Friday, February 26, 2010

When the weather's this good, not riding's a crime

Well, not just riding.
The great weather continues, and snow promised last week never materialzed.  Not so great for skiing, but the sled/dog sled trails have stayed very good to excellent.
Friday dawned clear and sunny, so a big ride in the backcountry beckoned.  Sadly, no other Pugsley could come out to romp, so it was a solo mission to Alligator Lake.  Alligator lake is one of those rides that, in the summer, are not really worth doing, although it is quite lovely.  Lots of mud holes negates the fun factor.  Winter is another matter.  A fantastic snowmobile/dog sled trail takes you right to the lake.  Its 25 Km in, with an elevation gain of ~ 1000'.

Right from the start, it was obvious that it was going to be a great ride.  Some sort of dog sled had been in ahead of me, and had laid down an amazingly smooth groove that made the riding like being on pavement.  It was that good.  























Once you hit Two Horse creek, its a long climb to the alpine, but keep that climb in mind for later...


















Once I got up higher, it was obvious that there was heaps of snow about.  Not a bad view either.

















This view is looking towards the North, there is a trail heading up that valley that connects to Fish Lake.  The trail was in and looked in great shape.  Next week??  It was pretty tempting to head that way and make a long day of it, but no one was expecting me out that way, so I decided to stay safe and keep to the plan.
Wahoo!!

Every great ride has some pushing.


Jet Fuel!

Basking in the spring sun.

Feeding Grey Jays is good karma.

The obligatory bike shot.

Looking home, and the great ride back.

The downhill parts were a hell of a lot of fun.  The big tires just ate it all up.  Yee-haw!!!!!!!!!!!