To Munson and Back

Tonight was supposed to be the first club ride of the year.  That is after last week's first club ride of the year was cancelled.  Well, tonight's was cancelled too.  I guess it was too cold for some.  My gear was loaded in the car and I was ready to ride.  So, I came home from work and headed out.  I did swap bikes and headed, once again, to the swamps.

Really loving this bike.

Perhaps it's a good time to state: the Black Mountain Cycles Mostercross has really been performing well.  The past couple months of riding this bike have been a lot of fun.  The feel of steel is great when bouncing across dirt and gravel. It's great on the road too.  Yes, there's a weight penalty and I feel it from time to time, but these rides are not about max speed and there's nobody to keep up with.

The brakes are fantastic.  What a difference the KoolStop pads have made on these Tektro CR720 cantis.  The crown mount brake hanger probably contributes to chatter free braking compared to my last setup.  I guess it's possible this hanger is not needed, but I don't really see a penalty for having it.

Prime riding surface for this bike.

Today I basically did the reverse of last week's swamp ride.  I rode down to County Line Road and climbed up Harrison to Munson Rd.  After an unfriendly dog encounter when I turned on Munson Road, I met a couple out for a walk and enjoyed meeting them and hearing about their diversity farming research.  I realized the sun was going down fast and said goodbye to get moving.

On the way out, when the sun was already getting down.

The temperature was dropping with the sun and I put in a steady effort to stay warm and get home before dark.  It was an energetic end to the ride.

Cold with Good Company

We made plans earlier in the week; Sunday afternoon was open for Ryan and I to get out on a ride.  After church we came home for lunch and talked about how windy and cold it was outside.  But, we made plans to ride so let's ride!

Balaclava time for Ryan!

Down into the swamps we pedaled our cross bikes until the road gave out.  Too much water and not worth the chance of a wet, cold foot early in the ride.  Engage u-turn and detour.

Longhorns.

The change in route took us by a farm and introduced us to some cool longhorn cattle.  They didn't seem to mind the cold and were curious to see us.  Shortly we got back on track and rode into the swamps again.

Tundra swans in the distance.

We rode out on the end of Force Road to have a look around.  It was a cold, overcast day for sure.  The migratory birds were starting to appear.  We spotted a large flock of Tundra swans to the north.

Icy puddles ahead.

The feeling of cold was mostly gone and we enjoyed being out and about the dirty roads.  We left the swamps and pedaled some road to make our return.  It was a good time and I'm glad we were undeterred by the temperature.

Mohican Plan B... again

With enthusiasm for a trail ride I loaded up and drove down to Mohican.  It was a couple weeks ago that Ryan and I tried this and were sent to the road instead of trail due to the snow depth.  The snow is mostly melted in yards and it seems the trail should be rideable... only one way to find out.

 I thought it was going to be a trail ride.

The parking lot at the main trail head was still snow covered as pulled in and unloaded my bike.  I rode to the trail head and started up the opening climb.  The woods were mostly clear of snow, depending on the shadows, but another problem presented itself.  The trail was ice lined.  It seemed the melting snow ran down the hillside, collected on the trail, and froze.  After a half mile or so I pulled the plug.  Too much slipping around for me.

The downs are ups this time.

Out to the road.  I decided to ride the same route Ryan and I had done a couple weeks ago, but I this time I rode it in reverse.  Once again, there were some good little climbs, especially on the singlespeed.

Somewhere along the way I started to get cold.  It seems my glove choice was not appropriate for the windy roads.  My hands were as cold as they have ever been on a bike ride.  On the stretch from Landoll's castle back to the car I was alternating hands under my jacket front to keep them warm.  Not very pleasant at all but I made it work.

Back to the car I enjoyed some shelter, heat, and food!