500ss
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Did some more riding over the weekend. The rain on Saturday didn’t do too much damage, but it softened up the trails and they sure got beat up by the end of the day. Perkins was the bumpiest I’ve ever ridden it.
Hopefully groomers do their magic before the cold comes in otherwise those bumps are going to set up rock hard. There is still a lot of snow out in the woods.
Rode pretty much everything around the Lake Pleasant area this past weekend and trails were in great shape. The usual high-traffic trails suffered some abuse on Saturday, but I was able to find plenty of good riding. Weather was beautiful, but that sun is getting higher and who knows how much more time we have – get out and ride!
Lakes were in nice shape this past weekend. Just watch for the occasional frozen ruts here and there, but overall the lakes were in great shape – fast and flat.
I crossed Piseco from the new trail behind Piseco Lake Lodge headed (north?) toward Oxbow/Airport end of lake. About 3/4 of the way there is a large wet area. Almost looked like open water but I was not about to slow down to check. It seemed odd that it wasn’t frozen over as it was -12 F Sunday morning and in single digits when I crossed.
I did not ride Indian Lake, but I rode pretty much everything local to Lake Pleasant between Saturday and Sunday. Sacandaga was nice and flat and Lake Pleasant and Oxbow were good as well. Piseco Lake was not so good with water and slush in areas. Did not feel good going over Piseco in several spots.
Trails in general were very good over the weekend. If you don’t live in the area and look at the conditions in your backyard you probably think it couldn’t be very good but there is a couple of feet of snow and trails are in nice condition. The base still seems a bit thin in the woods, so more snow would be a nice touch.
Nice to hear that ice thickness is building. Looking at several cold nights ahead, so should only get better.
Haven’t been out riding yet, so not sure about the river trail, but given the weather we’ve had so far it may be iffy even if it is open. There is a bypass trail that you can use to avoid the river trail.
Just my opinion, but I would not ride Indian Lake or any of the large lakes yet, especially with a 6 yr old. I have heard that people have started riding them, but cold weather came late this year and some of the larger lakes only recently froze over. Oxbow has been frozen for a while, so that may be OK.
I believe it is due to get colder later this week, so if it were me taking a 6 yr old I would prioritize making sure she didn’t get too cold, even if I rode a tiny portion of what I would normally like to ride. This comes from experience taking my own kids years ago, starting at an even younger age. I found that it was important to make it a fun experience and not turn them off by letting them get cold and miserable.
I assume you are trailering? You can pick up an updated trail map and any of the local stores. Some trails are closed to logging, so an updated map will be important. I would suggest starting at the ball field parking lot in Speculator. You could head out to the tree farm and take Hatchery Brook trail to Perkins Clearing. Between the tree farm and Perkins you can do a lot of loops without riding lakes. You could come out of Perkins on the Big Brook trail and make your way to Oxbow Inn since you mentioned that. Not sure I would come back to town over Sacandaga and Lake Pleasant though. You could always backtrack and go through Perkins again back to town.
I would pack extra gloves, hand/feet warmers, hats, snacks and maybe some hot chocolate for your daughter. Stop a lot because she will be freezing before she ever says she is cold. Stop often, have snacks and maybe lunch on the side of the trail, maybe roast a hot dog to make it a real fun time for her. Get her hooked young! When she is 10 she can take the safety course and ride her own sled. I used to love riding with my kids regardless of how many miles we were able to get in – lots of happy memories and they still love to come ride with me when they can.
Good luck and happy riding.
I certainly appreciate having the forum back since I am not on facebook or anything similar. I hope we see some good activity here when we get the lakes frozen solid and some decent snow for riding. I almost said IF we get lakes frozen and snow, but trying to stay positive…
