The end is near !
 

Well, it looks like snowmobile season has come to an end in this region, and my perfect trails are becoming more challenging. I guess the benefit is the added workout I'll get while winter exits. Today's ride was a tad over two hours of being tossed around and fighting to keep the bike going in a straight line.

wow surprised you didn't use the bigger tires! but looks like you got around anyway! bought potted tulips for my Mom in NY & she said she's gonna try to plant them outside! my backyard is super soft w/ all the snow melt. mud season is coming

With the snowmobiles not out I took the Stache with the front suspension because I was being hit with hiker footprints on a lot of the ride. My upper body would have taken a bigger beating without the suspension. I figured I would trade off some traction issues for more comfort. It's a hard balance toward the end of winter with what bike is best because the condition change from ride to ride now.

Winter still has plenty of punch left here. Snow and ice last night. Low temps even below zero later this week.

I tell people that I don't mind the deep Minnesota cold in January. I don't. What I mind is that winter just won't go away until April. Or sometimes....May.

We got about 8" of snow on Friday. I figured it would be packed down nicely and went for a ride this evening. Nope, loose snow and deep ruts everywhere off the main roads. To make matters worse the snow wasn't bonding at all to the ice underneath. So there were icy ruts, covered by loose snow ruts. Now and then I'd catch the edge of an icy rut and my tire would slip sideways into it. Had I not been on a fat bike it would have been very unpleasant.

Early in the ride I started going down an alley where there hadn't been any traffic and I bogged down and had to walk back out. Later on I was following a 10" deep rut in an alley and my pedals were striking the edges. I was definitely over dressed for that kind of exertion.