Snow Ride, Take it Easy

Another Tuesday snow ride on Nordic trails is in the books! Last year, we got the wild hair last year to check out Buchanan Pass in the snow. We assumed that a majority of it would be packed enough for riding we were right! We even had so much fun we went the following week as well.

With the warm temps we've been experiencing, we figured yesterday's Tuesday ride would be a prime opportunity to get in a little nordic style action. Peaceful Valley and Buchanan Pass were the ticket.

The trails had been packed in, warmed, then re frozen to form a perfect layer of bike on snow traction. Early on, the singletrack was in PRIME condition. No snow bike needed. The trail was smooth and flowy and faster than it ever is in the summer.
Once we got higher up onto Buchanan Pass, a snow bike would've been a little more useful. There was a very tight, packed line to follow. Once your front wheel wandered offline, it would sink. Fork tip deep snow in this pic. Experiencing an "off line" moment would stick your front wheel immediately and send you flying over the bars.
We rode up past the waterfall on BP. On second thought now, it may have been prudent to turn around at the falls since the snow above it proved to unruly for riding up or down. There was hiking involved.
The rest of the way down was spent flying over the bars higher up where the snow was deep. As we got closer to the bottom, though, we were ripping stellar conditions on packed snow. It got fast enough you could drift thru corners and hammer up the climbs. Friggin perfect I tell you.

Next week? We'll see...

Where to go when the snow flies

Left Hand OHV, of course. I woke to 4" of snow in the yard, but within a few hours of sun, most of it had disappeared. Figuring that Hall and Heil would be much to muddy to tread on, I headed to the sandy and south facing Left Hand Canyon OHV area. I was glad I did.

Traction up 286 to five points got straight up muddy in a couple of spots.

From 5points up was pretty good, though. Mostly due to the rocky nature of the trail, there's not too much dirt to get muddy it turns out. Today I took 286 all the way to the top where the next kiosk is. I did a little loop in the 288 area then headed east a bit. There was definitely snow up top. Wet, slushy snow.
After taking in the view, I reviewed my plan. Having not come down 238 in years, I was itching to see what it was looking like these days.
Saw some sights along the way.

To my surprise, it was signed on top. 238 has been there and on maps for years but for some reason, the high entrance hasn't ever really been that evident. Thinking that perhaps it'd get a bit more traffic now, I pedaled onward and down to see what or if anything had changed.

As it turned out, not much had changed. The moisture was a factor right off the bat.

There was basically a river running down the trenched out trail.

The water was flowing hard and it had dislodged a lot of loose rocks inside it's trench. Wow - good stuff.

It turned out tobe a definitely worthwhile adventure today. I think we'll even do most of it for our Tuesday Nite Ride this week. How bout that? Meetup at the shop at 5:30pm or the lower LHC entrance at 6ish.

Expect to get wet :)

Nordique

We went nordic style again for our last Tuesday ride of the non DST era. To say it was good would be a major understatement. It was fantastic. The freeze/thaw cycle has started at least a little bit on Buchanan Pass. That translates into harder, faster, and more packed in snow. Again, we made it up to the waterfall, but it was less hiking up and less endo-ing down. Seriously good stuff. Good enough that MT had to leaver her mark on dirtydoug's snow crusted back.

Watch out for that log.

Again, the singlespeed was the weapon of choice. And again, I probably could've handled a cog easier gear, but rigid was definitely the way to go. Stayed clean, too!

Going Nordic

This has been kinda stumping me lately. Nordic skiing means XC skiing on snow with poles and skinny skis. Nordic walking is basically walking anywhere anytime with poles. What do you call it if you take your bike out in the snow on Nordic trails? Is it Nordic biking even if we don't use poles? Or is it just mountain biking? Whatever it is, it's damn fun if conditions are good.

Being sick and tired of the lack of riding afforded to us this winter, we decided to go far, far out on a limb. The idea was to head to one of our favorite summer riding spots and keep our fingers crossed that enough traffic had packed the snow to a rideable state either on singletrack or jeep road. Surprisingly enough, and despite conflicting reports on how bad it was going to suck, we had 8 crazy/stoopid/ignorant/optimistic fun seeking mountain bikers show. We loaded up the vehicles and drove west to Peaceful Valley. We knew it was going to be good as soon as we got to Peaceful Valley. We almost got the big ol F250 stuck - "someone get out and help me lock the hubs." heh heh.

Then Chad was one gloveless. Good thing we were able to dig up a spare.



Things were definitely looking to get interesting. We pedaled off onto the first singletrack right before the bridge. Unbelievably, it was fantastic. There had been so much traffic on skis, snowshoes, and hiking boots that it was firm, packed and fast. Smooth, too, as the snow was deep enough to cover up all of the rocks and roots. The tread was 18-24" wide. Once you got outside of that window, the snow was soft and deep.

Thumbs up! We made it to the start of Buchanan Pass and conditions were top notch.
We pressed on and up Buchannan Pass. Not being a snow junkie, it was unlike any other time I'd been up there. It was peaceful, serene, and the trail was completely smooth. I liked. The rigid SS was a great choice for the terrain, but I could've used something easier than the 32x19 I was on. I know, I need to HTFU.

Our watter bottles and bladders froze pretty quickly. It's a good thing a few of us brought extra hydration supplies. It's always good to get a cold hand around a warm Chub.

We made it up to the waterfall. By then, it had gotten to be pretty slow going. The trail was steep enough, the snow was soft enough, and the tread was narrow enough that it was really, really difficult to make ground. Most of us ended up hiking the last part of the way.

After another, erm, snacktime at the waterfall, it was time to head back. We expected it to be difficult but we really had no idea. Most of the way up, even though there was definitely a "tread" we were blazing trail. Blazing back down was a challenge. The packed tread was only 8-10" at this point. Going off tread by even an inch or two meant instant endo. The snow on the side of the trail was deep. Deep as in I stepped in it and went in to my crotch. Lower down and it got better. Faster and a smidge wider.

But that snow can fool you. Still just an inch or two outside of the line and you're going down. It was slick, too. I can't remember how many times I crashed. Silly fun, I tell you.

Without a doubt, the finest section of trail was the connector between Peaceful Valley and Camp Dick. I'll go back again just to hit that!

Great ride last night, guys. This is definitely on our must do again list. Best ride of the year so far.

First Ride of 2010

I had the opportunity to ride on New Years day but I opted out. JRog threw a hell of a party the night before and, even though I spent the evening completely sober ish mostly, I was tired from staying up so late ringing in the new year. I had a chance to ride the bike but I ended up riding the couch instead. And it was good - so good. I can't remember the last time I snuck in a mid day nap and it was quite the luxury. My next opportunity to ride was today and I seized it. My first ride of the new year, 2010.

The day was sunny and in the thirties all morning and early afternoon. On Sundays the shop closes at 3 so I usually roll out around 3:30. Just as the clouds rolled in and started an immensely thick snow shower, the phone rang. It was Chris. "You riding?" "Yep." It was on.

Trail reports suggested that Picture Rock was rideable up to the silo if you stayed on the line of packed snow so we pedaled in that direction. Chris on his On One Inbred singlespeed and I on my GT Peace 9er SS. It turned out to be quite a departure to the riding I had done in Phoenix just a week prior. The rideable line was narrow.



If you strayed, you were in 5-6" deep sticky snow and were out of bounds, the flag was thrown, and you'd have to put a foot down. Sometimes it was harder to get started and we'd end up Flintstoning on a sidehill for a bit. I'm not sure if riding a singlespeed is better or worse in these conditions. They definitely have their plusses and minuses. Only one gear ensures simplicity of thought and reliability of drive train in adverse conditions but it becomes more of a balance and weight dispersion issue when you can't change your mechanical advantage on slick and soft terrain. But they're simple and it makes focus even more necessary.

Big things to ponder now that it is 2010. I was reminded of just how much I loved this trail as a winter wonderland last year. The worn in singletrack is tight. The trails slick and soft conditions mandated maintaining a tight line while riding very loose. It's a good workout for this kind of weather, too. Just enough to keep you warm. We made it up to the Silo before trail conditions deteriorated to an unrideable state.


The descent back was great. Despite the snow and ice, the descent felt criminally fast. Or maybe it was just the bumpy trail and the rigid fork.


Returning to Lyons always feels like home regardless of the approach.


The ride was invigorating and refreshing. And fun. It was just the ride to start off the new year with. Heck, the day's are getting longer. That means it's summer riding season now, right?

brr

I love Tuesdays. They're one of my favorite days of the week. Especially on days like this one. It was cold, but it was also time to ride. Tuesday Night Ride was on point!

Paul was bundled up for the .1 degree weather.

Some of the riding was good snow.
Some was packed and snowed upon foot prints and tough to ride thru.
And I had no idea that some would be 6"+ deep. But it was fun. And it made you work hard enough to stay warm. Sort of.

Speaking of warm, beards are good.
Kind of like a sweater for your face. But insulated with an igloo. A form fitting face beard sweater igloo. Cozy. We managed to actually get in about an hour and a half. Some folks were freezing by then and some weren't. I was toasty warm with my Pearl Izumi Amfib gloves and my GTX Barrier boots. There's a lot of great apparel companies out there, but it's tough to beat Pearl for winter gear. Even though Chris and I were still good, we caved to the demands of our frozen brothers, called the ride, and headed back to the shop.

But wait! The fun didn't end there. Bstiff met up with the crew (cause he's smart enough to not ride in sub zero temps) and we headed to Oskars. Everything was fine and dandy until the manager started bringing out dishes of ice cream. First was Mama's Yella Pils caramel. Pretty good but not enough pils and too much carme. Then there was Old Chub, Velvet Elvis, and Ten Fidy ice cream. Last was some vanilla/oreo ice cream with wort from Dale's mixed in.

Yummy. We decided that our favorite was the Fidy ice cream. Vanilla with overtones of coffee and chocolate with a touch of beer taste. Yummy.

But wait, that's not all. Eat the ice cream now and you get a plate full of caramel apples. Oh yeah! We'll be back!

Sunday Snow Day

It was a slow-ish day in the bike shop today. That was good, though, as it let me get a few things finished around the shop. After a few regulars passed thru around closing time, I mustered up enough gumption to get out from behind the counter and outside for a bike ride. I can't say the weather was particularly tempting. It was gray outside, 30 degrees, wet, and just kinda miserable all around. But it was my afternoon to ride (tomorrow, too - woohoo) so I was going to make it happen. A lot of you have heard me say this plenty of times before, but it's plenty true. I think I've ridden more in crappy deplorable conditions more than I ever used to since having kids. When you have time, you have to take it. Sometimes a sanity break is just what the doctor ordered, regardless of what mother nature is up to.

Today was one of those days. I had spent all morning with a full mug so I was warm, caffieinated and ready to roll.

Feeling lazy about future bike maintanence and thinking ease of cleaning, I put pedals on the SS and got it ready to roll. After donning PI Amfib from head to toe, I was ready to head out. It was cold. The original plan was to roll around town on the LGS but I found myself drawn to Picture Rock. It was acceptably good. Conditions were snowpacked and partly cleared. The clear sections were few but actually tacky. Nice.
I had to at least pedal up to the BMA pic-a-nic table. I heard that the benches were a recent addition so I had to check them out. The snow on the table paints a pretty good picture of the snowfall, too. Apparently, all the other users of the trail in the snow (1 bike, couple of hikers) decided to turn around at the table as well.
There were no tracks past the pic-a-nic table, but I forged on.
I didn't make it very far past mile marker 2. Oh, by the way, Boulder County installed all of the mile markers to make it safer and easier for rescue efforts and trail work. nice. Past mm2, the snow was firm, wet, thick, and not easily travelled. This is as far as I made it.
The descent to Lyons was a fast slip slidery good time. I'm glad I got out.

Wonder where I'll go tomorrow?

Lion Gulch on a dark snowy night.

We've had a lot of good Tuesday Niters this year and it's sad to see the prime riding season drawing to a close. Clinging to the thought that it's not near over yet, our crew hit South St Vrain last week. We left the shop with no precip, but by the time we were 4 miles out of town, the fog was so thick we had to use the wipers. It was snowing pretty good at SSV. We normally do it as a loop - up the road, S on Sourdough, then down SSV. Anticipating a wet slog on a dirt road and not looking forward to it, we opted to ride South St Vrain as an out and back. Despite the fresh snow and moisture it ended up being a great ride. Great enough that it would be difficult to top...

We made plans that night at Oskar's to hit Lion Gulch the following week. Lion Gulch is tough enough during the day and we had yet to hit it as a night ride. The date was set. Enter yesterday. The forecast called for big, big snow but we held firm on our plans. Estes web cams showed good skies, etc. As the 5:30 meetup time drew near, though, the rain started coming down pretty good. Not ones to back down to a challenge, we gathered the troops for a wet conditions ride.

Fortunately, we got started off on the good foot. Eric, the Lyons brewer at Oskars, dropped off a fresh uncarbed growler of double dry hopped Gordon's.


It was just the ticket.


Since it was raining in Lyons, we decided to keep driving west up 36 until the rain turned to snow. Fortunately, that was just below Lion Gulch. There were a few wet inches at the trailhead already and the wet snow was coming down hard.


It was more rideable than we presumed. At first anyway.

Some of the rocks were not covered in snow and there was good enough traction under the snowpack. The creek crossings were all rideable.



I love night riding in the snow. You don't need as much light power as the snow amplifies the brightness. After the big staircase, it took a lot of pushing to get up towards the meadows area but it was worth it. Snowy bikes are heavy and hard to push up steep fields of snow covered baby heads.

Those of you that have ridden Lion Gulch may understand our apprehension at turning around and going back down. The snow in the gulch was getting to be 6+ inches and you absolutely could not discern the rocks underneath. Turned out to be a good thing I guess. We all dropped our saddles and played pinball on the wet rocks on the way down. There were a few spills but no major carnage. Some of the big rock sections were *almost* doable. Dirtydoug makes the slickness look easy.


I think the drive back down 36 was more sketchy than the ride.

I also think we'll not be riding trails for the near foreseeable future. Hope everyone got their riding fix in!

touring and road tripping

Bob and Ilan stopped in on Tuesday. Just a couple guys out on a bike ride. A rather long bike ride, though. They left from New York a bit ago and are on their way to LA. They stopped byt the shop on Tues on their way up to Estes. So far, they'd heard that Trail Ridge Rd was open and were planning on hitting it first thing on Wed. Well, that didn't pan out. Trail Ridge was closed again on Wed. The 2 guys, Bob and Ilan, stopped in on Wed with new plans. Now, south thru New Mexico then on to LA. Good luck fellas!

From the looks of it at the shop here, Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is probably going to be closed for the season.

The shop will be closed from 1-6 on Friday and closed on Sunday this weekend. Sorry for the interuption in Service, but we're heading for warmer temps. Original plans were for the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo, but temps in the 20s aren't quite as enticing for bike riding as temps in the 70s... We'll be back to regularly scheduled programming on Tuesday and yes, that includes the Tuesday Night Ride :)

Snowy Dirt Jump Funtime!

Everybody is probably sitting at home, just chilling out, waiting for all of this unwanted (in my opinion) snow to leave us. Well here at the Sam Powers Compound, we ride in 10 degree weather. Here's some documentation of this frigid fun. 

Snow can be fun.

Although riding my bike and wearing my helmet, that isn't me, it's Norway's own, Andreas Li....somethin'. Haha.

New Tricks!

We strive for fun at La Casa Del Sam.

Sunday Snowy Sunday

Doug, Sam, and I got out for a ride today. It was cold. We rode up Antelope into Hall, up and over and down thru the rock garden.



The rock garden of Hall Ranch is a treat on a day like today. There was just enough snow and frozen drizzle on the rocks to keep things exciting.
To add to the excitement, my 3 year old prototype XTR brake lever gave out (front of course) so I was left with only about 30% of my normal braking capacity. At least it was icy enough that I didn't want to favor the front brake anyway.



Sam was styling as usual, making everything look smooth and easy.



The plan was to head over to Picture Rock after the long descent. It was getting really cold, though, and daylight was escaping so we opted for a little Lyons Ghetto Singletrack then back in.

Great ride. I hope everyone was able to get out to enjoy the day somehow today.