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!
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2016
Monday, May 4, 2015
Finding time to ride and a couple longer ones
Work has been crazy busy lately, we're going through a startup after some construction and those times are always hard. That's meant two things - riding time is scarce and energy is low, but the NEED for riding is high.
I'm super lucky that Kris understands that, so I've been able to sneak away the last 2 weekends one of the days in the morning for a longer ride. Two weeks ago I went Sunday morning to the Refo Camp and did 3 laps for a good 30ish miles of riding. The last of the 3 laps was semi-with the Broken Spoke guys, although they were on lap 1 and I on lap 3 so I only hung with them for about a mile.
This weekend I did a fun ride, rode from the house to Baird Creek (about 10mi) then did a lap, then home. It was super fun and the miles came pretty easy. Riding through town on a Saturday morning is pretty fun as it's quiet and there is lots to look at as you ride through the different neighborhoods. Riding home the town had waken up a bit so I didn't go back on the same busy roads I'd gone on to get there. The lap at Baird was unremarkable, I just tried to push up the hills but rode easy on the rest, figured that'd give me a semi-interval workout while I was there. Those trails are really fun, I prefer them to the camp but they're harder to get to so I end up at Camp a bit more often.
A bit of rambling, but the 42t conversion is working well, with exception of the 16t cog that came with it. That thing doesn't shift nearly as well as the Sram cogs do, I'm going to see about getting a 16t from the shop to swap in there, then we'll be solid. The 42t seems to function very well, just a bit more driveline noise than I'm used to is all. I don't want to ever spend all day in that gear but it's nice to have when I need it. Also, I've been riding the scalpel on singletrack lately with the lockout on, seems like the way to go unless it's very rough, I prefer the tighter handling I get that way.
Forgot to mention, Noah and I rode in between those rides to a school think for his Kindergarten next year. We had a massive crash about a block from home, we were riding in the neighborhood road, then Noah just blindly veered over in front of me. I did what I could to stop, but hit him and ended up going over my bars in order to not crush him. I think fortunately I took the brunt of the injuries.
I'm super lucky that Kris understands that, so I've been able to sneak away the last 2 weekends one of the days in the morning for a longer ride. Two weeks ago I went Sunday morning to the Refo Camp and did 3 laps for a good 30ish miles of riding. The last of the 3 laps was semi-with the Broken Spoke guys, although they were on lap 1 and I on lap 3 so I only hung with them for about a mile.
This weekend I did a fun ride, rode from the house to Baird Creek (about 10mi) then did a lap, then home. It was super fun and the miles came pretty easy. Riding through town on a Saturday morning is pretty fun as it's quiet and there is lots to look at as you ride through the different neighborhoods. Riding home the town had waken up a bit so I didn't go back on the same busy roads I'd gone on to get there. The lap at Baird was unremarkable, I just tried to push up the hills but rode easy on the rest, figured that'd give me a semi-interval workout while I was there. Those trails are really fun, I prefer them to the camp but they're harder to get to so I end up at Camp a bit more often.
A bit of rambling, but the 42t conversion is working well, with exception of the 16t cog that came with it. That thing doesn't shift nearly as well as the Sram cogs do, I'm going to see about getting a 16t from the shop to swap in there, then we'll be solid. The 42t seems to function very well, just a bit more driveline noise than I'm used to is all. I don't want to ever spend all day in that gear but it's nice to have when I need it. Also, I've been riding the scalpel on singletrack lately with the lockout on, seems like the way to go unless it's very rough, I prefer the tighter handling I get that way.
Forgot to mention, Noah and I rode in between those rides to a school think for his Kindergarten next year. We had a massive crash about a block from home, we were riding in the neighborhood road, then Noah just blindly veered over in front of me. I did what I could to stop, but hit him and ended up going over my bars in order to not crush him. I think fortunately I took the brunt of the injuries.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Forgot to do my race report - 906 Polar Roll, Marquette, MI, 2/21/15
I've just realized today I didn't do an update about the race. Forgot totally.
It was a blast, mostly. I got into Marquette lateish on Friday, but in time to pick up my packet. I'd given up beer for the week of the race so I didn't grab a beer at Blackrocks that night. It was hopping though. I drove over to my hotel - it was in Ishpeming so I was close to the race start. It was at the Wonderlands Inn. Not a fancy place but cheap and clean, got the job done. Just a quick review, it's the kind of place you can go for a mtb race or whatever, like one step up from a tent at a state park, but probably not where I'd take the wife/kids.
Anyhow, on to race day. Start was at 10am so there was plenty of time to relax in the morning and get set. I was one of just under 100 people doing the long race, I think just under 200 did the short. I got set at Ishpeming High School and settled in to my pre-race stuff. I don't have this all dialed in yet for fatbike races, but it worked out. What I really struggle with is what to wear (like a girl) and also what to bring to eat/drink. Also tire pressures is a struggle for me with my lack of experience on the fatty.
I settled in on what I'd call "lighter" gear as I figured I'd be pushing and the temps were in the high teens to low 20's for most of the race. I used my frame bag and had spare tube/tools/pump and a couple snacks, along with my water bottle. The bag worked flawlessly.
Race started - we were off following the Red Bull truck to the trail. Instantly I could tell I had too much pressure but I tried to fight through. Ended up stopping about 2mi in to drop pressure, then again a few miles later. I ended up riding with that amount of pressure the whole race until almost the finish. More on that later, but my starting point was 7psi front and 8psi rear. I think I ended much lower, like 5 or less front and 5-6 rear.
The trails were made up of two singletrack loops separated by some snowmobile trail (open for sleds). The first section of singletrack was the one by Ishpeming, I think called the SBT. It was fantastic, in pretty good shape overall. I loved the trails, really fun, groomed well, and except for the parts that I could tell were not the "normal" trail. People complained about the hills but I did not find them to be that bad.
The snowmobile trail (Heritage Trail I think) inbetween the two singletrack sections was fine - nothing really notable but still very gorgeous and a good ride. It was nice to get some speed in after the slower singletrack.
The second set of singletrack (the SBR) was pretty bad. The long course here overlapped with where the short course had already run so the trails were incredibly chewed up and soft. Anywhere there was an uphill, people had walked and that made it nearly impossible to keep pedaling. The majority of this loop was spent trying to maintain the bike in a 6" wide rut with 5" wide tires that had in general too much pressure to ride right. I didn't go lower as I didnt feel it would help much.
The culmination of crappy trail conditions was the section coming down near the last aid station, including the part along the ski hill. It was just so damn soft and with 20+ miles of fatigue it was very hard to stay on the bike with any sort of speed/grace. I made it through but much slower than I'd wanted to. The last section into town was easy and welcome considering the crap I'd been through. The "technical" line they set up was much too easy, I would've loved to see some real difficulty there.
I ended up finishing the course in about 4:45. I was bummed as I'd saved some energy for the second singletrack section so I could push but ended up not being able to use it due to the snow conditions. I felt good when I could pedal, the power class must be helping because hills were not so bad as I thought they would be. I was consistently reeling people in in the parts where I could pedal, I was only passed by one guy after a crash once we settled in to the race, other than that I was passing people.
Looking forward to the Fatbike Birkie this weekend, I have a few learnings. I'm going to go much lighter on the bike/gear and rely on aid stations a bit heavier. I will still carry a tube/tools/air and water, but other than that that will be in. I'm not expecting to finish first or anything but would like to continue to work my way up towards the earlier parts of the pack. Id say I like to finish in the top 1/3rd of the finishers, haven't really settled that yet though. I plan on grinding it out and really pushing hard, I want to give it all and see how well I can do.
It was a blast, mostly. I got into Marquette lateish on Friday, but in time to pick up my packet. I'd given up beer for the week of the race so I didn't grab a beer at Blackrocks that night. It was hopping though. I drove over to my hotel - it was in Ishpeming so I was close to the race start. It was at the Wonderlands Inn. Not a fancy place but cheap and clean, got the job done. Just a quick review, it's the kind of place you can go for a mtb race or whatever, like one step up from a tent at a state park, but probably not where I'd take the wife/kids.
Anyhow, on to race day. Start was at 10am so there was plenty of time to relax in the morning and get set. I was one of just under 100 people doing the long race, I think just under 200 did the short. I got set at Ishpeming High School and settled in to my pre-race stuff. I don't have this all dialed in yet for fatbike races, but it worked out. What I really struggle with is what to wear (like a girl) and also what to bring to eat/drink. Also tire pressures is a struggle for me with my lack of experience on the fatty.
I settled in on what I'd call "lighter" gear as I figured I'd be pushing and the temps were in the high teens to low 20's for most of the race. I used my frame bag and had spare tube/tools/pump and a couple snacks, along with my water bottle. The bag worked flawlessly.
Race started - we were off following the Red Bull truck to the trail. Instantly I could tell I had too much pressure but I tried to fight through. Ended up stopping about 2mi in to drop pressure, then again a few miles later. I ended up riding with that amount of pressure the whole race until almost the finish. More on that later, but my starting point was 7psi front and 8psi rear. I think I ended much lower, like 5 or less front and 5-6 rear.
The trails were made up of two singletrack loops separated by some snowmobile trail (open for sleds). The first section of singletrack was the one by Ishpeming, I think called the SBT. It was fantastic, in pretty good shape overall. I loved the trails, really fun, groomed well, and except for the parts that I could tell were not the "normal" trail. People complained about the hills but I did not find them to be that bad.
The snowmobile trail (Heritage Trail I think) inbetween the two singletrack sections was fine - nothing really notable but still very gorgeous and a good ride. It was nice to get some speed in after the slower singletrack.
The second set of singletrack (the SBR) was pretty bad. The long course here overlapped with where the short course had already run so the trails were incredibly chewed up and soft. Anywhere there was an uphill, people had walked and that made it nearly impossible to keep pedaling. The majority of this loop was spent trying to maintain the bike in a 6" wide rut with 5" wide tires that had in general too much pressure to ride right. I didn't go lower as I didnt feel it would help much.
The culmination of crappy trail conditions was the section coming down near the last aid station, including the part along the ski hill. It was just so damn soft and with 20+ miles of fatigue it was very hard to stay on the bike with any sort of speed/grace. I made it through but much slower than I'd wanted to. The last section into town was easy and welcome considering the crap I'd been through. The "technical" line they set up was much too easy, I would've loved to see some real difficulty there.
I ended up finishing the course in about 4:45. I was bummed as I'd saved some energy for the second singletrack section so I could push but ended up not being able to use it due to the snow conditions. I felt good when I could pedal, the power class must be helping because hills were not so bad as I thought they would be. I was consistently reeling people in in the parts where I could pedal, I was only passed by one guy after a crash once we settled in to the race, other than that I was passing people.
Looking forward to the Fatbike Birkie this weekend, I have a few learnings. I'm going to go much lighter on the bike/gear and rely on aid stations a bit heavier. I will still carry a tube/tools/air and water, but other than that that will be in. I'm not expecting to finish first or anything but would like to continue to work my way up towards the earlier parts of the pack. Id say I like to finish in the top 1/3rd of the finishers, haven't really settled that yet though. I plan on grinding it out and really pushing hard, I want to give it all and see how well I can do.
Monday, February 16, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Reforestation Camp Snow Loop - Ready to Rock
Did a half day vacation yesterday, skipped out of the afternoon of work in favor of heading to the fatbike loop at Reforestation Camp. It was fantastic.
I ended up with a partial loop which I pulled out of to go put more air in my rear tire, then two full loops after that. The bike was super fun on the singletrack and I think it'll be a real blast later in the season as the snow piles up and smooths out the trail a bit. At least that's what I assume will happen - I guess I'll find out. Snow riding is still new to me and I'm learning a lot. Where I have grip the bike is just like summer, but it's like if I get 6" off course I'm off the packed snow and then it's near falls. I did not have any actual crashes, just dabs where I had to put my foot down. I definitely could see how I could go much much faster than I did as I get more used to it.
I also really appreciate just getting out there, music on, riding away. The world can melt away and I can just be "there" in the zone. This is where I get my balance in life and I feel so much better when I have something like this to even me out. I find myself enjoying group rides but if I ever end up doing >50% of my rides with other people I'd be surprised.
As for speed, fitness plays a part as well, I don't have my legs like I did early in the season, and even that I'm off from where I'd like to be power wise. I signed up for a power class in January - computrainer style down in DePere on Monday nights. I think I'll learn a lot from it and more importantly get stronger!
I broke my goggles so I've had to wear Kris'. They are pretty nice actually, I'm not in a big rush to replace mine. Helmet wise I'm good - this one is nice and warm, if not hot. I will not need anything warmer. I think when I'm riding singletrack like this I will want to have a helmet on, I can see why people don't wear helmets when just straight cruising on snowmobile trails as it is hard to regulate heat with a helmet. I will think about this helmet though - I may need to drill some new holes in the front to get some airflow, there are a bunch in the back but I'm definitely not venting enough. I could wear my normal mtb helmet with a beanie but to be honest that gets hot too.
Maybe pink is my color:
I ended up with a partial loop which I pulled out of to go put more air in my rear tire, then two full loops after that. The bike was super fun on the singletrack and I think it'll be a real blast later in the season as the snow piles up and smooths out the trail a bit. At least that's what I assume will happen - I guess I'll find out. Snow riding is still new to me and I'm learning a lot. Where I have grip the bike is just like summer, but it's like if I get 6" off course I'm off the packed snow and then it's near falls. I did not have any actual crashes, just dabs where I had to put my foot down. I definitely could see how I could go much much faster than I did as I get more used to it.
I also really appreciate just getting out there, music on, riding away. The world can melt away and I can just be "there" in the zone. This is where I get my balance in life and I feel so much better when I have something like this to even me out. I find myself enjoying group rides but if I ever end up doing >50% of my rides with other people I'd be surprised.
As for speed, fitness plays a part as well, I don't have my legs like I did early in the season, and even that I'm off from where I'd like to be power wise. I signed up for a power class in January - computrainer style down in DePere on Monday nights. I think I'll learn a lot from it and more importantly get stronger!
I broke my goggles so I've had to wear Kris'. They are pretty nice actually, I'm not in a big rush to replace mine. Helmet wise I'm good - this one is nice and warm, if not hot. I will not need anything warmer. I think when I'm riding singletrack like this I will want to have a helmet on, I can see why people don't wear helmets when just straight cruising on snowmobile trails as it is hard to regulate heat with a helmet. I will think about this helmet though - I may need to drill some new holes in the front to get some airflow, there are a bunch in the back but I'm definitely not venting enough. I could wear my normal mtb helmet with a beanie but to be honest that gets hot too.
Maybe pink is my color:
Monday, December 8, 2014
Global Fatbike Day Ride @ Point Beach SP
Fun day Saturday out on the trails with about 80? riders. Just gonna dump pics:
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Frame bag!
I got cracking last night and worked on the frame bag. Took about 3 hours last night to do this stuff. Starting the evening I only had the drive side panel finished:
First thing I did last night was get the non-drive side made. I've decided to do a zipper on that side as well with a map style pocket for thinner things, ya know, like maps, cue sheets, etc.
Next step I got to work on the internal divider from the non-drive side map pocket and the drive side compartment, as well as the horizontal divider that will go above the bottom zipper. That seems like it will work ok. I also added a mesh panel to the drive side panel to go just below the zipper, it is not very tight so it may just end up being a pain, but we will see.
Next up, I cut the strip that goes around the outside, then I sewed it around the drive side first, including velcro at the spots where velcro goes.
Next up was sew the non-drive side on with the divider, then turn it inside out!
Then I fit it on the bike - moment of truth!
So...
How is it, right?
It's good, it will function just fine. I'm not especially happy as I was hoping for perfection, but for model #1 it will do fine. I can see that I did not get the panels to match up exactly evenly across from each other, so my velcro isn't exactly lined up, and there is some bunching/twist in the bag. I think this came from the corners where it was really hard to do them to be honest with the amount of fabric, the thickness/non-flexibility of the fabric, and the slipperiness of it all.
I think going back what I would do is not get quite so sharp in the corners and pay even more attention on when I'm lining things up to ensure I don't have mis-alignment. I don't think I'll take it apart and re-do it because I'm sure this will get the job done for this season or until I try more.
I'll be evaluating the internal mesh pocket, the internal divider, the 3-zipper and other stuff. I'm honestly not sure all these features are needed but I'm glad I tried them. Model #1 will be good to really figure out what I like and don't like.
All-in, I'd say roughly 5-6 hours and $50 of material or less.
Here are links to my other posts w/material lists and first steps:
First panel post
Starting and making zippers
Planning/Materials List
First thing I did last night was get the non-drive side made. I've decided to do a zipper on that side as well with a map style pocket for thinner things, ya know, like maps, cue sheets, etc.
Next step I got to work on the internal divider from the non-drive side map pocket and the drive side compartment, as well as the horizontal divider that will go above the bottom zipper. That seems like it will work ok. I also added a mesh panel to the drive side panel to go just below the zipper, it is not very tight so it may just end up being a pain, but we will see.
Then I fit it on the bike - moment of truth!
So...
How is it, right?
It's good, it will function just fine. I'm not especially happy as I was hoping for perfection, but for model #1 it will do fine. I can see that I did not get the panels to match up exactly evenly across from each other, so my velcro isn't exactly lined up, and there is some bunching/twist in the bag. I think this came from the corners where it was really hard to do them to be honest with the amount of fabric, the thickness/non-flexibility of the fabric, and the slipperiness of it all.
I think going back what I would do is not get quite so sharp in the corners and pay even more attention on when I'm lining things up to ensure I don't have mis-alignment. I don't think I'll take it apart and re-do it because I'm sure this will get the job done for this season or until I try more.
I'll be evaluating the internal mesh pocket, the internal divider, the 3-zipper and other stuff. I'm honestly not sure all these features are needed but I'm glad I tried them. Model #1 will be good to really figure out what I like and don't like.
All-in, I'd say roughly 5-6 hours and $50 of material or less.
Here are links to my other posts w/material lists and first steps:
First panel post
Starting and making zippers
Planning/Materials List
Friday, October 31, 2014
Exploring town
Wednesday I went out for a quick ride after work, just to get out and do something. I took the Yampa, rode the mountain bay trail, then when that hit the end I just stayed on the tracks. Kind of fun to just see where I ended up for an hour of riding.
Ended up near a fishing spot on Duck Creek, guys were catching some perch, then I also went around and rode back up the sidewalk on Velp. No sense on riding on the street without lights at dusk.
Duck Creek should be good for riding this winter, we will see but I think there is enough snowmobile traffic to groom it and it should be fun to see where I can get to.
Ended up near a fishing spot on Duck Creek, guys were catching some perch, then I also went around and rode back up the sidewalk on Velp. No sense on riding on the street without lights at dusk.
Duck Creek should be good for riding this winter, we will see but I think there is enough snowmobile traffic to groom it and it should be fun to see where I can get to.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Saturday's Ride - Kewaunee Cluster Huck
Just catching up on posts - I rode a big 30+ person group ride in Kewaunee, WI to learn the trails over there. They called it the Cluster Huck. It was a great time.
We started off on the trails at Ryan Park, they were the ones I did the fatbike race on and were in great shape. I like those trails more and more, and they are more challenging than what is around Green Bay. Short loop though, only 3-4mi I think.
The second loop was maybe called riverview? park? It was trails around some moto trails, they were good but very tight and did not flow well. I'm told if I ride there more I'll like it more but I didn't leave feeling like I was excited to head back there again.
Third was the trails at the ski hill - these were real fun with lots of uphill and then also lots of fun downhill sections. Flow was very good to me on these trails and lots of fun. Not so much crazy tight stuff.
We rode from trail to trail for something around 16mi total. I rode them all on the Yampa, it was great as usual. I really like the bike a lot and it's nice and fast. I however am NOT nice and fast, I was pretty slow and tired for a lot of the day compared to where I'd like to be. Not so much on any technical skills this time but my gas tank is very small currently and my legs get tired fast. I'm a long way off from the endurance I had back in June when I did the Lutsen 99er.
We started off on the trails at Ryan Park, they were the ones I did the fatbike race on and were in great shape. I like those trails more and more, and they are more challenging than what is around Green Bay. Short loop though, only 3-4mi I think.
The second loop was maybe called riverview? park? It was trails around some moto trails, they were good but very tight and did not flow well. I'm told if I ride there more I'll like it more but I didn't leave feeling like I was excited to head back there again.
Third was the trails at the ski hill - these were real fun with lots of uphill and then also lots of fun downhill sections. Flow was very good to me on these trails and lots of fun. Not so much crazy tight stuff.
We rode from trail to trail for something around 16mi total. I rode them all on the Yampa, it was great as usual. I really like the bike a lot and it's nice and fast. I however am NOT nice and fast, I was pretty slow and tired for a lot of the day compared to where I'd like to be. Not so much on any technical skills this time but my gas tank is very small currently and my legs get tired fast. I'm a long way off from the endurance I had back in June when I did the Lutsen 99er.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Baird after work
Got a chance to ride tonight at Baird after work, went well. I brought the Scalpel. It felt weird after riding the yampa so much lately. Squishy, comfortable, and light. It's the same weight basically as the yampa believe it or not but it rides so different.
I felt pretty awful - not sure if I'm getting sick or what, but I felt super flat. I didn't make it up a lot of the hills I normally get up fine. Actually I can't remember the last time I didn't make it up a hill there. I think there were 2-3 I walked on tonight. Blasting the downhills is way more fun on the scalpel though. It's so fun and fast. Part of my issue could be the 1x10 setup with the 32x36, it was just a hair high for the amount of work I've been doing lately on the bike, I felt like I was just a hair low on cadence for smooth climbing. Time to work my legs out more, that is probably a better solution than changing gearing or switching back to 2x.
I felt pretty awful - not sure if I'm getting sick or what, but I felt super flat. I didn't make it up a lot of the hills I normally get up fine. Actually I can't remember the last time I didn't make it up a hill there. I think there were 2-3 I walked on tonight. Blasting the downhills is way more fun on the scalpel though. It's so fun and fast. Part of my issue could be the 1x10 setup with the 32x36, it was just a hair high for the amount of work I've been doing lately on the bike, I felt like I was just a hair low on cadence for smooth climbing. Time to work my legs out more, that is probably a better solution than changing gearing or switching back to 2x.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
I'm 36.
Yesterday I turned 36. Normal day for the most part, went to work then decided on a half day. I would've really loved to just head home and do "nothing" for the rest of the day but with a 0,2, and 4 year old at home that does not really happen ever. Second best was to head out on the fatty for a ride even though the weather was not so good.
It was in the low 50's and wet, not actively raining but it's been a wet week. Due to that I decided on Reforestation Camp as those trails dry out the best. Overall really they weren't awful, just a lot of puddles here and there. Not so muddy as much as just dirty. In other words, the bike ran fine, did not accumulate mud as much as just got wet with a fine layer of sand. When I'd stop riding there would be a puddle under it from water dripping off. Lots of leaves down as well which mean lots of slippery situations with leaves + slick + acorns. The acorns were interesting, I could hear them popping under my tires the whole ride pretty much.
I'm real excited to get the bike out in snow. Having not ridden in snow on a fatbike before it should be a lot of fun, I am curious what to expect from available traction, handling, etc. I know when the trails are packed it should be a super fun, smooth, fast ride. When they're not, it may just be a lot of work. I'm hoping the 5" tires I've got will help a ton with ability to float and run low pressures as needed. I'm still learning what works well on the singletrack and I can say somewhere between 8-10 seems ideal for the knards and my style. Lower seems too floppy? and higher seems too bouncy.
It was fun to get out in the afternoon even if the ride wasn't great from a speed or fun standpoint. The leaves are still pretty even when it's wet and the truth is biking is a great chance for me to get some time on my own to clear my head.
After the ride, went home, had my birthday meal of pizza and a great ice cream cake that Kris made. She is awesome, I can't say that enough.
It was in the low 50's and wet, not actively raining but it's been a wet week. Due to that I decided on Reforestation Camp as those trails dry out the best. Overall really they weren't awful, just a lot of puddles here and there. Not so muddy as much as just dirty. In other words, the bike ran fine, did not accumulate mud as much as just got wet with a fine layer of sand. When I'd stop riding there would be a puddle under it from water dripping off. Lots of leaves down as well which mean lots of slippery situations with leaves + slick + acorns. The acorns were interesting, I could hear them popping under my tires the whole ride pretty much.
I'm real excited to get the bike out in snow. Having not ridden in snow on a fatbike before it should be a lot of fun, I am curious what to expect from available traction, handling, etc. I know when the trails are packed it should be a super fun, smooth, fast ride. When they're not, it may just be a lot of work. I'm hoping the 5" tires I've got will help a ton with ability to float and run low pressures as needed. I'm still learning what works well on the singletrack and I can say somewhere between 8-10 seems ideal for the knards and my style. Lower seems too floppy? and higher seems too bouncy.
It was fun to get out in the afternoon even if the ride wasn't great from a speed or fun standpoint. The leaves are still pretty even when it's wet and the truth is biking is a great chance for me to get some time on my own to clear my head.
After the ride, went home, had my birthday meal of pizza and a great ice cream cake that Kris made. She is awesome, I can't say that enough.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Great weekend in Duluth
So with little man being about 10 weeks old now the two older kids have had a long time with not much besides being around the house. Kris hasn't gotten much of a break either. I figured I'd solve that by taking the two older kids up to Duluth to visit my parents for the weekend. That meant driving about 6hrs to/from Duluth with them for a quick weekend trip.
I did that Friday night, got in about 10pm. It was a long, tiring drive with two little ones asking if we're there yet and needing snacks every 2 minutes. Saturday was fun. The kids woke up very early, woke Grandpa and Grandma up, got some quick breakfast, and checked out the tree fort. It's looking pretty good, Grandpa has been hard at work. He was working at Bentleyville both Sat and Sun from 8-4 so he took off in the morning. Grandma was around, then she had a haircut. That left the kids and I for a morning of playing at the lake, playing outside, going to the tree fort again. Very busy morning for them and they were tired for sure by the time Grandma came back for lunch.
After lunch, I got to leave the kids with Grandma and do a bit of mountain biking. Finally in all my trips to Duluth I had great weather for a ride. I decided on going to Brewer Hill and Piedmont, neither I'd ridden before. I think I've tried to ride there at least 10x but have gotten rained out every single time.
I loved the trails, they were super fun and nice and challenging. I had brought the fatbike so while it's fun I quickly wished I'd have brought the scalpel instead. Brewer Hill was cool but there were a lot of spots where suspension would've been very appreciated. Piedmont was actually better for me, maybe the trails are just more ridden in, but there were a lot more places I could get flow on the bike and roll through/over stuff easily. Very fun crushing along the trails a bit and really beautiful views and leaves.
After the mtb trails I went down to canal park and rode the fatty a bit on the beach of Park Point. I had fun doing that, my first real time riding on anything except singletrack on the fatty. A bit of a taste of what to expect for winter I suppose. It was fun riding but after already running the trails up the hill I didn't go too long, I think I did just under 9 miles all said and done. Riding the beach is pretty calming, beautiful, etc. I have to say though going back I should've done more at Brewer or Piedmont rather than done the beach, it was more fun on the trails.
After I went to Fitgers and filled a growler and that was about it. Sunday we visited great grandma and then grabbed lunch, then headed home. Fun weekend but I was pretty spent when I got home.
All of these pics are from my new iphone and uploaded via instagram, pretty impressed with the phone/camera so far.
I did that Friday night, got in about 10pm. It was a long, tiring drive with two little ones asking if we're there yet and needing snacks every 2 minutes. Saturday was fun. The kids woke up very early, woke Grandpa and Grandma up, got some quick breakfast, and checked out the tree fort. It's looking pretty good, Grandpa has been hard at work. He was working at Bentleyville both Sat and Sun from 8-4 so he took off in the morning. Grandma was around, then she had a haircut. That left the kids and I for a morning of playing at the lake, playing outside, going to the tree fort again. Very busy morning for them and they were tired for sure by the time Grandma came back for lunch.
After lunch, I got to leave the kids with Grandma and do a bit of mountain biking. Finally in all my trips to Duluth I had great weather for a ride. I decided on going to Brewer Hill and Piedmont, neither I'd ridden before. I think I've tried to ride there at least 10x but have gotten rained out every single time.
I loved the trails, they were super fun and nice and challenging. I had brought the fatbike so while it's fun I quickly wished I'd have brought the scalpel instead. Brewer Hill was cool but there were a lot of spots where suspension would've been very appreciated. Piedmont was actually better for me, maybe the trails are just more ridden in, but there were a lot more places I could get flow on the bike and roll through/over stuff easily. Very fun crushing along the trails a bit and really beautiful views and leaves.
After the mtb trails I went down to canal park and rode the fatty a bit on the beach of Park Point. I had fun doing that, my first real time riding on anything except singletrack on the fatty. A bit of a taste of what to expect for winter I suppose. It was fun riding but after already running the trails up the hill I didn't go too long, I think I did just under 9 miles all said and done. Riding the beach is pretty calming, beautiful, etc. I have to say though going back I should've done more at Brewer or Piedmont rather than done the beach, it was more fun on the trails.
After I went to Fitgers and filled a growler and that was about it. Sunday we visited great grandma and then grabbed lunch, then headed home. Fun weekend but I was pretty spent when I got home.
All of these pics are from my new iphone and uploaded via instagram, pretty impressed with the phone/camera so far.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Another flat on the fatty
Got out for what I called a "therapy" ride yesterday, rode from downtown GB to Baird Creek, did a loop and back. I ended up as I was on the east side flatting my rear tire again on the Yampa. Sucked.
I'm not sure what the issue is yet, whether it's the hole I got in the WEMS race just resurfacing again, or if it's a new hole. Either way, flats suck and I may be a bit spoiled from not having to deal with tubes on the scalpel for a long time. I got my spare tube in after not being able to tell where the hole was, pumped up and rolled the rest of the trail and back. The trails are in great shape, really fun except for the weeds and stuff that rip your arms up.
I did a couple segments faster than I ever have, even on the scalpel. I think I'm learning to adapt to the yampa and use all the grip, that is nice.
After the ride, I headed home, did dinner and went to bed. It felt good to have gotten out. A great chance to simply tune out everything else and get some time to destress myself.
I'm not sure what the issue is yet, whether it's the hole I got in the WEMS race just resurfacing again, or if it's a new hole. Either way, flats suck and I may be a bit spoiled from not having to deal with tubes on the scalpel for a long time. I got my spare tube in after not being able to tell where the hole was, pumped up and rolled the rest of the trail and back. The trails are in great shape, really fun except for the weeds and stuff that rip your arms up.
I did a couple segments faster than I ever have, even on the scalpel. I think I'm learning to adapt to the yampa and use all the grip, that is nice.
After the ride, I headed home, did dinner and went to bed. It felt good to have gotten out. A great chance to simply tune out everything else and get some time to destress myself.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
WEMS Race @ Kewaunee, Fatbike Duo 6hr
So, this weekend was a rain date for the Marquette trip, which again didn't pan out due to rain up there. It reminds me of Duluth where if you head up expecting good weather you're going to have issues. Anyway, the backup plan was to head to the southern kettles, I wanted to do it but with the timing of when we'd get there I was going to end up needing to be on a conference call for the first 1.5hrs of riding time. That didn't work out and the day ended up being really busy Friday anyway so it's probably better I didn't slow the guys down.
In exchange/trade for the days riding, I decided to do the fatbike race at the WEMS Buckthorn Buster. I've not been training much but figured heading out and riding the fatbike was a good way to use a day either way. I planned on the 6hr but threw a post up on FB asking for a duo partner. Cole ended up pairing up with me, that was great in two ways - one is I would've suffered really badly with a solo 6hr, and 2nd Cole is was fast so he carried me a lot.
The race was fun, the course was slippery from the rain we've had. It didn't rain on the day of the race, at least during ours but the turnout was low so the course was sloppy. I ran the first lap, I was able pretty quickly to see that I was not going to keep up with the fastest guys - a combination of overall fitness and then my handling skills and learning the fatbike were bit. I did my first lap then passed off to Cole. On the 2nd lap I pushed harder but came in after and felt pretty awful. I got a chance to relax and catch my breath, then get ready to roll again. The 3rd lap felt good, but I ended up flatting about 3/4 of the way through. Flat enough I couldn't just run to the end, so I fixed it on course. That took us out of any contention for 1st or 2nd, but 3rd was ours (there were only 3 teams). The 4th lap I did better, put together what felt like a much better lap and turned out to be pretty solid. I felt much better on the bike as the time went on, focusing more on carrying momentum through corners than braking in and hammering out of them. I was disappointed to be so far off the pace but I know I'm not too fast yet and I know I haven't trained much lately.
In exchange/trade for the days riding, I decided to do the fatbike race at the WEMS Buckthorn Buster. I've not been training much but figured heading out and riding the fatbike was a good way to use a day either way. I planned on the 6hr but threw a post up on FB asking for a duo partner. Cole ended up pairing up with me, that was great in two ways - one is I would've suffered really badly with a solo 6hr, and 2nd Cole is was fast so he carried me a lot.
The race was fun, the course was slippery from the rain we've had. It didn't rain on the day of the race, at least during ours but the turnout was low so the course was sloppy. I ran the first lap, I was able pretty quickly to see that I was not going to keep up with the fastest guys - a combination of overall fitness and then my handling skills and learning the fatbike were bit. I did my first lap then passed off to Cole. On the 2nd lap I pushed harder but came in after and felt pretty awful. I got a chance to relax and catch my breath, then get ready to roll again. The 3rd lap felt good, but I ended up flatting about 3/4 of the way through. Flat enough I couldn't just run to the end, so I fixed it on course. That took us out of any contention for 1st or 2nd, but 3rd was ours (there were only 3 teams). The 4th lap I did better, put together what felt like a much better lap and turned out to be pretty solid. I felt much better on the bike as the time went on, focusing more on carrying momentum through corners than braking in and hammering out of them. I was disappointed to be so far off the pace but I know I'm not too fast yet and I know I haven't trained much lately.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
No more front derailleur!
So, I've now finally installed the narrow wide chainring up front on the scalpel, switching it to a 1x10. It's a 32t, I've got 11-36 in the back. Got a chance to ride it this weekend and it was good, just like I'd expected. I never really shifted out of my big ring on my local trails anyway so while I'm now at 32t vs 38t before it should be pretty workable most places.
I did some cross training stuff, a sparticus workout I got online Saturday morning. That pretty much shredded my legs, then rode on Monday morning. I underestimated how sore I was from the workout and am paying for it now. The good news is that I'll get stronger, the bad news is that it hurts.
I've been getting some pretty solid pedal strikes lately, found some wood in the pedal after the last ride and snapped a pic.
I did some cross training stuff, a sparticus workout I got online Saturday morning. That pretty much shredded my legs, then rode on Monday morning. I underestimated how sore I was from the workout and am paying for it now. The good news is that I'll get stronger, the bad news is that it hurts.
I've been getting some pretty solid pedal strikes lately, found some wood in the pedal after the last ride and snapped a pic.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Bike storage in the basement
It's been a slow riding week, not much to talk about. Evan is 4 weeks old now and doing fine, but he's sure switched our schedules on their heads.
I've been working a bit on my bike shop, thought I'd snap a picture of how far I got the bike storage over the weekend. It took a trip to Home Depot with Noah and some putzing, but I've got something usable. What I did was buy some cheap bullhorn bars from ebay, about $13/ea, and some really cheap stems, $3/ea. Put them together and I had something that can hold the bikes by the frames. Sure, I could've gone with a pre-made stand but not as fun and not as cool.
My only mistake so far is using pvc for the vertical - I need to replace that with some better pipe/tube that is more sturdy. That will be easy though and will make the whole stand pretty legit. Here's my man Noah with his measuring tape.
I've been working a bit on my bike shop, thought I'd snap a picture of how far I got the bike storage over the weekend. It took a trip to Home Depot with Noah and some putzing, but I've got something usable. What I did was buy some cheap bullhorn bars from ebay, about $13/ea, and some really cheap stems, $3/ea. Put them together and I had something that can hold the bikes by the frames. Sure, I could've gone with a pre-made stand but not as fun and not as cool.
My only mistake so far is using pvc for the vertical - I need to replace that with some better pipe/tube that is more sturdy. That will be easy though and will make the whole stand pretty legit. Here's my man Noah with his measuring tape.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Friday half day Yampa ride
So this turned out to be a fairly busy weekend. Friday I ended up planning to take a 1/2 day of work. It started as planning to ride in the morning, then planning on riding in the afternoon, then leaving work early, then finally just decided to take a 1/2 day. This meant the morning was spent looking out the window making sure my bike was still there. It turns out it actually WAS still there and was waiting for me to take a ride.
So, I headed home, took Aly to a quick doctor appointment, then went out riding. I headed to the reforestation camp to run those trails. The WORS series is in town this weekend so I wanted to pre-ride and decide if I'd end up doing the race. I didn't end up doing the race, waffled back and forth quite a bit, but decided on family time and taking Noah (4) and Aly (2) to the kids race instead. They had a blast, it was really short but they got WORS number plates and medals so they were happy enough.
My ride Friday was good, the Yampa is excellent. I'm playing around with tire pressures. I'd done one ride at 9psi so I thought I should try higher. I did a bit at 14 and a bit at 12. I prefered 12, less of a beating. I think I'll end up liking somewhere closer to 9-10 for singletrack. The knards self-steer a bit when they're that low but it's grippier and smoother, just maybe give up a bit of speed on the faster rolling parts. We'll see.
I took a lot of breaks, it was hot and I wasn't really worried about speed. I rode 12.5mi or so in about an hour and a half I'd say. Also took some time to reflect on how old my shoes are. I think they're about 14 years old and just don't seem to want to die... yet.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Aly's riding a bike
So, this isn't about me riding but I'm proud. My daughter Aly who is 2yrs 8mos is now riding a pedal bike. She started on the strider, now is pretty much able to bike on her own, at least for 3-4 houses down the street.
It's been fun to watch her learn compared to Noah. Noah started a bit later and was on 100% gravel on the strider. Much tougher. I remember his first bike ride and it was actually on an atv trail. He has been biking all over now since then.
Aly started on gravel (very roughly) early last year basically just walking with the strider inbetween her legs at a year and a half, but then now as we've moved to Green Bay she's on pavement. She's become great on the strider and as Noah moved to his 16" bike Aly got some pink grips and streamers for his old bike and has been trying since. She didn't quite take off on it right away like Noah did but i'd say after about a month now we're rockin on the bike. Enough so that I can almost ride along with her and Noah. I can ride along if she's on the strider, but not on the pedal bike yet.
Fun stuff.
It's been fun to watch her learn compared to Noah. Noah started a bit later and was on 100% gravel on the strider. Much tougher. I remember his first bike ride and it was actually on an atv trail. He has been biking all over now since then.
Aly started on gravel (very roughly) early last year basically just walking with the strider inbetween her legs at a year and a half, but then now as we've moved to Green Bay she's on pavement. She's become great on the strider and as Noah moved to his 16" bike Aly got some pink grips and streamers for his old bike and has been trying since. She didn't quite take off on it right away like Noah did but i'd say after about a month now we're rockin on the bike. Enough so that I can almost ride along with her and Noah. I can ride along if she's on the strider, but not on the pedal bike yet.
Fun stuff.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Back on the Scalpel
Good ride this morning before work, did the same loop as Wednesday. Here's a shot from near the finish.Fun to get back on the "fast" bike and ride. I don't feel at my best, not sure if it's because it's like 5 am and I haven't eaten/warmed up when I ride that early, or maybe it's the time off the bike since the 100. Either way, I feel a bit rough. I've decided to work on speed this second half of the season where I can and I'm happy to say that I did a new PR on the loop, about 2min faster than my prior PR from earlier in the season. I haven't had a full good lap yet and I know I can do a lot of things better to get faster.
It's not just about speed, I have to remember that and just have fun. I want to be faster, no doubt about that, but I think I'd have a more fun ride if I just relax and maybe focus on a few things per ride rather than focusing on speed over a 10mi loop. That can be pretty deceiving, considering I could just hammer harder on the easy stuff, or maybe I'm really faster on the hard stuff. Anyhow, I have a couple parts of the trail that I want to drop a minute or two off of my times through them, I think that will be the focus now for a bit.
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