Triple D is over. I'm done. I did it. Well, I started doing it, and then after awhile I stopped. My sisters, both Ironman finishers, pointed out to me once that something doesn't have to be fun, to be fun. I don't think I truly understood that until now.
Rewind two days: my chances of finishing were looking up the day before the race; because of trail conditions there was a possibility that the race would be run on gravel roads for much of the 62 miles. My narrow studded tires might even give me a slight advantage over some of the tractor tires that everyone else would be running. Upon checking in at nine a.m. I learned that the trail was in pretty good shape, and we would be running the entire 23 miles of it twice (out and back).
I showed up at the start, and saw exactly what I expected: everybody was running way more tire than I was. I didn’t blame them; if I could have fit more on my rims, I would have too…
We started at the Star Brewery in downtown Dubuque. We rolled out in a paced start at 10:00 a.m., heading north through town. We crossed 32nd street and the race began just as the walking began. The route traversed 1.2 miles of bike path that was not opened to snowmobile traffic, but was not shoveled or plowed either. I think I saw maybe one or two tire tracks that didn’t have evidence of footsteps next to them. So we all marched along, single file, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, once we crossed under a road, we reached rideable terrain. This was a relief, because I was planning on being able make pretty good time in the early sections of the race, and the walking had killed that idea so far. Several weeks ago I had pre-ridden the same path that we just walked, and it was mostly just ice. I was able to roll right down it pretty easily. I knew as the race went on I would be at a disadvantage with such a narrow tire, so losing out on even a mile of paved roadway was disheartening.
We rode through a parking lot, crossed a highway, and rolled down some snowmobile trails to get to the start of Heritage Trail. I had my first highlight of the day upon seeing my family waiting there, cheering me on. Everyone else in the race may have had better equipment, better fitness, and much more experience, but I had ‘Go Fast Daddy!’ signs. Try to top that, you losers! I’m speaking, of course, to all of those people who were now very far ahead of me. So I was pretty sure I was last, but I really didn’t care. It was a beautiful day, warmer than expected at 6 degrees or so. I wasn’t cold, I wasn’t thirsty, I wasn’t hungry, and I was finally moving right along. So long as I stayed in the middle eight inches of the trail on the hardest packed snow, I could keep pedaling along with pretty little effort. Maybe these tires weren’t such a bad idea at all.
I rolled through the first few road crossings of the trail, and even passed a couple of people. I stopped at Budd Road to change foot warmers and talk to my family again. My sisters had even joined in, ensuring that I had the largest following of any of the racers out there. Either that, or their cheering sections didn’t stick around for the guy who was a half-hour behind everyone else.
Everything was going pretty well, until I came around a slight bend and something large and ominous moving toward me…
Do you know what the apocalypse looks like? It looks like a large Snow-Cat dragging a snowmobile trail groomer behind it. It slowly walks toward you, plowing soft snow all over the nice packed trails you’ve been riding. It quietly walks by with no realization that it is raining shit all over the parades of the people it passes.
I cannot even begin to convey how much this felt like getting kicked in the stomach. Seriously. Before I even tried to ride, I knew that my day was going to end much sooner than I expected or wanted. I got back on the bike, and gave it a shot. For the first half-mile or so I could just barely keep moving by staying in the eight inches nearest to the right edge of the groomer’s pathway, but it was taking a ton of effort. Eventually, that turned out to be too much work. I would find short sections that looked rideable, but after 200 or 300 feet I would run into soft mush that would cause my heart rate to spike and my legs to burn. I could just barely ride through some parts, and I could not ride through others.
I made it to Graf, which was the 16 miles or so from the start and roughly halfway to the turning point of Dyersville. I stopped and talked to my family again, and learned that it sounded like nearly everyone else was having issues with the freshly groomed trails. I figured as much, judging by the amount of 29er tire tracks that were wandering back and forth from side to side, searching for some snow that was solid enough to ride on, instead of through. I got back on and tried to ride again. I made it about 500 feet, and started walking again, figuring there was a chance that conditions would improve. Shortly after that I met the two leaders on snow bikes coming toward me. These guys are three quarters of the way done, and I’m meeting them a quarter of the way in. I’m not a winter bike racing expert, but I was starting to think that maybe these wide tires were some sort of a slight advantage…
Long story short, I kept on walking, and trying to ride. Five miles later, my legs started cramping up; left quad, right hamstring. I was in Epworth, 21.2 miles from the start. It took me a few minutes more than five hours to get there. I called my wife, and asked her if she was bored and wanted to come pick me up. She’s wonderful, so she said she would, even though I don’t think she was bored at the time.
Looking back, I’m pretty satisfied with how it went. I did everything I could in preparation, short of buying a completely different bike. Everything I planned about food, water, and clothing worked. In the end, it was a nice sunny day, and I spent it with my bike. I was even riding for some of it. The only downside is that I plan on doing it next year, and I know I’m going to be using a different bike to do it. Anyone want to sell a lightly used Pugsley for cheap?
2010-01-10
2010-01-07
Triple D is looming...
I went on another training ride last night to try out some more theories. I put the seatpost rack on with a tool bag containing my small (50oz.) Camelbak bladder, thinking it might be good to take as much water as possible. I even had some emergency supplies for building a fire, some tools, etc. I strapped some new rubber overboots on top of all that. I didn’t expect to wear them tonight, but I want to figure out a way to take them with me in case I have to push a long section of the race, since the last few times I had pushed in the snow my feet had begun to freeze instantly. Maybe something about having a large chunk of metal on the bottom of the shoe causes the heat to bleed out quickly? I figured maybe having some rubber boots to throw on for a long walk up a hill would be an advantage.
As usual, getting ready took too long and left me frustrated. I got home from work at 5:30 or so, and was pretty much ready to go in an hour. I had to pump up two of the jeep tires before I could leave, which left me frustrated. I was finally on the road a little after 6:30, and got all the way to Potter Hill Road before I realized that I forgot my helmet. Turned around, went all the way back home (to find that the garage door had reopened on its own), grabbed the helmet, then headed back out.
I went to my in-law’s with the Jeep, and then my wife gave me a quick ride from there to the top of Potter’s Hill. The plan was to try the Level B section again, but without trying to climb Potter Hill Road as a ‘warm up’. She dropped me off at the top of the hill just as it was starting to snow pretty heavily. I unloaded the bike, gave her a kiss, and started rolling down the hill. I was looking forward to trying out the skinny Nokians on what would probably be the roughest part of the route. They worked really well heading down the gravel, to the point where I was keeping pretty good pace with a small deer running about 40 feet in front of me. Then we got to the end of the gravel, and the deer took off, and I slowed way down.
The skinny tires didn’t do too bad on the rough spots. It was a handful to keep it pointed in the right direction with all of the off-camber spots I was going over, but it was much better than it was when I was running oversize tires on skinny rims with too little pressure. I did end up dumping over sideways twice, but never hit hard. I made it down to the bottom pretty quickly and gave my wife a call to let her know I was heading west on Heritage trail.
I made it out almost to Farley without too much trouble. I stopped a couple of times to send my location, take drinks, eat Clif Bloks, etc. I decided to turn around after I had about an hour in when I got to Boge road. I was having pretty good luck with the narrow tires, but it was getting tougher as more snow fell. I was also having issues with the seatpost rack swinging around on me and the boots on it hitting the tire. That was pretty frustrating, as I would have to unclip my left foot to swing my leg back and push the rack around.
About halfway back to the jeep’s I decided to stop and swap foot warmers to see how long that process took. It went fine, but it went slow, and it left my hands cold for the first time. They had been plenty warm for the entire ride, but having gloves off to take socks off had chilled them a little. I think if I was going to be out much longer I would have gotten out some of the little hand warmers.
Swapping the foot warmers was uneventful, but I should have done it sooner. It’s a lot easier to stay ahead of cold toes than it is to catch up with them. I really hope the insulated ‘booties’ for my bike shoes arrive in time; I think that will help with the cold feet quite a bit.
I was making pretty good time on the way back until I stopped to change my foot warmers. Things seemed to slow way down after that. I made it into Graf and swung out onto the road, as it was slightly easier going. It felt great to be rolling along in the fresh snow, hearing no sound but my tires crunching along.
I was coming up Potter Hill road and I started to feel bad. It was almost 10:00 and the girls were still awake because it was taking me so long to get back to meet my wife. I was close enough that I thought the GMRS radio would work, so I called Katie and told her she could pick me up if she wanted on Potter Hill road. A few minutes later I saw the barn come into view that sits across from their driveway, so I caller her back and told her not to worry about it. I rolled down the driveway and then cranked up the hill, arriving right about 10:00 p.m.
Lessons learned:
1. Seatpost racks (still) kind of suck. I still may end up running that one, but probably just with the boots. I think I can fit everything else in the Hydrapak. Also, it needs to be mounted higher, possibly with something tethering it to the seat rails to keep it from swinging all over the place.
2. Big mittens over nice cycling gloves will leave hands sweaty.
3. Small tires on packed snow work okay, but it’s on the edge of not working. It was important to find a good spot in the trail that would keep me from sinking too deep to keep rolling quickly.
4. It is most important to have a very understanding wife and a very supportive family.
As usual, getting ready took too long and left me frustrated. I got home from work at 5:30 or so, and was pretty much ready to go in an hour. I had to pump up two of the jeep tires before I could leave, which left me frustrated. I was finally on the road a little after 6:30, and got all the way to Potter Hill Road before I realized that I forgot my helmet. Turned around, went all the way back home (to find that the garage door had reopened on its own), grabbed the helmet, then headed back out.
I went to my in-law’s with the Jeep, and then my wife gave me a quick ride from there to the top of Potter’s Hill. The plan was to try the Level B section again, but without trying to climb Potter Hill Road as a ‘warm up’. She dropped me off at the top of the hill just as it was starting to snow pretty heavily. I unloaded the bike, gave her a kiss, and started rolling down the hill. I was looking forward to trying out the skinny Nokians on what would probably be the roughest part of the route. They worked really well heading down the gravel, to the point where I was keeping pretty good pace with a small deer running about 40 feet in front of me. Then we got to the end of the gravel, and the deer took off, and I slowed way down.
The skinny tires didn’t do too bad on the rough spots. It was a handful to keep it pointed in the right direction with all of the off-camber spots I was going over, but it was much better than it was when I was running oversize tires on skinny rims with too little pressure. I did end up dumping over sideways twice, but never hit hard. I made it down to the bottom pretty quickly and gave my wife a call to let her know I was heading west on Heritage trail.
I made it out almost to Farley without too much trouble. I stopped a couple of times to send my location, take drinks, eat Clif Bloks, etc. I decided to turn around after I had about an hour in when I got to Boge road. I was having pretty good luck with the narrow tires, but it was getting tougher as more snow fell. I was also having issues with the seatpost rack swinging around on me and the boots on it hitting the tire. That was pretty frustrating, as I would have to unclip my left foot to swing my leg back and push the rack around.
About halfway back to the jeep’s I decided to stop and swap foot warmers to see how long that process took. It went fine, but it went slow, and it left my hands cold for the first time. They had been plenty warm for the entire ride, but having gloves off to take socks off had chilled them a little. I think if I was going to be out much longer I would have gotten out some of the little hand warmers.
Swapping the foot warmers was uneventful, but I should have done it sooner. It’s a lot easier to stay ahead of cold toes than it is to catch up with them. I really hope the insulated ‘booties’ for my bike shoes arrive in time; I think that will help with the cold feet quite a bit.
I was making pretty good time on the way back until I stopped to change my foot warmers. Things seemed to slow way down after that. I made it into Graf and swung out onto the road, as it was slightly easier going. It felt great to be rolling along in the fresh snow, hearing no sound but my tires crunching along.
I was coming up Potter Hill road and I started to feel bad. It was almost 10:00 and the girls were still awake because it was taking me so long to get back to meet my wife. I was close enough that I thought the GMRS radio would work, so I called Katie and told her she could pick me up if she wanted on Potter Hill road. A few minutes later I saw the barn come into view that sits across from their driveway, so I caller her back and told her not to worry about it. I rolled down the driveway and then cranked up the hill, arriving right about 10:00 p.m.
Lessons learned:
1. Seatpost racks (still) kind of suck. I still may end up running that one, but probably just with the boots. I think I can fit everything else in the Hydrapak. Also, it needs to be mounted higher, possibly with something tethering it to the seat rails to keep it from swinging all over the place.
2. Big mittens over nice cycling gloves will leave hands sweaty.
3. Small tires on packed snow work okay, but it’s on the edge of not working. It was important to find a good spot in the trail that would keep me from sinking too deep to keep rolling quickly.
4. It is most important to have a very understanding wife and a very supportive family.
2010-01-03
Redemption! Almost!
Today I went back out into the cold to try to get some mileage in and make up for yesterday’s near failure. As usual, I got left (hee hee) later than I wanted. As usual, it had to do with changing bike tires. Having realized that a 2.1 was far too wide for my narrow rims, I was ready to try the studded tires again. The front one went on surprisingly easy. I went to finally pump it up, but while I was attaching the pump to the valve the rim fell away from me, causing the top of the valve to break off. In the words of the wise-beyond-her-years Clara: Grr! So, after some initial pissed-off-ed-ness and a quick slam of the mini-tool on the bench, I proceeded to grab a spare tube and swap it out. I switched the rear out without any issue and I was ready to go.
I drove the Jeep out to Graf and parked at the picnic area. I unloaded the bike and headed west, pedaling out over some Pugsley and Nokian tracks, all of which were so much wider than mine. I began wondering if I was trying this on the wrong bike, but I wasn’t having too much trouble with the riding. I kept changing out different things in regards to clothing. My face was getting a little cold, so I took off the sunglasses and switched to the goggles. The goggles fogged up a bunch, so I let them hang around my neck. I never did experience enough cold in my face to warrant dealing with the fogging. My upper body was hot, so I took the liner out of the snowmobile coat I was wearing and bunched it up on the Hydrapak, which was outside of the coat. My hands got cold in the snowmobiling gloves, so I threw some handwarmers in them. That didn’t work, so I got out my $10 El Cheapo mittens and threw the handwarmers in there. This worked surprisingly well, and I never changed anything else for the rest of the ride.
I got about five miles out and realized that my hose was frozen somewhere between the bladder and the bite valve, so I decided to turn around. I thought putting the hydration pack inside my coat would help it thaw out. The bunched-up liner attached to the pack was too thick to put the coat over, so I rolled that up and tied it around my waist. I was heading back and a pretty good clip, as it was getting pretty dark and my toes were freezing. Suddenly, I was slowing down like I dropped a plow. Turns out the coat liner had come untied from my waist and had decided to become one with my rear cassette.
I flipped the bike over and started trying to figure out how the hell I was going to get that out of there. Lots of tugging and pulling and swearing and thinking and I finally managed to pull the wheel most of the way out, and then get the coat liner unwrapped. It’s a good thing I didn’t have a knife, because I would have cut that thing to pieces. It was way too cold to be screwing around with stuff like this.
Once that was done, I was eager to start making time. I got back on the bike and put the hammer down, relatively. More of a ball peen hammer than a sledge hammer, but it was put down all the same. I made it another few miles and my toes were getting way too cold. I found a good spot to sit and decided to try something different. I took out another pair of insole warmers and put them directly on my toes. I ditched the thin Pearl Izumi socks and put the ‘Large Warmers’ directly on my feet as well, despite all of the dire warnings about burning skin. Pulled some smartwool socks on over the whole works and got back to moving. Just about the time I got to the Jeep I was feeling pretty good; feet were warm, hands were warm, everything else was doing okay. My hose had even thawed, just in time to pack it in.
Lessons learned:
1. I don’t need goggles for positve temperatures, at least for the first two hours.
2. My hydration hose can freeze, even if I blow air back into it every single time I use it.
3. My big snowmobiling coat may even be overkill, except to keep my hose warm.
4. I need to figure out something different for my feet, as the thin+thick socks just aren’t doing it, even with chemical warmers. I can get away with putting the warmers directly on my skin, but I’d rather find someway to just keep my feet a little more insulated. I think getting a pair of the insulated booties are the answer to that, although I would prefer not to call them ‘booties’.
5. Everything needs to be tied down tightly, or it can fall into the drivetrain. If you lose the drivetrain, you lose everything.
I drove the Jeep out to Graf and parked at the picnic area. I unloaded the bike and headed west, pedaling out over some Pugsley and Nokian tracks, all of which were so much wider than mine. I began wondering if I was trying this on the wrong bike, but I wasn’t having too much trouble with the riding. I kept changing out different things in regards to clothing. My face was getting a little cold, so I took off the sunglasses and switched to the goggles. The goggles fogged up a bunch, so I let them hang around my neck. I never did experience enough cold in my face to warrant dealing with the fogging. My upper body was hot, so I took the liner out of the snowmobile coat I was wearing and bunched it up on the Hydrapak, which was outside of the coat. My hands got cold in the snowmobiling gloves, so I threw some handwarmers in them. That didn’t work, so I got out my $10 El Cheapo mittens and threw the handwarmers in there. This worked surprisingly well, and I never changed anything else for the rest of the ride.
I got about five miles out and realized that my hose was frozen somewhere between the bladder and the bite valve, so I decided to turn around. I thought putting the hydration pack inside my coat would help it thaw out. The bunched-up liner attached to the pack was too thick to put the coat over, so I rolled that up and tied it around my waist. I was heading back and a pretty good clip, as it was getting pretty dark and my toes were freezing. Suddenly, I was slowing down like I dropped a plow. Turns out the coat liner had come untied from my waist and had decided to become one with my rear cassette.
I flipped the bike over and started trying to figure out how the hell I was going to get that out of there. Lots of tugging and pulling and swearing and thinking and I finally managed to pull the wheel most of the way out, and then get the coat liner unwrapped. It’s a good thing I didn’t have a knife, because I would have cut that thing to pieces. It was way too cold to be screwing around with stuff like this.
Once that was done, I was eager to start making time. I got back on the bike and put the hammer down, relatively. More of a ball peen hammer than a sledge hammer, but it was put down all the same. I made it another few miles and my toes were getting way too cold. I found a good spot to sit and decided to try something different. I took out another pair of insole warmers and put them directly on my toes. I ditched the thin Pearl Izumi socks and put the ‘Large Warmers’ directly on my feet as well, despite all of the dire warnings about burning skin. Pulled some smartwool socks on over the whole works and got back to moving. Just about the time I got to the Jeep I was feeling pretty good; feet were warm, hands were warm, everything else was doing okay. My hose had even thawed, just in time to pack it in.
Lessons learned:
1. I don’t need goggles for positve temperatures, at least for the first two hours.
2. My hydration hose can freeze, even if I blow air back into it every single time I use it.
3. My big snowmobiling coat may even be overkill, except to keep my hose warm.
4. I need to figure out something different for my feet, as the thin+thick socks just aren’t doing it, even with chemical warmers. I can get away with putting the warmers directly on my skin, but I’d rather find someway to just keep my feet a little more insulated. I think getting a pair of the insulated booties are the answer to that, although I would prefer not to call them ‘booties’.
5. Everything needs to be tied down tightly, or it can fall into the drivetrain. If you lose the drivetrain, you lose everything.
2010-01-02
First ride of 2010. Sucked.
Eager to test out some chemical hand/foot warmers, I planned to take a longish ride today and try out the Level B part of Humke road that is going to be part of the Triple D race. As always, pre-ride prep work took longer than expected. I wanted to give a friend’s 29×2.1 tire another try in the front so I switched from the studded Nokian to the Panaracer 700×45 in back. This new front tire is an absolute bitch to get on and off. Goodbye to another el cheapo tire lever. I even put a pretty good bend in the Topeak tire lever as well. (still need to get that fixed, by the way) Eventually, it went on. (that’s right; broke the tire lever putting the tire ON. God only knows how bad it will be coming off) Loaded the bike up on the Jeep, and headed to my in-laws, who happen to live very near what might be the roughest part of the race route. My wife and children were already spending some time there today. Judging by the temperature (2 degrees) and the condition of the road that I was going to ride (shitty), it was a good idea to keep the support staff close at hand.
I finally got out there around 3:30 or so, and got on the bike shortly after. Starting off in 2 degree weather on Potter Hill without much of a warm up is a recipe for walking part of a hill. I alternated between pushing and riding up the steep part, then got on and rode out from the shallower grade near the top. I took the right turn through the gate onto the Level B part of Humke road. At first, it didn’t seem bad at all, but then I realized I hadn’t made it to the bad part yet. The bad part started halfway down the hill past the last driveway, and things got ugly from there. Lots of deep ruts were throwing that fat front tire all over the place, even folding it over sideways; making the extra width on a narrow rim more trouble than it was worth. I nearly got launched multiple times, and my feet were freezing. I found a level spot at the bottom and threw my coat and Hydrapak off to see why the chemical foot warmers weren’t working at all.
It turns out the plastic backing covered with Asian words needs to be peeled off to get any kind of warmth out of them. I had some of the actual socks with the little heater pockets in my pack, so I tried to fit them over my other two pairs of socks, but there was no way I could pedal comfortably. I moved the foot warmers to the inside of the my Smartwool socks and threw a pair of the toe warmers on the outside, and hoped for the best. The road continued to be a challenge, but eventually (after several attempts at throwing myself on the ground and nearly missing) I made it out onto the gravel on the other side. I got to the first intersection that was marked with road signs (Graf road and Humke road) and called my wife. My feet were freezing, and I wasn’t about to take any chances with frostbite on a silly training ride.
While I was waiting I thought I might as well keep riding toward her. That’s when I noticed my rear tire was flat. The stem had ripped out of the tube, which upon further inspection happened to be one that had already been patched at least once. Fantastic!
Lessons learned: peel the plastic off of the foot warmers/toe warmers before you start. Don’t run a (relatively) giant 29×2.1 tire on a narrow 18mm rim. Blow the water out of a water tube EVERY TIME. Also, if you can get even a tiny bit of water to flow through a frozen tube, you can get the ice to melt.
I finally got out there around 3:30 or so, and got on the bike shortly after. Starting off in 2 degree weather on Potter Hill without much of a warm up is a recipe for walking part of a hill. I alternated between pushing and riding up the steep part, then got on and rode out from the shallower grade near the top. I took the right turn through the gate onto the Level B part of Humke road. At first, it didn’t seem bad at all, but then I realized I hadn’t made it to the bad part yet. The bad part started halfway down the hill past the last driveway, and things got ugly from there. Lots of deep ruts were throwing that fat front tire all over the place, even folding it over sideways; making the extra width on a narrow rim more trouble than it was worth. I nearly got launched multiple times, and my feet were freezing. I found a level spot at the bottom and threw my coat and Hydrapak off to see why the chemical foot warmers weren’t working at all.
It turns out the plastic backing covered with Asian words needs to be peeled off to get any kind of warmth out of them. I had some of the actual socks with the little heater pockets in my pack, so I tried to fit them over my other two pairs of socks, but there was no way I could pedal comfortably. I moved the foot warmers to the inside of the my Smartwool socks and threw a pair of the toe warmers on the outside, and hoped for the best. The road continued to be a challenge, but eventually (after several attempts at throwing myself on the ground and nearly missing) I made it out onto the gravel on the other side. I got to the first intersection that was marked with road signs (Graf road and Humke road) and called my wife. My feet were freezing, and I wasn’t about to take any chances with frostbite on a silly training ride.
While I was waiting I thought I might as well keep riding toward her. That’s when I noticed my rear tire was flat. The stem had ripped out of the tube, which upon further inspection happened to be one that had already been patched at least once. Fantastic!
Lessons learned: peel the plastic off of the foot warmers/toe warmers before you start. Don’t run a (relatively) giant 29×2.1 tire on a narrow 18mm rim. Blow the water out of a water tube EVERY TIME. Also, if you can get even a tiny bit of water to flow through a frozen tube, you can get the ice to melt.
2010-01-01
Triple D
Some background: I’m a novice recreational cyclist. I spend most of my riding on a small set of singletrack trails not far from my house. I had not touched a bicycle for about fifteen years, and then two years ago I spent about $600 on a Gary Fisher Kaitai. It is sort of a hybrid bike with a heavy leaning toward a 29er mountain bike due to the frame. The main shortcomings are the front fork and the rear triangle not having enough room for anything bigger than a 29 x 1.9 tire, and a narrow set of rims. It came with 700×38 hybrid tires, but I’ve been running it off-road with 700×45 Panaracer FireCross tires for some time. It works pretty well for me; the bike is definitely not the weak point in the man+bike equation. (I’m not in ideal shape, unless round is an ideal shape) Either way, I’ve been having a stupid amount of fun riding it in just about any way possible. It’s taken me on countless trips through the woods, across Iowa, over a particle accelerator, through the hills of Wisconsin, and down a rails-to-trail bike path called Heritage Trail several times. I think I’ve more than got my money out of it over the last 2000 miles.
Sometime last fall I ran across some links and blog posts talking about a winter bike race called Triple D that is held on the Heritage Trail I mentioned above. It's 62 miles, and it's held in the dead of winter. Biking in the snow sounded like an interesting set of problems to solve, and I was really intrigued by the dedicated snow bikes. Maybe it’s my childhood spent playing on and around construction equipment, or time spent driving jeeps over ridiculous terrain, but I do appreciate the advantage of oversized tires. (This turns out to be ironic later) As the weather got colder, I set a goal of entering this bike race. I had no delusions of being able to actually finish, having read previous accounts on various blogs, but I figured getting to the point where I felt comfortable enough to enter it would be a good way of forcing myself to not park the bike when the weather turned cold like I did last year. So… after continuing to ride as the weather turned nasty and maybe a dozen rides in actual snow and ice conditions, I signed up.
In addition to loading up on some clothing for riding in the winter, I knew I needed a different set of tires. I borrowed some tires to try to go wider than my normal 700×45, but didn’t have much luck. A set of 29 x 2.2s would hit the top of the fork in front and would rub against the front derailleur in the rear. I bought a set of 700×40 Nokian W240 tires (thanks Peter White Cycles), and they proved to work out really well in some conditions. I rode different paved bike paths with large sections of glare ice without any fear or lack of traction. I rode through some really deep powdery snow, although only for short sections here and there. On Heritage Trail, where most of the race would take place, they worked pretty well so long as there was a well-packed snowmobile track in which to ride. I knew that how far I got would depend on trail conditions that day, but the last few times I tried them they were working pretty well.
Sometime last fall I ran across some links and blog posts talking about a winter bike race called Triple D that is held on the Heritage Trail I mentioned above. It's 62 miles, and it's held in the dead of winter. Biking in the snow sounded like an interesting set of problems to solve, and I was really intrigued by the dedicated snow bikes. Maybe it’s my childhood spent playing on and around construction equipment, or time spent driving jeeps over ridiculous terrain, but I do appreciate the advantage of oversized tires. (This turns out to be ironic later) As the weather got colder, I set a goal of entering this bike race. I had no delusions of being able to actually finish, having read previous accounts on various blogs, but I figured getting to the point where I felt comfortable enough to enter it would be a good way of forcing myself to not park the bike when the weather turned cold like I did last year. So… after continuing to ride as the weather turned nasty and maybe a dozen rides in actual snow and ice conditions, I signed up.
In addition to loading up on some clothing for riding in the winter, I knew I needed a different set of tires. I borrowed some tires to try to go wider than my normal 700×45, but didn’t have much luck. A set of 29 x 2.2s would hit the top of the fork in front and would rub against the front derailleur in the rear. I bought a set of 700×40 Nokian W240 tires (thanks Peter White Cycles), and they proved to work out really well in some conditions. I rode different paved bike paths with large sections of glare ice without any fear or lack of traction. I rode through some really deep powdery snow, although only for short sections here and there. On Heritage Trail, where most of the race would take place, they worked pretty well so long as there was a well-packed snowmobile track in which to ride. I knew that how far I got would depend on trail conditions that day, but the last few times I tried them they were working pretty well.
Bang! A boring new blog snaps into existence.
Look at me! I've joined the 20th century and created a blog. I hear they are catching on, and I want to get in early...
Actually, I have been preparing for a local bike race, and I learned a ton of information from the blogs of people who had done it in the past. I thought maybe my experience would be useful to someone else, even if it only provides them with a list of what not to do.
Actually, I have been preparing for a local bike race, and I learned a ton of information from the blogs of people who had done it in the past. I thought maybe my experience would be useful to someone else, even if it only provides them with a list of what not to do.
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