First Winter Bike Ascent of Sawtell Peak (?)

I am going to stop short of claiming this as a first winter bike ascent, but we have made a few inquiries and do not know of anyone who has done this previously. If you have ridden Sawtell in the winter or have reliable information about someone who has, we would be interested to hear their story and set the record straight.

The road to Sawtell is officially closed in the winter, but it is plowed to allow access to the communications equipment on top. Sawtell is a fairly tough climb in good conditions, and obviously tougher in the winter. The plan for a winter ride of Sawtell has been in the works for some time. Jeff suggested it last year, but today was the first opportunity that we have had to get a few people together and make it happen.

The entire effort, up and back, required about three hours of riding time. As you can probably tell from the photos, conditions were generally good at the start and brutal on top; cold with winds of perhaps 40 mph.

Candide Thovex- One of Those Days 3

About three million people have watched this YouTube video in two days. The POV stuff is pretty hard for me to watch (motion sickness), but this is spectacular. There are some bicycles at about the two minute mark.

Hunter Brown Petitions to Make Mountain Bike Racing an Official HS Sport

http://www.eastidahonews.com/2016/02/local-teen-petitions-to-make-mountain-biking-a-school-sport/

Tim Johnson's cold, icy, fat-bike ride up Mt. Washington

Does this idea seem kind of familiar?

Tour of Utah-Trip to Torrey/Sawtell/Wild Horse/RPI

As many of you know, we are planning a trip to Torrey Sunday July 31^st for a long road ride Monday August 1^st (Fish Lake Loop or similar) and to watch the Tour of Utah stage finish on Tuesday August 2^nd. Kellen will be driving the van and we have a few seats available. Brian has been working diligently to make some room reservations amid the rapidly dwindling accommodations. If you would like to come on the Torrey trip, please RSVP to Brian or me no later than Sunday evening.

This Saturday, we are planning our long awaited fat bike ascent of Sawtell. We will be departing from Jeff’s house at 9 a.m. If you would like to come, please RSVP to Jeff or me so we can coordinate transportation.

If you are interested in Ride the Wild Horse April 30^th, please contact Kellen or Joe to reserve a spot in the van and to coordinate lodging.

One more note on lodging…When I made room reservations a few days ago for Rebecca’s Private Idaho, I was surprised to find a very limited number of rooms still available. If you need a room reservation for RPI, do not procrastinate. If you want to take advantage of our 20% off registration, please contact Dan or me for the discount code.                               Dave

Cav vs. Rubik's Cube

ENVE acquired by Mavic Parent Co. Amer Sports - BikeRadar USA

http://www.bikeradar.com/us/news/article/enve-acquired-by-amer-sports-46453/

RPI Aerial Preview

 

Fat Bike Ride - Packsaddle Rd. to Horseshoe Canyon (with Packsaddle Spur)

At Daniel's suggestion a group from Rexburg made a little expedition over to the snowmobile trails well maintained by the District 33 (Big Hole) groomers.

These are gracious folks who we met on our way out and doubtless spend many hours keeping these beautiful tracks groomed.

There's a great write-up of the trail by the folks at JH Nordic here, so if you want trail details and description head on over.

We chose to start at the trailhead at Kay's Dairy.  Apparently many prefer to start at the south end of this trail to avoid the first killer uphill.  (Now we know why.)  Once we'd crested this initial rise we were treated to wonderful views and a much kinder slope the remainder of our travels towards  the first junction where we turned south to Horseshoe Canyon.

Along the way we took a moment to stare at a moose that was having a much tougher go of it than us.  It probably wanted to be on the groomed trail too.

We continued along the trail to Horseshoe Canyon past the second intersection (Packsaddle Horseshoe) and turned around where the trail topped out a little bit more than a mile south.  On our way back we decided to go 15 minutes up the Packsaddle trail and got our intervals done for the day as the trail went up 500 feet in half a mile (average grade = 19%), with several portions much steeper.  Kudos to Shae who I think was the only one who didn't touch a foot on the way up.

The ride out was a bunch of fun, and we made it out in a little less than half the time it took to climb up.  At some point we'd undoubtedly be back to ride more of these gorgeous trails.

Fresh Air-Escape Switzerland

 

Manizales Colombia DH POV

 

Pedal the Columbia's historic highway and help connect its pieces at 2016 Gorge Ride. June 18 | OregonLive.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/02/pedal_up_the_historic_columbia.html#incart_river_home_pop

Trials World Champion Vincent Hermance in Taiwan

Bike Meme of the Day

From Dan: Discount Code for Rebecca's Private Idaho

RPI has offered a 20% discount to local riders as part of a Sticks and Stones based team for 2016 registration. The only requirement is that you register prior to May 4^th. You can contact me or Dan for the discount code.

Idaho fat bikers expand their options | Idaho Statesman

http://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/biking/article60779856.html

TRANSITION: An American Cyclo-Cross Season - Full Film

 

GCN: How Much Faster Are Modern BIkes?

 

Eleven Year-Old Jackson Goldstone Rides Whistler

 

Ride the Wild Horse Saturday April 30th

Cedar Mountain Wilderness Utah. Registration is now open.

http://www.ridewildhorse.com/

 

SLC Women's Bicycle Collective

Brandon Semenuk Shills for Subaru in Vice Versa

From Dan: Togwotee Winter Classic Fat Bike Race

The Togwotee Winter Classic is a non-profit bike race on snowmobile trails near Togwotee Pass at 7,000' to 9,500' in elevation under extreme winter conditions.

Saturday March 5th. As of today, only 16 participant slots are still open.

http://togwoteewinterclassic.blogspot.com/

https://twc.athlete360.com/

Legally Speaking with Bob Mionske: Group Ride Etiquette - VeloNews.com

"Group rides mean different things to different riders. Seasoned racers will be getting in base miles with an eye toward fitness for the first races, which may still be a few months away. Other riders see group rides as a race, and to ‘win’ the group ride is the goal, no matter the month. With these differing motivations, the group behavior can be a bit schizophrenic; this can be dangerous and leave a horrible impression especially with the non-cycling public."   
"Be like the pros who don’t allow themselves to get sucked into an ego-driven pre-season “race” on a training ride." 
Bob Minoske-VeloNews.com
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/02/news/road/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske-group-ride-etiquette_394605

Tour of Utah 2015 Sizzle Reel

 

Pedal-Assist Motorized Wilier Cyclocross Bikes Available Online - Femke Van den Driessche's Bike's Mechanical Doping Via an Off-the-Shelf Bike? - Cyclocross Magazine

http://www.cxmagazine.com/buy-pedal-assist-motor-wilier-cyclocross-bike-femke-van-den-driessches-bike

2 Fat 2 Furious

Some Additional Comments on the Lyon Creek Road Maintenance

 

Here is what I said about the new road maintenance plan for the road to Lyon Creek in a post a few weeks ago:

We were surprised to find today that the road was only cleared to the T-intersection of the Walker Siding Road and the Lyon Creek Road. A parking area has been cleared at the intersection. Beyond that point, the road has been groomed for snowmobiles including Moody Creek, where we rode today, and Lyon Creek. The new road maintenance plan makes the approach to the canyons significantly longer, but it is not an unpleasant ride across the dry farms.

 

Since then, I have ridden across the dry farms in soft snow conditions to the Lyon Creek area a couple of times and it has not been that special. On balance, I believe that the County’s new winter maintenance significantly reduces the viability of the Lyon Creek area as a fat bike destination. The distance from the new parking area to the end of the pavement (the old parking area) is 4.5 miles, or 9 miles round trip. That may not be a big deal on a snowmobile, but nine miles on a fat bike in soft snow is not trivial. The one thing the new plowing/grooming plan does is to facilitate a Moody Creek to Lyon Creek loop if you are fortunate enough to catch good grooming and conditions.

Electromagnetic wheels are the new frontier of mechanical doping, claims Gazzetta dello Sport | Cyclingnews.com

Gazzetta dello Sport's graphic demonstrating how electromagnetic wheels work

(Gazzetta dello Sport)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/electromagnetic-wheels-are-the-new-frontier-of-mechanical-doping-claims-gazzetta-dello-sport/