Showing posts with label Moose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moose. Show all posts

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Winter Trail Hazards

I got out for a ride last night . . .  a sweet, 1,000ft of descending, 97% singletrack, fatbike ride last night.

The last little bit of singletrack is a 0.5mile piece of trail I've been trying to get packed in and rideable for the last month or so.

I'd been out snowshoeing on it the night before (and I only don snowshoes, begrudgingly, for the purpose of better bike riding) and last night it was riding better than it ever has when I came upon open water where there had been none the night before.

It seems a moose approached from the lookers left of the above picture, intersected with the Jumpy Squirrel trail, and punched through to a creek I didn't even know was flowing underneath the trail. 
 
From the other side.  One moose sized hole in the middle of some winter singletrack. Must have been fairly startling for the moose to suddenly be standing in flowing water, even if it wasn't terribly deep.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Where Have I Been?

Where have I been?

I'm not entirely sure, but it has been fun.

Biermag offered to watch Little wRider this evening, so LoL and I connected and caught up with a Thursday night shop right.  Good to see LoL, it had been a while and I've had a blog warming gift sitting on my workbench for him for the past couple of weeks.
He started up a fine little blog a while back, and this seemed like an appropriate gift:


He's got some good stuff over there do yourself a favor and check it out.

More than once in recent weeks Little wRider has protested when I begin to prepare for a cross country ski outing, requesting instead that we "go ride bikes in the woods."  Who am I to argue with a request like that from a two year old?  


So of course we go ride bikes in the woods.

It should also be obvious that I use the term 'ride' loosely.  Regardless, it's tough to beat an afternoon of bike related goofiness in the woods.


The Little One is learning at a young age that there is plenty of hike-a-bike involved in winter riding.  So far he seems to be okay with it.


Cousin Rye N disappeared to Jamaica for a few weeks on what he claims is a work related trip, so Biermag and I wasted no time commandeering his Fatback and riding it plenty.  When the riding as good as it's been a bike like this should not sit idle.

Little has also developed an affection for rides on the back of the Big Donkey, or the "Backwards Bike" as he calls it.  His logic, as he explained it to me was that having handlebars behind the seat is backwards, therefor it is "The Backwards Bike."  I added a bit of titanium to the Donkey to give Little a more stable platform.  Rides have mostly been super slow and mellow, back and forth to the playground, but he and I both couldn't be happier.

Of all the people I know I can't think of anyone who might enjoy a fatbike more than GSC, but up until recently he did not own one, and had only ridden them very briefly.  Well it warms my heart to know that he took the plunge, and I had the pleasure of riding with both him and SHeck on a recent weekend. 

GSC said something mid-ride along the lines of "I had no idea . . ." which I took to mean that he was very much enjoying his new, fat set of wheels.


Crickett the dogg approves of GSC's new dog walking machine.


 Sheck borrowed LoL's Moonlander for the day, and rented herself a Fatback the following weekend.  Call me crazy, but I don't think it will be long before she's rolling a fatty of her own.

The Iditarod rolled through town last weekend, and it just so happens that the finish of the first day, ceremonial run ends just a few short miles from our house. 
A few years back GSC stuck an bbq grill on an old pair of skis and dubbed it Paco.  I inquired into Paco's availability for the Iditarod and a small crew was quickly assembled for some sausage grilling and mushing watching.

Biermag was kind enough to tow Paco to the trails, much to the delight of numerous spectators, leaving me free to tow Little wRider in his Chariot.

Grilling sausage on a bluebird day in Alaska just about one of the finest ways I can think of to spend an afternoon.

One driver drove right off the road and into the soft shoulder trying to capture a photo much like this one on our way home from the Iditarod start.  A grill on skis works out much better than one might initially think.

On one of my rides home recently I was pondering how few moose I have seen in the past month or two.  Well below average for up here.  Well it wasn't too much later that I heard a klunk outside and looked out to see that this guy had knocked one of my shovels over.  There was a deck railing between us, but had I been inclined it would have been very easy to give him a pat on the nose.

I think that covers most of the good times from around here in the recent past, I'll try to stay a bit more on top of this blogging thing as turn the corner from winter to spring.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Feels Like Winter

While the days have gotten short and the temperatures have been cool, there has been lots of beautiful sunshine to enjoy on at least one way of my commute.



I've been riding this beast almost exclusively for the last few weeks enjoying it's midfatness on the little snow we do have.  The $30 pogies have continue to serve me well, even after 7 years.  I was riding at -5 F this afternoon with my bare hands in them for the last 5 miles of my ride.


More exciting than snow has been the overflow from frozen streams around town.  I came upon this immediately after leaving the house yesterday.  An ice damn in a culvert had water flowing out down the road in single digit temperatures.  A couple of trails around town have had a some significant overflow issues on and off over the past few weeks.  In a very dorky way, I really enjoy the dynamics of water and ice.

 Spotted this guy just off the trail riding to school today,


then heard something behind me and noticed I'd parked my bike right between the two bulls.  Fortunately the were mellow and disinterested in my existence.

The left palm of his antlers appears to have broken off at some point. 


Sunday, June 17, 2012

Back in My Town. Riding My Bikes

The fam and I took off and headed out of state for a little while.
Spent some quality time with family and friends and managed to get a little bit of riding.

The rides were a change of pace from our day to day around here and I'll probably have some pictures and words about them in the near future.

I don't know what his job is, but it put a smile on my face to see this guy out on the tarmac after we landed back at home.

Met Mrs. and Little at a big box sportsman's store.  As GSC pointed out to me a few years ago this is the only thing that resembles a bike rack outside the store.
 For now it is just nice to be home and rolling around town on my own bikes, enjoying some excellent summer weather.


11:30 pm.  Rode the 1x1 to the store for some of the necessities.

Happy summertime


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

How Much Excitement Can You Pack Into One Evening?

So Little wRider and I were rolling like this





So we could drop the Donkey off here for a while




Along the way we saw this


plus about a dozen more officers with guns drawn,  just across the street from GSC and SHeck.  (I was about 5 feet away from the first officer in the photo as he got out of his squad car and chambered a shell in that shotgun he's holding.)



Then we were on our way to deliver some pizza to Mrs. and we had to wait on this guy


Then  just before we tried to lock up here, the sprinklers turned on. I'm so glad we didn't get there 5 minutes earlier.

But then we heard this, so we dashed around back


and got blasted by some rotor wash.




Then on our way home this guy crept up on us  . . .


 He should really get a bell or learn to say "Bike on your left."


Anyway, at 10pm the view looked like this.

 
Then Mrs. got off work early so I rode to meet here and saw this sunset @11:25pm


Then we cruised home together, her riding the bike my Grandfather received as a retirement gift in 1984.



I've got to say it was an excellent summer evening.








Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Midnight Road Ride

I love summer night rides in Alaska.
I had the itch to ride the Bridgstone speedcycle all evening.
Mrs. was working, but Biermag is living here so I've got a built in babyminder.  It was later than I'd hoped, but once I was confident Little wRider had settled down to sleep for the night I got myself out the door for a little ride.

11:55pm and I pointed my bike uphill.


Midnight.  No flash.  I love Alaskan summers.


Nice 30min climb with a short break to wait on momma moose and her twins to move off the road.  Then I pointed it down and went faster than I have in quite some time.

Cute set of twins.



Aside from the driver who elected to cross the double yellow and make a good swerve at me it was an awesome evening ride.



Sunday, March 11, 2012

This is what I'm Dealing With These Days

We are within a few inches of record snowfall for a single season around here.
I love snow, and I love lots of it even more.
And now that the roof has been shoveled I'm not stressed out by the large quantity of it above my head.

All that snow has made for an interesting winter of riding. I very quickly got my money's worth out of my 1x1 set up. It's no fatbike (I like to think of it as Big Boned) but it has been great for this year's commuting.
While I am generally a proponent of vehicular cycling practices, I readily change my tune when it gets good and snowy. Unless there is a moose blocking the bike path, then I'll take my chances in the street.

This years snowbanks have made bike path travel even more hazardous than usual

Do you see that berm? Do you think a driver coming from the left could see me even if they were looking?
And you thought bikes were invisible in the summer.

During the dark rides of midwinter cars' headlights were often a good indicator of the need to slow down and not get creamed when approaching an intersection like this, but now that the days are getting longer I've got to really have my ears on and be ready for suprises.


A few weeks ago I saw a city employ with a shovel digging this stop sign out of the snowbank. That's how big the piles have gotten, the traffic signs are getting buried.
You see that big F150 zooming by? Yep, but not for long. He's about to disappear behind a giant pile of snow. No way a driver could see a 6'3" guy on a 22" frame about to enter the intersection.

Having my light mounted on my helmet, rather than my bars, has helped me get a driver or two's attention before our paths crossed, but I'm just going to keep operating as if I'm even more invisible than usual.


Oh, and all that snow has left these guys more stressed out and ornery than usual.
This one seemed mostly curious as she kept approaching me, but I was more than ready to roll under that truck if her mood suddenly changed.


Snowy trails have made for some fun riding/towing in the woods. Little man cracks up when we're bombing the downhills.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Moose Get Hungry This Time of Year

GSC posted this photo today of a giant moose apparently eating his bike seat. Bummer.

Nevermind photoshop, it's all about perspective.

Photo by GSC