First Snow Ride of the Season!

Temperatures dropped, and guess who showed up? Old Man Winter visited the Carson City area today! It wasn't overly cold. It was sprinkling rain in town, but turned to snow as we got into the mountains. The trail conditions were sweet!

I'm not sure what such an early snow storm indicates for this coming winter. Anyone have any gut feelings? My gut isn't saying much other than I probably ate too much for dinner. It would be nice to have a wet winter, but really wet winters can be bad for cycling. I have mixed feelings...

Hooray for Fall!

As I was going to bed last night the wind started picking up, and a little bit later it started to rain. It pretty much rained all night. My first thought upon waking was that the trails were going to be in prime shape today. Ok scratch that. My first thought was probably, "I have to pee". And then perhaps, "Where's my coffee?". But after that, I was totally thinking about packed, wet sand. On the way into work we were shocked to see SNOW in the mountains! Getting started early this year!

I got Kristy's Stumpjumper prepped this morning, actually lowering the tire pressure. I knew Jeff P was working today, but he has ways of finding out how much air is in those tires. I took the Weirwolf 2.5 down to 28, and the Rear Specialized Resolution 2.1 down to 30. Pretty much the setup I've been running this week. Kristy seemed to like the lower pressure, commenting that she bounced around a bit less. For myself, I might boost the rear up a couple PSI to 32, and take the front down to 25 PSI. I hit a rock with the rear tire that gave me some concern, but the front tire was fine to go even lower.

Scott and I left our subterranean lair and hooked up with Kristy and Amy on the other side of Main Street. As we approached the girls from a block away I actually saw Jeff P squeezing my wife's tires! We ride through Jeff P's "office" everyday, and I was glad that I had lowered the pressure in Kristy's tires. I'm still not sure if he approved though. I couldn't read the look on his face.

A bit later we hooked up with Kathy and Jon and headed for the dirt. The wet, packed sand was as expected...awesome. We easily climbed up a trail that was too sandy just yesterday! When we got to the top, the girls went and played on the creek trail, and the boys headed back to work.

Hooray for Fall!

Snow and Bridges

We're at that time of year when the weather can fluctuate between winter and summer. I had already stowed my winter gear for the season, but had to pull it out again for yesterday's ride. We surfed the edge of the storm as we traveled through the foothills at lunch. The snow never made it to town, but was clearly visible not too far from us. It had rained the previous night, and the dirt conditions were reminiscent of early spring. Traction in the deep sand and slippery corners was awesome.

The weather after work was actually more pleasant. The cold wind was gone, and riding well into the evening was quite enjoyable. We did a couple loops on the new trail and I got to use the bridges for the first time. Bridges are a funny thing when riding across them. While not a technical challenge really, they can be visually challenging. The sight of the rushing creek below the bridge psyched me out. It might as well have been liquid hot magma down there. The guys smoothed out the transition from trail to bridge, and I was able to get the nerve to go for it. As expected it was quite easy. Looking across the bridge to the other side where you want to go is very important too. Focusing on the bridge itself or the rushing water below will surely drag you to where you are looking!

Tales of Tuesday

I tried to leave the camera behind today, but as usual, there were some pretty cool things to take pictures of. I was glad I brought it! We were coming down the Postal Route single track today, and came around a corner to find the flock of sheep. Both the sheep and we were surprised! Todd cleared the sheep off the trail. They seemed a little nervous around him for some reason. I'm sure it's nothing.




The sheep had many different voices. Some deep, some high pitched. Almost human like occasionally.


After work Marcus and I joined Jeff P. for a loop out at Centennial on the other side of town. The terrain and dirt conditions are much different out here as you can see. The wind was howling! What would normally be a peaceful trail ride felt more like an expedition. None of us had a Sherpa though. The temperatures dropped quickly throughout the ride, and I was grateful that I had some winter clothes with me for the ride. I'm not saying we didn't have a blast though. On the way home in the car, a blizzard broke out. Visibility was at a minimum with the high winds and swirling snow. What a strange day!

Snow Melt

The temperatures have been in the 50's at lunch time this week, and the snow is melting. As you can see in the picture, snow on the northern slopes is still present, but the southern exposures are in good shape. No snow angels this week. It's even been warm enough for insect life to emerge! I saw a caterpillar crawling along yesterday, and I think I may have eaten the 1st butterfly of spring on Monday.



Sandie and Barbara head down the single track.



Kristy descending the single track with Carson City in the background.

Recovery Ride

Monday was a recovery ride for Todd and I. Barbara sensed our weakness, and took the Combs Canyon Hill Climb. I wanted to chase her down, but my legs advised me to stick to the plan. You can see Barbara up front in the yellow wind vest.



The north canyon is still full of greasy snow. Forward motion was treacherous!



The view looking down the north canyon.



Todd's idea of a recovery ride is throwing himself down a snowy precipice! Todd took the standard line around the corner, but unfortunately it is covered in greasy snow. His front tire washed out.



Randy looks at Todd laying in the snow and thinks to himself, "What a dumbass...".



Much of the trail was in great shape though...



A great view of Nevada's capital city.

Friday!

I've been taking most of the pictures at lunch time lately, but unfortunately it's not the best time of the day for capturing good colors. I took this first picture on my way to work, about 1 minute from my house. The peak on the left is Job's Peak, and on the right is Job's Sister. These two prominent peaks are the defining landmarks of the Carson Valley. One of the local casinos even had a billboard sign that read, "Build This, Las Vegas!" featuring the two peaks in the picture.

The snow was still hanging around today, so we did a climb on the road up Combs Canyon into Lakeview. We pretty much rode until we could go no higher and then made our way back to work. The first couple of miles were screaming fast...no pedaling needed!

Next up...Carson Valley Road Ride on Sunday!!!

Greasy Snow

The weather hasn't warmed up as quickly as I had hoped, so the snow is still hanging around. Unfortunately, it's just warm enough to make the snow slushy. It's like trying to ride in grease! It's pretty frustrating, because it's only 1-2 inches thick, but nearly unrideable unless it's been packed down. And even then, it's sketchy at best. We stuck to the road for 99% of the ride today. Oh...and I need to find my camera...it's MIA.

Kristy did a road ride with the Potter's today, and took her camera. Expect a post from that ride soon...

Snow Day!

Timberline Climb
Originally uploaded by Facility Bike Club.

We had a big snow storm last night...about 8-12 inches of snow accumulation down in the valley. A few weeks ago this would've totally bummed me out, but today was different. The sun was shining all day, and it just didn't seem as cold even though the thermometer would suggest otherwise. It's also the end of February, and we should be back to 50 degrees by the end of the week. So in other words...no worries.

The snow was too wet and deep to ride up in, so we decided to take the Timberline Road climb. The streets back in town were wet and slushy, but were in great shape up on the hill. My legs felt great! Taking a few days off the bike (and eating like a horse) certainly does recharge your batteries.

When we got to the top, Todd decided to give a little foot path in the snow a try. The snow was too deep and soft, and he sunk down in. He had to climb back out to the road on foot. We decided to ride back down the road a ways and try another trail.

When we got to the other trail, Todd once again charged into the snow, only to find that once again, it was not rideable. Dammit! We wanted to play in the snow today! We parked the bikes in the snow bike rack and contemplated our next move.

The girls had an interesting idea. One that I decided not to participate in. Barbara, Sandie, and Kristy (pictured left to right) jumped into the snow and started making snow angels! After the artwork was completed, Sandie decided to hurl a snow ball at Todd. Todd informed Sandie that she threw like a girl, and that's when the snow ball melee broke out.

It was time to get going, so we went back down to the bike path. At the lower elevation, the snow was quite rideable. We took a couple sections of packed, snowy single track before finally ending up back in town. What a great day!

Surprise Attack

Today's ride started off partially sunny. So much so, that I thought I may have overdressed when I left the office. A couple miles out the sun went away, and it got really dark. And then near the top of the climb it started to snow. It was a happy snow though as you can see from the picture. Just light, fluffy, and non sticky.

We had a good downhill run, but near the bottom, the snow became a near whiteout. The flakes were huge and wet, and my glasses started getting all blurry. My vision was distorted and I was having a hard time with depth perception. I tried taking the glasses off but was immediately pelted in the eyes with snow. I think we would've all laughed at our situation, but our faces were frozen, preventing the smile muscles from functioning. Still better than hanging around work or going to the buffet though...

In other news... I got a call from the boy on my way home from work. He told me that somebody dumped a blue bike in front of our house. This might have concerned me at one time, but this is the fourth derelict bike to be dropped off in my front yard. I'm pretty certain I know where the first two came from, but this one and the last one I'm not sure. The bike is a WalMart Mongoose that looked like it was exploded. I sent my bike sniffing dog in for a closer look. He gave me the clear signal, and I carried all the pieces into the garage. If you look closely at the picture by the sprocket, you can see a separated valve stem. As if I could reuse it again... The one thing the bikes all have in common is that they are all severely abused and broken. There isn't much to salvage on them, and they're not worth fixing up with new parts. So out they will go into the backyard with all the other derelict bikes, waiting for some idea to come along on what to do with them. I know a guy that cuts up bikes to make choppers, or there is the Reno Bike Project. I think they collect parts and stuff like this to make whole bike for people...

A Little Warmer

Yesterday was a bit warmer. On the uphill anyhow... The downhill still required full zip up to prevent freezing your flesh.

It's been hard dealing with the cold, both emotionally and physically. Today's bright sun helped out with the emotional part. The sky was so blue, and you could see for miles. A welcome treat after some of the gloomy days we've had lately.

I was concerned that with warmer temps we'd have a mud fest, but the trail conditions were quite nice. Slightly moist or frozen dirt provided quick rolling and great traction.

The snow is still thin and crisp and fun to ride on. I was swerving around the trail looking for snow to blast through.

The route of the day took us up Ash Canyon. It's a long steep climb, but is pretty smooth and packed down. The fire and logging crews improved the road after the 2004 Fire. It's less fun to ride, but gets us up the hill faster. The downhill was almost all single track. Sandie even got to visit her crash site for the 1st time since her accident.

Today looks like it will be similar...it may even be above freezing by ride time!

Desperate Attempt

This year, I have my whole winter wardrobe dialed in except for my footwear. No matter how comfortable the rest of my body is, my feet still get cold on the really cold days. Friday was in the teens, so before lunch I started looking around the office for things I could put in my shoes to keep my feet warmer.

I'm already wearing wool socks with a neoprene booty that goes up past my ankle. I definitely feel the warmth on the top of my foot, but I can also feel the heat being sucked out of the bottom of my shoe. I can just picture in my head the heat running out of my foot, through the cleat on my shoe, into the pedal, and down the crank.

So anyway, I looked at my coffee cup from Shady Grove, and it had a foam insulator sleeve. I scotch taped the thing to the bottom of my insole, right above the cleat. I used my other foot as the control subject...no foam. Now I'm not sure if it was my imagination, but I swear it felt just a little bit warmer under that part of my foot that had the foam. I still couldn't feel my toes when I got back from the lunch time ride, but it gave me hope. I acquired a sheet of thin packing foam, and I plan to make some insulation out of it, using my insoles as a templates. Stay tuned for the results...

Or...if anyone has a better suggestion, I'd love to hear it! I really don't want to buy $300 winter cycling shoes for conditions that only last a brief time of the year!

16 Degrees and Loving It!

It was 16 degrees out (or so) for the ride today. It was snowing, and the fresh powder was light and dry. This made for perfect biking conditions. Not so good for humans though...exposed flesh turned red and painful if exposed. We had to trade hats, headbands and vests throughout the ride to make sure everyone was comfortable.

On the way back through town, a photographer with an expensive looking camera started shooting some photographs of us riding. He said he was from the local paper, and took our names. It might be fun to see ourselves in the paper...

When we returned to the office, the water in my water bottle had turned to slush!

Coombs Canyon

This first picture is the beginning of the Coombs Canyon climb. You'll also notice from the sign that it is also part of the HWY 395 bicycle route...a route that takes you through town on the back roads, away from the dangerous traffic. This is one of our favorite climbs. It's easy enough to do in the middle chain ring, and short enough to race up. Most of the time we just ride up the hill at a normal pace, but once in a while this turns into the drag strip. It's more fun to race when Ryan doesn't ride, because he smokes everyone, all the time.

It was just Kristy and I today. Actually Patrick rode too, but we missed him by a minute at the rendezvous place...he did a different trail. The climb felt great. I could feel the xmas calories burning away, heating our bodies in the below freezing temperatures.

We continued over the top of the climb, enjoying the view of Washoe Valley. This is where the thrilling part of the ride starts...a fast descent down a sandy canyon that leads to the old V&T Railroad Grade. In the summer this descent is very sandy, but today it was wet and slightly frozen. Even the snow in the shadows had excellent traction. We flew down the straightaways, and railed the corners. Part of the thrill of the downhill is the high-up feeling you get looking down at the little cars on the highway below.

At the bottom of the hill we got on the V&T Rail Road Grade and headed back towards town. The parts of the trail in the northern shadows of the hills were covered in snow. Cold crunchy snow that was just a blast to ride through. The V&T is still pretty high above the city, and provides great views of the city below.

At the end of the ride we both agreed that trail was so fun today, that it made the cold, numb parts of our body seem tolerable. Warmer temperatures are expected this weekend!

Snowy Wednesday

True to my word, I went out riding in Wednesday's snow storm. The wind was driving hard from the North, making progress slow, and forcing snow into the air vents of my helmet and onto my bald head. I may need to add a balaclava to my riding wardrobe for days like this.

The climb goes into the west, and this provided some relief from the wind. The temperatures were not very cold, so the ground was kind of soggy from the precipitation. This made for a great workout on the single speed.

Once at the top, our descent led us to the south and east. The change in direction made it feel like spring time! My head instantly warmed up, and the brutal headwind became a pleasant tailwind.

Patrick was absent today. I did see Dennis briefly, but he retreated back to work due to insufficient clothing. He was minus a wind stopper layer today, and the wind was going right through his jersey all the way to his bones. Today's crew consisted of myself, Barbara, and Kathy.

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.