Words

It's worth it.

Saturday, 23 March is the Slick 50, an annual spring ride that I put together to get a bunch of yahoos out on a group ride. Typically greasy, (hence the name) the ride meanders throughout the Twin Cities Metro area, hopefully never traversing the same course twice, but giving an approximation of some of my favorite training rides in the area. This year we will again head south and west, with surprisingly little non-paved action. Though with this year's amount of snow, the subsequent melt and run-off should provide plenty of wet roads. Look for plenty of rollers and punchy climbs, and a (mostly) quieter road affair. The Slick 50  can get fast-paced at times but please remember, this is NOT A RACE, just a rollicking ramble. There's only one rule on the Slick 50: NO KOOKS.

Stay tuned tomorrow, 20-February, 2013, for the launch of Bunyan Velo, a new Minnesota-born journal, chronicling the many facets of worldwide bicycle adventure. Publisher Lucas Winzenburg has created something great, with contributors ranging from seasoned endurance racers, to North Dakota farm brothers riding the entire length of the Continental Divide. The photography is stunning, the stories inspiring.

Fenders, once the realm of the touring nerd and boho bike commuters are now de rigeur for most riders, because more cyclists are riding year round, in any type of weather. Not everyone has a bike with full-time dedicated fenders, though, so the quick and easy solution has been the clip-on, or as I hear it called in the shop, the "strap-on," fender. SKS has long offered the X-tra Dry, designed around 26" wheels. Now they've added a 700c specific fender, the S-Blade. Longer, and narrower, the S-Blade matches up well with road and urban bikes, and provides better coverage for the larger diameter wheel. My Steamroleur has been shod with the S-Blade, and after three soggy rides this week, I can attest to its effectiveness. The S-Blade is simple and it works.

Now that you've survived the Stuporbowl/UCI CX Worlds/The Bike Swap/your name here, it's time to prepare for the 2013 Cutter's Ball, presented by Handsome Cycles. This year's high-class gala, Saturday, 23 February, will also be a partial unveiling of the new Handsome storefront + HQ, adjacent to the world famous One On One Bicycle Studio in Minnneapolis' thriving Warehouse District. You can expect many a bicycle industry luminary (and/or ne'er-do-well) to be in attendance as the weekend coincides with industry megolith Quality Bicycle Product's annual Frostbike show. Early indicators indicate that SRAM is stepping up and sponsoring a few kegs of refreshing ale. So come early, stay late, and help Handsome celebrate.