Home
Podcast Archive
About
Search
Log In
Subscribe
Search
Full Spectrum Cycling
Full Spectrum Cycling #67 – Dave in the Studio – Jason’s Back on the Road
Jul 3, 2020
Full Spectrum Cycling #67 – Dave in the Studio – Jason’s Back on the Road
15
30
00:00
38:34
Listen on
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Spotify
Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts
Castro
Castro
Transcript
0:01
[upbeat music] Welcome, radio listener.
0:18
It's Full Spectrum Cycling number 67. 67. 67. Close to retirement. Uh, no JK this week, but filling in in the role of JK is Dave Schlabowski. I don't know if I can fill those shoes. I'll, uh...
0:33
[laughs] And as ever, Tony across the table. [sighs] Same as Mike over this week. A socially distant... Where's the ruler? Six feet away. We're pretty close to six feet, I think, folks. By cracky. I think we are.
0:44
I'm not coughing. Ain't got no damn fever yet. Yet. That said- You would know if you had a fever- Boy howdy... 'cause it's so hot in here right now. It's 79 degrees, Dave. That's hot. Maybe 80.
0:57
Bring back- Um, but you know, [sighs] things have been opening up, obviously, but I just keep walking to places and going, "Eh- I know... I don't know about that." No. I don't think I wanna go in there. Right?
1:08
Out by, right in my neighborhood, uh, we're very excited for, uh, one of our favorite neighborhood bartenders is opening her own restaurant for, uh, first time, uh, Paloma Taco & Tequila. Ooh.
1:19
And, uh, and she was doing, uh, Thursday night, like, takeovers at Tusk, at the restaurant that she worked, was bartending at, and the food was ridiculously good, so we're super excited for it to open.
1:33
And it's re- it's really a cute, little, tiny restaurant, but I think we're gonna be sitting out on the sidewalk- Yeah, of course... for, for a while. I- Of course.
1:46
She's got, she's got a very nice, uh, nice, you know, picnic tables and stuff. It's a, it's a nice building setback, so she's got a big sidewalk. Yeah. So she's got that. I, I just, I- It's- You know, I've been going...
1:56
I, I got back from that trip. I'll go to restaurants inside up north, kind of in the middle of nowhere where there are, like, very few... If they're doing- Right, right... distancing- Right... and there's very few cases.
2:08
But Milwaukee's still Milwaukee, man. I don't know. Right. You know? I think it could... I mean, i- i- unless something, not a miracle, whatever you wanna call it, happens, that this can somehow be, you know, corralled
2:22
efficiently, I think we're gonna see more pl- more businesses have to change to a much greater outdoor model. Yeah. And you'll see, you know, areas where, you know, um, you know, it's like if you're in Europe, I know.
2:36
It's- If you're in Europe, for example, the restaurants are small, but there's all kinds of outside seating 'cause there ain't no place- Right... to put people. Right. And I think you're gonna see- Yeah.
2:43
Well, they said, they said, you know, close, close. Yeah. Well, yeah. But, you know, clo- you might have to start seeing, you know, streets close and tables go out in the streets certain days of the week here.
2:51
Oh, they're doing that here in Milwaukee now, right? Oh, are they? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
2:53
They're, they've got a new program to allow, uh, businesses to close streets and add those little parklet things in the parking lanes- Yeah... and stuff like that. It's also super, like- I want the whole street closed.
3:02
But it's so- They're doing that, I think- Man... uh, on, at, uh, over by the Oriental, um, and Hooligans. Oh, cool. I think there's- Oh, that little side street there? Yeah. That whole block. That's perfect.
3:10
They're kind of closing that. But it's like everybody's being kind of political about it. It's like, "Well, we want it by us. So..." Right. If you're- Hey, if your food is good as Hooligans, maybe you can. Yeah.
3:19
Probably. [laughs] 'Cause down on the, on the south side, you had Bay View there. "Oh, we need it here. We need it here. We need it here." See, they're getting a Target. Isn't that just shiny spanky? No. Yeah.
3:30
I haven't been in a Target in, like, 20 years. Dave, he's getting a Target. It's- I don't go in Walmarts and I don't go in Targets. I'm, I'm right there with you, my brother.
3:37
[laughs] I just thought it was hilarious that... I don't know. They've had a Target on Chase. Yeah, but now it's going into real Bay View. Yeah. Oh. Two stories. It's gonna be a, you know...
3:47
It's probably gonna be on KK, of course, 'cause what isn't on KK? Or right off of KK. KK. Anyway. So last time we saw Dave was on the Black is Beautiful ride. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
3:58
Which we ta- we did talk about it last week a little bit, but what was, what was your impression, Dave?
4:03
I, I, I, as I said, uh, uh, talking to you guys earlier, I w- I've only been on a couple of the marches, and at the end of the marches, I, I was surprised how positive I felt and how uplifting being part of that was.
4:15
And, uh, and this, uh, Black is Beautiful ride was bicycles, too, so [laughs]- Yeah. It's right up your alley... so, and, and led by, you know, Webster X and, you know, all, all these great, you know, Lex Allen- Young...
4:31
Lex Allen was there. Yeah. I mean, you know- Lex Allen was right in front of Dave for a while. I know. [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. I know. I kept taking lots of pictures of Lex. Yeah.
4:37
He was, he was freaking out and I kinda had to say, "Hey, you know, I'm sorry. I am a really huge fan, so you may get a little bit more attention." He, he, yeah. Um, but, uh, yeah.
4:46
So I thought it was really, really a positive experience. And as I said last week, how about those skateboarders? Yeah. Right? Some of those kids were freaking tight. Yeah. The, the dude in the pink, like half- Yeah...
4:58
half halter shirt who bombed- Right... Center Street Hill- Yeah... without even like... He, there was no pause. It was just like, "Oh, I'm just gonna hit this hill." My, my daugh- Whoa...
5:07
my daughter's going out with a guy that builds all the stuff at Four Seasons. He's a pro skateboarder, too, and he skated the whole- Yeah... he skated the whole thing. But of course, my daughter doesn't
5:19
hang out with me in, in social situations. [laughs] Dad's not cool. She says hi. She says hi and then they, [laughs] then they go do their own thing, which is- I might have seen that guy.
5:28
Was he doing some pretty crazy, like, kickflippy type stuff and- I, I didn't see him much 'cause they kinda- Yeah... stayed away from me, but- That's, yeah... but, uh, yeah, I was impressed by the skateboarders as well.
5:36
I only hope my daughter likes bikes enough that she actually would be willing to ride somewhere and stay away from me. [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. I'd be off the hook. More Power Tour. Yeah.
5:42
Well, my daughter likes bikes, but they're all fixed gears. Like, I had to force her to get a geared mountain bike. She races track lacrosse. She, you know, it's all fix... Like, do you need more than four fixed gears?
5:56
I don't. [laughs] I don't think you need more than four fixed gears. Right on. Um- She's not listening, so I can say that. [laughs] Yeah. She, she's actually a big fan of the show. [laughs] Yeah.
6:07
She calls in re- regular. Last weekend we did the kind of Milwaukee by bike- Inaugural... I, I guess it was the inaugural ride. It was basically a, a scavenger hunt statue, statue hunt. So it wasn't a group ride.
6:21
You went out on your own and kind of hunted down- Statues... statues in and around Milwaukee. I don't think we found any Confederate ones. No. Yeah, pretty much. Gandhi.
6:31
I saw a bunch of the Facebook images and stuff, and you found a bunch of them. Yeah. Yeah, Gandhi. Yeah. I saw the Gandhi one. That was good. I never even knew we had a Gandhi until we did the- Yeah. I think the...
6:40
I don't know. If there is a controversial one, you can't really say anything about Leif, son of Erik- Yeah... 'cause that was not even here. That was on this continent, but not in Milwaukee. Right.
6:50
Uh, Solomon Juneau, eh. Eh. Uh, Erastus B. Wolcott. He led... Oh, wait, what's the, what's the- What was the saying on there? We, we, we all read it. It, it, yeah, I know. I almost remember. He just led a...
7:03
What was the word? It was, like, not perfect, but somewhere along there. But anyway, uh, so yeah, statues all over the place. Did you, did you do the Cha- Cesar Chavez?
7:13
I didn't see that one in your pictures, but- I don't think we did Cesar Chavez. I don't think we did. The nice thing about, the nice thing about the- Dubois we did. Uh- The nice thing about the Cesar Chavez
7:22
picture or statue is, is he's walking with one hand, like, you know, like your hands go back and forth- Mm-hmm... when you walk. And so one hand is just the right height to put your handlebars under.
7:32
So you can set your bike under his handlebars and- Oh, get a picture... and if you don't have tall handlebars. [laughs] Yeah. That, that seems better than taking your bike and sticking it on Fonz's hands. The Fonz.
7:42
On Fonz's hands, yeah. [laughs] Which the, obviously the bronze Fonz is- Everybody does... so. Yeah. This is a, uh, hearty beer. It's a- [laughs] Well, let's, uh, let's, uh, let's- It's a darn big beer...
7:50
let's do this hill... let's top, let's top this hill. [bell ringing] We're already... I mean, it's early in the show, but we're already at the top of the hill, folks. Yeah. It was, it was a short hill.
7:59
We, we, it's a downhill show. This, this may be a- It's all downhill from here... this may be a double- It's all downhill from here. [laughs] Listeners... might be a double hillery. You never know. Could be.
8:06
Uh, Dave, Dave brought this, uh, maybe our first of two show beers, [laughs] which is something from a local. You, Dave, you tell what it is because- It's from Venture.
8:14
It's from my neighborhood, uh, brew pub, uh, Venture, um, Brewing. They, they roast their own coffee and make their own beer, and it is, uh, a Bobby Bonilla double IPA.
8:25
Today, not on the day the show's released but on Wednesday when we record, is Bobby Bonilla Day, um, because today's the day he gets his $1.9 million paycheck from the Mets every year at post.
8:38
You know, some Bernie Madoff weird freaking deal the Mets cooked up with him, um- How long does he get that for? Life, isn't it? In perpetuity? No, I don't think it's life, but it's a long time.
8:47
So he, I think the deal was, like, his contract was up. They got... They, they ended his... You know, they got rid of him, and they still owed him 5.9 million. And they said, "Tell you what, if... Get...
9:01
We're not gonna pay you for 10 years, and then when we do, we'll pay you 1.9 million for 15 years or 20 years." Oh, yeah. "And let us take the 6 million and invest it with Bernie Madoff." Ah. [laughs] Oh, boy.
9:15
[laughs] That's a double-edged sword. I'm not sure that worked out too well for the Mets. How'd, how'd that work out? No. It worked out well f- Bonilla, it worked out well for.
9:22
So instead of his 5.9 million he gets- He's got- It's on the can. He gets 29.8 million- 20 point-... um, he gets out of the deal, and, uh, I'm not sure what- That's-...
9:31
the Mets got [laughs] That's enough to feed the family. I think so. Right. But it's a, it's a, it's a double IPA with Sabro, Mosaic, and Strata hops, and it's 9.5 ABV.
9:43
What's that initial flavor that it's like almost like banana- It, it's weird... or something? It's, the back flavor too is like- And it's very spicy... cinnamon or- Yeah. It kind of burns when it goes down too...
9:52
or- Is that good or bad? [laughs] Or is it cayenne in there? What on earth? It, and it is not hazy. It's, it's just straight up- It's not... No, you can't call this hazy. [laughs] You can't see through it. You- Milky?
10:02
Yeah. Milky. That's a good term. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's milky looking. It's a darn big beer. It's darn big. It's a big beer. By Crikey. Yeah. You almost want to, like...
10:09
You know, I, whoo, this might be wrong to say, but you almost wanna throw a little Guinness on top of it to see what it tastes like. Uh, uh, that would be an interesting- I think that would be okay...
10:18
an interesting half and half. I'm not much for a Guinness guy all the time, but I could see that going well with this. Well, it'll knock it down 'cause Guinness is only, like, 4.5%. I know. It's black and tan.
10:27
Yeah, black and kind of yellowish brown. It would be like black and brown in our case. [laughs] Oh, but it- You know?... it's not...
10:33
It, it's, it's tasty, but it's, it's got a- It's drink- it's still drinkable, but it's, it's- It's... You're not gonna have a six-pack. Yeah, no. Whew. Yes, sir. Thank you.
10:41
It just has an interesting aroma when you're kind of breathing it in as you're, as you're taking it in. Yeah. It's, it's got a pretty fruity smell to it, but it doesn't- Mm-mm... flavor fruity at all.
10:53
So is that only available at the brewery? It's clearly spicy. Yeah. You know, they do limited releases. They just opened for actual, you know, seating and limited seating and outside. Coffee.
11:02
Um, and, uh, so they've only been doing cans during the shutdown, um, four packs of 16-ounce beers. Um, and I asked them, and they said they actually have sold more beer during the pandemic- Okay...
11:17
than they did when they were open, but their margins are lower on, on a- Makes sense... on canning- Sure... you know, beer. So, um- Especially if you don't own your can line. If you're paying- No, they do.
11:26
They bought their own canner, but still. Oh, they did? So this is, uh, so four beers for them, they're not inexpensive four packs. Their four beers are usually, like, 15 or $18 or something. Oh, yeah.
11:36
Well, that's, Black Husky's right around that. Right. So is, uh, 14 at, uh, Gathering Place. But if, but if you figure one of these would be six bucks- Exactly... each at, at- That's how I always justify it... at the...
11:47
If you're drinking it, five or six bucks- Mm-hmm... if you're drinking a pint at the, at the brew pub, then- Well, and Black Husky will fill a growler for you, which is pretty nice. These guys- So will Stubbies. Yeah.
11:56
These guys were not doing growlers. Yeah. They were just doing cans. Neither is Ga- West Michigan Craft Guys. They, they, they couldn't do the vo- Yeah. They don't...
12:01
They're tiny, so they, they don't- Hey, guys, hold on... they can't do the volume. We got a phone call. Oh, hey. We got a phone call. Hey, hey, hey, hey, caller, welcome to radio program. Who do we have on the line?
12:13
Big Sexy. [laughs] Big Sexy. Big Sexy. Hey, Jason. How's it going? I'm back on the road, yo. I, I saw some, uh, some posts that you were back in, uh, Minnesota and negative.
12:31
Yeah. Well, I was in New Orleans for a long time and, and I, uh... Yeah, and, and I was in New Orleans. I, I, I, I flew on some planes and, uh, I figured I should get tested- Yep... and it came back negative. Good job.
12:49
Congratulations. Well, now I'm in Merrill, Wisconsin. Merrill? Merrill? Merrill. Merrill. That's where my boots were made.
13:00
[laughs] Um, and, uh, I'm leaving on, on Friday morning, and I'm heading to the top of the Mississippi River. Nice. Excellent. Are you gonna stop at, uh- And then-...
13:13
Sawmill Brewing Company in Merrill while you're there? Yeah, no, I, I, I, I know the Sawmill very, very well. I mean, I, I'm, I'm not, I'm not gonna go there. I don't have that much money. [laughs] But, um,
13:30
but I'm, I'm, uh, I'm, I'm heading, I'm heading to Bismarck, North Dakota. That's, that's the next capital, uh, checks off of my list. Wow. On... And how's Heather doing? Huh? Oh, Heather's great.
13:46
Um, she, uh, is clicking and clacking. I got the new... I got, um, well, you know that I, that, um, the axle broke and I fell into the street in Keokuk, Iowa. Yep. Yep.
14:04
And, uh, but n- and the, the... She's been clicking a little, like, clickety clackety, clickety clackety. I'm like, "What the hell is that?" And I'm not sure what it is, but, um,
14:20
it seems to be like a every other day thing. So I was like, "Okay, well, you're clickety clacking and I don't, I, I really don't know what to do." Maybe you should take that day off. Well, no.
14:35
What, what I'm saying is is that, is that it only clicks and clacks when I'm on the bike. Ah. I mean, I, I, well, I, I p- I put her upside down and, and spun her wheels and done everything and, and, like,
14:52
it only clicks and clacks when I'm on the bike. So- Hmm... it clicks and clacks without anything in the basket or without, without a basket at all. So- You need a, you need a, you need a ride along mechanic with you.
15:08
Yeah, exactly. A support, a support crew. Um- A support team. whi- which, which one of you is gonna come with me to Bismarck, North Dakota? [laughs] I like Bismarck. It's actually a nice little town. Bismarck.
15:22
Well, I, I mean, I'm sure, I'm sure it's awesome. I can't wait to see it. But at the same time, it's like, a little clicky, clicky clacky. I'm like, "Okay, I'm, I'm not, not, I'm not too concerned." Nah.
15:39
Well, you've, you- I mean, it doesn't sound like-... you've weathered a lot more storms than that so far, so. Right. Well, it doesn't, it doesn't sound like it's gonna, um, it's gonna hurt.
15:49
It doesn't sound like it's hurting her at all. [laughs] Well, I mean, you- It's just that click, click, click, click, click, click, click when I'm, when I'm riding, when I'm riding the bike. That's all.
16:00
Y- you could just roll through a, a bike shop in Wausau or something and ask them to just give it a listen. There's probably a Schwinn dealer, an old Schwinn dealer.
16:10
I can't remember all the bike shops in Wausau right now, but- There's a few in Wausau. Yeah, there are. But, uh- W-A-U S-A-U... it's a pretty big city. Wausau. All right- Right... Big Sexy,
16:20
uh, we're gonna keep going on the show, but, uh, maybe we'll catch up with you in a few, few shows. No, yeah, absolutely. I'll c- I'll call in every Wednesday and tell you where I'm at. Sounds good, dude. Right on.
16:32
I'm back on the road. All right. Ride safe. Five minutes with Big Sexy. All right, brother. Rubber, rubber down. Keep her light. Very good. Right on.
16:44
So you guys all know Big Sexy's riding his tricycle, Heather, across the country, seeing every state capital, at least... What? What kind of shifting you got in here in this here Maverick?
16:56
And- Well, Tony just noticed the- I, I just cha- well, 'cause I looked down and I'm like, "Wait a minute, that doesn't look like- Tony just noticed the new, the new [laughs] my new Wyatt, temporarily my new Wyatt anyway.
17:05
Uh, that's your Box Nine. Oh. The new, the new nine-speed version of the Box shifter set with- That's a big speed up, Big Sexy... 11, 11, 11 to 50. Um- 11 to 50 in a nine-speed.
17:18
Yeah, well, you know, the, the bottom- That's kinda genius... the bottom gears are pretty close together where you'd like them. All right.
17:22
And the, the top gears are a big jump, but really once you're bailing, you're bailing pretty hard, so. A nine-speed 1150, that's what that is? Yeah. Wow. But look at the size of the chain.
17:30
Dude, does it- The chain's massive... does it fit a regular driver? Yep. Regular hub? Yep. Yeah. Yep.
17:35
Fits a regular 11-speed hub, so you get- They're sold out instantly every time [laughs] they come out with a new product. Yeah, they, they really are going fast. I mean- It's like, holy shit...
17:41
the chain is, like, way stronger than any 12-speed chain just 'cause it's still a nine-speed chain. Sure. And, uh- Right. Sure... but you get the, the full range.
17:49
You know, Toby, Toby Henderson's the Box guy, and, uh, I think, uh, he went with an 11-speed a while back, and I think he had an IP problem and decided that they'd already been making a seven-speed for downhill that was super bomb-proof, and he's like, "Well, let's make a nine-speed that's super bulletproof," which- So far.
18:07
I mean, it's only been on there for a week, but I, I'm, I'm, it, I'm impressed with it and it's not very expensive. Yeah, that's the other thing.
18:15
It's, it's pretty reasonable It's, it's like, it's like E- it's like Eagle NX or SX. It's a, it's like the lower end SRAM- SRAM... pricing. But I would call it more of a middle of the, of the grade, um, quality on the...
18:30
Really, when you go up to their super high zoot, twice as expensive one, the only thing you do is save a couple hundred grams on the rear cassette because they make it more, you know, machined and- More lighty...
18:41
if you really need your fat bike to be another, h- you know, 100 grams lighter or whatever it is- Oh, I do... you might spend the extra 220 bucks. I do. But otherwise, maybe not. Could I mount that to my SPG?
18:51
You've als- that's where you've... You said you were just working on some dual piston Maguras and- Yep, the dual- Yep, that's one... yeah, they ended up on there. Those are the basic MT30s.
18:59
I'm pretty impressed with them. It, I think they kinda set it up as an e-bike brake, and they, I think they make a version with a cutoff even, but- Mm... I'm back to Maguras again for now.
19:11
Dave just, Dave- I'm still with them on my- [laughs]... on my 29er. Dave, Dave- I've had 'em for a couple years... Dave brought his, uh, his, his bike packing bike in to lengthen the, uh, the, the h- hose, hose. Yeah.
19:23
The hose. I put a- Housing, sorry... I put a taller stem on it and Jones bars and, um, the old straight bar. It was f- the length was good for this- Eh...
19:32
traditional mountain bike setup that I had it with before, 'cause that was my regular mountain bike and, um, when I got the Fuel EX, I relegated this to bike packing and, uh, it's a, an unbelievable bike packing bike.
19:46
Um, I had it stripped and then I added some Braze Ons to it as well s- and built that rear rack. I think I talked about that on an earlier show. Yeah, yeah. We've seen some. It, it's- Earlier shows...
19:55
it's very purpose-built now and, uh, yeah, it's, it's super dialed. It's dialed. Yeah, exactly. It's super dialed. And then the other thing that I'm really happy about is, um- So I love...
20:05
I've got Selle Anatomica saddles on, like, all my bikes. Yeah. Yeah. I think they're, like, ridiculously- The greatest, the greatest saddle in the world... right, um, most comfortable ever.
20:13
You never have any pain, but, um, but they are a little wide for mountain biking and stuff like that. They're hard to slip behind. You know, you can do it, but it's not ideal. I agree 128%.
20:24
So I got a, a really nice, inexpensive, um, 27.2 dropper post from PNW, um, and, uh, and it solves that whole freaking problem. Just drop it out of the way when you gotta go.
20:36
I just drop it out of the way, and it was not an expensive- But say, you, you may have-... dropper post and it's 27.2. There aren't that many people that make 27.2 droppers. True. Oh, that is odd. Yeah. So...
20:45
And it's nice. The thing, they could be, have a market there for Selle if they wanted to, though. Yeah. Right. The combo. Just make a narrower mountain bike saddle. Oh, right. They could do that. Yeah.
20:52
So did you go with a, just a straight dropper or their Coast, which has the 40 millimeters of just a little suspension? They don't do that, they don't do that in the 27.2, so- I, I, I- That's genius, though...
21:01
I've got it. It's going on my, uh, Chumba. Yeah. I just have, I haven't- I would like it. I have- I haven't taken to- So it, it bounces and you can drop it? It has 40 millimeters of pneumatic- Yeah, but see-...
21:10
travel and then you can drop it. I would li- if they had a 27.2 version, I would've got that, but they didn't, they didn't have one. Yeah, it's, I, I, it's just that... You know, I, I don't know.
21:18
Maybe, maybe you all don't have this problem, but I may have too many bikes. [laughs] And I just haven't gotten to that setup yet. Right. 'Cause that's where, the same thing with the bars I was talking about before.
21:28
I, with, I'm, I'm super happy with the ProTaper 20 degree sweep back ones now. Yeah.
21:34
I just, everybody seems to be, uh, uh, most of us are riding fairly swept bars now for, especially for- For bi- for bike packing, for sure. Yeah. It's, the, the Jo- Super comfortable...
21:43
I've got, I've got the Jones bars on this. Um, I'm looking at the Moloko bars and stuff- The Molokos are fantastic... 'cause they've got a little, little bit more space in, in between a bar.
21:51
But, um, but yeah, that, that big sweep is, is really comfy for, for urban riding, um, and for, for bike packing, I think. It's really comfy. Probably noticed the, uh, Wolf Tooth super bling kit- Bling...
22:04
on there too, huh? Bling, bling, bling, bling. All the purpleness. Yeah. I'm back to being Mr. Purple again. Woo-hoo. He's losing the orange, folks.
22:11
My, I don't, I don't know if my orange phase is over, but, uh, we're back to purple again. I didn't wanna be kicked out of Dave Lunz's phone 'cause I'm Mr. Purple on his phone- Oh. Oh... from 1989 or something.
22:23
[laughs] Well, it couldn't have been. When- whenever the movie- Phones like that Anodizing was big... whenever the movie came out where... Oh. And I was purple before that, so you know, Mr. Purple's on another job.
22:32
Well, my bike has been performing amazingly. Um, I've, I've taken it now on three pretty solid tours, a couple of 'em over, you know, 300 miles and then
22:45
one, one- So this, this last one was- Was three, 300, like almost on the, on the nose. Nice. Um, and uh, so we rode... It was organized by a guy, Shane Hits from, uh, he runs North Central, um, Bike Packing on Facebook.
23:00
Is that what it is? Uh, or is it Gravel? North Central Gravel. It's North Central Gravel on, um, on, uh, Facebook. And, uh, he came out... North Central Wisconsin Gravel. North Central Wisconsin Gravel is the page.
23:15
So he came on one of the early Tour de Chequamegon rides and, and, uh, and then started doing a lot of similar route development in where he, around where he lives, which is Wausau area, which has a lot of gravel very quickly outside of Wausau.
23:30
And then he rides also in, you know, uh, the Chequamegon-ニコラ and, uh, Nicolet Rosh, um, forests up there.
23:37
So he put together this route from Wausau to Watersmeet, uh, 300 miles, all gravel, and invited a handful of people, and about a dozen showed up. And, um, we went, and it was five days of amazingness.
23:51
So, um, thanks to, thanks to Shane and all the Wausau folks for letting an old- Is it, which Shane is it, Shane? Shane Hits. Ah. Oh, yeah. There was also a Shane Steward on the ride- Steward...
24:04
um, who rode a Milwaukee single speed, um-... uh, on the ride, and, um, lit up a cigarette every time he got off his bike. So, um [laughs] There are those guys. [laughs] There are those guys.
24:16
[laughs] So that it's, it's- And he was, and he was definitely f- way faster [laughs] than I, I am [laughs] Hey, those posters didn't lie back in the old days- [laughs]... at the Tour de France when they were- Right...
24:27
at the bottom of the climb- Right, yeah... smoking their cigarettes. Right, yeah. So- So it's North Central Wisconsin gravel... yeah, I'll- I'll- I'll give you that in the... We'll put that in the show notes- Right on...
24:37
show notes too, but, um- Yeah, I just kinda... I wrote myself a note... yeah. I know. Um, so most of the people on the ride were from, you know, Wausau, Stevens Point sort of area.
24:45
Um, and I have to say, so the ride was amazing. It was a really great route. Um, and, uh, great little stops along the way.
24:55
But, um, what really impressed me was just the amount of work that the folks around Wausau and Harrison Hills and Rhinelander and all that are- are putting into the trails there.
25:10
I- everywhere we went, there was single track. There was single track all the way along the route, and, um, and good stuff, you know, really, really great trails that they're currently working on all the time.
25:24
You know, so I- I think that area is- is probably as good a mountain bike riding as the CAMBA area.
25:35
It's just perhaps because there's, like, sort of CWOC and the guys up further north from them, it's, like, several different groups. Yeah, it's not... Yeah, it's not quite as connected.
25:45
It didn't- But, yeah, there's- And it didn't... Maybe it wasn't as big of a network before, but they've put so much work into those trails lately that there's just absolutely amazing riding.
25:55
And it's very different than the CAMBA riding. Mm-hmm. There's... I don't know what it is with, uh...
26:00
I- I'll have to look this up and figure out what the geology of the area is, but, um, um, uh, there's all these giant, like, boulders. You know, like a 15...
26:09
You'll be riding along and then there's just, like, a 15-foot tall boulder just- Huh... on the ground. And so they- they build onto those. You know, they- they pile dirt up, and you get to ride- Sure...
26:19
over a 15-foot tall boulder, you know? It- Sounds like, uh, like north of Shawano there too, up in Nicolet Roach. Yeah. Right. Yes. They have some of those big, big- Yes.
26:27
Nicolet Roach was- However, however glaciers moved those things or what they did, but. I'm not s- I haven't looked into the, the- Slowly...
26:33
geology of the, uh, the area that we rode through, but it was, it was really great.
26:37
And then another thing it, a little checklist on things I've wanted to do in my life here in Wisconsin that I, I, we, we went to, uh, uh, Lake Du Desert, uh, the, the headwaters of the Wisconsin River. Wow.
26:52
Um, we rode past that, so I- Cool... got to sort of check that off my list. Sounds like Big Sexy was gonna step across the Mississippi at some point- Yeah. Nice. You have to do that...
26:59
on his trip up there not too, not too far from now. That's... I don't know how you do that on a bike. [laughs] Well, you just go where it comes out of the ground and you step across.
27:08
I don't think it quite works like that. Is it- That's how it works. You sure of that? Well, a river has to start somewhere. Oh, yeah.
27:14
[laughs] This, where the, where, um, Lakeview Desert or, uh, where that starts, um, there's, like, a little dam thing and, like, there's a lake that it comes out of. And, like, so you couldn't step across it, you know.
27:27
Probably in the old days. You could pole vault across it. Before they built a dam. You could pole vault across it, but yeah. I mean, you used to be able to ride across the Milwaukee River when it was low.
27:35
You can when it's icy and cold. Yeah. Well, that too. [laughs] I've done that many a times. Hey, here's something fun. SPD sandals are back. That's awesome. No, they're not. That's not fan- That's not fun.
27:47
Eh, they're back. And so the, the- Trusky's so stoked I thought he was gonna die... the thing that I saw was saying, you know, n- new old stock SPD sandals are going for, like, $900. Shut up. Right? Do you have any?
27:59
If I had some in boxes, we'd be all rich right now. So they came out with the SPD sandals. Shimano, not just some other fly-by-night- 25-year anniversary.
28:07
No, um, uh, what, what's that other shoe company that- Yeah, Fly By Night Shoe Company. No, there's, uh, the... I don't know why I can't think of their name. Everybody knows their name. Teva. Keen? Keen. Keen made...
28:20
Yeah. Keen made, made, made them for a while. Oh, sure. SPD, uh, sandals. Yeah, Keen. Cattle saddles. Were they getting $900 for their new old stock? I- I don't think they were... probably not.
28:27
If they were, if they were, they might not have stopped selling them. And you know what? Anyone that pays $900 for a pair of- [laughs] I don't wanna ride bikes with them. Okay, so- That's douche move... you know what?
28:36
People pay old, old money if they probably have old money, otherwise they wouldn't spend new money, 'cause if you made your own money, you're not stupid enough- You wouldn't... Yeah... to spend it. I agree with that.
28:43
But skateboard stuff. Oh, yeah. That's... I had some old Road Riders from 1979 or whenever, 500 bucks. Really? Some guy over se- uh, Sweden or Norway or somewhere.
28:56
Same thing with a Gordon and Smith Fiberflex deck that was barely used. It was, like, pristine. I, it was somewhere close to $600. I don't remember. It's been a little bit since- Wow... I sold them.
29:06
But it just reminded me that, um, my buddy Ivan from Fort Collins, who grew up here but moved out there many years ago, was in town and we were talking about old skateboard days, 'cause we'd, we're doing that in the...
29:18
I think I started in '75, met him around that time, and then- God, you're that old? Seve- yeah. Hmm. I started when I was one.
29:26
[laughs] '77, '78, whatever in there, and I, and I was the only guy with a camera back in the olden times when you had film.
29:34
You know, I had used my paper route money to buy, at that point, a, a Nikon FM, and he found some old photos that I took at s- some of our various spots and we're like, "Man, that looks like Thrasher magazine kinda," only not quite as good because- [laughs]...
29:49
you know. But it was Milwaukee in '77 or seven. Oh, awesome. I know it was after- That's awesome... after the Talking Heads album came out in '77, so it was '78 or '79. Hmm. Yeah.
29:59
But, um- You should put some holes in the- Anyway, I just, it's-... in your nose... my point here is it's amazing what people pay for old stuff that they're nostalgic about- Right...
30:06
because now they have money and it doesn't really matter to them anymore. Yeah, yeah. True that. People restoring old cars I would like to know what the next one is. We can just start- Buying it now...
30:15
putting big piles of it up in the warehouse and then, uh... Like, I thought Beanie Babies maybe. Apparently not though. [laughs] I, I hope those don't- I hope those don't make another comeback.
30:24
Well, there's that guy- I got a box... he's in the building- Got a box of them... at the nut factory that has all that crazy stuff that he's been...
30:31
Remember the guy we went and saw that has the, like, all the Freddy Krueger stuff that's like- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah Yeah. Yeah. He's got a lot of stuff in there that's- That's like all movie-...
30:39
big- Old movie making stuff... old movie stuff. Yeah. But he has, like, pinball machines and stuff like that. He's- That was Brian. Yep.
30:44
Yeah, he's- Uh, I'm gonna ring the bell again so Tony can tell you about our second beer, which I'm gonna go get one of for [bell rings] myself. Yep, Second Hill. Uh-huh.
30:54
We have hit a Second Hill, and this hill is Elysian Fields Contact Haze. Hazy IPA. [smacks lips] What do they say about this? "The day the world stood still [tsks] and Elysian brewed a hazy IPA.
31:12
Rules were broken to bring you Contact Haze. A tangled chemistry of mild haze, low bitterness, an explosion of hops aroma." [door knocks] Someone's knocking at our door. Someone's knocking at the door.
31:28
"Bursts of bright raspberry, currants, citrus, guava, and passion fruit with a slight floral note." Not gonna go on any further, folks- Yeah... 'cause that's just frightening. Anyway, it's a, it's a pretty tasty beer.
31:41
Um, that's, that's for sure. What are we doing- It, it is definitely kind of a-... for the alcohol-y type thing? 6%. It's a, it's a half step down from the, the- Yeah, it-...
31:51
Bonilla, but it's in the same- It, it's a hearty beer... arena. It's a, it's- It's in the same arena, right? Yeah. It's, it's tasty.
31:56
It doesn't have quite the burn at the back of your throat that the Bonilla has, but it's got a little one. Yep. Right? Um, so. I agree with that, yeah. That, that hoppy kind of- Yeah. Right... it, it's, it's, it's good.
32:06
I'm still finishing my Bonita here and- [laughs] 'Cause it's a slow-drinking beer. It is. [laughs] It's, it's tasty.
32:13
It's got some cinnamon or something that's sitting at my tongue that's just like- Oh, speak, so speaking of beer, so on our trip up, uh, we stopped at, um, [tsks] first stop was an hour, hour outside of our, our first, uh, camp night.
32:29
There was, like, a bar that the organizer, who's not a big bar guy, he's not a beer, beer drinker. He's more of a bike guy, family guy. He doesn't- Yeah... vlog a lot.
32:39
So he looked at it, he's like, "Ah, it looked a little sketchy. This tavern looked a little sketchy." Yeah. "I'm not sure if we wanna go there." And, and three of us that- Are bar guys...
32:47
are bar guys [laughs] were like- Oh, we're going there... "Wait, there's a bar, like, less than a mile off of our route, and we're only, like, and we're close to our final ca- We're going there." Yeah. So, so we went.
32:57
We walked in, and they had 15 amazing craft beers on tap. On tap. And they were making their own homemade pizzas- Oh... with their own homemade sauce and every- Jesus Christ.
33:10
[laughs] The Thirsty Bear, um, northeast of, uh, straight north of Antigo about 30 miles or so. Hot damn. Yeah. And we were like... And it was on a lake, and they had a patio overlooking a lake. Jeez.
33:24
And I was like, "I don't know, you-" And it looked a little sketchy to that guy, huh? He thought it looked a little sketchy to him. [laughs] But we- God damn. [laughs] It was- So what, what isn't sketchy to this guy?
33:32
It was awesome... you know? A Menards? It was, it was awesome. And then one of the other places we went to, we had to go there, called Skinny Dave's. Um, and, uh, s- it was happy- Please tell me Dave was a big, fat dude.
33:45
He was not skinny anymore. Nice. But he was, and he was a, a pretty tall guy.
33:49
But, um, it was happy hour, and he had, you know, Terrapin and a handful of other good, you know, craft beers on tap, as well as his own homemade margarita mix on tap.
34:03
Um- I think you've been known to drink a margarita or two. [Tsks] $1.50. Oh. $1.50 for a tap margarita, $1 for tap beers. Oh, geez. [laughs] Happy hour. Tents out back. Happy hour up north.
34:15
[laughs] T- tents out back because there's no way I could leave that place. Happy hour in northern Wisconsin. Jesus, that's just crazy. I have returned it. Welcome back. That was Schmeytan. Oh. Wow. How's Eitan doing?
34:26
Eitan owns, uh, another bike shop- He's back. He's, he's-... right down the street called- He's back from India... Truly Spoken. Truly Spoken, yeah.
34:31
I thought I saw him outside his shop when I rode over to the other house today. You know, I, I gotta say, I mean, we do what we do here.
34:36
Uh, but if you're in the area and you wanna do something a little different than what we do, Eitan's been... He was the first bike shop in River West, actually. Yes, he was, yeah. At least in modern times.
34:45
Modern time, yeah. And, uh, he does a great job, especially on more- He knows his shit... pedestrian bicycles. [laughs] Yeah, getting a s- getting a- He knows his shit, man...
34:53
you want a bike and you wanna get rolling, Eitan's gonna help you out. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, we were just, well, briefly, he was looking for a wheel for a bike he was doing and wondered if we had it here.
35:02
And I'm like, "Yeah, no, we've been pretty much out of everything and trying to build everything we can." So, um, it's a, it's kind of a good... I'm in a good position 'cause we're working by appointment. Yep.
35:13
And if it's something that I can't do, I've been referring people to shops all over- Right... because they're better at that thing than we are, and we do what we do, and everybody basically just gets along.
35:25
In fact, Eitan wants to be on the show, so we'll get him on the show. Oh, that's sweet. Yeah. Sweet. Yeah. Are you two fisting beers there, Greg? I am, um, taking a break from the big beer- [laughs]...
35:34
and just trying to sh- go at the, uh, I c- always say this wrong. Elysian? Elysian Fields. Elysian Contact. And Elysian Brewing Company. Contact Buzz Haze. Yep. So right on.
35:47
Well, I d- Dave, did we cover what you wanted to cover? I mean, we talked about most of it.
35:52
Um, I, I just wanna just, uh, reiterate that if folks are looking for places to ride mountain bikes, that- The whole Wausau, you know, north of Wausau- Five star... Nicolet, Roche.
36:07
Um, man, they're just doing so much great work up there, expanding trails. B- Jack Lake, Jack Lake is an amazing county campground. It's ridiculous, and you can camp there. There's a lake, Jack Lake. Um- Is it Jack Lake?
36:22
There it is, Jack Lake. Jack Lake's Lake. And amazing trails, and you will not be bored for a solid weekend of riding. And- Well, here's what gets me about Wausau, is- Water...
36:33
I asked my son what he wants to do this summer. He goes, "I wanna go back to Sylvan Hills." Or- Oh, right. Yeah... it's like- And they've got Sylvan, of course. Yeah... and, and, and that's in Wausau.
36:41
And I'm like, "But we haven't even done the Ringley trails yet. We haven't done the..." He's, he's, he raced- Right. Ring-... he raced at Nine Mile, which for the race I think was okay.
36:49
I find Nine Mile confusing, but maybe that's 'cause I don't go there enough. Well, and they- But-... they've done a... I mean, Nine Mile's been around forever. Yeah. Um, and, and they've...
36:57
It used to be super old school, and it's been upgraded. Yeah. The trails, but, uh- Very, very much so. I was there last, last summer, and it was much different than in- Yeah... the olden times.
37:05
And there's, there's like, you know- But yeah... big, fast, bermed hills that you can just rail and stuff like that at Nine Mile now. And, um, but Sylvan, yeah, Sylvan's amazing.
37:14
Um, I can only- It, it, it's a gravity park, right? I can only ride two of the four. [laughs] Yeah, so can he right now, but he's also only 15 years old, and- And he-... I assume that-...
37:24
his bones knit- I assume that at some point-... more quickly than mine do [laughs]... he'll do stuff that I would, I will not do anymore, simply bec- Right.
37:29
[laughs] I mean, I've crashed twice in the last two weeks, and I don't wanna crash at anymore this year. I'm... got run into by a guy- Yeah... and, and a fork broke on a bike, so. [laughs] Oh, yeah. That was a good one.
37:38
[laughs] I'm done with crashing, thank you very much. Okay. Yeah. I think. But let's hope so. Hopefully. Let's hope so.
37:44
But, so anyway, I, that, I'll just put in my final word for go to freaking Wausau, Harrison Hills, um, Nicolet, Roche, and ride your mountain bike 'cause it's, it's amazing up there. It's- 128%. Big sexy.
38:04
[upbeat music] All right, everybody. This is what it sounds like when we say bye. Bye-bye. Bye, everyone. Thanks, Wausau.
38:18
[upbeat music]
New episodes, straight to your inbox.
Subscribe
