Victoria Lake

I managed to cut away from work for a while to do a nice little 11 mile loop at Victoria Lake. It was pretty hard. Lots and lots of climbing.

There is a new loop that was added in November 2011 I haven't ridden. We found it and it is very new but quite fun. Gradual switchback climbs and a few short descents. All fun

Around the 8 mile mark the trail opens up to this little pasture. There are some nice views and a tough climb ahead.

Rapid City is just over that way.

St. Patrick's Day

My wife and I have our anniversary every year on St. Patrick's Day. The only reason why we chose that date is that it worked with our schedule. I suppose it could be partially that I'm 1/986th Irish.

We had the best anniversary ever. Our decision was to be active and do something we've both been wanting to do for years. Angie has however I haven't. What that is... hike Harney Peak.

We hiked it, the whole thing, all the way up and back down. It took us just over 3 hours and there was quite a bit of snow left on the hill. It was a fantastic hike with beautiful scenery.

Storm Mountain

On Thursday I rode the storm mountain trail by Rockerville, SD with a buddy of mine. We had the opportunity to leave work a tad early. We rode the entire trail and rode on the gravel to by-pass the coon hollow section. It's usually pretty damp this time of year.

The dude I rode with is considerably faster than I am so I had to work to keep up. I did really well until we got around to the expert section of the trail at about 7-8 miles in. Here is where I started to lose my legs.

On a different note, I am putting myself on a weight loss plan. I weighed myself Friday and it displayed 203. Usually our scale registers about 5 lbs light so if I go by that it means I'm at 208 which is not acceptable. The plan is to ride in Fruita, CO in about a month and i would really like to drop 10 lbs by then. We're leaving April 19th after work so that's exactly 4 weeks away. If I can drop 2 lbs a week I should hit somewhere between 195-200... Then if I can keep on track I should hit 185-190 by mid-May.

It's on like donkey kong... Here is a disclaimer. If I happen to hit 195 and am completely ripped I will probably not lose much more weight. I'm pretty sure I have more to lose than that though.

I eat relatively well with the occasional beverage here and there. My activity remains fairly consistent with crossfitting 2-3 times a week and a couple bike rides. Most of that will stay the same with the exception of upping the biking.

I'm going to put a weight column over on the right.

Friday, March 16 - 208# (evening weigh-in)

Weather

The weather definitely took a trip into the 60s today. I rode the Fargo and left at a decent time yet still ended up to work 20 minutes late. Apparently it's mostly uphill going to work. My choice attire was a little off wearing a base layer, light fleece and then a wind shell. I was sweating far too early. I made it to work in just about 40 minutes for almost 9 miles.

Lunch time had me jump back on the Fargo for a couple block ride to CrossFit. I was a little worried after the workout that my ride home was going to be very difficult. It wasn't.

Coming home I decided to jump up on the gravel road that trails along the South side of M-hill to get some gravel time in. It's only about a half to 3/4 miles in length but a fun little section to get off the bike path. Once that was complete I took to the bike path as far as I could go. When highway 44 was reached I decided to take a different route home with what used to be a road. There was a problem that I thought might be there when that road no longer exists. Instead there is a large ravine I had to figure out how to cross. Since I had a Fargo with the tagline "Adventure By Bike" I decided I should blaze a path. I hoisted the bike upon my shoulder and hiked a couple hundred feet, put the bike down and continued on my way.  It was not real adventurous but it was different than my normal commute.

Next time who knows where the path will lead.

Fruita

There is a slim chance I'll be headed to Fruita, CO in a couple months. April actually. We're planning on going right before their fat tire festival.

Does anyone have any tips on places to camp, rides, etc? I've browsed the web to get it's recommendations but if anyone has any personal epxperience I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Happy Friday.

Fargo on skinny trails

The bike in front is a new Salsa Spearfish, my Fargo is in
the back. 

I rode the Fargo back to work on Friday. Then I was lucky enough to be able to leave work early and get a quick ride in on the Hanson-Larson trails in Rapid City. The Fargo was nimble enough and climbed really well. I'm less than impressed on it's downhilling abilities but it is a rigid frame with drop bars. A lot different from what I'm used to.

The bars were the largest thing I couldn't get used to. I couldn't find a comfortable place to put my hands on downhill sections. I'd have my hands on the hoods and my thumbs would start cramping, I'd put them in the drops and I just didn't feel like I had control and if I just had them on top I didn't have access to the brakes. I also thought the breaks were less than stellar durning those sections.

I did have to keep reminding myself this is not my 5.5" travel blur. It's a completely different bike with different abilities. I wished the breaks worked a little better but I'm sure since they're brand new it'll take a little time for them to get broke in.

It was fun and I'm glad I know I'll be able to ride any single track I want if I'm out for a jaunt.

Fargo 3 Ride Report

I wish I had some pictures to share but I don't. I just picked up a Salsa Fargo 3 yesterday size 20". I drove to work today since I was running late but I did have time to throw the bike on so I could ride home and then ride tomorrow.

I must tell you, although it's a considerably different feel than my Blur, it is an extremely fun bike to ride. I start off riding down some singletrack for about a mile that's narrow and downhill until I hit up the bike path. The Fargo handled really well on the singletrack and felt solid. The position of the hands is a little different but I think I could get used to it. The bike is really quick and nimble on the path. The 29" tire size takes a bit to get used to since I've been riding 26" tires for so long. The 29" feels so big.

I'm really excited to try and take the fargo on M-hill tomorrow to see how it does on real trails and spend some quality time on it. I know I'll be adding some frame bags and probably a rack or two so I can carry my gear back and forth to work a little easier. I also will be doing some bikepacking this summer as well. I already have 3 or 4 rides in mind for overnighters.

There might end up being 2 of these bikes in my garage fairly soon. It's the first bike I've ever ridden that I think my wife has to have one. She's a lucky woman :-)