Stardate 2019.030

Finally
Greetings!

We finally received some snow at lower elevations. It was the heavy wet stuff that falls at warmer temperatures; a good ground soaker. When said and done, we had a little under a foot of snow. Believe it or not, I was on dry rides in shorts and long sleeve jersey as recent as January 10th. We need some winter! However, north aspects are still dicey in spots and require some hike-a-biking.




There's still a fair amount of shore ice along the South Platte River.






How about some bighorn sheep skating?






Here's a little plug for Giant Bicycles. It's a fun 29er.



Lizard:2
Parkinson's:0

Thanks for reading!

Adios

Stardate 2017.252

Bear Creek

Ride Weather Reminded Me of Oregon Mountain Biking
Yesterday (31March17) was the usual Waterton Ride to upper Lenny's Bench; then around the Roxborough loop, which is now thawed-out, at least until the current storm gathering. I had hoped to beat the forecasted storm. However, it captured me about halfway around the loop. Approximately half of my ride was in the wet.


I attended graduate school at Oregon State University located in western Oregon. It's wet and misty in the winter, and Waterton Canyon yesterday was the epitome of that area. Enjoy the following pics. The first is the storm slowly working its way out of the Front Range about 45 minutes before capturing me.




We're expecting freeze with snow tonight, so the blossoming leaves may be kaput for a while.




I was halfway up the canyon and still mostly dry.




Denver Water's Strontia Springs dam was releasing a fair amount of water.




Overheating, I stopped to shed some layers.




At the trail's high point, the clouds were descending and wafting throughout the forest.



There is a fair amount of blowdown this year.




This bubbling brook almost always flows year-round.




The singletrack is pretty good through here.




The concluding pic is of the down, down, down drop to the South Platte River at the Strontia Springs dam.




Later gator!

Adios

Stardate 2017.205

It's Baa'aaack
Hi all! Well, the white stuff returned. South aspects melted, and north aspects shivered. Better yet, there was no ice layer under the snow, so it was relatively easy to ride. For the most part I was able to stay on top of the snow, which was a tad packed from previous use.




A couple inches of snow remain in the shady aspects.




The retreat from upper Lenny's Bench begins. The tree roots were a bit wet and hazardous going down.




Snowcatcher and I made the lottery for 2017 Ride the Rockies. The blog docket will be more active.

Adios

Stardate 2017.197

It's Still Nice Out
Indeed, the weather remains stuck in Gucci mode. I'm not complaining. Following are some pics from the Roxborough Loop. The Rox loop is a connector trail that shortens the Trail 800 loop by a few miles. It also has a segment of turf that is one of the last places to melt out. Nonetheless, several icy patches were laying around. I also made several mud portages.




I had the trail all to myself today.




Pictured is some flowy singletrack through an area of forest that always seems to be green.




The big drop to the South Platte River is about to begin. That's Turkshead Peak at upper right.



Many riders don't slow and finesse their way around a corner. Instead, many riders "rudder" around a corner while in a full-blown skid. If you throw in some freeze-thaw cycles (water expands about 9 percent while freezing), you may end up with a badly eroded piece of trail.



What's next on the docket? The snow returns...

Adios

Stardate 2017.167

Yet, Another Spring-Like Day In Waterton Canyon
We have snakes here. I know this because I'm part reptile. Soon the snakes will be peeking their heads out into warmer weather. We have the standard water and garter snakes. We have bull snakes, which get quite large, I might add. We also have two varieties of rattlesnake, the prairie rattler and the massasauga. I think the sign primarily pertains to rattlers.

Start rant. Denver Water and other service companies are the only people allowed to drive in Waterton Canyon. Yes, they do run over rattlesnakes. I've seen the tire tracks center-punch a rattler well to the side of the road. If you're scared of what's out there, just stay in the city. End rant! Oh, almost end of rant. The sign in the title photo is far above ground because the original sign, which was at eye level, seemed to have grown legs and disappeared. Now I'm done ranting.

I was in shorts and sleeveless shirt today. The South Platte River was shedding its winter attire as well. March snows most certainly lurk, and local trails will yet clog with snow.



From Strontia Springs Reservoir (Waterton Canyon), I rode the long western ridge of Trail 800 that separates Bear Creek from Stevens Gulch. I dropped down to the intersection of Trail 800 and Stevens Gulch. I then backtracked out of the Waterton area.




Snack-time and yet another plug for the Giant Bicycle company.




Trail 800 travels through lodgepole (Pinus contorta) and ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa) pine forest.




Ridge-run'n with Turkshead Peak (app. 7,700 feet) dominating the view in the background.




It will be awhile before the oak brush produces any green.




The End

Adios

Stardate 2017.156

The Heat Is On
Hi folks, it appears the nice weather gods are showering us with affection; it's only mid-February. What's a lizard to do, except bask in in their exaltation and ride as much as possible. Our snowiest month typically is March, right around the corner. The trail appears to have a new friend (not the Pearl) — The Colorado Mountain Bike Association. Probably a good thing.




Hey Giant, how about a new bike for all the advertising the Pearl and I do.



Annual blow-down will stop you in a hurry if you're in a fog.




Narrow, deep and sunless, many drainages were still choked in snow. I turned around here.




Zip-A-dee-Doo-Dah,
Zip-A-Dee-Ay,
My, oh my, what a wonderful day!




That's the end of one day.

Adios

Stardate 2017.096

The 2017 Mountain Bike Year Begins
Ol' man winter has allowed a handful of early rides lately. Despite some brutal cold (see earlier posts), we've had a handful of nice, almost spring-like days. While north aspects remain frozen, south aspects are opening up. Snow is minimal, but the trails all have a shallow icy surface, despite their tame look. The following pic is a view north showing the snow-free southerly aspects of Waterton Canyon, Colorado.




A joint trail here, trail 800 and the Colorado Trail look tame enough. Yet, the trail was deceivably icy.




Ridge tops and their southerly neighbors looked like this.




This corner, and a bit below, was the most slippery segment of the ride.




Certain terrain pockets are small, natural snow catchment-basins, year after year after year.



This is a common preseason turnaround point. This also is the upper Lenny's Bench you've heard me write about. Lenny was a scout who was killed while working on a service project. I think he died in this area, but I'm not entirely sure about that.




That's it for now. We're inch-worming closer and closer to spring and more fun outdoors.

Adios

Stardate 2017.047

It is winter, after all.


This is one of Snowcatcher's numerous methods of photographing flakes of ice.


And Now Some More Waterton
Currently, it's snowing cats and dogs. So, I'll share some pics from about a week ago, before the snow returned. Let's start with a patio paw-print from the illusive and domesticated Felis Catus.




The cold and icy narrows portion of the ride is just that, cold and icy.




This is the segment of the narrows that is always shaded.




The CT was too icy and rutted to try riding up.




The day was warming up nicely.




The South Platte River




All I saw today was ice, snow and water — no wildlife.




The ever elusive and now mud-splattered Snowcatcher came along for the day too.








Now I need to wash the bikes. Here are some words to live by; a clean bike is a happy bike.




More to come, I'm just not quite sure when more will be.

Adios