Come Pedal the Iron Range

Nov. 29th 9 a.m. meet up.
Come Pedal your FatBike with other like minded people in and around the Hibbing/Chisholm and surrounding area.
More info can be had here

Here's a video from our 2013 ride........

Fiddlin' Fifty Recap

What a perfect day for a ride on northern Minnesota gravel and forest roads!! 

The rain held off for the whole day, a few sprinkles here and there, but otherwise as near perfect of a day as there could've been! 

Scott and Susan put on a small, quality grass roots gravel ride in style! 

The volunteers were AWESOME!

The course layout and cue sheets were spot on! 

The driving force behind this event!!

Scott and Susan.....

The feeling of being in the middle of no where is an awesome feeling I love and know well, being from this area! 

20 people signed up, 18 showed. 

Those who passed on this years ride, missed out..... And should really put this ride on their 2015 ride calendar!

A special shout out to Mr. Deathrider! 

Thanks for hanging out until my slow ass finished!! LOL

It always amazes me the quality types who attend these events!! 

It was spelendid finally shaking your hand, and BSing with you after many years of talking over the net and phone! You made a great impression on my family; and hopefully we can join you and your family this coming weekend at Cuyuna! 

The fast guys were really fast!!

I always like to see those guys kick it down, as I usually bring up the rear. Lol 

Two of those fast guys I was talking about.

Marko and "DeathRider"

As always it was a great day for two wheels!! 

A few photos, as always, as I find more I'll post them up.

Dino, Mr. Deathrider, and myself.

Scott talking bikes.

My girl cheering me on..... Soon she'll be rocking these rides herself! 

Our Zack riding with the group at the start....... By hanging out at these events, he's starting to get the gravel itch!!

The crew!

Rolling out....

I had a nice time chatting up these two,

Al and Vel Jurenic of Eveleth, Mn., and look forward to seeing their fat tandem they have plans on getting built! 

Photo by Mr. DeathRider.

Posing with grouse. 

Don't ask, because it's not my story to tell!! Lol

Rob Raplinger, Virginia, Mn.

Dean McCauley, Ely, MN.

Rick P.

"DeathRider"

The "DeathRider" rig; loaded up for whatever adventure comes to mind!!

Let's see..... Which tool from the tool-box??

Bringing up the rear!! ;)

Photo credit to Erik and Kristin Ricker-Coleman of Duluth, Mn.

As Erik says, "various children." Two of the "various children" are ours. Lol

A special thank you to Mom/Cindi for all the wonderful pictures!!

(Unless it's noted different)

She's starting to get the hang of her new camera!!

Pedal On!!

Peace

Duluth, in August!!

http://bikeduluthfestival.com

Among The Skinny Crowd, The FatBike RULES!!!!

Yesterdays 48 mile tour along the Mesabi Trail couldn't have been much more fun for me!!!
my day started at 6m a.m. with coffee and a sad text from the guy who bought my road bike.
his father had passed away during the night and he wasn't gonna make the ride. i was suppose to like for his wife at the 1/2 way rest stop. Craig, i hope all goes smoothly during this time!!!

By 6:50 i was out the door and pedaling to the Discovery Center and my chosen starting point.
on the way the Pugs was making a God awful squealing noise; i narrowed it down to water (from the down pour i rode in the night before), either in each of the wheel hubs, or the head-set. no worry was needed, it stopped at around mile 15, all good!! lol

7:49 a.m. i pulled up to the starting area for some Peace coffee (which should be renamed sucks coffee), and a bunch of other goodies. this is where i heard "ARE YOU CRAZY???" my response set the tone for the whole day........ without turning around, i said, what...... just cause my tires are 3 sizes bigger than yours, i can't ride??? i turned around with a big smile on my face to see the older gentlemen who called me crazy putting his hand out and saying I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but those tires are SO huge!!! i said no problem, and he talked to me for a good 15 min. nice old guy.
after a couple more cups of "sucks coffee" 4 bananas, and way too many "those tires are huge" comments it was 8:30 so i started my ride.

after 4 miles and with every one who passed me saying something, it was time to hit some good old dirty red mud and iron ore. i popped back out on the paved trail 3 miles later to people saying did you see that guy come outta the woods, oh it's him!! lol
one guy said didn't i pass you earlier?
yes sir you did!!
i blew through the rest area in Hibbing, and made my way to Kelly Lake. again i grabbed some dirt for around 2.5 miles, and picked up the trail at another point. 5 min. after i was on pavement i heard "hey, didn't i pass you aways back there?" "if i pass you again, your gonna make me look really bad!!" i told him not to worry from here on i wasn't completely familiar with the odd mine roads and there direction, so you're safe!!
i made my through Keewatin around O'Brian Lake and onto the 1/2 way point in Nashwauk by 9:30-9:45; where i stopped and ate some goodies refilled H20, and got some Gatorade.

i left right around 10:00 and never stopped until a nice guy from Grand Rapids asked if he could ride my Pugs for a bit. sure i said, right up here's a good spot to pee, and he could take it out and back for a 1/2 mile or so. he left his light ass road bike with me and jumped on my trusy steed.
15-20 min. later he came pedaling back with that big ass smile everyone gets on their face when they actually ride the FatBike!! yelling from about 100 yards away.... "i have to get one of these!!!"
SEED FIRMLY PLANTED  #1.

i blew through every rest area until i made it to the spot where Cindi was gonna bring the kids to meet me for THE BEST 6 MILES OF THE WHOLE RIDE!!!!
here's where pictures are better than any words i could ever write!!
as i was waiting for them to arrive, i heard a women yell, hey my husband wants your bike. i said meet me at the end and he can take it for a pedal!!
SEED FIRMLY PLANTED #2, #3, AND #4!!!

 my leg looks broken in this photo!!

6 miles later.....................................

as soon as we crossed the finish line 3 guys from Virginia, Mn. were waiting for me. hey, my wife talked to you earlier. without a word i handed  my Pugs over and didn't see it for over 1/2 hour!!! lol
needless to say the FatBike SEED was spread!!!!

two day total of over 88 miles on the big tires!!!
damn, and what fun!!!

Thank you Cindi!!!
I Love You!!!

an awesome day spent with family mere miles from home!!!!

Peace

Pedal On; A Marraige of Biking and Geocaching = Perfection

For those of you that don't know, I enjoying Geocaching, with or without the family. It's just another relaxing pass-time.
Since I haven't hunted in over 10 years, Geocaching gets me/us out in the woods, and that's always a good thing!!
I love caching with the family, mainly watching the kids go banannas when we make a find!! ;)
So accordingly pedaling a bike while Geocaching is a natural. I've started a new cache (cash) series called "pedal on." it's going to start in the old Whitney Tailings ponds, just north of Vic Power Park here in Hibbing. When it's all said and done, it should be right in the neighborhood of 25-30 miles. How many caches am I gonna put out? I do not know, but I'll space them out nicely after the 1st 4 or 5. I for one don't like getting on the bike, only to get back off in a .10th of a mile, so expect 1/2 to 3/4 of a miles between caches.
So this little project should get me out turning the pedals more, and making quite a few more hides!!

Peace