# First Snow Ride!



## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

Well, as predicted, the balmy late-autumn weather was not to last in Upstate, NY. Last weekend's temperatures in the 50's gave rise (or shall I say "fall"?) to 40's and then 30's this week. A light blanket of snow fell on Wednesday night and and frosted the stark landscape. I love how the first snow seems to round the edges and gives a softer appearance to the trails. As I've been working hard to convince a few of my friends that riding in the snow can be a lot of fun, they agreed to do a night ride the following evening. So, bundled up with extra layers, three of us met to ride Thursday night. 

We attempted to park in a different location, to access the dryer ridge trails at Shindagin, but a coating of ice prevented one of our group from driving up the seasonal road to the parking lot. So we regrouped and parked in our usual spot. As we unloaded our bikes and put on our gear, we commented on the stillness surrounding us. The moon was out and cast a soft glow on the snow-covered forest. Within moments were headed off toward the trail entrance. The blanketed trails were deceiving, as the snow did a good job hiding the partially frozen mud beneath. The initial climb up the trail soon became a foot race for me alongside my singlespeed, but I didn't mind as I warmed up quickly and the lack of derailleurs, shifters and a cassette made it a much lighter than normal hike-a-bike for me. Gales of laughter and an occasional expletive erupted from the trail ahead of me as my friends continuously broke through thin sheets of ice or plowed through low-hanging branches and showered themselves with snow. That's one advantage of being last in line after it snows :thumbsup: 

Soon, the trail leveled out and I was able to hop back on and resume my ride. And that's when I remembered one of the first rules of snowbiking...don't ride clipless if you have to get off and walk, LOL. I wasn't the only one in that boat, and my friends quickly came to the same conclusion when stopping to rest for a moment, they unclipped to take some pictures. One laughed as she lifted her foot to clip in and brought with her a combination of mud, snow and leaves that had bonded to her shoe in that short time. The drooping boughs formed an icy tunnel under which we rode and our headlamps seemed to shine that much brighter as they reflected off the marshmallow surface. Whoops erupted when packed tires skittered over logs and knocked us off balance. Muddy trenches at times threatened to swallow us whole. Paul Simon's Slip Sliding Away could have been our theme song for the night. At one point, we stopped to decide which direction to take next. What happened next chilled our blood far more than the evening's temperatures. 

Not far off, a frantic barking/howling/yipping ensued. Instantly, the hair on the back of my neck rose and an almost primal fear took over. We all anxiously glanced at one another trying to figure out exactly what it was. There are coyotes in the area, and there have been reports that they have become more visible and bolder in the last couple of years. My one friend grabbed hold of her dog's collar as he started to bark in return. A hopeful suggestion was made that perhaps it was a friend's dog, who may have been lost in the area. An earlier text requesting keeping a look out encouraged her to call out the dog's name several times. Yet, we were never approached, and the noise didn't get closer (much to my relief). A quick phone call, however, confirmed the dog had been located earlier, so the barking didn't belong to someone we "knew". Visions of Little Red Riding Hood danced through my head and my consternation only grew the longer we waited. Our frosty breath helped convince us to move on and take a route leading back toward the main road. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I took off on my singlespeed hell-bent on reaching the open road. 

The descent to the road took us along an old logging trail that recent rains had eroded further, creating an additional challenge along with the snow and ice as we made our way down the rocky and rutted path. I was taking it probably much quicker than I normally would and at times laughed in amazement as I managed to pick my way through the exposed roots and unexpected dropoffs. Squeals of surprise were emitted when tires lost traction and then caught again as we charged down the hill. Soon the road became visible from between the trees, and anxiety gave way to relieved laughter as we made our way back to the parking lot. Once safely within sight of our cars, our pace became more relaxed and we discussed the evening's adventure. All agreed that the ride was nothing if not exhilarating and I think despite the scare we had, riding in the snow is a lot of fun!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Enjoyed your snow adventure story, petey, sounds like a fun night. We have coyotes across the lake here in VT, and they can be noisy, but typically pretty shy with people and seldom seen. I did spot one on the trail one afternoon this summer, he came over a rise on a ridge and was surprised to see me, looked right at me & then disappeared. 

I added a fatbike to my stable Saturday, so I've been out adventuring too. I warn you, it is very fun. We only have 3-4" now, so even singletrack is rideable, but I plan to commute on it via snowmobile trails this winter.


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

@mtb - wow - what a beauty!! I've been lusting over fatbikes for a couple of years now but am not able to pull the trigger at this time. I've been doing a lot of research on them in the meantime, trying to decide which one would best meet my needs (or desires) . So, for now, it's skinny tires, although I do hope to get some studded ones sometime after Christmas. Guess we'll see how much snow we have by then, normally winter is all about xc skiing for me and most of my riding friends. 

One of my friends who was on the night ride found a couple of clips of coyotes barking on Youtube, further solidifying in our minds that was what we had heard. Apparently they revert to barking when defending their territory, especially if a dog is encroaching, and we had one with us that night. I'll admit, I don't know much about them and when confronted with the idea of "wild dogs" at night, it was quite intimidating. Some of the guys we ride with had already done a pretty good job volunteering all sorts of stories that did a good job on our over-active imaginations. After doing some reading, though, I'm inclined to be more curious than scared. It definitely made for an interesting ride.


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

Here are a couple of pictures from that night. My friend, Amy, and her dog, Kona, followed by yours truly, and a couple of the snow-covered trail. I suspect it was Kona who caused the response from the coyote.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

It snowed a little here in southern Ontario. Trails were packed down by the hikers/dog walkers, so no need for studded tires (they are necessay when there is ice). Temp was -3C. We had a really nice ride


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## oldbroad (Mar 19, 2004)

Nice bike! 

It's been so warm here this year, so no good snow yet. We did have a freak snow storm at the end of Oct, but that melted in a few days, so this pic is from last year. Lots of walkers to pack the snow down, but I'll be the first to ride a bike through.


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## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

Thanks for the post! And photos! I've gone snow riding and night riding, but I don't know that I've ever combined the two!


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

It was a lot of fun, and presented a whole new set of challenges. First, the ground wasn't frozen yet, so we broke through a lot of partially-frozen puddles and dabbed a lot in the mud. This caused a lot of ice and mud to build up on and around our cleats - so flats are a good idea . I was on my singlespeed which was definitely a lot more difficult to climb with, but my friends had issues with their derailleurs half-way into the ride and their bikes ceased to shift. They said they wished they'd been on a singlespeed like me as I wasn't having any drivetrain issues. I'm hoping to get some studded snows for the bike this winter because I can't imagine giving this up!


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## Nerdgirl (Mar 13, 2007)

petey15 said:


> And that's when I remembered one of the first rules of snowbiking...don't ride clipless if you have to get off and walk, LOL. I wasn't the only one in that boat, and my friends quickly came to the same conclusion when stopping to rest for a moment, they unclipped to take some pictures. One laughed as she lifted her foot to clip in and brought with her a combination of mud, snow and leaves bonded to her shoe.


If you have to ride with clips, eggbeaters aren't too bad (way better than the alternatives). They'll still be useless in the worst conditions (like you describe!).

Snowbiking is great - and at night with a full moon it's incredible.

Edit: Singlespeeds are perfect too - less to ice up, and you tend not to spin out as much.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Nerdgirl said:


> If you have to ride with clips, eggbeaters aren't too bad (way better than the alternatives). They'll still be useless in the worst conditions (like you describe!).
> 
> Snowbiking is great - and at night with a full moon it's incredible.
> 
> Edit: Singlespeeds are perfect too - less to ice up, and you tend not to spin out as much.


Sorry I ride clipless all winter, no problems, a bang or two and I am going fine...

Try a single speed in 6 inchs of snow....and then down a nice hard pack run...

Sorry single speed sucks in the snow cause you can't fine tune speed to traction..

Can't remember my shifters freezing up....oh and if they did then i would have a single speed.

Anyway have fun.


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## mudgirl (Jun 19, 2007)

Geez, I guess I should take a few snow rides with you so you can teach me the proper way to ride through snow. I obviously must have been doing it wrong if my cleats and derailleur froze up!!!


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

mudgirl said:


> Geez, I guess I should take a few snow rides with you so you can teach me the proper way to ride through snow. I obviously must have been doing it wrong if my cleats and derailleur froze up!!!


Yeah, I should mention, mudgirl was along for that ride. This wasn't my first time riding in the snow (just the first snow ride of the season), and I've ridden with both flats and clipless before. And when I've ridden clipless, even in packed trails, I've gotten snow in the cleats. We all tried knocking our shoes against our pedals, but the snow was pretty stubborn and add to it mud, the result was a very icy cement. It was pretty hard to clip in. I don't think frozen drivetrains are all that uncommon in the winter - even with snowbikes. And I believe there are quite a few of us out there on singlespeeds in the winter. Traction can be an issue whatever the substrate.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mudgirl said:


> Geez, I guess I should take a few snow rides with you so you can teach me the proper way to ride through snow. I obviously must have been doing it wrong if my cleats and derailleur froze up!!!


Yup, that would help alot....


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## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

jeffscott said:


> Sorry I ride clipless all winter, no problems, a bang or two and I am going fine...


Yep, no problem, but I'm in a desert, thus dry snow.



jeffscott said:


> Sorry single speed sucks in the snow cause you can't fine tune speed to traction.


You're doing it wrong.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

screampint said:


> Yep, no problem, but I'm in a desert, thus dry snow.
> 
> You're doing it wrong.


No Has you said light dry snow easy to ride...

try 6 inches of car snot...or maybe 12 inches of wind pack...or maybe 4 km of sun crust...
or maybe just a path with frozen footsteps and ice patches up a hill with 3 inches of light dry (probably want to be sitting down for that ride).

Point is snow is incrediably variable...and a single speed isn't...

Sure you can hammer and walk, but you ride way more with gears...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I like gears too and have had surprisingly few problems with shifting in 2 years of winter commuting in VT & recreational snowmobile trail riding for 15 years or so. Not saying it doesn't happen, just reporting my experience.

Same with pedals, I had good luck with Time ATACs year round, though I switched to platforms after an ankle injury, loved them, and also found it warmer in winter without a metal cleat attached to my shoe.

Don't worry about jeffscott, he treats everyone that way, not just women.


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## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

After being married to a know-it-all chauvinist for 17 years (the same one that told me women weren't strong enough to singlespeed), he struck the wrong chord.

However, as long as you're enjoying the ride and the adventure, ride what you like!


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## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

And, no, I'm not saying jeffscott is a know-it-all chauvinist, he just came off that way.


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## miatagal96 (Jul 5, 2005)

I'm jealous! I haven't ridden in the snow yet this year.

Petey, that's about my favorite amount of snow to ride in. It's fun to see the lines everyone takes. Also, I rode Shindagin for the first time in November with my husband (photos are here - Shindagin November 2011 Photo Gallery by j_harvey at pbase.com). We loved it!

As for how snow affects various aspects of riding, it depends so much on the snow. I have Time pedals and they are great in mud and other crap, but they often get iced up. My friend who rode Speedplay pedals had the best luck, but he also dabbed the least. The biggest lesson I learned was not to ride through pedals when it is below freezing as that freezes up cables faster than anything. Also, contrary to popular opinion, I have had almost no problem running rim brakes in the snow with the exception of one time where I had absolutely no brakes--the snow/temperature combination must have been dead on to make my rims act like teflon.


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## mudgirl (Jun 19, 2007)

I'm hoping Santa will bring me some eggbeaters for Christmas, and it will be interesting to see how they compare to my current spd's in snow and mud. 

Now that the ground has finally frozen, and I'm not constantly splashing water and mud up on my derailleur, I haven't had issues with it freezing up the past couple rides. 

Miatagal, if you guys come back to Shindagin, you should let us know! We'd love to take you down our "secret" trails and ride with you!:thumbsup:


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## miatagal96 (Jul 5, 2005)

Mudgirl, I hope to get back to Shindagin some time and would love to have you me the "secret" trails. Secret trails are always the best trails .


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

The ride was fun and challenging. I had my singlespeed mainly because I hadn't ridden it in quite a while and wanted to see how that was. Also, it has 29" wheels as opposed to my other rides which have 26" wheels...and gears. I'll have to experiment a bit and see. And yeah, the type of snow on the ground can have a big impact on how smoothy the ride goes - just like xc skiing  But I wasn't out there to win a race - I just wanted have fun. After all, isn't that what this is all about?


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## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

miatagal96 said:


> I'm jealous! I haven't ridden in the snow yet this year.
> 
> Petey, that's about my favorite amount of snow to ride in. It's fun to see the lines everyone takes. Also, I rode Shindagin for the first time in November with my husband (photos are here - Shindagin November 2011 Photo Gallery by j_harvey at pbase.com). We loved it!
> 
> As for how snow affects various aspects of riding, it depends so much on the snow. I have Time pedals and they are great in mud and other crap, but they often get iced up. My friend who rode Speedplay pedals had the best luck, but he also dabbed the least. The biggest lesson I learned was not to ride through pedals when it is below freezing as that freezes up cables faster than anything. Also, contrary to popular opinion, I have had almost no problem running rim brakes in the snow with the exception of one time where I had absolutely no brakes--the snow/temperature combination must have been dead on to make my rims act like teflon.


Yeah, I have never tried to ride through deeper snow before to make any kind of comparison. I've also never ridden a geared bike in the snow - just singlespeeds. The first time was an old Diamondback I had converted to singlespeed, and then the last two times on my 29er. The friend I was riding with also had a singlespeed 29er, which is steed of choice in the winter. 
Loved the pics, Miata! I know exactly where that Bed and Breakfast is you stayed at - great location for Shinny. You will definitely have to let us know when you would like to come again. Mid-summer through fall is usually best as the trails are all pretty dry by that time. We are so lucky to have such a great place to ride! :thumbsup:


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