At first, I demurred. Maybe I'd stay home; I could finally get the living room painted, after all. But if I really wanted to paint the living room, I'd have done it already. And I didn't really want to spend a week alone at home. And then I figured out how to turn a trip to the states into a new bike, n + 1, as it were.
I would bring a bunch of parts with me, order the rest online, and avoid all the cross-border shipping BS by having it all delivered to the in-laws' place. I'd get to build up a new machine (always a good time) and then have something to ride for the rest of the week.
The most obvious hole in the stable is a gravel race bike. Usually, the cross bike would fill this role neatly, but my Ridley is such a thoroughbred that it lacks even a single set of water-bottle braze-ons, making it a bit of a one-trick pony, and useless for even a medium length ride. A gravel race bike, in theory, combines all-road capability (tire clearance, appropriate gearing) and light randoneuring duties, so a cross frame is an ideal starting point (provided it isn't too pretentious for hydration attachment). Hence the Blue Norcross frameset.
In honour of what is arguably the pre-eminent event of its kind, Challenge has started manufacturing a tire specifically for gravel racing, the Almanzo, named after the the 100 mile Minnesota gravel grinder race. When I left Winnipeg, there was exactly one shop on the whole interweb with stock: Calhoun Cycle in Minneapolis. On previous trips, I've visited One on One and Freewheel, among others, and they're great, but I'd never been to Calhoun. It has an urban, utility-cycling vibe, with a lot of high-end saddle-bags and such on display, and is attached to a coffee shop. But most importantly, they had Almanzos. Score!
What they - and four other reputable shops in the greater Twin Cities area - did not have, were the particular straddle wire cables that my Shimano cantilevers needed (and which I didn't have). Pictured below are some of the most difficult-to-find small parts in cycledom.
I finally found them in a very neat shop. Flanders Bros. (that's really the family name, apparently), on Lyndale, specializes in all things cyclocross, and is definitely worth a visit, next time you're in Mpls.
With those two last-minute items tracked down, I was ready to start building up the ideal gravel racer.
As far as I can tell, the Almanzos are basically Grifo XS treads glued to a slightly narrower 30mm casing. Having never sprung for such fancy tires before, I have little to compare them to, but they seem to be as supple as they claim, and they roll on pavement as well as any slick I have ridden. They're not slowing me down, that's for sure. The rack under the seat is for the saddle-bag. I hadn't used it much, as it always bounced against my thighs before; with the new support, I don't even notice it's there.
There's still plenty of snow down here, but by waiting until midday, I was able to ride in temps between 3 and 7 degrees most days. It's not California or Arizona, but it's still a whole lot better than back home, according to Environment Canada. This, Andrea, is fleece bib-knicker riding at its best, and the cold, moist conditions make for effortless, injury-free farmer blows. You do need to keep the boys insulated from the wind on longer rides, though.
I've been seriously neglecting the bike this winter (I rode the rollers a grand total of once), but with Brad's race just around the corner, some "training" was required. I got a few good rides in, including one long loop on rolling hills on Saturday, when I took these:
Apparently, those are the remains of a World War 2 bomb making facility or something. The car in the trees is just straight-up redneckery, I think.
And finally, to inspire you all for what is sure to be the most gravelly year yet, isn't this a pretty colour for a road? It must be all the clay.
PS - I don't think "strike" is quite the appropriate term to describe a situation where the boss is the only person refusing to work. So, what did everyone else do over Spring Break?
