Perfect kicksled conditions

It snowed a bunch over the last week. Then it got to about 36F today and the wet snow was compacted by traffic. It's about 25F now and super slick.

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Success

With Liza on there it's a good workout. With Maddie it's just fun.

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Rocking the kicksled

Great day today. The first good snow commute was fun. It's days like this, where it's nice and cold and the snow is light and powdery where I love riding a bike like the Rawland. The deep snow likes to engulf the wheels, so disc brakes are nice. I have the big honking 2.3" Neo Moto super turd knobbies on there -- they do great in the snow.


I concede the disc brake superiority now in 2.5 scenarios: deep snow (and that weird icy, wet, 'tweener stage of freaky rim-encrusting-slushiness that happens here about once every two years but happens at least once a winter in Portland) and fast trail riding.

But whatever. I fell once on the way to work today. Re-opened a scab from last summer on my knee. Dang. Other than that, the commute was fun.


I love wintery snowy nights. This is the second night in a row that Liza and I have been able to get out and enjoy the snow. We've made two trips to the grocery store. With one more trip, we'll have all we need for Thanksgiving.

Fresh fallen snow, even with some nice packed stuff under it, is not the best kicksled scenario. We really need a little warmer temperature to melt the snow a tad, then a good cold blast to harden it. That's perfect kicksleding. But we had a good workout tonight. And it was beautiful, and cold, and quiet.


With the snow still falling and the temps nice and low tonight, cross-country skiing looks promising tomorrow. I suck hugely at cross country skiing, but I plan on working on my form. I have the day off and a few hours to hit the park. I shall get better!

About this whole Black Friday thing. Every time I look at the weather prediction it changes. I've seen predictions for a bunch more snow. I've seen predictions for really low temps.



As it looks now, if the snow doesn't get too deep, we may be able to get a few miles in without blowing up. But if it's deep snow, we'll transition to something else. Either skiing, sledding, or just going to the boozer and talking about what we could do.

Kickin it - Liza's kicksled

The conditions are perfect for Liza's kicksled.

All the side streets are compressed snow and ice: smooth and slick. And there is a high of around 10 F today so it's staying hard and fast.

A couple weeks ago, I rigged up a sled pulling solution for Maddie by hooking onto my favorite little REI backpack. I find it sort of funny how overly technical the back pack is. It's got hoops and loops and straps and such. And it's just a wee little thing. But by hooking a carabiner into one of the overly reinforced little grommet hoopy deals, I can make myself into a sled dog. The pack has chest and waist straps, so when I pull, I'm pulling with my shoulders and chest. It really makes hauling Maddie around on her sled nearly effortless.

So today, while Maddie was out with Grandma, Liza and I tried out this dogsled routine with her kicksled. I rode my fixed, studded 720 Ice Bike and we were in business. We covered a lot of ground in no time. 

First we hit the Scoop for some caffeine, then we went to Fresh Abundance, then we dropped off the groceries at home and went up to the Rocket on 43rd. We picked up a couple items there, then we came down Arthur to Super 1 for the mega jug of cinnamon (it should be against the law to make oatmeal without cinnamon).

We were having so much fun and making such good time, we detoured down Manito Blvd to the park and took the long way home. 

It's amazing how easy it is to pull Liza with this set up. It was a good work out, and much more fun that just climbing hills alone. We're hoping for a prolonged cold spell now.

Kicksled

Liza's b-day gift came a few weeks early. She wanted a kick sled, so we did some research and found one that is imported from Sweden. We just got back from the maiden voyage and I have to say I am impressed. With the compact snow we have out there right now, this thing hauls.


I really want to hook it up to the bike -- dog sled style -- but she won't hear of it. Damn.
Liza plans on running Maddie to school on it a couple times a week. This sled is efficient, but it's still a good work out. If she uses it a lot, Liza is going to be one fit woman by the end of the winter.

The sled has metal runners like ice skates, which work great on ice and this compact snow. We also got some snap-on runners that are 35mm wide for fresh snow. I wonder how well they'll slide.
We bought the sled from Vermont Kicksled. It's a cool little mom/pop company; I talked to the owner on the phone for a while and he answered all the questions I had and was a pleasure to deal with.