BLBBRBK Photo Dump

So, this past Sunday, the BLBBRBK fatbike relay race finally happened. After 3 straight years of cancellations, I was doubtful of it's fruition, but it actually happened. The race started at 10am. I was, for reasons unknown, under the impression that races would be going on for a good portion of the day, and so I leisurely left Chicago for Campton Hills around 11am. When I arrived at the forest preserve around noon, I found that quite a few people were already heading home for the day. I was fearful that I had already missed it all, but that was not the case. In fact, I arrived just in time to see the Double-Wide Boyz tie for second place on their custom Double-Wide Designz "ButtGrease" SS fatbike with NO CHAIN! Somehow the chain popped off the cog (most likely due to the fact that it was manufactured for Wal-Mart), yet they were able to dominate regardless. #doublewidelife. I think I'm going to dedicate a separate blog post to the glory of the ButtGrease, since I took quite a few photos of it and would like to keep this post "family friendly". Anyways, the weather was relatively nice. It was sunny. The cold was bearable (compared to the current temp). It was a good day for a fatbike race. I had a nice time. Now for the pics:

4th Time's a Charm - BLBBRBK 2014

Well, after 3 failed attempts, it looks like this is finally the year for BLBBRBK (pronounced: Blubber Bike), the North Central Cyclery/Axletree fatbike race/ride/relay/whatever you wanna call it. We planned for the first one in 2011, when I still worked at NCC and lived in DeKalb, but had to cancel due to a lack of snow. We had attempted every year since, with no success for the same reason. After moving out of town, it's actually going to happen, just not in DeKalb anymore. There's more info on The Facebook event page. I don't own a fatbike obviously, but I feel somewhat obligated to go to this, as it's been so long in the works. I imagine a "fatbike event" will be just as much fun as a cyclocross race, just a lot colder. Bring more whiskey I guess.

Who Said Surly Doesn't Make Pretty Bikes?

The limited edition Surly Pugsley. Now available. 

I saw the photos and actual tires at Frostbike last year, and have since been waiting to see the real thing. 

I think NCC has some.

More here.

Baller Bikes at the Shop

We've been building up some real fancy bikes lately at NCC. It's been cool. I snapped some photos of a few things we had sitting around and utilized our freshly painted chalkboard. Above is a Project One Trek Domane. I actually really like the look and feel of the Dura-Ace 900 stuff and the clear "red smoke" paint over the carbon looks fantastic in the light.

We've recently became a Moots dealer too, and this PsychloX frame is the first one we're building up. The craftsmanship of this thing is phenomenal. It will be getting an Enve fork and a bunch of other nice things.

We've still got a few Beargrease hangin out, and this one received some "icy cool" touches.

The Portland Design Works Dios Thronous saddles are made from the same material that those Crocs "shoes" are made of. This means they're completely waterproof, scuff resistant, durable, lightweight, and surprisingly comfortable. The perfect fatbike saddle.

E-Thirteen pedals. Durable, grippy, wide, nice bearings.

Winter Woodland Exploration After Dark.

Actual winter has finally arrived here in northern Illinois. On wednesday night, we gathered up a nice group of dudes and rode bikes in the snow. We dove into the woods and explored some trails. Ross was on his brand new Krampus, Derek on his Singular Peregrine 29er, Jake on a KHS Solo One 26er, Peter rode his Surly Necromancer, and I took my GT Peace-9er. All bikes (except for the Necro) were single-speed. All bikes were steel. 

Staying warm is key when you're out in the wilderness, and we were ahead of the game with a mystic bottle of swedish warming elixir.

The trails out in the woods are a bit sketchy, but they're there. There was a lot of ducking through tunnels of foliage and holding onto tree trunks while maneuvering through the madness.

We found ourselves at a dead end. Jake decided to take almost all of the air out of his tires.

We reached the river, and I thought it might be fun to attempt crossing it, via a downed branch. I fell victim to thin ice, but proceeded anyways.

Crossing turned out to be a bad idea, but the makeshift bridge proved to be a nice venue for a break from the ride.

After leaving the woods, we continued to explore some of the stranger areas of town. Jake attempted to climb anything that crossed his path. Find him in the photo above.

It was a fun night of exploration, cycling in the snow, and hangin' out drinkin' wine. In my opinion, this is what cycling in the winter is all about. Just try to get on the bike and keep riding. Have more fun in order to offset the unfavorable weather. Stay local and discover nearby things you've never seen. Don't count the miles. Fatbikes are badass, but a regular mountain bike will usually do just fine. No matter what kind of bike you have, just try to keep riding it.

Building Ross's Krampus

By now, Ross has finished the Krampus and is probably out there reeking havoc, but I still wanted to post a few photos documenting the building process. This bike turned out badass! Titec H-bars, handbuilt wheels, and one gear. I'll have to eventually snap a photo of the finished product, but until then, here are a few detail shots:

Un-boxing Ross's Krampus

Our boy Ross made a good decision and ordered himself a Krampus frameset from Surly as soon as he could. He's been anxiously awaiting it's arrival, and apparently so has everyone else around here. Sometimes I felt bad seeing him bombarded with questions concerning it's existence, but then I remembered it will all pay off once the thing's built up and the kidnapping/pillaging may begin.

Many more photos below:

BLBBRBONK

Yep, that's right. We once again had to cancel our fatbike relay race due to a lack of winter. BLBBRBK may have been the greatest fatbike race that never was. It's a real shame, but destroying forest preserves is just not cool. 

Although, this did give me the chance to take out the pen and paper and figure out what a walrus dying from starvation would look like... Disturbing...

See the "official press release" here.

The Redder the Better

Began the process of unboxing and assembling the new "fire engine red" Pugsleys at NCC the other day.



The process was fueled by lattes.



The new color looks awesome. Definitely the reddest red I have ever seen.



The silver thumb shifters look great too.

By the way, did anyone get what this post title is a reference to?

BLBBRBK 2013 - A Fatbike Relay

The date for this year's BLBBRBK (Blubber Bike) fatbike relay race has been announced. It will be happening at 11am on January 20th. Last year, we attempted to do this, but unfortunately there was just not enough snow. Let's hope the weather works in our favor this time.

There will be teams of 3, riding 3 mile laps for 3 hours. The team to do the most laps wins. Should be a lot of fun!

Read official info here, and RSVP here on the Facebook page.

Above is a new flyer that I threw together in a couple minutes using my illustration from last year.