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Official 2014 Winter Ice Biking Thread

7K views 57 replies 18 participants last post by  cyclelicious 
#1 ·
The official first day of Winter Solstice was hit (coincidentally) by Icemagaddon

Pouring freezing rain altered our plans to ride yesterday evening, though we will sharpen the studded tires and ride today

Backyard cedar trees are heavy with ice. Curious to see the condition of the trails and what trees crashed down



Yo let's kick it...
 
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#34 ·
Thanks! Yup, that's Remy. She tags along for trail rides sometimes too. My puppy (Ruger) is still too young to be out off leash. I can hardly wait to get team Dumb and Dumber on the trail together.

This was earlier this week at DF.
Bicycle tire Bicycle wheel Winter Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle frame


And with her new partner in crime today after a good run.


Good luck and be careful riding this weekend. :cool:
 
#43 ·
#4 ·
I didn't get very far on my local trails. The doubletrack wasn't too bad since it was crust over crunch or half hardened slush for the most part. Singletrack? Forget about it, it was a river of polished ice that I would not even want to walk on. If I wanted to fall off a cliff to my death I'd take up wingsuit flying.
 
#8 ·
We had an interesting ride today. The roads were icy/slushy, saw a lot of neighbourhood trees and branches down. The sounds of chainsawing and ice chopping was unusual but obviously necessary.



We made it to the nashville tract but we had to be very careful where we went in and where we rode. We stayed on top of the Humber ravine and rode in the open areas because of the fallen and falling trees. The continuous sound of cracking and crashing trees was unnerving









Glare ice at the school yard


Duck!


Almost home :) Time to shovel!
 
#13 ·
I would like to know as well. I am still on 26'' 2.25 tires etc. so I'm ok with a couple of inches of snow and/or packed trails. Are there any areas still accessible at this time? I have a few days off as well and it is killing me not being able to get out.

All southern Etobicoke trails that I usually go to are covered with ice. The frozen ice/slush is uneven too so no way for me to ride it.
 
#11 ·
^My dogs have trouble pissing in our own back yard! You guys are nuts!:cool:

If the forest is anything like my neighbourhood, there's a lot of trees to climb over and a lot of overhead danger, not to mention the sharp jagged ice you might be wiping out into. Be careful out there if you bike in this mess.
 
#12 ·
As we were riding, Singlesprocket was pointing out all the hangers above. We really had to be very careful. Even those pics we took when we stopped; the ground was hard and slippery like a skating rink... I really didn't want to get off the studded tires. It was safer to keep riding!

On the ride back my glasses, helmet and especially pedals were icing up because the freezing rain was constant. My gear had a film of ice!
 
#15 ·
I was at Christie on Tuesday afternoon. There is a sign saying the trails are closed. The trees still have ice on them, I was surprised, the ice on the Hamilton mountain was mostly gone Monday morning.
The trails are not really rideable. The crust on undisturbed snow isn't hard enough to support a fat bike. If you get enough speed up, you can skim along for a bit but then sink through. It's not too icy - I had no trouble with slipping.
They have plowed the double track to just past the exit from Runway. That section of the double track is nice riding, couple inches of light snow.
There are branches everywhere on the single track. They are frozen into the snow so you need a shovel or something to break them free. Some of the Trillium trail is rideable but hard work - gave up where it joins Happy Hawthorn. I tried Crash & Berm but had to walk most of it.

Branch Winter Natural environment Freezing Twig
 
#17 ·
December 25th ride in the Nashville tract. The aftermath devastation from the storm was wicked. Today we ventured further than we did on Sunday.

Beautiful landscape art


Treetops were bent


riding into the abyss


Heading into the Humber Valley... the hill was glare ice with a light dusting of snow






We hit several tangled spots like this


I made it safely but super studded tires would have steadied my ride down :)
 
#18 ·
rode in and cleared some trail today. sharpened some tools for the job (Gransfors). was still too dangerous in some areas of the forest. as soon as the wind picked up more branches came crashing down. had to always check what was overhead. got one section done, took about four hours. included some before and after pics.



before



after



some ambiance shots...



 
#20 ·
we will sharpen the studded tires . . .
Do you really do that? How do you sharpen them, and is it really necessary? Am I just naïve and oblivious to sarcasm? My studs came pretty sharp, and scratched some skin off when I rubbed them all over my cheeks to test their traction.

Thanks for all the great pictures. I almost wish the weather was worse in my elbow of the forest 'round here. The only ice we've had was before the winter solstice. Since the official start of t'winter, it's been globally warm.
 
#22 ·
New Years Eve night ride, Palgrave. The trails were hard packed ice with a light dusting of snow.

Riding the frozen pond


Frosty air


Cool climbs


Did I say it was icy? We all hit the ground once :)


Long shadows


cool descents


Beautiful starry night


What's that in the sky?


Was that a UFO?


End 2013 and start 2014 with fireworks!
 
#23 ·
New Years Day 5 km ride to the Humber River was a cold -13c. But once we reached the river valley it felt a "little" warmer. We rode for 2.5 hours non-stop.



Conditions were awesome


Crossing a natural ice bridge


Many down trees spanning the river


Track stand


The river was riddled with paw prints (and now bike tire prints)


Heading home
 
#25 ·
Durham forest yesterday. Everything was rideable but you had to be careful not to put too much weight on either axle as there was 6 inches of soft snow hidden below a pretty thick crust. I only found out about this false bottom when my front tire popped through on Bowes II and I went OTB. LOL.
The mains were packed down thanks to snow shoers and skiers and the entire ride was pretty much clear of fallen trees.

 

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