February Groundhog rides

[Crankin]

OK, I found the source of the loud boom and cracking noise. There are 2 trees down in the wetlands, one closer to my condo than the other. Both huge, totally uprooted and on the ground, across the water. You can't see them from my backyard, but when I went to go out for a walk on the path that connects my street to the next neighborhood, there it was.

[emily_in_nc]

It sounds really awful, Crankin. Glad you are safe. Sorry about the big trees, though. We saw so much of that around here from Hurricane Irma, and it was kind of heartbreaking.

[inversion-table]

Glad your safe and ride safely

[north woods gal]

Just to let everyone know, I am not trying to rub it in with you folks that are having tough weather. I hope all are safe. Today, for us, though was gorgeous. Highs in the upper 40s, all sunshine and NO wind.

Plan A was to ride the trails. That was a bust. Got about ten yards on the ice and called it quits. The ice was absolutely treacherous. Even the studded tires were slipping. Love my trail riding, but not worth the risk of a bad spill. Went to plan B.

Plan B was heading out on our paved roads for a long ride on the Krampus with its tall 29x3" wheels. Did 26.3 miles, total, all pavement. Longest ride, so far, this spring. Loved it. Our paved roads are all nearly clear of ice, now, with only a scattered patch of ice, here and there, and nothing I couldn't ride around. (Of course, that's only going to last until the next snow storm. )

No, the Krampus is no speed demon - my average speed wasn't all that great - but those tall, wide wheels do have their advantages. One is that those tall wheels hold their speed better than smaller road bike wheels. That means a LOT less shifting once I get up to speed. Seriously, compared to a standard 700x25 road bike wheel, I reduce the need to shift by about half in the rolling hills I ride. Hard to appreciate if you've never ridden big wheels out on the road for any distance, but it's true.

Another advantage, of course, is comfort. Those big wheels take the bite out of the worst any paved road has to offer and they are oh, so stable. The bike sometimes feels like it's steering, itself.

Another plus is the ability to safely deal with sand and road debris. In fact, I can bounce back and forth from the road to the gravel shoulder anytime I want. That comes in real handy as a safety feature, sometimes.

Still, I do want to have something a little faster and bit more paved road friendly, even though I really don't need such a bike. The Krampus, after all, is a dedicated trail bike, not a road bike. Still, with the easy rolling tires I use on the Krampus, I could ride the Krampus all day long on the roads. Just wouldn't get as far or go as fast.

Hope everyone gets a chance to ride, this coming week. Happy St. Patty's day.

[emily_in_nc]

Hey now, it's March! You might want to copy/paste this excellent post to the March thread, to make sure more folks see it, NWG!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you too. :-)