Unicycling fresh pow

I think I tweaked something in the rotator cuff area of my shoulder durring the Dirty Dozen last month, so I've been taking it easy on the bike.

And hitting it hard on the uni:

Unicycling fresh snow, bro from montana miller on Vimeo.

It's fun. And I'm going to go out and shred some more while the snow is still falling. Happy festive days folks.

winters end review

I meant to do this ten days ago. And I really meant to blog more than once in the month of March. But I did not. So I'll write this post with much goodly goodly quality.
The winter was so so long. But I rode more than I would have ever dreamed I could. I commuted to school an average of four days a week, with another ride or two on the weekend. I learned a lot about riding in the cold through trial and error (by a lot, I mean I learned everything that I now know.) I put in great base for the upcoming race seasons, both mountain bike and running, and I learned to be tough on the bike.

January was bitter. As I look back through my ride journal, numbers like 2:05 hrs at 2*F, and 1:58 at -3* stand out at me. Here in my warm house, I can hardly believe I rode through crap like that. For added craziness, I recorded all my temperatures without the windchill. I can only imagine how cold it really was moving at 15mph through -3*F. If memory serves, for about 25 days of 2009's opening month, the mercury did not break 15*F. I logged 197 miles and 15 hours from 1-13 to 1-31. Brr.

With most days above 10*F, February felt mild. By the middle of the month, I started getting my clothing right. The recipe for success was toe covers with thick wool socks, wool tights under knee warmers with polypoo tights over top, all covered by windbreaking pants. On top a wool shirt squeezed under a wool jersey was comfortable down to 25 degrees. I put a soft shell on for really cold days. Ski gloves, hat and turtle fur neck warmer kept the extremities comfy. I only needed ski goggles in driving snow or hail (didn't ever have them in those conditions. of course.) The majority of the time, I was fine with regular sunglasses.

All most all of my winter miles were on the fixed gear. Until the day I had to chop off a canti stud because of a frozen brake, I was running a mountain tire in the front and a cross tire in the rear. I used a clip on rear fender and a homemade licence plate fender for the front. I stayed reasonably dry, and never had a problem with slipping in car snot.

Commuting every morning in the dark manages to somehow suck while being cool at the same time. I had to leave at 6:30 to make it to school by 7:20. On the especially dark, snowy mornings, I could hardly tell I was moving (except for the tingle my slowly freezing cheeks (the facial variety of course)) It was sort of like being in a deprivation tank. Very cool experience.

I did not get to ride many trails. On the rare days that a could hitch a ride with the lady bear up to hidden valley, I found myself wishing for a fat bike. On one particular ride, my front tire was punching through the snow about ever ten feet. I would just drop through and stop. Not fall over or crash, just stop. It got annoying. But the snow did make it easy to get the heart rate up. And toe covers are not good for hike a bikes.

This winter had its good moments, but overall it was rough. I'm so ready for hot and humid weather.

a ride in the valley?

Its supposed to hit 50F this weekend. I am so stoked. The lady bear and I are planning on skiing Saturday, and hidden valley happens to have a ton of singletrack. I think I smell a ride on the big carrot :D
Oohhoho I really hope I can get I ride in. I haven't been able to mountain cycle for ages. Rest assured, the blog will be filled with pictures if I do get to cycle.

ice cold dressing: commuting part 1

The cranial area:

From Worthless Garbage

The head region does more to regulate body temperature than any other area of the body. Getting the hat situation figured out is more important than a jacket, as important as a morning bowl of cereal.
On chilly days 40-20F I were the black hat of the right. Its a loosely knit viking cap that breathes nicely and works great on days I have to go pillaging. The sunglasses (natives) are enough to keep my eyeballs happy down to about 10F. However, they don't do a damn thing when the snow starts falling.
The red hat is a pollypoo blend of some sort. It does not let nearly as much wind in as the viking cap, and is much tighter. It keeps my head toasty enough in the negative Fahrenheit temperatures (-5F has been the coldest we've had this year in lovely Picksburgh.) I feel a little self conscious about wearing a red hat under a lime green helmet, but I really don't want to buy another hat. When the sky starts falling, there is no substitute for ski goggles. I really don't like to wear them because they're a pain with my helmet, but sometimes there is just no choice.
On the subject of helmets, I've had my Giro for something like 6 years and its sooo nice. I just love it to death. I don't have to much trouble getting a hat under it.
The final piece of head gear I swathe myself in in the cold is a neck warmer. It makes a huge difference in holding in body heat. At this point in the winter, when I'm used to the temperature, I can wear the warmer instead of a jacket. It makes that much difference.

winter be har

Winter is here. For sure. The ride in this morning was pretty uneventful, though it showed me how used to the cold i am becoming. It was around 26 degrees without the windchill, and all I wore were two layers of wool. A month ago I would have had to bundle up like a certain individual who will remain nameless.

Oh how I wish I could find a onesie that glorious

Wool is definitely my favorite. Ive worn the same base layer for two weeks of riding and it has yet to stink or become nasty in any way. Beautiful.

fat(ter) front

Last night I finished the long and arduous task of installing a clip on fender and new front wheel. I like this set up for the winter. The velociraptor on the front is much better than a cross tire in the slush, and surprisingly I can't tell any difference in rolling resistance. But most importantly, it looks cool.

I got hit by a little snow storm on the way home. The wind was blowing me from side to side. Its a little disconserting to be blown sideways into oncoming cars. The snow was bad enough that I had to bust out the ski goggles. But even with all the slush on the road, my bum stayed dry. Thank you clip on fender buddy.

aqueous gluteus

I need to put fenders on. My ass is getting soaked almost every morning now. I hate wet ass. I’ve been wearing some rain pants from REI that really cut the wind and help keep me dry, but they are no match for the salty brine that my tires kick up. Not only do I have the rearward soakage to contend, with but when I arrive at school my mouth is filled with road grit. It is not the most appetizing substance. The garbage tastes like well salted dirt.
Fenders will go on. Front mountain tire will go on. I normally run 700c wheels on my commuter, but since it is a mountain cycle, it seems logical to change the back to some bigger rubber for the winter. But that means I have change those damn kludgy brake things I had to use to get the brakes to work with a bigger wheel. Oh well.


(the commuting cycle in its kind-of-winter form)

I really need to decide on a racing schedule for this summer. Wilderness 101 is most defiantly a priority. Yarg! So much training and prep to be done.