Back on the trails? Not quite…

Well, we’ve had a couple of nice weekends only to end in a snowy blizzard, so when this weekend rolled around again boasting of plus temperatures, I didn’t get too excited… And yet, yesterday was just about 10° I think, and then today hit 12° with sun! It was a thing of beauty… And, so, I decided that I’d jump on the bike and head out onto my trails to see what condition they were.

Well, they kind of sucked…

Seriously, I don’t know what miracles I was hoping for, but we’ve had a ton of snow and only a few days like this weekend, so of course the trails are still going to be covered in snow. But I didn’t think they’d be this tough to ride! It was so much fun, though, just to get out again and ride! So the fact that it took me nearly 30 minutes just to get to Rose Hill? I didn’t let that bother me too much…

Still enough snow to stand the bike up in means there’s still too much snow I think.

As you can see in the picture above, the trails are pretty deep still. I’d say about 2 inches of just-about-frozen crust over about 3-4 inches of hard packed snow-turned-ice. Lots of melting still to do. It was fun, but a body can only handle 6 km/h of slow, bumpy, side-to-side-slipping-and-sliding type of riding. If I had to ride this all the way to work, I’d probably not enjoy it as much as I did today. Twice, I turned to start climbing up a hill (I took the pipeline trail section heading west through the Juniper trails), and the bike was suddenly laying on it’s side on the ice… It was crazy how fast and how unpredictable the bumpy ice is, especially on two wheels. It doesn’t help that I left my Specialized Crossroads tire on the back because I was too lazy to swap it out (I have it on for use on the trainer).

Lots of water, too, which was cool (literally), but made me nervous as the ice underneath now was unpredictable AND hidden… In fact, one section of the trail looked kind of cool as the water had been melting and flowing down the trail making a bunch of “ice shelves” on its way down (see the picture below).

This was a tricky hill to make, both up AND down.

Another thing? Seems that since the biking stopped, so did the cleaning up of fallen trees. I counted 5 trees laying across the trail (I was able to move one of them, but the rest will require a chain saw and a few guys to remove).

There’s a guy on Kijiji selling two new Nokian Mount and Ground studded bike tires for $50. Considering that they’re about $70 each, this is a great deal and I plan on going by tonight or tomorrow to pick them up. They should help in the ice as seen in the picture above. Not sure about the extra weight and rolling resistance, but if it means I can get on my trails sooner, I’m all for it! Then again, a week or so of weather like today and I’ll be riding on mostly dirt and mud anyways… Something I saw nothing of today!

It’s been a long winter (by Kamloops standards), and I’m raring to get on the trails again very soon!!!

Oh trails, wherefore art thou?

It has been about 5 weeks since I last rode my trails, and I do miss them! I hate jostling down the freeway with all the other faceless motorists, playing my part in the grand, imaginary race twice a day, making sure that the guy behind me doesn’t get past, and that the guy in front of me gets the heck out of my way in time…

Yes, the trails were a more peaceful time…

Anyways, I have been almost going crazy waiting for the snow to go away. I still hold to the hope that I will be biking again come February, but the naysayers keep trying to tell me that the snow will continue to pile up… I sure hope not!

When we returned home from our Christmas holidays, I nearly shouted with joy as I saw the ground brown and ugly! The snow had all melted in the valley. Granted, there was still some left up in the hills but nothing that couldn’t be ridden through. The last weekend before going to work, I picked up a new cogset and chain (along with a few tools for the job) and swapped them onto my bike. While I was at it, I cleaned the wheel hubs and re-greased the bearings. I should’ve done the headset too, not sure why I forgot that…

New SRAM 8-speed cogset and chain (Powerlink) installed. Shiny!

 

I also installed the stock Shimano crank back onto the bike, replacing the Truvativ crank I had put on last spring. Hey, I’m broke and can’t afford $100 for a new crank!

Alas, as Tuesday rolled around and I had to start work again, the snow came too… I should have known that you would come along! So, I’m back to driving again…

But, at least the bike is ready to roll once the snow finally does leave…

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:

• 3600 – The amount of kilometres I put on this season
• 35 – The amount of weight (in pounds) that I lost

Cool!

November 24th (Evening)

I took my old, original biking route home tonight again as I did on Monday. It was snowing a lot, so I’m not sure how tomorrow’s ride will go. Tonight was still fun, though. The snow makes for a hard ride to be sure, and a bit hairy going down into Peterson’s Creek, but the quietness is almost surreal. The soft crunch of snow under my tires is the loudest noise aside from my breathing. It really is quite beautiful. If only I could figure out how to keep my hands from freezing I’d be set!

Oh, and I’m not sure if you recall, but there was a dirt path between Springhill and Roger’s Way that ran alongside the old Merritt highway. I complained about it many times when it was wet and muddy as this was the muddiest part of my entire ride. Anyways, the city has now paved this path and it is a great little path! So smooth… And with a fresh layer of snow it makes for a neat little section.

The toughest part of the ride is the streets as they are getting narrower now and I have to hang out right at the edge, by the snow bank created by the snow plows. As such, I often will end up hitting the bank and causing me to slide and fishtail, not fun! Plus, cars are driving by now even closer and with less control, not a good combination if you ask me!

The temperature was -13° and it felt OK. My gear is good, and other than toes and fingers it feels great. Almost too warm sometimes (I had to unzip the fleece today). Also, I used sandwich baggies over my toes, wore two pairs of socks, and then put the toe warmers on top of the baggies (instead of inside them). As these are air activated, I figured this made more sense. And I think it worked, as I didn’t have any issue with my feet being cold ‘till about 15 minutes left in my ride. So I guess there’s tricks to everything here!

November 24th (Morning)

No ride yesterday (-17°, and with the wind chill it felt like -29°). So, once I saw that I waited at home and got a ride with Corrie to work after she took Taryn to school.

A couple of people have brought it to my attention that it’s not just being out in the cold, or even being out on a bike in the cold, but its the being out in the cold on a bike alone in the middle of nowhere that is risky. I guess I can see their point, really. I mean, if I were to get injured or knocked out or something out on Frolek’s land, by the time someone came along to find me, I’d be frozen stiff… Therefore, I have decided to make -15° my personal cut-off point. Colder than that, I ride the bus or get a ride. Warmer than that, I ride the bike.

So, this morning was -17° and Corrie had scrounged together some change last night so I jumped on the #16 bus out of Juniper. That was fine, and all, until we got to TRU and I noticed that the Pineview bus (my connection) had already left… Oops!

But, no worries, I felt good and warm and decided that I would just ride the streets to work. That way if I fell and got hurt, surely someone would see me laying on the ground!!!

So, I had a short, tough ride this morning after all which is good. It is completely uphill the entire way, and I did walk a lot to try and keep the blood flowing into my toes and fingers. Actually, I even tried the plastic baggy over my toes (inside my shoes) this morning as that is supposed to be a miracle warming trick… NOT! My toes (and fingers) were still quite frozen by the end. However, being that this little route has so much climbing, my neck and torso were actually a bit too warm if you can imagine that.

This afternoon it is supposed to get down to -13° and even as good as -7° by Friday, so for the rest of the week I am good to go! Next week I’ll be in Vegas for Autodesk University, and the few weeks after is typically the coldest week in Kamloops (in my short lived experience here to this point), so we’ll have to wait and see if I have much more riding left in 2010!

November 22nd (Morning)

Still riding! The temperature on the internet said -10°, and yet with the 26km/h headwind, it was rated that it felt like -19°! I say “supposedly” because, really, it just felt cold!

Corrie and I found a fleece sweater at Penny Pincher’s this weekend and it turned out to be a perfect second layer. Not too warm, breathable and yet I never felt too cold. I removed my clipless pedals and put my regular pedals with clips back on so I could wear my running shoes with two pairs of socks. It didn’t really matter anyways as my toes still froze. I had slightly better traction when walking up the hills in the snow, but not much. Considering those two things, I may try my big Sorel’s… Too big? Probably. But at least I know I would be warm and traction wouldn’t be an issue!!!

It did snow a lot this weekend (well, a couple of inches I guess) so I was a little apprehensive about what this would mean for my trails. The Juniper section was no problem as it is so well travelled that the path was worn in quite nicely. The snow, however, definitely adds a rolling resistance factor, though! Sheesh…

The pipeline section at Rose Hill was good, I still got some decent speeds going down into the dips, but walked two of the hills as I was going much slower and there is precious little traction now when I do start climbing. I headed up from Frolek’s lower road to my single-track and that part of the trail was fun. Less travelled (not at all travelled in many spots other than wildlife), so it was fun to crunch along through the fresh, undisturbed snow trails. I did come across another biker’s trail at one point, so I’m not the only one!!!

As I rode along the edge of Peterson’s Creek valley on the east side, I got a bit nervous. Traction was non-existent, and I had the sudden realization of how if I slipped off of the trail it could turn suddenly very bad. Trying not to think of what was below me, I focused on keeping the bike upright and made it without issue. However, as I crested the top of the long, straight steep downhill it started getting a bit hairy again! Thankfully at this point, there are no cliff edges beckoning me to careen off of them. But, nonetheless, once it got steep I had extremely little control. The rear wheel had no effect for traction and slid from side to side. But what was worse, was the front wheel sliding! I now couldn’t control my direction NOR my speed, a very nasty combination! Thankfully the trail is about 4-5 feet wide right there, giving me room to slide around. I made it down still rubber side down so that was a huge relief! I crossed the creek and then made it up the other side by a combination of walking and biking.

By the time I got to the top of the trails and came out on Summit Drive, my water had finally frozen solid in the bottle. At least I got 30 minutes of hydration when I needed it! I might see if I can rig something up inside my jacket for a spare water supply maybe.

The rest of the ride was pretty good. I actually didn’t mind the street portion this time, probably because I didn’t face a free-falling death if I slipped off track… In the end, my toes and fingers were still pretty cold, but the rest of me was really good. If I can ride with boots, I will try that next. Not ideal by any stretch, but if it means I have traction to walk the sketchy portions and my toes stay warm, then maybe the extra weight and annoyance of the clod-hoppers will be worth it? I still would like ski-goggles if I could, but nobody sells clear lenses in town (that we found so far, I think I’ll phone around today). Other than that, things are looking not too bad… So far…

November 19th (Evening)

Another good, cold ride! I think I can make these rides work! Tonight was -7°, with a wind chill again but for me I was riding with the wind behind me so this wasn’t as much of a factor as it was in the morning. Corrie picked me up for lunch today, so we went by Wholesale Sports and I picked up a balaclava called a NINJACLAVA by Outdoor Research. It is on the lighter side, but it has a light, fleece lining inside. I still pulled my skull cap on over top of this, which helped give my ears 2x the warmth! Then, when I got a bit too warm, I was able to just pull up the skull cap a bit and it helped cool me down. When that got chilly again, I just pulled the cap back down!

I wore the track pants again over my tight stretchy sport pants. Going home, this was perfect. A bit on the warm side, but with the amount of downhill going this direction, it was good. I decided to just wear the fleece jacket without the sport jacket as a wind shell. It was pretty good, and even that was a bit on the warmer side. I would think that I might try wearing my short sleeve biking shirts with a lighter fleece and that might be perfect for the current temperatures.

My toes and fingers were still the worse off. Walking a couple of the hills helped for sure. I think I will be putting on my old pedals with clips so I can wear running shoes next week. This will allow me to wear two pairs of socks (or even wool socks maybe?), as well as give me better grip and traction on the frozen trails.

I have new resolve to keep pushing! I have one more week of riding before I go to Las Vegas for a work convention (Autodesk University) for the final week of November. When I get back, it will be interesting to see how cold it is and if I can continue into December or not. Last year, December was cold (-15° to -20°), but then January was quiet mild. Maybe we will be so lucky again?

Oh, and I just wanted to say that the new chain lube I’m using (Finish Line WET Lube, see October 29 (Morning) post) is pretty amazing. With the amount of wet, rain and snow this week, it took ‘till today to finally get a bit squeaky. The wax I used to use wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes in the conditions I hit this week! So, even though it means more work each weekend cleaning the chain, it’s worth not having to worry about it all week long.