Shouldn’t I be riding?

It's hard to get a good long ride in on a winter day, unless you have the day off. I feel like I haven't had many "days off" lately, besides my time in Seattle. And even then, the weather has to be somewhat cooperative. Sure, I could ride in drizzle. But I didn't want to...

There is no palm tree ride this year, but there will be other rides. Or, Planning for 2016

Hello friends, you may have noted a few "my bike with palm trees" photos up here lately. No, I am still not doing the Palm Tree Ride this year. I did it for a decade straight, and I honestly needed a break from it. Who knows, it may return at some point in the future,...

Is three the magic number?

In late summer I received my custom Bantam Rambleneur bike. The bike! At that point, I figured all I needed to have was three bikes: My roadish all-rounder also suitable for off road and touring (Bantam) A three speed, because! Also, as the more primary commuter/utility bike (Raleigh Wayfarer) A beater/klunker/"bar" bike, one that I...

Travel Plans for 2016

Hello friends. Last time I talked about my more basic goals for 2016. But what about travel? If you've been here long enough, you know I love to travel, especially tour! The bad news is that this year I won't be able to do a big long tour. I had hoped 2016 would be the...

Goals for 2016

Hey friends. I realize that my 2015 wrap up post was not exactly the most positive thing I've ever posted. Overall, it was a decent year. But I am looking forward to a better 2016. My goals for this year are not well defined, but I didn't want it to be that way. Basically, I'd...

Steel on Wheels forum

Hey folks! Just wanted to fill you in on a new bicycle forum started by Mr. Four Seasons Cycling. It's called Steel on Wheels. What's it about? According to Mr. Four Seasons: It's for anybody that loves riding, talking about, writing about, adventuring on, or living your life on bicycles made of steel...I know there...

A quick recap of my Seattle New Year 2016 trip

Hello all! In typical Granton fashion, I am pretty late with my trip report. I will have to say it's probably the most fun I've ever had in Seattle, despite fighting a cold the whole time and stabbing my middle finger with a razor on the last day. The weather was good the whole time:...

Why can’t we have practical bikes?

On Wednesday I came across a Novara Transfer in the wild. For those of you outside of the US, Novara is the house bike/bike accessory brand of REI, our big outdoor co-op chain, analogous to MEC in Canada. I really liked this bike as it was a fully loaded (as sold) commuter: Nexus 7 speed internally...