Training Log Archive: Bash

Rocky Mountain Blizzard - fat bike demo

Apollo carbon, front suspension fat bike demo

Albion Hills Fat Bike Festival, Superfly Racing

There were 10K and 20K races but 'Bent and I were just attending as spectators so we could try some manufacturer demo bikes and cheer the racers on.





Veinbuster was there for the 10K Poker Run. It was the first time he's ever put on a race number so we cheered extra hard for him.

Before:



Start of Race:



Final sprint to beat That Other Guy to the finish line:



I tried two bikes. The first was a Rocky Mountain Blizzard that sells for $2,500 at our local bike shop. It's a good quality bike but a basic one - no suspension, no front derailleur, and it feels a bit heavy, as most fat bikes do. These are the bikes that Albion Hills rents out for $35 for 2 hours or you can rent them directly from Caledon Hills Cycling if you want to take them somewhere else. It was my first fat bike ride and it was a ton of fun!

The second one (this GPS track) was a $6,000 customized carbon bike made by Apollo. It was obviously lighter, it had two gears up front, and it had front suspension. It's in a different universe from any fat bike that I would ever buy but I could certainly feel what you get for the additional $3,500! It was responsive with a nice range of gears, and it moved more easily through ungroomed snow.

Although we were just spectators, Sean Ruppel gave 'Bent permission to do a 10K lap of the race course behind the rest of the field. He doesn't have super fat tires but his lap went well and only one racer passed him.



We enjoyed the spirit of the festival. There were lots of costumes and most people didn't seem to take themselves too seriously. Sean and his wife made a huge vat of chili themselves. There was beer for sale, live music and a bonfire.















We had to tell this father that his young daughter couldn't see anything because his poncho flew in her face when they rode their tandem. He tucked it away. Such a cool bike!



Some of you know Steve Hunter and his wife Lynne.

Then we dashed over to the Caledon Community Centre to hear Andrew Yorke talk about the Road to Rio - the story of how he grew up in the sport of triathlon and represented Canada at the Olympics this summer. We've known Andrew since his high school years and it was terrific to see what a good presenter he has become and how gracious he is in crediting other people for their contributions to his success. His parents were sitting behind us and they must have spent most of the past year (and more!) bursting with pride. :)

He said something that made me think about a recent AP discussion about getting itchy in the cold. I think it was FB? Anyway, after his best Olympic qualifier race, which took place in Edmonton in pouring rain and low temperatures, Andrew was not only hypothermic but he had an allergic reaction to the cold and had to take prescription meds for a week post-race!

Snowshoe run around Palgrave East. A third of it was breakable crust with soft, heavy snow underneath. That part was really hard work. The rest was hard, crusty or icy trail with an irregular surface from frozen footprints, bike tracks, ski tracks and snowshoe tracks. That part was hard work for the ankles at times but otherwise good running.

The time includes some trail clearing. Lots of branches are down in certain sections of forest after the gusty winds that knocked our power out this week. A friend's sister was killed by a tree while hiking recently - a heartbreaking reminder to avoid forested areas on windy days.