Shred Some Lake!

The lake has been on my mind a lot. I have been eager to re-visit it and get a proper ride in.  Last time I was worried because I didn't have any safety gear, nor would I know what to do with it if I did.

My first step was getting educated on what to do.  So after a quick browse through Youtube, I found a great video featuring Dr Gordon Giesbrecht.  Dr Giesbrecht (aka Doctor Popsicle) is a professor at the University of Manitoba with a PhD in physiology. He has extensive experience with cold physiology.  Click here to check out his web site.  Check out the YouTube video below for tips on how to survive falling through the ice.

My next step was safety gear.  I got myself a set of ice safety picks at Canadian Tire.  Also known as ice safety claws and ice rescue picks, this tool can be used to perform a self-rescue after falling through the ice.  In the small cylinder is something that resembles a sharp nail.  The idea is you kick your feet and use these to pull yourself out.  They are left draped around your neck and sit inside your sleeves, so they are always close to your hands.

Normally I am eager to try out new gear.  That being said I hope I don't get the opportunity to use these ice safety picks!

Checking out my weather app told me there would be a dusting of snow a few centimeters deep.  The temperature would be -14C and wind chill would make it feel like -24C.  At that temperature I knew I'd be fine with a base layer (winter cycling jersey, thermal tights, knee warmers, cycling liner, thin toque, wool socks).  I added in one piece of mid-layer (merino wool socks) and one layer of shell (red rain coat).  I stowed my sunglasses and opted for my goggles instead.

The other modification I decided to play with was a thermos.  I have a few but they don't quite fit in a bottle cage.  After a slight modification of some rubbery material held on with some rubber bands, I had a thermos that would fit well.  The particular thermos I was trying out was a Tim Horton's coffee thermos, so I filled it with some fresh coffee.

In the other bottle cage I stowed a room temperature energy drink.  I wanted to make sure I was well prepared regardless of circumstance.

The beginning of my ride was marred with a near accident.  There was a car parked in the shoulder, a pickup truck passing me on the left and another car coming towards us.  Instead of slowing down and/or proceeding cautiously, Mr Pickup Truck just  blasts through full tilt.  Complementary video clip below:

So I proceeded over to the lake and found terrain similar to last time.  There was packed snow, packing snow, drifts of powder snow, ice and crusted snow, both supportable and breakable.  It was difficult to tell the difference between each.  I was surprised at how often my rear wheel would kick out to the side while my front wheel stayed straight.  In other words, I was having a blast!

I decided to give my thermos a try.  The good news is, my coffee was still very hot.  The bad news, the mechanism which made it easy to pour had frozen open.  In other words, I would have to drink my whole thermos of coffee in one go.  I'll be honest, at the time it was not a hard sell!

While enjoying my hot beverage a pickup truck passed by.  The passenger gave me a big grin and a thumbs up.  It warmed my heart more than the coffee ever could.

I wish I could say the same about my energy drink.  I was used to getting about an hour out of a bottle before it would start freezing up.  The first few times I drank from it, things seemed fine.  But the wind chill in an open area really accelerated the freeze.  It wasn't long before my energy drink became energy slush.  Normally slushy drinks are awesome, but they are detrimental to staying warm.

This was one of the funnest rides I had all winter.  You wouldn't think it would be challenging to ride on a mostly-flat lake.  It's actually quite the contrary! Because the lake is so open, all the snow is at the mercy of the wind.  There are finger and pillow drifts everywhere.  It's difficult to tell a snow drift that has become hard to one that is powder fresh.  Sometimes vehicle tracks will show you the way, other times they just led you into a fresh powdery trap.  You had to keep alert and be ready for anything.

I made some time lapse footage of my experience below.  Enjoy!

To Boldly Go Where No Bicycle Has Gone Before

Being happy about winter is a still a new sensation to me.  In previous winters I was very unhappy with the weather and climate.  Ice storms used to mean a dangerous time walking or driving, now it means putting my studded tires to the test.  Snow squalls used to be a call to stay inside, now it's a siren call to hit the road.

My studded tires, hungry for some ice and snow.

This particular Sunday I found myself in a bit of a lull.  No inclement weather, things had actually warmed up and even side roads were becoming bare and dry.  Not exactly the kind of ride I crave; I can ride on plenty of bare roads all spring/summer/fall.

I thought I would give the lake another try.  If it was safe there would be plenty of people fishing on a Sunday.  I know I'd feel a lot safer knowing there were lots of people around who could help if something bad were to happen.

How I wish all the trails nearby were like this.

I made my way to the trail that accesses the river.  My traction was great today.  Normally I sink deeper than a typical snowmobile does.  But this trail is pretty narrow and heavily trafficked.  As I was about to discover, there is a lot of pick-up truck traffic that goes through the same trail.  All this traffic packed the snow down making it easy (well, easier) to navigate.  I'm really glad I have access to trails like this; most trails in my area can't be navigated without a fat bike.

Sharing the trial with fellow winter enthusiasts.

In the case of winter off-road trails my plan is the same; yield to everyone else.  Snowmobiling is an extremely popular activity in my area and I'd rather have the snowmobile community looking upon me favourably.  The same goes for other trail users; I don't mind yielding to a XC skier, someone snowshoeing or someone simply driving their pick-up to their fishing locale.  After all, I'm the new kid on the block here.

The tiny specs in the distance are people, trucks, sheds and snowmobiles.

As I arrived on the shoreline I could see people in the distance.  This was great news to me.  Being alone and far from help made me hesitant to traverse the ice.  Lots of people around meant lots of help in case I fell through the ice.  I'm also pretty certain they wouldn't be out there fishing if it wasn't safe.

Venturing out, my first surprise was just how cold it was out here.  Being on a frozen body of water meant there was literally nothing blocking the wind.  The river that connected to the lake is also a major east/west corridor to the Great Lakes.  Wind just rips down this corridor unimpeded.

Other than the occasional buzz of auger or motor, it's very
serene and quiet out here.

After getting a taste of that first hand, I can completely understand why an ice fishing hut makes sense.  Just cutting that kind of wind would help keep you a lot warmer.  In fact a lot of those shacks took it a step further, you could see exhaust ports from heated sheds.  That being said, there were also people just fishing out in the open.  These hardy individuals would show up with gear and an auger on their snowmobile and fish right in the open.  Imagine how cold they were!

Unless partially submerged, trucks on the ice are a good sign.

As I made my way into the mini village of fishing huts and pick-up trucks, I could see curious onlookers checking me out.  I was possibly the first person they had seen cycling on the lake.  Well, can't blame them, I was just as curious about them.  I have never been ice fishing in my life.  I actually have a full set of ice fishing gear; this trip has me wondering if I could fit my gear on my bike and head out here.  There is definitely an allure to this niche form of fishing.

My tires finally got the taste of snow they were looking for.

The conditions on the ice were not what I expected at all.  I had envisioned myself carving through the ice, having full traction in a glassy sea of slipperiness.  The reality was very different than the notions in my head.  I encountered just about every kind of snow I had seen on roads; powder snow, packed snow, packing snow, crust, snirt and slush.  One moment the ice was bare, the next I'd run into a drift so high my momentum barely carried me through it.  It's the nature of the lake ice in a large open area with lots of wind.  The wind just blows the snow all over the place.  The only thing you can expect is the unexpected.

You can't escape pot holes, not even on lake ice.

Snow aside, you couldn't even count on a flat surface.  The ice expands and contracts with variances in temperature, leaving ridges formed from cracks.  In the summer you can see rocks above the water in shallower spots; these were now dangerous as they were hidden with snow.  The one event I wasn't ready for were the ice fishing holes.  They're like potholes on steroids.

An ice fishing hole.   Very jarring to run over on a bicycle.

I got close enough to look into one of the recent holes.  The ice looked at least 40  cm deep.  Strong enough to hold all these trucks and ice fishing sheds.  I knew I was safe but I could feel fear surging as soon as I saw the water below.  I made a mental note to try to stay away from looking at the ice or thinking about falling through.

There are also cracks in the ice which can be unnerving.  The cracks form from various stresses such as the ice contracting and expanding as it heats up and cools off.  At 40 cm thick there really is nothing to worry about.

The ice is literally floating on the water.

Tire wise I felt like I was riding around on one of the better selections.  I think the ideal for this would be studded knobby fat tires.  But my Ice Spiker Pro's, a studded knobby tire, worked out really well.  If I had the budget, I would probably get wider rims; they would stretch out my existing tire, letting me run at a lower pressure and float a bit more.  Widening the tire would also put more studs and knobs in contact with the snow and ice.

The trails in and out are almost as fun, but with more wind cover.

Being in the wind really put my gear to the test and I found a flaw in my configuration.  My feet were getting very cold.  To date I've been getting away with a pair of Merrelle windproof hiking boots and one pair of merino wool socks.  Next time I'd use my hardier pair of Merrelle boots (Opti-Warm) with a few more layers of socks.  Probably wool socks as they retain some insulating when they are wet.  I find cotton is terrible once you sweat through it.

While I did feel much safer with the increased presence of people, next time I planned on coming better prepared.  For starters, watching some Youtube videos on how to save yourself if you fall through the ice.  I'd also look into investing into some safety equipment to help get me out of trouble. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back and enjoying the frozen lake while I can.

The River and the Epic Ice Beard

When I looked at the temperature in the morning, it showed -12C with a "feels like" of -22C. It's been an unseasonably warm winter this year, so there really hasn't been an opportunity to acclimate to that kind of temperature.  It would be my coldest ride to date.

But hey, I didn't sign up for winter cycling because it was easy!

For clothing I wore what I usually would in slightly warmer temperatures (winter jersey, thermal tights, cycling liner, thin toque, merino wool socks, hiking boots).  I added some knee warmers underneath the tights and wore a rain coat as a waterproof layer on my upper half.  I also put a hydrapak on, inside the coat so it would stay warm enough.  Since I was planning on being out for more than an hour, I tossed an energy drink in a bottle cage.

Top view of goggles with foam cut out from vents.

It was cold enough out to justify wearing my goggles.  On previous trips I had problems with them fogging up.  I had tried a couple of fixes but they would always steam up when I was pedaling hard.  A fellow cyclist pointed out that a lot of goggles are vented but the vents are covered with foam.  The foam would tend to keep heat and moisture in the goggles, defeating the purpose of having vents.  Since they weren't doing me any good as-is, I decided to cut the foam away from the top vents.  I kept it in place for the side and lower vents.

Usually I would try hitting the water front and make my way to the parkway.  But I've been trying the same thing for two weeks and I end up having to walk my bicycle through the snow.  This time around I thought I'd try a more direct route.

I was a bit nervous about taking a county road.  In my area the county roads have paved shoulders but that's also where the plowed snow sits.  Lately the plow trucks have been pushing the snow further away from the road.  The effect has also been enhanced by people snowmobiling next to the road.  Not the best surface for a regular bicycle tire but it was perfect for my Ice Spiker Pros.

I was hoping for some luck with the parkway.  I hadn't been out that way for quite some time due to the deeper snow.  There is no snow maintenance but I was hoping the cold made a crust that could support my bicycle.  Unfortunately it didn't turn out well.  There was a crust that would support me when I stood on it but the bike kept breaking the surface and sinking.  I still might have been able to follow the deeper vehicle tracks but drifting powder snow ended up filling them up.

With nowhere else to go, I took the only low-speed route out of town.  While most county roads have a limit of 80 km/h, this particular road topped out at 60km/h.  It wasn't well plowed and ran parallel to one of the best maintained roads in the area.  Most vehicular traffic was local and the road was nice and quiet.

I had made it out to the bridge when I got to thinking about riding on the frozen water.  To be honest it's been a recurring thought ever since I got studded tires in the fall.  I pictured myself rolling unencumbered on the icy surface, with a cheshire cat grin on my face.

After some scouting I found the entrance to get inside.  It was laden with many tracks from pick up trucks, cars, snowmobiles and ATV's.  The winter traffic on the trail packed down the snow enough so I didn't sink.  It was still challenging to ride on but in a fun sort of way.

One of my concerns about winter off-road cycling was about other trail users.  How would they react to sharing with a cyclist?  Would I be accepted as a fellow outdoorsman?  Or would I be shunned for my non-motorized form of transport?

So far it's been good.  I've tried to make eye contact, be courteous, polite and friendly.  If I'm unstable where I'm riding, I pull to the side and signal for others to pass me.  In return I've been treated with greetings, smiles and nods, and given lots of space.

It was around this point that I realized I didn't have a single fogging issue, even after pedaling hard on a snow-covered off road trail.  My goggle modification was working perfectly.

I reached the entrance to the river (Actually, an artificial lake off the river) and cautiously rolled onto the ice.  I chose this location as it was a popular one for ice fishing.  If the ice is solid enough for people and sheds, it should be strong enough to support me.

I wasn't there long before I started feeling very nervous.  You see, falling through the ice would be very dangerous.  It's difficult to get back out and five minutes in the water can kill you.  I had no safety equipment to help me get out.  As I approached the huts I also noticed very few people ice fishing as it was a week day.  While the sheds were still there, I'd seen them fall through many times when abandoned by their owners.  I decided to err the side of caution and keep my trip very short.  Better to come back when lots of people were fishing, or when I wasn't by myself.  Or at the very least, some safety spikes to help pull myself back onto the ice.


So with some reluctance I hit the trail going back.

It was around this point that I noticed my energy drink had been turning to slush.  Riding in the off road area had caused me to bounce around a lot, which meant energy drink would make a thin coating all over the inside of the bottle.  That part would freeze almost instantly.  I had to shake it up in order to get the frozen sides off.  Normally a bottle is pretty good for an hour but within 45 minutes it was literally energy slush.

My water was faring much better.  The waterproof layer I had on wasn't breathable so it retained a lot of heat.  That heat kept my water warm enough to stay in a liquid state.  Each time I drank I made sure to blow air back into the nozzle, so there would be less chance of it freezing in the nozzle or attached hose.  Worked like a charm!

The rest of my ride took place on road.  Shoulders were decently plowed and back roads were pretty safe with most vehicles going slowly.

To be honest the only vehicle that got close to me was an Ontario Provincial Police cruiser.  I would have thought they would have given space, seeing as it is a big issue to move over for them when they are pulled over.  Guess not!  Ontario is going to be instituting a law to give cyclists room so it should be less of a concern in the future.  Three feet if travelling below 50 km/h, four if travelling between 50-80 km/h and five feet if travelling faster than 80 km/h.

At the conclusion of my ride I felt cold in my toes, but everywhere else I felt just fine.  I had been using my hiking boots as they were windproof but I think I had better start looking at using bulkier winter boots with a few sock layers.

I was feeling fairly victorious at conquering the cold temperature.  I decided to go for a selfie.  I assumed I would have some frost in my beard but I was not ready to see EPIC BEARD ICICLES!  I ran into the house to show Goldilocks.  She took an additional photo from the side.  I don't know how I managed to have an icicle form without noticing, let alone three separate instances!

The funny thing was I had stopped in a nearby town to catch my breath at a mid-way point.  People had been staring at me like I was from another planet.  I assumed it was because it was full blown winter and I was on a bicycle.  In retrospect it probably had more to do with the ice formations accumulating on my beard!

I figured they'd come off easily but I was surprised to find them frozen solid in place.  It took ten minutes in the house before they had thawed enough to come loose from my beard.  I could have got them off sooner with warm water but I wanted to see just how kick ass my beard icicles were.

I now consider a large unkempt beard to be an integral, essential part of my winter cycling experience.  The fact it had three icicles and I didn't feel it, is an testament to how well it performs as insulation.  Plus it means I don't have to spend time cleaning it up!

Closed Road Winter Cycling

Following snowmobile tracks along the river.

We recently had a fantastic winter day.  Cold but not too cold.  Snow that was light and powdery but not too deep.  In other words, the perfect day for a bike ride!

As much as I like to joke about being crazy for biking in Canadian winters, I don't think its far fetched at all.  Stop for a second and think... don't people do physical activity in the winter?  Snow shoeing, cross country skiing and skating are all winter activities that people participate in.  There are plenty of all-season activities that people do in the winter too, like running, walking and hiking.  So with that in mind, is winter cycling that crazy?  I don't think so.  But I digress; back to my ride.

No cars allowed!

Since I had a lot of success with the parkway last time, I thought I would give it another shot.  It's scenic, pretty fun to ride on and there's zero danger of becoming road kill.

There is a downside to a car-free environment.  It means you are pretty much on your own.  If you suffer a break down there is no ride coming to pick you up; you have to trudge out yourself.  One of my big worries was getting a flat.  Can you imagine trying to pump up tires with a hand pump when it's -30C?

Brief segue: I was chatting about this particular concern at my local bike shop when the owner gave me a CO2 pump free of charge.  Talk about an awesome store!

One of the things I find fascinating about this route is the rate of freeze going on with the river.  Despite living around rivers all my life, I've usually avoided going out and looking at them in the winter.  I have that stereotypical picture in my head of all bodies of water being frozen.So it feels a bit alien to see the water flowing while my breath is freezing to my beard.  You can also see the gradual freeze going on; shore, then solid ice, then slushy ice, then open water.  Or even more interesting, where the ice is super lumpy due to being formed while waves kept hitting the shore.

On the lake side things seem more frozen.  Closer to the main land there are people ice fishing.  I would really like to try biking on it; I'm willing to bet my studded tires handle the lake ice great.  But I don't know where the ice is safe or unsafe.  I also don't want to take the chance to bike on it solo; at least if someone else is there I can get help in case of emergency.

Speaking of people out in the winter, it's remarkably quiet here.  In the summer the parkway is full of people.  You see all kinds of cyclists in addition to runners, walkers, roller bladers, hikers and campers going from site to site.  Today the only other living soul I saw was a brave soul snowshoeing solo.

I made some really good distance and had almost made it to the other end of the parkway when I realized I would not be able to do it; I had three major problems.

The first big problem was with my water.  It's very important to hydrate in the winter due to the dry air.  You are also perspiring more than you think as the sweat will evaporate quickly. I had already burned through one 24oz bottle and had started working on the next one.

The next problem was food.  In the summer I usually have a variety of snacks, bars and gels.  I didn't bother on my winter rides because they have been shorter and bringing food wasn't necessary.  This time things were different; I had been out longer than normal and I could feel my strength ebbing and my appetite rising.  I knew the safe bet would be to turn around.

Last but not least... I was damn cold!  I was cold when I left the house but my physical activity quickly warmed me up.  But a chill had been creeping up on me the whole time.  Shorter rides haven't required extra layers of clothing; now I know longer rides means bringing more layers.  I'm glad I turned around when I did because I was completely frozen when I got home; I can only imagine what kind of bad shape I'd be in if I just continued.

So next time, extra water, extra food, chemical hand/toe warmers and some extra layers in a bag.  Even if I'm not intending on being out long, I might have mechanical issues or stuck for some reason and out longer than anticipated.  Frankly I'd rather be over-prepared than under-prepared.

All that being said, it was a really great day for a winter ride.  I was really cold when I arrived at home but it was nothing a hot shower couldn't fix.

Since I know you weren't tortured enough by my poor video skills last time, I made another time lapse video using footage from this winter cycling trip.  At least this time there was no frozen ice on the lens and you can see terrain for the most part.  There are times when I'm focused a lot on the area directly in front of my bike; it's because riding in vehicle tracks in snow can be dicey at times.

Snowstorm Cycling

If it were just a bit warmer it would be shorts weather.

I've had a couple of setbacks with winter biking.  The biggest one thus far is the... well... lack of winter!  We've had a few snowfalls but they all melted quickly.  We just had a green Christmas in my area, which is extremely rare.

My other problem has been my freehub on SubZero.  When it is left outside and it gets very cold, it freezes up and doesn't engage anymore.  I've been told it has a pretty cheapo freehub right now that's probably not serviceable.  I've started keeping it inside but eventually I will need a new freehub.    I've been shopping around for some used wheels, but in the meantime my quick fix is working.

When we finally had a snow fall and my free hub wasn't acting up, I was eager to get out there.  The fact that there was a snow storm didn't really deter me.  It wasn't a light dusting either, it was complete with strong weather advisories insisting that people stay home.  Pffft... challenge accepted!

Two or four wheels, you had to be a bit crazy to be out in this.

Some people were taking the weather advisory very seriously.  In my time out I saw just one car driving around.  I'm pretty sure we both gave each other the "Are you crazy?!" stare.

I headed in the direction of a nearby parkway.  In the wintertime, the parkway gets closed.  They put barriers up to prevent cars from entering and they cease snow removal or any other winter maintenance.  It works out well for me, there is no danger of a car sliding into me.

Along the way there are regular roads and a trail.  The road conditions were very icy.  This was not a problem for my Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tires.  Those tungsten carbide studs really dig into ice.  The trail had other surprises in mind.  A few snowmobiles had packed down part of the trail.  Boot and canine prints hinted at the presence of dog walkers.  I figured riding on the snowmobile tracks would be easier as the snow was packed down.  Unfortunately I sink deeper than snowmobiles do.  Also whenever their tracks would cross each other, It results in fun things like your front tire following the the track to the right while your rear tire follows the track to the left.

Snow melted on the lens and refroze, contributing to the blurry part.

Eventually I made it to the parkway where it was a bit easier to ride.  The parkway is made up of several islands connected by causeways and low bridges.  While there was some snow accumulation, it would also blow around in odd ways.  So the road was a bit icy, or bare pavement or powder snow.

The downside of riding the parkway is your exposure to the elements.  You have a small lake on one side and a very large river on the right.  Large enough that it has fast currents and is extremely deep in areas.  So parts of the river are not frozen.  So in a windy snowstorm there is a lot of spray which flash freezes.  So when I went by these sections, I felt like my face was being sandblasted.  I quickly learned to skirt more towards the lake side, which was not trying to flay the skin off my face.

I've been told the parkway is popular with winter activities.  Snowmobiles and ATV's top the motorized list but there are a sizable number of cross country skiers, snow-shoers and others.  I'm hoping to encourage some winter cycling on here by way of example.  At the very least, I'll probably be one of the very few to complete Strava segments on here from December to March.

UPDATE: and a little bonus, a crappy video I made, yay!  Because the footage had the frozen chunk on it, it didn't turn out great.

Finally Some Winter Cycling!

Ride on ice like its dry pavement!

Well, we finally got some temperatures below freezing and some snow, ice and slush.  I was looking forward to putting SubZero (aka Project: SubZero aka The Scrambler).The only downside was I would have to ride after dark; I can't leave any earlier due to my day job.

The weather conditions were not ideal.  The temperature was about -1C.  It was snowing pretty heavily but most of it was melting right away.  Anything that did manage to stick ended up being pretty slushy.  In other words, pretty crappy conditions.  I'm not a commuter so I have the choice to shy away.  If it was raining I would have.  But I've been waiting eagerly to try this bike out in real world conditions.

For clothing I tossed on a MEC Ardent jersey with the Pearl Izumi thermal tights.  I thought about doing a waterproof shell but that combo always ended up too warm.  I wore merino wool socks and my hiking boots on my feet.  For gloves I thought I'd give my lighter MEC gloves a shot.

Snow acting like icing on a muddy cake.

I start off by heading down to the muddy road where I tested before.  I figured if anything the snow would stick there better than on the pavement.  Well after carving myself a path through the sopping wet mess, I found my way there.  There was definitely lots of snow as well as a lot of mud, clay and water.  I found that I was still kicking up mud as it hadn't frozen at all.  Riding through mud with snow on top is even more difficult than riding through mud.  After several minutes of powering through it, I figure it will be more funfun to try out in daylight hours when things are a bit colder.

I set my sights for a nearby multi-use path and started pedalling over.  That's when my chain started slipping a lot.  This is the same problem I had each time I took the bike out!  I've already replaced the chain and had it eyeballed.  It seemed like it had no problems prior.  I figured I should make some observations (what gear, how much slippage, does shifting help, etc.) so I would have lots of data for my bike mechanic.  It seemed to slip more in higher gears; shifting back and forth sometimes seemed to help and sometimes didn't.  But the problem would go away for 5 or 10 minutes at a time before returning to plague me.

Snowiest patch of the entire MUP.

I ended up on the MUP only to be disappointed.  I had been expecting some snow as there was slushy snow on the roads.  In my township, MUPs do not get plowed, roads do.  My guess is the MUP is slightly darker and retained more heat from the daytime sun.

I found my clothing choice was not good with the weather.  I've always concentrated on using certain clothing at certain temperatures.  If it wasn't snowing so heavily I would have been fine.  Snow would land on me and melt instantly due to the warmth I generated.  So in short order my clothes were already wet.  I was starting to feel the cold so I made up with it with some more exerted effort.

Winter cycling version of HIIT!

I found an open field of snow and figured I'd give it a shot.  Well now I know how to peak my heart rate pretty quickly, just mountain bike over some snow and grass!  I got most of the way across when I felt the need to stop.  I quickly realised I was getting cold fast from being wet so I got out by spinning a much smaller gear.

I was running out of fresh terrain to test out on and figured I'd give the nearby parkway a shot.  It was definitely bicycle and runner friendly during the summer.  In the winter it doesn't get cleared so there ends up being less car traffic.  Later in the year there would be a surge of snowmobile and ATVs.

Reflections look better when they aren't pairs of eyes.

Upon arrival I noticed it was pitch black on the parkway.  Really a great way to test lights!  I felt like my lighting situation was sufficient (head lamp, handlebar light, animated pulsing rear light, laser red outline around bike).  But then the dreaded chain slip hit me again.  I started to think about being stuck by myself on the parkway in the dark, already soaked.  Walking home would be a good way to freeze.  So I ended my trip on the parkway early.

Snow.  Or a broken hyperdrive.  Mmm.  Probably snow.

I ended up cycling around on residential streets (and the occasional patch of grass) to get a feel for the snow and slush.  It didn't take long before I started getting chilly; the temperatures kept dropping and I was still wet from the snow.  I really need to learn to mix and match my layers more, to take into account the type of precipitation I was going to experience.  The last time I tried a waterproof shell I had these clothes on underneath; it was entirely too warm.  Maybe I need to try with some lighter layers underneath?

There was one other thing I wanted to check next ride and it involved my chain.  My current hypothesis is that something ends up failing whenever I apply a lot of force to the pedals.  Both times this problem occurred were after I had tried riding through that muddy area.  The other time we experienced chain slippage was after any forceful pedalling in the mountain bike area.  On my next ride I would stick to fast, light spinning and see if I had a similar issue.

Project: SubZero Update 3

Now I just need some ice and snow.

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to put Project: SubZero through the paces.  I had heard about a mountain biking area nearby and went to check it out.  As I started packing for it, my wife expressed interest in coming along.  We'd have to take turns riding as we only had one mountain bike, and the trails here would have killed our hybrids.  But I'd rather spend time with my wife and share a bike than ride around solo.

The trails were pretty tough to navigate.  There was just so many fallen leaves from autumn covering the path, that sometimes the leaves were a foot or two deep.  You couldn't see rocks, roots or other obstacles.  But we found some areas that weren't too bad and had fun taking turns with Project: SubZero.  We did find there were some gearing issues so we tried to "single speed" it for the most part.

I tried messing with the derailleur when I got back.  I was able to get it shifting properly again but it just seemed off.  I'm not sure if it's an equipment problem or my inexperience with them.

I waited for an opportunity to test it properly.  Finally after several days of rain I was able to take it for a test drive on a back road.  At least, it was a dirt road last time I checked.  It ended up being thick gooey mud.  Normally the sight of a road like this would put me in a bad mood.  But I had a mountain bike equipped with fenders and big knobby tires; a thick gooey muddy road was ideal!

I didn't get in too far as it was starting to get dark.  I turned around and churned up the mud some more.  I found myself laughing as I watched my bike spray mud everywhere.  I felt my rear tire slip a few times as the mud started giving way into puddles.  I managed to stay stable and got out of the mud trap.

Riding a mountain bike is a completely different experience in comparison to road biking.  But I'm learning the one big thing they have in common is they're both fun as hell!

Next stop was another nearby dirt road.  This one didn't turn into gooey mud so I was able to pay more attention to how the shifts were going and other various noises coming from the bike.  While it was shifting there were obviously some problems going on.  I also noticed that my rear wheel was out of true.

The mud spray looks neat when lit up.

A few days later I rinsed off the bike as best I could, then packed it up in the car and headed down to the LBS.  They'll be going over both derailleurs to see what the problem is.  They'll also fix up my wheel so it is true again.  Last, but definitely not least, the studded tires are going on!

Still eagerly awaiting snow and ice.  For the first time since I made snow forts as a kid.