After shot showing removal of straps on Salsa Triangle frame pack customization for internal mounting on my Marin Pine Mountain eTrail bike project build.

#Salsa #FramePack
#MountainBike #Mtb #Bike #Biking #Bicycle #Bicycling #eBike #eBiking #Cycle #Cycling #DIY #Rebuild #MarinBikes #BikeTooter

Before shot showing stock straps on Salsa Triangle frame pack customization for internal mounting on my Marin Pine Mountain eTrail bike project build.

#Salsa #FramePack
#MountainBike #Mtb #Bike #Biking #Bicycle #Bicycling #eBike #eBiking #Cycle #Cycling #DIY #Rebuild #MarinBikes #BikeTooter

"Beyond the Horizon: Disc Brakes"

After last weekend's terrifying ride, I had TRP Spyre brakes installed.

#beyondthehorizon #bicycle #biking #cycling #mywork #photog #photography

https://urbanists.video/w/9VMSjy9GjTczRMJt5n2LKB
Should we start calling bike lanes something else? When it’s all said and done, they are just part of a greater urban redesign.
#urban #urbanism #bikelanes #biking

Time for an introduction post. I love to run with my dogs, and take bike packing trips with my spouse. I also love to see pictures of dogs on mastodon! Im a STEM education researcher and teacher committed to diversity, equity, justice, inclusion and accessibility. And, yes, my NSF grant focused on youth learning and justice-oriented informal STEM environments was illegally terminated two weeks ago. #NSF #dogsofmastodon #justice #biking #bikepacking #running #STEM #introduction

Second day off during the #Brompton #Spring #Cycling tour: Brompton #bikes relaxing at the #beach 🏖 on Noirmoutier #Island .

#cyclotourisme #biketooter #radtouren #vélo #biking #bike #bikepacking #fahrrad #fahrradbubble #cyclisme #France

My quest to make motorcycle riding that tad bit safer

https://gill.net.in/posts/my-quest-to-make-motorcycle-riding-safer/

#HackerNews #motorcycle #safety #riding #tips #biking #community #innovation

"P9210014"

#bicycle #bicycleinfrastructure #biking #cycling #mywork #photog #photography #redmiles

More test fitting Salsa Triangle frame pack with strap delete and internal mounting on my Marin Pine Mountain eTrail bike project build.

#Salsa #FramePack
#MountainBike #Mtb #Bike #Biking #Bicycle #Bicycling #eBike #eBiking #Cycle #Cycling #DIY #Rebuild #MarinBikes #BikeTooter

Here I outline an example of my work #commute efficiencies before last move with public transit + bike vs. car driving. Just a personal example of how I value things.

my home was in Myllypuro, Helsinki
workplace still is in Hervanta, Tampere

so, the commuting times..

#publictransit #biking #commuting #cyclecommuting #trains

Our time machine back to 2000 continues. Departure Day is just 2 days away. These last couple of days were filled with dread at what was going to happen next... but only at night.

https://www.noahchinnbooks.com/2025/05/06/may-6-2000-2-days-to-departure/

#biking #biketour #crosscanada #adventure #bikeadventure #canada

#introduction time. Hey, I'm Warden. I'm part of a #plural system, figuring out what cool shit I want to do. I'm interested in #drawing and #drumming, as well as enjoying #biking.

I'll probably do more of these when I figure more shit out, but that's what having this account is for. Toodles.

Day 12 of #Brompton #Spring #Cycling tour: Saint-Jean-du-Monts -> Noirmoutier-en-l'Île (42 km - the #cycleway on the bridge leading to the #island is closed because of construction works).

#cyclotourisme #biketooter #radtouren #vélo #biking #bike #bikepacking #fahrrad #fahrradbubble #cyclisme #France

Today we biked one of the dike trails in Pitt Meadows. Beautiful views of the Alouette River & surrounding mountains.
#beautifulbc #canada #mountainmonday #biking #getoutside

#biking

Race Report: Granny’s Gravel Grinder – 50 mile

In an effort to expand my experiences beyond just trail running I’ve been doing a few more bike races in recent years. I’ve enjoyed my experiences at races like Freedhem and Heck of the North, and this year I’ve got two more on the docket. The first was this past weekend, the Granny’s Gravel Grinder.

I opt’d for the 50 mile version (actually 54 mile race) while my wife decided to tackled the 100 mile (actually 108 miles). I wasn’t feeling quite ready for my first century ride yet, having not done a ton of indoor biking over the winter. This turned out to be a good choice for a lot of reasons which I’ll share in this report.

First though, what is Granny’s? It’s a grassroots gravel race put on by Wark’s Cycling Services (run by Chase Wark). It’s held at his Grandmother’s farm about an hour north of the Twin Cities, and has an awesome chill vibe to the whole affair. You park in a field, the race doesn’t have chip timing, and the post-race party is hosted in the driveway and garage of his grandmother’s house, complete with tacos and root beer floats. This is just the kind of event that I love, and it really speaks to the community nature of these crazy groups of outdoor people.

Since the races didn’t start till 9am (10am for the 50) we had plenty of time in the morning and so didn’t bother to camp overnight. Having the option was nice, but with only a 47 minute drive we liked having our own bed better. When we arrived things were already starting to pick up so we began our prep for the day with my wife getting ready first since she had to launch first and would be gone all day.

Just before 9am they all lined up and headed out on the course. The route is completely unmarked and so you rely on your GPS and maps to tell you where to turn for the entire event. Because you’re just riding along country roads this makes a ton of sense and there are way too many turns to adequately ensure everything stays marked correctly all day long.

Once my wife headed out I got myself ready and before too long I was on the road myself. I started out wearing shorts, short sleeves, and a wind breaker because there was still a bit of a chill in the air. I knew the day would warm up soon enough so I wanted the option to shed the jacket when I was ready to be done with it. As it turned out I got so focused on riding that I didn’t lose it until the aid station around mile 31. For the majority of the first part of the ride it was just unzipped and flapping in the breeze.

I started out quicker than I probably should have, but I wanted to really set down a good time and it’s easy to let the adrenaline push you harder at the start. I hooked into a good pace and just tried to keep cranking as best I could. There are enough people in the event that I could always see someone ahead of me or behind me for 2/3 of the race. The gravel was in good shape, and the weather was perfect so all I had to do was pedal.

And pedal I did. In order to not get obsessed with time and pace I switched my bike computer to only showing me the map of the course and I just went by feel for 90% of the time. Not sure if this was a winning strategy, but it achieved what I wanted, which was to not know what distance I was at until the aid station. Since this race was 54 miles I also didn’t want to think in terms of 50 miles until I was at least 5 miles into the race. It’s too easy to get bogged down at the end when you realize that you’ve passed the big 50 mile number and still have quite a while to go.

The first couple of hours went by uneventfully, with some beautiful trail through a wildlife management area. I kept on top of my nutrition and tried to remember to drink as much as I could since the day was warming up. Somewhere around mile 25 I hit a gravel road that was looser and less packed and I started to really feel the fatigue setting in. I knew I only had a little ways to go to the aid station so it was a long stretch of just putting your head down and cranking as best you can.

During this stretch before the aid station I also realized that I had not done enough training of my butt for this adventure. My running training has been solid, and so my cardio was strong, and my legs had gotten enough bike workouts to feel mostly fine. But my sit-bones were a whole different story. As I got closer to where I would take a break I was really hurting on my backside.

The aid station arrived on time and I got off the bike to stretch and get some food. I visited with some folks and got to see my buddy Anthony who was rolling in just a little bit behind me. I also slammed some Coke, since during races is the only time I can tolerate caffeine. Soon though it was time to get riding again, and that’s when the pain really hit.

My first moments sitting after the aid station were excruciating as my butt got used to the bike seat again. I just kept telling myself that it would get better and it would subside soon enough. Just keep moving. However, I knew at this point that my best strategy was to plan to pedal the entire rest of the race (22-23 miles) without stopping because if I got off my bike again, I’m not sure I could tolerate getting back on.

Granny’s Gravel Grinder is a very flat race with only a few casual rolling hills throughout. That’s a good and a bad thing. It’s great because you’re not struggling up huge hills all day. But it also means that you don’t get any long sweeping descents where you can take breaks. That means I was pedaling almost every moment of the race from start to finish. There were so few spots to coast that the day quickly became a battle with my ability to just keep moving with a steady pedaling motion.

The final 15 miles were a grind. I got passed by the lead 100 mile groups and just had to keep my head down as I tried to keep myself going faster than 10mph. By this point in the race we were weaving along small country roads heading back to the farm, and every little turn was like a countdown to the finish. “Just 7 more turns,” I’d tell myself as I cranked along.

Soon enough I climbed the one big hill on the entire course and was back on the final short pavement stretch to the farm. To help keep riders from needing to interact with cars leaving the venue, the finish line requires pedaling across a big farm field and coming up to Granny’s house from behind. It was incredibly bumpy and totally reminded me of cyclocross. I was tempted to pick up my bike and run up the final short hill to the house for fun. However, I also decided that I wanted to be done and so doing anything other than pedaling hard to get to the finish line was out of the question.

I crossed the line in 4 hours and 20 minutes, and set a new 50 mile PR of 4:09:27.

I was very happy to be off the bike and ready for some refreshment. I grabbed some food and started hanging out with friends who were also there. I knew I had a bit of a wait in front of me before my wife finished, so I settled in. Then a little while later my wife texts me to see if I can come pick up a different rider who needed a ride, so I loaded up the van to go grab that rider and get them back to start/finish safely.

Once that task was complete it was truly time to relax and enjoy the beautiful afternoon. I continued chatting with folks and a couple hours later my wife crossed the finish line, triumphant in her first 100 mile gravel race. After a bit of recuperation we hit the road and started planning our recovery meal for the evening.

Granny’s was a great racing experience and the grassroots nature of the event really sings to me. I love events that provide a great space to hang out and cheer people on, and really encourages that community feel. The course that was put together was good, and most of the gravel was really solid. I guess last year’s event was very rainy, so I was happy I didn’t have to deal with that. And by Monday morning my body is mostly fine and recovered.

An event like this does give me time to think, and one area where my thoughts have taken me is that I feel like I enjoy long distance biking much better when I’m not “racing”. I pedaled hard for over four hours, and multiple times during the ride I thought to myself, “I wish I was touring this and could enjoy the scenery and take breaks.” But alas, that’s not what racing is about, and so I just kept pushing. I know at some point I want to get a 100 mile ride under my belt, but it might not be during a race context and instead just an adventure that I do at my own pace.

Because that’s what most of this endurance stuff is to me… a chance for adventure. Saturday was certainly an adventure, and I was grateful to get the opportunity to be a part of it. Granny’s Gravel Grinder is a great event and I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a nice grassroots, mostly flat, gravel race here in the upper Midwest.

#Biking #featured #gravelRace #RaceReports

The lead up for the big day continues. Obviously, there’s going to be some reflecting going on beforehand. Today and tomorrow's entries convey the warring sides of how I felt. Determination… and fear.

https://www.noahchinnbooks.com/2025/05/05/may-5-2000/

#biking #biketour #crosscanada #adventure #bikeadventure #canada

Day 11 of #Brompton #Spring #Cycling tour: Les Sables d'Olonne -> Saint-Jean-du-Mont (52 km, strong headwind 😐 ).

#cyclotourisme #biketooter #radtouren #vélo #biking #bike #bikepacking #fahrrad #fahrradbubble #cyclisme #France

Quick ride yesterday between kids drop offs. Pretty flat but they've added a few new features on the trail. There's some really awesome pine forest too that is so fun to go fast through.

#RileyTrails #MTB #biking