Synthetic its Good

The car has been burning oil lately so I've spent some time looking into possible solutions.  It occurred to me that the viscosity of the Mobil 1 might be a good lube for the Pugsley. Based on what it was looking like in the freezing conditions I thought why not.  So far it's been great and it may even become the summer lube.  Bonus: It's only $6 for 32 ounces.  That will fill plenty of my empty Finish Line bottles.

Pay it Forward (or Backward)

I was in the drive through and I had just ordered my gourmet meal on the go and when I pulled forward to pay and pick up my food, the window worker said my food was paid for.  I said what?  The worker said the guy who just drove off paid for your meal.  Wow.  Thanks.  Did some Christmas shopping or maybe it was Holiday shopping.  I played the Microsoft Kinetic it was cool, no remotes, just a sensor that picks up your movement.  I ran track and field and after a few events I thought I was going to need a locker room to get showered and changed.  It's good to see these games are getting people up and moving.  Some random dude offered his all day  Nickolodeon ride pass upon his departure so Abby was able to get some rides in.

Snowmobile Trail Riding

4 days after 20 inches of snow.  Didn't know what to expect. The snow machines do a great job of packing the trail, but it was still soft.  I found out how important low pressure is to traction in this stuff.  I found out about half way in to the ride, probably around 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I guess I'm a slow learner or maybe just scared to run such low pressure since my mechanical mishap 2 weeks ago with the chain breaking.  Running from Fort Snelling to Cedar Ave in Eagan can make a person re-think any risky bike set-up and I chose to run on the safe side with tire pressure.  At the half way point of our out and back ride I lowered the pressure to what seemed soft but still firmer than most.  It made a world of difference only that I had cooked myself on the first part using tremendous effort to maintain forward momentum.  It was much easier on the way back with low pressure to keep the bike moving in the right direction and to pedal with a somewhat normal cadence, but I was cross-eyed and cooked.  One of the hardest rides I can think of in a long time.  Hard to believe that many years ago we were doing this ride weekly on 2 inch tires.

Chernobyl: Nothing to Do with Bikes

Found this to be an interesting read.  A girl who rides her motorcycle through Chernobyl documenting the destruction.  Kid of Speed: Chernobyl

Arizona has nothing on Mn riding

Cyclocross season is over, but bike season is not.  The Pugsley is a blast, in years past I've ridden 2" mountain bike tires on the snow covered trails.  The 2" tires on snow are a struggle not only because snow ridding requires a ton of effort, but it also requires a great deal of balance and finesse to keep moving forward with momentum. The 3.8" Larry's still require a bunch of force, but it's easier to keep balance and momentum.

The trails were in excellent shape prior to the 16 or so inches we just got.  The bike trail (road) from 101 was plowed with a truck up to 169 and then where the trail gets skinny someone had used a snowblower to keep it open to bike commuting.  It's going to be awhile before this is open again.