Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

This morning I was able to slip out for another ride for about 2 hours. The difference between this week and last week is that it snowed last night and it was continuing to come down pretty hard. When I left my house to drive to The Woodlot at 10am there was about 5 inches of snow on the ground, but the roads were totally clear so it made the journey very easy. Once at the parking area I could see that I was not the only one wanting to play in the white stuff. There were 2 cars parked already and there were tracks leading up the trail into the forest. The snow was very heavy and many branches were bent over the trail weighed down by the white fluffy snow.

About half way up the climb/push in the snow I caught up to 2 other guys that were out to have a ride in the fresh snow, we exchanged pleasantries and I headed onwards to the trails. On the way to Snakes and Ladders there were several trees and large branches across the trail that had broke under the weight of the wet heavy snow and wind. There will very likely a large clean-up needed once the snow melts.



Once at the trail head for Snakes and Ladders I paused to take a few photos of the snow and I could see several large trees that had blown down that will require a saw to be removed. There were at least 6 trees down on Snakes that will need chain sawing out. Fortunately most of these trees are high on the trail in once particular area. I cleared what I could by hand but I neither had the necessary tools nor the time to remove all the fallen trees.

The trail was in excellent condition and I had a hoot riding it in the snow letting the tail waggle on most of the turns.


The picture above is the long flowing log ride that we built a few years ago all covered in snow. After seeing Tim go for a fall the other night, I decided that I would skip this ladder in the snow today as I was riding solo (I was trusting my instincts ;-) ).

At the bottom of Snakes I ran into Cory and Brad who were out for a hike in the snow. We chatted for a bit about some recent building in the area and then I was on my way to Shotgun. It was still snowing pretty hard so the push in the ever deepening snow was a bit of work but once on the downhill part of the road I was grinning from ear to ear.

Shotgun was a blast. Hitting the jump on the upper part of the trail in the snow was a little risky because I was a little slow on the approach, but I landed it smooth. The open clear-cut section of the trail was a total rip in 12" of snow. The great thing about snow is it slows you down and when you do fall it pads the landing. I was purposely letting the rear end of my bike get loose and drifting corners was wicked. I would not be sad at all if this snow stayed around for a few weeks.

At my car I loaded up my bike, got changed and drove home on the still clear roads. Because I kept a good pace on the push up to the top of the trails, I was only gone for 2 hours in total by the time I arrived at home. My wife was pleased and I was happy to be able to get out and ride. The rest of the early afternoon was spent outside playing with my 2 year old building her first snowman and having snowball fights with the neighbourhood kids.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.