We were gifted with about 2 to 3 inches of fresh powder snow today. I managed to get out to play for a while.
I started out riding the trails on our property.
Which lead to county forest trails. Rode some of them too.
Under about 4 to 5 inches of loose powder snow lays a layer of ice from an earlier rain storm this year. On some of the bigger climbs traction can break loose while standing. Not much of a problem, as it didn't happen often.
My neighbor to south of us must have braved the frigid temps and went out for a walk yesterday, as the human tracks were not there the day before.
I also rode some of the sand township roads today. Can't see any sand now and will not for a while.
Back on to the forest trail.
This is a deer stand on our property for hunting Whitetail deer. There are sides and such for the stand, but they are not on now. Our two boys are good hunters, although I do not hunt very much anymore.
The view from the stand.
More of our trails.
I had started the ride with light snow and the temp at about 10°F. I wore my colder riding gear, but didn't need it. I stripped off the sweater after about 15 minutes and didn't need the goggles either. The rides earlier in the week were all below the zero and with this ride at 10°F, that meant a temperature change of about 20 degrees. Now 20 may not sound like much, but think of the difference, say in summer, of between 80°F and 60°F.
I was out for 2 hours and 25 minutes. The riding was a little more strenuous because of the added snow, but not bad. Before I wheeled the bike from the basement, I set the tire pressures to 7 pounds. It seemed to work OK. I wonder if the tire pressure changes much from indoor to outdoor. Anybody ever check that?
AND...Good luck to all those doing the Arrowhead 135.
Lets get outdoors and have some fun!
PS...Thanks for reading and commenting.
For those of us that did not grow up with the Northwoods culture, what is the purpose of the stand? Just to get a better view of the prey?
ReplyDeleteWhen the tree stands first became popular, deer very seldom looked up. IMO, the deer seem to have learned and look up much more often now, but it still is an advantage to be up in the air. Depending on the thickness of the woods, sometimes you see more and sometimes you see less. During the rifle season, they are much safer to shoot from, as the trajectory of the bullet travels a much less distance and more likely than not hits the dirt rather than flying through the air. There is the danger of crawling into some of them, like the ones that just hang on a tree, but stands such as this one are much safer. I hope this mini explanation helps.
ReplyDeleteNice pics. Looks like where I like to hang out too....
ReplyDelete