Winter Finally Does Winter Things

The start of Winter things in mid-February?

If there is only one thing you remember about we Mid-Westerners, it should be this: We love to talk about the weather. Okay.....maybe "complain" would be a good substitute for "talk" here, but you get the picture. So, let's talk a bit about the weather, shall we?

This Winter season, which I hold always begins on the first of December, has been very "un-Winter-like". Well.....except that it has been really cold at times. If there is one nit I have about Winters like this is it is when we get the biting cold but there is no snow to make it seem like the cold belongs. It is hard to accept subzero temperatures when it looks like Fall or early Spring outside. Snow covering the ground? Yes. Then subzero temperatures make more sense. 

Yes, we have had dustings of snow since December, but these were mere teasings. Not "real" snow. Just enough to cover the ground for a few days before it either evaporated into the atmosphere or until it got back above freezing and melted. 

This late arrival of undeniable 'real snow' is pretty amazing. We now have around ten inches of the stuff since last Wednesday. However; after a brief dusting, to top it all off this weekend, it looks like this will be all we get. Barring any obscure early Spring snow storm. 

I actually got to ride the Ti Muk 2 in snow on my commute home Wednesday.

The Sun is getting higher in the sky now, and the days are getting longer quickly. Eventually March will show up and I know this snow will be gone in a hurry. So much for dreams of groomed trails and crisp rides on my fat bike in the woods. 

We made it so far into Winter that this snow seems like a slap in the face. Because it will not last long, and doing Winter things will be brief, and then slop-season will begin, and Spring will take over. 

I should not complain. We need the snow, and I am sure this brief snow covering will be very beneficial in several ways. It's just kind of annoying because we are halfway through February looking for Spring now. Oh well! I probably should ride my Blackborow DS so I can justify storing it in my basement for 300+ days out of a year! 

Spring will be here soon enough, and gravel rides will commence soon. This is where I am setting my sights now. Winter is a lost cause, despite this latest dump of snow.

The Blizzard of '24

9:00am, Friday January 2024

Last week you might recall that I posted about how Winter finally started acting like Winter when we received 10.5" of snow in one drop. That snow was a beast due to how wet it was and shoveling out from that snow took three days to take care of what with dealing with snow plow remnants. Then right away after that we got another big dump of snow.

Twenty plus inches in the span of a week. I think that's a new record, at least in my reckoning. After wrasslin' with snow for three days and then seeing another huge dump - this time accompanied by high winds and drifting - I am starting to feel this "old school Winter" feeling. 

Big-time snow, winds whipping it around, and now brutal cold. This is a real Winter. A Winter that brings to mind Winters from my childhood. Except those Winters started out in late November and didn't go away until March.

Snow shoveling counts as training, right? My body thinks it is training. Sore muscles, fatigue, and mental drain are here and very real. Some people wish for Winters of old. I am glad we don't get those much anymore. "Cabin fever" is a real thing. I don't wish to experience that again. 

Yeah...I have fat bikes, but this snow will take a bit to get set up and then we'll need to have "grooming" of some sort. The local soft trails folks do their bit of grooming over in the parks where we have MTB trails, so that's nice. However; to get anywhere around where I live I have to wait for cars, people,, or preferably, the slednecks to come out. Snow machine trails are usually pretty good riding for fat bikes.  

The road West of the Isle Casino in Waterloo on Saturday afternoon.

The neighbors snowman

The second storm brought the blizzard and another round of shoveling. Two and 3/4's hours later I had both the side walk cleared and the two parking places out front for our cars. After I was done shoveling I was entertained by the neighbor's snowman making session. The place next door is being rented by the company that is putting in fiber optic cable here. They hired a bunch of Latin American folks to come up and do the work. 

I'm about 100% sure these guys next door are from Central and South America because they are fascinated by these two snowstorms. On one occasion they were outside taking images on their phones of Mrs. Guitar Ted and I sweeping snow off the car. They also built these two uniquely styled snowmen, one in the back yard, one out front. 

It was kind of heartwarming to see this fellow crafting this snowman Saturday. A grown man reveling in the wonder of snow.  We could stand a little more of that 'round these parts.

It Finally Happened! (With WTB Bailiff News)

8:30am, Tuesday, January 8th, 2024

 The warnings were all over the airwaves starting Sunday and into Monday. We were finally going to get a significant snow event. The weather people were saying we'd see anywhere from 5" - 9" of snow. By 7:00am we already had 6+ inches and it was snowing heavily. We ended up with a record one-day snow total of 10.5" for that day.

I'm not complaining. First of all, we need moisture here in Iowa. We are still in a drought and anything we get is welcomed in terms of precipitation. Secondly, fat biking! This amount of snow should pack in and be groom-able. In fact, my testing out of the initial snow layer we got showed great packable snow and a higher moisture content which should show up as a great base layer. 

By the way this snow is acting in the wind, I'd say that it might just prove to be some of the best riding snow we've seen. but time will tell on that front. 

Thirdly - This makes the cold weather worthwhile, in my eyes anyway. Because if it is just too darn cold to ride in the country without snow, it just makes life miserable - for me - and it is not very fun. But add in snow? My attitude changes 180 degrees. 

Plus, all that white snow just makes everything look better. Again, maybe that's just me. But a drab, grey and brown scene is harder to draw any uplifting inspiration from to brighten my day. So, this snow is awesome, and Winter finally looks the part. 

The new WTB Bailiff tire in 27.5 X 4.5" (image courtesy of WTB)

WTB Finally Makes A Fat Bike Tire:

Yesterday news broke concerning a new fat bike tire from WTB. They are offering the new tire as a 4.5" X 27.5" diameter only tire at this time.

The new tire, called the Bailiff, comes in a studded or non-studded versions with studd-able pockets molded in. These accept any Terrene or 45NRTH studs. 

The rubber compound is designed for grip in cold weather conditions, so it is a softer compound. TCS ready means these are tubeless ready tires. Prices are $134.95 for the non-studded and $279.95 for the studded version. (Prices for one tire only)

You can read more about these HERE on WTB's site. 

Comments: Wow! I recall asking about fat bike tires probably ten years ago from my WTB contacts and they weren't real interested in them at that point. Apparently more pressure was brought to bear from some "Canadian bike partners" and so WTB went into development with some testers in Vermont to come up with this tire "after several revisions". 

"Bike partners" means "OEM spec", and so I would be looking for new fat bikes coming out with WTB branded Bailiff tires soon. I suspect that since the "amazing bike partners" were only interested in 27.5" diameter tires that this is why WTB is not offering a 26"er version. 

Question: If I told you this tire was a 45NRTH tire, would you have believed me? I think the design is very derivative of a 45NRTH Wrathlord tire, but maybe I'm not seeing that correctly.... Anyway. Too bad there isn't a 26"er version. I might have tried those on my fat bikes. 

One last note: WTB sells these Bailiff tires saying they are TCS compatible, but their own TCS sealant is not rated for temperatures that fat bikes often see. Kinda weird..... Their is always Orange Seal Sub-Zero.

Well, Now This

Snowy commute

So, yeah.... When it snows here the whole dynamic of my cycling here changes. The air temperature dives, it gets windy, and that's certainly part of it as well. But snow, that's a whole different thing. 

I certainly will, and I have in the past, cycle in snow on snowy roads out in the country. But I won't if it gets icy, and then you've got that aforementioned wind and weather. It gets where conditions are rare for a safe, fun ride. I'm at a point in life where I've got nothing to prove to anyone. If things get bad out there in the Winter, well, I could go riding, but I don't have to do that. Why? There is no reason to. 

What I did have to do was to make sure my bikes are ready for Winter and that they have the proper set up. I have already detailed the light thing for Ti Mukluk 2. But I have two other fat bikes and those have to be gotten ready to go. 

I decided to roll out the Blackborow DS for sprucing up for this Winter. It didn't need much, to be honest. It's such a simple bike. I almost didn't have it this year to have to spruce it up. 

Last year I was in a place at about this time of the year that I knew I was out of a job. The pandemic pretty much put a stranglehold on the shop at the time and product was hard to come by to sell. That made it so that Andy decided to call it quits. And I was looking at not having any income for the Winter. But I have three fat bikes, so.....

The Blackborow DS is all ready to roll into 2023.

So I thought about selling the Blackborow DS. I almost had it sold, but the guy didn't bite in the end. I was disappointed, but another opportunity came along and I received some unexpected help so everything worked out for the best. But it almost happened.

So, two fat bikes out of the three are set to go, but look- We just got started with Winter here. Maybe things will swing back the other way and I'll be riding the gravel bikes again soon. Hard to say. But it's good to be ready for this- What we have going on right now.

Well, Now This

Snowy commute

So, yeah.... When it snows here the whole dynamic of my cycling here changes. The air temperature dives, it gets windy, and that's certainly part of it as well. But snow, that's a whole different thing. 

I certainly will, and I have in the past, cycle in snow on snowy roads out in the country. But I won't if it gets icy, and then you've got that aforementioned wind and weather. It gets where conditions are rare for a safe, fun ride. I'm at a point in life where I've got nothing to prove to anyone. If things get bad out there in the Winter, well, I could go riding, but I don't have to do that. Why? There is no reason to. 

What I did have to do was to make sure my bikes are ready for Winter and that they have the proper set up. I have already detailed the light thing for Ti Mukluk 2. But I have two other fat bikes and those have to be gotten ready to go. 

I decided to roll out the Blackborow DS for sprucing up for this Winter. It didn't need much, to be honest. It's such a simple bike. I almost didn't have it this year to have to spruce it up. 

Last year I was in a place at about this time of the year that I knew I was out of a job. The pandemic pretty much put a stranglehold on the shop at the time and product was hard to come by to sell. That made it so that Andy decided to call it quits. And I was looking at not having any income for the Winter. But I have three fat bikes, so.....

The Blackborow DS is all ready to roll into 2023.

So I thought about selling the Blackborow DS. I almost had it sold, but the guy didn't bite in the end. I was disappointed, but another opportunity came along and I received some unexpected help so everything worked out for the best. But it almost happened.

So, two fat bikes out of the three are set to go, but look- We just got started with Winter here. Maybe things will swing back the other way and I'll be riding the gravel bikes again soon. Hard to say. But it's good to be ready for this- What we have going on right now.

Like A Yo-Yo

Say goodbye to good fat biking snow.....for now.

 The last several days have been a bit of a roller coaster from the weather perspective. We were up near freezing, then way below zero, then back up near freezing again. Now we're supposed to have two days straight of 'snow-melting' weather and I think that will about do in the fat biking snow we've had. 

Really, we've had about two shovel-able snows this season, and that's it. The last one was the big one. An eight-incher. But that was back in mid-January and since then we've only had a dusting or three of powdery snow that didn't amount to much. Meanwhile, snow evaporates, gets wind driven, and melts, to the point that our original eight inches is maybe four now in reality. 

This Sun, wind, and higher temperatures are going to zap that leftover, dried up, broken down snow in a big hurry. I suspect that unless we get another good four to five inches of snow before mid-March, well fat biking season could be over early this year. 

That just means that gravel riding is right around the corner now. And my knees are getting tuned up, and that moving gig is over, so I suspect I'll be ready to go when the weather allows it. That means I need to tune-up the fleet here. Get things dialed in, and replace a few parts. I already have a couple things in to review, so I am itching to get going now. 

The Raleigh Tamland Two with something old, something 'borrowed', and something blue.

I have a few things in process, but one of the more interesting - well, to me anyway - things is this Raleigh Tamland Two set up. I have a specific part on here that is getting a review and test, which required that I find an old accessory item I had to use in conjunction with this test. You've probably already guessed it. That old handle bar bag. There is a bit of a story there......

In my stories I wrote for "The Touring Series", I have a story on the "Race Against Death" tour. During that self-supported tour I used a - at that time - new handle bar bag. It was a Cycle Pro bar bag. I really liked that bag for its functionality. I had all sorts of stuff in it and my map case, (remember navigating by paper maps?), snapped to the top of it. It was really a great system. This bag had those 'guy wires' to the front drop-out eyelets and a big, bent metal 'hangar' piece that suspended the bag from an old forged, quill style stem. 

I further accessorized this bag with some 'temple bells' I purchased at a local 'head shop' and draped those over the front of the bag. This was really supposed to be a necklace, and it is all Sterling Silver, by the way. First class here! Anyway, these things tinkle and jingle as you ride down the road. It drove my touring mates nuts back in '95! 

Anyway, I dug that old Cycle Pro bag out and stuck it on there using my review/test product I have there as a base, and strapped it on using some Velcro strips and an old toe strap. It's rock solid! I'll probably be heard for a mile away when I get this out soon!

But I had to do some tuning up on the old Raleigh. New derailleur cables, housings, and a wheel swap was done. The old aluminum Irwin wheels broke a spoke on the rear, so I decided this old Raleigh deserved the carbon Irwin wheels I have, and I swapped those over. However; I have to source a different, lower profile rotor lock ring to clear the carbon fork. Ahh......!! It's always something! So, when that part, and a new chain, come in, I'll have this rig out and about. 

I'm sure the weather will yo-yo a few times before it settles down. I'll have to probably ride another of my bikes when we get this spate of warmer weather here, because I am sure it won't last all that long. The Raleigh will have to wait for a bit, but I'll be looking forward to the old 'jingle-jangle' sound of this old handle bar bag again after so many years.

Like A Yo-Yo

Say goodbye to good fat biking snow.....for now.

 The last several days have been a bit of a roller coaster from the weather perspective. We were up near freezing, then way below zero, then back up near freezing again. Now we're supposed to have two days straight of 'snow-melting' weather and I think that will about do in the fat biking snow we've had. 

Really, we've had about two shovel-able snows this season, and that's it. The last one was the big one. An eight-incher. But that was back in mid-January and since then we've only had a dusting or three of powdery snow that didn't amount to much. Meanwhile, snow evaporates, gets wind driven, and melts, to the point that our original eight inches is maybe four now in reality. 

This Sun, wind, and higher temperatures are going to zap that leftover, dried up, broken down snow in a big hurry. I suspect that unless we get another good four to five inches of snow before mid-March, well fat biking season could be over early this year. 

That just means that gravel riding is right around the corner now. And my knees are getting tuned up, and that moving gig is over, so I suspect I'll be ready to go when the weather allows it. That means I need to tune-up the fleet here. Get things dialed in, and replace a few parts. I already have a couple things in to review, so I am itching to get going now. 

The Raleigh Tamland Two with something old, something 'borrowed', and something blue.

I have a few things in process, but one of the more interesting - well, to me anyway - things is this Raleigh Tamland Two set up. I have a specific part on here that is getting a review and test, which required that I find an old accessory item I had to use in conjunction with this test. You've probably already guessed it. That old handle bar bag. There is a bit of a story there......

In my stories I wrote for "The Touring Series", I have a story on the "Race Against Death" tour. During that self-supported tour I used a - at that time - new handle bar bag. It was a Cycle Pro bar bag. I really liked that bag for its functionality. I had all sorts of stuff in it and my map case, (remember navigating by paper maps?), snapped to the top of it. It was really a great system. This bag had those 'guy wires' to the front drop-out eyelets and a big, bent metal 'hangar' piece that suspended the bag from an old forged, quill style stem. 

I further accessorized this bag with some 'temple bells' I purchased at a local 'head shop' and draped those over the front of the bag. This was really supposed to be a necklace, and it is all Sterling Silver, by the way. First class here! Anyway, these things tinkle and jingle as you ride down the road. It drove my touring mates nuts back in '95! 

Anyway, I dug that old Cycle Pro bag out and stuck it on there using my review/test product I have there as a base, and strapped it on using some Velcro strips and an old toe strap. It's rock solid! I'll probably be heard for a mile away when I get this out soon!

But I had to do some tuning up on the old Raleigh. New derailleur cables, housings, and a wheel swap was done. The old aluminum Irwin wheels broke a spoke on the rear, so I decided this old Raleigh deserved the carbon Irwin wheels I have, and I swapped those over. However; I have to source a different, lower profile rotor lock ring to clear the carbon fork. Ahh......!! It's always something! So, when that part, and a new chain, come in, I'll have this rig out and about. 

I'm sure the weather will yo-yo a few times before it settles down. I'll have to probably ride another of my bikes when we get this spate of warmer weather here, because I am sure it won't last all that long. The Raleigh will have to wait for a bit, but I'll be looking forward to the old 'jingle-jangle' sound of this old handle bar bag again after so many years.

A Little Catching Up: Part 4

A broken spoke I had recently.

 Well, as I continue to rehab the knee and get healthier, I have had an issue which I haven't experienced in a long, long time. A broken spoke!

It happened at about the best time something like this could happen- if there ever is a good time for a broken spoke - and that was at the end of my ride that particular day. 

I've been really trying to reel back in my desires to go out in the country and ride for a couple of hours. I don't want to over-stress this knee and end up worse off than I am. So this ride wasn't all that far from the house, but still.... It was nice not to have to nurse a rear wheel over several miles to get back to where I either had a ride waiting or back home. 

I knew what had happened without even looking. That distinctive sound is something any bicycle mechanic that's worked on bicycles a long time will know instinctively. The 'ting-tinging' on my frame tubing was my second clue. but still, I was surprised because I rarely ever break a spoke while riding. A couple of other things surprised me about this broken spoke as well.

First was that it broke in the middle of the spoke. That's very odd! Generally they break at the "J" bend, or at the nipple, like the last spoke I broke did. But right in the middle? I've seen that where spokes that are compromised by a chemical reaction, or that were previously bent in the middle somehow have broken this way, but this spoke didn't show signs of that.

The other thing was that this spoke was on my Irwin Cycles wheel, the aluminum pair I have, and those have been great wheels, so I am a bit puzzled by this broken spoke. When I get to repairing it, (yes - I have not done it yet. Gotta ride fat bikes now! See the rest of the story here), maybe then I'll get to see a clue as to why this happened. Anyway, a broken spoke for me is remarkable, so I get why you think this may be goofy! Especially if you've broken a ton of spokes!

First tracks in 8" of fresh snow at the nearby cemetery.

As I alluded to, it is now time to get back on fat bikes because we just got a dump of new snow over the weekend. This time we were more in the bulls-eye of the storm. We ended up with about 8" of new snow which is pretty good for riding on. Not that dried out, sandy type of snow which is dang near impossible to ride over or through. 

This stuff will make for some good trails and once it gets packed in it should last a while. We are going to get a couple of warm days, but only a hair over freezing, which actually should set this snow up well. Then I don't see anything but chilly weather for the next week, so I expect to get more fat biking in as January closes out. 

The ol' knee is coming along well. I think I might start doing a little longer rides now, but they will have to be easier rides for a bit, just to see how this comes along. The ride Saturday in the fresh stuff was punctuated by a half mile stretch of fresh, untrodden snow which I had to break trail through. My heart gave way before my legs, so that is a great sign. 

So, maybe I'll have some more ride reports coming in soon. And more news on the job front too. Stay tuned....

A Little Catching Up: Part 4

A broken spoke I had recently.

 Well, as I continue to rehab the knee and get healthier, I have had an issue which I haven't experienced in a long, long time. A broken spoke!

It happened at about the best time something like this could happen- if there ever is a good time for a broken spoke - and that was at the end of my ride that particular day. 

I've been really trying to reel back in my desires to go out in the country and ride for a couple of hours. I don't want to over-stress this knee and end up worse off than I am. So this ride wasn't all that far from the house, but still.... It was nice not to have to nurse a rear wheel over several miles to get back to where I either had a ride waiting or back home. 

I knew what had happened without even looking. That distinctive sound is something any bicycle mechanic that's worked on bicycles a long time will know instinctively. The 'ting-tinging' on my frame tubing was my second clue. but still, I was surprised because I rarely ever break a spoke while riding. A couple of other things surprised me about this broken spoke as well.

First was that it broke in the middle of the spoke. That's very odd! Generally they break at the "J" bend, or at the nipple, like the last spoke I broke did. But right in the middle? I've seen that where spokes that are compromised by a chemical reaction, or that were previously bent in the middle somehow have broken this way, but this spoke didn't show signs of that.

The other thing was that this spoke was on my Irwin Cycles wheel, the aluminum pair I have, and those have been great wheels, so I am a bit puzzled by this broken spoke. When I get to repairing it, (yes - I have not done it yet. Gotta ride fat bikes now! See the rest of the story here), maybe then I'll get to see a clue as to why this happened. Anyway, a broken spoke for me is remarkable, so I get why you think this may be goofy! Especially if you've broken a ton of spokes!

First tracks in 8" of fresh snow at the nearby cemetery.

As I alluded to, it is now time to get back on fat bikes because we just got a dump of new snow over the weekend. This time we were more in the bulls-eye of the storm. We ended up with about 8" of new snow which is pretty good for riding on. Not that dried out, sandy type of snow which is dang near impossible to ride over or through. 

This stuff will make for some good trails and once it gets packed in it should last a while. We are going to get a couple of warm days, but only a hair over freezing, which actually should set this snow up well. Then I don't see anything but chilly weather for the next week, so I expect to get more fat biking in as January closes out. 

The ol' knee is coming along well. I think I might start doing a little longer rides now, but they will have to be easier rides for a bit, just to see how this comes along. The ride Saturday in the fresh stuff was punctuated by a half mile stretch of fresh, untrodden snow which I had to break trail through. My heart gave way before my legs, so that is a great sign. 

So, maybe I'll have some more ride reports coming in soon. And more news on the job front too. Stay tuned....

A Little Catching Up: Part 2

A new fat biking season has kicked off.....finally!

 Hey there! I hope 2022 has kicked off well for y'all. I figured now that all the 'gravel nonsense' is out of the way that I might take a bit of time to catch up here on things that have been going on lately. 

Well, Winter finally made an appearance! After some wild and wacky early Winter nonsense we got a little snow that stuck and now it's been very cold outside. We missed getting anything from the big weekend storm here, so for Winter snow lovers around Waterloo, that was a big disappointment. 

I have been spending time riding around the neighborhood, mostly, on my Blackborow DS. I know that in last year's "Bikes of 2021" posts I had mentioned that I might sell this bike. Well, I am trying to decide here if I am really ready to let this bike go. It is a great bike, no doubt, and I do like it a lot. But I also really do not like having another bike around that barely ever gets ridden. So, it is hard to decide.

I've also been dealing with a left knee that doesn't quite feel 'right'. It doesn't hurt so much as it is stiff at times and sometimes it feels swollen. In fact, some times it doesn't hurt at all, but I have the 'not right' feeling and it is a bother. Riding doesn't seem to hurt it unless I am really pushing things hard, as I was on one ride when I was in 'high range' on the Blackborow. Gotta keep things spinny. 

Otherwise I had a 23rd wedding anniversary three days ago and so the weekend wasn't much for activities on the bike. It kind of warmed up here since and I have a 'mission' in mind to accomplish out in the country. I hope to get out and do that soon because the conditions for what I am after are ideal at this point. Stay tuned....

A Little Catching Up: Part 2

A new fat biking season has kicked off.....finally!

 Hey there! I hope 2022 has kicked off well for y'all. I figured now that all the 'gravel nonsense' is out of the way that I might take a bit of time to catch up here on things that have been going on lately. 

Well, Winter finally made an appearance! After some wild and wacky early Winter nonsense we got a little snow that stuck and now it's been very cold outside. We missed getting anything from the big weekend storm here, so for Winter snow lovers around Waterloo, that was a big disappointment. 

I have been spending time riding around the neighborhood, mostly, on my Blackborow DS. I know that in last year's "Bikes of 2021" posts I had mentioned that I might sell this bike. Well, I am trying to decide here if I am really ready to let this bike go. It is a great bike, no doubt, and I do like it a lot. But I also really do not like having another bike around that barely ever gets ridden. So, it is hard to decide.

I've also been dealing with a left knee that doesn't quite feel 'right'. It doesn't hurt so much as it is stiff at times and sometimes it feels swollen. In fact, some times it doesn't hurt at all, but I have the 'not right' feeling and it is a bother. Riding doesn't seem to hurt it unless I am really pushing things hard, as I was on one ride when I was in 'high range' on the Blackborow. Gotta keep things spinny. 

Otherwise I had a 23rd wedding anniversary three days ago and so the weekend wasn't much for activities on the bike. It kind of warmed up here since and I have a 'mission' in mind to accomplish out in the country. I hope to get out and do that soon because the conditions for what I am after are ideal at this point. Stay tuned....

Well, That Was Fun!

The first day above 32°F happened on Monday of this week and we are to be well above freezing for several days now. With the Sun riding high in the sky now, and longer days on tap, it won't be long before we are done fat biking in the snow. Maybe even now the trails are too far gone for it. It was fun while it lasted. 

The only thing I regret is that for about two weeks straight fat biking conditions were primo but the temperatures were beastly. And many of those days it was just far too windy to cope. I even had to break out my ATV pogies for that time as it was too good not to go out but too windy not to have pogies. 

Side note: These cheapo ATV pogies, (purchased at a local Farm & Fleet store for around 20 bucks) are perfect for Jones Bars. Plus, they go up to about your elbows. I like that when the conditions call for that. They are also super easy to take off and put back on again, require no fancy end plug gizmos, and have internal chemical heat pockets in case you are insane and want to ride in an apocalyptic snow storm or something. Anyway......

So, yeah, what fat biking on snow I got to do was fantastic and the fat bike season of 2020/2021 was pretty top notch, I'd say. The snow actually was of the variety that it had consistency, not the generally 'sandy' type snow which we get a lot of here anymore that makes riding on snow impossible no matter how wide the tires are. I liken that type of snow to hour glass sand. Super fine, granular, and will not hold together for anything. Basically worthless for fat biking on. Fortunately this season had none of that type of snow at all. 

But now we are watching that snow we did get turn to water and drain away. It is now full-on "Slop Season". That period of time between good, rideable snow and dry-ish roads and trails leading into Spring. A messy, ugly time where getting on the road, or as in my case, gravel road, is often difficult due to refrozen run-off, sand from road treatment, and soft roads in the country. But I am armed with fenders and wider tires. 

Bring it on!

Well, That Was Fun!

The first day above 32°F happened on Monday of this week and we are to be well above freezing for several days now. With the Sun riding high in the sky now, and longer days on tap, it won't be long before we are done fat biking in the snow. Maybe even now the trails are too far gone for it. It was fun while it lasted. 

The only thing I regret is that for about two weeks straight fat biking conditions were primo but the temperatures were beastly. And many of those days it was just far too windy to cope. I even had to break out my ATV pogies for that time as it was too good not to go out but too windy not to have pogies. 

Side note: These cheapo ATV pogies, (purchased at a local Farm & Fleet store for around 20 bucks) are perfect for Jones Bars. Plus, they go up to about your elbows. I like that when the conditions call for that. They are also super easy to take off and put back on again, require no fancy end plug gizmos, and have internal chemical heat pockets in case you are insane and want to ride in an apocalyptic snow storm or something. Anyway......

So, yeah, what fat biking on snow I got to do was fantastic and the fat bike season of 2020/2021 was pretty top notch, I'd say. The snow actually was of the variety that it had consistency, not the generally 'sandy' type snow which we get a lot of here anymore that makes riding on snow impossible no matter how wide the tires are. I liken that type of snow to hour glass sand. Super fine, granular, and will not hold together for anything. Basically worthless for fat biking on. Fortunately this season had none of that type of snow at all. 

But now we are watching that snow we did get turn to water and drain away. It is now full-on "Slop Season". That period of time between good, rideable snow and dry-ish roads and trails leading into Spring. A messy, ugly time where getting on the road, or as in my case, gravel road, is often difficult due to refrozen run-off, sand from road treatment, and soft roads in the country. But I am armed with fenders and wider tires. 

Bring it on!

Randomonium

The Ti Standard Rando v2. Image courtesy of Twin Six

 NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Twin Six Debuts Titanium Standard Rando v2:

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day was packed with news and one of the things that came out late enough that it didn't make the "FN&V" was the release of the Standard Rando v2 in titanium. I'll be honest, I knew of this last May when I started talking to Twin Six about getting the steel v2 Rando. They mentioned this was on the horizon and wanted to know if I wanted to wait to get that instead. I decided it was in my best interest not to spend over twice the amount a steel v2 Standard Rando would cost and wait for a bike that might not arrive when Twin Six was thinking it would at that time. Well, I have to say that I am good with my decision. Here's why.....

First off, I wouldn't have had the bike at all until well into 2021. At least completed, and then I'd have to wait for good weather. So, all those miles I put on the Gravel Bus wouldn't have happened on that bike. Now of course, that would not have made a big difference since I have other bikes to take up the slack, so to speak. But there were two other things concerning the Standard Rando Ti which I didn't like when I looked into it on New Year's Day. Had I waited, I would have been a bit disappointed. 

Those two things are maybe not a big deal to you, but I really wouldn't have preferred either of these two things in a titanium bike. One was the curved top tube. Aesthetically it goes against my sensibilities for a 'classic' looking frame, which I consider the steel version of the Standard Rando to be, and what I think is one of its strongest visual cues. Now, I could have gotten over that, maybe, but they went with a 31.6mm diameter seat post. Almost every bike I own runs a 27.2mm post, and they are more compliant as well, no matter the material, compared to a like 31.6mm sized post. Curiously, Twin Six did not use a dropper route on this bike, which would have made the choice of a 31.6mm post a sensible one. Yes- I could get a shim, but...... Well, let's just say that I wasn't too impressed by this offering when I already have the steel one and it does exactly what I need it to do. 

Interested? It'd be a fine bike , I am sure. Here's the webpage.  

Ah....wait.....what? New Year's Day didn't start out too good.

Tech Fail Leads To Upgrade (My Only Real Device Fetish Revealed):

I woke up New Year's Day and did what I always do first thing- Swing my legs out of the bed, pry open my eyes, and slap on my Apple Watch. This has been a routine thing for me for just over a year. I got my watch as a hand-me-down from Mrs. Guitar Ted, as I do with most techie device-like gizmos. See, she was into fitness tracking for a while. I ended up getting her first one, a Fitbit, when she upgraded. It was one of those simple, bracelet styled ones. Then shortly after that I got her 'real watch' styled one when she went full-on and got an Apple Watch, the first gen one. Meanwhile, I tried to make do with the Fitbit watch. I ended up getting the first one warranted when the thing started falling apart. The next one did too, and then I got a new version of their latest Fitbit watch, which seemed a lot more robust. I was really into tracking daily exercise, and I started walking religiously. 

Well, that watch ended up imploding. It was a band failure where it joined the case, and it was not a replaceable band, so it was time to bail on their platform. By this time, Mrs. Guitar Ted had upgraded to another Apple Watch version and her original Gen I watch was just laying around. I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of the Fitbit and Apple Watch to see which I liked better. I landed on the Apple Watch and wore it since then, as I say, a little over a year ago now.

So, when I woke up to put it on the first day of 2021, I noticed the face of it, the screen, felt odd. Was it loose? Maybe a little. Then as the morning wore on it felt worse, so I showed it to Mrs. Guitar Ted, and when she looked the whole dang face came loose! Now what? I felt a little twinge of sadness, because, well.........I had a string of days consecutive where I had achieved my goals going back to the weekend the pandemic started. Not that it was a life-or-death thing if my string was broken, but it kind of meant something to me. I have made a lot of health gains since this all started and this string of consecutive goal achievements was a motivator in that. 

So, with a bit of sadness, but a resolve to make-do somehow and continue onward, I took off the watch and tried to come up with a plan to start another streak somehow. Well, then Mrs. Guitar Ted, she's a 'doer'- a problem solver, and she went to work on a plan and well..... The end result was that I got a new Apple Watch and she got my info saved and the streak is alive! 

It's funny that this is a thing I got so attached to because I could give a rip about cycling computers, GPS data, Strava, or whatever the latest indoor cycling craze is. But there is something that grabbed me with these fitness watches and the Apple watch is my jam. So, this is really my only 'device' fetish, if you will. 

A Little Blackborow DS Action:

Over the weekend I had the chance to take advantage of the 5" of snow that fell and I got out on the Blackborow DS again. I love this bike when the conditions are right for it. The thing is, this bike is so capable, it takes a pretty extreme set of conditions to make it 'worthwhile' to me to ride. 

The latest snow drop is on the cusp of where the Blackborow comes on and does what my other fat bikes cannot do. It has enough float and aggressive enough tires that it can plow its own path through 5-8" of fresh snow with no worries. The Blackborow can make a snow machine track rideable due to the bigger footprint where a 4" tire won't cut it. Well, actually a 4" tire does cut through. That's the problem there. 

The trails are decent in the Green Belt, and actually really good in places, so I probably could have done fine with 4" tires there, but where there were places that were still soft I needed the Blackborow. So, I had fun, but unless we get more fresh snow, I probably will go back to riding the Mukluks again, because the need for almost 5" wide tires will go away again. And that's what makes me sad about owning the Blackborow DS.

It's such a great bike that leaving it sit for 10 months out of the year seems like a crime, but unless we have deep snow cover or mud, the Blackborow is simply overkill. I have thought about building up some 27.5 wheels on some fat bike hubs using wide rims that would support 27.5" X 3" tires. Then I could see this being a dinglespeed mountain bike. but that means I'd have to actually go, you know, mountain biking, and well, I didn't get much of any of that in during 2020. My thoughts are that I will be spending a lot more time riding remote gravel and dirt roads than I will be mountain biking, but who knows? Anyway......

Andy Has Another Mouth To Feed:

In some joyful news over the weekend, Andy, of Andy's Bike shop where I work, announced the birth of his second child, a daughter, born to he and his wife Samantha on January 2nd. they named the girl Stella and so the shop is closed for the first two days this week as a result.

Welcome to Stella! Congratulations to Sam and Andy!

That's the Randomonium for this time.

Randomonium

The Ti Standard Rando v2. Image courtesy of Twin Six

 NOTE: Okay folks, if you haven't been around long enough here to know what a "Randomonium" post is, then here is the deal. I ramble, rant, and randomly moan about all things cycling in one, incohesive, bizarre post. "Randomonium", okay?

Twin Six Debuts Titanium Standard Rando v2:

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day was packed with news and one of the things that came out late enough that it didn't make the "FN&V" was the release of the Standard Rando v2 in titanium. I'll be honest, I knew of this last May when I started talking to Twin Six about getting the steel v2 Rando. They mentioned this was on the horizon and wanted to know if I wanted to wait to get that instead. I decided it was in my best interest not to spend over twice the amount a steel v2 Standard Rando would cost and wait for a bike that might not arrive when Twin Six was thinking it would at that time. Well, I have to say that I am good with my decision. Here's why.....

First off, I wouldn't have had the bike at all until well into 2021. At least completed, and then I'd have to wait for good weather. So, all those miles I put on the Gravel Bus wouldn't have happened on that bike. Now of course, that would not have made a big difference since I have other bikes to take up the slack, so to speak. But there were two other things concerning the Standard Rando Ti which I didn't like when I looked into it on New Year's Day. Had I waited, I would have been a bit disappointed. 

Those two things are maybe not a big deal to you, but I really wouldn't have preferred either of these two things in a titanium bike. One was the curved top tube. Aesthetically it goes against my sensibilities for a 'classic' looking frame, which I consider the steel version of the Standard Rando to be, and what I think is one of its strongest visual cues. Now, I could have gotten over that, maybe, but they went with a 31.6mm diameter seat post. Almost every bike I own runs a 27.2mm post, and they are more compliant as well, no matter the material, compared to a like 31.6mm sized post. Curiously, Twin Six did not use a dropper route on this bike, which would have made the choice of a 31.6mm post a sensible one. Yes- I could get a shim, but...... Well, let's just say that I wasn't too impressed by this offering when I already have the steel one and it does exactly what I need it to do. 

Interested? It'd be a fine bike , I am sure. Here's the webpage.  

Ah....wait.....what? New Year's Day didn't start out too good.

Tech Fail Leads To Upgrade (My Only Real Device Fetish Revealed):

I woke up New Year's Day and did what I always do first thing- Swing my legs out of the bed, pry open my eyes, and slap on my Apple Watch. This has been a routine thing for me for just over a year. I got my watch as a hand-me-down from Mrs. Guitar Ted, as I do with most techie device-like gizmos. See, she was into fitness tracking for a while. I ended up getting her first one, a Fitbit, when she upgraded. It was one of those simple, bracelet styled ones. Then shortly after that I got her 'real watch' styled one when she went full-on and got an Apple Watch, the first gen one. Meanwhile, I tried to make do with the Fitbit watch. I ended up getting the first one warranted when the thing started falling apart. The next one did too, and then I got a new version of their latest Fitbit watch, which seemed a lot more robust. I was really into tracking daily exercise, and I started walking religiously. 

Well, that watch ended up imploding. It was a band failure where it joined the case, and it was not a replaceable band, so it was time to bail on their platform. By this time, Mrs. Guitar Ted had upgraded to another Apple Watch version and her original Gen I watch was just laying around. I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of the Fitbit and Apple Watch to see which I liked better. I landed on the Apple Watch and wore it since then, as I say, a little over a year ago now.

So, when I woke up to put it on the first day of 2021, I noticed the face of it, the screen, felt odd. Was it loose? Maybe a little. Then as the morning wore on it felt worse, so I showed it to Mrs. Guitar Ted, and when she looked the whole dang face came loose! Now what? I felt a little twinge of sadness, because, well.........I had a string of days consecutive where I had achieved my goals going back to the weekend the pandemic started. Not that it was a life-or-death thing if my string was broken, but it kind of meant something to me. I have made a lot of health gains since this all started and this string of consecutive goal achievements was a motivator in that. 

So, with a bit of sadness, but a resolve to make-do somehow and continue onward, I took off the watch and tried to come up with a plan to start another streak somehow. Well, then Mrs. Guitar Ted, she's a 'doer'- a problem solver, and she went to work on a plan and well..... The end result was that I got a new Apple Watch and she got my info saved and the streak is alive! 

It's funny that this is a thing I got so attached to because I could give a rip about cycling computers, GPS data, Strava, or whatever the latest indoor cycling craze is. But there is something that grabbed me with these fitness watches and the Apple watch is my jam. So, this is really my only 'device' fetish, if you will. 

A Little Blackborow DS Action:

Over the weekend I had the chance to take advantage of the 5" of snow that fell and I got out on the Blackborow DS again. I love this bike when the conditions are right for it. The thing is, this bike is so capable, it takes a pretty extreme set of conditions to make it 'worthwhile' to me to ride. 

The latest snow drop is on the cusp of where the Blackborow comes on and does what my other fat bikes cannot do. It has enough float and aggressive enough tires that it can plow its own path through 5-8" of fresh snow with no worries. The Blackborow can make a snow machine track rideable due to the bigger footprint where a 4" tire won't cut it. Well, actually a 4" tire does cut through. That's the problem there. 

The trails are decent in the Green Belt, and actually really good in places, so I probably could have done fine with 4" tires there, but where there were places that were still soft I needed the Blackborow. So, I had fun, but unless we get more fresh snow, I probably will go back to riding the Mukluks again, because the need for almost 5" wide tires will go away again. And that's what makes me sad about owning the Blackborow DS.

It's such a great bike that leaving it sit for 10 months out of the year seems like a crime, but unless we have deep snow cover or mud, the Blackborow is simply overkill. I have thought about building up some 27.5 wheels on some fat bike hubs using wide rims that would support 27.5" X 3" tires. Then I could see this being a dinglespeed mountain bike. but that means I'd have to actually go, you know, mountain biking, and well, I didn't get much of any of that in during 2020. My thoughts are that I will be spending a lot more time riding remote gravel and dirt roads than I will be mountain biking, but who knows? Anyway......

Andy Has Another Mouth To Feed:

In some joyful news over the weekend, Andy, of Andy's Bike shop where I work, announced the birth of his second child, a daughter, born to he and his wife Samantha on January 2nd. they named the girl Stella and so the shop is closed for the first two days this week as a result.

Welcome to Stella! Congratulations to Sam and Andy!

That's the Randomonium for this time.

Housekeeping

Dramatic skies on the way home from work in late December

Well, now that we've made it over the Holidays and we are into a new year, it's time to get back to some regular postings here at "Guitar Ted Productions". But first......a little updating to get caught up after all the special postings of December...

Speaking of special postings.... I did hit the record for posts in a year with 389! Again- nothing planned- It just sort of happens that way. Although I have admitted it kind of becomes a personal contest at times to see if I am going to measure up to previous years blog totals. But 389! Whew! I gotta figure this out better because I could have taken off the entire month of December and still had more than one post a day for a year! 

Riding has been minimal. I've been out here and there, but mostly within the city limits since the winds and air temperatures have been pretty rough for open country riding. Fat bike rides and the occasional 'urban unpaved adventures' have been all I've been doing. In fact, I haven't really ridden out in the country since getting "The Quest" out of my hair several weeks ago now. I guess you could say it is now my 'off season' and I don't see regular outings into the country happening for a while yet. All weather dependent. We'll see.....

Speaking of the weather, this weather we had coming into Christmas was junk for cycling. No snow for fat biking and way too cold and windy for anything else. That and having Christmas at the end of the week really threw me for a loop. I still am not sure what day it is.....well, actually.... I am sure it is my 21st wedding anniversary. I'd better remember that! Mrs. Guitar Ted would not be too happy if I had forgotten that today was "The Day" back then.

A December 2020 sunset somewhere in Bremer County, Iowa

I did get to spend some extra time with Mrs. Guitar Ted of late. Since work has been so slow, I realized that I could ride along with her when she had to go to work at an affiliate hospital in a small town about 44 miles away. I drove with her and dropped her off and then picked her back up again in the evening. The timing was such that we got to enjoy both a spectacular Sunrise and Sunset. Pretty cool! Our holidays were pretty low-key with basically just a special dinner on Christmas Day and a lot of time spent together as a family unit during this time. 

Then the snow really did come on Tuesday before New Year's Day. And again right afterward we got a bit more. So, now with all of the white stuff it is time to try- at least- to fat bike in this granular stuff. And with that, I'm pretty much caught up on my situation here. 

I've shifted to doing a lot of cleaning/organizing in the Lab. It's a mess after doing everything but cleaning and organizing all year. I've got some plans to take care of my wheels, spares, and somehow do a bit better job with my tools and equipment which over-ran the place after I brought everything home late in 2019 when I stopped working at the old shop. 

The Blackborow DS shows me again why it is the best tool for the job of breaking trail or use in deep snow.

I've also had an idea which relates to the original requests from some of you readers to make some sort of Trans Iowa book available. I have already done a series about my two loaded, self-supported, over the road tours in the 90's. This series is pretty refined and would make for a good 'practice run' on a Trans Iowa publication. So, I may gather that all together, do a few tweaks, and see about getting that published. 

Anyway, so that's all the things that have been either on my mind, or are related to what I have been up to lately besides just hanging out, social distancing, and trying to stay healthy. Hopefully you all are doing well out there and are getting back into a regular groove soon post-Holidays.

Housekeeping

Dramatic skies on the way home from work in late December

Well, now that we've made it over the Holidays and we are into a new year, it's time to get back to some regular postings here at "Guitar Ted Productions". But first......a little updating to get caught up after all the special postings of December...

Speaking of special postings.... I did hit the record for posts in a year with 389! Again- nothing planned- It just sort of happens that way. Although I have admitted it kind of becomes a personal contest at times to see if I am going to measure up to previous years blog totals. But 389! Whew! I gotta figure this out better because I could have taken off the entire month of December and still had more than one post a day for a year! 

Riding has been minimal. I've been out here and there, but mostly within the city limits since the winds and air temperatures have been pretty rough for open country riding. Fat bike rides and the occasional 'urban unpaved adventures' have been all I've been doing. In fact, I haven't really ridden out in the country since getting "The Quest" out of my hair several weeks ago now. I guess you could say it is now my 'off season' and I don't see regular outings into the country happening for a while yet. All weather dependent. We'll see.....

Speaking of the weather, this weather we had coming into Christmas was junk for cycling. No snow for fat biking and way too cold and windy for anything else. That and having Christmas at the end of the week really threw me for a loop. I still am not sure what day it is.....well, actually.... I am sure it is my 21st wedding anniversary. I'd better remember that! Mrs. Guitar Ted would not be too happy if I had forgotten that today was "The Day" back then.

A December 2020 sunset somewhere in Bremer County, Iowa

I did get to spend some extra time with Mrs. Guitar Ted of late. Since work has been so slow, I realized that I could ride along with her when she had to go to work at an affiliate hospital in a small town about 44 miles away. I drove with her and dropped her off and then picked her back up again in the evening. The timing was such that we got to enjoy both a spectacular Sunrise and Sunset. Pretty cool! Our holidays were pretty low-key with basically just a special dinner on Christmas Day and a lot of time spent together as a family unit during this time. 

Then the snow really did come on Tuesday before New Year's Day. And again right afterward we got a bit more. So, now with all of the white stuff it is time to try- at least- to fat bike in this granular stuff. And with that, I'm pretty much caught up on my situation here. 

I've shifted to doing a lot of cleaning/organizing in the Lab. It's a mess after doing everything but cleaning and organizing all year. I've got some plans to take care of my wheels, spares, and somehow do a bit better job with my tools and equipment which over-ran the place after I brought everything home late in 2019 when I stopped working at the old shop. 

The Blackborow DS shows me again why it is the best tool for the job of breaking trail or use in deep snow.

I've also had an idea which relates to the original requests from some of you readers to make some sort of Trans Iowa book available. I have already done a series about my two loaded, self-supported, over the road tours in the 90's. This series is pretty refined and would make for a good 'practice run' on a Trans Iowa publication. So, I may gather that all together, do a few tweaks, and see about getting that published. 

Anyway, so that's all the things that have been either on my mind, or are related to what I have been up to lately besides just hanging out, social distancing, and trying to stay healthy. Hopefully you all are doing well out there and are getting back into a regular groove soon post-Holidays.

Winter Views: A Bit Of A Thaw

The Black Mountain Cycles MCD set up with a few of the latest goodies.

Recently we had a bit of a thaw. It's typical for a "normal" Winter to have that happen. Nature's way of giving us all a bit of a break from the gray, cold, snowy mundanity of January.

I have still not dared go ride the gravel roads yet. I could, but the bundling up, the dangerous icy patches, and the "not much fun" of it all puts me off. I would rather spend my time fat biking, and that just around town. Once in a while I can be coaxed into doing some skinnier tire action. Not very often though.

Since the Raddler tires dropped and I can now discuss the Redshift ShockStop seat post, I decided that the streets and alleys had cleared enough to allow for some mild testing. I also took the opportunity to slap the 700c wheels back on the MCD, which I like better, to be honest. They just look right. The Raddlers have a bit more aggressive tread than the Riddlers they are based on, so I thought a bit of a neighborhood cruise on the still solid packed in snow would be okay.

I also tweaked the Redshift ShockStop seat post's preload a bit. Redshift says you should have a little sag, similar to a suspension fork or rear suspension set up, but I wasn't enamored of the "floaty feeling". There was too much movement for my tastes. So I cranked the pre-load all the way up, and then I took the bike for a bit of a ride.

The post was far more to my liking. It activates when I hit a big enough thing on the road surface, but it has minimal, if any movement when pedaling. Obviously with negative travel built in by using a sagged set up, well it's very difficult not to "bob" while pedaling. However; now I get a bit of a top out feeling. It's not bothersome, just there. I may back off the pre-load a hair to see how that suits me, or I may wait until actual gravel riding kicks in again. I will say that the stem and post feel more balanced. Oh! Yeah, I have the ShockStop stem on the bike as well.

I decided not to blow a gasket here and got out on the pavement.

The following day it was even warmer. I think it was in the mid-30's the entire day into Sunday when it got really warm. Anyway, I got out on the Blackborow DS again and decided to go explore the Riverview bike path where I found things barely rideable, but because no one and nothing had traveled the path since the snows, I was spiking my heart rate working so hard.

Finally I just decided it was time to back off. I had no reason to keep that up when three feet to my left was bare pavement where the street was. So I swallowed my pride, kept my heart rate in check, and trundled on down to the former (?) Cattle Congress grounds.

I say "former" because the sign on the gates, which had for decades announced the dates for the upcoming Cattle Congress, typically held in September, now advertised the "Black Hawk County Fair". Now this still is the National Cattle Congress too, it isn't "former", but I cannot say I've ever heard about the Black Hawk County Fair, and come to find out that's been going on since like, forever. Weird. I've lived here in this area since 1981 and I never thought there was a Black Hawk County fair. This is why I ride bicycles. I learn stuff I never knew! I probably was going by too fast in my car to notice there ever was a fair here other than Cattle Congress.

Then I looped around my former place of employment which is gone now, and came back home. A good two hours of occasional busting of trail and a whole lot of spinny-spinning in a way too low of a gear for pavement riding. But that's good stuff for me now. That sort of a ride will pay dividends once the gravel straightens out. Plus, it beats trainer riding any day for me. Rides to nowhere are not my cuppa tea.