Keep in mind he has no brakes on his bike:
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Snow Biking Pix
Pix from the excursion this weekend-
snowy and windy enough to bust out the old ski goggles:
untracked...
tracked...
Burly Surly Nate Tread!
getting a little deeper as I climbed the trail up
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Snow In The Hood
Saturday provided some great riding. There was about 3 inches of fresh snow in some areas and it was pretty much all about laying down fresh tracks ALL day! I rode from the house and hooked into some little dirt trails that parallel roads out to Thompson Park. The snow bike was definitely in its element and and the Surly Nate Tires were gobbling up the fresh and creating sweet nectar tracks along the way.
Once I got up to Thompson, it started to snow heavily for about 30 minutes and then the little system I was in cleared up and made for great riding. The riding was hard and it took a lot of work to get up some of the hills around Thompson but it was worth the serenity of having the trails to myself as the fresh snow just seemed to absorb all the sound. It felt like it was my own little playground with the only limiter being fitness. It was one of those days where the fitness level would cut what could have been an endless day, short.
ride info:
Once I got up to Thompson, it started to snow heavily for about 30 minutes and then the little system I was in cleared up and made for great riding. The riding was hard and it took a lot of work to get up some of the hills around Thompson but it was worth the serenity of having the trails to myself as the fresh snow just seemed to absorb all the sound. It felt like it was my own little playground with the only limiter being fitness. It was one of those days where the fitness level would cut what could have been an endless day, short.
ride info:
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Backwards Temp Trending
I woke up to 31 degrees this morning and immediately started to wonder how warm it was going to get today. I started contemplating what areas would be best for riding the snow bike as it warmed up during the day. Fast forward 30 minutes and the temps are down to 28 and it is snowing. These whacky temp changes that seem to trend the wrong way seem to not be totally infrequent this time of year (is that some sort of double negative - or pseudo double negative?). Needless to say it changes the game plan for where to ride.
The good news is that snow + snow bike = snowy goodness....so time to rally around figuring out where to go ride today. The plan is to get a couple of 'longer' rides in this weekend in prep for the Togwotee next weekend. The hope of gaining any fitness between now and then is futile which just means it will be time to lose the pull-up diapers and put on the big boy pants next Saturday and pony up in order to pay the price of not putting in much saddle time so far. The good thing about no apparent saddle fitness is there is no fear of having to taper - so one less variable to have to think about.
The good news is that snow + snow bike = snowy goodness....so time to rally around figuring out where to go ride today. The plan is to get a couple of 'longer' rides in this weekend in prep for the Togwotee next weekend. The hope of gaining any fitness between now and then is futile which just means it will be time to lose the pull-up diapers and put on the big boy pants next Saturday and pony up in order to pay the price of not putting in much saddle time so far. The good thing about no apparent saddle fitness is there is no fear of having to taper - so one less variable to have to think about.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Surly Nate Review 2
My first review of the knobbiness that is the Surly Nate tire was shortly after I had put them on the bike. I wanted to do a follow up review based on putting more miles on them and riding them in more conditions.
These bad boys have some serious bite to them! They really do excel in snow conditions. They maintain great traction in different snow conditions and they shed snow well enough such that the tires don't clump up - they generally clean themselves while riding as the knobs are spaced out far enough so the snow/mud does not collect..
They will even handle up to 18 inches of fresh snow! The snow was 'wet' but none the less I was amazed that they held a line and traction as well as they did in the deep stuff. The disclaimer here is that this was flat terrain. There is not much any tire can do in that deep snow at an incline.
When riding the Larry's on the rear I noticed that once you spun out, it was next to impossible to regain traction. With the Nates, the knobs (teeth) on the side & the V's on the tires hook right back up and will hold their line pretty well and also help in getting you out of trouble and back on your line. It definitely allows for more corrections if you get off line or start to spin out. A subtle adjustment in body position (weighting the rear tire or minor bunny hop to get through that section) will get you out of hike a bike mode.
One of the biggest differences I have noticed is how you can be more aggressive on turns with the Nates on. The Nates will not spin out and you can really pick a line and more or less hold it with out feeling like your tires will wash out. This obviously depends on speed, type of snow, acuteness of corner, etc...but all things being even the Nates excel compared to the Endo's or Larry's. A more confident rider also means a happier rider which seems like a win win all around....'Winning'
The only downside I have found with these tires is the rolling resistance if you take them on anything hard packed like dirt or road. The little riding I did on the road felt like resistance training on a stationary bike. The bike rolled but you had to work hard to keep the momentum going. The major peripheral bennie to this??? well besides the 'weight training' the coolness factor of the big rubber rolling on the road....the tires sound like a car! and the likelihood of running into more people while pedaling around town will get you some looks of bewilderment, bemusement, double takes, triple takes, comments like 'sweet ride bro', 'yeah doggggie', 'Wow, look at those tires!'....so the rolling resistance and weight training are offset by the coolness factor -
Here is to raising a glass to the rubber madness that is the Nate's.....
These bad boys have some serious bite to them! They really do excel in snow conditions. They maintain great traction in different snow conditions and they shed snow well enough such that the tires don't clump up - they generally clean themselves while riding as the knobs are spaced out far enough so the snow/mud does not collect..
They will even handle up to 18 inches of fresh snow! The snow was 'wet' but none the less I was amazed that they held a line and traction as well as they did in the deep stuff. The disclaimer here is that this was flat terrain. There is not much any tire can do in that deep snow at an incline.
When riding the Larry's on the rear I noticed that once you spun out, it was next to impossible to regain traction. With the Nates, the knobs (teeth) on the side & the V's on the tires hook right back up and will hold their line pretty well and also help in getting you out of trouble and back on your line. It definitely allows for more corrections if you get off line or start to spin out. A subtle adjustment in body position (weighting the rear tire or minor bunny hop to get through that section) will get you out of hike a bike mode.
One of the biggest differences I have noticed is how you can be more aggressive on turns with the Nates on. The Nates will not spin out and you can really pick a line and more or less hold it with out feeling like your tires will wash out. This obviously depends on speed, type of snow, acuteness of corner, etc...but all things being even the Nates excel compared to the Endo's or Larry's. A more confident rider also means a happier rider which seems like a win win all around....'Winning'
The only downside I have found with these tires is the rolling resistance if you take them on anything hard packed like dirt or road. The little riding I did on the road felt like resistance training on a stationary bike. The bike rolled but you had to work hard to keep the momentum going. The major peripheral bennie to this??? well besides the 'weight training' the coolness factor of the big rubber rolling on the road....the tires sound like a car! and the likelihood of running into more people while pedaling around town will get you some looks of bewilderment, bemusement, double takes, triple takes, comments like 'sweet ride bro', 'yeah doggggie', 'Wow, look at those tires!'....so the rolling resistance and weight training are offset by the coolness factor -
Here is to raising a glass to the rubber madness that is the Nate's.....
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
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