Snow ride at the Fort and schedule additions

If I did a post for every recreational or training ride I went on this blog would be unmanageable and rather repetitive. However, my ride this past Monday was one of those great ones which requires a post. Plus, I just like photos of single track in the snow.   

Morning temperatures were forecasted to be in the mid to low teens on Monday which would make for some perfectly frozen ground at Ft. Ben Harrison. Even better was that some forecasted morning snow flurries intensified into a rather heavy snow which covered the park. Ride time temperature was 13 degrees and despite the endless fogging of my glasses, and throwing my chain on the first uphill (I had the single speed), I got a good workout and enjoyed a mostly empty park. Sure beats sitting in my basement on a trainer watching videotapes (yes, VHS) of past Tour de France stages.

 

A view from the parking lot post ride. Trail is in the trees on the left.

Also, my previously detailed season schedule has had a few additions. Planet Adventure, one of the local race promoters has posted on their site that they plan to have a night mountain bike race series consisting of three races in the summer. So far they have two venues, Southwestway Park on July 27^th and Town Run on August 31^st. Last year’s night race at Town Run was a great time, save for the stifling humidity, and I'm looking forward to these unique races. Assuming they have a single speed division like last year I will once again race on the Monocog.

Two 29ers and a full suspension 26er walk into a bar....

Ok, so there is really no joke behind the title but it does describe my current bike stable. I mentioned several weeks ago that I was gathering parts for a winter bike building project. Well, here we are at the end of January and said project is now complete. So much for the remaining 8 weeks of winter. Since we’re in the winter doldrums and no one wants to hear about my daily commute (highlight being I saw a rabbit one morning last week), I figured I would do a reveal of the new to me bike.

(warning, show and tell ahead)

Anyway, my goal with this bike was to try full suspension riding. I have two 29er hard tails (3x9 speed and a single speed) and had never tried full suspension. Also, I had my first bike, a 26 inch hard tail, hanging in the garage after my attempt to modify it for my wife to use. This modification failed, but the bike still had plenty of parts (inckuding its wheel seta) that I could use for another project.

My first goal was to find an affordable full suspension frame. I found this on ebay in the form of a 2010 Motobecane Fantom Team frame, size large, with a Rock Shox Monarch 4.2.  It was the right size, and with only cosmetic wear to the decals. Check off the frame from the to get list. A few other parts, such as the derailleurs, shifters, etc., came from ebay and local sellers.

Unfortunately, my goal to stick to use as many parts as possible from the old bike didn’t quite hold. I did use the brakes, grips, bars, saddle, and wheels. However, I deviated in two big areas.

First, was the crankset. The old bike had a basic Shimano Acera three ring crankset. It actually has had very little use and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. However, during my snooping for deals, I spotted a Shimano SLX M665 double crankset (36-22 chain rings) for an unbeatable price. I have the SLX triple on another bike and have been very happy with its performance and I really like the look.  Between the price, the model, and my desire to try a double crankset, the decision was made.

 

Still not sure about the bash guard. It might come off at some point. (purposefully, not by “bashing” into a rock) I also already had a long cage rear derailleur when I bought the SLX. Technically I think a medium cage rear derailleur would have been best, but it seems the long cage works well enough when the bike is on the workstand. Whether there is any impact on performance on the trial remains to be seen.

Second was the fork. The first bike came with a Rock Shox Dart, a nice little entry level fork with 28 mm stanchions and 100 mm of travel. It worked fine when I first started riding in 2008, and saw me through many of trails located around the state. But, I wanted something more substantial. The 28 mm stanchions were the big thing. They are just so thin, and when compared to my other forks (RS Reba) the Dart looks tiny. But, ebay came calling and I spotted a Rock Shox XCTK32 on sale for a decent "buy it now" price. While still mostly low end, it is above the Dart on the quality scale.

So, all parts in hand, I slapped everything together and here it is:

 

 

Nothing spectacular, but for a mostly budget, winter project, I think it will do just fine. Interesting thing should be the 26 in wheels. I haven’t ridden on those in a few years.

Here is the part list:

Frame: 2010 Motobecane Fantom Team
Wheels: No name set from first bike. J
Fork: Rock Shox TCK32 100mm
Rear Shock: Rock Shox Monarch 4.2
Crankset: Shimano SLX M665 36-22
FD: Shimano XT
RD: Sram X-5 (long cage)
Chain: Sram PG-950
Shifters: Sram X-5
Brakes: Avid BB7 (from old bike)
Handlebar: Niner Alumium, no rise
Grips: Ergon GP1 
Seat Post: Sette
Seat: No name from first bike
Tires: Kenda Klaw (from the old bike but still have plenty of life left)
Pedals: Eventually Shimano SPD (from one of my other bikes)

Now I know this bike would not be up to par for many people, but I never intended to build a top of the line racing/recreational machine. I wanted something that was affordable, that would allow me to snoop around for good deals on parts (which I love) and provide some entertainment during the dark days of winter. I’d say mission was accomplished on all those points. Now I just need to ride it! A ride report will be forthcoming.

 

Polar Bear Pedal II Ride (not race) Report

Edit 1/14/13: Finally figured out a work around for the photo uploading issue. Two Three photos added.

The 2^nd Annual Polar Bear Pedal hosted by Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard was held this past Saturday morning. Nothing much to report as it was a social ride, but since I mentioned it a few weeks back, I felt a follow up was needed. The ride went well and it was a beautiful day (clear and 18 degrees) for riding the streets of Indianapolis and is a good indication that cycling is gaining more of a foothold and overall acceptance in Indianapolis.
 

Gathering of riders before the PBP. This is only a portion of the riders as
many others had already moved to the start area.

Folks struggling over a snow bank on their way to the start line.

This year’s ride looped around the north side of downtown, past the Soldier’s and Sailor’s monument and then down to Fountain Square and Garfield Park. (Strava file here) Overall it was a nice ride, although I think I enjoyed last year’s edition a bit more. That ride set off in the middle of a fairly heavy snow fall which added some excitement to an otherwise easy ride. Still, pre-registration for this year’s edition was over 1,000 which for the second year of a ride that is held in early January was pretty good.  It seemed everyone enjoyed themselves and stayed safe, save for the two bikes that got mixed together near Garfield Park. Interestingly, the roads the ride followed were snow/ice free and covered in a nice 2 inch layer of salt while my street was still an icy mess. Hmm….

After the PBP I went for a short base ride along the Monon Trial and Canal Tow Path. Parts of the Towpath were impassable with snow and ice, but the section near Butler University was covered in perfectly tamped snow and was simply fantastic.

Side note, I got a truing stand for Christmas from my parents and have been slowly getting the hang of using it. Turns out I have no shortage of out of true wheels in the garage so I’ve got plenty of test subjects.

Second Side Note: I had several photos to go with this post but the upload tool on Blogger seems to be not working as it doesn’t give me the option to attach photos from my hard drive. Not sure what the deal is, but this post would have looked a lot nicer with some pics.

Ice, Snow, and...other frozen stuff

I have to think riding on ice will have some impact on my bike handling skills. Then again, it could just result in me crashing rather unspectacularly and laying on a bike path/side road waiting for someone to find my broken self.

Now that I have set the stage for third post, my first ride of the New Year was my 8 mile commute along the Indianapolis Central Canal and White River Trail early this morning. Beyond the crisp 8 degree temperatures, the ride started well. The Tow Path was perfectly packed down and fast. I used the Monocog 29er, and its 2.2 inch Nevegal front provided great traction while avoiding the annoying collecting of ice and snow in the chain rings and rear derailleur which occurs with a geared bike. Unfortunately the White River Trail was still covered in thick snow, ice, and frozen goose crap. This turned the commute into a bit of an adventure trying to stay on snow while avoiding ice (and to a lesser extent the goose crap which for some reason I imagined slicing open a side wall), all of which proved quite slow resulting in a ride that was 20 minutes longer than usual.

The way home was just as entertaining. While the Monon Trail was pretty clear, the side roads I use to cut over to my house were not. Several days’ worth of car traffic (residential roads don’t get plowed very often) had compressed the snow into a thick sheet of ice.  The photo at the top of the post is a represenative example of the ice I ecnountered. Notice that nice sheen?

The good news is that I made it home without crashing while demonstrating some fine bike handling skills in finding safe passage through the ice. When does spring arrive?