Darrin Jr scheduled a day off work for a Wednesday ride.
We didn’t get going until nearly 10am. But getting out a bit later to let the temperature rise wasn’t a bad thing.
Indian Lake town trails, including C8/Sabael trail had been groomed, but had stubborn residual bumps. Still had to be careful of some holes in C8/Sabael trail.
Got onto Indian Lake for a fun rip on the big pond!
Campsites trail wasn’t bad! Lewey Lake was a beautiful crossing.
C8 / Two Miles from Hell was groomed all the way through. Thank goodness! Felt like riding a real snowmobile trail, instead getting bashed apart in a mosh pit.
Caught a fresh groom into Perkins Clearing and took it all the way to the back!
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C4/C8 Big Brook trail was rough with humpback moguls. Didn’t stick with that for long before turning tail. Doubled back and hit the fresh groom through Carpenter Hill Road.
LP9/Nichol Vly trail and south end of Perkins Clearing Road had yet to enjoy a morning groom, still bumpy from the weekend. Mid section of LP9 had a few water hazards.
Perkins Clearing southern bypass trail had been freshly groomed for a good ride through that avenue.
C4 descending into Speculator Village had studderbumps and rollers throughout. But we somehow got through without completely hating ourselves for riding it.
Most Speculator Village trails was in decent shape. But River trail was ROUGH!
Zipped over Lake Pleasant.
LP1/Page Street trail was snirty in places, but groomed for a good ride. Ripped across Sacandaga Lake.
C4/Fish Mountain to Oxbow trail was groomed. Got thin and pebbly for stretches between cemetery and Oxbow Lake. But many of the water hazards have frozen over.
Oxbow Lake was a fast rip.
C8/Spy Lake trail was groomed for a comfortable ride. Some thin spots along the way and one washout spot.
Powley Road was its usual excellent ride. C8A past Powley Road was passable, but had lots of bumps. Encountered spots like this for about 2 miles.
At the steel bridge, we saw fresh groom marks on C8A toward Pleasant Lake and decided to give that a try. First couple of miles were fun goat path riding until we got to the groomer barn. Trail got bumpy after that and we soon we encountered an ugly watery area with rough trail past it. Seemed like a perfect opportunity to turn tail back to Powley Road!
Return trip
Got to Oxbow Inn mid-afternoon for lunch. Broccoli and cheddar soup to start. Main course was grown up grilled cheese sandwich with side of sweet potato tots. That hit the spot!
When lunch was done, it was snowing hard at times. Ripped it to Speculator Village for a fuel stop at Mountain Market. Then it was bump-n-grind on C4 straight up the gut to Perkins Clearing.
Lakes had whiteouts and very poor visibility. Good thing we had daylight for some navigation. Rolled into town around sunset. Indian Lake town trails were bumpy when we got back.
After Darrin Jr and I parted ways, I zipped across Adirondack Lake and got back to Pelon Road parking lot with 149 miles for the ride.
Ride map
Click here for ride stats, larger map and 3D Flyover
Bottom line
Not the best, not the worst. Darrin Jr was happy to get out and ride! Two Miles from Hell was groomed which adds one star to the rating.
Weekend Outlook
New snow this week should give groomers some fresh meat in attempt to work trails into shape. But results may vary widely on narrow, woodsy trails.
If you come up to ride this weekend, dress for SURVIVAL! National Weather Service has issued an EXTREME COLD WATCH Friday evening and Saturday for wind chills as low as minus 35. And we may be turning our eyes toward a meaningful snow event for Sunday night.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
