March In Like a Lion Rides

[north woods gal]

Watch that ice, Crankin. That kind of weather is recipe for making ice. It's what I am battling, now.

[Crankin]

Oh, I am very aware of ice. Our good friend broke his hip on a morning in March that was 27, but it went up to 60 later in the day. DH and he had discussed commuting, but when DH saw the relative humidity, he knew there would be black ice and he did not ride. If it looks sketchy, I'll take a short ride Fri. afternoon.

[rebeccaC]

good to read some are getting rides in...nwg…glad you’ve had some good pavement for road riding!!

We’ve been having some needed rain with morning temps in the 50’s and 60’s in late morning/afternoon. A heavy rain is predicted for the middle of next week that i'm actually looking forward to. I’ve had more commutes in the rain this winter than any since living here. Not enough to make me not want to ride in it though. I do like that rain gives me an opportunity to do/feel more than on the same old safe ride and that it may even turn into an epic storm ride. However, I do prefer heavy rains on the way home a whole lot more than in the morning. ...well, i guess the stop for a croissant and tea is nicer on a really wet morning commute....

Today was dry, overcast and in the mid to high 60’s so Alex and I rode to the farmers market this morning and I rode into downtown L.A. and East L.A. to do some photography late morning into late afternoon. I do a lot of alley riding in downtown (lots of street art there) and there are few if any cars. Sundays are also best for riding in the old industrial areas since there is very little traffic. Between bike paths, alleys and side streets, I seldom ride on any busy streets the entire route. The bike paths give me some good sprints into the ocean headwinds on the way home too. 48 miles total and just a nice relaxed day of riding and being creative…..and then there’s the chocolate cold brew and salty caramels from Stumptown coffee that help too

[north woods gal]

That is so cool! Amazing art work (and photography, as usual).

I got a little trail work in, yesterday, late afternoon, when everything was a bit mushy with our warm temps. Lots of mud, now, along with packed snow and icy sections, but it was warm enough for the tire studs to get a good bite on the soft ice. Still some tricky spots, though. Not ready to try without studded tires. Interestingly, too, that with all the melting by day and freezing by night, those tricky spots seem to change location, day by day, now. Never know what I'l get.

Temps, today, though, will be cooler and hovering right around that freezing point. From experience, I know that makes for some very dangerous ice - just enough melt on top to lubricate the hard ice beneath. Bad combo. Will most likely head out for some road work and play it safe, even though it's a bit chilly.

[north woods gal]

Have had it with trying to ride my icy trails. Oh, I can do it safe, enough, or at least mostly safe, but it means going slow and very, very, timidly. Like riding on eggshells, so to speak. That is totally alien to my usual all out and go for it trail riding technique. Takes all the fun out of it and not much of a workout, either.

So, while the weather holds and our paved roads stay open and dry, it's going to be road work for this gal until my trails melt off. Took my beloved Pugsley out for a 15 mile road ride, yesterday, even though it still wears the very aggressive Nate tires I've been using for snow work. Yeah, noisy, for sure, but I pumped them up to the max psi rating and they weren't too bad on the pavement as far as rolling resistance. She ain't fast, but the Pugs is uber stable and mucho comfy on the road. Kind of fun, too, to bop back and forth between riding the shoulder dirt and gravel and the pavement. That's one of the fun thing about fatties. Gives you that feeling that you can ride anywhere you want and that nothing can stop you.

Big wheels keep on rollin'.

[north woods gal]

Had been looking for a drop bar gravel bike, recently, but couldn't find what I wanted and that's a good thing. I'm now so physically tuned in to riding flat bar bikes that I don't want to transition back to riding drop bars. No more drop bars for me.

After riding my Surly Krampus and the Pugs, out on the pavement these last few days (both of which wear Jones loop bars), I've decided to stay with what I know. I find those loop bars with their swept back design, when set at the right angle, are more comfy for me than drop bars and offer nearly as many hand positions. Also allow me to tuck down tight, almost as tight as being in the drops on a drop bar bike. The loop bars make a good substitute for drop bars for me. Can ride them all day long.

So, my next bike will be a flat bar, a' la' a loop bar. It will be steel for ride quality and feel. It will probably have more a touring geometry than trail geometry. It will be my dedicated pavement and gravel bike, but by going flat bar/loop bar, it can just as easily go off the road to ride trails, too. Won't be super fast, okay, but it won't be slow, either, and it will always get me where I want to go. Some pretty remote roads, up here, so that's important.

[ny biker]

Happy Spring!!! Or not. Today started with rain which turned to sleet and is now snow. The really heavy snow will fall tomorrow, beginning early in the morning. Today's early afternoon forecast said 5-8" here with more north and west (or 3-6" depending on the source). Now they are saying that recent models call for much more accumulation, and will be revising the forecast.

So on the one hand, boo! I hate snow.

On the other hand, at least we didn't get this a month or two ago. Whatever falls will melt faster with the late-March sun.

I had hoped to be able to go to work tomorrow but am now figuring that I will have to stay home. I dropped my bike off at the shop for the annual clean-and-tune service on Sunday and picked it up today on my lunch break. I was not thrilled to be standing out in the rain and sleet loading it into the car, but I suspect I will want to put in some trainer time tomorrow while I am trapped in my tiny condo. Unless I have to go out and shovel a foot of snow...

Meanwhile, I had thought that the cedar pollen had started to fade and I would be able to spend more time outdoors. But after going out for a walk last night, I am congested and my throat and ears are itching. Which is just ridiculous -- it's cold and raining but I am suffering more from pollen today than I have in several weeks. I think one or two things are responsible -- it could be a different tree (elm) that is causing today's misery, or I made the mistake of taking off my hat in the middle of my walk last night so there was pollen in my hair all night.

Despite the snow and allergy misery, the good news is that I am able to go out and walk again. After hurting my ankle last January and then tearing a different tendon and spending months resting and hoping that injury would heal, and spending $$ on PT that my insurance didn't cover and going to three different doctors, I am finally able to walk without pain. Yay!! So far I'm up to 40 minutes on flat ground. Which is why I'm okay with not riding my bike lately -- I'm enjoying the walks instead.

[Crankin]

We are getting that storm, but won't really heat up until dinner time tomorrow, "north of the Mass Pike." Why do weather patterns conform to major roads? Really, they do around here. Anyway, I digress, it will mostly be a fast mover and be done by 8 AM. I got a message from the instructor of the class I am taking at my agency's corporate headquarters Wed. and Thurs., saying if the schools in the town the office is in are delayed or cancelled, our class will be, too. I imagine there might be a delay on Thursday, but I want to get this done! It's about a 10 mile drive, so if it's snowing, that could be an hour.
I don't see any riding happening for at least a week or 10 days. I did go to spin this morning and I hope it's the last time until next December!

[emily_in_nc]

It's certainly been crazy beginning of spring weather in lots of places. We were under a tornado watch for most of the day yesterday, and as the front pushed through our area, we were briefly under a tornado warning. It rained hard and hailed briefly, but thankfully no tornadoes were spawned, at least that I heard of. I was at the dentist inside a safe concrete building, but I sure was worried about DH and our dog back in the motorhome, and everyone else at our RV park.

Today it's nice and sunny but much cooler, and we're forecast to have winds in the 20-30 mph range, plus gusts of 40+. We haven't been able to ride since Sunday, which was a nice day before all this mess started. Hopefully this will be the last nor'easter of the season! Stay safe, those of you up north.

[north woods gal]

Shelia, yeah, I'm too far gone on the steel and big tire thing to probably ever swing back the other way. Have even been looking at the new version of the Pugsley. Yeah, right, like I "need" another fat bike.

N.Y., I am glad you are getting out and, especially, that you are able to enjoy it, despite the allergy thing. As much as I love biking and all my other outdoor activities, just getting out is still the most important thing for me. I am just plain miserable if I get stuck inside, all day.

Crankin, I think it is extraordinary that you are getting these storms, one after another. Our wether has been cooler than it should be for this time in March, but at least it's been quiet. What was snow pack on my trails, is now all ice. Can't wait for a serious thaw to get back to my trail work.

Emily, send some that warm Florida up north for us, if you can. Keep the tornadoes, though.

[north woods gal]

Oops! Almost forgot.

Spent the morning, yesterday, swapping out the heavy lugged trail tires on the Pugsley for the much more road friendly Specialized Fast Fats. Those Specialized fat bike tires are a great fast rolling fat bike tire. Makes riding the Pugs out on the road much more practical. Also reminded me how much fun it is NOT to do the swap the tires thing. Now have enough fat bikes in the collection to pick a different bike when I need a more aggressive tire, so I'm going to leave these tires on the Pugs, permanently. They're also a very good trail tire, anyway.

Seems like I pay a lot of attention to tire designs and setups. I do. On trail bikes, the bigger the tires, the more you tend to notice differences in tire design, psi, and so on. Fat bikes really bring out these differences. Pretty amazing how even a tiny change in tire pressure makes for a whole different ride.

Met a gal at the bike shop, last week, who was getting ready to ride her fat bike in a fat bike race up in the nearby U.P. of Michigan. We both thought it was great that other gals in the area were fattie fans.

[ny biker]

NWG and Sheila, are you familiar with Marin bikes? BikesnobNYC has this one with a Jones handlebar and he loves it... has sworn it will be the only bike he rides this year*.

* except for bikes that he tests and reviews, which so far means he's riding 2 other bikes and it's only March.

He finds it to be a good year-round bike for pavement and trails.

Edit: oops, I forgot the link. http://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/family/pine-mountain

[north woods gal]

You guys are so nice! Thank-you for thinking of me. Like the looks of the Marin, but no one in our area carries that brand.

Well, I just went ahead and ordered the ECR 29+ from our friends at our local bike shop! Be here in a few days. These are such great folks and bend over backwards to help their customers. They really appreciate our business. Pretty tough to keep a bike shop going in an area with such a low population. Glad to help them.

Anyway, wasn't too hard to choose the ECR. Been looking at it for, years. Finally did it! Given my familiarity and loyalty to Surly bikes, about as safe a purchase as I could make. Even the components are familiar to me because I have them on our other Surlys. The components work and they last. Nothing fancy, but they're simple, durable, easy to work on, and a good value - typical Surly philosophy. May or may not do some upgrading, down the road, but it's mostly the ECR frame I wanted, anyway.

The frame and geometry of the ECR IS different from my Krampus. The ECR is about dirt, gravel, logging roads, roads of all kinds and carrying loads along the way. The Krampus is a trail bike, at heart and not so much a mule for carrying loads. Now that I have the ECR on the way, will convert the Krampus back to its original trail bike setup with more aggressive trail tires and a standard flat bar.

Yes, I have the original Pugsley and could do the cargo thing with it, up to a point. The Pugs uses an asymmetrical, offset frame design, though, which makes adding racks and carrying heavy loads a bit funky, not to mention those big fat and heavy wheels are really overkill on anything but the nastiest sand roads. We do have some of those in the area, though, so the Pugs will not be neglected.

Anyway, so relieved that the fretting and decision making is over. I now have a bike that I could load up with my camping gear and ride across the country on those rough, backcountry farm and ranch roads or just stay at home and load up with groceries or tools for working on my trials. Neat! Can't wait for the new bike. You know how that goes.

Again, thank you for thinking about me. Will report back on the ECR.

[rebeccaC]

ny...hoping you have some interesting walks!!! A colleague commutes on a Marin urban Fairfax and really likes the way it handles....I've been thinking of replacing my Milano. only problem....I've gotten so use to it over the years and had so much use that it's a good mechanical friend now

nwg....ever think about a custom built steel frame, completely built up the way you want....you deserve it!!!!!!...you really do (Thinking learning brazing and building a bike would be a great journey one of these years) I haven't had one complaint about my Seven and haven't had any thoughts of wanting another road bike for a few years now. The only thing is, you need to keep doing the research in all of it...to share your knowledge

we're forecast to have winds in the 20-30 mph range, plus gusts of 40+.

thinking i would find a way to do a good one way ride with that tailwind

Not a lot of riders today…and tomorrow I get to ride in a good rain/wind storm on both commutes and Friday morning too.







A big plus with rain is I’ve gotten to know the potholes in the alleys I ride on my commute so I know the ones full of water I can have fun riding through

[north woods gal]

Yup, biege color on the ECR. Would not have ordered it if all I could get was the other option, the black. Yuk! Just something about some colors on bikes that turn me off. I am very color sensitive about things. Enough so that color is an important buying decision for me. I'm sure some of you would understand.

Also, medium and stayed with the 29+, just like my Krampus. Thought about trying another wheel size, such as the 27.5+, but could really see no performance advantage for me. A 29+wheel/tire diameter is very similar to a 26x4 fat bike wheel/tire diameter and I ride both all the time. I am totally comfortable on the 29+, now. I have the physical leg length for it (important if you want to go 29+) and, more importantly, I now have the leg strength to get that size up the steepest hills (talking trails, here, not roads). Be a different story if I was shorter in height or a bit weaker in the legs.

Yes, I did struggle a bit climbing some of the worst steeps with the 29+ and fat bikes when I got back into trail riding. A 26" or 27.5 is easier for climbing, but I'm glad I stuck it out with the 29+ because it has so many advantages for trail riding that I can't get with smaller wheels. The larger wheels are also best for eating up those long miles out on the road.

Speaking of trails, we got home too late in the day, yesterday, to head out on the road for a long ride, so Star and I decided to take our chances on our icy trail.

Hit my worst steep and, yup, got half way up and the studded tires on the fat bike spun out on the ice. Uh, oh! There I was, half way up an icy climb that was even too dangerous to walk. Couldn't even dismount, safely. Had to slide the bike back down the hill in reverse, doing my best to stay upright, keeping my balance by dragging my feet and using the brakes when I could. Meanwhile, Star knew I was in trouble, so she started barking to warn everyone to stay away. I made it, though.

Actually, it would have been hilarious to watch, though, of course, I was not having fun.