Teesdale 29er for sale. $1300 complete bike.

Check out my other blog for the details but in a nutshell, the bike is complete and for sale as shown. Also there is a 2nd hanger for the drive side so that the frame can run gears if you choose. Go here for the details and more pictures. Captain Bob Sales

stuff for sale!

Check out my for sale page for some sweet deals on some frame and a fork. This wil be updated weekly until I have room for all my cars to reside in the garage!!

Here is the link > Captain Bob Sales

Captain

transformation..........

Well, plans always seem to change with me so why not just roll with it. I have been contemplating the build on a few different bikes for most of the winter. The Selma will be the first one to get a change however, it may not last into the summer. First off you'll see a new fork. That is G-Ted's test for from Wes Willits named the "WOW" (weird or what). It does look weird but not as bad at the lime green it was last week. It has now been stipped of it's paint and buffed over with sand paper and scotch brite. It needs a little more work before it gets some clearcoat. I may even have to sandblast it a bit. It was pretty nasty under the paint.

I also switched over to a silver seatpost which matches nicely with the fork. The Salsa stem will remain on this bike. I plan to get a new handlebar though but have't quite nailed down which one yet. Also, I swapped over to a different saddle. This one is much more comfy on longer distances which will help since I plan to use this as a longer distance single speed gravel grinder. I have a sweet set of wheels I will post about next week but there is some product that's going to be for sale soon here to fund another wheelset. I will be shopping for something Easton related.

Hope ill today so no riding for me but maybe Friday after work I can get in a few miles before the darkness sets in.

Captain

Selma

I just realized that since my old blogging days ended and now started again, I never posted anything about my Salsa Selma. Here is a crappy picture but it's better than nothing. The fork will be replaced by spring with something a little different. Maybe a nice steel or ti fork or maybe the new Bontrager carbon fork. Not sure but since the steer tube is too short for me on this frame I have to get something different anyway. The frame of the Salsa is not the lightest out there but it's pretty darn light. I know there are single speed frames under the 3lb mark out there but don't want something that is prone to breaking. I beat the heck out of my Salsa Mamasita and it never showed any signs of fatigue. So, I'm pretty sure the Selma will hold up just fine to my abuse. I feels a bit beefier than the first generation Mamasita. I don't have any idea what the complete bike weighs and I really don't care. Maybe when she it completed with the parts that I want to stay on I will toss her on the scale. The only problem that I am having is that the bars are so low and the top tube is pretty tall and I get the brake levers to smack on the top tube when the bars spin. A longer steer tube would help this by moving the bar higher but i don't want the bars too high. Salsa I believe could have made the large frame with a tad more standover height. Just a nit pick. The ride is quick, stiff and very efficient. There is still a nice touch of give in the rear but it's no soft tail.

So, this is what I will be rocking all over the midwest this season. I hope to make an appearance at quite a few mtb races. I might try setting this up with a double double gearing system. A nice easy gear for off road and a nice big gear for gravel roads. I have my Salsa Fargo for longer distances and group rides but I really want to ride single speed mostly this summer. I find that it's difficult to keep my leg strength if I keep riding a geared bike. I bet a single speed Fargo would be quite nice.

Anyway, hope to see you on the trails soon. Darn winter!

Captain

got mama out...

Well, this is a RARE event at the Walters. Getting Pam out on a trail....IN THE WINTER! I can barely get her on a trail in the summer let alone when it's cold. But, this was her idea. About a week ago she saw an ad in the local newspaper letting folks know that the Bremer County Conservation Board was putting on a free snow shoeing day at Cedar Bend near Waverly Ia. Free for all adults with a limit of 20 participants. So, a day or two later I called their office and we got in. The gal I spoke to said there wasn't much interest yet. We were a bit worried come Saturday afternoon when it was still raining cats and dogs, worried that there wouldn't be any snow left. We were glad to see there was still plenty of snow upon our arrival. We were surprised to see a full parking lot when we pulled up. There were more than 20 sets of snow shoes and it was a good thing since there were more than 20 people there. The guide split us up into two groups. Pam and I were in the second group. As you can see by the pictures we were outfitted with some vintage style bamboo shoes. I was a bit reluctant and not really sure how much fun it was going to be with these old fragile looking shoes. To my surprise the construction felt pretty good. A little sloppy with the rubber clamping system but seemed to hold secure enough. We headed out and before long Pam and I were flying through the doubletrack trails. By the time we hit the singletrack we had already caught the first group. Pam's effort was quite a surprise to me. Really, it was pretty impressive. That is until the blister started to form on her heel. She has a sweet pair of snow boots but they are slip-ons which were a little bit of a problem for her. But, she suffered though it. We ended the day with about three miles of hiking which laster about an hour. Good times for sure. We dropped off the gear with the crew and headed for the Fainting Goat. They serve some of the best boneless buffalo chicken wings you can get around here.

So, I suggest you all try this sometime if you haven't already cause it's a hoot! Really good workout too. I normally can't ride these trails with my bike in the winter so it was nice to experience them by foot.

Thanks for joining me Pam!

Captain

Vikes out........

So, being a Vikings fan started when I was about two years old. My grandfather forced it upon me before I knew what the game was. It stuck with me to this day. Football is a game I love to play and watch. However, getting older has not settled well with me when it comes to my team making mistakes which costs them the game. Last night was one of those days again. The Vikes, no matter how great their team was this year, was not error free. So many big errors too. You have to hang onto the ball. So, as I write this blog I can say that my football days are over again. I will play ball with the local kids that think I am as good as Brett Farve but I will have to change the channel next time I see a game. I just get so mad I feel like a kid not getting my way.

You know, I sure could have rode a few miles when the game aired but I chose to sit on the couch and consume empty calories and be mad at folks that make millions of dollars each game they play.

Oh well, I consider myself growing up now.

Captain

lucky me......

Today I consider myself lucky in a weird sort of way. I have to go to work. However, both my kids are ill with another round of the flu. The lucky part is that I have to go to work which means Pam has to stay home with them. It seems like I am always the one to stay home when they are ill so I guess i am lucky today. The girls, not so lucky. Hope they feel better by the weekend. I have some fun plans for the kids that I do not want to cancel or put off for a later date.

Rollers tonight? Yeah, that's what I will be doing. Not thrilled about it but I have to do it. How else will I be able to push a big gear on the Selma during XC races this year.

Ok, enough rambling for me, I have to get to work.

Captain

I hate this weather!

The ice/snow has got to stop sometime, right? But when? Soon I hope cause it's driving me crazy. The gravel roads were just starting to get pretty good again with mostly all gravel showing. Not after today though since we could see 1/4 ice. Enough complaining I guess.

Wish I were at the trailhead getting ready to shred some singletrack. However, I bet I am on the rollers tonight sweating to the oldies. I really like 105.7 FM.

The girls have gymnastics tonight so maybe the sweet wife will take them there and let me get in a training session.

We'll see.

Captain

just hanging out....

It's been a fun weekend here at the Walters. Sunday was a fun filled day. Starts off with Sunday School and church. Then, a quick trip to the grocery store for some good eats. Once home we snacked a bit and then ate some good lunch that Pam prepared for the girls and myself. Pam's on call this weekend so she wasn't able to make the trip to ss and church due to it being farther than her 30 minute limit to the hospital. Boy, she prepared some sweet pork chops for us. Thanks!!

After the twerps took naps I decided it was time to get out the modeling clay that I picked up the other day at Hobby Lobby. Tons of fun for $2.00. I went to the craft store just to pick up some latex mold builder for MG's tubeless tire sealant brew. When I saw the clay at the checkout lane I knew I had to get it. Better than play dough in the fact that it doesn't dry out for a long long time.

So, we rolled, squeezed, smashed, poked and molded for about two hours. That's right. All four of us at the dinner table. Each of us working at our own station stealing ideas from each other. Good times. I can't wait for the next go-round.

Captain

blackberry post test

Not sure if this will work.

hazy day in the saddle.....

bout time I started getting in shape again. I have been so bad at getting much saddle time lately. I have been pretty reluctant to ride on my roads and this dates way back to last winter when I broke my elbow. I mounted up some different tires for this weekend and it made a difference. The Geax Barro Race TNT's don't have a very deep tread but the compound is pretty tacky so they really gripped the ice and packed snow. Softer snow was a little bit of a problem but I managed. If we get more snow I will have to put on the Racing Ralph 2.4's which haven't seen much action this winter.

I was more than happy with the 2 hrs I was able to get in. There were a few photo breaks which I needed. Riding the single speed with a pretty easy gear left me bouncing quite a bit so my tush needed those breaks. My gearing was 34x18 which is not a great gravel road ration for my area of the state. I will be hopefully be running a 36x16 Monday when I ride.

So, there you go. My first real post in too many months.

Captain

Blog Revival!

I am going to give this another try. It seems like when I don't ride enough I get down. That causes me to not blog. Weird things go on this head of mine. So, regardless if I ride or not I want to start blogging again. I think I have more time for it now. It won't be everyday though so if you are reading, don't expect too much.

Real posting might start Friday night or Saturday sometime. We'll see.

Thanks for tuning in folks.

Captain