Triming the Lard

I like riding snow. It's a good way to slip and slide without the wear and tear on bikes and trails of riding in mud. Fat bikes are sometimes, but not always, better for that, but they are pretty much always painful for my knees. I have a narrow gate, such that most people, except my dad who happens to share half my genetics, hate following my narrow ski tracks. Lard bikes, with their pedal-like-a-duck cranks are just too wide for my knees, so they hurt after just a single ride on one. Now packed snow, no lipidcycle required, that can be the bees knees, ankles, and pelvis all wrapped up together!

I was headed to the Jones Library in Amherst today, but I wanted a bit more than just the direct eight mile ride, so I figured I'd repeat my hike with a bike tactic, looping out to include a section of the Robert Frost Trail in the neighborhood where I lived as a student. Back in those days, the ends of that section were clearly signed "No mountain bikes", so I only ever rode them with my road bike, not only figuring I had an out if stopped, but also, I walked any wet sections and a slick tire just can't dig in and rip up like a knobby.

Yes, admittedly, I was looking forward to putting my "It's not a mountain bike" excuse into effect, so imagine my disappointment the day I included that section on my commute to campus and came upon someone doing trail work who started his greeting with, "You know this trail is closed to..." but then finished with, "...oh. You're on a road bike." I smiled, waved, and continued on my way, shaking my head that they really did mean just mountain bikes!

Those signs are gone, but they are currently replaced by snow, so I expected I'd be walking my bike through anyway. Nope, trails are popular in Amherst, so a foot wide path of this past weekend's snow had been tromped solid so my 1.95" tire at 40psi was very effectively suppported. Yay! Although I did still walk the 2nd half as a way to help stamp a little more blood into my feet.

 After my successful ramble to Amherst, with a few more warming steps in the Amethyst Brook conservation area, I did have a brief reminder that I have substantially, but not entirely, recovered from a brain injury. In the library, standing at the card catalog computer, I couldn't remember the name of the Bard of Baltimore, but as often seems the case, less than five minutes later, after my subconscious had time to kick through weeds and other detritus, I remembered H. L. Mencken! For some reason, I've lately been inspired to read more from the person who quipped, "Democracy is the system whereby the common man gets what he deserves."