el Gordete and the Mono

Our previous weekend, and now week, has been dominated by a winter event here in the Ohio Valley. As always, areas in Indiana just north of us received 6" plus of snow, while we got our usual mix of sleet, ice, and snow-like precip. School was out Friday and eventually come eveningtime I got out on the Mukluk for some rambling around Seneca. I was running around 13psi, which doesn't really "count" for full fattie action. For that I'll need deeper snow and half the pressure.  It was fun, though. The best moment of the ride was descending down a sledding hill. I wasn't quite sure how it would respond, but it was as pillowy a ride I've ever experienced on 2 wheels. Awesome, really.

I tried the trails coming off of Seneca golf course in the darkening conditions. As some point halfway through that trail I saw two high beams from a couple mtbikers entering above me. They had lights. I had fat. As we approached each other in the circuitous section one commented that I had "the advantage". Yes, I did.

Saturday meant a commute (after Friday morning's commute as well) to Breadworks for some paper grading. Fattie got numerous comments. Below, I found that the snowy yards were an easier descent than the mixed, icy streets.

Sunday, the Crew did a multi-hour ride over the New Albany for coffee at Quills. We had received some more precip late Saturday, so I brought el Gordete out for more fun. I had the definite upper hand in KY where the streets were crap. Along Clarksville's path I was also to plow a trail pretty nicely and bounced along my 10ish psi (which I had dropped from Fri).  Once we left the snow, my trip was a different issue. When el Gordete with the Nates hit the streets, My oh My, what pain!! I struggled to make the mileage in N'Albany in the cold (23F or so). Once on the return, again, after few miles of chugging is was leg-lock, for sure.  Right now, it's just not a machine for roads. Some smoother tires and more pressure would help, but that's certainly not in the budget at the moment. One day.

With the ice (which fatties doesn't protect against. I went down on some black ice Friday morning), I needed to do a drop-off at the car dealer today. I had previously mounted the old Nokkian 1.9" studs on the Monocog, recently reintroduced after a few years of neighborhood use from the elder teen. I rode 11 miles through a little bit of everything this afternoon back to the house: gravel road snow (at Thienamen's Greenhouse), soccer field and park snow, clean streets, patchy ice/slush, muddy trails, a second visit to the Seneca golf course trail, and an easy trip up Millvale. The SS Monocog with studs is a pretty fine basic transpo bike for the conditions. That said, big fattie plowing was easier and more fun Friday in the dusk than today's 1.9" trail run, although probably slower.  

Is it Spring yet? Can I take a ride above 30F yet?