Saturday, 21 December 2019 / Published in Weather

The Morning Blog 12-21-19

This is a very long post. Weather first, then our ride, then the help with Ohio Ridge Riders.

No change in the weather as a very cold 1040 mb high is parked over Vermont. Sunny and frigid this morning but not as bad this afternoon. The trails where there is riding on the Tug and in Old Forge/Inlet and the Adirondacks are frozen down for the most part where it’s open. Watch for icy spots. But get out there while the gettin’ is good.

Temperatures will turn warmer on Sunday and especially Monday. With dry conditions and no snow in the forecast, warmer temps will do some eroding to the snowpack. While sun will eat some, it’s lowest sun angle of the year so that helps. 40’s on Monday afternoon… doesn’t help. This means conditions will slowly deteriorate over the next few days. Check back frequently with the clubs for trail updates where you ride.

The good news is that a back door cold front will come through Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. Only a slight chance of snow with no accumulation expected, but at least the Newfoundland Low, the ONLY thing saving us right now, will bring some cold pack and keep melting from getting totally out of control…

There is growing confidence in the pattern change just after New Year’s. What happens between Christmas and New Years will be critical. With a huge storm out west coming into the Rockies and the Plains, it’s a big danger time for us. IF the Newfoundland Low and ANY Greenland blocking can hang on, and push any storms to our south as the ridge builds on the west coast after New Year and sustained cold, clippers and Lake Effect come back, we will be GOLDEN. But often in these situations, especially looking at the jet stream, it’s often these storms head to the Great Lakes hit us with warm and rain first before the pattern change. It’s the most likely solution based on experience. I HOPE MY GUT IS WRONG. We are talking 7-10 days here so a lot can change… Here is what it looks like now…

DO THE SNOW DANCE.

NOW THE RIDE!!!

We didn’t get out riding until dark. The reasons why follow below our ride report… Zack and I set out knowing Alder Creek and north was open. We trailered from our friend’s farm in Remsen and were tempted to set down on Trackside and ride north to Old Forge. We wanted to ride Old Forge and figured if it was busy we could hide out on Trail 6 between OF and Trackside. We ultimately decided just to go to North Street and park at Water Safari.

There were riders out in Old Forge. Was it dead? NO. Was it hopping? NO. Honestly given rideable areas and a holiday weekend, we expected it to be much busier. We set out from Trail 1 and headed north through the Pipeline then decided to explore Trail 9 to Big Moose. We explored Big Moose from the station to the Glenmore and back then voted against Stillwater since it was falling below zero and didn’t want to be out too late. So we double backed on 9 to 1 then had a blast running through the loop trails. Ultimately we got to Trail 7 and decided to head over the RR bridge to Thendara station then back through Thendara to gas up and grab a bite, top off the sleds then head back to North Street. By this point it was -2 F and icing on our glasses and our helmets was a big issue. We may need to seriously consider a change there, both of us. As we were going through OF we met up with two guys new to Old Forge who flagged us down. Lou and Jay had new sleds and 509 gear on and were trying to get to Daikers but got turned around in the wrong direction. They heard Trail 5 was bad and were told to go 1 to 3 to 5. They didn’t know how to get there. Zack and I knew the way so we said follow us and they did to the Bridge at the end of North Street on Trail 1. They guys thanked us and were just happy to have some help. We hope Lou and Jay made it to Daikers and back and had an awesome time. We then got back to our trailer with exactly 40 frigid miles then trailered back to Remsen then got home to bed at 10. It’s now 555 finishing this blog and it’s time to go hit the trails again! But it was more than just this ride that made this day so special…

Friday was a big day for both of us. But especially for Zack.

I had to work in town but he wanted to help. So I dropped him off at first light with John Bates from the Ohio Ridge Riders.

The Halloween storm took out a big bridge on C4 near the Norway General Store. It literally wiped it off the map. It is a critical connector trail with Salisbury and the Adirondacks to the north and East, Poland, Penn Mountain, West Canada Valley and Deerfield to the south and west. One of the busiest trails on the Ohio Ridge Riders system. Rebuilt from scratch in a day. Between 88 2 X 8 X 12s, several 40’ telephone poles, tons of nails, materials alone were over $4K. Just for one bridge.

While volunteers are a critical need, there is another thing most people don’t realize that Zack and I have seen spending a lot of time around clubs in the last few months…

Big construction guys donating their time and more importantly, their heavy equipment like Bobcats, nail guns and all kinds of big things clubs don’t actually own themselves. Today’s hero was Jason Bartlett, owner of Bartlett Excavating. He lives nearby and without his heavy equipment, it would have cost the club way more money to bring professionals in and pay them… or taken a lot more time… or the bridge might not have been rebuilt at all.

The crew got the materials to the site and got more than halfway through by afternoon. When I was done with work I brought and bought pizza for all, then we went to finish the bridge. We all worked together well and quickly and had fun despite the frigid cold.

By the end of the day the bridge was completed, we were all worn out but thankful that when the bigger snows come back, Ohio will be ready for the thousands of riders that pass through Norway each winter. And every time Zack and I cross that bridge we will do so knowing that we had a small part in that happening… along with 9 other dedicated and great guys from the Ohio Ridge Riders… Team work does make the dream work

This is why join where you ride is important (Without club dollars, they can’t do this). This is why manpower is important (There are less riders and less volunteers than 20 years ago, especially that live local to these clubs). And in my personal situation I could only help by buying lunch and giving a few hours because of work on a Friday. It didn’t matter. They didn’t give me an issue because I had other commitments or that I could only help a little at the end of the day. Any good club and group of guys will welcome all help. And they need it. And they were more than willing to take on for the day my 16 year old son, who was willing and able to help and did a lot. It meant the world to him.