Tuesday’s ride was all about racking up miles like the Terminator. I hadn’t made an Ohio or Salisbury run this winter, so I started off in that direction, but was open-ended as to where I’d end up.
The way out…
The Indian Lake trails were being groomed Tuesday morning. But they hadn’t hit C8/Sabael trail yet. No worries though, it was a pretty good ride out.
Sailed smoothly down Indian Lake. Campsites had roller moguls but not quite sno-cross stuff. Lewey Lake, smooth as peanut butter crossing.
C8/Two Miles of Hell was bumpy. Heck, even Perkins Clearing had some bumps. But the Lake Pleasant groomer was getting fired up at the north end of Perkins, ready to wage its war on the bumps.
C4/C8 Big Brook trail as certainly a nice ride out of the back side of Perkins Clearing:
Continuing down C4/C8 onto Willis Mountain trail was also quite nice as well. Dropped down onto Piseco Lake, which had a good 6+ inches of fresh snow on it.
Trail coming off the west end of Piseco Lake was freshly groomed:
Evergreen Lake was a plush crossing. I didn’t see any deep slush or mysterious craters in the ice.
C4A coming into Morehouse was like riding a cloud:
C4 in Morehouse after a fresh groom…
At one point, I yielded a bit too far to the right for the Morehouse groomer tag team and got stuck in a good 24-30 inches of snow off the side of the trail. Took me about 5-10 minutes to extricate myself out of that one.
Onto Ohio….
C4/Jones Road was a big steaming bowl of powder chowder that was incredibly fun to ride:
Gray-Wilmert Road snowbank hadn’t been shelved yet, but there was enough snow on the road to get by. C4B was a decent ride for the first few miles. Then it become great once I hit fresh groomer tracks south of the Ohio Tavern:
Elected to run C4G and C4 down toward Poland. Of course, I eventually found the open field riding I crave. By this time, it was snowing enough to limit visibility somewhat:
The descent into the Kuyahoora Valley had its plush lumps, but the groomer was heading that way to spruce things up.
Crossing into Oneida County…
After a gas stop at Poland Stewarts, I pressed onto C7C. The gateway into Deerfield trail system was rough as a corn cob. But it evolved into a good, fun ride once I hit the open fields.
From there, I embarked on C7A through Deerfield into Holland Patent. It was a plush ride, with new snow cushioning any small bumps.
Stopped at the Hajdasz cabin and signed in. One of the few times I got off my sled for more than a minute or two, other than a gas stop:
Then I hit C7 to make the run up to Dutchers Run and Starr Hill look out. Some rollers on the hillclimb. No view today because of the constant wet snow coming down.
Penn Mountain gets a gold star for great signage at intersections for unfamiliar riders:
Ran C4 over to Remsen. It was a tad bumpy in places, nearly smooth in others. The re-route does have quite a bit of roadside riding. But hey, I’m glad we have the pathway. Found a “Cat Kill” along the way. Look at all the fresh snow on that carcass!
After a refueling, rest and snack stop at Northway Stop & Shop to don dry gloves, I was poised the make the return trip home.
Over to Ohio and Salisbury…
Did the C4 ditchbanging thing along Route 365 to get back into Ohio. C4 though Hinkley State Forest didn’t disappoint and eventually I completed the loop I started earlier in the day in Ohio.
I hit the Legion trail through Cold Brook. Gotta say it was hands down the best I’d ever seen it. Freshly groomed for a beautiful ride out of the valley:
Then I connected on C4 through Norway, which was about as good as I’ve seen that stretch. Continued on C4/Military Road to the Salisbury Clubhouse, which almost never disappoints.
C4A over to Stratford was a pretty good ride. But the re-routed narrow trail section was a tad bumpy in places. From Dugway Road, C4A and C8A had occasional low rollers, but had plenty of snow and was a very fun ride through that avenue.
A brief rest stop at the metal bridge in Stratford was in order to reset myself for the push home. It would be the last time I’d get off my sled before I got back to Indian Lake:
Back into ilsnowland…
Powley Road was even better than sex:
Seriously… I could have ran this bottom to top, over and over again all evening until the gas tank ran dry. It was THAT GOOD!
C8/Spy Lake Trail was good to excellent riding all the way through. Oxbow Lake was a plush crossing, with some slush starting to reemerge.
C4/Fish Mountain-Oxbow trail was actually good enough to whistle through for the entire length.
Sacandaga Lake had some decent-sized slushy areas with the new snow. LP1/Page Street trail was in good shape.
River trail in Speculator was bumpy and rough. But as soon as I got past the sand pit? Let’s just say this is as smooth as you’ll ever see C4 in Speculator Village, and it continued ALL THE WAY up the hill to Perkins Clearing:
Ran Perkins Clearing Road and 2 Miles from Hell straight up the gut. Both were notably better on the return evening trip.
Got back to Indian Lake and C8/Sabael trail was a great welcome mat into town:
Banged out the customary victory loop. The main arteries had some studder ripple and the lightly traveled S87/42nd and Broadway and S86/Little Canada were aces.
What an awesome ride! Called it a day after 237 miles. Half-tempted to try the run up to Newcomb and go for 300. But I’ve learned it’s sometimes best to leave a bit on the table and finish the ride when you’re feeling great about it. Besides, I gotta save that direction for another time this week, eh?
Midweek Outlook…
Despite the warmish temperatures expected Wednesday, don’t overthink this…
JUST DROP A DIME ON A SICK DAY AND DON’T LOOK BACK!
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Steet Ponte Auto Group. Many of the vehicles here in Indian Lake are bought from the Steet Ponte. Co-owner Joe Steet is a huge fan and booster of ilsnow.com. If you’re looking for a new truck, give Steet Ponte a good look.
