Biking With Kids

I was planning on doing some cross country skiing this morning.  I checked the temperature, -5 degrees F, cold, but not as cold as the last 4 mornings.  I suddenly got an idea, it hadn’t snowed for a few days, so the snowmobile trails should be good and packed.  Why not get the Stumpjumper out?

On my top half I wore my snowboard helmet, shell, fleece and long underwear shirt.  On my bottom half I wore my Goretex riding pants with long underwear underneath,  wool socks and my biking shoes.  I contemplated swapping out my pedals and wearing my hiking boots, but decided that I didn’t want to take the time (this would prove to be a mistake).

The ride was great.  The trails were well packed, only allowing the tires to sink in about a half inch or so.  The only way the trails would have been better is if we had a warm day (haven’t seen one in a while) that melted the trails and then they refroze.  Then the trails would be smooth and hard, making for some nice fast riding.

On my way back, my toes started to get pretty cold (should have changed those pedals).  My shifters also started acting up, my rear derailer could only downshift one gear at a time, and my front shifting was limited to the lower two rings.  The brakes also felt pretty stiff.

When I came inside and took off my shoes there was frost on my socks!  If I do any more cold riding I will be swapping out the clippless pedals for standard ones with power grips.

I’ve been following the “A Wayword Journey” blog for a couple months now.  The blog is about a family of four that is traveling by bicycle from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina (20,000 miles!) over the course of 30 or so months. The family blogs regularly about the trip, including posts by both of the children.  It is interesting to see the trip through the eyes of the children via their blog posts.

In addition to their blog posts, the website contains extensive photo and video galleries.  The videos are well done and really give you an idea of what the riders are going through during the different parts of their journey.

The family recently crossed into Mexico, and is continuing to post blog entries, photos and videos about their adventure.