The Return Of Brown Season

The snow melted, the rains came back, the temperature rose, and the mud returned.

Last week at this time I was in full-on winter commuting mode and we had snow all over the place with icy patches to boot. This week? Well, one week later the highs are in the upper 40's, the snow is gone, and ice has been replaced with wet leaves. Both are very slippery and treacherous, but landing on mud and wet leaves beats hitting concrete hard dirt and ice any day. That is, if you were to crash.

The weather has gone to a wet, moist, and definitely late Fall-like feel. it's so weird having had an interruption by Winter, and how that icy cold has basically altered the way the leaves are falling, the way the leaves are decaying, and how that is working into the soil already in the woods. There are patches where the water in puddles is so stained by the tannins from leaves that it is orange-yellow or deep brown. Many trees still have green leaves on them, which never had a chance to turn colors, because we had such a quick, deep freeze a few weeks ago. It's been an odd Fall, for sure, and I am just glad it came back for a bit.

I have a component I needed to test out on my bike, so I went off to Lower Hartman to check out the single track. I'm not hip to the modernized names that CVAST (the local soft trails association) has given these trails. I remember them by their old names. I went down old Shirey Way to a deer trail and bushwhacked through that toward the old "John's Trail", which I have spoken of here before.

John's Trail was a quickly made affair. I recall we laid it out in a day along an old deer trail, for the most part. Oddly enough it was one of the trails that managed to survive all the major floods and is mostly intact as far as its original layout. Only the far West end has been modified from the way it used to be. But no one really cares about any of that anymore. I'm probably one of very, very few people that even knows anything about the old Lower Hartman trails and their origins these days. I don't mean to brag, but all the younginz probably don't have a clue as to the who, what, or why many of these trails were put in back in the 90's. And none of them bother to find out, which is why I say no one cares.

Its as if you were a million miles from civilization, but this is within maybe four city blocks of residential areas.

Well, I had a wonderful pre-work ride. It was almost foggy, drippy, and there was zero wind. One of those days when everything seemed drenched in peace. I almost didn't go to work! (Not that there is much to go for these days, but anyway.....) It was a good respite from the stress which has characterized things in my life of late. Good stuff! I highly recommend a good woods ride on a quiet day.

The Cedar Valley has a healthy and active beaver population. Evidenced by this fallen sapling.

I have all my fender action going on here with the Ti Muk 2, which needed testing, and it all came through in flying colors. No mess on me, and mostly none on the bike. I have one more place I want to try a shield for splashing muck and that is behind the seat tube. I think I am going to try to fabricate this out of milk jugs. We'll see. I'm in no big hurry to do that though.

I did note that the Terrene Cake Eaters were slipping on wet rocks and roots under the leaves. Probably due to my "commuting tire pressures". I am not too concerned by this. If I were to lower the pressures a couple of psi, I think that would make a huge difference in the way these tires worked over such things in these conditions. Overall though, I am really pleased with the Cake Eaters. They roll pretty well, and yet they display good grip, and last week in the snow they were mildly impressive, so I am keeping those on for now.

I did stick on the old Revelate/Salsa/Surly frame bag meant for this bike and I have to say that while the quality is good, I am not a big fan of how it was fitted for this bike, and the internal divider is vertical, not horizontal. Soooo...... That's coming off. I really don't need it either, so after a bit of cleaning up I think it's going on the Garage Sale Page here. My purple Bike Bag Dude one is going back on, despite it being not quite right, but then, it was made to fit the 2012 Ti Muk, not the 2015 one! Still, it is close enough and it has a LOT more room than the original bag here.

This bike will be slop-season/Winter ready soon. I have to re-check sealant levels, and then I should be good to go through most of the season to come.

The Return Of Brown Season

The snow melted, the rains came back, the temperature rose, and the mud returned.

Last week at this time I was in full-on winter commuting mode and we had snow all over the place with icy patches to boot. This week? Well, one week later the highs are in the upper 40's, the snow is gone, and ice has been replaced with wet leaves. Both are very slippery and treacherous, but landing on mud and wet leaves beats hitting concrete hard dirt and ice any day. That is, if you were to crash.

The weather has gone to a wet, moist, and definitely late Fall-like feel. it's so weird having had an interruption by Winter, and how that icy cold has basically altered the way the leaves are falling, the way the leaves are decaying, and how that is working into the soil already in the woods. There are patches where the water in puddles is so stained by the tannins from leaves that it is orange-yellow or deep brown. Many trees still have green leaves on them, which never had a chance to turn colors, because we had such a quick, deep freeze a few weeks ago. It's been an odd Fall, for sure, and I am just glad it came back for a bit.

I have a component I needed to test out on my bike, so I went off to Lower Hartman to check out the single track. I'm not hip to the modernized names that CVAST (the local soft trails association) has given these trails. I remember them by their old names. I went down old Shirey Way to a deer trail and bushwhacked through that toward the old "John's Trail", which I have spoken of here before.

John's Trail was a quickly made affair. I recall we laid it out in a day along an old deer trail, for the most part. Oddly enough it was one of the trails that managed to survive all the major floods and is mostly intact as far as its original layout. Only the far West end has been modified from the way it used to be. But no one really cares about any of that anymore. I'm probably one of very, very few people that even knows anything about the old Lower Hartman trails and their origins these days. I don't mean to brag, but all the younginz probably don't have a clue as to the who, what, or why many of these trails were put in back in the 90's. And none of them bother to find out, which is why I say no one cares.

Its as if you were a million miles from civilization, but this is within maybe four city blocks of residential areas.

Well, I had a wonderful pre-work ride. It was almost foggy, drippy, and there was zero wind. One of those days when everything seemed drenched in peace. I almost didn't go to work! (Not that there is much to go for these days, but anyway.....) It was a good respite from the stress which has characterized things in my life of late. Good stuff! I highly recommend a good woods ride on a quiet day.

The Cedar Valley has a healthy and active beaver population. Evidenced by this fallen sapling.

I have all my fender action going on here with the Ti Muk 2, which needed testing, and it all came through in flying colors. No mess on me, and mostly none on the bike. I have one more place I want to try a shield for splashing muck and that is behind the seat tube. I think I am going to try to fabricate this out of milk jugs. We'll see. I'm in no big hurry to do that though.

I did note that the Terrene Cake Eaters were slipping on wet rocks and roots under the leaves. Probably due to my "commuting tire pressures". I am not too concerned by this. If I were to lower the pressures a couple of psi, I think that would make a huge difference in the way these tires worked over such things in these conditions. Overall though, I am really pleased with the Cake Eaters. They roll pretty well, and yet they display good grip, and last week in the snow they were mildly impressive, so I am keeping those on for now.

I did stick on the old Revelate/Salsa/Surly frame bag meant for this bike and I have to say that while the quality is good, I am not a big fan of how it was fitted for this bike, and the internal divider is vertical, not horizontal. Soooo...... That's coming off. I really don't need it either, so after a bit of cleaning up I think it's going on the Garage Sale Page here. My purple Bike Bag Dude one is going back on, despite it being not quite right, but then, it was made to fit the 2012 Ti Muk, not the 2015 one! Still, it is close enough and it has a LOT more room than the original bag here.

This bike will be slop-season/Winter ready soon. I have to re-check sealant levels, and then I should be good to go through most of the season to come.

Solo Turkey Burn

A woodchuck caught sunning itself.

Whoa! We didn't even get a flake! Dodged that bullet. I'm speaking, of course, about the big snow storm I mentioned last Friday in my post which was supposedly going to bring an end to the gravel riding season around these parts.

The whole mess went South and messed up their gravel season, so, yeah...... That sucks, but I am rejoicing that maybe December gravel travel will be a thing yet this year. We'll see.....

At any rate, on Saturday it was very nice for late November. Friday it had rained, and rained pretty steadily, all day long. I wanted to get out for a sort of "turkey burn" ride. You know....a post feasting caloric burn. People usually eat turkey here on Thanksgiving, thus the "turkey burn" name. Anyway, it technically doesn't fit for me since we had ham. Okay, so maybe "hamburn"? Maybe I try to hard........

There was a history for the term here though. Every year for several years in the 00's we'd gather the Saturday after Thanksgiving and do the "Turkey Burn" ride. The last mention of this ride I can find on my blog was back in 2012, but I missed it due to having to get my son's hair shorn. The first reference I found for it was back in 2005, but it may have been going on as an unorganized group ride activity before then. Not sure. Anywho......

Those rides were always up at Camp Ingawanis' North Side, which was always the preferred area to ride in before it was abandoned to the "horse people" around 2014 -15 or so. I've done my own, solo "burn" rides ever since, mostly on gravel roads though. The year I missed the last "official" "TB" ride I went out the very same afternoon and did my own ride in town on the local single track.

An old "flyer" for a Turkey Burn ride

The "turkey burn" thing caught on with me, at least, and I've been at it, pretty much every year since these started, and since that first 2012 solo ride, on my own. Saturday was too nice to stay inside anyway, so I just had to keep the streak going.

I decided to use the Breezer RADAR Expert here on test for a while for RidingGravel.com. That bike lends itself to the "multi-surface" approach, so I linked up some of my "dirt home from work" routes and alloted a couple of hours to get it done.

The winds were out of the Northwest, and since I was basically following the Cedar River, I was headed straight into that with the promise of a tailwind back home. The air temperature was hovering right around 40°F or so, and keeping warm wasn't an issue. Even headed into the wind I was fairly comfortable. I was layered up mostly in wool stuff. I did use some thermal Trek branded tights, and those things drive me bonkers. They always sag in the crotch and then you know what happens..... snag on the nose of the saddle! I hate it when that happens!

I gotta get over to Goodwill and see if I can score some old wool trousers and convert them into riding pants, or find some real wool tights, or...... I actually have pretty decent luck in Winter riding in Dickies or just any ol' blue jeans I find that are comfortable. I'm not too picky, that is, unless my shorts or pants, or tights snag. Then I get testy! Anyway, sorry about the mini-rant about clothing. I just was reminded on this ride how I hate saggy tights.

The plan took me down alleys and then over toward the Hartman area where Shirey Way awaited me. Now, with that rain the previous day, I had no ideas whether or not I'd even be able to get through. I know I got turned back a few weeks ago, I think it was, when I found that it was still too muddy after the Fall flooding.

Shirey Way. The "in town" Level B Road, essentially, but in reality a service road now for Lower Hartman Reserve

It was actually passable. I had to tip-toe the RADAR through a couple of "iffy" areas, but I actually didn't have too bad of a time. The mud down along either side of the Cedar is pretty "greasy" when wet, so there were a few exciting moments while trying to find traction at the limits of what the WTB Riddler 45s were able to give me. Once off that I hopped over to the Riverside Bike Trail to get to the Pfieffer Park bridge, then over to George Wyth State Park.

Checking out some single track in Geo Wyth

I stopped after crossing the bridge, because I needed to check the time. My original, ambitious plan was to go to Black Hawk Park, get in a bit of that fire road access trail up to the Ford Road cut off, back on Ford Road, then back along the river toward home. But I had no where near that kind of time. Typical "me". Over achieving plans and not enough time to implement them.......

So, I figured I'd try a bit of Geo Wyth single track on and see how the RADAR Expert did on that. Unfortunately, it was a wee bit too greasy to really get a good read on what the bike could do.  What wasn't too wet to ride on without balling up a ton of mud on the tires was not really secure enough to go hard on, especially into turns. I gingerly made my way over to the campground and stopped for a nice photo opportunity by the banks of the Cedar River. After that I went on the old, old fitness trail, (whatever name they have given that, I don't know, as I must have missed the sign), and out the other end to go around "East Lake". (Again, the lake has a different name too, but I'll be danged if I know what they changed it to.)

Then it was onward toward home going through Exchange Park and eventually back over the Cedar River to my neighborhood. It was an easy, fast trek, what with the wind at my back pushing me right along. Then I veered off into the old Elmwood Cemetery for a lap. They have almost finished eradicating the ash trees in there. Unbelievable how infested they were with the Emerald Ash Borers. You can walk up to any bit of log or limb they still have sitting about, peel back the bark and see the bored in tracks. Such a shame all those trees had to go. The cemetery looks positively naked to the sky now.

Back at home I declared it a good turkey burn ride and a fun outing on the Breezer. It probably would be a bit better at this point if I put on some 2.0" 29"er treads on it now. These conditions are going to be gone, but the rougher, frozen trails and gravel necessitate some voluminous comfort in the form of a bit bigger tires. I'll have that swapped in soon. Then we'll see how the weather comes along this coming week.

Solo Turkey Burn

A woodchuck caught sunning itself.

Whoa! We didn't even get a flake! Dodged that bullet. I'm speaking, of course, about the big snow storm I mentioned last Friday in my post which was supposedly going to bring an end to the gravel riding season around these parts.

The whole mess went South and messed up their gravel season, so, yeah...... That sucks, but I am rejoicing that maybe December gravel travel will be a thing yet this year. We'll see.....

At any rate, on Saturday it was very nice for late November. Friday it had rained, and rained pretty steadily, all day long. I wanted to get out for a sort of "turkey burn" ride. You know....a post feasting caloric burn. People usually eat turkey here on Thanksgiving, thus the "turkey burn" name. Anyway, it technically doesn't fit for me since we had ham. Okay, so maybe "hamburn"? Maybe I try to hard........

There was a history for the term here though. Every year for several years in the 00's we'd gather the Saturday after Thanksgiving and do the "Turkey Burn" ride. The last mention of this ride I can find on my blog was back in 2012, but I missed it due to having to get my son's hair shorn. The first reference I found for it was back in 2005, but it may have been going on as an unorganized group ride activity before then. Not sure. Anywho......

Those rides were always up at Camp Ingawanis' North Side, which was always the preferred area to ride in before it was abandoned to the "horse people" around 2014 -15 or so. I've done my own, solo "burn" rides ever since, mostly on gravel roads though. The year I missed the last "official" "TB" ride I went out the very same afternoon and did my own ride in town on the local single track.

An old "flyer" for a Turkey Burn ride

The "turkey burn" thing caught on with me, at least, and I've been at it, pretty much every year since these started, and since that first 2012 solo ride, on my own. Saturday was too nice to stay inside anyway, so I just had to keep the streak going.

I decided to use the Breezer RADAR Expert here on test for a while for RidingGravel.com. That bike lends itself to the "multi-surface" approach, so I linked up some of my "dirt home from work" routes and alloted a couple of hours to get it done.

The winds were out of the Northwest, and since I was basically following the Cedar River, I was headed straight into that with the promise of a tailwind back home. The air temperature was hovering right around 40°F or so, and keeping warm wasn't an issue. Even headed into the wind I was fairly comfortable. I was layered up mostly in wool stuff. I did use some thermal Trek branded tights, and those things drive me bonkers. They always sag in the crotch and then you know what happens..... snag on the nose of the saddle! I hate it when that happens!

I gotta get over to Goodwill and see if I can score some old wool trousers and convert them into riding pants, or find some real wool tights, or...... I actually have pretty decent luck in Winter riding in Dickies or just any ol' blue jeans I find that are comfortable. I'm not too picky, that is, unless my shorts or pants, or tights snag. Then I get testy! Anyway, sorry about the mini-rant about clothing. I just was reminded on this ride how I hate saggy tights.

The plan took me down alleys and then over toward the Hartman area where Shirey Way awaited me. Now, with that rain the previous day, I had no ideas whether or not I'd even be able to get through. I know I got turned back a few weeks ago, I think it was, when I found that it was still too muddy after the Fall flooding.

Shirey Way. The "in town" Level B Road, essentially, but in reality a service road now for Lower Hartman Reserve

It was actually passable. I had to tip-toe the RADAR through a couple of "iffy" areas, but I actually didn't have too bad of a time. The mud down along either side of the Cedar is pretty "greasy" when wet, so there were a few exciting moments while trying to find traction at the limits of what the WTB Riddler 45s were able to give me. Once off that I hopped over to the Riverside Bike Trail to get to the Pfieffer Park bridge, then over to George Wyth State Park.

Checking out some single track in Geo Wyth

I stopped after crossing the bridge, because I needed to check the time. My original, ambitious plan was to go to Black Hawk Park, get in a bit of that fire road access trail up to the Ford Road cut off, back on Ford Road, then back along the river toward home. But I had no where near that kind of time. Typical "me". Over achieving plans and not enough time to implement them.......

So, I figured I'd try a bit of Geo Wyth single track on and see how the RADAR Expert did on that. Unfortunately, it was a wee bit too greasy to really get a good read on what the bike could do.  What wasn't too wet to ride on without balling up a ton of mud on the tires was not really secure enough to go hard on, especially into turns. I gingerly made my way over to the campground and stopped for a nice photo opportunity by the banks of the Cedar River. After that I went on the old, old fitness trail, (whatever name they have given that, I don't know, as I must have missed the sign), and out the other end to go around "East Lake". (Again, the lake has a different name too, but I'll be danged if I know what they changed it to.)

Then it was onward toward home going through Exchange Park and eventually back over the Cedar River to my neighborhood. It was an easy, fast trek, what with the wind at my back pushing me right along. Then I veered off into the old Elmwood Cemetery for a lap. They have almost finished eradicating the ash trees in there. Unbelievable how infested they were with the Emerald Ash Borers. You can walk up to any bit of log or limb they still have sitting about, peel back the bark and see the bored in tracks. Such a shame all those trees had to go. The cemetery looks positively naked to the sky now.

Back at home I declared it a good turkey burn ride and a fun outing on the Breezer. It probably would be a bit better at this point if I put on some 2.0" 29"er treads on it now. These conditions are going to be gone, but the rougher, frozen trails and gravel necessitate some voluminous comfort in the form of a bit bigger tires. I'll have that swapped in soon. Then we'll see how the weather comes along this coming week.

Seeking Balance

A gorgeous afternoon to ride.

They say that nature seeks balance. You'd be forgiven for thinking that saying is B.S. when it rains for six weeks straight. From late September to mid-October, the weather was negative. Rain came in bucket loads. We flooded. Twice. The last time it was a "major flood" category event.

So, I was thinking that we'd get cheated out of some of our usually nice Fall riding. However; it looks as though we're going to get a bit of balance back after all. The last two days have been stellar Fall days. Little wind, clear skies, comfortable upper 50's/lower 60's for temperatures. Just really nice Fall weather, and it is forecast to continue on like this for several days.

Of course, I love that news, but farmers here are overjoyed. They are out en force reaping the harvest and I cannot blame them. The recent activity in the rural areas has been intense, and I expect nothing less than totally gleaned fields next time I get out there. That should be very soon, by the way. (Probably today)

So, pretty much everyone is happier now. The Sun shining has a lot to do with it, and we did miss that a lot during those rainy weeks. But not everything is roses now. Of course it isn't. The single track is wrecked as of now. Standing water is everywhere in the woods. The rivers are still pretty high, so water drainage is slow to occur. Evaporation of the waters which are sitting in pools now is a slow affair with these temperatures and light winds. Trees and branches litter the trails. 

Standing water cuts off a single track trail in Lower Hartman here. 

Broken branches and downed trees cut off other single track routes in Lower Hartman.

So, I toodled around where I could in Lower Hartman and along old Shirey Road. Then I headed back toward the house on paved bike paths and down several Waterloo city alleyways. It never fails that when I pop down an alley that somewhere I surprise a motorist, citizen, or resident who isn't expecting a cyclist to be rip-roaring down the alley. Don't they know alleys are public and a lot of fun to bomb down?

A beautiful day for a bicycle ride.

I definitely stopped a few times to soak it all in. These days go by so quickly and I just was so happy to be out and about when the weather was so good. The leaves are still turning colors and despite the wicked weekend winds, most trees still retain their foliage. That in itself is amazing!

So, I hope to get in some good rides before the weather takes a turn for the colder and Winter hits. We'll have to see how long we get before that happens, but just several weeks is my guess. Stay tuned on that......

Seeking Balance

A gorgeous afternoon to ride.

They say that nature seeks balance. You'd be forgiven for thinking that saying is B.S. when it rains for six weeks straight. From late September to mid-October, the weather was negative. Rain came in bucket loads. We flooded. Twice. The last time it was a "major flood" category event.

So, I was thinking that we'd get cheated out of some of our usually nice Fall riding. However; it looks as though we're going to get a bit of balance back after all. The last two days have been stellar Fall days. Little wind, clear skies, comfortable upper 50's/lower 60's for temperatures. Just really nice Fall weather, and it is forecast to continue on like this for several days.

Of course, I love that news, but farmers here are overjoyed. They are out en force reaping the harvest and I cannot blame them. The recent activity in the rural areas has been intense, and I expect nothing less than totally gleaned fields next time I get out there. That should be very soon, by the way. (Probably today)

So, pretty much everyone is happier now. The Sun shining has a lot to do with it, and we did miss that a lot during those rainy weeks. But not everything is roses now. Of course it isn't. The single track is wrecked as of now. Standing water is everywhere in the woods. The rivers are still pretty high, so water drainage is slow to occur. Evaporation of the waters which are sitting in pools now is a slow affair with these temperatures and light winds. Trees and branches litter the trails. 

Standing water cuts off a single track trail in Lower Hartman here. 

Broken branches and downed trees cut off other single track routes in Lower Hartman.

So, I toodled around where I could in Lower Hartman and along old Shirey Road. Then I headed back toward the house on paved bike paths and down several Waterloo city alleyways. It never fails that when I pop down an alley that somewhere I surprise a motorist, citizen, or resident who isn't expecting a cyclist to be rip-roaring down the alley. Don't they know alleys are public and a lot of fun to bomb down?

A beautiful day for a bicycle ride.

I definitely stopped a few times to soak it all in. These days go by so quickly and I just was so happy to be out and about when the weather was so good. The leaves are still turning colors and despite the wicked weekend winds, most trees still retain their foliage. That in itself is amazing!

So, I hope to get in some good rides before the weather takes a turn for the colder and Winter hits. We'll have to see how long we get before that happens, but just several weeks is my guess. Stay tuned on that......

Winter Views

It's white for now, but not for much longer.

Last week we lost all of our snow in the first warm up of the year. Then we got a nice little dusting on Sunday evening. Essentially about 3 inches of Arctic fluff, but at least it was something. However; Monday we had blinding winds and that really blew off a lot of that fluff so it only covers the ground really, and just barely at that.

But, it is what it is, so I decided that Monday it was just too brutal to ride with that wind and below zero morning temperatures. Plus, I was just coming off the flu. So Monday was a no-ride day. Tuesday things were set to be a bit different though.

I felt great, for one thing, and the temperature at my departure for work was a balmy 1°F above zero with a 15mph Northwest wind. Of course, I ride toward the Northwest to get to work. But I did it. I made it there with no issues. Once work was over, the plan was to take the long ride home.

I decided just to putter around a bit. The wind was the same, but now it was 8°F! WooHoo! Actually, all kidding aside, it was Sunny and the snow was perfect. Now we are supposed to start getting warmer and by Saturday it will be 40°F and.....buh-bye snow! A replay of last week, it would seem. Sunday coming up another storm is due. We'll see what that brings. So, anyway, yesterday was going to be the primo riding day. I took advantage.

Lower Hartman hadn't seen much traffic and was a pretty nice ride Tuesday

I ended up wandering down to Lower Hartman Reserve where bicycles are allowed and wandered around on trails there. I first hit up what I know as "John's Trail", although I am sure that the CVAST group has their own goofy name for it. Whatever. It's "John's Trail" when I ride it as he is the one that put it in. Not that anyone cares anymore about history or anything...... Bah! 

So, anyway, the trail was completely navigable, and I decided to poke around some more. There is a tiny bit of trail South of old Shirey Way, (another lost name to the younginz), and I decided to take it back toward the Hartman shelter on the paved bike trail. Along the way I noted movement, as I had a bit earlier when I flushed out four deer. But these weren't deer. It was an older man and a woman following him hiking in the same direction as I was traveling. Of course, I was going to overtake them eventually.

I got about 30 yards behind them, my tires scrunching and screeching on the dry, fluffy, super-cold snow. I was making enough noise I figured that they would easily hear my approach, but they made no indication as to the knowledge of my presence. I could hear their talking, I was that close, but they couldn't hear me? Weird. Well, having had enough encounters with hikers to know that there was no way I wasn't going to scare them half to death, I decided to pull up to a huge cottonwood and prop myself against it while they went on ahead.

They got a good bit ahead, and I soft pedaled along, but I was going to overtake them again, so I stopped alongside another tree to sit and wait until they exited the trail and crossed over the paved bicycle trail into Upper Hartman. Then I proceeded to go my way. No harm-no foul. I am certain these folks had no idea I was behind them. No need to frighten the poor souls, so I did what I did.

"S" stands for Shirey. The old sand and gravel company used to own all the Lower Hartman area once upon a time.

After that encounter I went off a circumnavigated that big backwater pond next to the Cedar. That was fun, and then I started my way back home. I ended up riding for an hour and a half. Pretty good for having been off the bike since last week with a bout of flu in between. I was pretty hungry when I got home but my daughter saved the day with some good chicken curry and rice.

This is going to be a wonky Winter. Saturday I think I am aiming for a gravel ride, the first I will have done in 2018. We'll see. This weather swings one way then the next so hard it is difficult to keep track of what to wear and when. One day I am wearing two layers, or three, then a couple of days later I am wearing one jacket and feeling hot. Depending on what happens Sunday I may or may not have more Winter Views coming. Stay tuned.....

Winter Views

It's white for now, but not for much longer.

Last week we lost all of our snow in the first warm up of the year. Then we got a nice little dusting on Sunday evening. Essentially about 3 inches of Arctic fluff, but at least it was something. However; Monday we had blinding winds and that really blew off a lot of that fluff so it only covers the ground really, and just barely at that.

But, it is what it is, so I decided that Monday it was just too brutal to ride with that wind and below zero morning temperatures. Plus, I was just coming off the flu. So Monday was a no-ride day. Tuesday things were set to be a bit different though.

I felt great, for one thing, and the temperature at my departure for work was a balmy 1°F above zero with a 15mph Northwest wind. Of course, I ride toward the Northwest to get to work. But I did it. I made it there with no issues. Once work was over, the plan was to take the long ride home.

I decided just to putter around a bit. The wind was the same, but now it was 8°F! WooHoo! Actually, all kidding aside, it was Sunny and the snow was perfect. Now we are supposed to start getting warmer and by Saturday it will be 40°F and.....buh-bye snow! A replay of last week, it would seem. Sunday coming up another storm is due. We'll see what that brings. So, anyway, yesterday was going to be the primo riding day. I took advantage.

Lower Hartman hadn't seen much traffic and was a pretty nice ride Tuesday

I ended up wandering down to Lower Hartman Reserve where bicycles are allowed and wandered around on trails there. I first hit up what I know as "John's Trail", although I am sure that the CVAST group has their own goofy name for it. Whatever. It's "John's Trail" when I ride it as he is the one that put it in. Not that anyone cares anymore about history or anything...... Bah! 

So, anyway, the trail was completely navigable, and I decided to poke around some more. There is a tiny bit of trail South of old Shirey Way, (another lost name to the younginz), and I decided to take it back toward the Hartman shelter on the paved bike trail. Along the way I noted movement, as I had a bit earlier when I flushed out four deer. But these weren't deer. It was an older man and a woman following him hiking in the same direction as I was traveling. Of course, I was going to overtake them eventually.

I got about 30 yards behind them, my tires scrunching and screeching on the dry, fluffy, super-cold snow. I was making enough noise I figured that they would easily hear my approach, but they made no indication as to the knowledge of my presence. I could hear their talking, I was that close, but they couldn't hear me? Weird. Well, having had enough encounters with hikers to know that there was no way I wasn't going to scare them half to death, I decided to pull up to a huge cottonwood and prop myself against it while they went on ahead.

They got a good bit ahead, and I soft pedaled along, but I was going to overtake them again, so I stopped alongside another tree to sit and wait until they exited the trail and crossed over the paved bicycle trail into Upper Hartman. Then I proceeded to go my way. No harm-no foul. I am certain these folks had no idea I was behind them. No need to frighten the poor souls, so I did what I did.

"S" stands for Shirey. The old sand and gravel company used to own all the Lower Hartman area once upon a time.

After that encounter I went off a circumnavigated that big backwater pond next to the Cedar. That was fun, and then I started my way back home. I ended up riding for an hour and a half. Pretty good for having been off the bike since last week with a bout of flu in between. I was pretty hungry when I got home but my daughter saved the day with some good chicken curry and rice.

This is going to be a wonky Winter. Saturday I think I am aiming for a gravel ride, the first I will have done in 2018. We'll see. This weather swings one way then the next so hard it is difficult to keep track of what to wear and when. One day I am wearing two layers, or three, then a couple of days later I am wearing one jacket and feeling hot. Depending on what happens Sunday I may or may not have more Winter Views coming. Stay tuned.....

Fat N' Single

Waiting on Andy......

Wednesday I had planned on meeting my co-worker, Andy for a fat bike ride. He had just gotten his Pugsley single speed at the shop the day before and was itching to check into some of the local single track. I said I'd be happy to take him around.

We settled on a time and a meeting place, so I decided I'd ride over from the house. I went through some of the areas we'd be riding later, and the dirt was looking really fine. The day was Sunny, dry, and cooler than it had been in a long time. Perfection, really. What a great day to have off to go plunking around on single speed fat bikes!

Of course, my fat bike wasn't technically a single speed, but I did leave it in the "high range" for the entire ride, so I think that counts! I've become accustomed to using that higher combination, and I'll likely not be needing the lower geared combo until after the snow flies.

I allotted a bit too much time to meet Andy, and I was at our meet-up spot way ahead of schedule, so I went ahead and did a bit of recon for our ride. The sand underneath the four lane highway bridge was deep and loose as ever, but the ol' Blackborow just walked right through it all. I had also hit a couple of other big sand piles on the way over, and cleaned those as well. Big tires make such a big difference here. I turned around after a bit, not wanting to get too far away from the prescribed meeting spot, and went back to sit on a nearby bench and wait for Andy. I figured he'd be fashionably late, but it ended up he was actually almost 15 minutes late. Oh well! At least he made it!

After a quick saddle height adjustment we were off, and then it was a fast, ripping single track ride for the most part. It's funny how fat bikes are not really that big of a deal to motor along twisty single track. Especially the newer breed of fat bikes. I tried to discern if I felt anything making me work all that much harder, but other than huffing it a bit more up any steeps, I really think the Blackborow just carves up single track as well as any 29"er I have in the stable.

Andy's brand-spankin' new size small SS Pugs. What a lovely color, and it sparkles!

It was obvious that Andy's Pug wasn't holding him back either, as he was almost always right on my wheel. Andy mentioned the 3.8" Knards were really easy to roll and had great grip. Oddly enough, his size Small Pugs fits that size Medium Revelate frame bag perfectly.

So, I showed Andy a taste of both sides of the river. Honestly, for my tastes, I like the South side stuff better. Many of the newer, North of the river trails seem to be more about getting from Point A to Point B, and aren't all that challenging. A few places on the South side do give you pause, and I like that, but maybe I am out of touch with the tastes of the local off-roaders. Dunno....... I think Andy had fun, so that was all that mattered.

A quick stop to smell the flowers and watch the bees at work.

This is another ride that really confirmed for me that the Bluto is a great addition to the front end of the Blackborow DS. I used up all the travel a couple of times during my three hours in the saddle, and the smoothness and control were palpable. I was suspicious of the spindly looking stanchions on the Bluto when paired up with 4.8" of mondo-griptastic tires. However; I've been pleased with the performance so far. If I lived somewhere with a lot more speed and bigger rocks? I probably would be wanting more stiffness and more travel than the 100mm that this fork is set up with. That said, a Bluto simply transforms the bike's capabilities on twisty single track. I'm really glad I have the option to run it.

So, anyway..... A great day on the bike and I am looking forward to getting all the parts lined up for this bike's transformation, which would be the "normal Summer set up". So, yeah..... I'll probably get that done come Winter!

Fat N' Single

Waiting on Andy......

Wednesday I had planned on meeting my co-worker, Andy for a fat bike ride. He had just gotten his Pugsley single speed at the shop the day before and was itching to check into some of the local single track. I said I'd be happy to take him around.

We settled on a time and a meeting place, so I decided I'd ride over from the house. I went through some of the areas we'd be riding later, and the dirt was looking really fine. The day was Sunny, dry, and cooler than it had been in a long time. Perfection, really. What a great day to have off to go plunking around on single speed fat bikes!

Of course, my fat bike wasn't technically a single speed, but I did leave it in the "high range" for the entire ride, so I think that counts! I've become accustomed to using that higher combination, and I'll likely not be needing the lower geared combo until after the snow flies.

I allotted a bit too much time to meet Andy, and I was at our meet-up spot way ahead of schedule, so I went ahead and did a bit of recon for our ride. The sand underneath the four lane highway bridge was deep and loose as ever, but the ol' Blackborow just walked right through it all. I had also hit a couple of other big sand piles on the way over, and cleaned those as well. Big tires make such a big difference here. I turned around after a bit, not wanting to get too far away from the prescribed meeting spot, and went back to sit on a nearby bench and wait for Andy. I figured he'd be fashionably late, but it ended up he was actually almost 15 minutes late. Oh well! At least he made it!

After a quick saddle height adjustment we were off, and then it was a fast, ripping single track ride for the most part. It's funny how fat bikes are not really that big of a deal to motor along twisty single track. Especially the newer breed of fat bikes. I tried to discern if I felt anything making me work all that much harder, but other than huffing it a bit more up any steeps, I really think the Blackborow just carves up single track as well as any 29"er I have in the stable.

Andy's brand-spankin' new size small SS Pugs. What a lovely color, and it sparkles!

It was obvious that Andy's Pug wasn't holding him back either, as he was almost always right on my wheel. Andy mentioned the 3.8" Knards were really easy to roll and had great grip. Oddly enough, his size Small Pugs fits that size Medium Revelate frame bag perfectly.

So, I showed Andy a taste of both sides of the river. Honestly, for my tastes, I like the South side stuff better. Many of the newer, North of the river trails seem to be more about getting from Point A to Point B, and aren't all that challenging. A few places on the South side do give you pause, and I like that, but maybe I am out of touch with the tastes of the local off-roaders. Dunno....... I think Andy had fun, so that was all that mattered.

A quick stop to smell the flowers and watch the bees at work.

This is another ride that really confirmed for me that the Bluto is a great addition to the front end of the Blackborow DS. I used up all the travel a couple of times during my three hours in the saddle, and the smoothness and control were palpable. I was suspicious of the spindly looking stanchions on the Bluto when paired up with 4.8" of mondo-griptastic tires. However; I've been pleased with the performance so far. If I lived somewhere with a lot more speed and bigger rocks? I probably would be wanting more stiffness and more travel than the 100mm that this fork is set up with. That said, a Bluto simply transforms the bike's capabilities on twisty single track. I'm really glad I have the option to run it.

So, anyway..... A great day on the bike and I am looking forward to getting all the parts lined up for this bike's transformation, which would be the "normal Summer set up". So, yeah..... I'll probably get that done come Winter!

The No "DS" Ride

New bike "mojo" token was found.

You know, as long as I have been a "bike nerd" it has been kind of an unwritten rule that you (a) ride on News Year's Eve or (b) ride on New Year's Day. I didn't get out of the house at all on Wednesday, since we were all feeling under the weather here. However; I did manage to grind out a ride on New Year's Day, to uphold "traditions". This will keep me in good stead with the "Unwritten Rules Of Engagement For Bike Nerds". (There is no such thing, but you'd think so by following us "bike nerds" around.)

So, I stayed up pretty late on New Year's Eve doing the family deal. The children are old enough now where staying up until midnight is considered "novel" but they can actually hold out that long and stay awake these days. We watched the "Apple Dumpling Gang" and the Wallace & Gromit short, "A Grand Day Out". Then I stayed up a bit longer and toodled around before hitting the hay. That meant a very late start on Thursday- 11:00am or so, actually, and I took my normal lengthy time to get going. I wasn't out on the bike until well into the afternoon.

We're enjoying a brief respite from bitter cold so the temperatures weren't all that bad out for a New Year's Day ride. I have seen temperatures into the 50's on New Year's Day, but more often than not it is bitterly cold. Yesterday it was right around freezing with a stiff Westerly wind. Not bad, but considering the time of year, above average weather for sure.

I decided the theme of the ride would be an easy, steady pace. To spice it up a bit, I decided to ride the Blackborow DS, (or Snow Dog v2), and to not use the lower range gearing. I would keep it in the high range and truly single speed it- a "no DS ride". That really shouldn't be all that hard to do around here, but there were a few observations along the way where I felt dropping into the lower range would have been a good thing. We'll get to that in a bit.....

Not 20 feet from my front door I found a colorful bracelet on the sidewalk. A remnant from the previous evening's festivities, perhaps? Who knew? I took it as a token that my Snow Dog v2 needed a "mojo", and I laced it initially around the right side of the handlebar. What? You've never heard of a handlebar mojo before? Well, it goes way back to the early days of mountain biking when folks would affix all sorts of "talismans" to their handlebars for fun, good luck, or some other superstitious reason. Most commonly dubbed "mojos", the practice seemed to fall out of favor sometime in the 90's. I never really got into it all that much, although over time I have had such things as a silver strand of "temple bells", a plastic rose, and maybe some other oddments on my bars throughout the years. I wouldn't say I was superstitious by any stretch, but I maybe am a bit sentimental and I like doing the odd thing from time to time. The bracelet deal seemed appropriate, seeing as how it was the first found item on a bike ride in 2015, and me without a handlebar mojo on the Snow Dog v2 and all. So there it is.

Cruising around the backwaters of the Cedar River

I decided to not do the Green Belt again. That is an easy route to use, since it is so close to my home, but others are not much further away and I decided to visit a bit of a different stretch along the Cedar River instead. I made my way via city streets and alley ways to Lower Hartman Reserve and the new trails over that way. After a bit, I moved further West and hit the old trail I helped put in back in '97 or so. It was dubbed "John's Trail" back in the day, although I doubt many remember that John Adamson put that in there over what was mostly a deer trail. I helped him out with marking it and added a bit of an "optional" curve down off a ridge and back up again. That being the only noticeable contribution I made to that trail. I always dub that tiny diversion "Mark's Option". But again, nobody cares or even remembers that old stuff. To most, it's just one of the Lower Hartman trails. Which is fine by me, by the way. I just point that out for historical purposes, if anyone would care to know locally.

You can see the rut I put in on that sandy tongue out into the back water here.

Another trail that probably no one realizes the history of is the one that parallels the old Shirey Way closer to the West entrance to Lower Hartman on the North side. It eventually rides up on a ridge that has a bit of exposure to the back water pond before it dumps out onto the old Shirey access road that goes back into the woods. That wasn't rideable until the mid-90's when some of us started clearing out a pretty significant deer trail that the current trail follows the line of. I remember bushwhacking my way through there on an old 26"er before we had it cleared out for use. By 1996 it was fairly well established. For a deer trail, it ain't all that bad.

The old "pond hockey" area and the Lower Hartman observation tower in the distance.

The "no DS ride" went well, actually. I had to time some whoop-de-doos and obstacles a bit more carefully, but I only dabbed twice during the entire ride. I had to make some fancy moves in a couple of spots, but I think given more time to get more fittness on the bike, the old Snow Dog v2 will be fine as a straight up single speed rig around here. I was looking longingly at a few beach cruise opportunities, but I really would have needed the crawling gear for those, so I limited my self to sticking with the plan. I can always come back and crawl those nice looking stretches of sand again later.

The ride was great. The day was a clear, blue bird sky day, and although the winds were stiff, I was out of the main blast down in the woods for the most part. A good ride to kick off the new year on. Now let's see if the ball can be kept rolling.....

The No "DS" Ride

New bike "mojo" token was found.

You know, as long as I have been a "bike nerd" it has been kind of an unwritten rule that you (a) ride on News Year's Eve or (b) ride on New Year's Day. I didn't get out of the house at all on Wednesday, since we were all feeling under the weather here. However; I did manage to grind out a ride on New Year's Day, to uphold "traditions". This will keep me in good stead with the "Unwritten Rules Of Engagement For Bike Nerds". (There is no such thing, but you'd think so by following us "bike nerds" around.)

So, I stayed up pretty late on New Year's Eve doing the family deal. The children are old enough now where staying up until midnight is considered "novel" but they can actually hold out that long and stay awake these days. We watched the "Apple Dumpling Gang" and the Wallace & Gromit short, "A Grand Day Out". Then I stayed up a bit longer and toodled around before hitting the hay. That meant a very late start on Thursday- 11:00am or so, actually, and I took my normal lengthy time to get going. I wasn't out on the bike until well into the afternoon.

We're enjoying a brief respite from bitter cold so the temperatures weren't all that bad out for a New Year's Day ride. I have seen temperatures into the 50's on New Year's Day, but more often than not it is bitterly cold. Yesterday it was right around freezing with a stiff Westerly wind. Not bad, but considering the time of year, above average weather for sure.

I decided the theme of the ride would be an easy, steady pace. To spice it up a bit, I decided to ride the Blackborow DS, (or Snow Dog v2), and to not use the lower range gearing. I would keep it in the high range and truly single speed it- a "no DS ride". That really shouldn't be all that hard to do around here, but there were a few observations along the way where I felt dropping into the lower range would have been a good thing. We'll get to that in a bit.....

Not 20 feet from my front door I found a colorful bracelet on the sidewalk. A remnant from the previous evening's festivities, perhaps? Who knew? I took it as a token that my Snow Dog v2 needed a "mojo", and I laced it initially around the right side of the handlebar. What? You've never heard of a handlebar mojo before? Well, it goes way back to the early days of mountain biking when folks would affix all sorts of "talismans" to their handlebars for fun, good luck, or some other superstitious reason. Most commonly dubbed "mojos", the practice seemed to fall out of favor sometime in the 90's. I never really got into it all that much, although over time I have had such things as a silver strand of "temple bells", a plastic rose, and maybe some other oddments on my bars throughout the years. I wouldn't say I was superstitious by any stretch, but I maybe am a bit sentimental and I like doing the odd thing from time to time. The bracelet deal seemed appropriate, seeing as how it was the first found item on a bike ride in 2015, and me without a handlebar mojo on the Snow Dog v2 and all. So there it is.

Cruising around the backwaters of the Cedar River

I decided to not do the Green Belt again. That is an easy route to use, since it is so close to my home, but others are not much further away and I decided to visit a bit of a different stretch along the Cedar River instead. I made my way via city streets and alley ways to Lower Hartman Reserve and the new trails over that way. After a bit, I moved further West and hit the old trail I helped put in back in '97 or so. It was dubbed "John's Trail" back in the day, although I doubt many remember that John Adamson put that in there over what was mostly a deer trail. I helped him out with marking it and added a bit of an "optional" curve down off a ridge and back up again. That being the only noticeable contribution I made to that trail. I always dub that tiny diversion "Mark's Option". But again, nobody cares or even remembers that old stuff. To most, it's just one of the Lower Hartman trails. Which is fine by me, by the way. I just point that out for historical purposes, if anyone would care to know locally.

You can see the rut I put in on that sandy tongue out into the back water here.

Another trail that probably no one realizes the history of is the one that parallels the old Shirey Way closer to the West entrance to Lower Hartman on the North side. It eventually rides up on a ridge that has a bit of exposure to the back water pond before it dumps out onto the old Shirey access road that goes back into the woods. That wasn't rideable until the mid-90's when some of us started clearing out a pretty significant deer trail that the current trail follows the line of. I remember bushwhacking my way through there on an old 26"er before we had it cleared out for use. By 1996 it was fairly well established. For a deer trail, it ain't all that bad.

The old "pond hockey" area and the Lower Hartman observation tower in the distance.

The "no DS ride" went well, actually. I had to time some whoop-de-doos and obstacles a bit more carefully, but I only dabbed twice during the entire ride. I had to make some fancy moves in a couple of spots, but I think given more time to get more fittness on the bike, the old Snow Dog v2 will be fine as a straight up single speed rig around here. I was looking longingly at a few beach cruise opportunities, but I really would have needed the crawling gear for those, so I limited my self to sticking with the plan. I can always come back and crawl those nice looking stretches of sand again later.

The ride was great. The day was a clear, blue bird sky day, and although the winds were stiff, I was out of the main blast down in the woods for the most part. A good ride to kick off the new year on. Now let's see if the ball can be kept rolling.....