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!)
2 comments:
Good stuff. I'm looking for a mid-priced 29er and found your blog to be pretty informative. Your comparisons with other bikes are fun to read, albeit somewhat biased. For instance, you fail to mention the Cannondale has hydraulic brakes vs. the mechanical brakes of the Fantom.
Thanks for posting this blog though!
I really dug this entry! Great pics,sweet cabin shot with the Fantom leaning up at it..now that'd be living! :-D Looks like ya had a grand ride,my friend!
Steve
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