Bike ride or man-date?

my Moots and Ben's Surly

Its 8 am Friday morning, the temp is about 5 below and there is about an inch of snow on the ground. I'm sitting in my little house drinking a latte and watching my fireplace spew warmth all around the fake pile of wood; waiting to see if anyone will show for my weekly bike ride, The Bad Espresso Ride. Five minutes pass until Rupert's excited barking alerts me... BenE is here! My co-worker, fellow riding enthusiast and beard buddy. Him showing up always means we are in for a great ride.

Ben on the swing

We found a swing! This one is by the Sibley house in Mendota. When you are this jacked up on espresso a swing is always a great idea.

Me on the swing

The wonderful thing about our bike trails are that we get to avoid most auto accidents... This Friday there were over 130 in the metro area, this is one of them on the Mendota bridge. We got to pass all sorts of cars on the bike path.

BenE confused by the autos

Down past the Cedar bridge BenE shows his regal pose. I felt it was appropriate given the snow storm, river and prairie grass.

BenE looking yonder

The amazing thing about the river bottoms is how much the sand firms up when its this cold and snowy. Last summer this stretch of trail was tough on a fat bike through the sand, now its a quick zip through and just a tad bit of sliding through the corners... perfection!

Our path awaits

We ended up with several hours of riding, some of the thickest ice beards we have experienced and where able to keep most of our fingers and toes.

I have a crush on Orbea!

This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but this July when I went to Utah to see the new 2012 Orbeas and walked into the display room I was dumbfounded by the ridiculous beauty of the new Orbea bicycles. The people from Orbea were talking to me and I could barely speak and my heart was racing. I go to trade shows, and see everyone’s shiny new stuff, but I've never had this kind of reaction before. Sure, the Hub is an Orbea dealer so some of the thrill was that we get to stock these exceptionally stunning bikes, but like I said I see lots of new bikes. We are getting our first shipment of new 2012 Orbeas this week so I'm a little giddy again.

Coming Attractions to our 301 Cedar Ave store!!

A New Orbea Road Bike……..

The 2012 Orbea Aqua TTG: $1259.99

The Orbea Aqua TTG is all about racing at a price that is often ignored when a company tries to make a bike fast. The much improved new Shimano Tiagra 10spd shifters and crankset are coupled with a 105 rear derailleur that performs like serious race equipment at a fraction of the cost. The Aqua frame encourages you to jump on the pedals push it, and the Shimano R500 wheelset spins up quickly and rewards the effort.

Coming Attractions to our 3020 Minnehaha store!!

A New Orbea Hybrid Bike……..

2012 Orbea Carpe H10: $1529.99

The Orbea Carpe H10 is a versatile urban speed machine. The frame is steep and agile like a road bike and the Orbea wheels and excellent Vittoria Randoner 32c tires say go anywhere without fear. When it comes time dial back the speed, the Formula RX brakes will be up to the task even if you are fully loaded touring and hauling a trailer. The wide range Shimano 10spd XT drive train will get you up that hill fully loaded also.

2012 Orbea Carpe H60, Hub price $549.99

An affordable Orbea. The Carpe H60 at $549.99 is alloy single speed hybrid that even at such an affordable price still comes with Orbea's lifetime frame warranty. Simple, fast with reflective side wall puncture resistant tires that will keep you rolling worry free to the places you need to go.

What we are still waiting on from Orbea!!!

Photos from Dealer Camp at Park City Utah.......

The Orca Bronze BPX and T105.

Orbea Rallon SX30

The elegant Orbea Diamond Link suspension design and Fox’s RP23’s Boost Valve expertly set up by Lonnie at Orbea was a blast, plush, but with virtually no pedal induced bob when ascending I had a moment of feeling out of my depth at the top of the chair lift, and stopped to take this picture, then the Rallon made me right at home.

More Pics

-Chuff

The Giant Giant's winter rampage

Ramen Noodles, water, bananas and cheep beer. To me these all equate to my nice bike. The one that killed my bank account, murdered my social life and destroyed my spare time. Its the one in the stable that screams out to you every time you look at it... Take me! Take me! The one you have to tell "NO" far too often in Minnesota, Im sorry nice bike its too rainy out for you to play outside... Its way to snowy... That salt will kill your beautiful look.

But not Today!!!

Yes! Nice bike! You can play outside...

I ride slowly out of the alley like a balding man in his $250,000 Ferrari. We glide down the neighborhood streets in no hurry, gotta warm this fella up. Soft pedaling is all we need till we get to the river, no need to show off speed when you look like this.

You must listen when on this one, not for the engine but for that soft warm road noise that only a high end bike can make. Its a light drone of the road echoing through its full carbon frame, a soft whim from the tubular tyres, and a light vibration from each shift barley pulses through it. You feel none of this... only the contours of the road perfectly hitting your body. The curves of the street ahead of you taken with no effort, like the bicycle already knows your plan of attack.

Now for some throttle... Like a race horse in the starting gate this guy is fidgeting and stomping, let me out! I need to move!

You let it go and everything becomes a blur. The road noise gets drown out by the engine. The feel of the bike becomes one with the burning in your lungs and legs. You loose track of which one is in charge... the bike or the human.