Nine of us conquered nearly 50 miles on snow and ice-packed gravel roads today. Present were: Greg Shimonek, Mark Savery, Kevin Limpach, Mike Miles, Ryan Feagan, Rafal Doloto, Jeremy Grant and a new guy named Joshua, who's here from N. Carolina. Joshua did great by the way. In fact, if the tarheel-transplant could hack it, so you can you. Join us next time!
Good times by all. Steady pace with a few throw downs mixed in to get the blood moving. If that wasn't enough, Mod was dispensing hot ginseng tea from his custom stainless steel thermos-bottle cage. Awesome.
Conditions: It was 19°F at start time. The sun's warmed it up to about 25°F by the ride's end. I wore less clothing than last week, but still layered a lot. I had a Pearl Isumi (PI) Balaclava, PI lobster claw gloves (no liners), PI barrier jacket, woolie and long sleeve wicking shirt; legs had cycling shorts beneath PI amfib bib tights. Feet had wool socks beneath mtn bike shoes and amfib booties. Interestingly, my feet had identical protection this week, yet despite warmer conditions, they felt colder. Other than that, I was completely comfortable.
The route had us going southwest from Papillion, crossing I-80 on an overpass near Gretna, continuing south along the highway, then crossing back over I-80 before the Glass chapel & heading northeast back home..
I rode my Scattante 'cross bike, the incorrigible yellow fervor with not one, but two cross tires. Lemme tell you: that crap about a slick tire on the front is for the birds. Indeed, the bike handled way better with a cross tire mounted on the front.
Here are a few pics
The nine roll out
Industrial grade Caterpillar snow removal equipment
Typical road conditions. Cross or studded tires preferredMore pictures from MOD here
Nice ride, Brady. Thanks for the photos. I hope to join you on a gravel/ice ride some time.
ReplyDeleteBrady, Nebraska - now I know where they should film the re-make of Dr. Zhivago, or hold the next winter olympics. 'Ol Dad
ReplyDeleteAbout the front tire thing, I had to read that twice when you posted that last week. I was really impressed that you got around well enough with a 23C slick up front. After getting some studded 35C tires and feeling the traction in all conditions since, I'm thoroughly convinced that confidence in staying upright is worth the rolling resistance.
ReplyDeleteYou guys were only slightly less keyrazy this week. Those drifts were impressive.
Scott: you're excused (and missed) from joining the ride for doing the guerrilla trail clean up project on the Keystone. Hope to see you next time. BTW: thanks for organizing & sacrificing your time on the trail clean up for others to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteHey Dad, thanks for the comment. You're also excused since you live 500 miles away. Still, if you were to join, I'd expect to see your tires wrapped in cable for better traction. Shim apparently liked that idea.
Now Munson, you have ample cold weather riding gear (including chemical hand and toe warmers) and a cross bike with 38!cc studded tires. You also have at least one roll of duct tape to close helmet vent holes. You're NOT excused. C'mon man, get out there. You're missed.
As for riding the 23cc skinny on the front... yeah, that was whacked. I'll tell you what, though, I felt supremely confident on the 32cc cross tire yesterday having squirreled it out on the ice & snow last weekend.
I like the idea of riding on the gravel roads. I have yet to ride on the regular roads because althought the car lanes are clear, the sides are not. Too dangerous. Gravel GOOD.
ReplyDelete