Not Much Riding, But Some Hiking

Haven't been out riding much, but have done a little hiking. Krug is really cool right now. The waterfall was especially serene. It was a little slick on North facing hills though... I ate it once.

Got a screaming deal on a new hardtail frame. The guys at Forces of Nature are building it up right now. I'll post some pictures when I get it back. Can't wait to get out and do some riding on that puppy.

The Big White Lie

OK, so I headed out to Corby for some fun in the snow last night. The trails were in perfect condition for riding! (Hey, JSpell told me to lie).


Anywho, thought I'd try out the Flying Monkey to see if the fatter tires would get around any better. They didn't.


Hey, look Javier, I even used a fender...

I'm going to try to get out to Corby sometime Saturday for some trail work. Plan to bring some lumber to build a bridge across the rocky creek crossing.

Thurs Nite

Probably won't ride tonight, but might go for a run later, possibly around 7:00. Post if you want to join me...

Snowy

Well, it was about like you said... hard going. Made it about 200 yrds, then quit. Have to say that more gears are better than one gear in the snow. Just ask Rusty, he actually maintained forward momentum.

Tuesday Nite?

Is Corby Rideable? If so, how about 6:30?

Nite Skiing

Went night skiing tonight. It was fun, but the snow was a little crusty. Kind of hard on the knees.

Love the Snow!

No work today, and there was snow on the ground. So the dog and I went and checked out the conservation area by Jules and 32nd street. There were a number of people out hiking and sledding. All were having fun.

I wasn't sure I would be able to look down and see this site after moving here. Love the cross country skis!
Wednesday was pretty happy to be in the snow again. In fact, she was a little out of control for a while.

There were a series of trails that I did not even know existed. They are flat and open, looks like you could really rip on a bike. I think they are covered with crushed lime, so they might be a good in-town option when everything else is muddy.

Honestly, these were some of the best cross-country skiing trails I have skied. They were fast and the footing was even. I'm looking forward to checking out the trails when it is dry out.

Possum Kingdom

Headed out to the snow and ice encrusted trails at Corby tonight for some Winter Wonderland fun. I was a little unsure of what the trails would be like, but soon noticed some bike tracks from a previous rider (was that you JSpell?). The trail conditions were a pleasant surprise. The above-freezing temps. today made the snow/ice kind of sticky so the tires hooked up well. Well, I did slip around some, especially on the off-camber trails by the pond, but all the hills were easily climbed. Ran across a giant possum shortly into the first lap. It was a huge, beastly, bulging creature and I think it wanted to eat me. OK, so it wasn't that big; actually, it was probably just your average size possum, but it kind of freaked me out at first. That "Survival, Escape, and Evasion" course I took in college finally paid off, as I was able to get by unscathed. Sorry no pictures, didn't have a camera along for the ride.

Ended up doing a couple of quick laps and felt really good. "Quick" is of course a relative term. What may seem fairly quick to me may be just an average ride for someone else. And to Lansen, my version of quick probably seems like a bottle of molasses being poured out on a cold January night. Anyway, the trails were great, the night was very calm and peaceful, and had a great time. Oh yeah, note to self: There is a reason why most bikes are spec'ed with disc brakes--because the rim brakes like found on my "retro ride" circa 1994 Trek do not always work well in all conditions. About 3/4 through the first lap, the rims got iced up and a good hard sqeeze of the levers pretty much resulted in no stopping (or slowing). Eventually, the heat from the friction did thaw them out, but it made for some fun times.

That's it for now...hope to get out to ride and/or trail work this weekend. Hope to see you all on the trails.

Cold Huh?

Hey Jim, were you as cold as this cow during your ride. Yep this is a cow. check Syd's site for the full story.

Crappy Weather

Not able to ride today myself, but hoping that the brave souls who are riding stay safe. I might take a bike with me to the trail work day tomorrow and ride a little after clearing the trails. Depends on the weather though. Haven't checked on the new trails lately, in fact the only outdoor time I have had lately is in the dark. I plan to get some pictures of the new emerging single track and will post them for your viewing pleasure.

Well, better get back to work....

Frozen Trails

Rode this morning with the dog before work. Corby trails were frozen and fast. Had a good time, but it was cold. Weather was starting to turn at about 6AM as I was leaving the parking lot, sleet and snow were begining. There is a dusting now.

The last couple days of wind has taken its toll on the Corby trails. There is one major down tree that is too big to move. Will probably try to cut it up on Sunday. Turns out I don't have to work, so I might make it out for part of the trail work day.

Lets kill it again

Randy wanted me to encourage everyone to come out this next Sunday about 9 am to do more chainsaw work. We might not have an chance like this again so lets get out there and get the big stuff tackled so the prisoners can knock out the rest. One more big push and we will have it all ready. The city will give us more time if we make good progress here before the prisoners get here.

Crowder on Sunday

Javier, Rusty, and I treked up to Crowder for my first ride on those trails. It was kind of slimy due to melting frost, but the trails hold well in the moisture and as far as I could tell there was no trail damage done. We rode about 20 miles of trail and saw some great stuff. I forgot my camera in the car, so didn't get any pictures of the trail. However, I did get a money shot of Javier with Rusty trying to slink out of the frame. I told you I was going to post it...



Well, first off - we should thank the guys for clearing some more trail at Corby. Opted not to work trails this weekend, as I was in need of a ride bad.

Quick Saturday Lap

Wednesday and I were coming out of our skins. After getting off work, we hit the trails at Corby for a quick lap. Trail conditions were as good as I have seen them in weeks - finally starting to dry out a bit.

Corby Chainsaw Massacre

With the new snow unit in Weston I've been out of the loop. Thanks Lansen for trying to do the interview sorry to put you on the spot but I'm stuck in the RV most of the time. Randy, Brian and Lance are going to Corby Sunday at 8 am to the clear the new section. There will be three saws running then so lots of progress made on the big stuff. Come out and bring a saw if you have one if not come help drag the carnage off the trails. The prisoners start the 15th for sure, we have gotten final approval from the city. The big stuff is what we need to finnish so the prisoners can do the finnish work. There are scouts who want to do Eagle projects and start the old girl scout camp section, I'll keep you posted on that one.

A night with R.O.U.S @ Corby

Rusty and I made it out to Corby.

Trail conditions: "Spongy"... per our in-house Geologist, Rusty... on the first section. The rest was pretty good. We both spun out a couple of times but didn't prevent either of us from riding up all the hills... maybe not every time but we each got lucky at least once.

We did the re-discovered sections that Lansen has already mentioned & that we cleaned up... it's really in pretty good shape. We also rode section out what winds around the big open field. Even the short little section between pond and west end of parking area that Lansen and I raked this Monday. So basically, we rode it all! It comes out to be just shy of 4 miles... 3.85 per my computer & did second lap in 35 minutes... how is that for an easy base line to beat. ;0) PS... that was Rusty's time & I'm not going to mention mine.

Shawn F., can you please mark the winding section out in the open field. We did our best to remember & ride it as originally layed out, but it's been so long since it's been riden. Once you mark it, we plan to make it part of the regular loop we'll do on group rides.

Everyone remember that this is the time of year to ride those newer sections so by spring, there will be a solid trail.

On the News and in Other News

Got a call from the KQ2 guy today wanting to do a story on the Corby trails for the 6PM news. Unfortunately I was neck deep in a crapper day and couldn't really spare the time - plus I was in a nasty mood and didn't want to come off like a jerk on T.V.

Hopefully Shawn was able to set something else up with him.

Am trying to get out tomorrow night, but it might be a little later (maybe around 7PM). I'll post if I am not going to make it - otherwise I'll be there.

Also, Javier and I cleaned out the new sections near the pond. Felt bad for not getting them on the first cleaning, but I forgot they had been cleared. There were some big trees down, but Javier had his little chainsaw thing, and it made pretty short work of most everything we ran across.

Then the dog found something terrible to roll in. We just picked her up from the kennel and she was smelling good. I had to give her a bath, but the smell is still in my nose. It is in my car, still on her, I think it is in my hair, and I don't even want to smell the gloves I grabbed her with. It is one of the worst smells I have ever run across. I think maybe she found the pooh of an animal that had been eating the pooh of another animal that was eating dead things. I can't trace it back any further than that, but if you see me driving along with a pinched up look on my face, it's because I am enjoying the little micro climate of putrid stink in my car. Just about left the damn dog at Corby.

So there were no pictures of the trails that we cleaned up. I was too pissed about the stink.