FAT BIKE!

For over 15 years I've been fascinated by the concept of fat bikes. For those that don't know fat bikes are mountain bikes sporting tyres that are between 4" and 5" wide. They were originally designed for sand and snow riding, basically bikes that will go to places were no other bike can. More riders are discovering them, and using them for 'normal' riding instead of a regular mtb. Although still a niche, fat bikes are slowly gaining popularity with some of the more mainstream manufactorers, and even one camping store, producing bikes.

I have finally succumbed to a fat bike, and am now the proud owner of a Sonder Vir Fortis. Sonder is a new bike company, being the bike division of outdoor gear company Alpkit. I visited Alpkit's factory shop last Wednesday for a test ride, ordered a size large bike, and picked it up on Friday. Saturday saw us driving down to North Norfolk for our annual family holiday, and this morning I had my first proper ride on my new bike. Of course I headed for the beach;

The frame is carbon, a first for me, as are the forks. Gearing is SRAM GX1 11x1 (11 tooth sprocket on the back, single chainring on the front).

Most of the finishing kit is Alpkit's own 'Love Mud' range, including the wheels. Note the drilled rims to reduce rotating weight, that's the rim tape that can be seen peeking through.

Tyres are Schwalbe 'Jumbo Jims' and are 26" x 4", but this bike will take tyres up to 5" wide. Bars are 740mm wide, wide bars being the norm for modern mtb's. The extra leverage will be usefull for manouvering that wide front end about.

Unfortunetely I put a scratch on the downtube carrying the bike in the back'o'Landy, despite covering the frame in an old fleece blanket;

Not happy!

Tyre pressure is important on these bikes, with 10 psi being a good general starting point. But that was found to be too high for soft sand, so I've ended up with 6psi front and rear. I reckon that will be too low for the Peaks so further experimentation will be needed when I return home.

First impressions are good. Despite the huge wheels this is a light bike, one that wants to be ridden fast. Handling with the tyres pumped up to around 9-10psi is suprisingly nimble, obviously lower pressures will affect the ride. The head tube and seat tube angles are slack, following current thinking on mtb geometry and very close to Surly's Ice Cream Truck.

Riding in soft sand is pretty hard work, but quite satisfying for some reason. Roll on winter, and snow!

Paul.

Stoney Middleton Fell Race.

Last night saw me entering yet another fell race, this time at Stoney Middleton. There are quite a few weekday fell races in these parts, but as I work shifts I've avoided doing any so far. But as this week I've been on earlies, and had Wednesday off (for reasons that I'll come to in a later post), I thought that a Thursday night race would be in order.

The race started at 7.30, timed to perfection as the rain held off until the drive home. We started from a sports field, ran a long way up a steep tarmac road, ran up and down limestone tracks, through grassy fields, down a slippery loose rocky chute (more limestone) which had the potential to trip us up and throw us onto a barbed wire fence, all around in a big loop which took us back to the start.

I came 133rd out of 188 finishers, with a time of 51:36. Although my pacing was pretty good I reckon that I could have gone a little faster.

Pre-race pic. Oh those legs!

Paul.

Sunday morning spin with an old friend.

I've done very little riding this year, running has taken over somewhat, but just recently I've been missing the bike. So this morning I arose early, ate a banana, then headed out for a quick short spin. The old friend in the title refers not to a person but to my favourite ever bike, an On-One Inbred. Little used these days, due to the lack of disc brakes, this singlespeed lunatic device is one of the first Inbreds built, from the first batch made (of I think 60 bikes). The frame is Reynolds 853 and the forks rigid steel. I bought it back in I think 2000, direct off t'net on the strength of a magazine review. I'd been thinking of buying or building a s/s anyway, and had a hankering for a steel framed steed. Nowadays it resides in the loft, a shame because it rides well, has had a lot of upgrades, and always makes me smile.

I headed south down the A6, riding in the usual singlespeed style of spin/coast, listening to the purr of the White Industries freewheel (the Rolls Royce of freewheels), before turning off on the left to tackle a rather steep hill towards Cowdale;

Up there, on that?

Singlespeed specific 180mm cranks, Surly 32t chainring, fancy alloy chainring bolts.

Despite appearences the track doesn't go straight up, but zig-zags. Still damned steep though, I pushed most of it. I had to push last time I rode it as well, on my geared Kona, so quite why I thought that it was do-able on a s/s I don't know...

V brakes. How quaint...

Glamping comes to Buxton with luxury pods in beautifull locations...

The rest of the ride was on easier ground looping around to rejoin the A6 north of Buxton, mainly on tarmac with a couple of easy off-road sections, both byways, the last of which bisects a golf course. It was of course only a short ride, time and tired legs (I ran 14k yesterday) preventing anything more than a little loop, but it was just nice to get out and spin.

I wonder if any BASE jumpers have explored these quarries?

Surly hub, White Industries freewheel. A fine combination.

I love this bike! Note the USE carbon seatpost, the bars are also carbon.

Byway to, er, Buxton.

 I think that the Inbred will see more use this year.

Paul.

Peak Forest Fell Race.

Today I took part in another local race, Peak Forest being only a few miles from Buxton. This is a 9.7k / 6 mile category CS race, meaning that there would only be a moderate amount of climbing and short distance.

The race started on a side road, known locally as the dam road, at 11.15. A bell rings and 76 runners head up the road, down a lane, and off into the countryside heading towards Castleton. Of course we didn't reach that honeypot, turning west and heading to Eldon Hill before dropping back into Peak Forest. The terrain was mostly grassy fields and stone farm tracks, dry underfoot apart from a few small mud patches. Steady climbs meant only a little walking, although with greater fitness I reckon that I could run the entire course, and the descents not too steep or gnarly. I still need to work on my pacing, descending technique and endurance, yet again I found myself passing other runners on the climbs only to have them come past me again when the course points downhill.

The day was warm and humid, with a fairly strong wind. Unusually for a short course there was a drinks station halfway round, where I threw a cup of water down my neck. To my shame I didn't thank the lady and young lad who were handing out the drinks, I usually make a point of thanking marshalls. After all most do it just for the love of the sport.

The final downhill saw me up the effort, which worked as I passed a few other competitors. After a final sprint on tarmac I was back at the start, one hour and 41 seconds later. This put me in 47th place out of 75 finishers.

The rather modest finish line.

In the village hall/reading room tea and home made cakes were on offer for a modest fee, all proceeds funding the school playground. I enjoyed a slice of strawberry cake and a brew;

I will confess to taking a couple of cup cakes home with me as well...

Todays race was another great event, I really enjoyed the course, the laid back atmosphere, and the refreshments! Again a fine example of grass roots sport, and all for a five quid entry fee.

Paul.

Warslow Beer Festival Fell Race.

A fell race and beer festival combined? Sounds good to me, so today found me travelling down into the undiscovered country that is White Peak.

I arrived early. Registration started at 1pm, and as numbers were limited to 100 runners I wanted to make sure that I got a place. As it happened I needn't have worried, only about 40 others turned up for the race. On arrival I was directed towards the village hall, where the beer was being served, but the bar staff didn't know anything. Luckily the race organiser popped in, so I ordered a half of something then walked down to the tent that was being used as race HQ.

After a long chat about the route, local races and running clubs I signed in and picked up my race number. With the race starting at 3pm I had time to kill so it was back to the village hall, for cake this time, then I spent time wandering around, photographing some classic cars and old tractors and listening to the local silver band.

Just before 3pm, and as we were lining up for the start, the rain came. It did ease up as we moved off, but returned towards the end when I was atop the last hill with about 2k to go. I say rain, it felt almost hail-like in its intensity, being driven by a cold wind into barely covered flesh. Thankfully it passed (for now) as I descended. At least we runners could keep warm by moving, the poor marshall on top was cowering behind a trig point.

As for the course, well 10k in White Peak, that can't be too hard surely? At the start I was told that the course was tough, and tough it was! Its a category AS race, meaning lots of climbing and short distance. The total height gain was 533m/1749ft, and the gradient profile looks like a bow saw blade. It went up and down around the Ecton and Wetton hills, including one called Sugarloaf. Terrain was mostly on grass, sometimes fairly flat and benign and sometimes tussocky and unruly, through fields. But there was also mud. Lots of mud. Gloopy slippery mud. My running shoes (Salomon Fellraisers) struggled to cope and I wished that instead I was wearing the brand new pair of Inov8 Mudclaws that sit at home in a cupboard unworn. The climbing varied between steep, very steep and oh bloody hell thats steep! Lots of walking involved... The descents followed suit, at times I had to either crab down sideways or zig-zag, especially when descending on the steeper sections. More practise needed I reckon as runners that I left behind on the climbs were catching me on the way back down.

I enjoyed great views from the tops, at one stage I had clear skies to the right and a storm coming in on the left with the distant rumble of thunder. I like to see some wildlife when running, today I enjoyed the sight of swallows darting around.

The fastest runners finished just shy of an hour, I did it in 1:31:41. Did I enjoy it? Oh yes! Sure it was hard, but then isn't that the point sometimes? I finished in 28th place out of 41 runners.

At the finish there were rock cakes (hooray!) and biscuits (McVities chocolate digestives no less), very welcome indeed. Another half of something had to be downed (well, it was a beer festival), a burger joined it, followed by tea and cake. I would have stayed longer but I went on my own as Dani had to work, a shame as she would have driven so I could have had a few more. Anyway, it was a great race with or without the beer festival.

A shoe selfie. Apparently these are popular...

Paul.