Some footage of how we spent part of the Christmas.....gotta love riding in the white stuff!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Splitboard - Spark Bindings
When Santa swung his reindeer along our street, he dropped of some new bindings for the splitboard. These are the Spark Burner bindings and at first glance they appear to be a HUGE improvement over the voile binding & plastic boot combo.
The biggest bennie will be having the boot / binding system lower to the board. This should provide a more linear carve in regards to turning. The plastic boots and voile binding combo seemed to be very non linear when trying to turn....as in, you would start your turn....nothing nothing nothing, then BOOM, the edge caught and I was either on my ace or on my face.
Some pix of the new / old binding systems below:
new binding installed on the existing voile pucks:
the pin tucked away:
the old system....plastic boots and voile binding - notice the phone on the snowboard for reference of how high the boot is sitting:
same perspective with the new spark system:
frontal view of the old:
full frontal of the new!
switching to tour mode....pin slides into the existing voile system
side by side comparison in tour mode - old on the left, new on the right
old on the left, new on the right - so much lower!
view from the back of how much higher the plastic boot & voile binding combo is compared to the spark binding:
in tour mode:
The biggest bennie will be having the boot / binding system lower to the board. This should provide a more linear carve in regards to turning. The plastic boots and voile binding combo seemed to be very non linear when trying to turn....as in, you would start your turn....nothing nothing nothing, then BOOM, the edge caught and I was either on my ace or on my face.
Some pix of the new / old binding systems below:
new binding installed on the existing voile pucks:
Christmas Phattie
Some pix of a quickie gordita excursion on Christmas Day - video forthcoming towards the end of the week...
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Lake MXZ302 Review
Part of the fun of getting into a new activity is figuring out all the peripheral things that go along with actually doing said activity. In the case of snow biking, staying warm is a key component of making it an enjoyable experience. The consequences of not dressing and layering appropriately are much more significant than over-heating or getting cold during a summer ride.
My hands and feet generally seem to be on the cold side. I think it is because they end up getting wet from sweating and then get cold. Over the years, I have experimented with socks combos while snow boarding but somehow the feet always find a way to get cold. I finally figured out that part of it was over-tightened bindings while riding. The little adjustment of loosening the bindings while riding the chairlift was enough to get circulation back into the feet and warm them up. I figure it will be minor tweaks like that will impact the fun factor while snow biking.
The plantar fasciitis episode convinced me it was time to invest in a pair of winter cycling shoes. After reading forums and reviews, it became apparent that the best choice was the Lake MX302. These seem to consistently get the best reviews in regards to keeping feet warm.
The shoes arrived on Monday and I have taken them out once so far but they seemed to excel at anything I asked them to do. The first test was that my feet did not even feel a twinge of chilly...at all! Even when I was hike a biking through snow. It was relatively warm (in the low 30's) so the true test will come once the mercury dips. The plantar fasciitis also did not flare up...big win there! I was riding for a little under 2 hrs so it was a good first test.
In terms of fit, they seem to fit well. The key was sizing up to take into consideration the extra room needed for thick socks (or layering socks). I wear a size 42 in Specialized, 43 in Pearl Izumi, and decided to size up to 44 for these Lakes. It was a bit of a gamble considering there are no local bike shops that carry Lake to actually try on for size. Fortunately it was a good decision. I wore a liner and wool sock and still had a little bit of extra room should I need a thicker sock combo.
The lining and construction of the boot seem pretty solid. They have a nice layering system that keeps the shoe snug on the ankle. I can see potentially having to wear shortie gaiters in order to prevent snow from sneaking in the top but they definitely seem to cinch up much better than a hiking boot, etc. The cinching system seems like it does a nice job of tightening the shoes without over-tightening so that there is still plenty of circulation and warmth.
The tread is pretty stout too - guess they figure you might be doing some hike a bike and will need a good solid rubber platform to handle the abuse.
Overall (so far) I give them a big thumbs up / gold star...me likey....
Some pix:
My hands and feet generally seem to be on the cold side. I think it is because they end up getting wet from sweating and then get cold. Over the years, I have experimented with socks combos while snow boarding but somehow the feet always find a way to get cold. I finally figured out that part of it was over-tightened bindings while riding. The little adjustment of loosening the bindings while riding the chairlift was enough to get circulation back into the feet and warm them up. I figure it will be minor tweaks like that will impact the fun factor while snow biking.
The plantar fasciitis episode convinced me it was time to invest in a pair of winter cycling shoes. After reading forums and reviews, it became apparent that the best choice was the Lake MX302. These seem to consistently get the best reviews in regards to keeping feet warm.
The shoes arrived on Monday and I have taken them out once so far but they seemed to excel at anything I asked them to do. The first test was that my feet did not even feel a twinge of chilly...at all! Even when I was hike a biking through snow. It was relatively warm (in the low 30's) so the true test will come once the mercury dips. The plantar fasciitis also did not flare up...big win there! I was riding for a little under 2 hrs so it was a good first test.
In terms of fit, they seem to fit well. The key was sizing up to take into consideration the extra room needed for thick socks (or layering socks). I wear a size 42 in Specialized, 43 in Pearl Izumi, and decided to size up to 44 for these Lakes. It was a bit of a gamble considering there are no local bike shops that carry Lake to actually try on for size. Fortunately it was a good decision. I wore a liner and wool sock and still had a little bit of extra room should I need a thicker sock combo.
The lining and construction of the boot seem pretty solid. They have a nice layering system that keeps the shoe snug on the ankle. I can see potentially having to wear shortie gaiters in order to prevent snow from sneaking in the top but they definitely seem to cinch up much better than a hiking boot, etc. The cinching system seems like it does a nice job of tightening the shoes without over-tightening so that there is still plenty of circulation and warmth.
The tread is pretty stout too - guess they figure you might be doing some hike a bike and will need a good solid rubber platform to handle the abuse.
Overall (so far) I give them a big thumbs up / gold star...me likey....
Some pix:
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Platform Pedal & Plantar Fasciitis
The first several rides on the phattie went flawlessly with no mechanicals and lots of the fun factor mixed in. I had been riding with some cheapie platform pedals that I had sitting around and was planning on upgrading the platform pedals once things got a little more dialed in with the bike (and rider).
After a couple of rides, I noticed that my right foot started to really ache. It was around the heel/arch and it got to the point where I could not weight the foot while walking. It turns out I was dealing with a case of plantar fasciitis. I did a ton of searching on-line to figure out if anyone else had a similar experience in regards to platform pedals.
The original choice to go with platform pedals while riding in the snow was I was counting on being able to keep the feet warmer while riding in hiking boots that offer more insulation, etc. There was little to no info out there making the correlation between platform pedals and plantar fasciitis. I knew the pain was being caused from riding the new bike but did not have anything definitive to say it was specifically the platform pedals.
On a hunch, I decided that I would order a pair of winter riding shoes and swap the pedals out to clipless pedals. My theory was that the feet did not have the support in the power transfer while pedaling and most importantly the sole of hiking shoes were not stiff enough (unless you compromised on the bulk and clunkiness factor and that was still no guarantee it would resolve anything).
The winter riding shoes came in on Monday and I quickly went to swapping out the pedals for the next snow ride. The verdict: Thumbs Up!!! The plantar fasciitis has gotten much better over the last few days and most importantly, my 2 hour ride in the snow yesterday did not aggravate the feet - at all!!!! Success....yeehaa!
More to come on the shoe review but for those out there riding in platform pedals and having foot pain....try the clipless shoe and pedal combo.
After a couple of rides, I noticed that my right foot started to really ache. It was around the heel/arch and it got to the point where I could not weight the foot while walking. It turns out I was dealing with a case of plantar fasciitis. I did a ton of searching on-line to figure out if anyone else had a similar experience in regards to platform pedals.
The original choice to go with platform pedals while riding in the snow was I was counting on being able to keep the feet warmer while riding in hiking boots that offer more insulation, etc. There was little to no info out there making the correlation between platform pedals and plantar fasciitis. I knew the pain was being caused from riding the new bike but did not have anything definitive to say it was specifically the platform pedals.
On a hunch, I decided that I would order a pair of winter riding shoes and swap the pedals out to clipless pedals. My theory was that the feet did not have the support in the power transfer while pedaling and most importantly the sole of hiking shoes were not stiff enough (unless you compromised on the bulk and clunkiness factor and that was still no guarantee it would resolve anything).
The winter riding shoes came in on Monday and I quickly went to swapping out the pedals for the next snow ride. The verdict: Thumbs Up!!! The plantar fasciitis has gotten much better over the last few days and most importantly, my 2 hour ride in the snow yesterday did not aggravate the feet - at all!!!! Success....yeehaa!
More to come on the shoe review but for those out there riding in platform pedals and having foot pain....try the clipless shoe and pedal combo.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Breaking Bad
The TV series Breaking Bad is a great show on AMC that is about a chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with Stage III Cancer. Given his advanced cancer he decides to kick the provider role into high gear before he passes away. He delves into the land of cooking meth in order to create a nest egg for his family (unbeknownst to them). As with any show there are many twists and turns but what made me think of the show the other day was that the beginning of their meth cooking started in an old RV.
The boys bought an old RV and would drive out into the desert for a couple of days for some meth culinary deep dives.
A few days ago, we woke up to our trailer trash neighbors latest addition to their dilapidated vehicle collection and I immediately thought of Breaking Bad. The combo total a-hole mentality combined with the collective house IQ of a door mat has certainly made for some interesting observations over the years. Fortunately, their collective house IQ (and bear in mind there are 5 or more people living there at any given time - not counting the loud barking dogs that go on and on and on and on and on) is not enough to follow any sort of recipe so the real chances of them adopting a 'Breaking Bad' action plan seems slim to none - and ohh yeah - slim is OUT TO LUNCH....pun intended.
Worst case, we have a meth lab next door, best case we have an eye sore next door...either way, here is to hoping the eye sore of a meth lab goes away soon...
If you have seen the show, tell me this does not remind of you Breaking Bad?
The boys bought an old RV and would drive out into the desert for a couple of days for some meth culinary deep dives.
A few days ago, we woke up to our trailer trash neighbors latest addition to their dilapidated vehicle collection and I immediately thought of Breaking Bad. The combo total a-hole mentality combined with the collective house IQ of a door mat has certainly made for some interesting observations over the years. Fortunately, their collective house IQ (and bear in mind there are 5 or more people living there at any given time - not counting the loud barking dogs that go on and on and on and on and on) is not enough to follow any sort of recipe so the real chances of them adopting a 'Breaking Bad' action plan seems slim to none - and ohh yeah - slim is OUT TO LUNCH....pun intended.
Worst case, we have a meth lab next door, best case we have an eye sore next door...either way, here is to hoping the eye sore of a meth lab goes away soon...
If you have seen the show, tell me this does not remind of you Breaking Bad?
Monday, December 19, 2011
Phattie Trail Prep
The problem with being early adaptors of a sport is that you have to often forge your own path. In the case of snow-biking, there are not many trails available to go pedal through. We took initiative to go out and pack down some trails in Thompson Park. It was a ton of work and we are yet to reap the bennies of all the packing but I am hopeful that the 5 hours spent snowhoeing on existing trails in the Thompson Park area will help in making the trail rideable.
It was warmer than usual during the weekend so it was nice to get out with the dogs and go pound some trail. I am thinking that the first pack is probably the hardest and it will be a little easier to maintain going forward. In an ideal world, there would be more folks interested in getting out and doing a little trail packeroo action. If nothing else, it will provide a learning curve as to what conditions are rideable and how much work it is to get trails rideable.
Regardless, it was good to get out and be playing outside, Unfortunately, all the snow packing meant there was little time to get out on phattie proper. Although the missus did manage to get out on Saturday as I slaved away on the lower loop in Thompson.
Pix of the ation:
prepack:
pack in motion
post-pack
even the dogs helped:
nice view of the highlands:
It was warmer than usual during the weekend so it was nice to get out with the dogs and go pound some trail. I am thinking that the first pack is probably the hardest and it will be a little easier to maintain going forward. In an ideal world, there would be more folks interested in getting out and doing a little trail packeroo action. If nothing else, it will provide a learning curve as to what conditions are rideable and how much work it is to get trails rideable.
Regardless, it was good to get out and be playing outside, Unfortunately, all the snow packing meant there was little time to get out on phattie proper. Although the missus did manage to get out on Saturday as I slaved away on the lower loop in Thompson.
Pix of the ation:
prepack:
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
History of Rap 1
funny and talented - JT never ceases to amaze me - not too shabby with the Roots backing them up as the house band!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
ThomPhatt
I wrapped up the work day on Tuesday and gathered the phattessories to hit the snow on the phattie. I decided to head up to Thompson Park and check out what was rideable. There was one trail that was packed down and rideable up to the railroad tracks.
The upper trails have not been packed down or hiked yet so the snow is too deep and loose to ride. I rode the old railroad bed up to the trussel and saw that they had done a lot of work to it. There are now railings on the trussel and the surface has been redone so it is no longer loose dirts, but it is all wood! They did a nice job and you can see they spent a lot of energy and $ to get it updated.
The ride proper was super fun - it was an hour of feeling like a child again...just reminding me of why and how riding can be so much fun. Throw a couple of new twists onto an old theme and a whole new world opens up. It is pretty cool as I am just starting to understand and see the possibilities.
Ride Info:
started at the second pullout and headed up to the RR bed where I went up to the trussel, turned around and went through both tunnels and traced my snow tracks back to the trail I originally climbed up.
I think the elevation graph is a little messed up because I had the Garmin in my pocket (hoping Santa delivers a mount for the bike) so the temps and calcs it does to figure out elevation were off. I believe it figures out atmospheric or barometric pressure to determine elevation so the fact that it was in my pocket and dealing with my sweatiness probably threw it all off.
The challenge of keeping the feet warm remains to be resolved...I tried a different combo this time with 2 pairs of socks but my feet still felt like wooden blocks when I finished the hour long ride. Next combo might involve goretex socks for wicking moisture away from the feet. That base wick layer seems to be working for my hands. I have a thin liner that wicks away moisture from my hands and moves it to the thicker gloves that I use over the liners....so far, so good. The hands should feel even toastier once the Pogie option gets thrown into the mix.
pix of the adventure:
nice railings
entry way
on the trussel
looking down to Roosevelt Drive
Railings are sturdy - bonus!
notice the re-done surface...nice and burly
bike portrait
must remember to bring ice skates next time:
The upper trails have not been packed down or hiked yet so the snow is too deep and loose to ride. I rode the old railroad bed up to the trussel and saw that they had done a lot of work to it. There are now railings on the trussel and the surface has been redone so it is no longer loose dirts, but it is all wood! They did a nice job and you can see they spent a lot of energy and $ to get it updated.
The ride proper was super fun - it was an hour of feeling like a child again...just reminding me of why and how riding can be so much fun. Throw a couple of new twists onto an old theme and a whole new world opens up. It is pretty cool as I am just starting to understand and see the possibilities.
Ride Info:
started at the second pullout and headed up to the RR bed where I went up to the trussel, turned around and went through both tunnels and traced my snow tracks back to the trail I originally climbed up.
The challenge of keeping the feet warm remains to be resolved...I tried a different combo this time with 2 pairs of socks but my feet still felt like wooden blocks when I finished the hour long ride. Next combo might involve goretex socks for wicking moisture away from the feet. That base wick layer seems to be working for my hands. I have a thin liner that wicks away moisture from my hands and moves it to the thicker gloves that I use over the liners....so far, so good. The hands should feel even toastier once the Pogie option gets thrown into the mix.
pix of the adventure:
nice railings
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Phattie Video
A little vid put together of the weekend's snowbiking festivities. I realized after publishing on Vimeo that there is a typo...instead of pulling the vid, waiting a week and resubmitting to Vimeo, I will just leave as is....in case you care, the typo is on the mileage...it should say 2 miles - after all, 3 km is not the same is 3 miles.
Snow Biking in SW Montana - first rides in the world of PHAT
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Maude S Phattie
Sunday turned out to be a great day to get on the phattie and ride. The missus got a little taste of riding while in Hamilton when we tried Blodgett Canyon the day before. Unfortunately, conditions prevented us from exploring too far but it was a good teaser for her of the possibilities.
On Sunday, we headed up to Maude S Canyon in Butte and rode up the canyon to the scenic vista and then headed back downhill to the railroad tracks where we took the tracks for a few miles until we got to the railroad trussel. We went over the trussel and then turned around an traced our steps back to the car. I was curious to see how the huge snow/sand tires would handle the bumpety bump bump bump of the railroad ties - it was better than being on a regular mountain bike tire but still pretty bumpy.
The climb up to the vista through the canyon is a great workout where the blood moved and the body temps went up up up - as did the elevation. There is a 1,000 ft gain in about 2 miles. It is bit of a grinder getting up but the payback on the way down is worth it. Ordinarily I don't ever ride Maude S at all but it happens to be pretty well tracked during the winter such that the snow is packed down and is rideable.
view from the top:
topo of the ride
The challenge is figuring out how to link rides together in order to make for a longer ride. It might involve just sucking it up and doing laps on stuff, or snowshoeing trails to pack them down enough. The other option is to check out the snowmobile trail network to see if any of those will be rideable on the phattie. More due diligence needed
On Sunday, we headed up to Maude S Canyon in Butte and rode up the canyon to the scenic vista and then headed back downhill to the railroad tracks where we took the tracks for a few miles until we got to the railroad trussel. We went over the trussel and then turned around an traced our steps back to the car. I was curious to see how the huge snow/sand tires would handle the bumpety bump bump bump of the railroad ties - it was better than being on a regular mountain bike tire but still pretty bumpy.
The climb up to the vista through the canyon is a great workout where the blood moved and the body temps went up up up - as did the elevation. There is a 1,000 ft gain in about 2 miles. It is bit of a grinder getting up but the payback on the way down is worth it. Ordinarily I don't ever ride Maude S at all but it happens to be pretty well tracked during the winter such that the snow is packed down and is rideable.
view from the top:
Monday, December 12, 2011
Phattie Finds A Friend
Santa Claus had a case of premature surprise this weekend and decided to drop a little sum'n' sum'n' off for the missus. I had been plotting for a couple of weeks and was able to orchestrate a trip to Hamilton wih the missus as a getaway. Part of the getaway included a trip to Red Barn Bikes where waiting for her was a snow bike! I had chatted with Chad over at Red Barn and he had an awesome deal on a Mukluk and it was just in time for this Christmas thingie.
We went over under the guise of checking out the bike shop...if you have not made a stop into Red Barn and you happen to be in the hood (Hamilton, MT), it is a must see. The shop is one of those very unique shops that has stuff in tons of nooks and crannies. As you stop to take inventory, you realize there is more there than upon first glance. Red Barn is a bike afficionado's crack. You can get into a lot of trouble as there is plenty of temptation to distract you.
Speaking of distraction...the wife was definitely surprised (or at least played the role) when she figured out we were there to pick up a bike for her. She did a quick test spin around the parking lot and was smiling ear to ear as she rode through the white stuff. A good day indeed!
We went up to Blodgett Canyon and rode the trail for a little while until the snow was not packed down enough to ride. It was a blast. The dogs had great fun, the bikers had equally as much fun and the missus got to take her new ride out.
Pic of phattie's new Mukluk buddy:
We went over under the guise of checking out the bike shop...if you have not made a stop into Red Barn and you happen to be in the hood (Hamilton, MT), it is a must see. The shop is one of those very unique shops that has stuff in tons of nooks and crannies. As you stop to take inventory, you realize there is more there than upon first glance. Red Barn is a bike afficionado's crack. You can get into a lot of trouble as there is plenty of temptation to distract you.
Speaking of distraction...the wife was definitely surprised (or at least played the role) when she figured out we were there to pick up a bike for her. She did a quick test spin around the parking lot and was smiling ear to ear as she rode through the white stuff. A good day indeed!
We went up to Blodgett Canyon and rode the trail for a little while until the snow was not packed down enough to ride. It was a blast. The dogs had great fun, the bikers had equally as much fun and the missus got to take her new ride out.
Pic of phattie's new Mukluk buddy:
Friday, December 9, 2011
Don't Mess With
A Guy On A Buffalo......
ok, totally, 100% off topic and has nothing to do with ANYTHING but sometimes you just come across stuff that makes you scratch your head. Somehow it piques your curiosity (or it did mine)....Episode 1:
ok, totally, 100% off topic and has nothing to do with ANYTHING but sometimes you just come across stuff that makes you scratch your head. Somehow it piques your curiosity (or it did mine)....Episode 1:
Thursday, December 8, 2011
oink oink
I finally got around to weighing the little piggie that is the phattie...and I was surprised (not pleasantly) at just how big boned phattie is. The built up 9:zero:7 comes out to a fighting weight of 34.55 lbs!!! That partially explains why it felt hard climbing up the hill the other day. I have seen some phatties weigh in at sub 30 but those are usually Ti frames with super light wheelsets/tubes.
My guess is that most of the weight is coming from the wheelset and tubes. The only way to lighten her up is to go with a lighter tube at some point. The surly tubes are big and beefy but in the infamous words of Mr Zappa.....'You Are What You Is', or in this case, 'They Are What They Is'.
The upside is that it will be good training lugging around the little boat anchor - and it won't effect the fun factor so it is all just a matter of vanity and insecurity about her being a little on the heavy side. What's a girl to do?
My guess is that most of the weight is coming from the wheelset and tubes. The only way to lighten her up is to go with a lighter tube at some point. The surly tubes are big and beefy but in the infamous words of Mr Zappa.....'You Are What You Is', or in this case, 'They Are What They Is'.
The upside is that it will be good training lugging around the little boat anchor - and it won't effect the fun factor so it is all just a matter of vanity and insecurity about her being a little on the heavy side. What's a girl to do?
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Phattie Events
As the world of Phat starts to open itself to me, I realize that there are many many layers of Phat-ness. Prior to having completed the build on the Kermit is Green with Envy phattie, the mind started to crank through the options of where to ride.
As it turns out, the crew down in Jackson and Victor have built up a great Phat community and I plan on leaning on them to try to flatten out the learning curve. They have been on the fore-front of embracing this weird whacked out genre of biking...so much so that they have even recently been able to get the Grand Targhee resort to open up their trails to the Phatties! Talk about progressive thinking and great strides! Article for reference :http://xxcmag.com/archives/4318
The Jackson/Victor crew are also at the tip of the proverbial tipping point when it comes to events. They currently have a couple of events scheduled that promote Phattieness!
Dave Byers will be hosting the 5th (yes, 5th!!!) annual Togwotee Winter Classic. I have signed up and am not sure whether I will be doing the 25 mile or 35 mile flavor of phatness, but I wanna' play!
There is also going to be a Gran Fondo style event called West N Back. This is either a 50 mile flavor or a 100 mile flavor. The hundie is probably way bigger of a bite than I can chew right now - heck, it is off-season and the legs are nowhere close to crunching away on snow for 100 miles. The fiddy might be an option but I need to log some snow miles first to see how to dial in the staying warm aspect. The hundie is completely daunting considering it will be slower than a regular mountain bike hundie - and given the shortie daylight hrs in January, my thoughts are that it will be COLD, COLD, or really COLD! I am also assuming there will be some night riding considering how many daylight hrs are available at that time of yr.
If you are truly not right in the head and are looking for a serious order of pain and suffering then look toward the grand-daddy of them all the Itidabike. Think Itidirod but on either foot or bike - human powered craziness at its best! There is a 350 mile option or the 1000 mile option...This is definitely way way way over my ability to even comprehend the extent of suffering on something like this, but big big BIG props to those who undertake something so inspiring.
There is plenty of food for thought to conceptually masticate, so time to start working the jaws!
What is amazing to me is that the TWC is on its 5th yr! I thought I was an early adopter of this little niche market in the mountain biking world and I am starting to feel like that quote about how when I find out about a fad, it is about over....sorta' like stocks - by the time I hear it is a buy, people are selling! Me thinks that me phattie is the first in the area but who knows?
I don't think phatt is a fad though - There is a strong and growing market for these bikes and given all the recent advancements in the land of Phat, it is barely scraping the surface of what these bikes and riders will be capable of.
As it turns out, the crew down in Jackson and Victor have built up a great Phat community and I plan on leaning on them to try to flatten out the learning curve. They have been on the fore-front of embracing this weird whacked out genre of biking...so much so that they have even recently been able to get the Grand Targhee resort to open up their trails to the Phatties! Talk about progressive thinking and great strides! Article for reference :http://xxcmag.com/archives/4318
The Jackson/Victor crew are also at the tip of the proverbial tipping point when it comes to events. They currently have a couple of events scheduled that promote Phattieness!
Dave Byers will be hosting the 5th (yes, 5th!!!) annual Togwotee Winter Classic. I have signed up and am not sure whether I will be doing the 25 mile or 35 mile flavor of phatness, but I wanna' play!
There is also going to be a Gran Fondo style event called West N Back. This is either a 50 mile flavor or a 100 mile flavor. The hundie is probably way bigger of a bite than I can chew right now - heck, it is off-season and the legs are nowhere close to crunching away on snow for 100 miles. The fiddy might be an option but I need to log some snow miles first to see how to dial in the staying warm aspect. The hundie is completely daunting considering it will be slower than a regular mountain bike hundie - and given the shortie daylight hrs in January, my thoughts are that it will be COLD, COLD, or really COLD! I am also assuming there will be some night riding considering how many daylight hrs are available at that time of yr.
If you are truly not right in the head and are looking for a serious order of pain and suffering then look toward the grand-daddy of them all the Itidabike. Think Itidirod but on either foot or bike - human powered craziness at its best! There is a 350 mile option or the 1000 mile option...This is definitely way way way over my ability to even comprehend the extent of suffering on something like this, but big big BIG props to those who undertake something so inspiring.
There is plenty of food for thought to conceptually masticate, so time to start working the jaws!
What is amazing to me is that the TWC is on its 5th yr! I thought I was an early adopter of this little niche market in the mountain biking world and I am starting to feel like that quote about how when I find out about a fad, it is about over....sorta' like stocks - by the time I hear it is a buy, people are selling! Me thinks that me phattie is the first in the area but who knows?
I don't think phatt is a fad though - There is a strong and growing market for these bikes and given all the recent advancements in the land of Phat, it is barely scraping the surface of what these bikes and riders will be capable of.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Phattie's 1st Spin
The arctic air was moving in on Sunday so the best day to get out and play on the phattie was Saturday. I layered up and headed from the house to Maude S Canyon Phattie did surprisingly well once we got to Maude S. I was blown away at just how well the bike did on the trail up to the summit.
It is a 1,200 ft ascent to the summit with a constant climb on trail up the canyon. Most of the switchbacks were doable on the way up and there were only a couple of times where I had to dismount to get through a section, and that was probably mostly because of the line I took.
The descent was crazy fun and crazy surprising! I was shocked at just how much traction I had bombing downhill. The combo of having an aggressive tread on the front (Surly Nate) with the low psi and the disc brake stopping power really made it feel like the bike was under total control. I was really able to pick lines and be aggressive on the trail....wow, wow, and holy SWEET nectar! If this is the way it is going to hold up, then ohhhhh come to papa because it will be hard to get that ear to ear grin of me smug mug!
What goes down, must go up though....pedaling uphill was hard! The combo big tires, heavier bike, and packed snow made for some hard work! I was panting and grovelling and thinking how much harder it was than on a regular bike. That would make lots of sense considering...DUH
My glass 1/2 full comment is that I hope the trails remain packed down enough to keep riding through the winter - even if it is just a couple of trails...yeehaa!
Some pix of the outing:
at the summit:
looking towards Butte:
Snow rolling in....
now time to descend!
It is a 1,200 ft ascent to the summit with a constant climb on trail up the canyon. Most of the switchbacks were doable on the way up and there were only a couple of times where I had to dismount to get through a section, and that was probably mostly because of the line I took.
The descent was crazy fun and crazy surprising! I was shocked at just how much traction I had bombing downhill. The combo of having an aggressive tread on the front (Surly Nate) with the low psi and the disc brake stopping power really made it feel like the bike was under total control. I was really able to pick lines and be aggressive on the trail....wow, wow, and holy SWEET nectar! If this is the way it is going to hold up, then ohhhhh come to papa because it will be hard to get that ear to ear grin of me smug mug!
What goes down, must go up though....pedaling uphill was hard! The combo big tires, heavier bike, and packed snow made for some hard work! I was panting and grovelling and thinking how much harder it was than on a regular bike. That would make lots of sense considering...DUH
My glass 1/2 full comment is that I hope the trails remain packed down enough to keep riding through the winter - even if it is just a couple of trails...yeehaa!
Some pix of the outing:
at the summit:
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