Bring on May

April was indeed a cold and (mostly) rainy month. Par for the course really so I shouldn’t be surprised. Just seemed longer because the snow disappeared waaaay back in March :( . Haven’t gotten out as much as I’d like but a few trips got squeezed in here and there. Evening rides on the Gatineau Parkway have been good. They wrap up soon as the parkway will be reopened to cars at the end of the week. A few other rides for “measuring and marking” for Race Weekend are also in the books. We managed to get some reasonable weather this year and got it done quite early. I can remember a few rides in icy winds with wet roads and being frozen to my bike by the time we got those rides all done… so happy the spring weather came early on that regard. Other than that I’ve spent a lot of time on the trainer, pedalling in place while peering out the window as rain sheeted down, wishing I could be outside in the (non-existent) warm sunshine.
A rare sunny evening ride on the Gatineau ParkwayI did manage one quick last minute road trip down to the Adirondacks to get in a hike. With the Sunday forecast looking bleak I loaded up the car and took off at the “alpine” hour of 10:30am Saturday morning. That got me to the trail head of Pitchoff mid afternoon. I’d never climbed the western end of the trail and it seemed like a reasonable goal based on my late start to the day. Despite there being 60 or 70 cars parked at the trailhead, only 3 groups had signed in to Pitchoff. The others had all headed up Cascade so I almost had the trail to myself. Mostly a dry trail as it faces west but the last few hundred feet were into the packed snow and ice so I was glad to have the µspikes with me. Good views from a little false summit below the treed in summit itself. I debated doing the whole traverse of the ridge as the trail crosses a few sub peaks further east before dropping back down to the highway. This would mean walking back along the road which isn't too bad but the snow on the top meant the trail would be pretty sloppy going up top so I opted to retrace my steps on trail I knew was dry. Some nice erratics on Pitchoff's false summitAfter returning to the car I noticed I still had a few hours of daylight so I did the short hike up to Cooperas pond. Only a couple of miles round trip (and no real elevation change) it’s a pretty little pond below Whiteface. A worthwhile destination for a quick campsite or to get a swim in when the weather warms up. A nice little leanto on the pond - with Whiteface looming overheadThis past weekend was pretty nice too although there was still some pretty strong winds blowing. I rode the mtnbike up at Lac Phillipe. The “no mtnbiking/waterlogged trails” had been removed so I assume that means they are open to riding. For the most part these trails are old gravel roads so they dry out pretty quickly. I had still seen the “waterlogged” trail signs further south in the park so perhaps it isn't riding season down there just yet. I opted for two trails. First a ride up to the Pontiac lookout. They’ve completed the trail repairs after last year’s trail washouts. Perhaps too nice a job(my opinion) as they are now pretty much smooth compacted gravel paths but I expect with a little “weathering” they’ll become a little more technical. Nice climb though and a great view up top. Nice spot to relax at the Pontiac lookoutAfter that a quick ride up to the Lusk cabin. No work on this trail yet but I’m sure that will come as the summer season progresses. First up for the crews was to finish up the campground road which is now ready for asphalt down in the main part of the park. Despite the washed out section the trail is still a nice ride with some challenging bits to negotiate (both up and down). Enjoyed a break at the top and the loons came by to check me out as I lounged in the sun. Good to be back riding and despite my dislike for the trainer “rides” I expect they’ve done me well to get ready for the season ahead. Loons come for a visit as I relax at Lusk cabin