So it's been a few weeks but I took a trip up to Sandy Ridge here near Portland in April. I did not know at all what to expect but had heard the trails were some of the "must do" trails in the area.
Since it's been a couple weeks I'll save a lot of the detail. In short it's a 3.5mi road climb, paved. This gets you up to the top of the trail system and a kiosk that is laid out nicely to give access to any of the trails up there. There are a good variety from pretty hard stuff to easier flowier stuff. The difficulty of any of it I rode was generally driven by how fast I was looking to go.
Since the trails were mostly downhill from the top, I dropped the seat on the Scalpel and gave it a rip. The trails were super fun and being from Wisconsin pretty much like nothing I've had a chance to ride out there. It's a bit like trails in Marquette, MI or Duluth but the sustained downhill is much longer making it a ton more fun. I'm also in such awe of the trees and views out here, it's just so different from what we've been able to see locally.
Since it's been a couple weeks I'll hold off from uploading pics, gotta catch up on other things!
Friday, May 20, 2016
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Global Fat Bike Day Wisconsin
Had another great ride down at GFBD WI in Manitowoc. Bigger crowd this year than last year and fun. For me it was cool to run into an old coworker from the place I worked years ago. Ended up riding and chatting with him most of the day. Not sure what else to say. I guess I'll end with fatbikes are awesome.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
First couple rides on the fatty w/HED's
No real pictures or anything fantastic, but I've gotten a couple rides in now with the HED wheels. I'm not in peak shape at the moment but I sure can tell a difference with the huge difference in rotational weight. The tires are also ending up with a wider, squarer profile than they were with the 65mm wheels (the HEDs are 88mm). I'm getting more self-steer at the same pressure from the Knard 3.8's, I don't like that but still working it out. I fix that by raising the front pressure a bit but then I'm not soaking up the little stuff with these giant tires like I feel like I'm supposed to. I'm settling in around 7-8psi on my gauge in the front and it seems to be fine. Part of it is getting used to the bike again after a summer on the Scalpel or the CAADX.
I'm looking to swap over to the Dillinger 5's soon as soon as it looks like I'll be dealing with ice/cold. If that never comes I will probably still swap but pull the studs out of the tires - at the moment I'm just avoiding that work and leaving the lighter knards on the bike.
I haven't weighed the full bike but I think I've lost about 240g/wheel just in rim, then rim strips/tape were another amount. I wouldn't be surprised if I lost in total 1.5# while I gained almost 2cm of width of rim.
I'm looking to swap over to the Dillinger 5's soon as soon as it looks like I'll be dealing with ice/cold. If that never comes I will probably still swap but pull the studs out of the tires - at the moment I'm just avoiding that work and leaving the lighter knards on the bike.
I haven't weighed the full bike but I think I've lost about 240g/wheel just in rim, then rim strips/tape were another amount. I wouldn't be surprised if I lost in total 1.5# while I gained almost 2cm of width of rim.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
New wheels for the fatty!
New wheels for the fatty. Yippee. I can't wait to get out and ride them more than the half mile quick test loop I did Friday night. Mounted these up on the borealis hubs I've got for my Yampa.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Iceman Cometh 2015
Next up was a trip to Michigan for the Iceman Cometh mtb race in/around Traverse City. I'd not done this one before but with it's size and how it looked like a good way to wrap up the mtb season I thought I should give it a shot. I signed up way back in February I think, it's been a long while.
The race is point to point which is probably how I prefer to ride when possible, I like it more than loops of the same trail over and over. The Mt. Borah Epic is similar in length to this one and I really enjoy that as well. This one is about 30mi and a lot of double track with a bit of singletrack mixed in. None of it is really difficult or technical compared to other stuff, the challenge is pushing hard and going as fast as you can. For me, with rides only about 1x a week this year it was going to just be how fast I can go without cramping up and slowing down.
I decided to head over early enough to pre ride the final parts of the course, that is where there is some singletrack, and also the finish loops all over the place and back on itself so it was nice to know where the actual line was. I ran into Ken, Mike, and Chuck when heading for my preride so I had some company.
After the preride I ended up figuring out where I was going to sleep for the night. I'd come with a tent, a sleeping bag, and that's about it. I figured at worst I'd just go to the national forest and get out somewhere and set up camp or even camp in the truck. I ended up slightly better being in a State Forest campground only about 2.5mi from the Rasho Rd parking lot. It was pretty much shut down for the season, I was one of only 3 people in camp. I set up the tent then went to pick up my packet and check out the expo. I grabbed firewood from a local place on the way back to camp.
Sleeping outside was great - I usually sleep pretty well when I camp. The fresh air helps, and the fact that it was pitch black by about 7-8pm meant I went to bed earlier than normal. It was cool, about 25-30 overnight but with my gear I was fine.
In the morning, I got up, went to the parking lot, geared up (in the warm truck), and then got on the shuttle to Kaskala. It was a short wait for the shuttle then a 45min or so ride. It worked out well to go this way as the truck now was at the finish so whenever I was done I could leave reasonably quickly (plan was to get home to GB that evening).
I was in wave 31, as you can imaine, starting with 30 waves of 150? riders ahead of you, many of which have done the race before means there were a lot of people to pass. I am not crazy fast but I definitely don't anticipate being in wave 31 for my start next year as the people who were year 2 and beyond that were in my wave were not people I ever saw after the start. I don't know how these people ride with all this gear on - jackets, hoodies, etc. I was pretty hot in just an under armor and jersey over it.
The course was very fun actually, double track for most with rolling hills. Not incredibly wide in most parts so while there were two tracks there was typically a "good" line and a "bad" one that was less traveled and usually covered in leaves. I'd get into those when it was time for a pass but there were times where there were stuff in the "bad" line that I'd choose to wait a bit before passing. I found that I was must faster down the hills than most people and that more often than not people were walking up all of the hills where I was able to ride them all minus one. The hill I didn't ride was due to a wall of 4-5 people wide walking up the hill so there was no way to keep riding it. I instantly cramped up when I got off the bike so it was excruciating to not be pedaling. This is typical and I just know that if I want to get rid of the cramps I need to be back on the bike and running a higher cadence than typical to get ride of them. That worked and I was back in business.
I ran my 1x10 setup with a 11-36 rear and 32t in the front. I felt like that gearing was good for where I was at but a few of the tough climbs I wanted a shorter gear. That's typically where I feel I am with the 11-36 in the back. Short rides I just muscle up the tough stuff but as rides get longer pushing that taller 32-36 granny gear wears my legs down more than I'd like. I will probably want/need to do something different before any longer stuff with big climbs.
I finished the race in a time under my goal of 3hrs, I was at 2:37. Lots of room to get faster but I was very happy with where I was at in the end given my training.
At the finish I felt great - bike worked amazingly well and while I was pretty spent I felt OK. I needed some cookies and I then headed back to the truck to get moving along towards home.
On my way home I stopped in Petoskey at Beards Brewery. An old rally buddy and his friend started a brewery a few years ago and I'd never checked it out. It was great, awesome brews, really good to catch up with Ben. I really recommend that anybody in the area heads over there.
The race is point to point which is probably how I prefer to ride when possible, I like it more than loops of the same trail over and over. The Mt. Borah Epic is similar in length to this one and I really enjoy that as well. This one is about 30mi and a lot of double track with a bit of singletrack mixed in. None of it is really difficult or technical compared to other stuff, the challenge is pushing hard and going as fast as you can. For me, with rides only about 1x a week this year it was going to just be how fast I can go without cramping up and slowing down.
I decided to head over early enough to pre ride the final parts of the course, that is where there is some singletrack, and also the finish loops all over the place and back on itself so it was nice to know where the actual line was. I ran into Ken, Mike, and Chuck when heading for my preride so I had some company.
After the preride I ended up figuring out where I was going to sleep for the night. I'd come with a tent, a sleeping bag, and that's about it. I figured at worst I'd just go to the national forest and get out somewhere and set up camp or even camp in the truck. I ended up slightly better being in a State Forest campground only about 2.5mi from the Rasho Rd parking lot. It was pretty much shut down for the season, I was one of only 3 people in camp. I set up the tent then went to pick up my packet and check out the expo. I grabbed firewood from a local place on the way back to camp.
Sleeping outside was great - I usually sleep pretty well when I camp. The fresh air helps, and the fact that it was pitch black by about 7-8pm meant I went to bed earlier than normal. It was cool, about 25-30 overnight but with my gear I was fine.
In the morning, I got up, went to the parking lot, geared up (in the warm truck), and then got on the shuttle to Kaskala. It was a short wait for the shuttle then a 45min or so ride. It worked out well to go this way as the truck now was at the finish so whenever I was done I could leave reasonably quickly (plan was to get home to GB that evening).
I was in wave 31, as you can imaine, starting with 30 waves of 150? riders ahead of you, many of which have done the race before means there were a lot of people to pass. I am not crazy fast but I definitely don't anticipate being in wave 31 for my start next year as the people who were year 2 and beyond that were in my wave were not people I ever saw after the start. I don't know how these people ride with all this gear on - jackets, hoodies, etc. I was pretty hot in just an under armor and jersey over it.
The course was very fun actually, double track for most with rolling hills. Not incredibly wide in most parts so while there were two tracks there was typically a "good" line and a "bad" one that was less traveled and usually covered in leaves. I'd get into those when it was time for a pass but there were times where there were stuff in the "bad" line that I'd choose to wait a bit before passing. I found that I was must faster down the hills than most people and that more often than not people were walking up all of the hills where I was able to ride them all minus one. The hill I didn't ride was due to a wall of 4-5 people wide walking up the hill so there was no way to keep riding it. I instantly cramped up when I got off the bike so it was excruciating to not be pedaling. This is typical and I just know that if I want to get rid of the cramps I need to be back on the bike and running a higher cadence than typical to get ride of them. That worked and I was back in business.
I ran my 1x10 setup with a 11-36 rear and 32t in the front. I felt like that gearing was good for where I was at but a few of the tough climbs I wanted a shorter gear. That's typically where I feel I am with the 11-36 in the back. Short rides I just muscle up the tough stuff but as rides get longer pushing that taller 32-36 granny gear wears my legs down more than I'd like. I will probably want/need to do something different before any longer stuff with big climbs.
I finished the race in a time under my goal of 3hrs, I was at 2:37. Lots of room to get faster but I was very happy with where I was at in the end given my training.
At the finish I felt great - bike worked amazingly well and while I was pretty spent I felt OK. I needed some cookies and I then headed back to the truck to get moving along towards home.
On my way home I stopped in Petoskey at Beards Brewery. An old rally buddy and his friend started a brewery a few years ago and I'd never checked it out. It was great, awesome brews, really good to catch up with Ben. I really recommend that anybody in the area heads over there.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Powertap customer service is awesome
Hey, just wanted to give a quick update - the power meter is working again. I had some issues on a ride a few weeks ago where it all the sudden just stopped working. I tried new batteries, then tried another set of new batteries.
Got ahold of customer service (who were awesome by the way), and they sent a new battery cradle. Tried it out yesterday and it worked. Fantastic!
Got ahold of customer service (who were awesome by the way), and they sent a new battery cradle. Tried it out yesterday and it worked. Fantastic!
Day trip to Marquette
I'm way overdue on writing this report up, but I wanted to get the pictures shared and also while I was at it just spew what I did. What I'm talking about actually happened on Oct 30th. It's been a heck of a year at work and I've not had much time to de-stress myself, so I decided that I'd take a vacation day and head somewhere to ride. I'd done this one other time this year when I did a trip to the kettles, but I figured on doing somewhere different. I considered Levis Mound but then did math and for only 15min more I could make it to Marquette. Sorry Levis, you'll have to wait for another trip.
I decided on a Friday, waited for weather forecast to come in, then made the trip. I loaded up for an early departure (5am I think) and headed up. Until it was light out it was a heck of a trip - tired, questioning what the heck I was doing, etc. Then, the sun came up as I was driving through the UP and I started to get happy. Leaves were still changing, it was a beatiful day (but cold), and it was going to be great.
For bike, I brought the scalpel. Loaded it up with a dropper post borrowed from DR, a Thomson. I am eyeing them up and happened to mention it to him, he was nice enough to let me borrow it. I loved it but more on that another time.
I chose to ride Marquette south for a few reasons - one is I haven't ridden there in summer, and two was it was the best spot I felt to ride all day, tire myself out, and then head home with a great variety of terrain to mess around with. I had ridden some of the trails in the winter during the 906 Polar Roll - actually quite a bit of it once I figured that out.
Trails I took were Carp Eh Diem, then Pioneer Loop, then did some Benson climbing to Eh Line and back up to Down Dogger. After that I took a quick break at the truck then did some of the blue loop. That was pretty challenging with the rocky terrain and being covered by leaves for most of the trail, but it was absolutely beautiful. I got a bit goofed up on the loop there but it was fun. I did the Grom loop too.
All in all, it was about 20mi, 2,300' of climbing. Great day and a good warmup for Iceman for my legs which have really not ridden more than 1x per week all summer long. I'm obviously not as fit as I have been in the past but I'm trying when I do ride to get longer rides in to keep endurance there.
I decided on a Friday, waited for weather forecast to come in, then made the trip. I loaded up for an early departure (5am I think) and headed up. Until it was light out it was a heck of a trip - tired, questioning what the heck I was doing, etc. Then, the sun came up as I was driving through the UP and I started to get happy. Leaves were still changing, it was a beatiful day (but cold), and it was going to be great.
For bike, I brought the scalpel. Loaded it up with a dropper post borrowed from DR, a Thomson. I am eyeing them up and happened to mention it to him, he was nice enough to let me borrow it. I loved it but more on that another time.
I chose to ride Marquette south for a few reasons - one is I haven't ridden there in summer, and two was it was the best spot I felt to ride all day, tire myself out, and then head home with a great variety of terrain to mess around with. I had ridden some of the trails in the winter during the 906 Polar Roll - actually quite a bit of it once I figured that out.
Trails I took were Carp Eh Diem, then Pioneer Loop, then did some Benson climbing to Eh Line and back up to Down Dogger. After that I took a quick break at the truck then did some of the blue loop. That was pretty challenging with the rocky terrain and being covered by leaves for most of the trail, but it was absolutely beautiful. I got a bit goofed up on the loop there but it was fun. I did the Grom loop too.
All in all, it was about 20mi, 2,300' of climbing. Great day and a good warmup for Iceman for my legs which have really not ridden more than 1x per week all summer long. I'm obviously not as fit as I have been in the past but I'm trying when I do ride to get longer rides in to keep endurance there.
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