Salsa Mamasita in the Snow!

The Salsa Ride finally happened on Saturday despite the snow and much colder temperatures. In addition to being my first ride on a Salsa 29"er, it was also my first ride in snow for this season. Lot's of fun!



If you want to know what I thought of the Mamasita, check out my story on Twenty Nine Inches.






Here's some of the hundreds, (literally) of beautiful views we saw out in the woods. We also saw several deer, and a really big hawk crusing under the snow covered tree canopy.










If you look carefully, you can see Mike from Salsa, ( orange trimmed jacket) waiting up for me as I take some pictures. The earlier hours were ridden in really fun snow and firm ground. Later the temperatures came up enough that the ground started to get slippery and then muddy.






The ride was alot of fun and exiciting! Hidden tree branches and roots would send you off in new directions instantly at times. Corners were fun and by using the rear brake at just the right time, you could snap the rear end around in a heart beat. We rode until about 1:30pm, and decided that our toes were getting frozen. Not to mention, we were all hungry! Jason and Mike brought the guys that showed up for the ride t-shirts and then we all checked out having had a great time riding our bikes together.

Some of the riders were getting their feet wet on a 29"er for the first time. It seems that all were impressed with the big wheeled bikes they tried. It works out best if you cut out all the hype and just put guys, (or gals) on a 29"er and cut them loose on the trails. The bikes do their own talkin'!

After I got home and all cleaned up, I rested for a bit, and then got ready to meet Jason and Mike for dinner. My wife joined us and we had a great time. Good conversation and making new friends is always fun. After we talked and ate ourselves silly, we took leave of each other and went our separate ways. What a weekend!

Thank You Section: First off, thanks go to Jason Boucher and Mike Reimer of Salsa Cycles for coming all the way down here through a raging snow storm, accidents, and delays just to ride some bikes with me and my friends. Thanks for hangin' out and for your generosity. I and my friends had a great time.

Thanks to the riders: Rob Walters, Jeremy Bidwell, Casey Dean, and Carl Buchanan. Special thanks to Casey for leading us through and to Carl for clearing the ride with the Scout Camp.

Thanks to my wife for putting up with all of this and for coming along to dinner Saturday night! That was a better time because you were there!


Can't wait to ride up in Minny-apple-pus with the Salsa guys sometime in '07!