Been a while.............image dump.

Wow, I know I don't post much in here but that's gotta be a record. Haha

I really don't think many read this shitty blog anyway but, what the hell. This is for those of you who stumble in here, be it through curiosity or accident.

Still riding.................still taking shots.

Here are some random shots I've taken over the last while.


Recent beach outing.

Solo rail trail outing.

On the Niner for a change

Maiden voyage/test ride of the Ice Cream Truck

Break time while out on the Straggler. Such a fun bike.

A quick add I made for my buddys' shop.

Riding the beach just before the (snow) storm hit.

Nearing the end of a 70ish km point-to-point "race". I soooooo wasn't ready for that event. I was hurting hear. Hahaha

Just a Rocky Element I really dig. Had to take a shot.

That's it for now. Not much of an entry I know but I've got plans.....for more......later. Like punk rock, the blog's not dead. I'll continue popping back in on occasion. Hopefully you do as well.

Cheers.

The Cross Check Is Gone.

After years of total reliability and flawless performance, I got rid of a bike that set quite a standard in my quiver: my Surly Cross Check.

It was a bike that was actually a bit painful to part with but, at least, it isn't far. Sold it to a buddy of mine. At least I will see it out being ridden every now and again. It's gone to a good place.

One may ask, "Why part with something so admired?" Well, there is a simple answer. Surly released something that, for me, hit the nail right smack on the head! Something that I'd been wanting for years! Basically, not "totally" mind you, but pretty much, a Cross Check with disc tabs.

Yes, I'm speaking of course of the Straggler. It was a God damned no brainer for me when I saw it way back when. A bike with all the versatility of my CC, some minor geometry changes but disc tabs were a big deal for me. Once I spotted the "Glitter Dreams" paint.................well........................metallic flake??????

I'm all over that!!

So..............I pulled the Cross Check apart swapping all the parts I could. I was bound and determined to keep my Campy Chorus/Record groupo I loved so much and found the conversion cassette to be a simple solution to getting a Campy groupset to work on a Shimano disc hub. I purchasing only brakes (which were a trade for mtb BB7's I had already), new Brooks Swallow Titanium saddle, Stan ZTR Crest rims (pealed some of the stickers off to make them less "vibrant" - yuck) and laced them up on some older XT disc hubs. I did take the time to apply matching purple nipples to the wheels though. I had a good laugh (we all did) when I went into the shop and asked if I "......could get some purple nipples". Hahaha

Slapped it all together at my usual stop, Blackwell Cycle, and James was kind enough to lace the wheels up for me. That's about the only thing I don't do. F@#% lacing wheels. I can't stand it. It truly pisses me off. Hahaha Thanks again to James and John for getting the frame, fork and extra parts I needed in. Cheers once again.

Freaking stoked on this build.

Gotta get these exams done so I can rip it up!

And my other rides!!! I'm missing my bikes right now.

I of course snapped some pictures fresh off the bike stand. Here's how it turned out.

Can't wait to get it dirty!

Life...........It's Busy!

I keep telling myself that it will slow down and things will go back to the way they once were. Truth is, it won't. I have a hard time coming to grips with that. What I'm continuing to do though is trying and adapt. Trying to adjust and manipulate all I have to do in a day and cram in as much cycling as possible without sacrificing anything else.

It's bee getting better lately. Been doing a fair bit of fat biking.

Here's a manual-style wheelie for you. HAHA Good times....

Today's entry will just be a few random shots I've taken while out over the past couple of weeks. It's been fun. Just wish some of my buds would get on board with riding fat.......and in the cold.

Here's a pic I took just down the street from my house while riding the beach. Lake's starting to freeze up! Soon it'll be time to ride out there a ways. Looking forward to it.

A little further down the beach I stumbled upon........

Anyway, gotta get going here. Gotta get some shopping done so I can get back and maybe squeeze another ride in. That would be nice. We'll see.

Sorry for the obvious lack of effort in this post. Just dropping in to show that all is well and we're still rolling.

Really wanting to ride my Guru right now but, not freaking way. Too much salt down now.

I'll post about it eventually I suppose.

Cheers.

Here too is a quick/short little video I slapped together a few days ago. Didn't spend much time on it as I wanted to rack miles up instead.

Thanks for reading!
Feel free to comment so I know you're out there.
Steve A.

A Great Escape from Steve Arseneault on Vimeo.

Sweet Rides Entry #13: A Green Machine

         It’s been a while for one of these “Sweet Rides” entries so I thought I’d better throw one down today. 

To someone new to the blog, at quick glance one might think the color is the key to a ride’s selection (seeing as the previous Sweet Rides entry is also lime green) but I can assure you that their color is pure coincidence. There are rides of all colors in past SR entries. Steel's the reason then? Nope. Despite my admitted "soft spot" for steel bikes, those who have read past entries already know that there are bikes of all materials that are spotlighted. Some may still think that only bikes that require us to visit our respective banks to discuss our financial plans may be the key, but, again, as I’ve said/shown before, that is not always the case. Most expensive doesn't always mean "best" as I've learned the hard way myself over many years spent abusing bikes.

So.......... What is it about this particular bike? 

Well, put simply, I friggin’ like it! That is the biggest rule (obviously) I must adhere to with respect to these entries.  

The other big motivating factor for an entry choice is that the bikes must be assembled for a purpose and  built up in such a way that they serve that purpose well. Whether that objective is to exist as a pure racer, a bomb-proof grocery getter or an epic all-day steed doesn’t matter. Bikes just need to be assembled for a reason, by the owner, with hand picked parts..............and WORK. When you take this into consideration, you’ll get a better sense as to why I chose this particular bike to write about.

The bike belongs to my buddy James’ daughter. Built by James because his daughter needed something to get around town on: a commuter.

The bike itself appealed to me but, I must admit, I thought it was cool as hell that he whipped this bike together (a very long time ago) for her to use as a reliable means of transportation - and she dug it. And THAT is a big reason this bike appealed enough to make the cut. It is nowhere NEAR a choice the average dad would consider but, this dad did and with good reason..............safety/reliability #1 and wickedly unique style for his girl #2.

From a small town, her bike attracts a lot of attention, as it would, even in bigger towns. It’s different. There are very few 1x1’s in her neck of the woods. A resilient, simple bike. Ruggedly, but, intelligently built and ready for absolutely anything. James left nothing to chance and a closer look quickly reveals both the father-looking-out-for-his-daughter (with respect to nearly-indestructible parts) along with color matching bits and small details for that visual appeal his daughter was undoubtedly looking for.

He started with a Surly 1x1 frame and rigid fork for the sake of simplicity and reliability. Let’s face it: we all know that the less “stuff” on a bike, the less can go wrong. His daughter would be rolling whenever she needed to. He wanted her to have no issues. 

He assembled the drivetrain with quality parts that would work flawlessly for probably a hundred years in this mostly light duty roll: and it’s perfect. A Race Face XC crankset and BB mated with an e.thirteen bash guard: the guard serving as both a chain guide and providing ring protection just in case. 

Nothing less than a nicely machined Rennen Design Group cog paired with a brass Wippermann Connex chain to finish it off. 

The high grade brass offers a reliable protection against corrosion. Again, reliable and very low maintenance. A Pazzaz wheel tensioner helps keep everything in alignment.

No dad wants his girl riding around with flimsy controls and equipment that doesn’t help foster confidence, so, naturally, a Deity riser bar secured via a Thomson Elite X4 stem was in order! Hahahaha

Bling Bling!

Dad was cool enough to route the front brake housing through the stem too for a nice touch.

Race Face seat post and comfy, yet rugged, WTB saddle offer support.

Nicely sized Maxxis Hookworm tires provide loads of durability and traction for any urban outing. Their volume help soften the rigid frame as a bonus. 

Peeling all the stickers off the Mavic rims help provide a bit of a cosmetic touch as well. I'd use the term "stealthy" but, since the bike is lime green..............well.............stealthy doesn't work here :-) Besides, I'm positive James wanted his daughter to be seen while in traffic so that color has a natural bonus of a visual pop.

He decided that stopping would be provided by reliable and well adjusted set of mechanical Hayes disc brakes he had kicking around. Lots of power and a more than adequate choice for their intended use.

Also on the cosmetic front are some nice Steven Hamilton Animal pedals. Green! Imagine that!

Can’t let that sticker go to waste. Hahaha "Animal" on this top-tube seems appropriate. I dig it.

The bike's been assembled and has been used for a few years now. A well thought out dependable machine that went on to perform as planned, never leaving anyone who used it (mainly his daughter of course) stranded in any way.

Now starting to drive her own car, she doesn’t ride it as often. The bike hangs around for the most part now but one thing is for absolute certain. Should the car break down, there is absolutely NO way, the bike wouldn’t be ready to rock at the drop of a hat should the need arise. 

Simple, low maintenance, bomb-proof and reliable. Now that's a sweet ride. An extremely well thought out whip that could handle far more than commuting if anyone decided to test its limits. 

Not really sure if James’ daughter ever truly realized just how “cool” of a bike she really was riding (she did really like it from what I hear though) but I hope she pulls it down once in a while for a nice ride. It really is a beauty.

I’d gladly add this one to my quiver.

If you’re reading this, give your dad a big hug. He deserves it. It’s a damn nice bike: a very respectable build indeed.

Final verdict; Super freaking cool.

Another Quick Entry

Work's been nuts and winter's been cold but I've been getting out whenever possible.

On my most recent "stand-out" ride, I rolled out of my driveway and right down to the frozen shore of Lake Huron not 15 seconds away. It was like my own private frozen wasteland coming across only one other person on all of my outings along the lake.

It was refreshing as hell and incredibly satisfying to have this almost literally right at my front door. All new, all untouched and all mine. I experimented with the route a little this year and found I could get way further out and away than I had previously thought. Next year, I'll be ready and waiting for similar conditions and will press further. I also need to recruit a few fat bikers to come along and make a day out of it perhaps. 

Gear up right though!!! I managed to still stay warm with a windchill of more than -28C!! Hahaha Yeah baby. 

The ice still isn't as far out or as stable as when I was a kid but still quite good and safe closer to shore: which is where I was able to stay (if not right on shore) and still get to where I wanted to go. It really felt EPIC.

Great fun.

Day two.........not so blue. That's open water in the upper middle portion of the frame. When I was younger, it was always ice as far as you could see.

Another sad sight that I was surprised to see at this time of year were zebra mussels: IMO a sign of just how bad it's really getting.

The mussels are not native to our great lakes and were accidentally introduced via ballast water from ocean going vessels back in the 80's. Since then, the mussel problem has grown exponentially. The mussels are very intrusive and are changing our lakes in a BIG way. It's a tough battle; an impossible one in fact. I think they are here to stay. If I ever see an asian carp on the shore though..............oh boy.

Anyway. Mild weather returned for a time so my shore outings are all but over. Soon it will be onto the muddy trails and gravel roads again. It's the time of year where I can't get enough cross bike action so...

REALLY looking forward to some singletrack days though. I'm committed to getting out on the MTB as much as possible (despite a HUGE work year that is coming). I'll try to spend some quality time updating the blog and make it worth reading as opposed to typing these little 2 minute spout offs (like this entry was). Totally un-planned and not really thought out at all. My apologies for that.

Thank you very much for checking in and reading.

I appreciate it.

Don't forget to leave messages or comments. Always stoked to know someone's out there.

Cheers!

Ride on.

Steve

Just A Short Entry Today

I had the day off today because of a scheduled 100+ km road ride that was planned by some friends of mine. There was actually a heap of folks coming out. It was lining up to be a stellar outing!

Unfortunately, when I got up, I discovered it had snowed. Needless to say, the road hit was out. Too bad: I was ready to deal with the cold.

So.........since I was still off for the day and I was off because I was supposed to ride; I rocked the Pugsley again today........solo.

It snowed.............. I had no choice! Hahaha

For the second year in a row, I was fortunate enough to make it out on the first snow of the year. It was a blast.

Nothing like being the only one around. Incredibly relaxing and I was able to clear my head and recharge. No better way to do that.

Thanks for reading folks.

I appreciate it.

Where Has The Time Gone??

Incredible how much time has passed since my last entry. I do apologize for that. I've been incredibly busy doing a laundry list of things ranging from, keeping the kids busy, to working on the house, to riding, to a bit of racing (and I stress "a bit" of racing) and I even got to working on an old motorcycle. It's been crazy!

I haven't forgotten about the blog and actually had typed up a few entries but never got around to finishing them enough to post. They were lengthy and, once I was able to return to them to finish, I had lost interest in the content upon re-read. I decided not to bore anyone else with what I had to say and just left them. Hahahaha

Anyway, things are picking up in my cycling world nowadays again and I'll have loads to talk about in the next bit so I figured I'd best kick the blog up again.

For now, I'll just drop a quick one. I headed out on a solo hit today and snapped a pic while I was out.


You'll notice, during said blog hiatus, I've acquired some Large Marge Lites for the Pugs. I love the damn things. Just as stiff as the previous Marge rims I had but 30 times more rad!

Hey. There's nothing wrong with buying stuff strictly for the sake of looks, is there? Because that's exactly what I did! Hahahaha Sure, you can argue that there is some weight savings to be had but, let's be serious here: this is a Pugs. It's no featherweight no matter how you cut it. The bit of weight saved through the cutouts in the rims is a drop in a bucket.

I won't lie to you: it was a decision based strictly on "what I wanted". I don't typically pull that kind of thing but, hey, the opportunity was there and I went for it.

And I'm glad I did.