Local Not Fat Bike Day

Seeing more low water pond bottom crawling opportunities

Yesterday was "Global Fat Bike Day", and locally, I hear we had 50+ riders enjoin in the festivities. That's awesome. However; it was no where near "fat biking weather" or conditions. 

While it is true that fat bikes can double as a mountain bike, that isn't what they are for. Riding when Winter has failed to appear on "normal" single track can hardly be said to be the ideal fat bike celebration terrain or conditions. I mean, why not ride where a fat bike actually makes sense? Like the myriad opportunities that exist now with all the low water and exposed pond, lake, and river bottoms not to mention sand and gravel bars.

Or......you could just ride a regular mountain bike and forget Global Fat Bike Day. 

That's what I chose to do instead. I just don't see the point in doing a "fat bike day" specific ride when nothing about the day calls out for a fat bike, unless, as I say, you search out some fat bike specific riding opportunities. That wasn't what the group here was about, so let them be and I did my own thing. To each their own. At least we are all out riding bicycles.

So, I went out to breakfast with my son, went to the local barber shop, where we both got trimmed up, and then afterward went on a single track ride on my Pofahl. The weather was fantastic for early December. Sunny, 50-ish, low wind. I pretty much had the trail to myself with the exception of one other mountain bike rider. Well, that and a few dog walkers.

These little islands look like sugar loafs now. Generally they are just barely sticking out of the water.

Originally the Pofahl was meant to be a single speed specific drop bar 29"er in the vein of my '03 Karate Monkey. It almost immediately was turned into a gravel rig with 38 X 18 gearing. That's what I rode out on the single track. It wasn't bad for around here. It is pretty flat with almost zero technical difficulties. (Another reason fat biking single track in normal conditions here is silly.) So tall gearing works okay.

Mid-afternoon light.Tough to see well in during this time of year.

In fact, even riding the Pofahl was super easy. I probably could just as easily have ridden one of my gravel rigs through here and I would have been fine. The dirt is smooth, fast, and pretty grippy. What trail obstacles that do exist are pretty short lived, easy to negotiate, and don't call out for anything with a big tire like my Pofahl, unless it gets wet. There maybe is a tiny bit of sand here and there over the way I went, but it isn't anything like what the Green Belt can dish out for sandy spots.

I rode an old trail I helped lay out in the mid-90's back there.  It was fun to reminisce about when there wasn't any trail back in that particular spot and how this one has lasted all these years when others have faded from memory or have been taken out by the Cedar River. Some have succumbed to wind storms and the resulting tree falls that choked them out. Others were victims of land access rights. It's been a strange 25 years of riding single track around here, that's for sure. It's also weird when you are one of the only people around anymore that remembers any of that stuff from way back.

I cannot ever ride back in these woods without memories of how the trails once were coming to the forefront of my mind. It almost is distracting. I'll just leave it at that. Suffice it to say that I have a lot of strong feelings about all of that stuff that, in the end, doesn't seem to matter, and so I have decided to let that go. Pick your battles, and all that........

I had a good ride though and got some more important things done. That was the main thing I wanted to do. And as far as fat biking goes, well, I hope to get back over there and cruise some of the exposed sandy, rocky stuff that is typically underwater. That stuff looks like what a fat bike was made to ride on.

Local Not Fat Bike Day

Seeing more low water pond bottom crawling opportunities

Yesterday was "Global Fat Bike Day", and locally, I hear we had 50+ riders enjoin in the festivities. That's awesome. However; it was no where near "fat biking weather" or conditions. 

While it is true that fat bikes can double as a mountain bike, that isn't what they are for. Riding when Winter has failed to appear on "normal" single track can hardly be said to be the ideal fat bike celebration terrain or conditions. I mean, why not ride where a fat bike actually makes sense? Like the myriad opportunities that exist now with all the low water and exposed pond, lake, and river bottoms not to mention sand and gravel bars.

Or......you could just ride a regular mountain bike and forget Global Fat Bike Day. 

That's what I chose to do instead. I just don't see the point in doing a "fat bike day" specific ride when nothing about the day calls out for a fat bike, unless, as I say, you search out some fat bike specific riding opportunities. That wasn't what the group here was about, so let them be and I did my own thing. To each their own. At least we are all out riding bicycles.

So, I went out to breakfast with my son, went to the local barber shop, where we both got trimmed up, and then afterward went on a single track ride on my Pofahl. The weather was fantastic for early December. Sunny, 50-ish, low wind. I pretty much had the trail to myself with the exception of one other mountain bike rider. Well, that and a few dog walkers.

These little islands look like sugar loafs now. Generally they are just barely sticking out of the water.

Originally the Pofahl was meant to be a single speed specific drop bar 29"er in the vein of my '03 Karate Monkey. It almost immediately was turned into a gravel rig with 38 X 18 gearing. That's what I rode out on the single track. It wasn't bad for around here. It is pretty flat with almost zero technical difficulties. (Another reason fat biking single track in normal conditions here is silly.) So tall gearing works okay.

Mid-afternoon light.Tough to see well in during this time of year.

In fact, even riding the Pofahl was super easy. I probably could just as easily have ridden one of my gravel rigs through here and I would have been fine. The dirt is smooth, fast, and pretty grippy. What trail obstacles that do exist are pretty short lived, easy to negotiate, and don't call out for anything with a big tire like my Pofahl, unless it gets wet. There maybe is a tiny bit of sand here and there over the way I went, but it isn't anything like what the Green Belt can dish out for sandy spots.

I rode an old trail I helped lay out in the mid-90's back there.  It was fun to reminisce about when there wasn't any trail back in that particular spot and how this one has lasted all these years when others have faded from memory or have been taken out by the Cedar River. Some have succumbed to wind storms and the resulting tree falls that choked them out. Others were victims of land access rights. It's been a strange 25 years of riding single track around here, that's for sure. It's also weird when you are one of the only people around anymore that remembers any of that stuff from way back.

I cannot ever ride back in these woods without memories of how the trails once were coming to the forefront of my mind. It almost is distracting. I'll just leave it at that. Suffice it to say that I have a lot of strong feelings about all of that stuff that, in the end, doesn't seem to matter, and so I have decided to let that go. Pick your battles, and all that........

I had a good ride though and got some more important things done. That was the main thing I wanted to do. And as far as fat biking goes, well, I hope to get back over there and cruise some of the exposed sandy, rocky stuff that is typically underwater. That stuff looks like what a fat bike was made to ride on.

Friday News And Views

Which color would you get?

Anniversary Time And A Jersey Announcement:

An anniversary was reached yesterday for me. Two years have passed now since I aligned with Ben Welnak and RidingGravel.com. Well, at least officially. We had been collaborating on certain things before that, but the melding of the old Gravel Grinder News with RidingGravel.com was not announced until December 1st, 2014.

Now we have often spoken with each other, Ben and I, about doing a jersey for Riding Gravel. I figured as long as I was riding in events I should be repping the company, ya know? So, it went from a casually mentioned thing to full on project status recently. I am happy to report that now it is actually going to happen, and I will have a "team" jersey for the events I ride in next year. The only question remaining now is what color I will be wearing.

By the way, it is possible to get one of these or yourself, and there will be an opportunity to do just that, to be announced later. Stay tuned for that. However; for now, if you would actually order one of these, you need to help choose which colorway we will go with. Hit me up in the comments here, or click that link and take the survey and let me know. Once a color has been chosen, finer details on how to order one for yourself will be released here and elsewhere on the RG site and social media.

Whichever color gets chosen is good with me, but I do have a personal favorite, which I will talk about after a color has been chosen. Stay tuned for that and the finer details on the process of getting these out to be announced soon. Oh, and thanks for taking the time to weigh in on this.

Global Fat Bike Day is tomorrow

Global Fat Bike Day:

Saturday is the so-called "Global Fat Bike Day". Hmm...... I may or may not participate. It just so happens that this always falls on the opening day of shotgun season for deer hunting. Not a good day to be traipsing about the woods out in the country, and probably not a good day to ride the gravel roads. You never know where those slugs are flying.

That leaves running around in the Green Belt as my best option here. Meh. I'm not really all that excited about riding a fat bike just because it is a certain day.  Maybe I will, but maybe I'll do something else.

In fact, I think I should be taking care of Trans Iowa recon. That first section needs to be looked at. Yes...... I may have to deal with hunting, but hopefully the "Truck With No Name" won't be mistaken for a deer as much as a cyclist would be. Besides, it is supposed to snow next week and when the roads get snowed in I may as well wait till Spring, and I'd rather not have to do that.

Then again, I may not do either. We will see. Global or not, I'm sure a throng will be riding locally, at the State level, and nationally here and there. Hopefully they all have a good time.

Spotted Horse Is On:

In my "Planning Ahead" post on Wednesday I mentioned one of the events I was interested in was the Spotted Horse Gravel Ultra. I mentioned that this was an iffy commitment, not in small part due to the fact that I knew at the time that it may not even be held again.

Well, lo and behold, yesterday I see that the date for 2017 was announced, so it is actually being planned to occur again in October of 2017. Pencil in the 7th for this long, arduous 200 miler.

So, I have that on as a solid commitment this time. I mentioned that I had signed up for it this year but the Fargo Reunion Ride happened and I had to go do that. I am very glad that I did, but I also really want to give the Spotted Horse a go, so seeing that they committed to doing it again, I am going to commit to going to do it. There's another chance to fly the RidingGravel.com colors that I mentioned above!

All right folks, that's a wrap for this week. If you go do the Global Fat Bike thing, have fun and stay safe! Otherwise, get out there and don't get shot by a deer hunter!

Friday News And Views

Which color would you get?

Anniversary Time And A Jersey Announcement:

An anniversary was reached yesterday for me. Two years have passed now since I aligned with Ben Welnak and RidingGravel.com. Well, at least officially. We had been collaborating on certain things before that, but the melding of the old Gravel Grinder News with RidingGravel.com was not announced until December 1st, 2014.

Now we have often spoken with each other, Ben and I, about doing a jersey for Riding Gravel. I figured as long as I was riding in events I should be repping the company, ya know? So, it went from a casually mentioned thing to full on project status recently. I am happy to report that now it is actually going to happen, and I will have a "team" jersey for the events I ride in next year. The only question remaining now is what color I will be wearing.

By the way, it is possible to get one of these or yourself, and there will be an opportunity to do just that, to be announced later. Stay tuned for that. However; for now, if you would actually order one of these, you need to help choose which colorway we will go with. Hit me up in the comments here, or click that link and take the survey and let me know. Once a color has been chosen, finer details on how to order one for yourself will be released here and elsewhere on the RG site and social media.

Whichever color gets chosen is good with me, but I do have a personal favorite, which I will talk about after a color has been chosen. Stay tuned for that and the finer details on the process of getting these out to be announced soon. Oh, and thanks for taking the time to weigh in on this.

Global Fat Bike Day is tomorrow

Global Fat Bike Day:

Saturday is the so-called "Global Fat Bike Day". Hmm...... I may or may not participate. It just so happens that this always falls on the opening day of shotgun season for deer hunting. Not a good day to be traipsing about the woods out in the country, and probably not a good day to ride the gravel roads. You never know where those slugs are flying.

That leaves running around in the Green Belt as my best option here. Meh. I'm not really all that excited about riding a fat bike just because it is a certain day.  Maybe I will, but maybe I'll do something else.

In fact, I think I should be taking care of Trans Iowa recon. That first section needs to be looked at. Yes...... I may have to deal with hunting, but hopefully the "Truck With No Name" won't be mistaken for a deer as much as a cyclist would be. Besides, it is supposed to snow next week and when the roads get snowed in I may as well wait till Spring, and I'd rather not have to do that.

Then again, I may not do either. We will see. Global or not, I'm sure a throng will be riding locally, at the State level, and nationally here and there. Hopefully they all have a good time.

Spotted Horse Is On:

In my "Planning Ahead" post on Wednesday I mentioned one of the events I was interested in was the Spotted Horse Gravel Ultra. I mentioned that this was an iffy commitment, not in small part due to the fact that I knew at the time that it may not even be held again.

Well, lo and behold, yesterday I see that the date for 2017 was announced, so it is actually being planned to occur again in October of 2017. Pencil in the 7th for this long, arduous 200 miler.

So, I have that on as a solid commitment this time. I mentioned that I had signed up for it this year but the Fargo Reunion Ride happened and I had to go do that. I am very glad that I did, but I also really want to give the Spotted Horse a go, so seeing that they committed to doing it again, I am going to commit to going to do it. There's another chance to fly the RidingGravel.com colors that I mentioned above!

All right folks, that's a wrap for this week. If you go do the Global Fat Bike thing, have fun and stay safe! Otherwise, get out there and don't get shot by a deer hunter!

Friday News And Views

Trans Iowa Clinic:

Tomorrow a few of us are descending upon Des Moines for the Trans Iowa Clinic. There are still a few spots available if you want to come learn about gear, techniques, and training tips for longer gravel events like Trans Iowa, Dirty Kanza 200, Odin's Revenge, or Gravel Worlds. 

Just e-mail me @ g.ted.productions@gmail.com and let me know if you are showing up. The evening will include experts Mike Johnson and Steve Fuller along with actual bicycles set up in the manner that Trans Iowa finishers would have them. It should be pretty informative, and hopefully fun!

The event starts at5:30pm at Tacopocalypse in Des Moines Iowa. Click the Facebook link above for more details.

Triple D Race:

Well.........I did it!  I signed up for my third time for Triple D. This is a snow ski, run, and bicycle race put on in Dubuque, Iowa and the bicycle part is about 65 miles, give or take a mile.

It is a really fun time to get together with like minded folks and talk and ride fat bikes. That it happens in the dead of Winter makes it even better, since it is hard to get your bike fix then, and this helps with that in a big way.

This also happens to be going on right before my birthday, so I have been kind of thinking of this as a "kick off" to my birthday celebration for the last couple of years. I mean, when you get to be my age, celebrating for just one day  ain't gonna cut it! I've got too much to be thankful for and it'll take a while to work that all out in observance of my birthday. Ya'all can do what ya want on yer birthdays, this is how I do mine. Triple D is part of that this year, barring any weird weather or other calamities.

So, here's the deal: I am shooting for a faster time than last year, and maybe even getting done before the Sun is completely gone. Maybe. Well, that's the goal, and weather will have its say. If it is as icy as last year....weeellll, I may not push things as far as I did. I went down only once, but I came out of it okay. The thing is, it coulda been really bad. Not worth that, but then again, it may not be icy. It may be really snowy and cold. Mid-January and all, that's a safer bet than how things were last year!

The Triple D Steed

 Global Fat Bike Day: 

Not that I particularly need  a special day to celebrate fat bikes, but there is a ride Saturday around these parts to observe the supposed "global" riding of these corpulent tired safety bikes.

Our ride is supposed to be happening at Ingawanis Woodlands, (formerly the South Side of the Boy Scout Camp), at 9am on Saturday. I'll be hitting this, (probably), very frigid ride up at least for a bit, then I'll have to get on home to be going down to Des Moines, Iowa for the Trans Iowa Clinic. (Mentioned above)

The only wrench that could get thrown into these "works" is that Mrs. Guitar Ted may be going to Des Moines with me and if she does, she'll likely want to leave earlier for shopping opportunities. That would effectively put me into another plan and I would ride earlier, and locally, instead of going up to Ingawanis.

Either way- I am riding, but it may not be with others. I have to get on board with training rides for Triple D, ya know. So there are my plans.

That's a wrap for today. Have a great weekend and stay warm!

Friday News And Views

Trans Iowa Clinic:

Tomorrow a few of us are descending upon Des Moines for the Trans Iowa Clinic. There are still a few spots available if you want to come learn about gear, techniques, and training tips for longer gravel events like Trans Iowa, Dirty Kanza 200, Odin's Revenge, or Gravel Worlds. 

Just e-mail me @ g.ted.productions@gmail.com and let me know if you are showing up. The evening will include experts Mike Johnson and Steve Fuller along with actual bicycles set up in the manner that Trans Iowa finishers would have them. It should be pretty informative, and hopefully fun!

The event starts at5:30pm at Tacopocalypse in Des Moines Iowa. Click the Facebook link above for more details.

Triple D Race:

Well.........I did it!  I signed up for my third time for Triple D. This is a snow ski, run, and bicycle race put on in Dubuque, Iowa and the bicycle part is about 65 miles, give or take a mile.

It is a really fun time to get together with like minded folks and talk and ride fat bikes. That it happens in the dead of Winter makes it even better, since it is hard to get your bike fix then, and this helps with that in a big way.

This also happens to be going on right before my birthday, so I have been kind of thinking of this as a "kick off" to my birthday celebration for the last couple of years. I mean, when you get to be my age, celebrating for just one day  ain't gonna cut it! I've got too much to be thankful for and it'll take a while to work that all out in observance of my birthday. Ya'all can do what ya want on yer birthdays, this is how I do mine. Triple D is part of that this year, barring any weird weather or other calamities.

So, here's the deal: I am shooting for a faster time than last year, and maybe even getting done before the Sun is completely gone. Maybe. Well, that's the goal, and weather will have its say. If it is as icy as last year....weeellll, I may not push things as far as I did. I went down only once, but I came out of it okay. The thing is, it coulda been really bad. Not worth that, but then again, it may not be icy. It may be really snowy and cold. Mid-January and all, that's a safer bet than how things were last year!

The Triple D Steed

 Global Fat Bike Day: 

Not that I particularly need  a special day to celebrate fat bikes, but there is a ride Saturday around these parts to observe the supposed "global" riding of these corpulent tired safety bikes.

Our ride is supposed to be happening at Ingawanis Woodlands, (formerly the South Side of the Boy Scout Camp), at 9am on Saturday. I'll be hitting this, (probably), very frigid ride up at least for a bit, then I'll have to get on home to be going down to Des Moines, Iowa for the Trans Iowa Clinic. (Mentioned above)

The only wrench that could get thrown into these "works" is that Mrs. Guitar Ted may be going to Des Moines with me and if she does, she'll likely want to leave earlier for shopping opportunities. That would effectively put me into another plan and I would ride earlier, and locally, instead of going up to Ingawanis.

Either way- I am riding, but it may not be with others. I have to get on board with training rides for Triple D, ya know. So there are my plans.

That's a wrap for today. Have a great weekend and stay warm!