Saturday, November 28, 2009

November 28: Where Is Winter?

Last year at this time I was riding snow covered trails and forest roads north of my hometown in northern Minnesota. This year I'm here in the cities with unseasonably warm weather and contending with muddy trails.
Thanksgiving morning I was out for a two and half hour ride and the trails were in pretty decent shape. Not perfect, but definitely rideable.
Today was a totally different story. It is November 28th is it not? The trails should be frozen solid, but after several days of freezing and thawing the conditions have definitely deteriorated immensely. Many sections have turned into a slim wet gumbo.

On a more positive note...the Park Department has begun to make snow for the tubing hill and the XC ski trails. Question is ...How long will it last?
My ride today lasted two hours and forty-five minutes and given the trail conditions was quite slow. Cleaning the bike seemed to take almost as long. That being said...it was a great day to be out and I don't regret being out on the trails today. However, I think I'll stick to the pavement until we get a good solid freeze.

4 comments:

Apertome said...

Ahh, freeze/thaw ... I hear you. Here in southern Indiana, with our relatively mild winters, we have freeze/thaw issues throughout much of the winter. When the trails are frozen solid, the riding is great, but we often have to ride early in the morning so we can ride before the trails thaw. Sometimes, even that doesn't work.

I hope I get to do at least a few good snowy rides this year; some years snowstorms are few and far between. Then again, it's nice that our temperatures rarely dip below 10 degrees, and even more rarely below 0.

Vito said...

Here I am praying for snow and zero or below temps. I need to see a shrink.

Apertome said...

Haha. I do like snow! Not sure about the 0 or below temps, though.

All that was really a way of saying, sometimes I wish it were colder/snowier here. But I'll get snow rides in when I can ... and I'll certainly enjoy reading about your snowy adventures!

Joboo said...

Vito,

I hear ya on the shrink comment!!!
My better 1/2 calls my bike "The Shrink", or "The Dr."
Take your pick, it works for me, and i'm much more likeable when i ride my bike!!!
LOL

Peace,
Joboo