Monday, February 26, 2007

Some clear, some messy

Rode home after dark on the trail tonight. There are already some long stretches that are basically clear, due to the relatively warm day we had. On the other hand, significant stretches are pretty well covered with snow and slush. Apparently a truck drove the path after the snow, and in some areas helped it to melt faster in the tire tracks. However, in the areas where it did NOT fully melt, the truck tire ruts make for additional challenges. While it succeeded in packing down the snow a bit, it left a distinct "wall" on the edges of the ruts, which can really make it interesting if you let your front wheel wander into it. And while it looks like the tire ruts are single ruts, apparently the truck had dual wheels on the back, so you get two narrow ruts separated by a ridge... also challenging. So while some stretches are clear, there are pretty major stretches you may find yourself walking, or at least struggling to ride, especially in the usual Gallows to Cedar area.