Experimenting with ways to live a low impact life in a tiny house in the woods. Graphic and web design at Beardy Guy Creative . I often write about the Climate Emergency, Apple and the iPad. Living on the traditional territory of: O-ga-xpa Ma-zhoⁿ (O-ga-xpa) (Quapaw), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Kaskaskia, Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo)
[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“4032”] Pretty country barn along my route[/caption]
I know with the virus situation not everyone has been fortunate enough to be outside. I've been incredibly fortunate in that sense. I've had nearly 6 months of daily riding and it's been fantastic. I think I'm likely healthier than I've been in 20 years. The past 5 weeks of cycling with the unassisted fatbike on our new trails and road rides during rainy weather have been the best part of my days. When I'm not working (which is often these days due to the virus situation) I'm either riding or thinking of riding.
Since my last post we've had a very wet 10 days which meant switching most of my riding to the road. It also has manifested as longer ride times and more miles ridden. Mostly it's my time in the saddle that I care about. On the road an hour means 12 miles or so ridden, on the trail it's more like 6 miles. I've found that my road rides are generally longer and end up with more calories burned.
Riding the road with the fatbike is an excellent experience. I air the tires up to about 20 psi which eliminates self steer and results in a very quiet ride. The Vee Tire Mission Command tires are excellent for this kind of mixed pavement and trail riding. Far from riding a skinny tire bike but very doable. The gearing on the bike is a nice sweet spot for off-road and on-road riding. When I'm off-road I keep it on the small chain ring and on-road I tend to keep it in the larger chain ring as the speed of the ride is generally faster. The gearing range I'm getting is working very well.
Last, I'm really happy with my ability to handle the riding I'm doing. 80 to 90 minute rides are no problem. Daily totals of 140 minutes of ride time are no problem. The next step is to try some longer rides, perhaps in the range of 160 to 180 minutes which should be no problem. I'll likely try my longer ride into Perry county soon. It's a mix of pavement and gravel, about 28 miles and on the Rover was about 144 minutes with a speed of 11.5 mph. I expect I'll be able to do the same ride at a similar pace on the Gravity.
Pretty country barn along my route[/caption]
Foggy morning ride[/caption]
Farm road[/caption]