Is This A Logo??

Is This A Logo??

Thursday 26 November 2015

Oh Deer - Fatbikes on Fire??

So Giant has gone and done it.  Crashed and broke his new fatbike!




Over the bars in the rocks (yes you can go over the bars on a fatbike)...on our ride today...and broke off the brake lever....shattered it actually.  At least he didn't break himself.

Personally I think it was because he ditched his sorcerers costume...



It's never good karma to ditch your sorcerer costume...
He's got to be more careful....the other day on the trails he wanted to ride through this area...



He thought we would be OK because I was wearing my superty-duperty blaze orange jacket...

(yeah terrible pic....where is ApexTed when you need him???  I think he is off on winter ninja training...)


Yes I really like this jacket.  It's a see-me-on-the-trails/see-me-on-the-road jacket.  Plus it keeps me warm.  Anyways, this guy convinced us, that even with this jacket, it wasn't safe to go on those trails...


Especially without a sorcerer...

And then I get home to find these guys in my back yard...





Seriously.  Apparently, even they could read the sign...

Anyways....up until now we have been riding the heck out of our fatbikes (that means we have been riding them alot)...And now I find out about this...

"Ontario Fatbike Race Series"

Thanks to our friends at Substance Projects!!  (That would mainly be DanOfSubstance)...
So looking forward to racing the fatbike!!  (Yes it is that much fun to ride!!)

So....I guess I better keep somewhat in shape for that...and I saw the new SWorks Fatboy but...



I might be her Superman, but Lois is the holder of the kryptonite....so no new bike for a week or 20...
Maybe new wheels???



Or some kind of new gear...



Anyways...guess I shouldn't mention buying anything more or Lois will have me boxed up like this guy...




Anyways...enough cat pics...Well except for this one maybe...this cat was watching me a little too close the other day...



Kinda freaked me out....seriously, he was a little too close and too tame...

Anyways...will Giant be back on the fatbike soon??  If not...
Will unglued get off his new rollers and hit the trails?
Will misconceptionz skip the velodrome and come ride the trails?
Will Blaze ever ride with us again?
Have Jaimie, PowerPaul, and Fig recovered enough from the post ride firepits to ride again??



Will NewfieSteve, or EnglishJim ever ride again??

Some questions to be answered by next week??

Stay posted!!


Friday 20 November 2015

Just Ramblin' on??

So after a week of riding the new fatty exclusively (can you tell it is a fun bike??),


That's me riding fatties with Giant the magician...as we look up at Hagrid...




Actually I think Giant looks more like a sorcerer than a wizard...

Anyways, after all of the fat riding, I thought I should go back to one of the old standby's...(is it old if I just got it in April?) just for a change of pace....so to speak

So I took the CX bike out for some gravel, rail trail, road riding...

Here is on the rail trail near BWPaul's farmland...



And this is a cool little midway spot at the corner of Field Rd. and Concession 2



This is a cat in a pantry...


I know...nothing to do with anything, but just thought I'd throw that in there (thanks PaulH!!).

Speaking of cats....have you checked out Fig's new facebook page yet?  It's 'Don't Kill Me On the Road'....or something like that.  It has a whole lot of Fig doing this...



....to bad drivers like these guys who near miss him while he commutes on his bike...





Actually, this is Fig's cat...


Anyways, the page is kind of funny, scary, face-palmy.  I think egggman recently posted a near miss there too...

Speaking of cool...I recently found a cool little unit to replace this...



Yeah, that's my tool kit.  A ziplock bag that doesn't zip and has a hole in it...cuz you know, that's a great way to feel confident you always have a CO2, or powerlink handy when you need it...

So now I have this....

It's a Cat5 Mini Companion, and since I love my Cat5 gear bags I thought I'd give this thing a try...and its a perfect storage unit for my carry on tools...

It has a spot for everything I need to carry...a pocket for my life savings (hey don't judge), or a card if you prefer,  mesh pockets for various tools (I have CO2s with a chuck, multi tool, tire levers)....and a little zip pocket where I keep a powerlink (but you could keep your Anavar, greens plus, EPO, or tiny gluten free beer in there if you wanted).

And it has a zip up pocket on the outside that fits my cell phone perfectly (if your cell is a 55 inch high def TV it may not fit...mine is an Iphone 5 in an otterbox case)...


And I've heard that the thing is waterproof, but I really don't want to test that out...

What about a tube, you say?  You could truck a tube in it...but with different bikes with different tires I attach the appropriate tube on the bike.  Anyways, the thing works great for me....you can check it out at www.cat5gear.ca if you like...and I think Rock and Road Cycle carries them...

Anyways....Oggie complained that I don't post regularly enough (maybe I need to blog about bran???), misconceptionz says I don't have enough cat pics so I hope this post fit the bill...ok one more...




Actually....to keep Fig happy, next post I will post about something that helps keep me safe on the road, safe from hunters, and safer from scary animals...




Anyways....its Friday and we have this to look forward to...




But in the meantime lets hope the weather holds (so far it's not looking so good) so we can enjoy another post ride bonfire on the weekend...


Speaking of time wasting...it's been two whole days since I rode the fatbike (can you tell I like that thing???)...

So, I'm gonna go do that now...(Coach Rob says to get my lazy arse moving!)

Stay posted!!



Monday 16 November 2015

Riot on Fatties

So with racing season over, and a week or two of just fun riding....nothing geared towards training...I decided I need to work on strength/power.  With all of the effort going towards working on endurance, I have lost significant leg strength....and size.  My pants are getting a bit baggy...




So I have been hitting the gym...focusing on leg strength.  Here is my workout pic...





OK...maybe not.


Anyways, to work on strength I have also been singlespeeding our local hilly trails with guys like this...


Unglued


Blaze

And finally, with the intention of working on strength by pushing more weight around, and to keep trainer time to a minimum this winter, I trotted down to BicycleWorks this week and picked up this beauty...









So a friend that I have much respect for recently told me that fatbikes are "overrated".  And at one time I agreed.  Three years ago I test rode one....and while the traction was awesome, it felt like a tank...heavy...stiff, yet bouncy....and difficult to maneuver.

Now, I don't know if manufactures have applied more recent technology, or have the geometry more dialed in....or both.  Whatever it is, this machine is incredible.  If I didn't look down at the big tire while riding, I would believe I was on a regular mountain bike.  With the difference being that the traction is unbelievable.  Railing wet, leafy corners; rolling over slick roots on steep technical climbs; rock gardens feeling almost smooth.  I was easily riding stuff that I have always struggled with...almost believing that I had skills!  Yup...I'd like to think I'm a badass but...




And then there is Seth...who obviously is a fatbike badass!




Anyways, on the first couple of rides on the Fatboy I have had to ride every hill possible....just to see if I could.  I was totally gutting myself, but with a perma-smile on my face!  It is so much fun you forget how much work it is pushing the extra weight around....until you look at your heart rate monitor and realize you are redlining for so much of the ride.  Especially chasing guys like this around...(yes Giant also has a new fatbike!)...


Me 'n' Giant

Our fatties

Oh, by the way...leave it to me to prove, that yes....you can still go over the bars even on a fatbike...ask Giant...he had a perfect view....or ask this guy...




Anyways, I can seriously see this as being my go to mountain bike for all conditions.  Will I still feel this way when the 'new' wears off?  Let's wait and see.  For now it is fun as heck, and an incredible training tool.

So....let's go ride!!
Stay posted!

Saturday night post fattie ride debacle