Boise Fat Biking: Awesome to Treacherous to Awesome

Thursday, January 24^th was supposed to be a drive day for me as I traveled to St George, UT for Camp Lynda 6.0 but Mother Nature had other ideas.  Freezing rain fell in the early morning hours and left most of Boise covered in a layer of ice which prompted me to pour myself another cup of coffee and check the Idaho road reports…I am glad I checked.  My route, I-84 Eastbound, was closed at 7:00am and would remain closed for most of the day due to ice and crashes.  The Facebook chatter on the Camp Lynda 6.0 page indicated that many of the Salt Lake City roads were in similar shape so I pulled the plug on my trip. 

My change of weekend plans would have been a little easier to swallow if the fat biking conditions had remained good.  As a result of the freezing rain storm, the Boise Foothills trails went from “snow-covered ribbons of fat biking greatness” to “treacherous” in one night. Fuck!

Kenai and I shuffled down to Camel’s Back Park Saturday morning to see if there was any chance of riding.  Let’s just say that walking to and from the park was an adventure so riding outside was not an option on Saturday.

Ice! We had to walk on the soft edge of the trail to take this pic. 

By Sunday I was REALLY ready to ride outside again.  Warmer temps Saturday afternoon softened the icy trails and we got a little dusting of snow and colder temps overnight.  This left the trails in a chunky, re-frozen state with just enough traction to try and ride.  Yeah for no trainer on Sunday!

And then it snowed Monday night.  I didn’t wake up Tuesday thinking about "powder" skiing the sick-gnar 3.5" of snow that Bogus Basin received.  I woke up thinking about how sweet the trails would be with a layer of fresh snow on top of a frozen base and that I better “git sum” before it warmed up.  So I did.  And it was awesome.

Winter made a comeback Monday night

The trails were quiet and the snow was fluffy early Tuesday morning

Hulls Gulch

Fresh tracks on Red Cliffs. Greatness.

I am getting Fat in Boise

Fat Biking in Boise?  Yes, really.  

Heading into this winter, I really didn't know what to expect in terms of Fat Biking opportunities here in Boise.  I expected to spend most of my outside-riding time on the road bike with occasional trips to higher elevations in search of snow-packed roads to ride the Fat Bike for some variety.  Things changed right after Christmas when it snowed in town and got cold.

This just in…riding snow-covered singletrack on the Fat Bike is FUN!

The conditions for the Fat Bike have gotten better and better over the last two weeks as our temps dropped and we received a little snow.  Monday’s 3-4” of heavy snow transformed the lower Foothill Trails from “Fat Bike Optional” to “Fat Bike Required”…at least for the short term.  Even before Monday’s snow, the upper trails like 5-Mile, Watchman’s, and upper 3 Bears were definitely better on the Fat Bike.  It has been fun to start some rides on frozen dirt and then transition to 100% snow once I gained elevation.

Here is what the Fat Bike transition in Boise has looked like this year:

Dec 25, 2012: I rode the Scott Scale29 hardtail on the lower Foothills Trails with a dusting of snow.  Chilly temps but great trail conditions and plenty of traction.

Dec 28, 2012: A couple inches of fresh snow had us riding Corrals on the Fat Bikes in low 20F temps.

Michelle & Kenai heading up Corrals

Fat Bike Stoke!

Dec 30, 2012: The lower trails were a mix of frozen dirt, sand, and snow and were perfectly rideable on a regular mountain bike.  However, once I climbed up to Watchman’s, I was greeted by 4-8” of untracked snow.  I was able to ride about 60% of Watchman’s on the Fat Bike and pushed the rest to complete the loop. Once I got to Three Bears, it was pure greatness! 

Summer or Winter, Fat Tire Traverse is a great trail!

Jan 6, 2013:  A week of cold temps due to an inversion kept the lower trails frozen and the upper trails improved with hiker traffic.  I was able to ride 90% of Watchman’s and 100% of Three Bears on the Fat Bike…and it rocked!

Rocky Canyon Road, the gateway to great trails

Jan 8, 2013:  3-4” of heavy snow fell on top of frozen, packed trails.  Jeremy and I climbed Hulls to Crestline, and then climbed Sidewinder, bombed back down Sidewinder, and descended Red Cliffs and Chickadee Ridge back to Camelsback Park.  Low pressure and a Surly Nate tire in the rear helped with traction today. Super fun ride!

The Fat Bike stoke was high Tuesday morning!  I think Jeremy is hooked.

Jan 10, 2013:  We received another 3-5” of snow in town!

The forecast looks good for more Fat Bike adventure this weekend!

Single-Digit low temps mean firm trails!

Kringle Kross

What a great final day of cross racing for 2012!  In my opinion, the Kringle Kross course was the best of the year.  The course was really hard, it had a little of everything, AND the Waffle Cross crew did a great job creating a festive atmosphere by decorating parts of the course.  Did anyone else feel like their legs were going to fall off after the gradual climb immediately after the stairs run-up?  I was cryin’ for my momma there every lap.

Santa slimmed down and jumped into the Masters 35+ race

In my final cyclocross race of the season, I finally managed to suck a little bit less.  Woohoo!  Sure, my legs were screaming at me at times and I was drooling on my top tube, but I rode the tricky sandy corners well and stayed smooth the whole time.

Kringle Kross Highlights:

• Cousin Eddy on the mic all day (National Lampoon Christmas Vacation reference)

• Santa racing the Masters 35+

• Yukon Cornelius with Peppermint Schnapps hand-ups for the brave

• Huge donation table for Toys for Tots.  Bike racers are RAD!

• Bob’s Red Mill waffles!

• Costumed riders everywhere

• Christmas decorations around the course and podium. Nice touch!

I definitely finished the cross season on a high note and I thoroughly enjoyed my first Boise cross season.  Now that I know what to expect out of a full cross season, I cannot wait for next year.  I am coming for you Zuber! Ha! 

Grabbing some brake before the 90-degree corner at the bottom

Santa had to grab his "B" bike, powered by Rudolph on the bars

Festive!

Even some of the vehicles were decorated

Rooster the Rhodesian looking very festive

One To Go!

Kringle Kross is this Saturday, Dec 15th and it is the last local cross race of the season. I have mixed feelings about cross season being almost over. I have truly enjoyed the cross scene here in Boise and for some sick reason I enjoy getting my ass kicked in the "A" races each week.

Eagle Island, Race #3. Photo by Reed Cycle

Since posting last (I know, its been a while), I have raced twice: Eagle Island, Race #3 and the SICX Idaho State Championships at Sandy Point.

The Eagle Island, Race #3 was my first time at this venue and it was yet another awesome course. The run-up with logs was a highlight and it was rideable if you chose your line carefully and stayed on the gas.

The State Champs at Sandy Point was brutally awesome. Sandy Point is definitely a classic cross venue and would be worthy of hosting a national-caliber race. Tim Phillips and the SICX crew took the flyover to another level for the State Champs with fresh paint and steep stairs.

The SICX Flyover

My race at the State Champs was exactly not what I was hoping for. After a good warmup, I finally got off to a decent start and was in a good position going into the first tricky right-hander when another racer crashed in front of me, forcing me to stop, and the entire field went by me in an instant. Doh! This course had everything; twisty grassy, two sand pits, flyover with stairs, and a mini-barrier to give you a bunny-hop option. I did manage to have a good mid-race battle with Rick but he was too strong in the end...again.

Check out the great video from the Idaho State CX Champs:


Idaho State Championships from Jesse kroll on Vimeo.

Turkey Cross Weekend

Despite a minor setback, Turkey Cross weekend was a blast. Cross season has been super-fun so far and I am continually impressed with the race organization and race venues here in Boise. I believe there were 96 racers in attendance Saturday so I am not the only one feeling the cross stoke.

Rewind to 11:59 AM on Saturday morning. I was staged at the start with my fellow 35+ Masters Racers and ready for the one hour of glorious suffering that was about to commence. The Men’s Cat I/IIs would go first, and then the Men’s Cat IIIs and then a 30” stagger before the Masters. Finally the race official turned us loose and I actually had a descent start for a change. We powered up the pavement and jockeyed for position before having to slow down to enter the first tricky turn on the grass which forced the field into a single line of riders. I was sitting comfortably in the middle and we were all wheel-to-wheel as we ripped through the opening twisty grass section…until I went down. It was a silly fall. I simply lost my front wheel in a 180 degree grassy right-hander and I went down on my right side in an instant. I heard the “snap” when I hit the ground and when I scrambled up quickly to remount and continue I noticed a piece of my right shifter fall out and land on the ground. Yep, I broke another SRAM Red shifter. Un-Friggin’-Believable. My race was over in 4’.

I have crashed twice this season, both on grassy corners, and I have broken two SRAM Red Shifters (a left and a right):

Should a slow-motion crash on soft grass do this much damage? I realize that I crashed, and when you crash you stand to break things, but really?

The broken lever and the piece that fell out onto the grass. Oops.

Did SRAM shave too much material out of the shifter body in their quest to be the lightest?

The lever body looks like Swiss Cheese on the inside

Did SRAM get a bad batch of molded plastic shift bodies (because they sure seem brittle)?

Does the outward angle of their lever design promote breakage because it is the first piece of the bike to hit the ground?

You can see how the end of the shift lever would be the first thing to hit the ground in a fall to the side

Is it simply bad luck?

For Sunday’s race, I mounted a pair of Vittoria XG TNT tires on my Scott Scale29 and I was back in business. The Scale29 makes a great substitute cross bike… what I am trying to say is that my result on Sunday had nothing to do with the bike and everything to do with the engine. My fellow 35+ racers are fast and they are rude. Yes, I said rude. I say they are rude due to the way they rode off and left me to ride alone in no-man’s land for much of the race. That is just not polite at all.

The weekend still had a couple of highlights. One highlight was hanging with Gabe and watching him take 3rd in the Men’s Cat III races each day. Fiddee Cent made the trip from snowy Jackson, WY to get his “cross” on and get a little taste of Boise. Gabe’s weekend totals: Two Cat III podiums, a delicious burger & beers at BitterCreek Ale House, a short mountain bike ride Sunday afternoon, and a huge breakfast burrito at Big City Coffee…I’d say Gabe had a pretty darn good Boise weekend.

Fiddee Cent might be the only gansta' in the world to ride tubulars and use embrocation

The other highlight was watching my little buddy “H” finish the kid’s race on Sunday despite going down in the first corner and shedding a few tears before remounting and finishing strong like a true hard-man of cycling. Nice work Henry!

Henry and I discussing race strategy during his warmup

This weekend is Eagle Island Cyclocross, Race #3. Hup Hup!