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 mountain bike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mountain bike. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2016
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
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.
Friday, April 24, 2015
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
First Ride on the Yampa
Finally got out on the Yampa this morning for a ride. Sorry about the pic, I did not realize it was so bad.
Didn't break any speed records, between lack of recent riding and learning the new bike. It grips awesome in corners but I'm not consistent with it yet - I have to learn to use the grip. It didn't help that on one of my first 50 corners I leaned hard into a berm which proceeded to completely blow away on me (unpacked sand), it was dark and I didn't realize it was not solid. First crash for the yampa is out of the way, good news is my body shielded the bike from any damage.
Kind of a bummer this morning is riding this early now needs lights (started this ride at 5:45am). It was just too dark in the woods to not have them, even by when I was done it was still pretty dark in the dense spots and the lights helped. I'm glad I have a nice light. I'll write more about it sometime but it's a Light & Motion and it's rad.
The bike is good - definitely way faster and easier to manage than the heavier fattie I tried a couple weeks ago. It's stiff but that is completely negated by the give in the tires, kind of an interesting feel. I kept having the front wheel further out on corners than I wanted to, need to adjust the riding style - turn-in seems to be where I'm going to have to learn. Also, I got a lot of pedal strikes, ranging from just barely to hitting hard enough to unclip my shoe. In the snow this won't be a problem, now on singletrack it's a minor issue I'll have to get used to. I can say, I didn't miss it having suspension except for a couple spots, the tires suck up plenty of small stuff and keep traction really well. I still need to play with pressures but I ran 8.5psi for this ride.
Didn't break any speed records, between lack of recent riding and learning the new bike. It grips awesome in corners but I'm not consistent with it yet - I have to learn to use the grip. It didn't help that on one of my first 50 corners I leaned hard into a berm which proceeded to completely blow away on me (unpacked sand), it was dark and I didn't realize it was not solid. First crash for the yampa is out of the way, good news is my body shielded the bike from any damage.
Kind of a bummer this morning is riding this early now needs lights (started this ride at 5:45am). It was just too dark in the woods to not have them, even by when I was done it was still pretty dark in the dense spots and the lights helped. I'm glad I have a nice light. I'll write more about it sometime but it's a Light & Motion and it's rad.
The bike is good - definitely way faster and easier to manage than the heavier fattie I tried a couple weeks ago. It's stiff but that is completely negated by the give in the tires, kind of an interesting feel. I kept having the front wheel further out on corners than I wanted to, need to adjust the riding style - turn-in seems to be where I'm going to have to learn. Also, I got a lot of pedal strikes, ranging from just barely to hitting hard enough to unclip my shoe. In the snow this won't be a problem, now on singletrack it's a minor issue I'll have to get used to. I can say, I didn't miss it having suspension except for a couple spots, the tires suck up plenty of small stuff and keep traction really well. I still need to play with pressures but I ran 8.5psi for this ride.
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