Getting the riding season started.......on snow!

Although snow storms have been sparse in the Methow Valley this January, it is still the middle of winter and icy roads have kept the bike riding options somewhat limited.  This year I decided to try a couple of new (to me) ideas to open up some other outdoor options for riding my bike in the middle of winter.  The shop I work at, Methow Cycle & Sport, has a demo Surly Pugsley, which for those who are unfamiliar with them, is a bike designed for soft surfaces.  It features tires that are nearly four inches wide and are run at very low pressures to get better traction and flotation on soft surfaces such as snow.  For my first ride of the year, I decided to take it out and see what it could do.

I took it to the local wildlife area and found some trails that had been packed slightly by snowmobile traffic.  These were not "groomed" snowmobile routes, but just areas that had been tracked a few times by snowmobiles passing by.  It was a ridiculous amount of fun.  Given the couple feet of snow cover, it was essentially like riding on an elevated trail.  The occasional soft spot or steering mistake was rewarded  (not punished) with a short flight into a pillowy soft landing.  I probably only took one or two diggers at any significant speed, but they left me laughing not cringing.  It was so cool being in an area that I typically only access this time of year on snowshoes or touring skis.  If you have the opportunity to try one of these "fat bikes", I highly recommend it.

Given the success of the "fat" tires on a moderately packed trail, I decided to see how my 29er with 2.4" tires on it would fare on a more firmly packed surface.  A recent warm period followed by cold had left the groomed trails at Loup Loup's South Summit Sno-Park very firm.  To my delight, the riding was excellent.  The tires sunk just enough to provide excellent traction without unduly slowing my progress.  To be fair, riding a regular mountain bike on groomed snowmobile trails is going to be very dependent on conditions that provide the firmest platform possible.  However, I got in a couple hour ride on a beautiful Methow winter day outside in the middle of January.  I'll take that over the indoor trainer anytime!