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.

Red Barn Classic

Thanks for the photos Skinny Ski

Linda or was it Larry?

First time racing the new singlespeed.  I like it.  It is a bit different not having gears to bail you out when the going gets tough, but that just makes you work harder and ride smarter.  My singlespeed competition had some experience under their belt, I did not. I pulled a good couple of laps early in the race and was temporarily leading the singlespeed race.  Then Stresse passed me and then after another lap or two Alme came by.  Alme eventually won the singlespeed race and had a good overall finish.  I don't know if I lost speed over the duration or if they gained speed.  I'm thinking a combination of both.  I had fun and the bike works sweet. 

Cyclo Cross at Hudson YMCA

The Big Ring Flyers over in Hudson put on a great race.  The course was okay, but the event was great.  They had a nice venue with the YMCA providing showers and pool if needed.  Food was on the grill, a little hammer gel schwag, and music.  The course featured a lot of off camber sections and lots and lots of 180's.  The 180's are not my favorite since it involves a short acceleration with a rapid deceleration, so lots of hard braking and with my Brett Favre elbow acting up it puts the elbow through the ringer.  A couple of sections that were long where you could get up to speed and lots of bumpy terrain.  I had a decent start, in that I didn't go too hard and blow, but hard enough to have a good position to work from.  I should of dug a bit deeper to hold off Bell.  Fred and I had a rematch from last weeks Dakota Tech duking it out for the duration.  I held my speed til the end and Fred faded.  Next up is Saturday's race in Andy's crazy commune in St. Croix.

Cyclo Cross begins

Tuesday night series is a blast.  Good course, reasonable price.  I don't have cross fitness yet, but it'll come.  Some pictures from cycleture.

The RIver bottom commute was deep today

This morning the path crossing the Minnesota River in Shakopee was dry as a bone.  Not 6 hours later. Not one of the smartest commutes I've had, but I needed to get to day care, they charge a lot when your late.

The Yellow Line

The Yellow Line is a pretty definitive line and it's pretty clear where it is.  Officials need to enforce this ruling, it gets ridiculous when people push this line further and further into the other lane of oncoming traffic.  A windy day in St. Cloud had people stretching the limits.  For me that is the rule (I sat up and said F-this).  When deemed necessary it is a good rule for the safety of the riders.  Unfortunately it happens and it divides the fields.

Jim Bell had a kick ass race.  Kudos to him for winning the race after he broke away on the first lap and fought through the winds with little to no help from his temporary drafting companions.  He went for it and nailed it.  The field was definitely attentive and he held them off.  Nice Work!

State Road Course

Hot Wednesday Night Worlds

It was a good night for a ride, I committed myself to sitting in since I gave blood on Monday.   I wasn't sure how this would effect me.  I'm pretty sure I have taken a hiatus from giving blood all these years from May through September since I like riding and it's pretty much the opposite of what dopers do.  To my surprise I felt pretty good, the heart was working harder than usual I'm sure.

I felt blind riding without PowerTap numbers.  I have grown accustomed to looking at them and regulating effort based on what I see.  I use it like a tachometer in a car and possibly don't push hard enough.  I also missed having mileage to regulate effort.

Maybe the technology has become cumbersome and riding without it is better.  Maybe I won't fix mine or replace it.

People are getting to lackadaisical and fanning out all over the road without regard for traffic.  Drafting is good, but being oblivious to traffic is going to cause a problem.  When someone calls out that a car is back riders should attempt to get out of the way to some degree.