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!

Biking: Cold or Not

Everyone else is still cooped up inside, but we're outside and having fun on our bikes!

Ellen rides among the fallen snowmen. 

Daniel passes by the snow mound.

Mohican Snow - plan B

Ryan and I went down to Mohican in hopes of some trail riding.  The roads were clear on the way down, but we have 8 to 10" in the yards.  We were hoping for some tracks to follow on the trail, but I got a bad feeling when we pulled in the parking lot.  First, we didn't park in the MTB parking lot as it had never been plowed.  Second, there were a couple guys on mountain bikes riding in circles in the lot but not heading to the trail head.  Eventually they headed out on the road.  Not a good sign.

We got out of the car and realized there were no tracks in the snow heading into the woods from the parking lot.  Was it even rideable?  We gave it a try, which the other guys apparently did not, and our progress was measured in feet.  This is no good.  After a few minutes of playing around we realized it was going to be a road ride, on mountain bikes.

Cinders on back roads.

Not having planned a route, we headed for Landoll's castle.  It quickly became clear it was a good thing we were on mountain bikes.  These roads would not have been fun or even safe on a cross bike.  There was a good layer of crunched snow.

Not much clear pavement.

It was in the 20's but staying warm was not a problem.  There was some windy beat downs from time to time, depending on which way we headed and how many trees were around.  We got in several good climbs that had me standing on the singlespeed to keep her going.  It was a good workout and felt like a longer ride than it was.  Not bad for a plan B!

Windy in the open!

First 2014 Ride

Our schedules finally matched, allowing Ryan and I to get out for a ride.  We rode into the swamps but were blocked passage across Valley due to streams flowing across the road.  It didn't seem like a good idea to risk wet feet in the cold weather.

 Back tracking on Valley.

After an out and around we were back in the swamps.  We climbed Clark and circle around before getting some more snow covered gravel roads.  While discussing the virtues of Kool Stop brake pads I drifted into some thicker snow and lost my front wheel.  It was a pretty quick bounce to the ground on my left side before jumping back up and remounting.  Maybe more concentration is in order on such surfaces.

Overcast, snowy landscape, but not too cold.

Breaking Trail to Close 2013

It's the final day of the year, and I really want to go for one last 2013 ride.  The weather is not cooperating.  It's 20 degrees, 20mph wind, snowy, and a "feels like" of 6.

I pile on my warmest layers, adding an extra upper layer and a balaclava.  Wow, I haven't busted out the full face coverage in a while.  At the least I'm going to Mohican for a short loop.

Loaded up.

It's cold in the parking lot as I pull down my bike and put on overboats.  I really should have gotten fully dressed at home instead of in the parking lot.  I'm cold as I jump on the bike and start to pedal.  The first mile should warm me up.

There were no other cars in the parking lot and I'm making the only set of tracks on the snow covered trail.  By mile 1 my core is warm and by mile 2 my hands and feet are too.  Hey, this is fun!  The snow is providing some excellent traction.

Making tracks.

The wind is not as cutting in the woods.  I enjoy the sound of snow crunching under my tires.  Several miles in I look up and swear I see a rider pass.  Weird, how is someone ahead of me?  Maybe he's off trail?  There's no other tracks out here.  Snow mirage?

No problems staying warm.  My glasses are fogging from time to time and I pull the face mask under my chin.  The air is cold to breathe.  It feels better with the mask over my mouth.

I stop to take a picture and hear a rider coming behind me.  I figure out he was the mirage and was behind me on a twisty section of trail when I saw him earlier.  He complains of cold feet as I invite him to ride ahead as I take a picture.

Rare sun on this ride.

About six miles in I turn 180 to back track.  The trail is new on the way back.  I enjoy seeing our tracks in the snow and monitor how often the other guy took a different line than me, not often.  I'm also amused by how often I take a different line in the reverse direction, sometimes.

I pass another rider on the way back.  He is in better spirits and having fun.  Maybe it's the Stairway to Heaven blasting from his Camelbak.  I do not understand why someone wants to ride in the woods and blare music.  I like the sounds of the outside.  I can listen to music anywhere but only the outside... outside.

Almost back to the car.

A truck is pulling into the parking lot as I ride in.  It's some Soupcan guys.  We chat for a bit as they get dressed, in the warm truck, and I get cold standing.  I rack my bike and hop in the front seat to drink some hot coffee I packed in the Coleman thermos.  Oh how good it tastes.  Two steamy cups chase a Pro bar that Santa put in my stocking.  

I'm glad I came down for a ride despite the weather. It's a nice end to 2013!

Last of November

The turkey and stuffing are well digested and this afternoon was time to get out for a ride.  On my last, and first ride, with the Black Mountain Cycles bike I thought the handlebars were a touch high.  Today I lowered the handlebars 15mm before heading out.  I also strapped a super blinky to the seatpost.

Not a crash, just testing the ice. 

It was nearly 40 degrees when I left the house.  The sun was quickly dropping in the sky and I had a feeling the temperature was about to follow.  It's been below freezing the past couple days and when I got down to the swamps I found an icy landscape.

A setting sun. 

There were several hunters parked down in the wildlife area.  I passed by a father and son headed for the woods.  "Have a good hunt!" I yelled.  "We're gonna' try!" the father yelled back.  Before dusk I left the swamps, climbing Clark Road to the east.  As the sun began to set I heard end of day gunshots from the woods.

After climbing south on James Road I reached Harrison and turned west.  A couple rollers kept me warm.  The air temperature was dropping and the sun was about gone for the day.  I stopped alongside the road for what I thought would be one last picture.

Sunset from the county line.

Coming around an uphill bend on County Line Road I looked up to see a flock of birds flying over in formation.  "That would make a good picture" I thought as I ripped my glove off my hand with my teeth to retrieve the camera from my pocket.  I got my picture and returned the camera to my pocket.  The hill didn't allow me to put my glove back on as I needed to tend to stand up pedaling.  My hand was frozen by the time I did get my glove back on and it took a mile to warm up again.

Formation flying. 

About this time I realized it was smart to have put the blinky light on the back, but I was about to need a headlight up front.  The shortest route home was back through the gravel in the swamps, no need to twist my arm for this option.  I had to drop my lightly tinted glasses to my nose and look over top the lenses to see where I was going.  A pothole caught me by surprise and I nearly lost the handlebars from my grip but kept hold.  Then, a couple miles of road and I was home, ready to stand in front of the wood stove.

Dark came fast.

Black Mountain Cycles first ride!

33 degrees and 19 mph wind... perfect day for a first ride on my new Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross bike!  Well, maybe not the most perfect day.  It would've been better if Ryan were along but he had a change of plans and couldn't ride.

KT and the kids headed off to a birthday party, and I set out for some mixed surface riding.  I aimed for the swamps to hit some gravel.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  That sign is always there.

The chip and seal roads on the way out felt good on the new frame and tires.  I was rolling the Clement X'Plor USH tires with 44 psi front and rear.  The cracks, bumps, and occasional chuck hole, yes I swerved into them for a change, were soaked up by the bike.  Dampened and smooth is how I would describe the road feel.  It wasn't masked, just smoothed out and enjoyable.  The bike was also very stable, holding a line was easy.

I guess yesterday's rain had an effect on the lowlands.

I lined up for an enthusiastic transition to gravel and was immediately impressed.  My former aluminum cross frame reared its harsh self at times like this as I would hang on for the ride.  This BMC bike, by stark contrast, had me pushing on the pedals and grinning.  It felt great on the gravel.  I swerved around puddles and intentionally aimed for piles of loose gravel.  But then I ran out of road as I realized the flood warning sign was warranted today.

I rode it for as long as I could.

No worries, I back tracked and enacted plan B.  Some extra miles on the road delivered me to the rest of the gravel I was seeking.  The fun part was getting to launch from pavement to gravel again 20 minutes later.

My first impressions continued and I enjoyed more dirt and gravel in the cold.  The trees and terrain were keeping the wind away, and I was feeling toasty warm.  At some point I realized I hadn't really tested the new brake setup and jammed on the stoppers.  All good, no shudder!  And, the feel of the brakes was much improved thanks to the new pads.

Picture stop in the swamps.

"Maybe I'll ride down to the birthday party and see the kids" I thought.  At this point I left the gravel of the swamps and popped out on a back road.  I turned into the wind and was given a beat-down.  It was a steady, cold head wind that resisted my forward progress.  A road later I turned away from the wind for a break, adding some more miles to the ride.  After doing a back road zig-zag for about five miles I made it to the party.  The festivities were on, the kids were having fun, I ate a hot dog, and then back on the bike.

Looking good and riding very fine.

Leaving the birthday party I could have taken the direct way home, but I opted for an "out and around" route.  Somewhere along the way my rig was feeling heavy.  It could have been the wind, it certainly could have been my legs, but I felt like I was pushing along some extra weight.  I know this build is heavier than my former cross bike but I'm not sure how much.  Come to think of it, it could have been that hot dog at the turn.

Let there be snow!

And then the conditions became even more interesting.  Apparently all that wind was bringing in some snow squalls.  About eight miles from home it hit me in the face, quite literally.  Icy snow was stinging my face as it blew in side ways.  Wow, I didn't expect snow to accompany pavement, dirt, and gravel today.

My best strategy: be happy in the cold snow.

Less than two miles from home the snow stopped and a spot of sunny, blue skies flew over.  Weird, wasn't it just snowing?  The landscape proved I had not been dreaming; powdered snow lined the edges of the road and spread across the fields.

To make the final connection home I road through the high school and around our neighbor's field.  I was making the most of the cross bike.  The Clement USH tires were not providing much pedaling traction on the wet grass, but I don't think these conditions were part of the design goals for this tire.

A shortcut home.

It was a very good first ride on the new setup.  The roads and weather were entertaining and the bike performed great.  The front shifting worked okay and there were no mechanical issues.  The only change I will make before the next ride is to lower the handlebars a bit and see how that feels.  Oh, and the fenders need mounted, they would have been helpful today.  There are many more miles and smiles to be covered on this bike!

Hyperwarm in a Blizzard

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.

Snow Tires Activate

When we bought the Mazda3 back in June I also bought a set of snow tires mounted on steelies.  As fall passed by and the calendar said winter was here, I was not sure when to put the snow tires on.  I decided to wait until the first real snow so I could see how the car handled with the regular tires and then how it would handle with the snow tires.

 Salty car, snow tires stacked and ready to go.

Our first real snow was Friday.  The car did okay but I definitely had to be cautious while accelerating not to break the tires free, same with braking.  So today, Daniel helped me put on the snow tires.

Daniel really did help, spinning the

lug nuts off after I broke them free. 

Daniel was very interested in this job.  He helped move the four way and jack from wheel to wheel, helped me roll the tires around, and kept calling the lug nuts "walnuts".  Oh well, I knew what he meant.

Job done.  I kind of like the looks

of the blacked out wheels.

First Frozen Mohican Ride this Year

Went down to Mohican for a little ride.  It was 37 in the car as I was driving, out in the woods the temperature varied depending on which side of the hills you were on.  There was still a dusting of snow on the north side of the hills.

 One of two stops today for a self-timer picture.

It was wetter than I thought it would be.  My back tire filled with mud quickly and left me with reduced traction.  I'm really think a different back tire could make the upcoming winter rides more fun.

A dirty bike and dirty car.

I did the short loop twice, seeing several guys on each lap.  The parking lot had more cars in it than I expected.  It was a nice, sunny day that brought out the mountain bikers.

 

Second picture stop.

After a stop at mom and dad's for dinner and some work in the shop I pulled up the driveway.  I thought it was kind of neat seeing a bike on the rack behind the car lit up by the brake light.  After a picture, I unloaded my muddy bike to be washed tomorrow.

Grainy but I like it.

Tire Cleaning in the Snow

I've been doing some annual cleaning and maintenance on several of our bikes.  Today I took a pair of tires/wheels outside to scrub in the snow.  Warm water kept my hands warm and the snow made it easy to prop up the wheels!

No More Sick

What a fun past couple weeks.  Two weeks ago I came home after work on Friday thinking about what movie to watch during a long trainer ride the next day.  My plans changed when I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and severe body aches.  A week later the flu was gone but I was tired and weak.

The past couple days I've felt some energy back but have held off on doing anything.  Today I had enough and thought it was time for a ride.  The roads were clear although littered with cinders so I put on the cross tires and fenders.  I've never used my fenders with cross tires but a quick adjustment of the fenders allowed ample clearance.

Planet Bike fenders over a Ritchey Speedium cross tire.

I had planned to ride a short loop but was feeling okay and I added on distance a couple times.  I ended up out past Moreland and riding on James Road.  Eventually I turned towards home and was met with a cold headwind.  For some reason I never even thought about wind direction as I chose my route.  Oh well, I stayed mostly warm.

Riding through the swamp on a snow covered road.

All the other roads on the ride were clear pavement.

There nothing like being down and out for a couple weeks to make you really appreciate getting out on a ride!