Saturday, December 19, 2009

There's no ride like snow ride

We received 3 inches of snow overnight. Went for a ride in the snow this morning - the first real snow ride I've ever done. I've ridden on dry roads with snow on both sides, but not a full-out ride in the snow.

Here's the Cedarville Reservoir. The weight of the new snow has pushed water up from around the edges of the ice. There's about 4 inches of clear, strong ice on the edges - plenty for ice fishing now.


Snow on the twigs and branches looks beautiful.
One thing I found is there are certain conditions that make for difficult riding. The open tire track here is fine for riding.

This grey snow is packed and partially melted snow - it is very difficult to ride on. The front wheel is very squirrelly in this stuff, making going straight very tough.

Scraped road surface, packed and frozen, is no problem at all. I had good traction, and could ride almost as fast as on dry asphalt. The interesting thing is this surface is slippery to walk on, but the new Nokians had plenty of traction.

This deep snow riding was no problem either - plenty of traction and it was fun to ride in. When I say deep snow, it is only 3 inches deep. I could only get up to about 9 1/2 mph in this stuff.

Snow packed itself in the brakes.

And in the derailleurs and in the wheels. I rinsed everything off with hot water. After everything melts off in the garage, I'll wipe off the chain and put some lube on it.

This happens to be my 100th post. Thank you to all of you folks who follow this blog and make comments. I've learned a tremendous amount from your blogs and comments.

Happy riding!

12 comments:

jeff said...

I'm all bundled up here inside. Good for you to get out and ride. I can't wait for spring!

Steve A said...

It's nice to have good clearance, eh?

Rat Trap Press said...

Congrats on the 100th post! You guys up north are crazy to be riding in that stuff.

rlove2bike said...

Congratulations on the 100, the new Nokians and the nice snow ride. We just back from the family cabin and we had 4 inches on that lake...we had fish for breakfast.

Big Oak said...

Nothing like fresh winter-caught bluegills, perch & crappies!

RANTWICK said...

Sweeeet! I am so jealous. It's starting to look like a possible green christmas in London Ontario CANADA... grrr.

Congrats on the 100th post! Your subject matter couldn't be better for such an occasion.

Jon said...

No riding like snow riding!

(Congrats on 100 posts!)

I agree with your assessment of the partially melted "oatmeal snow" (as I refer to it). That stuff is a pain in the butt.

Just remember to be careful, when stopping at a light or a stop sign. I've rolled up, put my foot down, and then fallen completely over because the ice was too slick to stand on!

Be careful, and have fun.

Anonymous said...

Good for you for getting out! I've never actually ventured out into the snow....maybe this winter.

Apertome said...

Just lovely! Looks like a lot of fun.

We had snow too, but ours didn't stick. I still had an enjoyable ride.

Congrats on 100 posts!

Doug said...

I'm happy to see another winter rider convert. Nothing better than getting outside your comfort zone and realizing what you've been missing.

GreenComotion said...

damn, lots pf snow...brrrr...stay warm sir :)

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