Sometimes A Little Walk is Nice

The cold temps of this past weekend actually made it great for getting out on the Pugsley. Morning temps were below zero all weekend and the trails were nice and firm.

Another thing that made it a great weekend was that my package from Eric in Anchorage, AK finally arrived. It contained one of Revelate Designs custom made frame bags. I have to say that I absolutely love it! Perfect fit, quality material, excellent craftsmanship, and made right here in the USA! I would now love to get one for the 29er. I'll write more about the bag in another post.

I've been spending my time riding the multi-use trails in Elm Creek Park Reserve. I know, it's not single-track or snowmobile trails, but they are fun to ride and it's great sharing the trails with others. The Pugsley continues to bring smiles to people's faces as they see it approaching them on the trail. All the skiers I've encountered have been very gracious and accepting. It was great to see Jay and his daughter Jenna out skijoring with their dog Faith. Faith was really enjoying herself.

The temps this morning were in the teens below zero. At 7:15 a.m. the temperature at the trailhead near the nature center was -16 (F) -27 (C). I wasn't expecting to see many people out on the trails until the temps warmed a bit and I was right. In three hours I encountered two xc skiers and one runner.

The landscape in the park was absolutely beautiful this morning and unfortunately the few pics I took failed to portray it the way I wanted them to. I had one of those great photos (a Jill photo) all lined up and my little point and shoot camera completely froze up on me.

Another annoying occurrence was the development of a slow leak in my front tire. During the last hour of my ride I had to stop every couple of miles and pump up the tire. Eventually, I ended up just choosing to walk the last mile or so back to my car.

Not the way you want to end up a bike ride, but I actually found the walk to be quite enjoyable. My only complaint about the morning was missing that one photo that I really wanted to have. I was concerned about the camera, but it turned out to be just fine. The battery was not fully charged when I left and even carrying the battery next to my skin didn't prevent it from dying in the cold air. I'll have to start carrying an extra to assure that I always have one that is fully charged.

I examined the tube upon getting home and found it to have a tiny puncture. I am not sure what could have caused it. Temps are expected to warm up this week and I'm hoping that tomorrow or Tuesday night I'll have time to get out for a night ride. After the warm days the trails really firm up nicely after sunset.