November rides: bringing in the chill

[north woods gal]

We got our snow, today. Not a lot, about 3". Still, it was enough to have a real snow day of fat biking on the Norco Sasquatch (great bike). Got out on our neighborhood roads before they were plowed and did 6 miles. Doesn't sound like much, I know, but remember this is pushing a fat bike through the snow. Good workout, anyway.

Got back home and then did 4 more miles, this time on my trails, with Star keeping me company, as usual. No thaw in sight, so good chance I won't see the grass on our lawn till late April or even May.

[Crankin]

Love that pic, NWG.
We had winds, with gusts up to 40-50 mph for most of today, so no riding. I went to a new class at the gym; thought it might be awful, but it was fun and similar, but different enough from what I do in the early AM. It's at 11 AM, a bit late for me, if I am not doing something outside on a weekend. I didn't have any other stuff to do until tonight, so it was not an issue today. So, if I can't ride, x country ski, snow shoe, or hike, I have something to do. DH went for a walk, but I am sick of that, except on my easy/rest days.

[north woods gal]

Thanks.

A little more snow, today, maybe a little more, tonight, then a a mostly dry week, next week. All in all, not bad. Can still ride both our local roads and my trails. The roads may clear enough to allow me to ride the skinnier tire bikes at some point. Hope so, because I don't want to mothball them, yet. The trails, though, are likely to be fat bike, only, for the rest of the winter, though. Not much melting back in the woods. I may be able to also ride the Krampus with its 3" tires when I get enough hard pack from riding over the trails a lot, but not going to take chances. Be dumb to take a fall because i wasn't riding a fat bike.

Today, all riding, road and trail, was with the single speed setup Pugsley. Very pleased that I'll be able to ride it all winter, except when the snow gets deep and slushy. Gearing is just right for hard pack snow. Don't want to give up my single speed riding till spring. That would drive me nuts.

[Crankin]

We had a beautiful sunny day today, so we forced ourselves to get out there and ride. I am glad I did. Did the longer version of my early morning rides, 19 miles. It was actually warmer than I thought, as the weather was showing some wind still around, but we couldn't feel it much, as we had a tailwind going out, but then kind of a persistent and annoying crosswind on the way back. I was overdressed, but not horribly; I decided to wear my winter jacker with the pit zips, so at 9 miles, I unzipped them and pushed my head cover a little up on my ears. It was not necessary for me to be wearing my Ibex tights, but that did not bother me.
Every ride now until the roads get sloppy is a gift, so onward. It's going to be a high of 34 and a low of 19 on Wednesday and I am not sure if I can handle the group ride if it's in the low 20s at the start. it's going to be hilly, so I'd get warm quickly, but we will see.

[north woods gal]

So right about every ride on dry pavement now being a gift. Looks like I'm done, barring an unusual thaw. More snow, last night, almost 3". The plows haven/t been out all day, so probably be tomorrow before any serious road cleaning happens. I did take out the Norco fat bike with the heavy duty studded tires for 5 miles around our local roads. By staying in the tracks of cars, managed some good speeds, in fact.

I then had a try at clearing a path through the snow on my trails, but gave up, disgusted and frustrated. Promised myself, this winter, that I wouldn't work like a dog to keep my trails open to biking, again, the way I did last winter. That was just too much and no chronic neck discomfort like I have, now, either. I did ride the fat bike though the fresh snow on the trails, but just a matter of time, now, before it gets too deep for snow biking. Then it's out on the roads for my snow biking after the plows have done their work.

What I AM going to do, this winter, though, is just let it snow and use the skis and the snowshoes on the trails. I'll mix that with some snow biking out on the roads and (ugh!) maybe some indoor trainer work. Should be able to stay in shape though the winter. That, and the skis and snowshoes will give me a positive outlook on snow when it comes, instead of a negative one as per trying to keep my trails open all winter.

[north woods gal]

Overnight lows now in single digits and about 5" of snow on the ground. Yup, still riding, snow and cold, notwithstanding. Same old crazy me.

No new snow, now, for a couple days, so have been riding my trails enough to pack down the snow and get a good base. As long as I stay in my narrow "single track", I do okay. No techy turns or fancy stuff, now, but as long as I stay on the straight or gently curving sections, I'm safe. Also doing some pavement riding on our plowed roads. All fat bike stuff, so far. The single speed Pugs is doing better than expected as a snow bike. Getting a lot of use from it, more than expected. Probably the end of my single speed skinny tire bike riding, now that winter is here, but at least I'll still be able to go single speed, thanks to the Pugs.

[north woods gal]

Like I said, I'm a little crazy.