This is some new shhhhhhhh..

Adam be puttin it down, I'm the hottest round, I'll tell ya mutha whaaa, yall can't stop me now. Yes, that's right, Missy Elliot lyrics to start off this post... you are welcome. New bike time baby: whoop whoop. The Soul Cycles Dillinger frame showed up today and I got it all built up. Preliminary rides are good, gearing is at 36x19 with the Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4's and it rolls pretty decent. The bar set-up will take some tinkering, and probably cutting, but for now it is all good. I am pleased with how it looks too, the white parts really stand out I think. I'll get back to this bike more after a few good rides. I want to do a metric in the near future on it, and a goal I guess is to ride a gravel century fixed... we'll see if that happens. Getting used to riding a bike fixed again may take a bit of time, but I think I am going to like it. The frame is designed around a 100mm fork (a pet peeve of mine in most cases) but in this case it will give me a slightly taller front end hopefully helping to keep the weight back over the rear wheel. That is also why there is such a big space between the crown of the fork and the tire. Here it is:



CIRREM on Saturday. I am leaning towards the cross-check with 42c tires. I think that gives me the best blend of float and speed. Plus I am already registered geared, and while I am sure it would not ruffle any feathers if I showed up on a singlespeed I really want to test where my fitness is at a month before Ouachita. It obviously won't be the same as 60 miles of singletrack but it will be a good representation of how I feel after going hard for around five hours. The rides I have been doing haven't simulated the type of intensity I am sure I will try and put out, so I am curious as to what happens. I am bummed at myself for letting CX skiing fall to the wayside this year, and try to find solace in the fact that I have spent more time on the bike outdoors than in past years. Wish me luck, ride recap to follow CIRREM without a doubt.