junior rides the single track

talk about a proud poppa......should have seen my 8 year old son ride the north side of Como Lake. Confidently riding over the rocks like he's done it a hundred times before. Knowing when and how to use brakes and shifters without advise. The little guy rides bikes offroad fairly natural. Yup......pretty darn cool stuff. 

flying weasel

lolo motorway pics

The Lolo Motorway,  infamously known for the Ne-me-poo indian trail that Lewis and Clark followed across the Bitterroot Mountains as they headed for the Pacific ocean. We just spent the better part of two days pedaling and camping a portion of the old route, dirt roads and not very well maintained (meaning lots of downfall). Good times, just wish we had a bit warmer, dryer conditions for it. Honestly though.....i couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday and our independence as a nation. So have a good 4th of July folks !!

post RATPOD ride

following day in the Big Hole Valley, on mountain bikes. 

RATPOD 2010

   Went over and helped volunteer again for the RATPOD ride, this year the cyclists had amazing weather for the 130 mile venture around and through the Pioneer Mountain range. Good buddy Aaron Fiashetti came on over from Bozeman and helped me co-mechanic, together we change out about two dozen flat tires, a broken spoke on a Rolf rear wheel, a blown tandem tire, and some wise guy who managed to almost blow up his entire bike ( snapped rear derailleur, bent der hanger, two broken spokes, and a broken chain), yes we even managed to get him fixed up so that he could enjoy his ride too...part luck that the der hanger didn't snap on me while bending it back in shape. A hairline crack and only half the threads almost kept the Spokane fella from riding at all.

Anyway...lots of folks from Hamilton were in attendance, our good buddy Rick raised $2000 for Camp Mak A Dream, was the 11th highest fund raiser and received a kick ass Sean Kelley's jersey. Way to go pal !!  

Rick and Aaron on the Big Dummy at mile 108

charbroiled

Titus FTM Carbon

The Butte 50 weapon.....26 pounder with 5 inches of silky travel. Should be a fun 6 hours.

dirt, snow and rain

 great ride yesterday, out on the bikes for about 7 hours and when we were done the computer said we only rode a grand total of 16 miles. But, i suppose you could also say we had a good hike too.....4 miles of tromping in snow before we could see dirt again,  and then once we did.....downfall city, trees everywhere. A nice dose of rain. And a decent downhill to finish off the ride. Good times. 

(note to environmentalists.....no Indian Paintbrush were harmed during this ride)

cold snow is skin piercing in bike shoes and short socks

Lance is happy to riding again.

my favorite photo....Joe knows beverages are near. The downhill back to the van in a complete downpour.

Reimel Creek

   Went and rode the reimel trail this past weekend with JB, instead of taking the direct route heading into the reimel drainage we made a slight detour that skirted around on an upper ridge that paralleled hwy 93. On top was a nice trail with no name and some fantastic views, even spotted a small herd of elk which is always kind of a treat in itself. Trail eventually faded and the drop down to reimel required some hiking through nasty downfall, once we got to the creek we still had to improvise a way across. Bender showed the easiest way across was to actually ride through the ice cold water so i followed suit instead of trying to find a log to cross. Two cold feet later and a short hike out of the drainage we were standing on the reimel trail. Well, i wish i could say the trail was in perfect condition....but downfall was to be the main subject of the day and we encountered log after log with short amounts of pedaling inbetween. We probably made our way up the creek about a mile or so before we both raised the white flag and decided to head back down. Bender rarely raises a white flag, to see it was a treat in itself.

  Before turning it in and heading back to the vehicle we also checked out Wallace creek, and Diggins creek. Diggins looked like it had potential and judging by the forest service map we realized the trail gained about a 1000ft in the first mile. We should have taken the sign from pepe-le-pew at the trail head as a warning to what we were about to encounter. Gut busting, herniation causing climbs are not my favorite. Already been there once before and they're not enjoyable. You just climb as far as you can and eventually find a tree to lean on, allowing your lungs and blood flow to catch back up, repeat about a dozen or so times and we found ourselves at the top of a nice open ridge and a knap weed filled meadow. Perfect. A short nap of the other kind and eventually storm clouds convinced us that it was probably time to bag the day. The decent back down Diggins wasn't honestly worth the effort it took to get up, but it is nice to see new country, and to enjoy the day outside. To that, Success.

pic of JB near the top of Diggins Creek

the new work bench

modeled exactly after the old bench, just a little off on the stain  : )  but now it's nice to have ONE continuous bench top and the few extra drawers for storing extra parts and tools. 

a few used arrivals

a few (actually about a dozen) decent and old classic bicycles made it into the shop this past weekend. Most will need a little work here and there but all have excellent potential to become daily riders. Let us know if you need any additional information on any of these bikes listed below.

His and hers Schwinn Breeze's . Priced $100 each OR $175 for the pair.

cool 20" Raleigh Mountie

needs seat,seatpost, grips and some new tread. Price - $75 as is.

Murray cruiser

a nice rider  -  $125

cruiser

needs grips and a little love  -  $60

Sears trike w/ grocery gettin' basket

in decent condition and ready to ride  -  $125

20" Schwinn Tornado

100% complete with original parts. Price -  $250

saddle tied

JIm's 10 yrd old brooks saddle has accumulated a bunch of miles over the past decade and was starting to show it's age by getting a little saggy, so we drilled a couple of small holes in each side and tied a small piece of nylon sting on the underside. It gave the saddle a little more support on top and firmed the leather just a little. We also gave it a fresh coat of wax too. Hopefully the maintenance gives JIm another happy 10 yrs with his brooks saddle.

inspiration for the small modification came from the folks over at velo retro.

my new favorite tool

Vince over at Underwood Designs just sent us version II of his DU Bushing tool. I'm excited to see the new stainless steel version (shop grade)....So, if you happen to need or want one let us know. We brought in a couple extras for resale. Price is $35 each

we'll also continue to sell the aluminum version and have those in stock too for $25

Free Agent

Here's a couple of pictures of the Free Agent Trail Devil dirt jumper with 24" wheels. A super bike for greenbacks.....$350

interesting way to adjust a saddle

Southern Utah

5 days of southern Utah sunshine. No phones, no computers and no news from the outside world was just what the doc ordered. But for some reason i'm ready to get back down there asap.