These last few weeks, hell, months, have been a place of truncated domestic life that has left myself and Just Rolling By a thing of whimsical memory. Day to day, bla, bla, blah…. I wish for something greater. I have never been one satisfied with the day to day goings on of daily life as most know of it. These last time periods have been filled with such and I now realize that I am an antennae: a receptacle for thought and idea that cannot be shrugged off… Today I saw the realization of something greater than the path that I have been on. Let me re-state: Today I RE- realized something that must be done. And it shall. Just Rolling By has been, well, rather defunct, as some of you may have noticed. It is not because of lack of words, but more from lack of spirit. Honestly, without a grandiose expedition at hand to report, the thoughts that I might purvey to “paper”, if you will, are generally ones that most folks don’t want to hear. I have a LOT on my mind that I am reluctant to share, even on Just Rolling By. All I can say at this point, is that I now know what needs to occur: the only remaining question is: How? Not sure yet; I’m working on it. I swear. Great things are in process…Be patient, keep the faith, and tune in…. I Love you all.
In 1983, I lusted over the new Specialized StumpJumper mountain bikes that were out. A friend had one of the awesome Miyata MTB’s that I test rode and fell in love with; I had never before seen or experienced such a bicycle. When I discovered the Specialized, I had to have one. Mowing lawns alone was not enough for the cost of entry to possess one of these amazing machines, and, at the summer’s end, dreadfully short of the necessary cash, my folks came to the rescue, and the StumpJumper was purchased and my life forever changed. The combination of living in one of the worst bicycle theft areas in the country, along with being a clueless teenager, the machine did not last too long; it was stolen within 6 months and that was that.
Since that time, even as an adult, I have secretly wanted that bike back, and have always kept one eye on the lookout for such machinery. One fine day, John Boyer, from Edible Pedal bike shop, brought in a couple of truck loads of frame, wheels, and parts from a bulk purchase he had made, and in said pile lived two 1983 Specialized StumJumper frames, both in various states of build and/or disrepair. They appeared to be a his and hers matching set; one in 20″, the other in 16″. I quickly snatched up the 20″ from John, and began then acquisition process of accumulating the parts for a build. I decided to build this on the cheap and without too much concern for an attempt at building the bike to it’s original state, or, for that matter, with matching parts even. Some might consider this behavior blasphemous, but not I; I simply wanted a solid, functional, and attractive alternative adventure tourer… Which is exactly what I got.
Every so often, well, quite often actually, a really interesting bicycle makes it’s way into Edible Pedal. Generally, the most interesting ones, to me, come in the form of touring bikes and bikes built for some type of off pavement use. Sometimes these machines come only as frames.. of which Edible Pedal has quite a few. Doing custom builds from this frame selection is really what we do there. One day, while sifting through all of the frames, I came across one that had been there for a while, but had some how escaped my notice; ironic, since it’s day-glow, mid-eighties, yellow and purple paint job stuck out like a monkey in Alaska. It was a Bottecchia Cyclocross in 57cm; my size. Now, I really don’t have a thing for cyclocross, to me there are far better ways to pedal along dirt trails, many better ways. However, I was looking to build something up for a commuter and to possibly hit up some of the dirt trails down by the river.
The Bottecchia’s paint had to go, however.. I had John Boyer send the frame up to our powder coaters’ for a nice, light blue treatment that was easy on the eyes. For the wheels, I chose a matching pair of Shimano 600 hubs, laced to Mavic hoops. I had parts left over from the Ogre build from earlier in the year.. a Phil Wood BB, a set of IRD Cranks, A VO stem, and a Cardiff saddle that was far to stiff for my rump. For the brakes, I decided to go all the way, and purchased a set of Avid’s top cyclocross offerings and pair of Campy style Cane Creek levers. I threw on a set of drop bars and a pair of Suntour Barcon shifters, a non descript seatpost, a pair of 80’s Dura Ace changers, and some Schwalbe Marathons for contact with the world, and I suddenly had one helluva great ride!
I only had the bike for a few short months, but it served as a commuter, and a weekend rider quite nicely. I finally sold it to a customer of the shop in order to help finance my upcoming trip to Alaska and the Yukon/NWT’s. At least I’ve got a few photos!
Other than Trikes and kiddie cycles, my first bike was a Redline BMX bike that I built myself. It was 1977, I was 10 years old, and BMX was big. I spent months gathering parts for this machine by any means necessary. Ultimately, I honestly don’t remember what happened to this apparatus. My next bike, if memory serves me, was a 70’s Peugeot road bike in the classic red color that seemed so popular back then. It sported Simplex derailleurs, Maillard hubs, and Mafac brakes. Honestly, I never really liked the bike all that much, but still, it was a bike, and A bike is better than NO bike.
Sometime later, there was a Schwinn Le Tour.. This machine was really something I revered. I loved that bike. It was a heavy tank of a vehicle, as all sub 500 dollar units were, but I had big ideas about riding this thing very far. Eventually it was stolen.
Again, this one wasn’t mine, but it looked just like this puppy…
Then there were a couple of Sears and Montomery Wards “bicycles”; These babies were cheap transportation to high school, but that’s about it. Luckily, they too were stolen.
During High School, I had a circuit of lawn mowing customers throughout the neighborhood. One summer, I mowed and mowed and mowed. I had recently ridden a friends Miyata MTB and fell in love with this new kind of bicycle. This was 1982 or 83. I decided that I wanted the game changing 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper. By the time school started again in the fall, I had half of what I needed. My mother, bless her heart, covered the rest.
This one’s not mine, but it was just like…
To me, the Stumpjumper was the ultimate; it had some of shimano’s best ever offerings in the original Deore line up, plus those great looking Specialized cranks and hubs that really were a testament to how great these parts were during that time period. Alas, that bike too was stolen, and though I did not I give up on bicycles, I focused my energy all the way on rock climbing and mountaineering, which, in turn, pretty much consumed me for the next 25 years.
A couple years out of high school, I moved to Washington D.C. to pursue a romantic relationship with Judy Paddon. I became a bicycle courier in the D.C. metro, and my weapon of choice was a GT Karakoram. The GT was a good bike, and it became even better as I wore the thing out pedaling it 300 miles a week, and upgrading parts as they went.
The GT Karakoram, Slickrock, 1990
After moving to Moab in February 1990, it was all mountain bikes, everything from The fantastic Bianchi Grizzly (AKA The Green Bastard) to the more advanced, fully suspended, long travel, All Mountain, Freeride, and Downhill bikes of modern times..
..But that is another story all together.
The Green Bastard stops for lunchThe Griz in action
In preparing for a 4700 mile journey from Utah to Alaska to California, I pondered the possibilities of a bicycle for long distance travel that was different than what I was accustomed to seeing. At first tho, I was in fact leaning toward the traditional, because that is what I knew. At the time my first choice was the Raleigh Sojourn.
It had disk brakes, but other than that, was a traditional touring bike in every sense. Alas, the shop I worked at in the time was not able to acquire one. That was a good thing.
Eventually, through many questions and research, I had settled on the fact that the Salsa Fargo was what I was looking for. I had the geometry I wanted, it was made from steel, had disc brake tabs, and was intended for stout componentry. I laced up some 36 hole Halo 29er wheels and bolted on all MTB gear. Even though I was accustomed to riding a heavy Freeride bike, I, for some reason, bolted on traditional drop bars for my trip. I just figured this was what one was supposed to do on a touring bicycle.
4700 miles later, I realized that this was, ultimately, the wrong choice for my riding style and for where I wanted the machine to go.
After arriving in California, I got to working on my various projects, that included woking as a carpenter, and on some film and video projects. I was also preparing for another trip to Alaska in 2012. A month before leaving on said trip, the Fargo got lifted at a local Safeway while purchasing Avocados.
My heart was broken and my trip was destroyed. The money I had saved for the trip would now have to go to a rebuild…
Enter the Ogre…
After unsuccessfully attempting to locate another Fargo frame, a friend suggested I look at the new Surly Ogre. The Ogre seemed to have everything the Fargo had and more. Disk tabs, rack, fender, and cage mounts galore. It was designed to be run single speed, multi speed, Rollhoff compatable, any way you want. It seemed to be the adventure bike that the Fargo wanted to be, but with a stout stature that couldn’t be matched.
For wheels, I chose a rear Phil Wood tandem cassette 48 hole with 12/13 double butted spokes laced to Velocity Chukker rims. Short of the wheels on my downhill bike, these are the strongest wheels I have owned. For the front, I chose the IRD 36 hole disc only, generator hub.
Phil disc/cassette rearIRD genny hub
Brakes went way of the of the venerable Avid BB7. These babies have proven many thousands of trouble free miles.
I decided to shy away from my past Shimano fixation and bolted on a Sram drivetrain with the durable X9 rear derailleur.
I went 8 speed with IRD friction shifters for the utmost in reliability.
Cranks fell to the simple, inexpensive, and bombproof, Race Face Evolve triple.
Inexpensive and bombproof
The new Schwalbe Mondial tire in 52c are an expedition tire to be reckoned with.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a set of the awesome Jeff Jones Loop Bar. This bar offer a 45 degree sweep, and according to my preferred riding style and body position, is the correct sweep. These bars make the ride.
The Awesome Jones Bar arrangement
I like Thompson’s stems and this one is a 70cm. The Ogre’s top tube length is exceptionally long, and the somewhat short stem makes the ride just right for me.
A Kane Creek Thud Buster post mated to a green Brookes B-17 saddle makes for a very sweet ride.
The Army Green paint mated with the Brookes give the machine a Russian Military look that pleases me.
Venerablke Brookes B17
Ultimately, there is nothing traditional, touring wise, about this bike. It is setup to be at home on pavement and on trails. From bike packing to expedition touring, this one does it all…
…except roadless Alaskan swamps and remote beaches.. I’m pretty sure a Pugsley is up next.
I really like bikes. I like all bikes. Well, nearly all bikes. I like simple bikes and complicated bikes. I like downhill bikes and I like touring bikes. These days, I am partial to steel framed touring bikes. I use the term touring bike very loosely, because a touring bike can be anything you want it to be. It can be heavy or light. It can be steel, aluminum, or carbon (plastic). It can be bamboo. The first touring bike I had was a Bianchi Grizzly mountain bike that I bought new in 1992, in Salt Lake City. It was outfitted with the outstanding Suntour XC Pro group, and served me well on the early trails of my then home of Moab, Utah.
The Griz in Oregon, ’93
Then I got the bug. I wanted to utilize the bicycle for more than just simple pleasures. I wanted it to be a vehicle. In ’93 I rode the Griz from Moab to California by way of Idaho and Oregon and it suited me just fine…
Oregon Grizzly
Fast forward to 2009… The Griz had been traded some years back to an old friend for the hell if I can remember what, but in 2005, it came ’round my way again!
By 2009, I had stripped the frame and rattled can’d it a nice light forest green, and it affectionately became known as the Green Bastard. Over the years, the Bastard went through several changes, components, and owners. It now belongs to Angela, and I am desiring to rebuild the Bastard once again! The bike shop I work at, Edible Pedal, in Sacramento, has a powder coating service, and I do believe that the Bastard wishes to be painted once again. I doubt that it will be green this time around, but rest assured, no matter what color it recieved, it will always be known as The Green Bastard.
Just Rolling By 
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