Just a Walk in the Park

Tuesday when I posted the ride up, the weather seemed like it was going to be cold, brutally cold. At that time the low overnight on Friday was going to be a paltry 1°, brrrrrr.




Luckily, the forecast temperatures continued to rise as the week went on and on Saturday morning we were greeted with sunshine and temps nearing 20° already. While perhaps not exactly warm, the sun can make a huge difference and I was glad to have it along for the ride on Saturday.




Since the temperatures were supposed to be much lower than they actually ended up being, the route this week was through Wilderness Park so that we could bail if anyone go too cold. Despite the warmer temps, we stuck with the route as planned; the Park was in pretty good shape, could have used a little more snow cover but all in all it was good.


Bridge stop is always a must when in Wilderness.


Saturday was our fist ever Coconut Water stop on the SMNDFBR, so that was different.


There was, as is usual, some Fireball to be had as well thanks to Scott.


Everybody was enjoying Wilderness on Saturday, two wheels and four legs alike.



The farther south we got, the more ice we encountered. You can tell that, like many snow storms in recent years, this one started as a decent amount of rain first. Most of the usual low spots filled with rain water and then froze causing some rather large and dangerous ice spots on the trail; two of them being at least 20 feet long or more. Airing down the tires and puckering of the sphincter was the norm on these sections.




Two more bridges and we were through the park, despite the temperatures remaining below freezing, the sun was starting to make things a little too soft on the singletrack so it was decided to take the Jamaican back into town.





Once back in town, some of us decided that a beverage stop was in order so we headed over to Method. I opted for a Vanilla Latte, it was 50/50 as to whether that was a heart or a pair of butt cheeks in the coffee but either way it hit the spot and was delicious.


A few of us even ended up at Bison Witches afterward, we were going to try ChezSoDo but were burned again for the second time trying to go there with nonexistent Saturday hours, despite there being Saturday hours posted on their site. Unfortunately, we probably won't try a third time and just opt for a different spot from now on. It's a shame because their menu looks tasty but with unreliable hours and increasing frustrations from the group, it's probably going to go to the back of he mind when we all ride somewhere for food.


The ride back to Cycle Works was further paired down, three of us made the now colder trek back to the shop after Bison Witches.

Thanks to everyone who came out, as always it was a blast. Don't forget that next Saturday is our Holiday Lights Ride, details can be found here.