Thanksgiving Fat Bike Ride

Due to the cold and just enough snow to make a road ride questionable we hit the farm roads for a little pre-Turkey dinner exercise.

Ryan lays down a nice single track

Dave surveys the Idaho Tundra

MAXimFLOW #2 - Ireland and Scotland

 

Nodes from the Hautes-Alpes département of France.

 

From Rebecca Rusch: Snowball Special Registration Open, Date Announced for RPI 2016

Snowball Special Registration Now Open!                           I love me some fat biking!  Skiing’s fun too, but who doesn’t love options? That’s why I’m hosting the 2nd Annual Snowball Special Fat Bike Race in Sun Valley! This event is  a fundraiser for our local Fat Bike Advocacy Group and our goal is to introduce more people to fat biking and have a great time doing it.  Join us on the Sun Valley Nordic Trails.    January 30th, 2016.  20k, 40k, and 40k relay distances. For more information and to register, visit  http://www.snowballfatbike.com

 

Phil Gaimon: We are not robots | Cyclingnews.com

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/phil-gaimon-we-are-not-robots/

Elite Men's Race Highlights 2015-16 Cyclo-cross World Cup Koksijde, Belgium

 

Cross Crusade '15 . Portland International Raceway

Rideable*

 

*Barely. Tony and I just finished riding a variation of the singletrack that I rode on Thursday, not because it was a good idea but because we are knuckleheads.

GCN: Ride Mud Like a Pro

 

Fat Singletrack

 

If you are riding a fat bike in midwinter, it is probably on a snowmobile trail or similar surface. Singletrack has long since ceased to be rideable. I started the day today with the plan of going out for a road ride. By the time I got organized to do that, snow was falling. Plan B, a fat bike ride from Lyon Creek to the Kelly Canyon area seemed like a better option. I was lucky enough to encounter those very rare goldilocks conditions: enough snow to make the singletrack fun and challenging, not enough to make it unrideable. If it continues to snow overnight the window of opportunity to ride singletrack may be gone by morning.

From Tony: Fat Bike Tubeless

I am relatively new to tire sealants and my fat bike was the first in my fleet to switch over to the tubeless world. I chose Orange Seal based mainly on their claims that their sealant preformed best at sub zero temperatures. The product worked. No flats all last winter. I know it is not a big endorsement because who gets flats riding around on snow. Curiosity got the better of me about what was going on inside the tire and because all sealant companies recommend adding fresh sealant every 4 to 6 months, I decided to take it apart. Breaking the seal along the bead was very difficult and I had to resort to levers and body builder noises. The latex material is amazingly tough. The photo shows the coagulated sealant after hanging in my garage over the summer. No doubt all sealants dry up eventually. At I thought I would cause a sizable weight imbalance, but when I pulled it out, it only weighed an estimated 15 or 20 grams. Considering the overall mass of the tire material, I don't believe it will even be noticed while riding. I don't plan to mess around with the front tire except to add the recommended refill of sealant.

Bengal Cross

I was not able to make it to Bengal Cross today but I spoke to Brian, Dan, and Shae who were there. Apparently it was a great event with a good course and conditions. A number of the Rexburg cyclists were there as well as the Jackson Hole crew plus some very fast guys from Sun Valley. It was déjà vu all over again with Shae winning the women’s race. If anyone wants to send additional commentary or photos, I would be happy to post them.

On balance, I feel like this has been the best cross season ever in Southeastern Idaho with a total of seven local races (three in Victor, two in Idaho Falls, one in Rexburg, and one in Pocatello). The races have generally been well organized and well supported by local cyclists. I hope that this momentum and growth will continue next year.

Lok Sak

This is exactly what it looks like: a better quality Zip Lock bag (softer stronger plastic, double zipper, convenient size and shape). Everyone who participated in Jay P's Gravel Pursuit received one of these in our swag bag. Until someone comes up with a better plan to protect a cell phone in your jersey product or until the phones become more indestructible, this may be the best protection option. 

Don't Forget Bengal Cross this Saturday

As most of you are aware, this will be the final cross race of the season in our immediate area. Peter puts on a great race and I hope as many people as possible can support it. Follow this link for registration and more information: https://bengalcross.athlete360.com/

VeloNews: What Makes Cycling Tires Fast?

photo copyright VeloNews/VeloNews.com

http://velonews.competitor.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road-what-makes-cycling-tires-fast

The short answer: It's complicated. I had skimmed this article a few days ago in the print version of VeloNews. Jeff sent me the link to the online version today and drew my attention back to it. For the technologically inclined among our readers, I would highly recommend reading the full article. Speaking very broadly, wider, more supple tires roll faster. But as it turns out, the most important variable may be the exact rubber compound of each individual tire. The most remarkable finding from VN strict laboratory testing of 34 popular tire models is that the rolling resistance of the worst tires was almost double that of the best (roughly 60 vs 30 watts per tire). Times two tires, that is a difference of 60 watts which multiplied over distance is enormous. 

Are electric bikes the wheels of the future or just the new Segways? - The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/are-electric-bikes-the-wheels-of-the-future-or-just-the-new-segways/2015/11/11/bb9271da-8328-11e5-8ba6-cec48b74b2a7_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-lifestyle%3Ahomepage%2Fcard

Viva la revolución: Mexico City cyclists fight for the right to ride in safety |The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/nov/11/viva-la-revolucion-mexico-city-cyclists-fight-right-safet

Kaleidoscope: See Things Differently

Anderson Mill Canyon Rd. First Snow Ride of the Season.

Blue Goose 2015

 

Yesterday was another perfect fall day which saw the running of the Third Annual Blue Goose Cyclocross at Freeman Park in Idaho Falls. Scheduling conflicts prevented me from participating the first two years,so yesterday was my first Blue Goose and first ever cross race at Freeman Park. I absolutely loved the venue. The laps were long and featured a number of substantial climbs over the hilly topography of the park.

The race played out in a fairly familiar pattern. Gabe won the men’s A Race. Shae won the Women’s A Race. Kelton finished on the podium.

 

Lots More Great Cube Photos on the Rexburg Races Facebook Page

I think Jordan took most of these…all professional quality.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1022148274503141.1073741837.373923655992276&type=3

 

From Scott Hurst: BYU-I Gear Sale Tomorrow

The ORC is hosting a gear swap and sale this Saturday November 7^th from 9:00AM-5:00 PM. We have bikes, skis, snowboards, Stand Up Paddle boards, canoes, river tubes, and much more.  All sales are on a first come first serve basis. All sales will be final and all items are sold as is no warranty implied or otherwise.

 

In addition to the sale we will have door prizes, food vendors and other entertainment happening from 10:00AM to 2:00PM Check out our Facebook for more details.  https://www.facebook.com/OutdoorResourceCenter/

 

Cycling News.com: Pros Select the Top Five Climbs in North American Racing

Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale-Garmin) wins at Snowbird during the 2015 Tour of Utah. (Jonathan Devich)/cyclingnews.com

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/top-5-climbs-in-north-american-racing/

GCN: Ride Sand Like a Pro

From Gray Augustus: Blue Goose Details

As many of you know, the Blue Goose Cyclocross Race will take place at Freeman Park in Idaho Falls on Saturday. Gray has supplied the following additional information (corrected 5 p.m. 11-4)

• 12 noon: Kids race, 1 lap
• 12:40: Beginner race, 30 minutes
• 1:30:  Experienced and Masters race 45 minutes
• $15 entry fee, all participants receive a Blue Goose mug
• prizes = Bill's Bike and Run gift cards for top 3 beginners, $75/$50/$25 for top three masters/experienced.

                   

Pedal power in Pablo Escobar's former stronghold – in pictures | The Guardian

photo credit: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty/The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/nov/04/pedal-power-pablo-escobar-colombia-in-pictures

Send Kelton to CX Nationals

Kelton is a great kid and a rising cyclocross talent. You can help finance his trip to the USA Cycling Cyclocross Nationals in Asheville, North Carolina.

https://www.gofundme.com/jj6jfggs

Brad Barlow's Great Pumpkin Photos

http://orders.photographersidahofalls.com/2015-1023-great-pumpkin-cyclocross/

 

Registration Link for Blue Goose Cyclocross Saturday November 7th

The cross season is winding down in the Snake River Valley with only two races remaining: Blue Goose Nov.7^th, Bengal Cross Nov 14^th. Here is a registration link for Blue Goose: http://www.activityreg.com/selectactivity.wcs  Like Great Pumpkin, the information here regarding start times is pretty confusing with the time listed at 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. I checked the Bill’s Bike Shop Facebook page for specifics but did not find any. As soon as someone has information on the start times, I would be happy to post it.

If you still can’t get enough cross, the UTCX series continues weekly until December 5^th. http://utahbikeracing.com/

 

 

 

From Jordan: Couple of Cube Pictures