Into the Mild December Night / Add Grocery Stop

Fat Biking into the Sunset / Camping into the Moonrise

Daylight to Dark / Get That Campfire Started

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Always a good ride from daylight to dusk... Then duck into the trees off the trail and light it up. The fire drill for me is to locate a sheltered little nook and then create a campfire in less then 5 minutes. As if I had a situation on my hands, the need to survive with a fire in the cold winter temperatures. 

Well, first off good to enjoy the River and catch the Canadian Geese settling on the water for the night. The Geese are coming in from wherever they had been feeding for the day.  

 Cheers to a good ride and to get back safely. Always feel recharged after my adventures.

Fire Starting Kit

A inventory of the Mike Hall/Adventure Fire Starting Kit:

Strike Anywhere Matches / waterproof matches in waterproof container / several small squares of Fire Starter Squares / Bic lighter / candle / and the most important item... Hand Sanitizer / Plastic sandwich bag to keep everything dry.

Small stick matches are the best to ignite the fire, Bic lighter does work, but not very good in cold or at high altitude. The key is Hand Sanitizer, it is alcohol, it is flammable so it will even start on wet wood. Fire Starter Squares will burn for several minutes, to help ignite wood. Candle is also a source of fire starter that will burn for a while.

The drill that I use, is to gather some small dry twigs. A small supply of firewood about the diameter of your finger, that will get ya started. you can gather some larger wood after ya get the fire started. Crisscross small twigs, break off small piece of Fire Starter Square, drizzle about 1/3 bottle of Hand Sanitizer onto twigs and a small squirt of Sanitizer onto Fire Starter Square. Set the Square under the twigs... Fire time! I used to use a almost a full bottle of Sanitizer, I use less these days. Ya get better with practice.

Ride on!!

Cowboy Fire / Fat Tire Biking

Snowshoes and Fat Bike / Morning after Storm

Fat Bike Break Time in da Winter Swamp

Mid January / Mid Winters Fat Bike Ride

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With it snowing the evening before, gotta ride in the morning...

 Snowing the night before, chance to get some fresh trail snow on the fat bike.

 Outta bed at 4:15am to get on my Fat bike by 6:00am. Gives me an hour and a half of dark to start the day on the bike. Right away I was riding on the fresh coyote tracks, looked like a pair of them traveling the trail.

 It was a crisp 14 degrees with the fresh snow. The moon was still up in the western sky.

This ride , I was experimenting with a lighter weight head lamp setup mounted on the bike. The light I was using this morning was a "NightRider Lumina 900". There was plenty of light, I used the third highest setting @ 700 Luminas. I used it for 1.25 hours and still had a strong light. On night rides that will be longer, over 2 hours. I use a "NightRider Pro 1200. The 1200 has a separate battery pack that fits in my water bottle cage. The separate battery gives a longer and more powerful burn time. These lights are rechargeable. I like the idea of the lighter 900 light for this type of ride where I am riding into daylight.   

 Sunrise and the coldest part of this day. Stopped for a break in the woods to hydrate and snack on a Cliff Bar. Another stop on the River bank to capture the sunrise.

 Wasn't ready to wrap it up after 3 hours, so headed out on another loop along a swamp. The trees, both standing and laying on the ground never cease to amaze me by their size and, almost artistic shapes... Almost 4 hours in the woods along the Minnesota River. From the dark transitioning into the daylight. A very good day on the fat bike.

Ride on!

Winter Boondocking Day / Fat Bike

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 Good winter day to dink around the swamp. Saw a prehistoric tree that has seen more water then a whale. The fat bike decided to hop up and throw out a couple poses, dang poser... Haha! 

The past summer this was all under water with the flood waters engulfing the river bottoms. This tree has all it's bark scoured off. Natures art forms are created over years of just hanging around. Could be 2 years, could be 100 years. Been wandering the Minnesota River bottoms for 47 years, give or take. Amazing that I can be within 20-40 miles from a huge metropolitan city and be standing by a tree listening to nature, oh and maybe a train or a few planes overhead. Bottom line is that ya make an adventure outta what ya got in front of ya.  

 The River Royalty keepin' an eye on me as I ride past on the swamp ice. They be thinking that if I slip and fall, lay there. Then they've got a fresh carcass... well I disappointed them because I'm running a good set of studded tires.  

 Ducking down into a creek bed, catching the sundown.

Ride on!

Minnesota River Trail Winter Fat Tire Biking / Fresh Snow Morning

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 Wake up at 4:30am, arrive at trailhead and gear up with lights on bike. On bike before 6am. Fresh snow overnight is the reason for a early start.

With a powerful light beam from my NightRider Pro 1200 light it is a very cool start to the ride. This is a massive cottonwood tree on the bank of the Minnesota River.  

 The beauty of the fresh snow and early start is the animal sign in the snow. This is the fresh tracks and belly slide of an Otter. Cool because I crossed his tracks, I saw where the Otter left the river and bounded through the woods to access this creek. 

 As I rode along the river I came to this huge tree with a hollow trunk.

 Heading back to my truck at the trailhead it was a view of the river that I had to stop and soak it all in. It is very cool to enter the woods in the dark and feel the temps drop as the sun rises. I was on my bike at 6:00am and arrived back at the truck at 10:30am. This ride included several stops to observe, listen to the river bottoms wake up. 

Ride on!

Outta Bed by 4;30am to get the Fresh Snow / Minnesota River Trail

Down by da River

Winter Fat Tire Mountain Bike Adventure / Da Fire Starter

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 When ya gotta get a fire started in less then 4 minutes... make yourself a proper fire starting kit.
Adventure riding on my LAMERE Cycles fat mountain bike. 5" studded fat tires are perfect for the Minnesota winter.

Ride on!!

Spring Flinging the Fat Bikes / Tale of 2 Springs / Mud and Snow

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Good clean fun is to be had in the Minnesota River Bottoms during the Spring thaw... Still running the studded tires in February, plenty of ice along with the river mud. Compared to the old days of the 90s, these fat tire bikes are in their element. Mud, water, ice, snow, it is a joy to have this big fat tire to churn through.

Back in the day with the 2.1 x 26 tires it was a real slog through the conditions that I encountered this day in February.  

 It is a good day when you are getting back to the trailhead after dark.

 Bright color in the drab Spring.

 With the warm temps in February I was able to experience different conditions and access some secluded swamps by following the deer trails. Cool to take in the solitude of the area.

 Mud is the color of choice in the Spring...

 Gotta have a good pack. This is a 16 year old Burton Snowboard Pack that has seen used as a mountain backcountry snowboard, snowmobile pack. Carried a snowboard as we explored the mountains.

The only backpacks that I use for my activities are Snowboard Packs. Dakine and Burton, are the 2 brands. They are tough as an ole oak tree, water resistant and have good exterior straps that I can use to strap on snowboards and any thing else I might need.  

More recently the old Burton pack has become my mountain bike / off-road motorcycle pack. It is loaded with gear for the woods... A light weight vest, a wind jacket, headlamp, rain pants, extra gloves, small am/fm radio, packet of tools, crescent wrench, allen wrenches, pliers, fire starting kit, cliff bars, 2 bike lights, foldable wood saw, small hatchet, bug spray, zip ties, knife, a multi-tool, first aid splint and cravat, ibuprofen, extra bottle water, thermos of Rock Star and a few other items I happen to throw in at the last minute.     

 Another sunset over the Minnesota River.

Back into Winter Mode in March

 Spring means snow in this State. March brought a couple sweet snow storms that I was able to be out during the storms. Making fresh tracks a couple times is a real treat. 

 The Geese just take the weather in stride and don't get too rattled.

 Living for the adventure...

 Spring also brings the barges back up the River for the new season.

 A Gal has to have a big tire bike...for her adventure.

This is 6 years ago with Jeff Hall and his kids, my Grandkids...Ride On!!