Finally finished "Långa Dagen", there was 37 riders that opted for the long route, 90km.
Gave the Pugsley a second chance and this time it worked flawlessly, if one does not count the twirping that emanated from my front disc brake. Did the stupid act to change the brake pads last evening...
The route was nice once I was past Ljungåsen, a several kilometers climb to get up there and the moist was hanging it the air. After feasting on some cinnamon buns and lemonade it was time to roll down the hill on the other side. It was just that the climb had made me sweat massively and now the cold wind was blowing straight through me!
Abborberg was really nice and there the sun manage to shine from time to time and give some warmth! Until the climb I had been in a group but all the way from Ljungåsen to Sunnanjö I had to fight the wind alone, thought some one would catch me and we could take turns fighting te wind but no.
Luckily one rider caught me at the last pit-stop in Sunnansjö and we got to the finish after around 3h and 40minutes, my phone was out of battery some 12 km before the finish. Have to wait for the official time...
Got a nice plaque after the finish and it has room for four more years, kind of demanding message! ;) And if that wasn't enough there was a draw and I managed to win a multi-tool on my start number 7! To celebrate my achievement I treated my self with a iskender kebab! =) Next time I will take the road bike!
Some more current photos, from today, took a short ride with the Pugsley which has been collecting dust lately. Planning to use it on a local bike "race" called Långa Dagen (the Long Day).
Some might remember that I posted some photos from last years race that I had to give up after my chainring got loose and I ovalized it since I had lost some bolts, that won't happen this year!
A bad video showing how windy it was occasionally.
Had no imagination so I took a familiar route, up to Gröna Stigen. Last days rain had dried up nicely. The forest anemones is every where. Didn't take the jogging trail. I went down towards Knutsbo and the trail parallel to the bus road. Short clip from the trail:
Fresh after the rain. Some light made it through the trees. Looked like a paralyzed deer in the headlights! Scared some spiders! OK, there were some wet patches. Windy under the power lines. No more spring leaves... Well, some more wetter areas. After another small climb there was a long stretch down hill, always exiting with a rigid bike, full concentration! I swear I saw a troll! The convallaria has just started to bloom.
Nooo!! End of the trail... :( No more wind protection from the trees. Made a short visit at Jägarnäs but the cold wind scared me away. Found some trails past the houses. The syringa vulgaris is also about to bloom, not sure what's so vulgar about it? Unknow tree blooming. After going over a small hill I went up towards Högberget. Not so high but still nice view. Decided to take the steep trail down but first a stop at the big rock. First time I climbed up on to it. Looked like there had been a bench here, perhaps before the trees were obscuring the view there was a nice view from here too. After going down towards Ludvika again there was not much left before I was back at home. Over an hour and 11km.
We got a ton of snow on Friday morning, it literally poured down so I was a bit anxious when I got out for a ride on Saturday. Would the tracks be ridable? Lovely day at least, the snow mobile people should love this, must be one of the last days with plenty loose snow this winter (hopefully!) Headed towards Biskopsnäset and planned to take the bridge over to Håksberg. Ske cross country ski tracks was not prepared and I took the road all the way. Lots of open water. Lot's of "open water" on the bike lane and road, the snow was melting fast in the warm sunshine! First snow mobile tracks, test rode and it felt promising! (Rail road tracks to the right. :))s Had already climbed a while but there was still much climbing left! Started to get some views. No trace of the nice snow mobile tracks I tested earlier, this was soft and loose, only option was to push the bike all the way!! Took a lot of "photo breaks"! A neighbourg from the same apartment house complex was out exercising his snow mobile, thanked him for making tracks in the snow. :) After some 30 minutes of bike pushing I started to see the end of the misery! Finally I could enjoy the view from the top! Here the sun had made the snow moist and it was much more usable.
Perfect tracks in the snow from the snow mobile, one can even read the brand of the track! Decided to do some free riding, it ended abruptly in a OTB (over the bar) in slow motion, landed on my face and stomach, remember thinking I'd better try land on the side so that I won't get the now air born bike in my back! :) Went back the way I came to look for some shelter from the wind and perhaps some dry wood to make a fire, waded through the snow that was more than knee deep! (Sorry about the crutch shot). Left the bike behind and continued to mush through the now on my own a few hundred meter more, exhausted I made it to a nice place but I managed to breake off the blade from my portable saw so I decided to skip the fire place and just enjoy the warmth of the sun while I drank my coffee... After passing the same spot for the third time I met some more people that also had decided to enjoy the weather. Talked a while and they seriously thought that their snow mobile wouldn't make it to the top, they had a small trailer after the snow mobile with gear. The fellow in the snow forced his friend to take some photos of my bike, they had some questions about the fat tires. :)
After some chatting it was time to head back home. Mostly down hill on slippery surface, had a few heart rate rising moments! :) Didn't dare to cross the ice. Slightly boring road back on the bike lane but I was thankful it was easy pedaling after the ordeal earlier. Not far to Ludvika now. Was a bit tempted to stay for the sun set but my hunger was stronger. Home before the sun managed to set! :) 19km and not quite 3h. Felt like I used half that time to push the bike up hill... ;)
And if that wasn't enough there was a draw and I managed to win a multi-tool on my start number 7!
To celebrate my achievement I treated my self with a iskender kebab! =)
Next time I will take the road bike!
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