Nickerson Failed Me

After the Lake Placid Fiasco, my weekend didn't get much better. I had a boat load of pent up frustration to unleash on the trails at Nickerson State Park. I fired up the NOHRSC snow cover map to learn there was zero snow cover on much of the Cape. Or so I was led to believe. With the recent rain and warm temps, I didn't even need bother with studs. I threw my singlespeed in the car with no studs and headed two hours south.

Conditions at the Trail of Tears trailhead didn't look good at all. There should have been very little if any snow there per the map. But there was at least 6" on north facing slopes. That did not bode well for Nickerson further out on the Cape.

Arriving at Nickerson, there was a smattering of snow here and there in the woods. That didn't bother me. What sent me into a fit of rage was what I saw on the paved bike path. It was boiler plate ice. It seemed anything that saw foot traffic after the last snow dump got packed into ice, then the rain polished it up nicely. Maybe the singletrack under the pines would be ok...

Typical doubletrack on south end

I headed out, unable to ride any doubletrack. Bush whacking to the side was even impossible in a few spots. With temps in the 40's, the wet ice was nearly impossible to stand on. Not sure studs would have worked. I wanted to HAMMER, not daintily tread on non-stop ice. I went into the first section of singletrack near Ruth Pond. Less ice, but still way too much to keep any kind of flow going. After three miles of riding along side trails bush whacking, I pulled the plug and headed for pavement.

At least it was a stellar day to check out the ocean. Looks just like

Lake Michigan on Christmas break.

The Cape Cod Rail Trail wasn't much better in places. I headed out towards the end of the Cape, unable to generate any kind of power with such a tiny gear on my SS. I wanted to make my muscles hurt. I wanted to vent off Saturday's race. Instead, I was building more frustration. Some sections of the rail trail needed to be bypassed on roads. It was too icy. I crashed once on the rail trail. I did visit the shore on both sides of the Cape. It was a spectacular day out. I suppose on the positive side, it still beat riding a trainer indoors.  I rode about 38 miles in three hours and was somewhat satiated. Hopefully the weather behaves and I can make it down to Weston for a proper venting.

Red is Nickerson trails, Green is this week's paved route

Monday morning I was completely trashed. Unreasonably so. I couldn't figure it out. I've done longer skis than my failed Lake Placid race this season and felt fine a day or two later. It finally occurred to me why my hips, back and shoulders hurt so badly. Friday morning I spent over an hour coercing snow off my roof through dormer windows with a shovel I taped an extension pole too. This required all kinds of core and upper body English that I am completely unconditioned for. It must be that hurting me today, three days later. I surmise that it isn't getting older that makes us less flexible. It is becoming a creature of habit, never using certain muscle groups. Habits become more entrenched as we age.