Snow riding
- Thread starter bruce.b
- Start date
I was at the Tourne this morning and the crust is easily strong enough to ride on. The problem is it melted too much before it refroze and is pretty slippery. The afternoon might be better when it softens up. With studded tires the riding would be fantastic, You'd be able to ride anywhere, no trails needed. A lot colder here I guess.
veloduffer
Member
Thanks Bruce for the bird dogging. I'm going to try the Tourne this weekend with my studs.
better check the weather...may not work this weekend.
Yes, snow conditions often change quickly. If it's warmer this weekend I'd try early.
My son and I hiked to the Tourne overlook today. He tried going off trail and sliding on his ass down the hill. It worked too well and he started to really whip until he managed to jam his feet in and stop. Where it's hilly with no footprints you can't walk at all. It's really slippery. It's going to be very tricky without studs and you better stay where it's flat. I'm thinking it would be worth studded tires just to ride this.
so to update this (replay for utah)-
this am was not a complete fail at KVSP, but it wasn't a success either. i was really hoping the conditions would be similar to those from a few years back when it was truly epic free ride but that was not the case. the rail trails and the roads were mostly fine but the few times i went into the trails i was thrown OTB onto the not so friendly ice. over all i think i went OTB about 4 times.
i went with the nokians which for grip (as bruce mentioned above) were good. the problem is, they aren't really high volume enough and i found myself breaking though. mind you, i'm probably pushing 220 pounds between me, the bike and all the gear so if you're lighter you may not have any issues. the ultimate combo would be a true 2.4 in the nokians that you could run at like 18 psi. or be 160lbs.
this am was not a complete fail at KVSP, but it wasn't a success either. i was really hoping the conditions would be similar to those from a few years back when it was truly epic free ride but that was not the case. the rail trails and the roads were mostly fine but the few times i went into the trails i was thrown OTB onto the not so friendly ice. over all i think i went OTB about 4 times.
i went with the nokians which for grip (as bruce mentioned above) were good. the problem is, they aren't really high volume enough and i found myself breaking though. mind you, i'm probably pushing 220 pounds between me, the bike and all the gear so if you're lighter you may not have any issues. the ultimate combo would be a true 2.4 in the nokians that you could run at like 18 psi. or be 160lbs.
The Goat-o -Meter said no to the snow and then i saw Jakes lil pic this am. Thinks he'll steall my thunder and sneak out to post lil "white" lies to cheer up his uber depressed E-buddies. I went out with the Nokians. Me,gear and bike are 200# combined. Conclusion..........nobodies ridin on top of anything in the woods(Except maybe Dr Rob). Crust isn't sufficient. Get skis bitches:rofl:
I was seriously hoping for a day like we had with Norm and Sean. Not to be.
It's easily thick enough at the Tourne, just too slippery without studs for my liking. It's thicker than when it was great several years ago.
woody
Well-Known Member
I'm determined to find some kind of MTB action tomorrow AM.
Plan A is good ol' local Chimney Rock. I think there's enough boot pack on a lot of the trails to get in a decent ride. If it ends up sucking, or if the stuff coming out of the sky is more rainy than snowy, I'll head north...
Plan B is the Tourne. Shouldn't be any rain up there - just some fresh snow on top of that slick crust. Worth a try!
Looking at 7:30ish start time if CR, somewhat later if Tourne. Gimme a shout if you want in on this silliness. I'll check for messages here in the AM before heading out...
Plan A is good ol' local Chimney Rock. I think there's enough boot pack on a lot of the trails to get in a decent ride. If it ends up sucking, or if the stuff coming out of the sky is more rainy than snowy, I'll head north...
Plan B is the Tourne. Shouldn't be any rain up there - just some fresh snow on top of that slick crust. Worth a try!
Looking at 7:30ish start time if CR, somewhat later if Tourne. Gimme a shout if you want in on this silliness. I'll check for messages here in the AM before heading out...
I can report two trail networks that are definitely rideable if you're packin' studs. I checked the trail heads today at:
Patriots Path: Morristown at least out to the nursing home near Chester, probably good at least out to Ralston. 18" wide track of packed snow covered with a layer of ice. Studs required.
Loantaka Park: Similar to Patriot's Path. 18" track of packed snow, with ice in spots. Studs required
I'm gonna skip it tomorrow with the precip that's coming, but I anticipate that whatever rains tomorrow will collect on the trails and/or pack the snow down even further, then freeze over night, then I'll be riding the Nokian Express on Sunday AM.
A buddy is going to check out Ringwood, so that may be an option on Sunday too if his report is good.
Patriots Path: Morristown at least out to the nursing home near Chester, probably good at least out to Ralston. 18" wide track of packed snow covered with a layer of ice. Studs required.
Loantaka Park: Similar to Patriot's Path. 18" track of packed snow, with ice in spots. Studs required
I'm gonna skip it tomorrow with the precip that's coming, but I anticipate that whatever rains tomorrow will collect on the trails and/or pack the snow down even further, then freeze over night, then I'll be riding the Nokian Express on Sunday AM.
A buddy is going to check out Ringwood, so that may be an option on Sunday too if his report is good.
I just checked my front yard and I can walk on top of the snow if I'm careful not to bear too much weight down. It's 31 degrees here. I wouldn't be surprised if other areas are frozen more. Morristown says 23 degrees. It's very slippery though, so I would not feel comfortable unless I had studs.
It's 23 and freezing drizzle/ice/snow here at the frayed ends of sanity. Which is pretty much 7 miles from alamuchy. Freeze/rain/freeze tonight may produce good conditions for tomorrow and/or Monday.