Dreamin'...

It seems that more than once in the past week I have found myself dreamin'. Dreamin about gravel and all of the cycling opportunities these narrow ribbons of dirt through the northern forests of Minnesota provide. I find this somewhat unusual since we are still in the heart of winter here and have another 5-10 inches of snow on the way over the course of the next couple of days. Also, given the fact that the new Pugsley has just been broken in and I know there is still going to be a good deal of fun to be had riding "The Bat Bike" through all this wintery white.
As a matter of fact, the thoughts actually began entering my head while I was enjoying the Pugsley last weekend up north. So now my obsessing begins...

I've pulled out what maps I have, looked at maps on the internet at USGS and other sites, thought about gear, distances I would like to ride, areas to explore, and whether to go solo or not.
Then to top it all off I'm also thinking about a 12 or 24 hr. solo ride. Definitely delusional and in need of some serious therapy. Anyway, just a lot of ruminating right now, but there are definitely some that are firmly in place accept for the dates.

The North Shore ride will definitely happen once again, but this time all the way to Grand Marais. It will be a full day solo ride of 100+ miles. The amigos and I have also talked about a gravel grinder in the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. Of course there are also the rides north of Chisholm that I did last summer one of which I hope will become an overnighter.
Maybe this is all part of some mid-life crisis that I am going through, but I'm really feeling pretty strongly about all of this right now. Hey, at nearly 52 I ain't gettin' any younger. I guess there are worse things that one could be dreamin' about.

Northern Exposure: Day 2

Saturday dawned sunny, bright, and cold. The temperature at 6 a.m. was -21 F, but by the time I started on the trail at 10 a.m. the temp had already warmed to around 0 F. I once again headed north of town to try an area that I hadn't seen in quite sometime. At my starting point it was obvious that the road was not maintained, but someone in four wheel drive vehicles had gone down it since the snow fall earlier in the week. Probably some good ol' boys on a drunken joy ride during the night. Well, thanks to them I had some good firm riding.
The weather could not have been more perfect. Light layers was all I needed, but looking at the road I had concerns about the gearing on the bike. I'm riding a 30 x 22 set up and so far it has turned out to be a perfect choice. I love riding ss and really can't imagine riding anything else in the winter or any other time for that matter.
Hours of riding with no one else in sight...no skiers, snowmobile riders, four wheelers, planes...non-existent on this day. Only white snow, brilliant blues skies, and aside from the chirping birds, absolute silence. I was in heaven and truly enjoying it. I settled into a steady pace, probably between 5-7 mph. Hey...It's a Pugsley and a single speed, so the simple fact of the matter is, it is not built for speed.
I rode for quite sometime heading west to northwest and eventually came to the snowmobile trail above. Some food was in order so it was here that I decided to take a little lunch break.
So, two salami and cheese sandwiches later I was ready to head out to get more saddle time in.

I decided to follow the snowmobile trail for several miles before coming back out onto a maintained forest road.
Once I was back onto maintained roads the riding became much easier and the light for photography was absolutely perfect. Despite being out for near four and a half hours I was feeling quite well.
I rode through mile after mile of snow coated forests. From time to time I would glimpse a small avalanche of snow falling from pine trees onto the road below. The flakes glistening in the sunlight. How could this possibly get any better. Maybe only by adding in a good home cooked meal upon returning home.
Answer is...there is no possible way that this day could have been any better. I was definitely in my element. Solo riding has definitely become the thing I enjoy most. Call it antisocial or whatever else, but this is when I truly feel my best. Whether it be biking, hiking, running or whatever...I love having to depend on myself and my own instincts so for me going solo has always been a joy. Don't get me wrong here because I do enjoy company from time to time.
Five hours and forty minutes later I rode the last stretch of forest road to the spot where I had parked my car. Satisfied and smiling I sat there and soaked as much of it in as I could before a good chill settled into my body and it became time to leave. I definitely left feeling satisfied and now my head is swimming with ideas for warmer weather 100 mile gravel grinders and also a twelve hour push on the Pugsley up on the North Shore. Hopefully I can venture north again soon. Oh, and when I did get home my lovely folks did have a nice warm meal waiting for me.
I enjoyed their company and told them of my day, but deep down inside I know they still seem to think I'm just a little bit crazy.

Northern Exposure: Day 1

I've just spent two of the most remarkable days on a bike that I have ever experienced. I'm still processing everything so the photos will have to speak for themselves. Also, I'm tired, have not done a bit of school work this weekend, and I really want to go off to bed.

I have to start off by thanking one person in particular because I believe that without her inspiration I truly don't think none of this would have ever happened. There are others who have also inspired me along the way the past two years, but Jill has been my primary source of inspiration.
You see, I stumbled across her blog about two and a half years ago, purely by accident. Since then I have followed it and her adventures on a regular basis. Upon first setting eyes on her Pugsley I new that at some point in time winter riding was going to be in my future. The future has arrived and Jill, I just want to say "Thank You!"
My Friday started by getting up at 4:30 a.m. to finish packing for the three and half hour drive north. Upon arriving at my folks home in Chisholm I unpacked, visited for a bit with my parents then dressed for biking, grabbed my backpack and headed north out of town to my starting point. I knew this was going to be a special weekend the minute I was out of town and heading north up Hwy. 73 . The forest was coated in a blanket of white due to an 8 inch snow fall earlier in the week and despite this fact I never expected to be greeted with the beauty before me.
I started off by heading east on a forest road that I hadn't been down in quite sometime. The riding was absolutely splendid and the ride "The Pugsley" made it that much more enjoyable. This bike is more fun to ride than any other bike I have ever ridden. Today's ride wouldn't come without some slogging. It was about a mile or so push down this unmaintained trail before coming out on to another maintained forest road.
I continued to head in an easterly direction keeping an eye on the clock as I had promised my folks that I would join them back in town for dinner.
It was at this point that I turned around and began the ride back towards where I had parked the car and started. Daylight suddenly began to fade fast as it does this time of year. Darkness settles in really quick at this time of year.
I was amazed at how well the bike handled and was delighted in my choice of gearing and the fact that I had chosen to build it as a single speed. I have said this a hundred times before, but I'll say it again. The simplicity of the single speed cannot be beaten. No extras hanging off the bike along with fewer cables. Just pure clean simplicity. I know that riding a single speed is not for everyone and that there will be times when I will wish I had an extra gear or two, but right now however, it is absolutely perfect.
Signs of wolves were evident once again as with my ride two weeks ago. These tracks were spotted in the same general area that I spotted the previous tracks. There is a brewing controversy in this area that there are too many wolves and the state should be allowed to take over control of the population. I wholeheartedly disagree with this and feel that they should be left alone. This would really piss off some of my local friends who are avid hunters and want to protect their deer harvest, but so be it. They know me as a tree hugger anyway.
As darkness settled in I could hear a wolf howling to the north of where I was riding. The sound sent the hair on the back of my neck standing along with a bit of a chill down my spine, as it well should. But, at the same time it brought a smile to my face knowing that they will be here for sometime to come. At least that is what I am hoping. What would the wilderness be like if you took the wild out of it?
The evening was absolutely beautiful and you could feel the temps rapidly dropping and they would continue to drop down to about -21 F by 6 a.m. the following morning.
I ended up riding for about four and half hours and enjoyed every minute of it. As I pulled into the trail head parking lot I didn't want this ride to end. I had lights and felt like I wanted to continue on, but a promise is a promise and my parents were waiting at home with a good home cooked meal. What son in his right mind could turn that down? As I pulled out of the parking lot onto the forest road the full moon was rising above the trees. Sure would have been nice to continue with the ride.more to come...

Final Touch

I applied one final touch to the Pugsley before heading to northern Minnesota for the Pugsley's first real adventure. The unfortunate part about this whole build was that it came in a bit over budget. Good thing I am not a contractor. Now I need to start saving for some of Eric's bags.

January Thaw

Rain Friday, rain Saturday, rain today. This is Minnesota and it is January so the temps should be much cooler. They've been talking snow all day, but it just hasn't cooled down enough for it to snow and everything is a sloppy mess. I'm hoping this will happen over night so I'll be able to take the Pugsley out tomorrow night. The cooler temps should of course make everything rock hard and the windchill temps are forecast to be -20 F or colder.
Finally winter will return and I can continue to tweak things on the Pugsley. I opted for an indoor session this morning. Two hours of climbing at a pretty good tempo. This afternoon I adjusted the seat height for the sixth time, mounted a headlight on the handlebars, and put on the new Ergon GX 1 grips. I'm definitely a fan of the Ergon grips and now have them on all my mountain bikes. I also purchased a frame fit pump for those longer rides up north. Not sure how functional it will be, but I want to be prepared in case I go up north this coming weekend. If it doesn't deem itself practical I can always return it to REI.

Pugsalicious

The Pugsley got his first real ride today. It was more of a shake down cruise than anything else. I needed to just get out on it to get the feel of riding a real "Fat Bike". My timing however could not have been worse when I left the house it was RAINING! and the streets and trails leading to the lake were glare ice. I damn near killed myself in the first half mile. Yes, Pugsley had his first crash and needless to say also numbers two and three. Yup, wiped out three times on the ice just in the mile ride to the lake.

Once I reached the lake and the lakeside trail, all was just fine. Riding a real fat bike is a totally new experience and I must say that I think I may have fallen in love.

The woodland trails were really soft and difficult to ride, but the lake was still fairly firm and riding was a joy.
The Pugs rides and handles like no other bike. It is definitely not designed for speed that is for certain and it certainly attracted a lot of curious looks from the local fishing population out on the lake.
A buttery smooth ride was provided by the endomorphs with about 8 psi in them. I am really going to have to play around with tire pressure. I'm not really sure about what to ride them at for various conditions so there will be a learning curve.
Over the course of the two hours I rode this morning the conditions gradually got worse as the rain continued to fall and the snow on the lake surface softened. It is January isn't it?
There is snow in the forecast for tomorrow along with cooler temps. This should really firm things up nicely for future rides. I was fortunate enough not to wipe out on my return trip home. Now I'll be dreaming about heading north again with Pugsley for some real winter riding.

Let The Fat Fun Begin

So much for my post on the weekend up north. That will have to come later.
The Pugsley is done...Well, not totally complete because there will still be a lot of shake down rides and a lot of final tweaking to do, but I'll have him and all his fat glory out on Friday afternoon.

Pugsley in all his "FAT" glory made for a good show in the showroom window at the new bike shop.

Yes, I fully intend to try and ride it with a single-speed set up. Time will tell.

80mm of "Graceful Fat Sheba" with red nipples for a nice finishing touch. Sorry, I have a thing for red nipples. Yes, I am a sick individual, but please don't hold that against me. It's just a biker thing.

Surly Mr. Whirly SS crank and a Race Face BB.

Road bikes and other mountain bikes (look out Matt) are now mere speed bumps.

Upon viewing it for the first time my wife Patti replied, "My God! That is the ugliest bike I have ever seen! Those tires are outrageous! Thank you honey for the compliment.

Definitely what you could call a beefy front end. A beautiful Paul hub without the extra cog. That will come later after some experimenting. I long haul in the "Northwoods is now in the making.

Harmony and Balance

This past weekend found me finally venturing north to see family and spend some time enjoying the forests of northern Minnesota. This is the place that I call home and it seems that in recent years I get here far less often than I would like.
After taking my parents out for dinner to celebrate my father's 86th year of life and having a couple of cold ones with some friends on Saturday night I was ready to get into the woods on Sunday. However, I didn't get going as early as I would have liked. You see, when you are visiting with family the family often dictates what you do and when you do it. So this meant coffee and breakfast with everyone on Sunday morning. By the time I rolled out of the trailhead parking lot it was 10 a.m.
I was greeted with a wonderful sun-filled day and to my surprise, nearly perfect riding conditions. The temps approached 28 F at the start of my ride and near the end it was around 34 F. Despite the warm temps I found the snow on the trails and forest roads to be quite firm.
I had no plans for how far I was going to ride or where exactly my ride would take me, but I had enough food and water to stay out for an entire day.
I always come north to seek some peace. To escape the stress of the job and a life lived in the city. A place where I can get away from all the noise of traffic, construction, rude people, and whatever other pleasantries the city has to offer. It doesn't take long for me to feel at ease and more relaxed. This phenomenon generally occurs once I am north of Hinckley, MN.
Once I was in the woods on my bike and moving forward, I felt as if I had found myself once again. I forgot all the things that I had come hear to get away from and settled in to a nice rhythmic pace on the bike. I did encounter slush and water on the first lake crossing. With the snow cover and warm temperatures this isn't too unusual. Fortunately for me much of it had re-frozen.I rode mainly forest roads, both maintained and unmaintained (which are used primarily by snow sleds) and found both to be in great shape. After a couple of hours of riding I stopped for some hot chocolate, a snack, and a chance to soak up the sun for awhile. Then of course I continued on and took in all the beauty this place has to offer.
I've said this before, but a person can come up here and ride forever on what seems to be an endless abundance of forest roads, fire trails, and snowmobile trails. Without the Pugsley I stayed off the snowmobile trails for this trip. Next time however, I have a whole new world of biking to explore. Although I prefer to stay away from the exhaust belching machines in the world of snow biking I guess they are a necessary evil.My legs felt good and I felt as if I could ride forever. After 4.5 hours on the bike I realized that the "North Country" never disappoints. I didn't see this wolf, but it's tracks made me wonder...For now at least everything was fine in this little part of the world and in my own mind. I came seeking something and I believe I found it even if for a very brief period of time.
I once again had some harmony and balance in my life and I know that I will continue to come north and seek that which makes me feel whole and at peace in this world.

Glory Days...

Ahhhhh Yes! Those glory days. This photo is circa 1980's (very early 80's). I'm the skinny one in the middle. Yes, that is hair on my head! These were the days when I was running about 13 miles a day and carrying roughly about 5% body fat. Definitely not enough to keep me warm in the frigid waters of Side Lake.

Vinny was bashful and actually wore a suit which in my mind is poor sauna etiquette. But then again it was daytime although the rest of us never seemed to mind. We had some great times at the lake in our formative years and this photo reminds me of what great friends we were then and still are today. We don't see each other very often, but the memories are there and as clear as if it had just happened yesterday. Love you guys...I'll need to get in touch.

A Frosty Saturday & Some Jottings

I have a good deal on my mind right now, but I'm just not in the mood to spend too much unproductive time right now on my blog.
I was feeling really tired by the end of the week and started off my Friday morning by getting up at 3:45 so I could spend a hard two hours on the spin bike up at the club before school. I have to admit that getting up at 4 A.M. all week long is starting to get old. Saturday found me once again getting up at 5 A.M. so I could get out and enjoy a bike ride during the coldest part of the day. A good test both mentally and physically.

The lake was somewhat firm, but the going was still slow and hard due to drifting from the snow and wind we received on Thursday. The cold, the layers of clothes, studded tires, spotty soft conditions, not a lot of fuel in my stomach, and pushing the 32 x 16 summer gearing on the old Hardrock all left me physically exhausted. Which in reality is not a bad thing at all. It was a hell of a good workout.
I had no idea how long I would ride or the route I intended to take. However, I did end up hitting some of the local lakes which is always fun in the winter. The ice fishermen are now driving on the lakes so I do my own version of something I call "Ice Road Bikers" kind of like the series on Discovery Channel "Ice Road Truckers". Then of course there is the option of also following the snowmobile tracks around the lake. It opens up some pretty interesting riding opportunities.

The trails in and around the Maple Grove and Plymouth area still suck. Some have been cleared and some haven't. The trails near roadways are covered with snow plow debris so any riding from the house is a hit and miss proposition. Plus many of the trails especially those in the open areas were drifted over in spots due the snow and wind from earlier in the week.The ride ended up being 3.5 hours long. Mileage....Who cares? My average speed was probably about 6-7 mph even slower on the lakes and trails. I didn't ride many streets or roads. Oh, and if you think you can't max out your heart rate at 5 mph...you're a sadly mistaken. It took all the strength I had to get up the last series of hills before home.

Jill in Alaska shed some good light upon the subject of speed in relation to snow biking. In a normal race 5-6 mph is average, 7-8 mph and you're doing pretty good, hit 10 mph and you're going fast.

This morning would have been nice to get out on the bike, but I just wasn't motivated to put all the clothes on and I haven't changed over the gearing on the bike. I ended up going to the MG Life Time and spent two hard hours in the spin studio or "The Cave" as Kenny calls it.

The two hours (actually 2hrs. and 15 minutes) was almost all steady continuous climbing. My legs were still tired from Saturdays slog, but I forced myself through it spending most of the last hour suffering alone.

Just some thoughts and happenings...

On the lighter side of things one of my students apparently saw Michael Jackson's ghost in his computer. Stood up in the middle of their research class, screamed out loud and fell on the floor.
Just another day at work.

One of my colleagues had a student that needed to use the restroom. It went something like this..."Mrs. W., can I go to the restroom? My underwear have crept to where they don't belong.

The 32 x 16 is not winter gearing.

I need to re-evaluate my footwear for really cold weather riding. It seems I'm having a much tougher time keeping my fingers and toes warm this year than in the past.

Ten + pounds have to come off this old body. Along with that I need to spend much more time working my core (to save my back and the two herniated discs in my lumbar) along with flexibility.

Plantar fasciitis has returned with a vengeance.

The Pugsley build...This is really not a good topic for discussion right now. It took forever to get the parts and now that they are all here... Maple Grove Cycle is in the process of moving to a new facility and not much is happening with the bike. If they can't have it done by the end of this week I may just bring it elsewhere. I hate to do this, but I'm growing impatient.

What the hell is with QBP sending what appears to be a used bottom bracket?