Sunday, January 15, 2017

9 Way South

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No snow to speak of this week but there was still plenty of cold and a decent smattering of ice to watch out for as well. One thing that hadn't changed is that there was another great group for the ride again this week. 

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The original plan was to take the Jamaica North trail out to Roca and then cut over to gravel out to Hickman, problem with the plan was that the Jamaica North was sketchy as heck. All kinds of icy, frozen ruts all over the place caused more than a little puckering at times. 

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You know it's super sketchy when you voluntarily decide that the half mile gauntlet that is Satillo road from 14th to 25th is "safer" than riding on the icy trail. 

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Safely back on less traveled roads the plan was back on even if the route had slightly changed. 

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We managed to make it to 9 South in Hickman no worse for wear, I wish the same could be said for that poor, poor tree at the entry way. It has to be the single saddest tree I have ever seen this side of the Christmas tree from Charlie Brown. 

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While the tree might have been sad the food and company were both fantastic, if you haven't been out yet you really need to stop in. 

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On the way out of town a few of us decided to try to tackle a local snow drift, the drift remains undefeated. 

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One of the potential hazards you encounter on gravel that you generally don't have to worry about in town, is the presence of dogs that might decide to give chase. Most of them end up being friendly but it's really hard to tell as you roll up on them, luckily this guy was more a barker than a biter. 

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Not sure how friendly these guys were either, they kept their distance and seemed pretty skittish. 

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Rode a few pretty fun roads that I don't think I've been on before and that's one of the great things about routing a ride from a computer screen. Things often are much different in 3D than they are on the 2D monitor, all in all though it was a great ride with a rad group. Almost 50 miles felt pretty good and was much needed with all the ice in the forecast these next few days. 

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