Latest / Full Spectrum Cycling / Full Spectrum Cycling #270 – Seeley Dave – Jerry Wright Memorial – New Surly Moonlander – Omnium Cedaero Bag

Transcript

Full Spectrum Cycling #270 – Seeley Dave – Jerry Wright Memorial – New Surly Moonlander – Omnium Cedaero Bag · Full Spectrum Cycling

• 0:00
  [rock music] Hey, everybody.
• 0:25
  Welcome to Full Spectrum Cycling. This being the 270th edition of said show. 270, yo. Yes. I couldn't think of anything clever- Right... I thought about, but no. Nothing. Nothing, nothing popped in. Today we have JK.
• 0:43
  Hey, hey. Tony is, uh, otherwise indisposed on this recording session. He heckled me. He said my bike was ugly as I rode by as he was waiting to pick up the Daniel. [laughs] I was...
• 0:59
  I th- I heard somebody yelling at me, and people... Well, it's first day of school, so people are, uh, parked where they ain't supposed to be parked. And it's just, like, ugh.
• 1:10
  So I'm already gritting my damn teeth trying to get into traffic, and then I hear somebody yelling at me, and it's a school. [laughs] So I, I marshaled it in. I didn't go, "Fuck you." [laughs] Yeah.
• 1:23
  Well- Which is the normal reaction, and then I looked over and it was the Tony, so. Well, with, uh, with Lake Drive and Downer both closed- Dude, that place is a shitshow right now...
• 1:33
  I came down, uh, Hartford, which I'd... W- only because I wanted to be on the- Oh... east side of Oakland so I could go to, uh, Otto's Liquor. And since we're already [laughs] at the top of the hill- Ding-dong...
• 1:45
  we'll just, we'll just talk about the beer right away and get that- Yeah... out of the way. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I wanted...
• 1:49
  I didn't wanna go loop around the block and do this and wait for the light, so I went down Hartford. [laughs] And I'm like, "Oh, these kids don't know where they're going yet.
• 1:56
  They're just wandering- Oh, they just blindly walk across the street... wandering all over the place." Walk across the street. That's...
• 2:00
  I shit you not, that is, like, like, bane of my existence the beginning of every fucking semester. It's like they don't know how to, like, cross streets. Like, even if it's a crosswalk, I'm sorry, I get it.
• 2:10
  Yeah, use that. But the paint ain't gonna stop the car. Right. You look out. Da, da, da, da. And- 'Cause they're, they're on their phone. They're do, do, do, do, do. Exactly.
• 2:17
  Or even that, th- no, they just feel entitled. Yeah. Uh- That could be... they haven't learned that yet, you know? And the other one is, wait for people to get out of an elevator before you try to enter the elevator.
• 2:28
  Good call. Because- More people fit in there when you let the people out. Yeah. So I, I always come out like a, like [laughs] inflate like a puffer fish. [laughs] As I'm coming out, like, gonna put 'em...
• 2:38
  Uh, like, not totally put 'em in the boards, but- Right... you know, a little bit, you know? Yeah. D- d- use the little mosh pit technique, like, feel pressure on the forearms. There you go. Arm goes away.
• 2:48
  And we're top of the hill. So- Yeah... yeah. I, I, well, I went into Otto's, and, uh- Oh, man... Raised Grain is a brewing company out of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Or Waukesha.
• 2:58
  I wonder if they're using our lake water to brew this beer. Uh- Because they now get Lake Michigan water, even though they're in the Mississippi- Did they do a-... River watershed... like, a l- a lily pad from...
• 3:08
  Like, 'cause I think that's happened with New Berlin. Like, New Berlin got- Well, New Berlin, I don't th- well, I think- Think they-... they're still on our side. I think they're still in the Great Lakes watershed.
• 3:17
  Uh, Waukesha is definitely in the Mississippi River, and they're not supposed to take water out of this side and put it on that side. They have to return everything they get, theoretically.
• 3:25
  Uh- But they can still use it somehow. Oh, that's all- Anyway... very hippy. So, uh- [laughs]... you know, I got, I got mesmerized by the label from this, uh- Yes, it is. It is, right...
• 3:34
  Raised Grain Cold IPA called Shrinkage. [laughs] I wonder what that means. Anyway, it's not bad. Eyes up here, YouTubers. Yep. I don't- Um- I, it's not bad.
• 3:46
  Um, I didn't have a fluffer, fluffy today, so this was, this is actually my f- first decent beer of the day, so. But yeah, I dunno. I, I cheated. It's, it's good. Uh, I don't know much about it.
• 3:58
  You can look on, on Untapped. Uh, it is a... I dunno what Cold IPA means. Might be how it's brewed or something. Most likely. Yeah. Didn't seem to have any indicators of its, uh, alcohol oozies,
• 4:10
  but I'll assume in the six. No, we can, uh... Maybe Untapped has something. Let's see here. I'd say, I'll guess 6.5. All right. 6.5. I'm going 6.2. Uh, 9- Nice win... 940 reviews. 6.3. Oh. [laughs] All right.
• 4:25
  Um- Yeah, split it. Guardi-not. Yeah, it's a four and a half, uh, from that guy. 3.73 average, 790 ratings. Wow.
• 4:33
  It's a hop forward, uh, ale using citra hops, creating a beer that's ultimately crispy cleaner and more crushable like a lager. Crisp and clean. No caffeine. But I was... So when I looked at, uh- [laughs]
• 4:46
  When I [laughs] when I looked at, uh, Raised Grain's website, I couldn't find it, and I'd found it in, like, their seasonals or past beers. [laughs] I'm like, "Oh, oh shit.
• 4:55
  Did I get suckered into a t- nine-month-old beer again?" Yeah. Yeah, like my Motorhead purchase. Yeah. But not so bad, so. Right. Right, right. I give it a go. No, it's tasty. Yeah.
• 5:03
  But they got, they got tons of different, uh, tons of different beers. Uh, and very good art on most of them, so there you go. If you're a beer can art person, check that out. Yeah.
• 5:12
  Naked Threesome is on tap at places I've seen, and that's a tasty some sort of IPA. I think it's a l- I think there are a lot of IPA with different names and different potencies. It's a little burpy. Yeah. [laughs] Um.
• 5:28
  [laughs] Whoo. Fizzy lifting drinks. Well, we didn't, uh- It's the only way that you can keep down from the ceiling, Greg. The- That's how it is. Yeah. I mean, Sven. It's [laughs] it's been a, uh...
• 5:37
  It was a, it was a long weekend with the holiday in there, but, uh, we d- we didn't see JK all that much. No, I was out of town for the Tour de Towner, which- Tour de Towner was good. There was about a dozen people.
• 5:50
  Um, several people that hadn't done it before, which was kinda... Like Berta and Mike were there, and yeah. Yeah. I saw them- So-...
• 5:55
  later in the day, 'cause when I got back from West Bend, uh, rode down to Nomad, Brady Street. They were doing a Caribbean reggae thing, which was cool. Uh, Mar- DJ Marcus Du set...
• 6:09
  was doing his thing, but we got there when he was done, and the band was setting up, and it was JD Rankin and the Solomon Royals Sort of a raga thing, huh? It's essentially King Solomon with just, mm, the same players.
• 6:25
  Just some removed and some replaced. So- Same vibe... that was, uh, that was Sunday. Saturday- But it was fun. They... It was all the beats, the big old, you know, shaba-da, you know, the big shaba voice going on.
• 6:38
  Right on. And I'm like, "Oh, yeah." It scratched a good itch. Uh, Saturday, Tony and I did a pre-ride of a proposed- Mm... Steel Is Real course, which I think we nailed pretty good what's gonna happen, but
• 6:51
  need a little bit of more work. So the next couple Saturdays we're gonna do a pre-ride again. If you're available, JK, we'd love to, uh, get your input. Sure. Um, we skipped going long out of, uh...
• 7:02
  It's starting at Hollander on the 21st of September here in Milwaukee. Uh, what I'm, what I'm proposing to do this year is not tell anybody about the route. Right. I was gonna ask- [laughs]...
• 7:12
  but then I thought, I was like, "Well, I think we discussed the, the, the, the-" Eh, I don't know. Yeah. If you go through pictures that are in feeds and stuff, you might get a clue- I mean, you'll get an idea...
• 7:20
  as to where some of them are, but not when or, you know, how much or how long. Um, also- You just wanna get ahead of the person that's gonna...
• 7:29
  Like, you wanna get to the place before the person that you know is gonna order something complex is, gets in front of you. Yeah, I don't think that's- That's about the only thing...
• 7:35
  I don't think that's gonna happen because- It shouldn't... I'm not telling anybody [laughs] where it is- But all the same... before we get there... all the same.
• 7:41
  Um, and, uh, we're, we're doing, we're doing a, uh, a tribute to clunkers this year. Mm. Mm-hmm. So if you have a clunker-esque bike, bring that thing. If you don't, bring that other thing. Does my ugly purple bike...
• 7:56
  It would be in the spirit of- Yeah, somewhat because it's-... spirit of- Yeah... 'cause it's a piece of shit. Somewhat in the spirit of the- And single speed.
• 8:03
  Uh, even, even the, uh, the low side, you know, it's got elements of clunkiness to it. Yeah, yeah. I just have to get the tire- Get that tire fixed again [laughs]. [laughs] A great bike with a flat tire all the time.
• 8:16
  Oh, yeah. Well, I keep it, like, keep it on the shelf
• 8:21
  for, like, a little while, like a month or two, and then re- re- like, readdress it, reinflate it, and then have fun with it for another couple months and, you know, so I don't know. Yeah.
• 8:32
  Speaking of Surly, 'cause that was a Surly low side. [laughs] Ah. I don't know if anybody's seen the- Oh, my... I don't know if I'm gonna call it ridiculous or not.
• 8:40
  I haven't ridden it yet, but the- Visually ridiculous... the new Moonlander is a 24-inch wheel with a 6.2-inch tire. It looks like the shit you'd see down in, like...
• 8:50
  Hey, you know, this is the cruise ship excursion, and we're on those, like, humongous, uh, um, water, uh, tricycle thing. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm talking about. Yeah.
• 9:02
  They're, like, not really inflated, but it has that- Yeah... vibe when I saw it. And, and I think to get it to work, they had to make it kinda longer and stuff. So it's sort of a...
• 9:11
  It, it's a float at all costs expedition thing it seems like. Sure. I mean, I could see you... Terrain. It's also- That would be really, really great in...
• 9:21
  it, it's also sig- it's significantly expensive because it's got a pinion drive, which I think has 18 gears or something. Uh-huh. And it's, you know, it's like $4,200. Oh, yeah.
• 9:31
  Amongst the most expensive Surlys ever- Sure... that are not electric, you know? And prob- it probably is the most expensive that's not an electric. Hey, I got a button to push here. Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my.
• 9:42
  Welcome to the radio program. Caller, who do we have on the line? It's Silly Dave. Hi, Silly Dave. Hey, Silly Dave. We were ju- [clears throat] We were just discussing the new Surly Moonlander 6 point, 6.2 edition.
• 9:59
  Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Good job, good job, Surly. I mean, we, w- Gomez dropped this rumor, like, what? Six or seven months ago or something. Right. Yeah. There was- Remember that? Yeah, for sure.
• 10:15
  [clears throat] Yeah, I think right around the time we were all debating whether, whether, um, fat bikes were a fad. Yeah. [laughs] Right. Well, I didn't, I did not see the, uh, the pinion drive coming.
• 10:29
  That was- I did, I did not see that at all either. I think it's pretty freaking cool though. Yeah. It's- Um, I think the whole bike is super cool. I mean, it, it's... And it's Surly at its best, right?
• 10:40
  Surly doing something completely out of the box- Mm-hmm... just for the freaking, you know, fuck of it, right? I mean- So are, are-... fatter tires, bigger grins. Right. [laughs] Mm-hmm. Right?
• 10:55
  I don't know if this is gonna create another, uh, you know, war of, of tire sizes, but I'm just wondering how many other companies might come out with a 6.2 tire now, or if they're gonna be the sole- Well, so okay, so-...
• 11:07
  sole purveyor of that size... so I don't need this bike- [laughs]... because [laughs] our trails are- There are a few that do. I think few do... I've got, you know, I've got four... I, I've got 4.8-inch tires.
• 11:22
  I've got studded tires on my Milwaukee fat bike. My trails are groomed, you know. Um, I've got gravel roads to ride on in the winter as well.
• 11:34
  So I don't really need this, but I can see that this could help grow fat biking, like, more out west. Like the mountains- Mm-hmm... they don't, they don't groom a lot, you know? They don't groom a lot of...
• 11:49
  If you look at, like, maps of where all the groomed trails are, you look at, like, places out in Colorado in the mountains and stuff like that or, you know, Utah or... They don't groom a lot.
• 11:59
  And so, like, they're stuck riding on, at best, like, snowmobile trails if they wanna go off, you know, the gravel road network. So I think this could maybe expand fat bike use out west.
• 12:14
  That would be interesting, because any, I think almost any, maybe not every, but almost, uh, places that do groom are resorts, like Grand Targhee grooms, and there's some stuff around- Right...
• 12:26
  uh, Jackson Hole, and you know. Yeah. But they're kinda connected with local- Right, but-... local resorts more than anything else. Yeah.
• 12:33
  But it's, I mean, really, the Midwest is kind of like the grooming mecca for, for fat bikes, you know. Um, so Min- upper Minnesota, Wisconsin and, and Michigan are, are probably, you know,
• 12:50
  the most, where the most groomed trails are- Excellent... I, I would guess. Absolutely. I don't know about OD. Well, especially- Um, but it seems like-... when we have, when we actually get snow, with the [laughs]
• 13:01
  Hopefully we get some snow this year. Right. Not counting last winter. Right. What's, what's- Yeah, not counting last winter. What is the, uh, the Farmer's Almanac say about your area this year?
• 13:09
  Have you got any prognostication up there? I think we're supposed to have a good, I think we're supposed to have a good winter this, this winter, yeah. I think we're supposed to have a good one, so. Yeah. Uh, but yeah.
• 13:18
  I'm, I'm actually, I... Three cheers for Surly for hitting it out of the park again. Um, you know, I, I super... And, uh, here's the one thing, though. Um,
• 13:33
  that bike, I, I would never get that bike until somebody makes studded tires. Oh. I mean, I just ride studded tires all winter, you know? And there's, there's, like, one tire for that bike right now, right? Yeah.
• 13:45
  As far as I know. I mean, it, we, I just, it kinda just dropped last week as something we can actually talk about. Right. So. Yeah, you're kind of, you know- If they come out with, like, a-... keep it super secret...
• 13:56
  a 6.2 inch Dillinger, yeah, a, a, which will be, you know, $400 per tire or something [laughs] like that. [laughs] Um, 'cause- Hey, well, that was- Right? Yeah... because Dillinger's are steep now.
• 14:09
  It was 30% off, uh, yeah, I think it was a 30 for- 30% off select gear off of 45NRTH [laughs] this past weekend.
• 14:19
  Yeah, I don't think it included- And I was just like- I don't think it included tires that haven't been introduced yet. [laughs] No, it didn't.
• 14:23
  I, I, I sniffed around and I'm like, "Yeah, this is a bunch of shit I don't really need." You know? Yeah. Yeah. 40% off a $40 Gator. But, you know, I mean, Dillinger- Huh? No...
• 14:31
  full retail on, full retail on Dillinger's, like, 250, right? 200? Yeah. Well, some of them have came down and then they made new ones and those were more expensive, and I don't know if it's just...
• 14:42
  Yeah, I don't know the pricing scheme. When inventory is high, prices drop. Basically that's how, you know, QBP works, so. Yeah. Yeah.
• 14:50
  But- And they, and then if- So if they come out with 6.2 studded tires, they'll, they'll be expensive, I'm just saying, you know. I would imagine, yeah.
• 14:58
  But, you know, that's, if, if it's what you need, it's what you need. [laughs] Yeah. You know, it, and you only need one, one set of those, and they last for at least five years. True that. At least. So. All right.
• 15:14
  Um, so yeah. But I, I liked it. I was pleased. I was a, a little surprised. I wasn't expecting, as you said, the Pinion thing, which I think is also very cool. But, um, yeah.
• 15:27
  So maybe this also means, um, more Pinion stuff for other Surlys, is what I'm wondering about. Yeah. I'm just still kinda trying to figure out- I wonder if that's-...
• 15:35
  if they had to use, like, a Pinion or similar to get the chain line wide enough to work with this setup, so, you know, you couldn't do a traditional drivetrain on it.
• 15:45
  Plus, obviously, the wide range of the Pinion is gonna make it a lot more useful, for sure. But it, it makes it spendy. I mean, it's expensive.
• 15:51
  Well, it's got a dera- they've got a derailleur hanger on, on the, on the rear, you know, dropout. They've got a derailleur hanger on it.
• 15:59
  So in theory, you could run a Pinion, and I think it's only their nine-speed Pinion on this one. It's the, it's the low-end Pinion. Yeah. Um, I think it's, so in theory... But it's still got 548% gear range or something.
• 16:15
  It's just got kinda big gaps. In theory, you could put, like, a cassette on the back of a, back there and, and you could have a Pinion plus, plus [laughs] a cassette back there to, like- That would be interesting.
• 16:30
  Might- Oh, yeah. I do see that. Yeah... it, it might be a- Yeah... it might be a little truncated or something, but it would give you a, even a wider range. Yeah, right. Yeah.
• 16:39
  So in theory you could do that, but I would suspect that, who cares, it's a fat bike. Yeah. If you've got 548% gear [laughs] ratio, who cares how widely spaced they are? That's fine.
• 16:51
  Well, it's, it's like the, uh- I don't see, like- It, it, it's like the, the, uh, the box system is a 500 plus percent range in nine speeds, which I think for fat bikes is not a bad idea because the chain is a nine-speed chain and not a 12-speed chain, and it's less susceptible to sand and other crap getting in there and- Oh, and it's a 24 by.
• 17:13
  Yeah, it's 24. I just noticed that. It's 24 by. Yeah. Right on. All right. Well, Surly- Yeah... congrats on that idea. Let's see how that works for you. Um- Yeah. That's how I feel. [laughs] That's how I feel.
• 17:24
  Well, there's a couple other things going on up at, uh, by you. Uh, one is we got a date for the Fat Bike Birky now, May 8th, 2025, so that's a ways out, which we can talk about later.
• 17:35
  Um, you wanna talk a little bit about the Jerry thing, the Jerry Wright Memorial? Well, um, yeah. So that's, that's coming up, um, is that... I forgot the date. October. It should be October. Let me get out my calendar.
• 17:51
  October 12th is the date I've got. October 12th, yeah. I was thinking it was the 12th, yeah. Yeah. But, um, yeah. So yeah, that's, you know, I mean, it's just a, a terrible, you know...
• 18:06
  I, I mean, I, people, people probably don't know how many things Jerry did a- as a volunteer. I, I mean, he- Not only was he like, you know, mountain bike patrol, he was, he was on two different search and rescue teams.
• 18:24
  He, um, [clears throat] he was on the Intercounty Trail emergency trail signage team, which created these like, um, USNG, um,
• 18:36
  emergency trail marker system that's been being put up all around on all the trail networks, the ski trails that, um, the, uh, um, mountain bike trails and the ATV, UTV trails and snowmobile trails.
• 18:53
  He, he did all the GI- helped with all the GIS stuff and putting up the actual signs. You know, I mean, he groomed for CAMBA. He was a trail steward for CAMBA o- on the summertime trails. He, [clears throat]
• 19:08
  um, he coached NICA. He, you know, I mean, it- he was- Yeah... on the board of everything. He just did...
• 19:15
  He, he wrote, you know, um, medical on the Tour de Chequamegon for us and, and, uh, Hungry Bear when I ran that as well. Um, yeah, yeah, Gerry just did countless things. And, um,
• 19:30
  but the big thing that, like, Gerry did, other than all that volunteer stuff which will definitely be missed, um, was like, he just always had this like positive attitude. He always had a goofy grin on his face.
• 19:44
  That's for sure. [laughs] He always had something stupid and funny to say. You know, like, he was always laughing about something on a ride. I, I think of Gerry as, as, you know, one of those great
• 19:57
  emotional ride sherpas who just sort of, you know, carried everybody's spirits on virtually every ride he was on. Uh-huh.
• 20:06
  Yeah, we- And, uh- Well, we r- we rode with, uh, we rode with Mike and Berta, who had had, uh, this last weekend, who had done Tour de Chequamegon with you guys, and they just were like- Yeah...
• 20:17
  "Oh, he was so great," you know, around. He would just, you know, recount stories and talk and was, you know, was just a very- Yeah... a great person that they were happy to have met.
• 20:26
  And I mean, I first met him, like, 30 years ago, and it's just been, you know, it's been, it, it's- Did you know him from Decorah? Yeah, from- Did you know him from Iowa or- I knew him from Deke, basically- Mm...
• 20:37
  at, at, which is now Oneota River Cycles, but back then it was Decorah Bicycles, and Gerry was a...
• 20:42
  He was, he just, that's where he got stuff back then, and Deke was a good friend of his and, you know, I, I, I- Yeah, he's from I- I knew he was from Iowa. Yeah.
• 20:51
  And a- actually, I never put two and two together with, like, the Chewy spinner sort of crowd with Gerry. [laughs] Um, it, I never thought of that, but it makes- Oh, he fits- But I get it, yeah...
• 21:02
  he, he, he fits right- Epiphanies... of course they would know each other... yeah. Apostrophes. He definitely fits right in with the crowd, that's for sure. He's, uh, just- Yeah... like, like you said, it- Yeah...
• 21:09
  he was, he's like a sherpa that just spread, spread the love and, and, you know, the love of mountain biking especially- Yeah... everywhere, so yeah.
• 21:17
  Anyway, October 12th- Yeah, and but he was also one of the very first fat bikers. He was part of CAMBA Fat when, when CAMBA, um, CAMBA didn't want
• 21:28
  fat bikes and didn't, you know, the early, there was, in the same way, you know, ski hills resisted snowboards. Mm-hmm. Sure.
• 21:34
  The mountain bike crowd resisted fat bikes early, and everybody up here is like, "It's ski season. Screw that," you know?
• 21:42
  And Gerry was an early fat bike adapter and part of the people that put together the very first, um, groomed fat bike trails up here, the, um, CAMBA Fat trails they were called at the time.
• 21:54
  So yeah, countless ways Gerry impacted the community and, um, and, uh, e- everything he's done will continue to, you know, people will continue to
• 22:05
  have, you know, positive impacts from all the things Gerry did for years and years to come. It's just w- he won't be around. Yeah. Which is very sad. For sure. And, you know, it's just one of those crazy things.
• 22:17
  You know, Gerry was a very safe rider always. You know, um, it is just a freak thing where, you know, a broken... It sounds like a, he had a Carver fat bike, Ti Carver fat bike, and sometimes he had a,
• 22:32
  I think sometimes he had a, a no-name carbon fork on it, and other times he had the Ti fork that came with it, and I guess the Ti fork broke, it sounds like, at the steerer tube. Oh, boy. And he ha- Yeah...
• 22:44
  was just taking down signs, um, on the trails at Telemark after the Chequamegon 100 race, again, volunteering, and just landed the absolute wrong way, um, you know, in rocks, like, on his face and, um- Ugh...
• 23:02
  yeah. Yeah. And it just, so, yeah. So it's just a weird freak accident, um, and, you know, nothing you can do about it. Well- And I guess he, so upside is he died doing what he loved.
• 23:16
  That's what, uh, everybody says- You know, volunteering... for sure. [laughs] On a bike. Yeah. I don't- So, you know, it, it, it's some consolation in terms of that.
• 23:26
  And I f- I feel it's, I feel it's somewhat ironic that Deke, 30 years ago or 25 years ago, had a, had a, I would say not a similar, well, somewhat of a similar injury, I guess.
• 23:37
  He dropped off a curb and w- was riding home from his bike shop to his house in Decorah and dropped off the curb, and his wheel wedged in a sewer grate and just pitched him right over the bars- Oh...
• 23:49
  you know, going eight or 10 miles an hour, and, you know, uh- Right...
• 23:53
  he got airlifted to, uh, uh, Mayo, and they said this is, this is one of the worst facial something something, whatever they called it, things they'd seen and- Yeah... in his case they were able to- Yeah... you know,
• 24:05
  do the things that were necessary, but, uh, yeah. What a drag. So October 12th. Right, yeah. I don't, I don't know, I mean, I know a bunch of people that are going up there will be up there and,
• 24:15
  um, I'm sure he'll have a- Yeah, I'll def- I'll definitely, yeah, I'll definitely be at that. Right. Um, I- All right, so, uh, the other reason why I called though, a couple other reasons.
• 24:26
  One, um, I sent you some text photos of... I went up, I had, uh, the Darrow make a custom, uh, frame bag for my Omnium. Yep. And it, it turned out so nice. I, I can't...
• 24:43
  I- it's the nicest [laughs] it is definitely the nicest, you know, bike packing bag I own, and they did such a great job, and it was a very fun shop visit as well. Um, but so, um, I'm gonna take a few non-phone photos.
• 25:01
  The things I sent to you were just phone photos. Yeah. I actually did some, I did a little, I did a photo story for, uh, the website thenorth.com. Sure.
• 25:11
  Um, and, uh, so, uh, that plus some more photos of my Omnium bag will be up on that, but I'll get Brandon from Omnium some photos of this. It's sweet.
• 25:23
  So the, so it's, um, I had mine made in black with black canvas, wax canvas. Then they line it with, um, with a, a nylon liner, so a light-colored liner.
• 25:38
  I picked yellow so you can, when you look in your bag, it's easier to find stuff rather than looking in a black, you know- Ah, ha... deep- Ah, ha... black bag.
• 25:47
  Um, so it's lined with yellow, then it's got two compartments. It's got a lower compartment that's like, eh, three inches tall, that's full length.
• 26:00
  So like I can put my tripod and all that stuff, you know, long, heavy things like stuff like, and tent stakes or poles and stuff like that down in that bottom thing, and then I also put like my tubes and, and stuff like that down in there.
• 26:18
  Um, and then it's got this cavernous main compartment that also has on the side, I didn't even know this when I ordered it, they have three little mesh dividers on, on the side, the zipper side.
• 26:32
  Um, so like you can stuff like your, um, your multi-tool or, you know, your, your knives or things like, things that you might wanna grab and not just have dumped in this big cavernous [clears throat] Flash... frame bag.
• 26:47
  Yeah. And then I could put all kinds of clothes or whatever else in the rest of that. And then the, and then the, um, other side has got one of those thin map pockets that's full depth.
• 26:59
  So like I [laughs] it's a map pocket, but I can stick my arm all the way down- Yeah... to my elbow- Yeah. Oh, no way... in the map pocket. I kinda see your picture- So-... of that.
• 27:07
  You don't mind if we throw these pictures up on the site just to show the- No, no. Okay. Please do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, please do. Yeah. They're- Yeah...
• 27:14
  I mean, it, it, they do a great job It, it's like really well-built. Yeah, so good.
• 27:19
  So I, so the shop up there, it's in, uh, Two Harbors, which is a town a little bit bigger than Hayward, 3,500 people or something like that, right on the South Shore of Lake Superior, and, um, it's got a bike shop, um, Spoke and Gear Bike Shop.
• 27:34
  It's got, um, Cedar Coffee Company, a coffee shop that also serves, you know, wraps and sandwiches and stuff like that, and then it's got the Sedero Bag Making Company. So there's 35-plus employees working there- Oh...
• 27:51
  um, at this sort of like, um, compound. They're also like a Warm Show- on Warm Showers. So like they've got external bathrooms with showers that you can get a door code to.
• 28:03
  So like if you're doing some sort of like adventure, jumping off from Two Harbors and you wanna, you can leave your vehicle in their parking lot and go off bike packing or whatever, and then when you come back, you wanna get cleaned up before you drive home, you've got access to a, a bathroom with a, a hot shower and stuff like that.
• 28:22
  Damn. So, um- That's quite, quite the service... and the owner, Dan Crookshank, he used to run, he owns a company Granite Gear. Remember that company? Yeah. It's still around, but he sold it. Oh, okay.
• 28:34
  Um, they made like, um, Duluth packs and backpacks and like stuff bags and stuff like that, um, he and a buddy.
• 28:42
  So I think he made a bunch of money selling Granite Gear to somebody else, and then he used that money to open this shop.
• 28:50
  So very nice shop, and the shop had mostly Surlys, but they also had a bunch of Otsos, like Ti and stainless Otsos. They had Velo Orange bikes, and they had, um, and they have, uh, Eskers.
• 29:06
  They had the, uh, they even had, uh, the first one I've seen in the wild, uh, Esker Hayduke LVS, the long titanium Esker. Yeah, that's a, that's a good-looking bike. The tail.
• 29:18
  Yeah, and they make custom frame bags for all that stuff, too, kinda like they did for the Black Borough. They made, they make custom frame bags for Black Boroughs and stuff, too, but- So they're, they're-...
• 29:27
  for those mid tails. But yeah, so it's- So n- n- right, now that they've had your bike up there, they would do this bag for anybody with your size Omnium because they probably- Yeah... already have all the patterns.
• 29:36
  So they, they made the pattern for, for my bike. They said it'd be very easy for them to make the pattern for the other three, four sizes that, um, that, uh, Omnium has and, um, of the, the full cargo.
• 29:54
  I know some other people are making the Mini Max bags already, um, but this is the first company that I've seen that's made one for the full cargo frame.
• 30:04
  And, um, and they, they've got, you know, 15 different professional sewing machines. They're not just like using one like- Pro, you know, sewing machine.
• 30:16
  They've got, like, all these different models that do very specific tasks, and they've got a, um, a computer programmable pattern cutting machine to cut all their fabric.
• 30:27
  That's, that's fantastic So that allows them to be a lot more efficient and very accurate. You see it, yeah. Yeah. It, there, it's a totally pro, it's a super pro operation with about five employees just at Sidero, so.
• 30:39
  Yeah, I'm kind of, I w- I've been kinda curious about that whole, uh, you know, making stuff out of, uh, flat things and turning it into things that people wear or people put on their bikes, because there is a company right across the driveway from us that makes wetsuits for, like, pro water ski teams.
• 30:57
  And so there's, like, 20 or 30 people- Oh... on these teams. They make wetsuits for them, but they don't do a lot in the winter, and I'm like, "Dudes," you know? They got a, three or four people- Yeah...
• 31:07
  that sew, and they've got a bunch... Like you're talking about, this machine does this kinda stitch, and it's for this thing, and I don't think- Right, yeah... I'm not sure if they have the pattern cutter- Right, yeah...
• 31:15
  but, you know, it'd be like, huh, I don't know. Maybe you got some ideas. I think it was called an Automet, an Autometrix, Autometrix, um, cutter. Yeah, that's awesome. So, um, but- Awesome...
• 31:25
  yeah, it was a, it was a super cool shop visit. I had a, I had a great time chatting with them. Um, there'll be a writeup on Josh Rizzo's website, The North, N-X R-T-H.com, so, um, yeah. Cool. So there's that.
• 31:40
  Um, and then the last thing I just wanted to mention is, so this weekend is, um, there is an, um... I didn't think of this. You should've been invited to this.
• 31:49
  Um- [laughs] There is a creators conference at Windham Trails. Um, so it's a bunch of people that have, like, YouTube channels and stuff like that. I am the only podcaster and writer going, though. Huh.
• 32:04
  Um, most everybody else is just a YouTube channel or Instagram, you know?
• 32:10
  Um, so, you know, it's, you know, it's- Yeah, well, if you wanna beat up those people, I'll, you know, as podcasters come and beat up all the YouTube creators, I'll come up there. [laughs] Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun.
• 32:18
  Uh, you know, we'll, uh, there's, this weekend is organized by- We'll have the West Side Story soundtrack going or something, yeah... right... it's organized by, uh, the Dusty Dutchman, you know, uh, and, uh,
• 32:29
  he, he does a lot, he and his buddy, um, Fruit Punch, do a lot up at Windham, and so they put together this creators conference up there. Windham really does have their crap together.
• 32:40
  Um, you know, they got 23 miles of mountain bike trails. They're constantly improving them. They have their own builders on staff with their own equipment.
• 32:48
  They have a, a, a shop, uh, with, like, beer and food and, you know, um, stuff like that, and they're actually building a campground there as well, um, so, plus skiing and, and snowshoe trails and stuff like that.
• 33:02
  Windham really does have their, have their crap together.
• 33:05
  Yeah, it sounds g- I mean, I'm always interested in that because as, as little money as I make at this, which is none, I've been doing this for a really long time, and I love- [laughs]...
• 33:14
  I love doing the stuff, and, you know, we've recently gotten into just videoing this very simply, but
• 33:21
  I'm kinda like 90% of the way towards being a lot more pro about this, so I'm kinda like, I wanna know people that are doing it and making it work well for them and stuff like that, so. What button did you push? Yeah.
• 33:33
  What string did you pull? Yes. [laughs] Pulled it out.
• 33:36
  [laughs] Yeah, so, um, awesome, and, you know, I mean, I know you've got your- Yeah, and then, so then the other side of that, I'm gonna take Cowboy with me and my, um, bike packing bike, and, um, and we're gonna head off and try to finish my little mini waterfall, um, route that I've got.
• 33:52
  So Saturday I'll go to Windham, do that, and then Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, uh, Cowboy and I will try to finish off my, um, waterfall route that I've got, um, with, uh, Omnium, so.
• 34:05
  Is this the one over in the- Yeah, so I guess we'll-... in the, uh, in the UP there?
• 34:08
  The UP, yeah, s- nor- basically, it kinda, right now it starts in Watersmeet because Watersmeet has a parking lot by a canoe launch that is also next to an ATV trail where you can park for free and leave a car without a permit.
• 34:26
  But there's some other places o- north of the route that I'm gonna, uh, that I haven't been to yet, but, um, 'cause my last, um, recon ride got cut short due to hot weather, and, uh, I'm gonna check out and see if I can find a different parking spot up on the northern part of it, closer to, like, a little smaller town.
• 34:45
  But anyway, I'll let you guys know how that all works out- Cool... once that's done, but, um- All right... and then the weekend after that is Slimey Mountain Bike Festival, so. Lots of stuff happening.
• 34:56
  Well, I, I know- Yeah, I know. It's busy... it, it's a good time of year because fall rules in the Northwoods, so, uh- When it becomes September We're almost...
• 35:04
  Yeah, it, the leaves are just hinting, teasing us with the fall colors to come. The bugs, if people are thinking about coming up, the bugs, the mosquitoes have, like, no oomph left to them anymore.
• 35:17
  [laughs] They're not, like, gone, but they- They had their time... but I, I- Right... they had their time. Yeah. I- [laughs] Right. The black flies are all gone, and I, it's a little natty right now- Mm...
• 35:31
  um, in the evenings, um, or the early mornings. The, the gnats can be a little annoying, but, um, but we're almost there. Um, and actually, it's pretty great right now, and the temps are great.
• 35:43
  The colors aren't, haven't peaked yet. That'll be, you know, mid-October or something like that. Yeah, that, that- But, um-... that, that October 12th weekend should be a pretty great time to be up there
• 35:53
  and celebrate somebody that did a lot of- Yeah, yeah... wonderful stuff, yeah... very weekend, yeah, very weekend, yeah. Yeah. It will be, yeah.
• 35:59
  Looking forward to seeing you guys, and, um, yeah, and I don't know, I don't know Deke, I don't think, and, um, I don't know if I even know JP.
• 36:11
  I, I must have met JP at some sort of fat bike B-ride something or other- Oh, probably... in the past, but I don't Oh, yeah... um, so it's Steve, JP, and are Chewy and Spinner coming up? That's my understanding, yeah.
• 36:26
  And, you know, JP's from Madison- Okay, and you're, and you and- So he's, he's gonna... Me and Luns are, uh- But isn't he originally from, from Decorah or something? Uh, he's connected with all those guys, you know.
• 36:38
  I mean- Oh, okay... it's a, it's all a big happy family, you know- We're all really... for the last, for the last whatever how many years it's been, so. We're all pink on the inside. Right.
• 36:46
  [laughs] Yeah, Dave and I are planning on coming up. [laughs] Uh, uh, likely we'll be, well, I mean, he- Oh, yeah, Luns is coming, yeah. Yeah, we'll be up there Friday and, uh- Get your bail money. [laughs] Y- yeah.
• 36:56
  We- Where, where are y- where are you and Luns staying? Uh, in your garage. No. [laughs] As I said, get the bail money ready. Well- At this point, at this point I'm not positive, but, uh- [laughs]
• 37:08
  Okay, but that is an option. My, as I said, my upstairs Airbnb that Matt Hewitt from Ben Cycle, um, he's, hi- him and his wife, Liz Francik, are moving up here.
• 37:19
  So, um, they're s- they're taking over that until they find a house to buy. Sure. Oh, nice. But the lower- No, we know, we know Liz...
• 37:26
  still does have that full, full bathroom, and, and I actually have a couple of cots, even. Um- Oh, I got a van... and of course I have the full bike packing gear library. Oh, that's for sure.
• 37:36
  So sleeping bags and all that sort of- Nope... yeah, so if you guys want- Don't let Dave use them. Don't let Dave use them though. [laughs] He'll walk home. [laughs] Yeah, nobody'll... Yeah, all right, yeah.
• 37:47
  We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll touch base. You know, you know, you know. Yeah, you know. I, I'm, I'm waiting to see what those guys do to make it, you know... I don't wanna intrude too much, but we'll be low impact.
• 37:56
  It's just I think they're looking for stuff a little closer to Hayward so it's more bikeable rather than drivable. Yeah, I know. That's what you were saying. Um- Yeah...
• 38:06
  like I said, I think the Walmart parking lot is their best bet. [laughs] Well, at this point, yeah, what can you do? Bring your 24-foot trailer with your- Yeah... generator and your, you know, whatever, solar array.
• 38:18
  Honestly, if I were them, though, I mean, I don't know what they wanna do. If they just wanna go out to, like, um, Angry Minnow and Anglers or something like that and drink and ride around in Hayward, that's...
• 38:28
  But, but they're not, they're gonna hate the, the trails in Hayward- Tra-... because- [laughs]... they're all flowy. Um- Chewy said he's, Chewy said he's bringing his road bike for those trails.
• 38:41
  So they'd be better off- [laughs] Right. They'd be better off just camping at, you know, at Rome, where they can ride, you know,
• 38:53
  good gravel and Seely Pass up to Ojibwe and stuff like that, and then, and then just driving to the steak house in Hayward for one,
• 39:04
  the one event, and, and then just being able to ride to the sawmill or whatever, you know- The sawmill... or table from, from Rome. That's where they'd be better off camping. Yeah. Hopefully they're- In my opinion...
• 39:17
  so, so Steel is Real is the 21st of September here in Milwaukee, and hopefully those guys- Mm-hmm... at least some of those guys are coming over.
• 39:25
  Chewy's trying to put together a crew to come here for Steel is Real, so if we can get some good talking in about some planning and get some ideas- Okay... that might work for everybody.
• 39:35
  Well, let me know, and if you have any k- other questions, I can try to, you know- Right... direct them. But who am I to try to tell- [laughs]... Chewy or Spinner what to do? Yeah. [laughs] All right.
• 39:45
  Well, thank you for calling in. All good stuff. Okay. Um, and, uh, we'll catch up with you soon. Yeah. Right on, man. Okay. Bye, Dave. Adios. Later, buddy. No, no Tony? No Tony, no?
• 39:56
  Nah, Tony is, uh, his wife had, uh, it was first day of class, I think. Yep. She had something special going on at UWM, so he's watching- Oh... the 88-pound terror. Mosh pit creator. Oh- Ah.
• 40:07
  [laughs] Oh, God, we got, we'll talk to, we'll talk to you about that one when you see it. [laughs] But that was one of the greatest things ever seen, is little Daniel being...
• 40:14
  Well, he's not so little, but he's very adamantly mosh pitting. [laughs] [laughs] All right. All right, Da- That sounds awesome. Yep. Good to, good to talk to you. Okay. Thank you. All right, see you guys. Bye. Later.
• 40:28
  Yep, bye. Seely Dave, everybody. A lot of good information there. Yeah, yeah. Gotta, I gotta find some links for the, uh, the Sadaro bag is so cool.
• 40:36
  I, he'd sent me pictures of that before, but- I know, I felt out, I feel left out. [laughs] I couldn't see anything. [laughs] I, there's- I just smiled and nodded...
• 40:44
  we're gonna, we're gonna push a lot of this stuff on here back- Yeah...
• 40:46
  till next week, because we have a whole nother show here that we, we didn't even get to, which is fine, but- But this week, this weekend, we have to address Let's address this weekend, then. Polka Riot.
• 40:57
  Oh, yeah, for sure. Polka Riot. 'Cause that was always a- And the inaugural appearance of Sigmund Snopek III. At the Polka Riot? Yeah. He's gonna be back. I think it's gonna be the first one. That's actually,
• 41:09
  uh- Two o'clockable... that's a big, that's a big deal. Yeah. And- Can Sigmund... Well, how... [laughs] I'm, well, I'm also curious how that whole kit's gonna get into that little cubby hole at Last Rites.
• 41:19
  No, it goes, it goes outside. That's what I'm saying. [laughs] In, at Last Rites. They have- It's still a little cubby hole. I think they cut that tree down. Doesn't matter. It's still a... Geez.
• 41:29
  [laughs] Yeah, it's like a d- weird- Yeah... diorama that you made in, like, sixth grade that you have to walk a little bit, like whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop.
• 41:36
  So L- yeah, so last, so September, is it Saturday? Yep. Yeah, and the- It'll be September 7th, two days before the holiday, which would be the birth of JK. The, the JK, which is also, by the way, the next, um,
• 41:50
  big Apple announcement for what they're coming out with, so that might over- 9.9? Yes, it's overshadowing your stuff with the new iPad and- From Tim Apple? Tim, [laughs] Tim Apple. Yes, one of- Tim Apple?
• 42:01
  My favorite guy. All right. Steve Apple Jobs must be just rolling... I, we have to call Russell, the love muscle- [laughs]... but he was in the hammock at the last thing I saw. I, I...
• 42:12
  Why do people take pictures of their feet? He is a, the toe show brother. Oh, God. I don't know if some people are down for the toe show. [laughs] I don't know. [laughs] We're all here now for the toe show. Oh, wow.
• 42:28
  Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na. That was a twist ending. Oh. Oh, and Marilyn- A little Marilyn action... little Marilyn Manson. All right, everybody.
• 42:34
  Thank you for s- doing this extended version with Seely Dave and JK, and we'll be back next week. I w- Go to the topless bottles... assume that we'll have a, I assume we'll have a Tony Burger.
• 42:45
  I'm not positive, but, uh- You should... we'll, we'll strong arm him into it. Bye. Mm, bye.
• 42:54
  [outro music]