I’ve owned the Bow Cycle jersey shown above for a long time…something like 13yrs…it’s in great shape and is a pretty rare find these days.  It doesn’t fit me well any longer [too tight] so I’m giving it away.  Just leave me a comment on this blog post explaining why you want it and I’ll pick the winner on 15 Feb 2010.  I’ll ship it to you for free anywhere in the world.

My only condition is you have plan to wear it riding your bike…

The tag says large, but it fits me tight [5'11" and 165lbs] so I’d say it fits more like a fitted medium.

Reading Jill’s recent blog post really strikes home why we should all support our local bike shops.  She is not a great bike mechanic, but loves to ride bikes.  What is she supposed to do when the only bike shop in town closes its doors???  EBay or online bike shops can offer some cheaper prices, but they don’t offer any help once the part arrives and they won’t fix your broken bike and get you rolling again.

I have lots of bike tools and I can do a lot of my own bike repairs, but I would still be screwed if Bow Cycle wasn’t there to help me with the tougher jobs [installing a headset or building a wheel] or when I mess something up real bad [stripped threads!!] and need a pro to fix it.

If you support your LBS then down the road when you need some help they be there to support you.

I’ve posted a few updates about the Riding the Spine crew and their adventures riding Xtracycles/Surly Big Dummies/custom cargo bikes from Alaska to the tip of South America off paved roads as much as possible.  We’ll they’ve made it and completed their epic journey.

34,000kms, 14 countries over 3.5 years - amazing!  Congrats guys on a killer bike tour…=-)

Have a look at this video of the crew in Patagonia to get an idea what their trip was all about.

If you haven’t been to their website it’s definitely worth a look.  They’ve jam packed it with years worth of photos, journal entries and videos.  I’m glad I got to experience their adventures with them vicariously.

The big question now is what’s next for these guys????

Please don’t hate me when I tell you that I rarely get flats…in a typical year 3 or 4 flat tires is all I get and I ride a lot of bikes.  Having said that I end up fixing a lot more than 3 or 4 flats in a year.  That’s the price you pay being a bike geek…everyone who has a flat brings it over to you because your the “expert”…hahaha!  Oh well - it’s nice to appreciated for something…=-)

As usual I didn’t get a single flat rolling around on my Pugsley all over the thorn infested desert and dead puffer fish plagued beaches around La Ventana Baja.  However, the second spare Pugsley I had to lend out [thanks Kurt!] eventually succumbed to the harsh reality of thorny plants and got a flat.  Not bad - one flat on two bikes in nearly 7 weeks of desert/beach mayhem.  I’ll give Surly Endomorph tires and the Surly tubes I used two thumbs up…they aren’t 100% thorn proof, but they are pretty darn tough!

So I grabbed my tools and got down to the job of fixing the flat.  I can’t complain really for the first flat of 2010 this was an easy one.  No rush to fix it, warm/dry/sunny weather, on a beach in Mexico with a cold 6 pack of Pacifico on hand…life could be worse!  I quickly found the culprit - a tough woody thorn lodged in the Endomorph.  Nothing a mini-leatherman couldn’t remove.

I’m lazy enough to carry a floorpump with me so inflating the Endomorph wasn’t too hard despite the huge volume.  BTW - if you are ever having trouble removing an Endomorph from a Large Marge rim you should read this - it will save you lots of aggravation!

Now that I’ve done my good dead for early 2010 I hope the Bike Gods will smile upon me for the rest of the winter at least!