Fatbiking and Other Junk

Not Quite Ready.

Yesterday afternoon I rode up Cache Creek and it was still pretty soft, despite being groomed a few days ago and having lots of foot traffic on it.  Maybe after this next pulse of snow it will be better.

Getting Out.

I got the chance last Sunday to ride the inner park road up to Jenny Lake in a couple inches of snow and it was pretty fun.  First person to ride the Jenny Lake one-way in the snow (about 6 inches deep so a lot of work).  We got a bit of snow in town so in shady spots the roads are really icy so I got the Fatback Skookum rolling with the full studs.  The shifting was all cattywhumpus at first.  I hadn't ridden this bike in well over 9 months so I thought the shifting would be a bit off due to cable stretch but it was actually the b screw in the rear derailleur.  I needed to adjust the tension on it and that surprised me.  I didn't think my chain would stretch that much.  Better check it to see if I need to swap it out.

First Snow.

That is sticking, that is.  We have had a few snow showers so far this fall but nothing has stuck yet.  Not today.  I think this will stick for a while but it came in warm so it was wet and semi-melted as the snow hit the ground and as it continued to get colder over the night, the snow stayed snow.  However, we have a lot of slick icy patches around so time for the studded snow tires on the bikes.  I'll get the Skookum rolling first since it has full studs and those wheels are easier to swap out.

45North Flowbeist Review.

I have had a pair of 45North tires on one fat bike (a Skookum) set up as tubless for a few years now.  I love the rims and wheels (HED setup) but have been underwhelmed by the Flowbeist.  This is the second one to suffer a leak that the sealant can't keep up with.  A great tire for loose conditions and snow, but sucky for tubeless setups.  My second one got bad leaks within 200 miles of riding but had loads of tread left.  Rather than try and warranty it and get another crappy Flowbeist, I think I will just put a tube in and run it that way.  I know you weight weenies would cringe at that but all I need to do is push a bit more poop out in the am to make up for it.  No big deal.  The tire name should be changed to Blowbeist instead.

Swapping out.

Moving the fatbikes out of the garage and putting the summer bikes away for the impending season change.  As I type, it is snowing outside.  Yaaayyy!

Equipment Woes.

Bought a new wheelset from Industry Nine this winter - full carbon rims and colorful anodized spokes for my Fatback Skookum - and got them set up tubeless this spring.  I am running tires from 45North with a FloBiest up front and a Dunderbiest in the rear.  I used them last summer with tubes and they were great.  As soon as I set them up tubeless, problems abounded.  The rear wouldn't hold air for more than 12 hours.  After some fiddling with it at the local bike shop I thought it was fixed then disaster:  a two-inch long tear at the bead.  Less than 500 miles on this tire and it shits the bed.  Damn.

Trails Mostly Drying Out.

A lot of the lower trails in the Cache Creek area are dry enough to ride on which is very surprising given the amount of snow we had this winter.  I was expecting no trail riding until mid-June at the earliest.  Yay!

Fun Times.

Went for a ride up Cache Creek last Saturday (the last sunny day) and had a gas riding the new singletrack.  It adds about a half-mile of singletrack through some fields east of Bridge 5 and it was a lot of fun.  Don't think I'll be riding this week: in the midst of a serious thaw with rain and temps in the high 30s.  Crap.

Interesting Winter.

Lotsa interesting weather this winter and interesting riding conditions.  Very wet days with lots of rain so full studs are the order of the day.  About a month ago I was riding some singletrack and fell off my bike.  Not so bad except for scraping the shit out of my right shin.  I bled like a pig for a while and the real fun was peeling my sock and tights away from the wound.  Hurt like hell as the dried blood peeled off and it bled a lot more.  Then the real fun of trying to ski with a throbbing painful bleeding shin.  Ouch.  i bought some shin pads after that.

Still Waiting for Snow.

With the warm temps, no snow or even frozen trails so trail riding is out.  Even if it gets cold enough at night to freeze we get enough sun on some parts of the trails so a half inch of dirt thaws out and turns to mud.  Our temps are too low for the now defrosted mud to dry out so it stays greasy and muddy all day, so no trail riding for now.  However, I have been enjoying riding out the Elk Refuge road and up the Curtis Canyon road.  Despite being a dirt road it is dry, fast, and not too bumpy even with a rigid 29er.  A great way to get 20 miles and 1800 feet of climbing in two hours.  Still not as much fun as fatbiking.