Monday Fatbike Adventure

Shot some emails around earlier this weekend and got some takers for exploring the shores of a very low Saylorville reservoir this morning. I got up early, and made a thermos of hot tea with honey and some soup in case I got hungry.

Scott Sumpter, Kyle Sedore, Taylor Webb and I all met at the Lincoln Access boat ramp at 8 AM and headed north along the shore. With temps in the 20s and the wind blowing at a steady 20 MPH, movement was required just to stay warm unless you had some sort of windbreak. Recalling that my back tire felt low on a post Christmas ride, I put some extra air into it before I left. I didn't think the front tire was that low, until we hit the first of a few rocky sections and the rocks were dinging into my rims. I found an out of the wind spot, pulled out my Quicker Pro pump and was good to go in a few minutes. We spent the next couple of hours riding along the shorelines of the lake, and back away a bit on the interesting parts. We made it as far as the Hwy 17 bridge about 5.5 miles north. We took a quick break there, had a hot drink and then headed back south with the wind at our backs.

The ride back was uneventful for everyone other than Kyle. About halfway back he snagged a a metal cable and tumbed ass over tea-kettle down the hill a ways. Other than a few bruises Kyle was undamaged. The large rocks strewn about on the hillside didn't help with the bruising. About a mile from the boat ramp, Kyle's rear derailer hanger snapped off. I'm not sure if it was damaged during the earlier fall or if it got snagged on something else. I pulled out a multitool so Kyle could remove the derailer, and between coasting, walking and some pushing we were able to get him back to Taylor's van.

All in all, a good fun couple of hours on the bike with good friends. Looking at the shoreline, I think it's possible that we could ride up to the High Trestle Bridge just by going along the shore. Another adventure for another time.

While my thermos was fine, the canteen I used for the soup was definitely not insulated and it ended up chilling fairly quickly. I'll have to track down a small thermos if I want to try that again. I opened up some toe warmers for the days ride and applied them to my feet. It didn't take too much riding to figure out that they weren't working terribly well. When I got home from the ride, I noticed that they expired in 2007. I won't make that mistake again. Thankfully no toe issues other than just being cold.

Route

New Year - New Stuff

Been spending a lot of time the past few weeks on my Mukluk trying to get ready for the Triple-D Adventure Race coming up on January 15th. This has been greatly complicated by the lack of snow and 40 - 50 degree temps we've had throughout most of November and December. I've been making due by riding the Mukluk everywhere I can and on any surface possible. 30 mile pavement rides, sandbar excursions, singletrack, long driveline killing gravel rides, and every empty bean and clover field I can find during my morning commute. With just a couple of weeks left before the race, the chances for snow are still looking fairly slim. I'm still not sure if I'll be on the Mukluk or my Dos Niner for the race. Knowing Lance Andre, the Dos Niner won't be a safe choice, even if there isn't any snow.


The 2012 running of the CIRREM is happening again this February. For the first time, the field was capped at 125 riders. Due to the cap, the race field filled up in just over 24 hours. I know a lot of people that didn't make it in due to the cap and the speed that it filled. I managed to get my registration completed in time to make the field, so late February will be another opportunity to test my fitness before heading into the spring gravel race season.

I'm passing on racing TransIowa V8 for the opportunity to record the event in photographs again. I really enjoyed recording the event last year, and based on the feedback I received, the riders enjoyed the photos of themselves too. Last year was a learning experience and I hope to apply some of those lessons to this year's photos. I can't begin to thank Guitar Ted for allowing me out on the course again this year.

That's the update for now. I'm headed out with some friends tomorrow on a fatbike adventure. Hoping to get some good photos and have a memorable day on the bike.