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RR: First snow ride



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 1st 04, 08:50 PM
Mike Kennedy
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Default RR: First snow ride

The Boise valley had it's first snow fall last Saturday, however since
I had a cyclocross race to put on Sunday and was way too busy I did not get
out. The snow was gone from the valley by Saturday afternoon; Bummer! As
luck would have it we were blessed with another snow shower yesterday
(Tuesday) and this snow is going to stick around for a few days. My riding
partner Brad and I have been doing Tuesday night rides since early November,
so the snow was an added bonus/challenge for last night. We met at
Camelsback Park at 5:30pm, the temperature was in the upper 20's. The
parking lot had a thin layer of ice and I nearly fell on my butt while
getting the bike ready so I was feeling a little paranoid
about what to expect on the trails. It only took 10 minutes to get started,
but both of us had really cold hands already and we were thinking that this
might be a stupid idea, so we decided to just ride a short loop.
We headed around Camelsback and over to Chickadee ridge, Brad spinning
and me mashing
to try and generate enough heat to warm the hands but not over heat the
body. We have both endured fast descents in the cold after sweating a little
too much on other rides and it is not real fun. The traction is really good
so far and it is starting to lightly snow again. From Chickadee we decide to
head up Hulls Gulch just to extend the warm up period. No one else is out so
we cruise along enjoying the scenery and I decide this was not a stupid idea
after all. Traction is still really good except on the larger rocks and the
wood water bars. They are slick and force us to walk one short section or
risk a fall into the creek.
About 2/3 of the way up Hulls and my hands are toasty but my feet are
getting real cold. This however is a common occurrence that we suffer
through and we both keep trying new ways to insulate our toes without having
to spend a bundle of money. Maybe Santa will bring us those Lake winter mtb
boots... When we get to the intersection of Hulls, the Freeway and Trail #1,
we are both jazzed. Brad suggests that we head up #1 to the motorcycle
parking lot and decide where to go from there. Due to the snow and ruts, it
takes a couple of tries to cleanly ride the beginning of trail #1, but from
there it is smooth sailing and great traction. Boise looks pretty cool
through the snowfall which is getting a little heavier.
When we get to the top we turn right around and head back down because
we want to ride up Trail #4 and get on Sidewinder. Just after we get to the
bottom and cross the foot bridge across Hulls Gulch we see lights coming up
Hulls Gulch. We continue on down the Freeway heading for Trail 4 giving
salutations to the 3 riders coming up Hulls across from us. It is good to
know that there are other nuts out here.
Trail 4, like Trail 1 is open to motorcycle traffic and can get big ruts
right down the middle. It is a challenge to ride this trail up or down even
when the ground is dry, so the snow is going to be tough. You
have to keep your line as straight as possible to keep from slipping into
the ruts or from falling off the downhill side of the trail. I have lucked
out and have the right tire pressure to ride all but one short steep section
near the top. Brad is having traction and shifting problems but still rides
most of it. When I get to the top I am roasting, well except for my toes
which feel like rocks. Also, my beard has frozen from all the moisture; yeah
winter is fun.
The snow is really coming down now and since neither of us were smart
enough to wear our glasses, the ride down Sidewinder is both pleasure and
pain. We zip down this trail as fast as visibility will allow. Snow is
stinging our faces and eyes. Face muscles are tired of squinting. Traction
is not a problem and we never slide out, this is great! We pop out onto the
Freeway sooner than I had expected, it seemed like we missed a whole section
of trail, but it was only the lack of visibility that caused the confusion.
As we head down the Freeway Brad suggests doing the Redcliffs trail,
but I think that we might be pushing our traction luck too far so we ride
down the Connector and back over to Chickadee and Camelsback. That had to be
one of the best rides I have done all year. Just under 2 hours riding time
which is also about how long it took for my toes to thaw once I got home,
but it was worth it.

Mike






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  #2  
Old December 2nd 04, 03:55 AM
Bill Wheeler
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 12:50:55 -0700, "Mike Kennedy"
wrote:

The Boise valley had it's first snow fall last Saturday, however since
I had a cyclocross race to put on Sunday and was way too busy I did not get
out. The snow was gone from the valley by Saturday afternoon; Bummer! As
luck would have it we were blessed with another snow shower yesterday
(Tuesday) and this snow is going to stick around for a few days. My riding
partner Brad and I have been doing Tuesday night rides since early November,
so the snow was an added bonus/challenge for last night. We met at
Camelsback Park at 5:30pm, the temperature was in the upper 20's. The
parking lot had a thin layer of ice and I nearly fell on my butt while
getting the bike ready so I was feeling a little paranoid
about what to expect on the trails. It only took 10 minutes to get started,
but both of us had really cold hands already and we were thinking that this
might be a stupid idea, so we decided to just ride a short loop.
We headed around Camelsback and over to Chickadee ridge, Brad spinning
and me mashing
to try and generate enough heat to warm the hands but not over heat the
body. We have both endured fast descents in the cold after sweating a little
too much on other rides and it is not real fun. The traction is really good
so far and it is starting to lightly snow again. From Chickadee we decide to
head up Hulls Gulch just to extend the warm up period. No one else is out so
we cruise along enjoying the scenery and I decide this was not a stupid idea
after all. Traction is still really good except on the larger rocks and the
wood water bars. They are slick and force us to walk one short section or
risk a fall into the creek.
About 2/3 of the way up Hulls and my hands are toasty but my feet are
getting real cold. This however is a common occurrence that we suffer
through and we both keep trying new ways to insulate our toes without having
to spend a bundle of money. Maybe Santa will bring us those Lake winter mtb
boots... When we get to the intersection of Hulls, the Freeway and Trail #1,
we are both jazzed. Brad suggests that we head up #1 to the motorcycle
parking lot and decide where to go from there. Due to the snow and ruts, it
takes a couple of tries to cleanly ride the beginning of trail #1, but from
there it is smooth sailing and great traction. Boise looks pretty cool
through the snowfall which is getting a little heavier.
When we get to the top we turn right around and head back down because
we want to ride up Trail #4 and get on Sidewinder. Just after we get to the
bottom and cross the foot bridge across Hulls Gulch we see lights coming up
Hulls Gulch. We continue on down the Freeway heading for Trail 4 giving
salutations to the 3 riders coming up Hulls across from us. It is good to
know that there are other nuts out here.
Trail 4, like Trail 1 is open to motorcycle traffic and can get big ruts
right down the middle. It is a challenge to ride this trail up or down even
when the ground is dry, so the snow is going to be tough. You
have to keep your line as straight as possible to keep from slipping into
the ruts or from falling off the downhill side of the trail. I have lucked
out and have the right tire pressure to ride all but one short steep section
near the top. Brad is having traction and shifting problems but still rides
most of it. When I get to the top I am roasting, well except for my toes
which feel like rocks. Also, my beard has frozen from all the moisture; yeah
winter is fun.
The snow is really coming down now and since neither of us were smart
enough to wear our glasses, the ride down Sidewinder is both pleasure and
pain. We zip down this trail as fast as visibility will allow. Snow is
stinging our faces and eyes. Face muscles are tired of squinting. Traction
is not a problem and we never slide out, this is great! We pop out onto the
Freeway sooner than I had expected, it seemed like we missed a whole section
of trail, but it was only the lack of visibility that caused the confusion.
As we head down the Freeway Brad suggests doing the Redcliffs trail,
but I think that we might be pushing our traction luck too far so we ride
down the Connector and back over to Chickadee and Camelsback. That had to be
one of the best rides I have done all year. Just under 2 hours riding time
which is also about how long it took for my toes to thaw once I got home,
but it was worth it.

Mike


Nice!
Bill
The First law, Inertia: Unless acted upon by an outside force,
a body at rest tends to stay at rest,
and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
Sir Isaac Newton
  #3  
Old December 3rd 04, 02:10 AM
David
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Bill Wheeler wrote:
On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 12:50:55 -0700, "Mike Kennedy"
wrote:


The Boise valley had it's first snow fall last Saturday, however since
I had a cyclocross race to put on Sunday and was way too busy I did not get
out. The snow was gone from the valley by Saturday afternoon; Bummer! As
luck would have it we were blessed with another snow shower yesterday
(Tuesday) and this snow is going to stick around for a few days. My riding
partner Brad and I have been doing Tuesday night rides since early November,
so the snow was an added bonus/challenge for last night. We met at
Camelsback Park at 5:30pm, the temperature was in the upper 20's. The
parking lot had a thin layer of ice and I nearly fell on my butt while
getting the bike ready so I was feeling a little paranoid
about what to expect on the trails. It only took 10 minutes to get started,
but both of us had really cold hands already and we were thinking that this
might be a stupid idea, so we decided to just ride a short loop.
We headed around Camelsback and over to Chickadee ridge, Brad spinning
and me mashing
to try and generate enough heat to warm the hands but not over heat the
body. We have both endured fast descents in the cold after sweating a little
too much on other rides and it is not real fun. The traction is really good
so far and it is starting to lightly snow again. From Chickadee we decide to
head up Hulls Gulch just to extend the warm up period. No one else is out so
we cruise along enjoying the scenery and I decide this was not a stupid idea
after all. Traction is still really good except on the larger rocks and the
wood water bars. They are slick and force us to walk one short section or
risk a fall into the creek.
About 2/3 of the way up Hulls and my hands are toasty but my feet are
getting real cold. This however is a common occurrence that we suffer
through and we both keep trying new ways to insulate our toes without having
to spend a bundle of money. Maybe Santa will bring us those Lake winter mtb
boots... When we get to the intersection of Hulls, the Freeway and Trail #1,
we are both jazzed. Brad suggests that we head up #1 to the motorcycle
parking lot and decide where to go from there. Due to the snow and ruts, it
takes a couple of tries to cleanly ride the beginning of trail #1, but from
there it is smooth sailing and great traction. Boise looks pretty cool
through the snowfall which is getting a little heavier.
When we get to the top we turn right around and head back down because
we want to ride up Trail #4 and get on Sidewinder. Just after we get to the
bottom and cross the foot bridge across Hulls Gulch we see lights coming up
Hulls Gulch. We continue on down the Freeway heading for Trail 4 giving
salutations to the 3 riders coming up Hulls across from us. It is good to
know that there are other nuts out here.
Trail 4, like Trail 1 is open to motorcycle traffic and can get big ruts
right down the middle. It is a challenge to ride this trail up or down even
when the ground is dry, so the snow is going to be tough. You
have to keep your line as straight as possible to keep from slipping into
the ruts or from falling off the downhill side of the trail. I have lucked
out and have the right tire pressure to ride all but one short steep section
near the top. Brad is having traction and shifting problems but still rides
most of it. When I get to the top I am roasting, well except for my toes
which feel like rocks. Also, my beard has frozen from all the moisture; yeah
winter is fun.
The snow is really coming down now and since neither of us were smart
enough to wear our glasses, the ride down Sidewinder is both pleasure and
pain. We zip down this trail as fast as visibility will allow. Snow is
stinging our faces and eyes. Face muscles are tired of squinting. Traction
is not a problem and we never slide out, this is great! We pop out onto the
Freeway sooner than I had expected, it seemed like we missed a whole section
of trail, but it was only the lack of visibility that caused the confusion.
As we head down the Freeway Brad suggests doing the Redcliffs trail,
but I think that we might be pushing our traction luck too far so we ride
down the Connector and back over to Chickadee and Camelsback. That had to be
one of the best rides I have done all year. Just under 2 hours riding time
which is also about how long it took for my toes to thaw once I got home,
but it was worth it.

Mike



Nice!
Bill
The First law, Inertia: Unless acted upon by an outside force,
a body at rest tends to stay at rest,
and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
Sir Isaac Newton


Nope, Galileo!
 




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