Heating the -20 Deep Freeze in Minnesota

 

Blizzard in Minnesota / Fat Biking & Hiking

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

Fall Season in Minnesota / Adventure Motorcycling Backroads / Sailing

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September and October are great months to be taking adventures in Minnesota. The beauty of the Beemer is that I can cover alot of miles and stretch out the zones. Not unusual to cover over 120 miles in a day exploring several different areas.

 I hit a bunch of dead ends along the way, but once in a while I am able to connect a couple sections. Earlier this summer with the storms up North in the woods, there was numerous trees down across the trails. Sometimes I am able to hack my way thru with a hatchet or woodsaw. Maybe break trail around the obstacle, many times just turn around. More of the larger trees have been cut up so One can ride over the remaining log.

 One of my favorite trips is to explore the back roads near my Uncles former old cabin. A buddy now owns it, haven't seen him for years but sweet area to revisit. This is an area east of Aitkin, Minnesota.

 A bit of exploring around Cuyuna, Minnesota this evening.

 On this day, I wasn't the only one making tracks in the mud. A set of Timber Wolf and down the same ATV trail, a set of Bear tracks.

 This is one old school bus that hasn't made tracks in a while...good stuff!

 Doesn't get much better than this, enjoying a lunch off the Beemers box at the end of a dead end trail in the middle of no-where.

On the Water in September

 

This was a good sail at dusk capturing the last of the sunset.

Out on the pontoon another night capturing the last of the day light on a sand bar off an island.

Keep a well stocked fridge and life is good!

Sittin' around the campfire in the Fall, sipping on a cold beverage after a good motorcycle ride in the woods... Ride on!!

Ten Below Zero / Winter Fat Tire Biking Around the Campfire / 2 A Day

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Pulled off the trail in the dark and Weez noticed the ghost rider right above us.

Riding a new trail system, Elm Creek. Very good trails, we were greeted with the local Coyote howling as we headed into the woods at sundown. Good ride this night on a twisty singletrack adventure. 

 The NightRider bike lights are awesome and brighten the night trails!

 Appropriate beer for the season, Winter is in full swing.

Monday Funday

 Set the alarm for 3:30am, laid there and had to think about this one... Get up, fix a quick breakfast and throw on my cold weather clothing. At the trailhead by 5:30am, the clock in my truck is 45 minutes ahead of time. The temp is correct at -10 degrees. This is exactly what I need to prepare for the conditions of Winter Fat Tire Bike Racing.

I manage Jeff Hall at the races, so to be able to deal with the conditions and function for extended periods of time is important. Sometimes it means up to 7 hours outside for the whole event. We had 2 races, one was -7 at the start and a 40 mile race was below 0 the whole day. Jeff won both of those races along with 4 other victories. I am involved because I love the adventure of extreme sports and winter fat tire biking is my go to winter adventure these days. That being said, in 11 days I am heading to Colorado for a backcountry snowshoe/snowboard trip. 4 days in a remote cabin in the mountains snowboarding...I like a challenge!  

 This is my challenge today, build a fire quickly as if I needed a survival fire. Good practice just in case one would need the heat to survive. One of the handy fire starters I carry in my pack is simply hand sanitizer gel. About a third of a small bottle will usually do the trick. Soon I have a nice warm fire to stand around.   

 Time to kick snow onto the fire and get on with my ride...the River trail is in very good mid-winter condition and the temps are about -10 degrees. The steam is hanging in the air over the open water sections of the river, beautiful morning to be out on the bike. Well worth the effort of getting out of bed early and seeing the sunrise. 

 Pulling off the trail and taking in the moment...

2 A Day Rides Today

 Enjoyed a hearty lunch and dropped one of my fat bikes off at my buddies shop @ Hollywood Cycles for a bit of professional care.

Then met Jeff back at the trailhead and went out for my second ride of the day. The temps had risen up to about 5 degrees, 15 degrees warmer then the morning ride. This was a more spirited ride with Jeff keeping me moving right along.

All in all a very good day on the LAMERE Bikes and about 8 hours out in the weather today, 2 good adventures.

Fat Tire On!!

Firing Up The Fat Tire Bikes / Night Ride Along da Minnesota River Trail

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A winter night bike ride along the river is as good as it gets...the fresh snow is pure and the reflection give the trees ghostly images.

  This was a night of new snow during the day and a great time to spend, not only time on the bikes, but around a campfire. With the temperature hovering about 7 degrees, the warmth of the fire felt inviting.

  

Riding around the campfire...Ride on!