Saturday Ride Details

Just a short post today.

FINALLY, RIDE DETAILS.

Meet Saturday at 9am in front of Cup of Joe in Cedar Falls. Then using Marks suggestion go up to the entrance of Black Hawk Park and pick up Ford Rd. Do that up a few miles and head East. Go to Leversee, head north to the Camp, Go north on Hilton and reprise some of the T.I.V3 route over towards Denver. We could refuel in Denver, and then head West on Marquis to Leversee again and back into CF. That should get us an easy 30 miles with some decent hills in the middle.

30 mile gravel grinder of New Years goodness. Feel free to call me 616-460-4333 or email with questions.

1.1.09 UPDATED: Mark went out onto some of these gravel roads yesterday and says that some of the tentative route aren't really rideable. New route is a great possibility and might have more pavement than gravel. I'll post more tonight or tomorrow morning.

1.2.09 UPDATED: if it starts in raining before or right at 9am, NO RIDE. Water on ice is a recipe for disaster. Hopefully it works out though.

1.3.09 UPDATED: Radar looks good until noonish, if you're from around the Cedar Valley hopefully you can make it but be safe and consider the drive home if you have to drive to ride. Hope to see you at Cup of Joe.

Limited Edition NDJR Manifesto T's Now Available!

That's right folks, you read right. No Drive now has the first of what we hope to be many shirts. Each will be limited edition, meaning small runs of original designs and styles. For our first shirt it is called the 'Manifesto'. It was conceived over a conversation and written as a late night rant [with run on sentences and all] of what we are about and what we believe in, even if we screw up from time to time. The shirts are printed on American Apparel shirts, which are 100% sweatshop free and MADE IN THE USA.

The manifesto is located on the back right shoulder of the shirt, allowing it to be visible even with a messenger bag on and the No Drive logo under the left arm.

These first shirts like I said are extremely limited and I am selling for $15.00 plus $5.00 if needed to be shipped anywhere in the US. Please feel free to email me at adamlorenz@gmail.com with questions or for ordering.



























The manifesto reads as follows:

'This is my manifesto. I will not claim that any of it is original, most is likely rewritten or reworded language of our past. The world in which we live is changing. We are surrounded by pain, war, doubt, hate and a multitude of problems often with no solution in sight. Those who choose to take the high road and ignore these problems drive by in their SUV, driving their venti-decaf-double mocha-half calf-with a twist, while talking on their cell phones about how to solve this global problem, yet miss the local reality that is happening on their very own street. I want change. I want to break free of this cycle. I want hope, yet I do very little to enact a real movement. Simply put, I just want a revolution. A revolution that is no longer lost in lengthy talks, but seen in real action to bring about the world I desire so badly to see here and now. Slowly growing, slowly moving, gaining momentum in the subtle actions of the masses. These are the things that bring hope, that usher in real change... the person choosing not to drive but to ride; the person giving instead of taking; the person letting go instead of keeping. There are great deal of simple solutions to the complex problems facing us today, and it may not look like much now and may seem trapped on a t-shirt; but I am not alone. We are bringing about this revolution.'

*A special thanks to Joe for being my stand in model

Sunday Thoughts.

Stage One, complete. Sorry only teaser pictures right now on Red's transformation. Call me selfish, but I really want to make the final unveiling some thing special. What I will say though is sitting in front of the devil box today watching House [which if you didn't know is the new Law and Order thus being on ALL the time] I won't lie, it's beautiful but I was amazed by the amount of times I saw some sort of ad for the next fitness gimmick... oh the New Year resolution season.

I also received another frame for the stable... an old Fuji track frame, circa 19-something, 70's-ish. I got the frame, fork, headset, seatpost, bars, and stem. Guess who just so happen to have some other parts floating around... this guy! I'm going to run it brakeless with toe cages, I'm pretty much done working on it until spring comes around.

Looks like the ride details for next Saturday are starting to work themselves out via the great G-Ted. The more the merrier, final details will be posted soon.

Mark Your Calendars! January 3rd. 2009

Here's what I'm thinking...

January 3rd.

9am.

20-30 mile Gravel grinder... and this is where I need help. Since it's been awhile, I need someone else to take the lead on a route and the best possible meeting place.

Any volunteers?

Clear details I hope to have by Wednesday the 31st.

Email me at adamlorenz@gmail.com if you have questions or thoughts. Or head over to Facebook and let me know you're coming.

So it begins...

Just a quick post before I head into work... with all the snow that Michigan got the last few days, Sunday really didn't amount to much of anything productive unfortunately. BUT! I was able to begin Reds transformation...




Just a teaser for now, with no explanation.

Jealousy

I have a confession. I'm jealous of a few people... sure from the picture you might think it's Jeff Kerkove. Yeah, I'll admit Jeff has got a few things going for him... a sweet rig, pimping killer product, he's a highly respected rider and blogger, not to mention just an all around great person... wow, ok, I have to say it bluntly and straight forward, I do not have any sort of man crush on Jeff Kerkove.

Now that I've made that clear. The reason I posted a picture of Jeff was simply the fact that almost daily his blog reminds me of the fact that I cannot use ear-bud headphones. And that is what this post is about, my jealousy of anyone who can wear headphones while riding. Yes, of course I could argue the safety issues with doing so but we'll save that for another day. Tonight, I need advice. Any headphones I've tried simply fall out at any movement... I've tried two different Apple earbuds, the Stereo Headset and the old version of the in-ears. I've also tried the JVC Gumy Stereo; all with no luck, all leading to the same response.

Sure I'd love to jump into and get some thing like the Bose or some other high end in-ear with great sound but then end up never being able to use them. Thoughts? Insights? I also want to avoid any sort of rap around version also, so keep that in mind. What do you ride with?

Red's Winter Transformation

A month or so back, I decided that I was finally going to give Red a bit of a face lift. I haven't posted much for photos since this post back in April but she does have new wheels, she got the white Velocity Fusions with black spokes and rims; and I have recently also added a little bling by adding red anodized chain ring bolts. Let me tell you, it's pretty sweet. I'll give a full pictorial once she's complete and probably end up finally submitting it to Fixed Gear Gallery to top it all off. I'm not going to give all of my details but here is on my shopping list:












I won't say for sure what color I'll be using for all of these but I will hint that one of these will have multiple colors mixed and the other two will only have one. But I have to take my time on this transformation, which is often very difficult to do since often once I have it in my mind to do some thing I'll do it pretty quick.

On A Fixie: A Case for 70 gear inches

As part of the on going 'On A Fixie...' Series, this time I'm going to attempt to tackle the mysterious system of thoughts dealing with gear inches.

Gear inches if you were unaware is defined by Sheldon Brown as...

'One of the three comprehensive systems for numbering the gear values for bicycle gears. It is the equivalent diameter of the drive wheel on a high-wheel bicycle. When chain-drive "safety" bikes came in, the same system was used, multiplying the drive wheel diameter by the sprocket ratio. It is very easy to calculate: the diameter of the drive wheel, times the size of the front sprocket divided by the size of the rear sprocket. This gives a convenient two- or three-digit number. The lowest gear on most mountain bikes is around 22-26 inches. The highest gear on road racing bikes is usually around 108-110 inches. Unfortunately, the handwriting is on the wall for all inch-based measurement systems.'

Clear as mud? That's what I thought. If you want to be more confused go here. In normal person terms, gear inches is simply how far the wheel rolls on one full rotation of the pedal.

Now, there is a lot of questioning and playing around with what is the proper gearing on a fixie. Most people simply think about the front chain ring and the rear cog and talk in terms of that. Take my fixie, Red, she has got a 46x17 respectively. Which if you put in to a gear calculator comes out to 71.4 inches [note: if you are using this gear calculator be sure to switch the 'gear units' from 'gear ratios' to 'gear inches']. Which is the closest I can get to 70 gear inches without changing the front chain ring [which is typically the more expensive of the two options].

You might be wondering, ok Adam, you've made your point about being aware of what you're running but really haven't made any real point on why 70 is the magic number... and to be perfectly honest, I have to give credit where it is due. Geoff basically insisted on this as the magic number. Why? BECAUSE IT WON'T KILL YOU! It is what I'd consider to be the perfect gearing right out of the box for climbing and giving you a solid top end speed. I started out with a set up that put me around 59 gear inches and once I got up to stop speed I would literally be hopping in the saddle becuase I was spinning so fast. Sure climbing was super easy but what is really necessary is a solid balance of both.

With the 70 gear inches, it won't kill you on the hills and won't slow you down on the flats. As one begins to ride more, ones legs become stronger going to a tougher gearing could be some thing to consider, or an easier one if you're looking to be the ultra cool hypster skidder... but really, it gives you the most control.


NOTE TO ALL OF YOU WHO WANT TO GET YOUR HANDS ON THE 'MANIFESTO' T's: They are very close to being done and then I'll be taking orders for them. I'll have some with me when I'm back in Iowa at the first of January and would love to get them your way then. Michiganders and everyone else. I'm hoping that the No Drive Website will be transformed shortly to be able to handle orders, or we can always line up a time to meet up.

1,000 words

It is said that the average woman uses 7,000 words in a day... and a man only 2,000...







... and since Geoff convinced me today that a picture is worth a 1,000 words I believe that this puts me at about 6,000 and I'm spent. Shirts are close to being done.

For Blue

For Blue... So yes, now it's big time.


You've been warned... next week, I'll be back in full force.
[Queue 'Gonna Fly Now' by Bill Conti... that's right the Rocky theme song]

Winter Thoughts...Bolivian Coffee...

It's definitely winter here in West Michigan. It's unbelievably cold outside, my room mate is playing some Christmas music on vinyl, and I'm sitting here with my Mr. Potato Head (Christmas Edition) enjoying cup after cup of the planet's best coffee.

You did read that correctly. I may just have found the best coffee I've tasted thus far in my life. It's called "Bolivia's Best," and it's 100% fair-trade goodness straight from the Andes Mountains. Aside from generating some pretty kick-butt coffee, Bolivia's Best is all about helping the orphaned and abandoned children of Bolivia. I heard all about Bolivia's Best from Mallory Timmer, A recent-and pretty rad-friend at Hope College who gave me a bag to try. The Timmers are actually the family who started the operation, and you can read all about it here. Needless to say...it's great coffee, it's for a phenomenal cause, started by a truly amazing family.

So try it! Click here and order some fo' yo'self.

On the other hand, I've found myself in some sort of a small dilemma. Winter is here, and I've taken the Rig apart, planning on building up a wheel set before next season. Another change I plan to make is a fresh new Carbon flat bar. This is precisely where I find myself stuck. The dilemma? Indecisiveness. There are a few that I can go with, and mostly it's going to come down to color. Care to help me Decide?

The Bontrager Race XXX lite || The FSA K-Force XC Flat || The Salsa Pro Moto Carbon

Those are the choices...for some reason I couldn't upload pictures...Hope College tells me I've exceeded my bandwidth.

Also. The Day the Earth Stood Still comes out today, and I'm most definitely seeing it tonight.

Merry Advent

It's that time year again. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Yuletide carols being sung by the fire, and folks dressed up like Eskimos. (everybody knows.)

It's Christmas time! Well, Advent, to be exact. So in the spirit of Advent, I thought that while I sit here at work (bored out of my skull I might add) I might start flipping through our books and get a few seasonal gift ideas for the cycling folk, assuming that a new bike is out of the question.

Any Hoot. Here are a few gift ideas I found.

The Trek Time Watch. It's a nifty little watch that simply snaps onto most handlebars, and comes in a variety of colors. It comes in a cycling computer version also, complete with anything that you'd find on your every day cycling computer, but I thought that this was a great idea. Most people in the world don't use a cycling computer at all, or if they do, it's for telling time, anyway. This is a perfect solution to this! No more taking your hands off of the bars to check your cell phone or watch, and crashing into a wall, a dog, or a UFO. It's cool, its hip, and it's about $25.00.

The Surly Jethro Tule. What is it? It's freaking awesome. A double-sided 15mm box wrench is perfect for most bolt-on hubs. It's great because it's small enough to fit inside your saddle bag, but it's ergonomically designed to give you enough leverage to really crank those wheels to the bike. It's lightweight, hangs on your key chain if you please, and it's a little over $20.00. Oh yeah, did I mention it has a gnarly bottle-opener?

The Six One Six Sandal. This one is really cool. If you're looking for a great way to ride around town without having to change into your cycling shoes, pick up a pair of these. They're an SPD-compatible, lightweight pair of your dad's old Disney world sandals that let you clip in to your pedals on a hot day without putting on those sweaty cycling shoes. Sure, they look a little tacky, and you want to be a rebel wearing your ...but after all, tacky is back-ie, and there's nothing more conformative than rebellion. (think about it for a minute.) These will set you back about $75.

The Knog Colored Frog lights. No, they're not actually frogs, so you won't get warts...bUt you will get STREET CRED. These nifty little things are super bright LEDs that are encased in a stretchy silicone body that wrap around your handlebars, your seat post, or most any part of the frame. They come in a variety of colors tho match your bike or personality, and they're small enough to stick in your jeans when you aren't using them. A single button on top turns it on, switches between the steady and flash modes, and shuts it off. How much? Mid $20 range for the pair.


....That's all for now, folks. More to come later in the Advent season...there'e a lot of neat bike stuff out there.