This weekend will be computer free.

As soon as I finish this blog post, I am turning off my computer and not turning it on again until Monday. I've lost the ability to manage my time when on line and end up wasting a lot of time. I'm not even sure I have a life other than my time spent on-line and on a bike. The bike part is okay. Wasting all my time staring at a computer screen is not okay. I'm looking forward to this weekend now.

I had a long to-do-list for today. I was off work for the long holiday weekend, but Susan had to work. I was going to get up, check my email and then dive into the to-do-list. Guess what? I never made it to the the to-do-list. Well, other than getting out for a bike ride. But even that ended up being way later than I had planned.

I was thinking about all this on my bike ride. It's not just today. This happens most every weekend. So I decided to just turn it off if I can't use the internet in moderation.

No need to check in here until the beginning of next week.

It just keeps getting better!

My custom Ellis, that is. Since I ride only a few of my bicycles in the winter crud, the Ellis' days for this year are limited. It won't see any miles once the sand and salt hit the roadways. I can't express how quickly the crud eats up bicycle components. We live in a northern city on a hill. Massive amounts of salt and sand are dumped on the streets every time it snows or gets icy. There are literally piles of it along the sides of the roads. Right now the only bike that sees that stuff is the Cross Check. Not even the winter Pugsley sees street action unless it's below zero and dry. With no fenders and four inch wide tires, it can throw up a lot of crud.

Yesterday, however, I got out on the Ellis. The beginning of the snow season has been delayed by a wonderfully mild November. In past years, a bike like my Ellis would have been in hibernation weeks ago.

I was planning a 60 mile practice ride. But since I've been waking up feeling not quite right for the past 4 or 5 days, my motivation to get out was lacking. I seem to be having some gluten or lectin protein issues related to my Celiac Disease. Perhaps to many nightshades vegetables this week, which are high in lectins.

I ended up finally getting out for a ride about 2:00. I couldn't let a beautiful November day slip by without taking advantage of it. Plus, the possibility of having to wait until April or May for my next Ellis ride convinced me. I ended up going 42 miles instead of 60, but I took a route with some serious hills.
I headed south out Rt 23. Twelve miles into the ride I started the first climb. Over the next 8 miles I would do almost 4.5 miles of climbing. I crossed over the St Louis River and rode hard the 1.5 mile climb out of the river valley. At the top is this view (above) of Jay Cooke State Park. I turned around and rode back down the hill, crossed back over the river and turned onto Cty 210 for one of my favorite stretches of road. It climbs and twists through the state park. There are two more big climbs of .75 and .5 miles in length, and several easier uphill grades.

Hard to tell in the picture, but this is a significant uphill grade that is .5 miles in length.

This time of year, with all the leaves gone, there is a non-stop view of the rocky St Louis River. In summer, you can always hear the river, but rarely see it.

I stopped at the Park Office for a bathroom break and a quick snack at a picnic table. I couldn't stay long because I'd catch a chill sitting around. I was dressed very light, but as always, I still soaked my two light layers. The temp was in the low 40's.

I have to say the Ellis really does keep getting better and better. It's such a joy to ride. It fits me so well, it really disappears beneath me as I ride. And it feels great climbing in or out of the saddle.

After leaving the park , I would normally hit the Munger Trail for a direct 15 mile route back home. But since it's rifle deer season, I get nervous on the narrow Munger Corridor when it passes through private landowner properties. It's bad enough, on the county roads. I heard gunshots frequently. I headed north, passed through Esko, and then headed east towards Proctor before descending back down into Duluth.

This time of year, I see more of these then bicyclists on the roads. Roller skiers getting in shape for the upcoming cross country ski season. This guy was taking the entire lane and totally oblivious to what was coming up behind him. I rang my bell as I approached him. He had the nerve to turn around and give me a dirty look. He made me cross the center line to get around him. Dick! (Sorry, but that's the impression I got.) He then speeded up as I passed him to try and stay with me. I could hear his poles hitting the asphalt right behind me. I had to speed up to 18 mph on a gentle incline to start putting some road between us. I have to admit he was a strong skier.

As always, I was glad I got out for a ride. I was tired. Even with all the hills and constant rolling hills in the second half, I still managed to avg 15 mph for the ride. That's riding solo, with no one to draft but roller skiers.

Best Ever November Bicycle Commuting Weather

Foggy sunrise view over Lake Superior from my morning commute yesterday.

Sun setting quickly over the hill behind me. A very calm Lake Superior. From yesterday's afternoon commute.

This week has been an absolute joy to be out on a bike in Northeastern Minnesota. Above average temps in the 30's and 40's, some fog, lots of sunshine, little or no wind. Usually November is a rough transitional month, weather wise, to ride through. It's usually spent re-learning how to ride in the dark, cold and dampness that accompanies this month. This month, and this week specifically have been beautiful. I can't remember ever enjoying riding in November as much as I have this year. I would normally have the studded tires on by now. Haven't needed them yet.

November Bonus Day

When I think about November weather, I think about dark, cold, rainy, snowy, and cloudy days. I heard on Minnesota Public Radio the other day that November is our cloudiest month of the year. If that's the case, then today was one heck of a bonus day. Not a single cloud from sunrise to sunset. Add to the bonus sunshine a perfectly calm day. As you can see in the picture above the big lake is smooth and calm. I rode home during the last light of the day. The 35F (2C) degree air was cool, but very comfortable without the wind.

I stopped many times along the way to watch the quickly changing light as the sun set over the ridge to the west of Lake Superior.

Above: Looking over the West End of Duluth and West Duluth where I live.

Last light! What a great way to commute. On bicycle during a beautiful sunset.

Practicing for the upcoming Winter race

This is my lazy year. I've been saying this lately. After three years of 7-8,000 miles/year, I kind of took this year off. The change of pace was dictated by my broken arm and recovery one year ago. I continued to ride almost daily, I have nearly 4,000 miles in this year since my first ride on March 17th. But I didn't do much extra riding and certainly no "training". I read that Kent Peterson says he deosn't train, he practices. Well, I realized I do more practicing than training. I don't find training fun, but I like to practice. Although I didn't enter the big race in February, I did enter a local race with a shorter distance. If I do enter something, I never show up unprepared. So I figured I better start practicing. I've got a pretty good base. I just need to develop more endurance and power to keep the pedals moving on snow. Last Sunday I did a gravel grinder on the Pugsley, total miles was 47.This Sunday, it wasn't hard to get myself out the door. Abundant sunshine and above normal temps. I headed east through town and up the Lester River Road. Some locals consider this a climb. It goes on for about 3 miles but only gains about 600 ft. Do the math? That's not much of a climb. There's a lot of flat places to recover on this "climb". If this is a hard climb, than I'm freakin' Eddie Merckx.

Anyhoo, once I finished this so called climb, I meandered my way east towards Two Harbors paralleling the big lake a few miles inland. Woods and small farms dotted the landscape. And some really nice roads. I had a tail wind most of the way, which meant one thing. Headwind going home!

There was a nice long gradual decent towards Lake Superior and Two Harbors. Sure enough as soon as I turned towards home there was a moderate headwind. Really this was a good thing since I was practicing. I knew it was 31 miles home, which meant 31 miles of headwinds. Riding into a headwind is a great way to build up the ability to put out a lot of power over a long period of time like one would need to ride in snow. So I welcomed the wind.

The Ellis got the call today. At 66 miles, this was the longest ride to date on the Ellis. I'm embarrassed to say that. I had plans to put way more miles on this bike this year. Since I don't commute on the Ellis, and most of my miles this year were commuting miles, the Ellis didn't see as much action as I had planned prior to breaking my arm.

One change you might notice in the picture is the third water bottle. It's the first time I had mounted a cage on the third set of water bottle mounts. I don't always like to stop for water and food. I usually carry everything I need. For today's ride I wanted more than two bottles, so I added the third cage. I also carried lunch. If I were training I would probably eat those horrible energy gels and bars (most of them I can't eat anyway because they aren't gluten free). But since I'm only practicing I carried lunch. A ham and cheese sandwich on gluten-free Italian Herb Bread from Sustenance Artisan Breads and some carrots from our local CSA. Yum Yum.

Not a bad ride. I was surprised to learn I managed a 15.4 mph average for the ride despite 31 miles of headwinds. And I feel pretty good.


Pract

Yesterday's commute...rain.

Yesterday the weather worsened during the day. It meant a ride home in the rain and fog. Light rain, which really can be quite pleasant for the short distance I commute. I stopped at my LBS to pick up a replacement computer for the one I bought a month ago and was defective. It's for the Pugsley.

The weather is the same today. So I'm glad I postponed my overnight bike camping trip. I can do the bad weather. But sometimes I have to ask myself, why?

Miscellaneous Snow Biking Topics

Registration for the 2010 Arrowhead Winter Ultra was reopened yesterday after the Race Directors got the OK from the Minnesota DNR to increase the number of entrants above the previous limit of 75. The roster is now just over 100 as of yesterday. This is great news. This will be a world class event in it's sixth running. Registration stays open until Dec 1st. Really makes me wish I was doing it again.

If you have been dreaming of trying a Winter Ultra, but are intimidated by the distance of the AH135, there are two other new Ultras that have shorter distances. This would be a great way to get some experience before entering the 2011 AH135. On December 19th is the Tuscobia Ultra Marathon with distances of 50K and 75 miles. There is no cut-off for registration, but it is a mail in registration with no race day entrants allowed. On January 2 is the North Shore Winter Ultra Marathon with with 48 and 88 mile distances. This will be a circuit course rather than a point to point race. Definitely more comfortable of a set-up for a first timer. Registration ends Dec 28th or when the field reaches 200. I've entered the North Shore Ultra. Both of these races has AH135 veterans signed up. A great way to see how experienced snow bikers do it.

This is the best snow bike racing this side of Alaska. Get your entry fees in today so you don't miss out on the fun.

Snowbike equipment update. Bar mitts, or pogies, are a great way to keep your hands warm in extreme conditions. There aren't a lot of options out there. Top of the line are Epic Pogies. But they are also the pricey ($200). Worth every cent in below zero weather if you've got the dollars. Unfortunately, it appears Eric at Epic won't be making anymore this winter. He has taken them off his website. They are his most labor intensive product. He probably decided to concentrate on his other products for now. An alternative some of us snow bikers have been using are mitts made for ATV's. These were effective at keeping my hands warm with just a fleece glove on my hands during my first attempt at the AH135 when the air temp at the start was -28F (-33C). With a price of $19.99, you can't go wrong. Another new option for this year is from Barmitts. This fall they are putting out a new mountain Barmitt made out of neoprene. Looks like a great product. They aren't as big and floppy looking as the ATV mitts. Very reasonable at $65. You'd pay at least that much for a good pair of winter gloves/lobster mitts that wouldn't do as a good a job at keeping your fingers warm. Denis at Twin Ports Cyclery, for those readers in Duluth, said he's got a few pairs ordered.

Not gonna happen this weekend

This is 4:30 in the afternoon. It's getting dark early.

I rode the Blue Truck/Xtracycle to work today. I had a list of goodies I needed to pick up at the Co-op for a weekend bike camping trip I was planning. The extended forecast all week has been calling for sunny skies on Saturday and Sunday. I checked the latest forecast just before I left work and discovered it had changed. Looks like rain through midday Saturday. I'm not interested in riding in a chance of rain with low 40 temps. Postponed again.

I haven't been bike camping since August. I've been trying to find a nice weekend to get out. But it hasn't worked out with the free weekends I've had. I've been hoping to get in a repeat of my very first bike camping trip back in June of 2007. A 121 mile (194 km) gravel grinder on the Pugsley. This time I was hoping to go a little lighter with minimal gear.

Maybe Thanksgiving weekend the weather will cooperate a little more.

Floppy shoes not included.

I rode the Surly Pugsley to work today.

WHY? Because I have one and I can. No other reason other than it's just plain silly fun to ride. I've been itching to ride it all summer. I finally got some maintenance done on it Sunday so I could get it out for some shakedown rides before winter fun arrives.

Good thing because the rear disc brake stopped working on the way home. That was just after the caliper wouldn't re-open at one point. Disc brakes are a big thorn in my side. They drive me nuts.

Here's the Pugsley on the way home. It was that funky light just before the sun sets over the hill. Turns the purple paint on the Pug into a strange color. Riding a Pugsley on dry roads is like riding a big clown bicycle.

Getting ready for winter fun

Bob and Jeff have both shown an interest in trying a winter bike race of some sort. I hope some of it was due to my bad influence. Ha Ha.

Since I have entered one upcoming Winter Ultra, I thought it was time to start getting more serious and do more than my daily commute. I need to get some practice in. In fact the three of us got out together for a very fun practice ride today. I suggested a ride on the Tri County Trail east of Superior Wisconsin. It's a multi-use rail trail. It looks like a two lane gravel road. But mostly it's used by ATV's and snowmobiles. I thought the loose packed surface would provide some resistance similar to snow. Bob on his Specialized Rockhopper and Jeff on his older Gary Fisher commuter bike.

This is pretty much how it looked the whole way. It climbs very gradually away from Lake Superior. According to Bob's GPS data it climbed about 600 ft over the distance we rode. We rode out 16 miles before turning around.

A snack break in Maple. This is were we turned around.

I took the opportunity to finally get out on my Pugsley. I've been itching to ride it for the longest time. Not that I needed it for this trail. But it is one heck of a fun bike to ride.

I spent several hours cleaning it up yesterday. I never cleaned it after the last snowfall back in March. Or was that April? So it definitely needed some attention.

I added a little personal touch to the seat stays.

I had cork grips and cotton tape on the H-bars. I added some cork tape over the top. It makes for some thick grips. It's a nice feel when wearing gloves.

Jeff gave me a ride to the trailhead. When we got back to the cars, I decided I was feeling good enough to ride the 14 miles home. Total for the day was about 47 miles. Give or take a half mile. I didn't have a computer on my bike today. I bought a new one for the Pugsley. When I went to put it on last night I couldn't get the display to come on. Not even with a new batttery. It was little weird riding without a computer when I'm used to having one.

It was a good ride with a couple of good guys. We hope to get out again together soon.

What's going on?

By the looks of the woods around the road, it looks like late fall. No leaves left on the trees at all. But wait....it's 62F (17C). That is way above normal. I got ready for a short ride on the Ellis. As I carried it up the basement stairs and out into the sunlight I knew right away I was dressed to heavy. I'm not used to dressing for 60 degree weather. I had to go back inside and make a major wardrobe change. I even shed the gloves I had put on. I never thought I'd go bare handed again until at least April.

So let's see, in July we had record cold, September near record warmth, October near record cold. And now in the first week of November we have a 62 degree day. Not a record, but none the less it's nearly 30 degrees above avg. Whatever is going on, I certainly don't mind a day like today, anytime of the year.

One year ago

One year ago tomorrow is when I made the mistake of trying to ride across the Aerial Lift Bridge when there was some light snow coming down. The roadways were dry, but there must have been just enough moisture in the snow flurries to make the metal grated bridge surface as slick as ice. My front wheel went out from under me almost as soon as I got onto the bridge. I remember it like it was yesterday, a day doesn't go by without me thinking about it. I'm a person that has had very few major incidents. Prior to this unfortunate mistake I'd never broken a bone, ridden in an ambulance, stayed in a hospital, or had surgery. It was a very traumatic experience to say the least. I not only broke my humerus bone in my right arm, but according to my surgeon I "blasted it apart". The worst break he'd ever seen. The bone was in 10 pcs. He skillfully reconstructed it and used a plate and screws to hold it all together.

One year later I still have daily reminders of the accident. My range of motion is nearly 95-98% returned. I still experience pain when I reach up high, or try to reach behind my back. Getting my hand into a cycling jersey pocket is quite painful. Up until one month ago I was still experiencing pain daily, all the time. Maybe soreness is the correct word. People have asked me when the weather changes if I feel it in my arm. I really don't know, because it hurts all the time. The past month I have actually had moments where I am pain free. But using the arm can cause a lot of soreness. This is normal for my type of injury. My surgeon told me I would feel this soreness for a year or more. Luckily it doesn't bother me on a bike. The only time it hurts is when I pull on the handlebars like when I'm climbing out of the saddle or accelerating out of the saddle.

Ironically, the bridge that was my worst nightmare is featured in many of my archived photographs. Of the 1,500, or so, pictures I've taken over the past 4 years for this blog, there has to be 200 or more photos of that bridge.

I used to use the bridge fairly frequently. Since the accident I have yet to cross it!

More irony. Looking through my pictures I discovered this picture taken on 3-17-09. My first day back on the bicycle after my recovery and rehab.

First icy commute of the season

Last evening about 10 pm as I was heading to bed, Susan was downstairs letting the dog out. She yelled to me to come down and take a look outside. Turns out it was snowing with a dusting of snow already on the ground. Not an unusual sight to see in Northeastern Minnesota. We've seen it snowing 100's of times. This time it was unexpected. It hadn't been forecast at all. Any time it snows I get excited about riding.

I guess the precipitation only lasted an hour or so. The temperature dropped below freezing during the night. For the morning ride in to work it was 27F (-3C). Most of the moisture that came down in the night ended up freezing to the roads. With the memory of my broken arm less than a year old, slickeriness makes me nervous. Mostly due to the fact I have yet to put the studded tires on yet. I didn't really need them this morning, but it sure would have given me quite a bit more confidence. My rear tire spun a few times climbing up to Skyline this morning. The city salt trucks had been out and spread a light layer of salt. But there were spots that got missed. All in all I made it to work just fine...and it was a very pleasant morning to be out on a bicycle.

In other winter riding news. The Arrowhead 135 roster is limited to 75 racers. It has filled up and a waiting list is growing. I may have a few of these facts wrong, but I think this will be the 6th AH135. I don't believe the roster has ever filled up before. And if it has, never this early. It is very cool to see this event growing in popularity. Again I don't know this for sure, but I speculate the growth is due to two things. The event is maturing and word is getting out about how great an event it is. And Mike C showing up and riding last year brought the event up to a new level of respect in snowbiking circles. It used to be people would ride the AH 135 and dream of heading to Alsaka for a real wilderness race. You didn't see Alaskans coming to the lower forty-eight for snow races. This year there will be five Alaskans, as the roster currently stands.

The roster is impressive. Five Alaskans, people from Ma to FL to TX to WA. People from Canada, Italy, France, Brazil, Bolivia, and the UK. It used to be 95% Minnesotans. Nice to see some variety. By the looks of some missing names and the waiting list, some people were caught by surprise with the roster filling up.

I chose to skip it this year. I've been having a lazy year. I get out and ride almost daily, but I've had no desire to do the training required for an event like the Arrowhead. Hearing the news about the AH135 has me regretting it a bit. What fun it would be to line up with this fine group and ride through the woods of Northern Minnesota on a snow bike.

Since the roster lists everyone as a "rookie" or "verteran" based on whether or not they have competed in the AH135 before, it would have been worth the $200 registration fee just to see my name with a "veteran" behind it on the same list as someone like Pete Basinger and seeing "rookie" next to his name. Me a veteran and Pete B. a rookie! Now that's funny!

Heading into the darkness

With November here and the days growing shorter, I try to cherish every moment of daylight that I get to spend outside. By next month my bicycle commutes will be mostly in the darkness, combined with cold. Even now, with one errand to run after work, there was little light left by the time I rolled into my driveway and put the Blue Truck Xtracycle away for the night.

What I wore today.

View from my afternoon commute

This morning was the coldest morning commute of the season so far. It was 22F (-6C) degrees. The wind was light at 5 mph and was mostly at my back on the way in.

Today I wore everything that I wore on my Oct. 15th "What I wore today" post. To that I added the following items:

Polypro liner gloves
Knee warmers under the Headwind pants

Note that I still have yet to wear anything over my ears this season, even at 22F. My head generates a tremendous amount of heat.

As I've stated in the past, once the temperature falls below the freezing mark I look at the wind speed and wind chill as much, or more, than the air temp.

For example. If the wind had been stronger today, perhaps closer to 12-20 mph I would have made some adjustments to my wardrobe. I would surely have added a headband and possibly a neck gaiter. The headband not only keeps the ears warm, but adds some wind protection to my forehead. I also would have worn my warmer Lake Winter Boots.

Yes...I have not one, but two pairs!

Most people try to justify one pair of the pricey Lake Winter Cycling Boots. At $270, they are not cheap. I happen to have two pair.

My first pair I bought in the summer of 2006. Buying winter boots in the summer brings down the cost, if you shop around. I got my first pair, an older MXZ301 model, for $175. The next summer I happened to see a clearance on the same boots. When I went to the website they had one size left, pricing it at a clearance price of $90. It so happened to be my size! I jumped on it. When they arrived I realized they weren't exactly like the ones I had. These were the road version, the CXZ301. As you can see in the picture above, much less aggressive tread. The second pair have been in the box every since. This year I'm breaking them out. I decided they'd work great for longer road rides in cold weather and help save a little wear and tear on my original pair that is showing signs of heavy use.

Tonight I got both pairs out to give them a good coating of Nikwax to prepare them for our long Minnesota winters.

I tried shoe covers when I first started to ride all year long. The whole concept of shoe covers never made any sense to me. When I go winter camping, I don't wear my summer hiking shoes with shoe covers. I wear winter boots. When I go snowshoeing, I don't wear summer shoes with covers on them. I wear winter boots. Now that's what I do for cycling as well. These Lake boots make a hell of a lot of sense to me. They are worth every penny if you commute all year round in pretty extreme conditions and still want to use clip in pedals.