Hey Folks,
This is about as long range as I get when it comes to planning. I'll be riding the 2008 Arrowhead 135. It's a good chance to get back to my old stomping grounds for a visit. I'm just starting to cast around for sponsorship now but the wheels are in motion, so to speak. The 2007 race just wrapped up and you can read about it here:
http://www.arrowheadultra.com/
In terms of a bike, I'm thinking about a fixed gear Surly Pugsley. I've got emails into the folks at Surly and Dirt Rag and I've got a few other things in the works. And yeah, I'll be doing various other things between now and next February. Stay tuned to my blog for more details.
--
Kent Peterson
Issaquah WA USA
http://kentsbike.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Wow, the Arrowhead 135 on a fixie? You're nuts. But you already know that right?
Since there will be much up hill pushing, what's the strategy to push without getting whapped by the pedal each time it comes around?
Good Luck
This is what I love about endurance athletes...they read descriptions of events that start at -30 degrees, where only about a quarter of the starters finish, and with surprises along the way ranging from wolves to dehydration and hypothermia, and they say to themselves, "That sounds like fun...but how can I make it harder?"
Good for you, Kent. Looking forward to the rest of the story!
Kent:
Good for you Kent.
It is a great event run by even better people. I bet you will enjoy it.
As a person who completed it this year, I think the fixed Pugsley will give you the best chance of getting to the finish line. It may not be the fastest bike and you may have to push it some (hopefully not 40 miles like I did).
If you need any advice (I doubt it), feel free to contact me.
-Spencer
Hi Spencer,
Your story was one of my favorites from this year's A135 and probably the one that convinced me this would be my kind of thing. I am going to be training for pushing, especially since the only way to find the cold I'll need is to go up into the mountains.
Slow and steady is my plan.
-- Kent
Kent...
On a fixed well now that your looking at it maybe i'll have to do it fixed as well =)
I'll have to see how i'm feeling after GDR though
My first thought was that a fixie would be the way to go. Many of the ride reports I read described problems with brakes and freehubs. A fixed-gear Pug gets around those problems.
As a rider of the AH this year, I saw a lot of people stopped along the trail working on bikes. I heard about many more people having troubles.
Another advantage of a fixie is that when your hands are cold and can't operate the brakes well, you can always use your legs to slow the speed.
I think it is the way to go if you are going for a finish. If you are wanting to go super fast, it may not be the right machine but be sure everything will work at temperatures less than -20*F.
That's awesome man, good for you. That is a tough and challenging ride.
Hey-- as far as sponsorship and fundraising goes, you might have some success exploiting that Fred Army meme seen on various mailing lists a couple weeks ago. If you could figure out how to sell reflective vests, Sam Browne belts, and the like featuring some kind of Fred Army logo, you could make some money.
If you're feeling less militaristic, perhaps you could paraphrase Jimi Hendrix and make them say "Let You Fred Flag Fly".
Hey Kent are you still planning on riding the AH135 this winter?
Nope. I wound up doing too many other things and my interests seem to be keeping me in more non-competitive venntures.
Post a Comment