Winter

Honestly, it doesn't seem to be over yet, winter that is. Today marks the final day of March and yet, this AM was well below freezing and at present, the temperature is still only in the 30's. And this is in MA. Not exactly the weather that we were hoping for when we gave up on winter and headed back south from ME last week.

Still, there are signs that spring may indeed be on approach. We have lost a ton of snow despite the unseasonably low temperatures and night time refreezes. The roads are also getting better day by day, in terms of drying out. That said, I had a number of very wet road rides last week including a solo 50 mile ride that culminated in torrential downpour the last 15 miles as well as a 33 degree heavy wet snow road ride on Saturday. It will be some time before we can get offroad of course but that is to be expected. Ah, spring.

This past Sunday Cathy and I participated in the Vermont Overland Maple Adventure Ride (VOMAR), hosted by good friends Peter and Kim Vollers and their Vermont Overland offroad club. The ride was primarily gravel and took place in Woodstock, VT. We expected carnage in regards to gravel road conditions but were treated to some roads in surprisingly good condition. I literally couldn't believe or understand why they were so good given the winter. All that I can figure is that the mild temperature swings are pulling the frost out gradually, a little at a time, while firming back up at night but not pounding frost back down in. Also, we have been fairly dry, precipitation wise the past few weeks. I don't know, but I like it.

Getting back to the winter in review, where to start. We began the season very, very happy to be done racing after a long cyclocross race season. The off season greeted us with low snow conditions up north which were perfect for the spiffy new Borealis fat bikes we'd gotten that fall. We'd started to hook up with a bunch of the guys from the Coos Cycling Club from Gorham, NH and had some great rides in new locales and Cathy and I also took to the Great North Woods of NH for a couple of remote and ultra scenic fat bike rides. Life was very good, and so we headed into the holiday's with great cheer.

Through the holidays we had great times and looked forward to a whole winter of fun and frolicking in the snow on our new fat bikes, exploring new places and seeing new things. Early January was cold but did not see much snow which made XC skiing poor but the fat biking was still OK. Soon after mid month we had a thaw, and then rain and warm. This glazed and flooded much of the sled trail, at least locally. The next weekend was the Moose Brook Fat Bike Race, where conditions were actually excellent and we had a wonderful time in relatively mild temperatures, at least for late January in northern New England.

Two days later it started snowing and as far as I can tell, never stopped again until a couple of weeks ago. No, not really but the weather pattern swung wildly. We received weekly or better, light and fluffy powder snow. The temperatures settled in with highs in the teens and lows well below zero. This is the pattern that took hold and continued, literally for a solid month, giving way to a slight respite barely one time, for a short two days, before settling back in for nearly another month.

Cathy and I logged countless evening rides in the cold darkness fighting hard for every foot on trails that just never had the conditions to properly setup. The result became a bit of dread for the daily fight on the same section of trail only to make it a short distance afield in the time allotted. Ride would frequently average 6 or 7 mph average which meant that two hours in single digits netted you a dozen or so miles, only enough to get you to the first real intersection of trail. This meant countless out and back rides. If there is one thing that I abhor, it is an out and back ride. I'm all about the loops.

Don't get me wrong, we were still better off than many of our friends in MA, who had it way worse snow wise. Many of them could not get out at all and had to resort to riding indoors. It never came to that for us despite riding our bicycles literally ever day of the winter.

Unfortunately, the poor XC ski conditions early in the winter left me unexcited to ski. I just couldn't do it, even when the conditions got better. Of course, when the conditions got better, it was cold. The cold got to me this year and it was all I could do to just ride my bike in it. The last thing I wanted was to spend any more time out of doors.

On the up side, and believe me, there was an up side, we spent a ton of time riding with friends from Coos Cycling Club. Jason and Ben organized some rides and invited us and we set some up as well and we got a chance to meet Jamie and Aaron. Our friend Jamie is very like minded and just wants to ride every chance he can. It didn't matter the conditions, whenever I suggested a ride Jamie was all in. Better yet, he also started setting up rides. Through these folks we connected with Liz, Steve and Ari of SAaLT at Libby's, which has some of the best food and community I've ever experienced.

Making that connection saved the winter in ME for us, literally. We've never really entrenched in the cycling community in Bethel. Not at all. I've tried to organize and connect but we just never hit. Now the sled community, sure, we fit right in and really enjoy working with the club. But not cycling, at least not in Bethel despite there being countless individuals who ride in the area. I suspect that will play heavily into upcoming location decisions for us.

Another fun component to the winter was getting the chance to ride, if only a few times, with George and Rebecca from Lyndonville. We did a couple of KT runs on the fat bikes as well as a great winter gravel/snow/ice/slush/mud ride. Great people that I look very forward to riding with a bunch this coming summer as I work on our place in Kirby.

I had plans this fall for and had been so looking forward to the big long epic adventures. The reality was that conditions just did not cooperate. Teammate Kyle and I attempted a big day long adventure ride in January from Gorham, NH. It was a good solid ride and a full day of pedaling yielded about 40 hard fought miles. The other one real epic that I attempted with Kyle, a reverse rerun of a ride I did the previous winter, turned to mayhem. This was the Evergreen Valley Loop, a 65 mile ride through very remote sections of National Forest in Maine and New Hampshire. The day started great, with spectacular conditions but within an hour started to continually degrade to what was, in long sections, unrideable, even downhill. The trail was just too loose. With no choice, we plodded along wearing the daylight, and warmth, thin. When finally we reached a main road we bailed straight back on it, closing the dark lid on a nearly nine hour excursion in the cold.

There were other excursions, early in the season, that were more positively memorable. There were also some late in the season that were equally memorable. We ended last week with a number of really great rides, a positive conclusion to a winter with a great title and cover photo and a compelling back cover copy that lacked a bit of thrill and excitement in between.

I'm sure the tone of this post is sour and sounds like whining. Realistically, it is. The winter has been long, cold and snowy which translated to generally less than awesome fat biking. If you skied Alpine, you were loving it though with day after day of powder. Next year, I think we may venture into Alpine Touring to add a little variety. I just need to get over this compulsion to ride my bike every single day. It has been going on for so long though, breaking the habit is hard, hard because the count goes back to zero. Hard because what if it never climbs back to one.

So yes, the winter has been long, dark and cold. Winters in the north country make you feel small and insignificant and alone. If you let them, that is. Community makes all the difference, and is key to making it through. We all need more than just shelter and warmth if we are to survive, we need life and to live, in spite if not in celebration of the weather. Spring will eventually come, or at least it always has so far, and with it there will be change and rejuvenation.

This winter may part less with sorrow than last, but there will always be hope held for next.

The Fat Bike Irony

The fat bike was first created out of necessity, allowing it's creators to travel across loose and unstable surfaces. Arguably the initial creation was produced to travel across sand but the true predecessor of the modern fat bike was the snow bike, build to work better than a stock MTB while riding and racing across primarily frozen and packed snowmobile trail in Alaska.

Initially, the improvements and designs took advantage of readily available parts in very creative ways. As someone who has ridding bicycles in snow my whole life I've followed the progress quite closely, though ironically only jumping into the fat biking fray last year. I can recall spending hours scouring the snow biking pioneer site, Icebike, for ideas and tips as well as the latest creations. Some of the initial snow bike modifications and designs did crazy creative things like lacing two rims to the same hub and running two tires to get the extra wide footprint. That of course required modification to the bike frame to widen the fork and stays to accommodate the extra width of the tires. Widening the stays then presented drive-train issues, issues for which parts were not readily available to fix those issues.

Along about this time, the early to mid nineties, Dan Hanebrink also produced a really wild jack shaft driven ATV tire based bike. It was made in the USA, aluminum and really cool. It was also really expensive. Belmont Wheelworks even had one on the floor along with their myriad of other exotic eye candy bike art. It didn't catch on though.

The first real game changer came when Simon Rakower produced an extra wide 44mm 26" MTB rim. Initially these were a normal rim cut down the center with a rolled aluminum hoop welded between the two halves. There were also other DH MTB rims that were wide, such as the Sun-Ringle Doublewide, but they weighed a ton. I still have one of those in the basement in fact. The challenge was then in finding tires. At that point, in the later '90's, DH MTB tires were getting wider and you were starting to see 26" x 3.0". Typically they weighed a ton though. Earlier in the '90's Specialized and Ritchey produced very wide and very light 2.5" tires that would have worked great but by the time the Snowcat rims were readily available, the tires were all but nonexistent.

The full on DH wheel and tire gave good footprint but was heavy and overbuilt and required a frame that could handle the extra width. This meant an overbuilt, heavy, freeride or DH hard-tail which was in existence at the time (early '00's) but carried a huge weight penalty and also had size restrictions. Being gravity based and not really designed to pedal in an XC situation, they were on the small side and I could never get one that fit me. The closest I got was a Surly Instigator with Sun-Ringle Rhyno XL and Tioga 2.3" tires that measured to a solid 2.5". I also had a Stratos FR-4 double-crown fork on it making it a 36# steel beast. It worked, not great, for many reasons. Heavy and only marginally better than a lightweight XC bike with 2.1" tires was the main reason.

Another part of the problem was that where we rode in the winter, in suburban MA, the only packed trail we would get to ride was parked by foot traffic and quickly went from too soft to packed to ice. Historically, winters were not as long and consistent as we've had the past few years. Thaw and freeze would often yield hard-pack, post-holed trail and lots of ice. That necessitated the use of studded tires and so for years and years, winter riding meant finding places packed to the point of being able to ride with XC bikes and 2.1" studded MTB tires.

When fat bikes first hit the mass production market with the Surly Pugsley, it was novel for sure. One friend jumped onboard and bought one and I recall on the first ride together, he hit a patch of snow covered ice and wiped out hard. The rest of us on our studded MTBs were fine. In terms of increased trail access with the Pugsley, it was very minimal. Literally there were few situations where the Pugsley would go when a normal MTB would not. That and the fact that we had lots of other winter passions such as skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling sealed the fate and we never considered purchasing the fat bike.

Last year, with the fat bike phenomenon in full bloom, Cathy and I sold the sleds, decided to spend the winter in Maine and bought a pair of entry level Charge Cooker Maxi fat bikes. We spent the winter riding our local snowmobile trails, which were by and large in excellent condition. The winter, despite having ample snow, was spaced such that the trail surface was usually firm and great for riding. Other than one race at Moose Brook in NH, we didn't really venture off the machine groomed snowmobile trail. We had a  good thing going so why bother. We also wanted no part of riding fat bikes on dirt. IMHO, they suck on dirt. They are slow and bulky and don't work nearly as well as the MTB that I already have in the basement. Personally, I think the whole dirt thing is just a marketing ploy to sell more redundant while inferior bikes to unsuspecting and naive people. Let me also say though that if you live in a snowy or sandy climate and plan to ride all year and can have only one bike, sure, a fat bike is a viable solution, albeit as cumbersome as carrying around a 36 tool Swiss Army knife in your pocket.

This year we bought new Borealis Yampa full carbon-fiber bikes and again decided to spend the winter in Maine. We were stoked for another stellar winter adventure that we wished would never end. Then reality sat in. This winter was a little bit different than last. We started out great with us seeking out the snow and finding well packed despite low snow, conditions perfect for the fat bike. We had some great rides. We did the Moose Brook race again and the conditions were even better than last year. It was shaping up to be a great, albeit on the colder than normal, winter.

And then it started snowing and it hasn't really stopped since. We have gotten consistent snow multiple times weekly for the past month and half. The temperatures have remained well below freezing consistently and the snow has all been in the fork of fluffy powder. Because we have thew machine groomed snowmobile trails we've been able to ride but each and every ride for the past month has been hard going. By hard going I mean soft enough that you sink in and leave tracks, unlike much of the real hard-pack we saw last last winter where you never broke the surface of the snow. The result has been an endless myriad of rides working hard to go 8mph. Those miles wear on you, like the wet spring road miles into the constant, omnipresent headwind.

Last week Cathy and I did a little experimenting with manually packing snow using snowshoes. I'd never really tried it for fat bikes before, especially with loose powder conditions. As kids, we used snowshoes and snowmobiles to try and pack trails to ride our BMX bikes on. We'd also done it, unsuccessfully in most cases, years back for normal MTBs. Problem was that unless you packed wet snow which then refroze, the normal MTB just cut through and roto-tilled it. Fat bikes should be better though, so we gave it a shot. We used the age old "stamp-packing" technique with snowshoes, where you literally stamp your foot on each step to compact the snow as best you can. We also overlapped steps taking only half steps such that the snowshoe contacted the same piece of trail twice, in an overlapping pattern. Cathy then followed behind me overlapping tracks and further packing the trail. On the corners, technical sections and hills we packed the trail out wider, double the width and we triple packed it, out, back, and then out again.

The next day after a deep freeze overnight we went back and successfully rode 90% of what we had packed just the day before. This was very encouraging but also exposed limitations. If the trail is packed too narrow (two snowshoe width or ~20") in powder conditions such as we have, eventually someone rides off the packed track. This convexly rounds the narrow packed trail off running the risk of sending all who follow off into the soft powder. The net was that trail needed to be wider and if at all possible, concavely cupped to encourage people to ride in the center of the trail while also making it easier to do so. We packed trail out to three snowshoe width (about 30" wide) and four plus in the corners. To help smooth and cup the trail I had the idea of towing an old auto tire around. It worked great and provided some concave cup to the trail. It was also a killer workout. The next day after another super cold evening, we successfully rode all but three turns of one small section of very tight and twisty uphill single-track. I created a video of some of this trail that documents the details as well at the end.

This is very promising and after a weekend of riding suburban foot traffic packed trails, I'm amazed at how effective the method can be, even with less than ideal snow conditions. The key is simply getting the required traffic over the trails and packing it into a usable surface. We are by far not the only ones who understand this or are successfully packing trail. Local fat bike groups have been working hard to pack local trail but face the all too familiar problem of not having the volunteer manpower to do the job of maintaining the trail, despite more than ample numbers of people looking to ride those trails.

This year with the onslaught of fat bike purchases but what would appear to be folks who have never ridden bikes in snow before and as such, have no idea as to their realistic limitations, we have seen much griping, much head scratching and much race cancellation. Yes, because fat bikes were this past holiday season's Tele-Tubbies gift, and racing bikes is the best excuse ever for middle age people to drink beer, we had no less than a half dozen races pop up. Unfortunately, reality eventually sank in after a couple of those races on ill prepared courses quickly turned from riding your fat bike on snow to pushing your fat bike through snow. Meanwhile as this brutal winter progressed, all of those spiffy new fat bikes were left sitting in the basement collecting dust while their owners were on their roof shoveling three feet of snow and chipping away at the endless ice dams.

So where does this leave us? I guess my point is that if we look at why fat bikes came into being, it was to fulfill an existing need, that need being the ability to more effectively ride on the snow covered snowmobile trail that already existed. In taking fat bikes mainstream we have sort of put the cart before the horse. Many areas, such as metro Boston, don't have existing snowmobile trails and by and large, don't get the required foot traffic packing of trail in many public areas.

That is not to say that there is no place to ride. We have been riding bicycles off road in the winter in this area for years. There are still places to ride, you just need to explore and seek them out. Go to the places that get the most use by other user groups. If you can stomach the endless dog poop baggies left lying by the trail, go to where people walk their dogs, on public land. That is always one of the first places packed to rideable. We can leverage the side effects of other user groups to allow us to ride, as long as we respect those groups. Packed foot and snowshoe trail is all good when it is hard enough to bear traffic but riding in XC ski track is bad form. Don't eff it up for others.

Still, other areas like Vermont do have the snowmobile trails already in existence, which are machine groomed for the sleds. Unfortunately, VAST (the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers) has blanket banned fat bike use on all of it's trail unless they are on public land or you have explicit landowner permission. That is perfectly fair as VAST and more, the local clubs, do all of the work and secure access to the trails on private land. Still, it is unfortunate. I expect other states to take a stance one way or another in the very near future as well. Luckily for us, our snowmobile club has multi-use permission for the trails they maintain and the club is very receptive to club members using their on fat bikes.

We also made the trek to Kingdom Trails for the first time in the winter, this season. It was a whole lot of fun and they are doing a great job of grooming the trail. That will become a staple for us in the future I'm guessing, once the camp is winterized and good to go next year. 

Anyhow, this winter has been tough for all of us. It is ironic how there has been too much snow to ride snow bikes but that isn't an uncommon theme. Same thing happens with snowmobiles in certain situations. If you get a huge storm of heavier weight snow, an average snowmobile will just bury itself and get stuck. Sure, specific mountain sleds with super long tracks with huge paddles and tons of power in the right hands will go in anything but and average rider on an average sled will get stuck quickly riding off a packed trail in deep snow conditions. Imagine digging a 500# sled with 100# of fuel and 100# of snow stuck inside the track out of a 3' deep hole. You haven't lived until you've done that a few times on a ride. In ways, the fat bike is a much more versatile tool as when the trail becomes impassable, we can always bail out to the road.

In closing out this rambling post which is part history, part reminiscing, part bitching, part glorification and part suggestion, I've been riding snow for a long time. The progression and adoption of fat biking by the masses and the blossoming and subsequent collapse of a race scene for said fat bikes has presented challenges, most of which were simply challenges to the expectations of new owners and promoters. Simply put you have two options if you want to ride in the snow. You can go to where the snow is packed enough to ride or you can put in the relatively large amount of effort, some of which I tried to quantify, to pack the trail to ride. No, that already packed area is not necessarily going to be where you ride MTB on dirt as these places are too vast and too remote to receive the traffic. Think lots of user traffic packing the trail down to the point where it becomes rideable. Dog walkers are by and large the largest winter user group.

For racing, why not leverage areas that are already packed down for use by other user groups. I'm thinking ski areas. Many Nordic areas are embracing fat biking as a way to draw more people to the area. They are also starting to rent fat bikes. In Bethel Maine alone we have two different Nordic areas that not only allow fat biking on at least some of their trails but also rent fat bikes. Smaller Alpine areas are also jumping into the fat biking fray and I'm betting it won't be long before we see lift service and gravity based trail systems at some of them.

Happy Fifth

Today marks, at least as best we can tell, the kitten's fifth birthday. They have been with us since they were about ten weeks old so we've not been together quite five years, but we are close. Hard to believe that it has been that long and that they are that old. The time has been great though and will continue to be.

We adopted them from a local shelter, the Cat Connection in Waltham. The Cat Connection is staffed by wonderful, caring people who do truly great work. Cathy and I have continued to support them as best we can as well as promote them in whatever way possible. This year, we will be promoting them to a greater extent as a major part of our cycling team.

I designed new team kits that we received a couple of weeks ago. They look pretty spiff and promote the Cat Connection as well as the Bikeway Source. In fact, the whole theme of the kit is feline based. I took the time to create the paw-print graphic so figured that I might as well us it.

Anyhow, Happy Birthday O&E. I hope that you enjoyed your cake from Concord Teakcakes and ice cream from Bedford Farms. I know that Cathy and I did.

Moose Brook Fat Bike Race 2015

This past Sunday, Cathy and I participated in the second annual Moose Brook Fat Bike Race at Moose Brook State Park in Gorham NH. Last year's event was literally, one of the highlights of the race year and we were sure not to miss this year's edition. From the event and over the year, we have also become friends with a number of the folks who promoted the race. This winter we have been riding with them and others from the Coos Cycling Club on a regular basis.

We've had the good fortune to not only ride the trails at Moose Brook a few times but also ride the area quite a few times this season. Good things are going on that neck of the woods. Additionally, we have also been introduced to some of the local establishment that sponsored and catered that initial race last year, primarily SaALT at Libby's and the White Mountain Cafe. Both are great businesses with outstanding product located right on RT2 in Gorham, NH. Check them out if you are in the area. You won't be disappointed.

Last Thursday evening, Cathy and I drove over to Gorham and met Ben and Aaron from Coos Cycling Club and the race to do some laps on the course. We had a great time and the course was firm, packed and riding very well. Pretty incredible what a stroke of luck this is really, given the weather coupled with just how finicky fat bike trail can be. Not enough snow and icy and it would be a mess. We had a massive warm-up and rain storm just the week before yet the snow held and the trail packers, who packed the tight, twisty singletrack trail with snowshoes, were able to get the trail in good shape before the refreeze later that same week, Too much snow, particularly fresh unpacked and unset snow would make for a horrible slog of a race. That snow in fact is coming down right now, just a couple days after the race. So basically, a week earlier or a couple days later and the race would have had a very, very different flavor and as such, fun factor.

The format of the race is simple, a mass start event on the same four mile, multi-lap course. The course was 80% single-track and about 20% groomed snowmobile trail,used primarily for the big climbs. The event had two different categories, a four lap event for men and women and a two lap event for me and women. Each of the laps gained about 625' of elevation, much of which was done in two sections of snowmobile trail, the second being long and grueling. It also had two distinct single-track climbs, the first climbing up from the river low point of the course on bumpy, steep hard-pack and the second being winding switch backed  single-track. Not really a grunt climb but it let you know that it was there for certain.

Last year Cathy and I were on our entry level Charge Cooker Maxi fat bikes. Those bikes were great and served us very, very well. A great value indeed and honestly held us back in no way at all. That said, we were looking very forward to racing our new Borealis Yampa full carbon bikes this year. These bikes have been incredible in many ways, none less than the fact that they weigh ten pounds less than the stock Charge bikes did. I know, it isn't about the bike but still, these things are very nice. We were lucky that we could convince Chris at the Bikeway Source to become a dealer, just because of us. That speaks volumes of his dedication to us, dedication and support that is greatly appreciated. In fact, the new kits will be here in a couple of weeks. They are pretty darn sharp and I don't say that simply because I designed them. Will be proud to be Bikeway Source Racing for the future.

Luck was with us though and fortune further smiled with temperatures starting the day at just below freezing with fairly calm winds. Just about perfect I'd say. The event this year was so popular that the pre-registration sold out the 75 open spots within one day of opening. In fact, many were unable to get in including last years runner up, who wields the most fat bike racing clout of anyone at the event by racing a full fat season and promoting a race of his own at Bromont in Quebec. That event is coming up next weekend in fact and I'm told the course is pretty incredible. I'm sad to have to miss it.

We spent some time Sunday AM chatting with friends at the event and getting ready to go and then it was time to race. A brief last minute warm-up ride brought us to the line shortly after everyone had started staging. Late to the start line again. I sheepishly slotted in on the outside left of the front row, trying my best not to be inconsiderate but not wanting to get caught up in what I was certain would be the starting mayhem. Jeremiah then further staged us forward a little and said that we had four minutes left. My final starting spot was a bit better with me lining up next to my primary rival from last year's race, Christian Gauvin. It was a pretty certain bet that he was gunning for the win this year and that he was going to hit the start really, really hard and fast. I wanted to be on the side because the edges of the trail, almost all snowmobile trail, are usually by far the best as they tend to have very little sled traffic at the edges to cut the groomed surface. We'd pre-ridden the start that AM and it was indeed the case.

As expected, the start came well before the estimated four minutes had elapsed and to no countdown. Also as expected, it was fast, as fast and hard as any CX start I can recall given that we headed uphill in snow for a fairly significant amount of time. We were literally in a full on stand up sprint for the first minute and a half of the race trying to get the hole-shot to the woods. This did some damage and spread the field out quickly and effectively. I could still see Don Seib back a bit but chasing hard but that was it. Luckily, this year I was able to match the brutal effort that Christian was putting forth and followed closely through the next single-track down followed by the long bumpy climb back up to the sled trail. On the sled trail I went to the side and put in a hard dig, taking over the lead into the top section of single-track but not displacing Christian at all.

I led the next single-track section as well but was unable to claw out any real gap. Going into the last section of single-track Christian slotted by me on the inside of the sled trail and took over the lead. At that point, I was thinking that if I couldn't drop him and he wanted the lead, I may do better to set and dog him for a while and see if I can recover. Christian rode hard and smooth, flowing better and more confidently in the single-track than I. Still, I was able to follow closely and never give anything. All along I was monitoring my effort. While at the helm I was running in the mid 160 bpm range, CX race pace, which for me is pretty high for a two hour winter effort with virtually no hydration or calories. That concerned me and was part of why I settled in the follow spot. As I'd hoped, following at Christian's pace allowed my HR to drop a few beats per minute, settle in and recover a bit. Now I was in control, at least in my mind. It is ironic how sometimes assuming control of the race actually required relinquishing the lead.

Christian dug hard and consistently for the entire first and second lap with me sitting right on his wheel, biding my time, like a leech. I realize, there is no benefit to following someone on an offroad race. In fact, it is a detriment as you don't see the lines as well and are a slave to whatever the leader does in many ways. Being first is also a strategic advantage when it come to passing lapped racers, which on the second lap we started to hit. Still, I was comfortably biding my time waiting for that perfect moment.

Last year was much the same and coming out of the woods and heading to the start/finish for the lap was an open straight that saw huge headwind. That was where I made my move, into the biggest gust of wind of the day coming in to start the third lap. Ironically when we popped out to this same field this year we were greeted by a strong headwind and almost as if an omen, I took advantage of the fortuitous opportunity and put in a strong attack, standing up and sprinting around Christian in to the wind. I looked back at the bridge crossing and saw he did not respond. As I'd hoped, he'd been working hard in the lead and didn't have that extra kick at this point in the race, the half way point.

In truth, neither did I but if I could just sustain for a few minutes of increased effort and get a gap, then I could settle back in. That is what I did and as fortune would have it for me, it worked perfectly. Through the next lap I rode hard and consistent taking few risks. The final lap started strong but fatigue started to set in near the mid point. With the fast, tight and twisty hardpack that was also somewhat bumpy, it was easy for the course to get away from you and cause a mistake, one that could be highly detrimental like crashing and hitting a tree.

Luckily that didn't happen and I was able to finish up cleanly, retaining my spot. Shortly after Christian came rolling in the finish as well followed by Don. Another excellent race and a superb event. Again, a highlight of my season and a good day on the bike.

I quickly threw some dry clothes on and headed back out onto the course to spectate, hoping that Cathy was having an equally good day. I'd passed a number of men and a couple women but had not caught Cathy. She was not back at the van, so I was optimistic that she was having a good race. She's been riding really, really well lately. Well enough that I though she had a reasonable chance against what I assumed was the main competition, Melissa Seib. Melissa a young powerhouse and as she has matured, she has developed into one of the best overall junior racers in the nation.

I made my way to the only close vantage point and started waiting. The men's field still had plenty of racers coming in so I had plenty folks to cheer for. Both Peter Vollers Jr and Sr came through strong after spending the race chasing back from a late start. Soon after Melissa came through so I was hopeful that Cathy wouldn't be far back. Sure enough withing a couple minutes Cathy came through strong with a huge smile on her face. I managed to get the picture, possibly the best one ever. Cathy finished a strong second to a legitimate elite cyclist who also happens to be much less than half her age and had fun doing  it. I was so proud as always I am, of my wife. This was truly a great for the team, our team.

As we looked back at our personal statistics there were a couple notes. Cathy cut over thirty eight minutes off from her elapsed time year over year in a race on the same course with similar conditions while I managed to cut eight minutes off. The splits for the first three laps were within a few seconds though the fourth lap was about twenty seconds slower. Between the two of us, we drank slightly less than one water bottle during the race, which was filled with straight water and took in zero calories. We were both soaking wet with sweat despite having no wind layers on the torso.

The after party was awesome with great food from SaALT at Libby's, coffee from the White Mountain Cafe, cookies from all the mom's and wives who baked and just an overall, excellent atmosphere. Literally an hour after the event the ranger station, which had a roaring open fire in the fireplace, was still jam packed. Many thanks to all of the sponsors and to the promoters and volunteers, Ben, Jeremiah, Aaron, Jamie, Jason and Kara who we now call friends. You have the best scene going and the overwhelming sense of community is unprecedented.

Looking very, very forward to next year and beyond as well as lots more adventures this winter.

Staying Warm

But not too warm, that is the battle with winter cycling. As easy as it sounds, the truth is that this is one of the biggest challenges that you will face in trying to remain comfortable on the bike, outdoors in the cold. Biking stands somewhat alone in terms of the diversity of energy output. We are often likened to Nordic skiing, which is close but I will argue not quite the same, at least for where we ride. The difference is that Nordic tends to be a more even power output. Also, you are using your arms and legs, which keeps them warm. Like running you can XC ski with very light clothing, even in extremely cool temperatures.

Biking is a little different though. Sure, if you ride at a consistent level of exertion, one that does not generate an over abundance of heat, you will be fine. Take for instance, a nice steady ride on a flat road that has little or no requirement for changes in effort, stops, starts, hills, descents. Things of that nature. Then it is fairly easy to regulate and meter.

However, most real world winter riding is done on varied terrain, with varied conditions. Cathy and I tend to do a ton of fat biking on snowmobile trails. For those who've never been on snowmobile trails in Northern New England, they tend not to be flat. This is partly because the trails tend to be located in out of the way areas, running through the wilderness. They also tend to frequently have grades that rival those of the streets of San Francisco, with sections often above 30% and sustained sections above 20% commonplace. Add to that the varied conditions of the snow surface and you quickly get into situations calling for a whole lot of energy output.

What goes up, usually comes down and there within lies the rub. You finish a two mile long ascent dripping with sweat even after stripping down only to then find yourself atop a cold, windy peak. Once the fire goes out you immediately freeze. If that freezing occurs before you get all of those clothes you stripped off, back on, you are in a world of hurt for the descent, which is often as long as the ascent was. Add to that the fact that the warm clothing you stripped off, which was probably at least a little damp, is now cold if not frozen and you can see that things just don't scale well.

So what is the answer? Honestly, I don't know that there is one. This is one of those problems that you need to isolate into many individual challenges and then attack one by one, I think. The core is pretty easy. Doesn't take much to keep that warm as your body works with you on it. Your head as well with the same thought being, critical systems take precedence when it comes to your body keeping them regulated. Keep in mind though that the single best place to regulate and vent excess heat is the head, and stow that away as an ace in the hole.

If the head and core are the easy parts, the extremities are the hard parts. Your body shuts them down at the drop of a hat so keeping them warm is the big challenge. I've come to find though that in trying to keep them warm, keeping them cool is the bigger key. You see, I sweat, a lot. My hands and feet included. Inevitably what happens is I get warm, sweat and swamp my extremities. Then as you would imagine, they eventually get cold. For my hands, I ran a test yesterday. Once I was warm I stripped my heavy gloves off and rode successfully with simple glove liners, in low single digit temperatures, until I started to descend. Then I put my cold, swampy gloves back on and it all went downhill from there. Within a half hour I had to switch to the standby, heavy expedition mittens. They are overkill but the only thing that keeps my hands warm, if also wet.

For the feet I haven't gotten it right yet. My new 45NRTH Wolvhammer SPD boots are the best I've had by far. That said, my feet still sweat, swamp and freeze. I made it three hours yesterday but once the sun was gone and the temperature dropped, I started to lose them. When I took the boots off, my socks were damp with sweat. I need to find a pair of silica gel socks I guess, or something that can deal with the moisture.

Getting back to the core, the key I have found is breathability. You need material that has loft, but also allows air to pass through, wick away moisture and regulate body temperature. I'm a big fan of fleece and zippers to help regulate between the layers. When it is warmer, I use the Pearl Izumi thermal jerseys. Not the ones with windblock though. For colder weather, I've been using a hybrid jacket that is Polarfleece on the back and arms and Primaloft insulation in the front. I regulate temp via the zipper. I also use a zippered thermal long sleeve jersey as my mid layer and will unzip that as well, letting air pass right through to my base layer. The jacket also has a hood. I love hoods for winter as they are like a free security blanket. Worst case, keep your head warm and you will survive numerous extra hours in the snowbank before dying cold and alone.

For the legs, no real secrets except that I've found wearing pants with a cuff that goes over the boot works better than a tight tucked into the boot. It tends to keep the warmth in and the cold out, of the boots. We both use XC ski pants which have a wind block front panel and lighter, breathable Polartech fleece back panel. Just throw on your favorite padded shorts and some knee or leg warmers underneath and you are good to go.

As for the head, I use a thermal beanie that also covers my ears. This fits easily inside the helmet and keeps me plenty warm. Again, I sweat a whole lot and having no hair, that lightweight beanie helps vent some of the excess heat and moisture. Often I will use a mesh top beanie to let more heat escape or I will remove it all together. The last piece of crucial clothing is a lightweight buff. I usually start and finish with it but strip it off for the bulk of the ride.When super cold or windy it is great for keeping the face warm.

The last bit of advice is that if you are planning longer rides in remote areas, be prepared. This means be prepared for having to walk, potentially miles. Be prepared for big weather changes. Think about what could happen and try and be prepared to deal with it. We always ride with extra glove liners, a wind jacket, chemical warmers, and a buff. If we are more remote, we carry a packable down jacket with hood in addition. You can always strip your wet base layer off and throw the down on and stay warm. The other piece of advice is stay dry. Strip stuff off before you swamp up and use breathable clothing. Save the wind layers for later or for emergencies. A wind layer over dry clothing will be warm but throwing it over wet layers, not so much.