Gravel adventure in Chiliwack - Tamihi challenge

Ride for Water is a charity that raises money to help Ethiopians with  getting fresh water.  The fund is raised by charity bike rides and runs.  The pandemic didn't them from raising money and they are doing it by setting up gravel ride challenges in Fraser Valley.    There are 3 challenges, and I did m first one today.  

After breakfast, I loaded my bike and gear to my car for a 85km drive to Chilliwack.  It had been a a long time since I last headed east on Hwy 1.  Morning traffic on Saturday and I let my Mazda3 loose  for 40 minutes.  It had been a while I drove on the fast lane.  I backed it down to a more manageable speed not because speeding ticket, but to save gas.  

Once I was off the highway, the windows and sunroof was open.  The early spring air was warm and mixed with manure smell.  I was in the country side after all.   I was just glad that I was able to be out riding my bike.

The ride started from the the coffee truck at Vedder Park in Chilliwack.  In the next 30km, I explored trails on the Tamihi area.  The trails are mainly used by dirt bikers and ATV, but you also see the mountain bikers in the area too.  Because this is a gravel ride, there was no technical trails.  Just fire roads climbs and descents.  It reminds me of the early mountain biking days.  We only rode fire roads as our bikes had no suspensions and had geometry similar to the road bikes. 

Before I started my ride, I was afraid that my bike may not have low enough gear to tackle the climbs. After I settled into a pace, I realised that I was able to ride all of them.  At no point that I needed to get off the bike and push.  The climb was also short and punchy.  I only had to use my lowest gear at a one spot.  I was able to settle in a steady pace for the majority of the climb.

What goes up must comes down.  My drop bar mountain bike didn't preform too badly.  My hands were on the drop, and my butt was hanging over the rear tire.  Without any suspension part, my body was loose enough to take the bumps.  I was very comfortable on the bike and I was grinning from ear to ear.    The large volume of the 29" tires had something to do with it too.  The big tires were so much better than the 26er.  More traction and more air.  They were awesome, but this down hill also killed my rear tire.  The side wall wasn't very strong and the side wall was gone.  I managed to ride back to the car without have a flat.  I must thank my lucky star.

The ride back to the car park was just on the road.  It was kind of boring because I could only go so fast on the mountain bike.  Also, the side wall is giving out and the ride wasn't very stable.  But the view was good.  country side.  Green grass.  Quiet life.  Beautiful day. Then I heard gun shots!  WTF?  That's because I was near a gun range.. lol

The rest of the ride was okay.  Before I head home, I got cheap gas in Abbotsford and a donair..Hopefully I will do another ride next week.

#upstreamchallenge #rideforwater #gravelbike #trekxcalibur #dropbar29er #dropbarmountainbike #partypace

 

The Evolution of Mrs. Batty Cee ( What is it?)

Because of the drop bar and rigid fork, lots of people think she is a cyclocross or a gravel bike.  

It's true that I thought about getting some gravel tires for her, but I still prefer mountain bike tires.  That's because Mrs. Batty Cee is a mountain  bike with drop bar.   She will always be a mountain bike. She is a homage to the golden days of mountain bike of the 90's.  She is an All Terrain Bicycle.  All Terrain Bicycle is a throw back and that's what these bikes were called in the late 80's..  since I will be riding this bike on road and dirt, I am going to call her ATB

It's true that she isn't going to handle the gnarly trails but she handles old school mountain bike trails very well.  I have fun riding it and I love the position.  I can go for a 3+ hours ride and not have any comfort concerns. 

The gearing is 1x9 and is geared for the lower end.  It doesn't have a high gear but riding on dirt never demands high gearing like my road bike.  A fast enough gear is good enough for me.  She may be slow but I will be doing  Ride for Water with her.  It's because my single speed cross bike isn't the best bike for riding that.  However, I may attempt it with a single speed in the future.  

She is also longer than my cross bike and I think that smooth out a lot of bump for me.

Many people will think the lack of a suspension fork, the bike will not preform as well.  It's true, but I am not a good descender. .Suspended or not, I am still slow.

 

Evolution of Mrs Batty Cee (On One Midge)

I always knew that the Jones Bar was only going to be a temporary set up. Although I love it but it still was a drop bar.

As  I mentioned on a previous post, the Kona P2 fork changed the bike's geometry.  Not only the head angle is steeper, but the effective top tube is about 2 cm shorter.  The changes made the bike perfect for the drop bar conversion.

OnOne Midge is my top choice for off road drop bar.  I tried a few, but none feels as good as this one.  The reach is 65mm and the drop is shallow and short.  The 560mm  width is perfect for this application.  Also with the short and high rise stem, this bar offers 3 different positions and they all help during the ride. 

Because of the drop section is short, it also the perfect bar to run barcon shifters.  I have fast access to them as I spend lots of time in the drops and I can shift through the cassette in one action.  It is also not a complicated like the STI shifters.  

For a while, I took Shiggy's advice on drop bar set up, but I realised that his advice didn't suit my need. I want my drop bar to offers me multiple positions and I want to ride on the hood.  He didn't think mountain bikers should ride in the hood and he thinks people should just ride in the drop exclusively.  It makes sense but I feels like it is a waste of the bar if I am not going to use other positions.  Also, this bike won't be riding lots of technical trails, as Mrs. Batty Cee will be the All Terrain Bike.

During a ride, I would spending my time on the 3 different positions.  It depends if I am going up, going down or cruising on the flats. I am comfortable on the drop and it is my go to position

 

 

Start of the 2018 CX season!

The only way to improve is to increase my workout intensity and to train harder with longer interval.

I did a 30 minutes race at Delta Watershed yesterday. After 3 laps, I was pulled after 30 minutes. 1 lap down from the racers that I will competing in the next 2 months. By no mean, I was fast enough to catch them. My hear rate was at the max. I still felt like I could have gone out for another lap. I would have gone out, if the official didn't tell me to stop.

The race course helped me to understand my bike more. Paige is still relatively new to the family, and I have not complete tested her in full blown race condition yet. I wanted to race her in the stock form, but I already making changes. She has a great chassis but she needed a another set of handle bars and saddle to make her better suited for me. The OEM handle bar was nice but the drop was too deep. I raced with On One Midge Bar for the last few years and Midge will be back with me for another season. The OEM Norco Saddle was nice, but I need a saddle that I can move the back of the bike easier. Again, I replaced it with one that been between my legs for the last few years. I may change the tires to lighter set. The 33c Kendas should be back in a few weeks. They will be great for the Vanier Park race!!

I have been racing in the novice class for the last 5 years and it is time to move up. Instead of 30 minutes races, I will be pushing my physical limit in 40 minutes races. That mean I will be doing 1 or 2 extra laps. I don't doubt my body and mind. The summer series proved that if I push and apply myself, I can improve. My lap time at South Surrey Bike Park decreased every week. This old cycling body can still improve even I may not have any talent in racing.

Yesterday was my first proper CX race of the season, but the regular CX race series starts next week. I will start racing in the Single Speed Category. It will be a big change. I will no longer be racing the first race of the day. Instead, I will be racing at 1pm. No longer, I will travel to races and have lunch after. I will finally fully embrace the lifestyle of a Single Speed Cyclocrosser. Not just another Novice racer. I will get my ass handed to me by the fast people, but I rather get my ass handed to me by my colleagues. May be these guys will push me to the next level. Racing is about having fun and pushing my body limit. I will start doing that. I want to race until I am tired.

The plan is made. I just need to show up every weekend.

Why I single Speed

I am married and I still prefer the single life.  Riding and Racing Single Speed Cyclocross is what I mean.  There is nothing pure like riding a single speed.  Nothing else matters.  Just me, the bike and course.  I get no assistant if the hill got more difficult.  The gearing is always wrong.

I love it because of the people.  Lots of support from the people who I have never met before.  I love it because it is fun!  The race condition is always bad because the races are held during the fall and early winter!  That means rain, cold and sometime snow.  To most people, these are miserable conditions.  If I don't enjoy it, and I don't think it is fun.  you gotta love it to do it!!

#sscx #singlespeed #cyclocross #norco #norcothreshold

Bikes - new bike alert.

It had been a while since I posted about bikes.  Life has been more than just riding, but I am looking to get back to talk about it more.

After a few years of racing single speed cyclocross, I finally ordered a dedicated Single Speed Cyclocross.  She was ordered on Easter Friday, and the bike will be flying across the country to Vancouver from Toronto.  Now there is only one 48cm left in Canada.  I am glad that I didn't wait as the bike may be gone after snow melt in the East.

Single Speed Cyclocross is a different breed of racing and it is a niche sport.  I enjoy it very much.  There is only one gear and that is never the perfect gear.  It is like life.  Not every part of the journey is perfect, and there will be time the bike is in a wrong gear that you wish you have a lower gear to handle the obstacle.  But you can only soldier on with what was given.  Either you mash the gear or you get off and carry the bike.  It is you, bike and course.  It is pure racing and no cheating. You just need your physical power to overcome.

Enough about the philosophical shit.

The new bike is big departure of my current bike and it will be a big upgrade.

My Bianchi San Jose is an old school cross bike.  Cantilever brakes.  Steel.  limited mud clearance.  Standard Quick Release for the wheels.

The new Norco Threshold is 2018.  Hydraulic Disc Brakes.  Aluminum Frame with Carbon Fork.  Lots of Mud Clearance.  Tru Axle design.

With this upgrade, I turned the Bianchi to a different beast.  The On One Midge Bar and the Tekro Road Brake Levers are off the bike.  They are replaced by an old set of Cannondale Riser bar and Avid brake levers. I was going to put on  a set of Continental Country tires, but the tires are too wide.   I just put on some old Ritchey Speed Max.The best tires for this bike is actually 28c.  The bike rides and feel different with the new control set up. It may not fit me well, but I am sure the bike will fit another person.  Perhaps a female that is 5'4" or shorter.

But I am not sure if I will sell this bike now.  I may want to wait until september to sell it.  with the hope that a crosser will buy the bike.