- Oct 13, 1999
- 2,807
- 0
After finally getting my GG back together and set-up for the ice, mother nature refused to cooperate. That was until this weekend. Four inches of snow and sleet last Thursday followed by rain and temperatures in the 40s on Friday made for a perfect base after a cold front rolled through early Saturday morning. Sunday afternoon I loaded up my bike and gear and drove to a local pond where several riders have a short oval carved out. There was one other rider unloading his bike when I arrived. Two other riders showed up while I was there and several people stopped to watch including DRN’s very own BRush.
Riding on the ice is truly a unique experience. I hadn’t been on my bike since the Black and Blue Enduro back in early November. So it didn’t take long for a few of those infrequently used muscles to let me know I’d been getting lazy. Going around a counter-clockwise oval may look easy, but your arms and legs get a serious workout. It’s a truly unique experience being able to lean way over in a turn on the ice. Also, being a typical woods spode, I’m not used to holding it WFO for an extended period. The traction that ice screws provide is unbelievable. This also tends to tear the ice up quite a bit. A couple big holes developed in the exit of the turns, which sent a couple of riders down hard. I had couple close calls, but never got slammed.
I had a blast and hope the weather stays cold for a couple more weeks. Unfortunately most of the races around here have been cancelled due to lack of ice or thin ice, so I may have to wait until next season for my first race. However, just riding on the ice is definitely a great way to stay in-shape over the winter. Next time I’ll have to make some changes in fork height, tire pressure and jetting. The absolute best part was not spending an hour cleaning the bike and gear after getting home.
Riding on the ice is truly a unique experience. I hadn’t been on my bike since the Black and Blue Enduro back in early November. So it didn’t take long for a few of those infrequently used muscles to let me know I’d been getting lazy. Going around a counter-clockwise oval may look easy, but your arms and legs get a serious workout. It’s a truly unique experience being able to lean way over in a turn on the ice. Also, being a typical woods spode, I’m not used to holding it WFO for an extended period. The traction that ice screws provide is unbelievable. This also tends to tear the ice up quite a bit. A couple big holes developed in the exit of the turns, which sent a couple of riders down hard. I had couple close calls, but never got slammed.
I had a blast and hope the weather stays cold for a couple more weeks. Unfortunately most of the races around here have been cancelled due to lack of ice or thin ice, so I may have to wait until next season for my first race. However, just riding on the ice is definitely a great way to stay in-shape over the winter. Next time I’ll have to make some changes in fork height, tire pressure and jetting. The absolute best part was not spending an hour cleaning the bike and gear after getting home.
