Two days and 5 hours of time spent outside on my Pugsley. I keep saying every winter it’s the funnest riding I do all year. This winter’s riding is no different. We’ve lacked much snowfall, we’ve had just enough to keep the ground white. There have been many nights well below zero degrees Fahrenheit this winter. That has helped what snow we do have to become really firm. It’s taken most of the winter to get a decent base on the trails I ride. Finally this weekend, it all came together to make for some really great snowbiking.
And great views thanks to some sunny days. With the temperature below zero at night and creeping into the mid-teens (15F/-9C) during the day, it made for some of my favorite winter weather. At 15F degrees the snow is not wet and the trails stay firm. After many below zero rides, 15 feels warm.
Sunday I went in a different direction and rode a network of non-bike specific trails out to one of my favorite overlooks, Bardons Peak.
The trail conditions were super fast. I normally have my fat tires inflated to 3-7 psi for snow riding. Today I was running them at 11 psi. It felt like I was flying over the snow.
While everyone else if hoping for a quick end to winter, I’m hoping these conditions hang in until April. There’s been several years I’ve been able to ride snow until mid-April. Maybe it will happen this year as well.
four season cycling 
Hi Doug. I had an opportunity to ride a fat bike on snow for the first time. Previously I’d ridden on dirt trails only for lack of snow, often getting all muddy in the process. I much prefer riding on snow! While I’ve been trying out demo bikes that have all the bling, I much prefer the simpler Pugsley aesthetic – one time I rode a Pug with thumbshifters and felt more at home You are so lucky to have the new trails near your home.
LikeLike
Annie, I realize I am fortunate. Duluth is building trails of all kinds inside the city at a blistering pace the past ten years. I love the fact I can access all these trails within a mile of my house and never have to load a bike in my car to get to them.
LikeLike
As cold as this winter has been, that’s a lot of open water on the lake, especially for February.
LikeLike
It just happened to be a west wind that day. The ice moves around. There can be no ice one day, then the wind switches out of the east and the head of the Lake looks completely frozen over.
LikeLike
He’s back! Glad to see you blogging again!
LikeLike
Not much of a priority newsflash. If you look at the archives they go back to December 2015. That’s okay, not many others have noticed I’m back either. I am thankful to the people that do read. They are the ones I write for.
LikeLike