October 14, 2018 The 2018 Filthy 50 lived up to the name and then some! This is a quick ride report, busy work week and getting ready for the next race: Gravel West. We rolled out with flurries and temps right around freezing. And these conditions held through out the day, it was cold, wet, windy ride. My goal for the last few year is to get on the podium for the men's fatbike division. I've been 4th place twice... so close. I was hoping 2018 would be the year, but the conditions made me very unsure. At the start of the race, I was shocked to see the number of riders doubling-back to the start line. I heard somebody after the race say that he turned back because his toes were number by mile 5. I did my best to get in with a fast group and get some drafting. But drafting meant a face full of liquid limestone. It didn't take long for groups to splinter and end up riding with one or two people, more social riding than racing.
The #catchthecrapper thing made me laugh but I didn't expect to stop, because I wanted a podium. However, when I got to the crapper in the middle of the gravel road, I'd given up thoughts of placing. So I stopped for my glamour shot:
#CatchTheCrapper - "Dumb and Dumber" or "Austin Powers" ?
There was free beer after the race, I wasn't going to pass that up! I shivered through one beer while talking with Ray, Kyle, and couple other riders. We were all sharing stories about how hard this ride was. I was happy to finish my beer and get to my car with the seat warmer and the heater set to 11.
Tuesday morning I was in a hotel elevator in Chicago when I saw results were posted. I was floored to find out I was 2nd fastest fatbike! I thought I was so far down in the standings ... By the end of the ride I was just dragging my dumb butt in. 30 men registered for the fatbike division and three finished. I don't know how many started, but the start area was full of fatbikes. 3:45:21 felt so slow, that says a lot about the conditions on the day, that was fast enough to give me 71st place overall.
From Trenton: 533 people showed up to ride in the snow, wind and cold. 234 riders finished The Filthy 50. 47 riders finished The Pretty Filthy. 12 riders finished The Little Filthy. 240 riders who took the start, did not finish (DNF). Needless to say, it was a hard year to finish this thing.
Funny enough, that's my second podium finish, but both times there was no actual podium.
End of ride selfie - it's gonna take weeks to get that sand out of all my clothes, my bike, my car ...
October 21, 2018 Great day for riding a causal gravel race/ride - no timing, no ranking, just a course and 101 riders. This was the second Gravel West, and my second Gravel West. There were two courses: 71-mile and 25-mile. I started the day by riding out of the house, nice 10-mile warm-up on the way to Long Lake. Including a stop in Wayzata for an Egg McMuffin (traditions must be honored).
The orange Breezer is a nice compliment to the Autumn leaves.
The winds were strong at the start of the race (blue on map & blue in the weather chart). We had one or two section headed North with this wind at our backs and we were moving at 25 mph on flat roads! But turned back in to that wind for an hour or two and paid the price, plus all the taxes & fees! I got to the second half of the course (red) and expected some help from that wind ... the wind was gone.
x
I rode out with a strong group, held with them until we found the most minimal maintenance road in the metro area (pot holes that could consume a Buick without flinching!). We regrouped in the Lake Rebecca Park when following the route became challenging for everybody. As we left the park, back on the roads, I wasn't able to hold the wheel, but stayed in sight for a few miles (hope springs eternal). I had one rider with me, but he didn't have the power to pull. I recall looking back to check on him and there was nobody behind me on that long straight stretch of gravel. At about mile 20, I lost contact with a chase group. I was fighting into that headwind and I didn't stand a chance of getting back in the group. So I ended up riding mostly solo for the next 50 miles. I liked that, I do a lot of solo riding, but some friends to draft off of would have been nice! I finished the 70 mile course in roughly 4:25:00. Slower than I'd like, but not bad considering the winds. I expect there were roughly 10 riders that finished before me, this is a low-key event without timing or ranking. I really enjoyed the varied terrain, including a section of very minimally maintenance road, grass CX loop, some single-track trails. This event is not timed or ranked, so no results to post. I know Ian destroyed it, like always. Based on Strava and the riders I saw on the road, I expect I was plus-or-minus 10th on the long course. Missed turns and mechanicals slowed many riders that were faster than me, I was having issues with my Garmin 1030 too and it slowed me to a stop a couple times. I ended up exiting the route and reloading it to get the route to work properly. I'll be back next year, if they plan to host it again. And next year, I'll pack a six-pack in my bag - 'cause there wan't any beer at the after party :(
I have to start this post with my story of getting to know Trenton - the mastermind of The DAMn (Day Across Minnesota). My first introduction to Trenton was the Filthy 50, he created/orginized this 50-mile gravel race just south of Rochester in October every year. This is a wonderful, fun, and well organized race... and Trenton somehow always gets the best weather every year! [/knocking on wood]. I recall seeing Trenton's first announcement for The DAMn, knowing the quality events he creates, I was excited to ride it. As I read more about DAMn, my feet got colder and colder. The format of DAMn was riding gravel roads, start in South Dakota at midnight and get to Wisconsin before the end of the day. Riders navigating by cue sheets only (no GPS route). Riders receive the cue sheets to reach checkpoint 1 at the start line, at checkpoint 1 you get cue sheets to find checkpoint 2, and so on. When I saw that it was cue sheets only... I decided I wasn't ready for that on top of riding through night and day on my longest ride. As I saw all the posts and pictures from the 2017 DAMn, I realized I really want to train and gear up to ride DAMn in 2018! I was so excited to see Trenton decide to host the 2018 DAMn and signed up right away. In the months since registering and getting selected for the 2018 DAMn, life was full of every life event and very little time to train. We decided to downsize, sell our house, and move; our only child got married; we lost a loving mother; and a number of other minor events that did their best to keep me off my bike. I stepped up to the start line with concerns that I had the endurance for the massive ride, but I was determined to give it everything I have. Just two weeks prior to DAMn, I was talking with Birchwood teammate John during a ride and found out we were both racing DAMn. John and his friend Shawn needed a ride to the start line, Lisa offered to give them a ride as well as race support. Another friend of a friend (Scott) needs support during DAMn, so Lisa went from supporting one rider to four riders in the days prior to the race!
The Drive to Gary, SD
I spent a couple hours Friday afternoon packing our car and saving space for four people and three bikes.
The car is getting DAMn full
Friday's drive to Gary started rough, John and Shawn were running late because of traffic. I had packed my bike in the car, planning to load the other bikes on our roof rack... but Shawn's bike had thru-axles and our rack wasn't compatible. So we unpack the car (reference above pic!), put Shawn's bike in the car, my bike on the roof rack, repack the car... and we're off.
We hauled ass and got to Gary at 10:30 - rushed to register and the make the rider's meeting. We scrambled to get our bikes assembled, changed clothes next to the car in the dark (sorry to anyone that might have seen that full moon), and got the start line minutes before the fireworks (literally) at midnight.
Before I get into the ride details, I have to say THANK YOU to Lisa! This was the first time Lisa has been a part of a gravel race ... What an introduction?!? There's no way I could have finished this ride with out her loving support! She worked as hard as any racer, using cue sheets for the first time to navigating dark minimal maintenance roads and find the checkpoints, having all the food and drink we could want, greeted us with excitement and encouragement at every check point. She did all this without sleeping and at the end of a demanding week at work, that wrapped up two hours before we hit the road. She supported four riders on this crazy ride across Minnesota. That's only one short of the biggest number of riders supported - missed out on winning a bottle of gin by one rider! Lisa is my hero and no words can express my gratitude for all she did before, during & after DAMn.
Lisa with her trusty XC90 at checkpoint 3
Start Line to Checkpoint 1
Lights on and ready to ride!
The race started with fireworks - that was such a fun touch!
Rolling out from Gary was a little stressful with nearly 200 riders in the dark. I was cautious, it's a long ride and there's no need to crash in the first few miles... I wasn't planning to win this thing, just get to Hager City. The early minimal maintenance roads has some sections with sugary sand. There was a lot of chaos as riders fought for control over the sand sections. Overnight misty fog made vision a nightmare - glasses getting misted and covered with a layer of dust. I found that my helmet mounted light was making it hard to see in the fog, like driving with high beams in the fog - I'd turn off the helmet light when I didn't need to look at cue sheets. Additionally, it took a while to figure out our lights were getting dimmer by the mile because of the dust coating them. To demonstrate the effect of the gravel dust, here's a short video cleaning off my GoPro lens as we arrived at checkpoint 1:
Thankfully, the route was very simple getting to checkpoint 1, 60 miles fit on 2 cue sheets. We rolled into a very dark checkpoint 1 a little after 4:00 am. Lisa was thoughtful to text me that she parked by the car with Christmas lights, so we found the car right away.
Checkpoint 1
Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 2
I was feeling good rolling out of checkpoint 1 and happy to get rolling again. The misty fog was becoming a bigger challenge, we kept telling ourselves sunrise would be soon and the sun would burn off the fog. But the sun didn't burn off the fog very quickly at all. We continued to struggle with our glasses getting coated with mist and dust. I was happy to have some lens cleaner single-packs in my bag, but I couldn't get more than 5 miles from a cleaning before I was back seeing through pin holes.
The sun was a welcome sight!
After sunrise, we were happily roll over the miles and flipping through cue sheets. It was nice to have some uneventful miles in the cool morning air.
Thanks to some smart connected tech (Garmin, earbud, and cell phone), I was able to let Lisa know we were about to arrive in checkpoint 2. It was roughly 9:30 am and we were half way to Wisconsin! We took about 30 minute break, eating, drinking, lubing chains, "nature breaks".
Rolling into checkpoint 2
Every checkpoint required signing off the roster and grabbing the next set of cue sheets
Our leg hair looked like it'd been frosted with gravel dust.
Checkpoint 2 to Checkpoint 3
I was feeling really energized rolling out of checkpoint 2 at 10:00 am! We were making good progress towards my goal of getting to the finish before sunset.
As we rode toward checkpoint 3, as the sun brought the heat. We were starting to worry about water, there was no towns or places to stop and refill water bottles on the route. We rolled into Henderson around 1:00 pm and created the unofficial checkpoint 2.5. We enjoyed an ice cream cone, and racers were emptying the local gas station's cooler of bottled waters. We really needed the additional water! We were all running low, and we were all empty again by checkpoint 3. As we ate ice cream and rested in the shade we had tons of people asking about our dirty bikes and bodies. They clearly thought we were nuts as we explained our ride - honestly, it was hard to argue with them!
John with 'Team Yellow' enjoying Henderson's best ice cream
Right after we left Henderson, we had a section of single-track trails. This lead to my one and only fall of the ride, I washed out in sand. It was slow motion and soft landing, so I bounced up and got back at it. Exiting this trail, I realized I rode this same trail in June on the Westside Dirty Benjamin - but from the other direction, in the pouring rain with the trail under a foot or more water. We were all down to our last few ounces of water, we were looking for water taps on town halls or churches, but no luck. My CamelBak got me within 5 miles of checkpoint 3, so I was OK. John had been riding for a lot longer without water. He came into checkpoint 3 and went straight for the icy unicorns!
(photo credits to Kit, thanks!)
I think the three of us cleaned out half the food and drink in the back of our support car at checkpoint 3!
Our buffet at the checkpoints!
As we were refueling at checkpoint 3, we found out Scott had abandoned and Brad came over to say he was done too. Brad rode with us most of the day, we did our best to support him, but he was having issues staying awake. He wasn't alone, many riders abandoned the race at checkpoint 3.
Checkpoint 3 to Finish
We got about a mile out of checkpoint 3 and John swears as he realizes he didn't grab his water bottles, so he got a couple bonus miles while Shawn and I got some additional rest. As we continued towards Wisconsin, the roads started rolling. This was an additional challenge to legs tired beyond reason. As we got closer to Red Wing, I was struggling with mental and physical fatigue, and coming up on a couple of my personal gremlins - riding paved highways with fast cars, and descents. I was really struggling to keep myself from falling prey to my fears as I was expecting a fast paved highway descent to Red Wing. I was so happy that the descent into Red Wing was quiet gravel road and not terribly fast. As we rode this last descent, I was dragging my breaks and overly tense the whole descent, but I was happy to stayed within sight of the other riders. Crossing the bridge from Red Wing to the finish line island was the most stressful part of the ride. The bridge is narrow and under construction with a 30 MPH limit... but a person driving a school bus had no patience for a group of people riding bikes across the bridge. They honked, shouted, revved the engine. They ended up cutting me off, so I was stuck behind the bus, while the other three were in front. I wish my GoPro had a shred of battery left so that I could report that aggressive school bus driver. My head lights were both dead and my back up battery was done too. I was so happy we rolled in to the finish with the last light of dusk with 3 riders that still had battery in their front lights. I made it to Hager City, WI - but after 240 miles I don't think my body had one more mile left in it. After a few hugs and pics, while I was talking with Trenton, I started getting light-headed and weak-kneed. I found a place to sit down and collect some wood ticks.
The whole DAMn crew: Shawn, Lisa, John, and Chris
Summary, Afterthoughts & Other Details
240 racers signed up, 172 were bold enough to toe the line, and 116 became DAMn Champions by crossing the Hager City, Wisconsin finish line.
I finished in 83rd place with a time of 20:45:03. If your interested, here's a link to an animation of the route we rode.
I will celebrate this major achievement with my first ink. I plan to use this T-shirt graphics as the basis for my first tattoo - I love the imagery of the bird flying from the dark into the light and back into the dark:
My Breezer Radar Pro was a great bike for me all day. I had no mechanical issue and I was comfortable on the bike while riding all the varied road conditions.
Here's another example of the gravel dust and how it layered up - this same thing was happening to our lights and glasses:
nearly an inch of gravel dust layered up on my fork
I was happy with my packing, I honestly had nearly everything I wanted on the ride. I wish I had some wet wipe singles on-bike, there are times you need to take care of your "business" road-side and you'd like to "clean up" before grabbing the next Clif Bar.
Electronics reports:
Garmin 1030 in 'battery save' mode was able run for nearly 21 hours and still have 38% battery left! One thing I didn't think about enough was use the map screen to ID roads when the cue sheets weren't totally clear. I've only had this Garmin with maps for a month, so I'm still getting used to it.
Moto Z with TUM battery mod - the battery mod was dead, but the phone had 80% battery life left!
Thunderbolt 2.0 tail light was on strobe setting the whole ride
NiteRider 700 & 750 did great, but I needed to focus my back up battery on them, or left one with Lisa at checkpoint 2 to charge in the car and returned to me at checkpoint 3.
Skullcandy Method wireless earbuds - they were in stand-by mode most of the day and the battery held up without issue. They spent most of the day hanging around my neck doing nothing; but when Lisa called or texted with checkpoint info, it was a great way to talk without digging my phone out of my pocket.
Here are some of the products and people that helped me successfully complete The DAMn:
Walker at The Alt helped with a number of last minute repairs on the Breezer, helping me get across the state without mechanical issues.
Adam at The Fix Studio worked with me on bike fit, my body position, and talking me through some last minute strategies.
Camelbak Lobo (100 oz) - this was critical to my successful hydration on all day.
Ortlieb Ultimate 6 S Plus Handlebar Bag - this was the first time I used this bag on a race and it was a great way to organize cue sheets as well as store food and back up battery.
Here is some of the fuel that kept me going for 240 miles:
Clif Bars
Gatorade
Starbucks Frappuccino
Coke
beef jerks from the Driskill's meat counter
baked sweet potatoes
PB&J sandwiches
Nuun mix and tablets
Jelly Belly Sports Beans
Salted Nut Rolls
Honey Stingers waffles (love these!)
ProBar Bolt
I'm happy to say that I was very well fueled for the ride. I never bonked or cramped up; plus I avoided any 'intestinal distress'.
I want to share the comment below to the bike advocate groups I know, and I'd like to request your help supporting the youth of Minnetonka that spearheaded this project with help from MORC. The comment was posted on Next Door and many of the comments are a disheartening, but not surprising in the least. Please contact Kelly O’Dea (Recreation Services Director, kodea@eminnetonka.com, 952-939-8360) to voice your support for these new trails. Thank you!
For my history, I grew up in Minnetonka about a mile from Big Willow. I was riding horseback in Big Willow in the early 1970s. As I grew older, I loved exploring the natural trails by bike and foot. In 2005, I moved back to Minnetonka about 4 miles from Big Willow. I bike Big Willow all year round, there's nothing better than cold winter ride along the banks of the Minnehaha.
I also walk these trails with my dogs. I've had nothing but positive interactions with other park users. I can hardly say how excited I am to have quality single-track trails so close to home! I look forward to volunteering with trail maintenance and other duties with these new trails.
Here is the text of the post on Next Door:
"To all of my walking buddies and those who appreciate a quiet place to be with nature!
I saw an article in the Sun Sailor (see attachment) recently stating that Minnetonka was adding 2 new bike trails in 2018. As I love biking, I read the article only to discover that they are considering putting 3 miles of off road mountain bike trails in Big Willow Park. I was devastated. Big Willow is the only place you can walk/jog on the east end of Mtka. without being next to cars or fast bikes. It is such a beautiful treasure in the middle of suburbia – the Minnehaha Creek flows through it and there is an abundance of wildlife and natural resources.
Brad and I attended the community meeting at Mtka. City Hall last night where the Vantage Group presented their proposal to the park board and city council. Of course, there were many people who got up to speak in favor of the project as they were the reason the meeting was called in the first place. Many residents of Minnetonka are not even aware that these bike trails are being proposed for Big Willow. Supporters were complaining that Theodore Wirth was the closest park with off road biking and it wasn’t always convenient to get there/drive their kids there. It sounded like the board was agreeing that this would be a good addition to our park system. Finally, toward the end of the meeting a few residents got up and expressed their concerns about changing the ambience and tranquility of the park, along with doing damage to restoration efforts that are being done in Big Willow. One botanist had written a very factual letter that was read at the meeting stating the reasons that off road biking would be very detrimental to the work that they are doing in Big Willow. There are some bike clubs that would like to have trails in Mtka. – which led to the parking issue as there are only about 6-8 parking spots for Big Willow Park. There were suggestions made by opponents of other areas in the city that would not be negatively impacted and were not areas that Minnetonka was working to restore natural vegetation. The 494 corridor and areas around city hall were brought up for consideration.
Brad and I talked to a few park board members who were changing their tune about support of the project after listening to some of the residents speak. They were beginning to understand that we see Big Willow as a very unique environment within a suburb that needs to be protected. They recommended that we contact as many people as possible and have them send an e-mail or call:
If the beauty and tranquility of Big Willow are important to you, please contact Kelly and let your voice be heard. Obviously, it’s close to my heart as I have been walking in Big Willow since 1980 and love having a nature area so close to home. Michael did his Eagle project of soil erosion control along the creek in Big Willow. Nicole worked for the city of Mtka. 2 summers ago as a tree inspector and frequently worked in Big Willow. She taught us so much about the importance of the natural plants in that area. Mountain bikes are loud and fast – and unfortunately, many mountain bikers don’t stick to the path or widen the path, destroying more of the natural landscape and causing problems such as erosion and opportunity for invasive species to take over.
Please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested. Thanks for your support."
This was my forth year riding the Westside Dirty Benjamin; third year riding to/from the start/finish for the "Royal" Benjamin; and first DNF at any gravel grinder.
I must start with a huge THANK YOU to the organizers and volunteers that make this ride happen. I know that you put in a ton of work so we can go out and have a ton of fun on our bikes.
I left my house at 5:30 am to meet Kyle, Andy, Ken, and Robert in Hopkins. The ride from Hopkins to Chaska was good. I recalling saying something to Kyle about our fast pace to Chaska, it shouldn't have bothered me, but looking back, that was a first sign that my body was not full-strength.
We made the traditional stop at the Chaska McDonald's, I've been getting an Egg McMuffin with sausage before every gravel grinder for years (thanks Justin for getting me into that habit!)
When we got to the start line I was feeling good, 20-mile warm up and ready to grind some new gravel. I was really excited for the new route down to Le Sueur and back to Chaska.
I knew from the first 10 miles, I was not having a good day. I believe the flu that had taken me down over the Memorial Day weekend was still weaken me. My first flu-recovery ride was May 31; and my first (& only) aggressive-long training ride was June 6. That ride felt good, so I was optimistic... overly optimistic.
I typically ride out fast with one of the front groups, I like to use the strength of numbers to get some drafting over the first 20-30 miles. I know I'll fade off that pace as the miles go by, but it feels good to get the first miles covered fast. This year, I remember hitting the first big gravel climb and watching every other rider go past me like I was standing still.... no good. I also watched friends ride away from me that I typically ride with. Kyle and I rode LML together in March, we were evenly match most of the day and finished together. But at Benjamin, I just watched him ride away from me. BTW - Kyle is the only Royal Benjamin rider to complete the Royal this year, that was bad-ass in these conditions!
My only advantage on the day was my bike choice, I was on my drop-bar Pugsley (AKA The War Rig). The gravel was some of the softest I've ever seen on a gravel grinder. I heard reports that they added new gravel to these roads a day or two prior to the race. Most riders were sinking into fresh and sandy gravel. I watched many riders lose it in these conditions, trying to maintain control between the soft gravel and heavy winds. My 4" wide tires floated over the soft stuff, but even I sank in a couple times.
The winds were crushing and unrelenting - weather stations reported constant sustained winds of 20-25 mph with gusts up to 35+ mph (I feel like it was stronger out in the open fields). The wind was either a block headwind (see the video below) or a brutal crosswind. The wind was so strong that my typical pace of 13-16 mph on the front-end of a race was reduced to 11 mph.
The slow pace really added to another challenge: hydration. I started the ride with three full 22 oz water bottles (1 water; 1 Skratch Labs; & 1 Nuun). I was empty on all three by mile 30. The first water stop on the route was mile 47 - Rush River Park; and I'd planned to be there in about 3 to 3.5 hours. But those effing winds slowed me down so much that it took 4.5 hours to get to that water stop. Ray was a true friend and lifesaver, his company and water got me through to the Rush River Park. Ray was sharing his frame mounted CamelBak, taking off the nozzle so I could drink from the hose. I'm sure it looked funny/awkward, but I was bad shape so who cares. 2017 is the year I finally get over my issues with hydration packs, I'll be getting a 3 liter CamelBak in the near future.
The temps were quickly climbing up to 90F and past. I know my body and I need time to acclimate and train in hot temps before an endurance race, but this was our first 90+ day. The rising temps added a lot to my choice to DNF. I was feeling the early symptoms of heat stroke. I was reading this post the following day about avoiding heat stroke on endurance runs, based on these 5 points, it was clear I was going to struggle on this ride.
I've never been in such a deep and dark hole as I was on this ride. At this point, getting to Rush River Park was my one goal, it has a water pump. It was my hope that the water would helped me get some life back, to ride a little further. I tentatively planned to call my personal sag-wagon (Lisa) to pick me up in Le Sueur.... but that's 10 more miles! Ray and I rode into Rush River Park with Ray's friend Todd. When we got there we saw one other rider in the park, laying in the shade, it was Matt with Fulton. Ray checked on him and he was hurting. Ray, Todd and I drank lots of water, poured water on our heads and backs. It brought some life back, but I couldn't think of riding any further. I honestly expected to stay in that park for an hour before slow rolling the 10 miles to Le Sueur.
My eyes got big when I saw a red van pull into the park. Matt's fellow Fulton Racing teammate (sorry forgot your name) had driven down to give Matt a ride back to Chaska, They were generous enough offering me a ride back with them. All they asked in return is that I offer the next random rider help/support when they are in need.
After getting back to Chaska, I spent a while at the finish line drinking a warm BPR talking with some riders that had completed one of the shorter routes. We cheered on other riders as they came in.
Lisa and Lizz drove down to Chaska to give me a ride back home. Between the two car rides, I finished all three of my water bottle... again.
Sitting in the shade on our deck, having a beer, I pulled down my socks to see this 'grim-line'. The sunscreen and sweat made a great magnet for all the blowing sand.
A little about the bike, I picked my drop-bar Pugsley for a couple reasons, but mostly because it was ready to ride. This bike has treated me well over a number of rides, including 2016 & 2017 Almanzo 100, 2017 LML, and the 2016 Filthy 50. It's a mostly stock Pugsley with Salsa Woodchipper bars and Gevenalle shifters. I'm rolling Panaracer Fat B Nibble tires... great tires for gravel.
With all the fatbike hitting the road, I thought I'd share some information about tire pressure. I've been planning on this 'test' for a while and last nights dusting of snow was the last element I needed.
I ran my Pugsley three times down the fresh snow, plus once with the Marin Nail Trail and once with my Kona Dew Drop - this was just for a little comparison with tires and pressures most people are familiar with.
Here is the total results:
Here's the details of my 'experiment':
Run 1 at 15psi - Nates on Pugsley:
Run 2 at 8psi - Nates on Pugsley:
Run 3 at 4psi - Nates on Pugsley:
Run 4 at 35 psi - Bontrager on Marin:
Run 5 at 50 psi - Clement on Kona:
Bikes: Runs 1, 2 & 3 were with a Surly Pugsley with Nate 3.8 inch tires Run 4 was a Marin Nail Trail on Bontrager Connection Trail 26 x2.0 Run 5 was a Kona Dew Drop on Clement X’PLOR USH 700x35 Rider is 170 lbs and the air temp was 32F.
Brief post on the new GoPro I got last month - Hero 4 Session. I wanted to get the GoPro off my helmet for a couple reasons (weight, safety...). With the smaller Session you can easily mount the Strap on your wrist.
Here's the wrist mount:
And here are some samples from riding a drop bar bike with this mounting:
I'm liking this mounting for road bikes, and as somebody that has 6 bikes and rides them all, a bike mount is not practical.
