New Years Resolutions...

PIGEONWOBBLE.GIF

And then the sun came out and melted all the snow away, long enough to turn the trails into a muddy morass,  before the temperatures dropped back down into the single digits, freezing ruts, footprints, and what snow-ice remained into hard ugly stuff.  But dry ugly stuff, and that's conditions enough for the Pigeon to come out of  hibernation and get me to work.  Single speed still feels achingly more efficient and connected than any of  my hub gear bikes.

I was gifted a Garmin Edge 200 GPS bike computer for the holidays, and I love it. No wires or anything, just turn it on, and it picks up the satellites in 10 seconds, and provides climb, average speed, speed, odometer, all of that stuff. It came with two mounts, so I can just stick it on whichever bike, or even just keep it in my pocket, as I ride, so the miles add up.  I really just care about the odometer...

So my resolution is try and do 1000 miles before RAGBRAI.  And hopefully if conditions permit, to attend that ride, and bike across the merry land of Iowa, self supported. (excepting water and food of course)  This shouldn't be too hard.

Last year, my resolution was to do 500 miles.  I picked 500 because it seemed big and impressive but not unobtainable. I honestly had no idea just how much riding I would be doing, I had only gotten a simple wired cateye computer on the Felt, and had put 124 miles on it before January 2012.   I rode 2012 with the Cateye only on the Felt, and missed counting any of my Flying Pigeon or Kruisframe miles.  I made 624 miles on the Felt alone by August or so.  On the Pigeon and Kruisframe, I made five or six 50+ mile trips, and lots more regular commuting.  So I'm thinking I probably ended up towards 1500 miles, casually.

I just want to make sure I can string 80 mile days back to back and enjoy myself.  Pack light and just go. 

Cable-tie snow chains.

... somewhere on the web I saw this technique of banding bicycle tires with cable ties / zip ties, to provide extra friction and control-ability in snow and ice.   I believe the practice started in the Pacific Northwest, but I'm not positive.  

I decided to try this out on the rear wheel of my Felt3, starting Christmas Eve. When I got back home after a short 5 mile circuit, I noticed I was short a few cable ties.   Well today I commuted by bike, and ended up picking up most of the cable-ties I shed on Christmas Eve.  Don't want to litter, and all that.   By the time I was at work, I had shed all but three or four out of 30 something.

Upon examination of the broken cable ties, they had failed not at the zip-locking mechanism, but had snapped clean in the center of their bands, where they were being overridden by the tire itself.

Seems that while cable ties might stand up to the somewhat warmer winters of the PacNW,  the plastic becomes embrittled quickly in the 10F and below temperatures of the north-central midwest.  Ping!

I haven't really noticed a degradation in performance without the ties. The bike handles about as well as you'd expect on stretches of compressed snow or compacted ice sheet. Which is to say, marginal. :)

Snow Bike Lantern

snowy woods

This was actually my first time riding in the snow, but it was quite fine. I've been a little lazy in getting up early enough to commute by bike into work. I decided to course the trails on Christmas Eve. Temperatures was around 11F or so.  Merino thermals, denim overalls,  key shirt, wool sweater, amana wool scarf, wool earflap cap, wool gloves, and the waxed pointer chore coat.  Hiking boots, wool socks.  Stayed plenty warm.   

The Felt Cafe3 makes a pretty good snow bike. Nexus 3 IGH with coaster brake, keeps the drivetrain closed up and simple, no packing snow into derailleurs.  The other plus, is the aluminum frame sidesteps corrosion concerns.    One nice thing about living on the frigid plains, is that when we do get snow, it is dry and powdery, while you do get thick drifts, it generally is only lightly covering regular flat surfaces, and consequently does not get too deep.  With close fitting fenders, V brakes, and tight fits at the seat and chain-stays, this bike would not well tolerate a thick wet lake-effect snow.   Aluminum also makes it easy to portage over deep drifts. Cyclo-cross style.   This would be awkward with the Flying Pigeon, or all but impossible with the Kruisframe. 

Once I got off the streets and onto the trail, I turned off all the blinkies, Cygolight, and lit my dietz kerosine lantern. This is one of the cold-blast models and produces a suprising amount of light. It is easy to grip both the lamp and the handlebars with enough 'give' to prevent the lamp from being overly-jostled. 

I then cycled the upper length of the trail, making the rounds, lighting the snowy woods, and the crunch of snow underneath the tires.  Very fun!   Hopefully everyone is having a good holiday season!