Snowy Road and Hojack

With the trails under snow I've been riding the streets lately. But I've been shying away from any busy roads and that has limited where I can ride. I've ended up riding 10 to 15 miles within a 1.5 mile radius north of my home. So I looked at the map to see if I could stretch my riding out to new areas.

One thing I've been wanting to do is to ride to the Hojack trail from my house. With the distances I've been riding that was definitely doable. But it snowed last night so the road and trail would probably would not be ideal.
I gave it a try anyway.

The road was not too bad. Most of the way had a wide enough shoulder. It was 75% clear and most snow and slush didn't seem to slow me down. Some shoulders were off-camber which makes riding less relaxed.
When I got to the Hojack I was disappointed. I had hoped it would have been packed down from snowmobiles but that was not the case. So it was covered in about 6 inches of snow that had only been disturbed by a few walkers. I gave it a try and was able to ride but for only a few hundred feet at a time. I ended up walking about 50%, between riding, while I caught my breath and my heart rate came down to a reasonable level.

I got off at the next crossroad and headed back home on the street.
It was good to get out, but I miss the trails. Spring will be here soon, but not soon enough.

I think my cycle computer doesn't work well when it gets wet. It came up with an obviously short distance again.
My GPS said I went 6.8 miles. Had the Hojack been good riding I was ready to ride about 12 miles. Oh well.

Snowy Road and Hojack - 2011-02-27