It’s been a rough few weeks for mountain bikers here in Carson City. About the only dirt visible is the sand they’ve spread on the icy roads. Under a cover of dark thick clouds, we went out at lunch on Monday in search of something to ride. In my mind, we would get in a quick road ride, and then get back to the warmth of the office.

Jesse at the top of Lakeview

We rode up the V&T bike path to then end, and then climbed Combs Canyon. Once at the top we decided to go over the top to reach the V&T dirt path. It was our hope that while the top of the mountain may be unrideable, there would probably be decent tracks to ride once down on the other side.

Unrideable Descent

Only a small portion of the snowy hill climb was rideable to the top. The snow was too crusty and bumpy to get forward momentum. As we crested the top, we hoped that gravity would help get us down the steep canyon. After several attempts though, some of them painful, it was apparent that we’d have to walk all the way down to the bottom.

Tom Hiking

Once we finally reached the bottom and got onto the V&T trail, it was just more of the same choppy snow. It was a little less deep here, so we were able to ride some of it. Riding just 50 yards was exhausting though, so we alternated between riding and walking. It wasn’t until near the very end of the trail that we actually got to ride some mud and rocks. Just that little bit of dirt under the tires felt great, even if it only lasted a moment!

Tom hiking some more

We were all very pleased to get back to the pavement, but all happy that we had that little adventure and got some great exercise. Taking your bicycle out for a hike-a-bike is still better than sitting in the office. It snowed again last night, and there is still more snow on the way later this week. I suppose we should just get used to this kind of riding for a while.

Whose idea was this?