Blah Blah Blah, worst ever.... Blah blah

I thoroughly enjoyed this write up and cartoon i saw recently.

... and in terms of worst inventions ever, here's 15 that sort of deserve making it on the list. Missing however, is electronic shifting, internal cable routing, pressfit bottom brackets, internal nipples on tubular/or any wheels, just to name a few.
Enjoy!
http://dirtmountainbike.com/features/the-15-worst-mountain-bike-products-ever.html/1

S24O

... stands for sub 24 hour overnight trip. Summers are so sweet here in Vermont. I suppose that is why everyone accepts the rather extensive 7 months of cruel winter.
I decided to load up the first SideShow (and i might have come up with a model name for it), or at least for this type of 'bike touring': Drop bar touring!
I strapped a tent to the back rack, a small stuffsack of clothes, and loaded up my Hardwood Softgoods frame bag with some food and a beer (retro-fitted to the Cross bike so i could still carry a water bottle underneath) and headed out into the setting sun of this hot Wednesday evening.
Making my way East on some closed off (because of some washed away bridges from the last rough thunderstorm) dirt roads i made my way over to Plainfield and hopped on the Rail trail from there, and into Groton State Forest. I passed some beautiful 'tunnel like' stretches and gorgeous ponds that gleamed in the intense sunlight. I hit the last 5 miles of the 30 mile trip, and noticed that i was flying along, in the drops (hence 'dropbar touring'). Turns out the grade of the rail bed here was about 3% downhill.

I met with two friends and their baby daughter and dog, at a beautiful campsite by Ricker State Pond, stuck my feet in the water and had a beer on the rocks along the lake shore.
We made a fire, pitched our tents and had some food.
Overnight, i get a little chilly. Shoulda probably brought a sleeping bag, but made it through the night, and heard some really crazy loon calls! Sounded almost prehistoric.
The next morning, i got up early, packed up and loaded up my bike. I took the same way back, however decided to finish the last 8 miles on VT Rt 2 instead of adding in yet another extra hill. I was back home, showered and ready for work in under 1 1/2 hours!
Great trip. Never hesitate to do it. Pack up some things, don't overthink it, and 'just go'!!
It's likely going to be great!

Track Anthem!

Here's some progress on the latest build, for Chris. Straight up track frame, "plain Jane" is what he called it, no braze-ons, no bottle bosses, no hanger....
should be nice. First time for me decorating the lugs a little, and so now we will see how it goes.

"And we've been burned by all our fears just from growing up around here. Our father's factories marked our cards, while Eden burned against the stars. Sally said, Sally said: i can't take no more regret.  They cut us deep into our souls, came and climbed into our beds...."

Progess on the frame. Tubes are pretty much mitered and need to be cleaned and stuck in the jig- ready for some brazing. I did a little more lug work, kind of fun to get creative.

Finished! Thr frame came together nicely and built up quickly and easily too.  Here is the last pictures before stripping it hack down and adding paint, decals and a headbadge.

Update 10/14/15: first coat of paint! white now, green later.

Hardwood Softgoods handmade waterproof frame bags and packs

Frame bags and packs from Hardwood Softgoods. I just got these to try out, and they seem awesome! I have a waterproof Fat bike frame bag with a big pocket on one side, two compartments inside and another (waterproof) zipper pocket on the other side. Snug fit into the frame and plenty of beefy velcro straps to mount it inside the main triangle.

The other bag is a handmade seat pack, with room for a spare tube, some tire levers and whatever else you might need on your ride.  Awesome colors with a magenta/royal blue, strong velcro and a one piece strap for the seat rails.
Excited to mount this on the first SideShow and put it to the test! Big shout out and thanks to Hardwood Softgoods here in Vermont! Check them out and get your frame bags ordered HERE.

Superfriend Deluxe in raw silver

And here it goes again:  the third CX frame under way, size 53cm, Nova tubing, lovely lugs, so far still raw silver.....

SideShow's first

Here is a little photo dump of the first Sideshow Cyclocross frame and the testing/torture it has been put through. Still riding strong!  Enjoy.

Vermont's toughest gravel race: the Dirty 40

New print run of SideShow Shirts is coming!

Check them out and let me know if you are interested. Size and color.
designed and printed by Katie Budreski!