Slush, Mush, and Crust

I've been experiencing a local, global warming trend here lately, which makes riding conditions change with both elevation and time of day. Early in the morning there is a nice crust that I can typically ride on top of nearly anywhere. As the temps rise to above freezing the crust turns to mushy snow, and finally a bit slush at lower elevations. At higher elevations it only gets a soft and mushy.



There are lessons to be learned with all this local climate change going on. For example a few days ago I rode a beautiful crust to a new destination that was very cool, but on my return trip I had to slog through (post-hole) knee deep mush for 2-miles. The crust had warmed just enough that it would no longer support the bike or me so I sank. Oh well, it was still fun...I smiled through it all.




These snow condition changes are also a small challenge with riding, since in the crust I have what seems to be unending traction, whereas in the mush and slush I slip-n-slide quite a bit. I have definitely increased my riding skills this winter.



This is awesome!!!