Back prior to 2006 I used to do quite a bit of Cross Country Skiing. I love being outdoors in the winter time. Since 2006 I’ve gone skiing an average of once a winter. What happened in 2006 to change this? I bought my Surly Pugsley fatbike. That changed everything. I have never had so much fun in the snow than when I’m on my Pugsley. I’ve ridden thousands of miles on snow. And I’m not referring to riding on snow on the roadways. I mean off road riding.
Now don’t get me wrong. I have always loved skiing. And every year I pledge to do more skiing. But the snowbiking is so incredibly fun. And since I have access to trails only one mile from my house I don’t need to drive in order to snowbike. I don’t have a car, and my wife’s car isn’t always available when I have time to go skiing.
Long mid-afternoon winter shadows.
Today I drove my wife to the weaving studio so she could work on a project. That left me with a car. The temperatures are crazy warm for early January. A couple of degrees above freezing. It should be 20 degrees below the freeze mark or colder. We have very little snow. However I heard there was just enough snow for the city crews to groom the city cross-country ski trails. So off I went to get in the first, and hopefully not the only, ski outing of the year.
As I was skiing and soaking up all that sunshine we had today, I couldn’t help thinking I need to do this more often. How can I live in this place with an abundance of winter, and many winter trails and not take advantage of it. As winter progresses I guess I’ll find out what activity I choose most often.
View of the Duluth Harbor and Wisconsin from the Cross Country Ski trails.
Happy Riding
four season cycling 
What glorious trails! That looks like a ton of fun 🙂
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Thanks Bri, I did have a lot of fun. The sunshine was wonderful treat too! I heard we broke a record in December for the most cloudy days ever. No wonder December seemed so dark. It really helps me appreciate a sunny day like today even more.
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That is the kind of record that doesn’t need breaking…I am glad the sun decided to return to Minnesota!
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What is this “sun” thing you talk of? Love, the Pacific Northwest. 😉
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Well said….as if December isn’t dark enough without cloudy days.
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I’ll bet it was nice having all the trees there to block today’s wind.
I too have activities that I used to do more before I got into biking. Mainly hiking, snowshoeing, and kayaking. It’s just so much easier to hop on my bike and ride than it is to get in my car and drive to a trail or lake to do those other things. I should probably resolve to vary my activities a bit this year. As they say, variety is the spice of life.
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I’ve been thinking the same. My mileage was way down for 2015, the lowest in 11 years. But I did a lot more walking and hiking. I enjoyed adding in some variety.
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