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FatBike Beach Ride


Tony and Ivan talk Northpaws

About 20 FatBike riders, including 3 on Schlick Northpaws, met at Terry Andre State Park on the shore of Lake Michigan for some beach riding goodness.

Starting at the beach parking lot at Terry Andre State Park, we headed south along the shore near the waterline. A light Southeast wind brought us a cooling breeze that was welcome on a day when temperatures were in the high 80’s. The group rolled out easily and rode 4-5 abreast engaging in conversations and general playful tomfoolery. The group dynamics of a beach ride is one of my favorite aspects of riding a FatBike. In fact, I’ve dubbed FatBikes “The Social Bike” in part for this reason. Because of the width of the beach riders can ride together like almost nowhere else.

The sand was fairly firm and the fat tires were rolling well. One of the fun aspects of beach riding is searching for that perfect combo of sand/water that offers the least rolling resistance. It is not always right at the water’s edge where you’d expect and can vary significantly just a few feet either side of where you are riding. I don’t know if there are as many types of sand as there of snow, another surface where FatBikes excel by the way, but you will find quite a variety.


Tony at one of the many stream crossings.

We continued south covering about 12 miles to Harrington Beach State Park where we enjoyed an adult beverage or two and the cooling waters of Lake Michigan before the turnaround and the return trip.

Now heading north, the headwind became a tailwind and average speeds picked up a bit. The feeling on the beach whipping by at close to 20 miles an hour was great but short lived as the heat and lack of headwind made it WARM! Ratcheting the speed back down to a comfortable pace we used a couple of brief stops to enjoy the breeze and play around with tire pressure. Because of the volume of air in those huge 4.0-26″ tires a few pounds of pressure change can make a real difference in the way the bike works on soft surfaces. Tony and I ended up using about 8PSI in the front and 9PSI in the rear that offered a lot of flotation and felt almost like floating above the sand.

We plan to do another beach ride in August and will announce it on Facebook as well as the schlickcycles.com website. Come join us!

Some Pix:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gasmith/sets/72157627098658095/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/landskywater/sets/72157627100175827/

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Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee 2011 Recap

FTTM XXVII went off on Saturday, June 18th with great weather, about 400 cyclists, several stops, music, barrel bashing, wheelies, wrestling and some quantity of beer consumed. Already can’t wait ’till next year.

Probably best to just look at the pictures!

Greg’s Flickr Set – http://www.flickr.com/photos/gasmith/sets/72157626996602306/

If you’ve got a photoset, shoot me a URL and I’ll post it.

Here is the route I rode – http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93409817

BTW, don’t forget about the Steel is Real ride in September. More info coming on that one.

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Dirt Burger

Back from Dirt Burger in Decorah. A memorable weekend to be sure but I don’t remember all of it. I do remember the part where I gave the left ankle a twist while playing Disc Golf with Gunner at Luther. I remember the band and rain the night before. Both were fine by me. Pretty sure there was Bocce Ball playing at some point. Ward won a frame. I didn’t see the teeter-totters burning in the fire pit but I know when it happened by the hooting’ and a hollering’  There is video somewhere. Seems O’Gara’s team are the Intergalactic Bucketball Champs. Oh, yeah and rode the bikes some. More later as it comes back to me. Don’t miss the next one if you know what’s good for you.

Some pix here.

Surly Trailer video here.

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FTTM XXVII – Route Info

From the eventmaster himself com these updates on the rout and the day’s festivities:

People ask if they need a fat tire bike for FTTM.  Lots of people do the ride on skinny-tire bikes. The real off-road riding is on optional route loops. The main route is on streets or bike trails. You do have to be careful with skinny tires though because of pavement cracks, potholes and cobblestones, like just after the start at Best Place on Juneau (those cobble layers need a lesson). Don’t just follow someone on a fat-tire bike because they just roll over them. Keep a look out for yourself.

The on-road route will be 20 miles total and we’ll stop at Sobelman’s (2 miles, Pee Wee Tequila Dance Contest), Benno’s (7 1/2 miles, Beer Barrel Bump), Leff’s Lucky Town (11 miles, special ladies showing of giant urinal), Valley Inn (14 miles, gateway to Art Trail), Lakefront Brewery (18 miles, beer barrels flow at 2:30), and Wolski’s Tavern (19 miles).

Off-road options include following the Hank Aaron Trail west of 76th Street where after 94th it is just the old RR grade with the ties taken up (except the last couple hundred yards), down onto the Oak Leaf Trail and into Tosa. This adds six miles to the distance. The Hart Park Metro Mountain Bike trails are fun single-track. The Art Trail is awesome and real close to the Valley Inn. You’ll need someone to show you how to find it. It adds another mile to the ride.

Plenty of food options!

Your lunch options include Sobelman’s (Milwaukee’s best burgers), Benno’s (fun menu + there’s a Mexican place I can’t remember the name of real close), Leff’s Lucky Town (great sandwich menu and Hartfest with food vendors is across the street) and Valley Inn (great pizza). And of course there’s the grilling that will be happening at the finish at Best Place.

Music

The Squeezettes and the Beanstalks will be musicing up the various joints along the way and I assume Eric will have the rolling radio station on the ride so bring your ancient FM radio to tune in.

Plus, Gambrinus, the King of Beer, has returned to the garden of the old Pabst Brewery, now Best Place, where we will start & finish this year’s FTTM. Have you picture taken with him!

Will there be bike bowling?

Will “Spokesmodel” Dave lap up beer like a dog?

Find out on Saturday, June 18th 2011 beginning at Best Place. Day-of registration begins at 8:30AM and Roll out is at 10AM. Plan on being out ALL DAY you pansies!

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Biking the Hoan Bridge

With the Ride for the Arts just past and the fact that, during that ride, thousands of people experienced riding the Hoan legally, I figured it was a good time to remind you all to please sign the petition:

https://bayviewbash.wufoo.com/forms/s7x3w7/

to let our elected officials know you support permanent bicycle and pedestrian access over the Hoan Bridge.
Wouldn’t hurt to shoot your elected city, county and state representatives an email or paper letter letting them know how important this is to the city for future transportation needs, quality of life issues and safe passage between Bayview and the Southside and Downtown and points north!

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Dirty Kanza Results

Congratulations to our good buddy, and Schlick Cycles Dealer, Steven Goetzelman from Iowa City, IA and co-owner of 30th Century Bicycles for his 11th place overall in 2011 version of the 200 Mile Dirty Kanza gravel race in Kansas. Even better he was 2nd in the singlespeed class and one of 65 finishers out of 300 starters.

In his own words!

Brief Dirty Kanza report: 205 miles, 212 for the day including ride to and from start. 30 miles with the leaders. 1 looong stop looking at the map and scratching the head. 2 flats. 1 wrath of dog storm. 0 dabs. 1 effin’ gear. 15 hours 7 mins, 15 mph avg on the bike. 2 chafed butt cheeks!

Sweet, Steve!

Full results here:

http://www.dirtykanza200.com/new-dirt/dirty-kanza-200-results/

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/2011/jun/06/official-results-2011-dirty-kanza-200/

Steve’s full story on Bike Iowa here:

http://bikeiowa.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/the-official-2011-dirty-kanza-200-official-race-report/

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Alex’s Rule 12

From our buddy Alex. Not sure what the other 11 are but if they are gems like this one we’ll have to find out!

The minimum number of bikes one should own is three. The correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

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Decorah Time Trial Photos 2011

decorah time trials 2011Race and event photos from the Decorah Time Trials mountain bike race. May 1st, 2011.

This year’s Time Trials were run on a 6.1 mile course up and down the bluffs around Decorah, IA with approximately 60 racers running the course at one minute intervals. While relatively short by Time Trial standards, the course was certainly a challenge.

Trevor Rockwell took the top spot with a time in the 34-minute range. More results when they are available.

The action in Death Valley was also challenging for some!

Greg’s Flickr Photoset of the Decorah Time Trials.

shockey’s recap on his blog

Some pix from Julie Shockey and “reflecting on a SLAM” (or how Death Valley got its name) by Spinner on the Bike Decorah Blog.

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Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee XXVII

fat tire tour of milwaukeeOne of the Schlick Cycles crew’s favorite social cycling events is coming up on Saturday, June 18, the Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee! This is the 27th edition and just keeps getting better!

The original crawl through Milwaukee’s underbelly celebrates its 27th year with a ride on the Hank Aaron State Trail, starting from Best Place, the old Pabst Brewery hospitality room. Costumes are encouraged. For details, contact Phil Van Valkenberg at ticycling@yahoo.com. It’s a benefit for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

This year’s theme is Pee Wee’s Big Adventure or, if you prefer, Pee Oui’s Misadventure!

This year FTTM will start and finish at:
Best Place At The Historic Pabst Brewery
901 W Juneau
Milwaukee, WI

Download the FTTM XXVII Entry Form (PDF)

If you are a Facebooky type, check this out:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=192618740776557

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Pugsley World Championships 2011

The weather for the 1st Pugsley World Championships, held in Decorah, IA, February 26th, 2011, couldn’t have been more appropriate. Race-time temps were about 15-degrees and there was a nice, steady snowfall of big, light flakes to add character.

Even though he wasn’t feeling 100-percent, Schlick Cycles team rider Chad Wilson rode a Schlick Northpaw to a ninth place finish over the 26.4 mile course from Cresco, IA to Decorah, IA on Beeler trails, the Prairie Farmer trail, Decorah city trails and snow/ice covered gravel roads.

In addition to our Schlick Northpaw fatbike there were several Pugsleys, it was, after all the Pugsley World Championships, a couple of 9:Zero:7s and probably the coolest bike at the event, a FatBikeisized Surly Big Dummy.

In the end Trevor Rockwell won the winner take all $500 prize. Nice day’s work!

After the race we met up at The Oaks restaurant and bar for more FatBike shenanigans including a teeter-totter push, King of the Hill event won by our own Spokes Model Dave Lunz, and an impromptu derby late in the evening.

All in all the event was a lot of fun!

Race Photos from the Pugsley World Championships.

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Dates for New Belgium Urban Assault Rides in 2011

The 2011 dates and cities have been announced for the New Belgium Urban Assault Ride. The team scavenger hunt format, clues, and games at the stops would be exciting way to experience a new city!

  • Sunday, March 20, 2011 – Tucson, AZ
  • Sunday, May 15, 2011 – Madison, WI
  • Sunday, May 22, 2011- Chicago, IL
  • Sunday, June 26, 2011 – Austin, TX
  • Sunday, July 17, 2011 – Fort Collins, CO
  • Sunday, July 24, 2011 – Denver, CO
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011 – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sunday, August 21, 2011 – St. Louis, MO
  • Sunday, August 28, 2011 – Des Moines, IA
  • Sunday, September 18, 2011 – Charlotte, NC

For more info check this out: http://www.urbanassaultride.com

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2011 Bike Events in Decorah, IA

Our friends in Decorah, Iowa do several excellent bike races/events each year. Some have been around for a long time including the Decorah Time Trails while others, like the Pugsley World Championships, are new this year. Here is a current list:

Decorah, IA Cycling Events in 2011

Pugsley World Championships: February 26th
21st Annual Decorah Time Trials: May 1st
Dirtburger: June 10th –June 12th
Decorah Night Shift Race: October 22nd

Check out more at:

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Wisconsin Cycling Advocates to Meet With Scott Walker

Via Facebook from Wheel and Sprocket’s Chris Kegel: He, Trek’s John Burke and Wisconsin Bike Fed’s Kevin Hardman are meeting with Governor-elect Scott Walker today. Their goal get? Get Walker’s support to help make Wisconsin more Bike Friendly. As a $1.5 billion part of the states economy Walker OUGHT to be friendly towards biking and cyclists!

Economic impact study – http://www.bfw.org/education/index.php?category_id=4746

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Santa Cycle Rampage 2010 Post Ride

Santa Cycle Rampage 2010 Post Ride

Saturday, December 11th ushered in the 2010 edition of the Santa Cycle Rampage. The weather was decent with temps near 40 most of the day. A bit o’ rain towards the end but, hey, 40 in Wisconsin, in December, is cool with me. (As I write this Sunday PM it is out 8 degrees F out so we were lucky!)

The day’s ride started at Cafe Hollander on Milwaukee’s Eastside, a quick PBR at Nomad World Pub then headed to Lakefront Brewery along the Milwaukee River, just north of Downtown, Rehorst Distillery in the 5th Ward (with a side trip to Conejito’s for lunch!), the Tamale Stand on 16th, Kochanski’s Concertina Bar where a live Polka Band played and free food was had, a stop at the same liquor store on Lincoln we stopped at last year, and on to the post-ride party at Cafe Centraal in Bayview. We had a couple more unofficial stops on the way back to the Eastside at Duke’s and Rascal’s. Total this year – 10, up 2 from last year!

The number of Santas seemed up this year from last years approximately 250. Lakefront Brewery gave out over 300 beer tokens! Riders dressed in all manner of Holiday-themed garb from Santa and his helpers to reindeer or other associated holiday garb. I had a new Santa suit courtesy of a great deal on a retired rental suit from Bartz’s.

My ride for the day was about 25 miles, the actual route was approximately 13 miles the extra being travel to the start and back to the shop. Other riders put in upwards of 30 miles.

There was excellent beer to be had at each venue with some favorites including, Fat Tire, Riverwest Stein, Fat Squirrel, Wheat Monkey, Zywiec (Polish) as well as some great Vodkas at Rehorst and even a tasting of Absinthe at the distillery.

As we rode there was a tremendous outpouring of good will towards the Santa group. Hundreds if not thousands of people shouted, cheered, whistled, followed, photographed, shot movies and, in general, made the ride extra special. Being 250-plus strong the Santa procession often stretched over a city block. Motorists were, for the most part very courteous and allowed the procession to hold together. We did, on occasion split at a particularly busy intersection but usually caught up to the group and arrived at our destinations intact.

No police escort this year for our part of the ride but we got separated after Rehorst and caught back up at Kochanski’s. Coupld been one!

This was assuredly one of the biking event highlights of the year! I’ll be back next year with bells on!

Other Santa Cycle Rampage coverage:

Greg’s Flickr Photoset – http://www.flickr.com/photos/gasmith/sets/72157625591290858/

JS Online Photos – http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/photos/111721829.html

Dave Schlabowske’s Blog – http://overthebarsinmilwaukee.wordpress.com/2010/12/13/saturdays-santas/

Accidental Wisconsinite Blog – http://accidentalwisconsinite.blogspot.com/2010/12/milawesome-volume-4-santa-cycle-rampage.html

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Schlick Cycles – The Nut Factory Open House 2011

Join us on Saturday night, February 12th, 2011 for the 7th annual Nut Factory Open House and Schlick Cycles Shop Party. The shindig will be happening in the historic Nut Factory building at 3720 N. Fratney St. in the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee 1 block west of Humboldt Ave between Keefe and Vienna from 7PM to 11PM. The happenings at Schlick Cycles will once again be in Unit 2B.

Save the date we will have more info to come.

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2010 Santa Cycle Rampage Bike Ride 12-11-10

santa cycle rampage

The time is near for the 2010 edition of the Santa Cycle Rampage bike ride. The guys from Schlick Cycles will again be attending. We will meet on December 11th, 2010 at Cafe Hollander at 10am dressed like Santa (or some other seasonally appropriate garb)! There will be free coffee, route information and Fat Tire Beer! Bike Fed members and newbies get drink specials throughout the day. (Make sure you bring your Bike Fed membership card).

There are a few pre-ride meeting points if you’d like to join other Santas for the ride to Hollander. The roll-in rides depart the following locations  at 9:30am

  • Riverwest: Fuel Cafe
  • Tosa Village: Cafe Hollander
  • Bay View: Anodyne Coffee Company

Stops on the list this year include:

  • Cafe Hollander on Downer
  • Lakefront Brewery
  • Rehorst Distillery
  • Kochanski’s Convertina Bar
  • Cafe Centraal
  • Mystery stops!

Here is a link to a PDF of the flyer.