It's been a while since we had a winter with a much uninterrupted cold than we have this year. While we haven't had a big dumping of snow (yet), there has been some amount on the ground almost continuously since December. Until today, I hadn't ridden anything other than a fat bike since New Years …
That was the theme for most of February. See-sawing temps and storms that dropped more sleet and ice than powder kept convincing me that conditions would be terrible for skiing, fat biking or just about any other activity in the woods, but every time I was (delightedly) proven wrong. February 14: Single digits sunrise at …
Zwift, for those unaware, is a cycling app that allows users to interact and compete with others and ride through a variety of virtual landscapes with a bike on a trainer. It's basically like a video game, and it's taken the cycling world by storm. These days, as we're deep into January, my Strava feed …
I didn't feel like riding when I rolled out of bed. I'd stayed up a little too late the night before watching a movie. Too late these days is 10 pm --- ideally I am in bed at 8:30, listening to a podcast until I fall asleep, which usually happens quickly. Over the past few …
Back in mid-December, we got a snowstorm that dumped about a foot of snow and was amazingly not followed by an inch of freezing rain as seems to be the norm the last few years. This meant that we actually had some time to enjoy pristine, fluffy powder before the inevitable melting or ice crust …
Winter camping is not for the faint of heart. Especially not winter bike camping. You ride all day, get sweaty (read: cold when you stop), then need to try to stay warm all night using only what you can carry on your bike. Then wake up in the morning and ride some more. But there's …
Continue reading "Always forward: A weekend of biking and camping in the Pine Creek Gorge."
Conditions were absolutely perfect. The gravel roads had seen heavy snowmobile use since the snowstorm Saturday night, resulting in a packed highway for our fatbikes. It was cold -- in the low 20s -- but calm. I heated up quickly on the climb, opening up my vest and stuffing my heavy gloves in my stem …
We've had a streak of extra cold temps lately, with daytime highs in the 10-15 degree Fahrenheit range and lows at night regularly dipping below zero. In fact, I can't remember the last time it was above freezing. Before Christmas, I guess. When it comes to getting outside for my usual outdoor activities, the uber-freezing …
helena kotala 