Thursday, January 17, 2013

Fabtabulous Riding

 Early in the morning before daylight we heard snow hitting the window.  I wondered then if it would help the Fat-bike bicycling conditions.  We ended up with just a covering of around an inch.  There is not a better way to find out than getting out and trying it. 

 Because of the recent rain, a blanket of ice covers almost everything.  Even the deer have trouble navigating.  If I stopped and walked anywhere, it was slippery.  

 But...with about 7 lbs of air in the fat tires, the bike worked awesome.  

 One of the trails went by a logging job.  The harvesting machines that made these piles have been out of here for a while.  They will now bring in chipping machines to chip the piles into trucks to haul it out.
   
 I have witnessed deer fall on ice before, but here is proof.  These deer were crossing this little trail.  One slipped and fell, which turned them back the direction they came.  I thought that it was kind of funny that they turned back after they fell.

 I rode around two lakes nearby our home.  This one is called Spider Lake.  This particular lake got me thinking.  We have many lakes in our surrounding area.  I mean lake after lake after lake...lots of lakes.  Of all the lakes in the area, two of my friends have died on this little lake. I was just thinking "what are the odds."  The one friend I had bicycled with and had numerous interesting conversations.  He lived on this lake.  Just over 3 years ago during a family gathering they were playing hockey.  He fell, fractured his skull and passed away a short time later.  He was 49 :-(


 Another friend was here fishing a few years ago with some friends.  He and I had made a trip to Canada fishing along with fishing the local lakes...and when I was still drinking, we drank together. Anyhow, the friends went to the local tavern to buy beer and he stayed to fish.  When they returned, he was lying on the ice the victim of a heart attack.  There happened to be a Life Flight helicopter flying near by.  When they landed the helicopter, it fell through the ice approximately where the above picture shows.  They are fortunate, or unfortunately landed in the shallow part anyhow.  It took about a week before they finally got that helicopter out of there.  
  

 This duck didn't make it south for the winter.

 For those that know about geocaching, this is one of our hides. It is near the little carry in access to Spider Lake.  This is the link to the cache page.

 As of late, we have had one lone Grey Wolf on our trail cameras.  I think he was out today also.

Another little nearby lake I cycled around today.  This one is Webb Lake.  I was out for 2 1/2 hours and although there were some ice spots, the conditions could not have been much better.


Lets get outdoors and have some Fun!!

ps...thanks for reading and the comments!

9 comments:

  1. That lake brings back some unpleasant memories for you.

    There must be a ton of frost in the ground now, which would make for fantastic conditions to get that wood pulp out.

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    1. Because of the wind storms of 2011, there is a lot of logging going on. I think the trucking hasn't been able to keep up to the wood they are putting out. They have articles in the local paper warning of septic freezing.

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  2. Was that hardwood or softwood in that log pile?

    How does the bike handle on that ice without studs?

    CAD

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    Replies
    1. Although I didn't inspect the piles, I am laying money down that those piles are mostly hardwood, but do have some softwood mixed in. When they chip, it all goes in.

      With the low tire pressure it seemed alright, but I didn't push it.

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  3. Jealousy. Of the fat bike, of the snow and frozen stuff; although winter did finally arrive today here in London Ontario.

    I need your 3 picks for TARATS! email me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cooolllddd on the way.

      Picks aree sent in. Sorry for the delay.

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  4. Thanks OB. Hope you are feeling well :-)

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  5. I'm pretty much back to normal -- thanks!

    ReplyDelete