Cold wet weather cycling off road can still be fun it you gear up ok for it and just get out, most beneficial is everywhere is usually quieter as many day visitors are put off at the idea of going out when the weathers like this.
Sunday morning i swapped the Pugsley wheels for the old wheels with chunky Nate tyres and headed to the coast via the local woods, i knew these will be real muddy after a week of rain on already saturated ground.
I forgot how much of a rumble Nates make on tarmac!...
Geared up for today with my old trusty North Face Paclite gore tex jacket, Seal Skinz gloves,
Merino wool socks under ShowersPass waterproof socks and Five Ten Canyoneer boots-no need to worry about my boots getting wet, Showerproof Montane Paclite trousers keep my trousers clean...
Some water!, the bike managed to ride all the way across to the woods ok though thanks to the grip from the Nates...
Peffer Burn is in spate and overflowing along most of its way from Binning Woods to the coast...
Through Binning Woods and i was soon down to Tyninghame and a rather quiet car park for a Sunday morning and i headed through Links Wood and out to Mosshouse Point...
Why can`t they lift spent cartridges?, no different to someone throwing away a plastic juice bottle...
Two Little Egrets at the Tyne Estuary...
Around the Salt marsh and no one about, in fact i saw no one all the way around Sandy Hirst point and back to Tyninghame woods!...
Loads of debris washed into the bay, along with loads of seaweed, in the past this would have been collected to spread on fields, as the cart tracks worn into the rock further around the point prove...
Secret trail has a water crossing!, i have never seen this much water in the ditch...
The roar of big surf was getting louder as i rode to St Baldreds cradle and i spent a while sitting in the rain watching the huge waves rolling in...
With only an hour to high tide i took the trail around the west side of Ravensheugh and dropping back out onto the coast at Peffersands was met with a 5 foot drop where the dune has been washed out!...
Imagine bombing down in the dark on a night ride! lol...
Only one couple on the whole beach when i was there, it was raining and freezing!, but it`s the weekend and you gotta get out and do what you enjoy!...
The noise of the surf was thunderous!, makes you feel quite small...
Happy!...
Heading home as the rain got heavier, i was still warm and dry , esp hands and feet...
Are newer Fatbike designs really moving forward when it comes to coastal cycling?
For days out in the mud i reckon nothing beats an internal hub gear (IGH) and the Nate tyres, so i definitely will get another Alfine 8 speed IGH for my old Pugsley for next winter. Something you cannot fit to wider hub newer generation fatbikes. Well unless you have a spare grand to spend on a Roholf 170mm IGH!,
With the 5" tyre Surly Moonlander also having a 135mm rear hub and like the Pugsley it too has a very good drive line - unlike the Ice Cream Truck (ICT). I`m still not really convinced the Big Moonie or 4" tyre Pugsley can be beaten by any newer generation Surly bikes for coastal cycling. And i dunno why both these bikes did not just get a 44mm head tube fitted to offer all fork options. The Pugsley after all has `suspension corrected geometry`.
Other 135mm options?
Used 135mm alloy 9ZERO7 frames are an option, also the UK company Charge Cooker MAXI 1 alloy frame that is also 135mm offset rear and you can swap Pugsley real wheels onto.
I hope in the future a cheap used Moonlander frame set pops up for sale as i deft need to get another big Moonie for the coast!.
Coastal riders are a minority in Worldwide Fatbike sales and so i guess we don`t sway the makers much...
Any hows i`m happy to keep rolling for now with a Pugsley for coastal cycling...
Hail the Pugsley!!!
Really rewarding once your home from a day outdoors in cold wet conditions and you get your feet up and the stove is roaring and your cosy, with some food and drink,
More soon...
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