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.
3 comments:
Don't worry about being slow. When we ride together, you'll seem like lightning.
Thanks for the vote of confidence Rusty. However, I have not ridden much for a couple weeks, and won't be able to for a few more. So I hope you all are excited to see me puke when I finally do climb back on. Been running a hell project, and it is a few weeks till zero hour. Infact, still at work right now. Construction guys are taking a lunch break or some shit.
I can relate to the working too hard thing... unfortunately for me, I don't see the end in sight for at least 6 months... if ever!
MY clean MTB has been hiding from the nasty weather for couple of weeks. I have been working very hard at the Carmichael Interval Training in the mean time... I'm hoping I can tell a difference next time I get out on trails.
PS... Does anyone (Lansen, Rusty...) want to borrow my studded tires. I'm afraid that with my MTB training schedule & my reputation for not getting bike really dirty, I won't be getting out there in snow/ice. Although tomorrow will be premo winter riding weather!
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