The Situation
Needed to attend a wedding with my wife in Moorhead, MN. My wife needed to take the car to Minneapolis
for work and I did not want to drive two cars to Fargo/Moorhead. So, I planned a small winter adventure to get
myself home.
The Plan
Ride 260 miles south from Fargo/Moorhead to Sioux Falls,
SD in winter conditions. |
| The start |
 |
| Home sweet home! |
The Forecast
Always important to understand the weather forecast when
planning for winter ride. Most importantly
remember weather professionals never get it right so your plan needs to
adaptable to all winter weather conditions.
Day 1
·
Forecasted
o Snow
forecasted over night over northern portion of route.
o Mid
20’s with 15-20 mph, NW winds with a zero degree wind chill.
o Clear
partly sunny
·
Actual
o Up
to 5 inches, snow fell in mid part of route and freezing drizzle fell northern
region.
o Mid
route, the roads were snow packed and icy.
o No
sun!
Day 2
·
Forecasted
o Mid
20’s with 5-10 mph E winds with a mid-teen wind chill
o Clear
partly sunny
·
Actual
o Overnight
the forecast changed. 4-6 additional
inches of snow fell over the night from Sioux Falls north to where I was to
begin my ride.
o Snow
was to continue throughout the day.
o No
sun again!
The forecast changed drastically from what I was
originally planning to deal with so I had to be mentally ready to adapt as I
moved south into the wintery adventure.
The Gear
This is what works for me after years of testing so please
experiment to get your gear figured out.
I use this gear if it is between 10 – 30 degrees outside. I use my jacket zipper to regulate core temperatures
to prevent sweating. Moisture during winter
riding can act as a thermal transfer to your body and have a negative effect so
it is important to control.
Gear during ride
 |
| Fully Loaded Cutty |
· Head – Helmet, Oakley
Sunglasses, Ear Warmer, Wool Buff, and Thermal Skull Cap.
· Hands – Mid grade
wool gloves with an Outdoor Research mitten over. I like this combo because I can easily curl
my fingers to keep warm.
· Feet – Point 6 expedition
socks, normal mtb shoe with 3mm waterproof shoe cover.
· Core - Pearle Izumi
Thermal Long Sleeve Base layer, jersey, thick wool jersey with an Eddie Bauer
First Ascent permaloft jacket. Jacket is
quick to dry and very breathable so great for moisture control.
· Legs - A combo bibs
with Pearl Izumi Elite Thermal Bike Tights over.
Gear packed in bags
I packed this gear just in
case the South Dakota winter weather took a nasty turn for the worse or if I
had a significant breakdown, I would layer up to stay safe.
·
Seat bag - Mountain
Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Hooded Down Jacket, Smartwool Base Layer Hoody, Pom
Beanie Stocking Hat, Vapor barrier socks and gloves, light and heavy wool socks
for layering with vapor barrier socks, cook stove with coffee and ramen noodles
to cook in a pinch warming the inner core up quick.
·
Frame Bag – Several pairs
of extra gloves, balaclava mask, tubes, and tools.
·
Handle bar bag – 19 degree
down sleeping bag, sleep pad, bivvy sack, and pillow.
The Ride
Temperature ranging from a minimum temperature of 17 to a
high temperature of 29.
Day 1
Ride went as planned the tail
crosswind was cold on my right side but a nice push on my fully loaded Salsa
Cutthroat. I stopped a couple times to
refuel. Each time I stopped, I was in
and out very fast due to the zero degree wind chills. Once back on the bike I was cold for several
minutes but warmed up very quickly. Total
miles 125.6 with 7 hours ride time, average temperature 23 with zero
degree wind chill.
Day 2
Day 2 was a day of adaptation. The forecast had completely changed for the
worse. No sun, the wind was out of the
south and several inches of snow had fallen making riding challenging at
times. I had to deal with falling snow
which when hits your body you start to chill easily. Ice is dangerous to ride
on so my route was adjusted many times to avoid where possible. Slush was
freezing my drive train to shifting was not working and any peddle pressure the
chain was slipping over my gears.
I limped my way for a couple
of hours before hitting a town where I eat and filled my water bottles with hot
water to keep my drive train unfrozen.
As I was limping along, I hear a scream for HELP in the distance. As I approached, there was a woman that attempted to turn her vehicle around and got her car stuck in the ditch. She asked if I could help. All I was thinking was oh boy let the chill begin! Not safe for me at all. I sucked it up and saved that random woman in the ditch. Yes, a bikepacker stopped in freezing temperatures and saves a damsel in distress...boom!
Total miles 133.3 miles 9:46 hours ride time, average
temperature 25 with mid teen wind chills.
Winter is a great time to ride and enjoy the outdoors. You just need to adaptable and figure out what works for you to stay warm while controlling your body moisture. Looking forward to seeing your wintery posts on social media! #noindoortrainers #winterdoesntsuck #bikepackerforever
As I was limping along, I hear a scream for HELP in the distance. As I approached, there was a woman that attempted to turn her vehicle around and got her car stuck in the ditch. She asked if I could help. All I was thinking was oh boy let the chill begin! Not safe for me at all. I sucked it up and saved that random woman in the ditch. Yes, a bikepacker stopped in freezing temperatures and saves a damsel in distress...boom!
 |
| Day 2 winter conditions |
Winter is a great time to ride and enjoy the outdoors. You just need to adaptable and figure out what works for you to stay warm while controlling your body moisture. Looking forward to seeing your wintery posts on social media! #noindoortrainers #winterdoesntsuck #bikepackerforever
~Greg