Let it snow, let it snow, let it..... WAIT A MINUTE !
It needs to stop snowing, it's getting tough to pedal in this stuff. The snow keeps getting deeper with a slight bit of direct sunlight thaw and then more snow. On our Sunday group ride we found it difficult to climb much of any hill with all the snow. Where it had been packed down from previous biking and hiking traffic it was even tough on somewhat level spots. In the few place we were the first to tread it wasn't as bad though the hills still took their toll. At one point I remember saying "we're at 5 miles right?" and got the reply, nope three quarters of a mile (rolling eyes). It was a granny gear adventure for sure and at one point Pat even commented he had never seen 5 people ride in such a narrow path before, referring to the fact we were attempting to ride in each others track because it made it easier. I just didn't notice, till after that comment, that we could have ridden nearly all of the trail on a 2 X 4. Talk about training for the skinnies.
I was so lucky and only fell over once because of the snow, put my foot down and it didn't stay. The second time was when the tree I was leaning against, to get clipped in, broke and fell over. That happens when you lean on dead trees. Wouldn't you know it, I had just given Pat the camera to get a shot of me when this occured. Thank goodness he snapped the shot just before I actually hit the ground and it wouldn't reset fast enough to catch me wollowing in the snow wrestling with my bike.
Our goal was to make our way to Little Gnarly since we had done a tune up on it Saturday and wanted to check out our work. I was nearly certain the climb would be more of a hike-a-bike, however we were able to ride nearly all of it. Only a few short places required that hike-a-bike and the downhill, including the repaired sections, was awesome. Even caught Steve covered in snow after a hop, skip and roll in the white stuff at the bottom of Little Gnarly. I believe everyone was the center of attention at one point or another during the ride.
After Little Gnarly we rode up Games Road to the Moon where the snow was the deepest in the park. Coming down the open field area on Savanna I felt like a skier coming off a slope as we weaved our way left and right through mostly unbroken snow. Everyone taking their own line through as much unbroken snow as possible. In places we hit snow drifts hub deep and then be all over the place, out of control, just trying to keep upright and moving. Good laughs for all.
I can't believe Mountwood, at this moment in time and condition, is more difficult to ride than some of the extremely
rocky terrain over in the mountains I love so well. Can't wait to get out there again and live it up in the snow.
Challenge yourself, get out there and put your skills and endurance to the test.
