Winter ride

[pokey]

My cousin and I hit the hill this past weekend to give the trails a go. He got some new studded tires and wanted to try them out. I rode regular 2+ inch tires deflated slightly. We rode the trail from the driving range up the hill, around the meadow and back down, trying a bit of single track around Radar Love. His extra weight and thinner tires made it harder going for him. We rode next to the ski trails most of the way and I was able to mostly stay on top of the hardpack while he broke through a bit more. The single track was fairly brutal for the lead guy. Hard as you can in a very low gear to keep moving, but I got the impression that if you had a group of 5 or 6, the last rider would be riding pretty well. Until we get more snow, I would say fat tires are the way to go, and bring an overly energetic riding partner who likes to prove their strength.
Remember if you go to treat the ski trails with respect.

[hockeynut]

Went out this morning now that it's finally cold, thinking that there can't be any snow anywhere on the trails, just ice.

Well, I was 50% right. Most of the way was crusty snow and ice but it seemed like every uphill was deeper snow that caused me to hike a bit.

I started at the driving range, took a left going up the hill at the 5-way and rode to Margaritaville. The first half of Margaritaville was sweet. The second half had a lot of snow still on it, so I went back up onto the doubletrack for a while. Did most of Crazy on You, which was in good shape (ie rideable) but cut out before Radar Love as I didn't want to push my luck. Then back down the hill the way I came.

Ideally I would have had a fat 2.5 or so tire, at low pressure, with some small studs. But I had a 2.1 or so at medium to high pressure (I don't trust that at low pressure I wouldn't scrape up my frame with the studs I put in the tire) with lots o studs. Also, 32x20 was a stiff gear on most of the climbs (it's rough at points for me in the summer... so was expecting it). Until it snows more it's definately worth the work I think (for locals, I wouldn't drive an hour for it right now).

Total time: 1.5 hours
Temperature on the bank clock as I was heading home: 14 degs

Perfect.