Hidden Beauty

The beauty of the forest in Elk River at Hillside Park on Sunday was stunning.  With 4 inches of fresh snow fallen(ing), it was proverbial winter wonderland

Most of us racing Fatbike Fest (the original Fat Bike XC Intergalactic Championship) don't remember any of that beauty.  The first lap was an exercise in the art of frustration - pushing, falling, frozen pedals.

 The prologue chaos

I got away early on the trail that had a few tracks.   

When those tracks ended, the suck began.  I couldn't see the 8-12" wide trail and not being on the trail meant a dab followed by walking followed by trying to remount w/ iced up pedals.  After a bit, I decided to sit up and share the load w/ the ~5 guys chasing.  It was quite nice being 3-4 wheel kind of like sitting in an armchair=)  

We still hiked for more than 1/2 that first lap.  At that point, the course flattened out so I hopped on, spent a minute pounding my cleats free (on my pedals) and rode away.  Once I got riding I just put my head down.  There was still plenty of hike a bike on the last lap, but much less than the first lap. 
I rode home alone in just over 3 hours...this course on a normal rideable day takes 1.5 hours.
The finishers, only 1/2 of the starters in the "advanced 2-lap" class all looked like ghosts, as no one had enough food or drink on board for 3 hours of XC level intensity. 
I really wanted to quit, but the only thing I hate worse than running in the snow with my bike is quitting!  I quit a race once ever, and I still think about that sour memory often.

Finally, equipment you ask?  My "too skinny" 65mm rims worked great.  I was running the same pressure as everyone else at 3-4 PSI.  Oh, and Nates are king in the snow.  No question.

All the pics are from Chris Gibbs.  He did a wonderful job capturing the event.

Another

In an effort to race my studded tires for as much time as I spent making them, I did this last Saturday:

 

On Sunday I rode the Freewheel top secret snow only (lots of adjectives I know) singletrack around Bloomington and Eden Prairie.  It was quite possibly the best snow ride of the season with no grooming and on trails where only fat would do.

Next is Fatbike Fest this weekend.  Could we be in for mashed potatoes?

Self Tapping

Racing:
In a moment of weakness, well 12,000 of them if a moment is a second, I broke down and shot some self tapping sheet metal screws into tires to do this:

Carnage:  http://vimeo.com/57901011

Thanks to Freewheel and Hollywood for introducing me to the most novel form of racing I have done in years...maybe ever.

I am not sure about this coming weekend.  There are a couple options that will be tempting if there is snow.  I hear that there is another ice race coming soon.  I do plan to finally make it up to Elk River for that final race in a couple of weeks. 

My own Proto (better than yours):
Something special was birthed at the Pidde household.  Jen mentioned that she wanted a new carbon fiber family member in our household...or at least that is my interpretation of what she said:

When we no longer need studs or fat tires:
Along the lines of adding carbon family members, This and This should be coming soon, but I have learned that soon is a loosely used term in the bike industry.  Needless to say, Jen is excited about these two additions as well.

Finally, a request for Mama Nature:
If I am going to be continue to face -40 windchills commuting in, at least give me some snow to ride on.

Know when to fold em...

Mother nature is trying to take away our winter fun=(  Here in the south metro, after the rain last week we lost almost all our snow and the trails, singletrack and snowmobile, are skateable.
Murphy Frigid Race Series number 2 this last weekend was a TT (staggered start due to conditions) on lumpy glare ice singletrack.  Unfortunately, conditions forced me to ride my trusty Nokian studded "skinny" tires.  They made the trail rideable, but their well worn and rounded studs provided only enough grip for a slow careful ride. 
After a couple near misses, I shut 'er down early and just rode out the shorten lap (cut out ~1.5 miles of trail for this race).  I tried putting power down multiple times, but even when seated the bike would start fish-tailing.  My heart rate and exertion were the lowest I can remember in any mtbk or snow race, but the race made up for that lack of physical stress with plenty of mental stress! 

Results (figured I would provide links because they are hard to locate on the Freewheel site):
Snow Race #1: http://freewheelbike.com/about/frozen-frolic-january-5th-2013-results-pg750.htm
Ice Race #2: http://freewheelbike.com/about/froze...ults-pg751.htm

I will race again this winter, with vigor, if we get more snow.  I will not be buying or making new studded tires just so I can keep racing skinny tires... there is plenty of skinny tire racing to do in nicer weather.

In other news, it appears that I didn't get in to Ragnarok this year.  I did send a card in, but I am pretty sure they didn't get it because I never received the confirmation email.  If they did get my card and my name just wasn't drawn, I think that means I missed an entry by 5 feet after the 118 mile trek last year (I hear they let the previous winner in).  Bummer!

Back at it...

Winter racing started up this weekend with 2 great choices: Saturday the Freewheel Frigid Murphy race and Sunday Coldbear #1 in Elk River.  I am simply not interested in 2 races per weekend this time of year so I chose Murphy due to it being a Freewheel event and the fact that it is only ~6 miles from my house.

The course was in primo 12-18" wide groomed condition, but that didn't make the race easy.  Chris Fisher showed up with skinny sharp (home brew studs) tires.  I know he is riding well and peaking right now for CX races.  It looks like he destroyed the competition up at Elk River on Sunday.
Anyway, the start, which will see some modifications next week, was crazy w/ a down hill into a basically un-ridden stretch of double track.  I got behind Hollywood (he really wanted the hole shot) and a guy wearing blue who I didn't know.  It was hectic with Fisher running by me CX style and the guy in blue falling all over the place as Hollywood rode away.  Once that got sorted out, Fisher, Charly "Proto" Tri and I rode behind Hollywood for a few minutes.  Like a gentleman, he eventually  let us by.  I got by Fisher when he slid out on a corner and from there I tried not to look back...but I knew Fisher was close the whole time.  I had about a 30 second gap w/ 10 min left in the lap/race, and sometime soon after Fisher, who is lean and mean at only about 150lbs, shattered (literally) his crank spider (what a beast!).  I didn't know of course and rode hard all the way to the finish.
Given the hard pack groomed conditions, it was an interesting battle between fat and skinny tires.  His tires + wheels were probably 3+lbs lighter making the tight, twisty punch stuff easier, but I had the luxury of fat tires for cornering and stability.  Either way it was close despite what the result show.

After the race, I headed home to get Tegan out sledding and skating (Casey isn't to keen on either yet).  My neighbor and I are maintaining a rink on our lake, and it has been SO much fun teaching my boy the art of skating and hockey.  The sledding hill in our neighborhood is really fast and showing signs of wear.  We need more snow!
Sunday saw more sledding, skating, and a nice long solo 2-wheeled trudge that had my neighbor who saw me leave saying "are you just getting back???"  Most of my new neighbors think I am crazy... they might be right.
Today it is good to be back at work resting my body while my brain does some heavy lifting.

Final comments:
The bike worked well, as it is a no-frills snow machine.  I ran Nate tires front and rear with just the right pressure on my "too skinny" 65mm rims (remember when that was the only width??).  I heard from others that Escalator tires worked well too.  Maybe one of these days, I will do a mechanical dynamics lesson on this blog explaining why 100mm rims are for the most part unnecessary even for "ungroomed" hard-core riding... or maybe I will keep that to myself=)

Oh and mid-Februrary, I may retire the Beargrease for something better...

25lbs and Fat

This years fatty bike is now fully assemble and Charly Tri asked me to post an update AND include weight (cause might bike is lighter), so here goes.

It started with a Large Beargrease frameset.  They have short top tubes so I had to go w/ almost no standover on the large to get a bike that fit right with respect to reach.   I don't particularly like sky blue, but luckily acetone removes the decals (and I have no obligations to Salsa).  I still have a couple left to wipe off.  I added back some color w/ reflective tape.
The components are a mix of XX and XTR.  The cockpit is pure Bontrager sweetness to match my summer ride.

The two exciting build points are the wheels and front half of the drivetrain.  The front half is loaded w/ e13:  XCX cranks with 1 32 tooth ring (these are the best and lightest out there hands down) and XCX chain keeper (I use 'em in the summer and they keep the chain on, always!).  I figure if I can't pedal through something in the 32-36, I might as well walk.   The wheels are Freewheel specials from Tyson made with the new Hope snow bike hubs, DT swiss spokes, and Large Marge Lite rims.  I didn't weigh the wheels, but they have to be some of the lightest out there.

Oh, and the weight?  25.9 lbs w/ pedals, bottle cage, and the new UL Nates tires mounted.  It should be about 25.5 lbs with an escalator in the rear.  This is at least 5 pounds lighter than Charly's bike.

This will be fun!

If you are looking for something fun to do next Saturday, come join us!
http://www.winterbikeexpo.com/

There will be no shortage of fun stuff to try, great deals, advice on winter riding, and later on some beer and fire jumping =)

For Sale: My 18.5" Top Fuel 9.9 - $4100

It is that time of year when it is time to pass on a sweet bike at an amazing deal.  FYI-  My bikes usually don't stick around long when I put them on the block..  The MSRP is ~$9000 so this is a fantastic deal...I am just trying to pass on some of the love.
Here is a pic of the bike in action. I will try to post another bike only picture tonite.

Photo from Todd Bauer's MNMBS gallery


The bike my Trek Top Fuel 9.9 - 18.5".  http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2012/archive/top_fuel_9_9_ssl

• Note that the frame was new as of September and only has ~ a dozen rides on it.  
• The bike is as I raced it was ~20lbs (1x10, Easton wheels, racy tires).  I have some flexibility w/ parts but was planning to sell it 2x10 with Bontrager xxx DT wheels (see below) which would put it closer to 21.5 lbs.
• As a bonus, I will throw in a brand new set of XR0 race tires so you will be set to go next race season!

The bike is stock except:

• Upgraded wheels aerolite spoke and DT Swiss 190 rear hub and DT240 front hub - note that if you move quickly and want them, I will do and even swap for the Easton EC 90 wheels in my previous post
• Rhythm stem - it is stiffer and better
• Rock Shox SID World Cup fork- upgraded from Fox RL stock fork
• I also have a 1x10 option that we could talk about if you are interested (vs Stock 2x10).  It is currently 1x10 and would include the 1x10 chain keeper for a small fee

Contact me at bjmoore1@uwalumni.com if interested.

FS: Easton EC90 XC 26" Wheelset

Beautiful, stiff, 1300 grams, tubeless, total use 1 season.

These wheels spin true and have very few cosmetic scratches.  They were never raced or ridden in mud (these were for dry conditions racing).  MSRP is 2500 but they can be yours for $900.  The only maintenance required is that the rear bearings will need to be replaced some time next spring.  FYI - I replace the rear bearings on all my rear wheels at least once a year.  This is inexpensive to do (probably $25 or so if you order them up).
I will include axel conversion kits for 9mm to 15qr front and 10mm to 12mm rear (so the can go on any bike w/ a simple end cap conversion).  They are currently set up with a 15qr front and standard 10mm rear because they were used on my Top Fuel.
Note that the rotors and tires pictured are not included.
email me if you are interested: bjmoore1@uwalumni.com

Trek Demos At Lebannon Hills

Come on out and try the new stuff this weekend:  http://www.trekfactorydemo.com/region.php?region_id=3
The list of bikes that will be there:
Domane 6.2                        50 – 62 & 47
WSDMadone 6.2 H2          50 – 62
Cali                                     15
Lush Carbon                       16.5
Superfly 100 Elite SL        15.5 – 19
Fuel EX 9.8                        17.5 – 19.5
Rumblefish AL Pro           15.5 – 21
Remedy 9.8                        17.5 & 18.5
Slash 9                                18.5
Stache 8                              17.5 – 21