A short and sweet ride with Wil and Greg along the Wells River Rail Trail in Plainfield, VT, followed by breakfast at Positive Pie.
Fatbike Ride in Plainfield
Cotton Brook
Stream high up in Cotton Brook
Cotton Brook for Pie
A ride in Cotton Brook for homemade apple pie. The plan was to ride in from the Stowe side and sit out the rain at a lean to in Little River State Park. With a late start and decent weather as the afternoon wore on we just sat trail-side and enjoyed home made pie and fresh coffee instead of riding downhill for 1.6 miles only to have to climb back up…
~20 miles
~2600′ of climbing, ~1600′ in the first 9.7 miles
Rain, chilly, home made pie
Greg’s Mukluk, Wil’s Ice Cream Truck, and my Pugsley
We saw a bear!
Same Spot, Different Bikes
Pugsley from my first trip to Moose River Plains, a very cold January in 2011.
Fargo from my first through trip through Moose River Plains, a lovely August 2011.
Krampus from my last trip, a lovely fall day in October 2015.
Late Fall Riding
On the beach with Greg and his new Mukluk
Exploring some dirt roads but getting turned around by ice with Wil
Frosty Fall Fatbike – Photodump
I set out with a friend and a couple of online acquaintances in early November to do a bit of late fall bikepacking. I need to write up a full trip report – but here is a photo dump from the ride. We covered 56+ miles, much of it on trail and class 4 road. Machines were all Pugsleys – a single speed, an IGH Necro, and my white 2×9 all with bikepacking bags. We also had a first generation along (the first one sold in VT) with racks and panniers.
The start was in Pittsfield, VT. We crossed the Green Mountains near Chittenden Reservoir and made our way north to Silver Lake to camp, taking the Leicester Hollow trail in from the south. Fire, chatting, eating, and then sleeping as snow started coming down.
At 2am everything was white – but by 6am when I got up to start a fire everything was just wet. We left the park on the Leicester Hollow trail, which was the only dirt on the second day.
We stuck to pavement back to start, as the weather turned as we climbed Brandon Gap – we had rain and freezing rain and sleet coming down the east side.
The last 10 miles were truly a death march – I was a little sad we eliminated all the dirt and trail – but thankful to eventually be warm and dry.
New Years Fat
Got out for a very short, very cold ride on New Years day. We’ve had a bit of coverage over the ice from a recent storm – but the woods and path are still hard enough to skate on.
Catching Up
Sweltering in the humid tropical heat (for Vermont) I’m catching up thinking about cooler times. Fargo setup for long winter rides, The Pugsley atop Smugglers Notch (I rode most of the way up VT 108), and an in town adventure with Greg to check out the Donahue Sea Caves.
Nates
I’ve been rolling on Larry and Endo since December of 2010. I finally picked up some new sneakers for the Pugsley. A pair of 120tpi Nates. Front and rear will now have knobby treads and grippy rubber.
Larry and Endo have served me well. Endo is starting to show some minimal wear, but its just not up to the task of mixed conditions riding. Great for the beach or firm snow. Not so good in slop and snot and on wet rocks and roots. Larry is a decent tire on the front – but washes out in fluffy and soft snow. I’ll likely keep them around for summer, or add a Larry on the back when the weather is nice and dry. But I’m looking forward to some serious grip. And they’ll make me even slower than I already am… Resistance training comes included with these.
Winter Arrives
Pugsley riding after the storm, local skiing.
