My 2021 Giant Anthem

It’s my favorite holiday: New Bike Day! But before we get to the good stuff, here’s a little history lesson:

In July 2019, I sold my mountain bike, a 2011 Trek X-Caliber that I had purchased in early 2012. At the time, I thought I might soon be selling my house and maybe even moving back to Pennsylvania, so unloading the bike (and a bunch of other things) made perfect sense. At 8 years old, the bike was outdated. It was time to get a new one that offered several technological advances. I figured I would do that in my new location, but more than 2 years later I’m still here in West Bend and I now have no plans to leave. It’s time to put mountain biking back on my program.

That’s easier said than done, however, as the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the global supply chain. With almost all bicycles coming out of Asia, getting a new bike is a challenge. I’m lucky that I found not just any bike, but one that meets all of my needs: the 2021 Giant Anthem 29 2. During an exhaustive search that included almost every imaginable brand, I spotted the bike on Giant’s website and quickly completed the purchase. Giant shipped the bike to Mountain Outfitters, West Bend’s downtown bike shop, for final assembly. The purchase price included a tubeless wheels/tires setup, an absolute essential for a modern mountain bike but something most brands don’t provide. You know what the other brands mean by tubeless-ready? They mean get ready to pay even more money.

The Anthem is my first full-suspension mountain bike and I’m counting on that rear shock to make a world of difference. My first mountain bike had 26-inch wheels, so upgrading to the Trek X-Caliber and its 29-inch wheels back in 2012 was a huge step forward for me. I was instantly able to overcome trail obstacles that had stopped me before. Now, I expect a similar leap as I upgrade to full suspension. I’m not the most technically adept mountain biker. Getting more out of the equipment will help. I also expect to like the simplicity of the Anthem’s single chainring. The X-Caliber had a triple that was a frequent and frustrating source of dropped chains.

I think the Anthem is going to be a great fit. I would have been happy with the equivalent Trek, but nothing was available and there’s no end in sight for the distribution bottleneck. So, I feel a little guilty not being able to patronize Pedal Moraine, the bike shop sponsor of the racing team to which I belong, but these are unusual times. And I’m not super loyal to Trek as a brand. The Anthem is my third Giant: I used to have an OCR1 and an FCR3, great bikes that eventually I outgrew as a rider. Giant bikes offer exceptional value. At any given price point they are usually outfitted better than their rivals from other major brands.

There’s a lot of uncertainty about the 2022 mountain bike racing calendar here in Wisconsin. Neither WORS nor WEMS has announced a schedule yet, and many people believe WORS will not come back. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m going to train as if mountain bike racing will be an option next year. The Anthem is a great cross-country machine and I would like to see what I can get out of it—and out of myself—in competition.

Pass This On To Your MTB Friends:

Since January 1, 2018, Washington County has charged admission for all motor vehicles entering its 6 most prominent parks:

• Ackerman’s Grove
• Glacier Hills
• Heritage Trails
• Homestead Hollow
• Leonard J. Yahr
• Sandy Knoll

The county parks department received a lot of criticism from the public when the fees were announced. Much of it was from people who simply didn’t want to pay for something that had been free. Other people observed that the fees were unfairly burdensome for low-income households. I stayed out of the argument. But give credit to the parks department for making the best of a bad situation. It instituted the fees only after our tight-fisted county board told it to fund itself, as no more money would be coming from taxes. And the department recognized that it would need to offer more attractions to bring in paying customers. During the last four years we have witnessed numerous changes. Old buildings have been refurbished and marketed as wedding/reception halls. Cabins and ranger houses are now available for rent to families in search of a peaceful weekend getaway. Beer gardens and live music have become common. Public/private partnerships like Sandy Knoll’s disc golf pro shop look like they’re here to stay.

None of this mattered very much to me. Bikes were banned from county park trails, so I used the parks only for hiking and snowshoeing, activities I could do just as well and without any fees in West Bend city parks. But in 2022 I will have to consider a parks pass for myself. After a four-year absence, I am coming back to mountain biking … just in time for the official opening of the new trails at Heritage Trails County Park. This purpose-built system will keep hikers and mountain bikers on separate trails. Much of the system is already complete, and rider reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. If Minooka Park is the center of mountain biking for our neighbors in Waukesha County, then Heritage Trails may soon become the center for Washington County. It will, at least, give West Bend’s Glacial Blue Hills Recreation Area a worthy rival.

Washington County is offering different designs for its 2022 passes. They all provide the same access, but the different designs allow patrons to show off their particular interests and give the parks department another way to measure which amenities park users want to access. So, if you’re a mountain biker, buy the mountain bike pass. The annual pass is the best deal for frequent visitors, but day passes are available too.

Finally Getting Smart

After a long debate with myself, today I committed to a smart trainer and a Zwift subscription. The cheapskate in me said no but the cyclist in me said yes. The compromise, if you can call it that, was the trainer itself. I went with the Saris M2, which is pretty basic and inexpensive as smart trainers go but far superior to anything I have had before.

Saris is a Wisconsin company that offers great American-made products in an industry dominated by imports. The M2 smart trainer has the same look and feel as my old CycleOps Magneto, and that’s no coincidence. Saris trainers used to be branded as CycleOps. But the addition of “smart” technologies to the M2 changes everything.

I installed the Zwift application on my laptop, to which the M2 connects wirelessly via Bluetooth. There was no add-on ANT+ dongle to buy and no mandatory cell phone app such as those required by some of Zwift’s competitors. Installation of the Zwift software was a little buggy, but I make my living in IT. Despite one or two nuisances I was able to get the application talking to the trainer in just a few minutes.

And then it was time for a test ride! Zwift has a script for a new user’s first ride, so I followed that and then tacked on a few extra minutes exploring the virtual world of Watopia. It was cool to feel the resistance of the trainer changing as I moved up and down hills in the simulation. I had not felt that sensation since the last time I rented a CompuTrainer for an hour. Remember those? They were great in their day, but now you can have an even better virtual riding/racing experience at home.

My recent record with indoor training has been poor. Today’s investment in a trainer and a Zwift subscription could turn out to be a huge waste of money. I don’t think it will, though. Zwift’s visual presentation is nice, but it’s the statistics that will motivate me. I won’t have to track my time anymore. I won’t have to do intervals with a piece of paper and a wall clock. The application includes a large variety of workouts and even lets me configure my own. And for the first time ever, I will be able to track watts. I’ve never had a power meter before.

Each winter I gain a lot of weight and lose a lot of fitness. A new approach to indoor cycling should be good for me. In the days to come I will establish baseline statistics and create plans to improve my performance. Eventually, Zwift could become a racing platform for me. My overnight work schedule, which includes Saturday and Sunday nights, makes real-world racing difficult. Zwift makes racing a possibility on any day at any hour. It also pairs well with Garmin Connect, opening a new path for points and badges on that platform.

Every little bit of motivation helps. During the first rides, much of my motivation will be proving to myself that I have not thrown my money away. But I like what I see so far, and I think this new direction will prove to be the right choice.

Salvaging A Top 10 Season

With 4 rides for a total of 91 miles over the last 4 days, I have reached 4,655 miles this season and moved 2021 into my all-time Top 10. It’s a small achievement, one that probably would have passed without any comment if it had happened during the second week of October. And it almost certainly would have, but my big crash put me out of action for nearly a month. Without the crash, today’s blog post might have been a celebration of another 5,000-mile season. But I’ll accept my consolation prize gratefully. In some ways, making 2021 a Top 10 season legitimizes my effort. I wasn’t just screwing around, even if I did get hurt and even if I didn’t do any racing. This wasn’t a lost year. It wasn’t a waste of time.

But it’s also true that the effort of the last 4 days was supported by good weather I had no right to expect. The cold, wet side of November—the normal side—is about to show itself. I have no more cycling goals within reach this year. It’s another 560 miles to break into the Top 5, and that’s just not going to happen.

Coming Soon: Santa Ramp-Up 2021

Continuing The Comeback

We almost got to 60° today—we should surpass it tomorrow and Monday for the first and, probably, last times this month—but today was windy and I’m still coming back from my injuries, so instead of hopping on the bike I hiked almost 7 miles on the Ice Age Trail from Ridge Run Park down to Paradise Drive and back. And in shorts, too! I did cover up my left calf to protect the last of my road rash, but this was a beautiful November day and hiking was a great way to say goodbye to Daylight Saving Time.

Returning To Full Health

I got 4.5 hours of outdoor exercise this week. Baby steps …

I came into October strong and I’m leaving it on the upswing, but the three weeks in the middle were rough! After my bike crash on October 7th, I didn’t do anything remotely athletic until the 23rd. Then I resumed walking for fitness. On Friday morning I even picked up a Garmin Connect badge, my first since September 29th.

On Saturday afternoon I got on the bike for the first time since my crash. I would have been content with another walk, but again Garmin Connect provided extra motivation. I needed just 11 more miles to complete the October mileage challenge. But I didn’t feel like doing much more than that: I finished the day with 17 miles, bringing my October total to a modest 162. That’s my lowest monthly total since February. I am not yet fully recovered and as the weather continues to decline I am unlikely to ride outside again this year.

Today there was a third Garmin Connect badge on offer, so I knocked out a 5K walk around the neighborhood. I’m still working on the overall walking challenge for the 4th quarter of 2021, and I’ll probably need all of November and at least some of December to complete it.

One of the worst things about getting hurt was being shut out of the home gym. Because my crash happened at the end of a week-long vacation, I already had missed several training sessions. November begins tomorrow and so does my winter strength program. It may be slow going at first. My left arm and shoulder are still a little tender. Weightlifting, stretching, foam rolling … everything stopped when I got hurt. I’m happy to be moving again, but I will take care not to do too much too soon.

The 2021-2022 Hugh Jass Fat Bike Schedule

Here’s the schedule for Season 7 of the Hugh Jass Fat Bike Series, which includes a race at West Bend’s Regner Park for the third straight season:

1. 11/27 – Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures - Lake Geneva

2. 12/11 – Trek Headquarters - Waterloo

3. 01/01 – Minooka Park - Waukesha

4. 01/22 – Regner Park - West Bend

5. 02/12 – New Fane - Kewaskum

6. 02/26 – Black Hawk Trails - Madison

Fan Status Reconfirmed

At the midpoint of this year’s race, Sina Frei and Laura Stigger are crushing the women’s field.

Thanks to the Absa Cape Epic, I am a bike racing fan again! I had been AWOL for a few weeks. But each stage of the 8-day African mountain bike race is free to watch on YouTube, and the 7-hour time difference puts the live broadcast in the small hours of the morning on this side of the Atlantic. That’s perfect for a 3rd Shift worker like me. I’ve got my job on one computer monitor and the race on another. Rest assured: I’m not neglecting my job, but in spare moments I’ll un-mute the race and get caught up.

I didn’t see any of the three UCI Cyclocross World Cup races here in the United States this month. Injury kept me from attending the race in Waterloo, and economy kept me from subscribing to FloBikes to watch the broadcasts. I’ve said it before: it’s now almost impossible to watch cyclocross for free. So, I’m very grateful for the Cape Epic broadcasts on YouTube, just as I love the Red Bull.tv coverage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

Annika Langvad—the Danish woman who won the Cape Epic five times during a career marked by success on the road, in mountain biking, and in cyclocross—is providing the color commentary for this year’s broadcast. And she has valuable insight, but it’s also kind of sad that she isn’t racing anymore. She was a cyclist after my own heart, someone who was good at everything and not a one-dimensional specialist.

I like Dutch cyclists Marianne Vos and Lucinda Brand for the same reasons, and Italy’s Eva Lechner, and France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. Among the men, Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), Wout van Aert (Belgium), and Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) shine as multi-discipline stars. There’s a ton of talent out there right now.

But in addition to Langvad, a couple of recent departures have made cycling feel a little less like the sport with which I fell in love. Sophie de Boer (Netherlands) announced her retirement this week. She was one of my favorite cyclocross racers. And Katie Compton, who reigned for a decade and a half as the American women’s cyclocross champion, was forced out of the sport by a positive doping test that she and her husband clumsily denied. I didn’t say anything in August when the Compton story broke. I hoped it would prove untrue—she had been such a great ambassador for American cyclocross—but two months later there’s still no good reason to doubt the validity of the test results.

I’ll get over it. Yes, I miss many now-retired pros: Sven Nys, Paolo Bettini, Thomas Voeckler, and a bunch of others. But cycling renews itself every season. This week, for example, I recognize only a few of the names of the Cape Epic riders, and that’s OK. It’s still bike racing.

Grim Days

A week has passed since my big crash in Pennsylvania. I have been in dull pain and discomfort ever since. But the healing process is evident. I have more movement in my left arm than I expected at this point, and I have grown an array of scabs over my road rash that almost rivals the rocky carapace of Marvel Comics superhero The Thing.

Despite my injuries, I got through a full week of work without much trouble. I don’t know how I would have made it if I were not working from home; going into the office would have been torture. And for a little extra consolation, I didn’t miss many opportunities for outdoor recreation. Until this afternoon we were in a dark and rainy funk for several days.

I am content to be a bum for a while longer. It’s October, so there are plenty of schlocky monster movies to watch. The new NHL season has just begun. I’m reading books again after taking a break in September. With so many “easy chair” distractions, my convalescence should be done in time for raking leaves and other autumn yard chores.

By next week I may be doing fitness walks/hikes again, but I have no target date for getting back on the bike. My next ride might be indoors.