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Friday, July 29, 2005
Thursday morning I got in a before work off-road ride down on the Minnesota River Bottoms. It's nice to get down there early because it is a 2-way trail and once the racerheads get out there it can become a little too complicated. Anyway, I got my bottle filled and dropped in from the west end of the trail. Conditions are pretty much perfect down there right now. The Dos Niner was carving up the corners like on rails and my iPod was putting some sweet tunes in my head. I hadn't gotten very far when I saw a little kid and his dad coming toward me on bikes. They pulled over but I slowed way down to be friendly. As I got around the corner of vegetation, I saw that the dad was none other than Scott Hebel. Back in the day (that means late 80's, early 90's), Scott was one fast mountain biker. He had legendary duels with Gene Oberpriller at the local Midwest races. Scott was fast, and he was nice...you can't beat that. By '92, Scott was one of the fastest Expert class riders in the nation. I watched him at the National in Vail that year as he won the Expert Class overall. He was a sponsored Diamond Back rider then. Well on Thursday, it was just Scott and his four-and-a-half year old son out for a ride. His boy just got his training wheels off the week before and was already asking for a taste of the dirt. How sweet is that! I'm not the only one who was excited about it. Scott was pretty pumped up to go back to the shop to tell the others that he'd gotten to ride the River Trail that morning with his son. Kids are the future of our sport folks. Plain and simple. Teach them to ride. Take them to fun places to ride. Make it enjoyable for them. They deserve to experience what we all love. Have a great weekend everyone. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 11:41 AM 0 comments | permalink 
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Every so often I get a kick in the hind end and it puts things in perspective. Lately, I've been working on a bunch of things that just aren't that much fun. Late prototypes. Deadlines (and not meeting them). Hard conversations. Crash replacement frames. Evaluations. Yep...Even small bike companies have stuff they don't like to do. Today I got that much needed kick. Joe, our industrial designer and fellow bike geek, got me fired up by pumping some new energy into a product idea. He even went so far as to do some drawings of his idea and set up a lunch discussion to talk about bike parts and ideas to solve a specific need for some of our future frame ideas. I was expecting great things to come of this concept and Joe, but Joe's enthusiasm just got me going. Geez, I love bikes and bike parts. This kick was just what I needed as I head out the door for North Dakota. We've got a small family reunion going in Minot, North Dakota. Now I can spend my time riding the gravel roads of the greater Minot area thinking about bikes and parts rather than that other not so fun stuff. Thanks Joe. Butcher Posted by Butcher : 5:30 PM 0 comments | permalink
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but bicycles have led me to so many wonderful friendships that there are really too many to count. Today I got a call from Bo. Bo was the promoter of the NORBA National Race for the three years we had it in Minnesota. I was lucky enough to hired to work with him on it. I was part of a somewhat motley crew of folks that kind of did whatever it was that needed to get done. We taped and marked courses, put up signage, helped riders or the press out if they needed something...you name it we did it. The National was down near Red Wing at a ski place called Welch Village. It sits deep in a valley and offered up a truly great race course. Difficult climbs, great singletrack, and plenty of passing spots between singletrack sections. It is one of the best courses I've ever seen at a National. We worked some long days during those events. Up early and working late. Then dinner at the bar...burgers and a couple more beers. Then crashing out and doing it again the next day. It was all really kick ass fun though, despite the hard work. We each would have our borrowed 4-wheeler for the event so we could go tearing off to wherever we were needed on the course. We'd ride (drive?) some of the singletrack later, riding our wheels up trees to get through the tight spots. Good fun. Good memories. Good friends. Bo called because he happened across this blog and saw that I have a wedding coming up. He's a stay at home dad now with a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old. Funny how times and lives change. But friendships remain. And memories of fun times remain as well. Cheers to that. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 6:55 PM 0 comments | permalink
Monday, July 25, 2005
So Friday the Salsa crew shuts it done early to get a nice group ride in at Wirth Park, northwest of downtown Minneapolis. Once we're all there, we climb on our various Salsa steeds and start hammering the trails. I was on a Dos Niner for the first time since some of the initial prototypes and despite how it might look bad for me to start praising one of our products, I've got to say that the Dos Niner really, really rocks. For those not in the area, Wirth is pretty tight. It is one of those places that once you get it dialed you can really rip but a newbee might feel a bit constrained. As it is tight, you'd expect a 29'er like the Dos to be a bit unwieldy at times. Not so! That bike feels like a little bike, is super fast, and climbs like no tomorrow. The back end hooks up in a mad way. The only thing that I found harder to do was catch air. The bigger wheels either just aren't into it or throw off my timing. I think it is probably the latter. Anyway, enough of me talking about how good the Dos Niner is. Here is the entertaining part of the story. So we've ridden three laps and pull out to the parking lot to refill water bottles. When we get there, two squad cars have a van boxed in and they are searching the guys in the vehicle one at a time. We're watching and when the officer starts checking one guy he bolts. She grabs his t-shirt but he twists out of it really quick and is off running. The other officer takes off after him shouting "Stop. I am going to taze you. I'm going to taze you!". This has got our attention big time now! He shoots his tazer but misses! They are running across the golf course now and the bad guy is distancing the cop. We can hear him shouting in his radio and the officer back by us has the other guys sitting in the van with their hands showing. Well the bad boy must have been a sprinter and not a distance man. After a few minutes the officer in pursuit comes back and he's got the bad guy in cuffs. Here's my friendly advice to the gang banging criminal set: Wear a belt fools! You can't run with your pants halfway down your legs! Repeat after me. Form FOLLOWS Function! FOLLOWS! Get it?!? Anyway, a bunch of Golden Valleys finest had pulled in at this point and the situation was all under control. We'd been throw off our stride at this point and called the ride portion of the day and went and got our grubbin' on. Mmmm. Pizza. Wings. Beers. Too bad that guy missed with the tazer though... -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 6:40 PM 0 comments | permalink
Friday, July 22, 2005
Ever have those days or weeks where it seems the only way to feel good is to get out and ride? I'm having one of those weeks. Tired. Worn out. Trouble thinking critically. Thankfully, today is the Salsa Fun Ride. The Salsa gang is leaving in the early afternoon to leave work behind and to celebrate some of our successes over the last 6 months. We've got a MTB ride at Wirth, one of our great new metro singletrack trails. Cold refreshments and grub will follow. Ahhh....I feel better already! Have a great weekend everyone. If you feel like I do, get out and ride this weekend. Go at night if you have too. There is just nothing like riding to clear the mind. Butcher Posted by Butcher : 8:55 AM 0 comments | permalink
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Maybe some of you young folks don't remember the GRIMY HANDSHAKE article in Bike. It is one of my favorite articles of all time. It essentially classified every mechanic into either an old mechanic (hoarding retrogrouches) or a new mechanic (buying every one of the latest and greatest parts) . While this article was great, I think there is one other type, Old AND New. I bought two new Ala Cartes frames a few weeks ago. One for my wife and one for me. My wife needed it. I didn't. I bought it because I wanted it. This bike is both old and new. Pure steel and beautiful paint. Besides not really needing another bike, I haven't really been riding my 26" bikes since I built my Dos Niner. However, I sold my last steel hardtail over a year ago and the thought of not having a steel hardtail in my stable just seemed terrible. With a few clicks on a computer keyboard and a little time, I walked away from work with empty pockets and a new bike project. I couldn't wait to build it. I came into this crazy industry thru the back doors of several repair shops. I'm a mechanic at heart and love to set up new bikes. Every component is carefully planned. Frame is properly prepped. Parts are laid out and prepped. A few ice cold refreshments. Time passes...sometime hours, sometime days. Just me and my pile of parts. Then that first few pedal strokes to get a feel for your creation. For me, this process is almost as great as riding. To get started and get a feel for my new project, I built it as a 2-speed dingle with a Paul Melvin. It rides great, but it isn't quite right for this bike. I never intended to leave it this way, but I have been struggling with final set up for two weeks. Should I go old school with my historic and cherished complete 7-speed Deore XT group, or should I go new school with my current favorite, SRAM x.0, Hope discs, Race Face and DT Swiss? See what I mean, am I old or new? It's been this way for over 15 years. One could argue either way, but I truthfully love both. Butcher Posted by Butcher : 9:17 PM 0 comments | permalink
This is the second year that Salsa has been a sponsor of the Horribly Hilly Hundreds, a very tough...you guessed it...hilly road ride in Wisconsin. Each year we've given away a Salsa Campeon frameset and this year the lucky rider was Loch Miwa. Loch was gracious enough to send in a photo of himself with his newly built up ride so we show it here for your enjoyment.  If you want to know more about the Horribly Hilly Hundreds, check out their Horribly Hilly Hundreds website -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 12:52 PM 0 comments | permalink
 San Diego to Atlantic City non-stop. So if you were working full-time at a bike shop and wanted to compete in the RAAM (Race across America) against professional athletes, what bike would you buy to do it on? Dave Haase who owns and works at Attitude Sports in Fond du Lac, WI rode his Salsa Campeon to 4th place in this years RAAM as the top American finisher. If you saw last year's coverage of the race on NBC, Dave was the rookie who shocked everyone by almost making the podium. He had to withdraw with hyponatremia in West Virginia an agonizingly close 500 miles from the finsih. The TV coverage is absolutely painful to watch as you see him repeatedly try to remount his bike and ride. This year he came back with the wisdom of experience and laid down the gloves. 3,051 miles in 10 days, 12 hours and 41 minutes, only four hours behind the third place finisher Fabio Biasiolo from Italy. Being a good Wisconsin boy like myself, he naturally celebrated with a beer and a brat-fry. Watch for TV coverage of RAAM on NBC later this summer. Way to go Dave, we're all proud of you.   -Pierce Posted by Pierce : 10:39 AM 0 comments | permalink
Monday, July 18, 2005
One of the great things about bicycling is the community that you can become a part of if you choose. The good stuff that two wheels and a bike bring to your lives they are also bringing to the lives of those around you that are bicycling too. The feeling it brings eventually can lead to passion for bikes, and that passion winds up being celebrated by a community of cyclists. It has been that way wherever I've lived. A certain group of riders is so passionate about bikes that they develop a community based on that passion. The binding force isn't the bikes or the bike shop. The binding force is the passion for bikes and bicycling. We should all relish the fact that our sport allows and encourages such passion. We have common ground, whether our wheels are 20" or 700c, and that common ground makes us part of a fine community. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 12:50 PM 0 comments | permalink
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Four months ago I had the priviledge of having my first doctors physical in about a million years. Everyone enjoys those visits so much right? And yes, I can hear the ladies saying "You don't have anything to complain about at all!". They are probably right. Regardless, this first physical in a million years didn't go as well as I would have wished. I knew it was coming of course. You can only eat so much crap and work so many hours before it takes a toll. Well, the doctor told me I needed to "make some changes in my priorities. Exercise more. Eat better. Work less." He told me to drop 40 lbs in two years. See what I mean about it not going exactly as I would have liked? Four months have passed and I've dropped 20 lbs and I'm pretty happy about it. Honestly it hasn't been all that difficult. I make sure that I am getting exercise at least 3 or 4 times a week. It isn't always easy but I just have to make the time for it to happen. Eating better has been much easier, the hard part there is watching the amount of food I'm scarfing down! I've also done a much better job of walking away from work. You know, you can't let a job (no matter how much you enjoy it) wreak havoc on the rest of your life. It isn't fair to you or your loved ones. Plus, life is just too short to miss out on the other good stuff. So walk away when you've done enough because the work will still be there tomorrow, no matter how much you get done today. That's my advice for the day I guess. If some of you reading this and can put any of this to use in your life, I encourage you to do so. You'll be happy that you've made those changes for yourself, as only good can come from them. Peace out. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 12:00 PM 0 comments | permalink
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Today, I'd thought I'd share some thoughts that aren't always talked about, at least publicly. I used to anticipate reading Grant Peterson's diary in the Riv Reader because it dealt with real issues that many small bicycle brands face. I hope you find it interesting. If you don't want this type of conversation on our blog, email PMAN@SALSACYCLES.COM. If you like it, let me know as well, and I will share more of these types of topics as we go along. I am struggling with the concept of leading or being led. Part of my job as GM is to ultimately lead Salsa in the right direction. I take this job very seriously and frankly, think I am lucky to have fallen into this position. It involves a lot of things like policies, financial success, product and employee development, etc. I am also the end of the line and final decision maker on issues and products. This job is sometimes painful, keeps me up at night and can involve some details that could put anyone to sleep. That said, it is the greatest job I have ever had and I am so thankful that I am part of Salsa Cycles. My mental struggle the last few days is that we have a truly great concept for one of our products. I really believe it is great and believe that we would sell this product extremely well. In fact, it could possibly be the best selling product we have ever had in this particular category. On paper, this decision is simple. In my mind though, I am struggling with one aspect or detail of this product and how it could be misinterpretted. Some could argue the detail I have concerns about is no different than a Peace sign. I think a great majority would get it and those that don't are simply choosing not to get it or don't have a sense of humor. Frankly, I expect some people to voice some strong opinions as a result of this product and I don't want to answer the emails and letters to BRAIN from the folks that have issues. What voice do I listen to? See where I am going with this? Am I leading or being led? Ultimately, for those still interested at this point, Salsa has ordered samples of this product so we have crossed that barrier. I'm really eager to see how it looks and feels in our hands because sometimes these types of topics get bigger than they really are and when you see them in final form, just aren't that big of deal....at least that is what I am hoping. Anyway, sorry for the long and painful topic. Jason "Butcher" Boucher Posted by Butcher : 11:51 PM 0 comments | permalink
Nice work and Thanks! For a quick and honest review of our Campeon road frame, check out what Bikeman.com has to say. And for you folks not interested in bikes today, check out my favorite site . That's enough love for one day. Gotta get back to work and listen to some podcasting. Cheers Posted by chuck : 8:24 AM 0 comments | permalink
Monday, July 11, 2005
Friday night was Jordan and my first Cub Scout overnight camp out. As luck would have it the temperature was in the upper 80's to add to the experience. Following the drive up there, we set up camp, attended the opening ceremony where we got to shout "Gold" at the top of our lungs again and again and again. See, "Gold" was our camps pre-assigned color. Then there were some skits by the camp leaders, a bunch of singing, and to close the night...a campfire with S'mores. That is, of course, where the title of this blog comes from. While sitting watching what seemed like a hundred little boys clamber around a fire with sharp metal roasting sticks and marshmallows, this one kid comes over the the fixings table to assemble his S'more. He's kind of jabbering away to himself the way a lot of kids do, and I hear him mumbling something about Yoda a few times. Then he suddenly stands up straight and with proper Yoda-like pacing, but not so much accent, says "Build this in secret I must." and turns his back and completes his S'more construction...with jedi-like concentration. Mmmmm....S'mores..... -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 2:20 PM 0 comments | permalink
Friday, July 08, 2005
My morning began at 7:15am today when my lady called me to tell me she had a double flat on her car. Now if this was a bike it would be a quick, easy fix and you'd be on your way (provided you had two tubes!), but with a car...the hassle multiplies exponentially. Drive up there. Jack up the front end. Remove the wheel after some knuckle scraping and rim kicking. Look for items sticking out of the tire. Find none. Go to the gas station and air it up. Air is holding. Is this just the work of some neighborhood hoodlum? Go back to the house. Reinstall wheel. Ahh hah! Now I can hear the slow leak. Jack up back end. Remove the wheel. Find a half screw and a piece of nail. Pull them out. Drive to the auto parts store and get two cans of sealant. Come back. Remount wheel. DOH! Use can of sealant. Two small holes plug but the tear in the sidewall that I couldn't see doesn't. Jack up back end again. Remove wheel. Install donut. Put sealant in front tire. Dirve around the block and to the gas station to get the tire and donut properly filled. All of this just goes to show the superiority of the bicycle to the automobile. And yes, I am kidding just a little. Still, in celebration of the bicycle's superiority to the automobile I am leaving now to go for a bike ride. Enjoy the weekend everyone. Watch out for nails and screws. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 3:55 PM 0 comments | permalink
Thursday, July 07, 2005
This past 4th of July was the second year in row that I've had the priviledge of spending on Madelline Island. This year we spent five nights there at good old campsite 33. If you've never been there you might want to check it out. The island is reached by taking a ferry from Bayfield, Wisconsin, unless you are one of the lucky ones that has their own boat. A quick ferry ride drops you off in LaPointe, which is the only city on the island. Big Bay State Park is only about 7 mile away on a shouldered road so if you can do without some of the car camping comforts you could easily load your bike's rack and panniers, or BOB trailer, and make a nice bike camping adventure of it. The park offers some nice hiking trails, many of which are right above the waters edge. If you like to swim and can tolerate the chilly temps of Lake Superior you can have a great time in the water on a long, long sand beach. Jordan and I pride ourselves in being among the few (maybe the only two!) who can stay in the water for an extended time. That doesn't mean that we don't come out with some numb arms and legs though! It's the closest thing to an ocean we've got. If you hit the island and like pizza, put your order in at Emma's. Pick a nice night and eat on the deck watching the boats go by. One word of warning though, she can only cook one at a time so be prepared to relax for a while. The roads on Madelline are nice and the traffic is minimal, but remember that the island is small so you can't go out and do a 50 mile loop! This year Becky and I did a nice ride from camp to the end of the island where the road turns to dirt and made a nice 20-some mile loop out of that. Narrow tires made it a bit more interesting for her than she would have liked, but she was a real trooper and finished with aplomb. Driving back to the cities the other evening was the only bummer of it all. Six days surrounded by woods and water and I could take a lifetime of it. That's something I may have to start working on soon! Spend some time outside! Even off the bike it will do your soul some good! Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 6:35 PM 0 comments | permalink
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
I tell ya, I haven't done a training ride in almost 2 months on a road bike, let alone race but I decided "what the heck" and threw down with the Masters 35+ race this past Monday and managed to finish with the field. Heck, I even lead a few or 5 laps. Every 4th of July our local Salsa Cycles sponsored road team, SuperTeamRacing, puts on the Northfield Criterium in beautiful (you guessed it) Northfield, MN. The city loves this race and offers us a technical .8 mile, 6-corner course right in the heart of downtown. Food vendors, kids games, and live music are just part of the fun, while the racing takes center stage. This year I got to volunteer(read mandatory)to do registration, corner marshalling and best of all, race commentating on the mic! Now I have never done this before so things start off a little shakey as I call the womens' 1,2,3 race and the womens' 4 race AT THE SAME TIME, so I am getting the names all dollied up and the laps all schnookered so it isn't going well. Besides, it is hard to sound like Phil Liggett without a sidekick so I call in for some reinforcements. Stage right: Tyler Dennison of Freewheel Bike. Tyler is a master at the mic and a mighty fine drinker (and average Cat 4 racer) who knows all the best "Liggettisms" such as "dancing on the pedals" and "turning the wheels in anger" and all that crap. So, needless to say this new witty banter instilled some confidence in me. Well, after a few minutes of cracking ourselves up, calling the race and getting names wrong, we proceeded to insult most of the local cycling community, local teams/clubs and the officials. SO, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the following list of 423 people: Silver Cycling Team (for calling you all old), Grand Performance Cycling Team (for calling Dale, Dewey. For calling Dewey, Jeremy. For calling Jeremy, Dale and for not calling Brandon at all during the race). I guess I should also apologize to Jeff Hall for saying he rides funny on a road bike (he is a mtb'er afterall), Jay Hollywood Henderson for making a 420 bib number reference, the entire Flanders Cycling Team for criticizing them for having the same team jersey design for the past 7 years. Lastly, the officials. As a certified USA Cycling official myself, I must admit that you(we) are all not a bunch of cyclist-hating ex-riders... well, not all of us. But are in fact lovers of the sport and a great group of people that give back selflessly every week in order for all the local cyclists to enjoy the sport. Yes, I pat myself on the back everyday. No, seriously. We had a great time this weekend and despite the threats from the great guys on the Silver Cycling Team I managed to make it home in one piece. Silver Guys, if you are reading this, I hope to be half as fast as you guys when I am 40. For everyone that came out to help at the race, thank you for your time on a busy holiday weekend. To all the racers that came out to race and make this such a huge success, Thank You! And again to the officials (see above). I can't wait for next year. Cheers. Chuck Posted by chuck : 3:54 PM 0 comments | permalink
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
I don't know what happened, but they must have aligned sometime within the last week. Today, I got up really early to ride the MN River trail and get a head start on this busy 4th of July week. I hit the trail at 6:00AM. It was a really great ride. 10miles of singletrack. I was the first on the trail. Sun. Blue Sky. A few bugs. A few spider webs. No humidity! Truly a great ride. Today's not about the ride though, its about product. Yes, lot's of it. The last 2 weeks have been big weeks here at Salsa. For the first time in 2005, we received the following products. OX Platinum La Raza's and Ala Carte's frames Pro Scandium S.U.L stems El Gogo Frame sets All are in stock and already selling well. Thanks to all for your patience and support while waiting for these fine products. This is very big news for Salsa. Some of these products have been in the works for more than 2 years and it is always a great thing to receive finished goods. It's like putting the frosting on your kid's birthday cake or wrapping the bars on your new road bike. Damn, it just feels good. Butcher Posted by Butcher : 11:58 AM 0 comments | permalink |
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