SNOW BIKING

I went on one of the funnest bike rides ever. I got up and saw the snow and I had to go play in it. I decided to shovel our walk-way and drive-way. After I was done, the snow was coming down harder and covering up all my hard work so I decided to take the excitement to the next level...well, I guess I took it up to about the highest level of fun I could have in the snow. I swapped my pedals, lights and rear fender (rack) from the road bike to the mountain bike. I got dressed and headed out into the beautiful white snow. I knew exactly where I wanted to go... the mountains (roads are too slippery). I spent half the time hiking on foot due to steep hills and lack of traction. There was probably 4 inches of snow up on the mountain but I trekked on to finish my goal (make it to the Y mountain trail head). At one point I had to hike in the bushes because the trail was so steep I had no traction at all. My heart was racing and my calves got good work outs. I was relieved to reach my descent. It was all paved downhill from there. Due to so much snow my brakes weren't grabbing well so I went down the super steep hills with one foot on the ground, grinding away at the snow covered pavement. I actually felt safer than the to 2 cars I saw going down the hill so I went faster than they did. At the bottom where the hill starts to flatten out, I was going over 20 mph. Then my tires started sliding side to side and I had to put my foot down and work my way into the fresh snow where there was more traction. As I worked my way home through Provo I assisted a driver in getting out of their underground parking lot. I helped push her so she didn't have to get a running start at it. The last mile was the most scary because the roads are more slick than the trail. One guy walking to school asked me if I was insane and I couldn't deny it so I yelled back "yep," with a little chuckle. Later I got excited to see a fellow rider and cheered him on: "ride on!" It was so much fun. I wanted to keep going but because I was coasting down a slight slope at 3 mph (without working my body) I started getting cold. I arrived home and enjoyed Kelly's hot chocolate. Travel log: distance-4.62 mi; time-48 min; avg. speed-5.7 mph; max. speed-20.9 mph.