step back to mid january. most of us remember a weekend of rain and thaw that left most outdoor enthusiasts, myself included, groaning in agony about how there would never be a whole heap-ah snow on the ground in which to go forth and test our ears, fingers, and toes against in the hopes of satisfyingly pursuing whatever hobby we've been looking forward to all year, in the hopes of keeping fit, enjoying the outdoors, taking a break from all of our 3-season activities, good story accumulation, staving off winter blues, whatever. 'i tell ya, if'it'd just snow already, boy i'd blankety-blank all over the blank-blank and back, boy howdy!' can't wait. but i digress..
this particular week in mid january, i was feeling antsy. not enough snow on the ground to xc ski, too much to road ride and mtb, and no fatbike at my disposal to explore the snowmobile trails, which would probably be somewhere in-between. and as usually happens when i feel antsy, i invent projects for myself, to fill invented needs. i had been wondering what a drop-bar 29er mountain bike would look-and ride-like, and i had a bunch of parts sitting around waiting for a cross frame to show up, so i figured, why not, right? i could probably ride the roads alright with the big tyres, and maybe they would also float me over whatever crusty ice-snow was out there. sure, no problem
gary fisher x-cal monster cross..
many sweet bridges in the thorndike-brooks-unity trail system.
well, problem. much of the snow had melted in the thaw and had been rained-on, creating seriously slick ice. i probably fell half a dozen times, one or both wheels skittering out from under me, and with only ice to steady myself on, my feet and legs swiftly following. whole sections of trail were reduced to creeks of ice from the rains, and i spent probably half the so-called 'ride' walking.
yikes.
i'd only ridden these trails in the fall, and all of my landmarks are now buried in the snow and ice, so as expected, i got lost. i wasn't worried, as i was plenty warm, and i knew that wherever i wound up, i could just back-track or ride the roads home. at one point, i came into a logged area that i'd never been and seemed to be a highway of sorts for winter enthusiasts and wildlife, alike. among the snow machine tracks and atv tyre lines, i believe i found bear tracks.
black bear, or sasquatch? you decide.
the glove in the photo is about 9" long, so either that's a black bear, or one big foot. get it? bigfoot? nevermind.
another angle. still big.
snow-on-ice-on-air-on ice-on-8" of air-over flowing water. went over the bars hitting this one.
miles of icy walking, shoving, riding, and i came out to this..
lovely fall day. get it? fall? 'cos of the slipping on ice? nevermind.
..and linked up with a road i knew and used as a main thoroughfare to the miles of snowmobile and atv trails in the area. saved! the 'ride' may not have gone as i'd planned, and i was pretty beat up from the falls(my wrist is still sore to this day, 3 weeks later), but i saw bear tracks, found a new route that will be a helpful link in the thorndike cx megaride i'm putting together for the spring(stay tuned!), and i burned some energy on a lovely day! it pays to stay positive and versitile, fer sure.
here is the map of all the trails i've explored in the area. many dead-ends and junk, but also miles of pretty satisfying riding. my house is the green star towards the center, and the area i rode this time is adjacent, to the upper left, where the yellow dotted line becomes red, then yellow again. hunt rd is the main thoroughfare that spoke of earlier, that turns into wingate rd, bringing one to the good stuff, riding wise. red marker indicates trails that i've followed, yellow are branches of the ITS snowmobile system. i could follow these up to moosehead lake area, and beyond, to canada, if i were so inclined. and i am. maybe an adventure for this summer..
the map.
-josh robeson
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