redwood
12-28-2004, 03:08 PM
I had to drive to Madison sunday, so i threw the bike in the car as I've always wanted to check out levi trow. When I got there, there was 5" of fresh powder dumped the night before! It made for a most interesting ride. I never got the bike out of the small chainring. At first some walkers had been on the trail, and in the semi compacted lumpy snow my xc race tires (mythos xc) couldn't make it up any hill. I basicly pushed the bike to the top of the mound, wich was actually a blessing as it allowed me to corner a porcupine in a little cave in the sandstone. I was close enough to touch him, but wasn't quite that stupid. On top of the mound the trails were untracked, I remembered to let some air out of the tires, and i could actually ride pretty well, though the rock sections and bridges were dicey. And touching the front wheel to any degree of sidehill (usually hidden under the snow) meant going down instantly. The views were outrageous, and yes, it does feel like out west. I will definately return in the spring for an epic ride. All in all I rode two hours, hitting most of the highlites and averaging a mere 5 mph. I worked up quite a sweat and enjoyed a snowbath in the parking lot before leaving.