Test Rode a Moonlander Fat Bike

A friend with one a size or two too large for me let me take his out for a spin around the neighborhood gravel, and damn but it was fun.  It's one of the 1.0 series, not the newer 2.0's, so none of the newer stuff.  In its essentials, it's probably closer to Surly's current Ice Cream Truck: derailleur gearing, 4.8" tires, somewhat normal geometry.  Anyway, here's a pic from the web site:

It was a crazy blast to take on some neighborhood dirt.  One alleyway filled with roller bearing pea gravel that always is a pain in the butt rode about as well as the paved streets.  I didn't have any deep sand to sample, but the pea gravel was enough.  On pavement, the big tires sound like a B-24 bomber, that's kind of cool.  Though for the price on the tires, I don't think I'd take it on pavement any more than absolutely necessary.  On rough descents and ascents, it just... rode.  Keep on pedaling, and it keeps going.  I shudder to think though about something harsh enough to stop it, because that stop's probably going to hurt.  In the meantime though, keep pedaling and the ride is good!

So, am I going to run out and get one?  Eh, it's kind of a specialty tool.  Definitely not an actual current model Moonlander.  At over $4k, I wouldn't get enough use of it to be worth it.  Maybe an Ice Cream Truck at about half the price.  Surly's lower-priced Wednesday option rides on 3.8" tires, and I'm not sure that would give the full-on fat tire float on sand that I'm looking for.  Right now though, I'm not going to sweat it.  I've got a couple of other bikes to move first (got to make room), and the weather's too hot to grind down the beach right now anyway.  Will revisit in the fall.

And on this 5th of July, Please Remember...

And with that, I am back to activities with out-of-town relatives.  See y'all later in the week.

All The Memes

If you're finding yourself short on Independence Day memes, According to Hoyt has them all.

Happy Independence day!  America Two Fif-TEE!  Yeah!

Though there are some corners of the U.S. I prefer over others, there's no place else I'd rather be.

3rd of July Fire & Fireworks

First, a fire at The Hole.  Details at The Times, plus one picture:

Then later in the evening, something a bit more fun, a bit more controlled:

Yeah, we do the fireworks on the 3rd here, with other towns in the area doing them on other days.  It spreads the fun around.  I think tonight is St. George Island's turn.

A Very Interesting Step Toward Synthetic Life

For the First Time, a Cell Built From Scratch Grows and Divides

No, it is not life.  But it is an interesting conglomeration that pulls together a bunch of previous research into a neat bundle, and makes one of the main features of a living cell sort of work when it is spoon-fed some complicated key ingredients.  From the article:

“I wasn’t allowing myself to believe it for a while,” she said. “It was like, ‘Holy shit, did I actually make a dividing cell?’ … At some point, you’ve been checking enough that [you think], ‘OK, now it’s real.’”

and:

“The modern cell is like a Dreamliner,” Adamala said, referring to the Boeing 787 airplane. “We built a Wright flyer… the first bike frame with wings that flies 100 feet.”

Pretty amazing.

And no, it's not going to get away and take over the world.  Real life would rip it to shreds and chow down on the innards within milliseconds.

Big Stupid Fun, and Mostly Harmless

• K0NR (aka Bob) writes about the Brass Knuckle Gang at his blog, including a link to the BKG website.
• Singletracks online mag weighs in on what is probably the first production Ti-framed 32" wheel bike, and they can't quite decide what it is.  Gravel?  Mountain bike?  Likely fun either way.

Neither one is my thing, but hey, it's good to see people out there Doing Unusual Stuff.

Monday, Monday...

First up, call the clothes washer repair guy.  No, on second thought, make that second.

Yeesh.