I heard it/saw it on youtube or already had it on my library and it seemed to fit..
"The road goes on forever" - Robert Earl Keen - It's probably his signature song, but it's still good, rowdy fun.
Tecumseh Valley" - Townes Van Zandt - another great ballad from TVZ.
"Dead Flowers" - Caitlin Rose - Written by the Stones, covered by TVZ, but she still does a great job.
"Out among the stars" - Darrell Scott - Adam Mitchell wrote it, Merle Haggard performed it first, but I'd put this as one of the best covers.
"Jesse with the long hair" - Robert Earl Keen - OK, it's a little like Dylan's Jack of Hearts. And it's a song with a mystery - did Jesse fire the shot, or did the sheriff? Listen closely...
"Arizona Star" - Guy Clark - When you're cool - the sun shines all the time.
"I hear them all" - Old Crow Medicine Show - one of my favorite OCMS songs.
"Shades of Grey" - Robert Earl Keen - written about the immediate aftermath of the Murrow Federal Building bombing.
"Snake Farm" - Ray Wylie Hubbard - I started following RWH on that Face thing. He's articulate, entertaining and a helluva fun writer/musician.
"Charlie Dunn" - Jerry Jeff Walker - a whole song about boots? Why not.
"Little Bird" - Jerry Jeff Walker - I think one of Jerry's best.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Eighty Hours, 13 States, 2950 miles
In the past 3 months, I've had 3 road trips of 1500 miles or more. The biggest by far was to Connecticut to retrieve the club's 'new to us' trailer for hauling kayaks. After the last trip to Georgia with the wheels almost falling off, I swore I'd never do another road trip without a real trailer. So a little shopping and it was ours. Now to get it back from Connecticut...
Rather than wait for a 'committee decision' about who could take time away, when to go, etc. I took advantage of a quiet weekend coming up at work, and planned to hit the road for CT. To cut the expenses, I arranged a couple of boat deliveries, threw a sleeping bag and pillow in the truck, loaded up the ipod with tunes, audiobooks, and hit the road. To paraphrase the great Jake Blues "It's 1300 miles to Connecticut, I've got a full tank of gas, half a box of Cheese-its, it's dark and I'm wearing bifocals."
Making a drive like this solo requires recognizing that you have to rely on something other than conversation to keep you awake. For me that means coffee. And Pandora. And frequent breaks.
Leaving Minnesota just before rush hour means getting through Chicago without hassles. On the other hand, that means it's dark out. I pulled out my pillow and blanket to catch a few hours sleep at a turnpike oasis in Indiana, and hit the road a few hours later bound for Connecticut.
A few words about rest areas - Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania all get high marks for their stops. Pretty standardized, fairly clean, and mostly OK. Coffee - well, let's just say it's not a religion across the I 90/80 corridors. New Jersey? Don't these people get 'clean bathroom'? The trucker's side was cleaner. But in general, it had the feeling of a hard used public restroom in Grand Central Station.
I made it to Connecticut and picked up my trailer, dropped one boat, picked up another, and found a hotel for the night. A quick stop for a burger and beer, and I was down for the night. The following morning, I dropped by WinTech to pick up the trailer and head west for St Louis. I learned a couple of lessons about Garmin on this trip - the biggest one is always carry a copy of the Rand McNally Atlas! The second is that unless you buy the truck edition of Garmin's devices, don't pay attention to Garmin when going through places like NY City. I spent enough time on Google to make some alterations, but they didn't prepare me for winding up on the 'cars only' deck on the GW bridge. Fortunately, no tickets, but darn...
The trailer towed really well. 27' at the base, 35' on top, double axle, well over 1000lb of solid steel and rotting wood. No issues with losing parts - at least not after I pulled off a couple of rails that were hanging on by a prayer, and duct taped them into the oar holders.
A long day in the rain and mist through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky brought me to Madison, Indiana and the end to a long day. The only real excitement was a running board on the trailer that decided to rot out and drop one end in the middle of a construction zone in Kentucky. I pulled off as soon as the zone ended, pulled the board off, and left it with other debris on the back side of the K-rail. Must have been a favored spot - a bumper, bit of broken furniture and a pallet. It was the spot.
Another early start and a long drive to St Louis Rowing Club to drop off a 'Section 8' King rowing shell.
St Louis RC boathouse is another nice building, located in a park out in the NW burbs. Another few hours on the road, a detour through Chatfield Minnesota (and some rather obscure country trails following Garmin's instructions) and I was home.
Finished with engines around 80 hours and 2950 miles after leaving.
Listening list for the trip:
Pandora - Guy Clark; Emmylou Harris as seeds
Robert Earl Keen
Bob Marley
Albannach
lots of others in the mix
Podcasts - the NPR mix - TED, Car Talk, Wait Wait,
Books - Carl Hiaasen - Bad Monkey
I made it to Connecticut and picked up my trailer, dropped one boat, picked up another, and found a hotel for the night. A quick stop for a burger and beer, and I was down for the night. The following morning, I dropped by WinTech to pick up the trailer and head west for St Louis. I learned a couple of lessons about Garmin on this trip - the biggest one is always carry a copy of the Rand McNally Atlas! The second is that unless you buy the truck edition of Garmin's devices, don't pay attention to Garmin when going through places like NY City. I spent enough time on Google to make some alterations, but they didn't prepare me for winding up on the 'cars only' deck on the GW bridge. Fortunately, no tickets, but darn...
The trailer towed really well. 27' at the base, 35' on top, double axle, well over 1000lb of solid steel and rotting wood. No issues with losing parts - at least not after I pulled off a couple of rails that were hanging on by a prayer, and duct taped them into the oar holders.
A long day in the rain and mist through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky brought me to Madison, Indiana and the end to a long day. The only real excitement was a running board on the trailer that decided to rot out and drop one end in the middle of a construction zone in Kentucky. I pulled off as soon as the zone ended, pulled the board off, and left it with other debris on the back side of the K-rail. Must have been a favored spot - a bumper, bit of broken furniture and a pallet. It was the spot.Another early start and a long drive to St Louis Rowing Club to drop off a 'Section 8' King rowing shell. St Louis RC boathouse is another nice building, located in a park out in the NW burbs. Another few hours on the road, a detour through Chatfield Minnesota (and some rather obscure country trails following Garmin's instructions) and I was home.
Finished with engines around 80 hours and 2950 miles after leaving.
Listening list for the trip:
Pandora - Guy Clark; Emmylou Harris as seeds
Robert Earl Keen
Bob Marley
Albannach
lots of others in the mix
Podcasts - the NPR mix - TED, Car Talk, Wait Wait,
Books - Carl Hiaasen - Bad Monkey
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
End of summer
What a year!
Lots of activity this summer, which drastically cut into my interest in posting, writing or even thinking about this blog.
The numbers -
More hours than I care to add up spent repairing boats, coaching kayak racing, traveling to races, traveling to camps, retrieving trailers, etc. My Community Relations person at work called to verify the hours I'd logged on the volunteer site. I told them it was probably low.
Ten athletes paddled regularly with the kayak training group this summer.
Eight went to Nationals.
Three brought home hardware!
Since Nationals, 7 more have come out for a 'trial paddle/lesson', and most will sign for next season.
Three athletes bought their own K-1s this season.
The club bought a new trailer capable of hauling K-4s (35' long)
Seven athletes went to Oklahoma for their fall regatta and made 4(5?) podiums
Two gravel rides promoted
Four gravel events ridden
It was a busy summer, but was it ever fun!. I'll try to resume a regular posting schedule this fall/winter.
~marsh
Lots of activity this summer, which drastically cut into my interest in posting, writing or even thinking about this blog.
The numbers -
More hours than I care to add up spent repairing boats, coaching kayak racing, traveling to races, traveling to camps, retrieving trailers, etc. My Community Relations person at work called to verify the hours I'd logged on the volunteer site. I told them it was probably low.
Ten athletes paddled regularly with the kayak training group this summer.
Eight went to Nationals.
Three brought home hardware!
Since Nationals, 7 more have come out for a 'trial paddle/lesson', and most will sign for next season.
Three athletes bought their own K-1s this season.
The club bought a new trailer capable of hauling K-4s (35' long)
Seven athletes went to Oklahoma for their fall regatta and made 4(5?) podiums
Two gravel rides promoted
Four gravel events ridden
It was a busy summer, but was it ever fun!. I'll try to resume a regular posting schedule this fall/winter.
~marsh
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Windshield Time
Part of the coaching gig for most small sports is time behind the wheel - driving to meets, championships, 'away races', head races, tail races, camps, tramps and.. - well, you get the idea.
This upcoming weekend, I'm doing a long haul - Minneapolis to New Haven Connecticut to St Louis, MO and home. Not in 2 days thankfully, but it will still be a haul.
What in the world would possess me to do such a thing? Boats and trailers. After Nationals in Georgia, and the near disaster we had with our little local outfitter surplus trailer, I swore I'd NEVER make another road trip with that hunk of scrap metal on wheels. It's great around town, but on the road? Never.
All in all, about 3,000 miles. It's a darn good thing I like to drive, have an iPod full of tunes, lots of football over the weekend on the radio, and books on tape!
This upcoming weekend, I'm doing a long haul - Minneapolis to New Haven Connecticut to St Louis, MO and home. Not in 2 days thankfully, but it will still be a haul.What in the world would possess me to do such a thing? Boats and trailers. After Nationals in Georgia, and the near disaster we had with our little local outfitter surplus trailer, I swore I'd NEVER make another road trip with that hunk of scrap metal on wheels. It's great around town, but on the road? Never.
After Nationals, I started watching for a 'real' trailer, one capable of hauling our growing club, including K-4s, which are 35' long. Who uses that kind of trailer? The backwards facing bunch! (rowers). And where do you find such a trailer? On the rowing websites like www.row2k.com. And low&behold, the New Haven club had a decent 'light' trailer for sale.
Some emails, pictures, etc, and it's ours. And to make this work, I involved the athletes in a kilometer challenge, and me in some ride sharing 'opportunities'.
I'll deliver a boat to Connecticut for my good friend Kevin "Mr. Wizard" Carr of Creating Ability. Huge props - Kevin is in San Diego right now working with a bunch of Wounded Warriors on Mission Bay at the National Disabled Veterans Summer Sports Clinic. He does amazing adaptations and customizations for these incredible men and women. If you ever have a need, want to contribute, or just want to learn more, please follow the link above and say "thank you"
.
The trip gets a lot busier on the way home. Meet up with a friend from one of my past employment lives who lives in that area, pick up a sprint kayak for one of my athletes, pick up the trailer, load a rowing shell going to St Louis, somehow bypass NYC in the early hours of Saturday morning, pick up a whitewater boat near Allentown, and then head for Madison, IN, St Louis to drop off a boat, and home.
All in all, about 3,000 miles. It's a darn good thing I like to drive, have an iPod full of tunes, lots of football over the weekend on the radio, and books on tape!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
USA Canoe/Kayak Nationals! (Pt 1 - the journey)
I'll admit that when I coach or officiate at a big event, I'm pretty much oblivious to anything going on in the 'real world'. I can also count on one had the number of times I even *thought* about work while I was down there!
I did not get a lot of photos, but I will share what I have and hopefully back-fill some others as the next week goes on. It's hard to get good quality photos with your phone when the action is 100-200 meters away!
Trip summary - 8 athletes total, ranging from 12-18, (three of whom were stuck riding with me), various parents, my sainted wife who came along to visit her cousins, see some racing, and maybe get in a bike ride. 22 hours over 2 days driving.
The first day's drive was easy - down the Madison-Rockford-Bloomington pipeline to Madison, IN
for the night. A little out of the most direct route, but a nice visit with relatives instead of a motel. Getting up the next morning, we had to wait for one thunderstorm to roll up the Ohio Valley, and then near disaster. Pulling into Frankfort, KY I heard/felt that ominous whup-whup-whup that can only mean a bad tire or worse. I glanced back to see the trailer wheel wobble. Fortunately, there was a gas station just ahead. Worse than I'd guessed - the wheel was only held on by a single (and very loose) lug nut! Now 10 miles before, we were in the middle of very rural (and hilly) Kentucky. Fortunately a customer had a 'proper' lug wrench, and helped swipe a bolt from the other side so we could limp up to AutoZone and buy the only two lug bolts they had - and a lug wrench. That was enough to get us to Lexington where we bought the only bolt *that* AutoZone had, and we left town with a rip-roaring thunderstorm hot on our heels. Did I mention how great it was having smart phone literate athletes in the back seat to *find* the freaking parts store and navigate us to it?
Onward. A late - and much anticipated - lunch at Bradley's BBQ (mentioned in an earlier post) and we headed south for B*tchin' Betty's recommended route to get us into Buford GA without driving all the way down to the 285 and back up through Atlanta traffic. I believe the 'real' name of the Garmin voice is 'Samantha'. We used to call her 'Lady Garmin', but after several wrong routes, bad turns and a particular trip where she wanted us to cut across an Iowa soybean field, she became Betty. Well... Betty decided that the best way to go was via Elijay, GA. Now any idiot can look at the map and see that the route to Elijay is over a mountain county road, while the smart route stays on a US highway and State Highway. But, I was driving, so I didn't *look* at the map - and we did the scenic drive up and over the lower reaches of the north Georgia mountains, over the river and through the woods, taking more than one 'short cut'. I'd really like to get my hands on the clown who wrote the algorithm that punked us with this route. Eventually, we did get to town, followed yet another 'short cut', and finally after 12 hours of adventure for an 8 hour drive - arrived.
I had a 40 minute commute to the venue - one of the very few relatively straightforward driving experiences in north Georgia! We set up Monday morning on the 1996 Olympic Games venue, right in between new friends from South Florida and Washington (DC) Canoe Club. Racing was not to start until Thursday, so we had a couple of days to paddle, weigh boats, sort out partners for a couple of races, and generally take it easy. Carol and I did get one good ride in - on a loop recommended by the nearest bike shop Habersham Bicycles to the race venue. The route was great - 20 miles plus an attempted extension that ended in big gravel (not for road bikes), so we backtracked and finished the posted Lula route.
The team rented a house on Lake Lanier that was 2.5 miles from the venue - as the crow flies. As the rabbit runs, it was more like 15, and took 30 minutes to get there. Even so, a house on the lake that sleeps 15, and only costs 1500/week is a deal! This also let parents plan much better meals and kids/athletes have better options on what to do (other than watch TV).
More to come about the event itself. Enough for tonight.
I did not get a lot of photos, but I will share what I have and hopefully back-fill some others as the next week goes on. It's hard to get good quality photos with your phone when the action is 100-200 meters away!
 |
| Kermit - a belly full of gas and ready to go again! |
Trip summary - 8 athletes total, ranging from 12-18, (three of whom were stuck riding with me), various parents, my sainted wife who came along to visit her cousins, see some racing, and maybe get in a bike ride. 22 hours over 2 days driving.
The first day's drive was easy - down the Madison-Rockford-Bloomington pipeline to Madison, IN
 |
| New bridge over the Ohio River at Madison |
Onward. A late - and much anticipated - lunch at Bradley's BBQ (mentioned in an earlier post) and we headed south for B*tchin' Betty's recommended route to get us into Buford GA without driving all the way down to the 285 and back up through Atlanta traffic. I believe the 'real' name of the Garmin voice is 'Samantha'. We used to call her 'Lady Garmin', but after several wrong routes, bad turns and a particular trip where she wanted us to cut across an Iowa soybean field, she became Betty. Well... Betty decided that the best way to go was via Elijay, GA. Now any idiot can look at the map and see that the route to Elijay is over a mountain county road, while the smart route stays on a US highway and State Highway. But, I was driving, so I didn't *look* at the map - and we did the scenic drive up and over the lower reaches of the north Georgia mountains, over the river and through the woods, taking more than one 'short cut'. I'd really like to get my hands on the clown who wrote the algorithm that punked us with this route. Eventually, we did get to town, followed yet another 'short cut', and finally after 12 hours of adventure for an 8 hour drive - arrived.
I had a 40 minute commute to the venue - one of the very few relatively straightforward driving experiences in north Georgia! We set up Monday morning on the 1996 Olympic Games venue, right in between new friends from South Florida and Washington (DC) Canoe Club. Racing was not to start until Thursday, so we had a couple of days to paddle, weigh boats, sort out partners for a couple of races, and generally take it easy. Carol and I did get one good ride in - on a loop recommended by the nearest bike shop Habersham Bicycles to the race venue. The route was great - 20 miles plus an attempted extension that ended in big gravel (not for road bikes), so we backtracked and finished the posted Lula route.
The team rented a house on Lake Lanier that was 2.5 miles from the venue - as the crow flies. As the rabbit runs, it was more like 15, and took 30 minutes to get there. Even so, a house on the lake that sleeps 15, and only costs 1500/week is a deal! This also let parents plan much better meals and kids/athletes have better options on what to do (other than watch TV).
More to come about the event itself. Enough for tonight.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Heading to Nationals
I'm spending the next week making a trip to USA Canoe/Kayak sprint Nationals. I have the privilege of coaching a bunch of 12-18 year old athletes who have made this a large part of their summer. I'll try to do a couple of blog posts from the road, and especially will try to get some candid pictures of the action. This is a sport that is relatively unknown in Minnesota, but we've managed to take our share of medals over the last 4 years.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Secret pleasures
I confess... I've got a secret that I try to keep well hidden. It's not as bad as being a banjo picker, or an accordion player, but I try (badly) to play the mandolin.
Nearly everyone has some kind of instrument they fantasize about playing. My youngest son is a pretty darn good guitar player (alt/rock style). I know a lot of really talented musicians, both amateur and professional, and none would *ever* suggest I give up my day job (or even play in public).
I've always had a strong country/Americana/roots music taste, but the song that really set me off on this path to 8 strings and a very narrow fretboard was "Whiskey in the Jar" - the Jerry Garcia/David Grisman version. Grisman's opening bars set the hook. And so I bought my first mando - and realized pretty soon that it buzzed on some frets, had a few odd voicings and so on. It was fine for the playing I was doing, but I eventually wanted a nicer axe and eventually got a Weber Absoroka. Awesome sound, stays in tune, no buzz.
Over the years, I've tried to emulate some of my favorites, but I have also realized that the things that keep me from writing complex software programs are the same things that make music theory rational, and why I found differential equations simple, but basic calculus impossible to comprehend. I tend to think in a linear fashion, can visualize/express big concepts, but struggle with simple chords and abstract patterns. I can hear a melody line and follow that - but the chords that make it rich, give it rhythm? ...two left feet and a tin ear.
In any case, I've found that I can pick out the mando in lots of songs, whether it's a driving lead, rhythm chop, or background harmony/fill. And often, it's the simplest lines that resonate. The little 8 note folded chord in the bridge on Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues" (Dublin Blues, 1995) is just about perfect.
Another one that I love is the pretty simple mando lead (even I can fumble thru it) on Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road". Not to mention that Steve Earle is one helluva songwriter.
I'm also fascinated by technique and signature sounds from the 'real' players. Listening to the stylistic differences from Sam Bush, Robbie McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, Chris Thiele, and where they've taken music is simply amazing. Sam Bush is my favorite - he puts 'color' into his playing, be it on mando or fiddle. When I listen to him, there are all sorts of 'dirty' sounds - notes that aren't quite pure, bars with lots of hammers, pulls, grace notes, slides, open strings, split strings, odd chops and volumes. Sam plays loud. Listen to the lead on North Country Girl (the very best rendition of this great Dylan tune). A great, hard driving mando lead that *doesn't* sound like Bill Monroe - for that matter none of these guys do. Robbie McCoury seems to play a sharper, cleaner style. More bluegrassy, more one note at a time melody lines in breaks. An excellent player in his own right. And Chris Thiele seems to be a jazz man with a strong hillbilly twist. He can lay down classic folk lines, and then the very next song pull a totally different sound (that I can't quite put my finger on) from that old Loar.
In any case, it's always fun to listen to the masters and dream while you pick a melody line that sounds suspiciously like 'chopsticks'...
Play on, y'all.
~marsh
Nearly everyone has some kind of instrument they fantasize about playing. My youngest son is a pretty darn good guitar player (alt/rock style). I know a lot of really talented musicians, both amateur and professional, and none would *ever* suggest I give up my day job (or even play in public).
I've always had a strong country/Americana/roots music taste, but the song that really set me off on this path to 8 strings and a very narrow fretboard was "Whiskey in the Jar" - the Jerry Garcia/David Grisman version. Grisman's opening bars set the hook. And so I bought my first mando - and realized pretty soon that it buzzed on some frets, had a few odd voicings and so on. It was fine for the playing I was doing, but I eventually wanted a nicer axe and eventually got a Weber Absoroka. Awesome sound, stays in tune, no buzz.
Over the years, I've tried to emulate some of my favorites, but I have also realized that the things that keep me from writing complex software programs are the same things that make music theory rational, and why I found differential equations simple, but basic calculus impossible to comprehend. I tend to think in a linear fashion, can visualize/express big concepts, but struggle with simple chords and abstract patterns. I can hear a melody line and follow that - but the chords that make it rich, give it rhythm? ...two left feet and a tin ear.
In any case, I've found that I can pick out the mando in lots of songs, whether it's a driving lead, rhythm chop, or background harmony/fill. And often, it's the simplest lines that resonate. The little 8 note folded chord in the bridge on Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues" (Dublin Blues, 1995) is just about perfect.
Another one that I love is the pretty simple mando lead (even I can fumble thru it) on Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road". Not to mention that Steve Earle is one helluva songwriter.
I'm also fascinated by technique and signature sounds from the 'real' players. Listening to the stylistic differences from Sam Bush, Robbie McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, Chris Thiele, and where they've taken music is simply amazing. Sam Bush is my favorite - he puts 'color' into his playing, be it on mando or fiddle. When I listen to him, there are all sorts of 'dirty' sounds - notes that aren't quite pure, bars with lots of hammers, pulls, grace notes, slides, open strings, split strings, odd chops and volumes. Sam plays loud. Listen to the lead on North Country Girl (the very best rendition of this great Dylan tune). A great, hard driving mando lead that *doesn't* sound like Bill Monroe - for that matter none of these guys do. Robbie McCoury seems to play a sharper, cleaner style. More bluegrassy, more one note at a time melody lines in breaks. An excellent player in his own right. And Chris Thiele seems to be a jazz man with a strong hillbilly twist. He can lay down classic folk lines, and then the very next song pull a totally different sound (that I can't quite put my finger on) from that old Loar.
In any case, it's always fun to listen to the masters and dream while you pick a melody line that sounds suspiciously like 'chopsticks'...
Play on, y'all.
~marsh
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Check Six
Weather is such a huge part of living in the midwest. Average folks with no interest in climate change, hydrology or anything that resembles science subscribe to 3 or 4 weather sites, follow a meteorologist like a religious guru, have NWS or Weather.com on their phone, and know the minute of multiple radio or TV forecasts.
Only in the upper midwest will you find people who know about derechos, dew points, wall clouds, uplift, and who can read a radar plot and base their activities on what's coming.
And so there we were - out on the lake for a leisurely set of level 4 intervals with 10 athletes. I knew the storm was supposed to hit the area, but looking at the radar, looking at the storm track, and at the ground speed, I figured we had until about 6:30 or maybe even 7:00 to get off the water...
Wrong...
Fighter pilots have an expression "check six" - meaning to look to see what's on your tail (the 6:00 position on a clock face). It applies to any outdoor sport as well. Look behind you, or move away from the shore to see what the sky may be bringing. In our case, a quick look at our '6' suggested the storm had picked up speed as it moved toward the metro!
We started hearing thunder and seeing distant lightning at 5:30. We were already off the water for a team meeting, so we weren't heading back out in any case. Ten minutes later, the gust front hit, and raindrops started to fall. Fortunately it wasn't really windy. We caught a ride back to the cars, and came back down to pick up boats. All the time, it was raining 1-2" per hour! And just as a bonus, we had the K4 out on the water. Hint - to transport a K-4 on top of a Suburban, use a long ladder as a rack extender. It still sticks out a couple of feet on either end (ok, more than a couple of feet), but it will get the job done for around the neighborhood. And who says Mother Nature doesn't have a sense of humor? We got everything put away, and as I headed home, the rain stopped, the storm had moved through, and the sun was thinking about making an appearance.
At the end of the day, I looked back at the process. We stayed within our safety margins, took appropriate action to get athletes and equipment off the water *before* the squall hit, and executed a bailout plan.
What would have happened if we'd gotten caught out? Always have a contingency plan. We have half a dozen specific houses along the lake, plus two park buildings, that are 'safety points' for weather (or other) emergencies. At worst, you'd have a bunch of paddlers huddled under the porch waiting for rain to stop. Someone will usually have a phone you can use to call backup transport. I should probably get a waterproof cell phone with a keypad. My very smart android phone is just about useless with water on the faceplate. And when all else fails, hunker down. Midwest storms rarely last more than an hour.
And always - check six.
Only in the upper midwest will you find people who know about derechos, dew points, wall clouds, uplift, and who can read a radar plot and base their activities on what's coming.
And so there we were - out on the lake for a leisurely set of level 4 intervals with 10 athletes. I knew the storm was supposed to hit the area, but looking at the radar, looking at the storm track, and at the ground speed, I figured we had until about 6:30 or maybe even 7:00 to get off the water...
Wrong...
Fighter pilots have an expression "check six" - meaning to look to see what's on your tail (the 6:00 position on a clock face). It applies to any outdoor sport as well. Look behind you, or move away from the shore to see what the sky may be bringing. In our case, a quick look at our '6' suggested the storm had picked up speed as it moved toward the metro!
We started hearing thunder and seeing distant lightning at 5:30. We were already off the water for a team meeting, so we weren't heading back out in any case. Ten minutes later, the gust front hit, and raindrops started to fall. Fortunately it wasn't really windy. We caught a ride back to the cars, and came back down to pick up boats. All the time, it was raining 1-2" per hour! And just as a bonus, we had the K4 out on the water. Hint - to transport a K-4 on top of a Suburban, use a long ladder as a rack extender. It still sticks out a couple of feet on either end (ok, more than a couple of feet), but it will get the job done for around the neighborhood. And who says Mother Nature doesn't have a sense of humor? We got everything put away, and as I headed home, the rain stopped, the storm had moved through, and the sun was thinking about making an appearance.
At the end of the day, I looked back at the process. We stayed within our safety margins, took appropriate action to get athletes and equipment off the water *before* the squall hit, and executed a bailout plan.
What would have happened if we'd gotten caught out? Always have a contingency plan. We have half a dozen specific houses along the lake, plus two park buildings, that are 'safety points' for weather (or other) emergencies. At worst, you'd have a bunch of paddlers huddled under the porch waiting for rain to stop. Someone will usually have a phone you can use to call backup transport. I should probably get a waterproof cell phone with a keypad. My very smart android phone is just about useless with water on the faceplate. And when all else fails, hunker down. Midwest storms rarely last more than an hour.
And always - check six.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Sports books you need to read
Not every book about sport is necessarily a self-congratulatory autobiography, a story of redemption, of David and Goliath, or my personal least favorite - the 'dying athlete' story. Sometimes, it's just a really well written piece on sport. Some of these are a bit difficult to find - maybe long out of print - but well worth reading.
The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown. The story of the 1936 USA crew and their journey. I was living in Seattle in the '70s, and remember hearing quite a bit about Mr George Pocock. Very few people have had as profound an impact on a sport as he did.
The Last Amateurs - John Feinstein. The Patriot League - often supplying the 64/65th position in the NCAA, but at the time they forbid 'sports scholarships', so the players were there strictly because they wanted to be.
The Amateurs - David Halberstam. David Halberstam is probably best known for his Pulitzer Prize writing on Vietnam, and Civil Rights reporting, but he was a helluva good sports writer as well. The Amateurs follows the journey of various individuals competing for seats in the 1984 Olympics. A very different look at the sport 50 years after the '36 team.
1947: When all Hell broke loose in Baseball - Red Barber. I've listened to NPR Morning Edition since the early '80s, and would bring a transistor radio to work on Fridays just to listen to Bob Edwards and Red Barber. Barber was one of the absolute best baseball announcers of all time. I rank him above Harry Carey, Jimmy Dean and the rest. This is a great book about the events of 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color line. Well worth the read.
The Mountain of my Fear - Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative - David Roberts. The best climbing books I've ever read. Roberts portrays climbing and wilderness adventure in a much more realistic light than do most writers of climbing. You really do get a sense of struggle, success and failure - and how brutally friggin' hard climbing can be.
They Call Me Super Mex: The Autobiography of Lee Trevino - Lee Trevino and Sam Blair. Not the best book about golf ever (next read), but a pretty good rags to riches story. Trevino is funny almost all the time, and made a career of being a pretty darn good pro golfer, and a bit of a standup comedian at the same time. Golf needs people like Lee Trevino.
The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf - Mark Frost. Two of the finest gentlemen to hoist a club. A story (and movie) well told.
Comment with your contributions to a summer's sports reading list.
~marsh
The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown. The story of the 1936 USA crew and their journey. I was living in Seattle in the '70s, and remember hearing quite a bit about Mr George Pocock. Very few people have had as profound an impact on a sport as he did.
The Last Amateurs - John Feinstein. The Patriot League - often supplying the 64/65th position in the NCAA, but at the time they forbid 'sports scholarships', so the players were there strictly because they wanted to be.
The Amateurs - David Halberstam. David Halberstam is probably best known for his Pulitzer Prize writing on Vietnam, and Civil Rights reporting, but he was a helluva good sports writer as well. The Amateurs follows the journey of various individuals competing for seats in the 1984 Olympics. A very different look at the sport 50 years after the '36 team.
1947: When all Hell broke loose in Baseball - Red Barber. I've listened to NPR Morning Edition since the early '80s, and would bring a transistor radio to work on Fridays just to listen to Bob Edwards and Red Barber. Barber was one of the absolute best baseball announcers of all time. I rank him above Harry Carey, Jimmy Dean and the rest. This is a great book about the events of 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color line. Well worth the read.
The Mountain of my Fear - Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative - David Roberts. The best climbing books I've ever read. Roberts portrays climbing and wilderness adventure in a much more realistic light than do most writers of climbing. You really do get a sense of struggle, success and failure - and how brutally friggin' hard climbing can be.
They Call Me Super Mex: The Autobiography of Lee Trevino - Lee Trevino and Sam Blair. Not the best book about golf ever (next read), but a pretty good rags to riches story. Trevino is funny almost all the time, and made a career of being a pretty darn good pro golfer, and a bit of a standup comedian at the same time. Golf needs people like Lee Trevino.
The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf - Mark Frost. Two of the finest gentlemen to hoist a club. A story (and movie) well told.
Comment with your contributions to a summer's sports reading list.
~marsh
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Summer Solstice Sunday ride - Around River Falls (a paved ride!)
Boy, I've been remiss in updating the blog for the past few weeks. Summertime hits, and I tend to be busy with doing, rather than writing.
First, to the hardy souls who came out for the Miesville Gents ride, thanks! I had a ball, and we'll do that again sometime. For those who missed it, well - you missed it.
This weekend is something a little different, a little social and probably a little lower key for some. We're riding <gasp> on the road!
The ride is out of River Falls and takes in some of the prettiest pastoral scenery around. We generally average seeing about a car/mile on these rides, and while not all the pavement is butter smooth, it's all better than your average Minnesota pavement. A couple of good climbs, a screaming descent or two, and generally a nice group ride. I'd guess my group will average around 14mph for the distance (including photo ops), and will not be a testosterone filled hammerfest!
(Your mileage may vary - I know some people can't ride that slow, and that's your privilege, too.)
Hoffman Park has a nice bathroom with flushies, and we generally wind up at the Dish&Spoon cafe for lunch after.
Rules:
1. Be NICE
2. Have fun
3. Wear your helmet. If you don't want to wear one, please don't come on my rides.
4. Enjoy the scenery
The route:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5081310 - 42 miles. If you really need to extend, you could ride from the cities or Hudson!
Where: Hoffman Park, River Falls, WI - Hwy 35 to Division St. (left exit, then right under the highway to the park)
When: Sunday, 22 June, 8:30 AM
Who: anybody with a bike who can ride 42 miles
Why: because it's going to be a lovely morning and close enough to the Solstice
Ping me if you have any questions or to let me know you are coming -- mnswamp@gmail.com
First, to the hardy souls who came out for the Miesville Gents ride, thanks! I had a ball, and we'll do that again sometime. For those who missed it, well - you missed it.
This weekend is something a little different, a little social and probably a little lower key for some. We're riding <gasp> on the road!
The ride is out of River Falls and takes in some of the prettiest pastoral scenery around. We generally average seeing about a car/mile on these rides, and while not all the pavement is butter smooth, it's all better than your average Minnesota pavement. A couple of good climbs, a screaming descent or two, and generally a nice group ride. I'd guess my group will average around 14mph for the distance (including photo ops), and will not be a testosterone filled hammerfest!
(Your mileage may vary - I know some people can't ride that slow, and that's your privilege, too.)
Hoffman Park has a nice bathroom with flushies, and we generally wind up at the Dish&Spoon cafe for lunch after.
Rules:
1. Be NICE
2. Have fun
3. Wear your helmet. If you don't want to wear one, please don't come on my rides.
4. Enjoy the scenery
The route:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5081310 - 42 miles. If you really need to extend, you could ride from the cities or Hudson!
Where: Hoffman Park, River Falls, WI - Hwy 35 to Division St. (left exit, then right under the highway to the park)
When: Sunday, 22 June, 8:30 AM
Who: anybody with a bike who can ride 42 miles
Why: because it's going to be a lovely morning and close enough to the Solstice
Ping me if you have any questions or to let me know you are coming -- mnswamp@gmail.com
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