Month: December 2010

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Fast Snow

Warm temps during the day dipping below freezing over night + skiers and walkers out have made the local trails pretty quick. Had a blast yesterday and today riding a mix of ski trail and single track out the back door.

The Lakes are a holiday present from my sweeties. Wishing I’d had picked these up years ago. So comfortable. So warm. I’ve returned to riding clipped in after having to wear winter boots with platforms to keep my frozen toes somewhat warm. Can’t wait to get on the fixed gear again in the cold… and these will come in handy with our early brevets and training next year.

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Snaps

Been down with a cold / sinus / throat bug. Finally got out for a short cruise along the lake. Warm temps, wet snow.

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More

More Pugsley riding. Tougher day out. Fresh snow was trampled and the temps dropped. Blown and drifting areas were hike a bike. Great moon, warm sunlight when I got down to the beach.

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Fresh

Fresh snow overnight. Riding the Pugsley is eating flourless chocolate cake covered in awesome sauce followed by sipping a cappuccino in a tiny cafe in Florence.

I made first tracks pretty much everywhere I went this morning. Challenging in a few spots – wind blown drifts a foot deep across the trail… but overall a good ride. There was some hike a bike up the steeps and through some deeps. Dropped to 6 PSI in the tires. The low pressure really settled down the steering on choppy trail covered in fluff.

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Lake and Wind

Short windy ride out into Lake Champlain via the Causeway. Headwind on the way out made it slow going. I’ve had to zip-tie my Ixon IQ closed. Still working – but I doubt it will keep water out.

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Padding

Garage door seal makes a great first layer for thickening up the padding on bars. Early in the day while moving some boxes in the garage the remnant of a former home improvement project tumbled to the floor. Later that night I was debating opening up a new pack of bar tape only to have it disappear under a double wrap. I looked down to see the answer right under foot. I electric taped a piece of the door sealer to the bars, then bar wrapped over the top. So far its quite comfortable.

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SS(s)DD

Same Spot(s), Different Day

~12-13 miles on the Pug this morning.
1/3 of those miles re-breaking trail over postholed / skied over / dog walked fields.

Full body workout – aerobic to keep moving in the snow. Upper body / core keeping the bike moving in the right direction. Anaerobic dieseling up the steep(er) stuff. Starting to figure out climbing. Gear down, keep the weight centered over the bike. Front wheel needs just enough weight to keep it tracking straight, rear wheel needs traction. Unless on hardpack standing doesn’t work.

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Great Day

Great Day on the Pugs. Logged ~32 miles. We had a short section on road getting back to the house so Wil could take out the Soma in the snow – but the balance was the Intervale, some single track, plenty of bike path, and two different stretches of beach. Had full immersion of my feet on the beach getting around some high water – but I was close to home so the cold was more of a shock than anything I had to worry about.

I’m pretty close on the cockpit setup. Went back to the stock Salsa bar, adjusted the tilt and moved the levers. Went with a longer stem from the stock bike.

Lesson learned today: Railroad tracks under snow are very slick, especially when hit at an acute angle.