Friday, January 9, 2009

It's Doable

Rode the res. yesterday. Regular loop from the new improved front lot.
Ice over soft but crunchy snow.
The west side was a real grind, and softer than the east. This however might have just been my perception, as I climbed to the ridge along the west fence line.
Most of the ice had enough texture to prevent it from being truly treacherous, but on rocks it was usually glare.
The east side seemed harder, but slicker. This is probably due to the greater amount of traffic it sees.
If I had studs for my 29'er, I'd definitely use them, but I don't, and I survived. There was only one spot where I went down that studs might have kept me upright.
As luck would have it, the picturesque ice encrusted limbs hanging down would inevitably obscure the best line, sending me into the deeper crunch of snow of the trail, or shower me with ice as I blindly rode through them.
Speaking of picturesque, watching the sun set over the winter landscape has got to be one of the most beautiful sights; too bad I didn't have my camera. Doh!
I'd say I walked less than a kilometer out of the 16k, so that means it was more than 93% rideable...at 5.5 mph!
I'll ride Old Lyme today. Probably no Currier and Ives landscapes, but I'll be riding.

1 comment:

James said...

Sounds like fun! White memorial was very ridable. I put that 2.4 on the back and it seemed to keep me on top. Too bad more snow is on the way.