Ice race

[ArmOnFire]

Setup a 100m drag strip on a pond/lake and start the fun!

The link below if from a Minnesota club that does these.

http://www.oddwidget.com/~mnhpva/ice/ice2003/Ice1.html

Seems like the perfect activity for the winter time.

We could borrow their rules, etc.

http://mnhpva.org/ice/Ice2005Info.html

[BigMac]

interesting....

[splat]

Sweet ! but forget the drag strip . Lets do some laps!!

[Ben-O]

Sweet ! but forget the drag strip . Lets do some laps!!


I think there will be a positive correlation between the number of sharp turns on the course and the number of people who come out to watch...

[gnurider1080]

i think it should be an ice race with no studs allowed.

[Quo Fan]

I noticed that they had different classes. There was a "rubber only" class, which dictated no studs.

[ArmOnFire]

All we need to do is get a venue and set a date.

I'd be up for a oval race.

[gnurider1080]

id do it if i had studs.

[splat]

id do it if i had studs.


make some !!!

You must have an old set of tires around . get some sheet metal screws and go to work .

[gnurider1080]

well i do have some old xc tires that originally came on my bike. i think it would be cool to stud a pair of k-rads with studs on every knob. you would never slip on the ice with those.

[ArmOnFire]

Do it up gnu!

I'm contemplating adding this to my list of projects.

[Jisch]

Its not hard to make studded tires. I did it.

Basic procedure:
1) mark lugs you want to put studs in with chalk

2) drill holes into marked studs (I used a broken spoke so it didn't actually remove rubber)

3) Put screws in from the inside. I used the screws used for sheet metal studs, they have round heads and they are not too long.

4) Using bolt cutters, cut the screw off as close as possible on the outside. If you leave the screws long you will pick up leaves if you run over any bare trails. Its really annoying!

5) Cut two tubes lengthwise and lay them inside the tire.

6) Mount up and you're good to go.

I have pictures somewhere if anyone is interested.

John

All we need to do is get a venue and set a date.


If only we knew someone who lived near a lake and had a tractor to clear the snow.

[ArmOnFire]

Posted by: justbill Posted on: Today at 02:48:30pm

Quote from: ArmOnFire on Feb 17, 2005, 08:12 pm

All we need to do is get a venue and set a date.


If only we knew someone who lived near a lake and had a tractor to clear the snow.



Like a orange Kubota RX-23?


Edit: After further review of the attached photo, it might be a BX-23.

[Slider]

I'd imagine, assuming any HAD an orange Kubota RX-23, that you could make a pretty awesome snow BMX course, with jumps, berms, ramps, etc.

Too bad no one ever has an orange Kubota RX-23.

Slider

[Jisch]

I put my studs on and rode on the pond near my house today. I've only used them on icy trails before. Tons of fun. I was surprised how much traction I was getting, must have been a good designer ::)

I was practicing some turning, accelerating and stopping. Very cool. I'm going to do some more tomorrow with my daughter and the horse (horse won't be on the ice).

John

[bike187]

so when's this thing gonna happen? granted this winter doesn't look like it's dying anytime soon, i'd like to do it when i'm confident that the ice will put up will all the falls around the outside of the turns. plus i still gotta break in the studded tires i got last year. even new without much road riding they grip nicely. course i'm still wating on the parts for my i-drive so i can fix it. think i might just highjack my dad's bike, seeing as he hasn't ridden it in about 8months, adn it's a decent bike (jamis eureka) and it's my size. just gotta replace the rear disc on it so it doesn't drag. i want to race!!! lol. get a gang together and take over an icerink for a couple hours.

[minkhiller]

Rent an icerink, what a great idea.

[splat]

Go for Walpole , MA they have the larger Olymipic sized rink

[Quo Fan]

I don't know how responsive they will be to our studded tires digging up their ice. Especially with some of the radically spiked tires I've seen on some of these threads.

[bike187]

isn't teh zambony machine suppose to smooth the ice with hot water that melts the scars away and put new water out to freeze as fresh ice? i vote for a rink near boston

[radair]

OK, I'm back from the sunny south, only to find this!

I'd be down for running laps on the lake, but there's no way I'm taking my tractor out on it. Besides, a plow truck would work much better. The local ski areas' terrain parks would be all kinds of fun on a bike, too...

[ArmOnFire]

Welcome back Rob, check your PM

-dan

[slapheadmofo]

There were two snow races a couple weekends ago...did anybody here besides me and gnurider show up?


Shawnee Peak lets you on the entire mountain w/ ski-bikes BTW, park included.

Got to try these out while I was there - works really well.
www.bikesonsnow.com (http://www.bikesonsnow.com)

[pk]

I think it was Mark Jenks who ran the Penguin race series somewhere near Southwick MA back in the early '90s. I believe it was held in a time trial format around a lake with orange cones outlining the course. Some of the better MA riders of the day attended, Carol Waters, Rich LaBombard, etc. Since all the tires back then were made with homemade (and very gnarly) studs, a mass start criterion would have been pretty dangerous.

Unfortunately, I think the local town nixed it because of liability issues.......

[Jisch]

A private pond would be the way to go. There's one in my neighborhood, but I'm not sure how the abutters would feel about masses of people on the pond (I do not abut the pond). I'll do some asking around. Its probably about 5-7 acres.

You know what would be great is getting together at a pond in the woods somewhere. Breakneck Pond in Bigelow would be cool. Its about a mile or so into the woods and huge. Don't know how the state would feel about a mass gathering like that? You can have a mass gathering at one of the picnic spots in the summer there without permits, I would guess this would be the same.

With the snow coming in today, might be moot point, but feel free to discuss. ;D

John

[SteveC]

I'm in. One note----Just need to get those claw-like things to strap on yer boots ( or fashion yer own w/ duct tape and screws).....you don't want to put you're foot down otherwise.......SC

[hammerhead]

Wendell State Forest might be just the place. Brian (Park Ranger) and crew routinely plow a skating area on Ruggles Pond that can only be described as underutilized. He has been very supportive of all things NEMBA in the recent past due to the trail work we did up there, and would likely be agreeable to an IceBike day. How cool would a single width snowblower loop around the lake be for a TT in addition to the 100x200ish skating area crit?

I realize it is an hour and a half from metro Boston, but it is a perfect location with supportive management.

[BigMac]

not a bad Idea Hammer, SF Ranger (Brian Stuart) tells me that the Ice is a foot thick or more after his last check.