More Snow

You think I have abandoned my blog - just no riding. Nothing much to report.
The last couple days, I got out to ride. Friday evening was Full Moon Ride. Urgh, the trail was clear/snow covered/icy. The temperature dropped when the sun set. Just not fun riding. I made about 4 miles. Cellar 19 was too crowded and noisy - so I headed home.
Sunday was a nice day. Time to get the bike out and ride. Riverfront trail was slushy to clear & dry. One spot was icy. Rode up almost to N 25th St.
Yesterday, I was a little tired and not sure about riding. But getting that metal between my legs was all it took, and there was not way I could lose a beautiful 55 degree day!. I was ready to ride! When I got to N. 25th, I decided to try riding the "mini" Tour de Bluffs. From N 15th, when down through town, over to S 16th Ave, on to Indian Creek trail. Wheel spray got my butt a little damp and had to walk the bike on the trail connection to the trailer park. Still had a good 14 mile ride.
Good timing. Today dawned cold and windy - 10 degrees and 40 mph winds. Snow (1-2") in the forecast for later today. Spinning @ Xtreme Wheels tonight.

Don't Ride Wet/Soft Trails

Friday, I rode up the Wabash Trace to Margaritaville. Slow going compared the last ride of last year. Trail is not in its summer hard-pack condition. That, and the first ride up this year, I only made 8mph up the hill.
Speaking of trail condition, Tuesday Greg (maintainer of the Trace from CB to Silver City) graded the trail surface. Even after running the grader off the trail, there are still ruts from riding when the surface is wet.
Now I know we all have gotten cabin fever this winter. But, when you ride on the wet trail, you are doing damage to the trail surface. That 1 ride you just couldn't make without, causes untold others riders misery with a rough trail surface.
The photo above is bicycle tracks in the crushed limestone surface when inconsiderate riders ride a wet trail.
After a rest stop, I headed down the hill and then over to Lake Manawa to check out the mountain bike trail. The last week we had lots of drying wind - hoping the trails are rideable.
I rode W Sidewinder, which was dry. Headed over to E Sidewinder. When I got into the wooded part, I saw that the trail is very soft, with deep ruts. It was time to stop, turn around, and ride someplace else. The second photo is of the ruts in the trail tread.
At the parking lot, I met a couple other riders. When I mentioned that the trail was too soft, one said it was good -- just soft spots and wet spots to ride around. URGH. I told him doing that damages the trail.
In this part of the country, riding on wet trails does great damage. Its not like places were the trails are on rock. I think the magazines do a disservice when they publish photos of riders plowing down muddy trails. Photos of mud encased bikes and riders enforces this image of the mountain bike rider.
Next time you ride soft/wet trails, think about who has to repair that trail. They do not heal themselves - it takes hours of dedicated volunteers to repair your hour of "fun".

Epics

The thing that always attracts me to a place like Mt Jerusalem, is that the name "Mt Jerusalem" has a certain ring to it, that someone who has ridden across Mt Jerusalem has made some kind of epic journey. In truth, Saturday's ride, with 197km (including 50km or so on dirt) and over 2,000 metres of climbing might be considered epic by some (which is fine by me). However, what surprised me was the constrasts in the early part of the ride. In just a few kilometres I was able to go from this...

... to this.

That was before the ride really started. The two key climbs (both on dirt roads) are the back way across the Burringbar Range, and Mt Jerusalem itself. The second one is steep enough to make the dirt section a real challenge, but it was on the first where disaster almost struck. I was marvelling at the scenery from the switchbacks, and almost crashed on a loose patch of gravel. I suppose it would have only been a low speed crash as I was climbing at the time, and might have even served as a wake-up call.

As it was, I was feeling great on the climb of Mt Jerusalem later, even if the gravel was presenting a challenge. The changing forest types crossing the range from east to west are always inspiring, as are the views. I also noticed a few potential spots for "stealth" camping that I might use on future tours in the area.

After the usual screaming technical descent (albeit not worrying me as much as usual this time), I just had to hitch a ride on a tailwind to go home. The only real downside was that I didn't spend longer out there. I really should have done, just made a whole day out of it. It was just about a perfect day for general existence. But then, I suppose there will be other days. "Winter" is on it's way at last!

Ozzie Update...

First, we thank you with all our hearts for all your wonderful and warm wishes for Oz's recovery. I went to visit her twice today and she was remarkably responsive to my coo coos and pettings. She purred and even tried to get up (!) and "leap"out of her very spacious accomodations. Considering that her right back leg is completely broken, quite a feat! We are absolutely certain that she'll come out of surgery tomorrow wonderfully well and will recuperate quickly. I took several photos of her, but my phone is being uncooperative in sending the photos here. We have the ultimate confidence in our surgeon and our vet. We still haven't been able to ascertain what happened to her or who kept Oz in that garage, but we're going to concentrate on getting her better at this point! Again, a zillion thanks for your beautiful comments - they matter so much to us! xo