Remembrance Day Ride

I started today with a morning walk under a gorgeous rising sun with Sante. Toby joined us too. It was easy to be reflective and grateful as the dogs and I crunched through the frozen soft snow. The sun tipped up over the horizon and over the hoar-frosted grasses popping out of the snow; Calgary's downtown silhouetted beside the sun. Behind me, in the distance, the Rockies were coming to life in the sunlight too.

I live in a spectacular country and it was a good morning to remember the sacrifices that have been made for me -- for all of us -- to be free and enjoying it.

Later in the day I had more to be grateful for ... some time in the mountains on bikes! Fat bikes actually. This is something I've been wanting to try since last winter. With Cindy and Ramona game and some rental arrangements with Cal Cycle's Bragg shop, we were set to go take advantage of a spectacular day and give it a go! We loaded the big bikes onto Cindy's truck and were about to head to the trailhead when we had a slight delay. No juice in the truck. A boost from the Red Rocket and we were off, convoy style because the Rocket would be needed again to get her going after our ride.

Fresh snow on Friday was well packed down for us by today and we got to enjoy a not so technical experience and put our energy into getting used to the different feel of the bike and having no cleats on our feet. I didn't have much trouble at all getting used to the bike. The bounce is fun. At first I had some trouble keeping the front tire down when I was climbing but I just dropped my chest down lower and was good to go.

Ranger Summit has a few tight turns on the ascent and the bike and I handled them with no issue. It was steady on up the grunt of a climb. Nothing technical, just a steady long climb. Surprisingly I really didn't feel that the 30lb (ish) bike and big fat tires were slowing me down a ton. Strava shows it was my 3rd best time on the entire loop, and just the climb, so that's either saying something about the iron supplements, my fitness, or fat bikes are just missing an "s" for FAST BIKES! Or that in the summer we stop more within the segments and chit chat. Ha ha ... that's probably more like it ... not a lot of stopping when it's chilly out.

At the Strange Chairs, just before the descent, we ran into a couple mountain bikers taking in the warm sun and blue skies. Cindy and Ramona let them take their steeds for a little tour across the summit and they were all smiles. I think we inspired a couple new fat bikers! After the fella snapped a couple group photos for us, we were off to see how descending would feel on the bouncy beasts.

Biker Chicks on Fatties

Other than the front brake seizing up on me four times, I really enjoyed the descent. Good thing it wasn't too cold cause my teeth would have frozen from smiling the whole way down. Here's where 30+lbs is a good thing. Those wheels ain't made for rolling fast, but gravity does all the work! Zoom zoom!

Craig M came up behind us before the final section. He had intel on what time we were riding and wisely planned to also ride, but half an hour behind us and on his mountain bike. He thanked us for packing down the trail for him with the fatties. Ha ha ... we chatted a little then sent him on his merry way to finish his ride. We weren't far behind him!

One more boost for Cindy's truck and we drove back into town and returned the bikes before heading back to the city.

A perfect day outside.

Nov 12: Heather and Sante

November 12: Hit the same tracks the next day, but on the Titus and its 2.35" Nobbie Nicks. 10ish additional degrees on the thermometer meant a whole lotta slop and soft treading. Still a great time with lots of smiles but I couldn't help but think I had the wrong bike! Oddly, the bottom half of the mountain stayed cool and thus the track was hard-packed and good for rippin' down into the parking lot. Super fun day with Heather and a couple of very happy doggies. 

Nov 12: A little slushy.

Different Bikes

SpinGoatMeisters

And then, it was winter.

Things changed quickly here. There was dirt, and then there was snow. It was only a couple weeks ago I went on a week night mountain bike ride in the dark with some Goat Meisters on my Anthem. It was a little crisp but Ranger Summit and Strange Brew were in great shape other than a few muddy spots.

That weekend I also got out for a ride with Kate M on Highline ... there was a no-fun adventure component to that day when Sante disappeared. I'm not sure who was more relieved when we were reunited, her or me, but it was a long half an hour that ultimately involved a phone call cycle from two gals who she'd found (evidently she kept trying to get them to come into the woods with her ... they gave her a lot of credit by assuming someone was hurt and she'd gone for help - Timmy was not in a well though. Ha ha!), the Humane Society, Kelly (who has my old cell number) and me. The system works.

If only Sante's nose worked as well and she'd just found her way back to her mama after a little romp chasing after a creature of some variety. I'm contemplating a Marco Polo tracker for her but still doing some research. The little turkey was so beat by the time we were finished the ride she couldn't keep up. We dropped her at Kate's place to hang out with Farley while we did another hour at the Nordic Centre. Then it was back to the city to play hockey.

After that the snow arrived ... in blizzard fashion. There's been some Norco CX spinning on the pathways since then but this week I got the Titus out for a winter play up at Nosehill. I knew it would be a blast but it sure is hard to leave the warm house after a long work day and venture into the cold darkness at 7pm. Suck it up! Right? Yep ...

I had already prepped the bike. I thought of putting some spikers on the bike that Sean had given me when he cleansed his garage of all things 26er, but when I put them up against my Nobbie Nicks and noticed the spikes didn't have much lift left to them, I opted to stay with the fatties, which was perfect for the conditions that night. I also put some pogies on the bike to keep my paws warm, and some downhill pedals since I suspected there'd be some walking in the snow and I know that can jam up the cleats.

Photo by Gerry

What a great time!

There was a beautiful orange crescent moon low on the horizon as 6 of us converged exactly on time at our meeting spot at the John Laurie foot path. So cool to see the lights on the bikes all coming together. Then we headed off behind Gerry to do a tour of Nosehill. Lots of hard-packed skinny track, some dirt, a little ice, and lots of powder too. I smiled the whole time ... mostly warm and working hard and loving any earned descents. Can't wait to do it again!

Today I gave the Norco's new Bar Mitts a try. After a nasty short ride last Sunday where I froze my hands so badly I was nauseous and in severe pain when I got home (Anemia + Raynaud's in a perfect storm I'm thinking), I picked up some Bar Mitts at Bow. Yeah, they rock. The insulation has a huge impact on the exposure your hands get. No question about it ... they catch the wind a little, but that only surprises you the first time. Ha ha ...

Get outside! Remember what they say, "There's no bad weather. Just bad gear." Although ... really, I'd better go retrieve the Crux from Bow this afternoon ... a day will come when I'll have to use the trainer in the basement.