What's New?

What's New?

I haven't written a blog for a while, so I had to write this one to say I am still alive. Not much happening. It's mostly work, ride and more work. Most of my riding has been on the Trike, as I have been waiting for the Air shock to come back from Risse. I never like to say anything bad about a small company as I know what type of things happen. They haven't returned any emails or phone calls yet as to what is the hold up. I finally called Bluevelo last week and bought a stock shock so I can ride the Quest again  Bluevelo shipped it the same day and I was riding again a couple of days later. Thanks Randy and Ray for the great service.
         It's been a long winter and as I write this we still have some snow left in the yard to melt. It raining today and that should melt the rest I hope. Then if it ever warms up the yard work will start. And when you have dogs you will know what lurks under all that snow.
      

  I have been following a blog from down under called Rotovelo Across Australia . He is hoping to be the first person to cross Australia in a Velomobile. I know I could never afford to do that ride so it's nice to see his pictures. Check it out if you have time.

More Winter Racing: With the dogs Now!

More Winter Racing: With the dogs Now!
This last weekend I had a choice of doing two things on Sunday. Either I go racing with the dogs to Kenora or go on the Polar Bear Run with the Monster Trike. Well faith decided it for me. The fuel pump quit Saturday night on the truck and the Monster trike  won't fit in the Toyota like the Dog sled does.
     So Sunday morning I loaded up the Dog sled in the Toyota and took 2 dogs for the ride. No room for the wife so she stayed home to paint.  We traveled two hours east to the town of Kenora located on Lake of the Woods. The race was held at the local ski hill     Mt Evergreen  on their cross country ski trails.

Perfect weather for the race on a perfect trail. The trail was only 4 km long but it had lots of curves, uphills and great down hills with tight corners. There were more than a few curves where the sled was touching the bushes or trees as I went by. We had the third fastest time of the day and we were first in our class.

We made the front page of the local paper.

I made a video of the run and left in the natural sound. I didn't realize how much I talked to the dogs until I heard my self on it. This is the first edit and I cut it down quite a bit, but it could be shorter. We used a kick sled but we caught up and passed some teams on skis who left a couple of minutes ahead of us. It was a close finish, but time wise we were much faster as we left 2 minutes behind the team that passed us. Here is the link to our Kenora Race video. The race was also a fund raiser for the local dog rescue. The trails were the best ones we have ever raced on and we really had lots of FUN...

My Big Race in the Snow.

Well it's been a busy winter and for me it has flown by. For most other people it has been a long cold snowy winter. As I type this out it's -35C outside and I just got back from a dog sled ride with my Huskies. They don't care how cold it is outside, they just like to get out and run. I have to dress for it. Early morning at this temperature there is not many people moving outside.





Since January I have been spending a lot of time outside  working and riding the Fat tired trike. This year I decided I wanted some challenge in my life and decided to do the Actif Epica Race.  I have been pre-riding the race route in parts to learn it. I knew what to expect so I thought. There was almost 70 people who were starting this race on bikes and 20 runners. Yes, as you read this you are thinking who would ride a bike 135 km though the snow, never mind who would be crazy enough to run it. Some of the riders came from far away, from the US and other provinces in Canada. All the runners were local.

Getting ready for the start.

  Now the week before the race we got lots of snow. The trail had a hard crust that was ride able for me before it but that was all different now. In the race there was mostly fat tired bikes and a few mountain bikes. It was about -22C at the early morning start and it warmed up to about -14C later in the day. The runners started at 7:00 am and we started at 8:00 am.

The Start

Here we Go.....

The race started along some roads, across the frozen snow covered lake at St. Malo and then onto the Crow Wing Trail.

 Now I had ridden the trail in the week previous but on race day the conditions were different. The runners who went before us broke though the crust of snow, and made the first couple of miles not ride able. I had to pull the trike though waist deep snow in some places. It was tough going but I knew if I didn't push it I could do the distance. I was so warm pulling the trike though the snow I made the mistake of taking off my outer jacket. About 5 km later I had to cross an open field and the wind was really starting to pick up. I went to put my jacket on and discovered it was gone. I had to turn around and back track to find it. It was 5 km back where I had taken it off.  It was 10 extra km I did. By the first check point there were quite a few cold tired people who dropped out. I was last in, but I wasn't tired or cold. The second section was mostly snow covered gravel roads. It was faster except for a couple snow covered fields I had to pull though. I passed a couple of runners in this section. At the second checkpoint there were more people who dropped out. Not me. I was warm and not tired. I changed my socks as they were damp. Ate more food  and away I went. On the third section I had to cross a long section of open field. The wind had really picked up and the snow was really blowing. All the other tracks from the people ahead of me were covered up all ready. It's a good thing I knew where I had to go. It was slow going into this blinding snow. I passed some more people here who looked very tired. I rode down some drifted over mud and gravel roads and made it to the third checkpoint at 7:19 pm. Unfortunately that was 19 minutes late. I missed the cutoff time by 19 minutes. I was out. The hard part of the race was done. At that point I was warm and not tired at all. It was disappointing but it was my own mistake that put me out.  I had taken 11 hours and 19 minutes to do 72 really tough km. As they say this is a race where the conditions can really change as you go. I had some really great soup and food and caught a ride home. Next year I will go faster and finish !!!

One of people who helped out is making a video of the race. Here is a trailer he made. The full video will come later. Actif Epica Race trailer.
        Only 33 cyclists finished out of 69. Only 5 runners out of 20 finished. It was the toughest year so far they said about this race. The important thing to me is I stuck to my plan, ate well, and drank well and came home warm and in good shape. I met some great people and had lots of FUN....

 

The Quest is Down

The Quest is Down

It’s January and it is winter in Winnipeg. There are frozen cars. Massive ruts in the snow covered roads. Roads that are more slippery than a politician. Broken down buses. Downed traffic lights. Wind chills of -47. And when it does warm up we get 10 cm of snow and 70 km winds.

             I had to stop riding the Quest. The shock sticks and has to go back to Riss. Even with the studded tires it has been hard to drive. I can dress to stay warm at -32 but the roads are too rutted to ride safely on. I am sending the shock in and I might ride the trike if the roads improve.

           

Waiting to start the ride.

I have been training on the trike for the race in February. Pete McAdam of Peterbuilt Bikes machined up another set of rear drop-offs for it. It now works great. As well as I have laced up the 3 speed Strumley-Archer hub to the rear wheel. With the 9 speed cassette and the 3 front chain rings I have 81 ratios to use. The rear hub has a .75, a 1.0 and a 1.25 ratios. I mostly leave it in the 1.0 ratio, but the .75 comes in handy on some hills. I think this hub would be great on my Quest for the hills, if one could figure a way to mount it.

            Despite the large tires on the trike I have run into places where I get stuck in the snow. I have found I can get moving by using my hands on the front wheels like a wheel chair. I call it 3 wheel drive.   
         I went on a pre-ride on part of the race course. It warmed up to -18C but there was a good wind. It was fun but I had a rear valve leak and had to stop and pump it up several times.

A rough rocky section and a tip over.

I had a tip over in one spot where there were uneven rocks. Nothing hurt just my pride. My friend Gregory C. McNeill took these pictures. More of his pictures can be seen here This was a good test and I have learned a few things and will make some changes before I ride again. The skis I made I didn't have to use. The tires float very well if I have to pull it.

I don't think they are worth hauling the extra weight around. More commuting and testing before the big race on February 15th. 

Until next time keep warm and have FUN.....

The First Year with My Quest XS!

The First Year with My Quest XS!

Along the Frozen Red River

 December 01, 2012    I got to unpack a crate containing my new Quest XS. It had been a long wait. Now a year later I look back and think what a great ride I have been on. There have been a lot of fun km's ridden this first year. In fact it's the most distance I have ever done in one year.

 I have to say it's the best money I have ever spent. The year has been full of a lot of firsts for me. Thanks to the Quest, I have finished my first 400 km Brevet and my first 600 km Brevet. I have gone from being the old guy that finishes last to the guy that can finish an hour ahead of everyone else in a 200 km Brevet. My picture has appeared in 3 newspapers that I know about. I still get my picture taken every time I ride. I no longer look at the wind forecast, I just ride to work anyway. The list goes on and on.  It's been a great first year. The most important thing is I have had FUN...

Crazy Winter FUN!!!

Crazy Winter FUN!!!
Well as a Canadian I am not the most crazy person around these parts. This year in the Quest I have dine some long rides. And it's been a real fun time for sure. My fitness level is better for all the extra km I have ridden this year. The snow is here but that won't stop the Quest. Bring on winter, I'm ready!
           With those words said, my fellow rider  said to me: "You should race that Quest this winter!"
            And I replied: "What race would take me?"
            Pete said: " The Actif Epica. "
            "It's a 135 km endurance event with no bike rules."
            "It takes place in February. I ran a Recumbent in it in 2012."
Well that sound great to me. No bike rules! Well I checked it out. Most of it runs on roads and bike trails, but some of doesn't. Part of it runs on a snowmobile trail. How did he run a recumbent? This is how!

Monster Recumbent of Pete Mc Adam.

 I checked out the rules on the website. Actif Epica 2013 site. and sure enough I could run the Quest in it if I was crazy. Well I'm not quite that crazy. The real crazy people are those who run the race instead of riding. I found a video on YouTube about the race and that made me think.
Here is a link to the Video: Actif Epica 2012. I could do it but not in a Quest. You need a bike that you could carry or drag though the deep snow but could be fast on the roads. Something that could handle the rough trails. So I got on the internet and this is what I bought myself for Christmas.

The Trike was built for me with some extra changes. Larger front wheels for the off road portions of the race.

Notice the two twist shifters for the 9 speed cassette and the triple up front. There is also a small shifter on the left bar for the extra 3 speeds in the SA hub. This setup would give you 81 possible ratios. Of course some would be duplicates. But this gives me some really low gearing to push the bigger rear tire I want to run for the race.

 Now you will also notice the rear wheel has a brake on it. Well in a race with no rules why can't I build some skis to put on the front wheels for when I have to run on snow. Of course with skis on the front I need a rear brake to stop. The bike is being shipped right now so it won't get here for at least a week. That gives me a couple of months to modify and test every thing. I have to also mount a rack to carry the skis and other stuff I need for the race. I will report as this crazy project goes on.

Snow, Snow Tires,and Winter shoes

This week the snow came to stay.  Monday was the start of my winter cycling. I say it was the start because it was the first day commuting on the studded snow tires. With the heavy tires I am slower and working harder. I also find the noise from the tires is very high now.  The good side is I am getting more exercise and the legs should get stronger.

            After reading about Adri's Crash , it reminded me of my crash last winter. I was lucky as the snow bank was softer than what Adri encountered..   Slow DOWN!          Never to repeat that, I am trying to drive slower.

            

 Even though Adri and I have an ocean between us, unknowing, we have both bought new winter cycling shoes to test this winter.. The shoes are Celius Artic GTX and today was the first ride for me with them. It was -14C this morning and I found the shoes warm with just one pair of this wool socks. I will have to adjust the bottom bracket as the shoes are thicker than my summer shoes. I also found the adjustment cord too long and it has to be tucked under the Velcro. The important thing is they are warm so far. I will post more on these shoes as the winter goes on. 

For a few months now I have been putting in some long hours at work. The Quest seems to only get ridden in the dark lately. There has not been much time for fun, just work. But now that winter is here the fun should begin. There may even be some racing for the Quest this winter. There will be some dog sled races too. Tonight I will hook up the Huskies and we get a dog sled run in. That’s another way for us to get some more winter FUN…