The conditions were perfect for winter mountain biking. Warm weather had given over to cold weather, specially at night. On top of it all the trails have been trampled by a week of spring anxious hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. I noticed the trail condition on last week’s Thursday Night Hike. It was packed snow, ice, and some bear ground. Give it all a good chilling over night and in the morning mountain biking with screw tires would be optimal.
I jumped out of bed yesterday and quickly twittered what I was about to do. I had to give folks a chance to call cementing their place in history. This morning would be a great ride. I got the bike up on the stand and realized that I may have to wait just a little longer to get out their on the trails. I didn’t think it would warm up too much so I took my time and put on new brakes and transferred my saddle from the road rig. I lubed my parts and quieted all those crackling squeaky housing interfaces. Winter cycling takes a bike from warm to extreme cold and back inside. There is a lot of thawing and freezing, things start to dry out and make noises. Like my body.
I took my camera along to take some photos as surely there would be opportunity.
Finally I was out their and my assumptions were correct. The conditions were almost perfect. I say almost because we did get a skiff of snow on Friday and that tiny layer sometimes made the icy a little ‘touch and go’ at times. Overall it was excellent. I found myself on the saddle between Sentinel and University contemplating going for the top.
A couple was hiking down the mountain so I decided to lean against a tree and wait for them to pass. The sun was warm and very nice. I started to think about the decent back into town and how it might be thawed out and greasy. “Oh my god, there IS a mountain biker out here”, I overheard the dude say to his female companion. She muttled something back to him.
“NO, I am impressed. That’s OK! He can be out here”, he replied back to her.
Instantly I was hoping a big grizzly bear would come out of the woods and snatch this “ice witch” from his side and fling her back and forth like a rag doll. Obviously he was a cool dude but this little judgmental woman angered me. But that is ok, because the bear has taken care of her.
The little mental visual came to and end when he approached and expressed his astonishment that I was even able too get this far. I replied back, I do this every day (which isn’t true but what the hell right?). I said have a nice day and jetted up the trail. I sensed their eyes upon me as I cleared the first part of the climb with ease. I thought, “yea, take that you greenhorns”.
Suddenly I found myself in zone 4 (bad boy) heading up the headwall on Sentinel just before the summit. I made it about 20 feet and the screws gave way on some ice and I spun a bit. This made me steer to the right and off line and in a matter of moments my mentally hard focus cracked and I posted a foot down. DOH! But I did almost clear the entire thing in the middle of winter which is a first for me.
It was a blue bird say as skier folkin would say. I bombed down the decent and headed up University Ridge. Lets just see how far we can go today. I came to my senses and turned my wheels down the Upper Intestine trail and then down the Gut trail. This completed a figure 8
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY:
- 2008: The Fork is Out For Refurb
- 2008: YouTuber Makes Comment
- 2002: Morning Coffee Brings Sunshine
Dive into these snapshots of life’s adventures, from musings on the simplicity of daily moments to the thrill of outdoor exploration. Each post is a testament to the journey of self-discovery and the ever-evolving adventure of life.
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