Lately I've been tempted to buy some new cold weather clothing. Perhaps something with the word "thermo" in the name of it, like a ThermoShield jacket or ThermoTec bib tights. This morning KT and I had a chance to get out without the kids, thanks Grandma and Grandpa, so amongst other stops we visited a sporting goods store. After trying on no less than six shirts I settled on a Nike Pro Combat Compression Hyperwarm shirt. I figured "hyperwarm" was at least equivalent if not superior to "thermo".
Pro Combat? Who comes up with this stuff?
Driving to Mohican in the afternoon, with my new shirt installed, the skies were mostly sunny and it was around freezing. Closing in on Loudonville I looked to the west and spotted a mass of dark clouds. For a few moments I wondered if it was going to rain before realizing it would snow at this temperature. No worries over a few flurries I figured.
On the first, uphill mile at Mohican it's usually not challenging to stay warm and I certainly did today. By mile two I was adjusting my outer wind layer to let in some breeze. I guess I was feeling hyperwarm, the new base layer was getting the job done well.
Frozen ground.
Between miles six and seven I met the only person I would see on the trail today. He was also riding a singlespeed and had ridden out before turning back to ride the opening miles in reverse. We chatted a few minutes and headed off our separate ways. Within ten minutes of our parting it started to snow a little as I started up the climb overlooking the gorge. Next thing I knew it was a whiteout.
No view into the gorge, just white. It almost
looked foggy in the distance.
The snow flakes were big, wet, and numerous. The view into the gorge was filled with snow, nothing could be seen. In very little time the ground was covered and it was not letting up. I decided to turn back under the assumption riding was going to be slow and dicey. It was.
Deciding to turn back now.
With my tire treads packed with snow it was hard to crank the singlespeed uphill and keep traction. After spinning out a few times and putting a foot down my cleats packed with snow too. Now it was difficult to clip into the pedals and I spent some time banging my feet against a tree to knock the snow pack loose from my shoe soles. Otherwise, it was really scenic riding in a suddenly changed woods. A white blanket had been laid down.
On the way out (top). On the way back (bottom).
For the longest time I didn't see any tracks from the guy I had talked to just before the snow hit. The snow had been so steady it filled in his tracks. Eventually I started to see his tread pattern in the snow. The white stuff had stopped after depositing a couple inches.
Following a track.
Arriving back to the car I was ready for some food. It hadn't been a long distance ride but I put in the time, especially with slower riding in the snow. It was a good test of my new shirt and it did well!
Recovery chocolate.
...
I pulled into the garage and took some gear into the house. A surprise met me when I came back to get the bike off the rack... I guess that's frozen road spray from the drive home.
Chunky looking wheel.
Oh this is going to be fun to clean.
