Tiger, Tiger...Snowing in April?
This past Saturday marked the opening of Tiger Mountain to biking for the spring, an event that typically draws an unusually large crowd to the east side of this favorite local spot. We skip it every year. Seattlest prefers our local mountain biking a bit less crowded, though the social aspect is enjoyable. Reports came in that the parking lot was a zoo, but mostly due to people showing up, assessing the dumping rain, and turning around to leave.
Some hardy folks made the trek to the top of the Preston trail, however, only to find snow. Lots of snow, for Tiger in mid-April. Perhaps they were in training for an event down at Mt. Hood next weekend (scroll to the bottom for details), where a large snow jump will be built. How novel, you're thinking, a snow jump at a ski resort? No, not like this one for skiers and snowboarders; the Mt. Hood jump is being constructed specifically for bikes. That's right, no longer is dirt a requirement for mountain bikes, not even for jumping them.
The northwest is ideal terrain for winter riding. True addicts are seeking more ways to continue riding all through the winter--a more "reasonable" activity in our region where many trails are at least somewhat accessible to bikes year-round. (We didn't expect major developments in winter biking in say, Aspen Colorado or upstate New York. We were wrong.) This Seattlest contributor got the bug last year, when skiing simply wasn't an option. We got a super-bright HID light so we could head out after work, and stocked up on wool base layers and winter-ready bike gear. The coldest conditions we logged were on a night ride after work at Lake Sawyer near Black Diamond in February, topping out at a brisk 21 degrees.
We kept at it this past winter season, despite much better snow conditions and a "free" pass for Snoqualmie. Something seems wrong about that, given that we grew up skiing, but the men in snow-white parkas haven't shown up yet, so we'll keep spinning...
Photo courtesy of the Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club.
