Exploring Duck Creek

 So yesterday's ride was kind of what I love about the fatbike.  I did Disney on Ice with Aly in the afternoon then snuck out for a quick ride.  Quick being 2hrs.  Kris is awesome and watch the kids so I could go not after dark. 

Friends have been talking about Duck Creek for a while, it's about 3mi from my house so I just hopped on the bike and rode there.  It was cool.  Great spot to do training and really a lot less flat/boring then I thought. Lots of curves in the river, lots to look at, great wind cover, generally snowmobile trails to follow, and some little jumps up/down the banks to play on too.  I had a good time but really didn't explore a crazy amount of it.  I wanted to ride from FF to Overland but came up a bit short of Overland Rd.  Cole says west of Overland is even better so we'll see.  I may load the bike up and drive there next time so I can maximize time on the river (it's probably 5mi away?).  Maybe not though, it's fun to ride the roads too on this thing, it's just fun all over.

I'm excited for my race Saturday but at the same time not excited - 35mi on a fatbike could be as easy as 35mi on a mtb or could be absolute hell depending on weather. For example, I averaged about 7-8mph on the river yesterday on mostly snowmobile tracks, but I can ride the same if not slightly faster on singletrack here in town. On packed trails (non-singletrack) I could anticipate some averages up to 13-15mph. We'll see. I've been training a bit anyway and feel stronger than I did last year - less overall endurance but more power I think.

The other thing I have a bad feeling about for no good reason is my tubeless setup. I'm really hoping it holds up for the race, it's been good so far but I have not pushed it at race pace or that distance yet.

One thing I am certain of - if I keep this up it's going to be very fast come skinny tire mtb season. I'm already super excited to get out on the Scalpel and I'm probably about 2 months away. I think I will ride with the rear lockout engaged a lot this year.

On a semi-related note my ability to wheelie is much improved.

Quick Fat Camp loop in the loose snow

Had one of those days where it was just nice to get out, even if it's just for a little bit.  I did one loop at Fat Camp.  Snow was really loose, I aired way down but still had poor traction. 

I'm really struggling with keeping my head the right temp - in the snowboard helmet it is never cold but I'm sweating and I'd like to avoid that.  I think I'll sweat no matter what though.  I could wear my normal mtb helmet with a beanie under but I am just as sweaty in that.  I'm honestly pretty tempted to drill some more holes in the snowboard helmet for better airflow.  We'll see.

I can say, on singletrack I work pretty hard on the fatbike, I can easily dress the same as I do for 45 degrees outside as it's just a lot harder work and lower speed so there is a lot less evaporative cooling.

The Wolvhammer boots are insanely nice - I am super happy I bought them.  Feet have yet to be cold and they are very comfortable. 

For hands I've been wearing my summer gloves under my bar mitts from my old motorcycle, hands are usually sweaty with that setup.  I could probably go no gloves but I don't do that even in the summer.

Tubeless Redo - Clown Shoe Rim Strip on Marge Lite Rim

So I continued to have some issue with my rear tire losing air while riding on the tubeless setup with the gorilla tape.  Friday night last week I decided to take it apart and redo it, this time using the clown shoe rim strip I'd bought just for this reason.

Looks like this in the bead:

I pushed the strip down under the lip, then mounted the tire w/tube, then followed the normal process for going tubeless.  Sealed up way better than the gorilla tape from the get go and has held pressure much much better.

Front is still gorilla tape but I'll swap it out if I have issues.  I'd say weight wise this is very close and no sticky mess to deal with.