Get Off My Trail
Late on this Saturday afternoon I managed to get away for a little bit and was rewarded with a perfect trail and spectacular conditions. I’ve been slow getting out of the canyon in the past and I’ve had to pick my way out in the dark. For years I swore I would by a bike light and I finally got around to it. I was
Green Canyon is almost always a beautifully groomed, hard packed, ice road. At the beginning of the trail the air bit at any of my exposed skin and pierced deep and painful. The hard packed icy snow crunched loudly but the trail was smooth, sticky and fast. As I ascended the last section towards the Mt Naomi Wilderness I didn’t expect much given that the
While the valley is wrapper in the bitter cold of winter inversion the mountains reward those who venture higher with an escape from the filthy air and the biting frost. It’s counter-intuitive at first but the higher you go the warmer the air becomes (if 30 degrees is warm). The sky is blue and the sun breaks out. Covered in layers of winter gear the
Some days are just perfect. Today was just perfect. I haven’t been up Green Canyon since I managed to repair the Beargrease. After taking the last spot in the parking lot I set out from the dark grey of a typically Cache Valley winter day and ascended into the sunshine and glittering snow. On the way up I passed the carcass of a dear recently
After a couple of weeks in the shop waiting on parts my Beargrease is back. I was initially frustrated with the Sram AXS GX setup I had put on the bike but as it turns out all the problems were in the rear hub that was slowly disintegrating. Now that I have a bran new hub from DT Swiss all is well again and I
Today I discovered why my drivetrail was cracking all the time. I woke up to freezing, negative temps and decided that I would drop my son at school, ride and then drop by the shop to let the team there adjust things so that I could get rid of the annoying cracking noise coming from the rear end. As I attempted to blow through the
Continue readingThe free hub is dead. Long live the free hub.
Happy New Year! Had a chance to get out and ride with a buddy today. The temperature was again around 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Even with cold weather gear it’s cold. The bottom of Providence Canyon was an absolute winter dream. After a bit of adjustment I was excited to once again try out the new GX AXS. Excitement would quickly degrade into disappointment as my
With my Salsa Beargrease now sporting a brand new AXS GX transmission I was stoked to get out and play in the snow. Sadly, the experience started with me leaving the parking lot and immediately dropping the chain into the wheel. Digging the chain out of the spoke in near 0 degree fahrenheit temperatures was miserable. Not a great first impression of the much hyped
The snow has finally fallen in sufficient quantity to justify getting the fat bike out. Riding in the snow is hard. It’s cold. You slip a lot. Climbing on ice and snow adds a new level of challenge. It’s the most beautiful experience and I love it. The winter forest is mostly vacant of other users. With the snow falling the silence and solitude is
Continue readingFresh waffles. Blessed be the trail groomers.
Turns out enough frost on the ground makes it pretty slick. Still I can’t complain that I’m still on the Ripmo and December 3rd. Pretty sure the Beargrease has been my main steed this time most years. There’s a bit of slip sliding, for some reason the Assegais are sucking up everything on the trail and throwing it into a pile right above my rear