Snow!

Over the past few days I have got in quite a bit of cross country skiing, now that we have a bit of snow here in southeast Michigan.  From Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning we got somewhere between 8-10" of snow; it was hard to measure very accurately as it was pretty windy.

Wednesday evening I went over to Radrick Farms, a golf course owned by the University of Michigan.  Radrick has a lot of woods and some trails that are decent for skiing.  Plus, it is only about four miles from home.  The snow was great but I felt a little flat.  I was out for about an hour and a half and my tail was seriously dragging by the end.  Not sure why, I think it was just an off day.  On the way out I stopped to read a new sign along the entrance drive:

NO PUBLIC USE OF THIS PROPERTY

POLICE PATROLLED

VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED

Not so friendly sounding...what's the deal?  Radrick has been open to skiers as long as I have known, and they often have signs saying please do no ski in less than four inches of snow.  Which sounds like an open invitation to ski if there is at least four inches of snow.  And as my friend Jen pointed out, the web site says skiing is OK.  Not sure what to think.  Cross country skiers are not exactly a menace to society, and I have yet to have a conflict with a golfer while skiing out there.

Friday evening Grace and I met up with John and Karen and skied Huron Hills golf course.  Huron Hills, as the name implies, has some nice hills for skiing.  There are a few small wooded sections as well.  We took a lap around both parts of the golf course and spend about 30 minutes sessioning on a hill.  Some of the hills get pretty worn from sledders, but we found one hill that was completely untracked.  Afterward we stopped in at Casey's Tavern for a little food and beer.  In all, a good way to start the weekend.

And today John, Karen, Don, and I went out to Stinchfield Woods (a.k.a. Peach Mountain), which in my opinion, is one of the best places to ski near Ann Arbor.  I took my camera, but the partly charged battery was not happy about the cold and the camera refused to turn on.  We were out there for almost 2 1/2 hours and toured quite a few of the trails.  We avoided some of the bigger hills since the group had varied skiing experience, but even the most mellow trails have some nice hills and enough elevation change to keep me happy.  And the good company did not hurt, either.  The temperature was sneaking above freezing and the snow was getting soft and wet, but there was still enough for good coverage.

Hopefully the snow will stick around for a little longer; I have not got my fill of skiing yet!

The Bluffs

Anyone who is a regular city rider knows about the Bluffs.  The Bluffs Nature Area packs a lot into 22 acres, with non-stop hills and twisting trails.  I usually finish my city rides there, partly because it is on the far side of town from my house, and partly because I am saving the best for last.  I am starting to itch for a ride just writing about it!

Yesterday Grace and I took a walk through the Bluffs.  We were out there for almost two hours, walking, trimming brush and branches off the trails, and taking pictures.  There were a few bike tracks in the snow, and we saw one rider, who proclaimed his love of studded tires as he rolled down an icy hill.  I gotta get me a pair of those.

The sun occasionally peeked through the clouds and the temperature hovered right around the freezing mark.  As Grace said, it was like a super-micro-vacation.  We both felt a little more relaxed afterward.

There are some very large trees in the Bluffs, most of which seemed to be northern red oak.  I have spent countless hours riding and doing trail maintenance there and only sort of noticed the big'uns before.  While this red oak is not a record setter, it's still pretty big.

We walked most of the trails in the Bluffs, and found that someone else had recently been through it with a chainsaw to cut out the big stuff.  This tree was trimmed out last fall.  There were a few small trees down that we tackled with the bow saw we had with us.  Grace actually did the sawing, and I dragged the cut pieces away.  A few years ago it seemed that myself, and whomever I brought along with me, were the only ones that did any trail maintenance in the Bluffs.  These days I find a lot of maintenance done by others.  While I did not mind taking care of it, doing so pretty well used up my allotment of trail work energy.  These days I can spread it around to other places as well!

I'll check again a little later in the winter to see if the trails need more attention.  The Bluffs is a nice place to go for a walk, and I can support my sport by keeping the highlight of Ann Arbor mountain biking trails clear.