DNF

The dry air got the best of me again. By the time I got back to the checkpoint I could barely stand. After 15 minutes of uncontrollable gasping, severe weakness, and whole body tingling I was able to get some words out to my audience. More to come later.

Hmmmm

I noticed a lack or LCR racers at the prerace meeting tonight.

Preride

We just got back from a preride fully loaded. I have to send each picture as an individual post. Anyways, looks like around -15 degrees for the start tomorrow.

Legs feel good. Bike feels like I am cheating.

My bike

The 907, flattop rimmed, Bontrager equipped snow rocket.

J-No's bike.

Another

Picture of the trail.

Icebox, USA

So J-No and I are up here ready to start our 135 mile bike race on the Arrowhead trail. The race starts Monday at 7am. You can check out the results at http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php. Click on results and you can see the race progress as riders go through the checkpoints. Ten inches of powder dropped yesterday and the trails are looking pretty soft.

Wish us luck on not losing any digits.

Pics cannot load:(

BTW

Slurpee Summit Summary

As the attendees for the Summit gathered, it was evident that the sheer intelligence and physical prowess of J-No and I, as the XRC representatives, scared the members of the DBD. Instead of showing, the DBD sent representative and honorary member Dave "The Legend" Pramann. Cory "Corky" Gross would act as mediator during the talks.

At around the 5 degree and 5:30pm mark our ambitious riders left "The Cabin" in Cable, WI. On snowmobile trails they toiled, headed to the secret meeting location.

A picture of the writer after about 2 hours of riding.

The group testing the peace pipes at a rest stop.

Drudging through deep powder to reach the location for the talks.

Corky's shovel came in handy as we cleared a camp. More peace pipe over the fire.

The Legend contemplates why the DBD was so fearful of the XRC and why they sent him alone. This was also the moment the XRC demanded to know why the DBD did not show. His head hung low, The Legend had no answer.

Morning and a nice view of the secret lake. The low for the night would hover around 0 degrees.

Toiling our way back home as DBD members curled up with their coffee at home, waiting to hear what happened.

Rolling it Northwoods style.

J-No stares down the DBD through the Internet. You better watch it DBD, he's watching!

Out of frustration in the DBD's lack of participation, Corky decided to not be pictured here.

Well, the summit was a good start to peace, but there will need to be further meetings obviously. Our ride would start on Saturday at around 5 degrees, and then end Sunday at around 5 degrees. The night would great us with temps near 0. Many hours of trail riding were done before and after the meeting and everyone slept warm under the stars.

Special thanks to J-No for the pics, and my wife for being the greatest for letting me do stupid things like this. Did I mention that not only is Becky smoking hot, but she had a delicious shrimp chowder waiting for me when I got home? Oh, and she pounded out an 8 mile run this morning, at 5am, in 2 inches of fresh snow.

This is only the start to future plans...

Off to the Summit

Tonight representatives from the DBD and the XRC are scheduled to meet at what is to be the first of possibly many peace talks. The first tonight has become known as the Slurpee Summit. Leaving for the deep Chequamegon National Forest at dusk, our fearless leaders will ride for many hours until a suitable place can be found where the yelling and gun shots cannot be heard. The meeting will commence, and God willing, peace will get of to a proper start. Pray for us riders, pray for our country, and most of all pray that the bubbling tensions between these 2 adventure groups calms down down before lives are lost.

Bike packing failure.

Saturday I set off on an adventure this last Saturday by myself. Bike 4 hours, camp, bike back. The high temp looked to be just barely above 0 degrees, the low said to be -8. Most would say, "Charly you crazy gringo, why would you do that"? My motivation is several fold. One, I just like to push my experiences to the next level. This is how I got into endurance races, then freaky cold endurance races. Two, I would be lying if I didn't say this guy is a motivation as to what is possible. Three, I am dumb. Four, no one else could come or just plain would not come.

I would ride my fully loaded 9:ZERO:7. I packed everything I planned on for Arrowhead, plus a trunk rack with additional food and water. On the front of my bike was my new Santa brought -20 degree bag, prototype bivy, and sleeping pad. My homemade frame bag (thanks Mom for the help!) held my stove, fuel, wind pants, wind top, and thermal hoodie. The handlebar bag held variations of headgear, another thermal hoodie, wool gloves, and a map. Pogies would hold 5 flasks of gel that hold well from freezing(about 2000 calories), a large amount of Mike and Ikes (about 1200 calories), large PB cups (about 1200 calories), and overmitts. Inside the the seat bag was a tube, 3000 calories of peanut butter, and multi tool. And lastly the trunk held an insulated Nalgene, a bag of muffins, bag of turkey sausage, my wallet, keys, and heat packs. In my camelback I would carry 100 ounces of water and 50 ounces of energy drink (2,000 calories). My friend Juicy Peach had offered me his phone number several times in case of emergency. My Dad said the same, but reminded me he had to work at 4am. Becky would also help if needed, but with out child sleeping, it was not an ideal call to make.

Packed up, ready to go. Arrowhead will see a little different packing.

It was about 2 degrees for my departure. The planned stop was Rice Lake State Park near Owatonna; straight East. Within 5 minutes of hitting the trail I longed for more air pressure in the front. A quick stop revealed a nonworking pump and a tire that lost even more air from attaching the pump. Some disassembly/reassembly and all was good and I was moving forward again. The body felt fine, the legs felt very sluggish. There was just a sliver of a moon out, not a snowmobile in sight, and bright brilliant stars. The steep pitches and woods out to Oxbow were soon replaced with a trail that crossed field after field. Thankfully there was no wind, and my light can only travel so far so that I did not have to dwell on the fact I was simply riding through corn fields. The trail itself had a very hard base, but about an inch of snow we had received the past few days had been drifting on the trail, chewed up by the sleds, and then partially hardened. Only the tops of hills exposed the base and created a fast surface. This made the going slower than expected.

Only 15 minutes in and the frost is prevalent.

It was 12:30 and I was just short of my State Park, but I promised the wife I would call before 1am from inside the sleeping bag. A small band of trees with a 2 foot high drift was to be my shelter. The bag, bivy, and pad were quickly and efficiently set out. Water and food was placed in the bag. I hopped in, removed my outer layer and camelback, and called the wife to let her know I was fine. All that was left was to zip up the rest of the bag, eat, and sleep.

First off there was something going on with the bivy that I couldn't tell because of the dark and my vision was limited from my bag. I would find out later that the bivy seam had completely come undone and was now almost useless. Second the zipper was being really stubborn with only a foot left to zip. I tried this and that until finally the whole mechanism broke off. Yep, broke off. That meant my zipper opened to the cold fully down to my knees, at 12:45am, in sub zero temps, after a 4 hour slog through the snow. I would try to wrap myself up as much as possible, but bags like that are meant to be sealed together, not overlap, so the extra material was just not there. In the freezing cold, I tried several different positions and strategies to no avail. In my efforts I would lost focus on calorie replenishing. After an hour I decided that I could no longer freeze in the dark and I needed to figure out a plan B. Plan B did not include a call for help because I could still survive without having to wake others from their slumber.

Quickly I jumped out, threw on a thermal hoodie and reached for my outer jacket. Despite my efforts to keep it warm in the bag, my jacket was now a sweaty frozen solid pile of mess. So to would be my camelback hoses, also located in my sleeping bag. Note, I was in this same sleeping bag, suffering the same temps. So on went another thermal hoodie and my wind jacket and a packing I went. Quickly, I was pushing the bike back to the snowmobile trail not 100% on my plan just knowing I needed to be on the move. With only about 20 ounces of unfrozen water left I scrapped the idea of riding back, surely taking longer than the original 4 hours. The glow of Dodge Center could be seen about 5 miles South, so I headed in that direction to search for a gas station or bar to regroup at.

The lights from the Kwik Trip awning that covers the pumps is what I saw first when riding in. My ride had been slow, very slow. Although I was satisfactorily warm at this point, I was very tired and calorie deficient. I was glad to see sanctuary, but at the same time I was mentally prepared for the chance that I would have to ride back to Rochester unaided. Use to seeing weirdos at this time of night, the gas station attendant hardly gave me a second glance. It was 2:45 in them morning and I was laying out my frozen gear to thaw inside his store.

I was still determined to not wake up any of my bailouts. I started eating and drinking to get the recovery in high gear. After 15 minutes my body went into shut down mode. Lack of sleep, lack of calories, and exposure to cold had taken its toll. It was now 3am, and I realized my Dad was waking up for work. If not for this I would have slept/suffered in that Kwik Trip until needed and figured out my status later. But, my Dad was up and willing to bail me out, THANKS DAD!!

So my bike packing trip did not go as planned. Eventually I would like to try longer trips and wanted to start with smaller stuff like this. I found some stuff that does not work, stuff that does. Had the sleeping bag zipper not broken I am confident the end to this story would have been different. I will make adjustments as needed and surly my adventure at the Slurpee Summit this coming weekend will go better. What is the Slurpee Summit you ask? Just simply a similar adventure with friends in a much cooler location. Others are welcome to join, but requirements include proper gear and proper mental fortitude. The Summit is meant to create peace between the DBD and the XRC.

So how was your Saturday night?

BTW

Sub zero fun!

Multiple hours, multiple days. The high temp anyone of these days was 5 degrees, low was about -5. Video and pics for your viewing pleasure.


Crappy cell phone video. This is from a 4 hour ride Sunday. The day before I also got in 4 hours.



Towards the end of the ride.




The wife needed a picture of me after my 2 hour ride last night with Kuske. Temp hovered around 0 degrees, but felt colder than some of my previous rides at similar temps.


From Sunday, these pics are courtesy of J-No.



BTW

Guest Blogger

Everyone give a warm welcome to J-No and his Tuscobia 150 experience. I stole this from a group e-mail he set out. We here at the XRC are pooling together money for him to get his own blog.

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My plan was to leave Rochester at noon on Thurs. I ended up going into work Wed overnight, so I slept for a couple hours in the am and headed out. A quick dinner, bike set up, and I went to bed at 2100. Temps at the start were about 10 deg F, lows were 0-5deg at night. The start was pretty mellow with Buffington, Lance, and Farrow taking off. I rode solo the entire ride. The trail was flat and fast. I cruised along at 7-8 mph. Much better conditions than we usually see around here.

The first 75 miles were pretty uneventful. I stayed no more than a few minutes at each of the 2 rest stops, just long enough to refill my camelbak. Mid afternoon I started to get sleepy despite having added some caffiene to my Infinit on my last order. I took a No Doz and felt better. I reached the turnaround (75 miles) in just over 10 hours. I started to think I had a shot at a 24 hour finish. At this point Buffington and Lance were a couple of hours up on me, Farrow was about 30 minutes ahead.

Three miles out from the next checkpoint (mile 88) the wheels fell off. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea were the name of the game. I took a wrong turn and realized it about a mile and a half later. It was a gravel road. I have no idea why I did not figure it out. I stayed at the checkpoint for a while, trying to settle my stomach down, ate some soup. I started to feel better and set out again. I thought I would just drink water to see how it worked out. Miles 90-100 saw more diarrhea and vomiting. I tried not eating for drinking anything for an hour, but that was not going to be a long term solution. At mile 100 I decided that maybe I needed to sleep for a few hours. I bivvied for about 3 hours and slept. My stomach felt better, but the tank was empty. I fired up the stove for some oatmeal, and started riding. It was about 4am at this point. I started to feel better and rode to the next checkpoint (mile 120). I saw Farrow's bike outside. There was a note from a volunteer stating that I should help myself to whatever I wanted, Farrow had dropped and she was giving him a ride. The next 30 miles went without incident aside from the overall fatigue from so many hours on the bike. My 24 hour finish turned into 31 hours in the end.

Most of the gear worked well. I'm not sure about the front compression sack. I had to run it length wise because of the drop bars. It obstructed my light and I was unable to see my front wheel. I found this to be a problem when I was trying to follow tracks. Farrow and Buffington used front panniers. I may try those. The compression sack is also cumbersome to quickly add/take things out of. The drop bar pogies worked fine, but are not ideal. There is no storage for food. My hands and feet stayed warm. Layering system worked well. The only thing I added at night was a vest. Temps were pretty warm, another 20 deg colder may be a different story. I will bring some heavier mittens for Arrowhead.

The only thing I did differently before I had GI distress was add a can of sugar free Red Bull to my camelbak. I was feeling sleepy and I thought it might help. I drink it all the time with no ill effects, so who knows. I am also lacking in training hours compared to last year. I have another solid month of training before Arrowhead.

There were only 7 riders who started the 150. There also were 5 runners/skiiers. I'll be back next year.

I'm planning on riding long next weekend. Arrowhead is looming...

J-No

Getting back, Tuscobia 75 miler

Tuscobia Trail Race, 75 mile recap:

They left us in Rice Lake, WI expecting us to make our way back to Park Falls, WI on our own much like you would do with a homing pigeon. The Flattop rims got moving on the Bontrager equipped 9:ZERO:7 they would say at 9:20am. Chuck Lindgren would lead for a bit on our snowmobile trail back home until a soft hill had us pushing. I ended up in front, and after awhile there was a gap despite keeping my vitals in check. Off the trail, over the road, to the motel for the first checkpoint at mile 12 and back left just a view of an empty trail behind me. The pace would slow some as the pressure didn't seem to be coming from behind me and we still had a ways to go.

Roughly at mile twenty, I called and reassured the wife that I was not going to die that day, took a couple of pictures, and day dreamed. My daydreaming would end when a soft spot of snow caused a dab, and the image of a figure far down the trial behind me appeared. Race on.

The figure would disappear as I upped my pace. Forty Six miles in and time for a check point. Off the trail, over the road, into the motel room, and back. I adjusted what I realized was a falling seat post as well. A look back soon after being on the trail I would see the figure again. Hmmm? Race on still.

With 11 miles to go my legs were hurting in spots I was not accustomed to and that is when the trail decided to crap out. Stopping 3 times to drop pressure finally saw me being able to ride the mush that was a trail. After roughly 6 miles the trail hardened some. All this time I knew my seat was dropping on it's own. Not wanting to see the figure again I refused to stop and just pushed through.

I would stop the clock sometime before 5pm. Heading into the warming hut for some food where Tim would pat me on the head and say good bird. A first place for my efforts. I would pack up and leave the parking lot 90 minutes later, still no sign of the figure.

Notes:
-My seatpost had dropped a full inch again by the finish
-I suspected during the race that "the figure" may have not stopped at the mandatory checkpoints, and Tim more or less confirmed that. I figured those checkpoints cost me about 10 minutes each.
-I am now the record holder for the 75 mile race (sub 8 hours), but it is only in the 2nd year. Last year Dave Pramann won on a slower course in 10:19.
-Big Buff was able to fend off the Porn Stached Orange Squeezer for the win in the 150 in 17 hours.
-J-No overcame some serious troubles to finish out the 150 in 30 hours.
-Graveyard Napper would succumb to a previous illness. His body was properly buried next to the trail, valve caps were saved and then given to his wife.
-Tim Roe puts on a great event. Stocked rest stops with food and beds, sweet finisher medals and trophies to people that placed, transport to the start, and awesome hoodie. All for not much more than an XC race.
-Thanks to Tim, Chainreaction, and the 29crew.

A ? for a ?

Is the pope Catholic?
Is a Zebra black and white?
Is Elvis dead?
Does a bear crap in the woods?

These are all appropriate ways to answer a question with a question and the point is made.

Well, what if you just want to say "kind off"? Well now you have that chance. When someone asks if you like their outfit and your are indifferent, just ask "Does Charly Tri have a beard"?

You see Tuscobia is this weekend. I'll be racing the 75 miler. I don't technically qualify for the 150 miler. Arrowhead 125 approaches as well. These both have the potential to be very cold, thus my attempt at facial hair. Check it. Not really a beard, not a goatee.
Now I know you're wondering where to get the sweet Chain Reaction Cycles/29er crew shirt. Sorry, I had it custom made for me. I am contractually obligated to show both labels in every picture of mine on the blog. There are lots of other rules, they are thick contracts. One thing I slipped in though, is every time I visit their headquarters they need to have bowls of M&M's ready for me sorted by color. Also, when I visit they need to play this video on TV no more than 10 feet from the entrance.



As always, you should get back to work.

I have 3 brothers and 1 sister.

Or maybe it was 2 brothers and 2 sisters.  Hmmmmmm?

BTW.

Riding the 907

So I have been able to take the new bike for some shake down rides and to say that I am impressed would be an understatement. The lightweight, frame stiffness, and handling are simply spot on. I was also excited to get in my first sub zero ride of the year in just the beginning of December. There is something surreal about riding for hours at a temp that keeps people from taking out the trash.

This night was after 16" of new snow. The only way I could ride the trails was with the tires almost riding on the rim from the low pressure. The trail would firm up farther down, which is where this pic was taken. Comparing the non compressed tire to the width of the actual track was something unique. Thank goodness for the wide rims, but it had me wondering about the 100's.


16 inches of snow makes for fun sidewalk single track on the way to the snowmobile trails. I would spot Kuske clearing his driveway soon after this. Deep snow is his Fargo's kryptonite. As weird as it is to say, the Fargo could have a flaw (said with tongue in cheek).


This was taken on a previous ride as the storm started. Although you can't make it out well, my shoes brushed the snow with each revolution. This section was an exercise in resistance.


The bike rocks and I would not be doing it justice if there was not a shot of the logo while riding.

So that is it, tomorrow we will discuss Grizzly Adams.

Back to work!

Ultimate snow trail rocket

So you all have been on the edge of your seat to know what my new ride is, I know, I know. As you and your friends gather to watch the latest episode of "Glee" the conversation instantly goes to "what is Jo Mama's new sponsor"? Well, question no more.

To build the ultimate snow trail rocket you need to start with wide light rims. Something in the 80mm width at a hair over 800 grams is certainly a great start. I think these may be about the lightest wide rims you can find. Both of them weighed in the exact same, 807 grams and 0 calories!!


Next, how about a super light alloy frame with big beefy tubing to make sure every watt of energy gets to the snow covered trails? The frame is first class all the way, and the third bottle mount is rare in the niche of snow bikes. I plan on using this spot for storage at the big snow dance.


So you have to fill those holes on the super awesome rims with something cool right? The banner from my daughter's first birthday party fit the bill. Light super shiny Mylar looks futuristic and cool. If you look close you can see the reflection of the rest of the wheel in the Mylar.


Now this is not a sponsor thing, but can you guess why this crazy gringo is drilling holes into his fork?


Bam! Here it is. 9:ZERO:7 frame, 80mm Flattop Rims, 2X9 set up, no front der to freeze, Old style Suntour xc pro shifter. As always my contact points (seat and bars) have to be wrapped in Bontrager as they fit so great. I love my Bontrager Evoke saddle.


Thank you, thank you, thank you guys at Chain Reaction Cycles! My 9:ZERO:7 frame and rims are awesome!! I hope to not disappoint, speaking of which I should probably go for a ride.

So there you have it. I am very spoiled. I have an amazing snow bike, 9:ZERO:7, and mountain bike, Trek/Fisher Superfly 100. My stable is stacked and I am grateful.

Also, special shout out to Matt at Rochester Cycling and Fitness. Sure I work there, but he never winces when I work late into the night after hours on my own stuff. First class shop, top bikes!

Less bloggy bloggy, more worky worky.

For sale: the Super Pugsley,

SOLD!!!




My new bike is a hair's breath from done, but here is the 18" Pugsley that is for sale (missing cassette in picture). It is much better in spec than what you can by new, and most of the parts are new or close to it. Much lighter than the stock spec and you get a custom 100mm fork with dual bottle mounts on the back with custom superlight racks(all recently powder coated). Are you looking to do an adventure? This is your bike.

$1,350 with racks, $1,200 without.

About the 100mm front fork. The idea of 2 rear wheels sounds great, but in practice the "other" rear wheel never gets used. Using a standard front wheel you get a much lighter set up and can install it on a fork mounted rack without adapters.

charlytri (at) yahoo (dot) com

I bolded the upgrades you would find over stock:

Frame	Surly Pugsley , Surly 4130 CroMoly steel. Main triangle double butted. TIG-welded. Purple. Custom removable rack. Frame Saver applied.
Fork	Custom 100mm front fork with dual bottle mounts and custom removable rack. Frame Saver Applied.
Seatpost Clamp	Surly Stainless , 30.0mm. Black
Drivetrain
Crankset	TruVativ , 22/32/44t. Black, BRAND NEW
Bottom Bracket	FSA DH, more durable than the Truvativ, BRAND NEW
Cassette	Sram (forget the model)
Chain
Front Derailleur	Shimano LX E-Type , FD-M660. Topswing, dual pull
Rear Derailleur	Shimano Deore , RD-M591 SGS Top Normal. Black
Components
Headset	WTB Greaseguard
Stem	Bontrager , 1-1/8" threadless. Forged. 31.8mm clamp
Handlebar	Cannondale house brand, small rise, pretty wide. New
Grips	Pro lock on grips NEW.
Brake levers	I forget, something basic
Brakes	Avid BB5, Cable-actuated disc. 160mm rotor
Seatpost	Truvativ Team Issue
Saddle	Bontrager Race Lite
Shifters	Shimano XT, Older style.
Wheels
Front Hub	100mm Shimano XT
Rear Hub	Shimano XT
Rims	Surly Large Marge DH , 32h. Custom Drilled saving 100's of grams, but still more than enough strength.
Spokes	DT Comp, Double Butted
Front Tire	Surly Larry , 3.8" Black, Brand New
Rear Tire	Surly Larry, 3.8" Black, Brand new
Tubes	I forget, not those heavy Surly's though.

Goodies are a coming!

So, 6:30 this morning my "package" got scanned at the local UPS. I don't think it will make it out for delivery today, but tomorrow I am sure. Then it is build time for the ultimate snow bike.

Edit: "Out for delivery." Nothing like getting here early!!

Here is a little preview.



BTW