Winter Tires

Winter weather is upon us in this part of the world and that means rain, rain and more rain. In order to adapt to the wet slippy conditions one needs to change their tires to a softer compound for additional grip. My winter tires on my Rune this year are a Minion UST Super Tacky on the front and a Michelin Comp 16 rear. They are both super heavy but oh so grippy.

With my sticky tires installed, I pedaled my Rune up to Giant Killer and descended down with a ton of confidence inspiring grip. The thin layer of snow was no problem at all with the right rubber on my bike.

I then hit Snakes and Ladders. Apart from a little section of ice, the trail was fabulous from top to bottom.

I then finished the ride on Shotgun. I think there always an inversion that hovers over Shotgun because there was twice as much snow on Shotgun as there was on all the other trails today.

A fun ride for sure and with snow and ice covering the ribbons of trail there is bound to be lots of slippy drifting fun to be had in the coming weeks.

A Damp Spin

I managed to escape to the woods for a couple hours this morning aboard my Rune.

As I pulled up at the Woodlot there were cars parked everywhere. Brody had also just arrived so I joined him and Craig Findley for the first part of the climb along with Craig's his dog Brew.

Brody and Craig were working on Mandatory Caution today. They've put in a fair amount of work to make a trail that was abandoned into a trail that is now fully on the radar of trails to ride when you're at 'The Lot'.

I kept climbing past their building section to the powerlines and started my ride on The Gate. This trail is one that requires some commitment with it's ladders and logrides as well as the few gap jumps that litter the trail. The Gate is a fun rip right up to the old slimy woodwork that is about 2/3rds down the trail. From that point forward (especially on a wet day like today), the woodwork is quite treacherous.

From the Gate I rode Tsuga and then Snakes and Ladders where I stopped in a few spots to nail in a few loose or broken rung on some ladders. While doing a repair, the elusive Taylor rolled through riding his XC bike down Snakes.

With my repairs complete, I then rode out to Shotgun and then home.

I was really nice to get out.

Quick Ride in the Park

I was able to get out for a short 2 hours ride in the rain into Golden Ears Park. I took my lights with me so that I`d be able to safely get home in case I was out a little too long.

I pedaled up the horse trails to the peak before the descent to Mike Lake. It was a super fast rip back and an easy pedal home on the road. Surprisingly I saw a few trail runners on the trails as the light was getting scarce.

I had a good quick ride on my trusty Rune and was soaked to the bone by the time I reached home.