[radair]

Went riding with a gang of ten this weekend on Squam Lake, also known as Golden Pond thanks to Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. No sign of movie stars on this fine day. The weather was perfect, the ice was solid, and we had a load of fun. Somehow I failed to capture any of the boulder rolls and dock hucks along the way. Oh well.

The gang hits the black ice:

Then a few try to run me over:

One guy had tire bead issues and spent much of the day pumping. We finally left him in the middle of the lake and took a tire off one of the other bikes back at the cars.

This left time to make some tracks:

This week's name the track contest should be an easy one (Nokian on right, what animal on left?):

And, being of the Seven Day Recreationalist sect, we had to hit Church Island, give thanks, and ring the bell just once.

One last shot of a nice cabin on a tiny island.

 

[Jessep]

Beaver!

 

[summud]

reminds me of the book i've been meaning to write...

...Trails in the Snow, by Wuan Hung Lo

sorry couldnt help, its the twelve year old in me.

 

[wooglin]

And, being of the Seven Day Recreationalist sect, we had to hit Church Island, give thanks, and ring the bell just once.

Went to a wedding there once I think. It looks colder in your pics.

 

[*rt*]

good stuff rob.

my guess for name that animal is also beaver.

rt

 

[mattbikeboy]

Man I was thinking it was an otter!

mbb

 

[Low_Rider]

Great photos radair, pretty incredible stuff! :thumbsup:

A quick question from an ice-free Aussie, how thick does that stuff have to be to be rideable? The concept of jumping off a dock without swimwear and floatation for the "clunker" bike is a little crazy in itself!

Cheers, Dave.

 

[wooglin]

Man I was thinking it was an otter!

mbb

That's my thought too. Or an ermine. Something that likes to play in the snow.

 

[radair]

A quick question from an ice-free Aussie, how thick does that stuff have to be to be rideable? The concept of jumping off a dock without swimwear and floatation for the "clunker" bike is a little crazy in itself!

It's pretty amazing how strong ice is. There are times when you ride over recently frozen streams and it can't be more than 1/2" thick (and perfectly clear), with a lot of flex as you ride over. Mind blowing.

This lake was frozen thick with virtually no open water. Judging by some of the cracks we saw, most of the ice was 6" to 8" (a guess, we did not drill). We hucked off at least 3 docks and did countless boulder rolls onto the ice and never thought to question the ice, but we've had over 3 weeks of sustained cold.

Pressure ridges are another cool feature. They often form perfect little kicker jumps where the plates come together, sometimes with a little water to gap over.

In hindsight, I'm disappointed in the photos from this ride. On the best boulders I handed off my camera in video mode and didn't tell the other person, hence we ended up with a screwy video of the tail end of the stunt and someone's leg, a bunch of random sky shots and conversation. Live & learn.

 

[Redmon]

wow, the clearness of the ice just freaks me out. I grew up on a lake in Upstate NY and we did everything from snowmobiles to hockey on the lake. I guess it was never that clear and looked plenty thick enough.

 

[radair]

Man I was thinking it was an otter!

That's what we thought too. This thing went a really long way on the ice!

 

[colb]

cool

can't imagine what it's like to ride on ice like that, must be an awesome feeling

 

[Low_Rider]

Riding on half an inch of frozen water? You guys must be nuts!

Coming from a warmer climate, it was a novelty just to have the chance to ride on snow (slush) last winter. I was battling to stay upright in that stuff, let alone ice! Thanks for the education! :thumbsup:

Dave.

 

[AndyN]

Cool pix Rob.