New Englanders are hardcore. Nothing keeps us inside snow, sleet, rain or hail we love it all. Sean spent the better part of 3 nights drilling screws into 4 brand new tires. He used approximately 1200 screws on the boys bikes in preperation of snow and ice riding. Once ponds freeze to a depth of 12 inches or more you are good to go.
Ice riding isn't just about seat time, its a good training on slick dirt and mud. The more comfortable you feel on the bike, no matter track conditions, will make you a more prepared rider. Liam could care less what terrain he's on as long as he's on his bike he's one happy fella. Jeremy was a bit skeptical, he is the cautious one after all. Aren't most first borns?!
The first trip out they went to a place called Turkey Pond, known for snowmobile races. The nice thing about Turkey Pond, it's pretty good size and it's quiet. It's no Winnepasaukee but it works for our needs. The bonus of riding Turkey Pond, is that the NH Snowmobilers Club conduct races each weekend they check the ice conditions around the pond routinely throughout the day. As everyone knows, ice melts, noone wants to be on melting ice in the middle of a body of water when it lets go. Safety first!
The boys stayed off to the side and far enough away from the snowmobilers to practice riding on the slick conditions.
For those who have never heard of, or are wondering how the air stays in the tires after you've drilled over 1000 screws in them. Here is a quick lesson in ice riding: Each tread of the tire gets one to three screws. Each tread with makes a pattern, as the screwheads are turned to the same direction. When the bike is on the ice the screws dig in and give you traction. Less screws less traction, more screws better traction. The tube is not in the tire when the screws are drilled in. A buffer is used between the tire and tube to protect the tube from being pierced by a screw. The buffer can be any thick material such as cut up strips of carpet or tire. Voila, you now have ice tires!
Sean and Liam were out a few hours with some friends of ours. Liam did great! He was excited to talk all about it. Thankfully we have a pond near our home, Doors Pond. Sean was able to bring both boys there to ride. Of course all the fun ends when you have a massive snow storm forecasted. YUP, We love New England weather! It changes as quickly as Tori Spellings hairstyles did on 90210. Maybe more, but it would definately be a close race!
Like I said New Englanders are hardcore. The blizzard of 2010 didn't keep them off the ice. 18 inches of white fluffy fun was left behind, a beautiful white carpet just waiting for someone to make the first snowman, snow angel, ski or sledding run. Not my guys-they took the snowblower to Doors Pond and made a track to ride on. If you're gonna crash, fresh snow is the perfect landing pad!
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