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Ice biking
Now to the winter sport that intimidated me the most: ice biking.
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ICE BIKING
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The New England Mountain Bike Association runs regular rides during winter for all skill levels. Annual dues are $20 per person, $30 for a family. Call 800-576-3622 or visit www.nemba.org.
A standard pair of mountain bike tires is adequate for trails that have been packed down by snow mobiles. But if the trails are at all icy (and they usually are), studded tires are recommended. The bike association can tell you where to buy them.
Many riders stud their own tires by installing screws through the tire casings. To learn how and for general information on ice biking, visit the Web site www.enteract.com/~icebike/.
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As I quickly learned, there was much more to it than riding up and down unshoveled sidewalks.
You pedal a specially equipped mountain bike out to forest trails (preferably ones that have been packed down by snowmobiles) and trying to stay upright while negotiating patches and hills.
In the Boston area, the most active group of ice bikers is the New England Mountain Bike Association. An avid 62-year-old member from Connecticut filled me in on the subtleties of the sport.
"You end up pretty bruised," said Charles Beristain. "But it's more fun than a barrel of monkeys. I'm out there every day."
The mountain bike association, whose members are as interested in trail conservation as they are in riding, holds several organized rides each month (both in winter and warmer months).
Tires are the key piece of equipment: wide, studded ones that grip the snow and ice. They sell for roughly $40 apiece, but many riders make their own by putting screws in a regular mountain bike tire (see sidebar).
I arranged to meet up with a group in Shirley at the home of an association member. Trouble was, once I made it to town I got lost, really lost. After lots of frantic stops and phone calls, I arrived at the rendezvous spot 45 minutes late; they'd left without me. I walked around, called out for help, and listened for sounds of life. Nothing. I spotted a mountain bike they left for me and a trail, and went after them.
This is not a sport for people who are afraid to fall. A thin layer of ice covered the snow, and every few minutes, without warning, my bike would break through and send me flying. Unlike tubing, ice biking is work, but after a while I started to get the hang of it.
I never found the group, but still managed to get through the day with just a few bumps and bruises. I later heard from NEMBA executive director Philip Keyes that the riders had a "seriously fun" time riding on snowmobile trails. I'm convinced I was riding the wrong trails.
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