I've got some parts coming for the new ECR, I'm pretty excited about that. I should have this thing ready to go by the first week in February. Woop!
I've been doing some pretty boring rides just to help alleviate the cabin fever. I don't want to drive somewhere to ride so I've just been riding around Maple Grove, which is fine but it has become far too familiar. I've been trying to do some exploring but with all the fresh powder and considering I am the only person out here riding it seems, I get about 10 miles in before I am dog tired.
I've been doing the Sunday Funday fat bike ride but hardly anyone shows up so I don't know if I will continue to do it for much longer. The whole idea is for it to be a group ride and when it is just myself and one other, well I could do that almost any day. To be fair I have not been pushing it super hard either. I will see how things go in the next few weeks. If they continue how they have, I may throw in the towel.
In other news, I'm planning some fun bike trips for this year. First is a four day weekend at the Maah Daah Hey trail in North Dakota. Probably around May, assuming spring comes when it is supposed to. The second is a tour starting in Washington and ending in Idaho. Planning on starting in Mount Vernon WA and traveling to Sandpoint ID, traveling through the Northern Cascade Mountains. I am pretty stoked to do a real tour instead of these two or three day trips I've been doing. I also plan on doing some more of those this year as well, in preparation for the big one!
That is all I got for now. Take care, stay warm and safe.
A two wheeled biography.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Good bye to an old friend.
I've decommissioned my Surly Cross Check. I tore it down and it is just sitting there in pieces. I'm slowly selling them off, bit by bit. It was a tough choice but I've been thinking long and hard about what I like in a bike and there are a few things that consistently come to mind. I like disc brakes. In most situations rim brakes work just fine, but there are those handful of times where you get yourself into a situation where you just wish you had disc brakes. The other is big tires. The more I ride the less I care how much my bike weighs. I like fat tires. Mountain bikes make me happy, you can pretty much get what ever you want done on a mountain bike. Also, for a commuting / touring bike I really turned the Cross Check into a sporty little thing, which was silly. So keeping all those things in mind I plan to build up a Surly ECR. I've got most of it planned out right now but I don't need to sweat the small stuff just yet, until I sell the rest of the stuff. I will post updated as it gets built.
I suspect the ECR will be a wonderful bike. I've read some really good things about it and I am pretty excited. The geometry of the frame is a little less upright than the Ogre, which I was originally looking at, and a little less aggressive than the Krampus. It has the ability to accommodate big ass tires and rims, which I also like. For the wheel sets I am planning on using the Velocity Dually rims, which are 40 mm wide and about 300 grams less each than the rabbit hole from Surly. They can also be set up tubeless because they are a double wall rim, which the rabbit hole is not. I'm going to go ahead and get a Schmidt generator hub as well. I want this thing to be a true touring/commuting machine and I think the hub will help out with that tremendously. I'll cross the bridge about what tires I want to use when I get there.
As far as components I am thinking of just going straight Shimano SLX. It is not super expensive and it works well. That is all I really need. Beyond that I'm thinking BB7 for the brakes and the rest of the stuff will be improvised. I will use my seat post and Brooks saddle from the Cross Check on the new ECR, a little piece of the old for the new.
While I will miss my old friend, I don't regret anything. We had some good times together and I hope to find it a good home.
I don't usually get way, way off topic but I do have something non-bike related I would like to share with you. I love bears, for my own reasons they are very special to me. There is a man named Casey Anderson who runs a bear sanctuary in Montana for bears found in the wild who are injured or lost. He spends a lot of his own money keeping this place running but it mostly operates off of donations. Recently one of the bears, a 3 year old named Lucy, has fallen ill. They have gotten her checked out and there is nothing wrong after a full physical and blood test. They are trying to get a scan done to see if there is anything else they can find, though this procedure is not cheap. They are asking for donations to help save this beautiful young lady. You can check out the donation page here. Please take a look and if you have $5 to spare, toss it in the bucket. Thanks for reading!
I suspect the ECR will be a wonderful bike. I've read some really good things about it and I am pretty excited. The geometry of the frame is a little less upright than the Ogre, which I was originally looking at, and a little less aggressive than the Krampus. It has the ability to accommodate big ass tires and rims, which I also like. For the wheel sets I am planning on using the Velocity Dually rims, which are 40 mm wide and about 300 grams less each than the rabbit hole from Surly. They can also be set up tubeless because they are a double wall rim, which the rabbit hole is not. I'm going to go ahead and get a Schmidt generator hub as well. I want this thing to be a true touring/commuting machine and I think the hub will help out with that tremendously. I'll cross the bridge about what tires I want to use when I get there.
As far as components I am thinking of just going straight Shimano SLX. It is not super expensive and it works well. That is all I really need. Beyond that I'm thinking BB7 for the brakes and the rest of the stuff will be improvised. I will use my seat post and Brooks saddle from the Cross Check on the new ECR, a little piece of the old for the new.
While I will miss my old friend, I don't regret anything. We had some good times together and I hope to find it a good home.
I don't usually get way, way off topic but I do have something non-bike related I would like to share with you. I love bears, for my own reasons they are very special to me. There is a man named Casey Anderson who runs a bear sanctuary in Montana for bears found in the wild who are injured or lost. He spends a lot of his own money keeping this place running but it mostly operates off of donations. Recently one of the bears, a 3 year old named Lucy, has fallen ill. They have gotten her checked out and there is nothing wrong after a full physical and blood test. They are trying to get a scan done to see if there is anything else they can find, though this procedure is not cheap. They are asking for donations to help save this beautiful young lady. You can check out the donation page here. Please take a look and if you have $5 to spare, toss it in the bucket. Thanks for reading!
 |
| Lucy the bear. |
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Confidence
I am no stranger to winter biking. I have been at it for about three years and I still learn something every time I go for a ride. No mater how many rides I have done it seems like every time winter rolls back around there is a period where I feel like I have to relearn everything. Granted it comes back a lot faster every year but there is still a learning curve.
I remember my first winter of biking. I was pretty nervous and totally under geared. I pretty much tried my best to stay out of the cold my entire high school life and then after that when I joined the Marines I was pretty much always somewhere warm. So for me, winter had this really ominous and unknown feel to it. I did all my research and got myself the essentials. Some studded tires, a nice coat, and boots. The stuff I had was good enough for my first winter, it was 2010, the year that winter never really came. We had very little snow and it never even got that cold. I got my winter biking bearings and started dreaming of a fat bike almost right away. I remember riding, struggling, through the snow with my single speed mountain bike and seeing the fat bike tire tracks and just thinking how much more fun that would be.
The next winter I had my fat bike and there was plenty of snow and cold. I upgraded my winter gear and it worked out really good for me. It helped build my confidence big time. It was cold, but not really cold. Not like this winter. This year I am learning about how to layer. Last year I learned how to ride in adverse conditions. The first year I got my feet wet and discovered it is totally possible. Every time I ride the more confidence I gain.
Working at a bike shop and just being involved with bikes in general I have heard a lot of people express interest in winter biking but they are also nervous and over analyzing everything, much like I did when I first started out. The following are some things I have learned in my three years of biking in the winter that I hope can motivate someone else or at least help answer a few things.
First of all, any bike will work for winter biking. If you ride at your skill level, you won't have any problems. Just know that you will be a bit slower than you are in the summer. More clothing, heavier tires, etc. it all adds up and will slow you down just a bit. Yes, winter is harsh on your bike but you bought it to ride it didn't you? A little bit of care will go a long way in keeping your bike nice and there are plenty of bike shops that would love to give you advice or even offer classes on how to keep your bike in tip top shape.
What's the best (insert product here) for winter biking? The one that works for you is the best one. You know yourself better than anyone else. I'll use the balaclava as an example. When I first started out I knew that I run super hot when I exercise and I hate having something on my face, but I still spent a lot of time looking for a balaclava that would work for me. The answer is that there wasn't nor will there ever be a balaclava that works for me. I've opted for the wrap or on a real cold day I use a balaclava with no face covering. I knew this, but I didn't trust myself. Why? Because sometimes we think things through too much. Trust yourself.
The best way to get into winter biking is just to jump in and do it. Yes, you will not be prepared and you'll have a few cold rides. It is part of the learning process. The more you ride the more you learn and soon you'll have no problem picking out the right gear for the temperature. It takes roughly 30 minutes for exposed skin to get frostbite in 20 degree weather. As long as you are covered up, you may be cold, but you won't face any serious injury.
I lucked out with my first winter, it was really tame. If you are trying to get into winter biking this year you are just unlucky with these awful temps. Stick with it, trust yourself, and just have fun. You will do it and you can do it. There is a huge community of cyclists out there that are all more than happy to talk to you about what works for them or offer advice. Reach out and you will find the answers you are looking for. The more you do it, the more confidence you will gain. The more confidence you have the more fun you will have, that much I can promise.
I would love to hear your stories, concerns, or whatever in the comments.
I remember my first winter of biking. I was pretty nervous and totally under geared. I pretty much tried my best to stay out of the cold my entire high school life and then after that when I joined the Marines I was pretty much always somewhere warm. So for me, winter had this really ominous and unknown feel to it. I did all my research and got myself the essentials. Some studded tires, a nice coat, and boots. The stuff I had was good enough for my first winter, it was 2010, the year that winter never really came. We had very little snow and it never even got that cold. I got my winter biking bearings and started dreaming of a fat bike almost right away. I remember riding, struggling, through the snow with my single speed mountain bike and seeing the fat bike tire tracks and just thinking how much more fun that would be.
The next winter I had my fat bike and there was plenty of snow and cold. I upgraded my winter gear and it worked out really good for me. It helped build my confidence big time. It was cold, but not really cold. Not like this winter. This year I am learning about how to layer. Last year I learned how to ride in adverse conditions. The first year I got my feet wet and discovered it is totally possible. Every time I ride the more confidence I gain.
Working at a bike shop and just being involved with bikes in general I have heard a lot of people express interest in winter biking but they are also nervous and over analyzing everything, much like I did when I first started out. The following are some things I have learned in my three years of biking in the winter that I hope can motivate someone else or at least help answer a few things.
First of all, any bike will work for winter biking. If you ride at your skill level, you won't have any problems. Just know that you will be a bit slower than you are in the summer. More clothing, heavier tires, etc. it all adds up and will slow you down just a bit. Yes, winter is harsh on your bike but you bought it to ride it didn't you? A little bit of care will go a long way in keeping your bike nice and there are plenty of bike shops that would love to give you advice or even offer classes on how to keep your bike in tip top shape.
What's the best (insert product here) for winter biking? The one that works for you is the best one. You know yourself better than anyone else. I'll use the balaclava as an example. When I first started out I knew that I run super hot when I exercise and I hate having something on my face, but I still spent a lot of time looking for a balaclava that would work for me. The answer is that there wasn't nor will there ever be a balaclava that works for me. I've opted for the wrap or on a real cold day I use a balaclava with no face covering. I knew this, but I didn't trust myself. Why? Because sometimes we think things through too much. Trust yourself.
The best way to get into winter biking is just to jump in and do it. Yes, you will not be prepared and you'll have a few cold rides. It is part of the learning process. The more you ride the more you learn and soon you'll have no problem picking out the right gear for the temperature. It takes roughly 30 minutes for exposed skin to get frostbite in 20 degree weather. As long as you are covered up, you may be cold, but you won't face any serious injury.
I lucked out with my first winter, it was really tame. If you are trying to get into winter biking this year you are just unlucky with these awful temps. Stick with it, trust yourself, and just have fun. You will do it and you can do it. There is a huge community of cyclists out there that are all more than happy to talk to you about what works for them or offer advice. Reach out and you will find the answers you are looking for. The more you do it, the more confidence you will gain. The more confidence you have the more fun you will have, that much I can promise.
I would love to hear your stories, concerns, or whatever in the comments.
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