Maybe I'm old fashioned or something, but I think I'm a pretty good giver of gratuities when it comes to tipping people for their services. The hair stylists, bartenders, waitrons, and baristas all get their minimum 20%, regardless of whether the service was good or not. Even our garbage man, er, waste disposal experts got a case of cold Premium beer last summer for taking a bunch of my crap. But what I have a problem with, is when somebody implies directly to your face that not tipping adequately will get you cut off from any drinks at the bar. Shouldn't service come first, then the tip? Either way Mr. bartender from last night, you're a jerk that has to wake up with yourself every morning. The fact that you had provided really crappy slow service with a crappy attitude and screwed up my simple garlic baguette appetizer without me saying anything, then had the audacity to say we'd get served better if we tipped like the rest of the people at the bar just proves you have a problem with yourself. This was all after I tipped you 20%. So my tip for you today, get a haircut so you don't look like Michael Bolton and make sure you tip your hair stylist.

Yes, it was a cold morning to ride 15 miles (24km). Minus 3 degrees F (-19C) means you have to carefully plan your clothing and make sure you have your shit together. Windchill temp? Who knows, on a bike you create your own windchill. I actually got too warm this morning and unzipped the armpits slowed down to regulate the body temperature. The ice on the lakes is finally freezing over enough to ride on, the creek still has some open flowing water though. So the studded tires will finally be broken out this week and it should be good since we have hardly any snow. I saw only 4 runners and zero other cyclists. There were fresh tire tracks in the snow, so I knew I wasn't the only one out there. Ahhhh, winter is here.

The temperature dropped and the wind picked up in the last few days here. Expecting windchills tonight around 20 to 30 below zero. Farenheit. That's like 50 degrees below the point at which water freezes. Not impossible to ride in (actually not all that bad if you have your vapor barrier on...who's got their vapor barrier on?!), but it certainly makes it even more tempting to sit inside making (read: eating) cookies and listening to music. Which brings me to what's on the spinner recently. One of the more captivating CDs I've been listening to this year (in addition to the awesome Silky by Andre Williams, but you have to have a healthy adult sense of humor for this one) is Galaxie 500's On Fire. Released in 1989, it's argued by music nerds to be probably the group's best and most cohesive album. Heavily influenced by My Bloody Valentine, and sounding something like Mazzy Star or Opal with a distinct nod to rock rather than mere ambience, it delivers potent doses of real pop, and not the fakie kind that passes for pop in the modern american mind...in other words, not popular music, but rather of the artistic genre known as pop. In it you can clearly hear the style and in some cases riffs that so clearly influenced Guided By Voices and Yo La Tengo, among others. So anyway, highly recommended. Now go look up some live music you can go ride your bike to see.

You could celebrate alot of different things that have happened in the past year. Our local free newspaper lists of the "Best Of" different things around the city each year, movie critics thumbs up their favorite films, news programs sum up the biggest events that happened or pay tribute to significant people that passed away, blah blah blah.

I thought it was about time I summed up my year, unsolicited, no BS, no sugarcoating, a little bit censored and very random. Here goes my 2004:

Best bike ride- it has to be one of the days in Fruita, Colorado, during the Fat Tire Festival. I don't know which ride because we did 6 rides in 4 days, but they all rocked. Perhaps it was the Ribbon trail ride? At the very end of it, 4 of us got sick of waiting for the pack of 12 riders, so we just went as fast as we could, all of us riding the same pace, losing sight of the guy in front of you for a second, only to pop up on a big bermed corner, shouts of "F^<& yeah" as someone dropped and cleaned a rock section, trying not to smile too much because the next corner could take you down in a blaze of glory, going just a little faster than you think you should be, then finishing with more "F^<& yeahs" and a huge adrenaline rush.

Best beer- I'm a true fan of American pale ales, the hoppy, fruity and bitter kind that barely make your mouth pucker. Even despite a trip to Germany this fall and falling madly in love with the Bavarian Helles style, there was an unexpected newcomer to the taste bud arena. I recently had a craving for something in the brown variety, more malty and chewy than the norm. There was a plain looking 6-pack of Bell's Double Cream Stout on the shelf just waiting to go in my mouth. The one thing I really like about all Bell's beers is they aren't fully filtered, so you get that healthy yeast on the bottom, signaling that this is a real beer. This beer stunned me with it's complex flavors. I know trying to describe a flavor you readers haven't tasted is like telling a hearing impaired person what Led Zeppelin's "Out On The Tiles" sounds like, but I'm going to try. Slightly coffee and toffee flavors from the roasted malts, a sweet smell much like a vanilla latte with very very small hints of banana, probably from the stout yeast. It was heaven to smell and more heavenly to taste. I could not recommend it more and it's available through March.

Music show- This year sucked for going to see shows. I was once a proud concert whore, but now I've become totally unattached to what is happening in the local music scene. But I did make it to one somewhat memorable show on a Wednesday night ride. Nebula, an offshoot of the band Fu Manchu, played for about $8 and there was almost nobody there. Sometimes a band reacts to the crowd and plays a short or crappy show, but these guys played a full on stoner rock special, the bartenders had your beer waiting for you as you walked up, you could walk right up to the stage and get a full dose of guitar solos. This year was also the year I gave into ear plugs, is that getting older or getting wiser? Dunno. The ride home was somewhat memorable as Nate and I picked some peppers from a garden and dared me to eat one. It started out innocent and fresh tasting, but a block later my mouth was hellish. Swerving down the bike superhighway, laughing, ears ringing, drenched in stale smoke and Hamm's, it was a good night.

Best new bike geek thing(s)- Oh man, I think I've just hit giga-geek status with the latest doodad, flashing valve cap lights. In the name of testing new products, I got these motion activated purple LED lights that screw onto inner tube valves. As you wheels spin, the make a glowing purple spectacle that is sure to get peoples attention. It wasn't enough that I have 3 flashing LED lights on the back and 1 flasher on the front with a 12 watt halogen. No, I needed more because cars don't think people ride bikes in the winter. Now they have no excuse.

Another runner up for new gadgets is my Giro snowboarding helmet for winter riding. It's got big earmuffs built in and closeable vents on top. Cozy cozy.

Article of clothing- again in the name of product testing, I've been wearing a merino wool tank top as a baselayer everyday for the last 4 weeks, washed it once, rode in it a couple times, slept in it once and sometimes forget I'm wearing it. I was supposed to wear it, critique it, then wash it and give it back for somebody else to use. But my plan to wear it every single day so nobody would want it after me has worked so far. Merino wool is the best!

Best new tools- These have nothing to do with bikes, but with our new house this year. We bought a cordless weedwhacker. I thought of so many excuses to not trim the grass edging around our house until I bought this thing. Now I'm challenging the dandelions to show their heads, "I will kill you mortal dandelion, with my newfound technology". Then there is the powerwasher, 1,700 psi (117 atm) of water is enough to carve your name in a piece of wood. Or just clean the paint off basement floors. How did I ever get by without these?

Coldest commute to work- I'm not as tough with cold weather as Brother David Sunshine, but I rode the 15 mile each way commute to work last year when it was -10 degrees F (-23C) without windchill factored in. I highly recommend it.

OK, I'm sure there are other highlights and crap to blab about, but that's all I have time for. Have some happy holidays, drink some eggnog, stay warm, go outside, read a book, take a warm bath, call an old friend, or just sleep in a little longer than normal. And may you rest in peace, Rodney Dangerfield.

4 hour ride saturday. Not a huge deal, I know, but I was expecting something much shorter. Went northwest for a little 1-2 hour ride, thinking I'd head north of the trail for a little road spin, then hit the trail, and rather than swing back around to one of the trail entrances I know, I decided to see if I could find a trail entrance on the NW side. Surprise, surprise, Golden Valley has a lot of cul-de-sacs and dead ends, plus a lot of little tidbits off the railroad tracks and lakes. Plus I sort of put my head down a just pedalled; it was such a nice day I didn't really care...at first. So off I rode, glad in the end to have been on my 1x1 since the whole thing turned into a sort of all terrain challenge. Explored a bunch of places I'd never been to in our fair metro (including the spot across from Hidden Beach where the cops watched the Homie Fall Fest SS Rally a few weeks ago), and did eventually find the trail, which was nicely frozen and fast, but the Clif Bar didn't exactly hold off the need for a bit more juice. You know that feeling when you're not exactly exhausted but you're definitely feeling it? No cramps, just slow going. Keep turning the pedals, even though you know you're a lot slower than you started. 2 miles from home I was dreaming of a fried egg quesadilla (with spinach and black beans....ohsogood). The only real issue was the next day when my lack of alternate riding positions came back to haunt me with sore shoudlers, otherwise it was one of those rides that wears you out but inspires you more than tires you. Good stuff.

Maybe some of you have heard of or seen the Surly Pugsley frameset. It's our answer to IMBA's question "what would we do without trails?" Because this bike won't need trails due to it's huge 4" tire capacity and go anywhere design. Scroll down to our September 28th and 30th blog for more details.

We've been getting alot of inquiries on this goofy bike and vowed to keep you updated on it's progress. Some of you have been misled into thinking they'll be available soon. They will not be, unfortunately. We've been telling people this is the biggest and most complicated frameset we've designed, there will be rigorous testing and we won't release it until everything is just right.

What timeframe are we talking about? We expect a small run of rideable prototypes for testing in January/Febraury, riding to happen during the late winter months and hopefully we'll see these things exist in their finished production form by June 2005.

If you have any questions regarding ETAs on products that we haven't covered on the BLOG, let us know.

Hiya. Our chainrings...you remember them, doncha? Stainless steel, work good, currently unavailable (*big sigh*...wish I had an ETA for you, sorry); well, they'll eventually make a triumphant return and yes, you need one. At least one. Our pal Matt Chester, who builds some mighty fine custom ti frames, bought a couple and reviewed them for 63XC.com. Thought you might be interested in reading what he had to say.
Also of possible interest, since we get asked all sorts of questions about fit and sizing, is Matt's take on set-up and fit, also from 63xc.com. And I am with Matt on this: there are tons of variables in choosing your frame and components, and it's important to know that although there are definitely better positions and set-ups, there is also no magic bullet answer for the What's Right For Me question. Plus he tackles a couple of sticky issues pretty well, like crank arm length and chainstay length, two issues that get talked to death on chatrooms and in emails to bike companies. Ahem.

Our pals at One On One Bike Studio/Retro Grouch Repository/Go! Coffee/Art Gallery are opening another show. From Zito:

"Last night I was fortunate enough to get a preview of Caroline Yang's photo exhibit at One On One Bike Studio/GO! coffee. I highly recomend viewing this show if you are a "tour" fan. The official opening is Saturday evening at 7p.m.117 Wash. Ave. N., but it will be showing for a few weeks if you cant make it Sat., so get in there and check out some really outstanding perspectives of Da Tour.
--Rubber side down--"

There you go. Get on it. Looks like it's gonna be a nice weekend around here, with sun and highs in the 40s! Got me a Schwalbe Racing Ralph tire to try out and finally trued the wheels on my 1x1, so I'll be enjoying myself. Hope you have a good ride too.

Hey, wake up. We just got the first batch of freshy fresh Charcoal Metallic colored Steamroller frames stocked in 53, 56 and 59cm sizes. To help your local shop order one, the new part numbers are:
FM3025- 53cm
FM3026-56cm
FM3027- 59cm
The color images of this Steamroller and the new Cross-Check and Karate Monkey frames are in a previous blog from last week, so scroll down and check those out. Some close up shots of the frames to better see the true colors have just been shot and should be on this blog in the next week or so. OK, go ride your bike.

Here in Minneapolis, we are extremely fortunate to have a network of intersecting paths around the city for off-street non-motorized transportation use. This vast string of paths consists of two paralleling paths, one fast path for bikes or inline skates/skis and one slow path for pedestrians.

This message is not a threat by any means, but a warning to those of you and your vulnerable bodies who choose to walk the bike paths at night without reflective clothing. This goes out to those who walk their dogs on or off a leash right down the middle of the bike path. Those who jog in threesomes side by side along the bike path at night without reflective clothing. To the lady with big black frizzy hair who walks around the bike path on the Lake Nokomis with headphones blaring so loud she cannot hear my bell or "on your left" shouts. Those romantic walking couples hand in hand with lovey stars in their eyes and thinking they're having a frolicky Baywatch moment on the bike path. To the lady whose dog was off leash and startled enough by me to run out into traffic last week while on the bike path. To the guy who just last night went left while his dog went right, he stepped on the dog's foot, the dog let out a yelp and the guy nearly fell face first over his dog while they were on the bike path, thanks for making me laugh. To those of you who don't realize there is a good reason the wonderful City of Minneapolis built two separate, yet close together paths for travellers of different speeds. To those of you who forget we cyclists, skiers, skaters and fast movers still use this path in the winter.

To all of you I've just mentioned, I hope we don't meet face to face this winter. I have a helmet on, I play hard with my friends on bikes, grew up playing hockey and know how to use my leverage if something were in my way. I don't want to hurt anybody, or anybody's dog. Do your dog a favor and keep them out of harms way, they are not going to talk like Scooby Do and give you a clue. Wear something reflective so my bright flasher and 12 watt halogen light can help me see you before I can smell your shampoo. When I ring my big brass bell, don't stop and look up at the starry sky, it's a bell, not a satellite. When I say "on your left", I mean on your left. When you three chicks run side by side on the Minnehaha creek near 35W, look forward once in a while because you are on the bike path and there could potentially be somebody moving towards you at a rate of speed that could hurt like hell. And the black frizzy haired lady with headphones on Lake Nokomis, I've ridden past you at least 30 times while you were in the middle of the bike path, you made me dart off the trail a few times, never again will I give you warning of my oncoming presence behind you. The walkers path is 20' away, use it or prepare for contact. As much as I love obstacles to ride around, sometimes those obstacles get run over.