December rides...

[north woods gal]

Great news! The ice highway is open.

That's what we call our lakes when the ice is strong enough to actually support travel and, in fact, some locals actually do drive their cars across the ice to take shortcuts. Not me, but I will ride my fat bike. Did four laps round our 77 acre lake for about three miles of ice riding on the big Salsa and added another half mile of access trail riding to get to the ice.

Most of the ice out in the middle of the lake stays free of snow cover or has just a thin crust, thanks to the wind. Believe it or not, the fat bike can handle this super slick ice that is actually too slick for safe walking. Just have to be careful to make very wide turns and find some snow covered ice when you stop or start for the sake of traction. Compared to skiing or walking, though, you can really cover the miles on the fat bike. December 30th and my fat bike riding is just getting warmed up. Go fat bike!