Freedhem 76

 The Freedhem 76 - The Fastest Fatbike

I've gotta start at the end ... my first podium photo, top step and all! 

Photo Credit Markman Outdoor Photography

OK, a little correction to the first sentence, I was the top step of the 2019 Filthy 50 podium as the fastest fatbike ... but it was so cold, there were no other riders available for the picture. 

The Freedhem 76 starts/ends in the tiny town of Freedhem with one general store and a handful of houses located in central Minnesota. Freedhem was named by the Swedish settlers, Freedhem translates to "peaceful home".

The Freedhem 76 is the brain-child of Donald Griggs - this is his "one-man-show" with wonderful community support and volunteers. We've shared many miles together on other gravel riders and he had invited me to the Freedhem 76 over the last few years and 2021 was the year when the stars finally aligned.

The race is an 80-mile course that's mostly gravel with some MMR (minimal maintenance road) and a couple ATV trails. I brought my drop-bar Pugsley to race, I'm training to ride the Pug on The DAMn in August and need to get all the training miles I can get to be successful on that DAMn ride! I'm riding a 2015 Pugsley that's mostly stock, with Salsa Woodchipper handlebars, Gevenalle GX shifters, and Fat

B Nimble tires. 

As we gathered at the start line in front of the Freedhem general store, I saw so many good friends, it was good to be back to 'normal' gravel rides as this pandemic eases. 

Start line selfie

The first 2 miles are a neutral rollout with race Donald leading us out on the paved road. That first couple miles was interesting for me, my Garmin flaked out and said that I'd finished the route while we rolled out. So I was heads-down for a while getting the route reloaded. When I finally got the Garmin sorted out, I realized there as a gap forming and I wanted to be closer to the lead group. I picked up my pace and rode the gravel shoulder to get around some riders and up to the back of the lead group, I think the Fat B Nimble tires on the gravel shoulder freaked out some of the riders as I passed. As soon as the route turned right on to gravel roads, Donald pulled off and the race was on! 

It didn't take long for another gap to form separating the lead group from a small chase group. I put in another big effort to bridge to the lead group of 30-40 riders. I was slowing closing the gap, pushing my Pugsley at 20+ mph. But after 3-4 miles of this effort, I was no longer closing the gap on the lead group, and a look over my shoulder to find nobody behind me. At mile 9, I started wondering if I was going to ride the next 70 miles solo. 

A few miles after I eased off the pace, a small chase group caught me. It was 4 riders with fatbikes, and 2 riders on gravel bikes. Funny enough, I recognized 3 of the bikes in this group, I'd followed their car on the drive up. This group worked together for many miles, everybody take pulls on the front. I wasn't paying attention when we lost 3 of the riders on fatbikes. One of the gravel bike riders pulled ahead of us. The three of us remaining became my main group for the day; it was Bryan (with a fatbike), Scott (with a gravel bike), and me. I got to know Scott earlier this spring when he hosted a fun gravel ride around his area near Annandale; and Bryan is Scott's friend too.

Getting close to the first ATV trail
Photo Credit Markman Outdoor Photography

Around mile 25 I was dropped by Scott and Bryan, spending a few more miles solo. At mile 30, I entered the first ATV trail that was peppered of large gravel & rocks and many massive puddles. Thanks to my fat tires, I was able to ride this 4 mile ATV trail with ease, passing many riders along the way ... including one rider walking his bike out after a wreck that likely broke some bones - he was OK walking himself out and had a ride coming to get him at the ATV trail exit. 

Great rest area hosted by local volunteers ... with BACON!! 

I caught up with Scott and Bryan coming out of the first ATV section (mile 34), we continued to work together for many miles including a break to enjoying the bacon at the aid station around mile 40 and we cooled off with some spotty heavy rain over the miles after the rest stop. 

Around mile 65, we all agreed to drop the pace, we were all feeling the fatigue. A couple miles later, we took a right turn into the sandy ATV trail. I ended up leaving Bryan with Scott in this sand trap; Scott was struggling to ride the soft sand with standard gravel tires. My Fat B Nimble tires ate up the sand sections without any stress ... I had somebody call me a cheater in the sand trap as I rolled through while they walked, but they admitted I did have to mash those massive tires for 80 miles just to be able to ride 1 mile of sand ... LOL!

In the sand traps, I passed my friend Dana, but didn't recognize him at the moment. He caught up with me when we got back on the gravel roads and we worked together for about 5 miles. Dana asked me if I was the lead fatbike, I said that I thought there must be one or two in the lead group. Dana let me know that he'd been in the lead group and hadn't seen a fatbike up there. I was excited to hear this, it helped me continue to push hard to the finish. Dana started cramping up and he let me ride ahead, so I rode the last 5 miles to the finish solo. 

Finish line smile
Photo Credit Markman Outdoor Photography

I was greeted by Donald at the finish line and instructed to get my prize: Panaracer GravelKing SK tires (they won't fit the Pugsley - LOL! - but I have a bike that will be great with these tires) and a mason jar of gravel as a trophy! 

A really nice touch at the finish line was volunteers walking around with platters of fresh watermelon - that was a great treat after a long ride! Plus there was a wonderful after party for everyone to enjoy some shady, music, tasty food options, and cold beers. 

The results for the men's fatbikers: 

1. Chris “Fat B Nimble” Nelson - 4:56:56
2. Bryan “ Big Ring” Truckenmiller - 5:05:15
3. Michael Sullivan - 5:12:06
4. Nicholas “G-Money” Garbis - 5:36:17
5. Danny Kopren - 6:18:43
6. Steve Meyer 7:00:33 (tie 6th)
7. Greg Atkinson - 7:00:33 (tie 6th)

Overall, I was 38th of 114 riders on the long course.

Swag, prizes & trophy! 

YouTube link captured with my GoPro Hero 8.

2021 Spring Valley 100 (Almanzo 100 course): The Blast Furnace!

Greg and me feeling overly confident at the start line

The forecast for the Spring Valley 100 was for temps in upper 90s F and it was stressful planning to drive 2 hours to race in these conditions. I know the course, having ridden the Almanzo 100 three times, and I'd made a plan if I need to bail. My escape plan was to ride CR 16 back to Spring Valley - the course crosses CR 16 many times, and it allows a direct path back to the finish line.

The field of racers was the smallest I've seen in Spring Valley. The Almanzo 100 could attract a crowd of 1,000 riders to the start line, this year was roughly 100 riders - the heat likely caused many wiser riders to skip the 2021 race.

The race organizers were great getting volunteers to host four aid stations on the course. Rider's could get water, other drinks, and food at the stops.

The roll out felt good, we all knew the forecast, but hoped against hope that it won't be that bad.   

I was with two other riders at the first aid station (not sure what mile this was). We took bottles and bananas as we biked through.

I was a little mad that I rode through the second aid station at Preston (mile 39), I left the riders I'd been working with and then I needed to stop just a few miles up the road. Around mile 50, my CamelBak was nearly empty and my two bottles were empty. I stopped to get the frozen bottles of of the cooler in my saddle bag, they were still frozen nearly solid, it was difficult to get the water out ... But the heat thawed them out quickly.

The third aid station was at Forestville (mile 67). I'd planned to stop here, there's a water hydrant, bathrooms, shade, and the best volunteers with food and drink. I spent a lot of time at the water hydrant, filling bottles, CamelBak, drinking, and dousing myself in cold well water. After a long break (30 minutes), I felt ready to get back on the bike. But the first thing you get out of Forestville is a paved climb in the sun ... And within a mile or two, I was feeling just as wrecked as when I rode into Forestville.

The 10 miles from Forestville to Cherry Grove were brutal. I was struggle to keep my place at 10 mph, my stomach wouldn't take food, I was just drinking all all my hydration options.

At Cherry Grove, there were wonderful volunteers with ice cold water in a shady patch ... next to the local cemetery. I laid in the shade with two riders, drinking the cold water, feeling as bad (or worse than) as when I arrived at Forestville. I told the riders about my escape plan, I was going to follow the course until I got to CR 16 and following it back to Spring Valley. They agreed that this was a good plan.

We still got to ride MMR (Minimal Maintenance Road) to the water crossings at mile 81 ... sadly, the creek was dry. And for a bonus, there's another climb after the "water crossing". After the climb out of the creek bed, I started falling behind the other two and I couldn't share that I found a shortcut to get to CR 16. So, I ended up riding the last 6-8 miles solo, fighting the winds and heat to get back to Spring Valley. I still needed to stop in shade to try to recover from the heat. I cut off about 10 miles of the course including the infamous Oriole hill.

I needed extended time at the finish area to cool off and get fluids before I was ready to make the drive home. I stripped off everything except my bibs and base layer. The finishing area was a mess of riders laying in the shade, slowly cooling off and hydrating. Riders were coming in form every direction, all looking totally spent. The wonderful thing about the gravel community, as riders would come in totally wrecked, somebody that had more time to recover would bring them an ice cold bottle of water and make sure they had what they needed to recover. The gravel community is the best!
 

The dusty drop-bar Pugsley at the end of the day with most of my gear

GoPro edit on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/1mAlt33ERQU

I was feeling good by Monday, but the day after the Spring Valley 100 was a tougher than the average recovery day. I can't think a good reason to do a ride like this in these conditions ever again ... It's just too hard on me. I'll keep it to the cold, rainy, snowy ... bike events

The hydration story: I spent Friday focused on electrolytes and hydration, avoiding coffee and alcohol. During the ride, I emptied my 3l CamelBak Lobo twice - it keep icy cold until roughly mile 50, that's when I'd drank all the water and it still had ice in. I drank 6 large bottles of water with Nuun, I had two frozen in a small cooler in my saddle bag, they were still mostly ice at mile 50 when I got them out. I don't know how much I drank at the hydrant in Forestville, plus a couple bottles of Gatorade. There were two more bottle of icy water at Cherry Grove. I didn't really count the amount I drank at the finish line. Driving home, I had Coke and more water. At home, I had tons of water and coconut water ... and didn't have any beer (that says a lot!).

vEversting, ER & IVs ... OH MY

Ride Report: vEveresting on Zwift & Coming Up Short 

Lisa introduced me to Zwift 5 years ago, it's a great way to ride a bike on an indoor trainer and not get bored. For those that don't know Zwift, it's like a video game with your bike as the game control. There are many worlds and courses, some of the courses are based on real world routes and some are totally made up. 

I use a Wahoo Kickr on Zwift, this is a trainer that has a power meter that controls resistance, this means that the trainer will make it harder when climbing, making you shift down gears just like the real world. 

The vEversting set up with all the hydration & food close at hand

Everesting is riding the same hill over-and-over until you reach the height of Mount Everest - 29,029 ft. With the popularity of Zwift, the concept of "virtual Everesting" (vEversting) became a thing. I got the idea that vEversting would be a good idea thanks to Zwift, Zwift encourages riders with badges for achieving challenges and the vEversting badge is one of the very last achievements I have left on Zwift. 

vEversting has a lot of advantages over riding in the real world: easy access to food, water, and plumbing; no safety issues with traffic on public roads; and because your Zwift avatar can descend without you, you can get off the bike while your aviator keeps going. During the descents, I'd use the toilet, fill water bottles, and I was changing into fresh bibs every other climb. 

Here's what the route looks like - the gray saw tooth at the bottom is the elevation

For vEveresting, there are a number of climbs available in Zwift, I pick the iconic Alpe du Zwift - the game version of the real-world Alpe d'Huez. This is 3,398 ft per climb over 7.59 mile for an average grade of 8.5%. A rider needs to climb Alpe du Zwift 8.5 times to complete the vEversting challenge. 

I picked a Friday to take on this challenge to have the weekend to recover. I got started a little before 7:00 AM, expecting to be at this until 8:00 or 9:00 PM. I know I can climb Alpe du Zwift in under an hour, but I can't sustain that effort all day, so I was planning 90-120 minutes per climb. I was feeling strong and didn't pace myself well, I was finishing the climb a few times in 75 to 85 minutes ... at the moment that felt good, but I'm sure was part of the ultimate need to abandon. 

I was feeling OK, but I knew it was time to stop. I finished 7 of the 8.5 climbs of Alpe du Zwift, for a total of 23,907 ft, 111 miles, and just under 12 hours of riding. 

After a shower and trying to recover on the couch, I couldn't get myself to eat and barely drink. I was feeling rough, but thought a good night's sleep would sort things out. 

At 2:00 AM, I had a violent vomit session, it was like it was coming from the depths of hell. I was able to go back to sleep again. But in the morning, I couldn't stop the shakes and my body went on rapid swings from feeling too hot to freezing. I still couldn't eat or drink much, Lisa brought some broth that went down, very slowly, but that was all I could get down. I realized I wasn't going to recover without medical help. 

Lisa drove me over to the local urgent care that had no wait (thank God!). I was really foggy at urgent care, I recall getting a blood draw and an IV. The part that I remember most clearly was the COVID test (my first of the pandemic). That damned swab tickling my brain set off my already queasy gut and another vicious bout of puking ... again it was coming up from the depths of hell. 

Getting the first IV at urgent care

The urgent care found my sodium level was in the low 120s - should be 135 to 145. They recommended moving to a hospital and likely spend the night there. 

This lead to another sub-story about the urgent care doctor and the ambulance EMT crew getting into an argument about transportation. I really was too sick to give a shit about their pissing-match and just wanted to get the hospital. The ambulance crew saw no reason to charge us for the ride, I was stable enough. They drove us around the building to our car and Lisa drove me to North Memorial. That was both Lisa's and my first ride in an ambulance.

By the time I got to the ER, I was feeling OK, walking in as Lisa parked the car. When Lisa was coming in to find me, she overheard the staff referring to this as a "... some crazy guy had a Peloton incident ..."  LMAO! 

After a couple hours in the ER and another IV bag, a tech came to move me to a room for the night (my first hospital admission), the tech had a hard time maneuvering the wheelchair, so I got up to make it easier to get the wheel chair around the door. I think we can say I was feeling my normal self at this point. 

It was a very boring night in the hospital with COVID protocols keeping visitors out, I had a couple meals, watch a few bad movies, and got up every hour to pee (so much hydration!). From the urgent care, to the ER, to the overnight room, I got 4 bags of IV (and started a 5th). 

Leaving North Memorial, there were no restrictions on food and activities. I got home Sunday morning for a pizza lunch and got to work cleaning house then a long walk with the dogs. I was feeling better than normal after a major ride, no sore muscles! 

I'll be back for vEversting, but smarter. Biggest changes include better tracking of hydration needs prior to the ride and during the ride; better conditioning for the heat (plus a new fan); and whole food breaks through out the effort. 

UPDATE: December 3, 2021 Covid long haul researchers last year sequenced the novel coronavirus and found that part of its genetic code “mimics” a protein that helps regulate salt and fluid balance in the human body. Covid long haulers are ending up in the hospital with hyponatremia more often post Covid. 

In April 2020, I likely suffered Covid before testing was widely available and I did not need any medical care so I don't know for sure it was Covid. However, the months following I experienced long haul symptoms without knowing what was happening. I was fatigue and achy without reason and had the worst brain fog. By October-November 2020, I felt the long haul symptoms had passed ... But this new research indicates long haul could still be affecting my body.

GoPro Hero8

Mar 3, 2020

I'm going to make a few updates to this post as I get started with this my GoPro.

I took the Hero8 out for a couple rides, and used GoPro's Quik app to create edits. Not a huge fan of Quik, it is fast and easy, but not flexible and the output is short ... this will not work with a long ride. Here's a sample video:

The image quality is outstanding! In the edit, check out the section with the camera recording my face. It is super smooth, but look at my arms and you know I'm hammering through rough trails. 

I ended up buying the Protective Housing. To me, this is a step backwards. The Session was very durable stand-alone and that was a big feature. With the Hero8, the lens is not replaceable, and that's a major concern considering the kinda rides I like to record with my GoPro.

For reference, here's a before-and-after of the lens replacement on my old Session.

Feb 26, 2020

This is a short post about replacing my broken GoPro Session and buying a new Hero8 using the GoPro TradeUp program.

I placed the order on a Saturday (Feb 15); I printed the shipping label and dropped it off at the local UPS Store the same day. It took a week for the package to arrive at GoPro, arriving on Friday (Feb 21). They shipped the Hero8 on Monday (Feb 24) and it arrive on Wednesday (Feb 26).

All in all, a smooth and quick process; and saved me $100 on a brand new Hero8.

Arctic Fever Fat Bike Race on Lake Minnetonka

February 23, 2020 was the rescheduled race date after a blizzard postponed the January date. I was excited for the date changes since the original date was Lisa's birthday weekend, and I couldn't make the race. 

This race is roughly 13 miles mostly on Lake Minnetonka ice, with some bushwhacking single-track, and some miles on the regional trail. The race hosts will drag a sled over the course, but it's basically riding the lake snow with no grooming. 

All smiles at the start line

Pre-race, I rode out around the point on to the main bay and felt like my ~6 psi pressure would be good on the snow conditions. 

I know the start of this race can be a shitshow, so I put myself near the front of the start area. I was a little shocked to see that after the start sprint settled down, I was in the top 10-15 rides (odd place for me at any race).

I was doing well until we hit the Big Island and the snow seemed to get deeper and softer. Or I just started getting too worn out from the effort. I hit the slush a bunch, nearly every fall let another rider or two past me. 

Conditions were rough for everyone, lots of falling and dabbing from all riders. Melty mashed potato snow, trying to follow the line made be the rider in front ... It turned into the longest log ride ever. Plus a few sections of just walking the bike. 

As we left the deep snow by the Big Island, I started overtaking some of the riders that passed me. The last on lake section on Carson Bay had us go under Minnetonka Blvd bridge on polished bare ice, with a low bridge deck. I was worried about hitting my head on the bridge, so I was sitting on the top tube kicking with one foot praying I'd avoid hitting that ice. Back on the snow, everybody was forced to walk the route around the bay, the snow was simply un-ridable. To get off the bay, we had to climb a steep 6-foot bank onto the trail. 

We finished with 3 miles on the Lake Minnetonka Trail which was a total disaster of slush and peanut butter limestone. My drop-bars we an advantage as we were riding into the wind to get to the finish, I was able to pass a few more riders on the way back to finish line at Excelsior Brewing.

Back at the brewery, I enjoyed a slice of pizza and a beer while I tried to hold off the shivers. I didn't stay very long because I was getting too cold. I biked to/from Excelsior for the race. The ride home was real tough being soaked to the bone and spent from the race. The temps were dropping, and I knew I had to get home before it got too much colder. I took the roads home since I knew the trail was awful. I had to make a point of pushing myself hard to keep my body warm enough ... it was a serious case of mind-over-body. 

All-in-all, it was a great day of challenges and pushing myself with conditions I've never raced.

Gotta say I'm very pleased with the results from my first race of 2020. Placed 22nd of 119 finishers (over 200 registered). Typically I'm very middle of the pack at winter races, so this was kinda surprising. Link to race results - http://www.gopherstateevents.com/results/fitness_events/results.asp?event_id=940

My face at the finish line said a lot about this race

Gearing up for the Arrowhead 135

It takes an odd person to get excited for sub-zero temps ... But I'm that odd person. But there's a goal to this odd excitement - the Arrowhead 135.

Valentine morning we had temps ranged from -18F to 0F. I took this as an opportunity to go on a long ride - Hopkins to Victoria and back on the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail, just over 30 miles total. I was out for just under 3 hours without any stops to go inside.

Frosty selfie

My trusty drop-bar Pugsley (it'll get flatbars before AH135)

Here's the gear that I used on today's 30 mile ride.

The CamelBak Lobo (3l) is great, layered under my jacket and vest with insulated tube. I need to blow air back in the tube after drinking to avoid freezing in the tube.

For my lower body: Zoot tri shorts; team bibs; Ibex wool knee length tights; Pearl Izumi AmFIB tights

Upper body: Podiumwear Arrowhead team jacket; REI base layer; Smartwool mid-weight; Twin Six long-sleeve wool; Podiumwear wind breaking vest. I would like a little more wind/cold protection over my belly; after the ride, the skin on my stomach was red and very cold.

And for the extremities & tech: Garmin 1030; Garmin Varia Radar; NiteRider 700; Skull Candy Methods (all tech held battery fine in the cold - Varia & Methods are not on the AH135 pack list, just the light I had with me). 45NRTH Toasterfork; Smartwool skull cap; DAMn swag buff; bike helmet. Smartwool expedition weight sock; 45NRTH Wölvhammer; Planet Bike Comet boot covers.

Sports Beans worked for me in the cold, but the Pro Bar Bolts were hard to eat

Almost ready for January 2021 ... I'll just need to ride 105 miles further, on snowmobile trails, through the remote Northwoods of Minnesota.... OK, I still have a lot of work to do!  

The Filthy 50 - Fastest Fatbike!

2019 Filthy 50 Overdue Post (forgot to publish)

I have loved The Filthy 50 since my first trip to ride this race in 2016. Trenton is an amazing race organizer and host. He attracts the best people to his events. The Filthy 50 is like an autumn reunion of the 'gravel family'.

At the start area for this year's race, I was milling around when a rookie rider asked about my Garmin. We started talking and she let me know that this was her first gravel race. She had a ton of questions and I was happy to share my experience and knowledge. Funny thing, every couple minutes, we'd be interrupted by another rider calling out 'Chris!' and stopping to exchange greetings. It was a very warm and happy feeling to have so many people stop to say 'hi' - I'm honored that this pack of gravel weirdos accept me as part of their family!

2019 was a new course and host town - Lanesboro. Great change, I didn't think it could get better than Stewartville ... Lanesboro showed me that there's another level of awesome!  

We started with temps around freezing with the threat of snow/rain mix. Happily, the precipitation held off for the first half of the ride and was never as punishing as the 2018 conditions. 

I started the race looking to podium for fatbiking men, so I rode out strong. In fact, after the first climb at mile 5, I was getting too hot. I opened my jacket and put my gloves in pockets. I rode with bare hands up to around mile 20, until we turned into the strong winds. 

Early miles with bare hands

The early cross-winds were really ripping, I was happy to have drop-bar to get under some of that wind. Groups had really been split up, I spent a lot of miles riding by myself.

Rolling throw the check point - I've got a podium goal, right?! 

I rolled back into Lanesboro in the snow, riding by myself. Turning the corner to the finish line, and there's Trenton with arms open. He let me know that I was first place, and I dropped some R-rated language in response. After the hug, the best thing was Trenton telling me to go pick up my bag of meat (prize for first place) 

The podium with my trusty and fast drop-bar Pugsley! (2nd & 3rd hadn't finished yet) 

I told Trenton that he needed to promise we were coming back to Lanesboro and this course next year. It's that awesome! (spoiler alert, 2020 will be back in Lanesboro)

I was 92rd place of the 429 people checked-in for the 50-mile route. 348 riders finished The Filthy 50; 81 riders who took the start, did not finish (DNF).

I'm so happy to be the fastest fatbike, but as a bonus, Trenton shared the following in a race recap:

A brand new Filthy course means new Filthy records!

Fat Bike Men - Chris Nelson - 3:34:50

I'm gonna have to go back in October 2020 to defend my course record! 

YouTube link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qs9ghpc5j8&t=5s

The End
(lame joke, I know, but I'm not sorry about it)