Transition Time - Spring Crust to Gravel Grinding

Yep, still here, still riding fat on the last of this season's snow. I'm a little sad that the snow is nearly gone now, all I have left is some supreme crust riding up on the tops and shady sides. It's still totally worth the extra effort to get up there and play in these spring conditions.





There are some huge rolling drifts up on top that are so much fun to play on....it's like a fatbike pump track and then some. This another awesome thing I never would have imagined without having a fatbike.





Well as the snow fades away I'm starting to transition into my summer mode of Gravel Grinding. It seems that another new bike has "appeared" in my evil bike laboratory. This one (a Volagi Viaje) is one I've set up just for gravel grinding and to conquer the oh-so-steep climbs up in my mountainous playground. I also have some intentions of using this bike for bike packing with Relevate Design packs that I've been using for some time now. So far the Volagi is quite comfy.

I have also begun experimenting with a Salsa Woodchiper dirt dropbar and Retroshift brake/shifter setup. I use Retroshift with my cyclocross bikes so I know how durable and good it is. The Salsa bars thus far are very impressive on the Volagi. I'm still experimenting with stem rise and length as well as bar tilt. My hands are happy, which is what matters most to me, plus I have great control with these bars. I will continue experimenting some I'm sure.



My heart is still dreaming of snow and I can not wait until next fall when I get to start playing on the Fatback in the snow once again. In the mean time, as my snow fades I'll just have to put up with riding the fattie on dirt and playing in the gravel.