I have to agree that the "partial plowing" solution used this past winter wasn't very effective. I only tried cycling on the SW path once (and this was during a 4-inch snowfall event) -- while the skier in me thought it was kind of cool that part of the path was unplowed for skiing (and there were indeed some skied-in tracks already), the cyclist in me had a very difficult time passing and/or avoiding oncoming pedestrians/cyclists. Even though I was using studded winter tires, the unplowed snow section was very rutted with boot prints and/or ski tracks, making any maneuvering through that snow to pass or encounter oncoming traffic downright dangerous.
The more I rode, the more I though "hey, there's plenty of room on the sides of the paved section to classic ski -- why don't they plow the whole path and just let people ski on the sides?" That should accommodate "casual touring" skiers who want to get their skis out once in a while on the SW path when the occasional good snowfall occurs. The "serious skiers" probably won't be interested in skiing on the SW path -- that group is more likely to take their expensive equipment to the groomed trails, and with the majority of those skiers being skaters, no "partial plowing" solution on the SW path could provide enough room for that technique. _______________________________________________ http://www.MadNorSki.org/ XC mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/xc
