Riding in a Winter Wonderland
The beauty I found on my Sunday afternoon ride at Mountwood Park took my breath away more than trying to pedal through the 6 or 8 inches of snow in places. The scenery had me stopping often to snap pictures in between my stops to move tree limbs that had fallen from the weight of the heavy snow.
As I drove toward Mountwood I noticed the snow became deeper the farther east I travelled. Only 3 to 4 inches covered my yard in town however when I arrived at the parking lot at Mountwood it was obvious they had a few extra inches. I wasn't sure if the trails would be ridable through the heavy snow but soon found it was only that deep in the open areas. In the woods it wasn't as deep as much of it was clinging to the trees above.
I noticed a friend and fellow RVMBA members truck in the parking lot along with another vehicle both with bike tracks in the snow near them. That was a good sign for me, knowing they had not just turned around and returned to the truck. They had to be on the trails so I was determined to do so as well.
Once on the first climb I knew the ride today was going to be tough and some hike-a- bike would be par for the course, however after reaching the top of that first climb through the crunchy snow and seeing the view, I no longer cared that I would have to push the bike in a few spots.
After a challenging climb up Haystack Trail I cut across a portion of Log Jam to the connector over to Power Line Trail. At the intersection of the connector I notice the tracks from the other riders in the snow. I had planned to ride up Haystack, this bit of Log Jam, the connector to Power Line and Hunters Roost. Down Hunters Roost, Mansion Trail, Caretaker Trail, 4 Corners Trail, Lake Trail around the lake and back to the parking area. To my surprise, other than my climbing Haystack, the previous riders took the same route making it easier for me in the deep places. I was able to pedal through several places they obviously had to push due to the depth of the snow.
I met one other rider going the opposite direction as we both crossed the dam. He was just getting up off the ground and brushing off the snow as I came off one side of the dam. He appeared ok and we spoke for a moment, wished each other a good ride and as I took some pictures of the lake he made his way up the steep bank on the other side of the spillway. Yep, I had to take his picture after getting the lake.
Once back in the parking lot I met another good friend of mine and got a couple pics of him riding through the snow coming back to the parking lot after his ride. There were several other vehicles in the parking lot now and lots of tracks on other trails as well. Apparently several mountain bikers were enjoying a Sunday ride in this winter wonderland.
Slideshow !
Life is short.... Get out and ride !
