Maine Traffic Report: More Pugsleys Than Cars

Finally able to ride my Pugsley at a decent clip over the snow. We’re on the front wave of the coldest January temperatures since 2009 that are creeping here from Canada.  It’s going to head down below zero for the next three days, with an accompanying windchill. We’ll stay warm here, with wood/coal stoves in the kitchen and living room, fueled by bone-dry hardwood and the secret weapon- a few hundred pounds of coal that I’ve stashed away for nights just like these.

Bangor, ME weather forecast

The snow under the Nate tires is still crunchy, but the effort to move through it is minimal. I am tired of cold feet on my winter rides. My clipped Lake winter riding boots aren’t cutting it. Craig Nelson loaned me his socketed 6 mm allen tip that allowed me remove my Time pedals, and replace them with a set of plastic platform pedals that I bought for $12 a pair at Bath Cycle. I rode with this setup yesterday, which enabled me to wear my over sized and unlined New Balance hiking boots.  The extra room in the toe box lets me wiggle my forefoot around, and allows for the small chemical heat packets to be thrown in there as well. I was definitely warmer with this pedal setup.

Super fun bike run yesterday afternoon, riding from the house up on High Street a few hundred yards where I turned down the abandoned end of the Proctor Road and then I linked up with the snowmobile trail that wound its way around Moody Pond reaching Moody Mountain Road.  When I got to the end of the Martin Corner Road, I took a picture of my bike on the road back. 

Martin Corner Road entrance

You can see this is a driveway that turns right, but I’m headed over the snow berm straight ahead that runs a mile or so back to the trails.  I heard some voices on the road, and lo and behold, there appeared Casy and Chad, on their own fat-tire Pugsleys.

Casey and Chad with happy new Pugsleys

They were running a snowmobile trail out toward the Hope general store, and joined me for the ride back, where they continued up the other end of the Proctor Road, branching off to the snowmobile trail that led them back to their cars at the Lincolnville School lot.

I got onto new territory with the Pugs at the end, continuing on the trail, where I followed tractor tire depressions on the snow where I climbed through my next door neighbor’s fields, coming out back on High Street, adjacent to the Cross cemetery , and back to a warm house. Traffic report:cars seen on this ride = 0, Pugsleys 2.

Here’s the map and stats, courtesy of my iPhone and Strava.