It’s been about eight months or so since we moved out to Pigeon Lake full time. Coming from nearly 1.7M people in Calgary, we knew “The Lake” pace was going to be a lot slower. We were never really worried about the change of pace when it comes to the summer. It’s busy out here during the warm months with all kinds of things going on, e.g. people enjoying the water, golf, biking… plenty to do. Not to mention all the work we have piling up around our new place.
I was however worried about the winter, and still am (a bit) given we’re just getting into the thick of it. What are we going to do out here? I sold my KHS 3000 a couple of years ago so I won’t be doing any biking.
Or will I? I decided to inquire about some studded tires for my Sutra as there is a nice 30K out-and-back from our place to the Provincial Park that I often ride in the summer. I’ve never had studded tires before, so I wasn’t sure how they’d work on that terrain. I reached out to my favorite bike specialist Wes at Bike & Brew (the best bike shop in Calgary) and, as expected, he was able to hook me up with some 45N Wrathchild 29x2.6’s, and wow!!!… I’m riding these icy-snow-packed roads like it’s summer pavement.
The road I ride follows the south shore of the lake, where the community builds many kilometers of skating trails. Would these new tires actually work on the ice? Should I give it a go? I was pretty tentative at first, but my new winter rig works great! I’m not cornering like I might on packed snow, but I’ve got plenty of traction. There’s something therapeutic about riding out on the lake. I’m guessing similar to taking the kayak out on a calm morning, something I plan to experience next summer.
