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.

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.

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.

Hot lap, sick, then another lap

Last week Wednesday I finally got the bike out on dirt singletrack.  It felt like it's been just too long!

I took the fatbike as my scalpel needed some love. I went to the Reforestation Camp, it always dries out faster than Baird's and it's a good place to run some baseline laps and get out there.  It helps that it's only 10min from my house vs. 20min for Baird's.

Anyhow, the fatbike has always been and is fun for singletrack and it was fun to get out with the tubeless setup on summer tires on the bike.  I ended up setting my fastest lap time for the green loop that I've done ever.  I was kind of surprised as I didn't think I was really going fast enough to do that.  As I got further into the ride though I knew it was a quicker lap than most I run so I tried to keep the pace up.  It was a 54:3x lap which is good but my goal I think for this year is to get <50min.  I think that's achievable but I need to really focus to do that.  It is good to have a goal.

To get the Scalpel ready, I had to remount tires with new Stan's.  I also took the chance to change out my cassette setup.  Late last year I went to 1x10 with a 32t front ring and a 11-36 in the rear.  I upgraded now so I've got a 42t bailout gear and added a 16t inbetween the 13 and 19 (I think).  The goal there is to extend the cassette range a bit.  After riding the XX1 setup all winter on the fatbike I knew I wanted more range than what I had.

So, went out yesterday for the first ride I've done in a long time on the Scalpel.  It's so different from the fully rigid fatbike and has major advantages in some areas, but at the same time does not have advantages in others.  For these local trails the full suspension is a waste, I can say I think the fastest I'd be is on a hardtail 29er with something like a 80-100mm front fork.  When riding the fatbike I feel the bumps more (they aren't brutal) but any time the trail is rough downhill with turns I feel I give up a lot of speed.  Those are the faster ones on the scalpel but it's hard to beat efficiency of a full rigid setup and the grip of the fatbike is great.

My lap yesterday was only about 25 sec slower than my lap last week.  I was not really trying to be fast at the start of the lap so it was surprising to be in that range.  I for sure am feeling the benefits of riding the fatbike all winter and also the power class.  My legs feel significantly stronger than they did last year.

Fat Bike Birkie Report

Again I'm a bit delinquent for writing any sort of recap of the race I did, this time though I'm less than a week behind.  It's been busy this week with a work trip to Chicago for some training.

The birkie was awesome.  I knew from the day I got my fatbike, or even before I'd gotten my fatbike that I was 100% for sure doing this race, no matter what it took.  I've skiied the birkie a couple times and I wanted to get back on the trail.  For the people reading this, the race is similar but not 100% the same.  The long race (47k) races out to OO on the Birkie trail then turns around and heads back to Telemark on the Birkie Classic Trail.  The first thing you figure out is how relentless the hills are, it was very fun and very tough.

I have been training pretty hard with my power class but not been able to do a ton of other riding overall, so I knew I could push hard but was not expecting anything great.  I was hoping for <3hrs but thought if I had a "good" race I could do 2:45 or less based on how other things have gone.

I lined up and started further up in the start grid than I would've in the past, I was towards the back of the "going for it" grid which was supposed to be 2:15-2:45.  Figured I'd want to be up there to avoid getting stuck behind people aiming for slower times.  I think where I lined up ended up being pretty good though I did not finish in <2:45.

The race was a blur of down one hill then up the next.  Shift up 5 gears to get momentum down then try to hammer up the next hill, all while trying to not blow up.  I so far this year have decided that while I'll use HR for training I am not going to pay attention to it while racing and just go on "feel".  I don't want to artificially slow down because of a HR number flashing at me on the gps.  I do still wear it because I like seeing what zones I was able to maintain and for how long.

I started out feeling pretty good, was doing gels and water here and there.  I was not feeling incredibly strong though.  About halfway through the race I ended up pacing fairly well with Ross from my team, that was fun to ride with him as I don't think we've ever ridden together before.

Race went fine, just pushing, eating gel, drinking water, but I ended up cramping pretty badly.  Looking back I don't think I was getting enough hydration during the race.  Going up steep prolonged hills was getting very painful and when I finally got off to walk up one about 5mi from the finish my left leg locked up.  I got back on the bike at the top but the next couple miles were really bad until the cramps went away.  From there I just tried to stay on the bike at high cadence, the cramps went away but I was not able to push any harder as the cramps returned then.

Course wise I think next year I could easily run a 4" tire for less rotating weight, it was nice and firm and even with warm conditions it was not bad.  I just got in the rut and rode out as much as I could there as the track was nicely packed down and faster than if you were out of the rut.

Finish wise, I got in at 2:55, less than my goal but not as good as I'd really hoped I could do.  I know there is some good room to improve for next year.  It was fun to see/hang with the Broken Spoke guys before/after a bit but I headed home just about immediately so I could make it in time to see the kids before bed (I did make it).

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.

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.

Another ride at Baird

Did 3hrs today at Baird.  Prepping for the 906 Polar Roll in Marquette in 2 weeks.  I needed to get out and really ride for a while, reasonably hard without stopping much.  I did that pretty well.  I figured doing singletrack for 3hrs will be better training than just riding on something flat - rail trail, river, etc.

Trails were in great shape, we could definitely use more snow but they are good.  It is nice to have the studs (I've mentioned that before) and the bike handles really well.  I was happy to get 25mi in.  The race coming up is 35 miles but I'm not too worried about that, in reading the course description where there is some singletrack (maybe half?) there is enough snowmobile trail/road that the miles on average should be doable.  Not looking to break any records but looking forward to pushing hard.

If you're gonna shoot with the gopro, aim it right!

I got out for a fantastic ride on Saturday at Baird.  Two full laps, it was great and the trails were in great shape.  Snow everywhere but nice and grippy for the most part.  The dillingers helped a lot and I'm very glad I got the studded version.

I shot the first lap with the gopro, I figured why not use it.  Used the chest harness, but when I went to watch it last night I saw I had it aimed too low.  It is a great view of the trail 5' in front of the bike but too much too close and not enough to see the upcoming trail, making it unwatchable.  Guess I'll just have to do it again sometime!

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.

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:

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.

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

Finally some riding in the snow!

Rode last night with a group from the broken spoke team.  We did an urban ride in downtown GB, headed on the east river trail down towards (and to) De Pere.  It was rad rad rad.

Here's a pic George shot of the group of us (minus him):

And one we all took but my version of the bikes sitting at the pumps in De Pere to prove we were there.

Riding on the fattie was awesome and it was a beautiful snowy night.  Just about 30 degrees so not cold at all, felt awesome really.

Busy work week, tubeless Dillinger 5's

I have had a busy work week this week with travel.  I always put good plans in place to bring workout stuff but then struggle to actually do it.  By the time there are dinners, meetings, and nights in the hotel where I can sleep kid-free it doesn't happen.  Bummed I didn't take the opportunity to work out when I have less external items.

I got home yesterday and finished up mounting the Dillinger 5's tubeless.  They are going to be fantastic.  I'd done the front one on Sunday and it was still holding pressure from Sunday (left it at 9, it was 6).  I am not sure it's 100% yet but we'll see if it holds.  Losing only 3psi in a week with no riding is probably fine.  I'm hoping that over time the sealant takes care of the rest.

What I did was gorilla tape like the youtube video here:




I did 4oz of sealant in the front, but after having a bit of issue there I did 6oz in the rear.  I'd rather over-do it than under.  Thinking about running 2oz in a normal 29er tire, doing 6oz in these giant tires seems like not that much. If the front doesn't get steady at a pressure I may pull the valve and add a bit more.

Mounted up the Dillinger 5's

These things are gonna be sweet!!!

Friday's half day ride

I took a half day Friday to go ride one last time at the camp before it closes. It was fun to get out there even though weather wasn't awesome.  I guess it wasn't bad either, could've been wetter!

I got another damn flat, thank goodness I was within about 25 yards of the truck so I made it back.  I'm really happy I didn't get it out further on the trail, I hadn't brought any spares with me so I guess I lucked out. 

I'm not going to remount the Knard, I'm going to put the Dillinger 5's on and getting them set up tubeless.  I can say for sure once I put the knards back on next summer I'll be setting them up tubeless as well.  So over flat tires - I have ridden 1500+mi on my Scalpel tubeless and only one or two times I've burped, but in 115mi on the Yampa now I've had 3 flats.  Suck.

This is my favorite section of the trails out there at the camp:

An artsy fartsy shot:

And a shot down the trail from that bridge.  I got the flat right after stopping here.

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.

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.