Gardasee Day One

Soaking in the Italian sun

the BIKE Festival in Lago di Garda is the European equivilent to the Sea Otter int he US. It is the un-offical kick off to the biking season and happens to take place in one of the more beautiful locals in Europe. Nestled in South-Tirol, the Gardasee is the destination for many Trans-Alp crossings, as it was the first end point for the first Trans Alp race.

To be honest, it is little festival and more big Industry hype, the organizers included. So why attend on behalf of IF? As many times before, I have found there is an audience for our product almost anywhere we go. People who you wouldn't expect stop and study our bikes with admiring eyes, their passion for riding comes through in their appreciation for the handcrafted bikes on display. So why aren't they riding a custom bike?



Waridi Lights



Representing the Crown

I see a combination of factors, one I have beaten the drum this on one many times, that of price. The German market has seen such violent price erosion that consumers are trained to pay bottom Euro for a bike, forgoing many other factors over the price tag.

Secondly it is the media. the media over here tests in laboratories, not in the real world. You can't quantify craftsmanship, artisan, nor the imperfects that make up perfection, therefor run of the mill aluminium and carbon Chinese bikes win so called 'Tests" with out any regards to real benefits for the consumers. Not too mention they are not open for unconventional thinking like single speeds nor twentyniners (although I am sure some outside the media would like to keep it that way ;-))

So the best way for us to build our brand is to hit these events to connect with those who get it. To keep beating the drum, and spreading the message and to show that there is a real viable option to the Xerox copied, re-branded, bullshit that comes out of the sweat factories of the far east. Rides that embody the spirit of riding and offer a lot more that hyped up marketing jargon.

Besides, I love good espresso, wine and food, do you really need any other reason to come to Italy???

Day 2 tomorrrow.

Leipzig Images

sizing up Maik
Gerolf
SSX

Leipzig

There are some cities that have something special, intangible but it is apparent the moment you enter them. They are a live and have a pulse. Now I am not sure if I will ever be a city dweller, but these cities make me ponder the thought. They draw me in an make me want to visit them again and again. For me this is also a rare occurrence that a city is so gravitating, but my trip over the weekend to Leipzig proved to be one of those occasions.

Via an invitation from Bike Department Ost, my auto found itself pointed to the old eastern part of Germany. I am old enough to remember things like the end of the cold war, and the wall coming down, but it is so far removed from even my memory, that was until along the Autobahn I passed a sign marking the old East-West border. It wasn't until I arrived in Leipzig that the difference between East and West started to be revealed.

First off, Leipzig is a beautiful city, not like Rome or Vienna, but in a very historic and noble way. Monuments to its storied past dominate the landscape, icons of good and hard times past. After landing at BDO, hunger drove me out into the street to find some my midday meal. The first thing I noticed about the people on the street, they all seemed content, almost happy. They were buzzing around on bikes, or sitting on benches talking and their was even a festive uprising around some bohemian style music pouring good vibes out onto the street. Something you would expect in Amsterdam with its many street performances and fests.

My liason from BDO, Gerolf was more than hospitable helping me to secure accommodations and arranging a group ride from the shop. There were a few familiar acquaintences Nikita and David along with some fresh faces. on the menu was a tasty plate of Urban singletrack, country roads, some seriously deteoriated back streets and fun riding parks. Besides an abundance of broken glass that riddled almost everywhere we rode (and accounted for two flats cutting down tires and ending my ride slightly prematurely), the were many more cool symbols of Leipzig's history. We rode one of the two hills in Leizig which Nikita explained was a trash mound from the WW2!

Nikita and Gerolf had many stories and background information that they shared readily with us along the ride, very interesting sidenotes to a very fun riding experience. Another one of these antidotes that stood out was the Hafen, a Nazi project that was started but never finished. Basically a large canal shadowed by very large concrete skeletons of three industrial buildings, mere shadows of a forgotten past. There were several burned out remenents of the darkened past, covered in the colorful graphitti of todays challenging urban culture.

After the ride we all had a quick drink together mingeling and making plans for the evening. David and I headed over to Rueckenwind, another very cool shop in Leipzig. If I were ever to own a shop, it would be something like the Rueckenwind, I fell in love with this shop. Ronny, the owner, is a kindred soul, open and passionate about cycling. His shop reflects his warm personality and invites customers in to a sweet bike shop. His focus is urban transport, fixies (although he loathes them) commuters and other unrban transport dominate the showroom in a minimalistic fashion. Not too many bikes to be overwhelming, but enough to wet the pallet and give the customer a taste of what is possible.

David had invited me there for a purpose, Maik whom I had met at SiS was getting new ride, a Ti Deluxe. So we did what I love to do, talk about bikes and get Maik set up. Being a similar stature as I, Maik took a quick spin on my Ti Deluxe and we were to base his dream ride off this bike. We talked some more, tried out my homemade schnapps, did a fitting and had a blast. I did not want to leave. This is what selling bikes should be about, forming a good relationship to your customer, formulating their bike on their desires in an informal, relaxed atmosphere. There was not a better setting than the Rueckenwind to facilitate this process...

Afterwards we hooked up with Gerolf and others at a cool little local hangout for some burgers and beer, good times.

The next day was the demo day on an old Eastern-block velodrome. Pretty cool stuff. David said it best when I mentioned him I thought it was cool to think of all of the historic races and events that must have taken place on the old banked oval as we watched some mtb and bmx dirt jumpers drop down the track and huck tricks. His response was "it is like the geist (meaning ghosts, but also soul) is still speaking to us."

It certainly was.

The demo day was a great for us, our bikes were constantly gone, and in high demand. The best parts was seeing their faces when they returned with ear-to-ear smiles. When the bikes were not out, people would study their details, fascinating over the craftsmanship and perfection. Once again conversations revolved around human-powered two-wheeled machines, and the lifestyle around it. Unfortunately for me I had to pack up fairly quickly at the end of the day to drive to our new home in Hopfen am See to meet my brother-in-law to start setting things up.

We will surely take part again next year, and stick around a little more to soak an incredible city in, and experience more the past and present culture.

(some pics will follow...)

39er

Ahhh... to be 29 again!


Tomorrow is it, the beginning of my last year in my thirties. No crisis or anything, just another decade passing. I guess you could say I lived the lives of two 20 year olds, and in many ways I feel that my life has been much more.

Looking back over my life during my second stay in Europe, I have been blessed to have seen, experienced and accomplished so much. Yet I feel like life has not got the better of me. Besides a bike fetish, I live a fairly simple life with Sandi and Colin. We take pleasure in the day to day routines and pleasure, I love a good cup of Joe or a good beer, we take advantage of being outside and have been surrounded by some amazing people.

Anyone who knows me knows a love a good conversation over some 'slow-food', and a good wine. I love to hear and tell stories, philosophize about life, politics and other mind bending topics. I am not looking for nor do I need absolutes, I can live with abstract and uncertainty. Maybe that is why I walked away from a $40k+ job with security for a scrimping, nail biting year (and we are not out of the woods yet, but things are looking much better!) of starting my own business in a foreign land with many challenges and pitfalls.

Colin shows me the world through eyes that are a distant vague childhood memory, but he shows me the important things in life. Sandi keeps me in check, and showers me with more affection than I deserve sometimes. She really is my counterbalance in life.

Sometimes I get off track, but the way always seems to find me again. Who knows how long I will be around for the ride, it doesn't matter. i will always try to milk the most out of each moment, enjoying those and the world around me.

Here is to the next 40 and whatever life will throw at us!

Photo Dump #2

here is a quick peek at a custom Ti Deluxe Single Speed we just did for a customer here in Germany. The paint is so sweet and it is fitted for a Fatty Headshok, can't wait to see this one built up...

Think fast

Wiesmann GT MF5

When the opportunity came to do a limited series of bikes for a small handmade car manufacture, it did not take us long to say yes. Wiesmann is a little manufacture here in Germany that turns our beautiful retro-looking, but technologically advanced street and race cars. Built on the BMW chassis and engines, Wiesmann handmakes the rest. For our project, we built a super sweet SSR to match their MF3 Roadster, a 300+hp convertible that somewhat resembles the old English roadsters of the 50-60's. The bike built up super sweet, complete with Campy Super Record 11, carbon Sports Ventoux wheels, EDGE 1.0 fork and a sweet silver Gecko headbadge to match the Wiesmann carbadge.

Wiesmann display

We had a new display built for the upcoming European Handmade Bicycle Exhibition, and put it to use for the Wiesmann Fruehlingfest, an open door event for the public to come and see their stunning creations. It is also an opportunity for those lucky enough to test drive a possible new car. Being that we are working together, I had the pleasure of driving the MF3 we used, but also the supercar, the GT MF5, a 500+hp beast that would blow most other cars off the road, and motorcylces can just forget it. Surrounding Duehlem, home to Wiesmann was a spiderweb of back roads perfect for stretching out the legs of these German muscle cars. Admitingly nervous, I climbed behind the wheel of a bright yellow MF5. My 'co-pilot' gave me a quick lesson on all of the controls and provided me with all the tech data as we rolled out of the parking lot. It was amazing as onlookers quickly turned to catch a glimps of the car growling along which raised to a roar as I layed my foot into the throttle.

Once clear of the city limits I shut of the automatic mode and took over shifting duty via paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Then I really layed into it... Now I know what a shuttle launch must feel like, as we quickly ate up the country side kilometers. Then I did what I have always wanted to do while driving my minivan back in the states and a Porsche or other sports car passed me like nothing. We over took several cars with out even shifting out of second and quickly topping out at a cool 150km, sick! Craddled in the tight confines of the GT5 cockpit, we sat super low to the road and the view was inhibited by the bulging fenders and ginormous hood, but you felt impervious in some way. I still had tons of respect for this car, being that it had way more power than I had ever driven before, and I did not want to be the 'one' to do anything to it. Granted I only scratched the surface of what this car could really do, but it was still a huge thrill to drive a super car.

Limited edition Wiesmann Roadster SSR

I bikes were more than well accepted at the event, and we drew a lot of interest despite being in the presence of show stopping automobiles. The year for ifbikes.de is off to a great start as we have been taking orders, I have been doing many fittings and we have several riding clinics booked. We will have some more demo bikes soon and are moving to Hopfen am See in Bayern.

My new 29er is quickly becoming one of my top rides, but we will save that for the next blog...

Zero Gravity G-Cross

the new Zero Gravity CX brakes offer up unrivaled braking power in a ultra clean, modern design

We recently threw a pair of these on a customers bike and were so impressed that I am mounting up a set on my SSX. Like all Zero Gravity parts, these are machine aluminium with Ti bits and a lot of attention to detail, and did I mention light? The Zero Gravity G-Cross Ti Cyclocross cantilever brake set is one of the lightest on the market at 118 grams per wheel. The minimalistic design requires some patience while setting them up but worth the extra fiddling for performance in spades.

Hands down the most powerful canti-brakes I have ridden, I would even go so far as saying they rival the performance of top V-brakes. They come stock with green Swiss Stop pads, which I think are great most most riding conditions (I am not a fan of the yellow compound).

If you are looking for an upgrade that not only enhances the look of your ride along with performance, the Zero Gravity G-Cross Ti Cyclocross cantilever brake set is just the ticket.

IF Deluxe For Sale

This could be your next ride...


New, never ridden steel Deluxe w/ traditional New England segmented 1" rigid steel fork. This is a must for any serious IF or Fat Chance collector, based on the famous Yo Eddy geometry, this single speed is the perfect mix of yesterday and today. Features include:

Independent Fabrication steel Deluxe non-suspension corrected geometry & Phil Wood EBB Serial # 493D818
Igelheart segmented 1" steel fork (steerer tube is 1 1/8")
Custom Lavender Paint with White Script logos
Purple King Headset
EDGE AM 32 hole carbon rims on KING Single Speed Disc Hubs w/ silver DT Comp spokes (handbuilt by Light-Wolf (www.light-wolf.de))
White Industries ENO cranks, 32t chainring & stainless steel BB
Crank Brothers Purple Eggbeaters Cro-Mo
Thomson setapost & stem
Fizik Gobi saddle
Magura Marta SL disc brakes 180 front/ 160 rear
Connex 9x1 stainless steel chain
Hutchinson Python MRC 2.0 tires
Purple Oury grips



Size & Geometry

Seattube CtoC - 46cm (18.1")
Toptube Effective 60cm (23.62")
Standover - 79.2cm (31.18")
Headtube angle - 71.5
Seattube angle 72.5
Headtube length 14cm (5.51")
Toptube angle 7.4
Wheelbase - 1064.1mm (41.89")
Chainstay length 42.5cm (16.73")
Fork height axel to crown - 39.6cm
Fork offset - 39
Trail - 70.6

Retail on this bike would be 5800EUR, our asking price is 3950EUR

Frank's Bike

Just finished this bike for a customer out of Basel Switzerland, one fly Ti Planet Cross. Very nice build, check out the custom made Dugast Rhino's with black sidewalls. Edge composites, Tune and Sram Red, I still have to throw it on the scale but it feels like 15.5 lbs...






Just an update on the weight...7.55kg

einfach geil

Having watched this a couple times, this is one of the better home videos of riding I have seen. Not too mention it gets the blood pumping for the coming season...enjoy!

Photo Dump

Riding a single speed is such a refreshing, pure experience. Rarely do you feel like you have the 'wrong' gear, and more than not, you actually can ride more efficiently without added mechanical advantage. With a freshly mounted set of Dugasts, some strong legs, my brother in-law was in for a tough ride.

The ground was still fairly frozen, making for a frim and tacky ride, 25lbs in the front and rear tubulars made for superelative traction. Feeling punchy, the climbs were gobbled up with small accelerations, and the descents went by in a blur. as the ride wore on, the ground began to soften, and in areas exposed the solar gain, where sloppy mud bogs, splattering both bike and rider full of mud.

Each acceleration from the one was met with counter-resistance from the other, and with the passing of each surge, it came clearer that my 'schwager' wasn't able to hang on. It did not matter who was stronger that day, we both had good digs at the other, but in the end, we enjoyed the other's company and more so that extra push on a great ride.

Here are some pics of my dressed up single speed following the mud-bath:

Keeping it simple


The best bike I have ever owned



A combination made in heaven



A customers Ti Planet X we are building up

And now the forecast...

The wheels are spinning

Almost a month in 2009 and my go-to blogs and online journals are a buzz with plans, resolutions and to-do for the last year in the first decade of the new millennium. There are some really cool events out there to consider, one that stands out to me is the Single Speed Worlds in Durango. Having ridden many of those trails, been a force in the Colorado single speed myself, it would be something that is a no-brainer, but life keeps me in check. A trip this spring back to the high-altitude Colorado desert with fam and my 29er would also satisfy my appetite for primetime singletrack (ie Cortez, Fruita, Eagle and Carbondale all make the list).



Another event on our list if the Bike Festival at the Gardasee. For ifbikes.de it is a great consumer event, and for Sandi at least, a cool marathon. The EHBS is another must for us, we will be showing off the delicious line-up of ferrous and not-so ferrous IF-creations from Sommerville, MA. Topped off with a night ride on Saturday eve in cooperation with Waridi Sport Lights. We will also be showing a Limited edition IF bike, only 20, so get you credit card warmed up and stay tuned for more details…


Dice-K

I haven’t, go check out IF’s Japanese frontman and Rapha stewart, Dice-K's Flickr page. His booth for the Japan show was the absolute best I have seen and is what we want ifbikes.de to become. The bikes he had on hand, where nothing short of stunning and beautiful. Dice-K has long been a fixture in the cycling industry, beating the pavement for companies like Cateye before doing it for himself as the IF and Rapha rep in the land of the rising sun.

Dice-K's stand w/ a sweet track bike

Besides the above mentioned events, we are looking to open a showroom in a soon to be named location, and continue to build the brand. We have our eyes on several of races and consumer events, and are courting a couple of new companies to fill out our product offering. The ifbikes.de website is slowly getting a makeover, and we will also be updating the Crossracer.eu site for our two race events we are organizing, a Hochspeyer MTB race June 14th as part of the Saar-Pfalz Cup and our second annual Hochwald Milchideen Crossduathlon.

2009 looks to be a promising year despite the gloomy economic forecast and other world issues, but I think things will be just fine – think positive!

winter pause

Once and while comes one of those few times in racing and in training where you have a great day physically align one with external forces that produce a high like no other. They are tattooed forever in your memory bank often providing the motivation to train and perform just so you can reach that high again.

During our visit to Seefeld, Austria and the Olympic nordic skiing region over the holidays with Sandi and Colin, we planned 7 full days of nordic skiing and training. Armed with our quiver of both skate and classic gear along with a Chariot equipped with skis, we were ready to explore the nearly 300km of trails in the valleys and mountains of northern Tirol.

Many top pro's utilize nordic skiing for training, and for good reason. It pushes your conditioning and power to the max. Throw a 30 lbs in a trailer in tow, and you know you have done some work. Our first few days there were spent exploring the trails in and around Leutasch often skiing between 2 1/2 to four hours, two of those days were pulling Colin. The sauna and a ritual of big breakfasts and lots of coffee were my ways of battling fatigue. On the fifth day we drove over the Seefeld proper to ski the black runs and the World Cup course, where the soon to be held Nordic Combination World Cup will be held. (BTW. an American Bill Demong is at the top of the rankings, and a bonus for us is that EuroSport carries all of the nordic action from biathalon to Tour de Ski so we will be able to catch it on TV).

Heading out on the the World Cup loop on my own, I was feeling a little sluggish but was able to eventually open it up. Zipping along about 10k in, I passed two skiers on the flats who were moving at a good clip. Having to stop to check my orientation, they came back by, and I would fall in behind them for the long steep climb.

Like in cycling, we skied together in rhythm, pacing up the climb. First taking up the rear, I assessed the other two nameless and obviously very strong compatriots. The lead skier had a strong, clean technique while the second was also efficient but close to his limits whenever the trail turned upwards. Eventually the stronger of the two lifted his pace to the point where the second skier and myself slowly drifted backwards.

Content to sit in, I waited to see if we would bring him back, but it slowly came apparent that would not happen. and that is when I went. Leaping past the second skier on a steep section, I quickly dropped him and began chipping away at the deficit before me. Stronger on the false flats and descents, I brought the first skier back. As we hit the last steep sections of the climb, full of sweat, and a pounding heartrate in my ears, I was in the lead skiers shadow, and wasn't planning going anywhere.

Checking to see if I was his friend in a heavy Oestereicher dialect, I answered nein and it was game on. The pace went up with the final steep grades of the climb, and I was doing all I could to hang on. Fully between somewhere of agony and a trance, I was just following the tempo of his skis. Just at the top my grip was broken and a few meters between us opened up as we coasted down a little and on to the flats on top of the plataue. I was quick to thank him for an awesome ski up and he invited me to continue on with the two, and I graciously accepted. We flew around on the trails on top, taking turns pulling and setting pace, all the while I had an ear-to-ear smile and enjoyed the company.

With wife and child waiting below, I bid them Servus and thanked them again as I peeled off for the descent back down. High on a great ski, I had to return focus on some of the most technical descents I have done on two skinny skis in my life. Deaf with the loud rush of wind in my ears, I got a glimpse of someone from behind. Giving way, two skiers blasted by, it was Anette Henkle, World Cup German biathlete, and her male training partner. I quickly latched on for one hell of a ride on the descent. It was great to follow them and to see their lines down. Believe me, television does little to convey the speed and precision of top nordic skiers on a descent. It was nothing short of beautiful and scary.

Good news was, I was able to stick with them on the descent even on the short punchy climbs. The descent finally dumped us out on the lower loops where i just cruised back to the car. It would have been an awesome day had I just skied with my two new Austrian friends to the top, skiing with Henkle on the descent, was just icing on the cake.

This was one of those memorable days that will keep the fire burning for some time to come. For that matter, so was our whole trip which was then capped off with two more days of pulling Colin, logging many more km's and hours of training. Exhausted and sore, it is time to pull the single speed out, and ride towards that next high.

the chain is broken

the chain is broken, i have neglected my blog for some time, but things are changing. back to blogging, riding and living. soon i will be leaving this 6 to 6 world in my rear view mirros and get back to what i love, and best of all be sharing it with you. thanks to all of the blogs i love out there for quenchening my thirst during this drought!

stay tuned...

Oh Nein...

Your Name here.
They call cyclocross the NASCAR of cycling with its fast pace, some rubing and the fact that we go around in tight circles. While I don't entirely agree with annology, Tim Johnson is not helping the cause. Recently he has been showing up to cross events with a Red Bull helmet, the ultimate sellout. I wonder if he actually drinks that crap?

I realize he is not the only one plastered with logos, and actually his 'Nine-Ball' kits are pretty sweet. Not too mention Tim is an awesome guy, and I am all for a starving cyclist to make a decent income, but Red Bull? Besides, I thought they only sponsored anti-skinsuit wearing, gated-racing, non-pedaling huckers?

Halloween Revisted

It's almost Thanksgiving, but when I saw this, I laughed out loud. Good stuff.

Euro-Cross

Over the weekend, Colin, Sandi & I went to Mannheim (which via the Autobahn is less than half an hour away) for the Iron Cross Days cyclocross race. Unlike the Iron Cross know in the states, this was just a 1.5km course, that could have been much batter than it was. With the start and finish on the local velodrom, we would cross over the tunnel at the north end riding towards the first dismount.Sandi floating over the transitions

The slight uphill had three barriers on it, with just enough grade, combined with the water soaked groud, there was no means of bunny hopping these. Which was fine, it made for a nice long run up. After remounted on top, it was almost a full lap arond the outside of the velodrome before pealing off towards an appartment/ park area. Here is where the course wa a bit scetchy. A barrier on otp of three flights of stairs that we ran down! If it had been at all any more wet, it would have been way more dangerous than it was, and probably would have seen some torn ACL's if not worse injuries. As it was, my ankles and kness still hurt from hitting the concrete at speed and running down cobbled steps.

Sandi was her competition

Through a sidewalk passage, it was around a sweeping grassy bend with an uphill at the end heading back towards the velo-club grounds. Around the club house, across the north end perimeter of the velodrome, and a tight switchback before dropping down through the tunnel and into the track.
Sandi railing the hairpin
I went off first, racing the open men’s race against 17 others. Normally you can count on some crazy fast Euro’s at small events like this. My first years of racing were spent over here in the ‘hobby’ class getting my ass kicked. That was not the case on Saturday. Grabbing the hole-shot, I wanted to hit the first run-up near the front after having watched several of these guys stumble through the transitions. Clear of the others, I remounted at the top to find myself with a gap, but was still expecting a counter attack from behind. Semi-soft pedaling I glanced back to find no one was chasing, so I punched it.

On the run up

After my acceleration, I would only see the others as I started to lap the field. I was still on the gas for most of the race, not 100% but still getting my monies worth. After a dizzying 10 laps and 40mins of racing, I had lapped up to 3rd place and probably could have ran the last lap and still have won. My lap times were around 3:40 to give you an idea of how short the course was.

The best part came taking Colin up on the podium with me, which he loved the people clapping and joined in. He liked the shiny prizes and awards too I think.

The track in Mannheim

Sandi’s race lacked competition, well almost. One poor junior girl got lapped two times and Sandi was always on the heels of the lead junior men, much to their disliking… She too made her own workout of it, pushing hard through the entire race. She was really surprised how quickly the dismounts and remounts came back to her (as was I for myself).



Taking over the wheel

The great thing about small events like this one are the people you meet, other who share your own passion for the sport. We met a few different people, talked about bikes, kids and organizing events. No matter where you go in the world the cycling community is an extended family

World Cup DH MTB Fashion Police

You must be kidding me??? An immature and obviously grossly confused Rachel Atherton would rather succumb to fashion than win races. Not only that, but her dissing the skinsuit flies in the face of much bigger champions than she, Tomac, Nico, Chausson, Stiefle, HBall and of course Borat.

Her sponsors should really re-think their connection with this superficial, spoiled wanna-be.

Photo ©: Mark Gunter
UCI ban skin suits and open face helmets for some mountain bike competitions

By Matthew Cole, BikeRadar.com
Tracy Moseley rode this skin suit to a slim win in Australia


The UCI, the governing body for competitive cycling, has made some interesting changes to the rules for the 2009 season and beyond including banning the wearing of "tight-fitting clothing" and insisting that full-face helmets must be worn when racing and practising for downhill and 4X.

The wearing of skin suits has been a point of contention over the last year, notably in the Australian round of the mountain bike world cup. A skinsuit-clad Tracy Moseley (Kona) won the women's race by four seconds ahead of Rachel Atherton (Animal-Commencal), who claimed that the skin suit gave Moseley an unfair advantage.

"Fair enough to Tracey if she wants to do that to win, but for the sport and the longevity of the sport, to wear cool race kit and to make an image for yourself is more important than the odd win here and there," said Atherton.

Schnapps & Cyclocross

Having an affection for things crafted by the hand of a master, I have always enjoyed handmade bikes and components along with wines, food and schnapps. The latter mind you, is not your typical American flavoured-syrup with a good dose of alcohol, rather it is made from pure fruit, no additives or anything else. Being on the receiving end of some of the best homemade schnapps out of the fatherland the past ten years in the US, when the opportunity arose to produce my own batch, I jumped at the opportunity.


Bobbing for apples?

My friend Sascha Wenzel invited me to help harvest some apples and take part in the process of making schnapps. A couple of weekends ago we began the journey from fruit to brandy. With three sorts of apples on his piece of land, we picked some of the biggest, juiciest apples I have ever seen, and all organic. We gathered enough to fill three big barrels (and then some!), which we spent the better part of an afternoon dicing up into smaller cubes, then we mashed them and filled our barrels.


Apple mash

From there, it is a game of patience, stirring daily, they have slowly begun to ferment. At first we were met with lots of resistance when stirring each barrel, we are about half the way along, stirring the half liquefied mash is done with ease. One can already smell the alcohol as they are very ripe.

A few more weeks and they will stop fermenting on their own, then they are ready for distilling. We will make an appointment at a local distillery around mid-January, where we will spend the day, and probably need a ride home from…as we have our mash turned into a clear liquid that would remove paint from a car. Depending on the duration of distillation will determine the alcohol content, which will be around 40%. Our three barrels will probably yield around 40 liters.

What the hell do you do with 40 liters of schnapps??? My half will go in a large glass jug with a tap on it to fill bottles. The longer schnapps ages, the smoother it gets. No doubt it will have to be tried immediately, but I plan on letting it age a little, and then next fall, start to gift others with hopefully will be a good bottle of apple brandy.


Sunday morning spin


On the bike front, Sandi & I are going to Madburg in a couple of weekends for our first cyclocross of the season, and have been enjoying some spectacular fall riding. It has been crisp and cool with lots of sun drenched days. Riding through thick beds of leaves, it makes it hard sometimes to define where the trails go. My new training loop in Hochspeyer is a blast on the cross bike, maybe a training series this winter???


from a different angle



I have our crosscountry course already planned, sehr anspruchtsvol! Very techy, and if it is wet, muddy and even more techy!!!

Autobahn

My new Dugast’s Rhinos (both cross and mountain) are oh so sweet, nothing rides better than tubulars. You can feel the attention to detail and quality in each rotation of the wheel across the trail. Once again, it is my affection for the handmade things in life.

Mike's new bike

somewhere above Rico, Colorado is a cross bike eating up some of the best trails in the world...

Mike Guskea is a character, a personable guy but a bit of a sour puss. Oh he owns two ti Indy's so don't dis on him just yet. Not too mention he is one of the best chefs in the world. His shops in TRide CO produce some the finest eats you ever have the pleasure of putting your mouth. Soph and he lead a simple life of working too much, enjoying their new home in Rico and lots of riding (only when they are not working).

Mike has a new bike (pictured) and blog...surely to be entertaining. stay tuned.

http://iwishmybloghadwheels.blogspot.com/