Get on the ice!

iceratt

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HereNT

A few days ago, there was freezing rain, followed by snow. The surface of our local lakes have no loose, or drifting snow, but afford enough traction to ride over them moderately quickly, on a road bike without studded tires. Get away from the salt, the sand, the noise, the crowds. Get thee to your local lake! Don't mind the weird outerspace-like sounds that the ice makes. I think those sounds will be there unless the ice is frozen all the way down.

I think it's been a little warm for me to want to ride on any of the lakes here (I'm in Uptown). I'm sick of the salt and the sand, too. Went down hard on Hennepin on Saturday night, knee still screams when I bend it wrong, but is fine most of the time...

iceratt

I think it's been a little warm for me to want to ride on any of the lakes here (I'm in Uptown). I'm sick of the salt and the sand, too. Went down hard on Hennepin on Saturday night, knee still screams when I bend it wrong, but is fine most of the time...
Sorry about the bang up. I fell last night, about 60 secs after telling someone at work not to worry about me, because I fall less than once a year, and this crap wasn't going to pull me down. I didn't get hurt, as I was barely moving, but my buddy, with whom I was riding, won't let me forget this one for a long time.

As for the lakes, I think that they're solid. There have been icehouses, skaters, skiers, and a group of people huddled around a sled over the past couple of days. I can certainly appreciate your caution, however. Get Godzilla to scout the ice for you or something, because ya just shouldn't be forced to be a landlubber, when there is so much peace, and beauty, and fun, out there.

HereNT

Sorry about the bang up. I fell last night, about 60 secs after telling someone at work not to worry about me, because I fall less than once a year, and this crap wasn't going to pull me down. I didn't get hurt, as I was barely moving, but my buddy, with whom I was riding, won't let me forget this one for a long time.

As for the lakes, I think that they're solid. There have been icehouses, skaters, skiers, and a group of people huddled around a sled over the past couple of days. I can certainly appreciate your caution, however. Get Godzilla to scout the ice for you or something, because ya just shouldn't be forced to be a landlubber, when there is so much peace, and beauty, and fun, out there.

I fell 4 times on Saturday. The last one was the only one that hurt. It got me a free shot. One of the others I wasn't even on the bike. It was treacherous on Sat. As far as the ice, I worry about the fact that it's been warm then cold lately - I'd prefer to wait until it's been negative for at least a week before hitting the lakes. Plus most of them are out of my way - my commute is pretty much straight down Nicolette then through downtown to Washington.

BTW - check yer PMs - there should be a link in the top right of your browser telling you you have one unread message.

rattking

I'm your Godzilla
lets do this

rattking

i am going to Florida on Sat. so sometime before then.. Fri. maybe

ps. sorry to hear about you barplugs HereNT those were sweet.. i bet they are eather at the cyclocross spot or on hennepin ave

HereNT

They're probably way down the river now - I think it was Henn, and they've dumped all the snow from there into the river...

Maybe Sat 2 weeks from now? I'm most likely going to be too wasted to ride on Friday.

rattking

i would prefer this week.. thursday then? if not then in 2..
you down iceratt?

rOOster14

lol...when my lake freezes (lake erie) you would need a motocross bike to even imagine getting around on it. just not gonnna happen around here lol. 4 wheelers..snowmobiles....icebreaking coast guard ships yeah...but any kind of bicycle pretty much is inconcievable. too bad i dont live by a sissy lake like you jj man. thats a good idea, until you join the polar bear club involuntarily. :)
-rOOster-

iceratt

i would prefer this week.. thursday then? if not then in 2..
you down iceratt?
I down, if you can wait untio 12:30 AM( I'm on child care duty, until my wife gets home). Thursday or Friday, any time before 4PM, works too, as the monsters are in school. I'll throw in some beer that's more flamable than jet fuel, if I've gotten my new surly, which I ordered from one on one, yesterday. We could meet at Dunn Bros, near Henn/ Lake.

iceratt

lol...icebreaking coast guard ships yeah...but any kind of bicycle pretty much is inconcievable. too bad i dont live by a sissy lake like you jj man. thats a good idea, until you join the polar bear club involuntarily. :)
-rOOster-
Hey, I grew up in Cleveland, a short stones throw from The Greatest Lake on Earth. Some of my fondest memories are of playing on the masses of ice that would pile up off shore. I'm sure that that was dangerous, but I never thought about it at the time.

HereNT

I down, if you can wait untio 12:30 AM

That's only 2 hours after I get off of work, and rattking doesn't work at this particular juncture. I think we can work something out. I'm too drunk to think about it right now...

Raiyn

Dang, I was so hoping for a thread about the NHL lockout ending.

Roody

I was hoping for a thread that was actually about riding on the ice. Not about 2 guys trying to arrange a date.

Portis

I was hoping for a thread that was actually about riding on the ice. Not about 2 guys trying to arrange a date.

Nor about Hockey. :rolleyes: I rode for an hour and 1/2 on three inches of ice/snow this morning. Having the studs on, i was reminded that Ice is not really a problem. Loose snow that breaks away and trys to take your front wheel with it is. The best place to ride is where there is nice undisturbed snow. THe streets suck because they are treated and even though it was below 0 F windchill, the treated streets allow the snow to squish beneath the wheels. It sucks when the front wheel takes off on ya.

There is an extra couple inches of snow on top of that by now so tomorrow morning should be a blast.

naisme

12:30 am, I'm getting off about that time, is that tomorrow night, or Friday then?

HereNT

Tomorrow, supposedly. I have the feeling I might be working that late too. Friday's my birthday, so I'm going to be far too thrashed to go riding on a lake.

You still down Rattking? Iceratt? When and where?

Roody

Ever heard of PM? E-mail? Telephone?

HereNT

Ever heard of PM? E-mail? Telephone?

Have used all three with PM being the most frequent. I have in fact used it referencing this thread, to more than one person. But this is not just a couple people that know each other trying to get out and ride on the lakes, this is a call for anyone in Minneapolis that wants to get out on the lakes on the ice. If we did not discuss it here, there might be people who want to go riding on a lake at 12:30am tomorrow morning, but don't know that there are other people who want to do that, too...

Ever hear of 'Chill Pills'?

iceratt

I suppose that we could have started another thread that was Mpls specific, however, this aspect of the thread will soon end. Thursday night 12:30-12:45, I'll try to drag a weber grill, marshmallows, and some beer, to party with out in the middle of the lake. We can meet at Bryant Lake Bowl, so people aren't just standing around waiting in the cold. I can't promise that I will work the grill on to my trailer, but concider bringing weenies, just in case. After this, anyone else interested can PM. Sorry, rest of the world, us up here, just don't know any better.

iceratt

I was hoping for a thread that was actually about riding on the ice..
Hey I can handle that. Today on my way to work, I noticed that there weren't any other people on Lake Hariet, but I thought that I'd take a "short cut", and cut across 1/3 of this lake with a 3 mile diameter. A couple days previous, I heard the usual weird, outerspace-like sounds, but not this time. It's gotten a lot colder, and the ice was eerily quiet. There were a lot of spider cracks criss-crossing the ice, which made me a little nervous, but hey, a continued deep freeze, should be making everything safer, right. Well, I got really scared when I heard one sharp crack, when I was way out there. I stopped momentarily, but what am I really going to do? I prayed my atheist prayer, and started pedaling again. I made landfall, with no further excitement.

What's it like riding on the lakes in the mitten state? Are you riding on snow pack, sheer ice, or something in-between?

Who here knows how to read the sounds and cracks of the ice? As ice is buffetted by the wind, currents, and building ice, It's going to crack to make room for more ice. I figure that the cracks will immediately refreeze. I feel fairly certain that I was safe, in part because I've seen so many others out there, before Wednesday, but I'm not 100% sure.

mirona

It's been warm here the last couple days so no lake fun for me. We have 3 relatively small interconnecting lakes in this town and they're a blast to ride on. Maybe in a couple days when the temperature dips more.

Roody

I have followed cracks in the ice for miles but never fell in. (I will admit that I'm a little paranoid about ice, but I did break through once, but not by a crack.) The ice in Mich. should be good today--I'm on my way to find out now. It had melted so there was water on the surface of the ice, but should have refrozen by now. Has anyone ever seen the snow so deep that the weight (pressure) of it actually melted the ice even in very cold weather?

iceratt

Has anyone ever seen the snow so deep that the weight (pressure) of it actually melted the ice even in very cold weather?
I think that's called a glacier.

naisme

I was going to try my second attempt to cross Medicine Lake, as a short cut to get to work, but was running real late (at the last minute I decided I needed to swap bikes, and that meant swap slicks for the Nokians, glad I did).

iceratt

The ice on the lakes in these parts has enough traction, that it's possible to ride on it with slicks. I feel safe going 12mph on the ice, and at that speed, it makes traversing Lake Hariet a short cut. If the surface was more slick, or I had to plow through drifts, the lake route would slow me down. As it is, it's a pure joy to ride on the ice( if not technically challenging).

naisme

I gave it a shot last year, but there was too much snow blowing around, and insulated the ice underneath, it was like trying to ride on sheet of glass. When the bike went out from under me I looked at the score the Nokians left on the ice, they had barely made a dent. When I tried to get back on the bike and continue on, I couldn't get the wheels to purchase, and continued to slide around. I might have had better luck if I had a geared bike and hadn't tried this experiment on riding across the ice on a fixed gear. I had a similar problem the other night climbing a ramp off the Greenway, the snow melt had frozen solid, and standing on the pedals I slipped up hill, loosing the purchase of the rear wheel.

iceratt

I gave it a shot last year, but it was like trying to ride on sheet of glass. When the bike went out from under me I looked at the score the Nokians left on the ice, they had barely made a dent.
Don't let last years experience stop you this winter; the surface is much different. You couldn't help but like it, unless it melts and refreezes as "iceglass".

Roody

Yes--the ice surface changes even from week to week. It's always different. Often the thing that stops you is that there is too much snow, like over the hubs. If it is impassable, lay the bike down and walk--it's still beautiful, and a lot of fun on foot or bike.

If you break through (very unlikely this time of year), turn around and climb out on the same side you came from, then retrace your steps, as you already know the ice will hold you there. Of course, if you are not sure about safety, only walk where you know the water is shallow.

iceratt

.If you break through, turn around and climb out on the same side you came from, then retrace your steps, as you already know the ice will hold you there. Of course, if you are not sure about safety, only walk where you know the water is shallow.

I don't know Roody, this may be perfectly good advice, but I think you're going to scare the uninitiated.

As you said, it is highly unlikely that there would be thin spots, but I supose, if there was running water under the ice, or an influx of warm water, close to where one was biking, it would be possible. But we are in the tundra, so I don't worry. Others might have thinner ice where they live.

I would really be interested in learning more about ice formation on lakes. I wonder if there is a rough equation to estimate ice thickness, based on the length of time the lake has been at various average temperatures below freezing. In a lake without an influx of warm water, how much variation in ice thickness can there be? I'm also intrigued by the various kinds of cracks and welds in the ice. I have already mentioned my appreciation for the sounds that the ice makes, but I don't really know what they mean.

naisme

http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ip980118.html
I have no idea the numbers, but this might have some conservative way of predicting ice thickness...

Roody

Also, small lakes and shallow lakes freeze faster. And melt faster.

Portis

Don't let last years experience stop you this winter; the surface is much different. You couldn't help but like it, unless it melts and refreezes as "iceglass".

Iceglass. That is a good term. I had my first ride ever on this today. It was not on the lake but merely on the backroads around here. We have had snow, ice, the ice, then it melted, refroze etc. I have ridded the studded tires in everything with no trouble but all of the sudden today, things were slick. The smallest rut was enough to make me slide.

I think what you describe is the main problem. Never really knew about that until today. Guess that you learn something new everyday in icebiking. Glad i didn't learn the hard way.