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Full Spectrum Cycling
Full Spectrum Cycling #27 – Joe Mauntler Sturdy Bag Designs
Sep 27, 2019
Full Spectrum Cycling #27 – Joe Mauntler Sturdy Bag Designs
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Transcript
0:00
[upbeat rock music] Hey, everybody.
0:19
Welcome to the Full Spectrum Cycling Show. Sven here on the old microphone. Show number 27. 27. Got JK- 27... over there on the, uh, color mic, and, uh, Mr. Tony Berger joining us too. Hello. Hey, hey, hey.
0:36
And a little bit later, probably not too much since he's more interesting than us, we're gonna have Mr. Joseph from Sturdy Bag Designs up there in Minneapolis. Nice.
0:44
I'm gonna let him tell us how he pronounces his last name so I don't butcher it all up. [laughs] It starts with an M, M-uh. But
0:53
he's gonna talk bags and bikes and Milwaukee and Minneapolis and- He makes some pretty beautiful bags... all that good stuff. So weekly show. Hey. Hey. Did we ride last week? I forgot.
1:08
[laughs] I rode across the street to the Oktoberfest. Oh, yeah. Oh. Black Husky had their Oktoberfest this week. Oh, I didn't get to make it up. Caddy, Caddy Corner from the old shop here. Yeah. Yeah, it was a long ride.
1:21
[laughs] November Criminals played. Yeah. I wanted to get back, and the 7:00 would've worked maybe, but- Yeah, it was at-... it didn't... earlier. I went down to the Baby Bash. Nice. So I did get a good ride in.
1:31
So you, yeah, you, you saw some good shows too, I'm sure. Yeah, it was good stuff. Did you see El Rongo? Of course. El Excelente. Exactly. And they were only one hour behind with the- You can't go rongo, with El Rongo...
1:42
with the, uh, with the rain. Yeah. It was... You know, they just wanted to hold off a little bit and- Maybe I should re- put a show notes in there, uh, link to, uh, El Rongo.
1:51
I watched the, what, what's the one called about your face? Oh, Face First? Face First. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's pretty rocking. Obstacles. Popsicles. [laughs] Testicles. It's not popsicles.
2:04
[laughs] It's- So, um, Jeff did say that they, they wrote a little jingle for us, but they gotta get into the studio to lay it down, so- Oh, nice... we might no longer have the... Dun, dun, dun. Dun, dun, dun, dun.
2:17
Dun, dun, dun, dun. I don't know. Except for special occasions. Still, still pretty catchy. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Do like caller introductions with that or, you know? Yeah, yeah. We can, we can use that.
2:27
We can keep using that. I know- Or we're gonna make it all our ringtones... maybe we'll use it for dueling podcasts down at the, uh, Funduro. There we go. Oh, Funduro you say. Dueling podcast. Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.
2:37
Dun-dun-dun-dun. Meow. I, uh, I had a lot of difficulties getting through to the, uh, hotel to book a, a room for the Funduro.
2:46
I was a little sketchy on when I booked it, 'cause it sounded kinda like he wasn't sure what he was doing. Oh. But I did get a email confirmation and all. Good. So now I feel more like I'm actually gonna be able to go.
2:56
I finally got through to a human being and had a very nice conversation with a young lady, and got the last king room- Balcony lake view... with a balcony with a lake view.
3:07
[laughs] There's, I, I think there's still some partial lake views left. She's- And folks, this place is right on the beach anyway, so. Yeah, it's pretty.
3:13
If you look at the pictures on their website, it's, it's going to be nice. You know- Now I just have to find my wife a small fat bike to loan or- Uh, she can borrow-... borrow one...
3:22
if it's not already sold by the time that comes around, I've got a small one. Oh, there we go. A fat bike, that is, folks. Yeah. Small, fat bike. [laughs] Fat. Baby Ruth. Uh, Hub- Baby Ruth... what do we got?
3:34
What, uh, hey, what, what the heck is that box over there? That box just happens to be the beer we're drinking this evening. Snee- sneevening? Would you look at that. Did I say sneevening? Sneevening.
3:44
Yes, this sneevening. This, this sneevening. There we go. Sorry, just had to put a pin in that. Okay. [laughs] Yes, it is, uh- Top of the hill time...
3:51
it, it is a new to me beer from the beautiful Madison, Wisconsin brewery, Carbon 4. Indeed. And it's Ratty Cats. And if you guys don't know- Ratty Cats... guys, gals, people of all
4:06
peoples, don't know about Carbon 4's labels, you just need to head out to their website and take a look at some of the great graphics they do. Yeah, that looks like a cruiser- And-... a BMX cruiser- Yeah...
4:22
that cat's riding there... yeah, it's pretty cool. It's a cat riding. He's getting seriously rad on a- It's a cat... pretty cool, yeah.
4:30
So this is a- And their beers are also very, very tasty, which this one happens to be a New England style IPA. Yep. Uh, so a little hazy. Um, it's- 6.0... really delicious. On your ABV. Yeah, very. Yeah. 6.0.
4:43
I don't know how widely they distribute. I don't either. Right. I don't either, but you can find them at a lot of places in, you know, the Wisconsin area. Regional, some.
4:50
I've found them at, like, you know, in Oshkosh, like, any bar or restaurant tends to carry it, which is always nice. Public House has it once in a while. Uh- I find Fantasy Factory all over. Yeah.
5:00
I haven't seen Ratty Cats on a, uh- Oh, I'm, oh, I'm sorry. I agree with that too... on a tapper. I agree with that too. No, no, no. I was, I was referring to just being able to find Carbon 4's beers in general.
5:10
The, the beers. The beers. The beers. Those are the guys that do Da Diamonds. Mm-hmm. So have you guys... You, you watched the, uh, the country music Ken Burns thing, haven't you? Yes, yes.
5:21
Thankfully, as we are recording, the last episode is tonight. I mean, not like it's gonna be gone forever, but this is, like, this is the part of country- The cu- the, the, the culmination. Yeah.
5:35
Yeah, I already watched it. I have the passport- Well, yeah... so I, I streamed it. Oh, yeah. Ha, ha. Well, no, no, I, I, I just didn't have time to. I wasn't...
5:42
[laughs] But yeah, this last hour is gonna be the one that kinda grates on my... I love old country- What? It's like-... and this is where it gets into- To almost to present... pop.
5:53
Yeah, yeah, almost into the present pop country thing. Mm-hmm. And that's not my jam at all.
5:58
I was, uh, Dwight Yoakam-ing a lot of the day today just because- He's, uh, one of the guys that they talk to and- Yeah, he's-... talk about and- Yeah, he gets a little into it. Yeah, yeah. [laughs] Like, really into it.
6:08
Well, hey, PBS Ken Burns country music- Oh, yeah... can't, can't go wrong. Yeah. It's- I kinda-- I haven't listened to country for a long time, mostly 'cause I don't like new country. Right.
6:17
I listened to a lot of Johnny Cash [laughs] in the shop yesterday actually. Yeah, I saw that. Yeah. And I was like, "Yeah." That's like, you know, probably about the,
6:23
the late '80s, early '90s is when my country music- Yeah, totally agree... likeness kinda stopped being...
6:29
I went through a year there when I was kinda sad, and I liked to listen to it in my car, but thankfully I'm not sad anymore. [laughs] With my dog in the [ [laughs] With your dog. With your dead...
6:39
Your new dog wasn't dead. [laughs] I ain't got no dog no more, and my pickup truck done got sold. I take it back. There's some new stuff- I'm bicycling again- There is some new stuff I dig... and now I'm not sold.
6:50
But that's that, uh, you know, that dirty, grungy country. Like- Like Hank 3 country? Hank 3, Goddamn Gallows, uh, Scotty H. Burrum. I mean, just... Yeah. There we go. You know, mandolin picking, mm-hmm, spitting.
7:04
Pine Box Boys. I kept her heart- Did you see- 'Cause it was gone... did you see how Marty... Can you dig Marty Stuart? He's on there a lot. Dude, he just cracked me up every time I saw him.
7:12
Like, the silver hair all kinda poking up and- Yeah... what do they call that thing around his neck? Is it- It l-... a bolo or...? No, it's more like a scarf.
7:19
Looks like one of those, like, teacup d- like, dogs, like, just came from the salon. [laughs] You know, it, it's interesting how- Kinda... how, how early that guy started. Yeah.
7:29
He, he st- he started way earlier than I ever thought. But, yeah. Yeah, just visually he looks a little composed. [laughs] Hey, I'm not [laughs]-- I'm only gonna spoil- The stylist was really, uh, rocking on that one...
7:40
I'm only spoiling one thing about Marty Stuart. It was just really cool that he met an older lady, not super old, but when he was 13 she was probably 20 or something, and said, "I'm gonna marry her." Right, right, right.
7:50
And he did, 25 [laughs] years later. [laughs] Con- Connie Smith, is that who it was? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. With a smirk to the camera. Yeah, he's like- And I, uh-..."25 years later..." "I did." "I did."
8:03
[laughs] [laughs] That's good to see. Dig. Yeah. Well, you gotta have your goals. If, uh, if you don't have goals, folks- Right... all you are is just getting along. I'm, uh,
8:14
sitting in the seat that I'm in, I have this vantage point to those absolutely unbelievable wheels that Sam D.'s putting on his fat bike. Yep. I'm, I- I'm getting ready to put that whole thing together. Yeah.
8:28
We just about collected up all the parts for that. That's gonna be... It-- people's-- It's sexy. Jumba? Jumba. Yeah, it's Jumba. Jumba. Yeah, our bling case is gonna be emptied out, though.
8:38
[laughs] Yeah, but right now it's sexy. But yeah, it's... this is gonna be a m- this is gonna be a beast of a bike. I just, I had a stoke today to get that ice cream truck ready to go. We got one of the Prickly Pear-
8:52
Oh... ice cream truck, uh, frames in, and I had some decent parts for it- Yeah... that I put together today and that- Picture that in the podcast. Got it. Yep.
8:59
I got a medium of that one and a large of that one, so the large is, is next on the docket. The Prickly Pear is a fantastic color for a bike. It is a great color.
9:08
I already know it's- You know, imagine how l- how good it's gonna look when it's, like, p- white snow. Yeah. Mm. Right. Or covered in mud. Yeah, either way. It's still gonna poke out really neat. Pink and brown?
9:18
You know? That's good. It's, you know- Yeah... then you just need white and you got Neapolitan. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, there you go. The shocker. Kim's gonna look at that thing and go, "Oh, I love it, Oz."
9:25
Neapolitan or the shocker? However you wanna look at it, if you're feeling R-rated or... All right. [laughs] Yeah, it's- All right, I'm gonna... You guys, you guys converse. I'm gonna- It's a really pretty vehicle...
9:35
I'm gonna make the outgoing call to Mr., uh, Joe while you guys- It-... talk smack. It reminds me of the Trivial Pursuit pie piece, the fuchsia. I agree with that.
9:47
I think it's a, it's a pretty- That, that has a very similar color to the, you know, to that piece. Primarily I'm trying to, like, talk myself into [clears throat] playing that again, which I haven't [laughs] in a while.
9:58
So I don't think- The last time I played it- I don't think I mentioned to Joe that we're gonna be already live right when we call him, but I'll, I'll clue- Right... I'll clue him in quickly. [laughs] Hey, motherfucker.
10:09
Boo pa doo boo. How does the, uh, the theme from, uh, Jeopardy! go?
10:22
[singing] [singing] Hello. Hello. Hey, Joe. It's, uh, it's Sven/Greg and JK and Tony from the Full Spectrum Cycling Podcast here in the Milwaukee.
10:42
How you doing, man? How are you guys? Hey, hey. Doit, doing well. Good. Excellent. So we are calling Joe to talk about all sorts of stuff. Yes.
10:54
I think I rattled off in no particular order Milwaukee, Minneapolis, bags, and bikes. Hm. So I, I... which should give us some idea of what- Yeah... [laughs] what we're actually gonna talk about. How about beer?
11:04
We should throw beer in there too. Oh, yeah, beer. Beer's, beers, beer and bikes. Hey, you guys having... You guys having a beer right now? We are. Are you? What are you having? I am.
11:17
Uh, we are having the Ratty Cats New England style India pale ale from Carbon Fire Brewing in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin. What are you having? Oh, nice. I'm having the old standby, the Bell's Two Hearted Ale.
11:32
Oh, an excellent choice. Always a good one. Excellent choice. Always a good choice. [laughs] Yes. It's what I c- I rate every other IPA based on that. That's my, my litmus test. I go up or down- Yeah... from there.
11:50
And if people ask me, that's how I try to kinda give them a rating. Anyway, I digress. We've talked about beer. Let's talk about bikes and- [laughs] Yeah. Like- You know, and by the way, this is Tony.
11:59
I've not met you because I wasn't at the shop the day you showed up, but, uh, we'll cross paths. Indeed. Indeed we will Uh, well, let's start out with your connection to Milwaukee, Joe. How, how does that lay out for us?
12:16
So I was actually born in Milwaukee, um, in 1980 at, uh, St. Mary's Hospital. And, uh, I spent my life there mainly on the weekends until I was an adult. Um,
12:32
you know, parents separate, divorce, whatnot. Um, yeah, and as I grew up on the weekends basically a block from WM. So I got a lot of, uh,
12:42
a lot of fun experiences as a kid watching the college students, uh, navigate that life, um, on the east side. And, um, yeah, I, uh, actually moved away when I was about 20. I headed out to the East Coast.
12:58
I lived in Vermont for about eight years. I followed my brother out there and kinda, that's where I kinda got into cycling more so than I did growing up.
13:09
You know, I was always, was always into biking, but I kinda got serious when I was living out in New England. And, um, yeah, I actually made it back to Milwaukee around 2009. And, um,
13:25
yeah, became a courier at that point downtown, and, uh- For which company? At my wife... Uh, Breakaway. Nice.
13:34
Break- yeah, worked for Breakaway for a few years and made some great friends and had a great time and rode my bike very much, uh, which was awesome.
13:44
And met w- my wife there, and lived in Bayview actually for about a year before we were drawn up to the Twin Cities. So we've been here about, uh, four years now.
13:56
But I've still got a, still got a deep connection to Milwaukee and that's actually where Sturdy Bags began- Nice... in 2015. Yeah, I was kinda gonna- Mm-hmm... try and get a little history on the bags.
14:07
Your, um, your mut- our mutual buddy, Dan Sipan, uh, hipped me to you and your bags and said, "Well, he started out making bags here in Milwaukee and then he escaped to Minneapolis, and you should check him out."
14:19
And [laughs] Now w- was it, was it a result of messengering, or what kinda got you into doing the bags? It sort of was in a roundabout way.
14:27
I was actually working at an upholstery shop that is still in business over on Bay Street and- Oh... Bayview. And, uh, I was bike commuting to work there, um,
14:41
and I was just kinda tired of wearing a backpack on my commute.
14:45
And I took around the shop, I looked around the shop on a slow day, and I realized it was surrounded by canvas, and zippers, and Velcro, basically all the components I would need to construct a frame bag and essentially stop using a backpack, which was just kinda getting annoying to me at that point.
15:05
Um, and you know, so I kinda constructed my first frame bag at that upholstery shop. Nice. And, uh, you know, I kinda just tested it out, made a few tweaks here and there.
15:18
Once my friends found out I was making 'em, they kinda wanted to get a little sample and see what those were like. And it had this cool sort of organic, uh, in my spare time kind of
15:31
my own learning course on, on making frame bags essentially. Um, and then it just go- sort of spiraled from there. [laughs] Um- It's funny you mentioned, uh, trying to ditch the backpack.
15:43
Uh, JK here is also kind of on the... I, I, I've been wearing that backpack for an awful long time plan and sorta trying to jettison the cargo more often than not these days. Yeah, yeah. They're doing...
15:56
They're trying to do something like, you know, fanny pack variety of some, some nature, and I'm still working on it. Another frame bag or something. Yeah. And I've got...
16:04
Well, and yeah, like on my fatty- If we ever get your fatty refurbished. [laughs] There's that. But yeah, but the whole thing, trying to transfer all of that cargo off back onto at least rig- Yeah...
16:19
or displace it on a hip or something. Right. Yeah. You know, on something. And you're able to do it. I mean, that's... Yeah, what, what I was finding is I just, I was just having a lot more fun getting back to cycling.
16:31
Yeah. You know, I'd spent a few years of, you know, six, seven days a week with a messenger bag on- Sure... and I was just kinda, "What is this new feeling?" [laughs] Yeah, I know. Of liberty, right? [laughs] Yeah.
16:42
You feel a little naked, like I'm missing something. Well, there's like a hug. There's a back hug. What, what you're missing is the sweat. There's a back hug I'm missing here. Oh, well, yeah, and the sweat. Yeah.
16:49
I think Mike used to use the weight of the backpack kinda to hold him upright. It would be like- Yeah, well-... I was kinda leaning back into it a little bit.
16:55
Yeah, yeah, a little lumbar exercise or depending on what I had that day, so. [laughs] Yep. Right on. So- I was rationalizing it at least. Oh, yeah...
17:04
uh, working at the upholstery shop, um, one, one of the things that we talked about, I, I saw you at Revolution in Madison, and then we talked here too I think about how your, um, construction methods are a little bit different than some other bag makers out there.
17:18
And it seems like you've got a pretty good handle on how to finish these off and make 'em look really good.
17:24
I mean, you know, sometimes you just look at a roll bag on the front of a handlebar and go, you know, in passing, "Oh, you know, nice bag."
17:30
But when you kinda look at the details, uh, you're really looking pretty good on that end of stuff. Oh, thanks. Thank you. I, I do, uh...
17:38
Well, I take a lot of pride in the, in the finished work, and it, it's always evolving.
17:43
You know, I, I try to, um, communicate online and through every interaction with customers that, you know, I always want feedback, and I'm always receptive to it. And those, you know, every time I get,
17:57
you know, whether it's critical or whether it's positive, you know, it always translates into improving- Nice... the design work, the finish work. And so
18:07
it's funny because somebody recently said to me, "Oh, I really like your tool roll. It's my favorite bag you make."
18:13
And I thought It's the smallest bag I make, and it's the simplest bag I make, but it's probably on its eighth iteration at this point. Wow. It's taken so long to simplify it and to clean it up, and
18:28
it's just kinda funny how the simplest things can take the longest to get there. Yeah. You know?
18:33
Well, I'm, I'm pretty stoked that you're kind of expanding that line to the, the plus bikes and the, uh, the fatbike side of stuff. I know you've, um...
18:41
On my last order here to Everyday Cycles, you sent a couple prototypes of your newer, larger tool rolls, and they're, they're spot on. I, y- they really work well. Excellent. Yeah.
18:51
I have received some, uh, really good feedback from 'em, and I had a few other testers out in the field. And, um, made a...
19:00
I've only made, I think, one tweak since the, the two I sent you to test out, so I think you'll like the, the little modification I made to the s- the finalized version. But, um, just a little, little cleaner.
19:12
You know, just a little, one more detail. It doesn't add a lot to the production, but it just, it adds to the finish of it, so I think you'll, you'll like it when you see it. Right on.
19:21
It's, it's- Well, I'll throw a couple.
19:22
We're gonna have to order again anyway 'cause we've got a custom order from a customer, so I like to throw a few extra things in there to make it worth shipping this stuff down here, so. Oh, definitely. Awesome. Yeah.
19:33
The new, the new packs are fun and, you know, it's, I, it's... I've always got, you know, two or three ideas cooking, but being that it's just me, it's, it's sort of time sensitive to when I can really- Sure...
19:46
get the time and make the time to really get those new products out. So these seat packs, they've been kind of, uh, in the works for several months now.
19:55
It's just, you know, kind of a matter of fitting them in when I can, when I can fit 'em in. Obviously in the summer it's a little bit more challenging, but- Sure...
20:04
um, I'm happy to, happy to have a new product coming out for sure. Yeah.
20:08
Well, I hope that when the fatbike season kicks in, we can do a few more of these, um, larger seat bags and a couple other of the bags you're doing.
20:16
It's sort of, um, eh, my business has been custom bikes for a long time in more of a warehouse setting and a by appointment kind of thing, so it's a little more fun having a retail shop and having customers all year round.
20:29
But I'm, I'm kinda looking forward to the winter. Again, people sort of know us for doing fatbikes and, uh, hopefully that translates into people coming into the store. [laughs] Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
20:41
And, uh, yeah, with, with that, you know, it, it... Another interesting point I could bring up that's another sort of evolution of the bag is, um, I was contacted recently about a winter bag, uh- Hmm...
20:54
with some insulation in it, and it's, it's, uh, it's definitely something I've done. And, uh, so if you have anyone that's curious about those, um- Why-...
21:04
I've made a few frame bags that were insulated and, uh- Why would you want them insulated? You know, thinking a...
21:10
Well, more so from a winter standpoint, uh, and this, two cases I've done so far have been about keeping water from freezing. Okay. Okay. Uh- Oh... and, and/or other cold beverages.
21:21
That- But definitely so- Well, that makes sense. That makes sense. I was going with the cold, with cooler factor. Yep. Yeah. It's like, yeah. You know? Oh, yeah.
21:29
Like, you know, I- I can have a couple beers in here, and oh, they're just as cold as when I put them in there. [laughs] Perfect. They're not frozen. Yes. I- That makes good sense.
21:37
I, I- I did do some, uh- I rescind my question. Yeah... it was dumb. [laughs] No, no. It's, uh, totally, uh, totally good curiosity. I, I suppose I did do a few summer tests. Um,
21:50
it seemed equally as, you know, um, insulatory. Um, I'm sort of using this, uh,
22:00
sort of like an aluminum Mylar liner, you know, that's really effectively keeping one temperature on one side and one on the other. So- Hmm...
22:10
if you're keeping your, if you're keeping your sandwich warm, it's gonna do that. If you're keeping your water from freezing, it's gonna do that. Cool. Yeah. Sounds interesting. Yeah. Sort of- Yeah.
22:20
It, it just reminded me of a commercial from way back. [laughs] No, no. The McDLT, the hot side hot and the cool side cool. Oh, boy. You put 'em together. I remember those. Yeah. Yeah. [laughs] I actually remember that.
22:33
As, as you were describing it, I'm like, "Oh, shit." [laughs] I had forgotten about that till you just mentioned it again. Well, I had to share it 'cause it was gonna- I had too... blow my brain apart.
22:43
[laughs] [laughs] So, um- I believe it was it kept the warm side warm, not the hot side hot. Whatever. Cool side cool. [laughs] Anyway. Jason Alexander sang the jingle too, if we're gonna go that deep. Wow. Jesus Christ.
22:59
That's a, there- We just went there... there's some knowledge for you, folks. [laughs] Dropped it. What's, uh...
23:03
Joe, what are you riding for a bike up there regularly, and do you, what, do you have, like, a route you ride or you kinda go out and explore? What's your cycling life like these days? Yeah.
23:13
So, uh, I was kinda the fir- This is my second year of doing this full time, which is great. Um, my first year was pretty much nose to the grindstone, and I really was st- working so much that
23:29
riding actually kinda took a, a side, you know, to really just getting things done.
23:34
So now that I've got a little bit of room to breathe here, I've got some great dealers lined up, I've actually gotten back to doing a daily ride, which has become super valuable, uh- That's good...
23:45
just in terms of getting to work fresh, you know, getting flushing ideas before I sit down. And, uh, I have been doing daily rides.
23:53
We've had a really wet and cool summer up here in Minneapolis this year, so it has, hasn't really lended itself much to trail riding. So I've really done a lot more road riding this summer, which is not my usual go-to.
24:09
Um, but I've, uh, I've got out the old Surly Pacer this summer, which I've had for a little while. And, uh, I tend to go... I'm a bit south of the metro where I work from home, and I'm about-
24:23
Three miles west of the airport, which is right on the river. So I'll actually go down south to the river, the river bottoms even, and I'll just sort of navigate that whole wildlife refuge area.
24:39
It's a super cool place to ride. If you go down there in, in the mornings between 7:00 and 8:00, there's no one down there. You see a lot of wildlife.
24:47
And, uh, and the pacer, you know, you can get a little bit nicer, bigger t- tire at that point, so, you know, you can kinda get out of those gravel paths and even on the single track you're fine. But- Nice...
25:00
you know, I've, uh- Have, have they been, uh, paving some of the bottoms area? I, I m- I remember there was some movement to do some of that. I don't know if that's where you are or not, but...
25:09
There, there was a movement and I believe, I believe it happened to some degree, and it may in fact be where I have ridden. Um, there's a,
25:21
there's a bridge that they call the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge that's basically directly south of me, and it crosses the river to your essentially on the south side of the river at that point.
25:34
And you're, there's a paved path that goes quite a few miles past the power plant, and it's, it's so much on a flood plain that this spring there was, you know, it was buried in sand from the river. Wow. It was just...
25:50
They actually had to, had to go down with skid steers and move the sand out of, off the path. I mean, it's clearly not, not a good, uh, idea to put a, a paved path that low. Hmm.
26:02
But, uh- Yeah, I'd seen some pictures of it... you know, I think, I think it's safe- It looked, it looked pretty, uh, pretty messed up for a while there, for sure. Yeah.
26:08
It, I think it took till about, uh, July to really get clear to ride. I mean, it, you could ride it, but certain parts of it had up to three inches of sand that were- Wow...
26:19
you know, kinda just dicey with skinnier tires. But, uh, but no, you get there, you can get down there now and it's actually pretty clear. And, um, yeah, I, I tend to not pick routes in the morning.
26:30
I'll go out and I'll pick a general direction, and I'll just try to find something new.
26:35
There's so many parks buried in neighborhoods and towns in the s- the south of the metro area that, you know, you can encounter new parks every day if you pick a different direction. So- Nice...
26:48
it, uh, it makes for a p- pretty fun morning ride, for sure. Hmm. Very good. So when you're- Yeah... um, I know you're doing your bags almost every day, but I, I have seen you out in the wild.
26:59
Do you have any plans to go to any shops in, anytime soon? I do. Uh, I'm planning a trip to Denver, uh, the last weekend in October, and we're gonna try to do a pop-up kinda sewing event.
27:15
And it's, we're still putting it together right now. In fact, we're gonna probably do some, uh, promoting for it by the end of the week.
27:23
But, um, the initial plan was to maybe drive out there with my machine and, and, you know, the more I kinda thought about it, the busier I'm getting at the end of the season here, it's just kinda starting to make more sense to maybe fly.
27:37
And so I'm trying [laughs] to coordinate renting a machine out there. And, uh, it may happen.
27:44
It may be a, a trip that I just visit without sewing, but, uh, I did, I did connect with somebody yesterday who's out there that has one I can... They m- might be willing to lend me.
27:55
So it c- it could still work out where I actually do a little live demo and, um, that would actually be really cool. Denver is, uh, the first shop I actually got into in 2015. So- Nice...
28:09
they've been dealer one since day one. Is that- So that's, uh, actually a friend of m- Is that, uh, Totem? That is Totem. Yeah. Yeah.
28:18
It's my buddy Ryan, and we were actually, we were careers together at Breakaway, so it's just, it's kinda cool to be in completely different careers now and still be working together. Yeah, I'd like to go visit that.
28:29
I've, I've got kind of a plan during the off-season where I can make little trips to shops much like his, 'cause as y- as you know, having been to my shop, we're, we're 700 square feet.
28:39
You know, we're not a 10,000 square foot superstore.
28:42
We're pretty specific in what we're doing, and I'd like to see what other people are doing with, you know, small spaces and, and making a, you know, kind of a niche thing and working it and, and hopefully doing some good stuff.
28:54
Yeah. I'm really, I'm really impressed with what he's been able to do out there. He's, uh, he's really working with a small space, but he's doing a lot, uh, a lot out of it.
29:04
I mean, he's doing a lot of wheel building, uh, a lot of service, and I think he still manages to squeeze in, you know, a couple custom builds a month. So it's, uh,
29:15
he, he's been working uphill for a couple years, and now I think he's really kinda getting settled in that neighborhood. So it, it's fun to witness that, for sure.
29:23
Yeah, I can't wait till we're around for a couple years and we're not going uphill anymore. I'm [laughs]... We're ready to crest the hill. Oh, tell me about it. [laughs] Tell me about it. Yeah.
29:33
Year two, year two for me kinda makes me feel like I, I hope I get to year three.
29:37
You know, it's, it's, nothing's guaranteed and it's, it, I tell people a lot, you know, it's, it's the hardest I've ever worked, but even though it's, it is that hard, I still love doing it every day, and I could do, I could do it seven days a week if I let myself.
29:51
I just, you know, you find something, it's a cliche, but, you know, you find something you like to do and it's less like work, you know, when you really en- get to enjoy it. So. Right on. If- Just kinda, kinda happy...
30:05
if people are looking for you, uh, on the web, where are they gonna go? They're gonna go to sturdybagdesigns.com. Um, the website is gonna have information about, you know, contacting me for custom work.
30:19
It's gonna have all the products that are available for sale. Uh, it will have information about becoming a dealer if that's something they're interested in. Um-
30:30
And, you know, I've gotta kinda get, get back to the About Me page a little bit, because I feel like as you, as you grow and change a little bit, as I have in the last two years here, the About page kinda changes too.
30:42
And so I feel like it's kinda due for a little bit of a, a refresh and kinda get, get caught up to where I am now versus, you know, two years ago- Yeah... which was a very different time [laughs]. Right on. So.
30:56
Uh, well, we'll put a link in the show notes- Yeah... for sure. And, um, you know, besides...
31:00
I know that Totem, Revolution in Madison, us, Everyday Cycles in Milwaukee, what other dealers are you currently working with for folks that are out there in, in, uh,
31:10
radio land looking for a place to check your bags out in person? Yeah. I'm also at, uh, Pete's Garage in Green Bay, uh, off of Broadway. And, uh, and I'm also...
31:24
My, my sort of flagship shop in Minneapolis is Tango Town Bike Shop. Nice. And, uh, I've been with them for about two years now. And, uh, that was a really interesting kind of a development with them.
31:37
They were my first in-town shop, and I began there with six items. And, uh, and now I've basically warranted a 12 by 12 wall space that's just- Nice... you know, for- Good job... selling. So it's...
31:56
Yeah, it's definitely been a fulfilling, uh, experiment and, you know, community support, and just kind of, just kind of putting it out there and seeing how people locally will respond to it.
32:07
And the s- the response has been great, so I'm, I'm very grateful for that. Right on. I gotta give a shout-out to one of your products. I don't know if, if everybody knows.
32:15
I mean, I know you do bags, different types of, uh, handlebar bags and seat bags and custom frame bags and whatnot, but your, um, your Surly Sun riser bar type, uh, pad is really cool. [laughs] Oh, yeah [laughs].
32:29
You know, that's, that's actually kind of one of those funny products that I probably wouldn't have done on my own, and it was actually, uh, Paul Vogel from Surly who was...
32:41
kind of hit me up one day in passing and said, "Have you ever thought about making one of these?" I said, "Well, not really." [laughs] "But, uh, I really like the handlebar." Oh, nice. And so it was just kinda,
32:51
kind of a funny moment where he said, "You know, you really oughta think about that."
32:54
And now, you know, Surly Bikes actually has a little link for me on their webpage that says, "Hey, if you want a bar pad for these three bars, check out dirtybagdesigns.com" So I'm flattered that, uh, you know, they kinda not only put that one in my wheelhouse but, you know, mentioned me online, and really it kind of moots some people my way for that.
33:16
It's fun. Fun little product that is an easy way to get into the brand and see the, the workmanship without having to, you know, invest in a, you know, $70, $80 bag right away. Right. Yeah, that and the soda sleeve.
33:29
That's been a pretty good one through here. We've, uh- Yeah, that was my question. [laughs] So your, your soda sleeve. Yeah. Is there ever a picture on your website of one with a soda in it? Uh, there actually should be.
33:44
Uh- Uh, they all look like beer to me [laughs]. [laughs] Oh, yeah. Well, you know, yeah, actually you're probably right. [laughs] I should probably, uh... I'm just...
33:55
It's funny, I'm not a soda drinker, so it's like I, I don't even have one on hand.
34:00
The, the, the, uh- That's probably, uh, the- The gentleman that ordered the custom bag this week, uh, he laughed really hard when I quoted... I used the air quotes to quote that it was a soda sleeve. Soda sleeve.
34:14
[laughs] Yeah. And I suggested he go check out the website to, you know, verify. [laughs] Road sodas. Road soda. Road soda. Yeah.
34:22
I be- I believe it was, I believe it was Zito that was the one who kind of gave me the initial, uh, little red alert when I referred to it as something else. He said, "You know, they got that trademarked."
34:33
And I said, "Well, this is called a soda sleeve, Zito, so it's a little different." But- [laughs] Yeah. Leave it to Zito to be a jackass. [laughs] Oh. Oh, yeah. Wait, who is this? Is this... Oh, I know this. Yeah.
34:45
[laughs] All right, Joe, do you have anything you wanna close with? Um, we're gonna let you slide and, uh, talk to you another time. [laughs] Mike, Mike does... By the way, Mike does an excellent Zito impression.
34:56
[laughs] So you can't see it, you can't see it though. If we, if we were, had video, you'd be laughing right now. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. It's, it's good. It's good.
35:03
But, but yeah, anything else you wanna get out there for people to know before we, uh, wrap this up? Well, uh, I was, I was gonna mention that, uh, I am looking into coming into Milwaukee for Biketoberfest weekend. Yeah.
35:15
And that, I believe, is also, uh, Urban- Urban Jungle Cross 7- Jungle Cross 7... I believe. Yeah. Yep. Speaking of Zito. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I- Yep... I, I highly recommend that. Yeah, I think that's a very good idea.
35:29
Biketoberfest on the 11th. Yeah, the 11th is Biketoberfest. And then- The 13th is the, uh- Jungle Cross... the Jungle Cross. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. So that's, that's on my radar, and I'm gonna do, uh...
35:38
I'll, I'll keep you posted on that. That's, that's something I really wanna make an effort to get back for. And, uh, you know, maybe we can, we can meet up, uh, at another, you know, regard somewhere along that weekend.
35:50
That'd be great. Love to see you. Love to put a face to the name for the rest of you guys. Absolutely. Right on. And, uh, yeah, thanks for your time tonight. I appreciate being on this, on the show.
36:00
Well, you made it interesting for at least one of our listeners, so right on. Yeah. Thanks for dealing with us. [laughs] Oh man, anytime. All right, Joe. Well, hope to see you soon. Thanks for being on the show. Okay.
36:13
All right. Cheers. Thanks, guys. All right, bye. Bye. Right on. Well, that was fun. Hey? It's good when we have- And informative. It's like our shows are getting good... [laughs] It's good when we have guests.
36:27
Yeah, and- I, I thought when we, I thought when we did the Weekly Dose of Fat that we had somehow gotten rid of a little bit of that, uh, lag.
36:33
I know when we originally were doing it in the old school way, there was like a five-second lag, and you're always kinda like, "Uh"
36:41
Yeah, yeah, yeah But, um- Either, yeah, either you just have to just bulldoze through and just get- Yeah... whatever I was saying is gonna be said, and then you wait. Yeah. Oh, yeah, let's say it now.
36:49
[laughs] My name's Dave. [laughs] Yeah, I know what you mean. Right. No, but, uh, just, it's just a little bit off of normal conversational, um, lag time, whatever you call it. Yes. But, um, I think that went well.
37:06
Thanks, Joe. Yeah, that was awesome. And I don't know, what else we got? Yeah. We gotta... You got, you got... Mike's the event guy this week, so, I- Oh, not really...
37:14
I, I know besides Oktoberfest or Biketoberfest and Urban Jungle Cross- Well, the, yeah... in October, which would be a sweet weekend for anybody to visit Milwaukee. Always.
37:23
Uh, October 11th, and then the 13th, and you know heck a nay, I think we can figure out something for the 12th too. And- Oh, yeah...
37:30
speaking of, uh, tonight, which is yesterday or two days ago for you, there is the, uh, Riverwest Brewing Syndicate, uh, beer release, which is at, uh, Nessun Dorma tonight. Oh. So, uh- Well-...
37:44
that's a neighborhood specialty brewer So get in your time machine and fly. [laughs] And you might see us. And get back here, Marty. [laughs] Get back here.
37:53
You're gonna wanna get more of the, the fuel for the McGlock the Fleegans thing. What's that thing called? The Overthr- no, Over- not the Overthruster. [laughs] Oh, Lord. The Overthruster is a different movie.
38:04
What does he call it? The flux capacitor. The flux capacitor. All right. Flux. By the way, Flux Design is moving, if anybody cares. [laughs] Yeah. I think it's already moved, isn't it? Probably.
38:14
They're in the process of moving. And with that- So, no, they have a, um, the Humboldt Park Cyclocross will be- Ah, yeah... um, this Saturday. Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh. Uh, Trusty's gonna rip it.
38:26
Carol's gonna be his competition in Cat 5, by the way. [laughs] Which is funny. [laughs] And, yeah, I, I would tr- How do you think, how do you think that's gonna go? Carol who? Hitting some carbons.
38:35
The guy that was in here with the, the tall, with the bike with the crank. Really?
38:41
Yeah, he's racing, uh, he, that, he wants to do that as well, so, and he said, "I, I'm just gonna go play around in Cat 5 and see how I like it." He's gonna get eaten alive. I don't know.
38:50
You think Trusty's gonna eat him? Oh, that guy's young. I think we're gonna have to go right at him. You're right. That guy's young. He might be fast as- He's young.
38:57
He rides all the time and- Those things are early, though. That's a thing that's prohibitive. Oh, for young people? Trusty's a machine, though. No, no, no. For me. Ah. Trusty can go heckling. Yeah. Yeah.
39:06
Trusty's a machine. True that. He really is. And he does have a kit now. And Carol might, you know- Palomino kit on his body... yeah, that was funny. [laughs] Yeah. I'm sorry. Who are you? Hey, Trusty. [laughs] Sorry.
39:17
Uh-huh. I, I pretty much can rest assured he doesn't listen to the show, but- But, oh, wait. Well, he, he, when he does, he's gonna get to this part, and I'm gonna talk to him about that...
39:27
I'm sorry, I'm gonna say it, that motherfucking Hungarian bacon. Ah. That shit was epic. I can't wait to go to Port Washington not only to ride the beach now, but also to stop and get bacon. Plan, plan accordingly. Yeah.
39:43
I know. Port- Port Washington, folks... plan accordingly because I had grand designs on any event- [sneezes] Like, oh- Oh... yeah, we're gonna [sneezes] ride on up there.
39:53
Oh, we need that sne- the cough or the sneeze button. Where is that thing? Oh, if you do one more, that means you're a damn demon. So three and out. [sneezes] Demon, demon out. [laughs] All right. He's cut off, folks.
40:08
I'm back. No, you're not. [laughs] That's all right. I think it's time to wrap it up anyway. Do we have anything else to leave our fine listener with? Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Brad Bjork, uh, in store performance.
40:22
That's my ride on Saturday. Oh, Saturday? Doors open Milwaukee all over town. Oh, yeah. Good one. Just dive into wherever. That's a 3:00 PM thing? Yeah. Yeah. Not gonna make it. Gotta keep the store open till 4:00.
40:35
Yeah, 3:00 to 4:00, and then they play at, uh, Walker's Point Music Hall that night, but- Something's happening Sunday too. I, uh, my brain isn't in, in gear.
40:44
Sunday, I'm going to the one up the street here, and I'm gonna go to Malloy's, you know, the door's open to, uh, Malloy's- Yeah, Doors- Oh... Doors Open is all over the place- Ah... so you can make, uh, yeah.
40:55
Uh- That's why I kinda, I put it in- We can sketch some great short rides if you wanna do it. It, it's our, uh, it's our homage to Craig on Sunday too. Oh, yes, yes. Oh, yes. RIP. And Saturday perhaps.
41:04
Saturday perhaps at, uh, Uptowner. Yeah. But definitely Sunday at, uh, Duke/Scooters, and Craig was a fellow fat bike and friend that recently passed, and heck a nay, Craig, we miss you, dude. Yeah, dude. Yeah.
41:17
Two young. Kinda a clinky thing for you. Watch my sammich. Yeah, we'll see you Sunday. He's probably gonna walk in the door and go, "Ah, ha, you guys are a bunch of jackasses." [laughs] Hey, hey, you looked at me.
41:25
I'm Huck Finn. Right? [laughs] All right, folks. Ass. [laughs] All right, peoples.
41:36
[upbeat music] We are sorry, but the show has ended.
42:03
Goodbye. [beeping]
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