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.

Another Sunday of fun.

Had my second Sunday Funday Fatbike ride yesterday, it was good fun. Only two other people showed up, but that is okay. We rode around the river bottoms, goofed off, and crossed the river. It got colder the more we were out there. By the end we were ready to head back, but it was still a lot of fun.

I will be holding these every Sunday and anyone is welcome. Fat bikes are recommended but the gal that came yesterday did it on a single speed 26 inch wheel mountain bike, so if you're hardcore it can be done. The trail is pretty hard pack now, lots of tracks though looking out my window it seems there is quite a bit of fresh snow, so choose your bike wisely.

We meet up at the Midtown Freewheel at 9:30ish in the morning and we roll out at 10. The idea is that we take the train to American Blvd and then ride back. If people want to ride out and back I am cool with that, it is a pretty democratic group ride.

You can find the details here.

Now for some photos.

Joe gives the thumbs up for fun.

So happy she had to close her eyes.

I've never seen this sign until yesterday.

Smiles and closed eyes again.

Joe couldn't handle the hill.

Crossing the river!

Climbing out of the river by 494 after crossing both rivers.

Overnight at the wreck.

Last night I went camping with Death Rider at the wreck. The wreck is an old abandoned car that has been turned into a fort of sorts. It is pretty awesome, let me tell you.

We set out on a short but really nice ride. The conditions were perfect. We rode some, pushed some, carried our bikes some, and descended a super slippery treacherous hill. Eventually we reached our destination.

We set up shop and got the wood stove going. It got nice and toasty in the car, it was quite the deal. We made and ate some dinner and then sat around trading stories and sharing a few laughs. It was closing in on midnight before we called it a day.

The wreck was certainly big enough for a couple people to hang out in, but not for them to sleep in. I slept just outside the car, which kind of sucked. Not so much because it was colder outside, but because the whole area was in a ravine and no matter where you went, it was sloped. Josh didn't have much luck with that aspect either.

I woke up a few times through the night because my feet had slid off the sleeping pad inside the bivy sack and started getting cold. Other than the feet the only other problem was my breath was freezing on the inside of the bivy, causing frost that melted when I breathed again and thus making my sleeping bag wet. Luckily I brought a really warm one so I never ended up getting wet.

Morning came and I was ready to get up. Josh got the fire going right off the bat and I hauled ass inside and we made and ate breakfast. We let the food sit for a bit then packed up and headed out. My gear set up was freaking ridiculous. I need to refine my system big time, but that is why we do this, to learn. It took me an extra 10 minutes or so to pack up than it took Josh.

We took off and rode for a bit before we got back to the river bottoms and rode across the swamp by 494, it was super fun. We came across some snow geese or trumpeter swans that were going ham! They were honking like it was rush hour traffic in a movie.
Eventually we made it back to our vehicles which did not get towed, that earned a big sigh of relief. After a fist bump and a handshake we parted ways and the adventure came to a close.

I had a ton of fun and learned quite a bit for my first winter bike camping trip. I can't wait to do some more!

Turning snow into water with my klean kanteen!

Gnarly deer skull.

Fully. Loaded.

Josh on the tracks.

Riding on the swamp.

Frozen river bottoms.

Winter Bike Expo 2013.

Well, it happened. The third winter bike expo came and went and... it was AWESOME!

First of all, mother nature dealt us a helping hand of snow well before the day of the expo. Then, we had one of the largest stocks of fat bikes in the Midwest. We had a ton of winter gear to look at and try on and sales. Every fat bike manufacturer we sell was there representing their bikes. To top it off we had some truly inspiring folks come and talking about their adventures all over the world. Even with the -15 degree weather we had a HUGE turn out.

I showed up to the expo at about 9:30 in the morning. About an hour and a half after it opened. There were already a lot of people outside riding our test fat bikes. I was expecting to walk in and it would be pretty sparse, but I was wrong. The place was already hopping, people looking at all the bikes, clothes, drinking coffee from the cafe, or just standing around chatting. I made my way to the service shop to drop some of my stuff so I could wander around and they were all hard at work trying to put studded tires on bikes. There was about two bikes per mechanic at this point. I couldn't believe it.

I got myself situated with a hot cup of coffee and my camera and started meandering around. I already was seeing a lot of familiar faces. I made my rounds stopping by the Surly tent, the Salsa tent, the Trek tent, the 45Nrth tent, the Borealis tent, and the Lazer helmet tent. By the time I did that I hit the test ride station to check out how that was going. Most of the bikes were already out on the course. It would stay this way for the majority of the day. At any given time we had almost 35 fat bikes being test ridden out on our course. It was amazing. I decided to talk to some of these folks as they were coming in, so I headed outside.

I started talking to a few folks who were out on test rides. Everyone was telling me how much fun it was. I remember riding a fat bike for the first time, I remember the impression it left with me. I walked out to the course and watched people ride for a while and I started to notice something. Everyone, at least of the faces that weren't covered by a balaclava, had smiles on their faces. Here it is, 15 below 0, and people were having a riot on these bikes. It was very gratifying. That is the exact reason I love this job.

I went back inside to go check out what else was going on and it was about that time that my general manager asked if I could clock in and start working, it had gotten pretty busy. I punched in and went out on the sales floor and started talking to folks. Most folks were looking for new gloves or mittens, which was totally understandable. As a person who spends way too much money on bike stuff, I feel comfortable recommending things to people because I have field tested a good number of the products we sell in varying conditions. I buy all that crap for two reasons. One because I am looking for the right gear for myself, second and most important to me I want to believe in the stuff I am selling.

The new HED carbon tubeless fat bike wheels were being sold left and right. They really are a sight to see. We have them at all the locations, even if you are not planning on buying a set or don't even own a fat bike, you should check them out. One rim laced to a rear hub is lighter than the lightest front wheel I own, it is mind blowing. Same with the Borealis bikes, they are nutso. A 21 pound fat bike, wheter that is your thing or not, is pretty awesome.

Salsa made a bunch of updates to their Mukluk line this year and the Beargrease went carbon. People were really happy and impressed with them and the Salsa fellas, Brian and Benton really came through for us.

Surly is Surly and still makes rad durable bikes that are fun to ride. They use economical build packages and you will always have a smile on your face when you ride one. There is not much else to say about that.

I met a couple of super fun ladies who were at the expo riding fat bikes together. After the giant smiles wore off, they sat down and made a list of pros and cons and were weighing out the options of what they would need. They loved the bikes and are super into cycling but they just couldn't bring themselves to pull the trigger. They hung out for quite a bit and we talked off and on and they took off bikeless.

Sister Species had started playing and they were also a lot of fun. They were smiling and having a good time doing their thing and it showed because people were gathering around and listening and smiling and having a good time.

I personally did not have the time or opportunity to sit through any of the presentations, but it was my understanding that everyone killed it. A big thanks to all of those people who presented and shared their passions with everyone.

The race started about 6 PM. I was already intoxicated as it had been a long day and suddenly there was a couple cases of beer for us. I partook after not eating all day. It all went downhill from there.

The race was fun to watch/heckle. Adam Froeming ending up winning with his little purple Pugsley with a rack and trunk bag on it. Hilarious. Everyone was having a good time and then we moved inside for the awards and door prizes.

After that took place it was just a big ol' party. Everyone was partaking and things got a little out of hand. I don't remember when we actually closed it down, but I remember having a couple regrets the next morning.

After breakfast I headed back to the expo and sure enough, it was snowing and there were still a ton of people there! Not as many as Saturday, but it certainly was enough. I got on the clock immediately and started walking around talking to folks and helping them out with gear.

I saw a lot of faces from the day before, people were coming back on Sunday to buy stuff it seemed. Even my new friends who I had talked to multiple times the day before came back. They bought a Mukluk 2 and a Mukluk 3 and outfitted them with all the goodies. They were super stoked and all smiles. I hope to see them on my Sunday Funday Fat bike ride.

All in all it turned out to be quite the spectacle. It was a bit of a zoo, but it was a ton of fun and from what I could see everyone else was having a good time too. We strive every year to make it bigger and better than the year before. I think we succeeded this year as well.

If you have never been to the winter bike expo before, even if winter cycling is not your thing, I recommend you come next time. If I had to sum up the wbe in a sentence it would be this: The winter bike expo is a place where your friends and the friends you don't even know yet, congregate to see what other people are doing and share their passion for cycling.

I saw a lot of friends I knew and made a bunch of new friends this year, as I did last year. Spirits were high and good times were had. To all those that made it out, I thank you. To those who didn't, I hope to see you next year.

Lots of bikes going out the door.

Jess, Jon, and Ben talk about fat stuff.

Sister Species

Sister Species

The awards!

One man after party.

Bear hugs for my general manager.

Dreams can come true

Unless you live under a rock, you probably noticed the copious amounts of snow that fell from the sky recently. You probably also noticed that it is really freaking cold. Perfect riding conditions.

Earlier today a couple of buddies from the shop and I went to the river bottoms for an early morning romp. It was pretty cold, however we were making first tracks so it was a lot of work and kept us pretty dang warm. We didn't go too far because it was pretty slow going.

Eventually we stopped and had a little bonfire and and drank coffee and schnapps and watched the sunrise, it was so cold that there were sun dogs! We goofed around and made a couple videos for our winter bike expo and then headed back to the train and went into work.

Rides like this remind me why I love bikes. A great ride with awesome friends helps make a foundation for a rad day.

Riding in.

Getting that fire going.

Toasty feet.

Sunrise with dogs, you can't see them too well but they are there.

Obligatory ice beard shot.