Marsh Creek Ice Ride

Today I rode 9.4 miles at Marsh Creek State Park. The Fantom 29 performed flawlessly but it was a rough ride with all of the ice.










The trails were rather icy. There were ruts of ice from previous bikers which made for a difficult ride.











Where there was snow, it was covered with a layer of thin ice. As I rode through it, there was a tremendous noise of the MotoRaptors cutting through the ice.










I did not attempt to ice bike. The lake was frozen and also very slick.

When I got to the park, I took the quarry trail.

I saw my little friend still sitting in the tree. I first saw him on December 30, 2008. He was up a little higher in the tree then.

Another French Creek State Park Ride

Today I rode 8.6 miles at French Creek State Park. Again the Fantom 29 performed flawlessly. The big wheels do well rolling over the many rocks , roots and small branches that are all over the trails at French Creek.








I parked my car at the lot by Hopewell Lake and decided to do some ice biking. It was above 32 degrees F yesterday and today, so I was unsure about the condition of the ice. There were a lot of people icing fishing so I figured it was OK.









When I got on the lake I noticed that there was little snow on the surface and you could see the ice. As soon as I turned my wheel slightly the bike slide to my left and I went down on my right shoulder. I must have slide 50 feet. I was OK and so was the Fantom 29.

So what I discovered was that on Monday I was actually snow biking not ice biking. I definitely needed studded tires. So I immediately walked the bike off the ice and headed for terra firma.



I took Park Road and headed up the Lenape Trail which is marked Green. There were plenty of ice fisherman on Scotts Run Lake.

I
I then took the Lenape Trail across Scott's Run Road toward the campground. Even though it was about 34 degrees F there were several tents and campers there.

I then rode the Lenape Trail across the campground road then across Rt 345 until I got to Mill Creek Trail.

Mill Creek Trail is marked White with a Red Stripe in the middle. Most of it is a wide fire road.












I saw several hunters on the trail.













The Trail borders the Hopewell Furnace Wildlife Preserve, so there is no hunting to the south. There deer also know this.











After I reached Miller's Point I turned around and rode Mill Creek Trail back. When I got to the campground road, I took the park roads back to my car since I needed to get back home.

I then loaded up the Fantom 29 on the bike rack and headed home (after a stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee of course).

MLK Day Ride: Ice Biking at French Creek State Park!!

Today I rode 8.8 miles at French Creek State Park. French Creek is only about 11 miles from home, but this is the first time I rode the trails. Again the Fantom 29 performed flawlessly.

I did not ride Saturday and Sunday due to the extremely cold weather here. It was about 10 degrees F both mornings. Today it was about 25 degrees F.

I started at The Hopewell Lake parking lot and went up Park Road. I took a left onto the Boone Trail which is marked Blue. It was a good workout riding up this trail. It was difficult in the snow because you couldn't really stand to climb. When I stood the wheels would just spin out.

The MotoRaptor tires did work very well in the snow. There was one downhill turn that I started to slip but the MotoRaptors recovered well and there was no spill.

I passed Cabin Camp #1 and continued up the trail to the fire tower.

In the fire tower area I saw a hunter in bright orange. I then took the Ridge Trail which is marked Red. This was a good downhill trail. All of the trails here have a lot of rocks and this trail was no exception. I was more difficult in the snow since I could not see all of the rocks to avoid.

I then made a left on to the Turtle Trail which is marked White & Yellow. This is actually part of the Horseshoe Trail which I rode at Warwick Park on January 03, 2009 . I saw two hikers on the trail. I took this trail until I came back to Park Road and then made a left.

I then took a left on to the Lenape Trail which is marked Green. I took this trail to Scotts Run Lake where I saw a lot of ice fisherman. I also rode the Fantom 29 on the frozen lake! First time ice biking!

I then took the Lenape Trail back to Park Road. I then went to Hopewell Lake. It was frozen also. I did some ice biking and rode the complete length of the lake. It was about 3/4 mile long. The MotoRaptor tires worked extemely well. I was able to ride about 12 mph on the lake.

Then I put the Fantom 29 on the bike rack and headed home (after getting some coffee at Dunkin Donuts!)