Flashback to 1997

March of 1997 was my second mountain bike vacation to Moab.  It was Spring Break and I was riding a Trek 830 with no suspension.  I had coordinated the logistics for myself and 19 other people to come to Moab on Spring Break.

The vessel we were traveling in was a converted school bus painted baby blue with dancing mushrooms on the outside.  On the inside were 18 bunks and a couple of tables near the driver.  There was a double bed in the way back where I slept with my boyfriend at the time.

The drive from La Crosse, Wisconsin was supposed to take around 23 hours and it ended up taking us 3 days.  Instead of facing a storm that was pushing east on I-70 we headed south thru the pan handle of Oklahoma ~ around ~ and up thru Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Needless to say, once we arrived we were all eager to stretch our legs either hiking or riding.  A small group of us, four I think, wanted to ride Porcupine Rim.  We didn't realize most of the climb would be snow covered.  We hadn't asked any of the locals for advice and, besides, we rode it this time two years ago without snow.

That day, sometime in March 1997, we walked at least 4 miles through the snow with our bikes.  Each time we attempted to ride we found ourselves sliding without control in the snow and mud.  Back at camp later that afternoon we all had to replace our v-brakes because we had worn them down to the metal.

Since this experience I've seen people ride on snow gracefully and I have determined it is a combination of the water content of the snow and the type of tires they are using.  It seems that when the snow is more dry (airy) it is easier to ride and I know there are plenty of people that live in ski towns that refuse to put their bikes away for the winter.  Studded bike tires ~ super wide balloon tires ~ packed singletrack ~ one way or another they find success.

Yesterday, my friend Wendy & I had made a plan to ride Porcupine Rim.  We received beta from at least 3 people that LPS (Lower Porcupine Singletrack) was rideable and clear.  We were able to ride a fair amount of it but the other parts were snow covered or muddy.  Our guess was the snow was less melted, making it easier to ride, and the ground was frozen for the others where it had turned to mud for us.  

The Snotch, LPS March 5th, 2011

We survived with mostly dry feet, muddy bikes (nothing like the North Shore) and eager for more Porky  runs this year.