May flowers... and bike rides

[north woods gal]

Finally broke out of my trail riding habit to do some miles on the roads. If nothing else, it felt good to go fast enough to feel the wind in my face, again.

Decided to try my nasty sand trap of a half gravel/half sand road for the first time, this season. Held off because April was very wet and, even in the driest weather, this road has standing water in low spots where it crosses some bogs. Last two weeks, though, have been dry, so time to give it a try.

Was going to use my Trek 29x3, which has always made it through the nasty sections, before, but opted, instead, for the Pugsley fat bike with its wider 4" tires for the sake of getting a better workout with that heavier bike. Turns out the Pugs was the right choice. The road was the worst I've seen it. Major flooding, so was riding though water in spots, and sinking deeply into the wet sand. Then, in the dry areas, the sand was very soft and deep, so more work and challenges. In fact, the road was so bad in spots, can't imagine how even vehicles could get through.

Noticed a fresh bike track in the sand when I hit the sand section. Someone else was ahead of me. The width of the bike track was only half of what the Pugs was printing, so I figured the rider was on a conventional 2" mountain bike. That smaller bike track told an interesting story, for sure. The rider was having a tough time. Could see where the bike was doing a lot of fishtailing. Could see the rider constantly crisscrossing the road to find some firm sand. Could see where the rider had even stopped to walk the bike in sections.

Finally caught up to the rider at the end of the 4 mile sand section. He was a young guy on an old standard 26x2" MTB. He and the bike were standing off to the side of the road, so I stopped to see if he was okay. He nodded that he was, but the look on his face said it all. I could see the frustration and fatigue in his face. I knew the feeling. First time I hit this road was also on a standard 2" tire MTB. Told him that the next three miles were all good gravel, so the worst was over, then headed on my way.

As for the Pugs, what can I say? Never had to stop and walk, not even once. Pretty much rode a straight line for the four miles, too. Love my Pugs!

24 miles in all, 4 on sand, 3 on gravel, the rest on pavement to get to the sand and gravel. Got home, then added a little trail work around the house for fun. Also, this year, all my trail bikes wear a bell, which I ring, constantly whenever I come around a corner, so as not to surprise a bear. So far, so good. No bears, though I did see some tracks.