Spring 2010 at Bayfield Bike Route

Marlin LedinBicycle Repair!

Bayfield Bike Route Marlin LedinBicycle Repair!!! Starting April 22nd! Full Service bicycle repair. Tubes, chains, small parts in stock. Special orders available. @ Leinos Gas and Goods in Washburn. Every Thursday from 9am-5pm, rain or shine. Brought to you by the Bayfield Bike Route, Leinos Gas and Goods, and Myself. Show your support and watch it grow! Tune-Up $35, Flat repair $10, Full Overhaul $75…

Superior Vistas Bike Tour June 26, 2010

This great event is happening again this June. For more information go to: http:// www.superiorvistas.org.

Bayfield Bike Route OPEN for the 2010 Season!

Bayfield Bike Route is officially open for the Spring 2010 season. With all of the warm weather that we have been having, there has been a deluge of bikers calling in to have   their bikes tuned up, repaired and ready for the biking season. So, get that bike out of the garage and down to the bike shop ASAP! Welcome back Bayfield Bike Route for     another year of biking mania!

Spring Hours: Wednesday – Saturday: 10:00am – 5:00pm. Call : 715-209-6864 on these days. Otherwise call: 715-779-3132 .

Mount Ashwabay

Getting started on your off road ride.

The Mount Ashwabay Outdoor Education Federation has recently opened  39 kilometers of cross country ski trails for Mountain Biking. The trails are marked for bicycle use. Drive to the ski chalet, 3 miles south of Bayfield, and check the kiosk for a detailed map. Or stop in at the Bayfield Bike Route.

Through the maple forest!

The old Nourse Sugar Shack is along the trail.

Full ride description coming soon. For Mount Ashwabay’s trail map, click here.

Picnic Pedal Package

The Bayfield Bike Route has teemed up with Big Water Cafe and Coffee Roasters to offer you a one day bike rental with a scrumptuous picnic box lunch. The lunch includes one of Big Water’s famous deli sandwiches,(turkey,ham,or veggie) a large, home baked cookie and your choice of drink.

Picnic Pedal Package: $30.00/Full Day

Brinks Road

Brinks Road NF 236 • 40 miles:
For this ride you may want to obtain Bayfield County Highway map, free from the bike shop or from the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce. The route will take the peloton through 25 miles of the Chequamegon National Forest on a little or no traveled, newly paved road. It passes several lost lakes (maybe for a short dip?) and continues up to the Moquah Barrens, a wild area preserved to demonstrate the  barren, scrubby ecology that is the natural  course of the high peninsula.
From Washburn (12 miles S of Bayfield on highway #13) take Co. highway C north about 10 miles to Valhalla ski trail head. After the Valhalla entrance climb the hill and look sharp for a left hand turn on the only paved road available. It’s about 1.5 miles beyond Valhalla and signed with “NF 236” to Ino and Highway #2. If you’ve driven in your car to this point, you’ll find a little pull-off to park on. The route begins here and gently rolls south some 22 miles south and west to highway #2 at the Ino Bar. With the county map you can find your way back to Washburn by using some of the same county highways that are used for the Superior Vistas Bike Tour held each June. Other- wise, simply turn around and return on #236. I guarantee you’ll not be disappointed.

Ashland Daily Press April 22, 2009

Thomas Hart offered bike maintenance class at Ashland Ag Station. Check it out the story at: Ashland Daily Press

Bayfield Bike Route working in the community.

Bike Rental Packages for B&B’s In Bayfield

Enjoy your stay in beautiful Bayfield  this summer and lessen your carbon footprint too!!! Bayfield Bike Route has teemed up with many local B&B’s to bring you a special bike rental package. Their packages will include delivery and pick up of bikes.

Each of the B&B’s listed below have added their own delightful additions.

Pinehurst Inn

Apple Grove Inn

Island View Inn and Cottages

REFLECTIONS ON THE 2009 NORTH AMERICAN HANDMADE BICYCLE SHOW

 The show’s over. The valet parking area for the brave souls who biked downtown Indianapolis (wind chills were vicious!) to view is empty and the shiny, exotic, crafted, wheeled machines are packed up and being shipped. The 2009 North American Hand Built Bicycle Show is history and it was a roaring success. There was trepidation amongst the organizers that it would never be attended like the shows on the West Coast (Portland and San Jose) but from my perspective they seemed to have had record attendance, (certainly on Fri. and Sat.) and the innovation, craftsmanship, color, and artistry were all more apparent than ever.
I spoke to a couple of young Italians, here for the first time, with their table of very modern, colorfully anodized new brake levers and calipers. I asked them if there was anything like this show in Italy…where cycling is a national sport after all. They immediately replied that without a doubt this show was unique, a melding of the completely traditional: some retro-randonneur bikes with the utterly new: a stretched out titanium cargo bike. This is really the emphatic point of the national Handmade Bike show: “The bicycle is the perfect venue for combining novelty, artistry and innovation with 150 year old tried and true design and style AND it must be able to be ridden!”

I was overwhelmed. It took me about 3 hours on Fri. to just settle down and look for what I had anticipated. I have just started to seriously build steel frames this winter and I’ve been concentrating, practising, doubting, making mistakes and climbing the learning curve all winter. When I walked into the hall and was surrounded by all of the most skilled builders in the country, I felt very small indeed.
As a builder one is immediately aware of where ones own interests lie. Are you into carbon, titanium, or steel (maybe bamboo?). I love steel! It’s workable with low tech, strong, long lasting, repairable, comfortable and now with some new alloys, very lightweight. I looked for the steel builders and these are by far the most ubiquitous at the show. I’m also attracted to traditional designs, bikes that are ultimately functional and straightforward. Two of my favorite builders won awards: Curt Goodrich won Best filet brazed bike for his cross bike and Dave Wages (“Ellis Cycles”) won Best lugged bike for his very traditional 70s frame. My friend Mitch Pryor (“MAP Bicycles”) won Best City bike for his lovely commuter bike.

The number of track bikes, singlies and fixies on display reflected the continued popularity of these styles of urban bikers. Brevet, randonneur and touring bikes are always at the forefront since these are the machines for the forever-serious cyclist. I saw plenty of cyclocross bikes and a whole assortment of 29ers. Perhaps most heartening was the growing dedication of hand builders to the commuter/transport machine. It seems people are beginning to take pride in their work ride and realizing the power inherent in being involved in their own mobility.
I left inspired to get back to my own shop and the frames I have in process.