An Adventure

 Got out for another day ride before hunting season starts.  The above picture is one of the creeks I had to pass through today.  I didn't use the noggin when I started through it, but it wasn't a matter of if you could ride through or not, it was could you do it with out dipping your feet it.  Ended up just getting the toes a little.

 This one was still shaded and not deep anyhow.

 I was exploring and rode several little paths.  All of the rut paths usually dead end at old logging sites.

Lunch was at the Moose Branch Flowage.  I am sitting on the little dam that creates this flowage.  I have eaten lunch here several times this summer, and today was again one of those days.

The little flowage is starting to freeze for the winter.  Not hard enough to walk on as of yet...I checked.

 This was another trail I rode.  Notice the bark on the little trees on the right side of the picture.  They are called rubs.  Around these parts, it is the male Whitetail deer that make these.  The link provided here explains it well.  It is very interesting.

As the day warmed into the lower 40's, I ended up riding a lot of mud.  I checked the Garmin and one stretch alone was about 7 miles.  It was bad...as in about 2 inches of slime.  I almost kissed the mud a few times and my heart rate was near max for most of it.  I tried to ride around as much of it as I could, but there was no avoiding a lot of it.  If I had known it was going to be as bad as it was I could have avoided the road completely, but by the time I discovered what it was like, I was committed.  And I will add, some probably think I should be committed.  But, it is things like this that make an adventure. Something that I will not soon forget, if ever. 

The ride yesterday had me out for 3 hours 51 minutes including lunch.  The bike performed flawlessly.    I didn't see as many people as I expected with it being close to the opener of deer season.  I saw about a half dozen vehicles parked.  I met a forester truck twice...same guy, and he had a smile on his face.  Then I met a logging truck.  And just before I came out of the bush, I met a pickup hauling a camper.  I could see the window rolling down before we met and I knew he wanted to chat. So we chatted.  hehehe

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!

Thanks for reading!!

Rolling the Fattie

 Tuesday had me riding the Fatbike.  I rode mostly trails like pictured above.  The temp was at 32°F when I left and read the same when I returned 2.5 hours later.  Any place the sun could get at, the sand was soft.  No access to sun equaled a nice hard surface to ride.  

 It's is not easy to see in the photo, but this was another trail I rode.  Those fat tires roll over and through a lot.  But just as with the mountain bike, it worries me when I hear brush slapping against the derailleur and chain.  Although I do have a spare hanger, I don't care to use it.

 I enjoy riding these trails.  Nobody did I see today.  2 and 1/2 hours of me.  Scary thought, isn't it.  That will change within the next couple of days with the coming of the Whitetail Deer rifle hunt.  Scores of people come to our area to try their luck in tagging a deer.  Most are good.  But as with anything, there are a few bad apples.  It is for this reason any riding I do during the hunt in our area will be done at night.

   

 I rode by several little potholes today that were covered with ice.

This was the lunch spot today.  Peanut butter and honey on whole wheat.  

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!

Thanks for reading

Riding the Night

Monday night had 6 guys riding the Lake Superior beach on fatbikes, but that's too far for me to drive on short notice for a ride, so I was not one of them.  I may join them sometime if it works out.  I did end up going out for an hour ride on my own though.  The temp was a chilly 22°F with the wind howling, pitch black out and the roads mostly covered with a dusting of snow.  Getting out and making that ride, all be it short, was fantastic.  It makes a person feel alive.  It sure beat staying indoors.  I have them to thank for this ride, because I thought they're out riding, I might as well be also.

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!!  

    

Riding the 9:ZERO:7

Even though the weather is what they called "blustery," I made it out on an inaugural ride on the new bike in the stable.  Blustery isn't bad.  It was actually nice to be out.  

I rode some rut trails as well as some sand roads.  After I loaded up the pictures, I realized I snapped no pictures of the sand roads.  To me, the sand roads are especially interesting in the morning.  The tracks from the previous night and early morning activity show easily. I am of the opinion that there is a lot more going on than most people realize, and seeing the tracks is only a fraction of it. The trail cams we have out give proof to that. 

The bars on this ride are 750mm wide, wide.  This is also the first time I have used Ergon grips.  This setup feels great.

 More trail. 

 I had decided on the centered 170mm 9:ZERO:7 because I still have another fatbike in the works that will also be centered.  The frame, wheels and some of the other components came from Penn Cycle & Fitness in Blaine, MN.  They were the closest dealer of the 9:ZERO:7 to me, so that is where I went.  I did most of the planning over the phone with Brian.  He was great to deal with and would recommend him to anyone that is interested.  His input was great, he returned my calls promptly and also called with the progress of where parts were in the order process.  This one I built up with a 3 x 10 drive train with 82mm rims.  It still has room and with some minor modifications can also run the really fat 100mm rims. I am no wrench, but Steve at Penn Cycle is, and he too is great to deal with.  I had all the tools with the exception of a fork cutting guide, so I had them cut the fork, install the headset, and build the wheels.  Well, I guess my previous post shows that.  I have a few minor details to work on yet, but I am happy with how it turned out. 

I want to give a shout out to Trevor from the Purple Traveller blog.  He has 10,285.49 miles so far this year.  That is a big number. He is a great guy with a great blog.  Click on this paragraph to go to his blog.  Congratulations to Trevor!!

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!

PS...As always, thanks for reading and your comments.  :-) :-)

Taking it's First Breath

Quick post.  A couple people had requested pictures.  No turning back now!! I am waiting on the custom EP Cycles frame, so in the mean time I am building this up.  I had originally thought it would take a couple months at the least, but I have what I think is everything on order but brake cables. I didn't go top shelf, but I think it will be nice.  

It is very lightly clamped just to get the pictures...seat post on order.  I have 3 posts, but none the right size and I didn't feel like looking for shims.  I am thinking it's going to be great fun!!

Lets get outdoors and have some fun!