November 25th (Morning)

Well, it snowed last night. And all evening. And all night. And all morning. There was a lot of snow this morning.

But, like an idiot, off I went. I mean, really, I can’t just assume that I have found my limit until I try it, right? Right! Well, yep, I found my limit. And my limit is too much snow…

At first, the trails were OK. I actually was enjoying myself! I was wearing a pair of Scott goggles that I borrowed from Dave and Esther. They had an orange tint to them, but with the light it wasn’t too bad. I probably would like a lighter yellow tint which I think would be perfect. But they did great on eliminating (not just reducing) the glare of headlights from oncoming traffic, so that was cool.

Once I got to Rose Hill, all the foot traffic had ceased and I was the only tracks in the snow beside the deer and coyotes. The valleys were tough, I couldn’t make it up any of the hills without slipping out, and I didn’t get enough speed going down to make it up anyways. But, once I got to Frolek’s road things got easier. I still had to keep my speed down quite a bit as a few times I hit a rock or stick that I couldn’t see under the snow which would send me skidding sideways.

Going down into Peterson’s Creek on the Billy Minor Trail North was OK. I had control (front brake was good, but the rear brake kept freezing up), and was able to go as slow as I wanted. But it was tiresome for sure. Going up the other side I walked the whole way and it was brutal, as every step I slipped meaning for every 1 step forward I slid 1/2 a step back… What a waste of energy!

Once I exited Peterson’s Creek my hell began… The snow plows had made a nice big bank on the sides of the road, meaning I had no where to bike unless I wanted to ride in the lane (not!). So, I stuck to the sidewalk (even though that’s illegal). But sidewalks here are so unpredictable. I couldn’t see where the edge of the sidewalk was, and constantly slid off the side. Some home owners shoveled their walks, some didn’t. Some just piled the snow from their driveway on top of their sidewalks! I couldn’t tell where the approaches were, so when crossing streets I often ended up hitting the curb hard, causing me to flounder all over in the snow… And, Kamloops has a wonderful sidewalk system that constantly jumps from one side of the street to the other (many of the streets don’t have sidewalks on both sides), meaning that suddenly my sidewalk would end… Arrggg!

After almost an hour of probably the worst ride I’ve ever had (add to that the 1/2 an hour of trail riding already), I finally made it to work. I have never had a ride yet where I was so desperately wanting to just quit and give up!!! Not fun.

So, I’m done. Old Man Winter has defeated me soundly. I will sit back on the bus licking my wounds ‘till the warm airs of spring put him back in his place and I can emerge once again (maybe on a Scott Scale 29er???). It was a good ride!!!

Two quick numbers before I sign off: