MnBicycleCommuter

Just enough snow to play on my Pugsley

2012-01-28T17:09:00.002-06:00

Yesterday's two inches of snow was barely enough to allow for some REAL snowbiking for a change. But I did get out to see how the riding was. I ended up doing a 22 mile loop all on snow.

It's been such a snow-less winter that today was the first time I've seen a snowmobile out this season.

There really wasn't enough snow for the machines, but there were a few just as eager to get out on their snowmobiles as I've been to get out on my Pugsley.

I had a first today. I've been expecting it. It was the first time in six winters of riding my Pugsley that I crossed paths with another fat tired biker. I've pretty much have had the snowmobile trails to myself (along with the snowmobilers) since I started riding my Pugsley on the trails in 2006. With the explosion of interest in these fat tired bikes I knew the day would come I'd see another rider. I expect to start seeing many more. I hope it doesn't piss off the the snowmobilers too much. Anyway, I knew the rider. It was Salsa sponsored rider Tim Ek. We are both year round bike commuters and our paths seem to cross at least once a week for the past.....forever....maybe six or seven years. Since we see each other in the mornings and we are on our way to work, we never get a chance to chat. So it was cool to stop and talk a few minutes with Tim. He was sporting his new Salsa Mukluk fat bike. I didn't get a photo.

It was really great to be out on snow for a change. But the conditions were far from ideal. There is a lot of ice under that two inches of snow. It's not like the packed, groomed trails I'm used to riding this time of year. For any locals like Tim that are rocking new fat tire bike, just be patient, the riding is so much better during a normal winter.

It doesn't really show up in these pictures, but there were light snow flurries falling during my entire ride. I love riding when it's snowing. So that was a plus.

Here's hoping we'll still get winter yet. Since I've had the Pugsley I've had at least two winters I rode good snow well into April. Two different years, including last year, we got an early thaw in mid-February and the trails never came back after that. Each year is different.

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Afternoon snow shower

2012-01-27T20:28:00.003-06:00

What an amazing couple of rides today.

It started with a sunrise commute this morning. I had four deer run across the road directly in front of me on the way to work. The deer herd that lives in the city has been very active the last week with above normal temperatures and no snow on the ground.

Well, no snow until this afternoon. There was a forecast for an inch or two of snow. Since we've had way more predictions of snow coming than what we get in reality, you stop believing the forecasts. This time the snow came.

Between noon and 3:00 the snow was coming down fast. In that amount of time we got almost two inches of snow. It had mostly stopped snowing by the time I left work. I took the long way home on some lightly traveled city streets. It was another sloppy mess.

The side streets that don't get heavy traffic and immediate snow removal attention still looked like this.

The roads that had been salted, sanded and plowed were a sloppy wet mess. It's these kind of conditions which motivated me to build the low maintenance belt drive bike with an internally geared hub.

I was so loving the chance to ride in the snow that I took a longer way home. It added 7 extra miles to my afternoon commute.

This picture above is from the exact same spot as the first sunrise picture at the top of this post. What a difference nine hours can make.

And then the clouds started to break up. Within minutes it went from cloudy and gray to clear and sunny. It was simply glorious to ride home the last few miles in sunshine with fresh snow all around.

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Sloppy

2012-01-23T18:04:00.004-06:00

With our lack of winter, how easily I forget how nasty and sloppy the city streets can get when it does decide to snow. Today it looked like winter most of the day. With snowfall and high winds blowing it around. Unfortunately it only amounted to an inch or two of snow.

The city, as usual, dumped tons and tons of chemicals and sand on the streets to help remove the snow and give traction. It made a messy, sloppy soup of gritty slush. Yuck. It's component eating stuff.

On the other hand, the Surly Belt Check performed as expected. Not a single belt issue with the new Gates CenterTrack system. It got completely mucked up and never skipped a beat. I even took the long way home tonight. The best part is: no chain cleaning and lubing necessary.

Mountain Biking my favorite Pugsley Snow Route

2012-01-22T18:00:00.005-06:00

Jeff gave me a call today. He said he needed to get out on ride. Was I interested? Heck yeah, I was just about to get ready and was needing a little extra motivation.I was thinking we were going to do a road ride. When Jeff showed up at my house with his newish mountain bike, I decided to switch to my Pugsley and suggest a trail ride. Since I don't do any summer off-road riding or own a regular mountain bike, I suggested we try my favorite 20 mile snow route loop. I was hesitant because with the lack of snow it is very icy.

Wednesday's half inch snowfall ended up being just enough snow covering for a small amount of traction on top of all that ice.

We headed out to Bardon's Peak and stopped for a picture taking break there.

I climbed up to the top of the little rocky knob and did my best Rocky Balboa.

It was great to get out with someone since I ride alone so much of the time. Jeff enjoyed seeing some trails that were new to him. He lives across town and doesn't get an opportunity to ride out west of town very often.

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I heard Lake Superior chewing ice.

2012-01-21T20:31:00.009-06:00

I had a difficult time getting motivated to get outside on a ride today. After a cold week of below zero weather (below -18 Celsius) I just didn't feel like putting on all the layers to ride. Plus, we STILL haven't gotten any snow here, so there's still no snowbiking. I've been bummed about that.

I was on my own because Susan was hosting a weekend retreat for some of her knitting podcast listeners this weekend. I finally decided to get out and run a few errands by bike. A stop for a bottle of wine and a stop for dinner ingredients at the local food co-op is what finally got me out.

After I checked off the two errands I stopped down by the big lake. I heard a sound that drew me off the bike and down to the shoreline. It sounded like the lake was chewing up the ice.

Only this week did ice finally start to form on the lake. There's been ice on the inner harbor since December. But the big lake takes weeks of extreme cold temperatures to get cold enough to ice over. Lake Superior is so big it contains 10% of the Earth's fresh water, or 3 quadrillion gallons of water. Takes a long time to cool that much water. It's more of a fresh water, inland sea, than a lake.

What was happening was there was a light wind blowing towards the shoreline I was standing on. The thin ice was moving towards the shore. As it reached the shore it was buckling and being broken up. It was making the most amazing sound. I took a low quality video. If you turn up the sound you can here what I was hearing.

If you look closely where the smooth ice meets the broken up ice you can see some movement in the video. Lake Superior is never boring.

Twenty-one miles later I arrived home after dark. I carried my bicycle down to the basement and placed it where I keep it. I was sitting on the bottom step of the basement steps taking off my boots. That's when I found myself saying out loud, "Oh that was a GOOD ride!"

It happens almost every time I have a lack of motivation. Once I'm out I find it's always worth it.

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Eight below zero.

2012-01-20T17:58:00.002-06:00

A mountain of water vapor rising from Lake Superior

This morning the air temperature was -8F/-22C degrees. Warmer than yesterday. I dressed with identical layers as yesterday. It worked for me yesterday. Today I was way overdressed and soaked several layers with sweat. The temperature difference was insignificant. However the wind chill was no where near as cold today. Like a difference between -30 and -15. Windchill always plays an important factor in this kind of bitter cold.

At 12 Below Zero I Saw Lake Superior Breathing.

2012-01-19T20:09:00.002-06:00

You know when you go out in the cold and you exhale and you see your breath? When it gets down to -12F/-25C you can see Lake Superior exhaling. It lets off huge clouds of water vapor. Quite the sight!

I've got this dressing for bitter cold figured out. It allows me to enjoy the ride even in extremes like today. I even took the long way home today. But of course, it was up to -1F/-18C by then.

I used to switch to platform pedals and loose fitting hiking boots for below zero weather. Today I decided to push my limits with my Lake Winter Boots. I found there limit. I had a somewhat painful ten minute thawing out after I got home this evening. No damage. Another lesson learned. Feet have always been my weak spot. But I know how to keep them warm in much colder temps. I was just exper-mentin' today.

We experienced a 1/2 inch snowfall last evening. One of our bigger snow storms of the season so far. That's sad. I'm missing all the snow that should go along with these bitter cold conditions.

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Four below.

2012-01-18T20:44:00.002-06:00

Four below (that's -20C) was the morning temperature for my ride into work. The scenery was unbelievable this morning. I enjoyed it immensely.

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Breaking out the summer bikes

2012-01-15T16:47:00.003-06:00

I have several bikes I don't ride in the winter. My Surly Long Haul Trucker is one of those. I have the dedicated winter commuter bike that sees most of the my winter street riding. My LHT I use for some three season commuting and any bike camping I do. However I haven't ridden it at all since mid-August of last year. Unfortunately I didn't get out on any late summer or fall camping trips. And I completely stopped commuting on it because I was so into my belt drive commuter bike.

Today with some bright sunshine, temps around freezing, and dry roads, I decided there was no reason to ride studded tires on clear roadways. Usually this time of year, with a day like today, the roads would be a sloppy mess. But with our lack of winter, the roads are relatively clean and ice free right now.

It was very pleasant riding without the "sizzlin' bacon" sound of studded tires on dry pavement. The bike seemed to glide along quietly and effortlessly. And with all the mild weather, I already have 305 miles ridden in 2012. I'd much rather be out on my Pugsley on a snowmobile trail. Perhaps I'll still get what I wish for yet.

Snow drought forces Pugsley onto beach

2012-01-14T17:51:00.004-06:00

I needed some Pugsley time today. Unfortunately with the winter snow drought we're having, there is no snow. Even the BIG Midwest snow storm this week missed us here in the Upper Midwest. I decided to try and ride the snomo trails today without snow. I knew there'd be some icy conditions, but thought I'd give it a go anyway. I only made it less than half a mile before I went down. I think I was used to riding the studded tires on my commuter bike when I thought I could cross this patch of ice. I turned around and headed downtown to the lake front to try the beach instead.

It turned out to be a great "Plan B".

The sand was frozen and very firm. It was easy riding. One could have just as easily have done it on a standard mountain bike. Although there were intermittent softer spots that would have bogged down a narrower tired bike, but only slightly.

I rode down the beach on the sand spit for about 5 miles before turning around.

It was a calm day in the upper teens with little to no wave action.

Riding back towards Duluth, spread out on the hill.

Some signs of winter, ice in the shipping canal.

Odd, very odd.

2012-01-13T18:15:00.002-06:00

It's odd that it's the middle of January and we don't have any snow.

I kept hearing on the news today about winter hitting the Midwest. That's a very general statement and the Midwest is very large. Here in the Upper Midwest we didn't get any of the snow that the Midwest was reported to be getting. However, we did get the cold. Today's commute temperatures were 1F/-17C degrees in the morning and 12F/-11C degrees in the afternoon. That's about normal for this date. Without the gusty winds of the last couple of days it felt pretty mild. So I took the long way home.

Arctic Cold Blast

2012-01-11T21:05:00.006-06:00

That was a headline I heard today. What an unusual weather day today. After a week of record high, or near record high temperatures, a change took place today. The morning commute was 36F/2C degrees with rain. Then the Arctic Blast blew into town. The temperatures dropped and the winds increased to upwards of 30 mph with snow flurries off and on all day.

The ride home was completely different with blowing snow and temps around 20F/-7C degrees and the windchill about 0F/-18C.

(If the video doesn't play, click on it and you can play it in Flickr)

And when the wind is around 30 mph in some places, it can be 45-50 mph coming by the golf course up on the ridge. That's where this really poor quality video I took was shot. I took it so you can hear the wind and see the trees blowing and almost see the snow blowing across the road.

One thing I discovered is I'm fully acclimated to winter temps. We had a stretch of temps in the single digits and teens back in December. After a week of 30 and 40 degree weather I was afraid the zero degree wind chill would be tough to take today. Much like it is when you get that first stretch of cold weather in late November or December. But I never felt cold, or uncomfortable at all. In fact I was stopping and taking pictures and never felt the cold. Really, when I think about it, i had a great time riding today.

Records keep falling

2012-01-10T19:32:00.002-06:00

Not much to report here. Another day yesterday and today with highs in the mid-40's, another broken record high yesterday...and maybe today...haven't heard yet on today's.

Cold front coming through tonight. Maybe a dusting of snow. Temperatures will be as much as 40 degrees colder by Friday morning. I have never minded the bitter cold, but it sure is a lot easier to take when there's snow to play in.

I keep seeing my frame.

2012-01-09T20:47:00.003-06:00

I was reading a blog post today and what do I see, but MY frame. My Ellis Cycles frame painted by Jason Sanchez. Jason also features my frame in his Gallery. This has happened several times last year. I also came across it here. It's kind of odd going to a website and finding pictures of my bike when I wasn't expecting it. But one thing it does do is confirm how beautiful my frame is and what a gem it is. I thought I was just biased, but others seem to find the beauty as well.

January Road Ride

2012-01-07T17:02:00.008-06:00

Ever since I purchased my Surly Pugsley back in the summer of 2006, almost all of my long winter rides have been on snow with the Pug. With this year's lack of snow cover, I was forced onto the local roadways for a long ride today. Well, actually, the January of 2007 was very much like this year's. I remember because I was training for my first Arrowhead 135 and having very few rides on snow prior to the actual race in February.
I wasn't the only local rider who went out for a road ride today. Darin, the owner of a new Salsa Mukluk fat tire bike, was also out on the roads today.

A few shots from today's ride:

I got in 37 miles on the Surly Belt Check. I enjoy the belt drive more than I can say. It is soooo nice to go out in crappy (meaning lots of wet salt and sand on the road) weather and not be concerned about what it's doing to my chain.

I did realize I was dressed a little light for a long ride in 31F/-1C degree weather. It is so much easier to stay warm on a Pugsley riding on snow than on a road ride. I finally decided it was due to two factors. Speed and level of effort. Riding on snow you're typically going slower, thus creating less wind chill. And the sustained effort to keep 4" wide tires rolling through snow is much more taxing than rolling along on the road. I had a bit of a painful thawing out once I got home. Haven't experienced that in 6 or 7 years. Oh well, I still enjoyed the ride.

Anyway.....I have 149 miles ridden so far in 2012....and that's with one day off the bike. Not a bad start to the New Year.

Is this what winter is like in warmer climates?

2012-01-06T21:06:00.005-06:00

Today's sunrise and......

......sunset. (The above color appeared for less than three minutes. Almost didn't capture it.)

Another day with temps completely above freezing...morning and afternoon. Wow, completely unbelievable for January in the Upper Midwest. More than 20 degrees above average. It feels like April with a hint of Spring in the air. I rode with out face or ear protection and fewer layers over most parts of my body. The ride in was 4-5 mph faster because I could breath freely and none of my hub or BB bearing grease was freezing up.

I have to say it was very pleasant. But man do I miss winter! I love winter and live in this place, on purpose, with very harsh winters for that very reason. Oh but I long for an 18 inch base of snow, my Pugsley below me, 15F/-9C degrees, light winds, blue sky, and sunshine. Oh, that would be heaven!

The warmest January 5th EVER.

2012-01-05T18:53:00.003-06:00

Well, maybe not ever, but it was a record high for this date. I'm not even sure what the official high was. But I know the record high was 40F/5C degrees and it was still 47F/8C when I arrived home well after dark. It was 26F/-3C degrees for my morning commute. That's higher than the normal high for today of 19F/-7C degrees. It was nearly 30 degrees above normal! Crazy stuff.

I took the long way home and enjoyed the January warmth. I was out way past sun down tonight.

Un-Wintery

2012-01-04T19:52:00.005-06:00

Don't let the snow in this picture fool you. Like most of you out there winter has yet to arrive in our part of the world. We have less than two inches of snow on the ground and it came an inch or less at a time.

Today it got up above freezing. Unbelievably warm for early January. It felt like March or April feels like here. It was so nice I took the long way home today. January is our driest winter month, so it doesn't look promising for any real winter activities like snow biking or cross-country skiing in the near future. Could it be a winter without snow? That'd be a shame. Since 2006 my favorite bike rides of the year are my winter rides on my Surly Pugsley. Like this ride from February 17, 2007:

Well, at least I can get in some nice after work rides while the warmer weather is around.

Today I was sure glad to be riding a bicycle across this bridge rather than driving on the highway below it:

It's been nine and a half years since I sold my truck and stopped driving to work. I don't miss it!

Made the local news

2012-01-02T09:33:00.002-06:00

Check out this link.

There was a local news crew at our Annual New Years Day ride I blogged about yesterday. A quick shot of me made it in the clip. They got my last name wrong, but no big deal.

VeloDuluth's Annual New Year's Day Ride

2012-01-01T17:25:00.004-06:00

The local bicycling club sponsored by Twin Ports Cyclery, VeloDuluth, has an annual New Year's Day Ride. Over the past 8 years I've made it out for the ride 6 or 7 times. It's usually frigid cold. This year it was just below the freezing mark with temperatures expected to drop rapidly and wind gusts of 40 mph predicted. The temps never did drop and the winds were more like 17 or 18 mph. Really quite pleasant for this time of year.

Winter teased us again with another 1 inch of snowfall overnight. Between the fresh snow, the wind wind chill forecast, and perhaps a dwindling membership, only eight hearty souls started the ride. Past years have seen twenty to thirty riders for this ride.

VeloDuluth sponsors a successful CycloCross team. Jeanne Fleck, on the right, will be racing for the USA Cycling's Cyclocross National Championship in Madison Wisconsin next weekend. She will be racing in the Masters Women 45-49 group. She has had a very good season and can win this event. Good Luck Jeanne!

Anyhoo, that's the start to my New Year. A total of 20 miles ridden so far in 2012....many more thousands to come.

Snow Test #3: Gates CenterTrack

2011-12-29T19:05:00.007-06:00

A picture from my way into work this morning. Real winter still hasn't come yet. Another teaser of a snow storm this morning dropping only an inch of snow on us.The snow from last Friday's small snowfall had melted already. We had a record high temperature of 45F/7C degrees on Monday. That's more than twenty degrees above normal. Crazy stuff.

However, there was just enough snow to give my Gates Carbon Drive CenterTrack upgrade a performance test in snow.

As you can see the conditions were right for a lot of snow build-up on the rear hub. So much snow was building up in the fenders and falling down on the rear hub and cog, that you wouldn't even know there was a Nexus internally geared hub hiding in there.

With the older version of the Gates belt drive I started with last year it would have surely derailed in conditions like this. The CenterTrack was rock solid all the way today. I'm becoming a believer. This belt drive thing may really work. Stay tuned.

Quiet Urban Ride on Christmas Day

2011-12-25T16:34:00.010-06:00

I've found in the past that Holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving are great days to get out early on a bicycle ride. You can experience the city landscape in way you can't any other time of year. With little activity and very light traffic.

So on this unusually warm Christmas Day I got out early.

I didn't have the luxury of a long ride because Susan and I had planned to spend our afternoon at the movies. I decided a flat ride through town, across the lift bridge and out to the airport where the road ends. It's a 20 mile round trip. Perfect. I must note this is only the second time I've crossed the lift bridge since my awful accident on it back in November 2008. You can bet I didn't ride the metal grating in the wet conditions. I walked my bike across on the pedestrian sidewalk.

View from the bridge looking west.

I took the short walk up onto the sand dunes to get a look at the Greatest of the Great Lakes. As often happens there happened to be a huge freighter out on the lake.

I kinda wished I had ridden the Pugs and ridden the six miles of beach out and back. But I didn't really have time for that.

Looking down the dunes towards the hills of Duluth.

Back on the harbor side there was a lone ice fishing shack out on the ice.

Somebody sent a message to Brock, or maybe to the world, professing their love for Brock.

That's a BIG lake.

Merry Christmas

Unexpected surprise on my day off.

2011-12-23T21:46:00.008-06:00

Two to three inches of fresh snow was the unexpected surprise. We've been having a drought with the slowest start to the winter season in 50 years. When I last checked the forecast for today it said there was a 20% chance of less than an inch of snow. I woke up to more than an inch. By the time I got the Pugsley out for a ride in the afternoon there was more than 2 inches. Normally two inches is nothing to get excited about. But it nearly doubled the amount of snow we've received all season. Just yesterday there wasn't any snow cover left.

I was so tickled to be out in some snow I could barely contain myself. The only tracks in the snow were from dog walkers and one other biker apparently on a regular mtn bike. It appeared to be out and back tracks from the biker. I also saw one brave person on cross-country skis. Underneath that snow on the paved trail was a layer of sheer ice from a rain shower a few weeks ago. When I tried to take a side trail I slid around too much even with the low pressure fat tires. The snow had high moisture content and the ground under it was frozen solid. Not a good mix. Any rocks or ruts were partially obscured. When you hit them you'd just wash out the front wheel. Even a Pugsley has its limits.

It was great to be out on some snow.

I stopped on this bridge to watch a train pass underneath and enjoy the view of Ely's Peak rising above the trail.

I "heart" my Purple Pug.

You can see here where the skinnier tired bike was sticking to the side of the trail. The pavement underneath had a slight raised crown on this section. The Pugsley could maintain traction on it, barely, but a skinnier tire would keep washing out with the ice underneath the snow. I intentionally stopped here to take a picture. I didn't go down. But even with a light touch on the brakes you can see the back wheel started to slide out.

Quite a bit of snow build-up with the wetter snow.

It was dark by the time I headed home. I remember back in the days when I used to cross-country ski a lot (back before I had a Pugsley) I used to love to ski after dark. It was always so peaceful skiing along out in the woods in the snow. I discovered I get the same feeling on a Pugsley.

The Pugsley thawing out on the bike stand. It's so easy to forget this part of snowbiking......the daily cleanings when things get really sloppy.

OK, I'm back.

2011-12-22T18:01:00.003-06:00

I know at least one reader noticed my absence. I know that because he emailed me. It was a planned absence. We always go to Illinois for an early Christmas with my in-laws. We were gone over the weekend and for a total of six days. It was a bike free vacation. I think it's healthy to get away from the bike now and then. Although, it was so mild there I was really wishing I had a folding bike to take along on trips like this. A Brompton is on wish list for this sort of thing, but may have to wait another year.

Another nice sunset on the way home tonight. Very cool shaft of sunlight shooting up into the clouds, plus the lights from the Ski Resort on the left side of the picture.

Four Thousand

2011-12-12T17:59:00.003-06:00

On this very gray, drizzly day I hit 4,000 miles for the year. Low compared to some of my recent previous years.

High considering where I was at just a few months ago. In past years I've had 3,000 miles accumulated by the end of May. This year when we hit October, I still hadn't even hit 3,000 miles. At the rate I was going I wouldn't even hit 4,000 miles by the end of the year.

Granted I was off the bike for six weeks earlier in the year when I wife became very ill. I needed to take some family leave time to take care of her. Once I was back on the bike I mostly did my daily commute and ran errands by bicycle on the weekends. No big miles or epic rides or long bicycle trips this year. Just daily transportation.

I finally hit 3,000 miles on October 11th. At that point I set a goal to hit 4,000 miles by the end of the year. That and the desire to get in better condition for snowbiking on my Pugsley motivated me to put in a lot more miles.

Funny thing how this has worked out. My biggest mileage months since buying my Pugsley back in 2006 have been October and November. There have been a few 1,000 plus mile months through the years. I believe the anticipation of riding that insanely fun bike motivates me every Fall to increase my mileage so I can fully enjoy every ride in the winter months on my Pugsley.

A successful test of the Gates CenterTrack in snow.

2011-12-11T16:56:00.004-06:00

I knew we were having a light year so far for snowfall. An article today in the local newspaper provided numbers. It's the slowest start , or least amount of snowfall to start off the winter in 49 years. So far this year we've gotten a total of 4.3 inches of snow. Normal average snowfall is 17.7 inches up to this date. I hope it changes.

Despite that I got out in the tiny bit of snow I could find. This is on the Munger State Trail. We've had temps not even reaching the freezing mark for a week or more. So this little bit of snow has stuck around in places. Today it warmed up to 40F/5C degrees. As the snow warmed during my ride it got softer and softer.

Eventually it started to build up in the fenders and fall down onto the rear hub. With my last belt drive it would have surely derailed on a day like today.

It kept building up.The new Gates CenterTrack handled the build-up great. It never seemed to affect the performance of the belt.

This helps my confidence that the CenterTrack design will prevent any belt derailments.

See Doug Ride his Pugsley, see Doug do a face plant

2011-12-10T20:50:00.005-06:00

To celebrate this month's six year anniversary of this blog, I've filmed my very first bicycling video. Unfortunately for me, I caught myself on video going down face first while riding my Pugsley.

I decided to leave it unedited (basically because I've never edited a video before and don't know how yet). I was riding the Pugsley with 15 psi (that's high for a fat tire bike) in the tires due to less than an inch of old snow and very hard, frozen ground. You can see the rear wheel slide out on me at 00:13 and then the front wheel washes out at 00:19. Enjoy.

I ventured out today to try and find what little snow is out there. I'm really needing a winter snowbiking fix right now. We've had the bitter cold temps so far and the ground is frozen rock hard, but virtually no snow with the exception of what's left over from a few inches last month.

Where there is snow, I can't ride on it. It's the man-made snow at the local ski resort, Spirit Mountain.

So I rode on in search of some snow.

I headed up the ridge to check out a road that is closed in the winter and used as a snowmobile trail.

I did find snow some snow on the road. It almost felt like real snowbiking. I was in heaven.

It is simply amazing to me that each time out this season on the trails I've seen other fat bike tire tracks. It's the first season I've seen tracks other than my own....and I've seen them every time out. It won't be long before I see my first spotting of another fat bike rider. I've had these trails all to myself for 5 winters. It will be strange to see other bikers out. It just goes to show how hot these bikes are this year.

Can't wait for real snow. I hope it comes soon. We get most of our annual snowfall during the seasonal transition months of November/December and March/April. If we don't have snow on the ground by the end of this month, it may be a light year. We don't typically get much snow in January and February.

Think snow!

It's not the cold, it's the wind.

2011-12-07T21:06:00.004-06:00

You know the saying, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity". I tend to use a variation of that for winter bicycling in this cold part of the world where I cycle. It's not the cold, it's the wind.

The more I bicycle in the winter, the more I believe that. Only in the past year or so have I got my layering figured out for just about anything the weather can throw at me. That means I don't have to think about it each morning as I dress and I pretty much nail it everyday. It's such a fine line between overdressed and underdressed. If overdressed you will sweat too much and get cold from being wet. If underdressed, you just get cold and can't warm up.

People new to winter riding will look at the air temperature and go from there when dressing for the weather.

Once the temperature drops below freezing I will pay as much, or even more, attention to the wind speed and direction. The clothes you wear insulate and hold the heat in. But the rate of heat loss is determined by the wind speed. The higher the wind, the faster your heat is moved away from your body and the quicker you start feeling cold.

Here's an example from Monday. I dressed exactly the same for both my morning commute and my afternoon commute. The morning air temp was 2F/-17C degrees. The afternoon air temp was 17F/-8C degrees. Even though the afternoon air temp was 15 degrees higher, I was able to stay much warmer on the morning commute. Why? The air was calm in the morning, while in the afternoon I had a 18-20 mph sustained headwind. The calm morning air allowed my insulating layers to work. Later in the day, the wind sucked all the heat my body was producing right out of the insulating layers.

It takes time and experimentation to figure out what works best for you. But a mix of insulating base layers and windblocking outer layers can help you keep the proper amount of heat next to your body.

When dressing for outdoor activities in frigid temperatures always pay attention to the wind speed and dress appropriately.

If I were to train for something, it may well be this:

2011-12-05T19:35:00.002-06:00

I make it pretty clear here I like to ride my bike most everyday in most any weather. What I don't like to do is train for things. However, when I do decide to train for something, I am very disciplined. For example, my two attempts at the Arrowhead 135 in 2007 & 2008 I put in back to back 8,000 mile years to properly build a base for this ultra-distance race in extreme conditions. It's one of the toughest sporting events in the lower 48 states.

Every year around this time there is an event that happens in Pittsburgh, PA that gets me excited about the possibility of training for it the following year. It's been happening since 1983. It's Danny Chew's Dirty Dozen Race. Its a friendly event that has riders competing on the 13 steepest climbs in the Pittsburgh area. I have a personal connection. I lived and raced in Pittsburgh in the late 70's and rode with Danny Chew up a handful of these climbs during club training rides. Danny always had to show us the latest "toughest hill" he'd discovered. Here's a video of this years pack trying to ride up Canton Ave in Pittsburgh. It has a 37% grade:

Dirty Dozen Race 2011-Canton Ave from Matt Dayak on Vimeo.

I would love to go back to Pittsburgh and ride this event. I wouldn't be riding to be competitive, but riding to survive all thirteen climbs. I loved the challenge of climbing Pittsburgh's hills when I lived there.

Here's an article about the Dirty Dozen Race in an issue of Urban Velo.

And a half hour special on it from the local PBS station. In it they cover all thirteen climbs.

And an article written about this year's race in Bicycle Times.

Hoarding Lake Winter boots has paid off

2011-12-04T21:19:00.003-06:00

When I like a piece of equipment I tend to collect more than one when I see it on sale. Thus, the reason I own three pairs of Lake Winter boots. The two you see in the picture, a MXZ301 & MXZ302, and a CXZ301 not pictured. This boot is one of my top, all time favorite pieces of winter equipment. To my horror, I heard Lake is currently not producing new boots because their parent company folded under bankruptcy. I don't know all the details, but that's what my LBS owner told me.

One year ago I picked up the new MXZ302 boots at a significant discount. My 301's have five seasons on them and are experiencing some wear. They look in good condition above, but they were freshly cleaned and waxed prior to the above picture. The neoprene cuff on the top is seriously worn. Susan did a temporary fix last year that is still holding. The SPD cleats are shot and rusted solid to the boots. And then last Thursday the laces blew apart.

It's a BOA system, which I've grown to like more and more every year. Last year the lace was becoming frayed with use. So I've been expecting it to break. This right boot already had the ratchet knob replaced by me. It was ripped off when I crashed and busted up my arm three years ago. The people at Lake sent me a new one. Replacements can also be purchased from the BOA site I linked to above.

To fix the broken lace I decided to make the CXZ301 boot a donor boot. I bought the CXZ's at an extreme discount for $75, the original price was $250. I thought I was getting the MXZ model. But with my excitment at the price I didn't notice it was the road version of the MXZ. Since I have no use for the CXZ road version, which can't accept a SPD cleat without a bulky adaptor, I decided to use it for parts for my MXZ's. I have no desire to go out for a winter ride in a boot that leaves you completely immobile if you have to walk anywhere, even a few feet from your bike.

I would never attempt to walk in these or risk being stranded with a break-down in winter conditions.

The BOA lacing system can be intimidating when you first try to replace a lace. But once you've done it and understand the inner workings, it's quite easy to work with. I took both the new lace and the new knob off the new, never used, CXZ model and put it on the MXZ in need of a new lace. Above it is threaded and ready to be tied off and wound up on the ratcheting knob. Turns out I had it threaded incorrectly in the above picture and had to re-do it. No problem though, it only took an additional ten minutes.

And here's the finished repair. Just like new. In the Spring I may take it to a local shoe repair place and see if they can take the neoprene cuff off the new CXZ301 and put it on the old MXZ301. It's identical. I had to use my new MXZ302's when the lace broke. It was the first time I've worn them. I have to say, I like the older 301 model much better. Plus I bought the same size, but the new boots are a bit more snug. I hope to get another couple of years out of the old 2006 models.

Hopefully some one will buy the Lake shoe company and put these great winter boots back into production.

Pretending to Snowbike on my Pugsley

2011-12-03T17:31:00.003-06:00

Due to a lite snow month in November I haven't been able to get my wish for enough snow to snowbike. Some years we have snow in November, some years we don't. This year is a "don't" year. Well, unless you count the two inches we've gotten over four different snow storms.

I decided to take the Pugsley out anyway and pretend to have snow. It was just white enough for pretending.

These trails also had a white covering. Felt like snow too.

I stopped to take a look under this abandoned railroad trestle. I'm kinda wishin' I hadn't.

The ravine was much deeper than I realized. Riding across this was nerve racking enough before I knew how high up the bridge actually was. Now I have to try and not think about it when I ride it in the future.

All in all it was great to be out for a ride on some "snow" with the Pugsley.

I did come across an abundance of snow at one point. I didn't even realize the local ski resort was open to skiers/boarders yet. But they had one run open with a good 24-36 inch base down of man-made snow. It was so busy I had to wait about 4 minutes before there was an opening in the ski traffic to get across. Even standing on the side of the run I heard kids saying, "Hey, did you see that guys fat tires?" The Pugsley always garners attention.

Slipppeeerrry

2011-11-30T19:54:00.003-06:00

Or at least it was if you were in a car. If you were on a bicycle with studded tires today you had a much better chance as long as you didn't get hit by a sliding car.

The snow started about 3:00 pm, 1 hour before I left from work. Temps just below freezing meant very slippery conditions.

I could hear emergency vehicle sirens during my entire ride home. I felt safer on the side streets with my studded tires than I would have felt in a car anywhere today. In fact, I never slid or even noticed it was slippery during my time out. I was only riding along enjoying the snowfall.

I'm just waiting for some real accumulation of snow that will stick around so I can get on with this season's snow biking on my Pugsley.

Heading West

2011-11-28T19:35:00.000-06:00

Looking west while riding home today.

That didn't turn out the way I expected.

2011-11-27T20:11:00.002-06:00

My four day weekend didn't turn out the way I expected. I had hoped to ride every day. I started this month with a goal to increase my mileage quite a bit to offset a low mileage year-to-date total. I wanted to be in better condition for snow biking once the snow flies. As of Wednesday I had already passed my highest mileage month this year with 459 miles. Believe me, I've done much higher mileage in past years, but this year was all about enjoying the ride. I rode often, nearly everyday, just not a lot of big mile days.

Recovery is not my strength. Whether we're talking about recovering from a cold virus or recovering from a hard day in a saddle. I nearly always take twice as long as the average person to fully recover. I've been like that all my life. So I'm careful not to increase mileage too quickly. I thought I was doing fine and then I hit a wall. My Thursday pre-Thanksgiving feast ride was only 16 miles, but by the time I got home I felt like I had ridden 60 miles. I knew right then I'd over done it and my body was telling me to take it easy. I had hoped to ride every day during this four day holiday weekend. I ended up taking Friday and Saturday off the bike.

It must have done me good. Today I was totally unmotivated to get out for a ride. Late in the day I talked myself into a ride to the Post Office to drop off a bill that was due. One of the few bills I still pay by check. It's only 2.5 miles to the Post Offfice. By the time I got there I was feeling great and decided to keep going. I got in a really nice 90 minute ride. No mattter what the weather and how hard it is to get motivated to get out of the house some days, I ALWAYS feel better (well...except Thursday) once I'm out there riding.

Pre-Holiday Feast calorie burning

2011-11-24T12:54:00.002-06:00

I went out for a short ride today before the Thanksgiving Holiday feast begins. It felt good to be out on a unseasonably warm day. I've been wishing for snow, but I'll take a 50F/10C degree late November ride just the same. That's about 10 degrees above normal. And while it was looking like winter earlier in the week, it was an entirely different feel today.

Final preparations for winter.

2011-11-21T21:11:00.004-06:00

Okay, I know I come across as hardcore most of the time. But here's a confession. I do use artificial sources of heat to stay warm when riding in extreme temperatures.

Mostly for my feet, which happen to be my weak spot. Despite that I've learned how to keep my feet warm. I very rarely experience cold feet anymore even in the double digits below zero. Each year I stock up on hand warmers. Yeah, I know, they make feet specific warmers. I have found the hand warmers work better whether they are being used for your hands or feet. Since our winter lasts so long I order the hand warmers in bulk for a significant discount.

Hand warmers.....Check!

Saturday I put on a fresh set of Kool Stop Thinline salmon pads on both of my Paul Brakes. The salmon pads are said to be made out of a harder compound and don't get as much debris embedded in the pads as pads with softer compounds do. All I know is they simply last longer in winter riding and stop better if you clean your rim sidewalls often.

Last week I put on my studded tires. They are a larger size tire than my summer tires. So I had to tweak the fender line. I was getting some rubbing on the tire from the fender over the rough spots on the roads. My tweaking took care of this. No more rubbing, even over the roughest sections of my commute. The 5mm stays on the VeloORANGE Zeppelin fenders are rock solid, the fenders have almost no wobble at all. Completely different than the Planet Bike Cascadia fenders I was using previously. They have much thinner double stays, but wobble all over the place when you hit bumps.

I recently discovered I could purchase new brake hoods for my Cane Creek SCR-5 brake levers. I ordered a pair and put them on. These brake levers came over from my last Cross Check. I've been using them since 2007.

One of the old ones is on the right. You can see how worn out it is. There's holes in it. I do a lot of climbing out of the saddle and tend to pull on the handlebars via the brake hoods. I just plain worn them out. It was cool to discover I could buy new ones.

So I think I'm ready for winter, which we've been getting a taste of lately. We got another fraction of an inch of snowfall today. A little micro-burst of snow coated the roads during both my morning and afternoon commutes today.

I really can't wait for the big snows to come. Both of the bikes I use for snow are ready to roll.

Playing in the snow

2011-11-20T16:50:00.003-06:00

Again today the bike of choice was the belt drive cross bike with fat studded tires over the fat tired Pugsley. The Pugsley is not new to me since I've been riding one since 2006. So I'm not all about the Pugsley as soon as there's an inch of snow on the ground. Under that inch of snow was ice. Although the Pugsley would have been fine on it, the studded tires on the Belt Check provide a bit more security in these conditions.

It's really feeling like winter with our first taste of snow and bitter cold. It was 14F/-10C degrees this morning and only got up to 21F/-6 degrees during my ride.

The 700 x 40c Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires on Salsa Delgado Cross rims are plenty fat for today's conditions.

I happened to be out during the Green Bay Packer football game. So I had the woods completely to myself. Sure I live in Minnesota, but I can see Wisconsin from my front porch. There are just as many Green Bay Packers fans in my neck of the woods as Minnesota Viking fans. This time of year I try to get out during the games. Things are much quieter.

Two days in a row I had a fat tire spotting. Yesterday it was an Endomorph track. Today it was a Larry tire track. I mentioned I rode these trails for three years before spotting another fat tire track in the snow. I never have actually seen another fat tire bike while I've been out in five seasons of snowbiking. After yesterday and today, I've got a feeling that's going to change. I won't be out there alone anymore. Maybe it's time for a Snow Bike Etiquette post like Dave Byers did recently.

First test: Gates CenterTrack in snow.

2011-11-20T09:41:00.005-06:00

If you read yesterday's post you'll see I took the Belt Check out in the snow.I've been waiting for snow so I could test the new Gates Carbon Drive system in the snow. After last year's experience with an older version of the Carbon Drive, I've been a bit skeptical of the belt drive in snowy conditions. However, the new CenterTrack is supposed to remedy the derailing issue I had.

In the above picture, you can see the older rear cog on the left. Snow would build-up between the cog and belt. The snow would have no way to escape. Once the snow built up significantly, after about a mile of riding, the belt would derail right off the side of the cog. The new CenterTrack cog on the right is more open and provides a way for the snow to be pushed out from the around the cog. The ridge in the center of the cog fits into a "track" on the belt helping to decrease the chance of derailing the belt.

So how does the snow build-up on the hub?

First the snow builds-up between the tire and fender. The brake bridge area acts as a bottleneck for this build-up of snow.

As more snow gets pushed out around the brake bridge it falls onto the hub. This is one of the best advantages of using an internally geared hub for winter riding in snow and slush. A cassette or freewheel in similar conditions would totally clog up with snow and eventually make it very hard or impossible to shift between cogs.

I didn't think there was enough snow on the ground for significant snow build-up to take place. There was between 1-2 inches in most places with the air temperature being 24F/-5C degrees. I expected I would need 2-4 inches of snow to fully test the belt. But as you can see there was some snow build-up on the hub. I think there was enough to have caused the belt to derail on the older version. I did not have any issues. The belt did not pop or complain like the older version did just before it derailed. It felt as solid as it does in dry conditions.

In this picture you can clearly see snow build-up around the cog, but the cog itself seems to be self-cleaning itself.

I'd like to test it in wetter and deeper snow before I feel completely confident in the belt drive in snowy conditions. But with this experience yesterday, I'm feeling better about the possibilities of this system.

Test #1: Success

Blizzardy

2011-11-19T20:16:00.005-06:00

Another day, another inch of snow. Seems we are getting winter an inch or so at a time. Today it may have been closer to 2 inches. I went out for a ride during the heaviest part of the snow. With some gusty winds and the snow falling it was almost like a blizzard....except it wasn't. For blizzard conditions we'd need sustained winds at 60 mph and heavy snow.

With the snow amounting to not much more than a dusting when I left, I opted for the Belt Check with studded tires.

I'm glad I did. The snowy covering on the road was more ice than snow. Cars were sliding all over the place. I decided to stick to the side streets and trails.

Here's an Endomorph sighting on a trail. I've been riding my Pugsley in the snow on this trail since 2006. It took 3 years and more than 2,000 snow miles before I spotted another Endomorph track other than my own on the trails. Now, it's the first time on the trail in snow for me this season and there's an Endomorph track. What does that tell you about the sudden popularity of these bikes? Somebody's got themselves a new fat tired bike.

I had an enjoyable 20 mile jaunt in the snow. It was really a blast to be out in snow once again. I'm looking forward to winter. Hopefully next time it'll be on my Pugsley.

Hard to believe only one week ago I got in two good road rides on my Ellis on pleasant, sunny days with clean roads. How quickly it changes.

I wasn't expecting this.......

2011-11-18T17:13:00.005-06:00

With only a 30% chance of snow or rain predicted I was surprised to see it snowing moderately heavy when I left from work. Since I have the luxury of lightly traveled city streets on my way home, I was able to fully enjoy the early snowfall. I just love riding in the snow. Plus, I'm really glad I put those studded tires on the other day or I wouldn't have been going anywhere is this weather. Although, some knobby mountain bike tires would have worked fine in this wet snow.

I pulled off to the side to take in the wintery scene and take a couple of pictures.

Here it is, my winter commuter. This is what I built this bike for. The sloppiest of sloppy weather.

Last year I started out with a different version of the Gates Carbon Drive. As I've documented on this blog, the belt derailed in the first snowfall of the season from snow build-up on the rear cog. The new CenterTrack belt and pulleys should rectify that issue. There wasn't quite enough snow today to fully test it out. But when I got home there was some slush that had worked it's way onto the rear cog. Hopefully when the snow gets deeper the snow will be pushed out of the cog before it has a chance to build-up. I'm both anxious and excited to find out if it works in the snow.

Snow

2011-11-16T20:25:00.003-06:00

This was the scene this morning. Cold....24F/-5C degrees, windy and icy. It rained yesterday afternoon. I rode home on wet roads and the temperature was only a few ticks above freezing. Later the temperature dropped and the roads turned into sheets of ice. Many of the side streets this morning were still untreated and completely ice.

When I got home last night I put my Schwalbe Marathon Winter 700 x 40c studded tires on the Belt Check. I love, love, love these tires. They roll so much nicer than the Nokians I used to have. Today I rode over ice, without worry, ice that would have been difficult to walk on. I also find the fat tires feel really substantial on my cross frame. One of the reasons I bought a Surly Cross Check as a commuter bike was because of it's ability to run fat tires.

Plenty of room for those 700 x 40c studded tires under my VO Zeppelin Fenders.

I stopped at my LBS on the way home and talked to the owner and Nick for about one hour. When I came out, it was completely dark and snowing some of those big fluffy flakes. The side roads were mostly untouched. It got me really pumped up for winter to come.

The New Surly Pugsleys are in.

2011-11-16T20:18:00.002-06:00

Stopped by my Local Bike Shop today on the way home from work for some new tubes. Noticed they got in their shipment of Pugsleys....all three of them. They are currently unspoken for. If I didn't already have one I would have been in danger of going home with a new one today. They have a 16in, 18in, and a 20in. Stop by Twin Ports Cyclery NOW and see what all the noise is about with these fat tire bikes.

Looking to the sky

2011-11-14T19:18:00.003-06:00

I was in awe of the clouds at sunset today. I took the long way home and spent 15 minutes just shooting clouds. This was my favorite shot. Long ago, in another life (or so it seems), I would never stop during my drive to take pictures of the clouds.

Rides and non-ride activities.

2011-11-13T16:46:00.008-06:00

RIDES

For the second day in a row I got in a really good ride on the Ellis. I got in 25 miles today. Another brisk, windy day. After yesterdays hilly, windy 40 mile ride Pondero questioned if I was training for something. Not really. I haven't "trained" for anything since my 2007 and 2008 Arrowhead 135's. However, I am seriously working at increasing my overall level of fitness so that I can have many enjoyable rides in the snow on my Surly Pugsley this winter. It really helps to be in great shape when powering 4" wide tires through snow. I almost went out on the Pugsley today, but decided to get in some miles on the Ellis. It doesn't get out once the snow flies and the roads start to get covered in salt and sand. That could happen any day this time of year. Never know when it will be the last ride of the season for the Ellis.

I stopped to do some playing around with my GorillaPod and camera timer again today. It's still very new to me. I hope to do some longer solo bicycle touring trips in the next few years. I really got the GorillaPod to help record memorable stops on those trips.

NON-RIDE STUFF

This is Susan's newest toy. An Earl R Oman Spinning Wheel. She's been knitting for years. About two years ago she started spinning her own yarn on a drop spindle. She decided to move up to a spinning wheel. She was able to get this locally made wheel at a great price. From a woodworkers point of view, it's a beautiful handmade piece of art.

Speaking of woodworking, I've wanted to take up woodworking for many years. But 20 years as a renter didn't make it possible. The house we bought a few years back doesn't have a large enough space, or a garage, to make a full wood working shop feasible. But I have been collecting tools and occasionally practice my beginner woodworking skills. Recently Susan asked me to make her a "Lazy Kate" to go with her spinning wheel. It's a device that holds several bobbins with spun yarn and facilitates plying the yarns together. Most the information on-line about Lazy Kate's range from ones made out of coffee cans and shoeboxes to elaborately made ones with tensioning systems. Most of the handmade ones are set-up vertically. I don't find those designs as stable. So I designed my own.

Here it is. I'm about to drill holes for the steel rods that the bobbins will spin on. Across from them will be rope loop guides, one for each bobbin. Then I'll stain it to match the wheel. I'm thinking it's going to turn out very nice. And there is no other Lazy Kate even similar to it out there. It will be a Doug original.

Susan has a very popular Knitting Podcast if there are any knitters out there. It can also be found on iTunes under Knitajourney Podcast.

Road ride

2011-11-12T17:02:00.002-06:00

Anther November day a lot like last Saturday. Above average temps, no snow and still riding my Ellis into the late Fall. I put in 40 miles with some hills and wind today. I've been trying really hard not to overdress this year. Today I got a bit chilled, but not too bad. I still had an extra layer to put on if needed. However, I was cold enough I didn't stop to take many pictures. What you see here is all I took.

Moonrise over Lake Superior

2011-11-08T20:54:00.002-06:00

OK, how about a moonrise! I took the long way home today. It was spectacular riding. After four or five days of high winds, all of a sudden it was calm all day. Even the morning temp of 27F/-3C degrees felt warm. I rode along the Lakewalk before heading back to West Duluth to my polling place. It was election day, so I stopped and voted before heading home.

A Pugsley ride out to the abandoned railroad tunnel.

2011-11-06T20:45:00.007-06:00

I went out on the Pugsley today. The goal was to stay out of the wind. Sustained winds over 20 mph and gusting up to 40 mph, I was in no mood for a road ride today. Firearm deer season started yesterday, so I also wanted to stay inside the city limits. Only bow hunting is happening in the city. Despite the wind, the temperature was way above normal at 53F/12C degrees.

I didn't really have a destination in mind when I left the house.

After tooling around I decided to head up the ridge and Bardon's Peak you see in the above picture on the left. Dense clouds and low light conditions had me convinced to not even pull the camera out. I ended up shooting 39 pictures along the way for some reason.

I took some more pictures with my new found timer on my camera and my new GorillaPod.

Hello Deer. This one definitely was a city deer. It had no fear what so ever. No zoom needed.

I rode over to the Munger Trail, a paved rail-to-trail. I climbed up a side trail to the old abandoned DWP railroad bed (Duluth, Winnipeg, and Pacific). It runs parallel to the Munger, a little further up the ridge, but is unmaintained.

It has much better views the whole way. It clings to the hillside.

It has the same dramatic cutaways through the rock cliffs that the Munger has, but is overgrown.

Eventually I picked Ely's peak as my destination. It's the large cone shaped rock in the picture above. The DWP railway bed goes underneath Ely's Peak through a tunnel. I hadn't been out to the tunnel in 4 or 5 years.

This tunnel always spooks me. It curves through the rock hillside, so you can't see the other side or any light in the tunnel. The rock is very dark colored schist that was further blackened by all the coal burning steam engines that went through this tunnel.

I've only been through it once. There is a large piece of the ceiling that has fallen down into the middle of the tunnel. You can walk around it, but is very unsettling while you're in the tunnel.

Today I decided to turn around and head back home at this point. I wasn't in a mood to brave the tunnel.

Looking at Bardon's Peak from the other side.

What a great weekend for bike rides. After riding nothing but my Belt Drive bike the past few weeks, it was wonderful to get out for rides on both the Ellis and the Pugsley.

Windy ride

2011-11-05T14:42:00.002-05:00

Today I got out on my beloved Ellis for a pleasant road ride. Above normal temperatures brought in by southerly winds.

I headed up the North Shore for 20 miles. Tailwind all the way. I guess you could call my plan a bit of training...something I really don't do anymore. When I turned around I had 20 miles of headwind to make it home. Back when I was training for my two Arrowhead 135's I did this quite often, back then it was on a fixed gear. I really felt driving hard into the wind was very similar to riding 4" wide tires through snow. In both cases you have to work really hard and keep the power output high. And if you stop pedaling, you stop moving very quickly. There's no coasting or easing up. If you have a new fat bike in your collection of bikes, give this a try. It will make those snowy rides a lot more enjoyable.

Way better than yesterday

2011-11-04T17:43:00.002-05:00

Today will be the last day for sunrise pictures for awhile. Daylight savings time ends this weekend. With the time change the sun will be up a little before I leave for work for a few weeks. Sunrise pictures should return in about a month as the sunrise gets later and later.

Been taking the longer way home lately. Trying to put on more miles to get in better shape for winter biking on the Pugsley.

Escape from the cage.

2011-11-03T20:20:00.004-05:00

A pre-sunrise photo from this mornings commute. The sun is about to rise over Lake Superior. It was one of those mornings when I have to pinch myself when I realize the "how" and "where" of my everyday bicycle commute. On days like this I often think of those horrible 42 mile each way Chicago expressway commutes I had in another life. I'm so glad I escaped.

The Surly Belt Check continues to be my only "go-to" bike these days. My other bikes are sadly neglected.

Hey, all you belt drive critics out there that have never ridden a belt drive bicycle...don't knock it until you've tried it. It's an out of this world set-up that pedals like nothing you've ever pedaled before.

A big step forward for this blog

2011-10-30T18:50:00.002-05:00

I finally figured out how to use the timer on my camera. The camera I've had for at least three years. I had to pull the Instruction Manual out, but I got it figured out. That combined with the Gorillapod I bought with my last REI order, I've taken a huge technological leap forward. What's next? MnBicycleCummuter videos? Now that would be a gigantic leap forward.

I had a nice 32 mile ride today out to Jay Cooke State Park and back. I didn't see one single other bike out there. Is it indoor-trainer-season already?

Getting ready for winter riding.

2011-10-30T11:52:00.003-05:00

With our average temperatures dropping rapidly this time of year and the days getting shorter, I'm thinking about getting ready for winter riding.

Today I pulled out my winter cycling boots. On the left are my Lake MXZ301's I bought way back in 2005. On the right is a new pair of Lake MXZ302's I bought one year ago at an unbeatable discount as a back-up pair to my 301's.

These boots are what enabled me to get through my first full winter of riding everyday back in the winter of 2005-2006. I can't imagine how I'd ride in our cold winters without these boots. They are pricey, but I wear them everyday for 6 months. From October, or November, until late April most years. The 301's have six winters, or three full years, of everyday riding in them. They look as if they may have another 6 years left in them.

I like to get a nice coat of Nikwax on them before the cold season starts. Nikwax is what Lake recommends for use on their boots. The boots are essentially waterproof with the use of Nikwax. I usually do a thorough cleaning and re-application half way through the winter. A important step to remember when applying Nikwax is to wipe off any excess with a rag. Too much Nikwax can soften the leather and prematurely shorten the life of your boot uppers. It's like using to much Proofide on a Brooks leather saddle.

The Lake boots are one of my favorite winter weather pieces of equipment.

I've never been paid by Lake or accepted any free products from them.

Snowbiking vacation, my kind of getaway.

2011-10-30T11:02:00.001-05:00

Lapland - snowbike expedition 2011 from sportkamery.cz on Vimeo.

Bike shopping.

2011-10-29T16:28:00.003-05:00

Or more accurately, shopping by bike. When it's a nice weekend day with shopping to be done and bikes to be ridden, why not take care of both at the same time?

It may not look like it in this picture, but that's a heavy load. I have a 25lb bag of rice flour for my gluten free baking. Also there's a gallon of milk, gallon of almond milk, two pie pumpkins, two dozen eggs, and various other items. Heavy load. Those xtracycle freeloader bags swallow up a lot of stuff.

Even though our peak colors happened over three weeks ago, there are still pockets of color in my neighborhood. Must be the non-native trees that are still holding on to their leaves.

My latest bicycle related purchase.

2011-10-29T11:29:00.004-05:00

This month I used my REI member coupon for a 20% off one full priced item with free shipping over $50 to purchase a boot and glove dryer. I consider this a luxury item and isn't something I would normally splurge on. It comes in handy for me because my hands and feet sweat quite a bit, even in cold weather. It's nice to be able to dry things out each day after riding. Normally my REI purchases are mostly outdoor clothing.

The last few winters I've been using a boot dryer I found on an impulse buyers endcap display I saw at my local big box home center. It cost $9.99 and was pretty much a piece of crap that barely blew cold air. But it worked for awhile until the little blower fan started squealing and then quit on me. This new one appears to be much higher quality, has hot or cold air flow, and a dial timer to shut it off automatically.

I can easily fit my Lake Winter boots and my Vulpine Icebike Mitts on the dryer at the same time. The feature I'm most excited about is the heated air flow. Not only can I dry my items, but I can use the dryer as a warmer. My boots and outer wear are kept in my basement with my bikes. Our basement temperature is around 52F/11C degrees in the winter. In the past I would always bring my boots and gloves upstairs in the morning and prop them against a heater duct to warm them up. Now I can throw them on the boot dryer that blows 100F/38C degree air and have them nice and toasty warm before I leave in the morning.

It's the little things.

Never have cold hands again while winter bicycling.

2011-10-29T10:14:00.009-05:00

A photo of my Vulpine Adaptive Icebike Mitts from a few winters ago.When I decided to try and ride through the winters here in Northern Minnesota back in 2005, the biggest obstacle for me was how to keep my hands and feet warm. At the time there wasn't much information on cold weather riding on the net. And by cold, I don't mean 40 or 50 degree weather like the big bicycle companies define "cold", I mean below freezing all the way down to sub-zero weather. I did a lot of experimenting with different options. At some point I discovered the Icebike blog. It was an old blog that wasn't being updated anymore, but had some good information. Another thing they had was a review of the Vulpine Adaptive Icebike Mitts. After taking a closer look I realized that these mitts were being made right here in Duluth. I ended up visiting Vulpine Adpative and buying a pair of the Icebike Mitts.

These mitts are so warm I can't wear them above 10F/-12C degrees. Serious warmth! I'm a person that had cold hands all the time no matter what gloves I was wearing. To find a pair of gloves that would keep my hands warm in any conditions was an amazing find. Of course with the explosion of snowbiking in the past two or three years, other options are more widely available that were not available even five years ago. Mainly the increasing availability of bar mitts that fit over the handlebars and block out the cold.

The question is, if you are interested in getting some of the Icebike Mitts, will you be able to order a pair. The answer most of the time is "No", and part of the time is "Maybe".

What? Well, Vulpine Adaptive has been evolving as a company. Soon after I bought my pair of mitts they changed their name to Empire Canvas Works. With the name change they focused more on winter clothing made from natural fibers and leathers rather than synthetic materials. They make things in batches. I think they wanted to drop the biking gloves all together, but are persuaded by the continued interest in these gloves to make a few batches each year. My post on Vulpine Adaptive from 2006 is one of my most viewed posts. This time of year I get a dozen hits a day to that post from people trying to find Vulpine Adaptive Icebike Mitts.

I revisited Empire Canvas Works' website recently only to discover another name change. It is now Empire Wool and Canvas Company. The good news? The Icebike Mittens are back. They area listed as a product for sale on the website. The latest edition are made from whitetail deerskin, oilskin, and neoprene. An odd mixture. But one thing is for sure. These mitts will keep your digits warmer than you ever imagined they could be. And despite the high price, the materials and superior craftsmanship will last you the rest of your life. They can be mailed back and repaired and you'll never have to buy another pair of winter mitts as long as you live.

Contact Empire Wool and Canvas Company to find out availability of the Icebike Mitts. Don't wait, like I said, once a batch is sold out you may have to wait until next year for a pair.

Looks the same.......but is sooo much more exciting.

2011-10-27T19:12:00.008-05:00

Second day with the new Gates Carbon Drive CenterTrack. Nothing has changed about the look of the bike since upgrading the belt drive earlier in the week. For me it has changed significantly. This is now the bike I envisioned more than a year ago. That is when I decided to go ahead with this project to see how much more I could improve my basic Surly Cross Check, my favorite all-weather commuter bike, and turn it into my idea of a great winter commuting bike. I've been thinking about the CenterTrack and how perfect it would be for this bike since they announced it a year ago around the time of Interbike 2010.

After spending a couple of days on the bike with the CenterTrack set-up, I feel it is leaps and bounds better than the previous Gates Belt drive I had on it. And if it works all winter long, as it should, it definitely will set itself apart. The idea of a nearly maintenance-free drivetrain is what gets me so excited. The dry belt, that requires no lubing, combined with the low maintenance internally geared hub is the magic of this winter set-up.

Scattered snow flurries and rain in the area all day.

It may not be long before I can put it to the test. The studded tires could be going on any day. The morning temps are starting to be in the 20's and low 30's. This morning we had 31F/-0.5C degrees and light right on my way in. A few more degrees cooler and the studs would be required to stay upright. However, the studs were not needed today. Although the air temp was 31, the road surfaces were probably more in the neighborhood of 35 degrees. So no freezing going on. But soon.

On another note, although similar....check out this article on the first belt drive, IGH fatbike. Interesting that it's orange.

Gates CenterTrack is on, I'm ready for snow

2011-10-25T21:36:00.004-05:00

Let the experiment continue. To catch those up that are new to my blog, I tried to build-up my ultimate winter commuting bike last year. The idea was developed around the use of a Gates Carbon Drive. My first try failed when I discovered an issue with the belt drive. The belt derails when snow builds up on the rear cog.

Now there is a new design out for the Gates Belt drive system called the CenterTrack. This new design should solve the snow build-up issue. It was hard to get, but I finally made the right connection and the parts arrived today. I got them swapped out on the bike this evening.

My new CenterTrack components.

The old sprocket on the left, the new on the right. The new one is stainless steel. Much nicer than the older aluminum sprocket. All the scratches on the old one is from my screwdriver slipping during all the times I took off and put back on the snap ring that holds it in place on the Nexus Hub.

Old and new.

Old.

New. No more snow build-up....yeah.

Old front sprocket on the left, new on the right.

Old and new mingling. When installing the new one I had some belt alignment issues to clear up. The old sprocket's teeth are offset. The teeth on the new one are centered. I was hoping I could just swap out the new system for the old without any alignment issues. Not so. But I got it figured out pretty quickly.

Splitting the frame to swap out the old belt for the new. How many people have a bike frame that can do that?

Old belt on the bottom, new on the top. See the "track" down the center of the new one. The new one is 2mm wider as well.

The new rear sprocket in place and ready to roll.

The new belt and front sprocket ready to go.

I took it out for a quick spin around the neighborhood. Seemed to work perfectly. Now I just have to wait for snow and see what happens. I'm so very excited to finally have this on the bike. If it works, it completes this project. A project I started back in August 2010. If it doesn't work in the snow, it's been an expensive experiment. However, I have loved riding it all summer long. The feel of the belt drive is amazing. And it is perfectly suited for low maintenance urban bicycle commuting.

My Road Racing Years

2011-10-23T16:12:00.036-05:00

This will be ancient history. I posted a comment on another reader's blog post a few weeks ago and mentioned my racing days. That reader didn't realize I had been a road racer for a few years. I thought I've talked about it now and then, but maybe not recently. So, I thought I'd do another post on it. Warning: I will be name-dropping and not being my normal humble self. I am quite proud of what I accomplished in the few years I raced despite having very little natural talent.

For a little color, I dug out every single picture I have of me from my racing years. For the first time I scanned them into the digital realm. There is only 16 known photographs from my 3 1/2 years of racing.

A brief history and the first name-dropping:
Someone, or several someones, have said, "If you want to get better, race and train with people who are better than you". That was never my plan, it just happened. Looking back it was amazing how I was in the right place at the right time.

1976: We were living in Pittsburgh. I turn 13. For my birthday in May of that year I got my first geared bike: a Paris-Sport labeled 10-speed. My best friend had gotten his first 10-speed for his birthday a month earlier. My friend and I lived on our bikes that summer. We rode for hours everyday. By summers end we were riding 20-30 miles a day. My brother, older by two years, was already racing. Mostly at the local Thursday Night Races run by the Allegheny Cycling Association in the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Zoo. A perfect 1 km, four corner criterium course with slight drop on the back stretch and rise on the front stretch.

1977: My friend looses his interest in riding. I continue. I start going to the Thursday Night races with my brother. First to watch. Then by mid-summer I tried a race. They ran three races. A "C" race, "B" race and an "A" Race. The slower, less experienced racers ride the C. Top racers, ride the A. The A race had the local Cat 1 racers and top level Juniors. That first year I ride the C and quickly advance to the B. I was having fun. I catch the racing bug. Late summer a new rider arrives in town and is bunking at the Chew"s house. Danny and Tom Chew are two of the best Junior riders in town along with Matt Eaton. My brother was doing quite a bit of training with Danny. The new rider is Davis Phinney. Davis says in his latest book, The Happiness of Pursuit, released this year, "I spent the autumn crashed at Chez Chew, going up against some surprisingly stiff competition in the Thursday-night races around the parking lot at the Pittsburgh Zoo".

1978: I make more of a commitment to racing. I start training through the winter. I spend a lot of time on rollers, jump roping, and weight lifting. I earn money mowing lawns in the summer and shoveling driveways in the winter to buy my first racing bike. My parents helped with the frame, a 1977 Nishiki Pro. I pay for the rest. By the spring of 1978, at the age of 14 (going on 15) I am racing the "A" race with the likes of Davis, Tom, Danny and Matt. I get my USCF license so I can race in USCF sanctioned events and set my sights on qualifying for National Championships to be held in Milwaukee, WI. My age puts me in the Intermediate Boys Classification. I'm racing with a restricted gear of 89 gear inches. I'm not winning any club races, but I'm finishing every Thursday night race with the lead group, which is usually won by Davis. Some laps are so blistering fast we are pulling in 1K lap times of 1:18-1:20. Amazing to think I could do those times in a 89 inch gear. I spun my butt off and hung on for dear life.

The first USCF sanctioned event I ride is the Intermediate Boys State Championship. There are only 8 of us. I had never tested myself against guys my own age. The top four of us would qualify for the National Championships. It was a hilly course and I was a climber. I attacked on the first big hill to test everyone. Four guys blew up from my effort, three guys came with me. I got second, nipped at the line by Dave Letteri. I would finish higher than Dave at the Nationals, but that would be the last time I beat him. He was a track rider and would become the Intermediate Boys National Track Champion in 1979 (I had the pleasure of watching him win that first title at the Northbrook IL Velodrome). The first of 8 national titles he would win in his career. He would be on the 1988 Olympic Pursuit Team and later be Lance Armstrong's TdF mechanic in 2000.

The very first pictures of me racing are these blurry ones my dad took at the National Championships in Milwaukee where I would finish 13th in the field sprint.

This is the Intermediate Boys lining up for the start. I am in a red jersey with white stripe down the side. If you look at the finish line podium at the window with the blue shudders on the right side, my head is at the bottom of that window. I'm wearing a red and white "Raleigh" hat. Which a race official made me turn inside out just after this picture was snapped because I wasn't sponsored by Raleigh.

Here's us on the first hill. I had hopes of winning and was quite disappointed with the 13th place. Despite two small hills, it was basically a flat course. Not one for a climber like me. I really feel I could have been very aggressive if it had had some decent climbs. One week later, I raced a USCF sanctioned race in Pittsburgh, called the Pittsburgh Classic. One half of the course was uphill, the other half was downhill. I ended up soloing away after one lap, lapping the entire field and winning. Seems like I peaked one week too late.

A blurry photo of the final sprint as we cross the finish line. I've never been able to pick myself out in this picture, but I'm in there somewhere in 13th place.

Here's a write-up of the race in the August 25th issue of Velonews. I had a great time watching the other National Championship events that day. I got to see Greg LeMond race in the Junior road race. As well as many other Junior and Senior riders I looked up to. But Greg was my hero at that time (and always has been).

A few weeks after we return to Pittsburgh my family relocates to the suburbs of Chicago. Gone is the cycling community I was racing with. I no longer have access to weekly races, or club training rides. Looking back many years later, I realized it was the beginning of the end of my racing career. My racing results went downhill from there. I trained solo and never realized how to replace the high caliber race training I had when I was in Pittsburgh. It's probably better it happened this way. Coming off the results of 1978 I had set my goals very high. Way higher than my potential ever would be.

I was able to ride three USCF races in the Chicago area that summer after we moved. All the results were disappointing. A bad crash in one (not my fault), and a couple of freak mechanical's in the others.

The first of was criterium in Elk Grove. It took place in an industrial park. Here I'm in the red and white jersey on the right. I think that's our new family station wagon in the background. A gold Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. That's the car would I would drive to my Senior Prom in 1981.

And here I'm taking a pull on the front. I don't recall my placing, but I remember having a mechanical on the last lap and having to chase back on. On caught onto the back of the pack just as the final sprint started.

The next race would be in a south suburb of Chicago, I don't even remember where. Here my brother is putting in a few more pounds of pressure into my front tire.

Here I am in action coming out of a corner. I would later be taken down by another rider and spend the rest of the race bloodied and chasing. It was the guy you see behind me here. He is also in the Natl Championship start line photo, number 68 on the very left hand side of the photo. This guy couldn't ride a straight line to save his life. He would take me down again the following year in the Illinois State Championships. Maybe I was the idiot for being behind him when I knew how dangerous he was.

I was very excited to finish my 1978 season at the 1978 Boul Mich race in downtown Chicago.

A big name field was to be expected. Since there was no Intermediate Boys race, I was to race with the Juniors. I would be moving up into the Junior ranks in 1979.

There was a big name Junior field as well. On the left is Jeff Bradley in the red Kretschmer Wheat Germ Jersey. He won the Junior National Championship that summer defeating defending champion Greg LeMond in a sprint. I'm not sure why he isn't wearing the Stars and Stripes jersey of the National Champion. He would go on to be on the original 7-Eleven team that made history for American Cycling. I am in the second row in the red and white jersey, center of the picture. Andy Hampsten was in the front row, but not in this picture. I thought I'd hit the big time riding in this field. I would end up dropping a chain on the rough Chicago streets and not being able to catch back onto the peleton.

On the streets of Chicago.

Racing past the famous Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. I'm on the right side of this photo. It must have been a blistering pace because we are strung out only two wide.

Over the winter leading up to the 1979 season I keep in shape all winter. I ride rollers, lift weights and with an unusually snowy winter I put in 500 miles on the cross-country skis as well. I have big plans. The biggest goal is to qualify for the Junior National Championships on the road and time trial. First year juniors don't typically make it to Nationals. Even though I train hard, by the time State Championships roll around I haven't even raced one race yet. I just didn't have access to any nearby races. I've been training alone. The State Championships are on a weekend in June. The time trial is on Saturday, road race on Sunday. Held at two different locations. My dad is nice enough to drive me both days. The time trail course is an out and back in the middle of Illinois farm country. It's windy. I drop out half way through the 25 mile time trial in order to be fresh for the road race on Sunday. I would have had to use everything I had to make a qualifying time in the wind.

This is the Junior Men crossing the start finish line after the first lap of the 12 mile course with rolling hills. I'm in the white jersey with a red and blue stripe. Talk about retro before it was retro. I'm in wool head to toe. We will ride 6 laps for 72 miles. The longest race I've ever raced up to that point. A few miles up the road after this picture was snapped, two guys rub tires and take some people down. I have no where to go and end up endoing over a guy that's already on the ground. We're going downhill, I hit hard, land on my head and somersault to a sitting position. My bike was was flung into the ditch. My front wheel is toast. The guy driving the van with our spare wheels is the father of another racer that has crashed. He's helping his son and tells me to get my own wheel. After the race I make a formal protest that goes nowhere. I eventually get my wheel changed and start my solo chase. I pass a few others that had crashed. They can't latch onto my wheel as I pass. It takes me a lap of solo time-trialing, but I catch the main pack. I ask where everyone is. There are four guys off the front. The first four finishers qualify for Nationals. I don't wait around and breakaway from the pack and chase solo for the rest of the race. I finish alone in fifth place. Again I was disappointed. I rode solo for more than 50 miles and just miss qualifying for Nats.

I'm lost. I miss out on my goal for the year. I eventually decide to make a new goal and train for my first Stage Race later in the summer, the Wisconsin Milk Race. My parents take a week of vacation to take me. It turns out to be a big embarrassment. I get dropped in the criterium stages and bonk big time on the long road stage. Training alone hasn't given me the speed I needed to race at that level. However, the fun part was watching the other riders. It had a big name field. Juniors Greg LeMond and Jeff Bradley were racing with the Seniors. Eric Heiden was in the field and his sister, Beth was racing in the women's field. Lots of other big names as well. It was fun.

The next four pictures are from the only other race I rode that summer. It was the same race in the south suburbs that I had gone to in 1978. This time as a Junior. I don't remember what I placed, but I finished with the main pack. I don't remember his name, but the guy in the yellow and red jersey in the second picture, was a guy I had raced with back in Pittsburgh. It was cool to reconnect with him.

I made big plans again for 1980. I trained all winter again. My first race was in April. It was the Capital Criterium in Madison, Wi. A criterium around the capital building. I finished ninth in the sprint, a surprise for me. I was not a sprinter. It would be my last road race. I was burnt out and decided to take a year off from racing.

I never went back.

I kept training, it's all I knew how to do at the time. I did a triathlon that summer. It was 1980 and triathlons were just catching on. I did that one and didn't train for anything again for 7 years when I decided to run a marathon.

Buying the best option, not the cheapest.

2011-10-22T10:18:00.011-05:00

I've been thinking about a comment posted on one of my recent posts. Apparently the reader was calling me out on not buying the cheapest option when considering some components. It caught me by surprise.

Perhaps this person is a new reader. Anyone that has been following my blog, I would think, would discover I rarely buy the "cheapest" option when making buying choices. I tend to look for mid-level priced goods that have a reputation of being long-lasting. It's true I don't make much money in my chosen human services profession. But I'm good at budgeting my limited income and practice spending wisely. I think this was instilled in me by my parents. They were depression era babies who grew up in lean years during World War II. People that lived through that era had to get by with very little. And what they did buy, which amounted to basic necessities, were expected to last.

I look for the same in bicycle components. I want durable parts that will last me a long time. I also look for set-ups and parts that I can service with my somewhat limited mechanic skills. You don't see any complicated, expensive brifters on my bikes. But you do see easily serviceable and long lasting barcon shifters on them. I don't like to spend a lot of money on paying someone else to do something I could do myself. I don't like to depend on others to fix my bikes, that increases the cost of those components.

Also, I've found that the "cheapest" solution is not always the lowest cost solution. Cheaper components will often wear out faster and need replacing sooner. Take my belt drive system. Sure, up front it appears to be costly, but one belt can outlast three to four chains. Really seems to me the higher priced belt system is the lowest cost option in the long run.

Another variable in this equation, and what I buy, is the fact I have no car. There is this perception that since I don't have a car, I must be some kind of cheap bastard. My LBS owner knows I don't have a car. He, himself is a very frugal person. I think when he sees someone like me he automatically thinks I will choose the cheapest option. It's odd to go into a retail establishment, ask for a part to be ordered, and be given a sell down. He tries to talk me into a cheaper option. I find myself convincing him I want the more expensive option. It's ass backwards. Without the expense of a car and gas and insurance, I have money to spend on my chosen mode of transportation...a bicycle. It blows my mind when someone that drives a $25,000 car everywhere they go balks at the price of one of my bicycles. ANY amount of money I spend on a bicycle is a far cheaper option than buying a car to move my fat ass around.

The best solution for my needs, not the "cheapest", is the way I roll.

(And the picture at the top, how does that fit in? Well, sometimes I splurge on the best option!)

New Fat Bike in Town

2011-10-21T20:19:00.001-05:00

Seen at the local bike shop.

Scenes from today's bicycle commute

2011-10-21T18:52:00.003-05:00

Another sunrise photo. It's just that time of year when the sunrise corresponds with my morning commute. A morning commute temperature of 29F/-2C degrees.

I took the long way home today. What with the blue skies and temps above normal, nearly 30 degrees warmer this this morning, I couldn't resist.

Gates Carbon Drive CenterTrack upgrade is on it's way to me.

2011-10-20T20:37:00.004-05:00

It was year ago this month that I was putting together my first belt drive bicycle, my Surly Belt Check. Just a month earlier at the Interbike Show, Gates had introduced their newest version of the Carbon Drive for bicycle, the CenterTrack. They estimated it would be available in the Fall of 2011. I debated whether to wait for that version, which looked far superior to what was currently available, or go ahead with the current version and upgrade at a later date. I decided to go ahead with the project and order the current product that was available.

I built this bike as an ultimate winter commuting bicycle centered around the belt drive technology. During one of the first snowfalls the belt derailed off the rear cog, caused by snow build up between the belt and cog. This left me stranded in a snowstorm four miles from home. I discovered I was not the only person having this problem. I was upset, didn't want to deal with it and promptly switched back to chain drive for the remainder of the winter.

In the Spring I re-installed the belt drive. Since then it has been my favorite bike. I absolutely love the belt drive. It is buttery smooth and runs incredibly quiet. Previous to this year, my summer commuting bike of choice was evenly split between my Surly Long Haul Trucker and a previous Surly Cross Check I owned. I rode one of those two when I didn't need to ride the Blue Truck/Xtracycle for errands.

This year the Belt Check has grown on me so much I haven't even ridden the LHT to work since July 26th. All I want to ride to work is the belt drive bicycle. It is an amazing ride. It rocks.

Anyway, I've been trying to find out if QBP or someone is carrying the CenterTrack. Is it out, who has it, etc? I've been seeing it on bikes on the internet, but haven't been able to find much information. My local bike shop said they'd call QBP for me and find out what they know....and then never called me back. Errgh!

I decided to email Gates and ask. I did that on Sunday. I got a reply on Sunday with a name and a number to call at Gates. I called today, talked to a very nice person who let me purchase the new CenterTrack components on the phone. He said he'd most likely get them sent out today. We had a very pleasant conversation about my experience with the belt drive and issues related to it.

I can't tell you how excited I am to finally be getting these parts. It should solve my belt derailment issues in the snow. It will allow me to run the belt drive all winter long. No more greasy, grimy, salty, sand filled gritty chain drives for me this winter. I'll be running a dry belt drive that simply needs to be rinsed down now and then. Can't wait for winter.

I should have the parts on soon after they arrive. I'll keep you posted.

BEAR!

2011-10-17T17:02:00.003-05:00

I was riding along in my usual Monday morning fog, not quite awake. I looked up and saw this amazing sight. The largest Black Bear I'd ever seen standing on the side of the road looking at me. I screeched to a halt. I was about 50 yards away from him. My camera was in my panniers. So I knew I'd have to dismount to get it out. The bear wasn't moving, so I decided to go for the camera. He/She stayed in one spot while I snapped two quick photos knowing full well that if it felt threatened, I'd have no chance. My camera only has a 4x zoom, so this was the best close-up I could get without moving closer. I'm no dummy, so I didn't. I got slowly back on the bike and slowly headed in the direction I had come. I figured I have to wait until a car came along to get the bear to move on it's way.

A car came by about 3 minutes later and the bear slowly walked back into the woods.

Keep in mind this is in a city with a population of 86,000. Skyline Parkway runs a ribbon of woods along a hillside with densely populated areas down the hill and up the hill.

This is the second time I've had a bear spotting on this stretch of road. Eight years ago a bear ran across the street directly in front of me while bicycling home from work just a 1/4 mile west of this spot.

Kind of exciting start to the work week I'd say. That was a big bear.

October Winds

2011-10-16T22:01:00.003-05:00

We've had high winds blowing for four days in a row now. Gusts up to 40 mph at times, day and night. Hard to get motivated to get out for a ride in wind like this when I'm not really training for anything. I finally got out late and shortened my planned 40 mile ride to a 22 mile ride. Glad I got out though, I already had myself talked out of going when I mustered up one last round of motivation to get out.

I headed uphill and into the wind for the first half of the ride. It was so windy, you know the stop-you-in-your-tracks kind of gusts, that it took me an hour just to go the first 10 miles. Second half was muuuuch faster with a tailwind and mostly downhill. That part was really fun.

It was good to be out on the Ellis. It's a great bike.

Okay, believe me or not, but this is a spot I've never taken a picture of before. It's from Thompson Hill looking directly east over the harbor with Lake Superior beyond.

Same spot looking south over the St Louis River into Wisconsin on the other side of the river.

Even on days when I have a hard time getting motivated to get out, once I'm out I'm always glad I went for ride.

Plus it gave me an excuse to eat a piece of the pumpkin cheesecake Susan made yesterday.

See Doug Ride

2011-10-16T12:52:00.003-05:00

I appear riding my Pugsley in a story on Frigid Winter Biking on a local newscast last night. Unfortunately, I wasn't interviewed for the story but I do appear in it.

Follow this link for the video of the piece on the newscast.

Vacation day commute

2011-10-14T20:50:00.005-05:00

I've been on vacation most of the week. My parent's are in town from Michigan. We have been doing a lot of touristy things...like hiking, museums, eating out, etc. However, I did get up and go into work for a few hours today. I biked....of course. I had a meeting that I figured would be easier to attend then try and reschedule. So in I went. Our Fall colors are mostly off the trees now after several days of high winds and some rain. It was great while it lasted.

Today it looked and felt like October with gusty winds and intermittent clouds and sunshine. The good news is Snowbiking season is just around the corner!

Sunrise Commute

2011-10-11T21:45:00.003-05:00

The sun rises over the Lake Superior and the Duluth Harbor. The water was calm this morning.

First light shining on the Surly Belt Check. A bit of fog hanging over the West End and Spirit Valley.

Later in the day I stopped to watch a 1,000 ft Great Lakes freighter pass out of the harbor under the Aerial Lift Bridge.

I also watched the clouds.

It was another spectacular day to be commuting by bicycle.

Nice commute today.

2011-10-10T20:20:00.001-05:00

Cloudy and hazy, yet still gorgeous.

Cargo Bikes catching on.

2011-10-09T10:18:00.001-05:00

A nicely done video about the cargo bike revolution.

Another Fall Pugsley Ride

2011-10-08T21:30:00.013-05:00

I had so much fun on my after work Pugsley ride back on Wednesday, I thought I'd repeat it. Colors are at their peak or just past peak in some spots. Today we had an unusually warm day with temps in the upper 70's. Unheard of in these parts in October. Our average high temp for this time of year is 56F/13C degrees. I can't ever remember going for a ride in October wearing only shorts and a t-shirt. I even saw a mosquito....unbelievable weather for this time of year. Today's ride ended up being 32 miles. All done from my front door. Come along with me............

Things got a bit rocky and steep for my off-road skills. It required a hike-a-bike for a short distance.

Can you spot the Pugsley in this picture?

Incredible...it was as good as it looks.......No...better!

Bam! Peak Colors

2011-10-07T17:36:00.002-05:00

And there they are. Colors all peaking and gorgeous. Not only did we have peak colors, but we also tied the record high temperature for this date, 80F/27C degrees. With the unusual high temperature came strong, gusty winds. That's not good for keeping these colors on the trees as long as possible.

Have a great weekend.

A Pugsley Fall Color Trail Ride

2011-10-05T21:19:00.008-05:00

Today I rode the Surly Belt Check home from work, dropped it off, grabbed the Pugsley and headed out the door for a trail ride. Very unusual for me. I'm not a mountain biker. I only ride my Pugsley on snow (and I've ridden it thousands of miles on snow), and the past couple of years I don't normally head back out for a ride once I'm home. I've been known to put in many extra miles ON the way home, but once I'm home I usually stay put.

All of a sudden the Fall colors are at peak. I did several fun Fall rides on my Pugsley when I first got it in 2006. I've been meaning to do it again ever since. This year I finally did it. The route was basically trails that run west from my house in Duluth. None of them were official mtn bike trails. The first section was an abandoned railroad bed. It runs parallel to Munger Trail, but higher up the ridge. It runs right across the ski slopes of Spirit Mtn.

When I rode it in 2006 it was in pretty good shape. Now there are several major washouts, like the one above, along the route.

It's not maintained by anyone that I'm aware of. Right now I think it's used mostly as a dog walking trail by the locals.

This abandoned trestle is a bit nerve racking. It goes over a deep ravine.

I could hear water flowing over rocks down below.

The next bridge was smaller and was marked by this sign.

I didn't cross it. It is down the hill from Magney Snively Park. I took a rough rocky trail up hill from here. You can see fresh ATV tracks in the gravel here even though ATV use is illegal within city limits as of a few years ago.

I made my destination Bardon's Peak because of the hardwood forests in this part of town. I knew the colors would be sensational when they're at peak. Even on a cloudy afternoon like today.

The last two miles to Bardon's Peak were gravel. The Pug knows this stretch extremely well. This road is closed in winter and becomes a virtual snowmobile highway.

The view east towards Duluth from Bardon's Peak. Long time reader's may recognize this spot. Except it's usually snowy. I've taken many pictures of the Pugsley in the snow at this spot.

The view looking down and south from Bardon's Peak.

Back the way I came.

The top of the ski runs at Spirit Mountain.

On the east side of the ski hills I take trails that follow Knowlton Creek down through a drainage. The sun has gone down, but there is still enough light to ride by.

It's a one mile descent along Knowlton Creek.

Here the Pugsley is on a snowmobile trail bridge over what I believe is Kinsbury Creek. It's right behind and uphill from the zoo.

Kinsbury Creek.

It's rare I ride my Pugsley when there isn't any snow on the ground. But I have to tell you, it's fun to ride that bike anytime. I have more fun on my fat tire Pugsley than any other bike I own.

More of the same Fall colors

2011-10-05T16:39:00.001-05:00

Another wonderful bicycle commute.

It's a great time of year to be a bicycle commuter.

2011-10-04T21:22:00.003-05:00

This time of year the mornings are brisk, the trees are reaching their peak colors and the sun rises minutes after I leave the house in the morning. Today was just about my perfect commute with very little wind, and 41F/5C degrees. My body seems to work most efficiently at these kind of temps. The last few mornings I feel like I've simply floated up the hills when climbing.

This is along Keene Creek. The colors seem to be furthest along in these deep watershed ravines.

Looking east towards Duluth Harbor and Lake Superior beyond.

Looking south, the Bong Bridge over the St Louis River, and Wisconsin on the other side, is engulfed by fog.

Ahhhhh....I could have stood here much longer if I wasn't on my way to work.

It was a beautiful morning. I mentioned to a co-worker that I don't know how I'd handle missing out on my morning bike rides if I ever had to drive to work again.

The morning ride is the best part of my day.

Enjoyable Errands

2011-10-02T16:38:00.004-05:00

It's a picture perfect Fall day with above normal temperatures. Too bad I have several errands to run. But wait, if I combine my errands with a bicycle ride I not only get to enjoy the day, and get some things checked off the to-do-list. But I get in an incredible relaxing bike ride along the way. That's what happened today. I'm still getting over my cold from last weekend and kicking myself for missing two glorious weekends with all kinds of bike camping possibilities. I still couldn't be kept inside. Susan was off taking care of her own to-do-list and I couldn't be kept inside on such a wonderful day. So I hopped on the Blue Truck/Xtracycle and knocked off several first of the month errands.

Along the way I took a detour up the mile long climb in Lincoln Park along Miller Creek. We used to rent a house across the street from Miller Creek. So I know there are some hardwoods in the ravine that always are the first to turn colors in the Fall. They certainly didn't disappoint. By the time the rest of the local trees color up these trees will already be bare.

As you can see our colors are only 30-40% along so far. A bit late this year. Do yourself a favor and get in some good rides when the trees turn colors in your area.

My favorite cold weather cycling pants.

2011-09-26T16:56:00.004-05:00

The REI Novara Headwind Bike Pants are by far my favorite piece of cold weather cycling clothing I've ever used.The first few years I tried to cycle all winter I did it in my everyday clothes. I could not stay warm, or dry (I sweat heavily in any temperature, specially when the road goes up) in everyday clothes. So I switched to a combination of cycling specific clothing and my cold weather clothing I've always used for other outdoor pursuits like cross-country skiing and winter camping.

My single, favorite item I've used since 2006 is the Headwind Pants. They are lightweight with a paper thin windproof layer laminated to the front of the pants. They are not a traditional fitting tight. They have a bit more of a looser fit. This allows me to layer underneath it for the below zero temperatures we get around here. I have never had cold legs in these pants. I have taken them down to air temps as cold as -28F/-33C and have been exposed to -60F/-51C windchills. They have always kept my legs warm. I usually wear them from right about now, through the winter and into late April, sometimes May. So the majority of my year I spend riding in these pants. I can ride comfortably in them from 50 above zero to 50 below zero with the appropriate layering. They also repel light rain, but will eventually saturate in heavier rainfall.

Here I am during the 2007 Arrowhead 135 wearing my REI Novara Headwind Bike Pants in sub -twenty below temperatures. Can you see I'm smiling?

I even have a stash. Every year the Headwind Pants show up on the REI website and then disappear from the site come Spring. If you search for Headwind Pants during the summer, you get an error message. I love these pants so much, I'm a afraid that one of these Falls they won't reappear on the site. So I buy a couple of pairs every Fall. I have a drawer full of brand new, never used Headwind Pants.

Get them now while you can.

I've paid for all my REI Headwind Bike Pants. I have never been given anything free by anyone at REI.

Bike camping trip postponed

2011-09-24T18:06:00.002-05:00

This picture is from a bike camping trip from June of 2007. It was one of the few times I've ridden my Pugsley when there wasn't any snow on the ground. I've been wanting to repeat this trip ever since, but haven't.

This weekend's weather forecast was looking superb with temps in the 40's-60's. Perfect Fall camping weather in my book. Last evening I got completely packed and ready to roll Saturday.

And then....I woke up Saturday with the cold virus that has been making the rounds at work. DAMN...I've been looking forward to a weekend bikepacking trip for quite some time. I guess it will have to wait. Hope this isn't one of those colds that hangs on for a long time. This is the best time of the year for camping.

MnPugsleyCommuter

2011-09-23T16:53:00.002-05:00

I'm going to enjoy the Fall to the fullest.....but I'm ready for winter as well!

It's been too long. Great to be back on the fat tires.

Fat Bike Fever.

2011-09-22T20:13:00.007-05:00

With all the recent news about the explosion of fat tire bikes, I've been havin' a bit of an itch to get out on my beloved Surly Pugsley. I came across the Pugsley on the Surly website soon after it was released. From first sight I knew I had to have one. I ended getting mine way back in June of 2006. I was one of the first adopters of this kind of new ride. I bought it for riding on snow. And I've ridden over 3,000 miles on just snow with it. Since I'm not a mountain biker, I never have ridden it during the summer months. Even though I've always had good intentions of getting it out in the summer, it mostly sits idle during the warm months. I still hope to change that, but it's already to late for this summer.

Anyway, it still needed some attention after the last season of snow riding. I hope to do a camping trip on it soon and needed to give it some love.

The front rack went back on for the planned camping trip. It took me awhile to find the rack. I haven't used it in several years. I found it still boxed up from back in February of 2009 when I mailed it off to Alaska. I offered it to Jill to borrow for her upcoming Iditarod Trail Invitational race. I wasn't riding at all that winter because I was recovering from a broken arm and surgery. She took me up on it. I mailed it to her. Turns out the mail is really slow up to Juneau, AK and it didn't make it on time. She never did use it and mailed it back to me.

I cleaned up the drivetrain and put on a new chain. The old one was in really bad shape.

I'm so excited about having the Pugsley ready to roll for another season that I may just ride it to work tomorrow.

My current go-to-bike

2011-09-21T18:08:00.003-05:00

My Surly Belt Check has getting the call almost everyday. I've been riding Cross Checks for 6 years now. It's a bike that works perfectly for my kind of daily urban riding. The added plus to this latest Cross Check is the added capability to run a Gates Carbon Drive System for the drivetrain. My previous Cross Check spent most of it's time with a fixed gear set-up. I never thought a drive train could get any smoother than a fixed gear. But the belt drive is at a whole different level than anything else I've ridden. The only way to describe it, that I can come up with, is it's buttery smooth. I don't think I could have imagined how smooth it feels. I really enjoy riding this latest Belt (Cross) Check.

Gates is supposed to have it's new, improved CenterTrack available this Fall. I keep seeing pictures of bikes with it, but as far as I can tell I can't yet get it for an after market upgrade. When it does come out, I'll be upgrading the Belt Check.

Today's sky was incredible to look at as I rode home. It was one of those days when the sun is shining in one direction, it's raining in another direction and it's overcast in another direction. Many shades of grey were on display over the waters of the big lake.

Fat Bike fun

2011-09-20T21:12:00.001-05:00

Check out this cool video of 8 people having a blast on the beach in the U.K. with Fat Bikes.

Hiking with a bicycle shuttle

2011-09-18T10:02:00.002-05:00

It's that time of the year for our annual late summer check of our section of the Superior Hiking Trail. Susan and I have been section leaders for nine years. A section leader basically is responsible for doing two checks a year on their section of trail and turning in a report of trail conditions to the Trail's maintenance supervisor. We carry saws, an axe and brush loppers and do some trail clearing as we hike. Due to Susan's health issues I've been doing it solo since the Fall of 2009. Out section is about 7 miles long. Depending on how much work is done, it takes me between 6 and 8 hours to complete the hike. I didn't take the time to document much by camera this time. I did a lot of brush clearing along the sides of the trail and took out maybe 6 fallen trees that were across the trail.
Susan let me take her car for the day. I use the bicycle to shuttle myself to my starting point. I had already stashed my backpack and tools off the side of the trail near my starting spot.
I get to ride a nice section of hard packed gravel during the bicycling portion of this hike. When the road turns to pavement there is a two mile downhill with a view of the Big Lake.

The above picture is of the Cross River on my maintenance hike back on May 7th. The river is swollen with snow melt. Note the location of the birch tree across the stream. Below is the same spot today (with the birch tree still there). This area is in a severe drought. This is the lowest I've seen the river in the 9 years I've been hiking it. Ironic because in Duluth we have had a wetter than normal summer. This is only 80 miles to the northeast of where I live in Duluth. Strange there is such a huge difference in rainfall in such a short distance.

A forest fire is burning in the Boundary Waters Wilderness, part of the Superior National Forest. It has burned 100,000 of the 1,000,000 acres in the Wilderness. The fire is about 30 miles from this spot. I could smell smoke the entire time I was on the trail today.
A nice view of Lake Superior from Tower Overlook today. I thought it would be hazy with smoke from the fire, but was quite clear.

This section of hardwood trees seemed very lush and green. I wasn't expecting that due to the drought and the early coloring up of birch and aspen I witnessed on my backpack trip on a nearby section of trail over the Labor Day holiday weekend two weeks ago.

Overall it was a great day to be out on the trail.

Morning fog over Duluth Harbor

2011-09-16T18:20:00.002-05:00

With a morning temperature of 33F/0.5C, fog formed over the "warmer" waters of Lake Superior, and the Duluth/Superior Harbor.

No thinking required.

2011-09-14T17:25:00.003-05:00

The new blacktop is being laid this week. It means almost 1/4 of my short 7 mile commute route now will have new pavement. This was the roughest stretch. The title of this post came about as I was riding this stretch this morning for the first time ever with smooth pavement. The previous surface was so full of holes, patches, cracks, bumps, crumbling sides, and......missing sections of pavement.....that I had to think my way through it everyday. I had all the obstacles memorized, but there were sections that were so bad I would have to take the lane to get around some of the bumps and holes. Even with light traffic, I always had to be aware of where the cars were when I needed to swerve out to avoid something.

That has all changed. Today I was able to glide along effortlessly and mindlessly. Not having to think my way through the rough spots. I was actually feeling some envy for people that have the luxury of riding smooth roads all the time. This should be nice until new holes begin to appear next Spring after the freeze and thaw cycles wreak havoc on the new surface.

Don't be fooled by the intense sunlight in this shot. A cold front passed through last night.

If you look closely at my bike computer, it says 36F degrees (2C). And it reads correctly. Add in some 30 mph wind gusts and you get the picture. Fall arrives as abruptly as summer did over July 4th weekend here. I was riding to work in shorts and t-shirt as recently as Monday. (Pay no attention to the time and distance....I have two miles of climbing in the first 5 miles). The ride home was only 48F/9C degrees with an isolated downpour during my second half of the commute. We have frost warnings for tomorrow. But that doesn't really affect those of us that live right next to the lake. We'll be 5 or 8 degrees warmer.

This route, with the new pavement, is a designated Bicycle Route. Signed and everything. I won't be holding my breath waiting to see if bike lanes get striped onto the new surface. Even though both our city government and the state legislator have passed Complete Streets legislation over a year and a half ago.That's okay with me anyway. I'm not a big advocate of bicycling infrastructure spending in my local community. The city doesn't have any money. It can't even fix the roads until they're nearly unusable. What's the best way to see instant backlash towards bicycle infrastructure spending in my town? Start spending money on bike lanes when they can't even fix the roads. There'd be an uproar.

The long way home

2011-09-10T09:57:00.009-05:00

What an incredible week. The last 7 days have been absolutely glorious commuting weather. Nary a cloud in sight, lows in the 40's and 50's, high temps in the 70's. Hardly any wind and very low humidity. Love, love, love this kind of weather. Nothing like the chill in the morning as I ride east into the rising sun over the big lake. Despite the morning chill you can feel the warmth from the sun hitting your face. The look of the lake is amazing. It reflects the blueness of the of the sky, and is smooth with no wind to stir it up.

Yesterday I took the long way home. Something I did daily in recent years. This year I've been having many troubles with diet. Food reactions often make my body ache right down to my bones and sap my energy levels. I have good and bad days. Today was a bad day, but I was determined to enjoy this weather. There was an added bonus to taking the long way home. I got to witness the running of old Soo Line Steam Locomotive 2719. The Lake Superior Train Museum has it on loan every Fall. It makes daily tourist runs between Two Harbors and Duluth. My parents and I rode it a couple years ago. Quite a thrill for transportation history buffs.

I was riding along the Lake Front Trail and recognized the train's steam whistle and it's bell ringing. No other local train makes sounds like that. I raced to a spot I could get a photo of it going by. I barely made it before it was on top of me and then gone. The sound of a steam locomotive is like noting else. Even the sight of belching smoke coming from the boilers is a sight rarely seen these days.

I love the sound of 2719's steam whistle between 5:00-6:00 minutes on the video.

I caught up to it again as it was backing into the Depot and took a few more shots.

You just don't see something like this everyday. It made my day, on top of an already gorgeous day.

New gravel on my daily commute route.

2011-09-07T17:56:00.002-05:00

To my great delight, some new gravel appeared on my daily commute.

I'm not so much delighted by the gravel as much as what it means for my daily ride.

This was the scene yesterday. About two miles of some of the roughest asphalt in Duluth was ground off of Skyline Parkway by two of these pavement grinders. This stretch was so rough......How rough was it?.....it was so rough the potholes had potholes. The current dirt and gravel base is far more easier to ride than the crumbling pavement was just two days ago. It will be so exciting to have some smooth pavement laid down on this stretch of road. I can hardly wait.

Then I can spend even more time enjoying the best views of my commute and less time dodging potholes and missing those views because I can't take my eye off the roadway in front of me.

In other news, I had a wonderful evening get together at Chester Creek Cafe with Shawn and April yesterday. They are a couple from Portland, OR who are traveling across North America by bicycle this summer. I volunteered to host them way back in May when I saw Shawn's itinerary mention a stop in Duluth. Unfortunately, their timing didn't work out. They arrived in town while I was out of town on my backpacking trip. But, we were able to spend several hours chatting about all things bikes and various adventures over a nice meal. They were delightful company. I realized I don't get the chance to talk bikes with other people very often. I'm such a loner and don't maintain any bikey type friends locally even though I live and breath bikes. I think I need to get out more.

Something different for a change.

2011-09-05T21:59:00.002-05:00

Susan is gone to her mother's for the next week. She rented a car and left me hers. I took the opportunity to go backpacking this holiday weekend. Lots of pictures over here.

1984 Raleigh Sports has been sold

2011-08-29T21:04:00.003-05:00

On Saturday morning I did a post on a 1984 Raleigh Sports 3-speed bike for sale by a friend of Susan's. It sold Sunday before I could even post pictures of it. This was a special bike for the owner. It was her father's and he purchased it new in Holland and had it shipped home. She has been in possession of it since he passed away. It hasn't been ridden in years. She wanted it to go to someone that would appreciate it the way her father did.

That person was Dan, a local guy. He was super happy to purchase this bike. I don't think I could have found a better match for this bicycle. It's only been a day and he's out riding it already. And it's the perfect match for his girlfriend's bicycle.

It sold so quickly I never got a chance to post the pictures I took of it when Ceci, the owner, dropped it off at my house Sunday. So here they are. I think this bike is unique compared to other Raleigh 3-speeds that were sold in the states at the time. Since this one was sold in Holland it has roller brakes front and back, skirt guard, wheel lock, and internally wired lights working off a sidewall generator. Take a look:

Front roller brake. Still works.

Rear roller brake, still operating and still in adjustment.

Brooks B66 in great shape. No rot and no sacking. These things sell for $140 new these days.

I didn't have time to figure out the lights. There are three separate units, the top two appear to be wired from the front generator.

Fully enclosed chain case.

You can see the wiring enter the frame on the downtube lug....

....and come out on the front of the stem.

This bike is a real gem. Dan is a lucky man to have it now. And Ceci is happy it found a good home.

Hey Minnesota DNR, what's up with this?

2011-08-28T15:04:00.002-05:00

This section of the Willard Munger State Trail washed out during a heavy rainfall one year ago. It's still not repaired and resurfaced. This is part of the 70 mile trail between Hinckley, MN and Duluth, MN. This is on the northern section of trail between Carlton and Duluth. It's the heaviest used section on the trail. It gets lots of local traffic as well as visiting tourist traffic.

If this were a road for automobile travel, any road, that had washed out in a storm would it still look like this one year later? The answer is: "NO". Let's get with it MN DNR.

Project bike for sale: Raleigh 3-speed

2011-08-27T10:02:00.006-05:00

SOLD......that took less than 48 hrs. It's a sweet bike.

Looking for your next project bicycle? Thinking ahead to next year's Lake Pepin 3-speed Tour and need a fine English 3-speed? How about an all original 1980's Raleigh 3-speed. It was purchased in 1984 in Holland and shipped back to the states. It has been collecting dust in a garage in Duluth. It is owned by a friend of Susan's, the daughter of the original owner. She has decided it is time to let go of it. Since it was her father's bicycle, she contacted me to see if I knew if there would be any interest in a Raleigh like this. She would prefer it go to someone that would appreciate a vintage bicycle like this. This is what she told me in an email: "I would love for this bike to go to someone who would appreciate it. My dad was quite proud of it and rode it a lot until he died in 1986. He had an odometer installed on it and like to report to us how many miles he had ridden. This was in his last years, when his mind got kind of strange and singular-focused. His name was Robert W. Stanley and he was a physics professor at Purdue."

I have not yet seen it in person. However, from the pictures it appears to have some of the following original components:

3-speed hub
chain case
skirt guard
rear rack
generator and lights
roller brakes front and rear
through wheel lock
Brooks spring saddle

Ceci, the owner, says it has a little bit of rust, but overall is in good shape.

Any offers? I'll be handling the sale of this bike. Price is highly negotiable to anyone that has an interested in restoring this bicycle and giving it a good home.

Contact me with questions or offers at the email address on the upper right hand side of this blog.

I'm still on the LIST....Top 50 Most Influential Cycling Bloggers

2011-08-26T17:54:00.003-05:00

Okay, just when I've decided...once again....that I've shared everything I have to share on this blog I find this:

Refresh: Top 50 Most Influential Cycling Bloggers

I am number 46 out of 50. I dropped from number 43 since the last list in May 2010. Not bad considering I've done all but a handful of posts this summer.

I've been ready to move on from this blog and stop thinking about every ride as a blog post. It's been fun. I even stopped carrying a camera for awhile. I've been enjoying the ride all summer without a blog post narration going on in my head during every ride. Nothing has changed with my biking, I've merely stopped writing about it.

But seeing how "influential" I am, how can I stop sharing what I do. It's the reason I started this blog. To influence others. My identity as I see it is: I'm the crazy guy in Northeastern Minnesota that rides a bike to work every single day of the year regardless of the weather. And it gets extreme here in the winter. To be honest. I like being that guy.

Maybe I will keep writing about him....and in the process raise the bar for all of you. Sorry, Doug rides everyday. You can too! There are no excuses!

Afrograss Folk Rock meets Electronica

2011-08-17T21:20:00.003-05:00

A musician so talented he's created his own genre of music. This is my friend of 20 years (and former guitar instructor) Arthur Lee Land. It's been more than a decade since he created his Afrograss Folk Rock Ensemble. He's now re-inventing himself again with Afrograss Folk Rock meets Electronica.

Album out this Fall. Worth checking out from one of the greatest unknown musicians, and songwriter out there today.

Gluten-free deliciousness brought to you by Xtracycle.

2011-08-15T20:45:00.003-05:00

This picture is from July 12, 2007. It's one of the very first pictures of me using my new Blue Truck/Xtracycle. A co-worker had been offering me some of her raspberry plants for a couple of years. I finally took her up on her offer. I hauled the bushes on the back of the Xtracycle 9 miles through town to get them home. It took a few years before they really started to produce. This year we had more raspberries than we knew what to do with. I froze a quart container full every day for the past two weeks. This past Saturday we got invited out to dinner with some friends. Just in case we ended up back at our house for desert we threw together this an hour before they picked us up:

It's a gluten-free flourless chocolate cake. While Susan put that together, I made a raspberry sauce. We did end up coming back to our place for games and desert. The cake with raspberry sauce, whipped cream topping and fresh raspberries was a big hit.

Tonight I gladly had another serving of it. Deliciousness.

Best days of the summer

2011-08-10T17:47:00.002-05:00

It doesn't get any better than this. A 52F/11C degree morning commute and a 77F/25C degree afternoon commute with a light breeze, big fluffy clouds, and very low humidity.

I almost rode right by my workplace this morning and kept going......

Plan "C": S24O bike/backpack trip

2011-07-23T09:36:00.056-05:00

I've had this past week off. Things did not go as planned. Same thing happened last year. Let me start with last weekend. For the fifteenth season in a row Susan and I drove down to Madison, Wisconsin. This is one of the few traditions we seem to have developed in our relationship (we don't really celebrate holidays or many other typical celebrations). Fourteen of the last fifteen years my parents have driven over from southwest Michigan to meet us there. We take a three day weekend and spend two evenings seeing productions at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin. It is a 32 year old production company that does Shakespeare and other classic theater in a natural setting on a wooded hilltop inside a naturally acoustic amphitheater. Excellent productions in a unique setting. I highly recommend you check this out if you live in this region. It draws people from Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities, as well as many other points.

Plan "A", there is 350 miles of great cycling between Madison and Duluth. The plan the last two years was to take my LHT along and tour back to Duluth. Both years a heat wave has hit the week I was to do this. After a June with temps in the 50's and 60's in Duluth, I was not prepared to ride in weather with heat indexes above 100F (38C). I need a good three weeks to acclimate to heat...and I'm not sure I'd ever acclimate to 100 degree weather. Until I'm acclimated my body seems to overreact to heat. I sweat so heavily I can't drink enough water to replace it at the same rate I'm losing it. People tell me, "Drink lots of water, you'll be fine". It doesn't work for me. I can sweat buckets. I had to cancel my plans. Made me sad, but it was a good choice.

Plan "B". Backpacking. I haven't done as much backpacking the past few years as I would have liked to. Mainly because it's something Susan and I do together and she's had injuries and health issues that have prevented her from doing much walking/hiking. I had to go into work Wednesday morning for a brief meeting. I figured I'd rent a car and drive over to the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) and further explore some of the backcountry in the Porcupine Mountains. I'd leave right after the meeting. Susan and I did some backpacking there in 2008. I've been wanting to go back ever since. I waited until the last minute to try and reserve a rental car. Guess what? No rental cars available at the airport. Duluth is a tourist destination. And all those tourists had taken all the rentals. Plan B canceled.

I still wanted to get outdoors and sleep in a tent. That's what bike touring and backpacking does for me. Gets me outdoors for extended periods of time and I get to sleep in a tent. All things I love to do. Susan and I did get to have a wonderful evening together Wednesday. Dinner at our favorite local Thai restaurant and some fine music at UMD's Weber Hall.

Plan "C": This year normally cool Duluth wasn't immune to the heat wave around the nation. We had our first 90 degree weather in five years along with the dew points in the 70's. This type of weather is rare here. About Tuesday I noticed the dew points and heat was predicted to break on Thursday. Highs in the low 80's with much lower humidity. At the last minute I threw together a S24O.....an S24O with a twist. This time of year it's hard to get a camping spot without a reservation. Again, this area is a vacation destination. To complicate matters, Minnesota State Parks have been closed the past few weeks due to the government shut down in the state. I was browsing the Wisconsin DNR site and noticed 1 of 3 backpack sites at Pattison State Park available for Thursday night. I reserved that site. Even though this park is in another state from where I live, it's only 19 miles from my house. I have bike camped there once before in a drive-in site on the first night of a three day trip. That being the only time I've visited this park.

I needed to take my backpack to carry my gear. The backpack sites are 1.6 miles from the trailhead. I tried to figure a way to fit my backpack on my Surly LHT. I decided it would be easier on the Blue Truck/Xtracycle. The partially loaded backpack is on the left side and the rest of the gear is on the right side organized in tote bags.

After loading up the bike I fueled up with a piece of Gluten-free blueberry pie I had made. Local blueberries weren't quite ready earlier this week, but my parents brought us 10 lbs of fresh blueberries they purchased in Michigan.

I set out at 1:20 in the afternoon. It was well into the 80's by then. The trip required crossing the bridge into Wisconsin, riding through some Superior, WI neighborhoods and then taking WI Hwy 35 south to the park. Th park sits on top of that low ridgeline way up ahead.

Park sign along Hwy 35.

Just over the top of this hill is the park entrance.

Things got a little interesting when I checked in. The young woman working in the Park Office didn't see me pull up on a bicycle. When she was checking me in she asked me for my license plate number. I said I arrived on a bicycle. She already knew I had reserved a backpack site. She gave me a bewildered look and excused herself for a moment. I could see through a little window into the back office. She was discussing something with another park ranger. She came back out and said she'd never had anyone arrive on a bicycle before. She told me I couldn't ride the bike on the trails, but I could walk the bike in to the backpack sites. I said I had no intentions of riding the bike in. I was planning on locking the bike up at the trailhead. She got more flustered. She seemed to think that was a bad idea. That's when the other park ranger came out from the back. He also thought it was a bad idea to lock my bike in the picnic area near the trailhead. I had a feeling this park has had it's share of car break-ins or something. That's when the guy told me I could lock it up down by their maintenance building in an area restricted to park personnel. I thought this option was a great idea and thought it was nice of them to offer it. I thanked them and headed off to lock up.

All locked up behind the dumpsters and next to the maintenance building.

One thing I didn't realize until I was on the trail and saw this marker, was that I would be hiking most of the way on the North Country Trail. I didn't realize the route came through this park. The NCT is a 4600 mile planned footpath stretching from New York State to North Dakota. The Superior Hiking Trail is part of that system.

The route starts by threading its way between Interfalls Lake and the drive-in campsites.

A faint blue blaze trail marker on the tree.

I didn't know what to expect since I've never hiked any trails in this park. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very wooded park. And despite being only 1.6 miles from the main campground, I was surprised to find it felt like I was in a much more secluded area. The only clue it wasn't as secluded as it felt was some sounds from the nearby highway. And those faded as the traffic decreased later in the evening.

A thick forest canopy helped keep the midday heat from penetrating the forest floor. It seemed much cooler than it had been while on the bicycle out on the asphalt.

The way was well marked. All three backpack sites were grouped together in the same area along the Black River. Yet they were far enough apart with a healthy curtain of trees to provide a fairly solitary backwoods experience. All three sites were occupied, but I rarely heard any noise from the other sites other than the occasional sound of wood chopping with a hatchet.

Again, I didn't know what to expect but was very pleased to find the site was located right on the banks of the Black River. My particular site was nestled under the cover of three huge White Pine trees with a fragrant covering of pine needles throughout the campsite. A newer bench and picnic table next to a fire ring were also there. The park map, specific to the backpack sites, they had handed me in the park office said swimming in the Black River was permitted. However, I thought I'd pass. As attractive as a dip in the river sounded. We've had some recent rains and the current of the river was flowing very fast and the water was nearly "black" and muddy as well. There was a 31 foot waterfall just down river from this site that I didn't care to get swept down to.

Three towering White Pines.

"His" and "Hers" vault toilets.

Picnic tables, benches, and vault toilets....the height of backcountry luxuries.

First night in my new-to-me tent. It's a keeper!

My Rivendell MUSA cycling shorts transition superbly from cycling to hiking. They also would have made a wonderful swimming short if I had decided to risk the stiff currents in the river.

I had a great evening relaxing around this campsite. I don't know when I became a techy. But I came with a Nook eBook reader and an iPod touch. I finished the last 60 pages of one book and read the first 50 pages of another one. Then I listened to two podcasts on the iPod. Then as the sun went down I sat on the bench and listened to some Mozart violin concertos. I could still hear the sounds of the river through the earpieces over the music. Normally the sound of the river is all I need, but the Mozart seemed to enhance the experience on this evening.

After a good sleep, I had a leisurely breakfast with coffee from my Planetary Designs french press mug. I have a copy of Henry David Thoreau's Walden on my Nook. It was nice to sit under the large pines with the birds singing, the sounds of the river and read a few pages of Walden.

I started my hike out by 9:30. My pack was the lightest it's ever been. I've never been an ultralight backpacker, but I have been slowly purchasing lighter equipment over the past 7 or 8 years. Namely a lighter bag, pad, stove and mess kit, and now a true ultralight tent. It was great moving along under a much lighter pack. I think my current gear now falls within ultralight parameters.

I made it back to the lake and main park area pretty quick without much effort. This park is only 8 miles from Superior WI and gets a lot of day use. The picnic area and beach is very popular. I think the only reason they never see people arriving on bikes is because of the busy highway. Most people aren't willing to ride that stretch even though there is a 4-5 foot wide shoulder.

This park has the largest waterfall in Wisconsin and the 4th largest this side of the Rockies. Yet I'd never been to the other side of the highway to see it in person. I decided today would be a good day to view the falls with the river flowing so high. So I took the tunnel under the highway to get to the falls area.

This is where the river goes over a 165 foot drop into a narrow gorge.

This is the bottom part of the falls. I couldn't capture the entire falls from this viewing platform. I couldn't believe I hadn't taken the time to see these falls before. You'd never guess these spectacular falls were even here as you drive by on the highway only a few feet from the top of the falls.

The view to the valley as the Black River flows towards it.

Leaving the park entrance you can see Superior, WI and the hills of Duluth beyond it. It's practically all downhill from here.

Once in Superior it's only a matter of getting across the bridge and then two miles to home.

Another successful S24O. I was home by noon, yet it seemed more like 48 hours. I hope to do more trips this year. I'll let you know if I do.

As I write this on Saturday at 12:45 pm the temperature in Duluth is 56F/13C degrees with 20 mph winds, and on and off rain. Our cool weather comes back. I prefer this to 100 degrees on the heat index.

Coffee ride with Susan

2011-07-03T12:18:00.004-05:00

We started our Sunday morning with a relaxing ride and a stop at a coffee house. It's a rare event when Susan gets out on a bike. She loves to bike, but doesn't make it a priority like I do. I'm fortunate if she joins me more than two or three times a year for a ride. Suggesting a ride with a destination was a winner.

Today our ride was over the bridge to Superior, Wisconsin. Destination was the Red Mug Coffee House in the basement of an old historic building that was formally the city hall. I picked this destination to avoid all the touristy goings on in Duluth which would have been our other option. The Red Mug is in a quiet residential area. Much more relaxing than the hustle and bustle of the Canal Park area of Duluth.

Summer temps have finally reached us. So it was in the mid-70's when we headed out this morning. Very pleasant weather for a Sunday morning ride. The ride ended up being a 11 mile round trip. Perfect distance for Susan. Short enough she could enjoy the ride and not get too tired out.

Speaking of weather, I read that Duluth had it's first 90F/32C degree day in 5 years on Friday. I hadn't realized we haven't had a temp above 90 in that long. Of course, this official temperature was taken over the hill at the airport. Down by the lake where I was it never got above 62. Crazy temperature ranges in this town. One only had to go 10 miles to experience a thirty degree temperature change.

Foggy Micro-Tour

2011-07-01T15:22:00.018-05:00

I had today off for the extended holiday weekend. Susan had to work today. I was planning to take the opportunity to do a S24O camping trip after work yesterday. But available camping spots are scarce this time of year due to this area being a big vacation destination. To make matters worse, all the state parks started closing at 4 pm yesterday in anticipation of the Minnesota State Government shut down that started today at 12 am. Our Governor and legislature failed to agree on and pass a new budget and let the government shut down. So no camping for me.

I decided to try a Micro-tour this morning instead. I had many, many things on the to-do-list for this weekend, so I thought a micro-tour was just the ticket to start off my long weekend before I get into all the around the house work that needs to be done. A Micro-tour is something I've been wanting to try. It was inspired by Pondero. A micro-tour is shorter than a S24O. It is a destination based bicycle tour. It can be as simple as a 1 hour ride at a leisurely pace.

I decided to ride east of town and stop at a nice picnic table for coffee and muffins. The day started out foggy and 56F/13C degrees. While everyone else in Minnesota is experiencing a heat wave with heat indexes over 100, we have a breeze off the big lake. That's why they call it the worlds largest natural air conditioner.

The Mighty Thomas Carnival was looking a bit deserted this morning in the fog.

With the dense fog cover, I tried to stick to low traffic roads and whatever bike trails are available to me. My route was urban. I rode from my home in West Duluth to the very eastern edge of town.

The Lupine are in bloom right next to Hwy 61.

This newer bike path parallels the busy Hwy 61. Hard to tell the busiest east-west corridor in town is on the other side of the trees.

I stopped at Brighton Beach where I found exactly what I was looking for. A picnic table right next to the rocky beach on Lake Superior. Not much of a view today though, with the fog.

Lake Superior's Brighton Beach.

I brought along a stove and a mug with a french press.

On the menu was today Guatemalan dark roast from Peace Coffee, and homemade gluten free pumpkin muffins with dark chocolate chips and roasted almonds. Yum!

There were very few people around on a Foggy Friday morning. It was just me, the seagulls and the gentle sound of the small waves on the rocks.

After sitting around in the 50 degree weather I was getting a little chilled. I decided a climb up to Hawk's Ridge would warm me up. Duluth has open green space scattered everywhere throughout town. I rode up Seven Bridges Road. A peaceful climb that starts in a densely populated area of Duluth. The road crosses 7 recently restored stone arched bridges as it twists and winds it's way up to the ridge.

It crosses the same creek on everyone of the seven bridges.

I not only warmed up quickly while climbing, the temperature climbed 12 degrees in only about 400 feet of elevation change.

The view, or lack of, from Hawk's Ridge. Normally you have a sweeping panoramic view of Lake Superior from this vantage point.

I quickly dropped back down to lake level and returned to 56F degree temps by the lake.

Proof I really was riding through an urban area. This is right downtown.

I passed through the West End business district.

Frost River has a new owner and a new store front as of this week. Their production takes place above the store. Made in Duluth. They make canvas and leather products. I own one of their Echo Trail Seat Bags. Hiawatha Cyclery carried them for awhile back in 2008. Soon after I bought mine, Frost River seemed to disappear. Only reappearing this year with a new owner.

Here's a bike they had in their showroom window. The store front wasn't open today . I'll have to check it out someday when they are open.

Here's a picture from 2008 of my LHT with a Frost River Echo Trail Seat Bag on it.

Now with Frost River moving in, the West End of Duluth is becoming a little manufacturing mecca area. Within three blocks of each other on Superior Street is Frost River, Duluth Pack and Aerostictch. Aerostitch makes clothing and bags for motorcycling. Not everything is made in China.

Under the ore train tracks and almost home.

I'd have to call this Micro-tour a huge success. What a relaxing way to start a long weekend.

I'm talkin' about sheets of water coming down.....

2011-06-22T19:23:00.003-05:00

Weird weather. I stepped outside my side door with my bike this morning. I almost came back in and asked Susan for a ride to work. And if you know me, I ride in anything.

It was coming down in sheets. You've heard the cliche, now I've seen it in person. Not only was there sheets of rain, but blowing sheets of rain. Winds upwards of 40 mph. Normally I can get most of the way to work before falling rain starts to soak into my layers. Today I was completely saturated from the waist down after only two blocks. The streets were like streams and the wind was gusting very hard.

Another weird thing. My morning commute temp was 53F/12C degrees while my afternoon commute temp was 48F/9C degrees. That is just backwards.

Maybe we can turn the furnace off for good before July hits.

Cool fat tire bikes at my LBS

2011-06-21T21:09:00.004-05:00

Stopped in at my local bike shop today. They had a couple of cool bikes that caught my eye. Like these Cannondale Police bikes. There were three sitting there. Another one downstairs. All going to the local PD.

They'd make very nice commuting bikes.

Then there was this fat tired beach cruiser the owner had ordered in. A Sun Bicycles Spider AT. It's a Miami based company. Although at first glance it looks like a snowbike, upon closer inspection it's intended use is clearly beach riding. It comes with a coaster brake equipped Sturmey Archer 2 speed kickback hub, 100 mm wide rims and Innova 26" x 4" spider tread tires. Although it might be adaptable for snow riding, it lacks disc brake mounts. You could run a Pugsley fork on the front, but no way to hook up any brake on the back end. It tips the scale at 40lbs. It's heavy for a coaster brake cruiser.