First Week of Snow

This week marks the first week of true snow riding for us. Temperatures in the high 20's, and snow only an inch deep made for great snow riding conditions. The cold, crisp snow has plenty of traction and makes a pleasant crunching noise under the tires. And although the streets looked treacherous, the packed snow never got too slippery. It's when things melt a bit during the day and then refreeze at night that things get scary...

Some of our upper trails are unaccessible this time of year, but since it takes so long just to get to the trails in the snowy conditions, we wouldn't have time for them anyway. This trail here has a gentle climb, perfect for single speed use.

You may also notice in the picture that I'm sporting my new Gator Booties. This is the first year that I've tried them, and I love them! My feet stay comfortable the entire ride. I also enjoy the fact that they in no way make my feet look extremely large in proportion to my skinny legs. One of the tricks is to make sure you start with warm feet, socks, and shoes. This helps keep the warmth the entire ride. Don't pull your gear out of the frozen car 10 minutes before the ride....

Here we see Patrick on his girlfriend's bike. An older, but pretty cool looking Marin. Moments before the ride, Patrick discovered his Santa Cruz was freewheeling in both directions! We both assumed the freewheel was busted, but it turns out that it was just frozen. Anyone ever encountered this before? It seems to be fine now...

This week also marked Kristy's first time riding in the snow. She had a good time, but is still working out the right clothing combination. We've since gone and purchased some new gloves, pants, and a beanie. Unfortunately the pants we ordered were not as described. They were made with a fabric called "Tundra Fleece", but didn't really look like fleece. They were somewhat wind repellent, but not to the degree you want in the freezing cold. They'd be great for temperatures in the high 30's, low 40's I think. We're going to go to Reno and personally pick out the warmest pants we can find! After xmas that is... The picture below shows our descent. Kristy in the foreground, and Barbara, further down the trail....

Another funny thing that happened this week, came from a pedestrian. It was a dark, cloudy, gloomy day. I was by myself in traffic, waiting at a red light. A pedestrian, bundled up in a trench coat and hat, looks at me, smiles, and says, "You're a STUD!". I almost opened my mouth to explain to him that with the correct clothing, you can actually stay quite comfortable. But then I thought, no...I'm going to let that compliment stand! I am a stud! I just gave him a big grin, and took off riding as the light turned green.