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Post by SWMan on Dec 19, 2020 9:59:54 GMT -6
I was under the illusion you only had fancy stuff at your place SWMan, looking at your avatar!!!  Everything on the internet is fake, especially those avatars.  I'm not opposed to running new or old stuff, right now the new stuff doesn't make any sense at all. |
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jaymo
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Post by jaymo on Dec 19, 2020 18:48:29 GMT -6
Nice work on your zamboni, SWman. Mine's not quite as elaborate but I am within reach of the garden hose, so that makes life easier. It's amazing how nice and durable the ice is using this method rather then just spraying the same water onto the surface. This one cost me $4  besides the pvc scraps I already had.  |
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Post by Bigtalk on Dec 19, 2020 19:30:31 GMT -6
I was under the illusion you only had fancy stuff at your place SWMan, looking at your avatar!!! Everything on the internet is fake, especially those avatars.  Hey, that's my wife you're talking about man! |
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Post by slipclutch on Dec 19, 2020 20:27:11 GMT -6
Nice work on your zamboni, SWman. Mine's not quite as elaborate but I am within reach of the garden hose, so that makes life easier. It's amazing how nice and durable the ice is using this method rather then just spraying the same water onto the surface. This one cost me $4 besides the pvc scraps I already had.  View AttachmentLol that’s how we made are's. Makes very nice ice! |
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Post by SWMan on Dec 19, 2020 23:20:03 GMT -6
Everything on the internet is fake, especially those avatars. Hey, that's my wife you're talking about man! Attachments:
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Post by SWMan on Dec 19, 2020 23:21:32 GMT -6
Nice work on your zamboni, SWman. Mine's not quite as elaborate but I am within reach of the garden hose, so that makes life easier. It's amazing how nice and durable the ice is using this method rather then just spraying the same water onto the surface. This one cost me $4  besides the pvc scraps I already had. View AttachmentLol that’s how we made are's. Makes very nice ice! Uh oh, don't sue for patent infringement. Not sure how to multi-quote on here... |
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Post by bob123 on Dec 20, 2020 1:40:37 GMT -6
You guys are gonna make me dust my skates off yet. Walked down to the river and it looks like the wind has kept the ice fairly clean but there is still open water patches and I've fallen thru the ice one too many times for my liking so will probably wait a bit Attachments:
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Post by kevlar on Dec 25, 2020 22:12:55 GMT -6
My wife and kids spoiled me a bit this Christmas! Guess I was more well behaved than I thought! I have never rode one of these before but was always interested in them. Got out for a ride this afternoon, only about 2.5 miles, had read that they take a lot more energy than a regular bike. That's an understatement. Felt like I had rode the equivalent of 15 miles. Been couped up for the last week and a half looking after sick kids then myself getting a cold as well so that no doubt added to my woes! Will see how tomorrow feels.
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Post by SWMan on Dec 25, 2020 22:57:40 GMT -6
I would have thought it would be no different to pedal or perhaps less on soft ground. Are you sure it's not just that you are out of shape kevlar??? I continue to work on the rink, learning as I go. Some cracks starting to show up as I believe the pond is frozen to the bottom now in spots. Because I have the rink area level a light flood fills these in nicely. 800 liters seems to flood it now, pretty good load for the Gator and I need to find a way to make it turn better(although I feel that may improve as it gets colder). Rest of pond is pretty rough, but I'm working on a skating path around it now as well. Warming shack and maybe lights are next.  Was out there today with family and found out I can't skate nearly as fast backwards as the kids now, especially after I wiped out hard onto my backside. Elbow a little tender this evening, I might be as stiff as kevlar tomorrow too.  |
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Post by stockton on Dec 26, 2020 6:22:04 GMT -6
My wife and kids spoiled me a bit this Christmas! Guess I was more well behaved than I thought! I have never rode one of these before but was always interested in them. Got out for a ride this afternoon, only about 2.5 miles, had read that they take a lot more energy than a regular bike. That's an understatement. Felt like I had rode the equivalent of 15 miles. Been couped up for the last week and a half looking after sick kids then myself getting a cold as well so that no doubt added to my woes! Will see how tomorrow feels.
Congrats! I have a regular mountain bike and a fat tire bike and can definitely back you up on how the fat bike takes more energy. Those tires have a lot of rolling momentum and it takes more to get your speed up and to get slowed down. That being said, its similar to the debate on grain cart tracks vs tires-tracks are like a fat bike and take more power on the easy going but handle tougher conditions better and then take less. Your fat bike will be awesome in the sand or snow, especially in the hill trails out in your country. Its geared way lower and the traction is unbelievable. Take your time and enjoy the scenery and the ride itself more. I recommend you stop for a little rest every 20 minutes or so. This helped me anyways. One of the first rides I had my bike I had to get my wife come rescue me because I wasn't stopping for brief rests and then I couldn't make it home. Also it took me about 1 month and 10 pretty good rides before my butt got used to biking. Were you riding on a packed surface or breaking trail? How much snow did you get this week? |
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Post by kevlar on Dec 26, 2020 9:30:30 GMT -6
Also it took me about 1 month and 10 pretty good rides before my butt got used to biking. Were you riding on a packed surface or breaking trail? How much snow did you get this week? Yup, my butt is sore this morning!!! lol I'm no fitness junkie by any means, but can do a 9 mile loop on my mountain bike, just on roads but some longer hills, and seldom need to stop, that short ride yesterday almost did me in! It was about 1.5 miles of clear road, a half mile of a back road with an inch or two of snow, and a little over a half mile of the Trans Canada trail, it runs west of my place about 3/4 of a mile. It had some snow on it with places drifted in maybe 10 inches deep. There had been some snowmobiles down it, guessing maybe yesterday, as it was firmed up a bit but not enough to hold me up in the deeper spots, it's this stretch that sapped me. Yes lots of beautiful country around here for recreation. We have some land that runs into the valley, thinking I will go over on my sled and make a few trails to ride, nice area there too for snowshoeing, hiking, camping,hunting. Dad has a cabin there and my plan is to build my own someday there, working on the drawing up the blue prints now, with any luck get started on it next year.
Not much snow here, maybe a couple inches, could maybe pull the kids behind a skidoo around the yard and a few bushlines, the guys that had been down the Trans Canada trail must have been pretty desperate, looked like they were riding on a lot of ballast.
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Post by kevlar on Dec 26, 2020 9:38:29 GMT -6
I would have thought it would be no different to pedal or perhaps less on soft ground. Are you sure it's not just that you are out of shape kevlar??? I continue to work on the rink, learning as I go. Some cracks starting to show up as I believe the pond is frozen to the bottom now in spots. Because I have the rink area level a light flood fills these in nicely. 800 liters seems to flood it now, pretty good load for the Gator and I need to find a way to make it turn better(although I feel that may improve as it gets colder). Rest of pond is pretty rough, but I'm working on a skating path around it now as well. Warming shack and maybe lights are next. View AttachmentWas out there today with family and found out I can't skate nearly as fast backwards as the kids now, especially after I wiped out hard onto my backside. Elbow a little tender this evening, I might be as stiff as kevlar tomorrow too.  Could very well be the out of shape part! Eating Christmas baking with breakfast still counts as breakfast, doesn't it?
Rink looks good! A guy doesn't realize how much work goes into ice making and maintenance until you do it. Never gave it much thought until I joined the local curling club maybe 15 years ago now, how much work was involved in making the ice. I sure learned a whole new respect for all the people involved in making things possible.
Is your rink fairly close to your yard? I would like to do the same but the closest body of water is a mile away with no winter access so would be a pile of work. Tried to flood a rink one year, but when you have to haul your water that grows old fast.
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Post by SWMan on Dec 26, 2020 10:42:59 GMT -6
Could very well be the out of shape part! Eating Christmas baking with breakfast still counts as breakfast, doesn't it?
Rink looks good! A guy doesn't realize how much work goes into ice making and maintenance until you do it. Never gave it much thought until I joined the local curling club maybe 15 years ago now, how much work was involved in making the ice. I sure learned a whole new respect for all the people involved in making things possible.
Is your rink fairly close to your yard? I would like to do the same but the closest body of water is a mile away with no winter access so would be a pile of work. Tried to flood a rink one year, but when you have to haul your water that grows old fast.
It's 3/4 mile away, which is not ideal but workable with a good road right to it. I had thought about digging a dugout in the creek adjacent to the yard and pumping it full because everything is dry this year, but never got too that. Maybe next year and then would be close to power/water/etc. and more sheltered. Will give it another go today, maybe stick to the forward skating this time. The fatbike sounds interesting, can you ride safely on snow with them? Biking isn't something one usually thinks of in winter. |
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Post by kevlar on Dec 26, 2020 11:14:54 GMT -6
Could very well be the out of shape part! Eating Christmas baking with breakfast still counts as breakfast, doesn't it?
Rink looks good! A guy doesn't realize how much work goes into ice making and maintenance until you do it. Never gave it much thought until I joined the local curling club maybe 15 years ago now, how much work was involved in making the ice. I sure learned a whole new respect for all the people involved in making things possible.
Is your rink fairly close to your yard? I would like to do the same but the closest body of water is a mile away with no winter access so would be a pile of work. Tried to flood a rink one year, but when you have to haul your water that grows old fast.
It's 3/4 mile away, which is not ideal but workable with a good road right to it. I had thought about digging a dugout in the creek adjacent to the yard and pumping it full because everything is dry this year, but never got too that. Maybe next year and then would be close to power/water/etc. and more sheltered. Will give it another go today, maybe stick to the forward skating this time. The fatbike sounds interesting, can you ride safely on snow with them? Biking isn't something one usually thinks of in winter. I think riding in the snow was the main intended purpose of the fatbike. I'm completely new to it so will have to figure out what it can and can't go over. There is a club in town that just got a machine to groom trails for fatbikes. I would think going over a trail a few times with a sled then letting it set up for a day would be enough to hold a bike up. Biggest thing would be ice under some snow, that could get a little dicey. Used to try riding a regular bike in the winter, and it was next to impossible, this bike handles it way better. I might have to fiddle with tire pressures a bit, have read that might sometimes have to run as low as 2 psi in softer trails, that's where the extra effort goes. Another thing that I will have to learn, which seems like a dumb thing, is how much clothes to wear, doesn't take long to get sweated up but also don't want to get cooled off too much, and noticed on most sites that was common theme they talked about, so I'm not alone on that one.
As kids, my brother and I used to try oval racing on ice in the spring when it was melting. That never ended well. Was also had a couple old bikes that we would have "demolition derbies" with. That ended when my brother got a handle bat through the leg. I survived all that, so this should be somewhat safer?
Started snowshoeing last winter, now this, I might live until 100 now! lol
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Post by meskie on Dec 27, 2020 18:39:30 GMT -6
You guys are doing outdoor rinks wrong compared to some Alberta boys.  |
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besides the pvc scraps I already had. 
besides the pvc scraps I already had. 
