Adios, 2014

Whatever width of rubber you prefer, may you keep it rolling in 2015.

Superbowl Sunday

Daddy-powered sled train. Somehow, Picasa added animated snow. 

We took today as an opportunity to enjoy a town nearly devoid of human activity. A city that gets pretty crazy about its professional sports teams equivalently gets pretty quiet in the event that one of said teams makes it to a big game. At least thats the case in the suburb where we live.

Ever-enthusiastic snow shark.

In the '80s when I was working a low-paying job, the Broncos were in a couple of ill-fated Superbowls. During those games, I took advantage of receiving double pay in place of co-workers who would rather see the game. It was easy money, because customers largely stayed home.

Today, things seem much the same, with people likely concentrated around the nearest screen instead of enjoying a really nice day. However, instead of working for extra pay, we took the girls sledding and later Scout and I went for a ride. Superbowl Sunday is a great time to experience a much more lightly populated civilization.

If you haven't already done it, make sure to get outside during the big game. After all, the score isn't dependent on you, and all those commercials that people will inevitably talk about will be available online anytime, should you choose not to ignore them.

Me and Scout in the snow

Lucky you: a rare non self-portrait, courtesy of Julie and her iPhone.

After a mostly dry winter, we've had three minor snowstorms in the past week. Not a lot of total accumulation, but better than nothing.

The Pugsley remains as fun to ride as ever, though after spending a slight majority of riding time in recent months on my Monocog with its 750mm Salsa Rustler bar, the Pug's 660mm Salsa Moto Ace bar feels far too narrow. I think I'm finished with flat bars any narrower than the Rustler.

A great time for a ride

Falling snow. The glow of city lights reflected by an overcast sky. Wood smoke in the air.

The difference 24 hours can make

72 degrees on January 3.

One of the best things about Colorado is that we sometimes get a wide variety of weather over a short time frame. For example, this past Friday, it was a sunny 72 degrees F at about 1pm. T-shirt weather. Mind you, it was January 3. I enjoyed the day.

However, about exactly 24 hours later on early Saturday afternoon, things were quite different. The thermometer on our back porch showed 22 degrees F; a drop of 50 degrees. Large, billowy flakes of snow were swirling down from the sky. I enjoyed the day.

22 degrees on January 4.

Like many people who live in Colorado, I appreciate warm weather and I appreciate cold weather. Hot weather, or overcast and rainy weather, not so much. So, for me, the seasonal temperatures of this time of year that swing back and forth like a pendulum between about room temperature and snowy cold is just about right. As long as the wind isn't blowing strongly, either case is great riding weather. Of course, that's just what I did. Afterward, I was pressed into service for pulling duties for a little street sledding.
 

346 days and counting

It's somewhere around zero degrees Fahrenheit, and I'm cruising on my Monocog with Scout.

For the past 346 consecutive days, I've ridden a bike. Many bikes, actually, but at least one ride per day. I'm sure that many people have surpassed this figure without even counting or thinking about it. I've never counted before, but I'm quite certain that this is a record for me.

I've found that no matter what, it's always great to get out to ride, even on a day like today when I haven't seen the thermometer above 9 degrees F. The Redline easily passed its snow test, though on squirmy, mealy super-cold compacted powder, it is no match for the sure footed traction of my Pugsley.

The streak continues...

Spring break

Little sister is happy about her first real ride on the Big Dummy.

As per usual, we didn't end up going anywhere for spring break this year. We had some tentative plans for a quick trip, but the girls of the household each ended up getting sick, so we decided to take it easy and stick close to home. The week started out similarly to many past spring breaks of my experience: with a snow storm. Though the storm was heavy at times, the snow it left was typical wet spring snow, and melted quickly. This has made for copious mud, which kept us off dirt trails for the most part.

This snow fort had a well-constructed foundation, but was no match for the onslaught of the sun. 

For a time, it was chilly enough to warrant the boots, but the snow didn't stick around long.

We stopped in to see some people at Denver Bike Sharing, and she sampled some of the newest members of the Denver B-cycle fleet. Those with a tri-geared fetish may be happy to know that all B-cycle bikes are 3-speeds.

At the History Colorado Center museum, she took me for a drive in a Model T Ford. It was the best type of car: non-emitting, simulated, immobile, and with spoked wheels.

Experiencing what it might be like to be a clothing-challenged super fan, also at the museum.

We did a little hiking at Daniels Park to enjoy the view.

Today, the weather couldn't have been more perfect. After a nice meal, we all saddled up and took a ride through the neighborhood and local park. It was lil' sis's first real ride on the back of the Big Dummy, and she seemed to enjoy the experience quite a bit. She spent much of the time giggling and babbling, while intermittently drinking from her new water bottle and pointing to scenery along the way. I have a few modifications in mind to revamp my homebuilt Xtracycle-based kid seat, which are of high priority in order to meet the needs of upcoming rides. I'm starting to piece together an overnight bike camping trip to include all of us; kids, dog, and parents.

Getting the hang of drinking on the move.

Oma was along for the ride.

Back seat passengers on my Surly Big Dummy.

Scout, my faithful riding buddy.

By midway through the ride, she had mastered the use of the bottle cage.

We took a riding break for some waterfowl spectating and walking practice. 

Proud of her newly installed BaileyWorks handlebar bag. It's pink, of course. 

Winter threw Spring a welcome party

Dressed like a rancher on my two-wheeled tractor.

Yesterday evening started with sprinkling rain, then progressed to sleet. By morning there were a few inches of snow on the ground. When Scout and I took our mid-morning ride, we were greeted with 6-8 inches of fresh snow and swirling blizzard conditions. Perfect bike riding weather.

I let air out of the tires until they were mushy and perfect for surface conditions.

The bottle cage on my new King Cage Top Cap Cage Mount makes a perfect glove holder when taking a photo. 

Falling, blowing snow over the lake.

It was business as usual for the geese and ducks.

I still can't get over how great fat tires roll in 6+ inches of new snow.

Unrelated bonus photo: Avery County Cycles sticker on a urinal at Wahoo's on 20th, seen a few days ago.

Sunny and snowy

A snow sculpture making machine.

After the snowstorm, as is the pattern in Colorado, the sun came out to melt some of it away. When it first fell, the snow was powdery, but after a few hours in the sun it took on a different character: sticky and malleable. With very low pressure in the tires, the Pugsley was more than up to the task of making tracks over the white expanses.

A post ride dog crash into the cool, cozy snow

There was a brief second round of snow today that dusted the crusty snow underneath. Rolling over the mixture of new and old snow is as fun as crunching the frozen surface of puddles. The changing consistency of winter surfaces makes for a smorgasbord of new riding experiences.

A King Cage Top Cap Cage Mount. A $5 score from the show.

With Scout and Pugsley in the snow

I'll have some continued coverage of the 2013 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in the following post, but something happened to preempt that effort for the time being. We finally got a respectable amount of snow.

Starting yesterday morning, the forecasters had been warning of a snowstorm. They were predicting snow in the afternoon. H-hour for the blizzard came and went. No snow. By late last night, I was ready to chalk it up as another error in weather prognostication. Then flakes began to appear. By morning we had several inches. After making a nice Sunday breakfast for the family, I was out the door with Scout and Pugsley.

This is the dog expression for impatience, as I was getting prepared to go.

Once under way, it was slow going as we were breaking trail.

I let out some air a time or two and, presto! The bike ate up the snow.

I don't really know what my tire pressure has been for the past month or so. I started with about 10 psi and have adjusted down and up and down a few times. Today, the pressure direction definitely called for a reduction. I kept letting air out until the tires felt almost like a neglected playground kickball. It turns out that was just about perfect.

In an extended variation of our standard street and trail loop, I was able to ride 99+% of the time, the exception being in a place where the snow had drifted deeply over a distance of several meters. Overall, I was quite impressed with the Pugsley's performance using a stock Larry/Endomorph combo on Rolling Darryl rims. I stayed mostly in the 22-tooth ring in the front and the larger cogs in the rear.

Fat tires loving the snow.

For my riding footware, I chose an old pair of Sorel snowboots. They were fine for pedaling and kept my feet toasty.

Even on a snowy day, somebody's gotta sniff the trees.

It was a terrific time to ride. We seemingly had the town to ourselves, as there were very few people out and about. Something about being out in fresh, falling snow and with limited visibility is indescribably pleasing to me, perhaps reminiscent of similar experiences in rural Wyoming as a kid. Being on a bike makes the experience that much more enjoyable. A soft scent of wood smoke from a chimney at the local historic farm permeated the air to enrich the ambiance.

My riding buddies

The sights and smells of the farm remind me of parts of my childhood.

Three fatbike tracks, but they're all mine.

A horse-drawn sleigh in need of a horse.

Witnessing the joy of a dog in the snow is one of the best things about a day like today. Scout absolutely loves snow, and revels in bouncing through drifts and snuffling hidden treasures underneath. Recently, I've been training her to understand some sled dog commands, and so far she's been learning "haw" (go left), "gee" (go right), "on-by" (keep going past that dog or distraction), "easy" (slow down), "wait" (staty at a stop), and her favorite "let's go" which is self descriptive.

I won't label the Pugsley a snow bike, because it is so much more than that narrow descriptor implies. It's a fatbike, and snow is just one of many fun riding surfaces that I've experienced with the Pug. I can't wait for more.