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Beer Before Noon is OK on IPA Day!
0 Aug 1 Logan Watts / plogYou know it’s going to be a good day when one of the first things you read in the morning is that it’s International IPA Day. A pretty good excuse to crack one before noon, if I do say so myself…
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Post-ride beer: Olde Hickory and Removing A Stuck Seatpost
0 Jul 29 Logan Watts / plogOK, I am slightly breaking the rules of a ‘post-ride beer’ by definition. But, I am keeping in spirit, that’s what’s important, right? Bike + punishment + joy = damn good beer. This particular treat was imbibed after breaking down an old 80’s Panasonic Touring bike that I found on Craigslist… injuries, soreness and bliss not withheld.
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The Surly E.C.R. Rounds Out Their Adventure Bike Catalog
22 Jul 23 Logan Watts / newsSurly never ceases to amaze by putting out new bikes that I immediately need. They just released two really cool rigs that fill various niche gaps in their steel frame lineup. In this post, we’ll have a quick peek at the ECR and Straggler as well as explore their nonpareil, adventure-specific lineup.
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Stoves for Bike Touring: A Primer (part 1)
11 Jul 20 Logan Watts / foodThere are many options for stoves to take on a bike tour, short bike packing trip or even a ‘coffee ride’. So, what makes a stove good for bike travel?
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New wheels: Velocity Blunt 35
8 Jul 16 Logan Watts / gearWell well well, what do we have here? It’s my Rohloff on some new Velocity Blunt 35s.
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No-Li Born & Raised IPA
0 Jul 9 Logan Watts / plogI decided to enjoy this creamy honey-colored IPA while breaking down my Surly Troll. So I put the green long-haul tank up on the work stand and started the chore of pulling it apart to purge its nooks and crannies of gunk and corrosion (and repurpose my Rohloff to a new build).
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The Randonnée: Ramble Versus Race
0 Jul 1 Logan Watts / plogWith the start of the Tour De France, the pinnacle of bicycle racing, the media world is ablaze with stories related to the sport and it’s rich history. Listening to All Things Considered over the weekend, my ears perked when they did a short segment on the peculiar second cousin to the Tour—the randonée.
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Post-ride Beer: Cowboy in Black
0 Jun 26 Logan Watts / plogLast week VA and I pet/house-sitted in Raleigh, NC and checked out some Triangle Area singletrack while we were there (I’d recommend the New Light Trails). While in Rome we also imbibed some tasty local brews.
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What makes a ride ‘Epic’?
3 Jun 20 Logan Watts / plogWe started the ride expecting a 30+ mile blast through the Pisgah Ranger District. A route we put together that encompasses 3 of the baddest downhills Pisgah has to offer. It was going to be epic…
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Post-ride Beer #002: Two Cans and a Green Man
2 Jun 14 Logan Watts / plogWhen I first heard of ‘craft’ beer in a can a few years ago, I scoffed and thought it was simply a gimmick. SInce then, I’ve given several canned brews a crack and some I’ve picked up more than once. Not to mention, cans can get pretty damn cold in a cooler during a ride.
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Pan-Am Bike Tour Packlist
29 Jun 4 Logan Watts / gearListed below is what I had on my 5-month tour of Mexico and Central America. This is hardly a minimalist kit, but it carried me through some cold nights in the high altitudes of Mexico and Guatemala as well as some ridiculously hot days in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
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Post-ride Beer #001: The 3rd Rail
2 May 28 Logan Watts / plogIt seems like a fairly common ritual for mountain bikers to crack open a round of cold brews to wet the grins inspired by the last downhill of the day…