Meandering Velonauts

This year I’ve riden my bike four times below 30° and each time I ended up with mild frost nip on my feet. I’ve tried everything to keep my feet warm, but each time I end up with numb toes 1 hour into my ride. Last week was especially cold, and although color has returned to my feet there are still small patches of numb skin. I’m not alarmed, as I’ve heard it can take some time for your nerves to recover from frostnip.

What I’ve learned is that I need to go the extra mile to keep warm during cold morning commutes. I’ve found my existing equipment wont let me safely ride below 32°. To do this I’m going to have to invested in better equipment. So I’ve purchased  Moose Mitts and Lake MXZ302x boots.

Pogies are a simple piece of bicycle gear to cut down on the affects of wind chill while riding. Wind chill, not temperature, is the primary cause of frost-nip in your hands. I’ve found even lobster gloves do not provide enough protection from the wind to keep my fingers warm. After some amount of research, I decided I needed pogies. Moose Mitts are fleece lined, water proof, wind proof, and include a reflective strip. I purchased them from my friends at Chain Reaction Cycles in Anchorage. I hope these little guys allow me to continue riding well below freezing with little or no gloves on.

While my Sidi Storm cycling shoes are considered “winter cycling” shoes I purchased them in Maryland over 6 years ago. They did the trick back in Maryland, but I’ve found them ineffective below 40°. After much reading I decided I wasn’t ready to give up on clipless shoes. Instead of abandoning clipless shoes I’ve purchased the Lake MXZ302 winter boots. They have good reviews and appear to be much warmer than my old Sidi shoes. The good news is they are too warm for fall and spring temperatures, so my Sidi shoes will still have a home.

I fully plan on testing this equipment both commuting and snow biking this winter. I’ll keep everyone updated on how these items hold up to a season of use.

“Fat Bike”, by Carl Battreall, is a documentary film about the 2009 Susitna 100 winter cycling race in Alaska. The film, named after the unusually wide bicycle tires, shows the race origins, bicycle technology innovations, and stories of local competitors. The movie centers on the heart felt stories of Josh Morehouse and Mike Morganson as they train and compete in this year’s race.

My wife and I are avid cyclist and love snow, nature, and the great outdoors. We have been looking forward to watching this film since it arrived in the mail. This morning, with a warm cup of coffee we sat down this morning to watch the film.

Fat Bike is a well produced film. Carl did a great job keeping us entertained throughout the movie. The cinematography was both artistic and beautiful. I enjoyed watching bikes crawl over snow covered trails, while my wife especially enjoyed the beautiful Alaskan scenery. The film’s story was interesting and heart breaking. The plot was well presented, expanded on, and concluded.

Overall this was a fantastic film, and easy to understand why it won this year’s Boston Bicycle Film Fest. We would highly recommend this film to everyone. Great job Carl.

Small communication problem between me and Chain Reaction Cycles. The front wheel was built with unmodified Vicious Graceful Fat Sheeba rims. Modified rims are drilled to shave 1/2 pound from each wheel, and needs to be done.

Chris King rear hub, was taking a little bit of extra time to arrive, but is finally in. Should be a great rear hub for snow and ice. I’m hoping spline drive does better than standard pawls. Maybe avoid freehub freezing. 

So front wheel was rebuilt, and rear should be built today. Bike should ship from Chain Reaction Cycles in the next few days. I found this email in my inbox this morning!

Hi Shawn,

We will be building your wheels today and should be able to ship tomorrow or Thursday. Thought you would want to know…

Later,
Bill

Today, I Replaced my Novara Safari trekking handlebars. I’ve been considering alternate handlebars for some time. I’ve looked at H-bars, drop bars, Mary bars, flat bars, and standard riser bars. In the mean while, I continued to tweak the trekking bars trying to solve my comfort and control problems.

After over thinking my options, I decided to use standard riser bars and ergon grips. I know my Easton Monkey lites are comfortable and provide lots of control. I decided to keep the Dura-Ace + Paul thumbies combination for shifters. I like the looks, the feel, and they remind me of my old Bridgestone and Merlin bikes.

Another advantage is they are easily compatible with standard pogies. Now my Titus, 9:zero:7, and Safari all will have the same bar setup. Swapping the pogies between the three should be a piece of cake.

I just ordered my copy from their website. If your in Boston or Alaska go check it out live. I hope it ships soon, because I can’t wait to see it.

To buy this film go to Indie AK Films’ website
http://www.indieakfilms.com/page9.html